norahsknits

I have three special skeins of yarn, and am contemplating some sort of project to compare them by knitting similar items from each of them. The skein on the left is hand-spun, lace-weight mohair from Tajikistan (purchased on-line from Clothroads ). Approximately 400 yards, two-ply. The middle one is a slightly heavier 2-ply Suri Alpaca yarn from Alpacas d'Auxvasse , which is located here in Missouri. Approximately 300 yards. I purchased this yarn at Knitorious here in town. Both of those have a nice lustre. The third one, on the right, is something I just ordered from Brooklyn Tweed , and is laceweight Rambouillet Wool, grown in Wyoming, dyed in Maine (though from the color it could be undyed). 440 yards, two-ply. This yarn has a matte texture. I may use one of the patterns shown in the photo below. Pardon the mess on the edges of the pic - this was a quick shot to submit for an exhibit for the Weavers Guild of St. Louis .

I'm having a busy summer (understatement), but have been having fun with some randomly purchased yarn. This is Feza Glitz, rayon and metallic, knit on the bias. The eyelet rows are also random, though I have made several similar scarves with more of a pattern to the eyelets. I'm enjoying working with this yarn - it has a cotton-y feel. Also pictured is a copy of Hand Woven magazine which arrived in yesterday's mail.

Thought I would post a photo of the finished object I was working on earlier in the week - the prior post showed what looked like a pile of yarn, I think. Here's the finished shawl, not yet blocked (and a quick photo) --- As I said, scrap yarn projects like this are fun to knit, at least to me. I work all the tied ends to one side, so one side has a deconstructed look.

I got started on a simple "scrap" shawl over the weekend, am just finishing it up with edging. Here's how it looked this morning: These scrap yarn projects are fun because the yarn changes every 4 yards or so (depending on how long you make the lengths of yarn that are tied together). Also, you can remember the original items as the different yarns are knitted up. I keep all my partial balls of yarn, and any scraps longer than a yard or so.

The Weavers Guild of St. Louis has been seeking prizes for two events this year - our 90th Anniversary Guild Challenge and a monthly "Show and Share" at our meetings. I'm pasting it info on the challenge at the end of this post. Both are being organized by WGSL member and expert weaver Julie McClure.  Knitorious , the yarn store at Watson Road and Bradley here in the City, has donated 3 cones of weaving yarn as prizes for the Challenge. They are linen and linen/cotton from Louet North America, which Knitorious will be stocking. I will be turning these over to Julie for prizes. The pure linen is labeled "wet spun" for aficionados. I also took a pic of a few recently finished items. Both are crocheted. I expect the scarf to end up as a gift for one of my nieces.  90 th Anniversary Guild Challenge – Show Your Stuff! For the 2016 Guild Challenge, let’s celebrate our 90 th anniversary by showing the wide variety of fiber arts our members...

From my front yard last week - love the blue color - in fact, I seem to be focused on blue recently . . .

I'm blocking the small shawl made with Malabrigo laceweight (subject of April 6th post) and another one that is more of a scarf size. Both of these were knit using a variation on the technique I talked about in the Feb. 23 post. Here's a shot of the shawl using the Malabrigo (it's the bottom one - the top one is a kid mohair/silk blend with a touch of sparkle): I purchased some glass beads a while ago, have been using some of them recently. These were strung on the yarn using a beading needle, then crocheted on as part of the edging.