Recent Knitting

Well I finally have some knitting to post about...that sweater I have been working on since last summer. Or not working on, how ever you want to look at it! I am finally working on the a sleeve. Nearly finished on the first sleeve:

This yarn is some yarn I bought on line and it was made in China so I couldn't read the ball band but a woman I know from Taiwan said that it was 100 % wool and it was a great price. It has been nice to knit with too.

Here is a close up of the pattern.

The next thing I have been working on is a tale in itself! I have been involved in the Madison Knitter's Guild "Brown Bag Exchange" a couple of times. How it works is that they choose a theme such as Hats or One Skein Projects and then you choose some yarn and put it in a brown paper bag (or whatever bag you happen to have) and take it to the second meeting of the season. (Madison's Guild runs from September to May.) Then you knit something within the guide lines and bring it back in May and give it to the person who first brought the yarn!

Right after I got my yarn last year I had a hysterectomy and found out that I had cancer! Well, needless to say, I put the yarn away and NEVER THOUGHT OF IT until March when I started to wonder where had I put that bag???? I didn't have the strength to dig around in my attic or closet looking for it. I asked my son to look but you know how that is..."I can't find it!" was all I heard.

I figured that I remembered the yarn pretty well. It was Noro Silk Garden and Kureyon. And I thought I remembered the colors pretty well too. So I went out and bought more of the same so I could at least get started on the bag. Noro is not cheap in any way shape or form! But this is the price I paid for what we survivors call "cancer brain." If you loose it, you have to replace it!

The next day I was complaining to my husband about how much Noro costs, and even though it is imported from Japan, and the colors are REALLY nice, that I hated to have to buy more of something I knew was in our house somewhere. My Dear Husband Joe went up in the attic and I swear TEN MINUTES later, he found the yarn!

Now in my defense, there were other things on top of the yarn in the bag, but I should have noticed the number on the bag! Dead giveaway...Oh well it all turned out just fine and here is a picture of the bag (just hoping that my exchange person doesn't read this blog. If you do, please don't look at this, OK?)

I actually have more pictures to post but I will save them until tomorrow so I don't overwhelm your computers today!

Talk to you tomorrow,

Lynda

Ahhh. A man with a sharp wit. Someone ought to take it away from him before he cuts himself.
Peter da Silva

Madison Knitters' Guild for April 2007

I just got the notice that my copy of this book has been mailed. I am so excited.



From Terri Shea's website:


Selbuvotter details the history of Selbu knitting, as reflected in the now-iconic black and white star patterned mittens of Norway. I offer thirty patterns for Selbu mittens and gloves, taken from two antique collections: The Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle, and Annemor Sundbø, author of "Everyday Knitting" and "Setesdal Sweaters".
A rare occurrence in textile history, the Selbu knitting style can be traced to a single individual; in this case a teenage girl knitting up in the hills while watching the cows graze in summer. Selbu knitting was done for export within and from Norway. Many of the old knitters have passed away, but there are less than a dozen still knitting professionally in Selbu. The story is so interesting; not only in the folk culture traditions that surround the patterns but also in the remarkable business success these couple thousand women enjoyed. Every aspect of business today can be found in the story of Selbu knitting: the vision, production, standardization, outsourcing, branding, marketing, advertising, exporting, the changing tastes of the market, failure, and reemergence. And above it all, thousands of women and men, knitting during any spare moments.
And on top of that are the gorgeous patterns themselves. The Selbu mitten is a masterpiece, marrying the graphic design and structural design inseparably together; once the basic structure is understood, the knitter can create any kind of design imaginable, in any size or yarn. The popular 8 pointed star (selburose, or Selbu rose) can morph into snowflakes, flowers, stars; or use animal motifs or other designs.
8.25" x 10.625" - 128 pages - black and white - perfect bound (paperback)





This ties in with last night's Madison Knitters' Guild meeting. They presented a wonderful program on knitting in Estonia by Sandy De Master and Mary Germain. Sandy and Mary are avid color knitters and teach at Sievers on Washington Island every year. They knit fair isle type garments with a focus on Scandinavian and Baltic knitting. They did a seminar/tour of Estonia a couple of years ago and shared their trip (with slides!) with us last night. It was a delightful trip and had us all wishing we could have gone too. Except for the sleeping on foam mats part it sounded very exciting. Someday I too hope to do something like this trip. Our friend Mary M. did a Scandinavian Knitting tour a few years ago and she has always made it sound truly inspiring...


Also one of the vendors, The Yarn House (940 Elm Grove Rd., Elm Grove, WI 53122; 262 786-5660) had the cutest little sock yarn monkey knit up, and I am told the pattern will be posted in their next newsletter!
Here is a picture of my newest project-a cushion cover done in intarsia. My first try at knitting with little bobbins of yarn, ever! The diamonds are in three colors and the back will be stripes of the colors. Dark purple, mauve, lighter blue and then the smooth blue to hold it all together. I am interested to see how the yarn lays after some blocking. It isn't as smooth as I would like so far but I always have faith in blocking!
Oh, and Frederick is modeling with the knitting.
Handsome fellow, I think.

My mom said that my sister Ann's surgery-scheduled for Tuesday next week-will involve injecting some kind of tracking dye and then scanning her tissue to find out if there is any lymph node involvement in cancer cells and that will determine how radical the surgery will have to be. My other sister Jeanne and my mother will go up to Green Bay for the surgery. And we will just stand by and pray here. I am pretty stressed by this-can't stand to think that it might now be the best possible outcome. Keep thinking the good thoughts and sending up the prayers, OK?
Lynda
Exit, pursued by a bear.
-- William Shakespeare, Stage direction in "The Winter's Tale"