A question for lace knitters

I haven't tried any serious lace knitting since the Rowan shawl I did
about a year and a half ago.  I've wanted to, I just haven't found the
right kind of time (for me) to sit and concentrate like that.

Then...the current issue of Interweave Knits arrived and finally I found one I have determined to do:  The Fountain Pen Shawl by Susan Pierce Lawrence.  The repetition of the same pattern appeals to me right now, and I have a stash of lace weight yarn from Aracaunia I'd like to use up. 

My question for those of you with lots of lace experience:  will it matter if I use a yarn that was, in theory, designed for sock knitters?  Meaning it is a blend of wool and nylon...not machine washable...but the blend concerns me.  Over lunch the other day, as several of us were debating this, we wondered whether that would be a problem in blocking out and maintaining the newly blocked size after knitting.

Kay, are you out there?  You helped me so much with the Rowan shawl, maybe you have the answer to this.  Or anyone else?  I'd be so appreciative.

Thanks!

(P.S.  Photo courtesy of Interweave Press.com.)

Oscars

I go to a theater to see a movie when it's released perhaps once or twice a decade, preferring the quiet of my own home to people answering their cell phones or digging through popcorn barrels as though their lives depended on it (I mean REALLY...).  As a result of my disdain for sharing this experience with the public, I often don't see movies until they've been around for quite a while.

But then...there's Oscar night.  I watch no matter what I have or haven't seen.  I admit to liking all the red carpet stuff, the movie clips, the entertainment, and when the cameras pan the audience and I get to see that my favorite actors are starting to look a little long in the tooth like I am.  Time spares no one, unless you're Joan Rivers and you've had so much surgery your face no longer moves when you talk...but that's another story.

So tonight, I'll be rooting for...well...I haven't seen any of them, so I'll just be there vicariously, and hoping Hugh Jackman does a better job of being emcee than some of the others who weren't so hot.

What does this have to do with fiber?  Nada.  However...I'll be spinning up a big ole bag of grey wool while I'm watching...and maybe I'll even have a bowl of popcorn.

Back to work

After a great week in Dallas with my buddy Kay, Monte and I hit the dye pots again this past Monday and have been hard at it all week.  Tomorrow we hope to get everything tagged and photographed...then it's up to moi to spend one of my "days off" this weekend to get some of them in our Etsy shop. 

We laughed so hard this week doing these, I hope they will impart some of this joy to the spinner or felter who buys them.

Here is a sampling of what we've done...


and we're dyeing for a new series we've planned and will announce that this coming week.  We're pretty excited about it!

Martie

PS  Lost the battle of the bulge in Dallas.  Who knew how many wonderful restaurants there are?  And how could I pass up the ice cream and brownies Holly brought over one night?  Yes, friends....I'm weak....but life is short.

The face of the enemy

I did so well last year.  I lost 31 lbs. (yes, that 1 lb. IS VERY important to note).  Kept it off, even after climbing on that slippery slope called indulgence.  Then September hit, and my weeks in CA under all the stress, and then October, with the shop closing...well, you know where this is headed.  So here I am now, up half that much, fighting my way back down.

Ladies and gentlemen, here it is...the face of the enemy.

I'm hanging out with my friend Kay this week in the big state of Dallas.  Yesterday we hit Central Market, which is like food heaven right here on earth.  I bravely walked the isles of chocolates, pastries, fresh baked breads, and cheeses, before I found my section and took this photos.  Enough said.