Perpetua Shawl

I think this is shawl number 15 for the year. The pattern is called Perpetua, another one by Rosemary Hill. It is from Knitscene, Fall 2012, along with 2 other patterns by Romi. I had difficulty photographing the correct color of the shawl as it is more green than the pictures show. The first picture here is probably the closest I could get.

Yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere. I love!
Needles: US #5

This was not a hard knit-a good one to learn or use your "read your knitting" skills. 

Yarnography

Yesterday I took an excellent class from Sharon of Three Irish Girls on photographing yarn and projects. 

 

Here is Sharon with 3 month old baby Shamrock.

We learned lots of things not to do (most of which I've been doing) and what to do and about "staging" our yarn.

One of the problems I've had is getting the true color of the yarn. The above pictures are pretty but not accurate colors. The one below is more true to the color-as I remember it. So we learned how to correct color.

Some other things we learned was sizing the pictures the same width for a blog to make it more pleasing to look at. We also decreased the pixels to save computer space as the Internet can not display more pixels than 72, so why bother.

 

I haven't posted this shawl yet, because this picture was not the color it really is.

This is more accurate. I did learn something, but some of these pictures would not "pass".

Of course there was yarn to be bought. All I came home with is this picture. I had some skeins in my hand but let my friend Christine buy them as my grocery bag of TIG yarn runnith over. That's never stopped me before, but there were too many to chose from I couldn't make up my mind.

 

Yarn Clubs

Today is National I Love Yarn Day!!! Isn't everyday?
Do my posts give you the idea this is what my mailbox looks like?

 Yarnista, August 2012. Extra: Wool Wash

 Yarnista July 2012. Extra: Post it tabs.

 Knitspot September 2012

 

Three Irish Girls September 2012. Extra is small skein of Adorn Sock Yarn. This yarn is Kinsale Merino Tencel. Yummy. I'm not crazy about the sock pattern, but the yarn says "shawl" to me. Can you imagine that?

 Knit Love Club August 2012.

 I have also identified this one as Sock Knit Club by Soctopus for August 2012. One is wrong.

Abstract Fiber June 2012. This club had an option: one skein or two skeins. I chose the one skein, so this yarn will make the narrow scarf-or something else. The extra is a little zipped bag, plus the net bag.

Cookie A Sock and Cookie Club for October 2012. This club always has 2 sock patterns and 2 cookie recipes. I really like the sock on the right. I've made a couple of the cookie recipes which have been good. The last one was an anise refrigerator cookie which I really liked. Hum...maybe I'll mix up another batch.

It's coming to the time of the year to re-evaluate next years club memberships. My head tells me I don't need to join any but it is such fun to get these "presents" in the mail.I've already joined Romi Hill's shawl and pin club, but next year I'm getting the pattern and yarn. This year I got the pin and pattern and I missed not getting the yarn. Something was missing. I will probably rejoin Cookie A's club, Will not rejoin Goddess Knits Shawlette Club, Soctopus Knit-Love-Club, Twisted Head to Toe. I've already joined Knitspot (Anne Hanson) club, pattern only, and Sivia Harding's Mezzaline, pattern only, A Verb for Keeping Warm Proverbial Yarn Club, and Space Cadet Interstellar Yarn Alliance. Three Irish Girls Yarnista Club just keeps going every month. I love her yarn so much I can't make myself quit that one.

Now I'm Weaving!

As if my knitting wasn't enough to keep me busy, my husband gave me a weaving loom for my upcoming birthday. I've always had this desire to weave, but didn't know where to start. At the North Country Fiber Fest in Watertown, SD a few weeks ago I did some inquiring and fully intended to buy a loom, but the dealer was more interested in warping her own loom than answering any of my questions, so I went home empty handed. That didn't last long. I had heard Kelly Petkin on the KnitPicks podcast talk about weaving being a good stash buster for knitters, so I went on their site and watched some videos and ordered my loom. Even though the loom is made in Poland, it was sent from a distributor, New Voyager, in Georgia and was here in a week.

 

The directions said assembling the loom was easy. It only took me over 2 1/2 hours.

 This is the yarn I decided to use to make a scarf or two.

A few days later I had figured out how to measure the warp. Notice the book, instructions from New Voyager and the i Pad. New Voyager has excellent videos on all steps of the process, so I used those plus the other 2 resources. Maybe that's why it took me so long! The name of the multicolored yarn I'm using is "Brains" from Propaganda Zombie Yarn Club-and I really had to use my brains to learn all this new weaving stuff.

 All warped and ready to weave.

 My first attempt. The edges need some refinement and I later discovered that I was pushing the weaving together harder than I like, so I have loosened up. This end may just get cut off.

I am enjoying this, but it is not a fast project. Something different.

Lace Poncho

Pattern: Lace Poncho from Vogue Knitting Early Fall 2012

Yarn: Cascade Yarn Heritage Silk

Needle US #6

 

This was not a hard knit, but it took a long time as it increased to  818 stitches for the 20 rows of lace edging.

 

The yarn was beautiful, but depending on how the light was I either hated it or loved it. In the right (bright) light it began to have a slight halo which I thought distorted the pattern. It could have been because this was such a large project and it traveled so much in and out of my tote bag the yarn showed the abrasion. It really isn't that noticeable.

 

The increasing side panels have patterning on every row, but because it is knit in the round from the top down, it is always worked on a right side row.

    

      In Progress                             Knitting Done

 Blocking. I used the flexible blocking wires. It is not a good blocking job as I was still doing it at 11:30 at night and it was "just get it done."

This doesn't show real well, but I used the flexible blocking wire around the neckline under the collar.

 It really turned out beautifully. When I brought it to Amazing Threads for display (I will be teaching this in a class) the owner was wearing it when a customer came up behind her and said "there is a hole in the back." Yes, it was one of my mistakes which I hadn't corrected very well. I will take yarn and needle to it and see what I can do some day.