Summer Squares Take Eleven...and then some

So I missed Take Ten. Don't yell at me...but this is The Summer Squares Project's eleventh week, and I am trying to be consistent. I got some modestly improved Dark Star photos. My model has been on strike (holding out for a better compensation package, possibly) and these were the only shots that she allowed me to post. Eventually I will have more and better pictures! Until then, you can get a pretty good sense of the project.

This shows the DarkStar Square...

And this shows the MoonShine Square...

And this shows the Beaded Belt Square along with a good detail shot of the border and edging.

I have a ton of knitting (and more than a ton of housework) to do, but I just had to take some time to make sweet and spicy pickled peppers. I love these and now I have enough to last about a year, as long as I don't give any away. I used hot cherry peppers, some jalapenos, some serranos and a few others that I don't know the names of. I know they are spicy because they made my face burn when I was cutting them. Yummmm.

And I have some new socks cooking, in preparation for a workshop I am teaching later this month. I am pleased with them, despite the mediocre picture.

I also have some new fiber in my queue. This is a merino and silk blend that I dyed and shared with a few friends. We are going to spin the fiber and use a scarf pattern I have gestating to each make our self a scarf. The group of us are all over the country. I am eager to see how each of us spins and knits this project. Expect to see more about over the next few months.

Finally, I have several other new knitting projects to share with you but first we have to wrap-up our Summer Squares work. I posted the Dark Star border chart this week and have the edging to post next week, and the blanket finishing right after that. Whew! I better get back to my knitting needles...so until next week, knit on!

What I did on my summer vacation...

Consider this post a postcard...and start with "Wish you were here."

We went to visit family in Greece. We have been there before, but this time we decided to take in some of the sites. BadKitten is all about ancient Greece and loves languages (especially the ones people don't speak anymore...) We flew into Athens, rented a car and hit the road.

Because I have some serious jet lag going on, I have been up since 4am getting all sorts of things done. I already got the next chart for Dark Star posted at the Summer Squares group, I have a new piece I knit (a traveling project) blocking, and I am on my fourth load of laundry! The sunset is from a ferry traveling from the mainland to Lefkimi, on the island of Corfu.

Here is a darling hummingbird who visited my father-in-law's yard in Lefkimi every day we were there.

And here I am, knitting in Athens. As long as I have the correct projects with me I can knit any time and any place...

The food is very good in Greece. Did you know that? Here you can see a lovely salad (that Kitten and I made...)
Here are some lovely lentils that Aunt Lenio made. She gave us a cooking lesson, so now we can cook like her at home. We wrote her technique down plus took some pictures, because she never measures anything...

Here is a very pretty shop in the old part of Corfu Town. I didn't get anything, but I love how all of it looks.

We got these funky little shrimp (if you look closely you can see fingers in the picture for a size check) at a Taverna on a bluff not far from Lefkimi. The food is great but the view is better.

Like I said, the view is better...

We took a ride on a small motor boat from near Lefkimi to a pretty harbor on the mainland.

We drove all over and visited Delphi to check in with the Oracle. It was very cool. Hot, but cool.

We also visited the Oracle of the Dead, which is also very interesting and cool. Again, hot but cool...

And we went to the Acropolis. It was hot, cool and crowded! The new museum opened and it is amazing. I suggest you check it out if you are in Athens. And so you don't think I neglected my stash, let us start with yarn...and there was not too much to be had. I know there is a yarn shop (one) in Athens. I didn't have time to go there. I heard rumor there was one yarn shop in Corfu Town. I tried to find it, but could not...and guess what? I found yarn around the corner from my father-in-law's house in Lefkimi!

So if you are in Lefkimi, stand on the bridge in the center of the old part of town and look down the river toward the sea. Turn right and cross the street, walking straight down the only road you see. In one block you will see this:

This shop has fabric, "dry goods" and YARN! They had some Italian acrylic that BadKitten just loves. She got a bunch and has been crocheting hats and fingerless gloves. They had an excellent selection of fine cottons, but only in white and ecru. I got some nice cotton.

A German family who vacations every year at Aunt Lenio's beach cottages knew we were coming and brought me two balls of this very nice cotton. They know me...
And this is the cotton I bought at the little store in Lefkimi.

At the Acropolis Museum they had the most lovely display of spindle whorls. They were gorgeous and so well preserved! As I looked at them I plotted how I might have one for myself. Surely they have many more than they need, as you can see in the postcard...
And would you believe it!? At the gift shop they had handmade reproductions. The reproductions were each unique and I picked one out for myself! Above is the top view and below is the side view.

And finally, everyone knows you can find beads in Athens, but did you know there is a nice, little bead shop in Corfu Town? Neither did I. Here is the address (in English and also in Greek below.)

I bought some vintage seed beads (European) in something about a 10/0 (green luster) and something like a 6/0 (mat blue.) I also got some little eyes and some shell beads that are hard to see.

Now I have to finish my laundry and take a nap. I will be back soon with cheesecake pictures of Dark Star. Until then, knit on!

Summer Squares Take Nine: We're Blocking DarkStar

I finally finished the DarkStar Stole, so I thought I would show you how I block. First, I soak the piece in cool water for a bit. "A bit" is at least 30 minutes, and usually more. Just leave it alone...

This yarn is wool, so I just left it alone in the water. Don't play with it... When it is ready for me, I gently press the extra water out and rolled it in a towel. I then thread my blocking wires through every beaded point along the edges on all four sides. After that, I pin the wires out as evenly as I can manage...

It was late at night and it was hard to manage...

Close-up of the corner, where you can see how the wire goes through the points.

Some edging detail. You can really see the beads (I think.)

And just a bit more pattern detail...

Pattern re-cap:

The DarkStar Stole, from The Summer Squares Suite

Yarn: EmmaLou from LandOLace (1200 yards)

Beads: Japanese 8/0 Transparent Amethyst Rainbow (20-30 grams)

US size 1 knitting needles and a US 14 crochet hook

I will be off-line for a few weeks, so I posted the third and fourth squares for this project at The Summer Squares group today. The fifth square will be posted over Labor Day weekend, and the border and edging after that! Out Summer Squares group will run through the end of September, but is now closed to membership. The individual patterns and the full chart set will all be available in October. Enjoy the rest of you summer!

Summer Squares take eight: Dark Star

For those of you following my Summer Squares Project, today brings us to the final chart for the second project (The Blue Quartet.) I posted the Quartet Edging chart earlier today at the Summer Squares group. Today also brings us to the first chart for our third project! The third project is a stole called Dark Star. There are five squares, which are just knit one after another. Once the five squares are done, a border is picked up around the entire rectangle and knit in the round. Once the border is complete, an edging is added. This is the one project in The Summer Squares Suite that has (optional) beads. I am using EmmaLou yarn, from Land O Lace, in a fabulous color. There are several close shades of purple and the effect is almost like crushed velvet to me. You cannot appreciate it in this picture. I have a 1200 yard skein. The beads are Japanese 8/0 transparent light amethyst rainbow. I am using a US 1 needle. You can see more of the project in today's video. The picture is of the first square in this new project and is called Moonshine. You see it still on the needles, in a totally unblocked state. It will look a bit different blocked... I have also been playing with some fiber my friend Judith sent me, in preparation for a fun winter project a few of us will be doing. The colored skein is tencel and sw wool, but our project involves merino/silk fiber, which still has to be dyed. The small white skein is actually a sample of that fiber. It involves spinning, beads and lace. That is all I can say! The spindle is from Elizabeth, at Greensleeves. It is called a Vixen and has a Satine whorl, a Mahogany shaft, weights less than 1 ounce and spins wonderfully.

My video today is about a different technique you can use to add beads to your lace. Instead of using a crochet hook, I take a "dental floss threader" and a length of beading thread and use that to both store the beads and add one to my knitting when needed. For me this technique is slower, but it does avoid the possibility of dropping a tin of small beads! You can get beading thread at most shops that sell seed beads. You can get "floss threaders" at most large drug stores, and on line here. It costs US$3.29 for 25 of them, in a nice plastic case! You will have a lifetime supply for yourself and a few friends. I use them for adding beads, as you see in this video, but I also use them to string beads onto yarn when I knit with beads pre-strung. You might need some in you knitting bag...

I'll be back next week with the second square in the Dark Star project, and maybe a video of how I block this project. Until then, keep knitting!

Socks are nice...as long as they have lace on them.

I interrupt my usual programing to introduce a new sock yarn. Jade Sapphire Yarn Company just release Sapphire Sox. Here is the deal: 330 yards per skein, 25% Cashmere, 63% wool and 11% nylon. It comes in a bunch of interesting colorways, as you would expect from Jade Sapphire. The one they sent me is called Soul Mate...and I enjoyed the way that it striped. The yarn is soft but not delicate and was a pleasure to work with on a US 2 needle. I can't speak to wear, because I knit mine and JS took them as samples! With the nylon content and the nice twist, I suspect they will wear well. You can grab my pattern at the Jade Sapphire website or at my Ravelry pattern store. It is free. If you want the yarn, it will take a bit more effort. If you are lucky enough to be at The Sock Summit, there are two vendors there who have some. If not, ask for it at shops that carry JS yarn. They should be able to order it. Now I'll get back to knitting...

Summer Squares Take Seven: Finishing the Quartet and A Survey of Estonian Books.

We are still moving along, over at The Summer Squares Group. Today I am posting the last chart for The Blue Quartet squares, plus the Blue Quartet border chart. I have more info on that to follow...but I thought I would add a small book review to my post today. Not a review, really, but more or a survey. I am now the lucky owner of three knitting books that came from Estonian. How cool is that! Thanks to Malle, I am lucky enough to have a copy of this amazing new lace book from Estonia. First, I want to say that this book is a hardcover, large format book with very high quality photography. My pictures of the book are pretty bad, because I turned my flash off to avoid glare. The book, on the other hand, has wonderful, clear pictures and equally good charts.

There is a large section on the history of this knitting style which I only wish I could read. It looks wonderful, but the pictures tell a great tale, even without the words. There is a brief English introduction and an English chart key.

There are photos of classic knitted pieces, and patterns and charts for all the components of each piece. There are also great technique photographs. This is not a pattern book for projects, as much as a history and technique book. Included is a very good collection of traditional Estonian lace stitches in photographs along with clear charts. Using the information they provide, you can knit yourself any of the classic pieces shown in the book, but you will have to do some figuring for yourself.

This is a gorgeous book, and if you are lucky enough to get yourself a copy you will enjoy it!

I have another lovely Estonian book, which was given to me by my daughter's friend. She picked it out for me while visiting relatives in Estonia! How nice is that? Very...

This is a book on knitting mittens and gloves. This one is actually a project book. Again, I can't read the content, but I think these are modern patterns based on traditional mittens and gloves. The technique photographs and the charts are excellent. I have not made any of these yet, but I won't have any trouble following the charts. These gloves are especially nice.

Finally, I do own a copy of this book, which is an amazing collection of Estonian stitches, with black and white photographs and charts that are very usable. The charts have some errors and are sometimes hard to read. This book has become hard to find, and when you can find it it costs too much. I hope the publisher see the overwhelming response to the new Estonian lace book, and considers re-printing this classic. It would be wonderful to see it re-done with better photos and charts, but honestly it is worth having it just as it is, so I vote that they re-print it however they can!

There is a section in the back of the book with photographs of finished garments that use the stitch patterns. The pictures are fun.

Along with "basic" stitch motifs, there are a few centers and edgings. Many wonderful things!

If I have another opportunity to get a knitting book from Estonia I will say yes without seeing the book. They know how to knit, they use good charts and I love the traditional work. There you have my opinion!

Now, back to the task at hand, today we have The Cello square and the Blue Quartet border, already posted at our Summer Squares Group.

Nice picture above and bad picture below!

I have no video for you today, but maybe we can block something for next week. Let's see how much knitting I get done. Just to remind you, next week I will have the Blue Quartet Edging and the 8th square posted at The Summer Squares Group. The 8th square is the first square in our third project! I better get back to my knitting...