The Loopy Ewe Blog

Keeping up With the Loopy Life…

Tag: Wollmeise

Nuvem and a CONTEST!

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Nuvem-Wollmeise-Lace-Spice-MarketIf you read last week’s blog post, you know I’m in Germany this week, visiting Claudia (the Wollmeise). Last fall, Claudia and her friend Maria came to visit me, and we had a great time knitting, shopping, and hanging out. Usually, Claudia comes for the Spring Fling each year and we are so busy that we don’t get enough time to just sit and knit and chat. So it was fun to have her here during a non-Spring Fling time. (And it’s fun being with her here in Germany this week!) One thing that happened last fall when Claudia and Maria were here? I was bitten by the Nuvem bug. They both got off the plane wearing these beautiful scarf/wrap creations and I was immediately interested. Even MORE so when I tried it on. The Nuvem is knit with about 1700 yards of lace, making it really lightweight, but at the same time, really warm. I wanted to start one immediately.

Nuvem-Wollmeise-Lace-Spice-MarketSo, I jumped right in using a skein of Spice Market. (It had been caked up to be a sweater, but you know my history with sweaters, up to this point.) The Nuvem pattern requires a lot (a LOT) of knitting around and around. But I really don’t mind that kind of knitting. You don’t have to think about it. One row is knit around. The second row is knit around, plus making about 12 increases along the way. That’s it! See how the ends flare out a little? That’s where you do the increases. (The true color is shown in the second photo.) And I liked working on it so much, that I started a second one while the first one was soaking in the wash, getting ready for a blocking. I thought it would be great knitting on the plane and in Germany. I did make some changes when I knit it. I made it longer (I cast on 230 stitches to begin with), I made it a little narrower (I think about 22 inches across), and I did 9 rows on the ruffle instead of 6.

So here’s the thing. I had caked up two skeins of Spice Market Lace when I thought I was making a sweater out of them (knitting it holding two strands together.) Since I changed my mind, I used one cake for my Nuvem and I have another Spice Market all caked up, ready to give to someone else. Would you like it? Leave a comment below telling me about your adventures in knitting lace (Have you knit a lace scarf or wrap before? Would you do it again? Have you made a Nuvem? Or would this be your first time on a lace project?). I’ll draw a number next week and will let you know who wins the big, beautiful cake of Spice Market Lace.

Sheri wholikesthisNuvembetterthanasweateranyway

Weaving Through My Gift List

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Ok, not really. I’ve only made these two for Christmas gifts. But maybe I’ll have time to make more before the 25th of December rolls around. I’m still enjoying the process of weaving. Here’s one I made in Wollmeise Wasseratz.

And another one in Wollmeise Zenzi.

It’s really a fun way to use up multi-colored sock yarn that you might not feel like knitting into socks. Did I mention that I went through my stash last week? I have a lot of sock yarn that is going to be something other than socks. I used to buy so many single skeins.

Since tomorrow is our Thanksgiving Holiday, I have my knitting projects all planned out for this week and weekend. I’m finishing my second Derecho (finally, FPS. Tell me again why I decided to knit this a second time? And to make this second one the never-ending-big-size?), hoping to finish my Cabled Rib Wrap (although it’s so luscious to knit that I don’t mind it taking a long time), and hoping to start a Nuvem (with Wollmeise Lace, or Lorna’s Laces Helen’s Lace, which would be gorgeous). All of those things are pretty mindless knits, which makes them perfect for working on when you have family and friends around for the holiday weekend. What is your favorite mindless knit for times such as these?

Sheri maybeIoughttohaveonechallengingprojectready,justincase

Special Guests Visiting

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Claudia-and-mariaLast night was an extra fun Knit Night! My friends Claudia (the Wollmeise on the left) and Maria (on the right) have been here visiting from Germany this past week. It has been so fun to have them here and I am glad we could share a Loopy Knit Night with them, too. We’ve done a lot of knitting, shopping, touring, and eating over the past 8 days. 🙂 They’re heading back home to Germany today, but Claudia will be back for the Spring Fling in April. (Spring Fling information will be out next month.)

Here’s a super quick and easy dinner idea that my family likes. I hope your family will like it, too.

French-Bread-PizzasFrench Bread Pizzas (found on Pinterest, originally from the What’s Cooking with Ruthie blog)

French Bread (unsliced)
Your favorite pizza sauce (I like using my spaghetti sauce for this.)
Your favorite pizza toppings (We used sausage and pepperoni.)
Your favorite pizza cheese (We used Mozarella.)

Cut the bread lengthwise, so you have a top and a bottom.  Then cut each piece in half so that you have 4 large pieces from the loaf.

Spread the pizza sauce on each slice, then top with your pizza toppings. Finish it off with the cheese and bake it at 500 degrees for 5-7 minutes.

Sheri hopingyouallhaveafunweekendplanned

More Weaving

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I’ve finished two more woven scarves, and I have to say, it’s really fun and I love the results. I’m still working on getting my edges even, but washing and blocking helps a lot. (Not really blocking. You actually wash it and hang it on a rod to dry. I like that better than pinning out the edges of a shawl. Shawls aren’t really “wash and hang” types of things.) All in all, weaving/washing/blocking sure goes much faster than knitting. No wonder I’m hooked on it.

I haven’t tried a two color woven scarf yet, because I’m having too much fun weaving with multi-colors. Do you ever find a gorgeous multi-color yarn that you want to buy, but you’re not sure what you can make with it that will work well with the coloring? Weaving always works well! But if you want to knit with multicolors and you need a good pattern for it – try Lintilla, Hitchhiker, Wurm, or Boomerette. (Need suggestions for multi-color yarn? Lorna’s Laces, Hand Maiden, Fleece Artist, Mountain Colors, Studio June, Sweet Georgia, and Three Irish Girls are all great choices.)

This one was done with Wollmeise Sock in True Love.

And this one was done with Wollmeise Sock in Versuchskaninchen.

I have a few more colors set aside for future scarves. But right now, I need to get back to some knitting. My sweater is not progressing. I’ve decided I’m not a good sweater knitter, although I keep finding sweater patterns that I like. I’m not giving up on it because I love the yarn and want it to be a sweater, but I do find sweaters challenging to stick with, for some reason.

Have you discovered there is one thing that you’re not as good at knitting (or finishing)?

Sheri 3sweaterscurrentlyontheneedles.
Mightneedtochangemyattitude.