Summer Vacation Knitting

Well, it has been awhile since I have written. I teach, so school got in the way. We are now on summer vacation, and I have had some time to knit. I am still recovering from collecting new yarn, but I have refocused on making my own. I have two projects going right now. They are both in the spring 2009 Interweave Knits. I am in the process of finishing the Net Duffle Bag by Vivian Hoxbro. That project was a great way to learn and practice mitered squares. I also am learning the I cord bind off. To comment on the pattern, I forgot to count my squares (note, this might be an important step). Don't count the open squares; make sure that you count the actual squares. I added an accidental row of miters. I don't recommend it unless you really shorten the handle. This is already a large bag. I agree with other knitters who have done this project. Because the bag is so long, the handles may be shortened by half. I did not, so I have an extra long bag. I do love the bag, though. I made it with Linen Isle from Plymouth in a verigated pastel color (pink, light green, lavender, and light blue).

I also am STILL working on the Fountain Pen Lace Shawl. You can follow it in the KAL in Ravelry. I have ripped out the fourth and fifth repeats several times. Thank God for lifelines. You get them in life, why not use them in knitting. Unfortunately, I tempt fate a couple times before adding one. After two repeats and ripping it out, I decided to break down and add one. I also found out it is helpful to add stitch markers by every repeat, FYI. I am in the process of doing this, and I hope it will make counting and finding mistakes much easier. Once I finish my bag, I will be back on that. I love Lorna's Laces Helen's lace. I am using it in the color watercolors. I bought it originally because my late mother-in-law was named Helen, so it has some sentamentality to it. After this project, I hope I still love to knit lace. I think I need to get some lace needles. My Harmonies are OK, but I think the lace needles may help with the process.

Spinning news: I am also spinning some yarn. I made some worsted, rainbow color yarn from 8 oz blue faced leicester top from Frabulous Fibres. It is very nice material, and the yarn is very nice and squishy (yes, this is a technical term, OK I may be stretching it). I cannot wait to knit it. I also spun up a ball of roving I bought last summer at Wool, Warp, and Wheel in Richmond, IL. It was a mystery blend, but it is purple with firestar mixed in. The artist then added turquoise, yellow, and red to the purple before making the roving. It was about 6 3/4 oz. I really enjoy that yarn as well. I am not sure on the yardage on either one, but I will measure it on the McMorran balance to get an approximation. I am working on cleaning a cotswold fleece right now as well. I will experiment on dyeing this summer and see what results I get.

As you can see, there are a lot of fun things going on at my house. I hope you find time to enjoy what you are doing for the summer. I will try to update the blog more often.

I hope to add pictures soon, once I figure it out.