In the sky:



A beautiful blue sky viewed from the football field of my son's school.
Not a bad view, huh?

From the dyepot:



A single skein of Classic Elite Wings yarn that began as a yucky yellow color. I submerged it in a dyebath created with some Brilliant Blue ProChem dye that I got from Kate. I love the color now:



This is destined for my first project in the Lonesome Skein Knitalong -- the Fetching gloves from Knitty.

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Every year, around this time, I have traditionally posted a fairly lengthy list of holiday gifts that can be knit from 1-2 skeins of yarn in my sidebar. This list is apparently more popular than I anticipated because I typically receive emails beginning in August asking me when it will be available.

This year I’ve taken a different approach to helping you beat the stress of holiday knitting. Carole and I have created a knitalong that will hopefully provide incentive for you to complete your holiday and charity knitting and allow you to use up single skeins in your stash.

Behold:

The Lonesome Skein Knitalong



Don’t you just love Carole’s button!

If you have a house full of stash and a holiday gift list as long as your arm, join the knitalong by clicking on the photo above and completing the sign-up information. Guidelines and further information can be found on the group home page.

But hurry, because membership sign-ups end on October 16th!

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Teri mentioned at Stitch 'N Bitch last week that her husband had recently asked her to knit him a sweater. She was floored because he's never requested anything before. In a similarly strange turn of events, DH, who barely happily tolerates all my knitting and yarn-buying adventures but rarely asks for anything, made a "request" on Sunday for a pair of fingerless gloves. Oh, and could he have them by Friday, please.

What gives? Is there something in the air spawning many manly requests for hand-knit goodies?

So, what's a grrl to do? Drop everything, of course, and tend to the crisis knitting. I still need to weave in the ends (oh, the ends!) but I hope to get that completed at Stitch 'N Bitch tonight:




I used bits and pieces of instructions in Ann Budd's, Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns. I've said this before, and I'll say it again, those patterns are waaaaaay oversized. I adore the book, but I think there's a bit too much ease worked into the numbers. I knit these gloves using the instructions for an 8-year-old and they fit DH, well . . . like a glove.

More Finished Shawls

Teri, Birdsong, and Heidi have all finished their Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawls. Way to go, grrls!!

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Okay, which one of you got to my blog by Googling:

what color candle runs out fastest

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OK, this photo was taken on Wedneday, not Saturday, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share it with you. I actually went back to the house for the camera when I saw this at the top of my street.



Compare it to this photo of last Saturday's sky taken from nearly the same spot:

Crazy weather.

Patons SWS

Several people left comments and questions in my post about the little felted bag I made from the Patons SWS yarn.

• Ansley said she used the yarn for some non-felted slippers and it pilled a lot.


• Tensy asked if the little "bobbles" that show in the felted fabric are bits of soy that didn't felt. That would be my guess. As far as I know, 100% soy doesn't felt.


• Gail wondered how soy yarn is made. Sorry, Gail, I have no idea. Maybe someone else knows.


• Mary and Patt both asked where I got the pattern for the bag. As usual, this wasn't knit from a pattern; just off the top of my head. But I might make another one and keep better notes.

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Not only did the Patons SWS yarn felt, it felted like crazy!



And look at how fabulous the felted fabric looks with all its cute, little swirls:



The yarn itself is very dense and, accordingly, the finished fabric is also very dense. I will surely be using this in the future for more felting projects.

Has anyone used it for a non-felted project? As I knit with it, the yarn developed a definite halo and I wonder if a non-felted item pills when worn.
Any experience with that?

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While perusing the shelves at Michaels, searching for a pair of scissors to replace the innumerable pairs I have lost in the last month, my eye wandered to the Wall 'o Yarn. There, among the fun fur and acrylic/nylon blends, was a bin filled with skeins of beautiful-looking yarn in fantastic colorways. Further investigation was in order.

I plucked one from the bin and checked the fiber content--70% wool and 30% soy.
Hmmmm . . . Must.try.the.new.Patons.SWS.yarn.

I brought the skein to Stitch ' Bitch last night and cast on for a small felted bag. I only had the one skein (110 yards) so it worked up quickly.



See that teeny, tiny, bit of yarn? That's all I had left. Talk about cutting it close. I couldn't have planned that if I tried.

It's in the washing maching, felting, as I type. It's pretty loosely spun so if it felts at all (crossing fingers) it should happen fairly quickly. Hopefully I'll have something fun to show tomorrow.

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The weather has improved somewhat after yesterday’s snow. Here’s the second photo I took yesterday. This one is from the front of my house looking West (the opposite direction from yesterday’s photo).



Depressed by the sudden onslaught of winter, DH and I took a ride up to Ogden in the afternoon. I finished the wimple in the car on the way back.



FYI, the pattern called for 300 yards of lace weight yarn or 200 yards of fingering weight yarn. I used Rowanspun 4-ply and followed the instructions for the lace-weight version. I used about 2.5 skeins; each has 160 yards. So that’s about 400 yards.

I blocked it only lightly since I want it to remain stretchy. And I used a really stretchy bind-off and blocked the bound-off edge so it flares out slightly. That will be the bottom edge; the part that sits on the shoulders.

This is for my pal in the International Scarf Exchange. Hope she likes it!

Searching For

These people have ordered my Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl pattern but the email message with the pattern attached has come back to me as undeliverable.
Christy Ann Flynn
Maryanne Cooper
Mary Alice Tinari
Bridget Gordan
Eileen Noel
If you see your name listed above and you haven't received your pattern, please email me by clicking on this link.

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From the front door looking East:



Yikes, snow way down in the foothills. Looks like it's time to break out the hand-knit socks.

On the needles:



a lace wimple out of Rowanspun using this pattern. This has been my project-of-choice since last Friday. I'll be sad when it's finished; I just adore working with this yarn and the pattern is easy to remember so it's been a great take-along project.

In the planning stages:



another lace shawl. But I won't have much time to devote to this for a few weeks.

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Thanks to everyone who played along in my quick and dirty contest.

The winners of the shawl patterns were:

Lisa

and

Joan

Congrats! I'll email your patterns to you on Saturday.
If anyone asked me a question in their contest email, I'll try and read through them tomorrow and get back to you.

The yarn I used for the Lombard Street socks was Brooklyn Handspun Signature Superwash. And now that I think of it, Marie's "Soft Spun" yarn would make a fabulous Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl. Hmmmm . . . I'm off to see what colors Marie has available.

Who's linking here?

Woah, thanks to everyone for sending links with photos of their Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawls.

Birdsong is knitting hers from some lace-weight yarn hand-dyed by Margene (under Teri's supervision). She claims to be at the half-way mark, but she's gauging that by the number of stitches on the needle. Sorry, hun, that's not how it works. Good try though.

Sunflowerfairy is knitting hers from a beautiful pink yarn. I think it's her first lace project. Excellent!

Lorette finished her first and already has plans to make a second from laceweight. That's the spirit!

Joan finished one, too! She's dubbed the shawl, "the easiest pattern ever."

I really enjoy seeing the finished shawls so make sure you send me an email when you finish yours.

And here's the contest part. Tomorrow I will give away a free copy of the Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl pattern to two knitters, chosen at random, from everyone who sends me an email that correctly answers the following question:

What yarn did I use for the sock pattern I designed for MagKnits?

I even linked to the issue so you have no excuse not to enter.
Good Luck!

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I don't intend to turn this into a "confessional" post, but suffice to say I've been buying a lot of yarn and starting a lot of projects lately. The finishing part . . . well . . . not so much.

But I did complete my contribution to this years' Utah Legal Aid Society Fundraiser. It's a square lap blanket based on my Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl pattern. I've already submitted it to the organizers of the fundraiser but I forgot to take a finished photo. So all I have is this crappy photo of the blocking stage.



It was a fairly fast knit (on size U.S. #11 needles) and took 6 skeins of Berroco Mohair Classic to complete. Unfortunately, I only had 5 skeins of Berroco Mohair Classic. And that's where the uncontrollable stash came in handy. I just dove into the stash and came up with a nice, contrasting shade of yarn with exactly the same fiber composition and exactly 1/2 the weight of the Mohair Classic. So I just doubled it and used it for the bind-off row.

It's a nice size, about 50 inches across on each side. Do you think I should call it a "lap blanket" or is that too old-fashioned? My friend suggested that calling it a "throw" would help with the bidding during the auction. Thoughts?

I also finally uploaded a photo of the Forest Canopy Shawl that I knit from lace-weight yarn. I used one skein of Knit Picks Shadow and worked Rows 1-8 of the Body Pattern until I had 259 stitches on the needle.



Oh, and check this out. Kate has already finished her Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl! Brenda cast on for hers; and Teresa revealed that she was my test knitter. Take a peek at her finished shawl; it's gorgeous.

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Stephanie (and The Sock)

here in Salt Lake City!

Yup. After months of badgering the owner of Black Sheep Wool Co, arrangements were made for Stephanie to add Salt Lake City to her current book tour. I had the life-altering pleasure to be included in the group of local knitters who showed her around town on Friday afternoon.

We started at Temple Square for a photo shoot with The Sock ( Stephanie took the photos so you’ll have to check her blog for the visual evidence.). The day started out cloudy and dreary, but as Stephanie and I walked down Main Street from her hotel toward Temple Square, the clouds broke up and the sun started to peek through the haze. Holy cow! She even has the power to improve the weather.

After Temple Square, we picked up Margene and Miriam then all four of us headed up Big Cottonwood Canyon for lunch at Silver Fork Lodge and a walk around Silver Lake (a/k/a "The Margene Treatment"). The lunch conversation was hilarious and nonstop.

The walk around Silver Lake involved the taking of many photos and a brief stop so The Sock could take in a little rock climbing. The ride down the Canyon was spectacular, especially since the leaves are beginning to change colour (did I spell that right, Steph?).

Photographic evidence of my nearness to Herself:



In the evening, Stephanie played to a packed audience at the Salt Lake Art Center and then signed books at Black Sheep Wool Co. well into the night even though she must have been exhausted. Heck, I know I was exhausted and she was doing all the work.

It was a fabulous experience. Come back any time, Stephanie!

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Clearly, Her Greatness did not rub off on me.

Imagine my horror when I started to attach the fronts of this baby cardigan to the back by working a three-needle bind off at the shoulders and discovered the error of my ways:



Some neckline shaping would be nice, don't cha think.

Hello frog pond.

*damn*

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Look who I picked up on the side of the road.



Yes, it's Herself in my car holding my knitting. *swoon*

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Saturday and Sunday I attended the first annual Great Basin Fiber Arts Fair and I'm happy to deem it a total success. I sincerely hope it becomes an annual event. Birdsong even flew in from California to attend. This post is photo-intensive. And if you want more photos, head over to Margene's blog.

Bright and early on Saturday morning, I headed off to Wheeler Farm for a dyeing class with Kate. Kate taught us her secrets to dyeing roving in stockpots. Here's Kate and Margene taking a breather; it was hot:



And here's my finished roving alongside Margene's. Would you be surprised if I told you the pile on the right is not mine?



Sunday's class was an advanced spindle spinning class taught by Elizabeth Daily, the owner of Greensleeves Spindles. What a fascinating class. Elizabeth gave us each a bag of assorted fibers and then let us try as many of the Greensleeves spindles as we wanted. It was interesting to see how different fibers behaved differently with the assorted spindles.

Birdsong and Margene like the class, too:



And while we were dyeing and spinning, Laurie was selling soap alongside Katherine who was selling her fabulous "Make One" t-shirts.

Here's blogless Val buying some soap from Laurie:



And here's Birdsong learning to spin on a Great Wheel.



I bought very little fiber:



Some trums from Spinderella, some yummy hand-dyed wool from THE Judy Jackson, and some hand-dyed superwash merino from The Sheep Shed Studio. The large, 18-ounce pile of green roving is the prize I won in the finished item competition.

But I did score some excellent back issues of Knitters for the ungodly sum of 50 cents each.



Psyched.

Who's linking here?

Thanks to everyone who entered my contest to identify the ballpark in which I was knitting my Parade socks. Most of you got the correct answer which was Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. We had awesome seats, just 4 rows above the Oriole's dugout. And the source of those great tickets was none other than the effervescent Amber, a/k/a the woman holding the sock in the photo. Amber was the inspiration for my Amber hat pattern, the link to which is in the sidebar.

Oh, right, so who won???

Dana guessed the name of the ballpark correctly so she won the bar of Laurie's soap. Laurie's website is now fully operational so take a look and order your favorite bar.

Hillary correctly guessed that Amber was holding the sock. She won a copy of my new Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl pattern.

And there was one more winner this weekend . . . ME! Remember Kate's merino/silk/alpaca roving that I spun into this lovely lace-weight yarn.



Well, I knit it up into a Mountain Stream scarf last week and entered it into the finished item competition at the Great Basin Fiber Arts Fair. Here it is, adorned with it's First Place ribbon:




WooHoo!

Who's linking here?

• Lace knitting is addictive. Many knitters, however, have never tried lace knitting or become discouraged because the project they chose is not suitable for a beginner.


• I have written this pattern for beginning lace knitters; particularly those who have previously been unsuccessful at knitting triangular shawls.


• More experienced lace knitters will find this pattern perfect for quick gifts. Or, if you like, choose a finer-gauge yarn and knit a larger shawl.


• The pattern contains comprehensive information on knitting lace, including tips on choosing yarn and needles, avoiding and fixing mistakes, and swatching for lace projects.


• Both written instructions and charts are included; you choose which method you prefer.


• The stitch pattern is easily memorized after just a few repeats, making this a great take-along project.





• This project is a one-skein wonder and can be completed from just one skein of Mountain Colors Weaver's Wool Quarters. The sample shawl was knit from the "Sierra" colorway on size U.S. 8 (5mm) needles.

The pattern is 6 pages long and must be printed in "landscape" mode. Once you have completed the payment process, you will automatically receive an email containing instructions on how to download the pattern. These instructions will be sent to the primary email address tied to your PayPal account so please check that email account. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the file. If you do not have the reader, you can download it here

The cost of the pattern is $6.50 and all payments must be made through PayPal. To purchase the pattern, simply click here.

Please do not violate my copyright. This pattern is for your personal, non-commercial use only. You may not reproduce the pattern for distribution, sale, or any other purpose. Finished items made from this pattern may not be sold.

All pictures, patterns, text and content on this page are the sole property of Susan Pierce Lawrence ©2006. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this website (e.g., text, photos, etc.) is strictly prohibited.

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