Cardinal’s Winter - Stitching is Done

I finished stitching this last Monday. 

I only got as far as pressing it - it’s still sitting on the pressing mat. I want to add some ‘bling’ with small, clear HotFix ‘jewels’ before I fully finish it. I really like the colours.

Not sure if I’ll do a flatfold or a hanging piece. 

The 4th lacy neck ring (and second yellow one) responded well to blocking. 

It has now been liberated from the wires and pins and looks very spiffy. Didn’t get a photo, though.

I was rummaging through my winter wear - so many scarves and pairs of mittens. I came across these gigantic earmuffs. A little much? I think they’re hilarious.

I’m so pleased I can wear the lopapeysur (Icelandic sweaters) that I knit for Skip. This is Afmaeli - a free pattern from Alafoss using Lett-Lopi. Instead of the ribbed collar and cuffs, I used the rolled collar and cuffs from Riddari. 

Basically, after casting on, knit 6 rounds of stocking stitch, then 5 or 6 rounds of ribbing. Then start the colourwork. The stocking stitch naturally rolls.

Most of the snow has melted. I’ve topped up the bird feeders and have been seeing chickadees, red-breasted nuthatches, and grackles enjoying them. I flung a couple of hands full of seeds on the ground and the squirrel is enjoying them as well. Spring is only a week away.

A Potato Chip Pattern? (I Couldn't Knit Just One)

I released the red, blob from the blocking pins and wires and am very pleased at how it turned out. 

I found more golden yellow yarn in my stash and knit another one yesterday, ending at about 12:45am. It is the fourth one I've knit. This yarn is YvieKnits Sparkly Sock yarn - 75% merino superwash/20% nylon/5% stellina. I purchased it 12 years ago at the Campbellford Spin-in.

I used a small part of this skein for some of the buildings in my Trondheim mittens.

I have it pinned out, blocking. It will be dry later on today.

The lace pattern is pretty easy. No tricky stitches. Just knit, purl, SSK, k2tog, and yarnovers. The only bit to watch is going from purl sts to a yarn over to knit stitches. No need to move the yarn to the back after the purl sts - just follow with the knit stitches and the yarnover is automatically created. HOwever when going from knit stitches to a yarnover to purl stitches, the yarnover is done the normal way then wrapped around again to take the yarn to the front for the subsequent purl stitches. This could be tricky between patterns, especially when changing needles at that spot. However if the yarnover doesn't look obvious to knit into in the next round, it is easy to pick up between the knit and purl stitches. 

Sorry if that sounded like a lot of mumbo jumbo but if you're knitting this pattern it will make sense.

After taking care to put stitch markers at the beginning of every pattern on the first one I knit, I found it pretty easy to ready my knitting after that, knowing every round began with the purled stitches.

This pattern calls for more repeats of the chart so the neck warmer could even be worn as a cowl. I only ever used it as a neck warmer so kept it pretty short.

I blocked Poppy's beautiful lopapeysa (we are now using the Icelandic term for wool sweater). 

Although I rolled it a couple of times in towels to express a lot of water, I put a fan blowing on it to speed up the drying time. It doesn't affect the wool at all. I love how the white purled stitches give dimension to the yoke. Kinda like the Swedish Bohus technique, but definitely an Icelandic pattern.

This is a picture of the original Ranga sweater from the book, 'Knitting With Icelandic Wool'. It was designed by Védís Jónsdóttir.

You can see Poppy modified the pattern as a pullover. This necessitated starting the yoke pattern not in the centre front as a jog in the pattern between rounds would be apparent. Rather, she started the yoke pattern on the back where one sleeve joined the body. She knit a 2x2 ribbed collar with the lighter yarn (Lett-Lopi), folded it in half and tacked it down to the inside of where the yoke joins the collar, using a stretchy bindoff. Then all that was left was to graft the underarms. This was her first time doing kitchener stitch. Well done, Poppy!

It's stunning!

Kim and Meagan from Kimat Designs are home from Nashville and are holding an open house these next three days. I'm heading over there after my mani/pedi this afternoon.

I Started Another VEVO Yesterday and Fnished it Today

 The yellow VEVO blocked out beautifully. The paper lets the laciness show - so light and airy.

Pinning out the points really highlights the lace. 

It tucks very nicely around the neck. It’s so light, yet as warm as a scarf would be. Then can be easily shoved into a pocket.

I started  another one yesterday - this time using red Lang Merino 400 lace yarn. Again, I plied two strands together to make fingering weight yarn.

This time, I knit the larger size using a 4mm needle. I didn’t quite have enough yarn to finish the second iteration of the second chart. I kinda guessed when I should start the stretchy bind off, playing ‘yarn chicken’ for the last few metres of yarn. 

This is all that remained after I finished the bindoff. Eek! I definitely would not have been able to knit another round.

‘Quick like a bunny’ (as my mom used to day) I soaked, rolled it in a towel, then blocked it - pinning out the points. It’s probably already dry now but definitely will be ready to release from the pins and wires tomorrow.

These are so quick and easy to knit.  I used  stitch markers on every repeat on the brown, alpaca one I knit last week. On the last two, I could read the lace well enough not to need all the stitch markers. The purl stitches at the beginning of every round on the chart made it easy to keep alignment of the lace pattern.

Monkey Craft Brain - Being Multicraftual

I had the urge to start another VEVO (see last post). Rummaging around my office/craft room, I came across a large-ish ball of fine, laceweight yarn that was attached to an almost-completed crescent swallowtail shawlette. 90% finished almost 9 years ago.

I loved the colour of the 100% superwash merino yarn - curry.

I started knitting a new VEVO with the ball of yarn that I had freed (cut) from the abandoned project but quickly realized it was too thin. I decided to unravel the almost-finished crescent swallowtail shawlette, wind it into a ball and with my spinning wheel, ply it with now-freed ball of yarn. 

I hadn’t used my spinning wheel in years - definitely since before COVID but it worked really well. First I had to wind each ball of yarn onto separate bobbins. The curly strand was what I had unravelled from the shawlette. Each ball was about 38g. Then plied  them together.

The resulting yarn was about fingering weight. 

I cast on the number of stitches for fingering weight and started knitting. The yarn was a bit overplied and curled up a bit on itself, but I really wanted the two strands to stay together. I used a 4mm tip on a circular cord with a 3.75mm tip on the other end. As I’ve probably mentioned in other posts, when knitting in the round, having a smaller needle that you’re knitting from makes sliding the stitches onto it so much easier. The important needle size is the one you’re knitting onto.

After a few hours last night and this afternoon, I’m 2/3 finished. 

It looks like a scrunched up blob but with a hard, wet blocking those lace designs will open right up.

Hopefully I can finish it this evening and get it blocked.

While moving some things around yesterday I came across this sashiko kit my dear friend, Poppy, brought me from her textile tour of Japan last fall.

Earlier on, I had come across this little video showing an inspiring sashiko sample in the making.

So this afternoon, while I was knitting away, I watched several YouTube videos on the subject of sashiko. If it is pronounced properly the emphasis is on the first syllable - SA-shi-ko. (I’m just picky about pronouncing foreign words the way the foreigner would).

Poppy also gave me a kit for a patchwork bag that she had also brought from Japan.

All the homespun cotton fabrics were included. So what if the instructions were all in Japanese? 

Google Translate made quick work of converting them to English.

At some point I will construct this kit. In the meantime, I have sashiko designs dancing through my head.

Vent D’Est Vent D’Ouest (VEVO)

I’m pleased at how the latest neck ring turned out after blocking. 

It is so light and airy. Being alpaca, it is very snuggly around the neck, yet doesn’t have the bulk of a scarf.

It is easily jammed into a pocket, then easily pulled over the head. 

I’m going to check the laceweight and sock yarns in my stash and cast on another tonight. It only took three days to knit this. I don’t have any fixed plans for the weekend so can probably get a lot done before Monday.

I saw an interview with Mindy Kaling on TV the other day. She was promoting her new Netflix series, ‘Running Point’. The only recognizable actor was Kate Hudson. It’s somewhat Ted Lasso-seque - a woman taking over a losing team. This time it’s a major league basketball team. I was so hooked after the first episode, I binge-watched the entire series. The episodes are only 33 min. long so it wasn’t a huge commitment throughout the afternoon and evening. It didn’t get ridiculously silly yet was still pretty funny. Give it a try. 

Saying Goodbye

The brawny movers came today to take away my piano. 

I proclaimed 'Slava Ukraini' when they told me where they were originally from. They did an excellent job of getting the piano onto the dolly, 

out the front door and up onto the truck. 

I texted Jen3 when they left so she would be ready to receive them at her end. She sent me a picture of it in its new location.

I was kinda surprised at how emotional I felt after the guys left. Somehow it marked the end of a era. The piano had been a graduation gift from my mother 48 years ago. It didn't make it out of her house and with me until 6 years later when I bought my first home - then continuously over the next 42 years. I practiced on it in high school, played carols on it every Christmas, played tunes by the Carpenters, Elton John, Antonio Carlos Jobim, the Peanuts gang. I practiced piano parts for my vocal music class on it. Scooter practiced on it over the 10 years or so of his piano lessons.

Once out of the house, I moved the sofa over so it would be centred on the area rug for the first time. I also had to move the picture over to centre it above the sofa as well. 

Then I set up the new keyboard, organized my piano music a bit, and played for about an hour. It nice to not have to tune it - just turn on the power and go.

Even though I filled most of the space with the keyboard, it really does feel more spacious in the living room. Next, I'll have to do something about the flooring but that will have to wait until after the kitchen renovations.

I also finished knitting the neck warmer I started a two days ago. I used a ball of baby alpaca yarn I bought at Toft Farm in Dunchurch, England when I was on my UK knitting tour in 2011. The free pattern is Vent D'Est Vent D'Oest (VEVO) by Marie Adeline Boyer. I cast on the smaller size and knit Chart A according to the pattern and Chart B twice using a 4mm needle. It didn't use up the whole ball of yarn. I gave it a soak and have it pinned out to dry.

 It should be ready to wear tomorrow.

A Stretchy Bindoff and Kitchener Stitch

Poppy has been knitting like a fiend, finishing her Icelandic sweater for our upcoming trip. She recently consulted with me about how she should do the collar as she was modifying it from the original pattern. She decided to do a crew neck by knitting a ribbed collar and folding it, anchoring the edge inside where the yoke meets the collar.

Her first attempt yielded too tight a bindoff so we had to figure something else out. I invited her over to my place so we could solve the issue. After another failed attempt on my part, I realized we needed to do a stretchy bindoff at the same time we were attaching the edge of the collar to the inside. This is the bindoff we used:

Knit 2 sts, slip the first stitch over the second one, do a yarnover and slip the remaining stitch over the yarnover, leaving one stitch on the right needle. *Knit another stitch, slip the first over the second, then yarn over and slip the stitch over that. Repeat from * until all the stitches have been bound off.

The final task was to graft the stitches that were on holders under the arms. I showed, then taught Poppy how to do Kitchener stitch (grafting) joining two swatches together. 

Next I put the stitches from the two holders onto the two needles and started grafting a couple of stitches. I taught her the little chant, “Knit, slip, purl; purl, slip, knit”. Then let her do the rest of the stitches on the first underarm. We then got the stitches for the second underarm onto the needles and she did the whole graft by herself. Brava!

Then I showed her how to darn the holes on each side of the graft, running the darning needle around like a drawstring, then weaving the end in. 

She’s so proud of her beautiful Icelandic sweater!

 

All that is left to do is to weave in the ends and block it. We’re getting so excited for our trip to Iceland and Norway!

March Stitch Day

My guild has a stitch day the first Saturday of every month, all year long - even in July and August when we don’t have our business meetings. Yesterday I worked on two projects.

Cardinal’s Winter:

And Autumn Quaker:

Since I got the framing done on Live on Little, I can start a new project. I have The Light of Winter all kitted up and the fabric selected. 

I’m pleased to have found someone who wants to take my piano. I dreaded having to send it to a dump as it had sentimental value for me. My mom had purchased it from a friend when I was in high school and heading to post-secondary music studies, needing to upgrade my piano skills to an acceptable standard. My mom gave it to me when I moved into my first house - glad to have it out of her house. It has been in my houses for the past 43 years. 

I have already found an electronic keyboard on Marketplace that is very portable and won’t take up a lot of room wherever I put it. I still have most of my sheet music and look forward to hauling it out again and noodling a bit on the keyboard. There is so much stuff to get rid of. I’ll keep plugging away it it bit by bit.

Finally Framed

 I ordered the frame for my Live on Little piece over a month ago. The frame arrived in a couple of weeks but the non-glare plexiglass and foam core did not. After another couple of weeks I contacted the company asking for the status of the balance of the order and/or a refund. I did hear back with an explanation that there was a manufacturing issue, that the order would be shipped as soon as it was possible and they were refunding me the shipping costs.

The order arrived two days ago. Today, I took the time to mount the piece on the foam core and get it into the frame. 

I thought I was all done and had it up on the wall when I realized the fabric was slightly skewed to one side on the bottom quarter. I had to take everything apart and re-mount it. I think it's good now.

It took me a couple of attempts to sign the piece; decisions about what colour to use and where to put it.

I love the mermaid and her mirror.

And how could you not love whales, fish, and lobsters in a sampler?

The flags at the top of the mast are my initials in nautical flags.

I charted the Canadian flat to replace the US flag. I also reversed the colours on the star as the lighter colour didn't contrast enough with the fabric. When I stitched the darker colour I stitched straight lines from the center out. I also made a mistake with the colour of the birds' wings. I like my design choice better with the darker floss.

It's all ready for me to take to show off at my stitching day tomorrow.

I Got Ahead of Myself

 I neglected to post the finished Musselburgh I knit with Crazy Zauberball yarn.

I didn't use up all the yarn after all as there was well over 400yd. There was ample length to turn up the brim.

It is very cozy. 

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with all these hats. Which ones I'll keep, which ones I'll find worthy owners for. 

I'm halfway done my Sweet Sheep Musselburgh. Excuse the crappy photo. I took it to send to Poppy as we were trading knitting progress photos this evening. She's on the home stretch of a pullover with an Icelandic design for our trip. She plans to embellish it with a bit of embroidery.

I'll take a better photo after I knit some more.

Speaking of texting back and forth, Jen1, Poppy, and I discussed several burning issues about our upcoming trip to Iceland and Norway via text tonight - topics such as transfers to and from airports, what to wear, where to pick up our tour in Iceland, etc. We're getting very excited.

I'm also considering another Christmas market tour, this time on the Rhine River between Amsterdam and Basel. I'd like to go this year and am working on finding a roommate. Another trip I'd like to take is a guided birding tour in Costa Rica. Ideally during one of the winter months.  Arne and Carlos just got back from a knitting cruise to Antarctica and are planning one again for next year. I already have a roommate selected for that cruise. When one gets to be 'a certain age', one realizes there is going to be a limit in one's ability to travel abroad at some point. I have a sense of urgency so as long as I am healthy and ambulatory, I plan to go go go.

Back on the home front, I have selected the style and colour of my new kitchen cabinets and quartz countertop. My designer had some great ideas to maximize counter space and make cupboard storage more effective. It will be so nice to have this improvement finally done after almost 29 years in this house.

The frame for my Live on Little piece finally arrived today at long last.  I contacted the company last week to ask for the item or a refund. They said there had been a manufacturing holdup and refunded the shipping costs. One of my tasks tomorrow will be to stretch, mount, and frame it so I can take the finished item to our guild's stitch day on Saturday.

Scooter is enjoying his working holiday in Europe. So far he's been in Portugal and Spain. He'll work his way over to northern Italy then further north over the next couple of months. He seems to have the desire to go go go as well.