sweltering, swatching

As you may know, it's been a little on the warm side around here lately. I didn't know my car thermometer went into the 3-digit range, but it does. Sweltering, drooping, awful sort of hot and humid days with thunder every evening to tease with the possibility of a cooling drench, but often with no such luck. Still, it's amazing what a cool wet cloth draped around the neck and simply chatting on the porch in the evenings can do for the outlook after a scorcher. Those Waltons knew what they were doing. ;-)

I was looking forward to the hours of knitting time at a baseball game with ~500 homeschoolers on Tuesday evening, but the temp. was such that I didn't even take my knitting out of the bag. The yarn wouldn't have been able to glide through my fingers. Luckily, the beer was cold! Since I don't have a pic of baseball knitting, here's a shot of some of our group holding the big flag on the field during the National Anthem. Such fun to see so many old friends, put faces to names of online acquaintances, and generally have a great evening.

I realized recently that I never did put up pics of the little ipod pouches Leah made. This one protects it while in her pocket.

And this one has a hole toward the top left, where she hooks it to her belt loop with a carabiner. Both were freebie patterns from Ravelry, where there's an abundance of ipod-holding options.

The flurry of finished objects last weekend has been followed by much swatching. Here's what remains on my desk at this time, although there was also a baby sweater and a hat cast on and torn out at some point.

Top to bottom:
1. A Lelah-based halter top that I'm making for Leah.
2. An undulating waves scarf in alpaca with supercool iridescent beads with copper cores.
3. A lace ribbon scarf made from a big ol' cone of green wool ($1 at Goodwill!) combined with the never-ending cone of tencel from Webs
4. Undulating waves (again and again) in alpaca and iridescent beads without copper cores.
5. Fire sock in Trekking. This is the 2nd sock in what will hopefully eventually be a pair, but I think these socks are cursed because you wouldn't believe how long they've been in progress and how many problems there have been along the way. And nope, they're not even a complicated pattern; just plain toe-up 2x2 rib all the way. There is no other possible explanation for the difficulties with such a simple project except to believe that they're cursed, but the fire yarn is cool, so I'm sticking with it.

Cooler temps now and looking forward to summertime outdoor festivities all weekend long. YaHOO!!!

shrinking, stretching, screwing up

Boy, Scott's been making some very pretty things at the torch lately. Check out these beads.

I know, maybe not the best pic in the world, but I love how the sunshine is reflecting through the clear glass encasing each bead. It was just that sunny here yesterday. And no matter how great a pic I could've taken, it wouldn't convey how gorgeous these beads truly are, so let's just enjoy that sunshine, eh? Besides the pretty, pretty effect of the glass used, these beads are also much smaller and more delicate than the big-holed beads Scott was making before. Hm....I might just need to start wearing bracelets. :-)

While he went smaller on the beads, he also went larger on some buttons. These are a full 3 cm in diameter. Perfect for a single button accent on a handknit sweater, or maybe replacement buttons for the black hand-me-down coat I just received. Lots of subtle coloring in these and a metallic iridescent sheen in those little speckles when the sun hits the glass. Yum.

Also oversized is the pair of slippers I'm knitting for Jesse. It's the well-known Fiber Trends felted clogs pattern. I made a pair for Scott a few years ago and they have held up beautifully, so when Jesse requested slippers recently, I was happy to make another pair. Since Leah's Sylvi is just waiting for a glass order to arrive so Scott can make the beads and buttons for it, I again had a clean slate with no knitting in progress. New Year's Eve's snowstorm, sick Goob (laryngitis, bronchitis, general ooey gooeyness), and It's A Wonderful Life on DVD = perfect slipper knitting evening.

Now, Jesse's feet are big anyway, at size 12, but anybody who's familiar with this pattern knows that the slippers are enormous when knit up and then you felt them down to size for thick, warm, durable slippers. This one, for instance, is 18" long. Luckily, they're knit on size 13 needles, so they go fast. Maybe too fast. I was happily knitting away, finishing the first slipper in an evening, when I finally took a good look at the thing and realized I had a major screw-up on my hands! I must've gotten the whole thing off kilter at some point. Can you see the problem in the picture above? See how there are decreases traveling across the top of the foot asymmetrically and half of the sole is showing on the right side? Um, that would be WRONG. If the opening of the slipper is straight up, half of the sole is creeping up the side of the foot. If the sole is positioned flat on the ground, the slipper opening is at a 45º angle. This slipper could be a perfect fit for anyone who walks on their right ankle. :-P

Nope, no amount of twisting and fiddling would save this thing, so we all laughed at my lovely mutant accomplishment for the evening and then I ripped it out. Reminder to self: counting stitches is important on this pattern.

No biggie, really, but I have to laugh because I was out to dinner with a friend on Tuesday and she, who had tried knitting for something like three whole days, commented that she's just not good at it. She then went on to compliment my knitting skills and I promptly reminded her that this was with years of practice and I *still* screw up, tear out, and am utterly baffled on a regular basis. In my warped world, that's part of the fun, the thrill of the chase, trying something new and challenging, just to see what comes of it.

Sometimes, I even get it right. Jesse's new pair of slippers will be felted later today. :-)

sunny day, sweeping the clouds away!

Mmm...sunshine makes for some nice pictures when the subject is glass. A couple of weeks ago, I tried to get a picture that would convey the iridescent sheen in some of the buttons Scott's been making lately. I didn't have any luck that time, but today, success!

I'm also partial to the tone set by a loom-in-use, sitting in a morning sunbeam. We'll probably look back and cringe at the mistakes made in planning/executing this woven piece, but we're definitely learning as we go, so it's all good.

To illustrate the mysteries of working with glass, I present some beads- and buttons-in-progress.

Believe it or not, these were all made with the same glass. Same rod, even! Sometimes we know enough so that Scott can control the effects and variations, but sometimes not. A little trial and error with these, trying to blend what we know, what is happening with the glass that is currently beyond our control, and what we'd like the beads and buttons for Leah's Sylvi coat to look like.

The cluster of five beads toward the front left are double amber purple glass. The six buttons along the back are double amber purple glass encased in a clear dome, which magically transforms them to something with a bit of iridescent sheen among the more subtle swirls. The three beads to the front right are also double amber purple glass, unencased, but worked in the flame to bring more of the purple hues to the surface. To complicate matters, the colors will likely morph yet again as they go through the annealing process (heating and slowly cooling in a digitally controlled kiln for optimal strength and durability), so it's always fun to open the cooled kiln and see what surprises it gives us!

amused. or not.

We are easily amused 'round here, as evidenced by the ooh...ahhh response to whatever happens to Scott's glass goodies as they go through the annealing process. Yup, it's all pretty and it's all good, except when we want the buttons and the beads for Leah's Sylvi sweater coat to MATCH. The buttons turned out as we hoped, but the beads for the flower centers were not encased in clear glass and turned a much stronger purple. Common sense would suggest that making more beads, using the same glass rods and encasing in clear, just like the buttons, would net that same soft plummy-purple on an amber base with slight iridescent haze over top, right?

RIGHT?!

Um, no, apparently not.

That'll get you mossy greens. Beautiful, indeed, but not what we were aiming for.
So, it has been decreed that the original beads will remain in place, not perfectly matching the buttons, but pretty nonetheless. And the beadmakerbaker has told his #1 pain-in-the-butt non-paying and highly demanding customer :::waving howdy ho, that's me!::: to take her special orders for a flying leap. :-)

Meanwhile, hey, guess what my sister wore as a wrap for her company's Christmas party this year?

It's the Lady Eleanor stole that I knit for my mom a little over a year ago. WooHoo for knits that get used, and in such a stylin' way!

(I'm working on getting Bren to hand over that dress so I can snip off that chiffon outer layer and nuno felt it into a jacket or something for her. She still cringes at the thought, but I know she'll go for it eventually.)

After about a dozen false starts on knitting projects that just haven't worked out lately, I seem to finally have something workable underway.

This is a big fat cone of tweedy goodness scored at a stash swap last weekend. I'm knitting two strands at a time, aiming for a gansey for Scott. As long as it has his beloved seed stitch and a cable or two, he'll be a happy guy. It's the least I can do, after rejecting so many of his pretty (but wrong) beads!

Lastly, a big thanks to Amy at Live, Learn, Knit for passing the Kreativ Blogger award our way. I'm supposed to then pass it on to some bloggers whose work I enjoy, so here's to:

Laurie at Issues With Knitting
Ruth at Knitting On Impulse
Karrie at Delaney's Duds
Lorraine at Of Faith and Fiber
Maria at Passing Down Crazy
Pat at Pat's Knitting and Quilting
and Faith at The Needle and The Damage Done

whoosh!

Wowza, I love times like this, where there are options galore on the calendar. Makes me tired, but there are so many good things going on out there.

Leah's solidly into the lily of the valley section of her Swallowtail Shawl now. She's using iridescent beads in place of the nupps, to add a little sparkle. Can't see them in this pic, but they're in the spaces at the lower section.

Shakespeare performances abound. There are no less than five shows on my calendar for any given weekend evening for the remainder of the summer. After a riotous ukulele band gig on Friday, we headed out for Taming of the Shrew. Big fun for all of us, especially a certain scene involving a ukulele.

While Leah and I were at a bbq at a friend's incredible property (20 gorgeous wooded acres with pond) yesterday, our guys were psyched to meet their peeps for a rocket club launch. Jesse's rockets flew beautifully. He learned a bunch from guys who are more experienced, was able to help some newbies, sold something he made to modify a launch system, and came home excited about new rocket ideas and inspiration.

Quick dinner, then out for fireworks last night. Good fun, as always!

Business name that made me laugh out loud:

duh.

While pondering what to do with the Madli's shawl that needed to go bye-bye, I kept wishing I could find a travel project that was as perfect as the Estonian Garden Wrap that I knit while we were in Hawaii a couple of years ago.

Suddenly, a forehead-smacking moment! Since that Estonian Garden Wrap was given as a gift last Christmas, why don't I just knit that pattern again, in this yarn? Yeah, that's the ticket!

:::rip rip rip::: went Madli, saving the iridescent beads which will probably be substituted for the nupps on the Estonian Garden Wrap.

I'm not sure if there's enough time to start the new project before we leave, but it feels good to have a plan for that lovely Woolen Rabbit yarn. Meanwhile, I started a Just Enough Ruffles scarf in burgundy angora. Should be a fun little project with a nicely wearable result.

cross and twist

We went to another meeting of the New England Lace Group this weekend. There was a gift exchange, where we gave a spangled bobbin decorated with one of Scott's glass beads, accented with sterling silver and iridescent seed beads. I didn't take a picture of the bobbin we made, but you can see examples of spangled bobbins here. Spangled just means it has a loop of beads on the end, to help keep the bobbins from rolling and getting mixed up. In the gift exchange, Leah received a package of DMC metallic embroidery floss. She is excited about using these pretty colors in shimmering snowflake/star lace or maybe some lace hearts or easter eggs.

The pretty snowflake below was a work in progress by one of the members of the lace group. It's a teensy little project and she said it's challenging to work in such a tight space, but we marveled at the delicate results. The sparkle of the silver and blue metallic threads is lost in this image, but believe me when I tell you it's very, very pretty.

I'm not learning lacemaking with Leah, but I do overhear the discussions and try to help her figure out problems as she's working on her lace. Most interesting to me was the realization that all the lace we've ever seen is made up of two movements, cross and twist, similar to how all knitting is made up of two stitches, knit and purl.

Here's a picture of Leah's most recent lace project. It's a piece of edging lace, which is why the right margin has more of a texture than the left. Used as intended, the straighter edge would be sewn to a piece of fabric and the bumpier edge would be the free edge of the lace.

The blue thing to the left is the pattern she used. The lace is made right on top of this pattern, with each dot in the pattern representing where a pin will need to be placed and each line giving an indication of how the threads of each stitch should travel. There are numbers to help the lacemaker figure out how to tackle the puzzle of where to move next, after each stitch has been completed. The lace needs the support of the pins as it's being made, but once you travel past an area, the crosses and twists provide enough structure to maintain the pattern and the pins can be removed.

Leah decided it would make a nice bookmark too, so it became a gift for her Grammy at yesterday's Christmas celebration on Scott's side of the family. This was her first attempt at ground work, the honeycomb-like sections in between the cloth stitch and half stitch sections. They were challenging, mostly because of their newness, but she did pretty well on them and there's a definite improvement in her cloth stitch and half stitch sections, on which she has had a bit more practice.

We borrowed some books from the lace group's library, so there are lots of fun and interesting options ahead!

the next step

Hoo boy, look at how the kiln turned up the purple in those glass beads I showed you yesterday! The buttons along the back of the picture also went through the annealing process, but they're encased in clear class and remained more amber with a slight iridescent sheen. It's all good.

Filling time while settling on some bigger projects, I finished a Claudia hat.

I forgot to do the knits through the back loop, but Jesse doesn't seem to mind. He snatched this hat right up and claimed it as his own, stating he now prefers it over his Habitat hat because it's a little longer. Yes, he insists he can still see out from under there. 

Conveniently(?), Scott lost his own favorite handknit hat today (it was ratty and really needed to disappear, so I'm not sad) and says Habitat is perfect for him.

mmm...lava lamp swirly glass beads

fiber twist north

Last weekend, we were at the Fiber Twist at our favorite farmers' market. This Saturday, we rolled northward nice and early. Destination: Franklin County (Massachusetts) Fiber Twist. We shared a booth with our friend, Leslie Wind, whose beautiful metal shawl pins and cable needle necklaces were a nice complement to Scott's glass work.

Leah was tickled by the whole thing, of course, but especially by the opportunity to wear her Sylvi sweater/coat in Twist Collective's fashion show. She otherwise spent the day flitting among the knitters, participating in charity knitting sessions, gathering ideas, soaking up colors, and doing metalwork with Leslie. She was also working on her Swallowtail shawl again, as apparently it's been in a time-out long enough.

Beads made of beads. Must find tutorial.
In between selling Scott's glass stuff, I enjoyed a steady stream of knitting friends I know from other places, folks I had just met but felt like I could talk to for days, and loving all the incredible things they were wearing -- beaded, felted, knitted, crocheted, woven, and on and on.

No lack of inspiration or ideas after a day at an event like this!

Leah made a point of visiting Gail Callahan, the Kangaroo Dyer, to tell her she finally found what she thinks will be the perfect pattern for the gorgeous red and black hand-dyed yarn Gail gave to Leah last year. They had a good chat and the next thing Leah knows, Gail is handing her this awesome skein of yarn to go turn into something fabulous!

It looks like blue shades on my monitor, but it's purples, from hazy gray-purples to full-on grape, with itty bitty iridescent sequins spun into it. Incredibly beautiful, especially for a kiddo who is recently falling back in love with knitting lacy patterns. This might become a Shetland Triangle or a Forest Canopy Shawl. Gail has a book coming out this winter and it's bound to be a great resource with stunningly dyed examples.

Home again in time to scoop up Jesse and head out to Pipes in the Valley, a Celtic music festival in Hartford, so we could see performances by the Wicked Tinkers and Gaelic Storm. Then home to bed, with another big day to follow.

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.

if at first you don't succeed

On the first try, this stitch pattern wasn't quite working out for Leah. We tore that attempt back and I tried the rows along with her. We found out that she was twisting the lifted stitch when she put the bead on it. Once we kept it straight, the rest was smooth sailing!

Faberge Neckwarmer
Araucania Nature Wool
Peacock iridescent seed beads
Glass buttons made by Scott
Leah's gift to her Grammy