A Looming Crisis

Seriously

Where the hell am I going to find room for a loom?

For those just joining us - I've been holding up the crucifix and garlic for several years now when it comes to the thought of weaving. I've been spinning for two years now and while spinning does require equipment - it's still somewhat portable which is why I like knitting.

Last September, I won a prize at the Five Counties Guild competition. It was a weaving shuttle. A beautiful rosewood hand carved shuttle by a wood worker in the Kitchener-Waterloo area named David Bell. Now I'm a sucker for beautiful wood so I started to think about weaving. As a member of the local weavers and spinners guild, I had access to alot of "bench strength" (all puns intended).

I signed up for an intro lesson last Monday. My teacher is a retired high school teacher so I'm in good hands. She let me wind some bobbins and then using her Gilmore loom I made 3 samplers just to see what it was like. My teacher had warped the loom already so it was easy. Here are some shots of my weaving attempts. You can see on the first section how my ends weren't very tight so it flares out a bit. Of course, now I'm hooked and beginning to ponder which loom would be best for me. I usually get tools that grow with me from the get-go. Since I've no extra space in this house, a loom that folds is a must. I'm thinking about 26" is the way to go. If I do anything wider, the guild looms are available.

I've been scoping out the Schacht Baby Wolf and the Louet Jane. I'm not familiar with the terminology enough to read the specs and understand them. If anyone has any bias one way or the other - I'm all ears.

Here are some shuttle glamour shots taken by my husband who's playing with his Nikon D80 I gave him for Christmas.

Here are some great night shots he took down by Niagara Falls. I love the one that shows the colours lights on the horseshoe falls.

Lastly - here's a shot of Phoebe. Yes, Flatcoats are a goofy breed - that's why they fit in well with our family.

New Vintages

Robin Williams once said of Canada's relationship to the US - "It's like living in a loft apartment over a really great party". Make that a cold apartment. As my yoga instructor announced last night, "I've got February head in mid January already". I'm on the last sleeve of Roam and I feel like I'm roaming through an endless desert with all of that seed stitch. I'm also working on my first store sample in some delicious Americo Alpaca. It seems like ages since I experience a warm day or the delight of a new pretty spring project.

It's this stage in winter's course that a few things help me to hang on. Seeing the launch of the new spring knitting magazines is one of them. I know when the new Rowan comes that Madrona is just weeks away and then March is around the corner and I consider that the home stretch. I don't have the new Rowan magazine in my hands but heck, I'll throw caution to the wind and highlight some of the designs that have caught my eye early on from Rowan and Berroco.

I'm loving this cover cardigan called "Lotus". The model is stunning and I'm a sucker for this elegant shade of wheat. The crochet edging appeals to my need to shake things up a bit and I think it would be beautiful over dresses, summer tanks and a variety of outfits. Consider this queued.

Also in Rowan - I'm intrigued with the Kaffe Fassett Summer Tweed sweater. It's vintage Kaffe and the way the triangles intersect really makes it interesting. I bet this would go with lots of colours and outfits too.

Norah Gaughan appears to have delivered another great collection in her NG Volume 4 pattern book. This cover tunic called "Flower Child" is stunning. The way the panels intersect on the back (are we seeing a theme in what I'm attracted to here?) is also beautiful and I think it would be a fun knit.

It's been a while since I spoke about a wine in this blog. I need to get back to that because I've been attending lots of classes and tastings to learn about the new vintages. Normally I pair a lighter rose or riesling with the new Spring pattern books but the new Trius Red deserves special notice. The 2007 vintage has just been released and since the summer of '07 was a winemaker's dream - the Ontario 2007 vintages will be the best EVER released. This Trius red is fruit forward with the perfect touch of oak. I love I it when I can't pick out the individual elements in a wine because the blend is so perfect and this one hits the mark. When I drink it I remember the summer of 2007

....and dream of pretty sweaters.

Rare things


To get the WIP update out of the way up front - I've finished the first sleeve on Roam. I'll spare you the pictures...it's miles of seed stitch looking pretty much like the other pieces. I have however, had an epiphany (just cause I like saying "epiphany"). Apparently, my desire to knit something isn't so much a function of its beauty (while that helps) but rather it's a matter of scarcity. To be quite frank - nothing makes me want to knit something more than being told I can't.


Let me present exhibit A - Botticelli. I loved Rowan 44. LOVED it. I really loved Botticelli when I first saw it. It went on my "bucket list". Then Julie at Needle Emporium posted to her blog that she'd received a sample garment from Rowan. I had to see it in the flesh (or should I say "the fibre"). Once I tried it on, I was smitten. This is one beautiful garment and the colours are amazing. "I'll take one to go" I announced emphatically. "Not in that shade", explained Julie. Apparently, the shade Camel 157 of Felted Tweed is in short supply world wide. Of course, I could choose another background shade (and another knitter shopping at the same time I was did just that). It would look great in many other background shades - wheat is also an option.



That was beside the point. I was now determined to get some Camel Felted Tweed. I bought the motif shades of felted tweed and Kid Silk Aurora from Julie and scoured the Internet for the shade I needed. I hit pay dirt at Cucumber Patch and it arrived yesterday. It's great and I think casting on for this project may just be the perfect way to begin the New Year.


After all, what's Christmas without the Camel?



Happy New Year everyone - may you start the year with a joyful snout full of snow!

Judy, Judy, Judy

I've secretly wanted a dress form (aka Dress Judy) for a couple of years now. I toyed with the notion of ordering a new one but recently some of the beautiful vintage dress forms have really caught my eye.

About a month ago, I was traveling home from a meeting at the winery through Niagara on the Lake. I drove past a funky antique store housed in an old church called Europa Antiques. Every time I pass by I think "I should go in". This time was no different except immediately after I thought "I should go in" and equally strong voice responded GO IN! When I relayed this story to one of the women who owned the store she turned deadpan to her partner and said "Guess what? Looks like that microphone we installed out front is working". How can you not buy something from folks with such a sense of humour? They had two dress forms and one of them was exactly the size I wanted. It's an Acme dress form from Brooklyn. I love imagining all of the talented seamstresses who may have worked with her. For now, she displays my stranded sweaters and this week shows of the pieces of my Roam. This lighting actually shows the shading of the yarn quite accurately. I'm just finishing the first sleeve and have one last sleeve and the hood and finishing to go. I'll freely admit that I'm on sleeve island at this point. I do love the rhythm of the seed stitch and the yarn is amazing but it feels like the 78th km of a 100km race. So far come - so far still to go. I do really want this puppy done so I'll continue to plug away!

Speaking of puppies - Phoebe is doing well. She's growing like a weed and is showing impeccable taste in her choice of pillows. What else are designer knitting bags for?

It's a Girl



Not much knitting going on in these parts. There's a distraction in town.

After losing our beloved Flat Coated Retriever Echo last August - there was great debate in our house as to whether or not we should get another. After much discussion...we decided to get a puppy. We found a great breeder and as luck would have it, there were 5 girl puppies from a litter of six so we would have no problem getting another female.




A week ago Sunday, we picked her up. The glow of puppy kisses and tail wagging lasted half way down the breeder's driveway when she began wailing. After about 45 minutes - she fell asleep in the back seat between the boys.

We've named her Phoebe because I always said if Echo had been a human being, she'd have been Phoebe on Friends. She's adorable and ALOT of work right now. The wailing is still continuing in the night time but a round of NyQuil shooters and ear plugs seems to help.



On the breeder's advice - I bought an over sized stuffed dog to mimic her mother. She loves to cuddle up to it. I got a black dog so she would feel comfortable but it doesn't make for the best photography when the subject is also black.

And yes -she's already fetched a bag of Lopi she found in the corner.

Batten the stashes!!

McGuyvering

Last summer my husband had to pull over to the side of the road 500 miles from home in a rain storm to deal with a car part underneath the vehicle that was dragging loudly on the road. He crawled underneath, took the cord to his iPod player and tied the offensive part back in place. In our house we call that "McGuyvering it".

The urban dictionary defines McGuyvering as the ability to achieve a goal through the ingenious combination of common household items, in the spirit of Richard Dean Anderson's character McGuyver, from the television series of the same name. My husband was so proud of his fix that I think he's not gotten around to actually having it repaired 4 months later. Come to think of it - the art of making do with what we have is a skill worth cultivating, especially in these frugal times.

I'm thinking of "McGuyvering" a design from the new Interweave book Color Style. It's this lovely design by Veronik Avery. It's called the Mosaic Jacket and it calls for a combination of gray and black Lopi Light. Subtle shades of earth tones and blue make the yoke design. As I admired it, it occurred to me that I had enough Lopi Lite in stash. It was in kit form to make the Getaway Satchel from an older Interweave Knits. I have so many darn bags as it is and I'm not particularly fond of felting (there, I said it out loud). The challenge was that instead of the neutral gray and black for the tweed pattern, I'd be dealing with red and black. How would that dictate the colours in the yoke pattern? I did some futzing around and this is what I came up with. I like it for the most part but I think I'll swap the tweedy pink at the top for a nice tweedy lilac I have instead. I do love red and purple. I did purchase a few odd balls of Lopi Lite to have the neutral shades for the yoke so I suppose that's "McGuyver Lite" but heck, I'm making do and that's what counts. I am quite fond of the way it looks actually.

In further McGuyvering news - my buddy Vanessa showed us how to McGuyver our spinning wheels to make lace weight yarn when the uptake is too strong. Here's the link to her post which explains it beautifully but basically it involves copper pipe foam insulation and a knife. Voila - I'm spinning nice thin yarn too on my Wee Robin - no special equipment required.

I suppose this is what my grandmother used to call "making do" but you gotta admit, there's a certain smugness to solving problems with accessible solutions. Now - how on earth are we going to listen to the iPod now that the audio cord is holding the car together?

Roam wasn't Knit in a Day

I've been focusing on making as much progress as possible on Roam. For those keeping score, I'm using Lisa Souza's Baby Alpaca Silk in the Mohogany colourway. Sometimes I wonder if blog readers get bored seeing a fairly simple knit progress. After all, this is seed stitch with a simple slip stitch design running up the front. The yarn is perfect for this design since I really believe it needs to be very drapey and hug the body to show off the shaping. This yarn has subtle shots of cobalt blue through it so I'm thinking a nice fancy blue zipper will finish it nicely. Hopefully the sleeves go quickly.

As you'll recall, I had to frog back the right front due to "gaugicus loosikus". The re knit went quickly and I've now completed the back and both front pieces. Everything matches and now it's time for the sleeves and hood. I've never done a hood before and I'll admit that it seems as though every designer is including hoods on their latest offerings. Riding to Avalon, Cassidy and The Basic Chic Hoodie are all on my "to do list" but by the time I get around to knitting them, I fear that the "Gangsta Chic" look will be passe. After all, these hoods will likely never be used (in my situation) so they're more fashion statement then functional. I do however really like the way they look on the designs.

I did purchase a little cardigan in the spring that included a hood that zips on under a small collar so when hoods are out - it still works. Maybe for some of these other designs that are less sporty than Roam a detachable hood is a possibility? If anyone's seen this done by another knitter - do share please!

Who knows, maybe the whole hood thing will stay in fashion. After all, it masks a bad hair day.

Jane The Knitter

It's great when someone is branded by their profession. It's nothing new, I imagine that anyone with the last name Carpenter or Cook can boast an ancestor who actually was a carpenter or cook. I awaited the Jane Ellison seminar at Stitch with much anticipation. I hadn't realized how prolific this lady was until I counted the projects designed by her in my queue alone.

This cardigan called Esme is out of one of the Queensland design books (yarn stashed...check) and Manhattan from Pure Noro last year is languishing but still makes my heart beat faster. Meeting her did not disappoint. Poor thing was fighting a nasty cold and given her apparent schedule, it's not surprising.

The group was intimate - only about seven of us. Stitch is an amazing little store. It's actually the first floor of a Victorian house. Imagine what your house would look like if you could decorate it with gobs of designer yarn and you've pretty much got the picture. It's charming, soothing and filled with creative inspiration. Jane brought with her sweater samples from her Mirasol books. Mirasol is a fair trade yarn line in support of the families who shepherd the Alpaca in Peru. Mirasol book 3 is wonderful and my personal favourite is this cabled, hooded tunic done in Qina (a blend of Alpaca and Bamboo of all things). I tried the sample on as did several other knitters and it looked great on everyone. That's the hallmark of a great design in my opinion. Jocelyn (who owns Stitch) brought in the Qina in a wonderful Wisteria shade and I can't stop thinking about it. So far, so good though - I'm still at the longing stage and haven't actually transgressed to the plotting stage but I'm darn close. The workshop revolved around a lovely little Inca-styled hat with slip-stitched patterning. Jane is charming and patient and lovely (if you like willowy, model-like blonds who are talented and nice).

Jocelyn had this mock newspaper front page made up to hang discretely on the wall for Jane to casually notice.Ironically, she found her first designing job in this same publication. She's focusing mostly on the Mirasol yarns for now though the new Jane Ellison Noro book is to die for also. If "Jane the Knitter" would just create fewer amazing designs then maybe I won't have to have my name legally changed to "Princess Running with Mastercard".

The FUNdamentals of Stashenomics

Are we having fun yet?

Every knitter tells themselves as they (yet again) purchase 1600 metres of Aran weight blue tweed yarn "If I ever fall on hard times, I'll have the stash to rely on. I will be able to continue to knit". I said it to myself every damn time.

I never thought I'd have to mean it.

Canada will go to the polls this coming Tuesday to elect a new government and our friends to the South are coming into the home stretch of what can only be described as "the mother of all elections". I've been watching lots of TV to try and keep abreast of the political issues and I've been working alternately on Cobblestone for DH and Roam for myself. My thrill at finishing The Diamond Fantasy Shawl has made me want to clear up a few UFOs so these two are on deck.

As I think about why we've come to this point, I look at my yarn stash and ask myself, was it a good investment? Those Starmore kits I hoarded in the early nineties when she ended production of her Campion yarn label could probably be sold easily or if I knit them provide many long months of knitting enjoyment. Good investment.

Ditto with those Kaffe Fassett kits - Spanish Combs (now there's an epic project) and China Clouds I actually had ear-marked for when I retire and have long hours to knit, free from forty-something obligations.

Yorkshire Tweed DK in various colours and Noro Kureyon and Silk Garden...great investments. These yarns have been hundreds of possible creations in my head. They'll hold their value.

Let's not talk about the gittery stuff. I consider these to be the junk bonds of the stash.

My yarn portfolio is solid and if I have to live off of it for a while - no problemo. This whole fiasco has however made me think about what political statement my stash makes. I've decided how to vote in my election this Tuesday and I had to look no further than Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Yes funding for the arts is important - heck I served on my local Symphony Board for five years. There won't be any arts or even an economy if the planet is going down for the count. Whether one believes we've caused climate change or not - most agree it's happening and we ain't helping. It seems to me every problem traces back to greed and the desire for a few to benefit often at the expense of others. Fair trade means everyone in the supply chain makes a decent living and is treated appropriately. On October 20th - Stitch yarn store in Grimsby will be hosting Jane Ellison and we'll be working with Mirasol yarns which are produced based on fair trade principles (visit here for more info on the seminar). These kinds of yarns will have an honoured place in my stash going forward as will local yarns. Shelridge Farms here in Ontario makes a beautiful selection of yarns lovingly shepherded from field to fingers by Buffy Taylor. I will continue to support my local yarn stores too even if it's smaller amounts of lovely yarns to make accessories.

No doubt, the election will provide many more knitting hours which is a good thing because I had to rip out the second front of Roam. My gauge was off and the piece was about and inch wider than its twin. After this picture was taken, I ripped the sucker out. All of those gains wiped out in only 15 minutes.

That's ok - it may take a while to get back where I was but it will be so much better in the end than if I hadn't ripped it out.

Feeling Like a Third Wheel



When I first decided to start looking for a spinning wheel 3 years ago, I mentioned to a group of friend that I wanted it to be beautiful, double treadle and portable. My friend Vanessa e mailed me back and said "I have two words for you...Wee Robin".









Wee Robin wheels are the creation of Gilbert Gonsalves. He downsized his Robin wheels (named after his wife) to a small version that folds up small enough to fit in the overhead bin of an airplane. As I was attending Rheinbeck that year, I was able to test drive one and immediately got on the waiting list. I eventually got my Schacht DT Matchless and my Kromski Sonata which I classify as "stay put and portable" respectively. I almost forgot that I was on the Wee Robin waiting list until about a month ago Gilbert called me to say that he had one for me and would be in my neck of the woods at the Finger Lakes Fiber festival in late September.








I had a lovely drive through the Finger Lakes region of New York state and arrived at the festival without incident. Going home was another matter...(note to self - make sure husband hasn't set the GPS to avoid toll roads when in unfamiliar territory). I had two Wee Robins to choose from. One had delicate birds eye maple and one had birds eye maple and what's called spalting which creates this tiger-stripe effect. I initially didn't care for the spalting but within about fifteen minutes, came to really love the effect. It was a hard choice but the tiger wheel came home with me.









I also got a denim bag (made by the Bag Lady) which holds my Wee Robin beautifully. It clocks in around 10 lbs which is light enough to carry as a back pack (which the bag is designed to do) but sturdy enough to make the spinning experience nice and solid. The lining of the bag is beautiful too.





I spent all last week getting acquainted with my wheel. I spun and plied some Shetland roving I had from my BC trip. I've not measured the wraps per inch yet but I'm guessing it's around a sport weight. I'm very pleased with the consistency.

Wheel specs from the Robin site are:

The orfice is 22" high, when ready to spin. When folded the wheel isonly 17" high, 15.5" wide and 8" deep. The wheel, using cherry, weighs alittle over 8lbs. and comes with 3 bobbins that hold 6oz. of fiber each.The time required between fold up and ready is about 30 seconds. Standard ratios: 4,5,6-1/4 and 7-3/4 to 1. Ratios available to 15.5 to 1.

The Wee Robin tiger is truly a piece of functional art. I suppose all spinning wheels are but this one is special. It's a nano second to set up and I find the pull (a criticism of the bobbin lead tension) to be just perfect to my taste.

I truly feel that this one fills a gap in my wheel repertoire - in other words "Robin, you complete me".

Making a Splash

I've been a bad blogger.

I've got good reasons.

This blog is based on a kind of "wine meets technology" premise. That sentiment was brought to life literally when I knocked a glass of Private Reserve Muscat directly into the side of my computer tower. Mother boards don't like wine so in this tale of woe lies my first excuse.

Secondly, I had to get my Diamond Fantasy shawl done for the Five Counties competition. I ran out of yarn twice and had to spin more. Throw in a few unforeseen life events and this baby came down much closer to the wire than I'd hoped. I finished it last Wednesday and blocked it immediately.

I'd also (one month ago) offered to knit a second item for the display. Since we were assigned various anniversaries to represent, I got 50th which is gold. I had some Lisa Souza BFL roving spun up in her jonquil colourway. It was to become the Koolhaus hat by Jared Flood since it's such a cool pattern and the diamond design nods to our guild's 60th anniversary.

I stayed up until 1:00 am Friday night attempting to finish it. I had to get up at 5:15 am to meet my partners for the display set up so the damn thing was completed in the car on the way up to the competition. No I wasn't driving...

The display looked really nice. My guild associate who takes the lead on this display every year painted the ladies to make them look like wedding guests and the centre piece is designed to mimic a tiered wedding cake.

Our guild didn't win best display. I was hoping Diamond Fantasy would win for best knitted item by a novice - it didn't win that either.

I was surprised to learn it won (by one vote) the people's choice award. My prize was a beautiful hand carved weaving shuttle.

I don't weave

I will not start weaving

I will not start weaving

I will not start weaving

I don't need another hobby

Where's the wine?

Cast your eyes away from the shiny new projects

Thanks so much for all of your kind comments about Echo. We're still adjusting to her absence and keeping busy with preparations for the new school year. I always think of September as the real new year anyway. It's also a very busy month in the fibre world with several fairs and events to attend. As the September 20th 5 Counties event looms (pardon the pun), I'm slogging through the third period of Diamond Fantasy. It'll be touch and go as to whether or not I have to spin more yarn but I'm on the eighth repeat with two more to go until the end. I've enjoyed the shetland/silk blend so much that I'm going to get more to hopefully spin a sweater's worth. This year Michele has blended the natural shetland with the copper shots of silk and Pygora. Pygora is a goat which is a Pygmy and Angora cross. The roving is super soft with a bit of an angora halo but not much memory. The Shetland gives the bounce - the Pygora gives the halo. I understand that Spin-Off will be featuring Pygora in their Fall issue so perhaps this is the new "in fibre"?

Michele Ginty from Hopeful Shetlands sent me a sample which I spun and chain plied into a 3 ply yarn. Here's the little sample I spun - much softer and whiter than the blend I'm using for the shawl. I'm scooping 2.5 lbs to get a sweater's worth. I calculated this by weighing the small sample I had then measuring its length. I then compared it to similar commercial yarns of similar gauge so I'm pretty sure I'm in the ball park.

Now that the end is in sight for the shawl - I can think about fall projects. After lace weight natural yarn - I'm jonesing for some colour. I've got the Yorshire Tweed Aran in Claret and the Kaffe colourscape in ghost to make Lantern from the new fall VK. It's a nice chunky weight so hopefully it'll be a fast knit.

Also from the new VK is the lovely Greenland by Robin Melanson. The BSA Melange is a bit spendy and I figure Lisa Souza's Baby Alpaca Silk will sub beautifully. I debated over colour choice but in the end got the mother of pearl colourway. At first glance it looks alabaster but there is a definite light wash of pinks, turquoise, and orange. It's so subtle - you think you're imagining it.

No use drooling over projects that'll have to wait until I'm done the DFS.

Guess I'd better get back to the shawl...are we there yet?