On the needles: Lilac Leaf Shawl

A few months ago I went to the Fabric & Fiber show in Sanford, NC, and bought some wonderful yarns from The Unique Sheep. One was a skein of super fine alpaca in a colorway called "Rainforest" -- shades of green. I'm knitting the "Lilac Leaf Shawl" pattern from Nancy Bush's Knitted Lace of Estonia. Right now I'm still on the border and have been frogging regularly. Part of the problem is the thinness of the yarn...so easy to lose a stitch or grab 2 instead of one. I started out with an old nylon circular needle, the only size 5 I had available. I've now got a new Addi needle with the lace tip so things should go more smoothly now. I'm almost finished with the border and the body is much simpler...none of those Estonian nupps to deal with. Unfortunately, when I finish the body, I'll have to make a 2nd border. Hopefully by that time I won't be as mistake prone! I'll have photos when I finish knitting and blocking.

Lacemakers' Mascot

The hedgehog is the mascot of lacemakers, primarily because bobbin lacers use lots of pins in their work. But makers of all types of lace have adopted this cute animal. This is one I found in New Bern, NC, at the Tryon Palace gift shop. I brought him to the Carolina FiberFest. He"s holding some tatting I made using silk sewing thread.

One of my photos featured on Ravelry

My photo of the Morehouse Farm Baby Owl Purse was selected to be featured on the Ravelry page for the pattern: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/baby-owl-purse. What a nice surprise!

Tatting at 2011 Carolina FiberFest

 

Tri-Tatters demonstrated tatting and displayed lots of examples of tatted work at the Carolina FiberFest. This is the 2nd year we've participated in this event.

Crocheting at Carolina FiberFest 2011

I demonstrated crocheting at this year's Carolina FiberFest at the NC State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, NC,

I brought examples of my projects.

A scarf and some vintage crocheted laces that I've collected over the years.

More crocheted scarves and a crocheted ear of corn...very appropriate since the event is part of the NC Ag Festival.

Off the very tiny needles: Union Jack Flag

I gave this flag as a gift to a knitter friend from England when she hosted a brunch to honor the Royal Wedding. I knit it on size 1 needles using needlepoint (Persian) wool. This project reminded me why I don't do intarsia knitting much. All those color changes on those tiny needles...whew! The pattern is from Debbie Bliss's The Knitter's Year. The book is full of small projects; I've already made several because they knit up so quickly. But the Union Jack, well, that one, not so quickly!

Off the needles: another pair of fingerless gloves

It's surprising how in demand fingerless gloves are as summer approaches. Apparently, offices are kept too cold year round. I made another pair similar to my daughter's pair (no photo, though) for a tatting friend. This time I used sock yarn from Red Heart in colorway Blackjack...black, burgundy, grey, white variegated.