by: Gwynn

The episode in which Gwynn gets her lace groove back,

July 10th, 2009 by Gwynn | Posted in General News |

This is the episode in which Gwynn gets her lace groove back, Annalee is “On the Hook” and Beth knits “On the Other Hand”…..

Here at Halcyon Yarn, there is not a woman among us who isn’t crafty.  (That’s a loaded statement if I ever heard one!)  Every single one of us knits.  We also have crocheters, spinners, weavers, rug makers and felters in our ranks.  To take advantage of all this talent, I will be featuring blog blurbs by my colleagues on crafty topics not limited to knitting.  This week, after an update on my FINISHED Shrug, (yes, finished: last week’s Public Proclamation did the trick) I have more info on last week’s sneak peek with Annalee (“On the Hook”) and a segment by Beth concerning left-handed knitting (“‘On the Other Hand”).

Here is The Shrug. I modified the original pattern as you can probably see. It is a simple rectangle and I made mine wider than the original by casting on 76 stitches instead of 46. I made it longer by knitting to my elbows before casting off. I made everyone try it on and it fit everyone here. It amiably took on the personality of each wearer and looked great with everything. I intended it for strappy numbers but loved it equally over t-shirts and blouses. Overall, I am happy, especially with the silky feel of this fabric on my shoulders. Also, I would highly recommend a public accountability system of your own choosing to help with your own UFO issues – it helped me tremendously.

Annalee is one of our resident crocheters here at Halcyon. She is actually our Go To Girl on all things crochet, or as I like to call her, our own Halcyon Yarn In House Crochet Expert. That’s a pretty groovy title. She is currently mad for the new book Amigurumi Two! and I am surprised she has been able to tear herself away long enough to get going on this beautiful scarf. “On the Hook” this week she has the beautiful Diamond Silk Scarf from the Winter 2007 issue of Interweave Crochet. In the mag it is made with Halcyon Gemstone Silk and Halcyon Gemstone Silk Boucle. Annalee has chosen to stay with the Halcyon Gemstone Silk Boucle for the diamonds and use a new sock yarn we just started stocking (Berroco Sox) for the background. It is an imaginative and lovely combination. The texture of the Silk Boucle gives the diamonds a soft flowery look and the colors of the Berroco set them off to perfection. This sock yarn has specks of metallic running through it. We are all fond of calling it Twinkle because the sparkle is just enough to glint in the light and catch the eye. Annalee especially likes the way the natural sheen of the silk plays off the metallic in the sock yarn. It is too bad you can’t reach through the monitor and touch the combination of these fibers  for yourself. This technique is actually Tapestry Crochet; while one fiber is crocheted, the other fiber is carried along. The drape of this fabric is divine and it has LOTS of smoosh. Stay tuned for more progress…

Beth knits, crochets, weaves and dabbles with spinning but in my opinion, her forte is knitting; she is one heck of a knit designer. She has the ability to see the inherent qualities of a fiber and bring them to life in a design. Which is all the more astounding given that she is a left-handed knitter; hence “On the Other Hand”. Here is what she has to say:

“I’ll start off by letting you know that  I am seriously left-handed.  I mean really–a couple of my boys can do some things with their right hands and other things with their left hands–they did NOT get that from me.  My grandmothers (both beautiful knitters) were left handed, but knit right handed and my mother (another beautiful knitter) is  right handed. So, I gave up all aspirations to carry on the tradition.  Until…I was awaiting the birth of my first child and I felt pregnancy was at least as much about knitting as morning sickness and swollen ankles!  So I bought a book, some needles and yarn and set about teaching myself  to make heirlooms.  My poor boys! (Yes, three strapping boys and their father–all of whom live in terror of what Mom may lovingly gift them with next!  Gone are the days of excitement over a bright red vest with a kite on it, but that’s a whole other blog!)
Generally I just follow the pattern instructions.  Simple patterns (which were my repertoire), socks and anything on circular needles will most often come out fine. Recently, Susan, Gwynn and I all knit a side to side cardigan that sent me flying to create a new, simpler and easier to follow pattern.  (I will keep you posted on that, but I promise it will be easier for left and right-handers alike!)  Susan and Gwynn both admitted to having trouble understanding the pattern at the “adding the right front” portion to which I responded, “Imagine trying to figure it out left-handed!”  (Sort of like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers–everything he did, only backwards and in high heels!)

Crazy patterns notwithstanding, remember: The general rule of thumb for us lefties is ‘right is left and left is right’.  But there is a bonus–we lefties read pattern charts like everyone reads everything else–left to right.  They have to read the charts from right to left!”

This week I am leaving you with pictures of the pond out our side door. This is where I take most of my pics when it is sunny. Isn’t it lovely? If you haven’t already, come and see it in person. Until then, Happy Knitting, Crocheting and Crafting in general.

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