Member: sallypursell

Dear Marilyn,

Life caught up to me there for a while and I was MIA. Looking at the books you have recently added, I have to repeat that you have a beautiful library.

Work has been many hours these last few weeks and I despair of ever getting anywhere with cataloguing my library in toto--when we moved to this tiny house we had to box quite a few of our books. That was in 1980 and I have been heartsore to think of the treasures I cannot consult. They are still in our attic but I can't imagine ever having enough shelf space for them, and I simply have too much to do to sort them and rotate them. I can barely get my work done and find time for myself.

My questions about lace knitting were in aid of a project I wanted to start to knit some lace scarves for the women and girls in my family. I have started with a scarf for my sister Regina--my closest friend in many ways, but I am designing one for my mother in my head. I have knit the edging on the first end and picked up stitches along its cast-on edge. Right now I am swatching my scarf body design to check my gauge and make sure that number of picked up stitches is correct. I am a very consistent knitter, and my gauge is usually consistent too. I didn't know what I wanted to do for the body when I started the edging. By the way, I am using kidsilk haze in the color "Pearl".

I have already looked at the books in my local library consortium about lace knitting. I had your shawl right on top of the stack of borrowed books next to me when I read your last post and didn't even know it! It is beautiful, as I am sure you do not need me to tell you. I expect I will be joining a long linr of people who have told you that, no doubt beginning with the lace maven Meg Swansen. Did you have the pleasure of meeting her mother before her death? I can still remember my astonishment and glee when I learned about steeking from EZ's book "knitting without tears". That was probably the year the book was published.

Well, I want to catalogue for a few minutes (a few books at a time is the ticket, but such a daunting job!) Then I need to do just a little work and I want to work on that swatch. I don't seem to have enough size 2 wooden needles. The kidsilk haze slides around too much on metal needles, which I don't like anyway, and two of my small size 2 circular needles are silver-colored. I can't see that pearl-colored yarn on them, and I don't need extra difficulties. I don't know if I have mentioned that I have some vision impairment. It does not make it much harder to knit, although it does slow me down, and I have to have great lighting and a good contrast between the color of the needles and the yarn. I keep a magnifier and a strong light near me when quilting, knitting or embroidering. Sometime I need to hold my work about 3 inches from my eyes to perceive the detail--and I don't catch errors quite as quickly as I did when I was younger.

I'm honored to be the online friend of a somewhat famous person! and awed by your linguistic abilities, as linguistics is a hobby of mine I have had too little time to indulge.

Sally

posted by sallypursell at 11:16 am (EST) on Jan 18, 2009

Let's see...I have some lace on the needles (as always), a sweater for me, a blouse for a friend (which I'm trading her for a yoga class), plus uncounted UFO's in my fiber closet. I also weave, spin, dye (with natural dyes mostly) and play the piano. When I have the time! I also take care of two of my grandsons (ages 1 1/2 and 3) while my daughter works. I'm 73 and started knitting when you were 4 years old. I learned from my roommate in college.

Marilyn

posted by Faroelace at 11:00 am (EST) on Oct 10, 2008