Knitlit

There's not been much knitting done around these parts lately. A new editor is finally in place at one of the pubs I write for so things need to get turned around quickly. I'm spending most nights researching and writing. I have however, read a pretty good book recently. I rarely make time to read fiction. I spend so much time reading for my work that I need to shift gears when I get home and do different things. I love to read and was a book worm as a kid but since I had the boys - other things keep getting in the way.

I purchased a copy of The Friday Night Knitting Club a couple of weeks ago and finished it last night. I was skeptical but decided to buy the book when I learned that Julia Roberts had bought the rights to make it into a movie. I doubt she'd be interested if it was truly awful so I gave it a whirl. I really enjoyed the book and was pleased to see that the Knitting Club and the shop around which the story revolves were utilized appropriately. In other words, the store and club merely served as vehicles to develop the characters and the entire text wasn't peppered with long passages about long tail cast on versus cabled cast on. I felt the characters were nicely developed and I did have an interest in where they were headed. It was a light- hearted easy read ...until the last 3 chapters or so. I won't spoil the plot but I will say that the story took an unexpected turn that surprised me. This particular plot turn hit WAY too close to home for me so I would imagine it hit me a bit harder than most readers. I would give the author credit for not taking the safe, predictable route and I was definitely moved emotionally. Knitter or non-knitter this book is thoughtfully told and well written. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

I was so verklempt at the book's ending that a little retail therapy was in order. My favourite local boutique just got their spring line in and this new label called One Girl Who is dynamite. I purchased this lovely cardigan (left) in the white colour shown. It's based on those lovely circle jacket designs that we're seeing in knitwear right now and the one side falls lower than the other. I LOVE it.

I also got this cardigan(right). Mine is black but you get the picture. Great to dress up and dress down with a little whimsy.

I did complete the first side of the Vogue Knitting pink Koigu skirt so, once that's blocked, I'll show you the completed piece. Poppy shoulders are seamed and I just have to sew in the first sleeve. I want to try it on with one sleeve to make sure the length is correct before I make the other one the same. I could just go for the Venus di Milo look and call it a day!

Scout's Honour

At the end of January, I surveyed my editorial calendars for the publications I write for and breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing due until the end of February! Oh how I would wile away the winter evenings knitting and spinning. Poppy would be done by Valentines! Out of nowhere came 2 other assignments both with tight deadlines. You see I write so I can buy yarn which I don't have time to knit with...because I write. As I take "mini breaks" from my work, I surf the net and sometimes stumble over really cool projects that jump out at me. Such was the case with Bonne Marie Burns' new take on her popular Ribby Cardi. She's re-designed the ribby-cardi as a pullover and the cool twist is she's used an interesting combination of hand painted variegated yarns. I found this electric blue with black mixture "very eighties" and I really loved how it blended with the black and white hand paint. Chic Knits has partnered with Scout's Swag to sell these patterns and provide the yarn for them too. I'd recently purchased some of the Pippikneesocks roving from Scout and her responsiveness and customer service were excellent. (More on the roving later on but it totally rocks)! I originally ordered the exactly same colour combination as shown in the model but when I saw Scout's "hot fudge sundae" colourway I immediately switched the colour for the top portion and subbed it instead. Hot fudge combines wonderful shades of caramel, gold, cream, chocolate brown and blue to tie in with the main colourway for the bottom part of the sweater. This yarn is so soft - it'll be a delight to work with and as usual, Scout's service was perfecto! One thing I admire about Bonne Marie's patterns is how wonderful they look on so many different people in so many different yarns. I'm looking forward to finally working with one of her designs. I'm not sure yet if it will be Ribby Pullie or Ariann on the needles next. I have to finish Poppy first.

Here is Poppy with one completed sleeve. I did one less increase on the sleeve and made the increases every 7 rows instead of every 9. This gives me a final length of about 21". I plan to assemble the shoulders and sew in the first sleeve before I proceed to make the second one. I'll need to make sure that it's just the length I want.

I probably shouldn't feel guilty about relieving my stress by purchasing yarn. After all, I could be pulling a Brit and giving myself a whole new hair style. Yeah, that's the ticket. Now I'll need to buy yarn for new hats!

The Long Law of the Arm

It's taken a long time for me to actually accept that I need to factor my unique body type into the knitting process. Remind me sometime to show you the Kaffe Fassett Rowan Leaves sweater I made that fits like a tunic and has arms that hang to my knees. As I came to knit the top of Poppy, I realized that one wrong move and that horizontal join between the yoke and the bottom section could hang a bit low and cut a very nice swath in "all the wrong places" if you get my drift. I was told by a seamstress about a year ago that I had a very short armhole depth. Good to know! So, I decided to shave about an inch off of the arm hole shaping for Poppy. I simply knit to the height I thought best, and cast off as evenly as possible the remaining stitches in three equal parts for the shoulder steps. I then re-knit the back to match the shaping. Here is Poppy thus far. She's not properly blocked yet, but you get the drift. I quite like to colour progressions in this shade of Silk Garden #224. I quickly realized that I needed to finish the top section before I knit the sleeves. The pattern calls for a final sleeve length of 25+" including sleeve cap. I know that will be much longer than I need. I want the sleeve to hit just where my thumb joins my hand so I figure about 20" will be plenty. To make the sleeve shorter, I'm increasing every 7 rows instead of every 9 as the pattern calls. This should eliminate several inches and then I'll pin the final sleeve in and see how it falls. I'm thoroughly enjoying this project. It's colourful, easy but interesting and is knitting up quite quickly.

I've also been spinning. You may recall a few months ago I bought some Blue Faced Leicester roving from Lisa Souza. This colourway is called Jonquil and is shades of gold, butter with little flecks of blue and sage green. I struggled a bit with the BFL as I found the longer staple need more time to twist and so some of my sections weren't as nicely spun as they could have been. I am very excited however to report that I learned how to Navajo ply (aka chained singles). Learning how to do this was one of my knitting resolutions and a fellow Niagara Spinning Guild member at spin day showed me how. I love this method and am extremely pleased with the results. Lisa refers to it as "Goldilocks" and I can see why. I'm toying with the idea of making the Yarn Harlot's "One Row Hand spun Scarf" out of this. We'll see. I have more of this roving in the same dye lot and will probably spin it up first before I decide.

I'm still plugging away on the Lake Park hat. The lovely "pulled stitch" design doesn't show up well in this shot but I'm extremely pleased with how it's looking! I can't wait to wear it. Knitting with my own hand spun and knitting more small projects. Strike two more resolutions from the list. Maybe the hat will add some excitement to what's starting to feel like a very long winter. They're predicting a snow storm tomorrow. Please let it be enough to stay home with my yarn!

A Few of my Favourite Things

Each spring and fall I celebrate the new Rowan magazine by visitng the Needle Emporium to buy my issue and then by curling up in my favourite leather chair with a glass of wine, usually devouring the issue page by page. I choose a good wine - something befitting the occasion. This year's pick was a beautiful B.C. Syrah - 2004 Peller Estates. I usually get a peek at the new issues on line like most people. I think we all agree however that it's very difficult to truly see the detail on the designs from small images on a computer - you have to see the book. As I went through the Spring 2007 Rowan I was thrilled to see that they'd managed to produce a very wearable, knitable collection that was pretty yet not too matronly or boring. Quite frankly - there wasn't much I didn't like but here are my top picks from the new issue:

Number 1: Maritime by Sarah Dallas

I didn't really look twice at this design when I saw the small image. Upon closer inspection when I got the book, I noticed that the bottom ribbing, button bands, collar and cuffs are knit in pretty pastel shades of Cotton Glace in pink, pale blue and lavender. The main stripe is a deep blue and white combo. The dainty ribbon adds just the right touch. I'd love to see this one knit up.

Number 2: Lydia by Sarah Dallas

3 words - Kid Silk Haze. This is so pretty and I love the way it ties in at the front. I might make the ties just a tad shorter if I were to knit this one. The new colours of Kid Silk Haze are lovely and there is a nice aqua colour that I like.

Number 3: Henley by Martin Storey

Yummm...Calmer in driftwood and a nice french blue. This would be a great all year round sweater. Calmer is almost as addictive as Kid Silk Haze and I did say that I wanted to do more cabled projects when I made my knitting resolutions.

Number 4: Bonita by Sarah Hatton

I love the back detail with the medallion. This is a definite possibility but I'll wait to see the yarn.

Number 5: Lords and Ladies

Again- Kid Silk Haze. This shade is called ice cream. Yarn with food names...now that's just playing dirty. Very feminine and looks to be very wearable.

Number 6: Wisteria Skirt

I'm really loving the knit skirt trend. This one uses short rows and is made of Cotton Glace. I'm still finishing the Vogue Koigu pink skirt so I'm not sure this would be a priority project but I'd love to see it made by someone.

Number 7: Peony

This was the first image I saw from the magazine. I love it and assuming the new Damask yarn is nice - augmenting with kid silk haze puts the icing on the cake for sure. I wonder if the floral embellishments are a tad too large or if it's too young looking? Very pretty though.

Number 8: Suzani Wrap

Vintage Kaffe in Summer Tweed. I love this colourway and it would make an amazing blanket. I do need to get my Morocco completed first before I even consider something like this.

So, there you have it. My top picks... for today anyway. The next phase of any issue is usually to see what Knit Alongs are created and which designs are made and modeled by real people. Often, a design I've not looked twice at takes on a whole new dimension. Or - maybe it's just the Syrah talking.

Moving the Peanut Forward

I recently heard Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (aka the Yarn Harlot) interviewed about the success of her fundraising efforts for Doctors without Borders. At last count, the total was $320,000. She surmised that "Knitters think differently. They truly understand the power of cumulative effect." I've been thinking a lot about this comment over the last few days. She's right. None of us calculates the total number of stitches to be processed to complete our heart's desire. We simply cast on and keep at it. If we screw up, we frog, move on or eat chocolate but for the most part, we forge on until the job is done. It's a skill that informs many parts of our lives - as parents, friends and business people.

In what way do you believe knitters think differently?

As I try to celebrate the power of the "cumulative effect" with Poppy - I'm in awe of Noro's ability to create these amazing colour changes. Here she is with her back now complete. I decided to finish the back to get the measurement across so I could plan my sleeve length. The pattern calls for a 25" sleeve and some of the finished Poppies I've seen look a bit too long for my taste. I've measured wrist to wrist and will probably excuse one row between each of the increases..maybe two. I'll do the math when I have more than two hours of sleep per night under my belt.

I'm also having a blast working on the Lake Park hat with my handspun. I often find that my finished knitted objects are filled with memories that are evoked after they're done. I wear them and reflect on where I bought the yarn, what movies I watched or what life event was transpiring while I was working on the project. Knitting with your own handspun has the same effect except the yarn has built in memories already. Store bought yarn is a blank canvass when it comes into your stash. As I knit this hat, I think about how this roving was the first roving I ever bought or spun with. I think about what a great time I had with Hope, Lolly, Anmiryam, Nicole and Adrianne at Stitches East when I bought it. I think of those first clumsy spinning lessons as my very patient teachers coached from behind a glass of wine. I will definitely be knitting more of my handspun. It's very Zen.

I treated myself to a new knitting bag. It's the Lexie Barnes Lady B bag in one of their new colourways "Baja".

I bought it because of the pink and black but once I had it for a few days - I noticed that the flowers were actually hiding little faces. This type of little surprise delights the heck out of me. Seriously...I need to knit myself a life.

I zipped up to the Needle Emporium last Friday to visit Julie. In addition to cashing in my Christmas gift certificate on some Blue Sky Silk Alpaca (later about that), I got a gander at the preview for the new Rowan Spring books. Rowan has dispensed with the awkward posters and put together a catalogue with images from their entire Spring offering. Rowan 41 is right up my alley (reader caution here...my alley tends to wander into places like Oz and Wonderland). I recall a lacy long-sleeved sweater in Kid Silk Haze that tied under the bust with a beautiful bow. A romantic cardigan in their new yarn Damask with flowers around the neckline in Damask and Kid Silk Haze. They're offering a Bamboo yarn supported by a separate book that has a real "Memoirs of a Geisha" vibe to it. RYC has a yarn called Cotton Jeans that has some classic beautiful cabled patterns. The books will hopefully be here soon. I'm just waiting for the call from Julie that the eagle has landed to make the pilgrimage.

There's no doubt that the new Spring line will see me stashing up for a project or two. It's a damn good thing I appreciate the cumulative effect and don't focus on the whole job at hand...the alternative would result in a yarn diet. Perish the thought!

Firsts

Hey! Wasn't January supposed to be quiet? It seems as though everyone I talk to has hit the ground running this new year. As I help the offspring gear up for final exams, deal with lots going on at work and 4 articles due all this coming week...I look forward to a quieter February. Hopefully, with more knitting time.

My knitting lately seems to be all about "firsts". I mentioned before that I have a propensity to stash Noro....no, hoard Noro would be a more appropriate description. I buy, I fondle every now and then but I never get around to knitting it. I keep saving it for the next better pattern. Poppy was the turning point so, for the first time, I'm actually knitting with Noro. It is addictive watching those colours shade one into the next.


Here is Poppy thus far. I did a provisional cast on and then just winged the purl rows and colour rows. I'm fairly pleased with how it worked out. The experience was very liberating. I had heard on the Ready Set Knit podcast (by the owners of Webs yarn store) that instead of a 3 needle bind off, a better finish was to put both sides onto one needle one back stitch, one front, one back etc. alternating the stitches so each stitch was next to it's mate. The stitches were then purled and bound off. It was said to give a very seamless finish. I thought I'd give it a whirl but really didn't like how it looked. The stitches were very loose and it was a PITA to put all the stitches on one needle. It's hard to envision the directions by listening so, if anyone knows what I'm describing and has a visual link - I'd love to figure this one out. Once the bind off was complete (the 3 needle method) I picked up the edge and have started the top portion. This is a quick knit and looks stunning on everyone who's done it so far. Here is Stephannie's Poppy and I found this one the other night while surfing. Now doesn't that make you want to go out and make it?

My other first this month was to finally knit with my own handspun yarn. Now this has excited me more than I could imagine. Learning to spin has really informed my knitting as I've learned so much about the breeds, ply and other factors that give the yarn its character. I did have a bit of a frustrating moment when winding my handspun onto the ball winder it got all tangled up in the umbrella swift. I had an appointment and didn't have time to untangle it so I left it in a mess and took off. When I came home, I found this. My husband had painstakingly untangled my handspun and trailed it carefully around the dining room table so I could wind it back up. Now THERE'S a Valentine's present!

After winding the centre pull balls, I started to swatch. I can see the irregularities and the stitches do seem to twist a bit towards the top of the swatch (I think they call that being energized) but I'm extremely pleased with the results. This is a 2 ply yarn of merino roving from Grafton Fibers in hot pink, black and orange plied with a rose colour merino roving from the Black Lamb. I love the way the colours intertwine. I need to get 22 stitches to 4 inches to make Marnie's Lakepark hat and as luck would have it, I got gauge bang on! This is one project I'm excited about and with the frosty weather finally arriving - It's definitely hat weather. In fact, sub zero temperatures are perfect for ice wine so my pick this week is Peller Estates Cabernet Franc Ice Wine. It's the nectar of the gods. Sweet and tasting of strawberries. Perfect with chocolate!

She who dies with the most toys wins

I love the toys that go along with my fibre addiction. Spinning has been especially great because it naturally lends itself to lots of cool extras. As I mentioned in a previous post, the new Louet Victoria spinning wheel caught my eye when it was unveiled in advertising last fall. Clocking in at just over 6 lbs and folding up into a back pack - it's the perfect wheel to grab and go. Lettuce Knit sold their one wheel right out of the box and I didn't have a chance to try it. Apparently, the January shipments are all sold out as well. Then, a miracle happened. A co-worker of mine who spins had mentioned the Victoria to her husband at the end of November. She just mentioned it in passing but this charming fellow hunted it down for her as a Christmas gift. He mentioned to me at the company Christmas party that he'd bought it for her and she was kind enough to invite me over New Year's eve day to give the Victoria a try. This is what the bag looks like. It can be carried like a soft briefcase or as a back pack. It is incredibly light and everything tucks inside nicely.





In spite of its light weight, the Victoria feels quite sturdy. My co-worker's wheel is made from Oak and it's very pretty.

Here is how it looks set up and ready to spin. It's about a 30 second process to get this wheel ready to go - truly portable. I was able to spin on the wheel for about an hour or so. It's Scotch Tension and the treadling is very smooth. I enjoyed it very much and Louet appears to have struck a great balance between portability and engineering. It's very quiet too.









To give you a sense of scale, here's Victoria lined up with my Schacht and my friend's other wheel - a Majacraft Suzie. As you can see, it is quite the petite lady compared to the other wheels. I have my name on the March waiting list but I'll have to check in and see how my Wee Robin is doing first. I see the Victoria as a great option for the various demonstrations that my guild is fond of participating in so, I may be a three wheel spinner!


When I was last at Gemini Fibres, I purchased a McMorran balance (official spinning tool of Greys Anatomy). As I start to produce "knittable" yarn, the next big question is "How the heck much do I have?" This gizmo takes a length of yarn looped over the end of the balance which you snip a bit at a time until the balance is horizontal. The length is measured (in cm for me) and then divided by 10. That number equals the metres per 100g of yarn you have.



I needed a scale (which my husband produced since he has to weigh the hardware that goes in his RC planes) and I found I had 111g of some handspun from a few months ago. My strand once balanced (you can see where I snipped the ends off to get the right length to balance) measured 17cm so my calculations indicated 1.7m per 100g of yarn or around 188m total for my 111g.





Here's a shot of the handspun that I'm getting ready to knit. I'm planning to make the beautiful hat that Marnie from Marnie Talks has designed and very generously posted to her blog. She's indicated 40g should work so I'm confident that I'll have enough. She's just posted a pattern for matching fingerless gloves....hmmm, think I'll have enough?


I did get my Woolee Winder for Christmas so, as soon as I finish my current bobbin - on it goes. I can't wait to try it.


I guess we knitters and spinners are a tacticle bunch with the minds of engineers and hearts of artists. I'm amazed at each new development (and the discovery of old ones that are "new to me").

I'm still a discriminating junkie though - I've no desire to acquire the Knit-light needles.

Should Old Yarn Stashes Be Forgot.....

I happen to adore making resolutions. It's my favourite part of New Years. While my list for 2007 sports the usual goals (lose 5 lbs....find world peace), I do have a few knitting related goals that I'd like to focus upon in the upcoming year.

#1: More small projects

My husband flies RC planes and I whipped off a pair of fingerless Fetching mittens in no time flat. I promised myself I'd have them done by 2007 since the annual "Frozen Finger Fun Fly" is always New Year's Day. I wove in the last end 23 seconds before the ball dropped. These were fun and I left off the picot finish and altered them to better fit man-sized hands. It was a reminder that small projects like socks, hats and scarves can give just as much a rush and still provide the thrill of the finish.

#2: Get back to cables

Just doing the few quick cables on the Fetching Mittens has reminded me of how much I enjoy cables. I loved every minute of Inishmore and I need to embark upon a big fat hairy cabled project. I love the looks of this design from the upcoming Winter 2007 Vogue. It's by Nora Gaughan and I adore it. It calls for Aran weight merino yarn. Hmmm, maybe my stashed Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran in Alabaster will do the trick?

#3: Get a dress form

I often wish that I could fit my projects as they are being made. If I had a good quality dress form - this may help considerably.

#4: More Noro

Gee aren't resolutions supposed to be challenges? I've stashed a lot of Noro in my day and finally a little birdie (aka and she knits too) told me to get over it and unleash it from the stash. I quickly cast on for Poppy and I'm thoroughly enjoying the bottom part made of Cash Iroha. Here's my progress on the bottom so far. I had a lovely day last Friday at Lettuce Knit in Toronto and I had an opportunity to see Steph's Poppy done in amazing olive tones. Stay tuned for her finished sweater - it's going to be stunning!

#5: Experiment with different fibres and "indie-designers".

Time Magazine says the person of the year is us. This is because the Internet has allowed all of us to pull up the old orange crate and grab our 15 minutes of fame. This means independent designers now have a wonderful forum. I'm really loving designs by people like Bonne Marie and Stitch Diva. I've also started to buy my roving at interesting places. Here's some new roving I got from Scout's Swag in a cool colourway called "Strange Days. It appears to be a mix of breeds but is 100% wool.

I also resolve to become adept at the chained singles method of plying to try and preserve the colour transitions.

#6: Knit with my hand spun

Now that I'm actually producing yarn that's usable, it's time to start working with the stuff. My true goal is to make lace weight yarn but in the mean time, I'll start with the easy stuff. I just downloaded a great cabled hat pattern from Jenna at the Girl from Auntie. She is the Jenna of the Rogue design that has taken the world by storm. This hat pattern can be easily altered to match whatever gauge yarn you're working with and it's a really pretty hat. Perfect for hand spun that can be a bit unpredictable still.

#7: Make time for knitting

I love knitting so much that some times I feel guilty when I take the time to do it. I need to look at it as a necessary appointment with myself and tune out all the other chores that pull me away. I need to set aside one night a week to not go on the computer (where I become a yarn voyeur) and simply sit and knit. I think Wednesdays will do.

#8: Release one more UFO:

I did do this in 2006. Ava went from being one sleeve and a pile of dreams to a completed cardigan. I'm liking Rheingold by Jade Starmore or Winter Flower by Kim Hargreaves as possible contenders for the next UFO resurrection. Here are the sleeves and here's what Winter Flower would look like. I have tried on a sample of it and it's beautiful!

Well, there you have it. My personal knitting resolutions for 2007. You'll notice I didn't say anything about knitting from my stash or not buying yarn...I fear public humiliation *when* I break those resolutions so, I'll pass. I do intend to de stash a bit by selling off those things I no longer want to make. The problem with that approach is that apparently, I never met a project I didn't like.

By the way, I recommend ringing in the New Year with Peller Estate Founder's Series Ice Cuvee. It's a sparkling wine with a dosage of Ice Wine - delicious and perhaps part of why I have such fond memories of the Fetching mittens!

Should Do - Want to Do...

I'd drone on about how busy I am but all of you are probably too busy to read about it. Hey, it's that time of year and as always, it'll come on the 25th whether I'm ready or not. First off, I've been tagged by Anmiryam to reveal 6 weird things about me. My examples leave a bit to be desired but here goes:

1. I started reading Tarot cards when I was eight. It became quite lucrative when I was in University.


2. I have an aunt that had triplet boys and then ten years later twin girls. I have another aunt with two sets of twins. I had twins as well.


3. I can't eat eggs unless they're scrambled.


4. I'll often turn my car around half way down the road to come back to the house to check that I turned off the coffee machine. I never have left it on by mistake.


5. I hated, hated, detested the musical Cats.


6. When I moved to a new town at age 8, I started calling myself Shelley. Four years later, I moved again and went back to Michelle.

There you have it, my weird confessions. I wish I could tag six new people but the only folks whom I know who have blogs have already been tagged.

On to knitting content (clearing throat). Christmas party was great - shawl, not done. That means I can shift back to Poppy who is chugging away nicely. I'm about 60% of the way through the bottom.

I've also started a pair of Fetching fingerless mittens for my DH. He's into RC Flying and his hands get cold when I holds the control box. I hope to have these done for Christmas but if not, he'll get them soon after.

Lastly, I've really fallen for Bonne Marie's latest cardigan "Ariann". I'm searching for the perfect yarn and there are two contenders in the "swatching warm up heats" at the moment. First up is merino/angora worsted weight from Lisa Souza. This is just a small sample to play with to see if it works. My gauge is a tad smaller than prescribed. I'm getting 20 st. by 29 rows and the pattern calls for 19 stitches by 24 rows. It's a concern because this is a raglan pattern and the row count...well, counts. I love the variation of this yarn (I want to make Ariann out of this) and it's so very soft. I would love to make Ariann in the "Mother of Pearl" colourway (insprired by the lovely Vanessa). My only hesitation is that based on my swatch, there may not be enough "heft" and drape to show off the lace pattern. If anyone has used this yarn for a garment, I'd love to hear the feedback. It is truly amazing.

The second option is Berroco's new Ultra Alpaca. I've swatched in the pale pink colourway and the gauge is close to the bullseye (I should make Ariann out of this). Bonne Marie herself has just used this yarn to make a lovely lavender Ariann and for the money - it's a very nice yarn. I just may want to use this for another Bonne Marie pattern - the infamous Ribby Cardi.

I may not get much time to blog over the next few days. My father is coming to stay with us for Christmas and he sleeps in the computer room. We'll see how it goes, I can always steal one of the kids' lap tops ;) It's been a while since I've recommended a wine to go with my knitting. For swatching, I recommend Goundrey Offspring Chardonnay. It's smooth, lets you enjoy the process and experiment and best of all...there are sheep on the label! Seriously, I had this wine yesterday and it was wonderful.

Supply and Demand

Well kids, it looks as though the Louet Victoria is turning out to be the "spinning equivalent to the Play Station 3" this Christmas. Lettuce Knit in Toronto had ordered in a store sample of the Victoria and I was eager to try it...only to have it snapped up before it was unpacked! At any rate, I've got my name on the waiting list for the March shipment and hopefully it won't involve sleeping outside of the store in layered clothes and a box of lousy pizza. There is a nice review of the wheel here and I found a neat little video on how to set it up on you tube. I've asked for Santa to bring me a Woolee Winder for my Schacht so, hopefully I will have lots of spinning toys this year.

I've been spinning the Blue Faced Leicester from Lisa Souza and it is lovely but I'm having problems with it not staying spun. If I have to pull some back off of the bobbin - it shreds and falls apart. Does this breed need more twist? Any epiphanies for me on this?

In the mean time, I need to knit myself a scarf to go with a brand new deep chocolate brown winter coat I've bought. I stumbled on this beautiful pattern on Lisa's site and snapped it up along with her soft merino sock yarn to make it.

This colour way is called "Mardi Gras" and boasts shades of brilliant orange, hot pink, periwinkle and a touch of chocolate brown. I should be a fun knit. Lisa's customer service is amazing.

My Icarus shawl is progressing but will definitely not be finished to wear at the company Christmas party this Saturday. That's OK - I promised myself no obsessing or overextending myself this holiday season so, it'll be done when it's done. I'm so zenned out I may just find peace on earth this Christmas...if not a Victoria.

It Followed Me Home...Honest!

I'm stumped. I paid an innocent, benign visit to my LYS and found a stowaway in my back seat when I got home. 7 skeins of Aran weight Malabrigo. This particular shade is dubbed "Rich Chocolate" - yummmmm! It's so incredibly soft - I believe it's singly ply. I've never knit with it before but its name has been evoked a few times on various podcasts (said with hushed tones) so, I'm game to let it stay and hopefully become something beautiful.

I'm actually thinking of this design. It's Cardigan for Arwen from the new Interweawe Knits. It's been a while since I knit anything with cables and I'm jonesing for some now. Unless you've been in a monastery, you'll know this is one of the hot knit-alongs right now.

I've made little progress on Poppy. I'm still totally in love with the yarn and design. Here's a shot of the little progress I've made. I've passed the 1/4 mark and the second band of colour (to the right) should run directly up the centre front (if I've done this correctly). Quite frankly, I'd love to sit a only knit right now however, as we all know, life gets in the way. I've also been working at something on the side.

Here are the beginnings of Icarus. I'm making it out of Cherry Tree Hill Suri Alpaca. The colour is called "Raku" and it's a mixture of shades of plum, teal and smoky grey. I've got an amazing dress to wear to the company Christmas party on December 16 and I'd love, love, love to have this done by then. I'm plugging away but won't be making myself ill to meet the deadline. I plan to wear the same dress to the Cuvee wine-making awards in February so, it will be ready by then. I also plan to put some beads on the "Icarus Feathers". There's a tutorial here on how to do this. I know that lace really comes into its own when it's washed and blocked. Until then, it looks like a mash-up of stuff.

In the end, I've got about 5 active projects on the needles. This is when I'm happiest and I can knit to my mood and have a few projects to choose from. Oh yeah, the Malabrigo - it can stay.

Asking for Directions

Sometimes it's good to stop and ensure that you are - in fact - going in the right direction. Such is the case for my spinning. I've been "learning my wheel" for the last 5 months. I don't worry about creating the perfect yarn, I'm just trying the different settings on the Schacht. It's a great wheel because it can be set in double drive, scotch tension and bobbin lead. According to the Spin Off issue from 1994 - bobbin lead is the way to go for plying. So, I gave it a whirl...literally. Here are the results. These are the singles. As you can see, one is very bright (merino from Grafton) and one is a lovely rose colour. I plied them together and got this 2 ply yarn but in Bobbin Lead mode - the take up was not great so, the twist kept coming and the yarn is over plied. You can see it twisting as it lies here straight from plying. I love the way the rose "quiets" the hot-coloured roving and I considered the experiment a success except it bothered me that the Bobbin Lead mode didn't perform as I expected it to. After all - if Rita Buchanan says it's the bomb then ya gotta believe it's so. This is what prompted me to sign up for a "Spinning Wheel Clinic" at Gemini Fibres North of Toronto. I've met a co-worker who spins and knits (she has a Majacraft Susie) and we set off bright and early on Saturday to seek some "spinning epiphanies".

We got there a bit early which left a bit of time to case the joint to see what we might want to buy. The others arrived and it was cool to see that each participant had a different wheel. Here's a group shot - left to right are; a handmade wheel by this lady's husband, the instructor's Jensen Tina II, an Ashford, a Lendrum (Anniversary Black Walnut edition -this was gorgeous) . We started by learning the lingo and how to set the tensions for the best gentle take-up. We learned about McMoran balances which let you take a little piece of finished yarn and figure out how many metres per 100g it is (yes I bought one). We found out about the "Spinners Control Card". This is a tool that lets you measure the grist of your singles to be able to know what the resulting wraps per inch and gauge will be once it's plied. Very cool - scored one of those too.

I also got some Fleece Artist Blue Faced Leicester in amazing hand painted blues and purples. I picked up "Spinning Designer Yarns" by Diana Varney. This is a wonderful little book chock full of great information.

I also had an opportunity to try a Jensen Tina II wheel. The instructor Wendy knew I was interested in trying one so she generously brought hers so I could see what it was like. They're few and far between in Canada so, it was a real treat. The Tina spins like a dream but I really felt the stress in my ankle joints so, I doubt I'd enjoy spinning on this type of wheel for extended periods of time. Maybe it was just the way I was sitting?

I came away from the class with a better understanding of the basics. Preparing the roving, drafting, settings. When I showed Wendy my over-plied yarn, she felt a good bath and hanging with a weight would solve the problems. It seems to be working. She also thought that perhaps my challenges with Bobbin Lead were because I just wasn't ready for that setting. Her advice was to stick with Scotch Tension. I will probably do this but I'm not giving up on Bobbin Lead just yet - after all, Rita says...