The Veil of Isis page three clarification!

It thrills me that people are paying attention! Susie is keeping me honest once again. On the original third installment, my item 11 instructions were confused by the fact that I got stuck in a chart vortex. I hope the added page posted today pulls me out...until later, knit on!

Swatching for The Veil of Isis border: concept 1

These pictures give you an idea of what I am thinking about doing with the border designs. This swatch shows one corner. I didn't place any beads yet, which I will along the top of the "flowers." The central "flower" motif will be repeated along the sides, with smaller "bud" motifs on either side of each corner. I haven't decided if this is what we'll use yet. Feel free to send me comments, pro and con. I'll post more of my progress later this week. I am on the final sequence through the charts. Knit on!

The Veil of Isis Chart B correction

So after putting the schematic together and exchanging a few emails with people who had questions, I realized that I left the "corner stitch" on chart B, even though it had already been used after Chart A:1 was completed the first time (at row 17) and restarted at the very corner stitch that should not have been on Chart B! Use this corrected chart. Most of you did not get caught up on this, but just in case some of you stumbled at this glitch, I hope this moves you on.

How I spent my vacation (and Isis too...)

So I took a little time off and this is what I did (so far.) More canning to come. I LOVE pickles. I did huge sour spears, slightly spicy slices, sweet and hot red peppers and spicy relish. Yummmm.

Susie wrote to me requesting confirmation about how all the charts of Isis line up, just to feel sure she was on track, and I put this schematic together and sent it her way. It was useful to her, and I did it, so I now share it with you. Please be sure to email me or post a comment if you are working on 'The Veil of Isis' and stuck or just unsure that you are on track. If I am around I am quick and not too snarky.

Who would have thought?

Fun Fur chez BadCat...like nothing I have ever knit with. But my daughter came home from camp with a new skill; crochet-trimmed flip-flops. They seem to be multiplying rapidly around my house, like little, brightly colored rabbits. Everyone needs a pair! Should I ask my daughter to do a picture tutorial? Let me know...

The Veil of Isis (part 4)

The magenta numbers show you where each repeat begins. We are now into snoozeville, with the sequence repeating until you are close to the size you want. I will post one final chart for the border, which is 29 rows, so plan accordingly!

Finding BadCatDesigns Patterns

I have had a string of people asking about where to buy my patterns. I posted about this some time ago, so it is buried in a pile of subsequent posts! Right now, my patterns are only distributed by Jade Sapphire Yarn Company. You can get my patterns from any shop that sells Jade Sapphire yarns. If they don't carry what you want, ask them to order it. There is a list of these shops here:
http://www.jadesapphire.com/shops.html
All my patterns are listed on my Flickr pages, in the set called "BadCatDesigns" right here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/badcatdesigns/sets/
The comment under each picture tells you if the pattern is available right now. If you still can't find what you want, just email me and I'll help!

Thanks for your interest!

Updated picture...

For whatever it is worth, here is a photo update of Isis, reclining on a rock. Lace on circular needles doesn't look like much once there is a bunch of it. This is almost a four foot square, so one more foot to the end for five feet across...the longest foot a knitter knows:)

Inserting Beads With a Crochet Hook

I thought I would show you how I am adding the beads to Isis. There are several ways to use beads in your lace knitting, and this is just one technique. Please excuse the focus on these. We did this "on the fly" so the pictures are not our best!
Picture one shows how the bead is placed on my crochet hook.
Picture two shows the stitch I am ready to place the bead on, which I have already knit. I grab the stitch with the hook.
Picture three shows how I lift the stitch with the hook and slide the bead onto the stitch, pulling the loop of the stitch up with the hook.
Picture four shows the bead on the stitch and the stitch returned to my right-hand needle. I had already knit the stitch before I placed the bead, so I am ready to move on.
In picture five you can see the bead in place, after I knit the next few stitches.

That is it!

The Veil of Isis (part 3)

Here is your next step, with the magenta number 3 showing where you finish chart B. The magenta number 4 shows where you pick-up the extra stitch for the bright blue 'B' on chart C. Put a stitch marker between every section, and remember that all the sections eventually become section 1 and just keep repeating chart A:2 (rows 19-25.) The chart is here and I hope you can follow along without too much frustration! I hope to have some extra time in the next few weeks, and should get a really good up-date of my knitting progress up soon. Until then, knit on!

Something Sweet

I haven't photographed my Isis progress because it looks like a heap of yarn on a circular needle, if you know what I mean. I will take a picture for my pattern update next weekend. I thought I would share cute with you today. This is my two most dear people with two very dear baby rabbits. Might we have a pet rabbit? Only time will tell...

On another topic; I will be traveling to Ethiopia in September for my work. If anyone is up on any fiber related activity in Ethiopia please leave me a comment.

The Veil of Isis (part 2)

As promised, another installment of Isis. If you are joining us with this post, please take a few minutes to look through all the previous posts with the "Isis" label, so you can see where we have been and where we are going. This picture shows where you will be after knitting step 1 from last week (at the magenta 1) and step 2 from today (at the magenta 2...)

The new chart and instructions are page 2, and follow directly from page one, posted last weekend. Page 3 will be up next weekend and I will try to post a new step each weekend until we are done. I will also post my knitting progress later this weekend for whatever it is worth! Unblocked lace never shows the real story. Happy weekend!

Don't you do anything but lace?

People always ask me this...can you imagine? Who needs anything but lace! The truth is, I actually do several other things. I thought I would share a few with you today. I am an avid spinner. I have two wheels and too many spindles. I usually have a spindle with me, and I prefer small spindles and fine fiber. I have a big collection of silk embroidery threads that I spin and stitch with. You can see here one of my favorite spindles for threads, made by Avi and purchased from Toni, at The Fold. The silk is from Treeway Silks. The case is my design, stitched with my threads.

Here are a few hats I made from spindle-spun yarns. The lavender one is actually two layers of angora knit on US 1 needles, which my daughter used for a few winters. The one next to the lavender is based on a counterpane pattern and has a cluster of bobbles at the top and lace on the sides. So much for "not lace!" The colorful one is dyed with kool-aid...in case you were wondering 8^)

I will have the next installment of Isis up later this weekend. Enjoy your Friday!

The Veil of Isis

I named it, so I guess it is truly a design and not just a stitch pattern! You can get a pretty good idea of where I am going. I am posting the first chart, which shows you the very center of the pattern. I will continue to post charts and directions as I move forward, but I don't promise it will be an easy path to follow! I will eventually put it all together and make it user-friendly. You can look for previous posts on this project for material I am using, the basic pattern motif and one way to start a circular piece. Cast-on four stitches using a circular cast-on. Begin following chart A1 on row one. The chart shows one quarter of the whole, so repeat each row four times across the round. The chart is copyright BadCatDesigns 2007 even though I forgot to put in on. Please only use it for your personal pleasure (or aggravation, as the case may be:)

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle?

My mother gave me this book as a gift before she left for Paris in June. I have been reading it on and off all summer and agree with all of Kingsolver's concepts, but was left with pause to think, after hearing an interview with Barbara Kingsolver on "Speaking of Faith," a show on NPR with Krista Tippett. My friends know I very rarely speak of faith...but putting that aside, I like Krista Tippett and enjoy her show. So Barbara Kingsolver made a comment (and I paraphrase) about how nice it was to feel part of the food chain. I almost choked on my iced latte. Sure, it's nice, as long as you are on top of the food chain! The BadCat looks to be on top of the food chain, no? Here is a link to the full interview, in case you are also reading this book and/or have any interest in this topic at all:) http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/ethicsofeating/index.shtml

Something on the side!

I am teaching a Lace Sampler workshop for three Thursday evenings this month at Knitting Nation, in Nyack New York. We had our first session this past week and I thought I would share our progress. We worked on doing a temporary cast-on and went on to reading lace charts. I had a very good time. Just hanging out at such a great yarn shop for three hours is fun, and this included that, plus excellent company and intense knitting! Just look at the deep concentration and determination! Just look at the lovely yarns!

This is Jane, who is one of the owners of Knitting Nation. She joined us for the workshop and I think it was the first time she had relaxed and just knit in weeks!

I'll post more about my new design progress later this weekend. Until then, knit on!

How does a simple stitch pattern become a design?

What is the difference between a stitch pattern and an actual design? This comes up periodically, so I have given it some thought. The stitch I have posted here is the basis for my current project. Using this motif while developing a particular shape in a graceful way is what makes my project a design and not just a stitch pattern. I will post more about how my design is growing later this week. Knit on!