theraineysisters

October 20, 2010

From Sally — Gimme Shelter

Filed under: Raglan Turtleneck — surly @ 2:22 pm

My poor sister has been bearing the blogging burden while I’ve been traveling. Sadly, I haven’t done much knitting but I do have a new project in the works, which I’ll share today.

I am still working on Eala Bhan, but I wanted something that was a faster knit and required a bit less concentration. Enter my husband. Despite having received a lovely sweater last Christmas, he began dropping hints about wanting a blue turtleneck. It was sad. He even hounded my sister to knit one for him. Then, in a great coming together of needs and wants, Jared Flood’s new line of yarn, Shelter, hit the stores. I could buy new yarn with no guilt whatsoever. So I did.

Brooklyn Tweed’s Shelter is a lovely new yarn. It’s worsted weight and the wool comes from sheep raised in Wyoming. The yarn itself is spun in the historic mill town of Harrisville, New Hampshire. At first glance, this is a very traditional looking yarn, but the depth of color and softness are wonderful surprises. There were two blues to choose from: Faded Quilt or Almanac. My husband chose Almanac.

I played around and swatched a bit before deciding on a traditional raglan (worked completely in the round) with vertical lines of garter to add texture. I’ve barely started, but even so I can see this grow as I knit with it, unlike Eala Bhan.

Note: A reader asked: “I have been swatching with Shelter too. It says it works for size 7,8, or 9 needles. Which one did you end up using? My gauge is right with the 8 but it feels rather loose for worsted weight. My button jar color is great.” I tend to go down a needle size on most yarns. I swatched on both a 6 and a 7. I thought the 7 felt a little loose, but that’s the gauge my husband liked better and so that’s the needle I used. I wet blocked the swatches, and there was a nice “bloom” to the yarn that made it feel tighter. I liked the swatch done on the 7 much better after I blocked it. So, if you haven’t soaked your swatch, you might do that to see which you prefer.

PS from Susan: “He even hounded my sister to knit one for him.” It’s true. Every time I spoke to him on the phone, he asked how I was doing on his blue turtleneck. No way, Mattie! I don’t feel like knitting for my own husband, why would I knit for someone else’s!!!

Comments (11)

October 15, 2010

From Susan — So It’s the Weekend; Sew What??

Filed under: Updates — lv2knit @ 10:38 am

I usually knit in my spare time. It is portable and I derive both pleasure and knitted garments from it. Yay. I used to sew much more than I knit, but those days passed many years ago when I decided that knitting allowed me to spend more ‘creative’ time with my family (instead of being sequestered in my sewing room!). This weekend I have to bust out the sewing machine again. I have no clothes to wear. At all. It is more than simply embarrassing.

The other thing that suffers with my knitting is cleaning (ugh squared!). I am committed to doing a little of that this weekend, too. B-O-R-I-N-G!!!!

So, this weekend I plan on sewing and cleaning and not getting much knitting done — though I will still knit on my frequent breaks! 😉

Hour One: One bathroom cleaned and our bed linens in wash. Motivation already gone. Checked out fabric stash. Fabric options are there, but no thread or other notions. Run to store will interfere with continuity plan for day. See golden opportunity fading. Making more coffee to think.

Hour Three: Drank coffee; made list. Back from store with 80% success ratio. Is it too early to take a movie/knitting break? OK, even I know the answer to that one…will at least set up my cutting area. 🙁

Hour…??: It’s hopeless. I started cutting out one of my items. Younger DD called for ride. Came home and sat at computer. Can’t seem to find my way back to my cutting table. I need a break.

Day 2
I did finish cutting out Item #1. I am trying to decide if I should sew Item #1 first or cut out Item #2 and then start sewing.

Decision Made: Cut first, sew second!

Hour 3: Cutting done; one more trip to the fabric store 🙁 and now I will begin. I am not coming up except for coffee until something is accomplished!

Day 3
One item done except for the hemming. I will work on the second to the hem and then sit with a good movie to do the handwork. The Mad Men finale is on tonight 🙁 so no knitting or sewing then!

Second item done but for the hemming as well. Now to the TV for the handwork!!

Sunday night: all three items are done with 2 minutes to spare!! The third item has been marinating for two years an only needed to be hemmed. Three hems in one day — yuck!

Day 4
In the light of a new day, I don’t think I like any of the items I made over the weekend and may have to do some tweaking. 🙁

Day 5
I am wearing one of my new outfits today and actually got a compliment — mostly because it is new and not something I have worn every third day for the past 15 years! Woo Hoo!

Comments (12)

October 11, 2010

From Susan — Eala Boo Boo

Filed under: Eala Bhan — lv2knit @ 11:38 pm

Bummer! What mistake usually happens when you are doing multiple cables that cross in different directions? You guessed it: I mis-crossed a cable. Thank goodness it never got on the cover of an international knitting magazine! 😉

I have been very careful (or so I thought) as I have been working on my Eala Bahn. Part of it is because the yarn is so small you really don’t want to rip it out. I found the mis-crossed cable when I was at the same point 8 rows later and went, “Rut Roh!!” So I had to drop down and fix it. Ish.

Many of you may think of Sally and me as interchangeable knitters, but we are not. Our overall skill level, interests and taste are very similar, but we do differ. There are things that I do better and there are things that Surly does better. Sally is really good at dropping down and fixing her knitting. It can be rows and rows back and she seems to magically accomplish this feat.

Sally’s Feather and Fan Shawl from A Gathering of Lace. Sally discovered that she had left out numerous yarnovers several rows back — with hundreds of stitches on the needle, she did not want to rip it out. So, she dropped down and spit-spliced additional length into the rows before “re-knitting” the problem area. Okay, fine. Show off!! She has done many other equally amazing things like that.

Like I said, I simply mis-crossed a cable 8 rows back. It should not be that big of a deal to fix. I was able to do it, but it:

a- it was a PITA
b-it looks like $#*&^^%
c-I was actually pitted out! Or maybe it was just another hot flash…who knows?

In my haste to fix the major boo boo on the exact center back of my Eala Bhan, I neglected to take pictures before or during…but here are the after shots:

This picture shows exactly where the mistake was:

It’s sloppier where I fixed it, but I hope with blocking it isn’t noticeable.

I think part of the reason I made the mistake is because I am cabling without a needle. When you do cables that way, you kind of do the cabling backwards. What I mean is, for a 2×2 left crossing cable, the directions would normally tell you to place 2 sts on cable needle, hold to FRONT, k2, k2 from cable needle — left crossing cable. But instead I take the point of my right needle and go BEHIND the first 2 sts, so I can slip the next 2 onto the RH needle. The 1st 2 sts slide off the LH needle and then get put back back onto the left needle. Even though I have been cabling sans needle for years, I think my reptilian brain still cables the old way!

I need to pay a lot more attention.

PS — Thanks for all of your nice comments about the new deck. That is the good news. The bad news is that we are going to need much bigger buns nicer (= expensive!!) deck furniture!!

Comments (9)

October 10, 2010

From Susan — Deck the Halls

Filed under: Updates — lv2knit @ 10:11 am

This post will have absolutely nothing to do with knitting. BUT, it is similar to knitting in that it involves creativity that is a long time in the making!

In 2005, my hubby (John) decided that our deck was too small and so he was going to extend it slightly. Once into the project, he realized that the original deck had completely gone to dry rot — the entire deck needed to be replaced!! Rut roh! He was very gung ho and got the main (flat) part of the deck done in no time (I’m being facetious). John always does excellent work, but at a snail’s pace. However, the deck railing was not to be. Some progress shots:

Expansion Phase

The DH at Work

In 2007, fate stepped in and John suffered a significant health issue. This prevented him from working on the deck for another 3 years…which brings us to 5 years without a usable deck. Without railing, you felt like you were sitting in an empty parking lot! This summer he decided to tackle the deck again in earnest. There is still much to be done, but he is making great headway!

Yay, John!!

Comments (32)

October 7, 2010

From Susan — Like Watching Paint Dry!

Filed under: Updates — lv2knit @ 8:56 pm

Both Sally and I are still laboring away on our respective Eala Bhans — and personally, I am loving it! I love the feel of the wooly yarn on my fingertips and I love watching the design slowly emerge. But progress is measured in tenths of inches. I have spent two evenings trying to get one inch done.

I also have another project going — simpler for group knitting and in front of certain TV programs (Mad Men, I’m talkin’ about YOU). I am using the gorgeous alpaca and silk yarn I bought while I was visiting Surly.

The pattern is called Ophicleide (huh?? WTF??) . I have no idea what it means, how to pronounce it, or what the heck it has to do with knitting! I do like the beautiful stitchwork in the yoke and the fact that after the fun knitting on the yoke, it is plain stockinette. There are two sleeve options, and I will be going for 3/4 length. Here is my progress thus far:

So, quite a way to go. It will be more of a spring sweater, so I am in no rush. The yarn is absolutely butter soft and much prettier in person than you can tell here. I only got through about half a row tonight at knitting group!!

Now that I am home, back to Eala Bhan!!!

PS: Kathy provides us with the definition of Ophicleide: a vintage brass horn:

I still have no idea what it has to do with knitting!

Comments (5)

October 2, 2010

From Both of Us — Bhan, Eala Bhan

Filed under: Eala Bhan — Both Sisters @ 10:21 am

You know, like “Bond, James Bond.” Oh, never mind… 🙂

We’ve both been working steadily on our Eala Bhan cardigans — the new sweater in Alice Starmore’s revised Aran Knitting. Both of us are using the yarn called for: Hebridean 2-Ply (Susan in Lapwing and Surly in Clover). We’re working steadily, but slowly. This is a lovely, but slow knit. It’s on tiny yarn with compressed stitch and row gauge (27 stitches and 40 rows over 4 inches) and much cabling. Just to make sure we finish it as slowly as possible, we both decided to knit the body in one piece. (Well, the real reason for that decision is our mutual dislike of reverse stockinette seams; the glacial progress is just an added plus.)

Here are some obligatory progress shots (and we use the term ‘progress’ loosely):

Susan’s Eala Bhan in Lapwing

Sally’s Eala Bhan in Clover (color not very true)

Should we start a pool on when we’ll finish?

PS — what is the meaning of Eala Bhan? It is usually translated as White Swan, depending on who you ask. The pronunciation is supposed to be something like: yella waan. We call it “Eela Bahn” cuz we’re not Gaelic!

Comments (14)

September 27, 2010

From Susan — A Visit to DC, Part Deux

Filed under: Updates — lv2knit @ 8:30 pm

For those of you who thought the stories from DC were over — think again! Yes, there’s more! Two posts for the price of one.

One of the things I did when I visited Sally was work on my Maia Shoulderette designed by Romi Hill. The reason I could not finish it here was because I was out of yarn. I was using yarn from my stash: Colinette Jitterbug in a light green with rust highlights (Moss)…but I made two fatal mistakes: 1- I added a repeat even though I didn’t mean to (don’t ask!) and b- chose a yarn without much yardage.

When Sally and I bought the yarn, we got three skeins of ~330 yards each in anticipation of each making socks. So I am the yarn hog. I brought my almost finished Maia to DC and worked on it non-stop until that bad boy was done. By the end, the rows were ENDLESS!!! I think I probably used two full skeins to finish it.

The fun thing about this pattern is the start: Romi uses a play on the garter tab cast on, incorporating a large leaf motif:

The bottom edge:

Here you can see the unusual shape — a “stay on your shoulders” kind of shape:

Sally and I both worked on this shawlette. She wrote some notes on her Ravelry project page that describe both of our thoughts about this pattern.

I’m not sure exactly when I’ll wear this, but it is kind of cute.

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September 24, 2010

From Both of Us — Drowning in New Yarn!

Filed under: Back Story,Eala Bhan — Both Sisters @ 1:46 pm

Lost Weekend
We weren’t drinking, but we were knitting…and eating…and watching an eclectic assortment of Colin Firth movies. And we do mean eclectic and we do mean Colin Firth — all Colin, most of the time ;). Let’s just say that Mr. Darcy has a checkered film past — some good, some only watchable for the close ups.

When we could pry ourselves away from the DVDs we checked out the local yarn stores. We started off at Fibre Space (and returned later to the scene of the crime) and hit many a store after that. On Monday, having run out of films, we made a quick trip to Mount Vernon to stroll through the gorgeous scenery and learn more about our first president. Susan had been there before but said it felt new again. That’s what happens when you have no memory!

On one of our visits to Fibre Space, the store was hosting a trunk show for the glorious hand dyed yarns of Miss Babs. This picture shows us with “Miss Babs herself. She allowed us to drape her in her wares — I think it is because we helped her reach her retirement goal!!

Here’s Susan’s yarn (Sally bought the Smooch colored silk for Susan as a belated birthday present 🙂 ). The yarn on the left is called Tierno, Baby Alpaca and Silk, in the color ‘Beach Glass.’ The pink is100% mulberry silk in laceweight (1250 yards!).

Sally’s yarn from Miss Babs was also (big surprise) a color from the pink family. It’s silk lace weight in the color Shiraz.

Sally also picked up a sweater’s worth of a fingering weight yarn called Canopy (alpaca, merino, and bamboo) in Sarsaparilla (with accent colors in Canopy and some other yarns) for a project she’s wanted to undertake for a long time. More on that once it’s been started, but here’s a preview of the yarn colors.

We checked out a great new shop called Looped Yarn Works just off Dupont Circle. This bright, airy, cutely decorated shop has cozy nooks in which to knit and lots of very nice yarn! Sally took a few photos with her iPhone, most of which were blurry, but here’s one.

On Sunday we made an emergency needle run to Knit and Stitch — in Bethesda, MD. The people could not have been nicer. When we got there we noticed a treasure trove of Hanne Falkenberg kits. Upon further inspection, we realized that they had a Hanne F. trunk show in progress!! Woo Hoo! We were able to try on several great designs: Gloria and Plisse to name a couple. The Gloria Jacket is one of the most flattering designs we have seen. It looked good on both of us even with our size disparity.

Before the weekend started, we each received our copies of the new (and improved?) Aran Knitting, AND yarn for the newest design straight from the source herself.

Now, back to knitting!

Comments (19)

September 15, 2010

From Susan — 10 – 9 – 8 – 7…

Filed under: Updates — lv2knit @ 11:54 pm

The countdown has begun! I will launch at 1010 tomorrow and meet up with Surly around 2pm. Then watch out, DC, The Rainey Sisters will be on the loose!!

Houston, we have a problem: a serious yarn shortage in the DC area….

Comments (5)

September 14, 2010

From Susan — Countdown to 500 Hats!

Filed under: Updates — lv2knit @ 1:48 pm

It certainly feels that way. When I am between large projects I usually take a breather with a few quick knits. I can’t get through a day without knitting, but I am not yet prepared to embark on the next big thing. Plus, my knitting group is donating hats to charity this fall.

So, I knit hats — three this week! The Quincy I already shared, a very basic hat too basic to share and this one: The Tuscan Leaves Hat by Nina Machlin. This is a very nice hat pattern! I love the way the leaves meander slowly next to each other. It is NOT charted, but I had no trouble reading it row by row.

Here are the pictures of Nina’s Hats, which show the hat in its entirety:

I did not have a model, nor do I own a “head” so my pictures are flat and not that good:

I used Ella Rae Worsted Weight Wool. When finished, the hat looked so tiny that it seemed like it would not fit a soul, but it did block nicely. I would make this again. It is so pretty and unique.

There may be a gap in our blogging: I will be heading east to visit Surly on Thursday! Yay!

Comments (9)

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