Moje Robόtki No 8

Here is my attempt (through Round VII) of Jan Stawasz' large doily for the Polish magazine referenced in the title.

The photo is only a portion and of course the piece is not blocked at all. Currently it measures about 18" in diameter and I'm going to start Round VIII soon. I love the symmetry and negative space that are typical of Jan's patterns. I am lucky to have both of the books (in hard back) that were published prior to his death. I'm also glad to have found (thank you, Tim K) this pattern as well. This piece will be a wonderful addition to my "linens" in our new home.

I so look forward to arriving in Montana. I'll also be able to pick up another of my hobbies that I had put on hold when we moved to North Carolina. I also do china painting but need to acquire a new kiln as the one I had purchased from Ruth Little in Lubbock is probably 50 years old and was on its last legs when I got it. It's fun to research the various kilns and I plan to contact several porcelain artists who live the NW part of the USA to get their recommendations. There are some good videos on YouTube not only from current artisans but the history of porcelain making and decorating. Needless to say, I won't be acquiring a kiln that is used for massive firings but don't want a "table-top" version either.

Lace Knitting and learned the hard way!

The photo below is through round 140 (of 238) for the 1940's Lace Knitted Doily that I had found at 1940 Coats Patons Doily and is not blocked! We will not talk about how many times I started this one over. I started (finally!) putting in life lines every ten rounds when I reached round 110. I had a difficult time with rounds 130 through 139 and I'm still not certain that the instructions and charts are exactly correct but I shall persevere and plod onward.  

Knitted Lace Doily from 1940's Coats 

Patons Crochet Doily Leaflet

The orange stitch markers seen in the photo on the lower left are the first stitch for each of the lifelines (I'm using pink size 10 for the purpose). I also learned to be very, very careful about color fastness of any thread/yarn that I use for a lifeline. I have a couple of retries that started out wonderfully white but became pinkish after using RED for a lifeline that was NOT colorfast.

I finally had to take the work off my 32" circular needles because the stitches were so crowded I was dropping stitches as I moved groups onto and off the needle areas and would have to tink back or frog back to a lifeline.

Without being blocked, the work measures more that 19" (~48 cm) and there are still 98 rows to go. I just hope the 47" circular needles I have on order will be enough. Otherwise, I'll be trying to find a 60" FIXED circular needle in size 0.

I am using Lizabeth size 20 in white; I had purchased the cone from DS9 Designs (thank you, Deb!) at one of our first CWTs at the Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp. This is also the same thread I am using for the tatted doily by Jan Stawasz. I finally finished round VI of that piece and will post a picture later. I'm not sure how long it will take me to use up a cone of size 20 (8,400 yards / ~ 7,700 meters). I also use this thread for tatted angels, snowflakes and will probably use some for some of the wonderful patterns (I have all her books with the new one on order) from Ineke Kuiperij of The Netherlands.

It's OFFICIAL!

It's now official ... I retired as of April 28th from Clariant Corporation! We are in the process of moving out to Ennis, MT where my husband of 48 years and I built a dream log home in 2015

The picture just above was taken in November 2015 before construction on the exterior was complete and the slabs on the garage hadn't been oiled. All of the exterior is complete and landscape is being installed now. What you cannot see from this photo is the Madison Mountain range behind the house. The base of the range is only about ten miles across the Madison River Valley.

This life change will give me more time to do what I want. I always have several projects going so current inventory includes the Jan Stawasz doily from the 2008 Polish magazine (I borrowed from the PTG library). I am also on round 99 of the 1940s Knitted Lace Doily. Both doilies are being done with Lizbeth Size 20 in white. These will alternately grace a table in the great room that was once a pedestal dining table. I'll try to get some pictures posted of progress once we get a little more settled. These two projects make for good companions on the cross-country drive from North Carolina to Montana.