I'm Back with Shawls

Just before vacation I started on Kjaellingesjal by Mette Rorbech. Mette researched and reproduced a shawl in the Vensyssel Museum in Denmark. Thanks to her generosity, it is written down as a pattern and translated from the Danish. The name means "old hag shawl" but I have more pleasant images of Old Denmark.

Although the patterns calls for DK weight I am using the lovely fingering weight yarn from The Woolen Rabbit, in the color Scottish Heather. I bought two skeins of this yarn several months ago and was waiting for the perfect project. I probably don't have enough yardage and hope I can order more from Kim. This colorway is so beautiful! There are bits of a muted green, lavendar, periwinkle, and loads of interesting undertones. When the bright periwinkle bits show up I am unreasonably and ridiculously thrilled. During our time at the cabin I knit the bottom lace border and picked up along the edge for the body of the shawl. My shawl will not be authentic because instead of a half-double crochet pick up, I just picked up with knit stitches. I didn't have a crochet hook with me at the cabin. But hey, people were resourceful back in 1897, weren't they? At first I did an inch or so of Bird's Eye Lace, but it didn't look right. So plain garter stitch it is! There are some bands of stockinette in the body of the shawl also and Mette says these bands help keep the shawl stay around the shoulders. Knitting this shawl makes me feel connected to a country I love so much. I am in no hurry to finish it.

I visited my friend Gresha a few weeks ago and she gave me some samples from her collection of Tazo teas. Although the color isn't as true in the photos, I thought the packages were inspiration for a knitting project. We shall see.

The Fernwood Farm Shawl started with a pattern but I deviated so quickly and so much that it bears little resemblance to the original. I have written the instructions down, which is more of a recipe than anything else. Send me an email if you are interested.

The yarn is wool/acrylic blend: Plymouth Encore (worsted weight) in the denim color.

The meadow is calling me right now. I wish I could walk through it! I'm sure there are butterflies and a cool breeze.

I intend to give Fernwood Farm Shawl away when the Holy Spirit leads me.

Vacation Glimpses

Bob took this photo of the band tuning before the competition at the Milwaukee Highland Games. We got 3rd place in our division.

I had to take my pipes apart to dry them out after the showers at the Games. It took a while to get them nice and dry.

We chase sunsets in Door County, usually to Gills Rock.

On our first day we hiked for an hour along the beach at White Fish Dunes State Park.

Back from Vacation

We just returned from our annual R & R in Door County WI. The weather was perfect for biking and hiking and we did plenty of both. Of course there was also time for knitting (me), reading, running (him), and general lolling about. Since I never posted photos of the second Aestlight Shawl (designed by Gudrun Johnston) I asked Bob to take some on our last day. The blue is Dream in Color Smooshy and the variegated in the Bird's Eye Lace is a left over from another shawl. I believe it is Mountain Fiber in the Pheasant colorway. With temperatures in the 60's during the day and 40's at night, we were wearing our woolens a good deal of the time during our vacation. We came home to 90 degree heat, so although expected, it is a bit of a shock to the system.

We always keep a bird and butterfly list while we are in Door County. We didn't break any records this year in our 5 days but we had some good sightings. I've starred our favorites, either because they are unusual, numerous, or firsts in Door Co.

Birds Seen 6/6/10 through 6/10/10

Kingbird

Cardinal

Bluejay

Ruby Throated Hummingbird

Red Tail Hawk

Sandhill Crane*

Mallard

Barn Swallow

American Robin

Black-Capped Chickadee

Redstart*

Redwing Blackbird

Kestrel

Goldfinch

Flicker

Red-eyed Vireo*

Bobolink*

Eastern Bluebird

Common Yellowthroat*

Downy Woodpecker

Indigo Bunting

Pelican

Mourning Dove

Turkey Vulture

Song Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow

Crow

House Sparrow

Gulls and Terns

Butterflies:

Monarch

Painted Lady

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Spring Azure

Sooty Wing

Cabbage

Skipper (not sure which kind)

White Admiral* (First time we have seen in Door Co)

Mourning Cloak

Birds we heard but did not see:

Wood Thrush

Oven Bird

Rose Breasted Grosbeak

House Wren

Phoebe

Black Throated Green Warbler

Pileated Woodpecker

Meadowlark

Field Sparrow

As we drove down the lane, past the old apple tree and along the green and white fence, toward our home in Illinois, I thought of the old Scottish saying, "Haste ye back". Indeed, we will.

Madison Yarn Cruising Part 2

This day could be described as a Delicious Fiber Sandwich--two yarn shops with a filling of coffee and Trader Joe's.

After a leisurely rising and enjoying the morning peace of the lake, Carol and I set out for The Knitting Tree. This cozy and bustling shop is located in a residential area of Madison, not far from Trader Joe's. The shop owner was very friendly, as were the other patrons of the shop. We both bought Malabrigo Sock Yarn and received a free pattern, Shimmer Scarf. Later on we saw a variation of this scarf at every shop we visited. I fell in love with one of the samples in the shop, a cropped sweater (Berocco pattern) in a beautiful pale greenish-gray cotton with a nubby texture. I would have purchased the pattern except it was done in pieces with a lot of sewing up. I believe I can achieve the same effect in the round, probably top down. Just a few days before our visit, The Knitting Tree had hosted Scottish designer Ysolda Teague and they had signed copies of her new book Whimsical Little Knits for sale. Had I not already bought a copy the week before, one of these would have been amongst my purchases. I did buy two beautiful skeins of Arucania Fingering weight.

Needing some sustanance after The Knitting Tree, we headed to Ancora Coffee Shop, right across the street from Trader Joe's. I had THE BEST LATTE ever and purchased beans to bring home to my coffee lovin' husband.

Then we crossed the street to Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's is my favorite place to shop for groceries, although I am also fond of my local grocer, Lindy's. It is my surpreme food fantasy that a Trader Joe's will open up near us. It may seem silly to go grocery shopping when on vacation but since there is no Trader Joe's near us, I am reduced to drastic measures. Do I like Nature's Path Flax Plus? YES! Other favorites are the trail mixes with almonds and dried berries, Irish Breakfast Tea, raisins, and other assorted cereals.

Our last stop of the day was Lakeside Fibers. Lakeside Fibers shares a building with large coffee shop tucked into the back of the meandering store. They have a fine selection of yarns. The big wagon wheel display in the front room catches the eye as you walk in the door. We were too full of Ancora coffee to contemplate another cup, but the coffee ambience was good. I didn't make any purchases here but Carol bought a few things.

By the end of the day the back of my car was filled with coffee beans, Trader Joe's, and wool. What a treat for the senses!

Vacation and Some Bebe Things

We had a wonderful vacation in Door County, WI, our favorite place other than our home. We stayed in a new place for two nights and then on to our usual place. It seems I didn't get as much knitting done this year, although I did finish a prayer shawl. All that remains is adding fringe or tassels.

I also knitted a Baby Shrug from Debbie Bliss Simply Baby. While most of Debbie Bliss' patterns are the dreaded "knit in pieces and sew up seams", this one was largely made in one piece. I had to sew up the side seams, which wasn't too terrible. The snafu was picking up the stitches for the edging. It was practically impossible to pick up the number of stitches required and I lost count of the number of times I ripped the edging out. I ended up using the same size needle for the edging as I did for the body and picking up at every single opportunity. I also added a few stitches where the edging had to bend around curves.

The next project was a pair of baby booties from Erica Knight's Knitting for Two. These booties look so cute in the photo, but I'm telling you, the pattern is needlessly complicated and not at all well explained. After puzzling over the construction for a while I abandoned the project, comforting myself with the myriad of easy bootie patterns out there. There is simply no need to fret over a pair of booties.

Erica Knight redeems herself in this book with the lovely Lacey bonnet. It is a joy to knit, although the first part could be done on a circular needle, thus eliminating a seam at the back of the bonnet. Still, it is a very quick knit and would be a good beginning lace project. I haven't decided how to finish it off. The pattern calls for very large "retro bows" but I've never been very adept at configuring ribbon. The white bonnet is made from Bernat's Soy Natural Blends. It felt quite nice until I spoiled myself by using a raspberry pink Cotsoy (Queensland Bebe), a more pricey cotton and soy blend that I purchased at my local yarn shop. It is so beautiful to work with and will truly pamper a baby.

A grapefruit is the closest thing I could find to the head of a baby around here, so that is what I used to model the bonnets.