Planning ahead

I have taken a decision. This summer will be 4-5 days in Edinburgh and a handful more in London for KnitNation.

Not much to say, except a course

I haven't been posting essentially because I don't have much to say: I am mainly working on finishig some stuff (some long-due stuff too!) and some stuf I am planning for publication.
The opnly erelvant thing to say is that on May 14, starting at 10 am, I will be teaching reversible cables at Unfilodi... in Carate Brianza. Check out the link for further informations.

Am I a blogstar now?

In the Italian bologosphere, there was a moment when everyone was suddenly publishing books and therefore becoming a "blogstar" (whatever the heck a blogstar is). Well, is this my turn to become a blogstar of sorts? Because I am appearing in a book, a knittiiong book obviously, of the Fresh Designs series published by Cooperative Press. The shawl I designed (a shawlette for taller than me americans, but I am a tiny Italian and that was, for me, a full-sized shawl) will be included in the upcoming shawls and wraps vollume of the series and here is the sneek preview of it. (For a more complete preview of the series go to this Facebook page.)

Fresh designs also has launched a fundraiser through Kickstarter. See here for more informations and to contribute.

Little Nubs

How comes that I have fallen in love with the look of something so utterly boring to knit as moss stitch?

At the Biella The Wool Company

On March 22 I went to Miagliano to visit the Biella The Wool Company. I will have more to say about it in the future, by now I have posted the photos. They are not the best quality because... Uhm, because I was taking them and because I forgot the camera so I used the cellphone.

Rakestroke

A few days ago I gifted myself a new toy: a rakestraw spinner. It's a sort of paddle that you can rotate to produce yarn: a sort of a spindle substitute. I am toying around with it, I probably chose the wrong project to start with: I have a packet of 7 rainbow minitops that I wanted to spin for a lace project, probably for the Rome Gay Pride. But spinning thin yarn with the rakestraw is not all that easy, since all twist must be added by hand. Yet, I have worsted-spun two colors already (blue and indigo) to about sportweight and plied them the Andean way to a rather lofty (for a worsted) sportweight. I like the resulting yarn, but it does indeed take longer and more effort, although I must admit that plying on the paddle allows more control than spindle plying (though you can't ply the same amount of yarn).

At the same time I finished the multicolor merino I bought in London this summer. it still needs soaking and a bit of blocking, but that will come in due time (I want to also finish the rainbow and another yarn I have on the make to do it all at once). I am satisfied with the result, but I also itch for some woolen spinning: I have been worsted spinning only for a few months, so as soon as I have either of the current yarns off a spindle I will start with some more of the Shetland from Deborah at last year's spinning workshop in Florence.

To help Japan

Purchase Olgajazzy's patterns. Until the end of the month Olga will donate the 85% iof the price for each of her patterns to relief organizations dealing with the earthquake and tsunami survivors.