Before Blocking

Before Blocking, a photo by Garyou on Flickr.

In fact, I did block this doily once; it didn't come out well.

As blogged before, I used the same pattern as my first tatted doily. I learned how to tat with a shuttle and a ball from this pattern. My first tatting book doesn't give me enough instruction how to tat with a shuttle and a ball. FUJITO Teiko's book tells me that simply and straightforwardly. Without her book, I'd quitted tatting.

Now I'm thinking of my next tatting project.



Via Flickr:
Designed by FUJITO Teiko
Lisbeth #40

Magic Thread

Tatted Doily in Progress, a photo by Garyou on Flickr.

I use magic thread method to hide the ends of the thread. I think this project is good for acquiring the method. The pattern of motifs is easy to tat and you can try the method for each motif.

When I first tatted this pattern, I didn't know anything about magic thread method. I just tied each ends at that time.



Via Flickr:
Designed by FUJITO Teiko
Thread: Lisbeth #40 Spring Garden

Can't Tell the Difference

Tatted Doily in Progress, a photo by Garyou on Flickr.

But it grows little by little everyday.



Via Flickr:
Desgined by FUJITO Teiko
Thread: Lisbeth #40 Spring Garden

Makes me Wonder

Tatted Doily in Progress, a photo by Garyou on Flickr.

Since Sunday, I can't stay away from "Stairway to Heaven." It's just been played in my head. I just can't stop that.
That kind of things happens once in a while, but not this long.

Once I heard this song on the way home from high school. I was in border town then. There was a house looked like terra cotta and the music was coming from there.
In front of me was mountains. Over the mountain was New Mexico. I just stopped walking and listened to the song. It was like a smoke drifting up into the air.
What an experience.

Slowly, but steadily, my doily project is getting larger.



Via Flickr:
Desgined by FUJITO Teiko
Thread: Lisbeth #40 Spring Garden

Little by Little

Tatted Doily in Progress, a photo by Garyou on Flickr.

Again, I added a few motifs.
It was stormy weather today. I left my office much earlier than usual. At that time, both rain and weather were not too bad, but I was right.
When I got home, wind was too hard as if to blow you up in the sky.



Via Flickr:
Designed by FUJITO Teiko
Thread: Lisbeth #40 Spring Garden

Doily in Progress And A New Shuttle

Doily in Progress, a photo by Garyou on Flickr.

I added a motif to my doily in progress with my new POP-A-BOBBIN-TATTING-SHUTTLE.
I suppose not to buy another one since I already have three of them.

Well ,that kind of things sometimes happens, you know.

I've got this ebony one and a cocobolo rosewood shuttle. They are wonderful and I love them so much.



Via Flickr:
Designed by FUJITO Teiko
Thread: Lisbeth #40 Spring Garden

Too Personal

Tatted Doily in Progress, a photo by Garyou on Flickr.

End of January, my father has passed away.
One night he went to sleep and never woke up again.

He had been suffering from lung cancer for more than three years. He was in hospital when he died. He got anticancer therapy there and was about to come home in a couple of days.
He didn't.

Nobody knows why he died and how he died. A nurse found him dead while she made her night round.
When I got to the hospital, he had his mouth wide open as if to snore. He didn't look suffered at all. That was the only relief.
Maybe the last person who talked with him was one of the nurses. Why not me?

As I looked through his belongings, I found the reciept of a hospital canteen. Father went shopping there the last day. There were about twelve items on it. He bought his favourite sweets and some drink.
He kept what he ate in the notebook I gave him to prevent dimentia. He wrote down what he ate for supper the last day.

Surely, he never thought he would be dead that night.

I've been told he didn't have that much time left from his doctor for he was getting weak and couldn't stand anticancer therapy soon.
I didn't believe it.
If he ate more and worked out a bit, he still could get therapy.
So I've been really hard on him. I tried to make him eat more.
As I recall, all I asked him were "did you eat something?" and "did you take your medicine?" after I came home from work.
There should have been more important thing to talk.
I should have been kind to him. Why wasn't I?
Stupid me.

Still, I'm alive and well.

I'm trying to tat a doily now. This is the pattern of the doily I first tatted.

My first tatted doily was so awkward of course, but my mother said, "well done," and let me put that on our dining table. She did crochet very well and always told me how clumsy I was. It was a rare occurence.
It is still on the table.

I wanted to tat it with the same thread, Olympus #40, but I don't have the same colour. So, I just picked up what I have in my stash.

I'm going to add more motifs.


Via Flickr:
Desgined by FUJITO Teiko
Thread: Lisbeth #40 Spring Garden

Tatted Motif in Progress

Tatted Motif in Progress, a photo by Garyou on Flickr.

It is so soothing to tat. Especially when I'm at a loss.



Via Flickr:
Designed by MORIMOTO Kazuko

Frogged and Resumed

Forest Fiesta in Progress, a photo by Garyou on Flickr.

I've started knitting honey cowl with Jaeger Luxury Tweed this morning. But the pattern didn't appear as I expected.
So I frogged it and resumed knitting Forest Fiesta.
I'm now on Welt 13. I'm going to knit in round to Welt 18. Still long way to go.

Spinning Corriedale

Spinning Corriedale, a photo by Garyou on Flickr.

I usually spin in lunchtime at the office. After I eat my lunch, I take out my spindle and spin.
Now I'm spinning Corriedale top from Rosebank Farm. This fiber is so fabulous and fun to spin with.
I'm thinking of knitting a lace shawl with the yarn. Thanks to a Jenkins Turkish Delight spindle, I can spin the yarn as fine as I want so far.
It really takes time to spin fine yarn, but I'm having fun spinning.


Via Flickr:
Spinning Corriedale Top from Rosebank Farm

Spendthrift on Yarn Becomes Tightwad?

Forest Fiesta in Progress, a photo by Garyou on Flickr.

It is Coming-of-Age Day, one of the national holidays today.
I worked on Forest Fiesta. The photo shows how much I knitted with a ball of yarn.
It's a kind of mindless knitting for now.

I wonder how long it will take to finish this.
In my rough calculation, it would be more than a month. I must hurry up a bit or winter would be over before my Forest Fiesta'd be finished.

As I work on this large project, I realise that my stash is too large. Extremely large for my knitting and crochet capability. That prevents me from buying more yarn.
Stash enhancement is a great relief for my stress. I sometimes desperately need it. I spare that for the time I really have to have it.


Via Flickr:
40 g of Chieti 15 & half row
Designed by Sandra McIver
Source: _Knit, Swirl!_
Yarn: Puppy Chieti Col.614
Needle Size 8 (4.5mm)
Started on 8 Jan. 2012

Casted on

Forest Fiesta, a photo by Garyou on Flickr.

I've started knitting my large stuff project, Forest Fiesta. It takes more than 10 minutes to purl / knit a row now. I wonder I really finish this project or not.



Via Flickr:
Designed by Sandra McIver
Source: _Knit, Swirl!_
Yarn: Puppy Chieti Col.614
Needle Size 8 (4.5mm)
Started on 8 Jan. 2012

Lacy Baktus in Progress

Lacy Baktus in Progress
Originally uploaded by Garyou.

It's a bit too much for me to write something in English.
So, I just put some photos of my work in progress.
Yarn is Nikke's Solfa in colour 418. I'm using size 9 (4.5mm) circular needle.

Crochet My Love

Brueghel Lace Scarf in Progress
Originally uploaded by Garyou.

It's been a while since last time I crochetted.
This happnes a lot.
Now I tat the most, but then, I knit the most, and so on.
That doesn't mean I do nothing other than knit while I'm hooked to knit. I also tat, crochet and spin once in a while. And sometimes, I just do what I'm hooked only.
Anyway, I've been away from crochet for quite a while.

This method is called brueghel lace. You make a long tape with loops and join some loops together. I believe this is one of the methods of bobbin lace, but not so sure.
I've tried this method for crochet and always failed to count rows and loops.
But this time, I'm doing ok so far.

Also, I crochet in a very relaxed manner. I've been a tight crocheter ever since I began crochet lace. This time, I try not to crochet too tight, rather, try to crochet without strain, but not too loose.
And so far, it turns out very nice fabric.

The photo below shows the book contains this pattern. It is my favourite book. It is rather old book, but doesn't matter. I've made several stuffs out of this book.

I'm using Jaeger's Matchmaker Merino 4 Ply. I really love this yarn. It is the "yarn." My idea. I'm so sad it is out of production. Or isn't it?

Garter Stitch Revisited

Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf in Progress
Originally uploaded by Garyou.

Garter Stitch? Boring!
But, wait. Is it really so?

Mindless knitting.
Doesn't it sound a bit calling it down?
Sometimes, I desperately need it, mindles knitting.
When I have nothing to do while watching TV, listening to music, and reading a book, and also I'm too tired to refering to a pattern every row, I want to knit, tat, or crochet something without looking up the pattern.
#"But you are watching TV ,listening to music or reading book! You're doing something!"
#Yeah, I know what you mean.
#I just can't stand my hands being empty.
#That's all.

It doesn't have to be mindless; I can knit cable rib socks without its pattern as well.
So, usually I pick something with a little decorative stitch to avoid boredom. That means, I choose not-only-stockinette-stitch-in-round or not-only-garter-stitch-in-flat pattern to make me feel busy.

But, you know, there surely are beautiful garter stitch garments in the world. A huge number of them exists. I mean, not only the garment but also garter stitches that consist that garment are awesome. And I really admire them.

So, once in a while I revisit garter stitch patterns and try to knit each row as beautiful as possible. Well, I know I'm a clumsy knitter, but still it is a good thing to have a model. It must be better than without one, at least.

And this is my 4th or maybe 5th Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf. The yarn I use is Diakeito's Dia Tasmanian Merino Atelier in AT810 colourway. This is one of the new yarns from Diakeito. When I first saw this yarn at my LYS I didn't think this yarn would become popular because its colourway variation. It's ... well, it's a bit large.
But working with it has totally changed my mind. This yarn is so lovely. It is so soft, so smooth, and fabric made of this is so tender that I don't want to take my hands off from it.
This would be perfect if they have different colourways.

Dia tasmanian Merino Atelier requires size 5 or 6 in Japanese size needles. So, it is 3.6mm to 3.9mm. I first tried size 4 (3.3mm) needles. I usually size down needles when I make all garter stitch garments.
But, the result was somewhat drapey (I may misinterpret the word drapey. The result was easy to fold).
So, I changed the needle to size 7 (4.2mm).

And you know what?
A pinwheel sweater is in progress, too!
Knit stitch one after another.
And, it isn't boring at all.