theraineysisters knitting and so much more

You must think we have dropped off the planet!  We have not been great at posting lately, but not because we aren’t busily knitting our fingers to the bone. 

We will share our progress soon.  In the meantime, we are experiencing the warmest fall I can remember — upper 70’s and absolutely gorgeous.  I can walk the woof-woof at night without a jacket!  I’m sure it will turn soon, but we are sure enjoying it. 

Since I don’t have anything of my own to share at the moment, I thought I would share a pattern book I found on Ravelry:

Killybegs by Carol Feller, published in Contemporary Irish Knits

There are some super cute patterns in this book.  They really get you in a cabling mood!  I ordered my copy and am anxiously awaiting its arrival.

Contemporary Irish Knits, Carol Feller (Ravelry Link)

Lettie is always thrilled to go on a field trip.  She loves going to work with me and thrives on being in the limelight.  But she is very sensitive about the, um, word headless. 

Lettie came to work with me to model the Damson Shawlette I made to donate for a silent auction fundraiser.  She did a stellar job and the shawl was purchased by a friend of mine!  Yay!

It will be fun to think of something special for next year.  And it’s nice to get Lettie out of the house once in a while.

Bread is supposed to be the staff of life.  For me, knitting is the staff of life.  So, the combination of the two seems pretty fitting! 

I finally finished what should have been a “quickie” knitting project, but it seemed to drag on forever.  Add the fact that I am not thrilled with the outcome, and you can be sure this will not be added to my Top Ten Favorite Knitting Projects.  The project in question is my Bread Basket Liner. 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the pattern — it is really cute and is nicely written.  I think the problem was with my yarn choice.  I was trying to use yarn from my stash (::cough:: cheap ::cough::) — my denim Riveting leftovers.  I had to knit the thing 20 inches square so it would shrink to 17-18″.  That is a lot of extra knitting for no real good reason.  Plus, the yarn just doesn’t look that good for this purpose.  I think a cotton-linen washable mix would be better.

I took the shopping advice of a reader and bought the Tree of Life Bread Basket and Warmer from SERRV.  I got three: two for gifts and one for moi.  They are wonderful — a little more than I had planned on spending (::cough:: cheap ::cough::), but really high quality.

I may or may not knit a liner for the gifts: a nice linen or damask napkin would work, too.  I may save my knitting for more rewarding projects, although I just might try different yarn and make another for me, to see if I like it better.

Tonight I attended the launch of a new partnership between Amazing Threads and Rowan Yarns and Westminster Fibres.  AT will carry a huge selection of their yarns and patterns. 

Each of us received a copy of the following Rowan Magazine and other goodies:

They served lovely teas, scones, mini-sandwiches and beautiful yarn.  The shop was jammed floor to ceiling with fall’s fibre bounty and a lot of knitters.  I did have to bring a little something home!  I bought three skeins of Madeline Tosh DK in Alazarin: a rich combination of warm autumn colors to make a Ponchette Shawlette.  It’s another design that has worked its way through my entire knitting group.

Speaking of my knitting group…we went through a name change.  We used to call ourselves “Thursdays at 4.”  Descriptive but a bit blah.  Our new name is “Penelope Knitters.”

Our group is named for Penelope, the wife of Odysseus.  Penelope was faithful to her husband during his twenty-year quest by using her wits.  Believing that Odysseus would return to her, she told would-be suitors that she would not marry until she finished the funeral shroud of her father-in-law.  She would weave all day and then undo her work throughout the night, thus thwarting their advances.

At our Thursday knitting group, we often find that we knit all evening and then go home and rip it all out!  We cannot always talk and knit at the same time!  Penelope seems to represent our group pretty well!

                                                                        Penelope at Her Loom

Tonight was the Minnesota Knitters Guild meeting where knitters share their state fair entries, the judges’ comments and background tidbits.  I had a great time tonight and enjoyed myself completely.  I met some of our readers, too, which was really nice!!

My favorite story involved a “helpful spouse.”  The knitter in question could not get to the fair to drop off her entries due to her crazy schedule.  DH stepped up to the plate and volunteered to do it for her.  Upon his return, I imagine the exchange went something like this:

Hubby: “Hi, Honey.  I dropped off all four of your items at the fairgrounds.”
Knitter: “Uh…four?  I only had three things to enter this year!”

Hubby took an unfinished afghany thing in — ends not woven in, fringe only partly done, and not something she would have entered anyway! They actually wrote some nice things about it… too funny.

We saw some beautiful things, and of course added way too many things to our “must knit” lists.  Afterward we got to fondle and drool over the wondrous knitting. 

My kind of evening!

Hi, fellow knitters! I have been doing a lot of knitting but because I am “multi-tasking” (i.e., suffering from startitis), I have little to show for it.

I DID finish two Hats for the Homeless and delivered them to Ingebretsen’s on Lake Street. They had a nice pile collected of vary gaudy colorful hats bearing large pom poms.  Hmmm.  I am such a “doobie” that I made two black wool hats — one a Quincy and another from my One Day Hat pattern.  No pom poms.  No color.   Boring, but that is what they said we should make!

I am also making some Christmas gifts.  I found a pattern on Ravelry for these Classic Bread Basket Liners and thought that with a cute basket and terra cotta bread warmer, it would be a nice gift.  I am using my leftover denim yarn (Riveting) because it is washable, but I think a cotton/linen blend would be even better.  I realized that the baskets I bought are not the best choice, so now the hunt begins… 

The Bread Basket Liner is a really fun knit and actually looks like woven fabric.  I will share a picture when it is done.  Hope you are enjoying the cooler weather — fall has definitely landed in Minnesota!

PS: purlgin mentioned a site called SERRV that sells fair trade handmade items from international artisans.  I bought three of these baskets and warmers!  They look perfect!  One is for me…

If necessity is the mother of invention, then sheer laziness must be the father!  I have always found that my ingenuity is spurred on by work avoidance.   This recent instance is one of my lazier better examples.

I just finished two Damson Shawlettes — one for a shop sample and one for the annual charity auction at my work. 

My original Damson, plus the two new, unblocked ones

For some reason, I thought it made sense to block them at the same time.  After all, I have two pieces of styrofoam for blocking and lots of pins.  The first one went okay — putzy and boring, but okay.  Then I started the second one.  I had run out of steam and it wasn’t shaping up very well.  I thought of just setting it aside for another day, but it was wet and I wanted it to be done. 

Then the ‘lazy lightbulb’ went on!!  The Damsons were made of the same type of yarn, same number of repeats, same size.  Would it work to just double them up and put the second Damson over the first and use the pins as pegs?  It worked like a charm and took a tenth of the time:

Here you can see the two stacked up:

Here are the Damson Twins after blocking:

Damson Modified in Malabrigo Sock “Abril”

Damson Modified in Malabrigo Sock “Rayon Vert”

As you can see, I used the open mesh modification for my Double Damsons, which I prefer.  I love this pattern and LOVE the mesh version.  I stopped a few rows early because of fear that I would run out of yarn, but I do think I could have gone the distance — I have a fair amount of yarn left over.  Ravelry Project Page.

So, this was a great and successful blocking solution 🙂 with very little application in other situations 🙁 .

PS: Rox mentioned a couple of possible applications: You could block sleeves this way, couldn’t you?  And maybe the back and front of a sweater, too? 

I always use blocking wires instead of pins to block sleeves and sweater pieces, but this might help those of you who use pins.  It will take longer to dry, but it might be worth it (?).

Alice, Alice, Alice.  Your genius overwhelms me, heartens me, and inspires me.  I have been enamored for decades and you continue to amaze!  Alice and Jade Starmore just announced their new website and it is a stunner.  They put forth their best efforts and created a much improved portal to their designs and yarns.

Both Sally and I have knit numerous Starmore designs.  Mine include:

Eala Bhan
Oregon
Henry the VIII
Erisort
Berry Tree
Rona
St. Brigid
Capillifolium Baby Cap
Kimberley (Jade)
Rambling Rose

Sally has made many of the above and several fair isle baby blankets (Cats and Mice Blanket).   We’re fans, what can I say?  We also have had the honor and privilege of meeting Alice, taking classes, and dining with her…the highlight of my [knitting] life.  Alice inspired me to attempt fair isle knitting with Rambling Rose and complex cables with St. Brigid.

The cool thing about the new website is that you can use a filter to find what you want.  When you sort by “Alice Starmore,” you get all of her designs on one page.  I was overwhelmed and overcome.  What a talent!!

I am sure there are more Starmores in my future.  I have yarn in stash and thoughts racing through my knitting addled brain.  All I can say is WOW!!!