theraineysisters

The state fair is winding down and I had yet to visit with hubby, so we went yesterday — a perfect day weatherwise.  I ate the best thing I’ve ever had there: a huge skewer (a stick, of course) of smoked salmon served with crackers that had cream cheese and chutney.  Whoa!  I could eat that anytime!

I finally found the sweepstakes winner for the “regular” knitting category and this year’s recipient of the Thursdays at Four Award.  We give out a $20 giftcard to Panera’s and invite the winner to visit our knitting group.   

This is a very traditional shawl knit with cobweb weight yarn.  Quite lovely!  I also checked out Lyra to see if it had been flopped over to its proper position, and yes it had.  I don’t know if others could tell the difference, but it looked better to me. 

Old View:

While hanging around the table linen case, I got to talking to a very nice woman and found out that she had won the sweepstakes for hardanger:

It was breathtaking.  The work involved is inbelieveable. 

Now, let’s go from the sublime to the ridiculous…the knitters guild supported a display of knitted and crocheted state fair icons.  Shelley Monitor knitted a Corn Dog (or is it a Pronto Pup?  Hmmm, I always get those mixed up! ).  Sorry for the poor photo quality:

And I always have a picture of the prize winning boar, but this will have to do instead:

The boar is the purple one!!

So ends another summer.  School starts Tuesday.  The Republicans are swarming.  I’m off next week because the Republicans are swarming very close to where I work! 

Hope your holiday is fun filled, and the weather summer-tastic!

Unbelievable.  That’s all I can say.  Shocking. 

The Lyra pattern is available.  Fully, easily and CHEAPLY ($7 plus $4.50 “handling”) available.  I don’t know if I should laugh (with joy) or cry  (cuz I spent way more than $11.50!!).  Lacis now carries the Niebling Lyra pattern as a single pattern.

Knock yourself out, people!

Thanks, all, for the wonderful and supportive comments.  It is very much appreciated from this end.

 

A couple of answers to a couple of questions:

#1 — What yarn did you use?
I used Fino Alpaca with a Twist (875 yds/100gm) – I have a lot left over of the second skein and used US #1 (2.5 mm) Lace Addi needles.

 #2 — Will you sell or rent out the pattern?
Sorry, no!  It was part of the hunt, and I may make this lil pup again some day.

Thank you all and it’s on to the next…

Dear Soo,

I would like to be able to say that your fabulous knitting inspired me to push myself to knitting limits as yet unknown.  But it was not inspiration so much as sheer green-eyed monstrous envy that forced me to reach for the stars. 

You kindly commented on my Hemlock Ring, lo those many months ago.  I innocently clicked on your name to check out your blog and BAM!  Hit between the eyes with a baseball bat.  There was Lyra, laid out beautifully on your dining room table, waiting to be given to Mom.  I did not want to knit Lyra.  I wanted to own Lyra.  I wanted YOUR Lyra.  I wanted Soo’s Lyra on MY dining room table.  But, I knew better than to ask :).  

I considered befriending Soo’s Mom (”Hi, my name is Lv2knit.  My, what a lovely table covering.  I believe it will fit in my purse is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”).  That seemed even more far fetched, so there I was — on my own, embarking on the Niebling Quest for the Holey Grail.

As I look back on my journey, I see road signs along the way:

Plus

…leads to Lyra.

Yep, these recent FOs helped prepare me for my lil Niebling.  I had never really knitted true lace before and the Peacock Feathers Shawl helped me sort through some of the issues I might encounter (does the word ‘lifeline’ ring a bell?).  My Hemlocks were knit in the same way as Lyra: Emily Ocker cast on, from the center out, crochet bindoff.   So I was unwittingly taking baby steps to my goal.  And now my Lyra is finished:

Here is a picture of The Blob:

Oops — wrong blob! (That was for Lorraine’s benefit!)  I love the hand sticking out of The Blob.

Here’s the real blob:

Blocking this baby was an all-bay uster-bay!  2-1/2 hours of back-breaking work!  I’m not sure why, but my version is tiny compared to the original — about 37″ square instead of 49″!  C’est la vie.

The blocking stage:

So many pins, so much time!  Hard to get good pictures of white on white AND very hard to see what I was doing at the time (note to self: never block a giant white doily on a giant white pad!):

Now the quest is over and I have my own Lyra on my own table:

The quest now seems worth it, aching back and all – but I don’t know if I could do another, at least for a while! 

Thank you, Soo, for your support and inspiration!!

PS: Eldest daughter finally woke up this morning, so I proudly pointed out that I had finished Lyra.  Her response, “You made that?”  “Yes.”  “When did you work on that?”  An observant lil sucker, isn’t she??

Whew!  I made it through that one!  I found the smallest little problem on my lace knitting: a strand of yarn was split a row or two back.  No problem, says me to self.  I’ll drop it down and fix it with a crochet hook.  What a maroon! 

By the end of that little decision, I had unravelled 8 sts down about 6 rows (the sts betw the green headed pin and the black pin).  And then tried to ladder it back up with all the multiple yarnovers.  Sally is much better at this than me, that’s for sure.  This picture is NOT a picture of the offending area, but rather one I kept in front of me as a guide.

At one point I was an eighth of a second away from going back to my lifeline in defeat (the black thread in the picture).  That represents over 15,000 sts and hours/days of knitting — I forced myself to keep trying.  I did indeed fix the lil sucker and am plowing onward.  No doubt the stress took a few days off my life! 

I am sharing my travails here because you are the only people who might care and/or understand.  Muggles just stare!

I just did something to my computer so my icons are back.  I don’t know what I did, but there is hope.  One commenter said to “defrag” my computer.  I have no idea what that means!  My husband mentioned it, too, and said we should do it once a week (I THINK he said defrag! ;)).  If I figure out what that is, maybe I’ll do it!

I bought longer needles for Lyra, so I could actually see the pattern emerging as I transitioned from one needle to the other. 

I think there are still about 50,000 sts left to knit on this baby — it is truly the most ambitious project of my knitting life.  The “tulips” are almost done, so I see light at the end of the tunnel.  The light is a very small dot way, way, WAY in the distance :).

The yarn ball left on my scarf is the size of a small lime — but it never gets smaller!  I want this done NOW.  Note to self: stop knitting on other projects…

I had to restart my Roseleaves Tunic.  I decided to follow the instructions for a change and ended up not liking the way the slipped edge stitches looked.  I started it up again this morning, so nothing really to show yet.  Note to self: STOP the madness!  Finish the $%^&&%$ Merci Scarf and then work on Roseleaves!

Hi, Sally!  Hope you, Nora, Joe and B-Man are having fun!

Reminder to Twin Cities Knitters: the Minnesota Knitters Guild meeting is tomorrow at 2 pm.  It is a “tea” (which means food!).  I love the MKG Teas — it’s like the world’s biggest knitting group!  Hope to see you there.

PS — The Merci Scarf is the tres simple scarf I have been knitting as a thank you to a special person in our lives.  Here is the final scarf!!

The “pattern” has already been posted on The Blog, but here it is again:

The yarn is drop dead soft: it is Cascade Autunno in Desert Shade (Color #34918, 98 yds/50 gms, 100% Fine Merino — I used 4 skeins).  I had never heard of it, but it is very soft with gentle variegation and a ragwool effect.  I had trouble finding a stitch that would work because of the ragwool coloring — too much going on for many stitch patterns.  I am using a seed rib as follows:

The Merci Scarf (multiple of 4x + 3 sts)
I am using US Size 8 needles and 35 sts

Row 1: *k3, p1* rep betw * * to last 3 sts, k3
Row 2: k1, p1, *k3, p1* rep betw * * to last st, k1

It is mindless and perfect for a scarf because it does not curl and is reversible. 

PS2 — I cannot find Utilities OR disc defragment anywhere on my computer I did find it and I did defrag!!  Woo Hoo!  Thanks for all of your advice!

I am so excited — I started my own Roslin Fair Isle Hoodie!  I have been working on a fourth Hemlock Ring Throw (how many of those do you need ;)), so my “start” is just baby steps at the moment.

Not much to show yet!

I opted to use a different color than the original.  My main color is Simply Shetland Purple Heather (color #239).  This is one of those fabulous colors that is a heathery blend of many colors.  It is absolutely gorgeous and a color I have loved for years!  Sally’s original Roslin is on display at The Yarnery in St. Paul because I’ll be teaching it as a class this winter.  I thought I better actually make one before teaching it to others. :) 

To the shock and amazement of my Thursday knitting peeps (NOT ;)), I am doing my Roslin a little bit differently.  I love the garter rib at the bottom of Sally’s Tangled Yoke Cardigan/Pullover, so I am going to skip the kangaroo pocket and do the garter rib at the hem and sleeves.  It is a slow go for now but should speed up once I get to the stockinette in the round. 

This will be my ‘take a long’ project and then I will get back to Lyra for my ‘at home’ knitting.  I have not forsaken you, Lyra!!  I will get Lyra done, but because it is not an item that can be worn, I feel less urgency about it.  With winter here, I chose to focus on sweaters for my workplace wardrobe. 

I also pushed the snooze button on Plisse.  It was moving along slowly, but seems more like a spring fashion, so I feel less urgency about it, too.

Last night, I did finish my Hemlock, so now I can concentrate on getting on track with Ros.  I’m going to cheat and use an old photo — this Hemmie is identical to one that I finished!

And to top it all off, there is a lovely snow falling this morning:

It will be a White Christmas this year — something that has not always happened the last few years!  I hope you are on track for the holidays.

Those are the needle sizes I’ve been switching between all weekend!  Wow!  It feels very strange but actually is a nice change up.  I knit for awhile on Lopi Cardigan and then switch to Lyra.

Here is the Lopi back drying.  I decided to block the pieces as I go.  I never do it this way, but I just felt like it this time.  I kind of wanted to see if the knitted fabric would soften up.

Here is a close up of the shoulder showing the Japanese Short Rows done on shoulder shaping: 

I rarely shape my shoulders.  I do not like shoulder seams (too bulky) and did not like the look of my previous short row technique.  I REALLY like Japanese Short Rows: easy and very invisible.  Now I can get shaped shoulders AND do a 3-needle bind off!  Woo Hoo

Here is the “Blob” in progress.  I have not forsaken Lyra!  I am now on Round 130-ish and still in love.  There are acres of stitches in each round so I plod away at a snail’s pace.

Here is a bit of pattern close up.  I really do need some longer needles…

The more I knit on this, the more I appreciate the design and its ingenuity.  The flowers are sculpted in thread and air — positive and negative space.  It is really amazing.

I should finish the Lopi sweater in another week or so and then may work my second Kauni sleeve.  I have the need to get some things off my plate, and working on ‘almost done’ stuff is certainly a way to do that!

Rudolph Update:

Apparently, a few of you called Amazing Threads for the Rudy Pattern (they had to start a waiting list!).  CiD sent me a lovely thank you with a copy of this pattern — for Elfred, Rudolph’s Sidekick:

 
AND
 
…this knitter’s accessory bag: you put it around your neck so you can keep all of your knitting necessities close at hand.  Thanks, CiD!!

Well, Monday starts another week — hoping yours is great.

To Jess L. and others:
Remembering you this Veteran’s Day. 

PS in response to question about Japanese Short Rows: I learned how to do them from Nonaknits – check out this link. 

Well, what can I say?  Your response to our little hoodie is overwhelming!  Since the math work falls to me (Sally did the knitting, and I did the number crunching), I will try to write up some additional sizes.  It is that huge mental effort that stopped us in our tracks before.  We shall see!

As I reread our post, I realized it sounded more than a little braggy.  Let me explain. Sally and I wrote the post as co-authors: she wrote the parts about my contribution, and I wrote about hers.  The post sounds braggy but we are really just bursting with pride for the other Rainey Sister! 

I have been working on Lyra day by day.  I am (drum roll) on Round #100!!!!!!!!!!!! Woo Hoo! Out of 180 :(  I am no where near halfway done — because of the circle thing.  Oh well.  I am almost done with the third set of leaves and have started the “tulips” (if that is what they are).

My take along knitting is Plisse.  It is at a very strange looking stage.  If asked, “What are you making?” no one would ever believe a sweater:

The teal section is what I have on the needles right now.  Once all of the white is filled in with knitting (quite a while from now, if my current rate of speed is any indication), then I will pick up the peplum and work down.

I won a prize at the Shop Hop two weeks ago from Coldwater Collaborative, so I feel the need to go to a yarn store!!

Woo hoo!  I’m in the 60’s for rounds (out of 180) and totally loving Lyra.  The following graphic shows approximately where I am so far (dotted circle).  Talk about slow!  I really don’t know how Soo finished this in two weeks.  I would have to quit my job, leave my husband and abandon my kids to finish this in two months!   Hmmmmmm…….nah! ;)