Wandering Thread

The thing is - I have got an amazing yarn from Henry's Attic. It called Avalanche, 100 silk, an extremely soft and smooth yarn. And of course I wanted to start to work with it right away. The project must be something as spectacular as this yarn. And that was a problem. I started by searching Ravelry. The closest garment for this yarn I could find was Date Night by Nikol Lohr . But I just can't follow any pattern without changing it completely. So all is left from the Date Night was seamless top-down technique. Then I draw a few sketches of what I would like to knit in the future. As result of all I finished recently this quite successful top I called Flower Dance. The work was exciting and pretty satisfying at the end. Find it on Ravelry.

It has become colder in Seattle. I like this rainy season, air is getting thinner, rain is making people calm. It's also a perfect time for meditation, because rain is helping you to look inside. My hands are often getting cold very easily. I have an old cotton gloves I knitted two years ago, but they are not warm enough. So I decided to find a window between my projects and knit some gloves for myself with fluffy mohair. It's incredibly warm! See My Patterns tab to download the pattern for these gloves for FREE. Find the pattern on Ravelry

Forest Glade  is a nature-inspired square shawl. It is worked in all-over floral lace. The style of the lace motifs is based on traditional Estonian techniques. The main square part of the shawl has a simple, yet charming floral design which creates a “glade.” The edge worked around the main square represents a “forest.” Hence, Forest Glade. A special FREE offer for my customers only!  Wider border is available on your request.  However, it is presented in a chart only, and it is not tested, nor photographed. It consists of a square main section and the lace edging is knitted onto the center part using circular needles. The pattern has charted and written instructions and tutorials. The pattern has a decent amount of nupps around the edge. The shawl can be knitted with different yarn weights - lace, light fingering and fingering.  Yarn used: 2 strands of Henry's Attic Moriah Fibers: 100% Merino wool. Yarn weight: light fingering. ...

I have to share this recently finished shawl. I used merino wool yarn (light fingering weight) and 3.25 mm needles. The pattern is coming soon.

Evenstar Shawl by Susan Pandorf. Published in "Fellowship of the Ring Series" , "Elven Delicacies" , "Sunflower Designs" . Yarns suggested: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Silk Thread II The Unique Sheep Eos. Yarn weight: Lace / 2 ply. Needle size: US 3 - 3.25 mm. Yardage: 1450 - 1500 yards (1326 - 1372 m). Sizes available: 60 inch diameter. Galadriel Hooded Dress by Nikol Lohr. Published in "Literary Knits" . Yarns suggested: Araucania Ranco Solid Frog Tree Brushed Suri. Yarn weight: Fingering / 4 ply (14 wpi). Needle size: US 8 - 5.0 mm: US 7 - 4.5 mm. Yardage: 2000 - 3500 yards (1829 - 3200 m). Sizes available: S, M, L, XL. Aniron tunic by Luise O'Neill. Published in Impeccable Knits Ravelry Store and In Tune . Yarns suggested: Knit Picks Swish DK. Yarn weight: DK / 8 ply (11 wpi). Needle size: US 7 - 4.5 mm; US 6 - 4.0 mm. Yardage: 984 - 1353 yards (900 - 1237 m). Sizes available:36.75 (38.5, 40.75, 42.5, 44.7...

This shawl is my version of Echo Flowers shawl with the trim from shawl Laminaria and simple edge "herringbone". I used Valley Yarns - 2/10 Merino Tencel (Colrain Lace), 616.0 yards (563.3m), "Blue Lapis" color, lace weight / 2 ply, 50% Merino, 50% Tencel . After blocking the shawl has these dimentions: 58" x 28" (147 x 71 cm).

I have heard many times that alpacas are intelligent, cute and graceful animals... which spit when they are nervous. So, recently my husband and I decided to visit an alpaca farm. Google Maps showed a lot of them around Seattle, and luckily, we chose the right one to visit: America's Choice Alpacas. It was my first experience with alpacas. The friendly owners of the farm, Jeff and Yumi,  were very informative, and introduced us to all of their alpacas. From level zero, I learned a lot in one day! They had two types of alpacas: Suris (or rastafarians, as Jeff called them) - with silky pencil-like locks resembling dreadlocks but without matted fibers. Suris are prized for their longer and silkier fibers. And Huacayas (or teddy bears, as Jeff called them) - which produce a dense, soft, crimpy, sheep-like fiber. I didn't know that alpacas have only bottom teeth and also 3 stomachs! They are very curious animals. They also have weird nails (almost like talons!) which are ...