While reading The Bookish Girl’s blog, I discovered a new webring: Knitting Wendys, which was started up by another knitting Wendy, whose blog is here. I, of course, upon learning of this, immediately applied to join. I am now a full-fledged, card-carrying (okay, I don’t have a card) Knitting Wendy. Woo-hoo!
Fellow knitting Wendys, if you happen to stumble across this plea, join the ring. I know there are a bunch more of you. Soon we shall overcome!
Last night was another night of doing necessary but non-knitting stuff. So when I finally sat down to knit, I did exactly two rows on the shawl before Lucy climbed into my lap and demanded some quality time — which she got.
Aside: It wasn’t until some of you pointed it out in the comments that I realized that I clean forgot to post the daily Lucy pic. Sorry! You get two today to make up for it. Assuming I remember to post them.
So I did a couple more rows on the shawl on the train this morning. Lace knitting is not good commuter knitting because I don’t seem able to commit lace charts to memory as easily as I do aran charts. So I have to balance my magnetic board w/ charts on my knee while I knit.
We had a big pow-wow of the big guns at work today. A five-hour meeting. I repeat: A. Five. Hour. Meeting. I wish I coulda brought my knitting to that, but sadly, it’s not appropriate. Oh well. I survived.
I am hoping to have the first half of this shawl completed and have made decent a start on the second half by the end of the weekend. Check back on Sunday night and you’ll see how I did.
Join Together With the Band
So . . . how do you join in a new ball of yarn while knitting lace? A lot of my lace knitting has been done with fingering weight yarn knitted directly off the cone, so there was little or no joining required. This shawl is being knitted from Rowan Yorkshire Tweed 4-ply, which comes in skeins. I’m on my 7th (I think) skein.
Here’s how I join in for lace — just knit 4 or 5 stitches with both the old yarn and the new yarn, and leave the ends hanging. After I block, I trim the hanging ends.
This method, of course, doesn’t work for everything, but for a fine yarn in a garter stitch shawl, it works for me.
A Russian Join would also work very well here, I think.
What join do you use for lace?
Lucy
Look. I remembered.
Twice.
Hi, Wendy! Sorry you had a 5-hour meeting. Those should be illegal. Or at least full of CHOCOLATE! Thanks for the double-dose of Lucy!
Hey Wendy, Long time reader, first time commenter here. I’m doing a lace shawl too, and today I had to work my first join. I decided not to do it mid-row because I want no visible woven-in ends at all. So I just started the new skein at the beginning of the row and I’ll weave the ends into the edges. Hug Lucy for me.
Spit-splicing!
Thanks for the joining tips, and OH I probably spent the five hours you were in the meeting getting lost in the color stories, trying to choose just one color of 3 ply to do Inishmore. While I’m sure you would have gladly traded places with me….your five hours was most likely PRODUCTIVE at least.
sigh.
That Lucy is SO adorable!
I spit-splice all wool, even 1-ply cobweb. I block the bejeebers out of it, and I’ve never had a join break. Meg Swansen started me doing that, and it has been great. I’ll even spit-splice things with a little something other than wool in them, but it can’t be much.
Good knitting,
MEM
I love the spit-splice. I *really* love not having lots of ends to weave in. I have done it with Lorna’s Laces Lion and Lamb so we will see how it holds up.
Hehe…you killed that site with your link on the Russian Join, I think. I got “The web site you are trying to access has exceeded its allocated data transfer.” Whoops.
I spit splice too, whenever I can, and have had good luck with some blends holding well.
I’m working on AS’s Marina pullover right now, and have decided to spit splice my color changes too. About 10 sts before the end/beginning of the round, I measure out about 4″ of the old color, break off 1″ of one ply of both colors and splice. I’m really pleased with the way it’s turning out. The color changes are impreceptible and I have no ends to weave!
I’m also a spit splicer for wool. For other fibers I will either knit the two ends together for a few stitches or if that’s too obvious I will weave them in ala the Kaffe Fasset method. I rarely will start a new skein at the edge because I never like the way it looks, I will at least go a few stitches into the row.
I love your knitting and your writting is entertaining but I really miss Lucy when she’s not here. I thought it would be rude to demend lucy so i’m glad other’s missed here too. Five hours is way to long for a meeting. I’m yawning just thinking about it.
Lucy, you look ravishing. Meow.
My person sympathizes with your person re: the knitting-less meeting from hell.
I’m a knitting Wendy too! I joined the ring, thanks for posting about it.
Is that Inishmore you are giving as a prize the one that the big busted lady stretched? You must have blocked it to get it down to 45 from the purported 50. Gotta watch out the the oversized front porches.
Have not had a 5-hour (!) meeting in years, but I remember my last one in the Corporate Trust Dept. at a bank that merged with a larger bank, that merged with an even larger bank, etc. (What to put on the old resume?) I empathize, sympathize, and say hug a Lucy, knit a few stitches to console yourself, and find a convenient Margarita at your elbow to relax those deep thought frowns from your brow! Glad to see the furry wonder was not misplaced! We promise not to tell her you forgot! For once my kitties wern’t jealous!
Wendy, honey, I sympathize – but I have a five hour meeting every week! With the extra added bonus of an 8 (yes,
hour meeting once a month.
They call it a “team meeting”. Funny, since I almost always want to kill them all by the end – kind of counter-productive to the idea of “team”.
Oh, and I always spit-splice the wools and mohairs, russian-join the rest.
Knitting Wendy’s! How fun! Your shawl is super pretty, blocked or not!
Hi Wendy! I’ve been using spit-splice for the lace scarf I’m making out of a 75-25 merino wool-angora blend. It seems to be holding fine. I guess I’ll find out when I block it!
There are some times when I wish I had a less unusual name. There will never be a “knitting Leisel’s” webring.
I prefer Jaggerspun Zephyr (50% fine grade merino wool and 50% chinese tussah silk) and I spit splice. I have several very old pieces of lace and I’ve never had a join fail.
That’s how I like to join yarn, too, knitting old and new together. Sadly, as you’ve mentioned, it’s not appropriate for everything.
5-hour meetings should include lots of chocolate and unlimited coffee. And a suggestion to drink lots of water afterwards.
Thanks for the double dose of Lucy. I missed her!
Thanks for letting me know about the Knitting Wendy’s blog. I have of course signed on. Like you, I knit for hours every day (whether I have the time or not). Occasionally I am asked if I am “that Wendy.” I consider that the most flattering compliment, but I only aspire to your level of productivity!
I can feel the purring from here.
Have a GREAT weekend – after that 5 hour meeting you deserve it! Love to Lucy!
I prefer the Russian join it gives the extra security I need to be satisfied that I won’t finish the project find a huge gaping hole where the join was made.
What part of the world should we take over first?!
I adore the Russian join, and use it wherever I can, lace or no. I like it because it compresses the yarn more than just knitting with both yarns for a few stitches, and gives me more security than the spit-splice method. Plus it works with fibers that don’t want to felt together. Everyone else I know spit-splices, but I have heard a few stories of splices coming apart. (Gee, I guess I didn’t rub it hard enough, etc.) BTW, your lace looks beautiful!
Count me in as another split-splicer (although Perrier and Evian work just as well).
Spit Splicer too, sometimes my spit, sometimes Abner’s. Okay not really, but I have used that method. It’s working well on my current shawl. Previous shawls I have done what your doing knit with the two, leave the ends, block, trim, or leave the ends weave in block trim.
When knitting a shawl that is knit in two separate pieces and joined in the middle, have you ever knitted the two sides at once on one pair of needles (using two separate balls, of course)? I have a feather & fan shawl I want to do that way, and can’t see how it would be any different from knitting two sleeves at the same time on the same needles. What do you think?
I hope you got some mental knitting done during the 5-hour meeting, at least! As for joining yarn, I use your method but only for 2 sts. So far, so good.
Aw, I’m jealous! I think the chances of belonging to a “Knitting Lelahs” club is slim to none, but at least I got a pattern named after me.
Lucy Liu is gorgeous, as usual! How does she do it? Lots of beauty sleep?
Girl, I am pretty sure you are THE knitting Wendy.
Rock on.
Wendy? I see for your toe up sock pattern you cast on for 30 sts, would this leave a hugetoe area? like when we finish off cuff down we end up with 8 sts on each needle? I have never knitted toe up before and I am wanting to try, but i am soo confused right now.. please help?
Knitting Wendys? I wanna be one! Oh well, at least I can be a Lazy Susan. Or a black-eyed one. Great…
So when does the Sleeping Lucys blog start? Or is it on hiatus for the moment…?
There are so many of you Wendys out there that when I read someone’s blog post about going to Wendy’s for lunch, it took me awhile to figure out it was the fast food restaurant and not to one of you cool Wendy’s houses. LOL