Le Tissier Designs

Of Larks and Linnets and Flying Fingers

Tag: sheep

  • Glory in the Snow

    Glory in the Snow

    Yarn is my Happy Place. Knitting with yarn is the perfect expression of my state of mind. Knitting with yarn that is new to me and often has been gifted to me is my idea of perfection!

    I am in my heart a lace knitter – it is one of the most beautiful expressions that can be created by two sticks and some string. And right now I am extra Happy!

    Yesterday Angela Beltane of Widdershin Farm, which is just outside of Duncan, gifted me with some of her BFL, Blue Faced Leicester, fingering weight yarn… enough for a large shawl. I am thinking a large Pi shawl! This yarn is soft and glossy and Oh so smooth!

    The Bluefaced Leicester (BFL) is a remarkable breed of sheep that traces its origins back to the eighteenth century in Dishley, Leicestershire, United Kingdom. Let’s delve into the fascinating details of these woolly creatures:

    1. Appearance:
      • BFL sheep have a distinctive blue-gray face, which gives them their name.
      • Their ears are long, and their fleece is curly and fine.
      • Unlike other woolly breeds, they lack wool on their heads and necks.
      • The Roman noses of Bluefaced Leicesters reveal dark blue skin beneath their white hair.
    2. Wool Quality:
      • Their wool is one of the softest among UK sheep breeds.
      • Fleeces weigh between 1 to 3 kilograms (2.2 to 6.6 pounds).
      • Although not heavy, their wool is lustrous and prized for its quality.

    It is going to be gorgeous. I took the day off of my other projects – dress knitting, class knitting and future planning to play with my new yarn.

    Umm, just ignore the mistake in the first round of eyelets! I am! LOL!

    Today is one of my day’s off and it is rainy and gray and the perfect kind of day to knit! Rainy days also produce some lovely photographic opportunities! Check out the Scilla (Glory in the Snow) from the garden. They are the inspiration, and name, for my Pi Shawl, one of my favourite shapes for a shawl. A PI Shawl is circular and can be as big as you can knit! It is going to be full of floral, water and leaf motifs!

    I am going to work from Elizabeth Zimmerman’s basic Pi Shawl tutorial and fill it full of my own patterns!

    Can’t you just see crystal beads on the shawl? Just like the flowers!

    Happy Days! Happy Knitting!

    Lynette

  • A New Pattern on the Way!

    A New Pattern on the Way!

    Why knit one hat when you can knit three?! I have really been loving knitting hats lately! And I can’t seem to stop – though I have this new idea for another shawl niggling in the the back of my mind!

    I love the new wools I have been playing with, BC Garn Bio Shetland and now this new one from Ancient Arts Yarns, Lascaux Fine. I knit up a little cabled hat this week, I think that I am going to knit up some co-ordinating fingerless mittens as well!

    Lascaux Fine is an intriguing blend of Manx Laoghtan wool and Punta Arenas Wool. Manx is an old breed – lots of horns and brown toned wool. Punta Arenas is a new breed and is a merino variant.

    Together they create a wool that handdyes with a heathered brown undertone. Very rich and deep colours that blend beautifully!

    Aren’t they wild?

    Flatiron – cables and twisted mini cable flat ribs. Check out the brown heathering.

    The colour is very hard to capture with a camera, it is really more green than blue. But I think that you can see the richness. Ancient Arts is having a sweet giveaway of this yarn right now on facebook and instagram. It is open until midnight tonight!

    There was no baking this weekend. I did contemplate brownies, maybe next weekend. But the knitting, and the Superbowl (a great excuse for knitting) won out.

    I am working on another hat in the bio shetland (this will be my third hat in the Bio Shetland) and I really want it done for next weekend – its called Valentino for obvious reasons – but why is it when you set yourself a deadline – everything conspires to make sure that it will be a challenge. My next move on the hat will be frogging the last 7 rounds. Such is life.

    Valentino under construction – before ripping back!

    It was a gorgeous day yesterday we went walking at Divers Lake. They have done a lot of work there recently. The Cedar walkways were so fresh and aromatic, they added a lovely scent to the air. Blackbirds were singing and darting from tree to brush and the ducks were just hanging around. There were squirrels overhead scolding us as we walked by and the air was crisp! I love the marsh right now, the dead growth is just as intriguing as new growth, sometimes more so!

    I hope that you had a great weekend as well. What were you up too? Were you knitting, sewing, baking, or something comepletely different? Are you a walker? Or a more serious hiker when a glorious day shows up?

    Be well and knit happy!

    Lynette