Flagel Knitting Files

This is round #2 for my post today.  There is something about my new laptop that simply erases entire hunks of writing without any advanced notice which is irritating to say the least.  This time even the kittens cannot be blamed.  So if this seems a bit brusque, let's just say I am miffed because the first post was a couple of clicks from being published! There was a deadline beating in my head the entire time I knit Waiting for Rain ; it was to be a part of my wardrobe for a trip to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.  It had to be done because it perfectly matches a comfortable pair of walking shoes purchased specifically for this trip.  The picot edging was finished late on Friday night, on Saturday the shawl went for a quick plunge and then was stretched to its limit to show off the wavy lace and by Sunday it was ready for the photos.  These were taken off the second story deck as I stood in the snow.  Yes, it is still snowing in March in the Lower...

If you knit the odds are good you know about Knitted Knockers, but in case I have a few non-knitters reading this let me explain.  Knitted Knockers is an organization supporting and promoting breast prosthetics to cancer survivors.  The organization also encourages knitters to create the prosthetic so they can be given to users for free. Mom introduced me to this and I wrote about it here in November 2011.  It was in conjunction with the good works Mom does by knitting baby caps, prayer shawls as well as knitted knockers for her local hospital. From Knitted Knockers website The PBS station out of Seattle does short local interest stories and one recently was about the person who turned the knitting of breast prosthetics into an organized affair, Barbara Demorest.  Barbara had a complete mastectomy several years ago and due to complications during surgery was not able to have reconstruction done.  Her local doctor suggested she check out a website whe...

The class at my LYS caused me to start my own Waiting for Rain shawl.  My stash held 545 yards of Meadow Rustic Luxury by The Fibre Company in the colourway of Fennel.  The yarn is 40% merino, 25% baby llama, 20% silk and 15% linen.  This means it is soft yet has good stitch definition. I love this colour, but there was not enough yarn to make the shawl.  The idea of doing the short rows in a different colour and adding the stripes was not only a feature I wanted to do, it was a feature I had to do.  At the start of the class I already had the first garter stitch section completed and could get help from Sylvia McFadden, the designer, with them.  She also helped me locate a yarn to work the short rows since I had nothing in my stash.  We decided Juniper Moon Findley Dappled in the colourway of English Garden would work, even though it was lace weight rather than fingering. I had some skepticism about this lighter weight yarn, but on...

What it is March 1, 2017 already!  Boy time does fly when one is having fun, and by fun I mean applying for Canadian Pension Plan and Social Security (arrrgh) plus preparing for my 2016 taxes for two countries (double arrrgh).  Then there was a trip to Los Angeles and a cruise from there to three ports of call along the Pacific coast of Mexico (yeah).  Finally those kittens, Mike and Mara aka M&M, fill up tons of time. (photos of them later, they are growing)  But that's not to say knitting hasn't been taking place while I have been away. For example, I have been working on a shawl designed by Sylvia McFadden called Waiting for Rain .  There is a personal story behind this selection, with three related segments. Photo by Softsweater Knit When I returned from Minneapolis in December my friend, Jami, had purchased a shawl pattern book for me, Shawl Joy.   The book includes patterns to make six different shaped shawls, including triangular, circul...

Canada is celebrating 150 years of existence and as a part of the celebration it is sharing with the country tidbits about its history including this story  regarding the Cowichan sweater.  The article covers five little known facts about this unique sweater and is worth a read. I have written about this First Nations sweater in the past here and here .  The history of the Cowichan sweater is a story told often about peoples who have crafting skills that become financially viable.  The wool and the techniques used in knitting the Cowichan sweater fascinates me but having the story written up in the Globe and Mail, a nationally distributed paper, gives a tribute to both the Cowichan nation and to Sylvia Olsen, the author quoted in the piece. Image from sa-cinn.com Photo from shortlist.com The first photo is of an actual Cowichan sweater.  One can see the quality of the wool and the hand made look of it.  The B ig Lebowski referred to in the ...

Dragon Tail was last written about on August 20, 2016.  It looked like this then: It was cleverly hung on the railing in just a way to show off  the work that had been done so far, but there was so much more to be done.  This 100% garter stitch pattern is so zen-like to knit.  It did give me plenty of time to perfect my flicking style of doing the knit stitch. Dragon Tail was finished last October but not without a certain twist.  In my eagerness to get this project started I didn't completely calculate how much yarn would be needed for the main colour and in the end I was short a few hundred yards.  The dark charcoal British wool compilation ran out and I decided to use a lighter gray to finish off the piece.  Here's a couple of shots of it in the backyard of one of my son's on a perfectly sunny day in early November. This shows how much more light gray yarn was needed Just hanging around on the fence One can get a sense of its ...

Having kittens around means I have had to make a few changes.  Blogging and knitting have to take place when they sleep.  I saved a bit of yesterday's blog to show you what happens when a kitten walks across the keyboard of my laptop as I write: Arne and Carlo2e4s are a pair of Norwegian knitters, designerl,mks and most importantly, textile artists creating self-patterning or 09oi7striping yarn.  ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppDuring the two hours we spent together they taught how to purl in the Norwegian way, 52er4something that you too can learn by watching minutes 7-8 of  this video . This is caused by just four paws.  They have disconnected the laptop from the internet and messed up other settings as they step on the F keys. As for knitting, the circular needles and lace weight yarn are oh so intriguing.  So rather than fighting it I just stop knitting; it is simpler to knit when they are resting.  I am choosing when to pick my battles with th...