Archive for August, 2008

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fiore di melanzana

Saturday, August 30th, 2008

here’s some eggplant anyone would enjoy, and no cooking to do—just pretty flowers and leaves shimmering along its length. it even has a few insects thrown in for authenticity.

shown here: size tall in knitting notions classic merino lace yarn, colorway thyme (just one of many desirable color choices).

to purchase pattern or view complete pattern information, please click here to visit the product page in the knitspot pattern shop.

and now, for those who haunt luxury lingerie shops and secretly wish that underwear was for wearing on the outside, vanessa has your number

the petite size shown here in black zephyr silk/wool 2/18 lace weight.
sigh. how sexy is that??

it’s practically illegal—vanessa, you vixen, you!

much thanks to catherine (ravel her!) for her generous yarn support, enthusiasm, and test knitting.
vanessa knit that sexy little black stole and provided life-saving hands when i couldn’t spare my own; thanks for your ever-helpful and willing presence vanessa!
hattie, another champion test knitter and frequent commentor here really came through with helpful input and a new twist (she added beads to hers!)
as always, many thanks to rachel for her extra effort is getting this one out while visiting overseas.
and to david, who provides us with fine, fun photography.

ok, let’s look at more pictures!

Posted in lace/shawls, patterns | 39 Comments »

my stole-n heart

Friday, August 29th, 2008

i blocked out fiore di melanzana yesterday and wow—i loo-o-o-ve it. don’t tell the shawl i said this but . . . i think i might even love the stole better. who knew?

the fabric in this colorway is shimmery-looking and shows off the texture quite a bit

and the join—vanessa really came through in helping to work that out . . . i went through several iterations on paper before she worked out just the right solution in practice (i wasn’t knitting this piece so i relied on her hands to guide me through this part). then the other test knitters confirmed that it’s a great segue between the two stole halves

i sat in via telephone from austin while she held the piece in her hands and related the blow by blow so we could work on it “together”. you know, that was a moment when technology really shone. the only thing better would have been to use mutual video IM but i don’t think she has it. and don’t think it isn’t lost on me that technology saves the day for my low-tech knitting more times that i can count.

and now for the long shot

this is the tall size stole knit up from four skeins knitting notions classic merino lace, colorway thyme (for this stole we used just under four skeins—about 1500 yards; your mileage may vary).
we’ll do modeling shots over the weekend (it’s still a bit damp, the weather is awfully humid after that rain).

so you like that?? because there’s more . . . vanessa knit hers up in black zephyr wool/silk and i’ve been sitting on these pictures for a while but, oh MAN, did i ever want to shout about it.

is it not stunning? . . . you should see it on.
well, you will see it on—in a couple of days. definitely worth waiting for.

honestly when you put this one against the skin—WATCH out. you will stop traffic in it, i’m not kidding.

but i know that has no affect on you—you want to see the join, right?

vanessa knit this petite size stole using about 1200 yards of zephyr silk/wool.
so yeah, we will do photos over the weekend. rachel has pulled the proofreading out of the hat for us all the way from isreal while simultaneously preparing for her return to the U.S. (many many thanks rachel, i mean it!). so we are just about set to launch it, yay.

maybe kim in san diego expressed it best.

hehe. that’s what happens when you take something out of context . . . actually, the note came with a present she sent me—a little talisman from her recent trip to nepal, which i adore. even kade said to her, “you gotta get that for anne” (how much do we love kade??).

now i just need to get david to build a fiber cabinet for it. heh.

Posted in designing, lace/shawls | 27 Comments »

too many secrets

Thursday, August 28th, 2008

you know that guy across the street who does up his house with fab decorations during the fall and winter? well, as much as i enjoy our quirky views during that time, i don’t say often enough how nice it is to live across from him all summer. bret and his wife connie take excellent care of their yard, indulging it with every extra bit of attention they can think of. and because they are so very nurturing of it, they are rewarded with a profusion of flowers and healthful plants (unlike some people we know . . .). when we got back from our trip the other day, david went over to chat and came home with this perfect hydrangea stem. isn’t it lovely? and flawless??

it really smacks me on the forehead with the realization that my slapdash methods of zipping into and out of the garden most days, giving it a lick and a promise, are not working well for us. hmm. i have too many things going on—next year i gotta set some priorities.

anyway, enough self-castigation on that subject; after all, the garden is failing now and there’s not much to do about it. better to put my energy into planning a better approach next year.
it is, however raining today, which is an occasion for celebration.

i know this is not even close to being joyous tidings for our new england friends, but boy howdie, do we need it here. we’ve not had but two rainfalls since the fourth of july, i think, and one was accompanied by devastating hail, so that hardly counts as helpful. things were really REALLY dry—it hurt just to look at the yard. and then yesterday we had a good soaker—an all-day rain. today it is intermittent but still wet and overcast.

and some of us couldn’t be happier.
even though the tomaotes are dying off i’m still picking some

not enough to last us the winter but every quart helps. i’m going to scavenge at the farmer’s market this weekend to see if i can get a bushel for the freezer. it will surely be efficient—i can put them all up at once and get that job done.

ok, so i’m still drowning in secret projects and have no public knitting i can show you. how pathetic is that? i am knitting my fingers off and can reveal nothing. i didn’t even start a scarf for the blog yet because really, why muddle things up with more WIPs? if i put my head down and plow on, i might have all these little secrets done in a few days—progress is very good and they are coming off the needles pretty quickly, so i’m confident.

i do however have someone else’s knitting that is so spectacular i really must show it off

i got melanzana back from our wonderful test knitter and it’s perfect. oh my—i just love it in the thyme colorway—i bet catherine will squeal when she sees it, too.

and here’s a detail shot of our favorite part. it’s soaking now in a warm bath and i’m going to block it before everyone gets here for class today, yay. looks like we are zeroing in on the pattern proofing too, so i’m hoping for a labor day release, yay.

ok, now, i’m intent on sticking to a tight schedule so as to have all blogging back to normal by next week, so i’m gonna skedaddle . . . more tomorrow.

Posted in designing, lace/shawls, projects | 20 Comments »

hudson valley trip

Tuesday, August 26th, 2008

lace is everywhere—detail of handmade fence at Olana, home of frederick church, greenport, NY

our time here in the hudson valley has just flown by—hence the lack of blogging. we’ve had very little time unoccupied by visiting, partying, and sight seeing on this trip. which is good; we needed a break from computering.

the weather has been spectacular the whole time we’ve been here, featuring clear, hot days and cool nights that tell us fall is coming. and there are other signs that the season is changing

as we neared our destination last friday, i began to spot trees with changing colors and tried to get a good shot for the blog, with mixed success. i’m sure the novelty will wear off soon enough.

i actually have gotten lots of knitting done this weekend, mostly late at night . . . i have two pair of socks nearly finished and a third about half done. i didn’t start knitting the scarf though . . . i got kinda caught up in the socks.
maybe in the car on the way home today (i can’t believe we’re heading home already, sigh).

we went to a landmark birthday party saturday and then my nephew arrived sunday so we goofed off with him quite a bit while my mom went on a firled trip that day (much sushi was consumed in her absence).
yesterday we had a great field trip to hudson, NY where my cousin lynn (a knitter) lives. she took us on a little walking tour around town

which is famous for its historic sites and beautiful scenery

as well as its antique shops, art, and offerings of good food and relaxation

yesterday we enjoyed a public art installation all along washington street that made use of previously-existing sites for parking meters to display a series of dog sculptures, each by a different artist. the button one was a favorite, along with the one painted in houndstooth check which i couldn’t photograph because my camera battery ran out.

this tiny lighthouse seems dwarfed where it sits in the middle of the hudson, which runs very wide at this point upstream (it is still in a tidal zone).

we ate a terrific lunch in town, restored a fresh battery to the camera, and then headed out to olana, the home of frederick church, an prominent member of the hudson river painters.

the park grounds are open to the public every day, and though the house was closed yesterday, there was still plenty to take in. the views to the river take your eyes over meadows, gardens, and woods that provide a reflective natural setting for walking, reading, and relaxation.

the house, on the other hand, is a weird and wonderful mix of victorian/persian architecture and detail that can only have been conjured by a human brain

it is a complete and unabashed study in “i like this and i want it on my house”. and it is all so beautifully wrought; who could argue?

persian tile work and painted decoration mixes with stone and wood construction to create a bizarre bazaar effect

i was especially taken with this series of broad-striped awnings juxtaposed with shaped windows and colorful tile borders.

the windows and doorways everywhere are incredible, not just for their colors and shapes, but for what is reflected in them—beautiful compositions of sky, trees, and water.

and then suddenly all that business is broken by one strong element that resonates with quietude and powerful stillness. interesting, right?

after olana we headed back to my mom’s for a big dinner with family and friends. and today we are heading back home—i can’t believe five days have gone by so fast (and, sorry for the scanty posting during that time; i’ll be back on track this coming week.)

see you back in ohio . . .

Posted in book reviews/events, projects | 29 Comments »

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