Catching up

It's been a busy week and weekend, but I managed to finish Harry Potter (almost twice) and Clue 4 for MS3. I did not block out the stole for this week's picture, but here's what we have so far:



I know it's not the best picture with the white background, but it does allow you to see the actual colorway of this yarn. I promise that with clue 5, I'll go back to dark backgrounds...

Anyway, I would love for this to be a theme about the bee goddess, with a bee on the one end, then honeycomb, then flowers, but I don't think so. It doesn't fit with the white or black yarn color suggestion. Something funky is going to happen with this week's clue. We were instructed to put a lifeline in on a right-side row about 50 rows below where this clue ended. Also, the pattern abruptly ended. So, we shall see. All will be revealed this Friday, and although I am happy to have a short break from MS3 after falling behind, I can't wait until Friday!

MS3 Clue 3

Another one down!

More on Twined Knitting

I am really loving this twined knitting. I have finished the other mitten:

and I’m designing and knitting a pair for my DH. So what exactly is twined knitting?

From the back cover of Twined Knitting: a Swedish Folkcraft Technique, by Dandanell, Birgitta; Danielsson, Ulla; Hansen, Robin Orm (Translator) :

"Twined knitting, or tvaandstickning, is a venerable Swedish folk knitting technique which creates an unusually dense, durable, and exquisitely patterned fabric. Twined knitting has been used historically for mittens, caps, gloves, stockings, and jackets. Knitters today are finding that the extra skill and care demanded by this fascinating technique are justified by its heirloom-quality results.”

Basically, it’s a really old technique that involves using 2 strands of yarn from the same ball (the center and the outside) usually knit in the round. It makes a really warm and durable fabric that is more elastic in the width and not so elastic in the length. You can’t twined knit too tightly, which is perfect for me because I always knit tight!

For information on the history of twined knitting:
http://knittingkninja.com/tag/twined-knitting

And for a starter tutorial on twined knitting:
http://www.knitty.com/issuewinter05/FEATwin05TT.html

It’s a bit tricky at first, but once you get into a rhythm, the knitting moves along nicely. The two most decorative stitches used in twined knitting are the “crook stitch” and “chain path”. These stitches are made by carrying one of the strands of yarn in front of the work. Here is a close up of both stitches in the mittens:

The diamond pattern on the hand of the mitten was made with crook stitches:

Twined knitting was originally done with a multi-stranded Z twist yarn (click here for info on Z vs S twist). Most commercially available yarns we knit with are S twist. I used an S twist yarn for the class mittens and I really like the way the finished product feels. But of course I need to know if it really makes a major difference, so I am going to try a couple of pairs of mittens in a z twist yarn. I could only find two companies carrying z twist yarns: The Wooly West Mora yarn and Black Water Abbey .

I am using the Mora yarn right now (fingering weight) and have ordered some Black Water Abbey worsted weight yarn. It will take a couple of months for my complete analysis, but I’ll keep you posted…

MS3 Clue 2...

is finally finished. My twined knitting class delayed me, not only because of the day away, but also because I'm having so much fun two-end knitting.

Here the end facing both directions: I see a face in the left picture and a bug in the right picture. What do you think?

I'm starting Clue 3 today (Wednesday) and hope to finish by Thursday night so I am on track for Clue 4 released on Friday. Of course I will be at a "Muggle Festival" Friday night, so no knitting then!

Twined Knitted Mitten Class

Yesterday I was lucky enough to go to the "TKGA Conference" in NH and attend a workshop by Beth Brown-Reinsel of Knitting Traditions. I have been waiting for years for Beth to teach close enough to Maine when I had the time available to take this class. I love learning new knitting techniques and this one has me hooked. Beth was a great teacher and it was a really fun class. So here it is...

And the inside is just as cool as the outside. Here's what "twining" the stitches creates on the inside of the mitten:

We only had time to make the right mitten in class, but don't worry-I'll be finishing the left mitten over the weekend! More about the class and the mittens in a couple of days...

Ravelry

Yeah! I finally got my Ravelry invite and it's as great as I hoped it would be. It will certainly help bring knitters together in this ever-increasing online world. If you don't know what Ravelry is, check it out here: www.Ravelry.com. If you are on the waiting list, be patient—it's worth it. And if you're already a member…yeah!

Ughh...

This is my third summer tending bees. I only have two hives and would love to expand my apiary when I feel I can properly manage the two hives I have. This year I have loosely followed Cornell’s beekeeping schedule and have felt like I have a good handle on things. Until today…

One of my hives swarmed. Ughh. I have no idea why they felt the need to leave the hive. To make matters worse, I prepared to catch the swarm, but the girls decided to take off before Eric (DH) got home to help. Time from swarm to new location was only 3 hours. I didn’t get any pictures of this swarm, but here’s some pictures from last year:

Please click for a larger image (and the full effect)…

We attempted to catch that swarm as well, but the queen flew away in the process and the others followed shortly after.

Going... going... gone.
It is instinct for bees to swarm as a means of reproduction. When a hive swarms, the queen and a large percentage of the worker bees leave to find a new hive. The original hive is left to raise a new queen (and replace all of the workers it lost).

Time to get started

I have been procrastinating too long about starting my blog, but with MS3 starting up, now seems like a good time. What is MS3? Mystery Stole 3 by Melanie from Pink Lemon Twist. Wow, what fun! This is my first KAL and I can’t tell you how excited I am to be part of such a large, international knitting group. Sign up for MS3 closes on July 6, so if you enjoy lace knitting, sign up now!

I have finished Clue 1, pictured below. I am using Prism Yarn, Lace Wool, color “Antique”, #4US/3.5mm needles, and beads (Cream Ceylon). I have never done beaded knitting using a crochet hook, but I absolutely love it. The theme guesses have been great–I need to see a little more before I’ll take a stab at a guess.

It's not easy to take pictures of lace knitting in progress without blocking, but you get the general idea.