Jobo Designs

I’?ve been admiring Shetland lace motifs for years now.  The idea of knitting pattern rows EVERY row, and working with Frog?s Hair fine thread is daunting to me especially with the profound level of Mommy-Brain that I currently have going on.  The lack of sleep leaves me forgetful and unfocussed. 

So *why* does my exhausted brain tell me to want to knit the most complicated lace around?  I know, I know makes Zero sense to me too!

The Fiber: 

- A Nunoco Batt I?m assuming a Smorgasbox morsel I received this 2 oz batt in a swap, so I don?t really know what was in it or what it?s name was.  I?m guessing it has Merino and Silk among other things. 

The Spin:

- Spun on some Phil Powell Russian Style Supported spindles a nice smooth fast spin

- the thread is a very fine lace, basically heavy-cobweb (there?s an oxymoron for you?) and a two ply to boot

- my two ounce batt translated into around 650 yards of 2-ply thread

- the thread has nice smooth bits, some nice shiny bits, and even some nubbly textured bits.  It?s a Heinz 57 kind of a look.  Mostly green, but with some teal, brown, cream, black, and even some glitz and sparkle.

The Design:

- Shetland motifs scare me.  The thought of trying to work pattern rows EVERY row, with no purl-back break, is a little intimidating

- eventually I would like to knit a complete wedding ring Shetland shawl the size of a king sized bed.

- before I start something of that magnitude, I thought maybe I should try a more basic project.  So I looked around, but couldn’?t find a simple sampler that I wanted to jump into.

- So I looked in all of my Shetland pattern books and Stitch Dictionaries and found some elements that interest me and decided to just wing it!

- I plan on writing some more on my process for combining the motifs and some reviews of the books I am using stay tuned.

A Teaser:

- here is how it?s looking so far!

Years ago when I started spinning. I bought a 2 ounce braid of gold/yellow/red alpaca fiber from Fleece Artist.  I figured since I was just learning, it was ok to buy some small braids and just learn on them.  The finished yarn reminds me a bit of a roll of Life Savers candy. or maybe a bowl of Froot Loops?

 

I spun a small skein of Navajo 3-ply yarn and gave it to my Mom to knit something with.

 

 

Well, she decided to make a little pair of mittens and hold onto them until someday when a little grandkid came along. well BINGO! There IS a cute little grandkid, and now she is going to have warm little fingers all winter. They are still a little bit too big, but that's ok.

 

They're woolly and warm, and knit by her Grandma, and that's all that matters

 

I've made a little more progress on my silk/satin angora project idea…

the Silk:
- Honey colored natural Tussah Silk – which I figured would match the satin angora perfectly… and it really really does!

the Satin:
- Beautiful naturally colored Satin Angora fiber from Twist of Fate Family Farm Bunny "Lady in Red"
- Nice long staples, smooth draws into lace, light beautiful halo.  Addictive.  I could spin this alllll day, every day.

Spun: 
- very fine laceweight, one ply of each delicacy, spun on light Zebisis Designs stone whorl spindles
- Small sample knit to do a swatch and test... 60 yards.  Seems to be just right for the pattern
- so far, spun half of the angora, did not weigh it though, so guessing.  I have approximately 300 yards of fine single... I might do some silk next so I can do some more knitting when the fancy strikes.
- The color of the silk and the angora are absolutely perfect for each other!

Pattern:  Frozen Leaves by Anusla
- as above, I wanted something that could be easily made larger or smaller depending on how much yardage I get.
- I really like the airyness of the swatch, and the light halo that is coming out.  I wanted the lace to be really light and open because I know the angora will be extremely warm.  I also decided to try adding beads, though I’m not sure I chose the right ones… I’ll have to ponder it longer before I add more in.  I can always break the two I put in and have them gone if I want.

The pretty: