I got the idea for the Stained Glass Lace Scarf when I visited the St. Pierre (St. Peter) Cathedral in Geneva earlier this year. Some of the stained glass windows there were simply breathtaking and I was struck by how this particular one would make a nice lace pattern.
The scarf is knit on 4.5 mm needles using Eidos (100% superwash merino, 400 yds/4 oz) from the Sanguine Gryphon. While the length of the scarf is adjustable, one skein will give you a scarf that is approx. 40 cm x 200 cm.
The pattern is available as a .pdf download for $8.00 CDN
Announcing the Mystic Embers Mystery Shawl knitalong!
There is nothing more mesmerizing than the glowing embers in a burning fire. They capture your imagination like nothing else, and as you enjoy the dancing flames, the warmth envelops you like a cozy shawl.
Mystic Embers is a rectangular stole draws its inspiration from the burning embers in the cozy fires we enjoy during the fall season. My shawl is knit on 4.5 mm needles, using 3 oz (one skein) of Sappho I laceweight yarn from the Sanguine Gryphon (850 yds per 3 ox skein) in the Honey Nor Bee colourway. As always, yarn substitutions are encouraged.
The blocked dimensions are approx. 73 cm x 198 cm (29″x 77.5″).
SIGN UP FOR KAL
The pattern will be made available for a knitalong, starting September 30.
It will be distributed to the members in four consecutive pieces, once a week on Wednesdays.
The last part of the pattern will be released on October 21.
The KAL is completed, but the pattern is available for purchase here.
The knitalong is available at a discounted price if you join prior to the release of the first clue. After the first clue has been released, signups will remain open but the price will increase to the regular pattern price of $8.00 CDN. All members of the KAL will have access to the clues as well as the complete pattern in one nice set at the end of the KAL.
All pattern instructions will be translated to French for the members of the KAL.
Note that the Yahoo group for this KAL crashed, so the KAL has been moved to Google groups. If you have signed up but no longer have access to the group, please email me at knitandknag@yahoo.ca and we can sort this out.
For the past month or so, I’ve been working on a cardigan for myself. And now it’s finished. It’s knit with 100% Sockenwolle from Wollmeise. The colour is Ebenholz (ebony) and I used 2.5 mm needles. The pattern is my own, and I’m really pleased with the result. It fits well, and the only downside is that it’s more of a fall cardigan than a middle-of-July cardigan, so I’ll have to wait for a while until I can wear it.
The cardigan has a couple of different cables on it – naturally the Saxon Braid (one of my favourites) and another one which looks like X’s and O’s. There are cables on the back, fronts and the sleeves.
This square shawl is the fourth shawl in the Mystic Elements series (following Mystic Waters, Mystic Light and Mystic Earth). Mystic Air draws its inspiration from the heavens above and the air that we breathe.
My shawl is knit on 3.5 mm needles, using two skeins (200 g) of Alpaca Cashsilk yarn from Tri’Coterie (1,200 m per 100 g skein) in the Bella Swan colourway. The shawl uses approx. 1,800 m of laceweight yarn. As always, yarn substitutions are encouraged.
The shawl comes in three different sizes. The blocked dimensions of the various sizes are:
Large version (shown) 160 cm x 160 cm (63” x 63”)
Medium version 140 cm x 140 cm (55” x 55”)
Small version 124 cm x 124 cm (49” x 49”)
The pattern is available in downloadable .pdf format for $8.00 CDN.
The Call of the Sirens lace stole draws on the Greek myths about the Sirens. The Sirens’ calls could bewitch sailors to make them forget who they were and and where they were going. Often the Sirens caused them to forget to navigate their ships and the ships would be wrecked against the rocky shore.
The edging of the stole show the waves, followed by the rocky shoreline. The center portion of the stole represents the braided hair of the beautiful Sirens.
The stole is knit in Sappho I (in the I cannot work the loom colourway) from the Sanguine Gryphon – 850 yds per 3.5 oz. skein. The length is of course adjustable, but with one skein you get a stole which is approx. 75 cm x 197 cm (29.5″x 77.5″).
The pattern is available for purchase as a .pdf download at the Sanguine Gryphon site.
I’ve been so busy knitting lately that I haven’t had a chance to update the blog for much too long. There are a few WIPs and even completed items to share. First up is the Call of the Sirens stole. It’s my own design, knit out of one skein of Sappho from the Sanguine Gryphon. The colour is I cannot work the loom, and it’s knit on 4.5 mm needles.
The Call of the Sirens lace stole draws on the Greek myths about the Sirens. The Sirens’ calls could bewitch sailors to make them forget who they were and and where they were going. Often the Sirens caused them to forget to navigate their ships and the ships would be wrecked against the rocky shore.
The edging of the stole show the waves, followed by the rocky shoreline. The center portion of the stole represents the braided hair of the beautiful Sirens.
I have also started a cardigan in Ebenholz Wollmeise 100% superwash. I’ve gotten a bit further than the picture shows, but my needles were confiscated by an overzealous airport security guard in Geneva, so I have to get replacement needles before I can continue. Right now it’s a mess of live stitches, and of course all my stitchmarkers are loose in the project bag. Oh well, these things happen.
Aside from that I have the next Mystic KAL project on my needles, and about 80% completed. I don’t want to say too much about it, but the knitalong will happen sometime in September. The yarn is Sappho in Honey Nor Bee, from the Sanguine Gryphon – rich shades of burgundy. It looks lovely, but of course I have no pictures to share at this time.
And finally I’ve been working on another lace scarf/wrap in Rust coloured Tencel 5/2 from Yarntopia Treasures. It’s knit diagonally, which makes the drape different from the other lace project. It’s a fun knit, and should be finished reasonably soon.
So between the knitting and the Mystic Air KAL starting today, I’m certainly keeping busy. There are lots of new ideas for exciting projects for the summer and the fall, and I can’t wait to get started on those too. 
The swatch for the Mystic Air KAL has been posted to the group for the knitalong.
In addition to dyeing with the Sanguine Gryphon last weekend, we also visited the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival on Saturday, May 2.
Here are a few of us entering the fairgrounds – me, Laura and Linda. Nikki took the picture.
The weather was really so, so. It was overcast, and rained for part of the day, but for us northerners it was fairly warm.
I spent most of the day just walking around the festival looking at all the yarn and other knitting related items. But the most fun part was meeting so many people.
I wore my Mystic Roses shawl, which made me relatively easy to spot in a crowd. The shawl is really large, and the colour is such a vibrant red that it’s hard to miss.
Here are some of the people from the Wollmeise group on Ravelry. A few of the people I already knew from the Gryphon retreat, but there were a number of others whom I had only met online before, and it was really nice to meet you in person.
Mary Ann brought real NY bagels from New York city, and they were just as delicious as I remember.
I also met a number of people from the Mystic knitalongs, and that was really fun. It was nice to put some faces to the names and email addresses I’ve gotten to know over the years.
Finally, of course I did some shopping. The one thing I was really looking for was a jumbo ball-winder, to wind all my neverending skeins of lace. Winding 1,200 m of lace, or (even worse) 1,600 m by hand is just not fun. And while I had a knitpicks-winder, it just didn’t do the large laceskeins for me, so I thought it was a good investment. I ended up purchasing a Strauch jumbo ball-winder. It’s amazing. I’ve already tried it with a number of different yarns, and it works great.
I also bought some yarn – two different lace weights – but mainly I just looked at all the things and all the people. It was a lot of fun.
I spent the weekend at the Sanguine Gryphon retreat learning how to dye yarn, and teaching a class on lace design.
The retreat was at Gryphon’s amazing studio in Easton, MD.
The actual dyeing was mainly kettle dyeing done outside on these propane heaters. Gryphon got us started by heating up the water in which to dye the yarn.
Here is part of the group listening intently to Gryphon’s instructions and taking notes for future reference.
There were actually 16 of us there, but I don’t have a complete group picture. I’m hoping someone else will post one.
We started out by trying a few different dyeing techniques with small sample skeins of somewhat underspun Eidos. There is a teal one, a semisolid red, oil beetle, and then a skein dyed in a shallow pot with reds and oranges.
I actually also made a handpainted skein in crimson and gun metal, but somehow that disappeared and I never saw the final result.
My first independent experiment was with two skeins of Little traveler. I used crimson, scarlet and black, and I really think this turned out well. I can’t wait to use this yarn.
Then I dyed two skeins of Sappho along with Rena. We made them shades of fire red and some browns – which made them turn out this sort of dark antique rose.
And finally I dyed a skein of Eidos with Laura in shades of sapphire blue and emerald green.
And just because the yarn looked so beautiful, I thought I’d include a picture of all my yarn together. The sample skeins are the four on the top, and then it’s Eidos, 2xLittle Traveler, and 2xSappho.
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