Lisa Kay Knits... and Quilts!

Hi, We got to the pool, today. Mitchell is much more interested in playing than in working on his swimming lessons, but he did blow bubbles a bit. The outdoor pool photos are so much nicer than the indoor YMCA pool pictures! I probably would have had lesson pictures this week, anyway, but I forgot my camera... Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi, I finished the pink La Laz Scarf . It is blocking. You'll just have to take my word for it, because the light is terrible in my craft room where I have it pinned out. I did take a picture, but it was not worth showing... I received my Sundara Aran Silk Merino this week, as well as blocking wires (in use) and the book for the Shetland Lace Triangle, which is one of the shawls in Wrap Style. The pattern is by Evelyn Clark , known for her lace patterns. The yarn is a gorgeous deep blue. It should go well with several navy blue items in my wardrobe... After finishing the neck chart, I took a quick pic: I did have to start over once, because I was knitting instead of purling on the back. Otherwise, no problems with the pattern. I like the leafy stitch pattern. :) Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi, Even though I'm working on my "scarf" lace shawl, I still have a sock going. For one thing, it is a portable project. I take my sock knitting along with me in the car on the weekend. Since we drove over to St. Louis on Sunday, I definitely needed some portable knitting. Since I already finished both June KAL socks, I started something different... It is a popular pattern (per Ravelry) called Embossed Leaves, by Mona Schmidt. The pattern is available in the book "Favorite Socks," a compilation of Interweave Knits patterns. I'm using Bugga Sock yarn, dyed by Sanguine Gryphon (also available at The Loopy Ewe ). It is 20% cashmere, a bit heavier than fingering, in lovely shaded colors. This colorway is called, "Cuban Cockroach." Of course, Bugga colors are named after bugs... I can see why this is a popular pattern. It is easy to follow (or even memorize), and it knits up beautifully. While it isn't my preferred toe-up method, it

Hi, Over to the left, under knitting links, there is a link to the Hedgehog Fibres Etsy store. Her fibers and yarns are so lovely and just a little bit different... in a very good way. Since she apparently can't keep much in stock very long, another way to see some examples of her yarn and fiber is on the Ravelry Hedgehog Fibres page. There is also a link to her blog, Fly Along , under Blogging Friends on the right, but I wanted to point out a couple of specific things that are just divine. If you have the time, I recommend looking through her blog thoroughly, but these are a couple of my favorite: Currently at the latest link, there is a baby blanket that bears a strong resemblance to the stitch pattern in the Shetland Lace Triangle shawl. Beata uses a couple colors of her sock yarn held together. Amazing! I also think the Moth shawl is incredibly impressive, as well as the stop-motion photography. Her whole blog, her yarn and fiber, and her knitting and spinning, are

Hi, In case you were wondering, the pink shawl in the previous post is a pattern from Victorian Lace Today by Jane Sowerby.   I've also noticed that this appears to be one of the patterns not loaded in Ravelry. There are 37 loaded, but the book notes say 44 patterns. Perhaps if I finish this one and get some decent photos, they will load the pattern... I could ask. I wonder what they would put in as a title?   It is the pattern on page 100 of the book, which is just called, "Scarf," and then the subtitle is "with edging 21 and insertion 25 from 'The Knitted Lace Pattern Book,' Thompson Bros, Kilmarnock, Scotland, 1850." Interesting, but not exactly a catchy title. I'm using Fiesta Yarns' La Luz, which is 100% silk, in the color Champagne. By the way, another pattern that has caught my eye is Brandywine (Ravelry Link). The one that Roxanne from Zen Yarn Garden made in Serenity 20 is absolutely stunning. See it on her blog . I also happ

Hi, I have been seriously thinking about doing a lace shawl. I have a lace scarf (or stole) started that I began years ago, and I got it out and worked a bit on it. It is about half done. I've been looking at projects on Ravelry, and I found the Shetland Lace Triangle (Ravelry Link), which is really working its way into the front of my queue... I particularly like this one by Jared Flood. The yarn is really a gorgeous choice. I ordered two skeins of the same yarn,  Sundara Yarn's Aran Silky Merino , in a different color, "Flower Studies #33," or more generally, "Iridescent indigo leaning toward purple." I wonder if I can finish the pink stole by the time my Sundara order arrives? Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi, We went the City Museum in St. Louis for our Father's Day outing. The main attraction was the aquarium . Mitchell isn't quite big enough to really appreciate the caverns and climbing. Here is the front of the museum, and you can see that there are a lot of things made for climbing. There are also a lot of things to just go and see, like an old bank vault... ...and a shoelace factory  where I picked up this sample, which looks like a mini-weaving project: ... and took this video of their machine: And Mitchell just enjoyed wandering around! Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay

Hi, Mitchell had another swim lesson, same monkey arms and exercises. We really need to get more practice time. Here he is, looking like he's doing water ballet... Happy Swimming, Lisa Kay

Oh, so happy with these socks... Previous post has more pictures and pattern/yarn links. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi, I started the second June KAL sock on Thursday morning. I got a fair amount done on plane rides Friday, and finished the first sock, today. This is String Theory Caper Sock , again. This time, the colorway is Mount Hood. I tried to pick a light, semi-solid colorway so that the stitch pattern would show up well. I'm pleased with the results! This is the pattern not from the book. (Recall there is one book pattern and one free pattern, each month, in the KAL.) The pattern is "A Finer Peace," from Wendy Knits , available for free at the link. The pattern includes a k3tog (knit three together) and k3tog tbl (through the back loop). These can both be a bit tricky if you knit tightly or if the yarn is at all fluffy or "splitty." So, the discussion on the KAL page had some alternatives posted. I used them and was relieved. Here they are: k3tog -- k2tog. Place resulting st back on left needle. Pass next st on left needle over the k2tog st. Move the resulti

Hi, I managed to happen upon a "sneak up" of Wollmeise at The Loopy Ewe this week. Here's what I got: Clockwise starting with the red one, they are called Vamp, Grunfink, Krauterbeet, Poison No5, Barist 'O', My Old Blue Jeans, and Taube. It's a really popular sock yarn and sells out in a few minutes at The Loopy Ewe or the Wollmeise site, so this was a lucky circumstance. Very spoiled! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi, Mitchell did really well at his second lesson. There were three no-shows, so each kid got a little more time in the water. They tried floating on their backs, this time. When we signed up, they told us that floating on their backs was the "graduation requirement" to go to the next class level. If not, they do another six weeks of Pike. Mitchell seemed to be getting the hang of back stroke! Good stuff! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi, I really like seeing things grow, especially flowering things... even more so if I planted them. There's just something rewarding about perenials, paying off their bounty year after year. These daylilies went into the beds around my front porch in 2001. I blogged about them a couple of years ago, here and here . The yellow ones came in large flats of little pots from Wal-Mart in the spring. The orange ones were mark-downs at Lowes in the fall, when they were clearing things out, and they were one of the last plantings I did that first summer. Perhaps it is time to "divide" them, after this tenth summer, but they don't seem to be suffering... By the way, in reference to the previous links, above, the swallows have come back each year. They are nesting there, now, and I can see the adult swallows taking food to the babies. They are still small enough that they hide in the nest when I come around. I tried to get a picture, yesterday, but they hunkered down. I

Hi, I've got both of the Diagonal Lace socks done, now, described in previous posts here and here . Note that the socks are mirror images. I reversed the pattern on one of them. I got these done on the 9th. I wonder if I can get three KAL sock pairs done in one month...? Hmmm. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi, I finished the first Diagonal Lace Sock (pattern and yarn info in previous post ). I started the second sock, mirroring the pattern. The k2tog is slightly neater than ssk, even though I tried to improve the appearance line of ssk's by knitting through the back loop on the next row. It also is slightly easier to work a k2tog, so I like the mirrored version better. The  Zen Yarn Garden  Art Walk Sock Club yarn I'm using happens to be BFL and nylon (Blue Faced Leicester). It is a fairly firm yarn, and should wear well. As it turns out, I just got the June Art Walk Sock Club yarn this week. It is based on Andy Warhol's "Green Cat." We got a treat in the yarn base this month, Serenity 20 (which is 20% cashmere) because of a delay in the order of the regular base. (I'm sure everyone in the club was terribly heart-broken about that.) It is a really soft yarn. Lots of folks will probably make little shawls or scarves instead of socks. I don't know.

Hi, We have spent a fair amount of time "swimming" with Mitchell at the pool at Gma and Gpa W's neighborhood, but Mitchell doesn't really swim. He just plays in the water. We just signed him up for swim lessons at the local YMCA, and his first one was today. Here is Mitchell waiting for class to start.  There are seven little ones in his "Pike" class. They have to take turns with the teacher. They each got to use the kickboard on their bellies, then they got another turn hugging the board and laying on their backs. Then, they did "monkey arms" on their bellies and then on thier backs. Mitchell seemed to be sharing confidences with his neighbor. Mitchell liked the forward monkey arms. He even got some "blowing bubbles" going at the same time as monkey arms. Backward monkey arms were a little harder. He enjoyed himself, even when he was waiting. All in all, a good first lesson. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi, I started the June KAL sock, Diagonal Lace. I'm using Zen Yarn Garden's Art Walk Sock Yarn Club yarn from April, Renoir's "Tulipes." There's a copy of the inspiration painting in the yarn picture. The pattern is from, "Socks From the Toe Up," of course... ... but it is also available for free on a Wendy Knits blog post, here . I finished the toe and one pattern repeat. I like the pattern. It is easy to memorize. I'll mirror the second sock. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay