Noolie, Rolags and Lace...OH, MY!

(Okay, I freely admit that I've stolen this title idea from Laurin. Thanks, LaLa!)

It feels like I've been a lazy lump lately when it comes to blogging. With the kids home for April vacation this week (and the weather being so rainy and cold), we've tried to get out of the house as much as possible. Tim, Mike and I went to the movies on Monday night together after buying sneakers (Tim wears the same size as Ian now!!!), which was fun...and I tried to take a picture of us sitting in the very last row of the theater (as teens must do)...with a seat separating each person....wouldn't want to be caught dead sitting next to your knitting mom! (or at least I assumed that...)

Tuesday, we met up with Jackie, Lora and the kiddies at the library, which was fun. Anything to get out of that rain!! You should've seen the three of us sitting at the little kids table knitting and chatting away....very funny : )

Yesterday, we spent the day at the Planetarium in Concord, NH, which is soo much fun! Ben actually sat through the hour show called, "Black Holes". It was GREAT! Even better than a movie, I think. I always love sitting there looking up at the "stars"...with no bugs and noise to distract me. If you haven't seen one of the shows, you should really go. They're amazing!

So, now I feel like I can finally talk about what happened in my knitting life since the last post. (This IS a knitting blog, I think!)

VISIT WITH NOOLIE & CHICKS WITH STICKS!!!



Super Fun Julie Noolie and lovely Patti, owner of the Yarn Sellar, came to visit the ManchVegas Knitters on Friday night (two weeks ago) while I was working at The Yarn and Fiber Company. This was their second visit to see us (woo-hoo!) and it was so much fun! It worked out well that we were also having Jackie's birthday party that night because we were in the partying mood and very lively (aka loud, obnoxious and silly). I got to fondle Julie's lace (which is even nicer in person) and talk about Clover....and catching up with Patti is always great. I know we'll be planning on visiting the Yarn Sellar this summer and Julie promised me that I could hold Clover (I have witnessses!). I love getting together with their group....I think we get along well together - and they put up with our craziness!



Look at us surrounded by yarn! Mmmm.......cozy.


ROLAGS!



This is my recent attempt at hand carding fiber and creating rolags. I have to admit that, though I feel like I have the technique down, I'm not sure how much I like it. It was nice to be able to create different colors and shades with the fibers...and I think this technique will truly come in handy when blending in shorter staple fibers or sparkle (yes!), but I just didn't enjoy the spinning process as much. I think rolags are more suitable for the long draw method than the short draw method, which is what I'm used to.

I spun up the rolags...



and then plied the two bobbins together to make this yarn: (which is kinda rough and not so great)



I think I'll stick to batts and rovings.....


LACE!!

I'm still working on THREE lace shawl projects -

1. The Leaf Lace Shawl (in the "Lipsticks" Prism Wool Lace): no update here. I can only work on it at night after Ben goes to bed and, again, since the kids are out of school this week, I've had much less time to knit overall. (and the yarn is so damned THIN!)

2. The Forest Canopy Shawl (in the "Red 56" Silky Wool): it's about 2.5 skeins of yarn done. I'm attempting to make this much bigger than the shoulder width/length since my other one was too small for my ah-hem bust. I'd say that I'm about halfway done or more. I'd like to use up the 4 or 5 skeins of this yarn I have so I can wrap the shawl over my back, arms and shoulders. We'll see....I'm trying to find out how many more repeats to do of the main lace before starting on the edging. Any ideas?



3. The Swallowtail Shawl (in "Rainbow-EQ" Kauni): Okay, I'm definitely copycatting on this one. After I saw how beautiful Jackie's came out, I just had to knit one for myself. I tried some other shawl patterns using this yarn before trying this one, but none of them seemed right for the weight or color of the yarn. I've started this shawl with the blue and hope to send with blue, but (with the way the ball is looking), I think I'll probably end with orange. I'm aiming to use up as much of the ball as I can (I've got 660 yards) and I'm using a size 7 needle instead of the size 4 that it calls for. The main lace repeat calls for 14, but I'm on number 18 now and might even go to 20. I'd like this one to be bigger as well.



I know some people love wearing the rainbow and some are freaked out to even consider wearing it. What do you think? Can I pull off wearing this with a pretty solid colored summer outfit/dress without looking weird?

Hand Me that Lipstick, would ya?

I want to give a big hug and thanks to everyone who commented on my last post for my Forest Canopy Shawl. Squeeze! It meant so much to me to read all of the wonderful things you wrote...especially since I was a little wary of how the finished handspun came out and the overall look of the shawl.

I'm actually working on yet another Forest Canopy Shawl...this time in Elsbeth Lavold's Silky Wool, which is super nice to work with - looks a bit like a crunchy silk, but feels (and knits up) heavenly. I'm using a blue-toned red colorway and, if you can believe it, I'm using this as my easy knit to bring to knitting group! Is that crazy or what?? I'm calling it my "Spouse Lace" - reliable, soft, comfortable and relaxing.

But, I have a little secret.

Know what it is?

Come closer and I'll tell you...

I also have a little "Mistress Lace" on the side. (or should it be called Mister Lace ?)

Yup. You heard correctly.

I'm cheating on my lace relationship. I know...it's shocking, isn't it??

If you promise not to tell, I'll share with you.

Just this once, though. (ha!)

Meet the Leaf Lace Shawl -

Prism's Merino Lace yarn, Lipstick colorway (fitting, isn't it?):



I'm only a few repeats into it so far, but I have to say - this is more of a high maintenance project.

*The yarn is extremely fine.
*The pattern is not quite as mindless and enjoyable as the Forest Canopy shawl pattern.
*I'm actually having a bit of trouble either putting it down OR going back to it....contradictory, but true.

but it's also...

*Incredibly vibrant - the color is stunning.
*So delicate and feminine.
*Gives me so much happiness when I finish an 8 row repeat.

Here's a close up of my love/hate lace:



All affairs aside, I have been going crazy with buying lace patterns, buying lace yarns and trying to spin laceweight, as well. I'm feeling overjoyed (and sometimes overwhelmed) with the beauty of some of these lace patterns and I'm continuously inspired by other people's lace knitting....especially Cayli's. Have you seen all of her gorgeous lace shawls?? I can't keep up with all the lace I want to knit. But, I don't have to, right?

I've got a few lace projects that I'm dying to do this year and that I HOPE to finish -

1. Knit Spot's Wing-of-the-Moth Shawl
2. Knit Spot's Honeybee Stole
3. Susan Pierce Lawrence's Spring Things Shawl
4. Miriam Felton's Seraphim Shawl

I've got all the patterns and almost all the yarns/needles for these at my fingertips.

Will I finish them all? Finish none? Who knows....but I do LOVE thinking about it.....!

Forest Canopy Shawl

Another AMAZING lace knit! I can't believe my luck. I may have enjoyed this even more than the Icarus Shawl...if that's possible. It could be because I was able to use my own handspun for it, but I think it's mostly because the pattern is written like a dream. I not only finished this as quick as a wink, but I actually craved knitting it. I'd pick it up whenever I had a free second and hate to put it down. I even managed to knit it while with my knitting group! Unheard of!

Before I babble on more about this, here are the details of the project -

DETAILS:

Pattern: Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl by Susan Pierce Lawrence (another lace genius!)
Yarn: My own handspun, using 8 oz. of Louet 100% wool top in colorway, Violets
Yardage: 300 yards of 2 ply (around 12-13 wraps per inch- dk weight)
Needles: Knit Picks Options in size 8, 32" circular
Time: 4 freakin' days!!!! (including blocking day)
Fun Level: A+ (I'm casting on RIGHT NOW for another one...no kidding.)

Wanna see more pics before I say more????

The fiber before being spun up on my Ashford Joy wheel:



The 2 finished bobbins of yarn (as well as my 4 oz bobbins of icelandic/mohair and llama):



The yarn (in singles) tested for wraps per inch:



The finished yarn, in three skeins:



Now, I HAVE to tell you (in summary) why I loved this pattern so much...

* Susan wrote this pattern is the clearest, most direct, unconfusing way possible.
* She takes you through each and every piece of the lace and describes why you are taking certain steps.
* The charts are large and easy to read, with no squinting.
* Includes a large picture on the front of the pattern, so you can easily see the design and what you're aiming towards.
* Includes directions in both chart form AND written out.
* Uses only 1 skein of yarn and can be easily adapted to other yarns.
* While knitting this, you can distinctly see where the stitches are supposed to line up and where the yo's are supposed to go. If you put the project down, you can see where you left off with very little trouble.

Okay.....MORE pictures!

Working on the lace (not really looking it's best...very crinkly at that time):



The shawl blocking on my bed:



A close up on the lace and a better depiction of the actual color of the yarn:



I first heard of this shawl last year (I think) from Melissa and thought to myself, "Oh, what a simple and pretty shawl."...but then totally put it out of my mind. Then, after seeing Jackie make hers out of the Elsbeth Lavold Silky Wool, I was excited about how beautiful it came out. Finally, I saw Heather's gorgeous shawl, in which she used her own handpainted fiber (which she spun up herself) to make the shawl, and I was floored. I didn't want to wait any longer to make it.

And I'm SOOO glad that I didn't wait.

If you've never knit lace before, I really and truly recommend this pattern for your first lace shawl. I can't tell you enough how much I loved it and how much I enjoyed (and relished....mmmmmm) this knit.

I'll leave you with a couple final pics of the shawl....



and this...



Now, TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK !!!! (you like?)