My current work in progress:

Stornoway, designed by Alice Starmore from her book Fishermen’s Sweaters, knit in Frangipani 5-ply guernsey wool in the Aran colorway, on a 3.0mm needle.

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Technically It Is Not Exactly Uncharted

July 15, 2009 By

Pam asked in the comments to yesterday’s post:

Title aside, do you chart the lace patterns before you start knitting?

Busted! 😀

Yes, I do. So calling it “uncharted territory” really isn’t completely accurate, now is it?

There has been a lot of charting and recharting and swapping of patterns and last minute switching with this design, however.

When I started a circular shawl in my Tilli Tomas Elsie yarn that I abandoned, it consisted of completely different stitch patterns. After I decided that I did not want to use that yarn, I completely revamped the charts. And I’ve tweaked them a couple of times while knitting. And just before I started the chart for the section I’m on now, I completely re-did it. And then again as I started knitting, I adjusted it on the fly.

Sort of makes my head spin.

I only did a couple of rounds last night because I had some non-knitting-related work that I needed to do.

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But, I have finished the sock design for the Dye Dreams sock club offering for Autumn. You have to click on the link to see the sock.

Clicky here.

I’m very happy with it!

Lucy Sez

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“Call me when my new kitty bed is finished.”

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Bleeding Yarn

July 2, 2009 By

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The mighty Random Number Generator has spoken! The winner of my Tilli Tomas Elsie yarn is Sarah W., who has been emailed. Thanks to everyone who left a comment saying they’d be happy to risk Smurf fingers. 😉

A couple of questions from the comments . . .

Is the yak sock yarn soft? Oh my, yes, it is! It is a soft fluffy two ply.

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I’m betting that when knit at sock gauge, though, it works up into a nice firm fabric. I’ll let you know when I knit it.

About the Madeline Tosh sock yarn — what yarn does it resemble?

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The base is similar to (or perhaps the same as) the base for Cherry Tree Hill Supersock — a nice firm twist.

It’s a three-day weekend here in the U.S. and I’ve got a big sekret project to work on. But I’ll also be knitting on this:

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Lucy plans to relax.

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In Case You Wondered

June 30, 2009 By

I’m not just collecting knitting bags. I do still knit. I just haven’t done much lately.

I spent 2 days not knitting courtesy of whatever viral crud hit me last weekend but I am feeling almost human again, so the knitting has resumed.

I did finish the first modified Peace Sock.

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I’m working on the second one right now. What I’m not working on is the circular shawl I started last week in the Tilli Tomas Elsie yarn.  You know, the yarn that leaches blue dye everywhere?

I found myself avoiding working on it because the leaching of dye is so bad. I’ve come to the realization that I am not willing to knit with this yarn as it is. The yarn needs to be washed with synthrapol or something similar before it is fit to be used.

And I know myself well enough to know that I will never be bothered to do this. So who wants my dye-leaching yarn?

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Ten skeins of Tilli Tomas Elsie in the “Jade” colorway. Eight of the skeins are in original condition, one is wound into a ball, and one is partially knit into a lace pattern. As a bonus you get to rip that part out yourself. 😉

If you’d like to be entered in a drawing to receive this yarn, leave a comment to this blog entry. Don’t send me an email, don’t use the contact me link, just leave a comment. You need to click on the link at the end of this blog post that reads “x responses” to do so.

Leave said comment by 4:00pm Eastern Time on Thursday July 2. At that time I will awaken the mighty Random Number Generator and ask it to pick a winner.

Lucy Sez:

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“OMG! Did some of that blue dye get on my ear??!!”

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Richmond Bound

June 25, 2009 By

I am not going to work tomorrow (Friday). Insert appropriate sounds of jubilation here. Instead, I’m heading down to Richmond, Virginia. I’ll spend Friday afternoon/evening with my good buddy L-B and other assorted knitting friends, and on Saturday I’ll be at The Yarn Lounge, signing books, from 11:00am til 1:00pm. I hope to see some of you there!

I did manage to find the time to turn the heel of my sock. See?

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Said sock will accompany me to Richmond. As I mentioned yesterday, I do have another project I just started.

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It’s a circular shawl of my own design, being knit from the Tilli Tomas Elsie yarn that I recently purchased. I like the yarn very much. My only beef with it is this:

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Dye on the fingers! Since I began work on this I’ve been going around with blue fingers. Well, I can wash it off my fingers pretty well, but it’s not so easy to get it off the fingernails. I’ll just have to tell people that it’s a special new kind of French manicure.

The extent of my relief that this week is, for me, over, cannot be adequately expressed in words. Just sayin’.

Lucy appears to have had a rough week as well.

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Some Answers to Some Questions

June 18, 2009 By

I was interested to read y’all’s comments about milk protein fiber as a component of yarn. As the Tilli Tomas Elsie is my first experience with a yarn that has milk protein as part of its makeup (it’s equal parts moo, silk, and wool) I did not have any pre-conceived ideas or opinions about it. The yarn is very pretty and feels nice, and has no unusual aroma that I can detect. When I start knitting with it I will report my experience.

There were a few Girasole questions yesterday:

Lynne E. left this comment on yesterday’s blog post:

I have a question about the Girasole pattern. You mentioned before that you were up to the maximum stitch count, but you seemed to have the entire border left to knit. How is it possible to knit a circular item from the center out, without having to increase at regular intervals as you move outward? Is the border lace pattern so stretchy that you can just block the border ferociously and get a circular piece?

This shawl pattern is based on the same principle as the famous Pi Shawl, by Elizabeth Zimmermann. Having knit a Pi Shawl in the past, I can tell you it works. However, I am no mathematician, so shall not attempt to explain the underlying principle.

Laura asked:

What kind of join do you use for a new ball when knitting lace?

When there are a few inches left on the current ball of yarn, I simply hold the “old” yarn doubled with the strand of the “new” yarn and knit a few stitches with this double strand.

Timmie asked:

My prediction was that you’d finish Girasole by weekend–are you going to make it?

Absolutely not! But barring any knitting atrocities, I will be on Chart G by the weekend.

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However, I did make some good progress on Girasole today. We had a fairly major train delay this morning that tacked 45 minute on my morning commute. Forty-five minutes of extra Girasole knitting time!

By the way, have y’all noticed that I have no socks on the needles and haven’t for a full week? Am I going through sock withdrawal? Or am I sick of socks and renouncing them as the devil’s playthings? Have I taught Lucy to knit socks in my stead?

Tune in next week for answers to these burning questions and other inanities.

Lucy sez:

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“Wait . . . did she just call me an inanity?”

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