Princess Out n Bail

After 3 years of solitary confinement, Princess is out on bail. Yes, you read correctly. I started Princess back in 2008 with great enthusiasm, it only took a few months to complete the edge, border, and center of the shawl. This was the second printing of the pattern, long awaited and longed for. As soon as the reprinting was announced, I jumped on it. I had the yarn and the needles ready months ahead of the announced date. A couple of other great knitters and I dove at it with passion. The first thing I did was modify the bottom edge to allow for an easier knit (less), and better distribution of the stitches to be picked up for the border. It was plain math and did not change anything in the structure of the pattern, just a bit of redistributing. As we went along, the other knitters and I found mistakes in the charts, corrected them, blogged about them, made sure everyone out there has access to our findings and kept going. I was on the final section of the edge when I discovered a major fault in the pattern...there was no corner on the edge to go along with the corner of the border which in turn created the most dreadful dogear ever seen. It was my fault and only mine for not thinking ahead, I could have corrected the problem when I started knitting, at this point, it was too late. A couple of other people knit right through it, finished their shawls, blocked, and took pictures and went on their merry way. Not me, oh no! how could I? I pondered over it for a couple of days, I knew there was not a thing I could do about it, but emailed the designer asking why. The reply shocked me, in short it said something like, it is the way it is, that is the way the Shetland knitters did it, I did not bother to correct it (maybe she did not even notice it, who knows), it will block out....well Princess was in my mind a master piece, a piece that would make me proud to be a lace knitter, I could not quite grasp the idea to rig it and block it out, and let it be. I blogged about it, I ranted, I complained, I tried talking myself into the idea that it did not really matter, that it would be beautiful regardless, that it would be OK...nothing helped, it was still there, ugly, proof of poor workmanship AND I had pictures to show for it.

So, in a bag with the pattern the row counter went the whole thing. I could not make myself work on it. I did not knit lace for quite some time, instead I knit socks and cardigans and would do just about anything to avoid the slightest yarn over in my knitting. I was set on letting it just sit there till the end of times. I did eventually turn back to lace, after all it is my knitting first love. Once in a while I would take Princess out, look at it and sigh, each time, the rage of a terrible mistake came back. A few months back, when Interweave Press released the Margaret Stove book and video, I took a close look at the Granny Cheyne’s Shetland Shawl. I want to knit it so bad! I will not start another Shetland shawl until I do something with Princess, I can't live with UFO's in my life....that is just the way it is. I promised myself I would reconsider Princess after finishing Eala Bhan. Last night Princess came out of the bag, it was just like I had put her away, the yarn has turned a bit yellow but it will be OK after a good wash, I found my place on the chart, found a new container for her so I can move her around the house without risk of snags, now it sits by my bed. I went to sleep looking at the pile and dreaming of the day I finish it. I know it will never give me joy I had anticipated, but it will be out for the world to see. I can then move on into lovely and complex pieces with a hard learned lesson. I can design, there is almost no pattern I have knit that I have not made changes to. Why did I trust the Princess pattern so blindly? I will never know, and will never do it again.

Bridget Rorem Bridal Shawl

Jean talked about signing her Princess shawl, and mentioned that the lace knitted alphabet charts were in a back issue of Piecework Magazine (May/June 1998) to be exact. Of course it is one of those sold out, not to be found issues. A dear friend of mine happened to have two copies and she graciously sent a copy to me. Now isn't that nice!
It turned out that the alphabet is pretty but the shawl that inspired the alphabet is even better. I copied a section of the picture and I am giving it the proper credit. I wanted to show the corners of this shawl, the perfectly formed corner and the center. The center looks like a Celtic knot and is very similar to the center of the Medallion Square Shawl by Galina Khmeleva. It might be the same center, I have not read the complete article yet.
The corners are so pretty and well formed, it is evident there was no fudging or on the fly adjusting here.
My Princess is still hibernating, waiting for me to get over the corner design hump.

Traveling Princess

Knitting bags are available in all kinds of assortments but there is no perfect knitting bag. Most of us end up with a Ziploc bag that gets replaced time after time after time. The regular freezer ones are too small and the one gallon ones are too large, plastic store bags are too noisy, and regular tote bags are usually either too small or the yarn gets stuck to them, pulling out the project can become quite a challenge.
Over the years I have experimented with as many bags as you can imagine I also have had all kinds of knitting-bag related accidents: dropping the ball of yarn in the bus and having it roll under the seats, yarn getting caught on the zipper slider, having to run to get on the bus and dropping the ball.......you name it I have done it!
When I decided to go portable with Princess I had to get a knitting bag that would be:
1. Large Enough
2. Slick material
3. Water proof
4. No noise
5. Protect the knitting and the needles from the zippers, keys etc.
6. Have some kind of closure mechanism that is fast and reliable

After going through my bag stash I knew I had to come up with something different. Here is the result:
A drawstring bag made out of windbreak fabric. It took about 30 minutes to make with the serger, a dinner plate as the template for the bottom and the circumference formula:


Note the row counter attached to the string (cleverness!)



This is the setup on the train. The computer case on wheels, black bag with my purse and Princess inside another large bag. I can drape the drawstring bag over the zipper to protect the yarn. Thankfully the train has enough leg space that I do not bump into anyone else.
It has been worth it! I finished the border and the Laurel leaves insert and now I am on my way to the center. There is a lot of knitting still but I am getting closer every day!

Princess

I am still at it. Slowly but surely my Princess shawl is growing.

I had knit up to row 116 of the border or so and then put it aside to finish:
Medieval Tapestry cardigan (finished needs blocking and buttons)
Peacock Feathers shawl (finished needs blocking)
Forest Path Stole: finished, blocked and sent to recipient
Storks Nest scarf: finished blocked and sent to recipient
A also finished the plain color part of the sleeves and the body on SLC Olympics and got a good start on the stranded part of the body.

Now it is all about Princess. It has become my portable project since I made a drawstring bag for it and found magnet tape that works wonders on the metallic board and you can cut it the length of the page.

Twenty more rows on the border and then the Laurel leaves will go in after and only after I swatch the pattern.

Lyra pattern has been reprinted!

I can not believe this!
Lacis the wonderful needle arts shop in California has reprinted the Lyra pattern!

You can find it at:

Lacis

type Lyra in the search field.

For $7!

They also have another booklet of 6 Niebling patterns but I can not see the cover.

Fun times to come!

Princes Edge I have a plan!

I think I have a plan for the edge.
The 2002 pattern was 85 points and pick up one stitch in each bump. That is 10 stitches per point and add 15 evenly distributed for the 865 needed for the border. In the 2007 version Sharon says you can knit 62 and pick up at a rate of 14 stitches per point minus 3 stitches

If you do the 85 x 14 + 15 Chances are at the end the evenly part will not be too even..after having picked up 700 stitches or so. But if I knit 72 and pick up 12 out of each point the magic number will be: 864!
Knitting 62 points will give a narrower edge and 85 is a lot! But if I go in between with the 72 the edge will not be as narrow and the "evenly distributed" part is gone!

Edited to add: I just updated the ticker and that means I am more than half done yuppi!

For the Woolpackers that read this blog: I will bring it next Monday to show what the whole mess is about.

More eye candy

Some people are just amazing!
Lacis has a slideshow of a New Adquisition for their lace museum.

The complete collection can be seen here

Hyrna Herborg an Icelandid Shawl

She is finished and I love her!
The pattern is in Three-Cornered and Long Shawls pattern book by Sigrídur Halldórsdóttir available from Schoolhouse Press. It has been translated into English but the translation is on the "short end". Jackie from Heartstrings has a complete annotation to the pattern.
The book is a bit pricy but well worth the beauty.
Once you figure it out, it is easy knit.
It took me about 12 hours of knitting time plus 6 hours of redoing almost half of the shawl because I managed to shift the center!
It is still wet and with pins on, the ends have been woven in but not cut yet. I am so in love I could not wait!









Oh and I forgot!
Thanks Lorette for reminding me! I used DMC Cebelia #20. Addi Lace Needles US 3. I think it worked out just fine. I used a bit less than a ball. Right on the button with what the pattern says about 400+ yds.

By Popular Demand

I received requests for closeups of the crochet hooks and pictures of the Niebling patterns in the Lena magazine.
Here they are:

Overdue lace

I just can't go without lace. Reading Fleegle's blog this morning I had to laugh when she says that thicker yarns hurt her hands. Thicker yarns don't hurt my hands but I sure like lacy patterns.
Schoolhouse Press published the translation for Three-Cornered and Long Shawls lovely shawls and stoles. The most knitted shawl from this book is Hyrna Herborg. I have seen it knit by lots of people using different yarns. I started it with some yarn from my stash and knit the first skein. Only to find out that the other skeins I had were CUT in pieces no longer than 2 yds! Why? I have no idea. Neither do I know the brand or make of this yarn. It had been languishing in my stash for ages. To the trash it went. Oh well! Then I started toying with the idea of using DMC Cebelia for it. I have quite a collection of colors! Cebelia has been used by many for tablecloths and doilies. I was weary of using it for a shawl. Would it look like a doily? But again there is no set rule in knitting. I love the shine on the thread and the colors are to die for. On the needles it went and here is what I have so far (the color is not true, it is more of a antique rose in real life):

Jackie from Heartstrings has an annotated page for it. In case you find the charts daunting and the translation confusing.
I do have to say that the charts in the book are nice to follow but the English translation is "short of words" to say the least. Nonetheless the patterns can be knit without too much trouble. Easier by far than knitting from Japanese patterns, that is for sure!
I am using Addi Lace knitting needles US size 3. I like the needles a lot. They are lighter than the Knit Picks. The tips and joins are next to perfect.

The other one I had in the queue for years is the Rose of England. It is a lovely tea cloth or dinner cloth, depending on how many rows you knit, in 2nd Book of Modern Lace Knitting Marianne Kinzel books are known among lace knitters from years back. The books have no known errors, fact that I find amazing!
For this one I am using 40/2 linen thread from Webs. It comes in tubes of a lot of yards! I think they are one pound but I am not sure. I ordered the color card so I could decide on the thread size. 40/2 is very similar to DMC #40. Needles for this one are US 0 or 2 mms, just my regular ancient Inox. This thread is sold under weaving yarns, it is two ply and there is absolutely no reason it can not be used for knitting.
Here is the picture of what I have so far.

It looks like a typical lace knitting project, just a clump that makes you wonder. It will be ok.....I hope. I will use a light spray starch to block it and I might boil it, but we'll see.
Some people are weary of knitting with linen because they think it is to harsh on the hands. Not true, it is very nice to work with but you have to be extra careful with tension. Linen has no give at all and any change in tension will show. Other than that it works just fine.

From the Spring Issue of Knitty Isabella I fell in love with the lace trim on the front. I have the back and part of the front. No lace to speak off yet. Just endless rows of stockinette. Of course I did not follow the instructions for the picot cast on. I started it with a provisional cast on and used a "machine knitting" technique to fold the hem. Picked up the stitches from the first row of knitting, right after the provisional cast on and knit two together to seam the hem. Sure saves a lot of time fiddling with a tapestry needle. Yarn is the mercerized cotton I brought from Colombia. Needles: Knit Picks. The needles are very nice. The points are next to perfect, the joins are smooth. When comparing them to the Addis these are a bit heavier. The features they have are ideal for lace knitting.
Here we have it:


That makes a lot of projects on my needles. All of them will be finished one at a time.

Lacis Lace Exhibit Slide Show

Here is some eye candy. The Lacis Museum has a 111 picture slide show. I saw some Shetland shawls, others that looked Orenburg, Hairpin lace, Nieblings and lots more.

Lacis Lace Exhibit Slide Show

Lacis Store and Museum

A few months back Sandy and I had planned to visit the Lacis Store and Museum

True to our plans Sandy and I made it to the Lacis Store last week. What a wonderful experience! Sandy was kind enough to pick me up and literally take me there. Thanks again.

The store and museum are just to die for. That day they had an exhibition of beaded purses. They had knitted, crochet, and woven. Absolutely lovely designs. They also had a few of the knitted lace that is going into the current exhibition. Lovely tablecloths, doilies and shawls.
The bridal room has pieces that go back to the 1800's the pieces are well preserved for the most part. Amazing work.
As far as things they have for sale, you name it , they have it. I got tangled up in the book section (as always).
We saw the preview of the two books they are reprinting and I believe will be available very soon. As I understand the patterns in the "small" book are included in the "large" book. Yes they are a bit expensive but they include a lot more patterns for the a lot less money than people have paid for single Niebling patterns.
The upcoming exhibition is on Knitted Lace and will go from July to November, I wish I had made it just one week later to see it all. What I saw was well worth the trip.

Sandy wrote a wonderful recount of our day in her blog: The Ocean Knitter
She has are great pictures and a longer description of our trip.
Sandy also brought with her some of her knitted lace work. She is a wonderful knitter.

If you are in the Bay area, by all means go visit the store, if nothing else for eye candy!

Hidcote Garden Shawl

It took me 3 weeks to knit and 3 weeks to weave in the ends and take the pictures!

Yarn: 50/50 alpaca/wool mill spun by Spinderella in SLC.

Needles US 4.

Aprox 1200 yds.

I like the edge. I had a hard time getting over the "forever" that took knitting the first pattern repeat.

I think it is a bit too big for me.

End result= Satisfied

Blocking Niebling Patterns

Several of Niebling patterns have a "fault" when blocking. I write it in quotes because I am not really sure it is a design fault. I think it is a blocking technique problem. Last year the Knitted-Lace Group sponsored a study group. Several lace knitters got together and knit Lyra. We have blog, you can see pictures and details here. The patterns says to increase needle size at a certain point to avoid the "waves" on the leaf set #3 if I recall correctly.
The front cover of the Burda Praxis - Strickspitze book (another Burda special of course out of print and sold out) there is a lovely cloth that I knit. In the picture if looked at closely you can see the waves in the second set of leaves. Today, after many months of having completed it, I blocked it. But I did not block it in the conventional way. I ironed and steamed it on the wrong side. Well I got rid of the waves, except on the last set of leaves. I think that in that area the waves are a design element and they will not block flat. But the rest of the doily lays FLAT! So my friends, maybe the conventional way, or rather what we call blocking is not quite what we need for these patterns.
I can not upload pictures! This beta-blogger deal is getting to the thin part of my patience! Here is the link to pictures, hope this works.

Sweepstakes at the State Fair!

Well go figure! I got Sweepstakes with the Wedding Ring Shawl. You have no idea of how happy I am. Best is Show was a LOVELY piece in bobbin lace. My guess is that the thread used is No. 100 or so and it is three dimensional. Absolutely lovely.
Here is a link to more pictures. Included are the same pictures of the County Fair, today's pictures from the State Fair.

County Fair 2006

I entered four items at the County Fair. Won blue ribbons with all four! That is way fun. It was the Cameron Shawl, the floating warp scarf and two skeins of yarn. I have uplodaded close up pictures HERE.
Now the really FUN part is the State Fair. I entered the WRS and I WON SWEEPSTAKES!!
We are going to the Fair today so I can't take pictures!

7th of the Batch

I finished the Rosebud Shawl. A pattern from Sharon Miller . With this one it is 7 lace shawls in a little over year! Here is the list:

The first one started in May 2005: Lyra s Niebling pattern. I knit it as the moderator for the Lyra Learning Group from the knitted-lace list.
Kiri with handspun, handpainted, yarn for my spinning guild exchange.
The Sheep Shawl a Fibertrends pattern.
The WRS
One of my original designs, a lace wrap with beaded yarn. Picture later.
Shetland Cameron Shawl
Shetland Rosebud Shawl

That is quite a bit! I thought I was shawled out but then I found the Forest Path Stole in the WIP basket. I started it last year right before I was to commissionedto knit the wrap with beaded yarn. Life and the WRS got in the way and I forgot about it!. I picked it up last night and knew inmediately why I had chosen the pattern. I am on the 4th tier and there are 23 of them. I will get it done. I do not like UFOs and this is the only one I have around here.
Once that one is done I think I'll have to change the topic and knit some socks and an Aran sweater for which I am spinning the yarn.

Wedding Ring Shawl Blocked

It took me a few days to get the courage to block it. I had thoughts of running stitches that I could not catch and the whole thing unraveling. I bought a set of curtain strechers but it was not large enough. The shawl measures 2 x 2 meters that is 6'x 6' right in Sharon's dimensions. The floor with two bed sheets was the next and only other option. Yarn, darning needles and lots of pins on hand, I did it. Good thing not a single runner! I inspected it very very carefully all over. Here it is.
The pictures include one of the bucket where I washed it. I promise I washed my hands before working on it and I did not roll in the mud with it!. This is to show people that say they do not need to wash their shawls how much dirt they can accumulate while working on them. So spray and block would only encourage stains and discoloration in the long run.



Thanks for all your lovely comments.

The Wedding Ring Shawl is DONE!

This morning I had 6 points to go and decided I was going to finish it today. Now it is done done done!!!!!
The pattern is by Sharon Miller from Heirloom Knitting. It is project #16 with a limited number of patterns available. I used Shetland cobweb yarn and needles size 2.5 mms. Started in late August 2005 and finished it TODAY. It will be worn as a bridal shawl by my cousin Maria Jose who is getting married by late Summer. I still have to block it and dress it but it is done, done, done!
It is knitted lace, meaning every row is a pattern row. When I was working on the border it would take me 2 hours to knit a row. The points for the edge took 20 minutes each.
I am very happy with the shawl, it is a piece of art and if I am not mistaken and according to Sharon, I am the first person to finish it after her of course. Click to see more pictures here.I will post more pictures when I block it.

I love finishing stuff!

I am a one, max two project at a time person. For some reason this time I had lots of things OTN and it was driving me nuts!.
This week I finished one of the Shetland shawls the Cameron designed by Sharon Miller. Blocked and all! It is going to my best friends nephew. Santiago Uribe Gomez was born in Colombia, my home country. I stared it at the end of January and casted off end of April. Knit with needles US4 and Zephyr: silk wool blend from Jaggeryarn. Love the yarn! I did have an oops with it rrrrrrrr spilled coffee! I tried all kinds of different chemicals but the stain still shows. More than likely I am the only one that really sees it, I gues just because I know it's there. Oh well! It will be used at Santiago's baptism ceremony later on this year. Now the big question is: how on earth do I get it to Colombia in a safe way? I will not trust regular mail with it. So we'll see how or with whom I send it.
The sweater, is 50/50 alpaca wool with bits and pieces of recycled silk. The roving/blend was my own inspiration carded by Spinderella. Handspun by me on the Louet S45. Knit in stockinette stitch, the yarn did not lend for any stitch pattern. I will take pictures of me wearing it. The flat on the bed ones do not do show it well enough, but what really matters here is the yarn. It is a plain cardigan knit sleeves first, then from the top down, short row shoulders , mount sleeves as I go. Then the bottom part fronts and back at once. NO SEAMS! Gotta love it!