More on my needles!

I have moved onto my 32" needle, and all is well. The tiny gold flashes you see in the picture are the gold-lined opal beads, which I am using modestly. I am going to post the chart for the basic motif tomorrow, time permitting. I then challenge you to knit with me!

What is on my needles? An update...

So here is the update of my new project, on the 16" needle. The tension isn't that even, but blocking will do wonders. I might give it a mild blocking when I move to the larger needles. This picture is from yesterday and I have a few more inches on today, so I'll give you another look tomorrow. I was thinking about posting this pattern as I do it, as an interesting illustration of the process and what you can do with one simple motif. Let's see what I come up with. Happy Monday...

What is on my needles? A circular start

I have a new design I just got on my needles. This design will be approximately a square. When I cast-on for a square or full circle, I begin with a four stitch I-cord in smooth waste yarn. I make a few inches of I-cord so I have something to hold onto.
I then begin my design in the yarn I choose, starting with four stitches, directly from my I-cord. Once I have an inch or two of my design knit, I unravel the cotton waste yarn.
You can leave it just as you find it, but if the center hole is too large you can tighten it up.
And here you see the scale with my Chibi case and US 1 needles. All the supplies for this new design are here and I'll post some pictures of my move to a circular needle when I get there. Once I block this out, you will see a perfect center without any aggravation.

So we have four skeins of Misty Alpaca lace weight, a tube of #8 Japanese seed beads (gold lined opal,) my new chart, a tiny crochet hook and US #1 needles in 16" and 32". More later...

What's for Dessert...

The color of these fruits seemed worth sharing. Pluots and mango nectarines, cinnibar Zephyr and gold beads...

Forsaking the Zephyr, I cast-on something totally new last night and I'll post about it later this weekend. It is worked from the center out and I start my centers in a slightly different way, so I'll take some pictures and show you.

My mom emailed to tell me "Blood is thicker than Blog." Happy weekend.

Understanding Blogville...

As a neophyte in Blogville, I must confess a certain lack of understanding about how things happen. Several days ago I posted a picture of some yarn and beads, hoping that I might get feedback on which beads looked best with my special Cinnabar Zephyr. Now, if you trust my recently installed "hit-counter," at least 1000 people have looked at my Blog since the post in question, and have presumably seen my request for bead selection assistance. Two people have offered advice. Just today, Fleegle(http://fleeglesblog.blogspot.com/) left her advice, for which I thank her deeply. But that is not my point. My point is that the only response I had for several days was from my mother. On the surface this might not seem odd, but I never told my mom I had a Blog, my mom has probably never even looked at a Blog AND my mom is in Paris and I am in New York, so it is odd. To mark the occasion of my mom's first Blog comment ever, I share a picture of her. Isn't she extremely pretty? So thank you mom (and also thank you Fleegle) for your bead advice. The red beads are very dull and actually don't look as good as all that, so even though it is two against one I think I am using the gold beads...

What's for dinner?

Here is a quick shot of the pale blue cashmere scarf, using the Leaves variation 1, as promised. LucyFur is wondering if that is all we're having for dinner...

Variations on a Theme

I was thinking about how to teach a friend of mine the basics of charting a lace design for a shawl, and I decided to take a simple motif and manipulate it to work in two shawl shapes. The first is the most basic; a rectangle. The second is a simple triangle from the point up. I did not put a selvage on these charts, but the Oak Leaf edging I posted previously would work nicely on both. Happy knitting!

I actually have this very motif on my needles right now, as a scarf in pale blue cashmere lace-weight. I'll post a picture of it later.

Taking Suggestions...

Well, I must admit to some recent yarn and bead acquisitions. I am not sure if the beads will really show their true colors in the pictures, but I need help selecting the right beads to use with the Cinnabar Zephyr. Think Lace. Think Southeast Asia. Tell me what you think...