The Pendleton Loom

 I've bought a floor loom! You have no idea how excited I am! It's used, of course. It's a Pendleton (see the logo on the right?) but other than that I know next to nothing about it and believe me, I've been googling away.

It folds up, so it's a jack loom, similar to the ones made by the Schact company, except this isn't a Schact. It has a 45 inch front beam, 8 harnesses and 12 treadles. Update: 3/14/15, Happy Pi Day! I've re-measured, in order to start a project. The weaving width is actually 40 inches.

Front

Back

 This has the potential for hours of FUN! Most importantly, I have a warping board, which I didn't have before. A warping board is used to measure out the warp (the "uppy/downy" threads). I think I can maybe get 4(?) yards on this?

There was an odd stick with two screw eyes on one side of it, and evenly spaced holes drilled through the adjacent face...I don't know what it's for. Neither did the lady who sold me the loom. I thought maybe it's for a supplemental warp? It's shorter than the weaving width and one of the screw eyes is wonky. But that stick is the only thing that is messed up on the whole loom.

An 8 harness loom means I can do some interesting patterns. The reason there are more treadles than harnesses is so that you can lift more than one harness (set of threads) at a time when the pattern calls for it.

The weaving bench has storage, and there are a lot of stick shuttles, as well as two boat shuttles and bobbins. There are also extra wire heddles.

The warping board

Weaving bench

What was inside the bench.

Now, all I have to do is shovel out the garage so I can set up the loom!

Simple Lace Shawl--the scarf version

Finished Scarf!

All DONE! Yaaayyyyyyyyy!

It's 15 pattern repeats for each "arrow". Each repeat is 8 rows, with the increase/decrease that makes the arrow on the right side (as opposed to the "wrong" side). The eyelet row is a "wrong" side row.

I went right from the "less than" side to the "greater than". If I do the pattern again, I will do 10 of each arrow (that's 20, if you're counting) with 10 rows in the middle just straight, no increases or decreases. When you reverse the arrows, it makes a diamond-y point in the middle on each long side. I don't really like it, but I don't hate it enough to frog it back and redo it.

The start of the scarf.

With this pattern, you don't cut your yarn. You knit two rows and then change colors--so you are always changing when you start a "right" side row. When it was time to change colors, I would position the yarn so that the ending row was twined around the yarn of the new row to lock the stitches in place. It's kind of hard to explain with still shots.

I made 6 extra rows after the final pattern repeat so that it would mirror the beginning side.

This scarf used probably about half of 1 ball of the Berroco, almost all of just one ball of the Debbie Norville, and probably about half to 3/4 of the Simply Soft skein. I'm happy about that, because the sock yarn is expensive. I am NOT going to unwind the yarn just to satisfy my curiosity as to how much is left. The before and after photos of the yarns are below. You can see what I mean, about the amount of yarn used.

Here is the Berroco, before it was used.

Berroco--it's fairly "squishy", now.

Simply Soft, before.

Simply Soft, after.

Aaaaand after.

Debbie Norville sock yarn, before

A Doll's Capelet

Both ponchos. The one for the doll is the smaller one.

I was asked to make a capelet for a little girl and a matching one for her doll. (See my post from 8/26/2013.) I'm using the pattern for poncho #1 for the girl.

The doll in question is an "American Girl" doll. The capelet should fit this kind of doll and any of the similar-but-not-quite-as-expensive types sold in various department stores. I do not have a doll like this. I have a couple of old fashioned china headed dolls, but their measurements are not the same, so I had to borrow one for a few minutes from the daughter of a friend to get the measurements. (Thank you, Karina and Nikki!)

A matching pattern for the doll's capelet did not exist. I did a cursory google search and found a grand total of ONE crochet pattern for this type of doll. I could have used that, but the client had asked that the doll's capelet match the little girl's. I tend to be a tad literal.

So I got to make a pattern! Yay! More blog fodder. Because you just can't exist without me, I know. This also means I had to do math. Ugh. I endeavored to face the math with proper Early Christian Martyr-ical fortitude. I used numbers of stitches that are multiples of 12's, 8's, 4's and 3's. You don't HAVE  to use those numbers, I just find it easier to work with them when crocheting in the round, maybe because of the geometry thingy.

I'm using scrap yarn for this, provided by the client. It's mostly older Red Heart worsted weight acrylic. I usually don't like to use this kind of acrylic, because they are scratchy to crochet. But this is for a doll, not for me. Additionally, when I run the completed item through the washer and dryer, it softens up.

I'm starting with a varigated green.

The Doll's Capelet

Size K crochet hook

Scrap worsted weight acrylic

Chain 24, join in a round. Chain up 1.

Row 1: HDC in each chain stitch, join with a slip stitch, Chain up 1.

Row 2 and 3: 1 hdc in the first stitch, *2 hdc in the next stitch, 1 hdc in each of the next 4 sts. Repeat from *. Join with a slip stitch,Chain up 1.

Rows 2 and 3 are the increase rows. At the end of Row 2, you should have 30 stitches. By the end of Row 3, you will have 36.

Rows 4-9: Repeat Row 1

Row 10: 2 hdc in each stitch all the way around. Join with a slip stitch and fasten off.

Don't crochet tightly with this kind of yarn. When you are working with smaller scale items, like doll clothes, sometimes the yarn diameter/hook gauge gets to be too chunky. In general, I prefer to use a dk or sport weight or thinner yarn when making doll clothes. Remember, you don't have to use the exact same yarn I use.

I was very pleased with the way this project went. I was most happy with how quickly I was able to complete it--it only took an hour, once I had the pattern down. I plan to make up some more, since it was so easy. I may also see about getting back into making doll clothes again.

The Elk Roast

My husband was given some elk meat from someone at work. There was some ground meat and some sausage and a top sirloin roast. I was thrilled. So I decided to fix the roast for Valentine's Day dinner.

Now, you may not be aware of this, but elk do not normally stride across my back yard. This may be because my backyard is an in-ground swimming pool, but mostly it's because I live in Torrance. Most elk do not...members of the Elk's Lodge notwithstanding.

I'd never eaten elk before, much less prepared it. There isn't very much fat. If you aren't careful, it will be dry and tough to the point of inedible. I asked for opinions online, looked up online recipes, and checked my Joy of Cooking in the "how to cook game" section.

There were two varieties of recipes: the slow cooker method which cooks the meat in a sauce and the "treat it like a steak" type. I chose the latter because it was a top sirloin roast and because my family hates sauces on meat.

When I unwrapped the roast, it was a dark burgundy, like raw beef liver. I removed the small amount of fat, and the silver skin from one side of the roast using a boning knife. The fat can give an off taste to the meat, which my husband definitely does not like. The silver skin is actually a tendon (I think) and would have caused the meat to curl up while cooking. I rinsed the roast and patted it dry with paper towels.

Next thing was the spices. I mixed a tablespoon each of kosher salt, sugar, onion and garlic powders, and black pepper. I also added a teaspoon each of thyme and dill. Then I mixed the spices with a quarter cup of olive oil. I combined it with a fork. It comes out like one of those fancy skin scrubs that you pay megabucks for in one of those bath shops in the mall, only tastier. I spread it all over the roast with my fingers. Next, I tied it and put the roast into a gallon zip lock bag. I set the bag in the refrigerator for between a half hour to an hour.

Meanwhile, my son fired up the charcoal grill. When the coals were ready, we took the roast and seared it for about 5 minutes on each side. While he was doing that, I cut two onions into slices, coated the cast iron skillet with olive oil, and set the slices in the skillet. 

I then transferred the roast from the grill (with tongs) to the skillet and put the skillet into a 350 degree oven. I checked the interior temperature of the roast every ten minutes with an instant read thermometer. I turned the roast over every time I checked the temperature. I took it out when it read around 130-ish degrees, set it on the stove top and covered the pan with foil and let it sit for around 10 or 20 minutes.

You have to let the meat sit for awhile. It keeps cooking while it's covered and the temperature will rise about 10 to 15 degrees. If you cut right into it, it will gush juice and the roast will be dry and leathery. I do this for any roast or bird I'm cooking, not just game.

The spice rub is essential, as is the time spent marinating in the fridge. It's a meat tenderizer. If you don't believe me, go to the grocery store and look at the first five ingredients listed on a bottle of "meat tenderizer". The oil helps the spices to release their flavors. With something that has more fat, like pork or beef, you don't need the oil as much.

Next time I make the spice rub, I will add less pepper...maybe a teaspoon instead of a tablespoon. My husband liked it, but I thought the pepper was a little overwhelming. Sometimes I couldn't taste the meat, just the pepper. I may also leave it on the grill a little bit longer...not much, maybe a minute or two more per side to get a bit more sear/smoke taste.

The roast came out beautiful. It was almost silky. I made mashed potatoes and broccoli to go with it and we had a wonderful dinner. Even my youngest liked it and did not dissect her food. Happy sighs all around.

Update: December 25, 2014

Christmas dinner! I got my hands on another elk roast. This time, I put in only one teaspoon of pepper, and I used table salt, instead of kosher, because I forgot. I cooked the roast in the oven to about 90-100-ish degrees, and then my oldest finished it on the charcoal grill. The temperature times remained the same. This time around, there was not the overwhelming taste of pepper in some bites. Merry Christmas!

Simple Lace Shawl, The Scarf: This time, it's technical.

Simple Lace Shawl, center section.

This post is going to be very technical. If you are just looking in for fun, you might want to switch back to Farmville or Candy Crush and watch the timer count down until your life points recycle. Or you could hang out with me and learn something. Don't say I didn't warn you.

The last time I posted, I'd finished both the Simple Lace Shawl and the Spring Ruana patterns (if you want to see the patterns there is a link to them in the previous post). The client also wanted a matching scarf for each shawl.

Making the scarf for the Spring Ruana was fairly simple. I just crocheted a third lace panel from the pattern. It took me a couple of weeks, total.

The scarf to match the Simple Lace Shawl is not so simple. There wasn't a scarf option already built into the pattern, so I had to figure one out. There is probably a similar pattern in existence, someplace, but I'm not about to go web surfing to find out. Noooo! Audrey's going to go re-invent the wheel again.

The scarf, so far.

For the scarf, the look I wanted was two pointy ends. I'm going to work the center section until I get to about 30 inches from the center. Next I will work two pattern repeats (16 rows) straight, with no increases or decreases. After the 16 rows, to make the point go the opposite direction, I need to switch the position of the increases and decreases.

So in the pattern, the pointy bit is made by repeating row 1 every other row, and then knitting or purling the wrong side for the following row except for the eyelet row.

Row 1 is as follows: k1, M1, k15, k2tog, k1, ssk, k15, M1, k1.
Note the bolded stitches.

For the 16 row repeat, you would just knit or purl the row 1's, depending on where you are in the pattern.

To make the point go the other way, you would do the following:
Row 1 opposite: k1, k2tog, k15, M1, k1, M1, k15, ssk, k1.

(Did I just hear your eyes glazing over? I warned you, remember? Still here? Good. Let's continue, then.)

For the shawl, I used doubled yarns and a U.S. size 10 needle. For the scarf, I 'm also using the size 10 needles. I'm using sock yarns for color A: Berroco Comfort Sock in dark blue and Premier Yarn's Deborah Norville collection Serenity Garden Yarn in crocus (purple varigated) held together. For color B, I'm using Simply Soft in lavender again, but just the one strand.

Color A: Blue and Varigated purple sock yarns, held together.

Color B: Simply Soft in Lavender

Why am I going with three different companies for the yarns, you ask? Because they don't make Simply Soft in a fingering or sock yarn weight.

A lot of sock yarns are wool blends. If you're making a sock, that's great. If you're making it for someone who has a "no sheep for you" issue, it's a problem. I was looking for something very soft that could be thrown into the washer. I was staying with the lavender color for B. Since I'd held two yarns together on the shawl to get the colorway I wanted, I needed to go with something in similar colors, but thinner for color A. I bought the blue sock yarn online, but didn't see a purple there. Purple is tricky, anyway. So I went to Joann's and found the Deborah Norville and got that.

See? I told you it was technical.

Two Free Lion Brand patterns: Simple Lace Shawl L32067 and Spring Ruana L20086/7

Simple Lace Shawl

I've been working on these two patterns since early November. I've finished both shawls. I really enjoyed both patterns.

The client wanted the Simple Shawl to be in purples and the ruana in a rich brown. The overriding concern for both shawls was that they be easy care and SOFT. I decided to use Simply Soft from Caron for the yarn for both projects.

The Simple Lace Shawl pattern (http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/L32067.html?noImages=) calls for a Lion brand yarn called "Unique". This is a 5 on the weight category classification--fairly thick, chunky yarn. It is a varigated yarn, i.e.: each skein has several colors. Unfortunately, none of the colorways for this yarn come in purples, although one of the colorways, "garden", has some purple in it. 

There are a couple of what is termed as "lys's" (local yarn shop/store) in my area, but I don't know where they are. What I have heard about them is that their staffs are not friendly, tend to be snooty and rude, and their yarn prices are extremely high.

The reason to go to a yarn shop at all is to "experience" the yarns. You can't get the feel of the yarn from a computer screen. You can't compare one shade with another to see if they will work. I don't mind paying more for quality yarn. If I'm going to buy silk, cashmere, camel, wool, or some other, more exotic yarn, then I know I'm not going to get it for three dollars a skein, ball or whatever. If I want to sample the yarn, then going to a yarn shop is a good idea, because you don't have to wait on shipping. 

I usually buy my yarn from Joann's, because the store has a large selection and it's in a mall about 5 minutes from my house with lots of free parking. Unfortunately, Joann's was out of "garden". I looked for some others that might work, but when I knitted up a sample, it came out looking more like variations on blues than purples. I did have some lavender, purple and a navy blue in my stash in Simply Soft, though and went with that, using two strands held together. Simply Soft is a category 3-ish, so the resulting fabric is a bit heavier than it would have been using a category 5. BUT, it IS soft, and easy care. Most importantly though, it is PURPLE.

The Simple Lace shawl pattern is triangular shawl in an eyelet pattern. You alternate the colors. I made two rows with the purple and blue held together with the eyelets done in the lavender. It is knitted in three panels. I really like the way the panels are joined on this. The center panel is done first, making a kind of chevron. It is knitted from the top down. Then you turn it sideways and pick up stitches from one of the edges. The edge panels decrease continually as you go, so at the end you are left with three stitches you knit together. I took the yarn ends of all three colors I used and knotted them together, making kind of a tassel on each side.

Middle section is knitted first.

This side was picked up first. I had to change purples, which doesn't show up so well in this photo.

I did this side last. The tassel doesn't show up very well on this one.  But at least I remembered to get a photo!

Spring Ruana, full length, on my kitchen table.

Close up of V-Stitch pattern.

Spring Ruana, folded.

There are two versions of the Spring Ruana pattern, a knitted version and a crocheted version. Ths is the link for the crocheted : http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/L20086.html?noImages=. I chose to work the crochet pattern because of time constraints. I have been crocheting since I was 9 and I am faster and more accurate with that. For a pattern I'd never worked, I wanted to be comfortable with the stitches.

There are two stitch patterns in this shawl. The border pattern consists of alternating double and single crochet stitches, with a two stitch repeat over two rows. The v-stitch pattern is a four stitch repeat over two rows.

The original pattern instructions call for the ruana to be done in three pieces and then assembled: two scarves in the v-stitch, joined by a shorter middle panel in the border pattern. Sewing makes my fingers go numb, so I made a couple of changes. I worked the pattern as one piece, adding up the stitches for each part. I worked the middle panel in the v-stitch in the same way as the two lace panels. I did not double the border pattern for the middle panel.

I think I did a very good job on these. I am currently working on making a scarf in a matching pattern for each shawl. I am starting with the scarf for the ruana pattern, because it is easier...you just make one of the lace panels. The simple shawl, however won't be that simple, because I don't want to make it with doubled yarn for a scarf. More on those next post.

Ponchos in Lion Brand Homespun: Williamsburg and a Scarf in Progress

Poncho 2 in Lionbrand Homespun: Williamsburg

I got the poncho finished that was commissioned! Yaaaaay! The photo above is the new one. I made it about 5 or 6? inches longer than the first one.

As you can see, first one is shorter.

As I recall, I was crocheting it while wearing it during a fireworks show at Wilson Park, with my terrified 3 year old trying her level best to escape the noise of the festive bombardments by crawling head first into my lap. I had to finish off and disuade the attempt to return to the womb. The previous year, both the two youngest had tried to crawl headfirst into my lap.

"Why choose to sit in that particular spot?" I hear you query.

For some reason, my husband and the boys thought being almost directly underneath where the fireworks were shot off would be cool. Since it's always an entire year between fireworks display, I forget the effect it has. Now the only one it would bother would be me, but with the economy as down as it has been, there have been no displays for a number of years.

Poncho 1

Poncho 2

But I digress. The client wanted a longer poncho. This color of yarn has been discontinued for about 10 years, at least. Fortunately I had 5 or 6 skeins in my stash, so I was able to complete the second poncho. My client wanted 3 scarves in this color, but I've got only enough for half of a scarf.

There are two rows of greeny-blue Homespun Waterfall, so far, at the top of the scarf. The scarf is about 6 ft. long, and I'm planning on about 18 inches wide.

This is closer, but my hands are shakey on close-ups.

I've got about 4 to 6 inches in the Williamsburg and one more untouched skein of the same color. I'm going to make three panels: the two outside ones in Williamsburg and the middle panel in Waterfall, which is the color that is on the two rows at the top of the scarf.

The scarf will be about 18 inches wide, and 6 feet long. It's crocheted lengthwise in half double stitch. For half double, you yarn over like you were going to do a double crochet, but pull the yarn through all the loops at once, as if it were a single crochet stitch. On the short ends (18 inches), I'm going to slip stitch all the way around, and then put a border of two double crochet per stitch on each end of the scarf. I plan to have the colors of the border match the colors of the panels, but we'll see if I have enough yarn.