Update, Golf and Tagliatelli

No blogging for a few days, and time for an update. First, it was a long weekend here in Ontario, and we celebrate by getting outside and enjoying the amazing, hot, summer days. Rick and I chose to participate in our Club Championships at our golf club. It is three days of intense competition, with 5 hour rounds and cheering beer drinkers on the patio to welcome you at the 18th green. I played for the first time in the Ladies Senior Open category, as I am a freshly minted senior golfer (50 and over). Being the rookie, I had only expectations to compete at a respectable level and not blow up and run crying from the course. I was playing with some pleasant ladies, all but one were familiar to me, and all welcomed the newbie to the group. I played a steady 87 on the first day and lead the field by 2, then 88 on the second day and lead by 5! No one was more surprised than me. It felt comfortable and easy, and I totally enjoyed the long hot days with these gals. The last day, I suddenly felt the nerves. I imagined hitting the ball three times into the pond on seven, and losing the ball in the woods on thirteen and not successfully clearing the creek on sixteen. All of these scenarios could lead to the choke of the century, but no, I played a bit shaky but steady and won by 6 strokes! The win has me representing my club at the district Championship in September...

Of course the long golf days left little time for knitting, but I did whip up a Colinette Tagliatelli Coat over the last week and I am just finishing up the sewing of ends and the buttons, and will likely post the pattern in a day or two, now that my golf glory high is coming down....

Happy Canada Day!

On this bonus Tuesday off work, I am free to do what I like...(no family visiting, no obligations at all, just a free day)... After an early golf game, on a lovely morning, I have puttered around finishing some odd sewing repairs, and finishing some bead projects that were on the back burner. Here's the beaded necklaces...

And here is the newly blocked tank top....

Now the rest of the day is for relaxing with my book and enjoying the rest of the afternoon on the deck. The breeze is light, the temperature is warm (but not too hot) and the zebra finch (Ben) is chirping and enjoying his summer location.... hanging from the beam above my chair...

Tonight we will ride our bikes down to Port Dalhousie and watch the fireworks off the end of the pier. What a great day. Happy Canada Day..

Thursday Stuff...

I finished the shrug, and dampened to block. When I tried it on after drying, it fits perfectly. I like that the back dip well down my back, so that it looks more like a cropped cardi' than a shrug with minimal shaping. I even posed with it on my deck swing, even though it is very hot and humid today.





I also have a photo of the newest 'bird' to venture to our bird feeder. My husband got a bird feeder for the park across the street in the hopes of luring the sparrows that make such a racket on the eves trough above our bedroom window at dawn. He fills it at night in the dark and all the birds are busy around it first thing in the morning.... it works to reduce the noise! So the small birds knock the larger seeds to the ground and the bigger birds peck at the grass for the loose seeds. We have had red wing blackbirds and morning doves and rabbits and squirrels and even a goose visit. But the other morning we were up at 6:30 for golf and we saw this...






A wild turkey. He flew in and shooed away all the other critters and birds and started feasting on the dropped seeds. I have never seen one, much less in our rather well developed neighbourhood!

The finish line is in sight!

This has been the most labour intensive cardigan ever attempted by yours truly. I have really pushed it the last few days and if it were not for the cold, damp weekend (thus limited golf) I would not even be at this point. I have finished the pieces and have sewn them together and am now working the extra cable edging that is knitted separately and sewn on last. Meanwhile the sweater is damp and set on the drying screen, waiting for the last edge. I tried it on and it looks like a great fit, always a moment of nervous anticipation, even though the swatch was done and the measurements seem right....still there have been some near (and not so near ) misses on fits in the past, and you just hate to call the last 3 weeks a waste of time! But no, it fits and I will post a photo of the end result ON ME in a day or two, when the cable edge is attached. Notice the collar is not nearly as wide as the photo, but I checked the pattern many times and I swear they are missing a regular increase after the initial increases in the collar section. I would have reworked it with my own increases to look more like the photo in the magazine, but I kind of like the shawl collar as much or more than the cape collar, so I think I will keep it so.

I am enjoying the Masters on HD-TV and can't wait for my golf course to get that green and lush, and the weather to warm up enough for shorts.

Beading and Netting

I found some really cool beads at Walmart. (sometimes they can surprise me!). Just look at the funky shape, kind of like teeth carved out of pearly gray and black stones. I made a necklace by spacing the teeth between 2 irregular black beads. I made the matching bracelet with elastic thread, and using the few teeth that had 2 sets of holes drilled, top and bottom, and separating by a metalic copper bead from my bead stash. Exciting stuff for $8.

The Mesh Cap sweater has also been completed, and of course it has been modified due to a lack of sufficient yarn, so I left it with just a one inch ribbing edge to the neck, and now I can wear it as a scoop neck or pull it a bit off the shoulder for a more intriquing look... Wearing the new necklace and bracelet in this photo. And LOOK, all the snow is gone outside!! Our golf course opens next week!

Bamboo Button Vest

The Superwash Bamboo Button Vest is done and turned out great! I had my doubts, as it looked a bit skinny in the last photos, but I stuck with it and trusted the swatch (after washing). After the dampen and block, it fits perfectly.... Not too tight but a bit drapey. The yarn does relax a bit after wetting, and the ribbing flattened out a bit. The stitch pattern is a 4 by 2 rib, with the 2 stitches in seed stitch and the 4 in stocking stitch.... really very easy but a little more texture than plain ribbing. The buttons are a find, crafty bone and metal, sort of one of a kind as all are a different shade of brown, but I like the effect.

Pattern:

Needles: 3.5mm and 4.0mm

Gauge: 19 sts = 4 inches on the larger needles

Yarn: 7 balls of elann Superwash Bamboo, colour red.

Finished measurement: Bust 40 inches, length 24 inches.

Rib/seed stitch pattern: Row 1:[K4, P1, K1] repeat until last 4 sts, K4 Row 2: [P4, K1, P1] repeat until last 4 sts, P4 ** note the P1, K1 and K1, P1 create seed stitch over 2 stitches vertically.
Back: With smaller needles, cast on 83 sts, and work K1, P1 Rib for 2.5 inches. On last row, increas 7 sts evenly across.

Change to larger needles, and start Rib/seed stitch pattern: row 1: Edge stitch (always a Knit stitch), [K4, seed stitch 2] 14 times, K4, edge stitch.

Row 2: edge stitch, [P4, seed st 2] 14 times, P4, edge st.

Repeat these two rows until piece measures 15 inches.

Underarm shaping: Bind off 5 sts at beg of next 2 rows.

Decrease one more each side one time.

Continue even, with one edle st each side until total measures 24.5 inches. Bind off all sts.

Front: (make 2 reversing shaping for second) Cast on 41 sts: work K1, P1 ribbing for 2.5 inches. Increase one stitch across last row. Change to larger needles and start Rib/seed st pattern: Edge stitch, [K4, seed st 2] 6 times, K4, edge st.

Continue in this pattern, and work for 15 inches. Decrease at armhole: bind off 5 sts, then one more on next row...***at the same time start V neck: Decrease one at neck edge very 2nd row 5 times, then every 4th row 10 times. Work even until piece measure 24.5 inches.

Join shoulder seams and work ribbing for front edge like this: With smaller needles (circular) pick up 70 sts to first neck dec, place marker. Pick uo 45 sts up neck edge, then 31 along back of neck, 45 down other side to end of V, then 70 down straight front edge to bottom. Work in K1, P1 ribbing for 3 rows. Buttonhole row: Work 2, bind off next 2 sts [work 11 sts, bind off 2 sts] five more times, work plain rib to end of row. On return row, cast on 2 sts over the holes. Continue to rib for 2 more rows, then cast off Loosely.

At armholes, pick up and rib 100 sts evenly spaced. Rib for 5 rows and cast off loosely.

Sew side seams.

Knitting with Stainless Steel?

My friend Susan was away in Chicago for a week, and brought a gift from a lovely yarnshop she found. It is a scarf kit from Habu textiles. I have never seen anything like this. It consists of two incredibly fine laceweight yarns that are knit together on relatively large needles(very lacey). That in itself is not unusual. The thing that had my jaw on the table is one of the yarns is Silk Stainless Steel..... Yes. 69% silk, 31% stainless steel. I checked out the website, and they said the fibre has been used to make a fine mess for oil filters! But they decided it would be more fun to wrap silk around it and use it for knitting and weaving. The end fabric can be twisted and it will hold its shape until you pull it smooth again.

I started a swatch to see how it handles and it takes a bit to get used to the lack of stretch in the steel, so you need to move loosely, but already I can see the way it can be molded.

It is Kit78, Kushu Kushu - merino and silk stainless steel scarf from Habu, if you want to find one yourself. Mine is colour 29, coffee.

Here are my finished socks. And I have started a Superwash Bamboo button front vest, my next pattern soon to be posted.

Silk Hand Maiden Wrap

The cabled silk wrap is done! I purchased 2 skeins of hand dyed Two Four Silk, from Ram Wools. The colourway is blackberry, and although both skeins are labeled that, you find with the hand dyed yarns, the skeins can be quite different. So if using this yarn, you must work with both skeins and alternate 2 rows from one, then 2 rows from the other, throughout the project.

Pattern for Silk Wrap.

Yarn: Two Four Silk, 100% silk, blackberry, 2 skeins, 400m, 200gm per skein.

Needles: 4.5mm

Gauge 20 sts = 4 inches (after blocking)

This yarn will have distinct cables while knitting, but will soften and relax after a cool wash and block.

details......

Cable left: place next 3 stitches on cable needle and hold to front, knit 3 sts, then knit 3 sts from cable needle.

Pattern: With 4.5 mm needles, cast on 120 sts.

Row 1: (right side) p1,[k6, p1]17 times.

Row2: (wrong side) k1,[p6, k1] 17 times.

Row 3: as row 1,

Row 4: and all wrong side rows as row 2

Row 5: p1, k6, [p1, cable left, p1, k6] 8 times, p1

Row 7: as row 1.

Continue on the eight row repeat, work until the length of the piece is 21 inches.

Split for neck: Work across to middle block of 6 stocking stitches. Cast off these 6 stitches. Work now with only one side (put other 57 stitches on a holder.)

Continue in established pattern on 57 sts for 5 inches.

On next row 5, Increase into the center front edge stitch by knitting front and back of that stitch. Increase one stitch at every cable row on the center front edge only, until 7 stitches have been added, making them match the pattern (stocking stitch 6, with P1 edge). Continue even until same length as back. Bind off all sts.

Pick up held 57 sts, and work as for other half.

Wear it staight over the shoulder, or as I have in the photo with the wide part (back) over one shoulder and the two narrow parts thrown over each other over the other shoulder.

Chunky Bead and Medallion Necklace

I had a few emails asking about the necklace in this photo. The necklace is one of my designs, and is very easy to make and the beads are easy and inexpensive to get! The package of beads come from Walmart (yes, they have a great bead department), and all you need is the package of handmade aluminum beads with medallion, and complimenting glass or wooden beads. The small beads I chose for this one are metallic and irregular in shape and grey, black, and pearly in colour, and the aluminum chunky beads and medallion are grey metal, although you can get them in a copper colour too.

The photos show the stringing order, start in the center of beading wire, build outwards with three small beads in between the chunky ones until used up, then small only until length desired. The one in the photo is 15 inches total. Then mount the fastening claw and ring and pinch the crimping ring to secure. (packages usually have instructions) I use a package of fine Tigertail wire with crimp beads, that will make 2 or 3 necklaces, and always have some claws and rings in my beading stash.

And with the leftover beads, you can make earrings! You need hooks, pins and pliers.

Noro Silk Garden Mitered Pullover

One of my favourite sweaters in recent years has been this Noro Silk Garden, made from a free pattern I found on the net. It looks complicated, but you work one square at a time and 4 squares , plus a neck addition, makes the front. The back is the same, then the sleeves are knit straight. What a surprise mix of colours with the Noro yarn. I get comments everywhere I where it.

My Knitting Group: the StCG&CC Knitters, often pool our talents to make afghans for charites. They end up on auction tables and have raised as much as $300 for charity. A couple of years ago we made one out of scraps from our stashes. We had lots of 2 main colours of worsted weight blues, a denim, and aqua. An we used lots of other colours, and made squares by holding one main colour with one odd ball colour. The result is many squares of many colours, but the underlying tone is the main colour, so it all flows together. We had a few squares left over after the bed size blanket was made, and I have just taken them out of stash to finish into a crib size blanket that will be a baby gift for our friend, Lori, at the club, who is expecting her first baby.

StashBusting Blanket - Pattern.

Any combo of worsted weight yarns!

Holding 2 yarns together, and using 6 mm needles, Cast on 30 sts. Work in seed stitch (K1, P1, across. Next row K the purls and P the knits. Repeat this last row) until 8 inches (square) is done, bind off.

Joining: Crochet an edge in black (or contrasting colour) around every square. Crochet together each square in a horizontal row, then all the vertical row. I finished with one row around the whole outside, then sew in all the ends. *the seed stitch will make it the same front and back, but other textured stitches can be used, or even stocking stitch, but you will have a front and back.*

Done at 10:30pm!

Where did these come from?

By now you may wonder how I have put up so many patterns so quickly. No I am not creating them that fast, but I have been making patterns for my yarn for a while and have been documenting the projects on ***paper***. Yes, I know how antiquated that sounds, but it is true. I have been journalling my knitting for the last 3 years, and I have used these notes to put to print most of the last entries. Here are photos of the journals and some samples of the entries (excuse the handwriting, at the time I only thought I would read them). One is the page where I had notes for the Chunky-Fur Zippered Vest. Note the patons pattern at the bottom left. I made that for my sister.

The other is one of the pages for the Tagliateli Cardigan. I often took photos of works in progress, you will see a lot of my light grey carpet!

There are still more to come from the old journals, and I have 2 new projects on the go, to post patterns soon. One is a lacey mohair triangle shawl, and the other a warmer, silk wrap with cables.

Thank you for all the nice emails and comments, they are incredibly inspiring.

Not Knitting, (but still crafty?)

As I stated on page one, I occasionally will chat about things other than knitting(gasp). Although it is unthinkable, at times I am drawn to projects that do not involve string and sticks. These paintings were inspired by a bathroom that is gradually becoming a true oasis, with shells and artifacts and paintings of tropical places and things. Every time I am in the islands, I am inspired by the amazings flowers, so bright and lush, so different from the grey Canadian landscape I leave behind (we always go in the Winter).









These are 8 x 10 size acrylic paintings on 140lb acid free cold press paper, in white matts with dark brown wood frames.



They lean up against a huge canvas of the island in the bay at the Couples, Ocho Rios, in Jamaica. An absolutely lovely resort we visited.

The large canvas was done last year shortly after our return from the place. It is also acrylic on a stretched canvas (no frame).



The last of the new series is a bright Bird of Paradise, same size, painted as a wedding gift to a nice young couple who will honeymoon in Hawaii. I hope they will be as captivated by the flowers as I was, and this will remind them of their trip.

Yarn That Appears in the Mail (a.k.a: Joy in a Box)

The Sock yarn arrived! My Knitting Group are going to dye them in a few weeks (photos will happen!). You can see in the photo, peeking through from the bottom of the box some burgundy Esprit from elann, a cotton stretch yarn that I love for summer wear.... Design to be worked out as the weather gets warmer. I also got the new Vogue Knitting winter magazine, and found this amazing cardigan / jacket. WOW. I happen to have in my stash, waiting for the perfect (deserving) pattern, and this may be it. The yarn is Ram Wool's Inca Silk, a yarn I have used before and LOVE. I will have to swatch (yes, it's true, I actually swatch to check gauge!)

I have finished the hoody from Son of Stitch and Bitch, here, and it has turned out to be a cute, girly, version of the male hoody, don't you think?

Next project: I have some 100 % silk, from Hand Maiden (Canadian hand-dyed yarns). It is Two Four Silk, worsted weight, knit on 4.5mm needles. The colour is blackberry, a mix of red, purple and blue. At first I thought a loose pullover (drapey), but upon swatching (again, the swatch reference?), and blocking, I found it behaved like many silks and relaxed and became VERY soft. I think it is much better suited for a shawl or wrap than a structured sweater, so the beginnings of a new wrap pattern is in the works.... stay tuned!

Duncan's New Coat

Meet Duncan.

A lovely Golden Retriever Pup, new member of the family of one of my Knitting Friends. Fiona was so busy handling (and loving) new Duncan, that I knew she had no time to knit (gasp!), so I offered to take the amazing yarn she bought, and whip it up for her (and Duncan). The book is a collection of classic dog coats called Dog Gone Cute. He sure is. After the novelty of the camera and the doggie treats wore off Duncan discovered that alpaca and silk are not only fashionable and soft to wear, they were also a delight to BITE! A very happy pup indeed.