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Why Carole has not been knitting

May 17, 2010 by Carolyn

Carole and the pups

As always so much to share and not quite enough time.  So….here comes bits and pieces throughout this week. Carole stopped mid-day this past Saturday…..and most of the knitting folks had left a few minutes earlier. So Terry and I were the first of the Skein Lane Saturday knitting group to see the photo taken just the day before  of the 8 puppies recently born to Carole’s Portuguese Water Dog. Dulcie is a show dog….and Carole has been busy this last year or more learning about dogs, showing dogs, and now she knows how to whelp puppies. The puppies were born a couple days ahead of schedule and Carole was on her own with Dulcie and the first of couple of pups. Couldn’t help but laugh when Carole said she just hadn’t had time to knit. You think?!

Carole modeling Terry's Shawl

Here’s Carole modeling one of Terry’s creations that she showed at last October’s Skein Lane Retreat. The Faroese shawl pattern comes from Meg Swansen and is featured on page 38-41 in Shawls and Scarves, The Best of Knitter’s Magazine, 1999. Terry knit this shawl with a lovely mohair blend yarn that she purchased from Art Fibers in Pinole.

Dulcie came over to play with my pup Lucy a few months ago….and oh where are those photos!/

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Carson’s baby sweater

May 5, 2010 by Carolyn

Carson's Tomten Sweater

Yeah! I finally got the buttons on the Tomten hoodie, a Elizabeth Zimmerman classic design, for Carson….wrapped the present….popped it in the mail along with bracelet presents for Carson’s three sisters aka my nieces. How much fun to receive an instant message from my sister today….thought I’d saved it….but no! In the package was LaBerta’s Rudolph the Raindeer golden book from when she was a wee one her self, a baby sweater for Carson, and bracelets for Isabella, Jade, and Abygail.

The instant message…..

  • I’ve just gotten home and there is a package on my door step….
  • oh…there is a book for me….now I’ll open Carson’s package
  • oh auntie it is lovely and I love it….thank you
  • thank you xoxox Sis
  • the girls will be home from school soon and they can open their presents.

This sequence of messages made me smile…..and made me really happy that I’d knit the sweater….thanks to my knitting friend Cathy for crocheting the beaded bracelets for the girls.

The children!

As I was thinking about this post tonight, I googled “Tomten Jacket” and got many links. It was fascinating to see how many different ways that this modular sweater has been knit. I think Elizabeth must be looking down upon us and thinking “What a joy to see such creativity from my simple design.” Many different edges have been used to finish the garment…Elizabeth’s vision was I-cord…and I used that on Carson’s sweater. I then crocheted loops for the buttonholes and added the buttons on the opposite front. I even made an effort to have the buttons on the “man’s side”. Mothers tell me if this helpful or an annoyance. Some of the other choices for bands that I saw were: garter band with button holes, zipper, a rufffled edge, a crocheted edge…and as always the possibilities are endless. My choice for Carson had to do with wanting to work an I-cord edge for this garment….and then I fussed about the edging for the button holes. I knit this sweater jacket in Brown Sheep’s Cotton Fleece trimmed with Brown Sheep’s Superwash Lamb’s Pride…..both of these being two of my favorite yarns.

Tomten Sweater Jacket - the buttons!

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How to Twist Stitches – A Berroco “How To” Video

April 16, 2010 by Carolyn

For those of you who may not be receiving email info from Berroco, I would like to share this morning’s “How To Video“. It’s a good video on how to work right and left twisted stitches. The method has been updated to include Barbara Walker’s method from Barbara Walker’s 2nd Treasury, it is quite tidy and is one of Norah Gaughan’s favorites. The video shows the results of the stitches being worked in a slant line. This particular twisted stitch is one of my favorite in column form. We used it recently to create darts in Shari’s sweater.

Thank you Berroco for this video.

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The Flashback Shell

April 15, 2010 by Carolyn

Anyone looking for a shell that has lots to offer….great style, classy, sexy, unique! Well, recently Katie modeled the knit shell that her mother Sara has just completed for a friend. The work, the design, and the fiber were stunning. Details follow photos. (And if you didn’t want to be quite so revealing, you could always make the seam longer!)

The design, The Flashback Shell by Roxane Seabright, can be found at Art Fibers Pattern Store. The yarn used, TANTRA tussah silk, is available from Art Fibers. Great design Rox!

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Nan Rohan’s Shop

April 14, 2010 by Carolyn

Celtic Knot Web

I’ve always been attracted to wheat weaving designs…could it be that country part of me?  More than a couple of months ago I was at a church function and saw that one of the donations for the raffle was a beautiful wheat straw design that looked something like this. Nan is a wheat straw weaver and her work is stunning! Thus,I want to share the beauty of her work with you. She has a store on Etsy – Nan Rohan’s Shop. I asked her more about her designs and works – here’s what she had to say.

“Since there are not that many of my pieces on Etsy, I’m attaching photos of a few other wheat weavings. On Etsy, if you search for Wheat Weavings or Straw Weavings, besides my few offerings, you will see the work of my fellow straw artist Kathy Reid-Ready from Trinidad, California.
 
I donated the piece that they raffled last night back in December for the Christmas boutique but it didn’t sell. Judy asked me if it was OK if they raffled it last night. The problem is that I don’t remember exactly what the piece looked like. I do different things all the time, and sometimes I don’t repeat designs so they are one of a kind. So I am attaching a few of my other pieces (mostly given away as gifts so they never got on Etsy). The crucifix was a commission that I did a year ago, and the Mother & Child piece I made for the California State Fair a few years ago (I’ve only made one of those). So forgive me if I give you more than you wanted. You can probably tell the smaller ornament-sized weavings. The Celtic Knot is done on a 10″ brass ring. That and the Mariee de Moisson (Bride of the Harvest) are my favorite wedding pieces to do. I also love to do straw brooches, an example of which I’ve attached. Feel free to use these photos if you like. Thanks for your complimentary words today! Best, Nan”

Nan…thank you for letting me share your work. Here are some of those photos!

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Two finished UFO’s

April 13, 2010 by Carolyn

Boy….am I excited. I am now knitting on my own projects. All the baby gifts are done and while there are gift items pending, I am focused on my own knitting for now. I pulled out a gray(color #155) top-downsweater jacket, from TOP DOWN Sweaters by Doreen L. Marquart and knit in Queensland’s Collection Kathmandu. I working on the sleeves and I will be wearing this sweater jacket soon. A design note here: it felt like the sleeves were oversized and with some group knitting counsel I am now adding shaping on the top of the sleeve…another design feature!

Self-striping Sock

Self-striping Sock

Yep! A pair!

Yep! A pair!

On Sunday my knitting (completed) wardrobe grew to include a pair of self-striping socks and a stole knit with MaggiKnits Linen…the pattern was inspired by Fiber Trends Bathing Beauties designed by Evelyn Clark. A while back I was inspired by this pattern as Kimberly was knitting one of the face clothes…..and I thought that pattern would be lovely in a stole. And it is! I remember having the wild idea that it would be fun to show Maggi Knits Linen in a different pattern at Stitches West last year…like Maggi really needs help! But the goal was to show a more conservative style for her yarn. I can hardly wait to see what this stole feels like after it is washed.

The Edge of the Stole

The Edge of the Stole

Bathing Beauties Stole
Bathing Beauties Stole

I will save the baby gift for my nephew Carson until he has arrived at his home with his sisters. It goes in the mail tomorrow.

All yarns and patterns are available through Skein Lane Studios

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Memory Lane

April 13, 2010 by Carolyn

Penny

Penny has been knitting since high school

A few weeks ago an old friend (from high school) and I reconnected through that amazing social network – Facebook. After inquiring about where we both live, etc. Penny says, “your knitting thing made me think that it was you that taught me how to knit.” And I think I did!

She also said, “I don’t do a lot of knitting but some. I have been making  hooded sweaters for babies that I give away. I will send pictures and the pattern if you would like it. The sweaters that I make are for people that don’t have anything or girls whose families won’t help them.” 

I asked Penny if she had a specific charity that she gives to. ” Yes they go to the hospital in the area.” She lives in Nebraska.

I, of course, am thrilled that my love of knitting has led me to teach many to knit and share in the creativity and pleasure of this craft.

Penny did share the pattern…complimentary for charity work…and she will send photos soon of her recent creations.

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Sad News

March 25, 2010 by Carolyn

During this last week I’ve heard from a couple of our Skein Lane Knitting Retreat friends, Betsy and Shirley, that their very good friend Sally passed away.

It was so good to see Sally at retreat last fall….she had been ill earlier in the year and she was determined to join her friends at the knitting retreat.  Sally and her buddies had been coming to our retreats for two or three years….or maybe even more….you know how the years just slip by.

Betsy tells us that a few months ago Sally’s health took a turn for the worst and then she didn’t survive emergency surgery.

I know her family and friends will miss her….and we will certainly miss her smiling face and spirit come next retreat.

Sally, Tabitha, and Betsy

Sally, Tabitha, and Betsy

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The baby gift!

March 24, 2010 by Carolyn

It wasn’t that long ago that Shari was working her way through what seemed to be the never-ending seed stitch (also often referred to as Moss Stitch) baby blanket. Would it ever be done?!

It’ done! Here’s the knitting journey to the baby.

You can read more about the making of this baby blanket at an earlier post.

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Part 3 – The final of the Stitches journey

March 18, 2010 by Carolyn

Isager Yarn

Sofia by CocoKnits

Sofia by CocoKnits

A correction to the Part 2 post of Stitches…..Connie is actually knitting the pattern Sofia from CocoKnits. Here is a photo of that garment…the yarn is the same as earlier reported – Elsbeth Lavold’s Silky Flamme.

Another of Karen’s purchases was Isager wool…..she will embark on a stole – Dawn- from the book The Fine Line by Grace Anna Farrow!

Dawn - The Stole that Karen will knit!

Karen’s selection of colors – black, gray, and blue – will make her stole a classic. She is one of those folks who looks smashing in stoles and it will be fun to see her wrapped in this one…..both in the knitting and the wearing!

We stopped at many booths and one of them was Koliage Yarns. This booth had unusual yarns…..I knit with Milky Whey – truly has milk protein in the yarn – 50% soy and 50% milk (protein). Isn’t it amazing what fiber combinations we are so fortunate to experience. This yarn was beautiful and a pleasure to knit. I used the square needles that so many of you rave about and I was quite pleased with the feel of the needles. Who knew?!

When I was younger I was not a fan of the garter stitch by itself…and now with such wonderful fibers and pattern designs I find myself drawn to it often…. I’ve knit a lot of garter in the last couple of years….Moderne Baby Blanket, Stoles, and am now finishing up a Tomten jacket for my newly born nephew. (The mother is too busy to take time read this and learn about the gift.) At Stitches I as inspired by a vest – Chanel style – that had very simple elegant lines created by garter stitch being knit in several directions. When I woke in the middle of the night recently I began planning the yarn that I will use. Stay tuned!

Well….it’s time to wrap up this journey. It’s a lovely experience to spend the day amongst fiber and friends.

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