theraineysisters knitting and so much more

As I mentioned previously, I wound thousands and thousands, millions and millions, of yards of yarn to keep me occupied during my recovery phase.  A lot of it was laceweight, but much of it was not.  But I have really been focusing my efforts on the lace. Plain stockinette is too boring when your lifestyle is super boring!!  Three lace FOs and one lace WIP later…

Sally and I happily jumped on The Sanguine Gryphon Gaia Lace band wagon when she revealed a huge new batch of her signature colors.  We surmised she was preparing for the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, where she had a booth (Sally said you couldn’t fight your way in!).  The color Lobstrosity (yes, a crazy name) is an intense blue-green that is absolutely STUNNING.  We bought a skein for each of us, lemmings that we are, running off the cliff in search of rare and beautiful yarns!

Both of us thought something in leaves.  Something knit side to side perhaps.  I thought, beads — just a touch.  Sally found a beautiful, vintage-looking pattern: Acanthus (available on Ravelry for $1.99 — perfect!).  I started out calling it, “I Can’t Knit This.”  The charts do not line up logically so you can’t tell where you are.  After a few repeats, you start to get the hang of it, so I ended up finishing it in a few days.

My finished Acanthus:

It is small.  The finished size just goes around the shoulders and is only 14-15 inches wide at the widest point.  But it is a lovely accent piece.

I am also working on a larger shawl in 100% silk: Mulberry Silk from Miss Babs, color Smooch (I would link to it, but I don’t think she makes it any more):

The shawl in question is again from Romi Hill, Fiori di Sole.  I knew I wanted to make this one and knew the pink was “the” yarn for it.  Others who have made it ended up with H-U-G-E shawls so I thought I would make mine a little smaller.  With my gauge, I am not going to be able to get away with that and will need to knit the 5th repeat of Chart E after all.  Darn!  I finished the 4th repeat and would have been able to move on.   Oh well, more knitting for me!  I start back to work next week so knitting all the live long day will soon be over. 🙁

PS: Stashdragon said, “The Acanthus shawl and Lobstrosity (!) yarn are a perfect pair.  Well played.”  I should have mentioned that Sangrine Gryphon Gaia Lace was the yarn used to make the prototype for Acanthus.

We are so bad!  We were skyping and paging through the latest issue of Vogue, and S-H-O-P-P-I-N-G.  We kept seeing things we liked and then going on line to check them out.

Case in point: these lil cuties by Star Light Clay on page 11:

We couldn’t hit “add to cart” fast enough! 😉 They were sold in pairs (lucky for us) and we bought them in color jade.

Who knew thumbing through a magazine could be so expensive!!??

PS: “You do realize that by sharing these you are perpetuating the problem for the rest of us!”  Yes, we do — that’s the definition of enabling!!

As I mentioned, I finished a couple of smaller projects during the first couple of weeks of my convalescence (which is going along nicely). Fylleryd and Taygete. Taygete is another wonderful design by Romi Hill.  She is a shawl genius.  I loved knitting Taygete and L-O-V-E the yarn and colors that I used: Madeline Tosh Merino Light in Wood Violet and Magenta (420 0r 440? yds per 100 grams, 1 skein of each color).

Being a lazy sort, I decided to forego the tedious knitted picot bind off described in the pattern and opted to do my crocheted version instead.  This worked very well for me with the Braided Glory capelets and Holden Shawlette I recently finished.

Finished and blocked…wait, on second thought, no.  I decided that a) I liked the heavier, twisted, corded, scallopy look of the real bind off and b) the side edge of the lace panel really needed more sts/picots to give it the proper length (IMHO).  Without the additional sts it caused the edge to curve — and I prefer a pointier point.  So, I ripped it out and redid it.

The irony is, my knitting peeps loved it the way it was — three are making identical Taygetes!  But, I kept thinking about it and it bugged me.  And what do I have to do all day long anyway?

Wimpy Loops:

Curved Point:

Blocking Yet Again!!

Compare — old on left, new on right

The point is actually much pointier than it appears in the photo above. 

I love the edging — it really does have the ropey look I wanted.  I still wish I could capture the deep purple and periwinkle of the colorway, but alas, I cannot.  The above scan is probably the closest.  I am so happy with this shawl now, so I guess it was well worth the extra effort.

Two of my latest WIPs are also lace knitting.  What has gotten into me??

Dear Nuppy,
Any advice for working nupps?  When I worked mine, the yarn broke in a few places.

Thanks,
Karin

Dear Karin,
That sounds absolutely horrifying!  There is advice for knitting nupps from many reliable sources.  Here are a couple of suggestions.

A nupp is made by making multiple sts in one st (k1, YO, k1, YO, k1 = 5 st nupp; rep YO, k1 for 7 st nupp) and then purling the 5 (7) sts tog on the wrong side.  Most people recommend doing the “Yo, k1’s” loosely so they are easier to purl on the next row.  It is  also helpful to use sharp-tipped needles such as Addi Lace needles. 

Another trick — ex. is for 7-st nupp — is to slip the 1st 3 or 4 sts of the nupp as to purl, purl the rem nupp sts, and then pass the slipped sts over.  I did this a lot on my Fylleryd…it allows you to count each st and make sure you have caught all the nupp loops AND not the st or YO before or after the nupp (a common problem). 

It may also help to be a “thrower” if purling is a more difficult technique for you based on your knitting method…though this would involve too big a switch for most!! 

If your yarn is breaking, it may mean that the loops are too tight and you are attempting to push the knitting needle through all the loops at once.  Try loosening your k1, YO’s AND the slip st/passover technique.  Hope these tips are useful.  

Happy nupping!

Signed,
Dear Nuppy

Donna D recommends using a crochet hook and it looks really easy!

I just took my first shower in ~2 weeks (stitches came out on Friday).  Man, did that feel good!!  Our upstairs shower broke 4 years ago — I told hubby he had to get it fixed by May 22…and that is the day it got done!

I wrote this post pre-operatively to be posted post-operatively!  😉

I knitted up a second Braided Glory immediately after the first.  I really enjoyed the pattern and also wanted to experiment with different yarn.  I combed the shops and my own thoughts for the perfect yarn and finally landed on Madeline Tosh DK in color Tart — a blackish red that looks exactly like Bing cherries:

I also saw the back of the capelet as a blank canvas, waiting for more to happen.  I had already purchased Leaving by Anne Hanson (a gorgeous pattern in queue) and thought the bold lace insert would look great on the back.  I adapted it slightly to fit the back.  My goal was to look as good “leaving” as I did arriving.  ::groan::

Here are the results:

I still used the same “kitten paw” pattern on the sides and fronts — too much thinking to try to come up with something different! 

Several of you commented on my previous Braided Glory and said my version seemed less “droopy” than others.  That has a lot to do with the yarn.  This one, in softer, drapier yarn, is definitely droopier than the one in Nashua Creative Focus Linen.  But I think it still works and it fits just like the first one did.

PS: Janet asked about the blocking phase.  Here it is being blocked (and it REALLY takes a long time to dry!):

And another shot “in process:”

My surgery went fine — they did not need to graft additional tendon and so it was a simpler procedure.  The nerve block kept me pain free all day yesterday, but I think it is starting to wear off…

I love our readers!  Your kind and HELPFUL comments meant a lot to me.  Hubby is waiting on me literally hand and foot, but he will need to go to work at some point!  One of his co-workers had surgery on the same day I did, so he could not take off a lot of time.  I am using a knee scooter instead of crutches (though I do have a pair) and already took a tumble off one of the crazy steps in our house — almost every room is “sunken!”   Not a great set up for the old or infirmed!

I am able to knit and I am LOVING my Taygete.  Madeline Tosh Light should be considered a controlled subsance!  I have a stack of projects to work on so I should be set to go.  Thanks for your kind thoughts and well wishes!

PS — Ronna asked for a picture of my knee scooter:

I need to add a basket or something for hauling my stuff…you know me, I do not travel light!

Ugh.  You may recall from last year that I injured my ankle when a cup fell out of my cupboard, broke, and hit my ankle right at the Achilles Tendon.   The broken cup shaved my tendon like a potato peeler, leaving a small ball of tendon and scar tissue that will not dissolve and causes daily discomfort.  Whine.  Anyway, I am having surgery tomorrow to debride the damaged tissue and repair the tendon.  Sounds simple enough…not.  Well, the surgery is probably routine, but the recovery phase is ridiculous!

Two weeks with my foot above my heart for 23 hours a day, with hourly ice packing, and hourly leg pumping to prevent blood clots.  Four more weeks without weight bearing.  Four more weeks with a walking boot.  I am all about putting my feet up and relaxing, but this is just crazy 🙁 .

I have been spending the last few days getting ready for my convalescence — mostly winding balls of yarn!!  Thousands of yards of yarn!  One must be prepared! 😉

I also started a smallish project that should keep me knitting the first few days: Taygete by Romi Hill (Tay-EE-jet-ay).  I purchased some lovely Madeline Tosh Light in Wood Violet and Magenta at Yarnover (from StevenBe).   It was supposed to be for gifts for other people.  I looked at the yarns together and fell in love — they were much more eye popping than the combo I bought specifically for Taygete.  So, I said to myself, “Self.  This is YOUR yarn.  You can use it for whatever you want.”   The colors positively G-L-O-W in the sunlight!  The other yarn has less yardage so I will be hunting for cute shawlette patterns that take < 400 yds., but I have until Christmas to get those done.

I figure that the first couple of days I will be flat on my back and kind of out of it.  I will have my laptop stationed next to me, as well as my instant stream Netflix and a few easy-read novels.  

Sally will need to bear the brunt of blogging for a while, so be kind to her while I get back on my feet foot.  See ya on the other side!!

Heard yesterday: “They’re making jokes about The Rapture like there’s no tomorrow!”

I’m sure I speak for Sally when I say thank you to everyone for the lovely comments and kind words about our mother.   That’s all for now!!