Lace Appeal Returns

I find the process of knitting lace to be very appealing.  I like how a small quantity of yarn can become something so big and beautiful.  A single 50g skein can yield 6 ft of airy and delicate lace! Well, almost... Lace’s appeal took a slight detour for me when Oogy and I attempted to make traditional Shetland lace in the form of Dunella.  It’s still on the needles, and it’s fate is yet to be determined.  While that simmers on the back of the hob, a few other lace projects have emerged, starting with “Elemental”, which I showed you a few weeks ago.  

I got to working on a pattern from Victorian Lace Today called "Scarf With the No. 20 Edging from The Knitted Lace Pattern Book, Thompson Bros., Kilmarnock, Scotland, 1850".  I'm thinking of a new name.  It has two wide borders that are joined by a short connecting pattern.  It calls for 600 yards of lace-weight yarn, and I have a collection of 400-yard skeins of baby alpaca in various natural shades, so I thought I would use 3 of those, one for each section of the scarf.  After finishing the first border and having more yarn remaining than expected, I decided that it would be better to make the scarf just one color. So, I made the second border narrower and hoped with every row that I would not run out of yarn.  I was even weighing the yarn as it became a smaller and smaller pile and was sure I had enough.  

Well, that did not work out very well.  Unravel the second border and go back to plan A?  I couldn't bring myself to do it.  Instead, I decided to finish those last 8 inches with a similar color of the same type of yarn, and then dye the whole thing a darker shade to cover up my unfulfilled optimism.  

There is another feature of lace knitting that keeps me hooked: how blocking transforms the finished piece.  Once the knitting is done, it looks like a crumpled mess and you wonder why you spent so much effort and eye-crossing hours following the tiny grids of the pattern. 

My special assistant is always willing to secure a project so it doesn't blow away.

Then it goes for a swim, as Oogy describes it, and gets stretched out to dry and achieve its final form.  

I dyed the finished scarf with a combination of "caramel" and "fuscia"

The variation and darkness of the new color disguises the color change.

With my lesson in having ample yardage still quite fresh, I have started a new project. I'm designing it myself, which is to say I have decided to do 9 repeats of the "candle light" pattern from Elizabeth Lovick's The Magic of Shetland Lace Knitting with a simple 6-stitch edge on each side.  

4370 yards.  I should have enough this time.

Half blocked, just to see how the pattern would look and what edge it would yield.

That’s the real magic of lace!

Spinning Up North

I decided a few months ago to bring my spinning wheel North and leave it there for awhile.  This was partially in anticipation of how nice it would be to spin while looking out at the hay fields, listening to the birds.  Taking the wheel out of my fiber room/home office was also a good idea, both because I needed more space to use that room as an office and it was probably good to remove the temptation.  Spin, or record a lecture?  Spin, or grade papers?  Spin, or answer the rapidly growing pile of emails?  Spin, or attend yet another remote video conference?

So now that travel restrictions have been relaxed a bit, I was finally able to go North and do some spinning. 

 

Alpaca/Merino Blend, singles on top, 2-ply below

Blend of two rovings, both of unknown fiber content (sorry, bad note-keeper)

From roving that was intermittently dyed with lots of different colors.  This was before I was introduced to speckle dyeing; that roving awaits the wheel.

While there I made plans to go for an appropriately-socially-distanced walk with one of the few neighbors.  I showed her some of the newly-spun yarn and this prompted her to say that we should go visit the sheep farm down the road.  I have been going North regularly since 1982 and it was only YESTERDAY that I learned that there has been a SHEEP FARM down the road since 1990.  So, off we went to visit the sheep farm. To be fair, it is tucked away on a private road through the woods.  They raise Romney/Border Leicester Crosses that produce a soft, long-staple wool in beautiful shades ranging from dark brown to cream.  The sheep all have names and it was nice to meet them and hear about their personalities.  I’ve made plans with the shepherd to acquire some of her roving next time I’m up there.

Bringing the wheel up was a good idea, indeed!

Speckle Scarf Plus Wildlife in the City

Over the weekend I finished "Elemental" from Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2020.  It called for two strands of lace-weight worked together, which reminded me of your cowl, Oogy! I substituted one strand of speckle-dyed fingering-weight sock yarn. 

It was nice out, so most of this weekend's knitting was done on the patio, with a view of our city wildlife. 

This deer is a frequent visitor, who in past years has leveled my Hostas. 
This year I'm being diligent with Deer Stopper spray!

We've named this Cardinal "Quasi" because of the feather tuft sticking out of his back. 
He's been coming to our feeders for years.

The hummers are back!  Sorry for the poor picture quality--it did not deem important my instructions to stay still.