silent fingers ~ posted by Melissa

And O, ye swelling hills, and spacious plains Besprent from shore to shore with steeple-towers, And spires whose ‘silent finger points to heaven’… - William Wordsworth 1770–1850

 



Isager Strik Spinni Wool 1 - soft chartreuse & warm gingerbread

 

 

 

The top photo is the yarn I chose for the Girls in Sheep Clothing New Years Knitalong.

 

My Spire will be green with a cream border - if I ever cast on :).

 

I am so lucky to have won a giveaway on lori's blog & so glad that she knows Karen & Pat at Crows Nest Studios who made the blue pottery yarn bowl that is my prize ~ thank you, Lori & Karen & Pat!

 

...& I went from having no yarn bowls to two (aren't I lucky!) when I received the handmade cherry bowl for Christmas from Kelli ~ it was made by the husband of one of the gals in our knitting group...thanks Kelli & Diane & Mr Diane :).

 

My sister who is not a knitter has been surprising me the last few years with sweet handmade tags for the knits I gift ~ she finds the best shops on etsy (the tags above can be found here and here ~ they're almost too pretty to use, don't you think?

 

That's it for today ~ mostly some eye candy for your enjoyment ~ I hope to have some knitting to share by the end of the weekend!

 

Hope your not per-SPIRE-ing too much from burning up the needles, Kelli & Andrea!

 

~ Melissa

 

 





it's been a pleasure ~ guest blogger lori

finally 'all done'  photos! in one way it's my favorite part, deciding how to photograph knits after making them. in the second photo you may notice my is leaves draped over a barbed wire fence. when i showed this on my blog this morning i received emails and comments, 'how could you?!' not to worry, no leaves of grass were harmed in this photo shoot. i loved knitting this the first time last summer and maybe even more this time, i couldn't seem to put it down. brooklyn tweeds loft was one of the reasons, it's incredibly lovely, delicate and light, woolly and heathery and after a soak, so very soft. thank you for all the kind comments and making this first kal a true pleasure. i'm looking forward to seeing all the beautiful leaves of grass coming off your needles. if you have an interest to see more photos and or the cute critters that came out for these photos,
go here lori times five. ravelry notes here.

happy kal'ing everyone!    :)

done! by guest blogger ~ lori

blocking tonight, photos to come, i miss you already leaves!

on the edge ~ guest blogger lori

like a good book that i don't want to end, i'm slowing down on the edge. but at the same time so excited to finish and soak and block (the magic!) and wear! i wanted to share something that's helpful to me when  knitting on a border. it's a bit difficult to manouver a shawl this size with the back and forth motion of chart e, so i've taken off the right needle and put a connector in it's place to keep the stitches safe. then putting the right (working) needle on a short cable and began working the edge this way. if you were using a fixed needle it would be the same to simply put a point protector on the right needle and use a dpn as the new working needle. since chart e is unmemorizable (this probably is not a word!) for me i think i will be here for awhile!

thank you melissa for hosting this kal, i'm enjoying so much, and welcome new kal'ers, leanne and tracey!

p.s. forgot to say i have used up four balls of loft at 275yds, 50g each with just a bit left, that tiny ball above. i switched from postcard to fossil for the edge and hope one skein will be enough.

it's too cold to do anything but knit! ~ guest blogger lori

"soon at 144 stitches and lisbon airport, it was on the 24" needle and it zigzagged about europe with me for two or three weeks before returning home, completed. on its circular needle it formed its own knitting bag to contain the ball of wool."
 elizabeth zimmermann's ~ knitter's almanac

i've only been to santa barbara and back, but my knitting has come with me everywhere, in it's own bag!  i am on a 32" needle now with 576 stitches, the total increase amount in this pattern. and almost through the 2nd d chart. because i am easily distracted, there are stitch markers between each 20 stitch repeat, and a lifeline in for good measure too. we are having record breaking cold here on the central coast of california, as low as 30 degrees! perfect knitting weather!

my first kal ~ by guest blogger lori





hello and happy new year! this is my first knit along and i couldn't be happier to

be joining in. my name is lori (this is also my first time to guest post, so i hope i'm

getting this right) i'm really looking forward to making leaves of grass, this time for me.

last summer i made this for a gift (ravelry link), in a blanket size, using worsted weight (blog post here). i've wanted to knit with loft, jared floods wool, since seeing it at my lys. and especially this color, postcard. i'm going to do the edging in fossil. 

 

 wool in better light on my fake stove  :)

 

i was having trouble photographing this morning because of the rain and clouds,
but postcard is a lovely greyish pink color. i've had this in my stash, looking forward to casting
on for some time. this morning i did, and am almost done with chart a. and really looking
forward to getting on circulars soon. and i'm very much looking forward to seeing all the
lovely pi shawls here. thank you melissa for having this kal. so much fun!

knitters = good people

I chanced upon a wonderful blog last week.

I think it's one everyone will be inspired by...

Click here to see what Lori has been up to...

It started with an idea...

which grew and grew

and grew.

And now Lori will be going to Africa with her pockets full of pockets.

Big hearts = big smiles.

I can't wait to see the photos when you get back, Lori!!!

Safe journey  ~  Melissa