theraineysisters knitting and so much more

When asked about the purpose of Susan’s trip to DC – Sally responded with a somewhat noncommittal reply.  Now you will get the full scoop!  (The working title of this post was “I plead the Firth!” but some of us did not agree … 😉 ).

Of course there was the usual knitting, shopping and eating! 😉  But the main purpose had to do with the timing.  THE SHIRT was to be on display at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC.  We saw the refurbished Capitol gleaming in the sun as we headed to the Folger – absolutely breathtaking.

The Folger exhibition is titled Will & Jane: Shakespeare, Austen, and the Cult of Celebrity and runs into November.  Yes.  They brought in the actual shirt:

THE SHIRT was magnificent:

Incredible details and amazing tailoring.  Little Darcy LOVED it!!

My shirt!!

It looked like they had taken the shirt right off him, and let it dry as is.  Wow.  😉  Wow.

They had a beautiful exhibit of personal items of Jane Austen’s (including her famous ring and hand written notes), as well as memorabilia from the film:

Jane Bennett’s Wedding Bonnet

The trip was also timely because Bridget Jones’s Baby is now showing.  We re-watched the first two BJD films in preparation before heading to the theater.

Little Darcy, Susan, and Sally loved it!!  Six thumbs up!  Thank goodness the script made Bridget smarter and more likeable than she was in the second film.  Of course, time has taken its toll on all the characters.  Colin Firth said in an interview on Live with Kelly! that in the next BJD movie he would rip the tubes out of his arms, jump off his bath chair, and chase Bridget down using a walker!

Little Darcy also just had to re-watch his favorite BBC miniseries:

Oh, Mr. Darcy indeed!!

Little Darcy had all sorts of fun over the weekend:

Dining Out, Eating Caper Berries

He has long had a fondness for Caper Berry Gravy, aka green gunge (“Just stir it, Una!!”):

Little Darcy enjoyed a movie on AmazonPrime:

Tom Hanks looks perturbed with Little Darcy and P&P in general!

He also enjoyed watching the Vikings beat the Carolina Panthers (“Go, Vikes!!”):

And helping Sally with her latest knitting project:

All in all a very satisfying weekend.  Our yarn purchases (not that many 😉 ) will be revealed in time!!

Little Darcy says goodbye to our lovely capital:

PS — Can’t believe we forgot to mention running into Mary Lou Egan, a colleague of Susan’s from The Yarnery!!  It was such a wonderful surprise!!  She (along with co-authors Gale Zucker and Kristen Kapur) were at Fibre Space promoting their new book, Drop-Dead Easy Knits.  They had the entire trunk show on display and were doing workshops.  So great to see Mary Lou!!  Susan is a long time admirer.

PS2 from Susan to Nadine:  Little Darcy cuter than Mr. Darcy??!!  It is a sacrilege!  Or a compliment…don’t know which.  I am conflicted!! 😉

The first kiss of fall fills the air and means that summer is over.  It is a wistful time, but a pleasant one.

A friend recently asked me if I could fix the cast on for the French Cancan Shawl, which has a definite hump like many other crescent shawls.  I seem to have become the unofficial “hump whisperer.”  Please do not put that on my headstone!!

The French Cancan does not use the same rate or method for the increases that I have used in other shawls, so I had to build the cast on from scratch.  It isn’t perfect but I think it is an improvement.  A link to the cast on for this shawl is here.

I decided I needed to make the shawl to test it.  🙂  I started out with fingering weight yarn and completed the entire body.  I found the braided edging (which takes 2 rows per stitch to complete = 800 rows for mine) too daunting, so I started over with worsted weight yarn.  Cheater!!  😉

I used very well aged yarn from my stash – Mulberry Silk from Horstia left over from my Viking Turid sweater.  Beautiful 50-50 silk and merino yarn.

I added some short rows and other mods to the corners so they would look pointed and not lopped off.  Here is my French Cancan blocking:

Blocking shows reduced hump!!

Lettie likes everything French!!

Corner Detail

So there is my French Cancan.  I hope to wear it when I visit Surly next week.

My Mother Goose hat is featured on the main Ravelry page!  Thanks, Bonnie, for alerting me to this news!  My little hidden hat is getting its day in the sun after all!!  🙂

Sally is in Colorado selflessly tending to her DD’s medical needs and helping cheer her up.  She really appreciates that many of you responded to the question she posed about the mystery knitting needles!!

I picked up my stuff from the fair on Wednesday.  There are several items that I had not yet posted on the blog or Ravelry.  One is the hat that no one saw!  Literally.  No.  One.  It was better hidden than [insert your favorite insulting political comment here].

The pattern is called Mother Goose Hat and to me it screamed invisible stranding!!  The last pattern row has one white stitch and the rest blue!  The technique worked beautifully.

I think it’s pretty cute!!  The hat received a 5th place ribbon at the fair which means I received a $0 award.  Yep.  Not even a buck!!

And to Gretchen — you will have to wait until next year to get a picture with Babe!!

PS in response to Amy:  I will bring my stuff and judges’ sheets to the fair, but you are only allowed to talk about five entries.  🙂

PPS to Angela:  I wasn’t complaining about 5th place (maybe about the $0!! 😉 )!  I feel like getting any ribbon at our fair is recognition.  The competition in Minnesota is fierce!

I was just swatching for a project and one of the needles I grabbed is a favorite of mine.  Unfortunately, I have absolutely no idea what the brand is, whether it’s still being made, or whether it’s been changed.  I have several of these needles in different sizes but nary a package in sight.

Here are two photos.  As you can see, the cord is black.  It’s also extremely flexible.  The tips are sort of between being pointy and blunt, and the surface itself has a nice feel.  Not too grabby, not too slick.  The needle size is “engraved” on the tip (you may not be able to read it in the photo).  Finally, the cord itself flattens out slightly just before it attaches to the tip.

If these are still being made I want to buy more.  I thought I’d reach out to our readers to see if anyone knows about these mystery needles.

ETA: Thanks everyone — the consensus seems to be Inox. I knew our readers wouldn’t let us down. And thanks for the information on where to find replacements.