Lucy's Gift

I released a new pattern today. It is free and available on Ravelry.  Just follow this link to get yourself a copy of the file.

You can make this small shawl in any yarn you choose.  Here is what I did:

I used one ball of Einband yarn.  The yarn is produced in Iceland, using Icelandic wool, by the Alafoss (Istex) company. Each ball weights 50 grams and is 273 yards.  The sample used just one ball, in a color that matched Lucy’s eyes, but feel free to use more if you want a larger piece.  Lucy was actually as soft as cashmere and had a double coat.  Icelandic sheep also have a double coat, but are not particularly soft.  They are very rugged and can survive the Icelandic winter in style.  We took to calling them BadAss sheep on our recent trip and Lucy shared that same quality.  Small package, big attitude, strong will.  I might knit a second sample in fine, gray cashmere and use a few purple crystals, because she would approve…

-I am working on a second sample in Malabrigo Silky Alpaca and will share photos once I finish.

This piece was inspired by the Hallgrimskirkja church, which I visited recently while traveling in Iceland.  The church has long, clean lines and sits high on a hill in Reykjavik.  It can be seen from off shore for quite a distance.

 

I dedicate this project to my darling cat, Lucy (affectionately known as LucyFur) who died on March 26^th, 2013.  She was my constant companion, lap warmer and blocking assistant and she will be terribly missed.  She was a tiny kitty, weighting in at just over five pounds, but her purrsonality was enormous.  Please consider making a small donation to the Humane Society of New York if you enjoy knitting this project.  You can make the donation in Admiral LucyFur’s memory, and they accept PayPal.  Meow on sweet gray girl…

http://www.humanesocietyny.org/donations/

A BadCat Yarn Review!

I was recently gifted with a lovely selection of Crystal Palace yarns. A skein of this and a skein of that, in wonderful colors and assorted fibers. I pondered my loot and considered simple swatching, but there was something unsatisfying about just a swatch of such pretty yarn. I needed it to be something. Something I might wear, or give as a gift to my mom. Do you know what I mean? So I picked a skein of Panda Superwash and cast-on for a scarf. This scarf is not for winter warmth. It is more of a fashion accessory, if you will. The fiber content is 51% Bamboo, 39% Superwash Wool and 10% nylon. Although it has a bunch of wool in it, the feel is lighter and very silky, which is owes to the Bamboo. I would consider this yarn a nice one for warmer weather. The wool did show off when I blocked my scarf. It relaxed like wool in the water and the scarf is holding its block very well. The yarn was easy to knit, with very little splitting and no knots in my skein. This yarn would also be wonderful for socks, hats and mitts. The color I used is called Stonewash, and has short repeats of blue shades. The colors pool in a pleasant way and the finished piece looks great with jeans. I have more projects planned with some of the other skeins in this lovely collection, so look out for more patterns in these yarns in the future!

This shows the stitch detail. You can see the sheen of the yarn and the way the colors move. You can knit this scarf for yourself by casting on 30 stitches and following my chart. The gauge is 6 stitches to the inch in pattern but not critical. The finished size is 4 inches wide and 56 inches long after blocking, and I used one skein of Panda Superwash. If you want the pattern with full (line-by-line) directions and all the little details, download it from my Ravelry Pattern Store. It is free!

Until next week, knit on! I'll try not to get into trouble in the mean time...

Move over, baby!

This week has been about finishing big projects (or at least trying...) As you might have figured out, I have been busy preparing a special warp. That warp is spun and dyed, but wait! Before it can go on the loom, another warp must move over (and off.) The tale behind this "other" warp is a good one. Some time ago, as a gift to my friend Mary, a bunch of us got this warp together. That included designing a shawl, spinning the warp yarn, dyeing the warp and getting the warp on the loom. Mary spun some yarn for the weft, but never managed to find the time to weave it off. Enter BadKitten. She can weave 72 inches in 2 hours... Here you see BadKitten tying off the knots for the fringe, and a close-up of the fabric. It is 15 ends to the inch, with a Cormo warp and an Alpaca blend weft. I dyed the warp with acid dyes and the weft is a natural dark brown.
And here you can see Mary, showing off the shawl. It came out just as she had imagined it. She calls it "A rainbow over storm clouds." Thanks go to all the "SpinAndEats" who helped with this project.
And on my needles, another larger project I am getting close on. Here is Lyra, coming down the home stretch. I just can't wait to block this one. Very soon...

And finally, here is LucyFur, pondering how to talk to BadKitten about life. While LucyFur was pondering, The Kitten just read the articles, snorted and left the room.
I might have warp progress to show you next week, not to mention Lyra progress!!?? I can certainly dream! Until then, knit on!

Vacation is ending...

and I have a long list of things to do. Today is my last day to relax before the whirlwind begins. I canned some local heirloom tomatoes. I caught the BadCat (also relaxing) on Isis. I knit more Isis...and here is where I am today! Until tomorrow...

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

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.

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...

Introductions...

Admiral LucyFur aboard the sailing vessel Simba