Muir

Muir, aka the Honeymoon Stole, is done!

And it’s coming with me tomorrow on my trip to Owen Sound to visit my inlaws. I used my new blocking wires to stretch it out and it now measures 29″ wide. I never measured the length, but it’s now pretty much the full length of the double bed I used for blocking. Had I measuerd it before blocking maybe you’d have something to compare that to.

The yarn (purchased at Birkeland Bros. in Vancouver) is a merino cashmere blend, so it’s super soft. I’m hoping it will keep me warm when I’m at the mercy of voracious air conditioning.

I’m pretty amazed that I knit this whole shawl without one mistake that went more than one pattern row undetected. The mesh background helped it go really quickly and the pattern became pretty intuitive after the third repeat. If I was a stitch short it was pretty easy to figure out where that extra stitch should be. That being said, there are non-lace-pattern errors I never fixed, like the first ten or so rows that have no picot edging because I didn’t even realize it was supposed to be there. Frankly I don’t even miss it, and no one will ever know but me. Onlookers will be too preoccupied with the fact that I knit a giant lace stole by hand. I’m pretty impressed I had the attention span for this, even if it did take the better part of 2.5 months and didn’t quite make it into the right PS3 element.

The photos are courtesy of Taylor, who dragged me out to the park on Canada Day when all I wanted to do was play French Scrabble on my balcony and drink beer. We did that too, and I won.

I’ve already started my next lace project, which may even be done by the time I get home from my next trip. She’s a speedy one. You’ll hopefully here from me before then though, or at least get a glimpse of some weekend knitting.

Bon voyage!

HHHH questionnaire

I’ve joined HHHH. I waited until the very last minute to do so, mostly after noticing that several other bloggers were doing it and that many of them considered themselves beginners too. And even though I’ll be away most of July I think I can still swing it.

1. How long have you been spinning? What skill level do you consider yourself?

I’ve been spinning with a drop spindle for almost two years, I just got a wheel in May. I consider myself a beginner/intermediate spinner. I still have a lot to learn, but I’ve also made some gorgeous stuff.

2. What kinds of yarn do you create (singles/2-ply/3-ply/art yarn)?

I prefer spinning 3-ply or 2-ply, depending on how much fiber I have. I’m not really a fan of my own singles and I’ve never tried art yarn.

3. What do you spin with (spindle/wheel/both)?

I have two Louet drop spindles and a single treadle Fricke wheel. Since getting the wheel I haven’t touched the spindles!

4. What are your favorite fibers to spin with? Anything you don’t like?

I love BFL and Pigeonroof Studios superwash merino (I’ve tried other merinos and didn’t care for them as much). I didn’t really enjoy spinning from a silk hankie the one time I tried it.

5. Who are your favorite crack dealers fiber sources (etsy or otherwise)?

I love Pigeonroof Studios and Spunky Eclectic.

6. What kind of fiber do you want to try?

I’d love to try a bamboo or tencel blend. I’d also love to spin up some pencil roving, though I’ve never seen it in any colors I really loved. I’d also like to try fiber from Gherkins Bucket, Squoosh or The Fiber Denn,

7. Is there any techniques you would like to learn?

Nothing I can think of.

8. Do you dye fiber? If not, would you like to learn?

I tried once and didn’t really enjoy it.

9. Do you have fiber prep tools (and like to use them) or would you prefer ready to spin fiber?

I don’t have any prep tools and I’m not all that interested in doing the prep work. I’d prefer ready to spin fiber!

10. What do you do with your handspun? What projects have you completed?

Honestly, most of it is sitting in a box looking pretty, but I have made a hat, a headband and most of a BSJ.

11. Are you in need of any spinning gadgets (WPI Gauge, threading hook, etc)?

A WPI gauge would probably come in handy, but I can’t really think of anything else I really need.

12. What colors “fall into your shopping basket”? Any colors you just can’t stand?

Plummy purples, springy greens and golden yellows. I prefer bold jewel tones and generally don’t really like pastels or muted colors.

13. What is on your wheel/spindle right now?

It’s empty, but I have a bunch of fiber from spaceromantic waiting to go.

14. What other crafts/hobbies do you have?

Knitting, naturally. Also sewing, photography and biking.

15. Other than crafts, what are you passionate about?

I have a degree in linguistics and I’m generally passionate about Quebec French.

16. Do you have an online wishlist?

I have an Amazon Wishlist.

17. Is there anything that you collect?

Fiber, yarn & fabric.

18. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What magazine subscriptions do you have?

I’d love a copy of A Fine Fleece.

19. When is your birthday?

February 3rd.

20. What book or movie character do you most resemble in personality?

I have no idea.

21. What is the climate like where you live around this time (need to know for careful shipments of anything meltable)?

Generally hot & humid. It’s been mild so far this year but it wouldn’t surprise me if temperatures hit 30°C at one point. I wouldn’t send anything melty.

22. Tell us one weird fact about yourself!

I’ve been cutting my own hair for a year and my latest inspiration came from late night boredom and the book Jazz Age Beauties.

Favorites
Painting/picture(link): mostly anything by Tamara Lempicka

Candy: plain & simple chocolate (both dark & milk)

Food: I’m an adventurous vegetarian, meaning I’ll eat most anything providing it doesn’t involve animals.

Drink: Beer! Mostly local microbrewed stuff.

Movie(s): Wes Anderson / Tim Burton / Coen Brothers stuff. I like my drama light and my comedy dark. I also like lots of movies from the 1920s and 1930s.

TV Show(s): The Simpsons is a longtime favorite.

Book(s): Most things Atwood, Winterson, Calvino & Eugenides.

Guilty Pleasure(s): daytime TV

mid-air

Well, we’re in the middle of the Air element right now and I have nothing to show for it but a finally finished Earth project. Kind of.

I bound off Muir this morning and set it to block on the spare bed. I hope to have photos before I leave this weekend.

But it’s done, and it will keep me warm on train rides east & west. Stay tuned for the great unveiling!

luscious

Look at this luscious stuff I got at the Fringe Bazaar last weekend. It’s from local dyers Sweet Paprika who have some of the loveliest colors I’ve ever seen.

These are called Blood Orange & Georgian Bay. I may or may not have to drag the Georgian Bay along when I visit that very spot next weekend.

Right now though I’m still trying to get Muir done. It seems like I knit so much on it every day but still have so much more to do. I’m 6 rows into the 11th 32-row pattern repeat. This means I have about 90 rows plus the edging to do. I’m going to think twice before making another huge stole like this. In fact, it’s a miracle I haven’t made a mistake yet.

Fringe bee

Things seem back to normal now that the Fringe Festival is over. It’s officially summer, the bike riding is much sweeter at night, the knitting is lighter, and I have time to redomesticate myself, which I’ve begun to realize is the only way to keep life liveable around here.

Even though I felt super busy during Fringe I did manage to knit most of these socks. The heels went in late last night and they will most definitely be finished before July 4th when I leave for vacation #1. (It’s sooner than you think!)

Socks always go better with cheesecake.

This pair is for my mom, who does in fact read this blog, and who bought this yarn at Ariadne soon after they opened. After trying to make a few things with it herself she sent it to me so I could work my magic on it. It’s too bad I can’t mail cheesecake internationally. I’ve had more than one delicious piece in the company of these socks in the last week.

I have possibly more socks and certainly more lace lined up for vacation knitting. I’ll be cheating on Project Spectrum a bit, but it was really only a suggestion anyway. I have to strike while the iron is hot, and a vacation by the water begs for lots of blue-green knitting!

i confess

I have unblogged and unRaveled projects. I’ve been knitting and spinning and taking not so great pictures of all of it, and sometimes no pictures at all. I’ve also been seeing lots of Fringe shows and knitting at (and sometimes during) them and drinking lots of smoothies.

Until I have something more substantial to show you (which may not be until Fringe is over), I’ll show you what I spun up in the last few days. It’s called Taffy.

WWKIP Day

Today is World Wide Knit In Public Day. You should probably celebrate by knitting in public. I began doing just that about two years ago and have never looked back. Now I knit everywhere, unapologetically. There are all sorts of events going on around the world (including some here in Montreal), but I’ll be knitting around the Fringe instead.

The important thing is just to keep knitting.

something hot

Well, I had a little unscheduled blogging hiatus this week when our modem got rained on and decided to call it quits. Three new modems later (electronics stores lie to you) we have internet again.

Being without the internet means that I’ve been powering through Muir though. I decided that I couldn’t cast on any more lace until it was done, done, done, and there’s lots of lace I have planned so I’ve been working towards that. Honestly I’ve done about four 32-row pattern repeats since Friday, which is probably the quickest progress I’ve made since I began working on it back in mid April. It should be done shortly, which is great since I just got my blocking wires in the mail yesterday.

I’ve also been watching lots of movies, drinking lots of blender-made drinks, and daydreaming about Norma Shearer’s hats. It’s good to be back online though. Without the internet I don’t even know what day of the week it is.

Ganomy

Within the last few months I’ve bought several Elizabeth Zimmermann books and I’m slowly enjoying reading my way through them. They’re full of all kinds of humor, common sense and knitting logic.

According to the Knitter’s Almanac, June is the perfect time for knitting wool hats, so I cast on for Ganomy this past Monday. I used the Noro Silver Thaw I’ve had in my stash for three years and it went really quickly. Silver Thaw really is awesome stuff and the hat will keep my head super warm when the time comes to wear it, though that time is obviously not this weekend since the temperatures are hovering around 30°C/86°F.

I had to put the hat on today for the photo shoot though.

I love it a lot and I want to make 1,000 more, I just can’t bear the thought of wearing them right now.

A lot of Ravelers have tried to make the weird little pouf on top disappear. I did a pretty good job of getting rid of mine by stopping the increases in front and back when the pattern said to (for the front) and then decreasing in front when the distance between the three decrease sections seemed about equal. (If that doesn’t make sense to you, leave a comment with any questions you have and I’ll try my best to answer them).

attracting a crowd

I took my spinning wheel on the balcony yesterday afternoon because it was so nice out. Nearly every other person who walked down the street stopped to watch me. I was spinning up some of this nice merino fiber that I got in a Ravelry swap last week.

I know the average person walking the streets of Montreal has probably never seen a spinning wheel outside of a museum, let alone one in use on someone’s balcony, so I guess I’m just doing my part to boggle people’s minds via fiber arts.

In step with the Air element colors, the weather here has been grey most of the week and plans to stay that way, but little white blooms are appearing on the hydrangeas right outside my window and I’m happy about that.