What Kind of Yarn Are You?

You are Dishcloth Cotton.
You are a very hard worker, most at home when
you're at home. You are thrifty and seemingly
born to clean. You are considered to be a Plain
Jane, but you are too practical to notice.


What kind of yarn are you?
brought to you by Quizilla


I just had to laugh at my results! Nope, I'm not cashmere and I never will be, just servicable, sensible, useful and a bit boring, dishcloth cotton! LOL

I needed a break from the lace before moving on to the next lace project, a scarf, so I am working on this Iris Schreier scarf (from www.artyarns.com). I picked the pattern up at Philato in Petaluma. It was a tiny little shop, with a wonderful owner and a good selection for such a tiny space. The yarn is from New Zealand, called Charisma and is about $20 for $385. This one was one of my eBay bargains though. I got it with another skein of space died yarn for $10! Gotta love eBay! This pattern is pretty easy, but I did have to frog a few times, just because I had gotten the count off and if you are one stitch off, that's bad! It's on track now and looking pretty good. It's always fun to try some new technique...new to me anyway. I have not done any modular knitting before. I guess the designer of this pattern has a new book that just came out, but I have not seen it yet. 

Here is a close up of the scarf. I thought the colors would be nice for the recipient who is blonde. 

Meeting AKers in Davis!

I had a nice day today and got to meet some knitters from my AK (Ample Knitting) list. Paulette is so nice and friendly. She invited me to the Knit Chicks group to visit and knit but I just have not had a chance to do that because it is in Fairfield, which is about an hour away, between us and San Francisco. With my migraines and the awful traffic on hwy 80 (not to mention the cost of gas these days!) I don't get out for a lot of things like this. So we have tried to get together at another time and different places and one thing or another always came up. Finally today we both found a way to make it and she brought friends Sylvia and Ileine along too!

I got there a little early so I had time to look at everything in the shop, In Sheep's Clothing. They are a nice store and it was fun to see and touch things I read about on blogs and see online...you know us knitters...we've just got to touch! :o) I did notice that their prices are a tad higher than here in Sacramento, but I would go back again. I also got to look around in a neat children's bookstore and found a tons of books to use for ds in homeschooling for $1 a piece!

We had a nice visit and I have pictures below. Paulette and Ileine will also be going on the retreat in November...I forgot to ask about Sylvia...so I will get to see them again! Ileine has identical twin granddaughters so it was fun to see her pictures. I always like to meet up with other twin families.

I really enjoy meeting online friends...afterall, it is how I met my hubby! :o)

This is the sign for the store we met at in Davis. I loved the sheep. 

Here we are, left to right in front are Paulette, Ileine and Sylvia. That's me, Theresa, in the back! 

Finished Object!

It felt so good to get something accomplished today as I have really been dragging and not able to totally knock this last cycle of migraines. And on top of everything else that has been going on, we had no water for 24 hours. (Was turned off at the main) Well, we have water tonight and I am soaking the finished object so that I can block it. See pictures below. I think it turned out really nice. It is too small for me, so I am not modeling it. I think it will be fine for the person it is intended for though. I'm not posting her name in case she wanders over to my knitting blog from my family blog! :o)

Oh, I'm happy to report that Jack got to go home from the hospital today. Last night he got a surprise visit from Nancy (of shawl fame). Her husband said, "I'd rather be at home in the easy chair, but you just don't say No to Nancy!" So they bundled her up and brought her in in a wheel chair and they had a nice visit. She continues to be such a blessing in our lives.

I'm excited. Tomorrow I get to meet a member of the Ample Knitter's list that I am on. We are going to meet in Davis which is a half way point. I'm looking forward to seeing the store, even though it will be really hard to be good, and I can't wait to meet her and two friends who are coming along. I can't remember if they are AKers or not. More tomorrow...Pictures below.

Hurray! A finished object! :o) This is the Flared Lace Smoke Ring from Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer http://www.heartstringsfiberarts.com/a49.shtm This is not blocked yet, but I was happy to finish it tonight. I have a short or nearly non existent neck so I am not going to model it! LOL But my son tried, see below! 

This is a closeup of the smoke ring. I have it soaking now and will block tonight. I don't know if the pattern will show up more than this or not but it sure is pretty and soft. I think my friend will like it. 

Here is DS "modeling the Smoke Ring! He loves to touch all my knitting and proclaim, "It's sooooo soft Mommy!" So when he was asking me what a scarf is (poor kid...rarely gets below 50 here! LOL) I told him he could try it if he wanted! He was so excited he had to go run into the living room to show Daddy! :o) 

Progress

Well, I am plugging along on the Lacy Smoke Ring (see pics below) and am at least 2/3 of the way done. It hought it would be boring after awhile because of the repetition but there is some comfort in knowing what you are doing on each row and being able to knit while watching tv or kids. I like how it is turning out and that Frog Tree Alpaca is a dream to knit with. Does anyone know if you can use it for socks? I mean, I realize that you can use anything for socks but some fibers are not as suited and I wondered about durability with such a soft fiber. I think they would feel yummy! :o) I definitely will use that yarn again.

I am supposed to be cleaning and organizing my office area but I cannot seem to get motivated even though dh took the kids out to play. My stepdad Jack is in the hospital 800 miles away and that is always the hard part of not being closer. He is going to be okay, an infection in his leg and we think probably Diabetes (which is contributory to the infection). Still hard to hear my Mom on the phone and not be able to help. She's exhausted. My heart has been with Nancy too. She did not go to church on Sunday, but she was able to visit with her son and DIL and that really is more important. We just keep praying for her family.

Saturday we went to San Francisco and I may post some photos here later. We went to escape the heat and now we know why Mark Twain said that the coldest winter he ever experienced was the summer he spent in San Francisco! LOL Well, that nixed our plan to play on the beach with the kids, but we did have a great time. We spent some time in Golden Gate National Park for a walk in the beautiful gardens and saw the beautiful Queen Wilhelmina Gardens complete with a 1902 windmill and thousands of Impatiens flowers in every color. After that we went to the San Francisco Zoo. What a great zoo! I was as impressed with all the plants, flowers, trees, grasses and natural areas as I was with the animals. The kids had fun and I was able to get some great pics.

One thing while I was out in San Francisco...I saw lots of women, all different ages, wearing knit scarves! Yeah! I never see that in Sacramento so I wondered if it wasn't really in style here or ? Now I am thinking probably it is because it is too HOT in the summer! So I'm thinking about making myself one in some pretty variegated yarn that I could wear when we go places like SF. I did bring the smoke ring to knit on, but we were too busy to sit still long enough to knit!

Well, back to work...

Non-Knitting Diversion

Your Linguistic Profile:

65% General American English

15% Upper Midwestern

10% Yankee

5% Dixie

5% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

I keep seeing these on people's blogs and thought I would try it. I have always had an interest in language and I'm a genealogist (so no surprise to me that I would have 15% Upper Midwest and 10% Yankee! LOL). Anyway, this has absolutely nothing to do with genealogy or cleaning up my office area, which I am supposed to be doing, but it was fun! :o)

She Loves It! Yah, Yah, Yah!

Okay, so I don't sound like the Beatles, but Nancy called last night and told me how much she loved the shawl! It made me so happy to hear the happiness in her voice! It's so hard to be so far away all the time, but times like this make it even more difficult! Her sister had arrived from California and her step Mom was there too and all three ladies tried it on and loved it. Her step Mom is "handy at things like that" and was impressed. They all liked it and Nancy said, "But it's mine!" :o) They helped her pick out an outfit to wear it with to church on Sunday. We are praying that she will be able to go to church on Sunday, not just because of the shawl, but because the fellowship is important and the worship.

Thank you to everyone from the AK list who have been leaving such nice comments on the blog and at my regular email. And many have been sending their prayers for Nancy and this is the best! Realistically, her journey here with us is ending, but we serve a great and mighty God and until she breathes her last, we pray with HOPE. So, thank you.

This has been such a positive experience for me, that as I continue to learn to knit shawls, I think I would like to knit them for other people who are dealing with illness, chronic pain etc. I do have a lovely brave young woman in mind for the next one, so maybe in December after all the gifts are done I can start that. I'm really enjoying knitting the lace too. It's neat to see something unfold and grow and become beautiful right before your eyes! I think I will try another Faroese style shawl because I like how it stays on the shoulders without having to tug and pull it into submission.

Well, thank you everyone for your comments and help and compliments!!!

Since I finished the shawl I had to find another project, really not so difficult! LOL I did a couple dishcloths and after working with the lace weight it felt like I was knitting with rope! This project is the Lace Smoke Ring from Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer at www.heartstringsfiberarts.com I mentioned the pattern a couple months ago on the blog. I ordered it from www.knitpicks.com and they recommended Alpaca Cloud which is a lace weight yarn. This does NOT work up well in lace weight. I'll be using the Cloud for some lace Elizabeth I scarves from JoLene Treace (www.atimetoknit.com). I purchased Frog Tree Alpaca in a natural color and it is a fingering weight. It is very yummy to work with although it does shed. This is the first six inches, twelve more to go! I have a lot of projects planned for Christmas and birthday gifts this fall/winter and so I am being good and working on those. And of course there are the UFOs. I want to finish DH's sweater which I showed a couple months ago and the kids' sweaters too. I find that I have more time to knit than keep up with my email, quilt, sew or scrapbook because I can do that when I am sitting with the kids, watching movies with hubby, talking on the phone, in the car and on trips. I am so glad I got back into knitting as it is really calming. As soon as we have more $ again I am going to get the Myrna Stahman book on shawls because I do want to work with designing some shawls that will fit me! I'd like one dressy one for church and I would like one heavier weight one for warmth at home. Yes, it does actually get cool enough here to wear something for warmth, but not for another few months! 

This is a closeup of some lovely bead markers that I got in a trade with a gal on the Aran list. I traded her some sock yarn I had gotten years ago in Germany for six of these Celtic bead markers and six of the Orca whales in the photo below. You can't see in the picture but the beads on the end are purple. The rings are a little tarnished because they are silver and the "swamp cooler" has been running which makes it a little humid in the house. Anyway, she did a lovely job on these and I would highly recommend her. Please email me if you need contact information. She has many styles including many different Celtic ones and she will make to order. I did go to a bead store in Roseville, about 45 minutes away from me. I bought some beads and head pins. I brought these in to show them what I wanted to do and they did allow me to bend a head pin to see what it was like but were really snotty about showing me anything else, saying that it was in the class. I understand this concept and that they are a business trying to make money, but a little kindness goes a LONG way! I don't think I'll be doing business there again. I got some pliers at Walmart for working with beads and will practice. I figured out how to wrap the wire but not how to clip or tuck it at the end so that it won't catch on the knitting. I don't have the $ right now to take a class otherwise I would. I don't want to get another hobby! I need that like a hole in my head, but I do want to make some bead markers and I'm stubborn so I will keep on trying! :o) 

Warning: Blurry Blog Photo! Lens not cooperating, but you can see a little bit...this is the orca. My son exclaims every time he sees these, "Orcas Mommy! Orcas!" They play with orcas in the bath tub. My twin daughters love to poke at the markers with their fingers. Mommy doesn't wear jewelry at home (and I don't get out much! LOL) so they are just fascinated. It makes knitting difficult sometimes! 

Here is the shawl hanging over the recliner, after blocking. This is the first time I have blocked a piece of lace. There are things I can do better next time. You always learn and I guess that is the important part! The one thing I didn't like is the "points" that are along the edge where I pinned it down. I did try to start pinning closer in between, but it still happened every few pins. I don't think I stretched it too much, I was trying to meet the measurements given by the pattern, but perhaps I did. Does anyone have any suggestions for me? I know there is some type of wire used for blocking, however at this point I do not have the money for buying anything extra. Maybe that will happen in the future.

Here is a closeup picture of the shawl post blocking. I really like how it turned out. And while I want to take a break from laceweight yarn for awhile (enough other projects to finish!!!) I do want to keep learning and do more!  

This is the shawl from the back. DH didn't tell me that I didn't have it centered! Oh well. The reason why I am posting these pictures is that I would like some opinions from experienced knitters on how I could make a shawl for myself. I wear a 4-5x shirt. I am probably 3-4x on the shoulder area and 5x around my belly after having my twins! The shawl looks huge on the floor and tiny on me. In the front it doesn't cover around enough. I realize that I could go up a size to fingering weight, but I wonder 1) if I will lose the lacy effect of the laceweight wool and 2) if I will end up with a shawl that is bigger in too many directions (e.g it fits around but hangs down to my ankles! LOL)? Any input would be appreciated. I do like the Faroese shaping to stay on the shoulders. I hate things that slip and you have to be constantly pushing it up all the time. 

This is the shawl from the front. 

Goofy pictures of me, but part of the purpose of this shawl is to send hugs to Nancy and her daughter. Here is my hug to Nancy! 

This is DH and my two DDs in their pjs, sending hugs to Nancy in the shawl! 

This is DH and DS sending a hug in the shawl to Nancy. We voted...in our house...DH looks best in the shawl! LOL 

Hurray! Hurrah! I finished the shawl! This is the Shetland Garden Faroese Shawl from Sivia Harding. I started it on August 1, 2005 using the pattern and lavender Zephyr wool/silk lace weight yarn that were gifts from my Ample Knitters Secret Pal! (Thank You Barbara!!!!!). I finished it today, August 15, 2005. I am blocking it tonight and hope to get it shipped to Nancy tomorrow. My 3 yo ds loves to feel how soft it is, so I got the idea that tomorrow after it is blocked I will take a picture of everyone, including DH, with the shawl on, then print out the pictures and send them as hugs to Nancy. Please read my posts below if you want to know who Nancy is and why I am creating this shawl. I really enjoyed knitting this pattern, although the end got hard to keep going with so many stitches! I did make some mistakes. Most were discovered far too late to do something about them. I wish they weren't there, but I don't think that it detracts from the overall beauty of the shawl and non-knitters probably won't notice! :o) I would like to do this shawl again, but not for awhile. I am looking forward to knitting something in heavier weight yarn now for awhile! I have done a couple scarves with lace and heavier weight yarn, but this is my first project with a laceweight yarn and something this size. It's not something I would recommend to people for your first lace project unless you are a glutton for punishment like me! :o) After my Christmas gifts are done and we have money again, I do want to make the Peacock Feathers shawl from Fiddlesticks. So you will see more lace on my blog in the future! 

This gives you an idea of the shape of the shawl. It looks like angel wings when it is blocking! 

This is the center/shoulders of the shawl. It shows the fern going down the center and the flower motifs along the side. Since this is the Shetland Garden Faroese shawl, all the motifs have a garden theme. 

This shows the leaf pattern which I enjoyed doing and towards teh right is a fern motif. 

This is one "wing" of the shawl while blocking. 

The point on the bottom edge as I was binding off. I finished the shawl this morning while visiting my friend Laura who has a "mini farm" right in the city. The kids had a blast playing and I enjoyed being outside in the fresh air while working on finishing the shawl. 

Close up, unblocked, natural sunlight. 

Shetland Garden Faroese Shawl

Here is a picture of the Shetland Garden Faroese shawl that I am knitting. It is designed by Sivia Harding in British Columbia. http://members.shaw.ca/siviaharding/index.html Her website has some beautiful patterns on it. If you look under kits and follow the links to lace knitting you will find a picture of the finished shawl there.

I began the shawl on Monday August 1, 2005. I am playing "beat the clock" as I want to give this to my cousin Nancy who has Stage 4 Ovarian Cancer. She is a living miracle and one of the most beautiful people I have ever known. Not only is she beautiful on the outside and a stylish dresser, but she is a wonderful Godly woman who sparkles on the inside. Unless we are given a miracle, we may soon be watching Nancy slip into the next stage of the journey of life. My desire is to finish this so that she can wear it for a little while, to be of some comfort. It is light weight but will be warm. And then I desire it to be passed on to her daughter so that she can be wrapped in love, that it may be a comfort to her when she needs one of her Mother's hugs. If you are so inclined, please pray for this family.

I am pleased so far with how it is turning out and of course it will look better when it is blocked and then you will be able to see the trees, flowers and fern motifs. The lace patterns are Shetland in origin and the shaping over the shoulders so that the shawl won't fall off, but fit more like a garment, is Faroese in origin. I think I wrote before that I am using a wonderful Zephyr Wool/Silk in light lavender that was a gift from my Secret Pal on the Ample Knitting list. It has been really nice to work with. I have been able to use my Addi turbo needles without any difficulty. I thought they might be too slick. My bamboo needles in that size were already being used on the lace smoke ring, which is looking really nice too.

It's getting to be what we call "stupid hot" again. That's heat over 102*. DH is going to a River Cats baseball game tonight and I am glad I am not going to sit in the sweltering heat! I'm supposed to be doing more work and organizing around the house but really don't feel too motivated when it is this yucky. This coming week

Here is an unblocked preview of the Shetland Garden Faroese shawl. It is difficult to tell but it is actually a light lavender in color.