Let There Be Light

On Friday I went to the post office to pick up the latest custom spindle I had Tom from Golding Fiber Tools make for me. This one is a 2" whorl and it has the regular brass ring. It only weighs .72 oz or approximately 20 grams. Like all Golding spindles it spins like a dream and I just love it. I've been trying to get spindle spinning time in since it's been forever since I touched the wheel. I've got to get a better chair that I can use when I am at the wheel. We bought a new recliner but it doesn't work very well with the wheel so I'm looking for something. In the meantime, I've got lots of spindles so I'm having some fun with them. Yesterday I rotated between the 3 custom Goldings I have. I have some merino in a brown colourway that I bought from the Purple Purl on the Lighthouse. I have some hand carded fibre on the Unicorn and I have some alpaca (I think) on the Snowy Owl spindle. I'll probably finish the fibre on the unicorn first because there isn't that much of it.

On the knitting front I still have not finished the scarf I am working on but I have been knitting. Remember when I had startitis? Well I had knit the first sock past the heel and about halfway through the cuff when I realized I didn't like the way it looked. I knew I would never knit the second sock so I frogged the entire thing and started another sock at our last Snb on Tuesday. This pattern is called Coral Reef Socks and it's a free pattern I found on Ravelry. I wasn't sure about this pattern at first but I am liking it now. I'm knitting, as usual, from the toe up and I should get the first sock done today.

Tomorrow I hope to get to The Purple Purl to see Kate Jacobs. She's the author of the Friday Night Knit Club books. We're back in the deep freeze around here but at least it was sunny yesterday and today. It is supposed to be sunny tomorrow as well so I should be a go for the drive there.

Next weekend is the Downtown Knit Collective's workshop weekend and on Saturday I am taking a class on Japanese patterns. I am really looking forward to it. I just hope the weather will be alright because if I can get to Romni after class that's what I want to do. It's been forever since I was there.

I Cry UNCLE!!

I know that Canada is referred to as "The Great White North," but this is rediculous already. Last winter we had the snowiest winter in 70 years. You'd think after that we might get a break this winter? Oh no, not this winter!! Yesterday I read this article. According to that article we have already been dumped on with 115 cm of snow. That's more than we usually get all winter. February and March are still to come and historically they are the snowiest months of the year. So we might break the all time record for snow this winter after coming oh so close last winter. I can only hope it doesn't mean this summer will be as wet as last summer.

This is what it looked like outside my in-laws' house on Sunday. We got even more snow last night. It all looks so pretty but I don't like having to drive in it or try to walk around in it.



On the knitting front, I am almost finished with the Moon Dance scarf I am making from some yarn I started a LONG time ago. I blogged about it here but other projects got in the way and it got lost in the UFO pile. DH handed me a bag 2 weeks ago and guess what was inside? I was just about finished with the Magickal Earth shawl so I decided it would be a great time to finally finish this up. I'm on the second border now and will have pictures when it's done.

I am not quite sure what is going on but last night when I finished the first border I turned the scarf around to start the second border and there was a HOLE in the scarf. This is the SECOND project I've had this problem. AGAIN it was a rip in the yarn. I promise, from now on there is no such thing as a scissor in the Go Knit bag when I have a WIP in it. I actually think I know what happeend in this case and it is my own stupidity. Now that I think back, I had a spot in the yarn that was a bit fuzzy and I ignored it. I am now thinking it must have been some sort of a knot and it let go. Anyway, the hole is fixed and, if I do say so myself, I have a difficult time finding it. I hope it will stay that way when I am done blocking.

All Dressed And Just Loverly

The shawl is all dressed and it is gorgeous beyond my wildest dreams except one thing. I used the method that Sandy describes in her book to block the shawl and boy am I glad I did. I tied crochet cotton through all the points and then soaked the shawl and stretched it out over the bed. This method is really a lot easier than putting pins in every point. It saved my back.

Remember in my last post I mentioned something was worrying me about blocking? I didn't want to say it out loud because I was afraid that would make it happen. Well it didn't help. It sort of happened anyway. I was afraid I would have a dropped stitch somewhere and end up with this huge hole. What happened was this. While I was stretching out the shawl I noticed a hole in the border. I quickly took one of the coilless safety pins I had and made sure everything was secure and then finished blocking. When the shawl was dry I attempted to repair the damage. Well it turns out it wasn't a dropped stitch at all but a tear in the yarn. I have no idea how it happened. I think it was in 2 places because I had 4 ends and not just two. Well there wasn't much I could do to except try to fix it. I tied all 4 ends and used another end of yarn to make sure the hole was sealed and secure. This is the final result. Obsessive me wants to reknit the whole shawl because of this and maybe give this one away so I don't have to look at it. Crazy true but I am not kidding either.

Here are the rest of the pictures. It really did come out better than I could have dreamed. Now why did the damn thing have to tear?


A woman on Ravelry asked me if the pattern could be used as a tablecloth because she doesn't wear shawls. So I took a picture with the shawl on the table. I think it would make a very nice tablecloth but I would have to use cotton.

The unicorn is the reason I wanted to do this pattern to begin with. I have other filet crochet charts I would like to try to knit with this method but oh to find the time.

I changed the way the center is from the pattern as written. I didn't like the way the written instructions looked so I did a simple eyelet pattern that I saw someone mention on Ravelry. I am very pleased witht he way it looks.

Pure Magick

It's really difficult to believe that the last time I posted was December 22nd. I have been consumed with trying to get this shawl finished. Well I took the sts off the needle about an hour ago. The shawl isn't blocked yet but I wanted to get some pictures anyway. The pattern is the Magickal Earth shawl. It's designed by Sandy Terp and so far I am pleased with the way it looks. I had a few year disasters but I'll tell all about that after the blocking.

I changed the way I did the moon section because I didn't like the way the pattern looked as written. I'll decide when it's blocked if I would do the same thing again. Now that this one is done I expect I'll find the one I started and misplaced anytime now.

I also made another change because I thought there was a mistake in the chart for the mountain and sky but I think I might like this way better.

The unicorn in this pattern is the reason I had to knit this shawl in the first place. I am a unicorn collector and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to make a shawl with a unicorn.

Now to get it blocked. I hope to do that either tomorrow or sometime this weekend.