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Quince Invite to Submit Martha's Scarf

10/20/2014

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I was recently asked to rework my Fishbone Lace Scarf in Quince's Piper for sale on their website, Quince and Company.  I have followed Pam Allen's work for decades....since we lived in Hawaii where I bought American Knits from the newly opened Barnes and Nobles in downtown Hilo in 1994.  Pam had a wonderful pieced knit coat, hat and mittens that were modeled on her lovely young daughter.  I was doing a fair amount of knitting at that time, but it had to be shipped back to the nieces and nephews in Maine, of course.  Not a lot of demand for woolen mittens and socks in Hawaii.  I have had an ongoing need for knitting, however,  since I learned at the age of 4 in order to maintain my equanimity in the face of .... life stuff.  You know how they say that knitting is therapeutic?  I require daily therapy so the knitting takes place whether I am living in the tropics or in Maine.  I have continued to follow Pam Allen's career as the editor of and a prolific contributor to  Interweave Knits through the start up of her yarn company Quince which is located here in Portland, Maine.  This is also,  conveniently enough, the location of my home and Threads of Meaning studio since we purchased it in 2009. 

I was surprised and very pleased to be asked to contribute something to the Quince endeavor.  This scarf is knit up with one skein of Pam's Piper in the soft rose color Odessa.  Knit in this fine 50/50 Texas mohair/merino blend one skein makes a beautifully airy, long, luxurious scarf about 7x60 inches.  Two skeins would make a scarf twice as wide, twice as long or 1/3 wider (about 11 inches) and half again as long (say 90 inches).  This single ply yarn knits easily on size 7 needles with no catching or awkwardness and the pattern itself is very simple.  It is an excellent project for a first time lace knitter since you have a "working" row, followed by a purl row, and then another "working row" followed by a knit row.  In other words you have resting rows in between the attention paying rows which is soothing and therapeutic.  You can purchase the pattern through Ravelry, or by visiting the Quince website where you can also pop over to buy the yarn.  There are some lovely colors in Piper.  I knit up this sample for them but am considering knitting up one for me in the Teal hand dyed to go with my grey wool winter coat.
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Two Studio Knitters; One Mind

10/6/2014

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I could also have called this post the Apotheosis of Lace knitting I guess -- given that these two talented knitters are standing in front of the lace curtains at the end of the studio hall.  These are Pat (red sweater) and Brenda (green sweater).  They are very good friends and are two of the cherished Studio Knitters that come by Threads of Meaning on Tuesday nights.  These two sweaters are both the Katherine Hepburn which I notice is available as a free download on Ravelry.  These two were knit up from Pam Allen and Ann Budd's Lace Style by Interweave which is a book that I recommend as very worthwhile for lace knitters with some experience.  They are also both knit up of Quince (Pam Allen's yarn company) in the sportweight Chickadee.  I have heard wonderful things about the Quince yarns in general and raves from these two ladies in particular.  It is a lovely soft merino wool with great bounce, softness and what we refer to in the studio as "squishyness".

Links to all the pertinent details (where to buy the book, where to buy the yarn, what other people at Ravelry have knit up this pattern) are all embedded in the text.  But what I would like you to notice is how happy these two are, what good friends they are, and how they are working on the rest of us to do a Threads of Meaning KAL so that we can all go out in public in matching sweaters.  (Actually I don't know that last part for sure....I'm just suspicious.)
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    About Martha


    The Threads of Meaning is a collection of my hand made creations and the materials I use to make them.  I quilt, sew, spin, knit, crochet, weave, make dolls, rugs (hooked and braided) and tat. I have had articles in Art and Antiques (May 2001) and American Quilter (Ultimate Projects 2004). I have sold work to the State of Hawaii and some very dedicated private collectors. I dye my own fibers and use vintage and new materials. I tend to prefer traditional techniques and natural materials used in innovative ways.

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