When it says “Lavold, Lavod, Lavold”
On the label, label, label,
You will like it, like it, like it
For your cable, cable, cable…
Sorry - got a little carried away :)
Of course I didn’t come even close to deciding what to do with the mohair blend. I looked at all your great suggestions and I guess I have to digest them a bit before I make up what I laughingly refer to as my mind :) Goodness, there are so many lovely things out there!
It is grey and rather bleak looking here this morning - the kind of day that always makes me wish for a fireplace. We’re actually seeing a few flakes of snow! However, it will be perfect for visiting the library as I have several things due and am in need of more reading material. And besides, there’s something cozy about libraries - all libraries, anywhere. It’s all that knowledge and entertainment (there is knowledge to be found in good fiction just as there is entertainment to be found in knowledge) cozying up together and whispering meaningful somethings into each others pages :). I guess I’m feeling a little fanciful this morning!
As I came to no decision about the mohair, I tried something else I’d been thinking about - an Elsebeth Lavold-type cable:
Simple cable
This wasn’t actually the design I set out to do - as you have probably guessed :) This was what I was trying to “cable-ize” :
If I can just get the stitch count right…
It was both easier and harder than I had anticipated - in different ways. I thought I would have tons of trouble figuring out the left and right leaning increases Lavold has you do at the beginning of the design but that turned out to be a piece of cake (Rum cake made with dark Jamaican rum, topped with butter-rum glaze and crowned with whipped, heavy cream - yes, I am having trouble reining in my imagination this morning :). But I had seriously underestimated the width required for the desired design and I hadn’t done my math either :) I guess I had thought it would be obvious, where to start the various components so everything would line up properly. Ahem…it wasn’t and I should have known that. So, I need to sit down with paper and pencil and work that out.
But the method is fascinating and you get this highly embossed cable that doesn’t squinch your work up. This is what makes it possible to use it as a design element - really elegant and really cool :) I have to do more of this!
Cats in the hall
The twin terrors were just sitting there this morning, so I tried to get a picture of them. I share it with you so you can see how demented even the nicest cat can look if caught at the wrong moment (heheh…) but I don’t claim it’s a good picture. Just a fun one!
Happy Friday, all :)
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I tell you, I’ve lost more hours of my life to good wholesome cable investigation…
A good yarn, a good idea, bingo. It’s Saturday night and you’re missing whole days.
Stephanie - You’re right, absolutely! It’s not days lost though, it’s knowledge and experience gained :)
Nice looking cable,I love cables. I think it is watching the stitches come to life. ..or something like that as i have not had my coffee yet.I also think the Strawberry shawl patterm from Barbara is awesome. What great links she listed. Being full figures myself, I would think I could get a better fit with a circular type of shawl. Looking forward to seeing that afghan too.
when the cable shouts ‘lavold’
twisting left, then turning right,
on a garment, scarf, or afghan
it will be a gorgeous sight.
ack, you do swatches and think about these things- your ‘mosaic’ piece is just fascinating-
we have a lovely fireplace which we use a couple of times a year- i’m not quite sure if the joys of the open fire quite compensate for the labor involved in keeping the danged thing clean though-
snow- sigh-
stay happy-
Hey, I’m going to the library today too! Let’s have a meeting of the minds at the library with all those lovely books!
Maureen - I’ve come to the tentative conclusion that I’m not going to be a “lace” kind of knitter - except incidentally once in a while. Now cables - there’s something a girl can sink her needles into! Wonderful stuff :)
Barb - LOL! That comes under the heading of ‘enabling’ you know :) Yep - snow, about an inch so far. Want me to send you some? Heheh…
Laura - I love libraries :) Okay, you bring the mind and I’ll bring the thermos full of coffee. Meet you by the craft books?
Hi,
If I understand what you were doing, you were designing your own cable and applying Lavold’s technique, right? Very cool. Two of her books are sitting on my shelf here, and the first new yarn I am going to buy—after finishing some WIPs and some stash projects—is her Silky Wool, in the Verdigris, to make either Ran or Tordis (I think that’s the name). Enjoy the library.
Rob (very suspicious of yet another sunny day, in central PA)
Rob - Yes, that is exactly what I was trying to do - and am still working on. Her technique is splendid - it’s my execution that need a little work :) But it’s fun to learn!
I don’t know if you have seen this before, but it can be useful designing your cable (it is also just fun to play with):
http://birrell.org/andrew/knotwork/
Colette - Thanks for the link. Being a sometime calligrapher, I had stumbled across this a while ago - it’s quite a cool little app, isn’t it?
