Cedar Leaf Shawlette

The Cedar Leaf Shawlette:  finished a few days late for my daughter-in-law's birthday but hopefully in time for her to take on their trip to Spain in a few days. I blocked it and sent it off after taking some quick photos. I wish I could take photos of her modeling it.

I'll be talking about the Cedar Leaf Shawlette by Alana Dakos (pattern gifted to me by one of my wonderful podcast listeners) on the next episode of Knitting Pipeline.

The pattern calls for DK weight but I used fingering weight/sock yarn from The Woolen Rabbit. The color is called Chimney Sweep. I love this color. It is a deep gray semi-solid with blue overtones. Fortunately, I have one whole skein plus a bit of the second leftover for a future project.

Episode 14 The Stealth Approach to Socks

Show notes for the Knitting Pipeline Podcast  can be found on the show blog http://www.knittingpipeline.blogspot.com/.

Since tweaking my blog design the Followers are not showing up.  I cannot figure this out.  If you are a blogger on Blogspot and have any hints, please let me know.

I am going to set a schedule for myself to update this blog more regularly, even if it is just a short post.  I thought by now I would be a lot more efficient in producing the weekly podcast but it still takes me many hours to get the notes done, record, edit, upload, and write blog posts.  I should probably just have one blog but I am still attached to this one and will use it for knitting and some more personal writings.

I am still going to mention here when a new episode is up.  I added a flash player in the side bar.  If you click in the lower left corner there is a menu.  All the episodes are available here so you can listen without an external listening device.

In this podcast I talk about the finished project, Hurdy Gurdy Cardigan by Lynda Gemmell.  Notes on my Ravelry page.  I bought the kit at Stitches.  The colors spoke to me and I had to knit it even though I don't really have an intended wearer.  Actually,  I am planning on sending the little sweater to Botswana where I am sure it will be worn a lot and passed along.  This makes me very happy. 

Modifications:

• Ribbed button band instead of garter stitch band
• Shorter sleeves than pattern recommended
• My little extra touch are the buttons, both lavender and lime green, alternating.

Episode 13 Elizabeth Writes from the Airport

Listen here or download on iTunes.

Show notes can be found here at http://www.knittingpipeline.blogspot.com/.

In this episode I talk about my finished Merope Shawl by Rosemary Hill, muse on the delight of good peaches, and read a letter by Elizabeth Zimmermann that was written to me on October 4, 1979.

Also, at the end of the podcast is a performance by the Dutch Pipes and Drums.

Enjoy!

Episode 12 Each One Teach One

Click on the Episode title if you want to listen to the Knitting Pipeline podcast about our Knitting Boot Camp/Fiber Weekend.  Or you can download from iTunes.  Also, knitting tips, butterfly awareness, easy lace shawl patterns, and notes on last week's letter from Elizabeth Zimmermann.

On Labor Day Weekend we had an intensive 24 hour Knitting Boot Camp.  Emily, Cecelia, and Lauren are enthusiastic and energetic knitters!  Plus they knit continental!  (Big surprise)

We started about 1 PM on Saturday and finished at the same time on Sunday.  Whew!

The new knitters at work.

"This  is EASY!"

The weather was perfect!

Felted Coin purses before zippers and embellishments were sewn on.

A fibery weekend was had by all!

Oh Maia!

Episodes 8 and 9 are up on the podcast, Knitting Pipeline.  Find it on iTunes or on the show blog...click on the episode title.  The feed is http://knittingpipeline.libsyn.com/rss
In both of these episodes I read letters that were written to me by Elizabeth Zimmermann, my knitting hero.

I just finished my first project with beads. I only knitted in the beads at the bottom of the shawl, which is good because the top part (where the shawl started) was a little too intense for me to manage along with beads.  I am being so selfish lately.  I want to keep all the shawls I am making.  Sigh.

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Maia is the second shawl in Rosemary Hill's book, Seven Small Shawls to Knit.

The heart motif is also carried across the top edge of the shawl and the neck.

The wool is luscious Kashmir from The Woolen Rabbit in the color Oh! Ruby! 

A Baby Surprise Jacket from Elizabeth

Knitters all over the world today are commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Elizabeth Zimmermann, truly one of the great knitters, "unventors", teachers, and writers of the knitting world.  To say she was influential is an understatement.  She was a pioneer, and a kind and witty one at that.  When I was a young knitter, she was my main source of both materials and inspiration. She continues to be an inspiration today, not only through her books and her daughter, Meg Swansen's books, but through many designers who have been influenced by her.

When I realized that today was a sequential 8-9-10 I thought that Elizabeth would have liked that date for her birthday.

Although I had learned to knit in Denmark, it is safe to say I eventually would have become bored with knitting drop shoulder sweaters in Lopi wool.  I met Elizabeth Zimmermann, first through reading her book Knitting Without Tears, and then in person at her Knitting Camp in Shell Lake, WI   During our early correspondence I became pregnant with our first son.  Elizabeth knitted a baby surprise jacket and sent it to me before the birth of the baby in January 1978. This photo is one of my all-time favorite baby photos!

I knited the bunting from my first bulky handspun.  I also knitted the bonnet in grey Shetland wool and the booties from blue lovat Shetland from Schoolhouse Press.  But who cares?  Elizabeth knit the baby surprise jacket and that is what counts!

In the next episode of my podcast, Knitting Pipeline, I'll be reading some of the letters that Elizabeth sent to me.

Happy Birthday, Elizabeth.  Thanks to you, we are knitting on.

New Podcast Episode is UP and Brandywine Question Answered

There is a new episode of Knitting Pipeline Podcast here or on iTunes.  If you listen from the blog, just click on the title of the episode.

Sandy, I can't figure out how to respond to you personally about Brandywine, so here is my answer.  Yes, there are YO's on the center stitch in Chart A.  That threw me a bit at first also, but plough onwards.  Those are meant to be there.  The only glitch I found was on Row 37 where it seems to me that a YO/SSK is missing from the top of a diamond pattern. 

We've been having a busy week with family.  My husband's sister and 3 of her children have been here from the Southwest.  The 20 year old and 10 year old wanted to learn to knit.  THEY asked me!  We started on hats.  Youngest Niece was so cute as she chose some vibrant colors from my basket.  I thought her hat might end up looking like a gang hat.  When she added the green stripe it seemed to come together.  I said, "You  had that planned all along, didn't you?"  She replied, "No, and knitting with the green made me feel weird."  After the stripes I had to take over and finish up the hat as she was rarin' to go on Project #2.  I told her that was not a good idea to start another project before finishing the first one, but we would make an exception since they were leaving town.  Last night we started on her Tooley Owl.  It turns out her mother has a friend who is a knitter and general all-round crafter, so Marni will have some help when she gets home.  She was so happy with her hat that she wore it yesterday and today--in 90 degree heat!  What a great little gal.

Meanwhile Elysha made a lot of progress on her hat with a color pattern.  I'm proud of her!  She is definitely going to be a knitter!

While teaching them to knit I came up with a memorable way to illustrate gauge.  That seems more like podcast fodder than blog fodder, but here's a shot at it.  The basic idea was to have all three of us stand at the same point and take 10 steps forward.  We all ended up in different places.  I explained that is what it would be like if our steps were stitches.  One knitter's 10 stitches would be bigger than another's.  Then I explained that the needle size is just an average, a guideline, and they should experiment with different size needles to get the recommended gauge rather than change their knitting to be looser or tighter.  I hope I got the point across.  At any rate, we all needed a stretch and a wiggle at that point so it was a fun exercise.

I like it that they call me "Tante Paula".  "Tante" is Danish/Norwegian for "Aunt".  Yesterday we made lots of bubbles in the back yard.  That was so much fun!  It has been a long time since I've blown bubbles.  We had the big wands and lots of strange-shaped wands also.  I think bubble blowing should be a regular activity.