White Lace, Roses & An Exotic Bloom

A couple of months ago, I started a scarf/shawl in white lace-weight pure merino yarn but it got put to one side as I had other more urgent projects to complete and also I was having trouble seeing what I was doing, particularly whilst I was ill.



This week it was time to finally finish this little beauty - it's not a shawl, more of a lace scarf. The yarn is so delicate that this is as light as air and soft as a cloud. It will be up for sale on Etsy shortly.


I've also been working on a small painted box - the design was based on my Valentine's Day bouquet, although I have added the tiny blue flowers as a bit of artistic licence. This has been painted in acrylics, given three coats of varnish and now awaits a pale green silk lining. Once that has been put into place, this will also be in my Etsy shop.


Once again I have managed to grow a humongous tropical flower, although this did not take nearly as much effort as my Bird of Paradise plant. I was given this Amaryllis for Christmas and it is the first time I have grown one of these - it was just a matter of keeping it watered & in sunlight and watching the magic happen. Each flower here is about the size of a soup plate, and you can just see the tip of a second bud coming up fast behind. I can't capture the richness of it's redness with the camera, but you get the idea!

There are Fairies at the Bottom of my Garden...Part 2

Meet Rosy, the second fairy this week. She's once again made in felt, but this time is blonde and has pink wings edged in vintage silk silver thread bought from a local silk mill. She has a rose bud in her hair and a thin embroidered silver circlet keeping her hair in place. As it is nearly Valentine's Day, she's holding a red felt heart, also edged in silver - the heart is removeable!

Rosy will be on Etsy tomorrow.

Finally!

For what seems like an eternity I have been working on this shawl, but last night it was over! This is made in an unusual yarn which consists of pineapple plant fibre combined with ramie - which I have just looked up, as I don't know what that is either. Apparently, it is a plant related to the stinging nettle! So this is a very organic, 'green' item of apparel.


To begin with, it took me over two hours to wind the yarn from its skein into a ball - some of it is so fine it is almost like hair. Luckily it is also quite strong and the only breakages were when I got into a hopeless tangle and had to cut out a knot and start again.


This made the choice of pattern quite important - I have a lot of complicated lacy shawl patterns but I felt this needed to be kept relatively simple because controlling the yarn would be hard enough, let alone following a knitting chart. So I chose a Rowan pattern that I have used before in laceweight mohair with success, so I knew it was 'do-able'. What a sensible decision that was! The yarn seems to have a mind of it's own as it is quite wiry despite being so fine, and tangles and twiddles were a problem the whole way through. I also managed to pull the needle out of great wadges of stitches on several occasions and only sitting very still and VERY carefully re-threading them on saved it from complete disaster.

But it got finished with no glaring errors that I can see, and after washing it and drying it stretched to it's proper shape, I am very pleased with it. It is triangular and as light as air, and when scrunched up it fits into one hand. The yarn has a slightly crisp feel to it, without being harsh which is very pleasant. The pattern is a simple recurring motif with little triangles of stocking stitch among lacy holes.

I have to give first refusal of this to a friend of mine, but if she declines it then it will be on Etsy very shortly. Good Grief!! SOLD - that has to be the quickest sale on line I've ever had!



After all that work, I treated myself to a little play with the banana silk yarn - and made the above knitted rose, which will shortly become a brooch. Very silky and shiny yarn, with a fluffiness to it where it has been hand-spun. Unusual and very pretty - I shall be buying more of this!

And finally, I received another batch of potatoes to paint this week, including some amazingly coloured ones - one is deep indigo and maroon. I can't wait! Who knew the humble spud came in such glorious technicolour?