theraineysisters

January 16, 2007

From Sally — The Blue Shimmer Progresses

Filed under: Blue Shimmer — surly @ 7:17 pm

I’ve finished one sleeve of my Bohus Blue Shimmer and I am halfway to the elbow on the second. So, I should be able to play with my Royal Alpaca very, very soon. I may also resurrect another headstart project — I love how fast the sweater seems to go then (if you forget about all of the knitting done before tossing it aside).

Some of you asked questions about the Blue Shimmer in your comments to my last update on it and I tried to answer many of them there. One question I didn’t get a chance to answer was the source of the fiber. I bought The Blue Shimmer as a kit, with cream substituted for the light blue that was supposed to be the main color, while at Meg Swansen’s knitting camp one year. It is Kimmet Croft’s Fairy Hare. Unfortunately, I don’t believe that they have a website. [I was wrong. See below.] The last information I have is:

5850 Schudy Rd., Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin 54495 USA
+1-715-421-0121 (voice), Janice Kimmet, jkimmet@wctc.net
Fairy Hare Yarn–40% angora, 60% rambouillet/merino in authentic Bohus colors. Custom spun by Fingerlakes Woolen Mill and hand-dyed by Mary Jo Burke

As I said in my earlier posts, this yarn has a more handspun look than the kit I ordered from Sweden. In my color way, the blues seemed fuzzier and more angora-like than the cream, although the cream is soft enough for me to wear next to the skin (and will be much softer, I’m sure, once I wet block the sweater).

I asked if someone had more up-to-date contact information, and within a few minutes Marina had stepped to the plate with the web address: Fairy Hare. Thank you, Marina!

I see, from perusing the Fairy Hare website, that she has the yarn kitted up to knit “The Dean.”

It’s always been one of my favorites.

Comments (6)

January 15, 2007

From Susan — 2 Bummed 4 Words

Filed under: Current Projects,Oregon Cardigan,Updates — lv2knit @ 11:57 am

As Sally said in March 2006:

From now on, I will read directions. Really. I will.

I made a mistakeÂ on Oregon — not a deal breaker, but a bummer nonetheless.Â I was supposed to do several more decreases on the armhole shaping to the tune of 4 sts each side of the armhole.Â I didn’t notice this because I am changing the neckline and it was embedded in the instructions for the v-neck shaping.Â Not a big deal, but I still need to deal withÂ it.

Options:

1) ignore it and add 4 sts to the shoulders

2) cast off the extra sts now,Â re-create the steek, and continue with an odd shaped steek that I will trim before I pick up the sleeves

3) rip it backÂ

Obviously,Â #3 is NOT AN OPTION — do you think I’m effin nuts?Â “2” was the option I was leaning toward last night (or should I say , this morning at 1 am), but I am now leaning toward “1.”Â I don’t think it would be that big of a deal to have an extra half inch of width at the shoulder — I am a large person with square shoulders and a need for extra sleeve length (which derives partially from the shoulder drop, as we know).Â The other benefit to Option 1 is that the trees would be perfect little half trees along the armhole.Â Does that sound like rationalization??Â Mayhaps.

As long as I am coming clean about my knitting boo boos:

I screwed up on the Moebius Lace Scarf.Â It has the simplest lace pattern known to mankind — out of an 8-row repeat, there are really only 2 lace rows and they are EASILY memorized.Â As I was knitting on each and every lace repeat, I would check the rows before to make sure the pattern was lining up.Â

There must have been a rift in the space-time continuum (or I spaced out for a few minutes) because I added TWO extra yarnovers in the previous lace row (!#$%@@&).Â Â Now, I could probably fudge one extra yarnover, but two is an awful lot of extra yarn to deal with.Â Add this to the fact that it is very tough to SEE, given the tiny (Kidsilk Haze) yarn and scrunchy texture of the knitting.Â I don’t want to “k2tog” a bunch to get rid of the excess because the fabric is so sheer, you might see a “clump”Â of thicker knitting.Â Â

In short, I need to rip out a couple of rows — 378 sts worth.Â THIS might be a deal breaker: if the class does not go, I may not be inspired enough to continue.Â

I am off today, so if I plan on knitting I will need to make decisions about the above — like I said, it’s a bit of a bummer!!

PS — thanks to all who purchased the Lace Tam and Scarf Set!!

Comments (5)

January 13, 2007

From Susan — A Long Time Getting Here

Filed under: Patterns for Sale — lv2knit @ 6:01 pm

After what seems like a lifetime, I am very pleased to announce that the first pattern of The Rainey Sisters’ line of designs is now available.Â It is the Lace Tam and Scarf Set designed by Susan Rainey of The Rainey Sisters.Â If you would like to read more about the project details and/or purchase the pattern, click the photo on the right hand side bar.

The pattern has been test knit by other knitters, soÂ I feel confident that it is a project that can be completed successfully by knitters other than myself.Â Thank you to everyone who encouraged me to get this into print.

Comments (9)

January 11, 2007

From Susan — Shout Out to Surly

Filed under: Uncategorized — lv2knit @ 11:47 pm

Just couldn’t resist a comment re: Sally’s Bohus: Wow!Â It looks great!Â I love the hemline and picot neckline.Â I will definitely consider something similar in my Large Collar.Â I agree that the tightly ribbed waistline is very dated and terribly unflattering for those of us who said goodbye to our waists long, long, LONG ago :(.Â The ribbed look works if you have a figure like Audrey Hepburn.Â

And welcome to the knitting Clay fans out there.Â Â I have been Sally’s companion at MANY Clay concerts.Â I am the tall one in front standing next to the short one holding up the cell phone.Â Clay has actually spoken on that cell phone to some lucky listener out there.Â Â Please check out our July 26 post to see Sally with you-know-who.

Oregon progresses with unnatural speed: slower than seems humanly possible — microscopic speed.Â I’ll post an update in a few more inches.Â Met a snag with the Moebius — it may become a UFO…

PS — I am wearing long underwear today — 2 degrees and windy.Â Brrrrrrrrrrrrr :(.

Comments (4)

From Sally — The Blue Shimmer

Filed under: Blue Shimmer,Knitting Tips — surly @ 11:20 am

I’m moving along fairly well on The Blue Shimmer, motivated by my cameo colored Royal Alpaca. I’ve finished the body and redone the neckline. The original pattern calls for several inches of ribbing at the sleeves, hem, and neckline (with the neck ribbing folded in half and stitched to the inside). I didn’t want to do that for several reasons. First, I think it’s a dated look, at least for me. Second, I didn’t think that the ribbing looked very good. (I tried the ribbing for the neck, although I had it folded to the inside in the first photograph I posted of this sweater.) The way the yarn changes thickness made my stitches look so uneven. They still look uneven in stockinette, but that was exacerbated in the ribbing. Finally, I wanted a wider neck opening. (Side note: the original sweater is knitted in light blue yarn; I changed it to cream because I knew I’d like it better. So mine is already not quite a blue “blue shimmer.”)

So, my solution was to adapt the last pattern of the yoke for the hemline. I’ll also use that at the sleeves. Here’s a photograph of the hem, which hasn’t yet been stitched down.

As you can see, it echoes the patterning of the yoke.

This photograph also shows that I’ve cut off the neck ribbing and changed it to a picot foldline. How do you do that, you might ask. Well, very carefully. Because this sweater is knit from the top down, I had to cut the ribbing off because you can’t unravel from your cast on edge. Before I cut, I took a needle that was one or two sizes smaller than the one I was knitting with and very carefully threaded it through each stitch, making sure I was following the same row all the way around. I then cut off the neck a couple of rows above that needle to get it out of the way, and then snipped and picked out the last row before the one I had picked up. ???? Here is a photograph to show what I mean.

In this picture, you can see the cord of the needle going through the stitches of the row I am “saving,” and the yarn being held by my thumb is what I am cutting and removing.

Finally, in this photo of the entire sweater, you can see the ribbing that I cut away by itself off to the side.

The yarn from Sweden, which Susan and I will use on our Large Lace Collar sweaters, is much more even in color and texture; I hope that this sweater looks better once it’s blocked. (I have perfectionist issues.)

Edited to Add: A wave and hello to the Clack House (a members-only Clay Aiken fan site), from whom we have gotten a number of referrals. I’ve heard that you have started a knitting and crocheting thread and that some of you have been kind enough to mention our blog. I wish I could post in your thread, but alas I’m not a member.

Comments (14)

January 8, 2007

From Susan — Be Still, My Fickle Fickle Heart

Filed under: Blue Shimmer,Current Projects,Oregon Cardigan,Updates — lv2knit @ 10:38 pm

I am madly and passionately in love with this new arrival from Sweden!! OMG, it is the Bohus of my dreams — my Large Lace Collar Pullover (sweater on right).Â I have wanted to make this particular Bohus since I first became aware of them (see Poems of Color to learn about Bohus knitting).Â Instead I made Wild Apples (see Susan’s Gallery) because the kit for the Large Collar did not have the quality of black yarn I would have liked.Â When famous Wendy (of WendyKnits) started HERS (from a kit directly from Sweden), well I was smitten and bitten by the Bohus bug once again.Â It was not difficult to get Sally on board, so soon TWO kits were winging their way across the Atlantic.Â Both arrived today!Â Woo Hoo! A side note from Sally: We’ve been asked where these kits can be ordered. You can find information here. We are both planning to make the black pullover. As much as I love my Blue Shimmer, and I do, this yarn from Sweden is much nicer in that the spinning and color are more consistent. There is a cream color in the kit, and that was especially noticeable when I compared it to the cream in my almost-finished Blue Shimmer.

Here’s the thing — we are not going to start them right away because we are involved with other projects and feel the need to get something done on them first.

For me, the ‘other project’ thatÂ I am committed to finishing (?) is Oregon…

Geez fair isle is slow!Â I knit and knit and knit and get no where!Â I got re-inspired to work on Oregon because IÂ made it to Â to a milestone: the sleeve steeks.Â

I did run into a little snafu ala Marina.Â The sleeves were not centered to the pattern and therefore the shoulders would be “off” when grafted together.Â At first I thought, “If it’s good enough for AS, it’s good enough for me.”Â However, it really bugged me, especially whenÂ I took a look at it and the sleeve was only off by 4 sts.Â So, I ripped out a few rounds to re-align the sleeves.Â

Another advantage is that the sts go to the back, thus enlarging the sweater by two full inches — the extra inch that goes to the back and the extra inch I will need to add to the front bands to make the front match the back.Â I need the extra width anyway because the sweater is a touch too small.

AS shaped the armhole slightly which you can see in the photo — I took off one additional stitch so that when I pick up the sleeves, I will end up with a perfect half tree just like the center front.

Sally reported that she is very nearly finished with the body of her Blue Shimmer.Â She is also pining for the Large Lace Collar Bohus, but the siren song of her new Royal Alpaca is calling her ever so seductively.

So progress is being made, and projects are lining up.Â Plus, I just got the flyer for the Minnesota Knitters Guild “Yarnover” event, which is April 21.Â I am teaching the BeadedÂ Amulet Bag class.Â Yarnover is a great day of knitting and shopping at the vendors’ market.

Knitting is grand!

Comments (9)

January 6, 2007

From Sally — The Tangled Skein

Filed under: Back Story — surly @ 12:54 am

After a night with my sister, I’m in the wilds of southern Minnesota. Susan wined and dined us and was a great hostess, but she and I didn’t get a chance to do much knitting. Le sigh.

Now I am visiting my mother-in-law in St. Peter, Minnesota. There is a relatively new yarn shop in town, The Tangled Skein, and I was able to sneak away today for an hour or so and visit. It’s really a lovely shop: warm, inviting, and full of great fibers. Annette Engeldinger, one of the co-owners, was in the store today and she was extremely helpful (not that it takes much help to get me to buy yarn). One of the lines they carry is Blue Sky Alpaca, a company local to Minnesota. I’ve always loved Blue Sky’s Alpaca & Silk, but I hadn’t yet seen their limited edition Royal Alpaca. It’s gorgeous. It feels as soft as cashmere and it comes in eight luscious but muted colours. I couldn’t resist buying enough of “Cameo,” a dusty pink, to make a little cardigan. (Yes, I have a thing about dusty pink yarns. I can’t help myself.)

I also bought some Rowan Tapestry for a hat and some gorgeous copper Alpaca & Silk for a pair of gloves or glovelets. Annette rolled up a skein of the Royal Alpaca for me to play with and shipped the rest (at no charge!) so it will be waiting for me when I get home. I threw in a couple skeins of the copper Alpaca & Silk for Susan to thank her for being such a great hostess — which Annette also rolled and shipped.

It’s a great store and there’s an intriguing looking coffee shop across the street. If I lived closer, I’d be spending a lot of time there. As it is, I’ll make sure to stop by whenever I’m in town.

Comments (7)

January 2, 2007

From Sally — What Was I Thinking?

Filed under: Spiral Pullover — surly @ 12:37 pm

Have you ever started knitting something even if you suspected, deep down within your bones, that it was a doomed project? Sometimes the siren call of something unexpected and interesting is impossible to resist even if you know it ~~might~~ will end badly. The Spiral Pullover designed a few years ago by Norah Gaughan is, I fear, such a project.

It looked so seductively fun to knit. You start with 8 stitches, knit a spiral, and the entire sweater then grows magically out of it. I know, I know — even just describing it I realize it sounds suspiciously like a Chia Pet or a package of Sea Monkeys. But I digress.

The original pattern called for a raw silk yarn called Mandalay. But I don’t like knitting with raw silk so I substituted. I used Jaeger’s Extra Fine Merino Aran in a lovely, rich colour called Wineberry. It’s a beautiful yarn and I love how it knits up (poor little skeins — to wait your whole life to be knitted up into a *whispers quietly* mistake).

One of the first questions that needs to be answered as I dissect the “progress” of this project is: What was I thinking in knitting a size large? I may complain that I’m no longer the cute little thing I was in college, but I’m not a size large. The size large is 46″ around and 28+ inches long. I’ve got a 34″ bust and I’m not even 5’5″. There was a better size: the S/M. But I bypassed that with its ample seven inches of ease and 24″ length. Why? I don’t know. It’s a mystery for the ages.

I knitted for a little while — made the spiral. It’s hard to describe, really, how you construct this sweater. The knitting changes direction through increases and decreases and it’s just one of those things that could work beautifully. Or not.

I googled, looking to see and be inspired by other knitters’ success stories.

I found one lonely blog entry about it — someone who had started it. I emailed her to find out how it had all turned out. I could practically hear the ringing of evil laughter — mwha ha ha ha ha ha — through my cable modem. Her response included such phrases as “godawful mess,” “twisted heap,” and “unwearable.” My reaction to that was: [audio:what.mp3]

So I plowed on. And then, as is my wont when I get bored or distracted by some new pretty, I threw it in a corner of my yarn room. I resurrected it (and I use the term loosely) the other day. I had only about 30 rows to finish the entire body of the sweater. So I figured out where I was (it’s a pattern that gives instructions for each row; I had quite carefully made sure I never marked where I was) and then finished it so I could bring it to Minnesota tomorrow and give Susan a good laugh.

Here are some photos. First, the entire thing (except for the sleeves). The spiral will be in the right hand corner of the front and extend to the back.

Here is a close up of how the direction of the knitting changes so that you are able to shape the front neck and shoulders (no such luck on the back — the front is the easy shaping side).

Finally, to give you an idea of just how big this sweater is going to be on me if I ever do finish it, I’ve put it next to the U.S. Capitol building.

Yeah — a tad oversized.

Comments (14)

January 1, 2007

From Susan — Happy Knit Year 2007

Filed under: Back Story — lv2knit @ 11:08 am

Wow!Â Be careful what you wish for!Â As soon as I hit “post” yesterday, it started snowing.Â We ended up with several inches and a mini-blizzard!Â Note all the tracks in the yard — our Yellow Lab, Molly,Â LOVES bounding through the snow.Â Our poor street will go unplowed for a while.Â We are a one-block dead end and they seem to forget we are here!

I spent New Year’s Eve with my girls, watching movies and knitting a bit.Â Not bad!Â Not much like the New Year’s Eves of my spent youth, but that’s okay with me.Â I’m too old to party like it’s 1999 ;).Â

I am at the point on Oregon when I need to add the armhole steeks — woo hoo!Â I never thought I would get there.Â Â I’ll post a picture once I get a couple of inches.Â

Thank you for all of the niceÂ comments about the Winter WonderlandÂ Shawl.Â It will be in queue for next fall and ready for winter ’08!Â Â

Comments (5)

December 31, 2006

From Susan and Sally — No Snow in Minne-snow-ta

Filed under: Updates — lv2knit @ 1:42 pm

New Year’s Eve in Minnesota and not a flake to be found. It is very disappointing and not a little disturbing (see “An Inconvenient Truth,” “Soylent Green,” and “The Day after Tomorrow”).

Because it has been a brown winter, it never did quite seem very Christmasy or wintery. Last fall, Sally and I started a project we were both very enthusiastic about, but it never “got legs” so to speak. It was a shawl that would be gorgeous (IF it worked) to wear during the holiday season — very festive and certainly wintery in nature. It is the Winter Wonderland Shawl designed by Sharon Winsauer.

The pattern is available from the Alpaca Yarn Company which also carries the Forest Path Stole pattern (featured in Interweave Knits a few years ago). Sally and I fell in love with this shawl, immediately ordered the yarn, and started cranking out snowflakes like crazy. We didn’t post anything because we realized that this project could flop very easily because of the unusual construction — we wanted to see if it would work before posting. We forged ahead and then, like so many times before, momentum stopped. As Sally recently put it, “Its time has passed.” So, these are the only snowflakes in Minnesota — at least anywhere near my home:

Aren’t they wonderful? If nothing else, the snowflakes could be appliqued onto something. This project is set to resurface in the fall of 2007 — if there is snow for inspiration. If it is another brown year, I’m not sure the muses will deem this project knit-worthy.

Project details: 13 snowflakes are knit individually on dpns using “Glimmer” (3 skeins); then you pick up around each snowflake with Suri Elegance (1 skein) and knit the background. To finish: graft the snowflakes together and knit an edging with Glimmer.

I miss snow, and I miss winter.

From Sally: Here are a few photos of my snowflakes, including one with its knitted background. (I know, I know. Mine aren’t as nicely blocked and finished as my sister’s yet.)