Knitting a Niebling!

Readers, Knitters, Crocheters...It's been too long since I've actually updated this blog with what's going on with my knitting and crochet projects.

Ever since bee blanket not-quite-a-disaster, I've been steering my focus away from color work so that I can work on my knit lace skills. So, I picked up some lovely lace-weight wool (Cascade Yarns' Forest Hills) and started on one of the most popular lace designs on Ravelry: Herbert Niebling's Lyra (pattern can be found here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/lyra)  :

...and I've been working on it on/off since April:

I have to say that I did make a few mistakes. They're not major ones, but they're juuuust noticeable enough that I hesitate at the thought of entering this piece in the Washington State Fair. I'll wait until it's completely finished and blocked before making any decisions, though.

As I was working on Lyra, I got an itch to start a smaller lace project. I came across Doilyheads' fabulous blog (found here: https://doilyhead.wordpress.com/) and downloaded "Fuschias" (found here: https://doilyhead.wordpress.com/about/doily-patterns-for-sale/various-publishers/fuschia/). I finished the doily just this morning!

I used 000 needles, and I absolutely love the result!

I'm also absolutely loving the yarn I used as well! I splurged on a fabulous merino/silk blend (Duchess by Frabjous Fibers) for this project, and I have about 800 yards leftover. I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up using every inch by the end of the year!

Let me tell you, Readers: I had a BLAST knitting Fuschias. I'm loving this kind of lace design! These kind of patterns suck me in the same way I get sucked into a good book; I just can't put them down!

I'll be entering the Fuchsia doily in the Washington State Fair this year, for sure! I'll keep you all posted on how my Lyra comes along!

Until next time!

<3

What I've been up to: Autumn edition!

Hi Readers!

It's been a while since my last blog update, so I thought it would be a good idea to let you all know what I've been doing for the past month:

First, I finally finished up and blocked this sweater...

 Pattern found here, btw: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sweetheart-sweater-5

...and I have to say that I am delighted with how it came out! The yarn is a mite bit itchy, though, so if I were to knit this again I'd use something different.

But my word. I love this sweater. I wore it for two days in a row after it was completely finished.

I've also been working on building up Lace Mountain 2014...

...which is considerably smaller than last year's Lace Mountain. I'm aiming to have at least thirty flakes, though.

I haven't had a chance to crochet as many snowflakes as I'd like; my inner ears are acting like divas so I can't crochet on my bus commute like I usually do. I'd make more time to crochet at home, but I've been distracted from my crochet projects because WE GOT A PET!

 Readers, meet Carl Sagan the Angry Fish, the newest member of our family!

Here he is showing off his gorgeous fins <3 He's his most impressive when he's hacked off. 

FISHY LASER BEAM POWERS ACTIVATE!

...thus named because the very first thing he did when we put him in his bowl was to attack his own reflection.

He's also known as Carl, Sagan, Fish, and Fishy (depending on our moods).

While it has been noted that there is the possibility of this little guy developing an identity crisis, Carl Sagan the Angry Fish doesn't really seem to care one way or the other about what we call him.

Because...you know...he's a fish.

It's been a lot of fun having a pet for the first time in goodness knows how long. Cats and Dogs are strictly forbidden in our rent agreement (And keeping Carl Sagan the Angry Fish is...kind of toeing the line on what exactly is allowed), so it's nice to be greeted after a long day.

Even when that greeting is coming from a homicidal Betta fish; swimming out with his gills and fins all puffed out in an attempt to destroy any and all who try to intrude on his fish bowl.

I caught a nasty head-cold last week and had to stay home from work for a couple of days. Carl isn't nearly as comforting as a furry kitty cat, but he did come out of his favorite hiding place (behind a large, flat rock) and followed my finger around the fishbowl glass.

Then he puffed his fins out and swam/crashed into the side of his bowl in an attempt to kill my finger.

He shows his affection in his own 'lil fishy way.

So anyways, that was my October, Readers! I'll try to be better about updating this blog, although it may be a little while before I have anything to report apart from Carl Sagan the Angry Fish's murder attempts.

Until next time!

Washington State Fair: Entry Etiquette

You know, Readers, one would think that by now our society would have come to a generalized consensus about acceptable standards for civilized behavior.

Especially when it comes to participating in competitive exhibit entries at the Washington State Fair.

I mean, seriously? SERIOUSLY, KNITTERS/CROCHETERS OF WASHINGTON STATE? DO I REALLY NEED TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION WITH YOU?

*snort*. I guess I should start from the beginning.

As my regular readers may know, I've decided to enter some of my knitting and crochet work into the Washington State Fair for the very first time. The deadline for dropping off items for judging in the Home Arts/ Textile division was last weekend, so Mr. Orb Weaver and I packed up my entries and drove down on Saturday.

Ooh! Ooh! Let me shamelessly show off my entries before I launch into my rant!

I re-did the lace parasol using a merino wool/silk blend in charcoal grey:

...and I am VERY, VERY happy with the end result! The yarn I used (Juniper Moon Farm Findley) ended up making the lace quite a bit smaller than my first go-around, but it had a lovely stretch to it; shaping the final parasol into a glorious bell when opened. The picture doesn't show it (and all of my attempts at getting a close up shot did not do the yarn justice, because my camera is terrible), but the yarn also has a lovely yet very subtle shine to it.

I had a bunch of the Findley left over, so I whipped out my lace working hooks and made a doily, which I also ended up entering:

It's nothing special, but I thought it would be worth a shot.

So, I packed these guys up along with the Spaceship baby blanket...

(which I'm posting again because I just love it so much!)

...and drove down to Puyallup on Saturday with the hubs to turn in the entries along with the paperwork.

It wasn't too busy by the time we got there, but the volunteers at the main pavilion (where they were collecting and organizing the entries) all seemed to have their hands full. The woman who helped me enter my crochet lace items looked absolutely exhausted.

She took my name, I signed the papers, and all that jazz. When I handed her the clipboard with all the t's crossed and i's dotted, she looked at me and said,

"Thank you, THANK YOU for being so nice and polite."

At first I thought nothing of the comment. I told her she was welcome, and then made my way towards the volunteers sorting the knit items.

After I was done entering the baby blanket, the volunteer from the lace area stopped me and asked if I could specify which side of my doily I wanted to be displayed, since "many participants get very upset if the doilies aren't shown correctly."

Um...I can understand feeling mildly peeved, but getting very upset?

Seriously?

For the doily I made, it really doesn't matter which side is which, so I just told her to display it however she liked.

But for other crochet pieces that incorporate cables, clusters and such, one would think that it was obvious what is right-side up. And even then, the judges inspect all of the entries BEFORE they are displayed, so in the grand scheme of things in really doesn't matter that much.

Readers, if you find yourselves getting very upset at a poor, over-worked fair volunteer because your doily is upside-down, you may need to re-examine your priorities in life.

Plus, on our way out, I witnessed some ridiculous behavior: as I left the main pavilion, I saw a woman scream at a poor security guard because the guard wasn't able to escort her to the pavilion personally.

Admittedly, I may be a bit of a Pollyanna when it comes to the culture surrounding competitive fair entries, since I've never done this before. But holy hell, knitters of Washington State, WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT?

Is this a thing? Is it expected for participants to treat fair employees and volunteers in this way?

Perhaps I came in on an "off" day. I dunno.

But still, one would think that by now our society would have come to a generalized consensus about what's acceptable behavior when participating as an exhibitor at the state fair.

Anyways. Thanks for sticking with me through the above rant, Readers! Wish me luck!

Orb Weaver out!

Sam's Garden flake

Readers, I bring you my first snowflake pattern, inspired by my future sister in law.

My fiance's sister, Sam, is the epitome of the word "giving". She is a full-time Master's student, and when she's not hitting the books, she works as a social worker for a homeless shelter that serves the needy of Boston.

Sam is also an avid gardener. When she's not busy sowing the seeds of peace and charity, she's growing flowers and vegetables of every kind :-)

This is my first flake! Please let me know, Readers, if there are any problems with the pattern as I've only tested it out myself.

The little "Hearts" are shamelessly copied from the very fabulous Snowcatcher (I worship the ground she bikes on). She lists a great tutorial on the hearts here: http://www.snowcatcherphotos.com/blahg/patterns/heart.html

"Sam's Garden".
Materials:
Steel crochet hook, size 8 (.9mm)
DMC size 30 thread
stiffening agent (white glue, cornstarch, white sugar, "stiffen quik" or whatever floats your boat)
Sewing pins that you don't mind ruining
cardboard (a bit of an old shoebox works best for me)
wax paper or parchment paper
Ch 6, form ring.

Rd 1: Ch 3, dc in ring. (ch 3, 2 dc) 5 times, ch3, join with sl st to 3rd ch of beginning ch 3. 6 ch-3 spaces.

Rd. 2: Ch 1, sc in same sp and in next dc. dc, ch 2, dc in next chain 3 sp. [sc in next 2 dc, (dc, ch2, dc) in next ch 3 sp] around. Join with sl st to first sc. 6 ch-2 spaces.

Rd. 3:  sl st to next ch-2 sp. *In ch-2 space work sc, hdc, (ch 9, sl st 7th ch from hook) twice, ch 6, dc 3rd ch from hook and in next 2 ch, ch 5, dc in 3rd ch from hook and in next ch, 1 dc in top half of next dc, 1 sc into same ch as dc just worked into. (Ch 7, sl st 7th ch from hook. sl st in next 2 ch) twice. hdc, sc. Ch 20, sl st in 10th ch from hook, ch 10.  Repeat from * 5 times, sl st into first sc. 6 "heart flowers".

Rd. 4: Ch 1, sc in same st. Working around "heart flower," sc in each of next 3 sts. *~sl st in each of the next 10 ch. In ch-10 loop, work (3 sc, 2 hdc, 3 dc, ch 1, sl st in top of last dc made, 2 dc, 2 hdc, 3sc). Sl st in each of the next 10 ch. ~ Working behind "Heart flower", sc in each of next 4 sts. Repeat from *5 times, Repeat from ~ to ~ one time MORE. Sl st in first sc, bind of and weave in ends.

Cover cardboard with wax (or parchment) paper, tape in place.

Block flake on the cardboard using 12-pt pattern, (google it), pin points and stiffen with whichever method you like :-)

Folks, you can do whatever you like with the flakes you make from this pattern, but please do not republish or sell this pattern. Thanks!