The Golden Snitch!

Would you look at that!



Right here in my own backyard!



It's the Golden Snitch!



Any one up for a game of Quidditch?

Homemade Apple Pie

Recipe in a well loved old cookbook I've had for decades. (Link provided for the picture only. I have no affiliation with this ebay seller.)

Sweet Little Cupcake

She's back. My sweet little granddaughter was away on her very first "vacation". She has posted some cute pictures on her blog.

While she was away she wore one of the little cupcake hats I have made.



Apparently it was a big hit with people waiting in the long ferry lines. Even the little children recognized it as a "cupcake".



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For Spinners Who Knit

I was passing this information on to a friend who is struggling with using her handspun for a commercial knitting pattern and it occurred to me that it might be of interest to others.

"WPI" is a spinning/weaving term that means "wraps per inch" and is a way of measuring the thickness of yarn. You can wrap the yarn around a ruler or dowel marked in one inch increments, or you can use a WPI tool like this:




Laceweight = 18 or more WPI (Lace gauge varies with the project chosen.)
Fingering weight = 16 WPI and knits at 27 - 32 st per 4".

Sportweight = 14 WPI and knits at 23 - 26 st per 4".

Double Knitting (DK) = 12 WPI and knits at 21 - 24 st per 4".

Worsted = 10 WPI and knits at 16 - 20 st per 4".

Bulky = 8 WPI and knits at 12 - 15 st per 4".

Very Bulky = 6 WPI and knits at 6 - 11 sts per 4".

Clue 4 Complete

I have 60% of the shawl done ---



--- and a quick calculation tells me I have approximately 38.5% of my yarn left.



Normally when I'm afraid I'll run out of yarn I knit quickly and non-stop in hopes that I'll finish the project before I run out of yarn. I know, it makes no sense, but I'm not the only knitter that admits to this. Unfortunately the clues for the Mystery Stole 3 are being doled out piecemeal, one week at a time. I have no choice but to stop and wait for the next set of directions which won't be out until August 3rd.

On a good note, I can probably spin more if I have to. It's from commercially made top from Aurelia and the colourway is still available. On the other hand, I'd rather not as it comes in rather large bags and buying another will double my cost to make this stole.



Monica was admiring my blocking wires earlier, so I thought I'd mention them here. Not wanting to send away for expensive blocking wires I took the advice of a knitter on a Yahoo-groups forum I belonged to and bought myself a handful of 3/16" x 36" tig welding rods. You just need to check the ends and use sandpaper or a grinder to smooth out anything that might snag. Blocking wires work really well for blocking items with straight edges or even for blocking shawls that have pointed edging (in that case you run the wire through each point). It reduces the number of pins you need and makes for perfectly straight lines.

My thoughtful husband made the holder for me out of PVC pipe and threaded end caps. He even painted them for me so that the ugly black lettering is no longer visible.

The other innovation visible here is the "blocking board" made of interlocking foam play mats. I have a case of 4 and would like another set so that I can block my largest shawls, but set up in a straight line these will work fine for blocking the finished stole.

Ravelry

I'm in at Ravelry. Yay!

My user name there, as it is here and elsewhere on the internet, Wovenflame. If you're regular visitor here and a Ravelry user I'd love to add you as a "friend".

Unfortunately I've run into a snag that is making it a lot more work and a little less fun than I had hoped. I've been knitting for about 30 years. I've been blogging about that knitting since June of 2004. All the photos I have added to my blog in the past 3 years have been hosted free by Photobucket. Ravelry only supports Flickr at the moment. *sigh*

What that means is that although I have done a ton of knitting in my lifetime and have documented the last 3 years worth with hundreds of photos on my blog, if I want to show pictures of it on my Ravelry page I have to find the photos in my files,(some of which no longer exist due to computer crashes), or when lucky on disks, and upload them to a new photo host and THEN link to them in Ravelry. Even though they are all sitting there already available online I have to do it all over again. I don't think I will.

I've put a few up, my more recent ones, and I'll try to get any new ones added to Ravelry, but jeez I wish I could just link to them all from my Photobucket account.

Bolero Beginnings

Yesterday, with the Nicole Vest finished and the next clue for the MS3 not yet out, I took the opportunity to start another handspun lace project.



I'm using what remains of the 2ply fingering weight superwash wool I spun up for the Lace Edged Denim Sweater.

All Buttoned Up

It fits!



I added three more buttons than called for in the pattern. No one needs to see my grandmotherly navel.

Nicole Vest (pattern by Bonne Marie Burns for "Chic Knits").

For size 36.5 (with added length) I used almost 4 balls (50g each) of James C. Brett "Kool Kotton", 50% cotton/50% acrylic, machine washable DK.

Knitpicks circular needles in sizes 3.25mm and 3mm.

Modifications: Added one inch to the length.

Changes I would make if I knit this again: I would add the one inch above the row of waist eyelets instead of just above the bottom lace edging. This would make the eyelet row sit more at my waist than slightly above it. I would also add about 1/2 an inch to the shoulder straps so that the underarm was slightly lower.

Perseverance Pays Off

Finally! The Nicole Vest is finished and outa my hair. I had so many problems knitting this one that I'm breathing a sigh of relief that she's done. I had my doubts at times.



Now don't get me wrong, the problems I had were not the fault of the pattern. The pattern wasn't even difficult. It was my own momentary lapses in attention that tripped me up.



There is one small error in the pattern. After transferring the front stitches from the stitch holders to resume knitting (after the back is complete) it says to "purl across row". In reality you need to work across the wrong side row according to patterns as established. No biggie, but just thought I'd mention it.

Now to wait until it's dry, (Shouldn't take long. It's only 9am and already the house is 83 degrees), purchase buttons and get a modelled shot.

Cool!

It's hot out. And in.



I may be confined to my bedroom by the scorching heat, but at least I have one cool room I can retreat to. I am ever so grateful for this new addition. I'll be dragging my favorite chair in there so that I have somewhere to knit and read in comfort.

MS3 Clue 2 Complete

I may have got a late start on the knitalong, but I managed to catch up. Clue 2 is finished and now I have to wait until Friday for the next clue.



I don't normally block shawls while they are still in progress, but with the long wait until the next clue is released I thought I might as well see what I have so far.



This close-up photo shows the rainbow angelina in the handspun a little better than some of the previous ones. The beads are adding their extra sparkle too.

Gorilla Bouncer

Today we bought and installed a Jolly Jumper for our granddaughter Kaylen, (aka "Gorilla").



Turns out that Jolly Jumpers are great entertainment --- for the adults as well as the baby.

Action video HERE.

MS3 Clue One Complete

Clue One of the Mystery Stole Knit-a-Long was released last week, and the second clue was released yesterday, Friday the 7th. I only joined late Thursday night when I started to see pictures of the completed "clue one" around blogland. Yesterday I managed to knit up all of the first "clue", which consisted of the first two charts, a total of 100, ever increasing rows. Curious as to how well my handspun was working with this pattern I did a rudimentary blocking overnight.



I'm pleased with the results. The needle size I have chosen seems appropriate. The resulting lace is neither too dense to drape nor too airy for the design to show.



I'm happy with my bead selection too. I've tried to show a close up of some of the "oil slick" beads and capture a bit of the beautiful rainbow angelina in the spun wool. Both the black yarn and the beads are really hard to capture in a photograph though. In "real life" they show up more. In the sunshine the shawl sparkles breathtakingly!

Me and 6,444 Others

On Yarn Harlot's blog the question was asked, "Signups close Friday at midnight. How are you going to feel when everyone is having fun without you?".

That was it, the one thing that could push me over the edge. The thought that others might be having fun without me! I jumped on the bandwagon (me and 6,444 others --- so far). If you run really fast you might be able to catch it, the knit-a-long is accepting new registrants until midnight. Hurry! I'll put out my hand to give you a boost when I see you scrambling to get on board.

I've a ways to go before I catch up completely myself. There are two charts in "clue 1" and I've got the first of them finished.



But the first week has passed and many are on to "clue #2" now.

I'm knitting mine out of the "Black Rainbow" 2ply laceweight handspun. Remember? The stuff I said I wanted to make a triangular shawl out of?