'shrooms and Lace

Two weekends ago, I went morel mushroom hunting. This is an annual trip that Mary Jo and Joel offer as a service item each year at the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Palouse that I attend. We did not find morels--well, Karen did find two very small morels! But what we did find were plenty of gyromita montana--more commonly known as snow mushrooms or "fake morels." They are called snow mushrooms because they are often found at the edge of snow--the first mushrooms to appear in the spring.

They are edible--prepared the same way I would morels--sliced up and sauteed in butter and garlic! What do they taste like? Mushrooms! A friend of mine at work asked about their taste, and I said they sort of taste like butter and garlic! He asked, "Then why bother?"

Several answers to that question. First, because it's great fun to be out in the woods, noticing the first wildflowers (we saw trillium), being outside of the office!, finding food like a gatherer! Smelling the mushrooms sauteeing!

I used my mushrooms in an omelet and froze some for use in soups and spaghetti sauces later!

Now that we've had some warmer weather, the morels should be out! I need to enter those woods again!

And today I signed up to participate in the "Seasons of Lace." It's a "KAL"--or knit-along, where the participants will all share progress, pictures, information about the lace items they are knitting as the summer progresses. There are chances to win prizes, but the most interesting part for me is to see what other knitters are doing--their projects, their successes, failures, problems, the yarn they use, etc.

My first project will be the Candle Flame shawl (offered on Knit Picks). I bought yarn for this last year--or was it two years ago--using alpaca (Shimmer--that I bought in the Turquoise Spendor). I didn't get very far before I frogged the whole thing. But now, I've learned about using a "lifeline"--running a line of "other" yarn or thread through the knitting. So often, it takes me some time to get the feel of a lace pattern--or I drop a stitch that I can't recover. When you rip out (frog!) lace, it can be quite difficult! But if you put in a lifeline every few rows until you catch on to the pattern it's supposed to reduce that frogging.

So, I'm looking forward to June and the start of the KAL! Keep watching for my progress.

Spring and Socks and Hats!

Yes, spring does come to Moscow, Idaho, even if much later than usual! And here's proof positive--my finished Annetrelac socks with the daffodils blooming. Actually, I finished them at least a week ago, but I took time to soak them with conditioner since I sure didn't like the feel of that yarn. They did bloom a bit (like the daffodils!!) and they feel much nicer now. I'm going to keep them for myself and show them off with my summer sandals (yes summer will also come--and usually, quite quickly!). The toes are different colors--one is turquoise and the other purple--I normally work like the devil to get both socks to match exactly, but with this Noro sock yarn, it was impossible! But I think they're pretty cool anyway!

I did start and finish my first Fair Isle sock--alpaca yarn with an Egyptian cotton quilting thread knit into the foot. So very soft. I used only 60 inches, and the Fair Isle tightened up the leg of the sock, so they may not fit me. But I did "pick" the green yarn, holding it in my left hand, and throw the beige with my right. Sometimes, I had to untwist the green, so I have some way to go to perfect my two-color knitting.

The second Fair Isle sock went into hiatus as I worked on this lace Fountain Hat (Interweave Knits.com Spring 2008). Actually, I made two--I used the superwash Merino "Grass" that I purchased from Sundara Yarn (you can Google it on the net). Her overdyed colors are just great. This picture doesn't show the subtle change in the color green. I made a pair of socks using the Hedgerow pattern with Sundara's Cobalt over Mediterranean--a dark blue--that I donated last month to the silent auction at our church (and had two people bidding over them!). This hat will be a nice summery hat. It still needs blocked, so that the lace will open a bit.

I made two baby hats this weekend--sitting at home, feeling rotten, even though the weather had turned beautiful. Our Woolgatherers' group has donated more than 50 hats to the birthing center here in town. Very rewarding--finished quickly and using up all that stash of acrylic!

But I swear, my next project (besides the second Fair Isle sock) must be to finish the alpaca sweater I'm making for myself--So little to go! Since my office is cold all summer, I'll be able to put it to use! I work with many engineering graduate students at the University of Idaho--they always get offered good jobs--often, before they finish their theses. We warn them--finish them before they leave: "You just don't realize how hard it is once you leave school and "have a life" how hard it will be to pick it up and finish it." And we have student testimonies to that. Well, my sweater is just like that unfinished thesis. With the back, sleeves and one side done, I know it's going to take me a good couple of hours just to figure out just where I am on that almost-finished second side! Well, do as I say, not as I do!

It’s Snowing Again!

Not that I need incentive to knit, but the weather sure helps. After one warm weekend, when many of the students on campus ended up with sunburns, it’s turned cold, windy and snowy again. No accumulation, but I sure don’t want to work in the garden again—although there are daffodils blooming out there and I can see my miniature roses coming back to life.

So, on my needles right now (in the snow!) are my Annetrelac socks (one finished and then frogged back to the heel because it’s too fat, and the second one almost ready for toe shaping). I love the way the colors come out on this Noro sock yarn, but would not buy it again. I’m one of “those” who want both socks to match and the Noro, lovely as it is, is not consistent in the single ball that’s large enough for two socks. I did some fudging to get as close as I could, but the two heels are different colors and there’s a greenish color in the leg of one sock that doesn’t show up in the second sock until the foot.

But I also started a pair of Fair Isle socks in alpaca. I’m modifying a pattern from Interweave Press’ book Sock. The pattern is in a sport weight and #5s. The alpaca I’m using is close to lace weight and I’m using #2 circulars, so I’ll need to extend/modify the patterning on the leg. I’m also playing in my mind with using multicolor quilting thread as a strengthener once I get to the heel and foot! That will be a work in progress from sometime.

Last Friday I got a call from my granddaughter (and my son). They live in Knoxville, Tennessee, but Ellie told me about how she caught her first fish! She will be four years old this June—I don’t get to see her enough. I hope that this summer, she will get to visit us out west in Idaho. I know Ellie will love the alpacas and chickens and dogs and the pond at Big Meadow Creek Alpacas.

Maybe she can catch a fish there.Both my children are in the east—my daughter is currently in New Orleans, providing support for the people still recovering from last year’s devastation. I hope to be able to visit her sometime this year.

Is it spring???

Well, of course it’s spring. Spring brings that uncertainty—you never know what the weather is going to be like from one moment to the next—at least here in the Pacific Northwest. Just two weeks ago, it was sunny and warm when I got home from work I was inspired to start the spring cleaning in my yard. I even planted some tulip and daffodil bulbs that I bought right before the ground froze. Filled two big bags with dead foliage to take to the recycling center and discovered the first spring blooms.

Today those blooms are covered in snow—only an inch or so melted down from the original three to four inches that arrived overnight, accompanied by a winds coming from a variety of directions. A friend of mine said the snow at her place looked like white dunes, blown on the Palouse desert”! More wind and snow expected today, keeping many of us from heading north to the spin-in in Coeur d’Alene.

But the snow gave me the background for taking a picture of my finally finished cabled socks. My pal Miss “T” (for Terror) had to check to see what I was doing.

Miss “T” was rescued and given to me when I was recovering from ankle surgery (I have an artificial ankle, not knit!). I think my brother believed that a cute little kitten to pet would help me keep my mouth shut. She’s what’s called “blue and cream,” so the vet called me, and she was named Miss Terror because she would chase my brother’s feet and attack his large dogs. She has become a companion cat—she’s beside me when I sleep, knit, sew, garden (attacking my weeding hands) and at the computer (nudging my hand on the mouse to remind me she needs petting).

I enjoy knitting socks, though I hardly ever knit any for myself. My feet are hard on socks and I don’t usually don’t want to take a chance on beautiful knitted socks for myself. But this pair, I’m keeping. They feel pretty solid—made from a blend of KnitPicks nylon/wool—they should wear well. I was lucky to find a knitter on Ravelry who had some of the same yarn in her stash. Although I had two skeins, I found out that wasn’t enough to finish this pattern (from an Interweave book). The socks sat for a week or two while I was deciding what to do with not enough yarn, and in the meantime, I took the entrelac class (see my March 12 blog).

I have a finished pair of socks from a beautiful (Sundara) dyed Cobalt over Mediterranean superwash Merino in the hedgerow pattern. I was led to both the yarn and pattern through Knitting Daily. The web provides such inspiration for us knitters! Anyway, I can’t decide whether to sell, give, donate or wear these beautiful blue socks. Maybe I’ll wait to decide after I’ve worn these cabled socks for a while. Maybe I’m “walking” softer these days! Time will tell.

And time will turn spring into summer!

Long Weekend Ahead for Knitting, etc.

Hurrah! Yahoo!

I'm taking two days vacation and looking forward to a long weekend. Shame it's going to be cold and rainy! I'll have to stay inside and knit! Last week I finished my first two entrelac projects--headscarves that tie at the back of the head--the pattern, Quant, is free on Knitty.com. And, it's not as difficult as it looks--but it makes use of self patterning yarn, so there's no changing colors or weaving in, etc. The yarn was Taos--100% wool--and frankly, I will never choose to use it again (except to finish something with the ball that's still in my stash!!). It splits; it tears; it's horribly difficult to frog. But then, I'm used to alpaca!!

Now it's time to start a bigger project--the project I've had in mind since I first bought Donna Kooler's Encyclopedia of Knitting--the Kaleidoscope wrap! Don't tell anyone, but I placed the order for yarn online today--I really needed this yarn--for Pete's sake! Can't wait to try the Noro Silk Garden. It's also self-patterning--a blend of kid mohair and lambs wool. It earns a high rating on Ravelry.

But I'm promising myself--no starting the wrap until I finish the sweater I started knitting for myself before the Christmas Thanksgiving holiday--too many things to knit for other folks and for bazaars, etc. The sweater is a lucious blue alpaca, and it is really so close to done--back, one front, sleeves, a second front almost done. But my office is cold all year round, so even if I don't get it finished before spring comes, it won't matter.

My third entrelac project will be the Annelac socks--bought that pattern yesterday with no specific yarn in mind (except for the lucious alpaca that my brother has for sale . . . . maybe I can sneak into his stash for these!) Maybe I should finish, ummmm--let's see: sweater for daughter; socks for me; socks for friend; baby hats for the birthing center; felted bag--half knit; vest for granddaughter; quilt for brother; wall hanging for me; baby quilt for church; felted bag--barely started . . . . ).

And I'm looking forward to my first venture into dyeing . . .

So little time. . . so much to do!!!

Alpaca yarn and yarn and yarn

My brother has an alpaca farm in Troy, Idaho, about 20 minutes away from me, where my three alpacas live, thanks to him! Well, until he took me to an alpaca show in western Washington state about 6 years ago, I never knew about alpacas. What wonderful animals. They are so gentle and their fiber is absolutely to die for! Here's a picture of a few this summer, taken a month after they were sheared.

I'm fortunate because he "lets" me help him when I can, especially when it comes to shearing days. And we work ogether to plan what to do with the fiber. We've had some fiber spun into yarn at a local mill and we've had roving made at ME2 Farm in Colville, Washington. I met Jayne, the owner, at a Fuzzy Bunz show two years ago, and although she owns no alpacas, she impressed me with her knowledge. I think she has learned to appreciate alpaca fiber as she has worked with ours. She likes to "know" the animals whose fiber she is processing, so I always try to provide pictures. This year, she said she just loved the fiber from Missy, my strange fiber huacaya.


So, last week, my brother imported some baby alpaca yarn from his South American supplier, who guarantees that his yarn is "real, true alpaca." Many folks don't know that in South American, they can claim that yarn or other articles made from only 80 percent alpaca is 100 percent alpaca! That's why the quality, especially of alpaca clothing from South America, can be itchy--something you don't get with true, 100 percent alpaca.

Anyway, this yarn was in scrumptuous colors--I just wanted to touch, hold, inhale! it! I had used some of the same yarn last year to knit the Evelyn Clark's Swallotail Shawl from Interweave Knits.

I have so much yarn now--at least 4 projects on needles--and at least 4 or 5 more planned, but I think I NEED some of this new alpaca yarn--maybe I'll try an entralac sock pattern I've been looking at from the Interweave Sock.
Such yarn hoarders we knitters are--but it's because we can't resist the colors and feels of the yarn. There's never enough time to use all the yarn we want (or that we have!) But, that's what the future's for, right?

Woolgatherers on the Palouse

I belong to this neat group of folks who spin, knit, weave, dye and have all sots of fun with fiber, on and off animals! They all live around the Palouse area of Moscow, ID. Check out the Woolgatherer's website http://palousefibers.org
The website is fairly new, so stop back again, and if you live in our area, come to a meeting. We love new folks!

At our last meeting, we decided that we needed to do something to contribute to our community. After many suggestions, we decided that we would knit baby caps and blankets. And at least four of us have started!

So what size is a baby cap?? We heard that we should knit them to fit a grapefruit!

Many of the pattern books I had for babies had the "old, traditional" baby hats with ribbons around the neck. Nah! We're going to make caps more interesting than that, and we're not going to stick to the pink and blue--no gender identification for us!

I did find some nice patterns in some of the magazines I had around. One was topped with an i-cord that you tied and it looks pretty cute. I'll have to remember to take some pictures.

One of the problems that we forsaw was that these caps will have to be easily washed and dried! So many of us knit with mohair and alpaca and wools and other natural fiber blends, that we'll have to dig deep into our stashes to find the appropriate yarns for these caps--that, and visit Goodwill, perhaps! But it will be fun.