tying up loose ends

I've been trying to finish some works-in-progress lately so I'll have a clean slate to start some new projects. I mentioned a few days ago how I knit the Yarn Harlot's Unoriginal Hat in the chunky yarn Scott spun, but it turned out too small because I'm an idiot who can't read directions, so I tore that version out. Argh, but the good part of this process is that I learned to cable without a cable needle along the way. So I cast on again with larger needles (10.5, I think, up from 7s) and re-knit it. Mysteriously, on this second try I used EXACTLY THE SAME AMOUNT OF YARN (how is that possible?!), but the hat's circumference was fine. Only problem I ran into this time was that it was a little shorter than I'd like, so I picked up stitches around the bottom and knit down some ribbing. Happily, mission accomplished! The cable work is somewhat lost in the colorway variations, but it's still a good hat -- super soft and squishy and full of happy memories, since we won the fiber at Spa Knit and Spin last winter.

The last little finish-up from the depths of the knitting bag is this super thick pair of socks. I think they'd be called house socks by most folks because they'd be too thick to fit into shoes, but I bet they'll be fine in the roomy Birkenstock clogs that I wear all winter. Jesse's modeling them here and they're obviously too small for his huge feet (this thing where his shoe size is keeping pace with his age has to stop eventually, doesn't it?), but on me they're warm and cozy and just right. I tried a stretchy bind-off option that I think I read about on Wendy Knits. I think it's ruffly because the yarn's so thick, or maybe I did it too loosely. Regardless of the reason, I doubt I'll do it again, as a loose plain ol' bind-off seems to work fine for me and is less fiddly. Still, it was worth a try.

There are a few new things on the needles now and I'm psyched with how they're turning out and the new techniques I'm learning from them. Stashbusting all the way too, so it's nice to be getting around to using some yarns that have been here for a while.

Scott sold a bunch of buttons at the Knitting Nook in Coventry. If you're out that way, the store's focus is on handpainted and local products, so you might want to consider stopping in for some special yarn.

and so the spinning adventure begins!

This is a blog entry for Leah, age 7, who was also hard at work before Christmas in her own little elfin workshop. She knit a slit scarf for her great grandma, GiGi, from the "yarn-that-looks-like-a-party," which was a gift from Aunt Vickie.


She also made many crocheted dishcloths. We lost track of how many, but probably more than 20. The ones she gave to me are shown here. We've been using this kind of dishcloths for years and are always happy to have a new stash of them!

And many of you know that Leah received an Ashford Kiwi spinning wheel for Christmas. She is out of her mind with excitement about this. We're learning how to spin together, with my only advantage being watching spinners at a couple of hours of meetings and getting about an hour of practice in to familiarize myself with her wheel before Christmas. This paid off big-time because I had a basic understanding of what to do and was able to help her get a feel for it quickly. The kind folks at Nutmeg Spinners Guild recommended Corriedale as a good beginner wool for spinning, so I bought 4 ounces. We had a small partial bobbin of crazy messed up "spinning" from all of us (Jesse and Scott too!) giving it the first try on Christmas day, but a couple of days ago we put a new bobbin on, focused on the Corriedale, and Leah spun it all! By the end, she was beginning to get a feel for how fine she could go, recognize when she had too much or not enough twist (and sometimes correct this), and control her speed.

Yesterday evening we sat together and worked with some dyed Romney that I got at New York Sheep and Wool Festival. This was quite tight, almost like it was a little bit felted, so much drafting was required, but ooh, the fun of seeing how the different colors spin up!

We just might move on to the merino stash today, after finishing the Romney.

Awesome discovery: I got 7 fleeces for free from a Freecycle offer a year or so ago. Figured eventually they'd have a purpose and yesterday was when it was discovered. Scott scoured a grocery bag-full, Jesse and Leah flicked and carded it, and we discovered that it has a fairly long staple length, plenty long enough for beginning spinners to handle! And we have LOTS of it! Already there is much talk of dyeing and the handspun, handpainted, handknit gifties that are sure to come!

Between the fibery glee, the Lego Mindstorms invention-fest, the new acoustic guitar strumming, and the new-to-us world of MP3 history/science/art/fiction downloads, we all feel like we just burst through to a new and exciting phase of our lives!

knowing when to hold 'em, when to fold 'em

Even though Leah and I missed the Feb. quilt club meeting because we were away, we got the supplies and were back on track for the meeting on Friday.

Leah's blocks are to the left, with the green-background polka dots. Mine are to the right, with the purple batik. As expected, her blocks are turning out better than mine because we bumble through on mine first, learn from those mistakes, and then do better on hers. That's fine with me. We're being gentle on ourselves with this project because we don't want to get bogged down in the details, just want to keep it moving, knowing we can refine our techniques as we gain experience. We're laughing a lot about how, hopefully, someday we'll look back on this and laugh at how clueless we were and how we went about things, similar to how I cut my first linen threads for a hardanger project using an exacto knife and a cutting board, because I didn't know any better and wouldn't have had the right tools at hand anyway. I can only hope that Leah's love for sewing grows like my love for hardanger did (and still does)!

Anyway, quilt club is fun. There are probably 40 people in the group and we get to see everybody's block for the month, plus ooh and ahh over all the other projects people bring in, as well as all the enticing goodies in the store. It's amazing how different the blocks look. Even though they're all the same pattern, different fabric combinations and borders (which we're not doing yet, but some people are) have a completely different effect.

Last week I also tried my first laceweight knitting with Claudia Hand Painted Yarns' silk laceweight. I was using the Gust pattern from Knitspot. I blocked what I had, so I could get a feel for what it would really be like, because this knitting pre-blocking was a teensy crumpled bit of nothingness. I knew it would behave much better once it was blocked, but I didn't know if that would be improvement enough to forge ahead with it.

You'll notice that the above is all in past tense, because I ended up tearing it out. I wasn't enjoying the laceweight knitting, didn't think the handpainted yarn was working well with this pattern, and decided I wouldn't wear it anyway because I like my scarves to have some heft and really keep my neck warm when I wear them. But the pattern is well-written and the yarn is gorgeous (even though it may not appear so in the above pic), and I did indeed knit lace with laceweight yarn, if only a little bit!

Maybe I'll try this yarn again at another time, maybe another pattern, or maybe I'll try this pattern with the laceweight yarn paired with a strand of some solid yarn.

Someday, but not now, because now we're moving on to some other things.

ready, set, STOP.

I am so very thrilled with how my handspun cardigan is turning out that I was knitting like crazy on it last week. Unfortunately, it has slowly become obvious that I will not have enough yarn to finish the project. I was foolish enough not to keep the tags telling me the color names of the three rovings that Scott spun into this watercolor-like yarn, so I spent some time this week browsing Ashland Bay vendors to try to figure out what I need to order. I think I have the solid colors figured out - Blueberry and Peacock - but I'm still stumped on the multicolor roving's colorway. I put out a plea for help to Audrey at Pixie Sticks, since that's where I bought the roving about a year ago, and she's checking into it in an effort to help me. Meanwhile, this project is on hold (and we'll deal with that rolling hemline later too).

I put two more sets of buttons on Glastonbury Glassworks today. These sets have been on my desk for a few days and are gorgeous. They have a bit of an iridescent quality when the sunshine hits them and the dome button shape feels soooo cool and smooth. They're a little larger than the buttons Scott was making previously, which gives him a bit more room for playing with the glass and might be a better size for some projects.

This set is my favorite this week. Ethereal, mist-like, floating. I came home from dinner with a friend a few nights ago and tossed my earrings on my desk as I was shutting down the computer for the night. I had to laugh when I got up in the morning and noticed how well the buttons complement my earrings.

I want to knit-knit-knit to make sweaters to go with all these beautiful buttons, but for now, that too is on hold. My wrists are giving me some signs that they need a break. Given that I make my living by tapping on this keyboard, this is a very scary thing and I need to pay close attention when my wrists send messages. So, for now, I'm holding off on the knitting and I'm turning down extra work. I felt kind of lost yesterday evening, while the kids were playing with a friend who was here for a sleepover. I didn't quite know what to do with myself that didn't involve a lot of pinching beads/wire/yarn, mousing/keyboarding, or other fine manipulation. Then it occurred to me that the inkle loom we borrowed from a friend would involve more gross than fine motor skills, so I figured out how to warp it and did a little strap weaving. I made poor choices of warp yarn, so it'll go into the trash soon, but at least it didn't seem to bother my arms. Yeah! Then this morning, while I was printing the day's work, I just happened to be listening to Christa Giles' podcast interview of Syne Mitchell from Weavecast. (BTW, it was the first time I've listened to either of them and it was thoroughly enjoyable, so I just subscribed to both podcasts.) They talked about repetitive strain injuries and Syne specifically said that weaving is easier on your hands/wrists and can be a good choice for people whose wrists need a break. See? Now I need to turn some attention to weaving. :-)

There are a couple of new K'nex creations on Jesse's blog, The Builder Blog. We also made a small Van de Graaff generator out of household stuff last week -- need to get pics up soon! -- but the wrists are ready for a different activity now.

a path less traveled

This morning I was reading the blog of a new knitter who is having trouble with a new project and is, understandably, frustrated. All I could do was smile and commiserate. Let's take a look at my current works in progress, shall we?

1. Brown sweater for Jesse: Yoke and saddle shoulders torn out. Slowly moving forward again, but ready for this project to be off the needles, since it was thiiis close a couple of weeks ago and had to take a major step backward.
2. Navy alpaca neckwarmer: Not enough yarn to finish it and I'll be damned if I'm going to buy yet another skein when there's so much here already. Need to either modify the design or abandon entirely. And plan better in the future.
3. Burgundy lacy cowl: A little too snug around the neck, maybe? Pattern requires some concentration. Not a take-along. And exactly how many of these neckwarmer thingies do I need, anyway?!
4. Mittens for Leah: Stalled because I'm trying to focus on the other projects and can only do this pattern when able to count and concentrate.

So, as of last night, a bump in all roads currently being traveled. Full stop.

Consulted no maps. Did not stop to ask for directions. Changed course in the most random possible way.

Dug out the glass scraps and made little xmas trees with Jesse! They're amateur as can be and we were bumbling idiots in the process, laughing at ourselves every step of the way, but I love them beyond reason.

(The swirl on the blue one is a soldered-over squiggle from Fiber-Craft Day workshop with Leslie Wind.) Aren't they fumbly bumbly fun?! Gotta start somewhere.

Then on to a warm spot near the wood stove, curious to see just how fine this newbie spinner can spin. Two oz. of merino-tencel blend from the stash and, ooh, that's pretty!

Knitting problems? What knitting problems?!

I can't believe it has come to this

Reminder: The subject of this post is a Super Secret Xmas Surprise for Zach. Please help us keep the secret by not discussing in Z's vicinity!

Yes, indeed, I have sunk to a new low. I always thought dressing dogs in sweaters and coats was dumb, but I guess that's because I have a Very Big and Furry Dog. But then this adorable little foster pup entered our lives and we fell in love with him and then we noticed that he shivers like crazy when he's outside in the cold. So what's a crafty gal to do? Fashion him a coat of hand-felted wool, of course! We used this free pattern as a guide, making a prototype out of some scrap fabric and modifying size/shape to fit the little Squirt. Still needs some modifications and who knows how practical it will really be, but it will definitely keep his skinny little bod warm.

Since a few people have asked, I suppose I should point out that, yes, it will be able to go into the wash. This is wool that's already been shrunk and felted, so the washing machine is fine for it. I have a big sheet of this felt, so if he ends up wearing a coat on a regular basis, his permanent family can always make some more of them for him to wear while one's in the wash.

The very first time we took him out in his coat, the first person we met was a nice woman whose Italian Greyhound was wearing a sweater. She gushed about how pretty the Squirt's coat is, wanted to know where we got it, and how she could get (make) one of her own. She'll be coming over soon for an evening of feltmaking. We learned that she used to make lampwork beads, so I'm very much looking forward to getting to know her better. :-) So apparently we're not the only family wrapped around someone's furry little paw and I guess that's not such a bad place to be.

time-space romp, part III

The last stop on this weekend's romp through time and space was at the Archaeology Expo in Storrs, where we met up with friends and spent a rainy afternoon chatting with knowledgeable and enthusiastic folks, and exploring their exhibits. Exhibits/activities included excavating and reconstructing a skeleton, flint knapping, drilling stone, testing stone lamps like ones found in a cave in France, fletching with turkey feathers, trebuchet and ballista construction (and a video showing how much fun it can be to launch pumpkins the length of a football field and call it research), Connecticut brownstone and other quarries, antique machinery, mining, and a really interesting exhibit about silkworms and silk harvesting, where Jesse and an exhibitor spent quite a bit of time unwinding a silk cocoon. Really made us understand how much work goes into that silk that we have in our spinning stash and elsewhere in this fiber-laden house. Hey, we even spotted a knitter in the wild!
Home again for an evening of making stained glass stars. I did just a small bit of stained glass work a few years ago and haven't touched it for a while, so I basically had to learn all over again, but it was great to have Jesse and Leah join in and learn it with me. Jesse's done a fair amount of soldering in his electronics projects, so he was very comfortable with the soldering iron, and Leah's eager to learn just about everything, so we all took turns and learned from each other and helped each other and ended up with three stars by the end of the day. The plan is to wire wrap them and dangle a glass bead in the center.
Monday brought us crashing back to reality. Nothing at all went smoothly. I won't bore you with all the ugly details, but will illustrate the depth and breadth by saying that this day included a broken pair of brand new eyeglasses, a visit to mall hell (where there is an absence of chainmaille rings in two large craft supply stores and very few size 11 sneakers that do not look like they belong on the feet of a gangsta rapper), a near head-on collision with a moronic neighbor on my little one-way street, a whopping dental bill, the roof of my car being bombarded by acorns, a visit to the police station, and a suicidal enormous turtle with a bad 'tude. Seriously, a giant freakin' psycho turtle was a part of my day here in the 'burbs.

By evening, I was wiped out, so I figured I'd just chill with something mindless and wind up a few neat little cakes of sock yarn. This seemed like a fine plan for the first 7 yarncakes, but on the 8th one, I have no idea how it happened, but the outer portion of the ball came flying off the winder and got all tangled on the yarn feeder thingy and made a big terrible mess before I even saw it! So I began untangling and got this far before the family took pity on me. They said I should go to bed and they'd take turns to fix it for me today.

It appears that I made it through the night without anything bad happening in my immediate vicinity. Let's hope this is the beginning of a trend. 

progress but no proof

I've been doing quite a bit of working in offices this week, so that means I've also been doing quite a bit of knitting. ;-) But I gots nothin' to show you.

See, I'm thiiis close to finishing Leah's sweater. The shoulder seams have been finished with a 3-needle bind-off. I tested a machine-sewn steek on a swatch because I was unsure how that would work with this slick cotton and tencel. All good there. It was chugging along beautifully and I even bound off the sleeves. But then -- SCREECH -- HALT! -- then it occurred to me that the little ruffly edging I had imagined all along might not be very flattering across her midsection and it might be a pain in the butt to have fluffy ruffles at the wrists. So I changed the plan to a picot edge...because lately I'm all about the picot edge. But the picot edge is not as long as the ruffle-in-my-imagination was, so now the sleeves are too short. So I un-bound-off (?) the sleeves and am in the process of making them longer. I'll figure out how to handle the length of the sweater's body later.

Then there's my cardigan knit from Scott's handspun. I'm almost done with the second sleeve and still super duper happy with this whole thing. The yarn itself has a lot going on, so I chose to knit it in simple stockinette. Fast and fun, but not worth a picture because it looks pretty much like the last picture, except the sleeve is longer and now there are two of them. Given the abundance of work- and play-time in our lives lately, I'm pretty psyched with the two weeks, two sleeves rate of progress.

Oh, hey, lookie who's on the Philosopher's Wool Picture Yourself Here page! I've, uh, been in touch with them a little bit lately and finally got around to sending in the pic of my finished Tradition sweater.

Meanwhile, Leah has cast on for her first stranded knitting (two colors, one held in each hand) project. By the end of today, I think there will be enough done to snap a picture.

And by the end of this weekend, there's a mighty fine possibility that the one person in this family who has not used knitting needles will finally succumb to the allure and be assimilated by the knitborg. Better yet, he asked for it. heh heh...

serious times call for silly measures

I've had a couple of months of "just" working my regular work and have enjoyed it immensely, but there's a vacation coming up and one of my clients was in need, so I'm doing an extra work gig for a while. Might last a few weeks, might be a long-term (but morphed) thing. Either way is fine with me, but for now it's an extra 20+ hours of work per week, in an office. It's enjoyable, for sure, but it also makes my days a little more hectic. I've since noticed that my "off" time is much more....hmm, playful? lighthearted?...no, those aren't the right words because it makes it sound like that's not the case normally, when it is indeed. I don't know how to describe it except maybe to say that the fun-ness level is maintained, but it's intensified to fit into less time.

Anyway, the result over the past week includes so very many fun outings and great times with family and friends, along with some very playful projects. Scott worked up some watercolor floral lampwork beads and I strung them into this cheerful necklace. Sorry for the cruddy pic. It really deserves a better shot, but I'm having a hard time getting one. Lots of color and sparkle to this one.

New Year's Eve silliness included drumming, a carousel ride, manning the dragon in a parade of many large puppets and goofy people making noise and having fun (that's Jesse in the lead, Leah in blue pants behind him, a bunch of other kids behind her, and Scott way back at the tail of the dragon), fireworks, warming up around a campfire, tour of a historic home, and seeing a play that's a take-off on Dickens' Christmas Carol. Gotta love First Night, where we've frolicked on most New Year's Eves since having kids. Edited to add: Oh, and Shakespearean break dancing. I kid you not. Serious silliness! And hi to the knitter we met at Ebeneeza!)

Leah is also working on funstuff, including this Golden Compass hat, a stashbuster that knits up fast with big needles and multiple strands of yarn held together. Thick and warm too.

Silliest of all would have to be this froggie hat that has been giving me a giggle for a few days. It's modeled here on 2 stacked yarn cakes, approximately 1-3 year-old size. The yarn is some discontinued stuff that we got on sale at Webs this summer. It knit up into a super soft and squishy fabric, downsized to 71 stitches around. Can't help but smile with this one.

fiber-craft day

You just can't go wrong with a Fiber-Craft Day that starts out like this,

is spent with fine fiber enthusiasts of all ages and projects ranging from knitting to rugmaking to needle felting to spinning to puppetmaking to needlepoint,

and includes a metalworking workshop with our friend Leslie Wind. Of course, I had to incorporate one of Scott's beads into the scarf pin I made.

Leslie was kind enough to give Leah one of her beautiful cable needle necklaces and plans to make some featuring Scott's buttons as the embellishment at the top. I can't wait to see how they turn out!

mountain o' merino

I'm not quite sure how this gansey for Scott has come so far with barely a mention on the blog, but it has.

Using a honkin' cone of tweed scored at this year's stash swap, knitting two strands at a time, I'm within an inch of moving into the patterned top portion of the body -- and thank heavens because I've had more than enough of the stockinette slog, thankyouverymuch. One sleeve is knit to approx. the shoulder and the other one only has a few inches to go. Here's a sleeve detail that will also be the central part of the body patterning.

Must stay focused on the gansey, but ooh, it's tough because look what arrived at my house yesterday afternoon!

It's a mountain of merino sliver in the deep teal color that has me all atwitter lately. Yes, I buried my face in it like a big soft pillow. Scott will probably spin this luscious goodness into a 3-ply yarn that I'll knit as any one of the excellent patterns in A Fine Fleece, maybe Flyingdales, with a different neckline. I rec'd this happy-making pile in an awesome barter for soap and glass beads/buttons. The dollar bill is there for scale. Yes, it's red money, received at CT S&W, probably from a dyer, don'cha think? ;-)

Thanks, Rachel, for the offer of hooking us up with your LYS on this weekend's road trip, but our itinerary already includes one Pittsburgh yarn store knit night, an art glass destination, and a living history event, so I think we're good to go! In preparation for the road trip, I cast on a new project last night and made an emergency run to our favorite LYS for another set of Addi lace needles because P2togTBL was nearly impossible otherwise. So now we're good to go!

oh well

I've been knitting from the stash this summer, clearing out some yarn that's been marinating in there for a while. I don't want the stash to go away completely, by any means, just sort of get decluttered a little bit. Out with the old, in with the new; discovering buried treasures; making the most of what we have...that sort of thing. And I've been feeling like I'm making mighty fine progress, too. Haven't bought myself a single skein of yarn since the spring, I don't think, and have managed to churn out a nice selection of hats and gloves and socks as small summertime knitting projects that don't need to rest on your lap during the warm days. I have even held off on purchasing new Philosopher's Wool kits, though I have two chosen and can't tell you how many times I've added them to my virtual shopping cart before regaining control of my dangerous fingers and slowly backing away from the keyboard. I have been to Creative Fibers and Mocha's Fiber Connection and Webs and Village Wool and Sit 'n Knit for assorted reasons and with assorted people, not to mention CT and MA Sheep & Wool festivals, all without buying myself a single skein. Surely I'm making an huge improvement in the stash control, I thought.

But, see, Webs is having a sidewalk sale today and it just happens to be right off the highway on an exit I will be passing anyway. And it's likely to rain over the weekend while we're camping, so local attractions that can double as places of refuge (See? Refuge. It's all about keeping my family safe in a storm!) may include Adams Family Farm or Green Mountain Spinnery or Margie's Muse. But I've shown so much restraint lately and been knitting so much that certainly it must be time to feed the stash, right? Right?!!

So I opened the stash closet this morning to evaluate and...:::sigh:::...it seems as full as ever. Yes this is only a small portion of it. Yes there's more on my desk. And on the other desk. And a couple of bags of it by the door, destined to be donated somewhere. And a fair amount scattered around Leah's room. And a big box of spinning fiber downstairs. And a closet full of felting fiber in the dining room. (Think I'm kidding? Be careful when you open that door -- avalanche!)

Ah well, there are worse addictions. Webs, here we come! :-)

Guntherisms

Uh oh. I fear the pig butt pic amuses my inner middle-school self just a wee bit too much.

I was helping my mom set up a fancy schmancy online photo book thing last night and the pig butt was chosen as the official placeholder pic for pages where she needs to dig up certain other pics. The photo book is being created in honor of the 10th anniversary of the golf tourney mom hosts in Florida w/ a bunch of her friends. Notable is the fact that the boobie prize for this golf tourney is a golf club cover in the shape of a pig butt. Maybe this fondness for pig butts is a hereditary thing.

But(t) this morning we had the pig-buttiest moment of them all! Anybody who knows us or has been reading this blog for a while knows we've been working on fixing up our...ahem..."handyman's special" of a 100+ y.o. house for the duration of our time here (15 years and counting), slowly but surely, room by room. It's the ultimate DIY project -- a baker and a transcriptionist figuring out how to do plumbing, framing, tiling, sheetrocking, etc. (You've already seen floor refinishing, upstairs hall gutting , wood stripping, stained glass window rebuilding, Jesse's bedroom renovation, destruction of the ugliest porch on the face of the planet.)

The guy who owned this house before us was named Gunther and his remuddling projects, or Guntherisms, have often left us shaking our heads in giggling bewilderment. We spend half our project time undoing his fine handiwork and the other half then moving forward again in ways that are safe, legal, functioning, and suitable to the age and style of the house.

You all know you can't solder PVC pipe, right? Gunther didn't. FYI: Soldered PVC looks a lot like a marshmallow that got too close to the campfire.

You all know that if wallpaper is coming loose, they make glue for that, right? Gunther didn't. Staples all the way, man!

You all know that if you cut live electrical wires and bury them in a wall, they should be capped or at least taped and inside a junction box, right? Not our friend, Gunther, oh no! Live, uncapped wires buried inside a wall! Lucky we haven't woken up in a pile of ashes, don'cha think?

If there was a gap between the roof and the horribly cheesy addition that you smacked onto the back end of your house, and that gap let in all kinds of weather and critters, you might think of any number of weatherproof/critter-resistant solutions, right? Gunther's answer: Stuff a towel in there. The man was clearly a genius.

You all know that five million linear feet of gorgeous chestnut trim should NOT be painted Brady Bunch turquoise and orange, right? RIGHT?!! Yes, of course you do. Gunther. Did. Not.

But this morning, in pig-butt Guntherismus maximus, we discovered that not only did Gunther glue that nasty crap carpet to the subfloor in Jesse's room (subfloor that is not installed at a height matching the rest of the house's flooring, BTW) so that its nasty black foam backing junk can never be removed, but he also NAILED down the edge of the carpet. INSIDE THE CLOSET! As if that area gets so much foot traffic. And as if glue and gravity weren't sufficient.

Ah, Gunther. We can always count on you for another entertaining chapter in our home renovation adventures. We shall miss your antics when we are finished fixing this old house up.

bwahahahaha...as if we're ever going to be finished fixing this place up. Me so funny!

Okay, enough of a break. Back to the oak planks and the chop saw!

more mittens, mom!

These are the Mad River Mittens from Knitty. The main part is knit with Burly Spun from a Vermont trip. I knit the cuffs in superwash sock yarn so that part would stay stretchy, as illustrated by Techknitter. The idea was to make felted mittens for Leah. The whole idea of knitting something you're going to intentionally shrink and hope it'll fit properly in the end is a serious leap of faith. We're game, though, so off we go. The first step is to make normally sized cuffs and gigantic mitts. Check.

Next, close them in a fabric bag (to keep fuzzies from strangling your washing machine) and wash in hot water for a few cycles as they felt down to size. I found that the fuzz of this Burly Spun yarn felted into the yarn of the cuffs, so the superwash cuffs are not nearly as stretchy as I had hoped, but that's okay.

They're still a bit big on Leah, so we might run wash them in hot water some more. They are wonderfully thick and warm, though, and they fit my hands and Jesse's fine, so Leah said she'd share them with us.

Given how much a certain someone seems to like them, I just might need to make another pair for him!

lacemaking 101

Leah's interest in lacemaking began when she learned that we were going on a trip that would include Belgium, and Belgium is well known for its skilled lacemakers. She popped in and out of lace shops through Bruges and Brussels, drooling over all the pretty work, chatting with the owners, who are generally importers at this point, not true lacemakers. When we visited the Begijnhof in Bruges, we were lucky enough to find a very kind lacemaker demonstrating her art.



(I just uploaded this video to YouTube and it's still processing, so all I'm seeing right now is a white box with a red X in it, but hopefully you'll be able to see the video soon. If that doesn't work, you could watch this video or this one.)

We also visited the Kantcentrum (lace center) in Bruge for many more examples of lace styles.

When we came back home, she came into my office one morning with a set-up of leftover sock yarn wound around colored pencils (as bobbins) in an attempt to figure out how to do this lacemaking stuff on her own. I knew then that she really did intend to pursue it, so we did a little surfing and were tickled to find that the New England Lace Group was having its next meeting and a demonstration at Old Sturbridge Village. So last weekend we got to go behind the scenes at OSV to see their antique lace collection and listen to knowledgeable folks discuss the history and details of each fascinating piece. They even have a fragile example of lace made of fine strips of straw! The OSV employee who showed us around is one we've known for years, as she is also the spinner we've spent much time with on our visits there. She recognized us quickly and we realized who she was once we figured out that it was the same person, but in current day clothing! (Strangely, it felt downright odd to see her in slacks and a cardigan -- no bonnet and skirts! Apparently I really do live in a warped little fantasy world.)

Anyway, the behind the scenes lace tour was fascinating and then we attended the lacemaking demo in the Visitors' Center. This is the kind of work the women of the group pulled out of their bags... Is that not gorgeous? Even as a work in progress, it's a beautiful sight.

The lacemakers welcomed Leah with open arms. I had been in touch with them ahead of time and they were all ready to get her hooked on lacemaking. Even though they tried to suck me in too ;-), I smiled and told them I already had enough hobbies. (Gee, d'you think so?!) Instead, I sat in the sunshine to knit and gave Leah her space. They set her up with starter supplies, loaner equipment, contact info for 2 lace teachers near us, and much encouragement and enthusiasm. A couple of hours later, Leah had completed her very first attempt at bobbin lace.
Sure, it's far from perfect, but three are three different stitch patterns in there and it's a start. Ready to try it again when she got home, Leah started to wind her bobbins and decided that was really slow and tedious, so she and Scott and Jesse brainstormed and came up with the idea to put a bit of rubber tubing on the bobbin winder of our sewing machine, stick a lacemaking bobbin into the rubber, give it a little support with Scott's hand, and voila! A zippy, spiffy, bobbin winder!
Here's her most recent effort. This too has a couple of different stitches in it. Still with some errors, but also some sections that are beginning to show some consistency.
Best of all, she is more excited than ever about lacemaking. Today at the library, I found a huge book with instructions for many, many (hundreds?) bobbin lace stitch patterns. Don't tell Leah yet because I'm holding off on bringing it home until after we get back from the lighthouse, but I think it'll keep her challenged and fascinated for a long time to come.