Stranded

I know that you will understand the feeling as I write about an WIP of mine that has been just waiting for me to pick her up again.  It was a gift from my parents when they lived back at the house; which should tell you how long ago that was.

I saw the Sipalu Bag at Knitpicks and I fell in love.  I'm the kind of Aries that jumps into everything with cannons blazing and only when I am knee-deep in chaos do I stop to ponder my actions.

This kit came with 16 balls of Palette which were all so lovely to look at and I pet them lovingly...and that was it.  After reading over the instructions I put the kit away.  Yep, that's me...or was me...but I digress.

Now and again I would pull out my kit and then I would find a reason to not knit it and back into the recesses of my UFOs it would go.

In 2011 I had played with Fair Isle a bit on my own; as I do most things, and enjoyed it enough to take a foray into "the kit".  This time I looked at the Fair Isle as an adventure and created a provisional cast on and began to knit Fair Isle.

Now mind you I moved balls back and forth to strand and switch colors but my strands or floats on the back looked pretty good and my fronts did too.  I was pretty darn proud of myself and knit the entire sideband.  Now, all that moving of balls had become second nature and I could switch those colors pretty fast.  I breezed through the little side welt and cast on my 4th side provisional and began to knit the bag itself.

About six rows after the welt in I dropped two stitches and put them on lock ring markers and put "the kit" away.

And then it was excuses and this and that and really I didn't remember why I had stopped knitting, but I was constantly reminded of "the kit" because the bag of yarn is right by where I place my purse.

Fast forward to 2013 and I finally take a two-handed, two stranded knitting class in Fair Isle.  Now there were no more excuses.  I teach picking up stitches; I can handle some drops and I pick them up easily making sure the color sequences follow and I am back to knitting.  No more ball moving; I just knit with a color in each hand and strand as I go. The whole thing flows without effort.  I am back in the game.

My goal is to knit on "the Two Side of Me" as I now will call her, at least once a week,  This is only the bag front that I'm currently working on.  And it still needs to be blocked.  There is still a back and a top and a cord of some sort to tie it all together.  So I have a ways to go but that is okay.

I decided on that name because I will knit the other side in the opposing color chart that they included.  I liked them both and I thought why not?  Not sure how I will do the welt yet...but that is a long...long...way off.

I have an FO to share as well.  Here is the brioche scarf all posed and looking very Halloweeny IMHO.  This was a really fun project and I hope to make lots more.

Have a beautiful day,
Ruinwen
:)

P.S.  Thank you for all your kind comments regarding Mom; they mean more then words can convey.  She passed in her sleep last night; she went peacefully into the next world where Dad was waiting for her.

Can You Hear the Mice Singing?

You know that scene in the Disney cartoon of Cinderella where the mice are putting together a dress and singing along...that is what went through my head as I worked on this scarf.  If you haven't heard it then here is a link.

The gist is the two sisters throw away a sash and some pearls because they are so last season.  The mice pick them up and create something absolutely stunning for Cinderella.

I have three yarns that have been thrown away by my friends and I'm going to call them Cinderella yarns.

The first culprit was quite a trouble maker.  Her sister skein had been wound on a ball winder and during the knitting process pulled herself inside out.  Once ribbon yarn has been allowed some freedom it gets really tangled and that is when we met.  I lovingly untangled this yarn for about a week.  Slowly as I knit on the project as a little ribbon became free and it was slow patient, meditative work but in the end, my friend had a beautiful scarf for all that trouble.  She didn't want to even touch the other ball so it became mine.

The next ribbon yarn fell into similar circumstances; her brother had given the knitter so much grief she didn't even want to look at the second skein...I took him in also.

The third ribbon yarn didn't have any kin and from the cast-on she was so despised that I had to take her in too.

And there they sat until I thought about putting all these lonesome ribbons together and see what they could create when someone believes in them.  "cue the mice"

I started with the leftover black cotton from the baby sweater because I thought it would be stabilizing but in my wildest imaginations, I never saw the stark contrast that the black provided against the colorful ribbons.  I fell in love with this combination and from that moment on I just have loved working on this project.  It is so simple yet, so rewarding.  :)


I love knits that make you feel good.  I just adore fibers that make my fingers sing as I work them.  I finished my prayer shawl by the way and it is soooo soft!  I enjoyed working with the Billow more then I can say.  And when you have to bind off almost 600 stitches in the end...that is saying something.  :)

Sorry, no picture; I was so happy to have it done...I packed it up in its mailing box and got it all taped up when I remembered.  Ooops!

In the last week, I actually completed a lot.  I finished this Fair Isle hat.  While I have done Fair Isle before this was the first time I knit Continental and English at the same time. It was also the first time I did the floats right.  I took a fabulous class with my friend at the Mannings from Missy Burns and we had a blast.  It was one of those aha moments that you don't know how you functioned before you knew the key.  Well, I know how I functioned.  I would pick up the yarn and move it so it was in the right place and there was no hole...and well, I got really fast at it...but still.  There is no substitute for knowing the correct way to do something.  I'm really happy with my hat.  My stranding got better and my hands started to understand that this was the way we were doing this by the third motif and then...it was a whole new world.  

So now I can redesign my iPhone bag and finish the bag o' Fair Isle that I started...and make sweaters for so many things...babies, stuffed animals and possibly a vest for me.  I've had the pattern for years and certainly enough Palette to last for at least 10 vests.  Ah, the doors that have been opened... it's like a magic wand was waved over my head and I've been "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Booed" by the knitting faerie.  :)

I've been putting a whole lot of my energy into a lace class I will be teaching.  The shawl the students are making will start with simple lace techniques and grow as they learn new stitches and such.  It is a joy to figure out the motifs and watch them knit into being.  Right now I'm test knitting on Malabrigo chunky.  I like to see what the lace will look like in different yarns so if someone wants to use something different I have first-hand knowledge of what it will look like.  Besides...Malabrigo is so soft and yummy and I have been on this soft tactile kick lately.

May what you create give you joy,

Ruinwen
:)

Soft's Sweater

Soft is my son's stuffed dog. He wanted me to make him a sweater. So here is the Fair Isle on the back.

It was a fun little knit.

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend.

Ruinwen
:)

Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

“To know how to choose a path with heart is to learn how to follow intuitive feeling.”

-- Jean Shinoda Bolen

Isa is the ice rune in the Nordic tradition. When you draw Isa then you know it is a time to stand still and go within. Winter is the time to use what you've squirreled away over the year and contemplate the lessons you have learned.

On the verge of spring having an ice storm made me reexamine my life's path and do quite a bit of self-introspection. If you asked me what I wanted to grow up and be I would always say a healer. But healing for pay has always been so hard for me because the people who came to me could rarely pay and I didn't ask them.

But when my family was created I needed a steady income and healing got put to the back burner. I would say I still lay hands, prepare tinctures or essences or send reiki at least once a week but all of this is because I love to give of myself and nothing more.

Well, last night I dreamed that I needed to make a resume and go see another healer that might be looking for a reiki healer. I forgot while Mom and Dad were both in the nursing home that I had been given her card and only just found it yesterday.

So it seems although other bloggers have flowers and colors I have ice and snow and now I know why. I forgot to use what I had been given to create the path I am supposed to be on. So I will spend the week copying my certificates and polishing up my resume and make an appointment to see this healer and see what happens. It never hurts to try right?

In knitting news, I finally figured out how to do Fair Isle. I know all you seasoned FI knitters are saying there is nothing to figure…but I could never get the twisting of colors right to avoid holes.

Every year for Ostra (1st day of spring) I make a container of sorts for my goals and aspirations for the coming year. I take a word or phrase that embodies each goal and by way of numerology turn it into a color. This year I made rows of simple Fair Isle for each color. I know this may look easy peasy but I am proud as punch of my accomplishment!

So with a new path in sight and a new technique learned I'm ready for spring now…please?

Happy Crafting,

Ruinwen
☺