Blessed Release

Dear readers, thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers. My dad passed away last night, or early this morning after a long illness.

As difficult as this day has been, and although I love my dad dearly and miss him very much, I am sure many of you will understand my feelings of relief and joy that he is no longer suffering and in pain. I feel enormous compassion for those who are still in pain and struggling for survival.

In honor of his passing, I plan to have a charity giveaway to benefit Doctors without Borders, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization that helps needy people in embattled and poor areas throughout the world.

I will go through my stash and post yarns, etc. You see what you might like, in exchange for a charity donation, and make me an offer. I will hold a silent auction over one week, with the highest bidder getting the goods at the end of the week. After I receive your donation in the form of Paypal funds, I will mail you your goodies. All proceeds will go to this very worthy charity, so please be generous.

With gratitude to this very caring community of knitters and their families...

Comfort Knitting

Thank you all so much for your wonderful outpouring of support... it all really helps, and I feel an enormous hug coming at me from all corners of the universe...

The response to the Norwegian Woods has been very gratifying too. Looks like we will be starting a KAL on the yahoo list in a couple of weeks, if anyone would like to knit the shawl in concert with others.

I have been working on what I call my Happy Knitting. These are not my "own" projects, which tend to be involved and fraught with detail, but little things for the shop or for family and friends. Here is the first thing, a Moebius wrap that I started during a class on Moebius techniques I taught a few weeks ago, about the time when I found out my Dad was in Intensive Care. I knew that I needed to make something beautiful and soft, and I thought if it turned out well I would give it as a comfort shawl to my stepmother, my Dad's wife, who is being incredibly strong these days. I just wove in the ends yesterday.



For this wrap, I threw in all the most precious fibers at my disposal: blue sky brushed suri alpaca, noro silk garden, kid silk haze, koigu. I experimented with Cat Bordhi's short row undulation technique (from the first Magical Treasury book) on the edges and I liked how organic it looks with the picot bind off. I thought the wrap turned out a mite big but I think that will be forgiven... I am sending it off today by express post.

Then there is a Babies and Bears sweater for the shop.. a trés cute pattern that can't let a smile turn upside down for long. Yarn is Dream in Color Classy in happy green (the colorway is called Happy Forest) and purple.




The latest news of my Dad is that he is peaceful and resting. I hope all of you are close to your loved ones today, in spirit or in person...

Victory and Defeat

The best and the worst sometimes happen at the very same time. In case you, dear readers, are wondering whether Sivia (and the Norwegian Woods) have dropped off the face of the earth, never fear. The reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated, in the words of the immortal Mark Twain.

The good news: Norwegian Woods is now OUT! Sized for scarf or shawl, yarn requirements are 470 yards for the scarf, 900 for the shawl. Beads, if you choose to use them, are size 8/0 seed beads or the equivalent. You will need 179 (251) beads for this pattern, which really isn't many, so splurge on some really pretty ones. I used beautiful Toho 3x3 cubes that I got at Earth Faire. You can see all the details and purchase the pattern on my website, so go have a look.

Thanks to Shirley Su for modelling, Three Bags Full yarn shop for allowing the picture of their lovely store in the picture and for many, many other things I will not mention, and last but never least, my superb test knitters, Kat and Joanne.

Now, in case you have two skeins of sea silk (like the pictured scarf, in the periwinkle colorway) and are wondering whether you can squeeze a shawl out of your 800 meters of precious yarn, never fear. The shawl is designed for ease of modification: each of the three lace patterns can be repeated more OR fewer times and you will still be in perfect coordination with the next pattern. Keep in mind that your yarn and bead requirements will change... in this case, to accommodate a slightly slim yarn cache, but you could also easily upsize the shawl to a bigger width and length in this way.

Chances are, a KAL on my yahoo group will be starting sometime in the near future. You are welcome to check in with us at SiviaHardingKnits, where a Moonshadow Stole KAL is now in progress.

Now for the un-good news: My dear father is dying. He was moved into a hospice facility today where he lives, far away from where I live. I cannot travel to him at this time for multiple very good reasons, and this is very painful. My family, who are all gathered at his bedside, has forgiven me and continues to forgive me, for which I am so grateful. I have been preoccupied with all the things that happen to you when a dear family member is on the verge of passing - an enormous amount of prayer, emotion, and grief has been pouring out of me. I comfort myself with the knowledge that my dad will have a peaceful passing, surrounded by love and proof of his lifelong goodness. Really, who could ask for more?

I love you and always will, Dad. This one's for you.

Periwinkle Forest

I finished and blocked the Norwegian Woods scarf last night. Even though she is still damp and pinned, I had to show her to you in all of her beauty.



Periwinkle sea silk... mmm, yeah. The scarf took about 470 yards, which makes it perfect for one skein of malabrigo lace, but unfortunately just slightly over one 100 yd skein of sea silk. For beads, I used size 8/0 silver lined crystal triangles from Earth Faire. The pattern is mine... to be released sometime in the very near future.

Happy New Year

The holidays have been going on for the whole month of December chez Sivia, ever since my classes wound down at Three Bags Full (they will start again in January). I have been really enjoying just hanging out at home, watching endless old movies in my jammies, and of course, doing a lot of knitting. Most involved projects I can't talk about yet... but there is something to brag on. Yesterday, this came off the needles:





Voila - the Norwegian Woods Triangle Shawl. I am pleased with the final result. The yarn is malabrigo lace in the purple mystery colorway, and the shawl took only 2 skeins (about 900 yards). Beads are purple iris 3x3 cubes from Earth Faire.

I had an immediate impulse to do a smaller version (the shawl is 66 inches across, 33 inches long at center back) and have started a scarf sized Norwegian Woods in periwinkle sea silk. This is serious yum, folks. Pics soon.

I just want to mention my test knitter who excels beyond all praise. Thank you, Kat! You are simply the best.

With a little luck, the pattern will be forthcoming soon.

Happy New year everyone! May your hearts sing and fingers fly with knitterly joy in the coming year...

Mysterious branches

I blocked out the Norwegian Woods triangle so far, consisting of the Winter Branches lace pattern.



Is it just me, or do the branches look like inverted fern fronds at the center seam? Again, LOVE the asymmetry of this.

And the yarn, malabrigo lace, is just delicious. Whoever named this color Purple Mystery was totally right.

I am so knit happy today.

Lolling around

I have been working hard lately. Very very hard. Probably too hard, y'know???

The good news is that things are getting done, and amongst all the other projects that I can't talk about, the Norwegian Woods shawl is progressing nicely.

And... guess what? The folks who voted for a triangle shawl are about to get their wish. Here is the start, partially blocked at the very top:



I know it looks humble, but try to see what's making me excited about this... how asymmetrical the lace pattern is when it meets at the center seam. I really, really like how this is working up. Yarn is malabrigo lace in the purple mystery colorway. Yum. More progress shots are promised soon.

And while I am thinking how overworked I am, someone else is at work reminding me of the importance of just lolling. Please enjoy...

On a Cat Bordhi Roll...

I hope all of you are aware of Cat Bordhi's newest book, New Pathways for Sock Knitters, Book One. I am in love with this book, and all that it implies. Cat's genius has led her to an amazing fact - that socks can fit beautifully with infinitely varying structures. I fully plan to explore the possibilities of this at some time when I have no deadline knitting in sight, unlike the present!

But for now, I am having a great time with some of my favorite sock patterns from the book...


The Slip Stitch Rings sock (Cedar Architecture): my version is done in two colorways of koigu, one handpainted and one semi-solid.



The Cables and Corrugations sock (Riverbed Architecture): my version is done in Nature's Palette yarn in the walnut colorway.



The Tibetan Sock (Coriolis Architecture): my version is done in Koigu Kersti, which knits up at a perfect 7 stitches per inch and sure makes a beautiful sock.



The Coriolis master sock: my version is done in Indigo Moon fingering weight sock yarn, available at Three Bags Full Yarn Shop.


The Hearth and Home Eyelet Sock (Ridgeline Architecture): my version is done in Cascade 220 Handpaints.


The Ocean Toes sock (Cedar Architecture): my version is done in Mountain Colors Weavers Wool in ladyslipper. Yum. You can also see this sock in the book.

The Milkmaid Stocking (Upstream Architecture): my wonderfully decadent version is done in Blue Sky alpaca & silk. Mmmmm. Unfortunately, no picture but you can see it in the book on page 76.

Needless to say, the fit of these extraordinary socks is exquisite and *huggy*. I hope all of you can experience this firsthand sometime soon. And do check out Cat's videos on YouTube.

I love these socks and I can't seem to get enough of them. Anyone else on a Cat roll?

Back to the Woods

Remember the Norwegian Woods shawl? I forgive you if you don't. It was a long time ago that I posted a swatch and promised more... but didn't deliver. Bad, bad me. Here is a recap of that swatch.

Since the Moonshadow came off the needles (and thank all of you very much for such a great response since it has been out!), I have resuscitated the Norwegian Woods. It is in an intermediate-but-getting-close-to-the-end stage - you know that stage when you are getting a bit tired of knitting but a bit excited to get to the end and block it all out to see what you've got?

So, hoping to kill (stun? much better word in my estimation) two birds with one stone, and also as it happens, needing a lace thing with which to demonstrate blocking to my beginning lace knitting class at Three Bags Full last night, I put the delicate live stitches of the Norwegian Woods shawl-so-far on holding strings and blocked it.

Notice how the pooling in the center section looks like shifting sands? I love that. And the lace pattern is so birch-like somehow. Ivory sea silk... what more need I say?

The picked-up edges have a bit of a wave due to the sinuous waving lace that emerges from them. I like that too.
The initial square piece, which began with a provisional cast on, flows seamlessly into the waving lace pattern. I really, really like that part.

In case you were wondering, the shawl has a little ways to go before it is really finished. There are two more lace patterns yet to be added (the swatch has been expanded). The good news is that in the process of doing this big-in-the-round knitting, I found a great method for doing big-in-the-round projects that is actually making this a fun knit. When I put the shawl back on the needles, I will share that with you along with some pictures.

I thought some of you might like to see how I use string or sometimes fishing line to block long straight edges, so I have a picture of that process too.

If I were going to block a bound off edge, the string (in this case, sturdy dk-weight mercerized cotton yarn) would be passed through the outermost row of bound-off stitches with a yarn needle. Here you see live stitches with stitch markers still in place so don't be confused. After you put the string through the edge stitches, tension is put onto the string by tying each end to a pin which is deeply dug into the blocking surface (in this case, a really ugly carpet). With tension in place, it is an easy thing to put a few pins down the line to make sure everything is square and straight, and bob's your uncle. This is a nice way to block long, long edges, and I seem to like it better than using wires (which I love for shorter edges).

Some of you might remember the discussion about whether this design should be a square or a triangle? Well, the squares seem to have won, but that's just for now. I have decided that the triangle idea deserves equal attention, and I already have the yarn... vermilion malabrigo lace yarn. Yum. Test knitting, anyone????

To celebrate, I got a new Lantern Moon knitting basket and I love it so much. This will now hold my back and forth projects safely, and it is a huge improvement on the open shopping bag I used before (I know... horrors!) Here is the new basket, which doubles as a Mooshie play environment. He particularly likes it when his daddy makes it into an elevator. Going down:

Going up:
Ain't we got fun?

It’s Out!

Happy birthing on a suitably gray, rainy day, Moonshadow! Pictures courtesy of the very talented guerrila photographer, Yee Jee Tso and the Three Bags Full yarn shop.





The top two pictures are the color correct ones. The yarn is Leili from Liisu yarns in the Moonshadow colorway. If you haven't heard of this gorgeous mohair/wool blend fingering weight yarn yet, you should seek it out. It is soft, strong, and behaves beautifully with lace and beads. Liisu yarns only sells wholesale, but you can find her beautiful yarn sold here, here, and here. Hopefully, all will have kits of this stole available soon.

Beads, as usual, are from Earth Faire. I used frosted crystal megatamas for this one. Drooling yet?

For now, you can find the pattern for sale here in both print and pdf formats. Happy, happy knitting to all...

Moonshadow Up Close

Coming very, very soon.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, all you wonderful Canucks!

Swarm of Stuff!

Bimonthly blogging... what a concept. Thank you, thank you to those intrepid readers who still check in here from time to time. I have no excuse for not posting, so I won't bother with any inanities.

I will try to catch up on all the new stuff, in no particular order. There has been lots of knitting in the meantime. Warning: picture-heavy post to follow.


I finished Lacy Waves, which I love. I scored the Rowan Linen Drape yarn from Urban Yarns, who sometimes gets lots of discontinued yarn and sells them at a big discount. Modifications? You bet. I added hems to the body and sleeves instead of ribbing. I incorporated body shaping and bust darts. I think that's all. I really, really like the results. I don't have a pic of myself wearing it so this will have to do for now. Detail shots:




Here is a partway done Tibetan Sock from Cat Bordhi's book, New Pathways for Sock Knitters, Book One. I have only wonderful, wonderful, wonderful things to say about this book (there is a bit of affiliation in that I tested a couple of the socks before publication). This book will turn sock knitting on its head... or heel... and remove the need to slavishly follow patterns, forever. A plus... studying Cat's excellent tables has given this knitter new confidence in knitting... and designing... toe-up socks. It can do the same for you. There are cuff-down socks in the book too, by the way. This sample is a Coriolis architecture, which gives the sock a great spiral across the foot that is not only a design feature but shapes the foot up to the heel. Simple and remarkable.


I have a lot of new samples of designs that have been out for a while. Here is a new version of the River Rock scarf from No Sheep For You done in Noro Cash Iroha in very, very dark indigo (looks black, doesn't it?) and topaz/berry ab beads from Earth Faire.


Two new Diamond Fantasies with beads:


Lovely Francesca of Three Bags Full models a DF scarf in red koigu with magic copper lined red beads from Earth Faire.


New in-between-scarf-and-shawl-size DF with silver lined crystal megatama beads, in Nature's Palette Odd Duck No. 4, a colorway that seems particularly suited to lace and is quite subtle and forest-y to my mind.

Now... mystery items. Can't give details on these at all... but feel free to guess.



Some new jewelry creations:


This one is swag, brand new and available from Earth Faire as a kit.


Beads on the Vine, a beaded I-cord necklace with a graceful and sexy dangle in the rear, available as a kit from Earth Faire.


Same necklace, a different colorway. I love experimenting with the pointillism of beads on yarn.

Matching earrings, light, bouncy and fun. Also available as a kit.

A new stole pattern is being finalized. I call it the Moonshadow Lace Stole because yes, I love Cat Stevens, and you can see the perfection that is the special handdyed Moonshadow yarn that Kelly Eells of Liisu Yarns is doing for this project. It is so beautifully midnight-in-the-moonglow! The beads are frosted matte megatamas from Earth Faire, of course. In this picture of the unblocked and in-progress stole, you can see the beaded side edges which remind me of dewy droplets shining in the moonlight.


Another colorway, not my favorite but you can see the beaded border, which goes lengthwise at top and bottom in this blocked version:


Lastly but certainly not least, I have been spending hours on Ravelry updating my notebook with pictures and details of all of my designs, including all the ones in print elsewhere besides my website. Finally there is one spot where you can see it all! If you are on Ravelry, drop me a line and let me know.

And happy, happy fall to all. What knitter could wish for more?