in the pink

Posted on Posted in designing, food and garden, lace/shawls, projects, spinning and fiber

this is a new variety of tomato for us, earnie’s plump. really, doesn’t it look more like it should be named earnie’s gut??

i’ve been buried in blocking and paperwork the last couple of days (trying to get the two lacewing patterns completed for the test knitters; poor nan has yarn and no pattern yet, but it’s coming nan!), so actual knitting time has been sporadic at best.

and secret projects are beginning again—i spent about three hours last night swatching for one, and looking longingly at my shawl once in a while . . .
these new secret projects are smaller though, so hopefully won’t garner all my time.

still, i knit a few shawl rows anyway (i am only a few more away from beginning the insect band), and finalized the shape, size and details of the lacewing bug for the insertion above the hem.

it took about nine tries to get it to this point (and then get it charted correctly) but i like it a lot now and the size is in proportion with the rest of the shawl. when i did the swatches i thought i would like a smaller version better, but as the real shawl grows, i see we need the original, larger size. i’m psyched to get it onto the shawl now, and tonight is the night, come hell or high water (oops, better be careful what i say about weather . . .).

i also put in a little quality time the other night with the pink kite socks (here’s one for ya: is a pink kite like a red balloon? just wondering what your take on it is . . . and how about that great sweater the kid has, eh? it is, hands down, my favorite film ever i think).

anyhow, here they are—moving along at a nice brisk pace.

i just love it when inches and inches of sock comes off the needles in the space of practically no time . . . don’t you? totally addictive pattern, totally great TV knitting; i don’t even have to look at anything while working it. i need this in my life right now. thank you david (and—how does he know these things?).

my spinning however, moves along much more slowly. i did not spin ten minutes a day, not even during tour de fleece. i did not meet either goal i set for the tour weeks. i spin on sundays though, and i plan to continue. i’m on my second batch of the merino alpaca top, and must be happy with progress at a slower pace. but progress is something, anyway . . . better than two months ago.

now tomorrow there are two new online ventures with grand openings, so make a note to visit and take a peek (you might see something you like!)

first of all, our friend heather is opening a wonderful online shop, shivaya naturals, where she will sell her naturally dyed fibers (they’re gorgeous!).

click on her name there to go to her blog, or the shop name to do a little drooling—the list of fibers she’s going to carry is astounding. as an added bonus, heather is offering a 10% discount to you if you make a purchase on august 1st or 2nd; simply use the discount code “Shivaya” at checkout.

and as if that weren’t enough, tomorrow is the big, splashy opening day for twist collective—be there or be square.

it promises to be visually terrific, with lots of favorite designers represented—even me.
for now you can still click the link above to play with the interactive teaser page . . .

back to the shawl for a minute . . . i have been working on the rectangle stole version and thought about how many of you liked the name melanzana when i jokingly mentioned it the other day. i really do love my eggplant flowers and leaves

the shapes of which i can totally see in the shawl motifs
then there is the generous fruiting of the plants

we have so many kinds—besides the usual long, dark purple, we have variegated ones

and some cream ones in a different shape

(and i don’t even know what the bangladeshi long ones will look like yet).

i thought i’d celebrate by giving the stole that name. actually, i was thinking of foglio di melanzana (eggplant leaf) or fiore di melanzana (eggplant flower). too long? do we like it better as simply melanzana? what do you think? maybe theresa can even offer a suggestion that rolls off the tongue better?

ok, enough babbling . . i have to get my patterns in shape; nan is waiting (ever so patiently and excitedly, but waiting, still).

33 thoughts on “in the pink

  1. Anne, you are so funny. Your bee swatch is really pretty. I understand how time consuming it is to swatch and write the pattern out at the same time.

    The picture of your bee shawl from yesterday is beautiful. I can’t wait to see it completed and blocked. BTW, I like fiore di melanzana.

  2. I think a pink sock is like a shy red shoe!
    (And yes, I got the reference)
    And I like fiore di melanzana just fine. Or melanzanetta? which adds some affection.

  3. I totally love the final lacewing shape. Excellent non-icky bug-ness. I love the pink sock too. I like how it looks like woven ribbons. I like shawl names I can remember and it’s a plus if I can spell them but I’ll still want them no matter what. Which is good because if not I’d still be trying to remember how to spell “I-something ending in a with an apostrophe somewhere along there” and “S-something looks like that dragon but maybe isn’t”

    You can imagine how I got through “The Hunt For Red October”

  4. Anne, I can’t wait to see the finished shawl!!! I have to add this one to my collection. It’s so unique 🙂 I’d like to ask a question though, when you make swatches (and I really hate making them) do you use an extra skein to make them before digging into your alotted wool? I guess that’s why I hate swatching. I’m afraid I won’t have the correct yardage to knit the project. 🙂 Your fish dish looked out of this world….I had to refrain from licking my monitor…..lolol

  5. I can’t wait for twist collective. I know what one of the patts is since I knit it for the designer, but I can’t wait to see the rest!

    I like the Eggplant Flower one. Even if it’s a bit long, people will naturally shorten it I think.

  6. Looking at all the pictures of your eggplant has me wishing I liked it enough to grow it. Such pretty fruit!

    Very cool insect!

  7. Fiore de melanzana or melanzana are pretty. It’s too bad there’s no Italian translation for lacewing. I love those lovely little lacewings on the shawl, and they’re so helpful in the garden, too.

  8. Oooh, yeah, an Italian name! I’ve never seen The Red Balloon! I’ll make that a priority. I’m loving the sock! Do you think Twist Collective will hold us all? They have no idea what they’re in for tomorrow!

  9. i’m partial to foglio di melanzana myself, but that may be just because i have a fondness for the “gli” sound in foglio…plants are a great inspiration though – i was in my mom’s garden a few weeks ago snipping some dill, noting how lacey it is, and thinking that i need to talk you into designing a ‘dillweed’ shawl…

  10. foglio di melanzana (eggplant leaf) or fiore di melanzana are both brilliant as far as I’m concerned. I’d be tempted to knit it just for the name alone….(besides, we can always give it a nickname – ‘this is my fiore di melanzana shawl/stole….but I call it melanzana for short.’
    It’s lovely.
    Cannot wait for Twist Collective. Really really excited.

  11. The lacewing insects are just perfect — and charming. I like Melanzana, too.

  12. Hmmm. Not just melanza – because I am allergic LOL, but the foglio or fiore would be good. They are gorgeous plants for sure. The lacewing motif has really shaped up! Love the purl squiggle for the bod. Back to Rivolo!

  13. Melanzana. Sounds romantic, but short enough to remember and spell, when recommending the pattern to others.

  14. I really love the shots of your garden – almost as much as your knitting! 🙂 Just beautiful! Those tomatoes look more like pears, never seen anything quite like it.

    I keep looking at blogs where people are spinning and I’m getting the mind to give it a go. All I have is a drop spindle but still…any recommendations on fiber that seems more receptive to all the screw ups a newbie spinner makes?

  15. What bizarre tomatoes — they look like pears! Cool!

    Hey, I just had eggplant for dinner tonight. One of my favorite dozen vegetables, I’d say!

  16. I vote for Melanzana, not too long and it sounds so exotic. I swoon for Italian. sigh

    I absotlutely adore the little buggy! How cute is that! I am gonna have to knit faster just to get to that part. 🙂

  17. I’d vote for “Fiore di melanzana.” Your beautiful, ruffly eggplant blossom so perfectly represents the nightshades–lovely AND a little deadly, like Lucretia Borgia or a fabulous opera diva.

    Is the color of your new sock the tearose one?

    Thanks for the photos that take your readers through the whole season in your garden. I enjoy them almost as much as the knitting.

  18. Holy crap, woman, I go to Vermont for a week and you’ve got half a shawl when I get back? You are a knitting machine! A wonderful and talented knitting machine!

  19. Forgive me for not remembering, but have you knit with Shivaya’s yarn? I noticed she will carry your patterns but I don’t remember if you’ve knit a design in her yarn before.

  20. The pink sock looks wonderful! I’m finishing up the second of a pair of plain vanilla stockinette socks I started months ago. Thankfully, I love the colorway I’m using (a red/rust/orange), but it feels like it is moving soooo slowly because, well…stockinette inch after inch, you know? :} But I’m not letting myself cast on a new, more exciting patterned pair until this one is done.

    And I vote for Melanzana…nice and simple. 🙂

  21. As I told you before, I love the pictures of your
    garden. I forgot what state you live in, but
    your vegetables are so large and lucious. Our
    vegetables never looked like that. I love the
    shawl and I vote for Melanzana. Like the post
    above, it’s beautiful and simple. I think we
    can all get carried away and forget how beautiful
    the simplicity of things can be.

  22. I love the eggplants we have the boring purple ones I really didn’t know there where so many different kinds. I’m glad I’m not the only one that spinning is going slow for. It just seems like there is not enough time for my spinning.

    Love the bug, must have!!!

  23. Your gnarled oakwoods pattern is wonderful! Another project to add to my queue!!

  24. I like fiore di melanzana, too, but maybe could the lacewing name stay around for the faroese version? Because that’s exactly what it’s going to look like — gorgeous lace wings 🙂

  25. I checked out the Twist Collection and it’s fabulous. We can’t have enough knitting magazines. Your shawl is beautiful. I especially liked the bottom scalloped edge and the side edgings. The colour was perfect for the photo setting. I find I am more and more attracted to dark brown, possibly aging is changing my colour preferences.

  26. congrats on the stunning pattern you have in Twist! I spotted it right off.

    and I forgot to mention before how very awesome your lace weight spinning is. I think that is going to be a fabulous yarn!

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