Yarn Rambles

Prayer Shawl is on its way

I am astounded at how quickly this shawl knit up and how happy I am with the results. It feels light as a cobweb and is a perfect size. Long enough to wrap generously around my friend's shoulders. It is also narrow to fit on a hospital bed.

 

The blocking went quickly with the use of blocking wires. I had thought about wetting it at the office but I love the smell of Kookaburra wash so much that I soaked the shawl at home while Bob finished his breakfast. I wrapped the shawl in a towel, let the bundle spin around on the spin cycle of the washing machine and tossed it into the back of my car. By the time I had it blocked out, it was practically dry. I used my plant mister to dampen it to set the pattern.

Look how it gets caught up in just a light breeze!! I'm so glad to be able to send it off today. And, I've decided to use the same Lattice Shawl pattern for Lora's shawl. The one I promised her about a year ago. I have three colors - Natural, Black Forest and Black in Suri Dream. I think I will play with some sort of striping pattern. I'll think about it while we are in Boston.

Knitting a Guitar?

 

This DVD cover certainly captured my knitter's imagination! If you go to the Young at Heart site, you can watch the trailer. And, the best part is watching the knitting needles working in the very beginning. I've put this movie on the top of list in NetFlix!

Graduate Studies of Knitting

I recently discovered the Knithropology blog and I love it! Yesterday I read about a master's thesis and a doctoral thesis being written with knitting as the theme!!! Good grief! Why didn't I think of that when I was in school!!

You really need to go to the blog and check it out. The master's thesis - Purls of Wisdom: Motivational factors of contemporary women knitters - is only available through Inter-Library Loan but the doctoral thesis - I Knit Therefore I Am: An Ethnomethodological Study of Knitting as Constitutive of Gendered Identity - is on-line for our reading pleasure! Umm, I wonder if I could get it put on my Kindle for my trip to Boston next week?

Prayer Shawl Comfort

 

What can you do when you live clear across an entire continent when a friend calls and tells you that she has breast cancer? Thankfully I was able to walk down to our Knit Picks yarn stash and find 10 balls of Suri Dream in Gloxinia - the perfect color.

The Prayer Shawl Ministry was started by Janet Bristow and Victoria Galo in 1998. Susan Izard and Susan Jorgensen wrote Knitting Into The Mystery which is an excellent introduction into the rituals of prayer shawl knitting. A very good introduction into the process and a good reference for starting prayer shawl ministries. But, there was really only one pattern so it was a bit limited in terms of yarns that would look good with that pattern.

Then Janet and Victoria used their years of Prayer Shawl experiences to write The Prayer Shawl Companion and I was thrilled to see so many different patterns and yarns! Particularly last week when I needed instant comfort from the sobering news of my friend's illness.

I think there are two types of prayer shawls. The ones that are made as part of a ministry with a lucky recipient to be determined at a later date. Then, there are ones we knit for our immediate circle of friends and family. Those shawls have sense of urgency not only as solace for the knitter but because crisis are immediate in nature. As I flipped throught the pages of The Prayer Shawl Companion there were patterns that took longer to knit - suitable for ministries and patterns that were relatively quick to knit.

I love Suri Dream because of the softness and the lightness of the fabric. But, it certainly isn't designed for intricate lace patterns. Instead it needs a bold, yarn-over pattern that gives the fabric large holes for airiness and to allow the Suri alpaca fibers to "bloom". I chose the Lattice Shawl because it would be very quick to knit, would be lightweight and warm and the one-row, purse stitch repeat was exactly what I needed to be able to carry the shawl around with me to take advantage of every free moment. I am thrilled with how nice the open purse stitch is looking - and I haven't blocked it yet!

I'm making good progress and I'm hoping to send the shawl off next Monday. My friend will receive it just two weeks after her diagnosis! Of course, there is a Prayer Shawl group on Ravelry, if you want to see more shawls and get more information.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love cookies!! I think it comes from living in London when I was young - tea and "biscuits" became my comfort food.

This weekend I was listening to NPR's Splendid Table and was salivating over the segment on the Classic Toll House Cookie recipe.

"Food writer David Leite claims Ruth Wakefield's formula for Tollhouse cookies is the gold standard…with one hitch. His recipe reveals the secret that takes this essential American sweet to ultimate heights."

The segment on Heirloom Tomatoes wasn't bad either. And, I'm going to try the Pan-Crisped Deviled Eggs on French Lettuces this week when we have some friends over for dinner.

I've never listened to the Splendid Table before but I've always been intrigued when I've heard episodes advertised. Now I'm going to subscribe to the podcast!

Re-Knitting my Aran Cardigan Buttonband

I am constantly amazed at what I manage to forget as I knit things. I was so absorbed, and pleased, with the mitered corners at the top of my buttonband, that I completely forgot to decrease the number of stitches around the neck. The result was an Elizabethan ruffle around my neck between the two lovely mitered corners.

 

So, I ripped out the button band short four rows and started again. This time I kept the mitered corners but remembered to regularly decrease the number of neck stitches over the next few rows. I'm still not completely pleased with the finish.

I love the fit of the neck but the edge of the buttonband feels a bit flimsy to me. Sort of like the edges of the Moderne Baby Blanket when I finish one. So, I'm going to add an i-cord border up the buttonband, around the neck and back down the other side.

I decided not to have buttonholes because I like the way the sweater sits without buttoning it closed. And, I like the popular way of using wooden picks to close cardigans. I will have a photo to show you once I finish the i-cord border.

Cold-Brewed Coffee

Just in time for our Indian Summer heat wave, Alison found this site for a recipe to make cold-brewed coffee.

Last weekend I made the regular batch on Friday night using my 8-cup french press pot. By the end of Saturday morning, I had used up my entire coffee "syrup" supply! So, I doubled the recipe on Saturday night. Much better!!

Bob enjoyed the syrup with equal parts water and then heated up to drink like "regular" coffee. Of course, there was no way I was going to use it for regular coffee. I put 1/3 cup syrup in the blender, added about five ice cubes, a dollop of half and half, a spoon of raw sugar and blended it up into my own frappachino!! Yum, yum, yum!!!!

Once the weather turns cold, I'm going to experiment with different flavored syrup. The cold press definitely makes coffee without any bitterness. Oh, and Alison turned me onto this coffee - Cafe du Monde! I bought it at our local Cost Plus. Alison warned me not to be snobby about the fact that it was already ground and reminded one of Folgers. I used it for the cold press technique. It was absolutely delicious and I think the chicory was better for it!

Which shawl shall I knit?

I just chatted with Kay Meadors, author of I Can't Believe I'm Lace Knitting. Her book is absolutely wonderful for anyone interested in lace knitting. Anyway, in her introduction, Kay said that she has several lace projects going at the same time! I am all for having several projects on my needles at the same time but I NEVER thought of more than one lace project.

But, I spent my weekend copying shawl projects I want to make and putting them in my first "Dream Knitting" binder. There were a lot of shawls! I am going to take a cue from Kay and start a second lace shawl. Remember, I am working on Elizabeth Zimmermann's Stonington Shawl now. It has a simple garter stitch middle with only lace on the border.

Because the Stonington Shawl is pretty simple knitting, I'm going to tackle a Pi Shawl from The Second Book of Lace Knitting by Marianne Kinzel. I have three in mind and I thought it would be fun to get your advice on which one I should cast on. I'm going to use photos from Ravelry members because the black and white ones from the book are rather boring.

First, Daffodil Design knit by knitchickmelly in Ravelry.

Second, Thistle Design "Balmoral" knit by VagabondWeaver in Ravelry.

 

Third choice, Rose of England knit by Boojum in Ravelry.

 

New blog design

Please don't be shocked with changes in my blog design over the next couple of days. I have also been moving furniture around in my house. I think it is a nesting urge that is coming on with the shortening of the days. So, think of my changes as Autumn nesting. My goal is to make my blog more enjoyable, navigable, visually appealing and informative.

Please feel free to comment on the changes or make suggestions!

Collection of steeking videos

My apologies! I thought that I had posted all of my Aran Cardigan steeking videos as I went along. Here are all of my little steeking videos from YouTube. Remember, I used Wool of the Andes for my sweater so the steeks are easy to manage. Natural fiber yarns like wool tend to felt up a bit on the cut ends. Traditionally, Fair Isle knitters don't even secure their steeks before they cut because the fine wool felts almost as soon as it is cut!

I hope these videos help you understand the process of steeking. And, that it really isn't scary at all!