It is no secret that I love to knit lace, the more complex the better. I love to design the lace first and then dive in and explore what I think the design should do.
I have knitterly friends who love to aid me in my process. Anne is one of those friends. We really got to know one another about 10 years ago at one of Mad About Ewe’s Retreats and have talked a few times over the years. She came in recently and asked If I was interested in working with some Gossamer Cashmere yarn from Heirloom knitting. She came back a few days later with the yarn and some vintage knitting books! Such a wonderful gift.
And of course, I am interested!
I received the yarn on Monday. This beautiful yarn, a 2-ply cashmere that weighs in at 25 grs with 1230 yds in the ball is going to be a challenge!
Monday evening I was swatching. I felt a little like Goldilocks, it took three tries before I decided on the correct needle size to get the look and feel I wanted. I am going with a 1.75mm and I am using the beautiful lace needles from Heirloom Knitting. They have such smooth joins and a great cord.
Right now I am pouring over my Shetland Lace Books. Looking at the patterns and thinking about the shape – I am pretty sure that I am looking at a half or three quarters circle – but I might also need more yardage. So I have things to consider.
Another knitterly friend gave me her copy of the Sarah Don’s The Art of Shetland Lace. It has a lovely inscription from Jeanie and I treasure the book.
The Art of Shetland Lace was published in 1980 and includes photographs of some of the amazing lace work from the the (Lerwick) Shetland Museum and Archives. It was an amazing book for its time. It is notorious for all of the pattern mistakes. But it was for a long time the only source of Shetland Lace Patterns. It was last reprinted by Lacis in 1991.
At the same time as I was contemplating this new project I was also getting messages on instagram that a new Shetland Lace book was coming and will be available at the beginning of April –Shetland Fine Lace Knitting. This is book is written by Carol Christianson. It was written to assess and chronicle the Shetland Museums Lace Collection and will have pictures, swatches, charts and some of the history of lace knitting, most from the Museum. I am so excited!
Shetland Museum and Archives
Just a note on the price of knitting books. This new book is just under $50 and is over 200 pages. The Sarah Don book still has the original price ticket. It was $26.95 and has 100 pages. The current buying power of $26.95 from 1980 today is $100.00. Sobering thought. Books are not really that expensive today if you look at it in this manner.
So I have started the set-up for the shawl, but is going on hold until the new book is here. I might knit just a little bit more, because I can always add to the design!
… a lot like Christmas around here. There are only a few decorations up as yet, but other things are falling into place. And of course the knitting for Christmas is very important.
Some presents are knit! And others are in the works. And the shopping is almost over too! As usual, my gifts for my husband have not been organized, except, don’t tell him – the fingerless mittens I am knitting for him – I have almost finished the first mitten! But I haven’t got much of anything else found for him yet!
Tom takes care of most of the other Christmas things as he is retired, and he is an organized type of person – unlike me! So, he is always on top of gifts and cards and all of those kinds of things! And he does most of the decorating of the house – he does a really good job of it too! We do decorate the tree together though!
I have started the Christmas baking – two batches of shortbread were baked last weekend and the Christmas cookies yesterday! And I have leftover homemade mincemeat from last year for some tarts.
My Grandmothers’ Traditional ShortbreadCanada Cornstarch Shortbread with the addition of walnuts.
Every year I make Knitted Christmas Balls – usually the Arne and Carlos balls – they have so many options now for the patterns and I will create my own pattern on the balls as well – they provide a blank pattern grid that is perfect for putting your own images and patterning on!
A couple of Christmas Balls from last year – the beaded one is mine and the other is a Carlos and Arne pattern.
This year I am adding a new style of knitted pattern to my repertoire, and I am quite excited by it.
They are Christmas Baubles by @apassionforlace MoniqueB. Two are complete, Lace Bauble in blue Malabrigo Lace and Ocean in ivory Handmaiden Lace Silk. Boom is under construction. Each bauble is a different Shetland Lace pattern. They are so much fun, small, intricate and very satisfying. I had to go out and find some glass balls of the right size. The coloured ones I found locally but the clear ones I had to order on line. They are from BestPysansky, out of Chicago.
How are your Christmas Preparations coming? Are you organized and ready? Or like me, is someone else doing the organizing for you? However you roll I hope that you are having fun and that your Christmas is starting to come together.
How do you work? It quiet solitude? In the hub hub of a busy room? On a neat desk with everything laid out? In chaos?
Everyone – creative or non creative has a favourite place and way of working. There are even magazines devoted to creative work spaces! A friend of mine collects them for ideas and dreams of what she would like her ideal creative space to be like. I would really like to know about your spaces. Is it a dedicated space? A shed or studio out back? A room with lots of shelves and space designed just for you and your creativity? A spot in your living room?
I have that too – a spot in the living room, surrounded by yarn and chaos, where I sit and knit and be part of the family dynamic.
I would like my formal workspace to be tidy – I really would! I seldom achieve that as I would rather be creating than tidying – and when I start to tidy ideas come out of the chaos and bite me in the proverbial a… and all thoughts of tidying go out the window as I dive into a new idea! I have often said that I work best in Chaos. And right now Chaos is my constant companion.
Right now my workspace has achieved the honour of being the messiest and most chaotic it has ever been! Perhaps this is a good thing as I have needed to be more creative in my knitting designs than ever. Its this big new “thing” I am doing. It requires a lot of time and creativity – and as I still am working full time – my housekeeping – never a great deal – has completely fallen to the wayside.!
This big “thing” is a designing job. A largish number of patterns in varying yarns for a largish yarn company – in a smallish piece of time! It has been so much fun and so challenging in a creative way! I will share more as I can! I have had help with sample and test knitting – we all need help sometimes. I am learning how to ask for it as needed.
bees and butterflies
There have small breaks where I have worked on my own patterns as I waited for yarns to arrive. Bees and Butterflies was created in one of those breaks. I should have been tidying – but you know how the story goes! LOL!
My desktop – it can barely be seen right now! Much more chaotic than normal!
UPDATE – Started this a few months ago – in the height of the crazy creative time. I am in a bit of a lull right now – working on things for myself and looking forward to the next spate of crazy times. Still can’t really talk about the earlier project but the patterns are due to drop any day! Then I will be talking like crazy!
I am almost finished the Shetland Fusion Ebook. I “found” another pattern that I had started before Covid and it is perfect for Shetland Fusion! Summer Shells, a half Pi shawl that features Shetland Lace Shell Patterns! Umm and maybe a few beads.
