In the studio

Cowl, mohair and linen in four colorways, stockinette stitch, size 7 metal cable needle, 24 in.

This is a laceweight yarn with one linen strand and one mohair strand and it feels truly beautiful in one's hands. I glommed four skeins before I realized what I was doing at the Saratoga Needle Arts shop. I'm striping the colors in a regular order. I think subsequent photos when there is more fabric there to see will show the color stripes more clearly. In this photo the stripes are seen more on the left side because of the light and shadow. The yarn begs for something lace, I think, but that's for next time. I've already got enough lace projects going on in other yarns.

In the Studio

Shawl, mixed fibers: mohair, nylon, metallic, cotton, silk; garter stitch; size 9 metal cable needle, 24 in.

I'm LOVING knitting with the very hairy mohair and I adore this combination of colors. I'm making up the shape of the thing as I go along, but I'm settling into something that is going to be more like a short stole than a longer shawl. Right now I'm thinking of a fairly dramatic button closure with some cording to add to a rich barbaric effect. I'm beginning to do color combinations with rigid sequences of color and this is one. I have a light blue mohair, a multi color multi fiber yarn with a metallic filament, two colorways of hairy mohair and a smooth purple, repeating in the same sequence with two rows of each yarn. The fringe is the knotted side where I make the yarn change.

In the studio

Tote bag, single crochet, unknown hook size (unmarked plastic from mom's collection) linen, silk, approximately 14 x 18 inches.

I have loved every second of working on this bag! The linen and silk yarns are wonderful and I think the bag is what I wanted when I started. It still needs lining, and the straps will be one big tube loop that goes under the bottom, adding stability to the fabric.

All of the linen is from the New York Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, New York. I have a history of buying linen at the wool festival -- fun!

I also finally started messing around with white balance and EV level in my camera and I think this is the best captured lavender EVER!! Thanks to Etsy Labs and their workshop on photographing artwork.

Oh yeah, my shop on Etsy

As soon as Paypal will pay attention to me and confirm my email I'll have a shop on Etsy called Little Hands Studio. I've been spending time getting it together - and there's just not enough time to do all that and blog all the time too!
In the mean time here's the afghan I'm making with all that stash in the previous entry. It's about 60 in wide and about 48 in long, and will be about 72 in long when complete.

Stash

This is what my work area looks like when I'm working on one of those fabrics with lots of yarns. It doesn't show the bags lined up beside the table. I find that I need the array of yarns to be visible so that I can mix and blend, improvising with colors and textures. It makes it almost impossible for these projects to be taken anywhere, because it takes such a long time to set up and take down. And there really aren't a lot of places with a whole table available. Last year at this time I went to a hotel for a few days and took this project, and the hotel room just happened to have a big dining table, which immediately got appropriated for the yarn.

It must be arranged just so. I need to see the yarns that are meant to be carried with others, the thinner yarns and the thicker yarns, so that I can balance the fabric and it doesn't get too much of one texture, or it doesn't get too thin in spots. The base yarn (in this case the cone on the far left) has to be easy to use so that I can use it every other row or more frequently without having to dig it out of the piles.

Finished wash cloth

Linen, garter stitch, stockinette and reverse stockinette, size 6 bamboo cable needle, 16 in.

This is another in the linen cloth experiments, but the yarn is from my snooty stash, not the cheapo cone I got a couple years ago in Rhinebeck at the Sheep and Wool Festival.

I've washed and dried it in the machine, and I think I'm going to do it with hot water and try to shrink it a little more. It has already softenend and I think it will be a gleaming beautiful cloth. I can't wait to make more!! I think the size 6 needle is a bit big, and so I'm going to try something smaller in the next experiment.

Finished shawl

Triangle shawl [increase one stitch each row], suri [alpaca], garter stitch, size 10 aluminum cable needle, 24 in.

I think I enjoyed every stitch of this shawl, mostly because of the way it felt in my hands as I knitted it. I have some niggling concerns about the way it will fit. The triangle is very long. I think I'll probably increase two stitches each row as a default triangle length from now on. With this shawl the back is very long and the side that goes across the shoulders isn't very long, so keeping it on one's body may be a problem.

Using large needles with the relatively light weight suri yarn produced a lacy effect that I enjoy.

In the studio

Scarf, wool and mohair blend yarn, black and yellow intarsia pattern, rib stitch, size 7 bamboo needles

I'm working on many projects, however this is my current favorite. I chose the Hufflepuff House colors rather than go for Gryffindor right away. I looked around for suitable green and silver yarns, thinking I might do a Slytherin scarf, but it's hard to find a really sturdy silver yarn. I'll keep looking.

The size 7 needles make a lovely dense but still drapey fabric. I chose Brown Sheep wool company yarn because of the very reasonable price and also the colors. The photo doesn't do justice to the richness of the black and yellow. This is 26 stitches per row, and it will be very long, so that it can be wrapped a couple times around the neck or hang long, Dr. Who style. I think I'll have mixed single strand black and yellow fringe this time, or single strand yellow under the black and black under the yellow.

I'm looking up the school colors for local schools and may do more with this check pattern. I do enjoy the stark contrast of the colors.

In the studio

Afghan, mixed fibers: wool, cotton, silk, acrylic, polyester, nylon, mohair, metallic; linen stitch, size 10.5 aluminum cable needle, 24 in.

Since I have made the plunge into afghans I've had a zillion ideas, but this one is for my bedroom. It will be my coverlet, and will complement some of the other yellows I have in the room. I've had a wonderful time going through my stash and selecting yarns, which range from yellow-orange through white. My plan right now is to have a four poster bed with bed curtains, so I'm looking forward to climbing into a beautiful warm space with this honey of a blankie.

In the studio

Shawl, mixed fibers: cotton, wool, nylon, acrylic, silk, alpaca; linen stitch, size 13 wood needles.

All I can say right now is that I love this fabric.

[See the Sept. 4 2007 entry for background story.] Elizabeth found another skein of the yarn she gave me, so I can distribute it a bit more liberally now than I would have been able to do without it. Yay!!!

In the studio

Guest towel, organic naturally colored cotton, stockinette and reverse stockinette; garter stitch selvage; size 6, 9 in. bamboo needles

The more I work with this cotton, the more I like it.

I'm hoping this photo shows off the reverse stockinette motifs.

In the studio

Purse, polyester and metalic ribbon, size 9 plastic needles, "woven" stitch

This is finally off the needles and ready for lining, the rhinestone button, and a nice long shoulder strap.

I began browsing through my "finished" things and realized that I could fill a weekend doing all the final touches and making tags.

I make a tag for each item that includes a description of the stitches used or any other detail of the technique that might be interesting, care instructions, fiber content and it has a tiny bit of artwork to "brand" it. So now I make the artwork part in those odd moments when I just want to play around with something but don't want to get involved in a serious project. When I want to tag a finished piece I put the description and fiber content, etc.

In the studio

Guest towel, organic naturally colored cotton, stockinette and reverse stockinette; garter stitch selvage; size 6, 9 in. bamboo needles

This is what happened after I saw a knitted guest towel in the Suss Cousins book. I think this cotton will make smashing towels. It has a beautiful soft hand and I think it'll hold up nicely through machine washing and drying. I like the effect of the positive/negative aspects in using sockinette and reverse stockinette, so I've started a pattern down the middle. A monogram would be very easy using this technique, but I'm going to keep the graphics abstract, using variations of geometric shapes. I expect that this will be about 14 x 24 inches, and will drape nicely on a towel rack.

I have three colors of this cotton, and I may use all of it on towels.

Finished dress

Dress, linen tape, rib stitch, size 11 cable needle, 24 in.

Wow, no entries of this since November 10, 2006!

This is another very comfy knee-length house dress consisting of a tube with shoulder straps. I made this one a bit narrower than my first, (September 12, 2006) thinking that the rib stitch stretchiness would be fine. It is. The important thing is to make the tube big enough for my hips. Now I want to try one with smaller needles and thus a bit less stretchiness and a more firm fabric, still using rib stitch. I have a lot of cotton and linen around here to use for a project this size, and I do want to be able to toss it in the washer with no second thoughts.

This dress is shrinking a bit with machine washing and that is a good thing. The straps are stretching more than I would like, and I may shorten them. I may re-knit them with smaller needles. I don't know yet.

Finished scarf

Scarf, wool, rib stitch, intarsia color work size 7 aluminum cable needle, 24 in.

I think this might be my most photographed piece, but I just had to show off these tassels! The small needles and length of the scarf - about 65 in. - made the going very slow. So for myself I needed all those "in progress" shots because it never seemed like I was getting anywhere!

I don't show many finished pieces, and I realize I should do more of it. However, often I quickly stash them away for safekeeping after I weave in the ends and do all the other finishing tasks. Then it's too much bother to fish them out again for peectures.

I feel at last that I have captured the real purple of this scarf in the photo. It took just the right lighting. I know that your browser and monitor may undo all my efforts at showing the true color, but I am much more satisfied with this rendition than in any of the others. It's not tweaked by Photoshop.

*snork* of course I meant to put the gold tassel on the purple corner and purple tassel on gold corner, but after I did them and took all that time to weave in the ends and make very secure knots, I didn't have the heart to rip it all out and start over.

Books

Home Knits: Luxurious Handknits for Every Room of the House; Suss Cousins; 2006; Crown; ISBN: 0-307-33591-7; 160p.; $32.50(USD)

I'm having a wonderful time with this book. I'm hesitant to try and make general statements about Suss Cousins designs. I like them very much. Since I've recently moved into a new apartment, the timing of this purchase makes it of great interest to me. There are only a few instances that make me go "oh please", because Cousins has gone a bit over the edge into the ridiculous. The coasters is one of these examples. I'm sorry, but knitted coasters, no matter how cute, are over the line.

There's a simplicity and a tendency toward the rustic that makes me fall in love with the cushions, the table runner, the guest towels and other sort of corny but wonderful household things. At the same time there's a sophistication that makes them all worth a second look and will keep them from getting plain boring after the glow of having made them oneself wears off.

Since I tend to skip over the technicalities, I can't comment on the ease or difficulty of the directions, and since I concentrate on the pictures, I can say that the photography is wonderful and I have spent many a pleasant hour enjoying these designs. This book has been in my bed for at least two weeks.

In the studio

Shawl, mixed fibers: cotton, wool, nylon, acrylic, silk, alpaca; linen stitch, size 13 wood needles.


I know I often show these mixed fiber fabrics and never show the separate yarns. So here's the mix of yarns, lined up in the background.

A year or so ago my friend Elizabeth [also a fabulous knitter] gave me the furry yarn in the middle of this lineup and said she found it a bit too challenging and asked me if I wanted to try to do something with it. Although I said sure, I also felt it looked very challenging because the colors seemed odd. They go from acqua to periwinkle to gray. But even though I had rejected it for several projects over the months, when I started to get yarns together for this project, it was perfect. So this is a case in point of how mixing yarns to compose a fabric somehow gives each yarn a new personality.

For this project I decided to go ahead and wind up balls of the yarn segments rather than cutting each segment as needed, which is what I often do. It has improved the mobility of the project. Often when I'm knitting with that many yarns it's aggravating to have to pack up and unpack the yarns, get them all untangled, get them set up in a usable order, and so on. With everything pre cut and knotted into one continuous strand, the knitting also goes on more routinely and without the pauses to cut and tie knots.

In the studio

Scarf, wool, rib stitch, intarsia color work size 7 aluminum cable needle, 24 in.

I'm within a few inches of the finish for this scarf. I've definitely been bitten by the intarsia bug, but don't know what I'm going to do next. I love tassels, and have plans to put three tassels on each end of this 60 inch scarf: one yellow, one purple and one mixed. The pure colors will go on each corner and the mixed in the middle where the colors meet. I'll post a photo as soon as I'm finished.

In the studio

"Cuffs" , wool thick and thin yarn, stockinette stitch with garter stitch border, size 7, 16 in. bamboo cable needle.

I like this yarn because it is tremendously soft. This is about my fourth pair of cuffs, but I don't feel like I've explored them nearly enough.

I've got a ton of pieces like this that only need a seam and the ends weaved in. I'll get to them.....Real Soon Now.

In the studio

Shawl, wool yarn, size 13, 24 inch cable needle, rib stitch.

I reached and found this great hulking shawl as I was beginning my marathon of project completions. I love the feel of this wool on the very large needles. I also love the variations of red produced by their dying technique.

At the same time that it creates a fantastic stretchy fabric, I wonder if it will indeed be too stretchy. It's a worsted weight, and the quite large needle allows every stitch to be completely visible, and it almost looks lacey. So in my mind's eye I'm developing various technical means to make it less stretchy. I'm thinking about applique and weaving strands into the fabric. I'm thinking about crocheting across the fabric. I've thought about throwing it in the washer and dryer to full it a bit. It's going to take some creativity, but eventually I'll settle on just one idea. At the same time I'm trying to choose whether to use the same yarn or contrasting yarn.

It's a very challenging project, but I'm loving every minute of it. I'll knit in another 150 yards or so of this amazing Araucania Nature Wool Chunky. Then the issues will have to be settled one by one.

In the studio

Purse, polyester and metalic ribbon, size 9 plastic needles, "woven" stitch

I'm still plugging away on this project, but pulling the ribbon through small loops while it's compressing tires my hands quickly. I'm also producing a tension problem that I hope I'll be able to fudge during washing and blocking. But I know I'm going to love it when it's done.

I found the perfect button for it over the weekend while I was rummaging around in a box of fabric. It's a dome of rhinestones from an old fancy dress. The metal base is just enough silver so that it will highlight the silver metallic threads in the ribbon. It's a little bit on the heavy side, so I'll have to anchor it in the fabric with a sturdy patch on the inside, preventing it from pulling the knitting out of shape in the front.

I'm a little less than halfway through. The purse will have a lining, but I have not decided about any particular edging yet to provide the finishing touches for the outside. An "I" cord might have a wonderful effect.

I'm delving into the "in progress" stack and going on a finishing binge again. I want to have a huge lot to take to Elissa Halloran's shop [woops her web site looks a bit dishevelled] by the end of September.

Finished pillow

Pillow, mixed fibers: cotton, silk, wool, polyester, nylon, linen, rayon, lurex, stockinette stitch, size 10.5 needles; cotton batting and silk back cover.

I finally brought my camera back from Vermont over the weekend, so I'll be able to post photos again! I'm liking the light in my new "photo area" in my new apartment.

This one of several pillows I've tried with knitted covers. I'm going to try a lot more!

In the studio - circle scarf

Capelet, mixed fibers: silk, nylon, rayon, wool, cotton, lurex, size 11 cable needle, 24 in.

I've just about run the course with these capelets and must begin to think of something else for my textile experiments. I apologize for the *bleargh* colors. I keep trying to get the right purple and for some very strange reason my camera will simply not do purple. And all my tinkering in photoshop cannot make up for that fact. I can only hope that some day I'll finally become good enough with the camera to capture it.

In any event, this purple is a purple silk made by Noro and it's simply the dreamiest deep purple I've seen in a very long time. And I'm a purple hound. I'm stymied a bit with this capelet because I'm not getting a good feeling from the color combination. The purple needs something different than what I have here. So I'm predicting this will transmogrify into another shape with different colors. I suppose I'll consider it something like a first draft.

In the studio

Purse, cotton, seed stitch, size 4 bamboo cable needle, 16in.

This is Blue Sky organic cotton and it's a rather dreamy texture. It's knit rather tightly so the fabric will be firm. I don't care for stretchy purses.

In the studio

And here's her seester!!

These dolls are made with quilting cotton fabrics, sewn completely by hand and stuffed with cotton batting. They are about 12-14 inches high. This doll has arms that are made separately and attached at the shoulders.

Last night I put rocks in the bases of the stands to add weight and to insure that the stand and doll won't tumble.

This is the back room of my apartment, and it has much better light, don't you think?

In the studio

Yes, yes, I've also been knitting, but isn't this doll a knockout?

She's been sort of finished for a while now, however I added what I consider the real finishing touches - the breast plate and the epaulette on her left shoulder over the weekend. But the best part of this particular stage is that I'm completing the stand. I've been making dolls without them for years, but I've made a commitment to provide a stand for each doll. This one is papier mache, and I've got several materials in mind for more.

The knitting is sporadic while I'm moving my apartment, but I'll have photos soon. I need to find another good photo setting with the right sort of light and everything in my new place.

In the studio

bag, sock wool, size 0 cable needle, 16 in

I've started a number of things with this yarn, which fascinates me. But it also will never be socks, which is its whole purpose in life. Am I a bad person for not letting it fulfill its purpose?

In the studio

Shawl, turkish lace stitch, mohair, wool, rayon and metallic fibers, size 13 cable needle, 24 in

I began a neon shawl with the eye-popping green (March 2, 2007 entry), but somehow it just wasn't working, so I took all that apart and started this blended piece, which I'm finding to be quite lovely. With each mohair strand I'm using a sock yarn and I'm blending the colors differently each time, using about three yellows and two or three greens and two blues. Then I stick the rayon-metallic yarn in randomly for a bold stripe. I'm hoping the open lacework will keep the mohair from being too warm.

I'm baaaaaaack

Lace curtain, linen, filet crochet, size 12 steel crochet hook

Ok, so I had so much fun resting that I took the whole month of June. It was wonderful. But I didn't do a lot of knitting or chrocheting. I began this piece for my new apartment. I'm thinking that it will be a very good match for an 1871 style apartment, and I'll be using the curtains in the front windows.

In the studio - and blog rest

Note: I'll be resting and not doing much except having fun away from the net for the next couple weeks - see you the last half of June.

purse, wool tweed, stockinette stitch with garter stitch selvage, size 5 bamboo needles

I've tried button embellishment in this exploration of simple purses, and on this one I thin I shall try fulled applique. I'm doing these on small needles, so even though they are not very big they take a lot of knitting. I have a zillion of them going at once.

In the studio

Scarf, green silk with green sequins, lace stitch, size 9 wood cable needle, 16 in.


I've been making progress on this wonderful experiment lately. I began to shred the yarn because I ripped the first ten yards out about five times. So this final time I just kept going, and learned how to rip out just a little and repair mistakes. The lace kicked my butt for awhile, but now I have the pattern in my muscle memory. The sad part of this photo is that I'm not skilled enough to capture the sequins!!! They really make the yarn and the fabric much more attractive than I can show here. My design idea is to make this a very long scarf, and I'll braid the fringe. I think that the light weight of the lace fabric will make it suitable for summer, more as a decorative scarf than one for warmth.

In the studio

Capelet; mixed fibers: wool, mohair, acrylic, cotton, nylon, silk; beginner's lace stitch; rib stitch; size 11 cable needle, 24in.

Once I bound off, I added more rows at the neckline with a crochet hook and decreased to tighten up the neck a bit. Then I went shopping at Colorful Stitches for a button, and found a beautiful complementary one. As soon as I get it attached I'll do another photo.

In the studio

Scarf, wool, rib stitch, size 15 wood needles

I love the way this looks like a pink cloud. The yarn is very soft and so it feels rather cloud like. I did this rib the same way I did the rib in the Jan. 31, 2007 entry. The difference in scale results in a completely different look.

In the studio

Handbag, mixed fibers, mohair, wool, metallic, nylon, stockinette and reverse stockinette, size 5 plastic needles.

I'm really digging the horizontal and vertical emphases that show in the stitches.

In the studio

Handbag, mixed fibers, mohair, wool, metallic, nylon, stockinette and reverse stockinette, size 5 plastic needles.

I couldn't help myself when I saw this yarn. I also have tons of it in teals and greens, but when I saw this color mix my hand reached out and I had no will power to stop!

I'm still exploring the use of stockinette and reverse stockinette to create patterns and am thinking of eventually trying to use it to make a jaquard-like fabric. We'll see how far it goes. I figure one can chart this sort of thing on graph paper and do all sorts of things! But as for now I'm sticking to simple shapes and looking at the effects.

In the studio

Afghan, mixed fibers, "woven" stitch, size 13 cable needle, 29 in.

This is another update of the Nov. 6, 2006 and Feb 15, 1007 entries. Actually it's the culmination of the work pictured in the very first blog entry in fall of 2004. I've decided to go to bedspread size for this monster. And I've actually done about 12 inches since this photo was taken, so I figure I want to put another 12 or so inches on it and I'm done.

I thought of this afghan originally as a project that would use up vast amounts of yarn and decrease my stash volume. But then I kept buying yarn that I thought would make it even MORE beautiful, and now I still have a very large bin of yarn in these colors. I started to make pillow shams using a more narrow color range. There will be a sham in purples and a sham in teals.

I may have to make another afghan. I already have lots of ideas rolling around in my head for what sort of fabric I want to make. I might try something like this but in a crochet version. Perhaps in a rather outlandish stitch pattern.

In the studio

Handbag, wool, size 2 wood cable needle, 24 in.

This is the third project I've tried with this yarn. I don't work well with this scale in knitting. Crochet with teensy hooks doesn't bother me, but the small needles make me all twitchy.

In the studio

Capelet, rib lace stitch, hemp yarn, size 5 plastic cable needle, 24 inches

This is the capelet I mentioned a few entries back. The loose white thread ends you see are the life line, done with dental floss.

The great pleasure of knitting on this piece is the way that the needle is a perfect match for the yarn. This needle has very sharp points and they pick up the stitches of this fine yarn easily. The hemp glides over the plastic with just enough friction to keep its springiness under control. I can't wait to see the capelet done, because I enjoy the lace so much, but I love the work itself because of the way it feels as I'm working it.

In the studio -circle scarf

Capelet; filet crochet; mixed fibers, nylon, rayon, polyester; sequins; metallic thread wraps, size E aluminum crochet hook

I love the yarns in this capelet, however they are challenging when it comes to hiding the knots in this skimpy fabric. So I'm trying to wrap the knot ends in metallic threads. It's a subtle shimmer effect and makes the whole work much more neat.

Finished red crochet capelet - circle scarf

Capelet, nylon and metallic tape, red and gold, filet crochet, size p aluminum hook.

This is a sister piece to the black and silver one I did last fall. I have more of this tape and I'm intrigued by it. I want to make things with quite a bit of drape because the metallic fiber in the yarn makes it very stiff otherwise.

It's a fabu evening capelet!

In the studio

Scarf, wool, rib stitch, intarsia color work size 7 aluminum cable needle, 24 in.

I'm happy with the progress on this piece, of the December 7, 2006 entry. It's a lot of knitting with those smaller needles, and the color switching, although very primitive, still starts to bug me after awhile, so it's not the sort of thing I can do for days on end.

I like the complementary colors, especially since they're our school colors, but over the past weekend I got some less contrasting colors and I think my next color work exercise will use a more subtle color combination.

In the studio

Crochet capelet, hemp, single crochet, size 3 aluminum hook

Here's the progress I've made on the November 1, 2006 entry. It took me awhile to think of what I wanted to do around the bottom below the ruffle. Notice on the right of the photo there are tendrils. Each has a bead on the end. It'll be a fringe of sorts.

The tendrils: ch19, add bead, turn, sl st, sc, half dc, dc, tr, dc, half dc, sc,sl st back to the beginning of the chain

There's a sort of crochet pendent at the end of each tendril.

I'm about a third of the way through the tendrils, and when I finish them I'll work on a neck line embellishment. Right now the neck is the basic chain that I did at the beginning, so it's austere when compared to the "out there" frilliness of the rest of the capelet. It will probably be a small picot edging with a small bead accent. The beads are very close to the color of the yarn, so they glint a teensy bit.

I can't wait to block this and see what happens!

Finished circle scarf

Angora collar or circle scarf, size 4 16 in and size 7 16 in cable needles rib edges with stockinette stitch body

I found the USB cable for my camera!

So here is the circle scarf I discussed in the previous entry. I have a photo of a version of it on Nov. 28. I ripped all that out and started on smaller needles. I think the result is much more attractive.

In the studio

Triangle shawl [increase one stitch each row], suri [alpaca], garter stitch, size 10 aluminum cable needle, 24 in.

I got this yarn in a swap (thanks, Elly!), and it's fabulous. The skeins have around 300 yards each, and I'm going to keep going on this shawl until I use both skeins, so it will be rather large. It's light weight, however - still no more than several ounces.

I finished a circle scarf this weekend, and have to find the USB cable for my camera before I can show it to you!

I also got out the teal/blue/purple afghan and all the yarns and put a few more inches on yesterday. I do love that big old thing! See Feb. 15 2007 entry for a photo. I'm ready to keep at least one afghan project going at all times.

For the first time I put a life line into some lace on Saturday. I used dental floss. I got instructions on how to do it from the friendly folks at Trumpet Hill yarn shop up in Latham. Of course, that was *after* ripping it out three times due to dropped stitches.

Stop laughing.

In the studio

Wall hanging, mixed fibers; wool, cotton, nylon, lurex, acrylic, hemp, mohair, rayon; with 6 dowels evenly spaced outlining 5 knitted panels. Stockinette with reverse stockinette shapes, size 9 wood needles.

I've been wanting to get this more complete photo of the wallhanging into the blog. It's still hanging like this, awaiting the next step. I've been contemplating it, and the next step is light green tendrils spreading vertically up through all the panels, with very small willow-like leaves. It will be beaded as well as stitched.

I still like the effect of the reverse stockinette and am planning to use this technique in more of my work.

I'm thinking of putting a lining on the back in order to prevent stretching, then stitching through both layers.

In the studio

Scarf, green silk with sequins, lace stitch, size 9 wood cable needle,

I gave up on the crochet version and ripped it out. I've ripped out several attempts at stitch patterns. For some reason I didn't find it easy to settle on the stitch pattern with this yarn. But I like this lace, and I think it shows off the yarn and the sequins very well. The yarn is a rather loosely spun silk and gorgeous. Too bad you can't tell much from this photo. I'll try to do better next time. The lace pattern is from the Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework , which has a small section of knitting lace stitch patterns.

In the studio

Cover up, tee shirt shape; green "denim" cotton worsted weight yarn; double crochet, size ? aluminum hook

I love this yarn and am thinking about photographing the 2 lb. cone - it's a monster. This loose tee shirt will look good over a tank top or be great for a beach cover up - very breezy. The piece is shown draped over a green pillow - it's open and lacy, but not frilly. The pattern is a variation of filet crochet, with the filled-in blocks stacked directly on top of one another, forming vertical stripes.

In the studio

Purse, 100% worsted wool, stockinette stitch, size 9 plastic needles, mother of pearl buttons, glass seed beads

This is the next stage of the March 20 entry and I'm enjoying sewing on the buttons and beads. Now I want to put buttons and beads on everything!

Just kidding.

I'm not dead yet!

But I'm not doing much knitting and won't be doing any blogging for the rest of the week.

So check out this book. It was sent to me by a dear friend, and I've been feasting on it. Lily Chin is a wonderful designer, and she has top marks for her crochet design from me. Her beading is fabulous for most of the examples in this book. Some of the fabrics are lightly beaded with edgings and they're nice, but other fabrics are filled with beads and they are divine. M m m m.

Knit and Crochet with Beads, Lily M. Chin, 2004, Interweave Press,ISBN: 1-931499-44-6, Softcover, 160p., $21.95(USD)

In the studio

Purse, 100% worsted wool, stockinette stitch, size 9 plastic needles

This picture is the basic fabric for the purse with buttons for embellishment. I've got to get another picture soon so you can see the mother of pearl buttons! It blocked beautifully and let go of the curl. I'm a bit concerned that I didn't do a selvage row, and I'm wondering how the side seams will do.