theraineysisters knitting and so much more

Well, not much.  Both Surly and I are working on some ‘stealth’ projects, though mine will be wrapping up very soon.

As I was looking through some old boxes the other day, I ran across this little baby blankie.  I knit it in the 80’s, before I knew if and when we would become parents.  So, each stitch was knit out of love for a baby not yet born.

After our girls joined our family, they both used this blanket to play with their dolls, so when I happened upon it, it was in kind of rough shape!  I washed it, but it still looks pretty rough.  I used [crappy] acrylic yarn — it was for a baby, after all! — and it is now fuzzy and pilled.  But just finding that blanket was like stepping into the past and returning to a time of anticipation and unfettered optimism — the kind of optimism you can only feel before reality sets in!!

I am thinking about my next project and am narrowing it down. I did buy yarn today so THAT part is taken care of!  One candidate is the Alexandria Cardigan, which I highlighted a week or so ago and the other is the Jali Cardigan from Summer 2010 Interweave Knits.  I bought Shepherd’s Wool in a natural off white.  This yarn is deliciously soft and knits up beautifully.  I really like it!  I know off white sounds boring, but I keep wanting to grab a cream-colored cardi and do not have one!  Now I need to swatch and think…

PS to those with questions about the source of this lace pattern: The pattern stitch is called Rose Trellis Lace and is in the first Treasury of Knitting Patterns by Barbara G. Walker.  It is written in long hand notation (all 44 rows!) instead of charted.  At the time, I was not a lace knitter and charts were a rarity.  Now, the first thing I would do is to chart it.  By doing so, I know I would have made some changes (such as not starting partial patterns along the side edges).  I can’t even believe I sat there reading each line as I worked this, but I remember having that piece of paper with me and following along!!

PPS: Alexandria won!

Hope you were able to enjoy this long weekend, the harbinger of summer.  It is one of those odd holidays because it is based on sadness, but is celebrated with picnics and water sports.  I feel conflicted because I have personal reasons for honoring this day. 

So, enjoy the beautiful weekend.  Enjoy the rite of spring and summer.  And honor the sacrifice of our service men and women, and the families they left behind.

As many of you already know, our blog has been hit hard by a hacker/virus/whatever!  My own computer became riddled with disease and caused me no end of despair. 

Sally is the “man behind the curtain” here at The Rainey Sisters and spent HOURS working on the problem, both with our host-site geeks and through trial and error. 

It appears that the problem has been remedied, at least for the time being.  These viruses are pesky and determined, so we can’t make any guarantees!  We are sorry if this caused you any problems and hope things settle down.

Not a lot going on — a stealth project and little more — so I thought I would share some of the designs I have saved in my “favorites” file in Ravelry.  I LOVE the fact that you can ‘favorite’ both patterns and specific renditions of patterns for future reference.  It makes Rav worthwhile even if you do not want to catalog all of your WIPs and FOs or your yarn stash.

Here are a few that I have favorited recently:

Panda Silk DK Fan Shawl (free pattern) — it looks crocheted, but isn’t!

Ormolu by Barbara Gregory and offered in The Twist Collective — mosaic knitting which is not my favorite but the design is stunning…

Alexandria by Connie Chang Chinchio — classic and beautiful

Norwegian Rose Socks by Wendy Johnson of WendyKnits — nice if you like to knit socks!

Luiza by Jane Araujo — very pretty and downloadable for $5

This just proves how dangerous it is to explore Ravelry!!  I have no idea if I will ever get to any of these projects, but it is food for thought!

From Susan
Sally can be a sweet and generous lil thing as evidenced by the fact that she bought me a present at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.  That place is a tough go if you do not want to spend money — Sally resisted many of the temptations, but not this one. 

She bought me a necklace kit from Just Our Yarn and also got one for herself.  The kit is called “Just Your Necklace.”  I think it is a pretty recent addition to their line up as it does not show up on their website or on the website of its designer, Betsy Hershberg of StudioB Knits.

The kit provides everything you need except the knitting needles (I did substitute a different clasp). I used a US size 2 and 1. The base yarn is Aziza, which is tinier-than-laceweight tencel. The kit has generous lengths of the yarn wound on spools because it takes far less than a skein of two different colors, and includes two different sizes of beads.

Susan’s Necklace

From Sally
The kits were flying off the shelves at the Just Our Yarn booth. I had to grab two before the hoarders got them! Susan, as usual, finished hers ahead of me and has been patiently waiting to post until I managed to knit mine. I knit it one and a half times because I kept changing my mind about which color to have as the focus. Susan adds: I also knit parts of mine twice because it looked sloppy with the size 2 on the tubular part.

Sally’s Necklace

Lucy’s wondering if it makes her look naked and headless. Yes, Lucy, it does.
 
It’s a quick knit, but a little fussy in parts.

PS: Sally and I received a message from Betsy Hershberg, the designer of our beaded necklaces:

“I am the designer of this necklace and I’m so glad you both enjoyed knitting it!  And you both did a fabulous job – both with the knitting AND the picture taking.  Just wanted to let you know that the kits are now available (as of 6/8/10) on the Just Our Yarn website: www.justouryarn.com.  I admit that we didn’t anticipate the immediate popularity of the kit, but lots of gorgeous color ways are now available online. There is also a direct link to the kit on my website at www.studiobknits.com.  Thanks so much for the great post!  Much appreciated.”

Thanks, Betsy!!!

A Knitmare on Elm Street, that is!  When Surly and I were at Yarnover, Sally picked up a darling project bag at Darn.Knit.Anyway’s booth.  I wanted it…I wanted it bad.  But Sally snagged the really cute one, so I moped.  However, thanks to Google and Etsy, we found the maker of these creepy-funny project bags.  She is Laura from Slipped Stitch Studios and sells a lot of great items on Etsy.

As Laura describes this now out-of-stock Michael Miller fabric:

Do you enjoy horror and knitting? This bag has a bit of both!

Please be aware that this pattern includes some rather disturbing fiber-related images….

Fido gets your WIP, a shawl massacre!

Mr. Meowington unravels your cashmere- hundreds (of yards) slain!

Hubby couldn’t find chopsticks…so he uses your $40 artisan needles for lunch utensils!! THE HORROR!

….Not to mention, and I think we have all been there…picking up a supposedly “Quick and Easy Pattern” and expiring whilst casting on!

This funny pattern by Michael Miller is a “must-have” for any knitter with a wicked sense of humor!

So go ahead and show your knitter pride!

And let’s not forget the grumpy kid forced to wear ill-fitting handknits!

Our favorite image is of course the skeleton who dies in a vain attempt at knitting, so when I ordered my bag, I asked in the comments if the picture of Mr. Skeleton was complete and intact.  She answered within 3 seconds and said it was right there, front and center! 

I am extremely pleased with the bag.  It is very well made, fully lined,  with a number of small pockets inside. 

I also acquired some absolutely stunning yarn:

On the left from Briar Rose Fibers: Sea Pearl, laceweight,50% merino, 50% tencel, 800 yds/219 gms (I’m not sure what my color is because there is no color # given on the skein); purchased at Yarnover.

On the right from Artyarns: Silk Rhapsody, 50% silk, 50% kid mohair, 260 yds/100 gms, color #137 ( a gorgeous champagne!) — a gift from Surly purchased at Lila and Claudine’s.  This is the same yarn we both used for our Topsy Turvy Moebius.

I am sure Surly will have some nice things to share in the upcoming days!!

ETA from Surly: Yes, I will. In an upcoming post I’ll share the yarn I bought and my most recent knitmare finished object.

PS from Susan — we just got John’s official picture from the Birkie (I did not get any action shots):

Sally left today after a whirlwind weekend.  I mean, a crazy busy, out-of-control weekend!  Sally put up with all of my cranky moods and as she left said, “I’m your sister…I will just forget all about it.” That’s why I’m cryin’ in my brewski!   Miss my sis!

We did have a lot of fun in between all of the nervous break downs and speeding tickets! 

Thursday, April 15
I picked Surly up at the airport and made a quick stop at The Yarnery.  Sally bought yarn.

Then we went to my knitting group.  Beth shared her beautiful Boxes Drape Vest from Swing-Swagger-Drape so we could try it on and admire it yet again…everyone wants one! 

Here’s mine so far:

Boxes Drape Vest in Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted, Color #709 Hermosa

Friday, April 16
We tried to cram a week into one day!  We went to Lila and Claudine’s as our first stop.

L&C is a fantastic shop — you really need to get there just to see it.  They describe it as Alice going down the rabbit hole and it is the truth.  Plus, the people are super nice.  We hung out with Kirsten and other notables and had a great time.  Sally bought yarn.

Then off to Darn.Knit.Anyway in Stillwater, MN.  Again, a great shop with wonderful staff.  Susan bought yarn (but it doesn’t count because it was just an extra skein for my Boxes vest 🙂 )!! 

We needed to pick up stuff for Yarnover and then we stopped by Hopkins High School to do some set up.

Saturday, April 17
YARNOVER ARRIVES!!  Up before dawn and off to the races!  Great day.  Everything went very well.  We saw a lot of knitting friends, both old and new.  We both bought yarn.

That evening we were able to dine with knitting royalty.  We sat next to Jared Flood, Beth Brown-Reinsel, Cookie A., and Romi Hill.  Let me just say that Jared is adorable…absolutely adorable!  I also got to schmooz a little with Meg Swansen — I shared some of the rave reviews I had heard about her classes.  She was thrilled and so humble!  It was a wonderful way to end the day.

Sunday, April 18
We spent the day with family…but somehow managed to find another knitting store!  We visited the lovely Tangled Skein  in St. Peter and resisted the urge to buy more yarn.  I know.  It’s hard to believe!

Monday, April 19
We returned the rental stuff for Yarnover, had a great breakfast and then hit a couple more yarn shops: Borealis must have the best selection of sock yarn in the city.  And then back to the Yarnery.  Sally bought yarn. 

If you happen to be keeping score, Surly bought WAY more yarn than I did. 

Surly will be landing here in the Twin Cities this afternoon — yay!  She is going to be my sidekick at this year’s MKG Yarnover Event (I am on the planning committee). 

We have a very busy weekend planned — stop and say hi if you see us at Hopkins HS on Saturday!!