Continued Laciness
A rainy day here in Brasstown, NC, which is fine, because I always have lots to do inside. I have a few more strips of lace to finish for the pillowcases for Christmas, and can I confess something to you? I am tired of knitting lace! So tired that I started knitting again on the lavender sweater that will be too scratchy to wear, and is scratchy to knit.But I must keep on knitting lace! I am determined to finish, and I chose, silly me, to have inserts in each one, as well as edging. I designed the daisy insertion shown here because I wanted a daisy insertion and couldn't find a pattern for one. That was fun, and I even knitted a swatch, or two, or three before I got it right and carried on.
I love the darker pink one, called Valenciennes. I showed it last blog entry in black, which I inadvertently changed needle size and ruined. It will be redeemed later, see below. It's complicated and needs watching, meaning no t.v. or conversation or anything to distract, so it's taking a while. I have about 18 inches so far, and need 40.
The lighter pink is called Leaf and Berries, for some unknown reason. It does kind of look like Ginko leaves, but I don't see the berries. Its insert is done, and I only lack about 10 inches of it. Again, it needs concentration, so it's not going quickly.
I needed diversion, so my friend Lillian shared what she'd learned in a class at the Folk School on Boro stitching, a Japanese mending technique. We spent a lovely afternoon stitching samplers and talking, and then I put it on the back burner to get back to the lace for a couple of weeks. First, we had Fall Festival, I caught a bad virus, and then there was the Book Arts Building Grand Opening. As pictured, it was not a gluten free menu. But it was fun and went well. 
This morning, after weeks of collecting possibilities, I started a Boro project. My softest, most favorite pair of jeans are becoming embarrassing, so they went first. Traditionally, Boro is blue and white, but I say it's what I want it to be! Pink silk with crocheted daisy, green perle cotton and green daisy it what I want it to be today. It's kind of hard on the hands, but it's also kind of addictive and very meditative, so I will plug away at it today. This is where the scraps of black lace, along with the swatches I've been working on. They'll be incorporated kind of crazy quilt style onto other patches.
But first, I have to go get the yarn I dyed yesterday with Lillian and Pam at Pam's house. Pam had just taken a class with Judith MacKenzie on instant indigo dyeing and shared what she learned with us. How lucky am I to have friends like this?!?! Pam wound a warp of bamboo and cotton for me, and she taught us how to mix up the indigo, and away we went. 
I have one more warp of Alpaca, tencel and wool I need to go take out of its bath when there's a break in the rain. It will be so fun to weave scarves out of the stuff we dyed!
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