". Arranged Words: yarn
Showing posts with label yarn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yarn. Show all posts

22 Jan 2019

Watercolour Skies


                               "Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet."
                                                                  Stephen Hawking

 The other day, I stood still in the woods until my hands got very cold, staring at a changing water colour sky. Looks like a light indigo, or French ultramarine and a light phthalocyanine blue. Gorgeous!

This morning I was up before dawn, hoping to catch a glimpse of Venus and Jupiter in the eastern sky. It was worth it!
 I also wanted to watch the recent eclipse of the moon, but the weather had other snowy plans.


               And the sign says: Do not fed the wildlife. It's clearly overlooked and overruled.


More gift tags. Some people also use them as bookmarks. They are time consuming to make, but I love to paint them. I think it has a lot to do with the colours.

                                                      A bevy of Easter colours. Tres uplifting!

                                        I've also been painting tulips this week.

I am not sure if I mentioned it in an earlier post, but I am currently forcing tulips and snowdrops. I've never seen a real live snowdrop. I can't wait! The bulbs are in a neighbor's extra fridge because they can be cooled anywhere near fruit; that creates ethylene gas and that impedes flower development.
I've got my fingers crossed!

On the needles...


                        Beginning a pair of socks. Pattern Lydia Bennet Secret Stockings
from Jane Austen Knits magazine 2011. Yarn from Tanis Fiber Arts.  I love the picot edging.

                                                     Thank you for reading along.

                                                 'Til next time...Cultivate Your Dreams!

7 Oct 2017

Swallowtail Shawl


I recently finished the Swallowtail shawl. I love the ease of Evelyn Clark's clear and concise patterns. A definite must for a fun knit.  If you'd like to knit this shawl, the pattern is free, and can be found either on Evelyn's website or on Raverly.

Because of the two ply yarn and a small needle, 3.5mm, the shawl is small, but that's exactly what I wanted. For this shawl, I used Brooklyn Tweed's Vale. I was a little worried about 2 play yarn, but  this yarn has loft. What a lovely, soft yarn!

A few of you wondered about the nupps. They are a design element from Estonian lace knitting and do add special texture to a knitted garment.  In an earlier post, I mentioned that the nupps were difficult to pick up on the purl side, especially if, like me, you knit tight. This pattern had 5 strands to pick up, but you can also have 7 or 9.


Blocking 

 After a twenty minute bath in lukewarm soapy water and then on to a a good rinse, you roll the shawl in a towel and trod on it to squeeze out the excess water, and then it's on to the blocking mat.    Since I still don't own blocking wires, I thread yarn through the top loops, pull it tight and wrap it around t-pins on either side. It makes a nice straight edge. Because I am out of practice, I had to keep shifting the pins.

Details
I haven't decided what to knit next. There's so many stunning patterns to choose from, and that's part of the fun, beauty, and peaceful quality of knitting.  Hopefully, I'll decide soon; I really do miss knitting a few rows each night.

Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends and to my family many miles away.
 xx


Enjoy the week...                      

      Cultivate your dreams.

13 Jul 2016

Beret, Doodles, Wild Flowers

July 13, 2016
 

After a good soaking, I tucked the beret inside a ten inch plate for blocking. Since it is hot outside, it should dry quickly. It will make a great light fall hat for someone (thinking gift) because it will be too big for me. But, of course, the design is perfect and it's designed to set back on the head.
I may knit another. If I do, I would use Malabrigo yarn. It was the recommended yarn and it's a bit firmer. I would also down size the number of stitches in the band to fit my head and perhaps add another row of leaves. However, I may be able to add a bit of light elastic to the band. Will it be deep enough for the way I like to wear berets it if I do? I'll know more when it dries.

The plate...George and Martha Washington
A few doodles. I wanted to try painting on ephemera.  Antique papers/envelopes would be nice. I am looking for some.
One of my first sketches. In the 19th century women took up fly fishing. What a great escape from the stuffy drawing rooms. I, too, like to fish, but have not fished for many years.  I like to be out there because it's so peaceful, liberating and beautiful on the river bank. I do wish I knew how to fly fish. My Dad had a wonderful bamboo fishing rod and he was a master fly fisherman.

 I bought this little beauty at an antique fair about 15 years ago. Although I've looked, I've never found another one of a lady fly fishing.
The glorious Wood Lilies are blooming in yellow, orange, and a red.  First time I've seen the red ones. They might be a cross mix. They are so airy and tall. I just love them! Sorry for the quality of the cell phone pics; the wind was blowing.  Hopefully, I'll be able to go out again with my big camera to better capture their beauty before they fade.

Did you notice...July seems to slipping away ever so fast.
Have a lovely week.
'Til next time. 

19 Apr 2016

Knitting Projects ~ Tulip Tree Shawl


The tulip tree shawl has been in my knitting basket with just three rows left to knit for a long time, so hurray to a finish.  I had hoped to make it larger, but I didn't have enough yarn. Raverly page here.

Enjoyable, meditative, and patience enhancing are just a few of the things/qualities that knitting brings to me and probably a whole host of other knitters, although I can't speak for them. I wish I could do more of it, but about three years ago arthritis struck suddenly and with it came tendonitis, so I was forced to put my needles aside. On the bright side, I've still managed to finish a few projects, including my Rosetta Mitts pattern in 2015. And I've nearly finished knitting another pair of those mitts in yellow, but I've put them away for now.  

Drawing and painting are so much easier on the hands. It's a reinvention of sorts, but one that I really love, too.

For those who may not know, lace knitting looks rather like a jumble of uncooked noodles (forgot to take a pic) and then it morphs into a fine tuned garment once soaked and then blocked.

An old yoga mat that's been cleaned to use as a blocking mat.
After blocking, I noticed the bottom points looked flat, so I re-wet and re-pined those points to sharpen them.
The yarn has a golden hue, but the camera had other ideas.

You will find the free Rosetta Mitts pattern here.

A Maestro cutout from an earlier painting. I usually cut any trash bin paintings into strips and use the white side of the strips to test paint on. But even though he's not finished, I couldn't cut through this birdie. The cutout might work in a shadow box, or as a book mark, although it may be too delicate for that.

Warm weather arrived on Sunday. It was 19C or 66.2 F. The crowd that had been hibernating most of the winter were about and about...many in shorts and flip flops.  Although those temps are cool, the spring sun was warm...hot even. Liberation! 
As the woman in the woods,  and I saw one of the first harbingers of spring: a  Mourning Cloak Butterfly. I've never seen or heard about one before. What a surprise! Another first for my nature journal.

A huge thank you for all your kind comments and support for my wee new shoppe.
xo

Have a lovely week...

3 Mar 2015

This and That

Lady Slipper ~ I've painted a few of these.

Although I was reluctant to do so, I decided to use one of my shell plates for painting.  It has worked out well because I can easily see the true colour of the paint, and the added bonus, the grooves on the side act as a brush holder. 

When my son saw my new palette, he raised an eyebrow.  Did he think that I might covertly wash the plate and put it back in the cupboard? Chuckle.



A gift. Unfortunately it arrived a bit water logged. Also, on the way here it lost several of its buds because of the arctic temperatures. But its still beautiful!

The large flower is approximately 5 inches across. 

***
On the needles...

I found out that, for me, a paint brush is not a substitute for knitting needles. It seems my fingers also need to knit. Originally, I frogged [for those folks that do not knit that's knit speak for unraveling, or in frog terms rip it, rip it.] this shawl to use the yarn for another project. Ran out of yarn for that project and had to order more. And because I spent my knitting budget on paints, there's no new yarn in my stash, so although the pattern is different, it seems like a re-run, but I really like this bright colour.


The tulip shawl

Lastly, I recently joined Instagram. For an easy transition, I bought an app, but the fit still isn't right for my new camera ~ older pics work fine. Does anyone have any suggestions, or have success with a certain app?

If you are an Instagram member, please let me know. My link for Instagram is at the top of the page.

Enjoy...

20 Oct 2014

This and That

When I wasn't looking the picture snatchers tiptoed in and ran off with several of my blog pictures. I have no idea how that happened. Unfortunately, pages of pictures are missing; I've re-added a few posts worth but it's time consuming and tedious.

As you can see from the pictures, I've been painting. I haven't made a lot of progress on my knitting because I'm cat sitting, and Sadie can't resist pouncing on squiggly yarn. If I try and hide my knitting, she climbs up on the arm or the back of the chair and pounces effectively from there. Sadie does have her own yarn but she prefers mine. She is fun to have around, and she can be as busy as a two year old!




Enjoy the week!




16 Jan 2014

Basket Tales


Tucked into my basket, Misty Alpaca ~ soft as water.  I can't decide what to make with this yarn. But I'm certain that when I ordered it, I had a concrete plan.  Obviously, I should have made a note.
                                                           
A while ago, I did just that and indecision wasn't a factor when I cast on a lacy head-turner scarf.    But while knitting, I noticed that a few of the slipped stitches looked a little askew. At the halfway mark, (I'm a quick study) it couldn't be ignored. I quickly pressed all the right buttons and crash landed on the Raverly project pages and discovered that a few other projects had that same weepy edge look.  O, dear won't do, I said to the walls as I began to rip with muted satisfaction, boarding on the uber superior notion that I wouldn't settle.



A few days later, armed to the teeth with my needles and a spare, I tried again, then moved on to socks-- tried two different patterns and, you guessed it, another scarf.  Not so dearie o.

Recently, on a stash dig, I happened upon that ball of yarn. As I fondled it, it spoke to me of its charms.  I soon came to my senses; frowned and slipped it into a nearby garbage bag bound for Agape. Last week, in a blinding snow storm, as I threw the bag with the determination of a Javelin thrower, from a distance, into the bin because I couldn't climb the mountain of ice guarding the receptacle, ( I tried, but that's another story ) I felt a twinge of guilt for foisting that ball of yarn off on someone else.

Later, safe from the storm, with my booted feet near the heaters at Tim's, (coffee shop) decked in my wet (redolent) woolens, I imagined (although I wish for visions) sure, nimble fingers skipping that ball of yarn into something miraculous.  And as I munched my muffin and gulped my boiling tea, I decided that perhaps, after all, I had done the right thing.

Warning: to those in the northern hemisphere:  The following photos are for entertainment/daydreaming purposes only. Not intended to overwhelm.



Enjoy the weekend...