Filigrane Spitzendecken

What luck! 

Occasionally, I shop on The Book Depository website for lace knitting books, and this one popped up today. I hadn't seen it before. It's a new release of a Niebling pattern folio, as of March 10 2015.

Filigrane Spitzendecken

Filigrane Spitzendecken

Publisher: Buchverlag Fuer Die Frau
Language: German
Publication Date: 10 March 2015
ISBN 13: 9783897984790

Collecting Niebling patterns is somewhat of an Easter egg hunt -- it's very exciting to find one you haven't seen before.

This may have been out before, and I just never saw it, but I doubt it. I would appreciate hearing about any upcoming publications of Herbert Niebling patterns.

Izzy's Sweater

My cousin Cara sent me this pic of her baby Izzy (Isaiah Benjamin) wearing the hoodie sweater I made for him.  It's a Rowan pattern called Hazel, knit with 100% washable merino wool from Plymouth . The buttons are Tagua nut (vegetable ivory) from Britex, washable as well.  The little girl is Kate.

So, without further ado, meet Izzy and Kate.

OceanKnitter's Center-Pull Ball Tutorial

I was asked to post a video tutorial of how I make a center-pull ball. This is a handy skill to learn.  If you have a swift and a winder, you probably think that you'll never need to wind a ball this way.  Let me convince you why this is a good skill to learn and know.

1) When you are on a trip away from home, you may not want to bring your swift and winder.

2) When you are riding in a car/plane/train/boat, and you don't have a time or space to set up your equipment, you can drape a skein around your knees and wind a ball by hand. 

3) You can stop midway and finish winding it up later, because it's portable and you don't have to take equipment apart and put it away.

4) Your center-pull ball will be as soft as you'd like.  I often wind with one finger under the yarn wraps, as you'll see in the video.  But you can put no fingers or more fingers under the yarn wraps to make the ball harder or softer.

5) While winding this way, you will find every knot or nub or imperfection in your skein, before you ever start knitting with it.  Better to find out now, rather than in the middle of a long row, that you have a big knot in your yarn.

6) Children who are learning to knit often enjoy making this special center-pull ball that never tangles.

7) You can do it anywhere because you're a super knitter! 

San Mateo County Fair 2014

The San Mateo County Fair's been over for a few weeks, but I'm just getting around to posting the ribbons.  My Balmoral Thistle coffee cloth won a first place blue ribbon and Best of Show - Textiles. 

They did a great job with the displays this year.  It's only $2 to enter an item, and with that, you get two tickets to the Fair and a parking pass.  I hope everyone had a good time at the Fair this year!

Balmoral Thistle

Balmoral Thistle is being blocked for entry in the San Mateo County Fair.

I was concerned near the end that I would run out of thread.  Halcyon Yarn, who produced the 10/2 tencel, no longer carries this weight.  They do have 8/2, a little heavier.  I was so nervous about possibly needing to procure extra yarn, it was giving me agida, as my mom would have said.  I believe this is Calabrese slang for heartburn (acido, or acid). So, as most knitters do when faced with running out of yarn, I knit faster. 

On the last pattern row, I felt a bit of relief, but I still had to crochet off.  I put in a lifeline, just in case, and began the process of crocheting off all those tiny stitches.  I made it to the end with only this little bit of thread left.  I don't think it's enough for even one more round.

Doilies are Something

Someday, you may come across a little crumpled lacy thing.  Maybe you will be digging through the family cedar chest, looking for those special tea towels, and you'll find this weird little curled up lace thing.

You may not know who made it.  But you know it's something.

Long ago, someone finished washing the dishes, put some quiet music on the stereo, and put on her glasses.  She turned on the lamp nearest her chair, and lifted the piece up close to her face to look at the spot where she left off.  Then she pulled a few yards of string from her knitting bag, and knit a few stitches.  She paused and checked the new stitches to make sure they looked right.  Then she knit a few more stitches until she got to the end of a repeat.  The doily looked as it should, so she kept going.  It was going to set on that end table near the sofa.  It would look nice there, under the figurine that she had brought back from Italy.

She kept going until she finished it.  It was lovely, one of the nicest doilies she had made.  She put it in her ironing basket and thought she might block it on Saturday.

But that was long ago, and the doily ended up at the bottom of the family cedar chest. And it stayed there in a crumpled ball, for years.  How many times was the chest opened and closed over the decades?  Hundreds of times?  Yet no one paid any mind to the curly, lacy things at the bottom.  After all, they were nothing -- just some old crumpled up doilies.

The fancy lace tablecloths and matching napkins that were the pride of the German great aunts were passed down with great reverence to the next generation, who remembered the aunts taking them out every year for holiday dinners.  Those stately table linens were sent out to the cleaners after each use and put away lovingly to await the next ceremonial opening of the cedar chest.  Those were something.

But the doilies remained, untouched and unloved for decades -- until someone looked at them and said, those are something.  And then they were blocked and starched and loved.  Yes, they are loved.  Doilies are something.

Sonoma Shawl - Freia Fine Handpaints

It's been a while since I've posted anything to this blog. I seem to post everything on Facebook these days.  But here's something new and knitted by me for Freia Fine Handpaints.  Tina asked me to knit the sample for her upcoming show.  I always love her yarns, and this laceweight is no exception.

The yarn is Ombre Lace, and the colorway is Grapevine.  It suits the lovely Sonoma Shawl, designed by Tina Whitmore for Freia Fine Handpaints.  I used a size US3 Addi turbo lace needle and gauge was just right.

The yarn has a little nylon in it, which would make it a snappy choice for sweaters, socks and gloves, yet, it also blocks beautifully for more elegant designs like this one.  You can judge it for yourself.  The stitches hold their shape well -- if you're a lace knitter like I am, you know how important it is to be able to control the size and shape of every stitch.

Just before I blocked, I dunked it in lukewarm water with a drop of Dawn dish soap for a couple of minutes, and then rinsed with water of the same temperature.  The colors did not run at all, which is quite an accomplishment considering the intensity of the dyes. Very impressive.

Teeny tiny thread

Found in the archives of The Lace Museum in Sunnyvale, 1000 count thread used for tape lace.

I can't imaging even attempting to knit with this, but I would like to look at it in person one day.

I'm trying to decide what to do with my newly acquired 100-weight DMC Cordonnet.  It's burning a hole in my knitting bag.  I need to figure out if I'll have enough to make a bigger table center, or perhaps make a few small doilies.  We shall see.

Evenstar with Blocking Notes

This is Evenstar, a shawl designed by Susan Pandorf.  The yarn is Findley, by Juniper Moon Farm, and I used a size US4 needle.  I first used Findley to knit the baby afghan sample for Tanis Gray on the cover of the first Findley pattern book. The yarn is one of my favorite laceweights.  The wide variety of colors and the yardage are excellent.  I used over 3,000 glass Miyuke seed beads in the edging, knit perpendicularly, joined to the body of the shawl on every other row.

The overall size is 56" diameter.  It is larger than I thought it would be, but I tend to block strenuously to open up the lace.

Blocking Notes:

I soaked the shawl for a few minutes in lukewarm water and a drop of Dawn dish washing soap. I rinsed it in water of the same temperature, and squeezed out the excess water gently (no wringing). I spread it out over a towel, rolled it up like a jellyroll, then squeezed the towel as hard as I could.

I pinned it to a piece of berber carpet I keep rolled up just for blocking big lace items. To make it round, I tied a white piece of yarn to a locking stitch marker and anchored the marker to the shawl's center with a few pins. I tied a knot at the other end of the string, at about 28”, and used it as a compass. First I divided the points into four sections, and I stretched out four individual corner points to the same radius measurement. (The shawl is circular, but when you pull and pin the first four pins, it looks like a square, so I call them corners.)

Then, I pinned every other point in between the four main corner pins, using the white string to keep the same radius. I pinned the remaining points, again using the white string as a radius measurement.

After all was pinned, I adjusted a few of the pins to make sure the points looked even and removed my makeshift compass. I sprayed the whole shawl lightly with water and let it dry overnight.

The next day, when the shawl was dry, I sprayed it lightly with Niagara spray starch and let it dry for a couple of hours with the pins still in it.. I only do this if I know it’s likely I will wash and block the shawl again after using it. If it’s going to be stored, I don’t starch. Starch can cause staining and it also attracts bugs.

To store it or to transport it, I prefer rolling it around a cardboard tube. This helps prevent creases and wrinkles. For very large items, I fold them first in a tablecloth and then roll them around a tube. The whole thing can be then wrapped in tissue paper, the ends of the tissue stuffed in the holes at both ends of the tube.

Marguerite Shimmons' Doilies at Rengstorff House.

Intermezzo, a doily I knitted from a pattern attributed to Herbert Niebling
silk and wool, 2mm needles
Zwei Deckchen Kungstgestrickt, Art No 060 01 0007

Paul and I went to Mountain View on Sunday, May 19, to attend the Lovely Lace exhibit at Rengstorff House in Mountain View.  The exhibit runs through July 24, 2013, and two of my doilies are on display.

Outside in the courtyard were demonstrations of lace and crafts, including bobbin lace, what looked like Chantilly lace, and some other fascinating things like lanyard making and hula hoop rug weaving. Interesting. The idea was to have a family type of event, but most of the people who attended were older, and just a couple of younger people were at the demo tables.

Traffic and Disobedience

Attendance was light, partly due to a major five-car accident that stopped traffic on 101 in both directions.

In addition, Shoreline Amphitheatre was hosting Live105's BFD concert, with about 25 bands and the traffic on Rengstorff and Amphitheatre Parkway was horrendous. 

With about two blocks to go, I was fed up and decided to try something I don't recommend, but it worked.  I turned on my warning flashers, and cut into the opposing traffic lane.  I zoomed down to the stop light where a traffic guard flagged me down to stop.  (Note to my peers: please do not attempt this dangerous maneuver.)

I said with authority, "I'm an exhibitor at Rengstorff House, and I need to get there right away. I'm not going to the concert."

"I'm sorry, I can't let you go. You have to wait in line."

"I need to turn left at the stoplight.  I'm not turning right into the concert."

The traffic guard said tiredly, "Okay, just pretend you work here."

Paul was somewhat impressed with my assertiveness (and that I dared to drive on the wrong side of the road - so unlike me).  "Way to go!"

We met up with Nina and Jane, my fellow knitters, and had lunch at the Lakeside Cafe, just down the road from Rengstorff House.  The cafe has a great brunch menu, and an outdoor seating area adjacent to a manmade lake where local, overweight squirrels wait patiently for visitors to drop french fries. 


Marguerite Shimmons' Doilies

Charles Grant, docent, who dances like Fred Astaire

The Rengstorff House is a wonder, having been rescued from the wrecking ball and moved to its current location.  The house has been fully restored to its Victorian glory.  Thankfully, the docents are a delightful group. Dressed in historic garb, they provided a good bit of information about the restoration and the contents of the oldest house in Mountain View.

But the true reason for my attendance, and the best things I've seen in a long time, were Marguerite Shimmons' doilies.  Marguerite was a lifelong, prolific knitter, who made over a thousand lace pieces in her lifetime.  The Lace Museum in Sunnyvale and Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles in Berkeley have each benefitted by the donation of her lacework. We were very fortunate to see some of her masterworks close-up.  These small works of art, each unique and lovely in its own way, provided us glimpses of perfection usually only seen in museums.

Many of her doilies were knit from patterns designed by Herbert Niebling, a mid-20th-century lace designer extraordinaire. As his designs are becoming more admired by knitters around the world, the patterns are slowly being re-released.  I've made a few, and collected many of his patterns that I hope to knit in the future.  Some of Marguerite's doilies were designed by Christine Duchrow, and some were combinations of multiple patterns, devised by Marguerite herself.

I've used very fine cotton, silk and wool, and even cashmere to make a lace doily. I've not yet used thread as fine as Marguerite Shimmons used.  Her typical thread was 100-weight cotton that is often deployed for tatting and bobbin lace.  Miraculously, her stitch tension is perfect, even in the most complicated patterns.  I've examined these carefully, and her work is exquisite.

Gracie Larsen, founder of The Lace Museum, and The Lacy Knitters Guild of Mountain View are keeping this art alive -- I'm a huge fan and a member of the Guild.  To join The Lacy Knitters and receive the newsletter with patterns and information, please check out the Guild's website.

Nue Mode #5207/5 K44744, 69 rounds, 11" diameter

Die Kleine Diana K1399, 63 rounds, 12.5" diameter

 

Die Kleine Diana K1399, Burda #523, 56 rounds, 10" diameter

Knitted Lace Patterns of Christine Duchrow, vol 2, pattern 54/2 modified, 11" diameter

Two patterns uniquely combined by artist, 14.5" diameter:
Admiration, 37 rounds, combined with
Kunststricken #720/19, 23 rounds

Ambition, 22 rounds center, 40 rows ea for two side wings, 14 round edging, 15" oval

Kunststricken #720, 85 rounds, 12" oblong

Die Kleine Diana K4474, 74 rouinds, 14.5" diameter