In the pink.

Posted on June 2, 2017 by Jen

jenjoycedesign© over-dye

Sipping iced coffee & knitting next to an open window enjoying a very warm breeze wafting through, and listening to a cacophony of birds’ song. I suppose it is a perfect spring day and I’m feeling utterly in the pink! What is going on here is over-dying to change a cool ice pink in fingering-weight yarn to a slightly warmer tone…

jenjoycedesign© over-dye

Four skeins overdyed & drying on the line among the oak trees, on a very warm June afternoon. Personally, pink is not my favorite color to wear, although when you see forthcoming design mentioned in previously posted ‘Fishy’, you will get the Pink Thing. Yes, and then you will see. Note that the yarn that I un-plied in Fishy post was far too fine to design with, after all , but it will be very nice to sample the forthcoming design in a finer form.

♣ ♣ ♣

I hope you are all enjoying your June, and for my nieces school is out for the summer, and we finally have a date to have a photo shoot of them modeling the Camino Inca designs … so watch this space!

Hang Dry

Posted on July 2, 2016 by Jen

jenjoycedesign© hang-dry

Done & dusted with something I’ve been working on for a few weeks !

Una Cosettina

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Jen

Una Cosettina, or ‘ A Little Something’ is the name of these half-mitts, designed especially for Oropa 1ply yarn, which is made with wool from sheep which have roamed the foothills of Alps of Northern Italy for perhaps a thousand years. Who knows for sure? But, there is an age-old mill in Biella which uses much the same processing methods as of long ago, and which make the wool from these Old-World sheep into yarn. Oropa 1ply is a rustic heritage yarn as rugged as the mountain terrain it comes from. Truly Oropa yarn is nothing less than a timeless treasure. I talk a lot about the yarn, and Biella’s place in Italy’s wool industry in Posted From Italy, Yarn Whisperer, and some about elements of design process in my previous post.

I wrote a pattern which incorporates the following; my own edging that I will simply call ‘eyelet edging’, a cast-on and bind-off’, elements of i-cord, rib, and lace all in one. Shown in Pearl Grey & Natural Oropa 1ply, sturdy & feminine, these half-mitts will keep your hands warm, while letting the spring breezes through from it’s open lace-work. Inspired by womens riding gloves of olden days perhaps, slightly bell-shaped , stylish, and ready to make a spectacular conversation piece when people ask about them.

jenjoycedesign©Lacey Little Somethings half-mitts — Modeling both sizes ~ smaller size to left, larger size at top.

The photos show both sizes, and two slightly different cast-on eyelet edgings at the beginning of cuff, the end result in pattern, is slightly again different, combining both ( just a matter of changing one round of rib, into knit stitch). In the weeks ahead this very same pattern is undergoing translation into Italian, and it will then become available to purchase in kit form with the very same Oropa 1ply yarn as you see in photo. As soon as I have any information to the kit being ready, I will post in celebration of a job done collaboratively , having a sense of place from both Northern California, and Northern Italy.

Thank you Bonnie, for asking me if I would like to design una cosettina (a little something) for The Wool Box, because I most certainly and thoroughly enjoyed it ! May only ever the warm & soft breezes of spring blow through your lace ~~ Ciao.

Meanwhile I will have this pattern available along with my other designs, which you will find on Ravelry HERE

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Now, for a little more information about The Wool Box !

You may read a little bit about Some info on The Wool Box and then check out the English translated websites that Volunteer English-speaking Ambassador to The Wool Box , Bonnie, as created on Ravelry HERE and on Facebook HERE.

You can read more about “The New History of Italian Wool” from Bonnie’s blog called “Wool In Italy” . . . on her post HERE .

If you would like to contact The Wool Box directly (in Italy), below are links Bonnie has provided me:

The Wool Box Shop: www.thewoolbox.it
Informazioni: info@thewoolbox.it
Customer Service: customer-service@thewoolbox.com

A Little Something of Lace

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Jen

I’ve been working steadily on a project , “A Little Something” , for The Wool Box. I talk in my previous posts Posted From Italy and Yarn Whisperer about Northern Italy’s “The Wool Box” , of Biella’s heritage wool mill and yarns, and of specifically Oropa 1-ply with which I am working in a design. I’ve changed course a couple of times, with piles of little half-lace mitts strewn about my loft room, I have worked and reworked, and now I’ve pretty much nailed it.

In the process of experimentation, I’ve come up with a lovely eyelet-icord-rib hybrid edging for the Little Something I’m designing. I pretty much thought it up for myself, and I don’t know what to call it (I’ll come up with something soon). Love how the single ply’s frisky & playful personality punctuates the edge ! This is after washing and blocking too. So crisp, Oropa 1-ply is anything but tame . . .

That said, I have discovered there is a ‘tender underbelly’ of Oropa 1-ply. Being a 1-ply, it does not have the support of another strand keeping it together as much, so when one picks up the end to knit, one must do so delicately, as the end does lose a bit of twist and becomes easily broken (but that’s a no-brainer with any single ply wool). I compensate by taking up a good 12 inches before knitting from an end. Did I mention that this sensitive side of Oropa is just really… well… ‘kitteny’. . . is that a word?

Better said I suppose, as noting it’s shyer downy quality.

Upon examining the fluff at one of the unraveled ends I noticed a small percentage of strong & slippery longer hairs and proportionally a lot more of shorter downy wool. Definitely Old World wool.

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On another note, I haven’t been able to knit much today (yet) as I was at a sort of Lady’s Social for the day, held over at my neighbor’s, here in the woods. I actually made a lovely creme brulee from a big fat perfect Meyer lemon growing from our tiny tree in a pot.

I packed the three brulees (there were three of us) into a little basket , covered them, threw my knitting bag over my shoulder, kissed Emma good-bye for a while and headed out into the woods (sadly) without her, for what was actually a short five-minute walk through back-country. I felt just like a fairytale character, like Red Ridinghood or Goldilocks.

Meyer Lemon creme brulee to-go, with carmelized sugar and all, delivered back-door style.

In my opinion, beauty is in the small things, novelties as this. Little pots of golden tastiness !

The recipe, for those interested, with just three ingredients, it’s incredibly easy and fast to make . . .

Meyer Lemon Creme Brulee:

1 very large and ripe Meyer lemon , 1 pint of heavy whipping cream, 1/2 cup organic sugar

Finely zest lemon and squeeze juice from it.

In small saucepan slowly heat pint of cream, while stirring, until it begins to boil. Keep at ‘barely boiling’ for a couple of minutes, while stirring, then take off heat.

Add lemon zest , stir, and then slowly stir in the lemon juice.

Fill about 5 or 6 ramekin cups and let cool. Refrigerate for at keast 4 hours. Rest assured, it *does* set up !

About 20-30 minutes before serving, sprinkle a teaspoon or two of sugar on top of each brulee, and with a hand held torch ( or under broiler flame) carmelize sugar until bubbles and darkens to a deep gold ~~~ while creating a crisp layer on top.

Eat & Enjoy !

Linen

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Jen

Recently I stopped in on my Local Yarn Shop and bought these scrumptious sapphire gems of Louet Euroflax Wet-Spun Linen yarn. There were three x 270 yard skeins of fine sport weight yarn that screamed ‘take me home with you!’ all in unison, and so I did. Actually, had I not had a colossal store credit from a very generous gift, I would never have splurged on these, it was just one of those rare situations.

The honest truth is, I’ve been hankering to try the Euroflax yarn forever, and to try a simple lace stole too, so why not make this my starting point? Knowing full well that I am soon to be knitting up something for Spring Sweaters for my nieces, it will have to be something I can put down for a good long rest and just pick up whenever . . . a ‘take along in my knit-walking bag’ sort of thing, for the months ahead in spring and summer. In fact, I can’t imagine anything nicer to knit in hot weather than deep blue cool tones of linen, in the color of cold mountain lakes, or new jeans.

That’s right, I don’t expect to finish anytime soon, but I can hardly wait to begin those yarn-overs, just wading through row after row of crisp linen. Just something about linen which tickles a spot for me, and I feel though it was a bit of a stash-quest, it will be ready when I decide to cast on.

Double Cappuccino & Ruffles

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Jen

The lace leg-warmers are at last sweetly embracing my now fourteen-year-old niece . . . . . sans boots.

The ‘boot leg’ photo will have to be another time. In fact, these leg warmers are named “Double Cappuccino” because whenever we have our Equinox sweater photos, they always, without fail, begin at Calistoga Roastery. That, and they really do remind me of a whip-topped yummy drink. Until the next time at the roastery , I was lucky to squeeze in this little photo shoot before our visit was up and my nieces had to leave back home.

Double Cappuccino Leg Warmers have a frothed milk quality with an ever-so-slightly asymmetrical lace pattern in ribbing, and is such a speedy and uncomplicated knit. ((proof : I made these while hiking)) Knit with sport-weight natural undyed superwash sock yarn, achieving just the right light airy quality from knitting on US 4 – 3.50 mm needles. Tasty !

My niece in her infinite good taste, chose to adorn the upper rib with cute little buttons . . .

Which makes these warm to the eyes as well as to the touch !

Calistoga Coffee Roastery is the first stop with all of our modeling of Equinox Sweaters, so it will be the first design (and kick-off) of my ~~ Calistoga Collection !

Double Cappuccino pattern on Ravelry HERE

Pattern page for Double Cappuccino on Yarnings HERE

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Now, I can’t leave it at that , because *both* of my lovely nieces participated in our little impromptu knit-wear photo shoot of this morning. Here is my adorable eleven-year-old niece in the “Ruffles” scarf I made her for Christmas.

It is nice simply tied and cascading down the front,