lace is everywhere . . . a rather sad example courtesy of the japanese beetles descending on our yard in droves (actually our whole area has been completely overtaken with them now; this is nothing compared to some neighborhoods).
they are a veritable factory of lacemakers in fact—look at them go.
i can’t help being awed and impressed—so fine, so intricate. so mad at myself.
we have a large can of milky spore (which kills the grubs that grow into the beetles) which we should have spread over our whole lot last fall. but we were fiendishly racing to get the house trim done in time to get storm windows installed, and when that was done, it immediately snowed, even before all the leaves fell. arrrgh.
and they love my climbing hydrangea best it seems
this year we have a firm early-fall date with our lawn and a mechanical spreader. milky spore works very well i’m told (and better if you can get your neighbors to do it, too). so fingers crossed for next year.
in another part of the yard things are looking much happier
there are SO many stargazers this year . . i’m a bit taken aback, but thrilled.
thank you all so much for your input on the swatches i showed the other day. you pretty much confirmed my own thoughts and now i have a game plan for the shawl and stole.
the shawl will be the simpler composition, possibly with the far-left vertical insertion used as the back panel. what do you think of that idea? do you prefer the back panel to continue the same as the sides? (that’s my last question about it, i swear). it could look like a trellis up the back or sorta like pea vines climbing there . . .
the insect band will go around the entire bottom edge, followed by the primrose lace edging. possibly the insect band will be mirrored so that they all fly toward the center back, but i just might make them fly in the same direction all the way around (i haven’t decided yet which is more whimsical).
the rectangle stole will have the deep band at the hem ends with the edging below and the insect band above; the center of the stole will be in the fern lace body stitch.
something like this. i’ll use the far left vertical insert for the deep band. it’s probably really confusing to everyone right now but i have it all organized in my head (yeah, my head—so organized).
so while i make a pattern and think about the final details (and i need to swatch a more refined insect, too). i decided to start a couple other small projects since i have no scarves and only one nearly-finished sock on the needles now.
i want a new scarf project and i want to use this yarn that stephanie at spritely goods passed off to me at TNNA. it’s a beautiful lavender-gray that looks like sea glass.
last night i knit a swatch in the far right stitch from the deep band of the big shawl swatch (got that?), which has the feeling of a celtic knot, but lighter and more open than a cable would be
i was very tired though and had to stop just before the bindoff (ok, i admit it—i fell asleep). i’m not completely sold on this combination yet; i want to try a few other things to compare. you never know—there might be something even better out there.
still thinking about the next sock and haven’t made any decisions yet—i have plenty of yarn and stitch choices and am expecting two of them to crash into each other in my mind soon in way that makes me just run to the needles to get started.
but so far, nada. it’s only been a couple of days though, so no worries. with my luck, four combinations will occur all at once and you won’t hear from me for a week.
while that is brewing i did start something i’ve been toying with and saving for a treat. i have about 100-and-something yards of leftover niji from the elm row scarf.
i hate having that many yards of leftover luxury yarn just sitting there on the coffee table, don’t you? (i know—simple solution—put. it. away . . . but i can’t).
so i immediately thought that i might be able to squeeze a little pair of mitts from it. since i have a few other projects off my plate, i started it the other night.
i know—it doesn’t look like anything. and 100 yards for a pair of mitts?? heh, we’ll see. i do have all my swatches . . . i could plunder those if i need to.
i know i could start this project with a fresh skein, but the point here is to see if i can get the scarf AND mitts from a single skein, and use up every last bit. like i don’t have other things to do (such as spray the entire yard for japanese beetles).
ah well, such is my life and my motivation.
now. i have to go pick up my new computer glasses, get a haircut, sign insurance papers, and then get some work done today, so i better hop to it.
34 thoughts on “bugs all around”
Those beetles are like a plague of locusts. I hope you can find something that will control them, before they consume your entire vegetable crop. If that happened, we wouldn’t get any more luscious garden photos. 🙁
Oh, no! Your poor hydrangeas. 🙁 Nasty bugs. The lace they make is pretty, but I’m not sure it’s worth it. Well, it is to *them*…
Oh, your poor garden! 🙁 I feel terrible about all your well-tended plants turning into lace. Plants aren’t supposed to become lace… that’s yarn’s job!
But I am intrigued by the possibility of new lace mitts (almost typed ‘new lace sleeves’–ha! Are you an EC fan too? 😉 )
WE fought those darn beetles when we lived in Wisconsin. They devour everything!! We had traps that we set out all over the yarn=5 or 6 of them, containing a hormone the beetles couldn’t resist. Expensive yes, but they sure did the trick. Of course, the downside is the beetles smelled the hormone for blocks.
Love the new shawl pattern. Can’t wait, as usual.
Wow! That’s amazing and sad how fast and how much damage those beetles can make. Your stargazers are soooo pretty! And your shawl is gorgeous! 🙂
Thank you so much for including a picture of the beetles. We have the same ones eating everything in site. Over the last 2 years they already killed one tree and now they’re working on 2 more (dogwood and a Japanese maple). Hubby is on his way to the store now to buy sprays and stuff. Good luck!
Pick up “Sevin” at your nursery, big box or hardware store. It’s good for Japanese beetles, fleas, etc.
P.S. it’s pronounced “seven”.
Oh PLEASE make the bugs mirrored. It would really mess with my sense of order otherwise. 😉
Nasty bugses. We hates them.
I like your celtic lace idea. Pretty please do that? And I know exactly how you feel about the left over yarn. I’d make little wristlets even if I couldn’t get full mitts out of it. Or better yet, wristlets with a triangle over the back of the hand and a loop for the middle finger to go through. Kinda like a yarn “slave bracelet” look.
WOW, that first photo! The first thought that crossed my mind was: why did she choose to put all her new shawl swatches on that plant and photograph it like this?!? seriously.
oh goodness. I’m so sorry to see the devestation those beetles are wreaking upon your yard! All that lace sure is pretty though (the knitted kind – the eaten leaves are pretty, but in a very um sad and depressing manner).
Hope you enjoy working with the yarn 🙂 glad to see it make its way onto your needles! I’m really excited – I have some of that Niji / Mooi on its way 🙂
My Crape Myrtle looks crepey. The Crab Apple tree looks crabby. They are never sleeping, eating machines!! Nasty little buggers!
But they do leave the lilies alone, thank goodness.
Yours look beautiful.
Can’t wait to see the new shawl design. Pea pods sound good to me!!
Wow! Look at those beetles go! I lost my battle of the bug. My zucchini succumbed, but we fought to the bitter end. I still have tomatoes, though. I am grateful for the farmer’s market.
I seriously enjoy following your design process. Thank you for being so open. I am currently knitting the Honeybee stole (I am a late bloomer) and it makes me appreciate how you put the stitch patterns together.
Those miserable bugs have been after my peace rose. I’ve been knocking them off into a coffee can half filled with soapy water, but I can’t get all of them. Time to break out the sprayer with water & Murphy’s Oil Soap mix.
If you are going to do a Faroese style shawl then perhaps the lacewings could go up the center? Perhaps a rabble of smaller lacewings flying up the back? Offset?
Ok, so I like the lacewing pattern.
i am a big fan of bilateral symmetry. for whatever that may be worth…
My first thought when I saw the leaves was “Oh, how pretty.” Then I realized what I was really looking at. Yikes!
Aggghhhh, beetles!!!! Yes, they make lace, but boy are they devastating!
Icky bugs…at least the flowers are still pretty!
We have those beetles too. I hear them hitting my patio window at night. Love the shawl! I’ve got some Woolen Rabbit Sweet Pea lace yarn that I may have to “tag” for it! Going to Midwest Folk and Fiber Fest this weekend. Chris is going to be there. She’s hopefully holding some more Grace yarn for me to do more Luxor socks. I’m anxious to meet her finally.
I’m so sorry about the beetles 🙁 That’s just bad news (although very nice lacework…) I love the way the swatches are coming together — this is going to be a stunner!
so many new projects! i can’t seem to find time to work on even one…(and i have plenty to choose from – startitis has hit hard.) i’m definitely intrigued by the insect shawl, though.
i know my mom’s complained about the japanese beetles this year, even though she used milky spore last fall, but in my personal observation our yard isn’t as bad as yours, so it must have worked and we’re just getting the neighbors’ beetles.
ACK, it’s the “B” word. Those pesky little creeps wreeked HAVOC on my pepper plants. So far, they have left my tomatoes alone (whispering). UGH 🙁 I HATE them. We have been scooping them out of my father-in-laws pool by the HANDFULS, no kidding, they are a MESS. Even Miss Priss who REFUSES to “kill any of God’s creatures because they are part of nature” has been smooshing them. I also must say that I am quite smitten with the lace, it’s so pretty, looks to complicated for me 🙁 but AWSOME to admire. okie dokie, time to water.
Your idea of a back panel of traveling vines seems a perfect complement to the fern lace and the edgings. To me, the fern lace pattern looks upside down, but maybe I’m the only one who sees it that way. I’m looking forward to more!
Sorry about the beetles. 🙁
Anne, really, how do you do it all? Do you ever sleep? Will you come organize my life? Please? 😉
Sorry about the beetles! It took me a second or two to realize what that first photo was all about! The new swatches are fantastic; I don’t think you can go wrong no matter how you combine them, although I’d like to cast another vote for bilateral symmetry. Sorry to have been away for a few days and not commented on the finished scarves before now—both beautiful of course!—we’ve had computer issues but they seem to be resolved now.
The milky spore does really really work. The kind we had wasn’t supposed to be spread with a spreader though, so make sure you check the label. I think they do have a spreader-friendly kind now so you may have that. My climbing hydrangea was always the favorite food too.
Okay the first photo made me think “Oooohhh but its kind of pretty…”
The second photo? Made me squeal like a little girl and want to smack the screen to smoosh all those bugs dead for you! Sheesh, there are a lot of them and the look kind of wicked!
Hope they leave you alone, what a bummer that they are eating your plants.
I’m really interested to see you work on a faroese shawl. Having a panel within the triangle opens up a whole new set of design ideas.
Does a faroese shawl sit better over the shoulders?
I love the primrose edge. Wow, it’s terrific.
Beetles arg! So destructive in the garden- I’ve been lucky this year. Try the Milky Spore. We’ve used it with some success. The benefits are realized several years after the initial application. Must be reapplied 3-5 times in a row to be effective. And it’s harmful to nothing but the beetle grub.
Sevin is rather toxic to bees and there’s been lots of controversy regarding it being a carcinogen too.
Another alternative I found today was this:
http://www.gardensalive.com/product.asp?pn=2877
Ooops- this was the link I wanted to show you:
http://www.gardensalive.com/product.asp?pn=5000
Wow, those Japanese beetles are impressive lacemakers! They should put their amazing powers to more constructive uses, though… You can look at what they’re doing to your garden and still be able to knit bugs in your lace? You’re a strong woman!
Their climber was so skilled it made taking down the diseased tree look easy. We have had some real winners?!?!?
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