Houston, We Have a Problem...

"There is a time in the life of every problem when it is big enough to see, yet small enough to solve."
- Mike Leavitt

So, in yesterday's mail, I got the additional skeins of yarn to complete Pumpkin Patch and Rapunzel. I only order one skein initially to play with and figure out if I want to complete a design with it. Then I order more. This is one reason I often swatch long before I really get going on a project. I need to ensure I can still get more in the same dye lot.

Uh-oh...

Do these look like the same color to you?

If the answer is yes, I suggest you recalibrate the color on your monitor.

Or get glasses.

These aren't even close.

But I got on the horn with Nancy and she has one lonely little skein of pumpkin Camelspin left in stock. it is on its way even as we speak. Hopefully it will match one of the two I already have. After all, the frost will be on the pumpkin before we know it. I need to get this one out to a test knitter asap.

I found this cute crossed rib pattern that looks (to me anyway) like cornstalks, so I knit a little row of them into the lower edge of the scarf. But I can;t go any further until I know which skein to use.

In the meantime, I put in a little time on my Maidenhair stole, which has a new name. All I could think of when working on this luscious blend of silk and mohair was:

Aspenglow.

See what I mean?






And yes. It IS that gorgeous. The color (safari) positively glows.






I am using a simple little four row texture pattern. By knitting it on a much larger needle than the recommended size 6, the pattern takes on a very open and drapey quality.




I am also planning to add a cable and fringe panel to each end.









And this afternoon, I swatched for another stole pattern, called Copenhagen. This photo, taken along one of Copenhagen's many canals, where we had dinner one evening, is the inspiration for the piece.

It has been floating around in the back of my noggin for a while now, and when Evelyn got these two beauties in, I couldn't resist any longer.


This is Camelspin.


Glacier Bay (for the water)







And Morgana (for the colors of the buildings along the canal)









The stole will feature traditional Danish star and check motifs, done fair isle style. I am going to line the stole with Merrimekko fabric after blocking, to hide the carried yarn on the backside.

The photo doesn't do it justice.

I know I have to get back to Sunflower, but my hands needed a break from all the beading.

Back to the salt mines...

Aperitifs

"The measure of achievement is not winning awards. It's doing something that you appreciate, something you believe is worthwhile. I think of my strawberry souffle. I did that at least twenty-eight times before I finally conquered it.

- Julia Child

"Girls just wanna have fun."

-Cyndi Lauper

I love to cook.

Sometimes I haul out my Julia Child, four bowls, two pots, all my measuring cups and spoons. I devote the day to my appetite for chocolate mousse.

It is delicious...

But also time consuming, fiddly, and rich beyond belief. You wouldn't want to eat it every day.

(Well, maybe you would, but you'd never admit it in writing.)

So I have a little sorbet, or a biscotti and a cappucino. Something light. frothy, easy, and quick.

Because sometimes, simple is better.

Most of my designs are intricately put together, tightly planned (dare I say, fiddly?) affairs. They are challenging and require attention to complete them properly. They also feature heavy beading. They are the knitting equivalent of the French Chef''s chocolate mousse.

As I pushed through the final rows of Zinnia last week, I felt the need to take a break now and again.

I had this yarn I had picked up at Threadbear in Lansing MI over the summer. Charming by Elegant Yarns is a two-ply fingering weight wool that stripes like Kauni or Noro. I wear a lot of green, so I picked a color that shaded from evergreen to olive to grassy to chartreuse, and everything in between.

I began to play with it. The yarn was so gorgeous by itself; it didn't need as lot of pattern to distract. And therein lies the beauty of it.

Once you get through the leaf pattern at the bottom, the lace pattern spools right out in eight easily memorized rows.

And the scarf served as a palate cleanser; the perfect balance to the more complex patterns in my basket.

I have several ideas for smaller projects (scarves, mitts, hats, etc.) rumbling around in my noggin, but they don't seem complicated enough to justify my usual fee.

And I thought, "What if I offer these little appeteasers on-line only (to keep costs down) for $4 a pop?" These simpler projects would be easily within anyone's budget and feature easily memorized and repetitive motifs. They would not neccesarily be lace, although this first one is.

So, here are first shots of Leaves of Grass, on its way out the door to Maria, the wonder knitter.


























Soon to be followed by Rapunzel - a wrap out of Handmaiden's scrumtious new yarn Maidenhair;









Pumpkin Patch - a variegated solid scarf with a nifty little pumpkin cable design in Handmaiden's beautiful Camelspin;



and Mossy Glen - a scarf in a variegated sock yarn (Woodthrush) from Rio de la Plata.

I am calling them aperitifs, which I was introduced to in Paris as the answer to the question:

"How can I monopolize this table on the Champs Elysee for four hours, without ordering any actual food?"

I was a student. I was poor. I could sip my kir royale for hours.

Now my children are students and I am still poor, but that is the subject of another post...

A good aperitif whets the appetite for more substantial fare. I hope these patterns will serve as a good introduction and alternative to my more complex and difficult work.

Why?

Because sometimes you want chocolate mousse beaded lace (current projects: Sunflower, Drizzle, & Sherwood)

And sometimes you just wanna have fun.

Julia (and Cyndi) would be so proud...

Northern Lights

In the light of the golden moon
In the light of the silvery eyes of the night
I wandered through fire through ice...
To the valley of the shadow of death
...Northern lights...
...Northern lights...
While you were asleep I was awake to be part of the dark
While you were asleep I was awake to find the truth I had sought for
...through all my life...
Aurora Borealis -
A part of me still in the sky

-Songwriter unknown

The Aurora Borealis has intrigued people from ancient times, and still does today. The Eskimos and Indians of North America have many stories to explain these northern lights.

One story is reported by the explorer Ernest W. Hawkes in his book, The Labrador Eskimo:

The ends of the land and sea are bounded by an immense abyss, over which a narrow and dangerous pathway leads to the heavenly regions. The sky is a great dome of hard material arched over the Earth.

There is a hole in it through which the spirits pass to the true heavens. Only the spirits of those who have died a voluntary or violent death, and the Raven, have been over this pathway.

The spirits who live there light torches to guide the feet of new arrivals. This is the light of the aurora. They can be seen there feasting and playing football with a walrus skull.

The whistling crackling noise which sometimes accompanies the aurora is the voices of these spirits trying to communicate with the people of the Earth. They should always be answered in a whispering voice. Youths dance to the aurora. The heavenly spirits are called selamiut, "sky-dwellers," those who live in the sky.

*****

When we were in Alaska some years ago, we were not lucky enough to see the northern lights. It was summertime, and the price we paid for the long days of sunshine and temperate weather was the relative brevity of the nighttime and lack of true darkness. All we got was dim twilight from about 1:00 - 4:00 a.m.

Needless to say, this was NOT optimum viewing conditions.

We have, however, seen the northern lights on several occasions, up at the lake: along with the Milky Way and Perseid meteor showers. The lack of big city lights on the peninsula makes for prime viewing of all things celestial.

All we must do to be reminded of "how great Thou art" and how small we art...

Is look up.

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
-Psalm 19

*****

It is with these memories in mind, that I have designed Northern Lights, the next full size stole pattern coming down the pipeline after Drizzle, direct from the sunflower farm to you.

The stole begins with the pine forests so common to the northern reaches of our world and segues into a strong diagonal zig zag pattern.

This section will feature bright turquoise beading to highlight the stitch pattern, which is remarkably evocative of the swirling patterns of the Aurora Borealis.

After a number of repeats, (to be determined as I go along) the lights give way to a clear starry sky - the firmament of heaven.

The yarn is Fleece Artist Suri Blue in Aurora, a lighter weight than the sea silk, and thus easier to bead (yay!) The yarn more closely approximates Woolen Rabbit's laceweight, which I used for MD/AN and Magic Carpet Ride.

I wanted something a little more wintry for this one, and the depth of color in the yarn is amazing. So vibrant it leaps out at you. The pictures don't do it justice.

Ah, but I saved the best for last (don't I always?)

The ends of the stole (up front, where they will set off your front view, as opposed to over your rear view, which, if you're built anything like me, is definitely NOT the body part you want to highlight) will have these lovely little stars and moons dangling from the points of its scalloped border.

Ooooh...shiny...









Now I would be remiss to tease you with something that is many months away without giving you a little immediate gratification.



Zinnia is halfway bound off and bound for the blocking boards later today. Just in time for me to wear her to Stitches Midweston Friday. Nothing like a little wearable advertising, eh mates?

Release date: August 30th.

And the Hydrangea stole (otherwise known as the wedding veil) comes out tomorrow.

I was hoping to have a picture of the bride to share, but I understand from speaking with Michael that electronic rights to the pictures are prohibitively expensive, so we shall see...

Thanks to everyone who volunteered to quick-knit Zinnia. It is wonderful to have so many friendly (to say nothing of helpful) knitters out there!

Sneak Peek

That's why they call it a teaser...

Hmmm... wasn't there something else?
Oh yeah!
This:

comes out Wednesday.

Busy, Busy, Busy...

Things are hopping around here.

H P I G !
O P N ! !

Well, that was fun!

McGregor's Garden socks should be done tonight (one of them at least) so tomorrow it's time to write up the pattern for Kim to test knit. After all, if today is Ash Wednesday (and it is) can Easter be far behind?

This is the last day to enter the warm-cold contest. Will announce winner on Friday.



Spring is busting out all over at Chez Sunflower. Hauled out my stash of Handmaiden yesterday, to remind myself why...





I don't need more.




I DON'T NEED MORE.




MUST BE STRONG!





Here's a first glimpse of Hydrangea ( a practice run for my future daughter-in-law's wedding stole)





And a few more sneak peeks of upcoming designs:














































Knit all you want; I'll make more...

And They're Off...

What's going on at Sunflower Designs?




A little bit of this...








And that...





And a whole lotta this other thing...

I think this is officially a butt-load of charts.

It took all day, but Morocco's pattern is in the bag

Or the laptop, as the case may be...

So now the race is on.

Can Susan stay ahead of test knitter Cheryl? Who will finish first?

(I know, the suspense is killing you!)


Of course I have a head start...

So in the interest of fairness, I put Moroccan Days aside in favor of another design project for Woolen Rabbit.


A while back I told Kim I wanted to design some rabbit socks for her.

She sent me some of her new fiber in a lovely purple, but I decided the lettuce shades of a skein I already had in stash were just perfect for what I had in mind.

That's Woolen Rabbit sock yarn in Rosemary & Thyme

After many false starts, I came up with these:


See the bunny?

There, amidst the garden rows?



How about now?

I'm calling the pattern Mr. McGregor, after the farmer of Peter Rabbit fame: The finished sock will feature a vertical lace pattern and more bunny ears on the leg. I think I will top it off at the cuff with a little curly endive ruffle.

But I just couldn't resist the thought of Peter hiding in the cabbages on the foot of one sock...

As to Morocco, I got several more repeats in on the body over the weekend, but there was one casualty:


WHOOPS! Gonna have to fix that. No idea where I snagged it.




Better get back to work; I think Cheryl's rounding the first turn...