knitting, greyhounds, chickens

Burn

2007-10-15T18:04:00.000-07:00

The big old birch in the pasture only had one branch still alive and its centre was hollow. During every wind storm, a few more branches would break off. Dad made a stack of all the fallen branches and torched it on Saturday, then hours later he pushed the smouldering pieces inside the tree's trunk through the space at the bottom. It looked quite dramatic at times, with flames shooting out of the top of the trunk. A couple of times there was a loud bang as a big piece broke off and hit the ground. It took a couple of days to burn completely. When it was just a small pile of smoking coals, the llamas moved in. That's Jeff Jefferson monitoring the remains of the burn pile in the last photo. They love rolling in the ashes, but they didn't even wait until it was cool!

Ravelry

2007-10-06T19:50:00.001-07:00

I'm on Ravelry as hillshounds. I am slowly adding my projects, FOs and stash. Ravelry is a wonderful resource for checking what others have done with yarns I have or am considering getting. It's like having access to thousands of reviews and photos all at once without a bunch of Googling.

I've got something new (not a sock! gasp!) almost done, but I can't post photos until after October 11.

Recent Socks

2007-09-16T23:39:00.001-07:00

Here's some socks I knit over the summer. I knit all my socks toe-up, one-at-a-time on two 2mm circs (Addi Turbos). Basically, I use the same formula for every sock, and just sub in whatever stitch pattern for the instep and leg that takes my fancy from any of the numerous free patterns available on-line. I always use the sewn bind-off now too, as it yields the stretchiest, yet non-ruffley, cast-off edge I've found. I'm generally working on somewhere between 64 and 74 stitches, depending on the thickness of the yarn and the stretchiness of the stitch pattern, all to fit a medium woman's foot (mine!).

Wool: Spinning Bunny, I think the colourway was Clematis (50% merino/50% tencel)

Plain stockinette with a bit of feather and fan at the cuff
This wool feels wonderful to knit and wear, but it's a bit weird how the colour patterned itself. One sock has considerably more white on it than the other. I was very careful to make sure I had the same number of stitches on feet and cuffs for both socks.

Wool: Meilenweit Cotton Maya (wool/cotton)
Stitch Pattern: slightly modified Monkey (no purling)

Wool: Trekking Pro Natura (75% wool/25% bamboo)
Stitch Pattern: Cascading Leaves from the Townsend Knitalong Group

>

Meilenweit Meeting

80% wool/20% polyamid

Nothing special about this wool, but the price was right. I'm not terribly enamoured with the self-patterning "fake isle" either. From the feel of it, I suspect it will wear beautifully.

I appear to be a bit of a sock wool snob. I much prefer knitting with (and wearing!) the more luxurious (and way more expensive) merinos and merino blends.

Greyhound Burrito Redux

2007-09-16T01:13:00.000-07:00

Free Range Day

2007-09-16T00:17:00.000-07:00

Once or twice a week, I lock up the dogs in the kennel and let the chickens and turkeys out to gorge themselves on grass, weeds, seeds, bugs and whatever else they can find. Some of them did a little gardening in the big planter beside the garage; they are terrific weeders, but they aren't terribly discriminating about what they pull up!

The top photo is my two young Blue Slate turkeys and an Isa Brown hen. There's a Barred Rock hen almost hidden under the rose bush at the back of the planter.

The second photo is one of the "mutt" chickens hatched last summer.

The third photo is more Isa Browns, a Turken and a Silver-Laced Wyandotte exploring down the side of my driveway.

The fourth photo is the incomparable Turkenstein fresh from her summer moult, all glossy and beautiful.

And finally, #5 is a frustrated Traveler on one side of the fence and the black Silkie rooster on the other.

New Socks

2007-08-31T13:49:00.001-07:00

Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock DK (100% superwash merino) "Spring Frost"

Needles: Addi Turbos 2mm & 2.5mm

Sewn Bind-off à la Elizabeth Zimmerman

Turkish Cast-on, which is even easier than Knitty's Magic Cast-on, and I think looks just as good. Actually, I can't tell them apart.

Toe up as usual.

I lifted the stitch pattern from >Sock Bug's blog; it is pretty and fun to knit. I'll certainly use it again.

I couldn't figure out at first why my knitting looked so tight on the toe, then I finally realized that I had ordered the DK version of Supersock, so it's a heavier weight than "regular" Supersock, and I was using my usual 2mm's. Duh. So I switched to a 2.5mm for the patterned instep part of the sock two inches up from the cast-on. Maybe I knit looser than most (normal?) people because the ball band recommends US size 5 (!), and I don't think the finished fabric looks stiff or distorted. It certainly feels nice on the foot. The sole portion of the sock is quite firm due to the tiny needles I knit it on, but I think that is appropriate for a sock -- won't it improve wear? Time will tell.

Greyhound Burrito

2007-08-31T13:37:00.000-07:00

Charis the canine mole.

Peeps

2007-07-23T19:24:00.001-07:00

These little guys are two days old, just five of the ten hatched from my own chickens' eggs. The two on the left are Turkens -- the bald neck is more visible on the darker chick; the other three are "just" mutts. It's fun seeing what hatches and then watching them grow up.

New Banties

2007-07-22T15:00:00.001-07:00

I received these four little birds from a nice person on Freecycle. I'm still trying to figure out what breeds (or mix of breeds) the gold and white hens are. The fluffy black and white birds are Silkies, of course.

Ready for her Close-Up

2007-07-22T14:57:00.000-07:00

The Grass IS Greener on the Other Side

2007-07-22T14:52:00.000-07:00

It's a sad day in Chickville. They've just realized that the grass really is greener on the other side.

Any guess as to what breed the centre chick is? I believe they're all about two months old. They are all bantams. The two outside chicks are blue Silkies.

And this last one is my single Brabanter chick. He/she is a cute little thing, with a black crest, spangled feathers and slate-blue legs.

Traveler

2007-07-18T23:04:00.000-07:00

Photo by my friend Laurel Wilks

Cain

2007-07-18T22:44:00.000-07:00

Here's my new boy. Yes, he's a whippet. I know, I said I'd never get one....

He'll be two in November. He gets along great with the greyhounds and is a very sweet boy.

Photo by Laurel Wilks

Egg Colours

2007-04-23T22:05:00.000-07:00

I have a variety of chicken breeds, so I get lots of different coloured eggs, ranging from pale beige (almost white) to pale sky blue to olive green to deep brown. Some of the brown ones are so big they don't fit in an egg carton. I haven't figured out yet which of the hens is laying the pretty blue eggs; I think it's one of the hatchlings from last summer. Could it be Turkenstein who's being so clever?

Sea Wool Socks

2007-04-22T09:47:00.000-07:00

Fleece Artist Sea Wool (70% merino, 30% seacell, which is derived from seaweed).

Colourway "Spring".

Standard toe-up , two circs (2mm Addi Turbos).

"Falling Leaves" stitch pattern from Knitty.

Happy feet!

April Fool

2007-04-04T16:56:00.000-07:00

This is not what April 2nd in the Fraser Valley is supposed to look like! We got an inch or two of very unseasonal snow on Monday.

More New Socks! Knitty's Monkey and a no-name

2007-03-18T13:47:00.000-07:00

The brown sock is Knitty's Monkey, or rather the stitch pattern from that sock. I knit it toe-up, as usual. Wool is the luscious Sweet Georgia superwash merino "Coffeebean".

The other one is the same slip-stitch fake cable I described in an earlier post, also knit toe up. The wool is Lorna's Laces Sock "Gold Hill".

I think I was pretty successful in cropping out almost all bits of unsightly pasty white leg, which is not easy this time of year!

And lastly we have the sole of the LL's sock, just because I like the staggered stripes.

Guard Llamas

2007-03-18T13:25:00.000-07:00

This is the view from my kitchen window. I am very lucky to live here, I know!

I appear to have lost any skill I formerly had with this camera, so please excuse the blurry photos. Those are ducks in the water front of Allana, the brown llama.

Interlopers are spotted. Jefferson is heading the wrong way, but he soon corrects his trajectory.

Now we're in business! Chase those ducks off the pond! If I'd managed to get this photo focussed, you'd be able to see that there are both wood ducks and mallards taking to the air.

Once the ducks are gone, Jeffie and Allana just chase each other around for a while. Who knew that llamas like to play in water?

Waiting for Racing

2007-03-18T12:58:00.000-07:00

Charis says next weekend can't come fast enough!

This photo came out really dark, so I messed around with the brightness and contrast settings -- I'm not sure if it's better or worse now....

Jefferson

2007-03-13T19:46:00.000-07:00

Jefferson the llama, about as filthy as he can get and still photogenic. Behind him is our seasonal lake, a result of the ridiculously lavish rainfall we enjoyed two days ago.

Mini Daffs

2007-03-13T18:10:00.000-07:00

New Socks

2007-03-06T19:23:00.000-08:00

The wool is Tiny Toes "Tapestry". I am really pleased with how it looks in this stitch pattern. I don't think the photos do it justice, as it is super-saturated and rich. I think I will give these to my mom as they are just a bit snug on my foot.

The stitch pattern, a rib variation, is very easy:

1 and all odd-numbered rows: *K6, P2 to end.

2: *(Ignore first stitch on left needle, K second stitch through the back loop, leave it on the needle, insert right needle through front of first stitch as if to purl, and slip both stitches off left needle), K4, P2; repeat from * to end.

4: *K1, (Ignore next stitch on left needle, K second stitch through the back loop, leave it on the needle, insert right needle through front of first stitch as if to purl, and slip both stitches off left needle), K3, P2; repeat from * to end.

6: *K2, (Ignore next stitch on left needle, K second stitch through the back loop, leave it on the needle, insert right needle through front of first stitch as if to purl, and slip both stitches off left needle), K2, P2; repeat from * to end.

8: *K3, (Ignore next stitch on left needle, K second stitch through the back loop, leave it on the needle, insert right needle through front of first stitch as if to purl, and slip both stitches off left needle), K1, P2; repeat from * to end.

10: *K4, (Ignore next stitch on left needle, K second stitch through the back loop, leave it on the needle, insert right needle through front of first stitch as if to purl, and slip both stitches off left needle), P2; repeat from * to end.

The number of knit stitches in each "cable" as well as the number of purl stitches between are endlessly variable to suit the number of stitches on the needles.

Plain Vanilla

2007-02-09T21:51:00.000-08:00

Lots of "vanilla" sock-knitting going on here the past couple of months.

left to right:
Koigu PPPM (merino)
Cherry Tree Hill Supersock (merino superwash) "Blueberry Hill"
Fly Super Sport Monarch (merino superwash) "Petrol"

left to right:
Apple Laine Apple Pie (50% wool, 20% mohair, 20% silk, 10% nylon) "Godiva"
Regia Bamboo Color (45% bamboo, 40% superwash wool, 15% polyamid) "1069"
Knit Picks Main Line (75% pima cotton, 25% merino) "Dusty Lavender"

The top three have been worn and washed numerous times, hence their slightly fuzzy appearnace; the bottom three are new and unworn. The Main Line sock is much heavier than the others, but I thought a very thick sock would be good for wearing in my boots. I ran out of yarn (one ball per sock, and one 50g ball is only 82 yards) before I could get the top ribbing done, so I just grabbed a little ball of left-over sock wool to finish the top.

I knit all my socks on two Addi Turbos, size 2mm. The pattern is You're Putting Me On, which I've rewritten very slightly to change it from dpns to circular needles.

Turkenstein

2007-01-31T15:40:00.000-08:00

Isn't she a beauty? Her mom is a Turken, her dad is an Ameraucana. She has the long bald neck of her mom and the cheek puffs of her dad. She hatched last summer, so should get serious about laying this spring.

'Lana of the Lake

2007-01-31T15:30:00.000-08:00

Allana the llama/alpaca mix strolls through the seasonal "lake" at the bottom of the llama field. We are enjoying some gorgeous weather right now in the Fraser Valley.

Snow Day

2006-11-28T16:05:00.000-08:00

yet another sock photo

2006-11-23T12:07:00.000-08:00

... or at least the top of it. I lifted the stitch pattern from Grumperina's Shifting Sands scarf. Sock #1 is finished, just have to get #2 done (i.e. started).

White on White

2006-11-06T11:46:00.000-08:00

Vita thinks Traveler makes a fine pillow.

New Sock

2006-10-30T23:49:00.000-08:00

Latest sock-on-the-needles is this half-mock rib, half-skinny cables sock. Wool is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Periwinkle. Needles: Addi Turbos 2mm. Much as I love my Addis, pointier needles would be welcome for working these tiny cables.

Sock shaping is borrowed from
You're Putting Me On. The stitch pattern on the foot is a slip stitch, the same one I use for the heel flap. The cabled bit is a three-stitch wide ribbed cable, worked by dropping the first stitch off the left needle, picking up the next two on the right needle as if to work a K2tog, then quickly scooping up the dropped stitch with the left needle before it disappears in one long horrifying ladder (this is where a pointier needle would come in handy). The two stitches on the right needle are then transferred back to the left needle and the three stitches worked as they present themselves, K1, P1, K1. (I'm sure I just "unvented" a stitch pattern that's in half a dozen books. )

Here's the view out my kitchen window today.

Entrelac

2006-10-18T06:17:00.000-07:00

Lorna's Laces Lion & Lamb "Somerset" on 5mm needles, front and back views. I don't care for how this looks at all, so I took the photos for posterity, then ripped it out. I need to find a stitch pattern for this yarn that doesn't make it look like candy stripes.

Traveler

2006-10-17T22:45:00.000-07:00

Here he is, keeping my chair warm for me.

Felted Clogs

2006-09-24T11:27:00.000-07:00

Pre-felting:

Post-felting:

Pattern: Fiber Trends Felted Clogs
Wool: 100purewool merino, two strands held together

I used about 1.5 hanks of the main colour and almost an entire hank for the soles. This is a fun pattern to knit, and fast too. I knit each slipper in an evening.

One Mitten Done, One to Go

2006-09-07T12:35:00.000-07:00

I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. I worked some short-rows on the palm, thinking they would improve the fit, but I don't think they make any difference, so I doubt I'll bother with them on Mitten #2. These two photos show the colour quite accurately, lovely Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport "Tahoe".

New Project

2006-09-06T18:33:00.000-07:00

Fingerless mittens, knit in Lorna's Laces Sport "Tahoe". Pattern, such as it is, is my own. Sixty stitches for the arm/wrist part, then a few increases at the base of the thumb. I'll do a little tube for around the thumb and finish low on the fingers with a few rows of garter stitch to match the cast-on edge.

One of these Socks is not like the Other....

2006-09-06T18:17:00.000-07:00

Can you spot the difference? I realized I'd reversed the SSK's with the K2tog's more than halfway through sock #2. I was not in the mood to start over, so these are my unique blue socks.

Stash Enhancement

2006-08-22T18:05:00.000-07:00

Lovely new sock wool arrived in the mail today. This is Fly Super Sport Monarch 3-ply in the Petrol and Rainier colourways. On my monitor, the Rainier isn't as saturated as it is "live". What appears light blue here is actually bright turquoise, and the purple doesn't show up at all in this photo. The Petrol reproduced accurately though. It's 100% superwash merino. Mmmmmm.

New Additions

2006-08-21T15:16:00.000-07:00

New chicks hatched a couple days ago. The one with the bald neck is supposed to be that way, as he/she is half Turken, which is the "naked neck" chicken breed. The Muscovy duck hatched them, but she is proving to be a poor mom, so I've taken them away from her and have them brooding in a big box in the garage.

Vita says, "Mmmm, something sounds tasty, er, ahem, I mean cute and cuddly."

Oh Boy!

2006-08-14T23:28:00.000-07:00

The excitement never ends around here. Yet another new sock.

Charis says, "What the ....???"

The sock interacts with Charis. Kindly disregard the pasty white leg attached to the sock. The owner of the leg wishes to inform all viewers that the leg is actually a deep and sultry shade of tan in real life.

Frosty wishes to inform viewers that in real life he is a large and manly dog of herculean proportions, and not the shrimp-like creature he appears in this photo.

Sock #2 is going to be tricky. This sock's shaping is based on Knitty's Widdershins, but I added a bunch of short rows before the heel flap shaping and used a different number of stitches to accommodate the simple stitch pattern I substituted. And I did something different on the gusset decreases too....

Falling Leaves have left the building

2006-08-14T17:08:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Knitty's Falling Leaves
Wool: Koigu PPPM, 2 skeins
Needles: Addi 2mm circular (2)
Modifications: 3x2 rib
The usual disclaimer about them looking much better in person, yadda yadda, etc.

I sent them to live with Bridget, as they fit her feet a lot better then mine. My next socks will fit ME!

Model: Bridget Photographer: Bridget

les poulets

2006-08-04T14:58:00.000-07:00

Here's what the chickens look like today. The young grey pullet is becoming very beautiful, the turken is still the homeliest bird on the planet, and the newest chicks have started to grow tails.

Koigu Falling Leaves: Done?

2006-07-24T22:45:00.000-07:00

I'm not feeling the love....

After getting off to a great start with the magic cast on, I had a hell of a time with the short-row heel. I ripped it out three times, and I'm still not happy with how it turned out on one side (the side not photographed), but I don't think the wool can take another trip to the frog pond. I tried kind of a ruffly (super stretchy) cast-off, and I'm not very happy with it either! So I think I will rip it back to before the ribbing, do another repeat of the lace pattern, then rib again and finish with a flatter bind-off. Then we'll see about Sock No. 2....

Exciting Sock Update

2006-07-20T12:57:00.000-07:00

Frogged. It was too skinny to fit over my foot or my mother's narrower foot.

Reborn. Knitty's Falling Leaves. It's going great. Maybe I'm starting to feel just a little love for the sock...

New Chicks Hatched this Morning

2006-07-20T12:19:00.000-07:00

Talk about your cute overload! I think the black and white chick is out of the Barred Rock hen; who knows about the grey/yellow with peach face?

New Sock

2006-07-19T21:53:00.000-07:00

The broadripple didn't fit -- way too tight -- so it was into the frog pond. I've now started on the toe-up Falling Leaves Knitty pattern, using the Magic Cast On. It's at the funny looks-like-a-Toblerone stage.

Sock Update

2006-07-13T18:08:00.000-07:00

We are at the very exciting heel flap stage! Do you like my sock blocker - a Vitamin B bottle?

I am trying to knit this thing continental style, as I firmly believe that is a faster method of knitting than my right-hand-throwing technique (self-taught). I am doing OK on the knit rows, but I just can't get the hang of purling continental, so I am throwing the purl rows. Perhaps Bridget will show me the error of my ways this weekend in between wrangling dogs....

Charis Had a Good Day Today

2006-07-09T19:28:00.000-07:00

Charis, Traveler and Vita ran (and showed) at the Lower Mainland Whippet Association's "show & go" today. There were ten greyhounds running, which is a really good entry for our area. Charis won Best of Breed in greyhounds, then went on to win Best in Field! Then, to top it off, she went Winner's Bitch (and Best Opposite Sex) in the show, winning her first show points (two).

Traveler placed third in the lure course and second (aka last) in open males in the show ring. Vita finished out of the points in the lure course and decided she was too pooped to show.

This is Charis standing in front of all her loot and ribbons. The big green thing is a dog bed.

It was a fun day spent just relaxing with Bridget and Jason, except for when our dogs were running. We (B and I) even got in some knitting!

First Step in the Sock Pool

2006-07-06T23:46:00.000-07:00

So here's my first attempt at knitting a sock. It's Knitty's Broadripple, knit on two 2mm Addis in Koigu KPPPM.

I gotta say, I'm not feeling the love so far.

Couch Potatoes Part Two

2006-07-06T23:38:00.000-07:00

Frosty and Vita share the couch, sort of.

Amazing Lace Challenge #4

2006-07-04T14:55:00.000-07:00

Print O' The Waves is at the Shapeless Sack Stage, so what better for storing the stash?

Since I am knitting this in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted "Forest" instead of the recommended laceweight or cobweb yarn, this sucker is BIG. There are probably a dozen big skeins of wool inside the Print O' Waves Sack, not counting all the ones sticking out the top.

This photo was taken partway through the eyelet round. Getting into the home stretch now!

I am knitting this on a crappy old plastic circ I've had for a hundred years. Look at that one disgusted stitch, teetering on the very tip of that horrid plastic point, poised to leap to its doom rather than spend ONE MORE SECOND on that vile plastic needle. I am really covetting the Knitpicks Options right now....

Frosty

2006-06-29T21:53:00.000-07:00

Frosty, aka Toe Boy, aka Frosty the Snow Dog, aka HR's Frosty ORC, is the old man around here. He'll be 12 in October.
He retired from pro racing at the age of three, and I got him a few weeks after that. He raced at Multnomah. Pedigree here.

Chick Pic

2006-06-28T23:51:00.000-07:00

The beautiful golden hen is an Ameraucana (or maybe an Easter Egger), the silver chick is an Ameraucana/unknown cross. This chick, which I think is a pullet, is five weeks old.

The second photo is the chick and her brother (I think!) taken about a week after hatching.

Good Fences Make Good Neighbours

2006-06-02T00:43:00.000-07:00

Hope springs eternal. Maybe today the fence will fall down.

A Visitor

2006-06-01T23:45:00.000-07:00

Spotted this young Blue Heron just outside the chicken yard fence this morning. There is a small colony of them nesting in the trees above my garage.

More Distraction: Print O' The Wave

2006-05-30T01:26:00.000-07:00

Yet another lace pattern, this time Print O' The Wave from See Euny Knit.

I appear to be fixated on knitting lace in worsted and sport weight yarns. This is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted "Forest" again, still in search of the perfect pattern for it. Do we have a winner yet?

I should be working on the Snowdrop Shawl...

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted "Forest" Swatches

2006-05-27T04:30:00.000-07:00

This wool looks so pretty on the skein, but I'm having a lot of trouble finding a stitch pattern that works for it. So I've tried a few swatches: these two are the latest. The one on the left is the herringbone rib, the one on the right is the snowdrop shawl pattern. Any opinions on which is the winner, if either?

Amazing Lace Team

2006-05-25T00:02:00.000-07:00

Black Pearl Snowdrop Shawl

Yarn Harlot's Snowdrop Shawl

http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/images/Snowdrop_Shawl_v1.0.pdf

One skein of Lorna's Laces Helen's Lace in Black Pearl

50% silk/50% wool, 1200 yards

So far, so good...

So I grab my trusty 4mm aluminum circular and get started.

First off, this yarn is FINE; it's like two sewing threads twisted together, I've never knit with anything this skinny before. Sock yarn is bulky compared to this stuff.

Secondly, my old aluminum needles are too slippery for this yarn, so it's off to the yarn store tomorrow to pick up a wood circ.

Third, I think my gauge is a bit loose, so I think I'll go down to a 3mm needle.

Fourth, the needles need to be a bit pointier to sneak around this thread-like yarn.

Outside!

2006-05-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

She took them outside this morning, which involved an 8 inch jump from the chicken coop doorway to the ground. Guess I'd better put up a ramp for them. Cute little puffballs, aren't they? Unfortunately, one of the yellow chicks died in the night and the last two eggs weren't viable.

Chicks

2006-05-22T10:04:00.000-07:00

One day old chicks. Dad's a grey and copper Ameraucana, moms are any of Buff Orpington (my guess for the blond chicks), Isa Brown, Ameraucana, Turken, Barred Rock.

Chicks Hatching

2006-05-21T17:27:00.000-07:00

The chicks started hatching this morning. So far there are three, with three eggs left to go. This very blurry and dark photo shows mom and her chicks still inside her cozy cat crate. I'll try for some decent photos of the chicks tomorrow.

Couch Potatoes

2006-05-06T14:11:00.000-07:00

Houseguest Cherry Bomb and Charis having a nap together.

Blocking

2006-05-05T14:03:00.000-07:00

I never used to block anything, but I'm a believer now. It seems to relax the wool and yet sharpen up the lace pattern and the shape of the knitted piece. It's difficult finding a surface large enough for the big things, like this almost-seven-foot-long wrap. That's my dining table pressed into service yet again, buried under four layers of thick bath towels. I wrote about this particular wrap a few posts back; it's the merino from Uruguay I got off ebay a couple of months ago. Turns out it is not colour-fast, as it bled vast quantities of pink whilst lounging in its bath, and I suspect it will felt like a bugger with the slightest encouragement, but I love it. It is unbelievably soft.

True Confessions

2006-05-05T11:37:00.000-07:00

My name is Val and I'm a wool addict.

This is some (most?) of my wool stash. Of course, there are several "friends" to go with each of these single skeins in the photo!

I can't believe I left my beautiful Sunbreak Alpaca skein out of the photo...

The Amazing Lace

2006-05-05T11:25:00.000-07:00

http://amazinglace.licketyknit.com/

Here's the lace stash:

Several colourways in Koigu PPPM
Lorna's Laces Helen's Lace in Black Purl
Lorna's Laces Lion & Lamb in Jeans
Several colourways of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport (Tahoe, Lakeview, Black Purl)

For TAL, I think I'll start with Knitty's Convertible in the Helen's Lace and then who knows from there...

Yes, I'm a Lorna's Laces junkie!

Broody Hen

2006-05-03T19:57:00.000-07:00

I have one Silver Laced Wyandotte chicken. She's been setting eggs for a week now. It'll be fun to see what colour chicks hatch, as she is setting eggs from the turken, barred rock, isa brown, buff orpington and Ameraucana hens, as well as her own.

Miss SLW was determined not to use one of the nice nest boxes mounted on the wall of the hen house, so she got this deluxe decommissioned cat carrying box instead.

New WIP: Yet Another Scarf

2006-04-26T02:06:00.000-07:00

Lorna's Laces Lion & Lamb (silk/wool) in "Pioneer"

This is absolutely gorgeous wool, soft, smooth, richly coloured with a bit of a sheen. This scan does not do it justice.

This is the Broad Ripple pattern again, slightly modified.

Alanna and Jeff, the Llamas

2006-04-16T21:19:00.000-07:00

Here they are, all settled in. That's my house in the back-ground. The tree-in-bloom near it is a pear.

Charis is a Bad Girl

2006-04-11T21:16:00.000-07:00

At least it still works!

Uruguay Wool Scarf

2006-04-09T20:01:00.000-07:00

Here's a bigger photo of the current WIP. Interesting/weird how the hand-painted wool is pooling.

More Scarves

2006-04-09T19:38:00.000-07:00

This is the Lorna's Laces Herringbone scarf, blocked.

New Critters on the Farm

2006-04-07T12:05:00.000-07:00

We're getting two "fibre animals" this weekend!

The white-with-spots llama is Jefferson.

The cute brown cria is Alanna as a baby. She's almost a year old now. She is half suri alpaca, half llama.

Are you paying attention, Megan? SURI.....

Uruguay Wool

2006-04-07T01:29:00.000-07:00

This is a close-up of my latest WIP. What do you guys think? Keep going in this pattern, or do something different?

Fiber Trends Faina's Scarf:
<http://www.onefineyarn.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=FTAC48X>

Another Swatch!

2006-04-04T12:13:00.000-07:00

Bartlett Rangeley in "Larkspur"

This 100% wool is a bit coarse in the skein, but once washed and blocked, it's soft. It passes my "next to the neck" test.

5mm needles, horseshoe and mesh laces, 14st = 4". 210 yards/4 oz skein.

I think I'll knit a sweater with this.

Wool from Uruguay

2006-04-03T10:38:00.000-07:00

This is such gorgeous soft 100% merino wool in a soft blend of cream, pale blue and milk chocolate ("Happy Winter"). I tried a little swatch in the fishtail lace just to see how it looks knitted up. I have five 218-yard skeins in this colourway; what should I make?

http://www.100purewool.com/servlet/Detail?no=190

Some Finished Scarves

2006-03-30T21:33:00.000-08:00

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport "Gold Hill"

This "ripple" scarf is about six feet long. I hope its future owner likes it!

Stitch pattern adapted from:

http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer03/PATTbroadripple.html

Peruvian Collection Uros Aran "Jacaranda"

Knitty's "Branching Out" pattern, done with three repeats and slip stitch edges. I did a simple mesh (see a few posts back) for the ends. This is a big wrap, about seven feet long.

http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring05/PATTbranchingout.html

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport "Tahoe"

Li's Herringbone pattern. I still need to block this, but finding a spot big enough is proving to be a bit of a challenge. I'll post another photo once I get it blocked.

http://lifesastitch.typepad.com/

WIP: Koigu KPPPM Fishtail Scarf

2006-03-30T14:16:00.000-08:00

Started this last night. It's Koigu KPPPM in shades of blue; lovely silky 100% wool. The pattern is a very simple one: http://couleurspastel.canalblog.com/docs/a.pdf

I'm not sure if I like it this wide though -- it's going to be between 7 and 8 inches wide blocked -- so I may rip it out and cast on one fewer repeats.

I am buying a digital camera very soon, so these knitting-on-the-scanner-bed photos will soon be a thing of the past!

WIP: New Scarf

2006-03-02T14:48:00.000-08:00

A ripple pattern and "Branching Out" in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport Gold Hill. Which one should I finish? I only have enough wool for one.

New Wool

2006-02-21T15:10:00.000-08:00

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in Gold Mine and Lakeview. Simply beautiful. I forsee a couple of lacy scarves, probably Knitty's Branching Out for one of them. The other, I've got two decades of Vogue Knitting to look through for inspiration.

Lorna's Laces Herringbone Scarf

2006-01-30T13:06:00.000-08:00

I received my Lorna's Laces yarn last Thursday. It is wonderful stuff, so soft and the colours are lovely. I'm knitting Li's herringbone scarf (http://lifesastitch.typepad.com) in the Shepherd Sport in "Tahoe". The stitch pattern is easy, perfect for travel; I knit this while on the road back from California this past weekend. Blocking will make the stitch pattern stand out better -- this "photo" was taken by holding the fabric flat on the scanner bed!

Noro Scarf

2006-01-25T15:41:00.000-08:00

I decided the Noro mesh wasn't going to amount to anything, so ripped it out and am knitting a multidirectional short-row scarf instead. It's turning out very nice and getting compliments when I haul it out to work on during my lunch break at work.

Working the short rows and watching the colour change keeps it interesting.

Here's the pattern:

http://douma.net/Karen/knitting/Accessory-Scarves/Multidirectional_Diagonal_Scarf.htm

Charis

2006-01-21T15:04:00.000-08:00

Charis at four months. I am very happy to have this puppy from Michele's Ranger X Horsea litter. Her pedigree is here.

Knitting with Noro

2006-01-21T14:45:00.000-08:00

While watching Twelve Angry Men on tv last night, I needed something to do with my hands, so I started a simple mesh lace pattern in this Noro Kureyon variegated yarn I bought a couple months ago at a half-price sale. I cast on with waste yarn, thinking I would pick up that edge later for some sort of border. I only have two balls of it though, and this swatch (roughly 8"X12") is almost one entire ball! Buy more yarn, or rip it out and knit a hat.... what to do?

It's a very simple pattern, just a two stitch repeat over four rows:

Row 1. YO, K2tog
Row 2. Purl
Row 3. Slip1 K1 PSSO, YO
Row. 4. Purl

Chickens

2006-01-20T15:36:00.000-08:00

I have a mixed flock of hens and one rooster. He's a handsome grey and copper Ameraucana; the hens are Isa Browns ("production" layers, but really nice little brownish-orange birds), Turkens (really weird looking), Buff Orpingtons, Barred Rocks, one Silver-Laced Wyandotte, and a trio of Ameraucanas. The Ameraucanas lay light blue eggs, the rest lay shades of brown and beige.

I also have three Muscovy ducks and one drake. The ducks lay big delicious eggs too. The bottom field is flooded right now, and the ducks are in their glory, paddling around our "seasonal lake".

Traveler the Show Dog

2006-01-20T15:08:00.000-08:00

Here's Traveler playing show dawg last summer. That's my friend Judi doing the honours. He won Best Puppy in Breed. He was also Only Puppy in Breed. :-)

Got to dig out some photos of my other dogs to post....

Rain, Rain, Go Away

2006-01-20T14:38:00.000-08:00

Living in the Pacific Northwest, everything is all grey and wet right now, so I thought I would post a photo of the veg garden last summer.

Ah, Pillar O' Beans, how I miss thee!

2006-01-18T23:55:00.000-08:00

This is part of a scarf I knitted for my mom for Christmas. This photo was taken pre-blocking. I used one strand of each of Luxury Alpaca Peru and Luxury Alpaca Silk, held together. It is absolutely scrumptious.

Tightrope

2006-01-18T23:50:00.000-08:00

Some of my chickens, going for a walk.

2006-01-18T23:37:00.000-08:00

Traveler as a puppy.