Now, this is the way to relax!

I looked up from my yarn winding to see my two furbabies taking a nap. Now, I could only learn to relax like that!

So much fiber and not enough time

Over the past few weeks I have been to two celebrations of fiber, Stitches and Rhinebeck. My favorite was Rhinebeck since I was able to meet some of the actual producers like Macho Man the alpaca. Now, a week after Rhinebeck, I have finally gotten back into the swing of things. My yarn companies are starting to get their spring lines to me and I am using these last few days off of the road to get some spinning and car organizing in. The mound of blue/green fiber here is going to be Curly Blueberry when finished.

Plus, there is my new addiction of ravelry. Since I was working at the Great Adirondack booth at the sheep & wool I wasn't able to make either of the meetups. I really wish I could have gotten one of those buttons!

I am also now a member of the Tortoise club, which is a sub-set of the Secret of the Stole group. Unlike MS3, where I was right up to date, I am just now nearing the end of clue #1. thanks to holidays coming up, I am sure that I will have the stole done in time for New Year's, or there abouts. Well, back I go to wheel.

Spinning Fall Colors

This past week I have been busy doing some last good weather dyeing and fleece washing. My goal of finishing the batch of Curly Heat Wave didn't happen until yesterday afternoon. But, last evening I started spinning up some BFL in burnt orange, nutmeg, etc. I will ply it with some alpaca dyed in light nutmeg and with these mohair curls worked in.



It seems I have started working on this just in time as today is the first cool day here in MA in a while. Perhaps fall has finally landed in New England. The leaves are starting to cool and the peepers have gone silent. Since I will be in Baltimore for Stitches much of this week, I will miss out on some of the early days of leave changing around here. However, I will have the joy of driving through the colors on my way to Rhinebeck the following week. A couple of years ago that was an incredible drive as the whole area was in a misty fog. The brilliant leaf colors shown through just as you passed them. May everybody have the change to enjoy some of the beauty that is the changing of the season this fall.

The year of the Shawl

Today I am working on the Silk Chevron Shawl to get it ready for Stitches East. It is being made with Silk Twist from Great Adirondack Yarn Co. As you can see from the photo, I really have to haul out the speed knitting skills in order to finish. fortunately. a chevron pattern is easy to get into once you get going. The only thing I don't like is that I have to do it on circs - not my needle of choice.


I have also kept up with my dyeing and fleece washing during these days of far too beautiful weather that we have had here in New England. The image above is of some yarn that is currently coming off of the wheel. That should be finished this weekend and then I will start another batch on Sunday.

I have also decided that I am going to make my Secret Stole out of Trendsetter's Cash Wool in a nice dark gray. That color will be perfect for me to use and wear. Plus, the beads that are left over from the Mystery Stole will work perfectly.

Needle day

This morning I organized my needles & hooks. Thanks to Ravelry, I now know what I have. if anyone sees me buying any size 3 dp's or size 6 14" needles - stop me, please. While I went through them, I found the unique antique needles pictured here. The hammer really moves through the closed fist. And, I love the fact that the hands has nail polish on them. The elephant vase is where I have kept my extra sets of needles for at 25 years. It was a gift from a former apartment mate.




Last evening I had put part of one fleece outside to dry. This morning I looked out and saw that some creature had either tried to take some with it or moved it around to make a little bed for itself. Either way, I have to rinse/wash it again prior to dyeing today. So, no damage done. I hope that animal had a restful sleep!

Now, I head off to dye more wool and then start adding projects, etc. to my ravelry. I think the yarn inventory is going to be the last to be entered. That is going to be too daunting a task for this weekend.

Amongst the Raveled

Yesterday evening I received my invite to join Beta Ravelry. My id there is dknitting. I woke up early this morning thinking about how I was going to build my account their. I had already heard that Ravelling (if that is a word) could be addictive. We will see what happens this weekend.

Last week I travelled out to northern New York to visit my friend Patti at Great Adirondack Yarn Co. It may be a little fuzzy, but the view was beautiful this early morning. No wonder she always comes up with those great colors.


I also finished up spinning some yarn and have started on another batch. These next few days I am exploiting the last hot days of the season by dyeing more wool, washing/drying fleeces and other sundry fiber activities. When it is nice and dry like this, wool takes no time at all to dry.

Everyone enjoy the last full day of summer.

Spinning a Labor Day Weekend of Love

Well, I was busy this past Labor Day Weekend with spinning, dyeing and knitting. I made headway on two knitting and two needlepoint projects as well as finished the Mericash sweater. that yarn is a dream to work with - 20% cashmere and the rest an extrafine merino. Pattern for this little sweater is available from Punta del Este Yarns.





Spinning and dyeing wise - I finished the Spicy Cantaloupe yarn and started spinning another batch as yet unnamed - blues, lavender, greens, etc. Yesterday I dyed two pans of blue faced leicester - one in reds/oranges and the other dark/med blues and purples with lime green. This evening I will continue with the spinning as I watch both the US Open Women's quarterfinal and the a couple of other things. I love it when my dh is not around so I can easily switch between programs during the commercials!

A more dignified image

Now that the stole has dried, I realized that it needed a far more dignified photograph. Back I go now to knitting the Mericash sweater.

Mystery 3 is finally done!!!

You know that you live in a small place when the only place you can lay out your blocked stole is on your car! I must have a thing for green as you can see from the photo.



I loved working on this stole and will gladly do another lace project. Since the fiber is so fine, it is perfect for summer early morning knitting. People will have a chance to see my stole at both Stitches East and Rhinebeck this fall. It will either be displayed or draped over my shoulders while I am at the Great Adirondack Yarn Co. booth at both events.

Although I haven't posted in a while, I have been busy. This morning I started test knitting a little cotton jacket using a new pattern from Glampyre Knits called "Petal". I have had some multi colored Cotton 100 yarn knocking around which I had over dyed in a muted teal. It should work perfectly for this jacket. I have also finished spinning the chestnut colored alpaca as well as 6 skeins of what I call Frosted Leaves. Now I am working on some Spicy Cantaloupe while I watch the US Open.

Birds of a Feather

I have been busy working on Clues 4 & 5 of MS3 - now the Swan Lake Shawl. Now, I understand why the designer suggested black or white for the yarn colors. However, my colorway of Pheasant definitely has a bird theme and has woodsy overtone to it which reminds me of the woods where much of the ballet takes place.

It is also very appropriate that a project with this theme is my first foray into lace knitting. My paternal grandmother was a ballerina in Russia and Latvia in the 20's and she danced in many productions of Swan Lake.

On the other creative front, I have finished spinning the Purple Haze fiber (image to far right) and also finished knitting a sock. Now, I am spinning some fawn colored alpaca into a dk weight yarn (image to immediate right). With the heat and humidity that we have had in MA these past few days, lace knitting, spinning and needlepoint are the only things that I have felt like working on.

I have been thinking more about the idea of a Needlepoint Olympics during next year's summer event airing from China - if the air is clean enough for the athletes. There are so many beautiful Oriental canvases out there to choose from that would be appropriate for the event. Or course, dragons come to mind first. I realize that next year is not one of the dragon. But, I have a magnificent magical looking dragon canvas painted in various tones of red that just might do the trick. Although, considering the size of the canvas, it may be too large to stitch during that short a time frame and still be able to work and sleep. But, I will still keep knocking the idea around.

Things are buzzing along

On the MS3 front, I am within 10 rows of finishing clue 4. During the last few days I have had the pleasure of working on the stole at my sister's house. As you can see from the photo the view is distracting. But, Domino the cat, keeps me honest. The blossom laden bush there is a Rose of Sharon and is hosting a multitude of bees and a few birds swoop in every once in a while.

One nice thing about this part of the clue is that it is a very large piece of the same pattern. So, I am getting a feel of what lace knitting the same pattern on a project would be like. I think, I would like it as well as this stole that has so many different motifs. This would be especially true if I am able to add beads to it.

While I am here I am also spinning up some beautiful reddish fawn colored alpaca. I will have a picture of that the next time.

Spinning Away

The past few evenings I have been spinning up some Leicester Longwool and Alpaca that I dyed up a few weeks ago. It is hot and humid here in New England and sitting at my wheel is the coolest area in my living room. Of course, it doesn't hurt that my wheel is in the direct path of the central fan that we have in our apartment.


I thought that I would also answer some questions that people have posed regarding my MS3. No, I didn't dye that yarn. It is a yarn from Great Adirondack Yarns called Cobwebs (80% alpaca and 20% silk) in the colorway Pheasant. I am using size 4 needles on it and the beads came from a little bead shop up in Stowe, VT. The beads go perfectly with the yarn. I must have a good memory for color since I didn't have the yarn with me when I picked out the beads. As to the condition of my kitchen sink - we rent our apartment and I am very careful when dyeing and rinsing out my wool. Fortunately, the kitchen sink is stainless steel. The kitchen has no evidence of dyeing but you should see my collection of old towels!

Today I head off for the western part of MA to babysit my sister's house and Bull Mastiff. I am really looking forward to knitting and spinning beside the pool with few or no mosquitoes. Even better, her house has air conditioning!!

So Many Colors!!

Well, the beautiful spring-like weather has left my part of the country. But, I was able to get a lot of dyeing in while it was here, as you can see. As I write this, the alpaca to be plied with the dark blue/green roving and the red/orange roving are in the dye pot. All the other fibers are going to be part of a yarn I will probably call Summer Garden as these are the colors currently blooming in the garden.

On the MS3 front - I am 3/4 of the way through chart E. This is the biggest piece of the shawl that I have worked where the design is the same and will continue to be so through chart F. At this point, I tend to prefer the constant changing of motifs from the other clues. Maybe my opinion will change after chart F.

To Bead or Not to Bead

Today has been a great fiber day thus far.

First, I worked on clue #4 of my MS3. At this point in the work, the designer had stopped adding beads to the project. I can understand the rationale that the beads may be a little hard to lean back on when wearing the stole. However, the beads are so small and we have all gone through a little discomfort at times just to look fabulous. So, I figured out a way to work some beads into the design for clue#4. I love knitting with beads and I really didn't want to stop.

Second, I put some rambouillet roving into the dye pans with plums, royal blue, mustard, and celery colors. Tomorrow I will dye the corresponding alpaca for the second ply with the plums/royal dyes mixed together. I may also dye some blue faced leicester roving that I have. That one may be with some reds, nutmeg, etc. This week I got some dyes from Prochem. Now, I am having a great time playing with the new colors that I picked out.

Third, now I am going through a fleece of leicester longwool that I have to pick out the uvm (unidentified vegetable matter) and cleaning it so I can dye it later. These next few days are going to be relatively humidity free and will be perfect for drying fleece.

Back I go to get a batch of wool out of the kitchen sink where it has been soaking while I have been blogging.

Clue 3 is done and the stole is 1/3 done

This morning I finished clue 3 in time to wait less than 24 hours for clue #4. The designer has already told us that the stole is about 1/3 done. Now I have to figure out if I want to make it longer than the 75 approx. length of the stole. I have enough yarn to extend it, if I wish. I have a cut velvet stole which is the perfect length for me. Now I can get back to couple of the other projects and make some progress there.



This is my first KAL, and I am really enjoying the process. Usually, when I knit I am setting my own schedule and doing it alone. With the KAL, I am still alone in my knitting, physically. But, there are a lot of people that I can share the experience with on and off-line. I am already starting to think about the possibility of joining the Knitting Olympics if it happens next summer. Or maybe, there should be a Needlepoint Olympics with something like a big project for the holidays a the actual item - Christmas stocking, etc. Something like that may prove to be more portable.

Trouble comes in threes - or with Clue #3

Okay - I will admit that I was one of the first to download clue #3 from the MS3 site on this past Friday morning. This is only a sign that I ave grand illusions of grandeur as I was heading up to Manchester, NH to work at a booth at the TKGA show being held up there. However, upon my arrival I saw that a MS3'er had left a message begging for a look at the chart for Clue 3 as she did not have her laptop with her. So, at least, I was able to satisfy one member of the list with an exposure to the chart. Also, I brought my stole in progress along to show other lace knitting addicts.

However, I did not get a chance to start work on it, in earnest, until Sunday morning. At this point, I am only half way through the clue/chart. One thing that I have learned is that I need to get up at least an hour before my DH on those mornings when I am going to work on the stole. This morning I didn't have enough time between my wake up and his to get into the stole 'zone'. So, when he left for work, I was not relaxed enough nor feeling secure enough in my stole knitting to idly look up from the chart and wish him well on his day's journey into the morass of daily work. I did look up from the chart long enough to kiss him goodbye but went right back to the chart as he was heading to the door. He went on to tell me pertinent information, like when he was coming home, and he made the mistake of looking back. When he noticed that I wasn't looking at him and intently listening he asked if I had in fact heard him. Yes, I had. But, following the chart ( on a row with many decreases, etc.) was far more important at that time. This could be one of the reasons why men don't get this fiber addiction that we seem to have.

Sleep well and may the threads of your dreams remain untangled.

Clue #2 is Done

Well, this one took a little longer, but Clue #2 of MS3 is now finished! Life in the form of - both the Ladies and Men's (absolutely fantastic!!) Finals matches at Wimbledon, visiting friends on Saturday for food & Scrabble, and afternoon humidity - caused the delay. I had to tink back on some rows when I realized that there were too many stitches at the end of a row. But, there wasn't anything that I couldn't either fix or work around. This will be a perfect stole to wear on cool late summer evenings!

Now, I am finding myself checking out the blogs of other lace knitters and already thinking about the next lace project. That reminds me, "Victorian Lace Today" recently joined my library. Since I have already started knitting lace, I am now ready to start reading the book. I am sure that one of the projects in there will talk to me.

Happy 777 and Live Earth Day!!

So far today I am about 1/2 way through Clue #2. Now that the Ladies Championship is over at Wimbledon I have gone back to watching the wonderful music of the Live Earth concerts being carried on the Sundance Channel. How can you beat that? Knitting a beautiful lace stole while being serenaded by some of the world's best musicians for a good cause. check out http://www.liveearth.org/ for more info on the concert and what we can do to battle back global warming.

I see on the list that many keep frogging back their work due to an error that they see in their work. The way I look at it, knitting lace is very much like quilting. In colonial times stitchers would put mistakes into their work so they would not be thought of being Godlike. At least with mistakes in it, it will be a chronicle of my learning to knit lace. I am still having a blast.

Enjoy the day!

Mystery Stole # - Clue 1 done!

I am also new to this blogging experience but not to knitting. Knitting, needlepoint and other crafts have been a part of my life for decades. The number of sweaters in my closet and the items of needlepoint throughout my home attest to that. Today I am starting the blogging experience just a few days after starting a new knitting experience.

This morning I finished clue 1 as I was watching Wimbledon tennis. Below is the result of my work thus far:




This is the beginning of a great love affair for me - lace knitting! I have never tried it before and I have loved every second of it! Even when the one bead fell off the crochet hook prior to placement. I had never thought of trying lace and/or bead knitting until now. It took a post on the NETA (New England Textile Arts) mailing list for me to realize that this group even existed. Once I read about it, I was intrigued.

A solid color was suggested for the shawl. But ... I had this beautiful skein of Cobwebs (80% alpaca, 20% silk) in a beautiful color from Great Adirondack Yarn Co. So, I wound it up and started the swatch. When it came to getting the beads, I had to do a little hunting around. I went to a bead shop up in Stowe, VT hoping to find the desired size 8o beads. When I mentioned the specifics to the store owner, she didn't know what I was talking about. So, I walked around the shop and found just the right beads waiting for me in a jar. If I didn't get enough I will just have to go back to Stowe for more.

Everybody have a great 4th! Now, I will work on other projects (2 needlepoint, and 2 knitting) while I patiently wait for the next clue to be posted this coming Friday.