A Loom Mystery

Just off my loom, the first photo shows an unblocked pink Hydrangea Petal Lace Shawl.  This version was made from a fingering weight yarn, using only 50 pegs on a 1/2 inch gauge loom.  The second photo is my loom mystery. The pegs and loom piece are from the new Martha Stewart loom. The mystery is what size and gauge is this loom?  There are two peg sizes. The pegs come separately from the loom, and fit firmly into the peg slots. I've lined them up in the photos with my tactile measuring tape to give you a general idea of how the pegs measure in different configurations.

Starting from the left side: Two large pegs next to each other have a very narrow opening for yarn. A fingering weight will fit between them, but the pegs are very large, so I'm not sure what kind of fabric this combination will make.The next combination is two large pegs with an empty peg slot between them. This appears to be larger than the yellow Knifty Knitter, about 7/8 inch gauge.  One large and one small peg have about a 3/8 inch spacing, but the peg sizes are different enough that the fabric made will be uneven. Two small pegs with one empty peg space between them are 3/4 inch space, and are pretty close in size to the pegs on the old long Knifty Knitters. Last, the two small pegs have about a 3/8 inch space, similar to the "small" gauge.

For comparison, I've lined up the Martha pegs with my Markman Adjustable looms. The Markman large gauge (3/4 inch) is smaller than the large pegs on the Martha.

The Markman 1/2 inch gauge is larger than the two small Martha pegs. There is no 1/2 inch equivalent on the Martha loom, which disappoints me, as this is my favorite gauge.

The Markman small gauge is similar to the Martha loom with two small pegs next to each other. So, is our mystery solved? Maybe. Martha's loom appears to have a 7/8 gauge, a 3/4 gauge,  and a 3/8 gauge (extra large, large and small). The Martha loom is "semi-adjustable", allowing for you to make a fixed loom in many different configurations. It is not an adjustable loom - it will not let you change the number of pegs you are using while you are working on a project. But it does give you a greater number of pegs and options. Hopefully there will be a few more configurations and peg sizes coming to fill in the gaps between the peg sizes. Overall, I'm pleased to have this loom, and look forward to trying some of the lace pieces I've been working on in the 3/8 inch gauge on the Martha loom.

Copyright 2011 by Invisible Loom and Craft, Renee Van Hoy. All Rights Reserved.

Tea on Tuesday

Tea this week includes a beautiful skein of Alpaca yarn sent to me by Regina of Howling Wolf Herbs. 375 yards of a deep brown fingering Alpaca that is soooooo soft! Regina is an avid loom knitter, who has a beautiful site with wonderful herbal products and yarn. Thank you so much Regina! On my loom, but nearing the end, the diamond and ruffle shawl is shown in the second photo. This pattern is part of the "shawl project", and will have both a simple and more challenging version. This version has a lace inset, and is made in fingering weight yarn. A simpler version can be made in heavier weight yarn without the lace inset, to make a simple crescent shawl with a gentle ruffle along the edges.

Here is a close-up photo of the diamond lace inset, which makes the pattern a little more challenging (but not too hard, I promise.) And now for tea: this past week, we enjoyed this pear pie with Bartlett pears right off our tiny pear tree.

Our Pear Tree Pie

dough for a double crust deep 9 inch pie

8 - 9 ripe pears, peeled and cut into small chunks

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Pinch of salt

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 Tablespoon butter

1 Tablespoon sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a pie pan with dough (I like a deep dish clear glass pan,) chill until needed. Combine the pears, brown sugar, nutmeg, almond extract and salt. Taste for sweetness, add a little sugar if needed. Add flour and mix well. Pour pear mixture into prepared pie pan. Dot with butter. Cover with top crust. Place on a lined baking sheet. Bake in lower part of the oven for 20 minutes at 425 degrees, then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake 40 minutes more, until pie crust is lightly browned and filling is bubbly. Cool and enjoy!

Copyright 2011 by Invisible Loom and Craft, Renee Van Hoy. All Rights Reserved.

Tea on Tuesday

Loom knitters love tea ♥

Today's recipe is a favorite of mine. If you have never rubbed the leaves of a scented geranium, you have missed an herbal treat. Substitute mint if geranium leaves have not favored your garden. There is a lovely KAL at Ravelry in the Jane Eyre Fans group. The theme is "Tea on the Moors", and the patterns are open to any tea cozy or mitt pattern you would enjoy making. Prizes and a virtual tea party will be at the end of the KAL for anyone who has shared a finished project. I'm contributing 2 tins of Harney's Tea, winners choice.
Rose Scented Geranium Cake

Like tasting a wonderful aroma! A beautiful cake for a special occaision, or for your special family. This cake keeps well and can be made a few days ahead, or frozen, if need be.

1 1/2 cup sugar
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
6 large egg yolks
3 1/2 cups cake flour
1 cup (whole) milk
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 TBSP. finely chopped rose scented geranium leaves -stems removed

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and sugar a 10 inch bundt or tube pan. For an extra special treat, use rose vanilla sugar for the pan. In a mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks one at a time. On low speed, add cake flour alternately with milk. Beat in baking powder and vanilla. Beat in rose geranium leaves. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes at 350 degrees, until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then turn out on to a platter and cool completely.
Copyright 2000- 2011 by Invisible Loom and Craft, Renee Van Hoy. All Rights Reserved.

Vacation

We are back from a very nice vacation. The photo shows my yarn "souvenir". I splurged on one giant hank of hand dyed fingerling wool - 1700 yards from "The Drop Spindle". The colors are a very deep magenta and purple. Now, what to make with it? I'm thinking it may be time for a cardigan pattern. After the shawl project is finished.
I have to admit, I did not work much on the shawls while we were gone, but with school starting next week, I will have time to fill, and it will be back to work. 4 patterns are in draft form, two are photographed. Maybe October for the e-book?
A little late, but a few August loom doings: the Ravelry loom-a-long group is making Helen (myheartexposed) Jacobs-Grant's beautiful "Wavy Feather's Shawl" this month. Here is a photo of my version: I made two of these lovely shawls last year, one in worsted weight wool, and one in mohair. Both have been a delight to wear. The Loom Class Group at yahoogroups is making a number of kitchen patterns all month, great for a start on holiday gifts.
Happy looming!
Copyright 2011 by Invisible Loom and Craft, all rights reserved.

On and Off the Loom

The Hydrangea Petal lace shawl is off the loom, blocked, and if I say so myself, gorgeous! Lace can and will be made on a knitting loom. I've ordered the lace, fingering and sock yarns to prove it! The first photo is a close-up of the blocked lace. The second of the finished shawl. It blocked out to a very large size - 70 inches by 35 inches, which is pretty amazing when you consider it was made in one piece on a 59 peg knitting loom.

On the loom, another of the "shawl project" pieces. This is a shawl inspired by one my friend Karen asked me to design. She wanted a simple curved shawl with a ruffle, that would wrap around her. For the "shawl project" I'm working on a version with a lace panel of diamonds. The loom is the 59 peg 1/2 inch adult hat loom from CinDwood, and the yarn is a fingering weight from The Great Adirondack Yarn Co. in the colorway "machalite", lots of teals, greens, and purple.
Other projects for August will be a pair of fingerless mitts for the Ravelry "Jane Eyre Fans" knit along, "Wandering the Moors", and, of course, another lace shawl. What's on your loom?Copyright 2011 by Invisible Loom and Craft, all rights reserved.

In love with lace

The lace shawl is 3/4 of the way completed, and I am totally in love with it. It amazes me to see such a delicate piece coming off of the loom, yet the stitches are sturdy and holding together as beautifully as if they were made out of a heavy yarn. I know the shawl will "bloom" even more when it is blocked and the lace opens up. I started with several lace pattern ideas, but in the end, chose to make the shawl with only one, that I'm calling "Hydrangea Petal."

This shawl is being made on a CinDwood 1/2 inch gauge hat loom with 59 pegs. The yarn is Knit Picks Shadow Tonal in Blue-Violet. It will take 1 skein of yarn to make the entire shawl, and the entire skein fits in a teacup. I'd love to hear what you think - are you going to start stashing some lace yarns?
Copyright 2011 by Invisible Loom and Craft, all rights reserved.

On and Off the Loom

My looms are busy, and the shawl project is moving forward. The first photo gives you an idea of what it looks like when a lace piece is in the works. I start with the idea in my head, then place it on special graph paper for the visually impaired. This creates a huge map of the idea, but usually not the actual pattern. From the chart, I create the first written draft of what I think the pattern will be, using my favorite giant legal pads and 20/20 pens. From this draft, I begin the looming. I'm thrilled to show you the start of a shawl made with lace weight yarn!

Even this early into the project, I will be writing a second draft, trying to get the pattern into an easy to read format, and adding in the changes to the pattern that are being made as it is loomed. The second photo is a close up of the lace work. It will look very different once it is blocked out, but you get an idea at least of the first layer of lace with a little flower in it.

A nice break from the lace pattern is the JulyRavelry Loom-a-long, here in the third photo. I'm making the Leafy Sea Dragon Scarf in Chroma worsted in the Sunrise colorway. The loom is a CinDwood 1/2 inch gauge loom with 35 pegs. The lace is also being made on a CinDwood 1/2 inch gauge loom. There are a very nice group of loomers in the loom-a-long, and we will be working on the scarf all of July, so you have lots of time to join us.

Off the loom is the June Loom Class project, the Sea Glass Wrap, made from Anny Blatt Fine Kid in Arctic. With our cool, foggy summer, this has been my favorite wrap to wear right now.

Also off the loom, a small chunky scarf with a V-back. I know I've shown you this before as a shawl, but the first versions were frogged, and this little scarf is the keeper. It was made on the purple KK hat loom with Wool of the Andes Bulky in the Garden Party colorway.

What is on your loom?

Copyright 2011 by Invisible Loom and Craft, Renee Van Hoy. All Rights Reserved.