Anicardacae

So I haven't exactly stuck to my schedule. I didn't pick up the Minty Shawl at all this week. Well, I picked it up to move it. But not to work on it. I found something that needed my attention much more though - A straight needle holder. I needed something to take it on the bus in. All that metal in one place might have been a threat...now it's just a nicely organized threat.

Even if I don't follow schedules, I make them. It's nice and it keeps me sane to know that even the biggest things can be broken down into manageable pieces.

I did start the armwarmers, though. Not in the Plymouth Encore I thought I had though. So I ran out and got some purple Lion Brand Wool Ease in an appropriately SHOCKING PURPLE color. I like them so far. They just dont' stay up worth a damn. I always have that problem with armwarmers though. They need a good ribbing. Or a good ribbon to lace them with.

I've got one and a half armwarmers finished right now.

But without further ado, and there isn't any ado....my NEEDLE HOLDER! TOXICODENDRON!

Pictures:

The Back

And the front.

What the Heck Is It and How do I use it?

It's a straight needle holder - It's got pockets for additional support on the bottom, but the needles are mostly intended to be slid through a slice of the knitted fabric - much like using a safety pin. The pockets support the base of the needles (sometimes unsuccessfully).

This project is NOT felted or fulled.

The Bare Basics:

Needles: US Size 6, fourteen inch straight needles. Susan Bates.

Hook: US Size E. Boye Balene II.

Yarns: Lion Brand Wool-Ease and a mystery yarn from the thrift store. Wool-Ease Worsted being 80% acrylic and 20% wool content.

As usual, I have the pattern available should anyone want to make this. I can post it here, if there are requests, or send it individually. Just ask if you'd like it.

The Short Story Long:

Born out of boredom, a need to store my wildly out of hand needle collection, and a hatred for my dendrology class, this needle holder is quite possibly the happiest creation of my life.Named and inspired by one of the world's least favorite plants, Poison Ivy, it has no ill effects. I swear. I've tried it myself. It's a pattern of my own devising, worked mostly out of a simple half-twisted stockinette base (I tend to only twist my knit stitches - I can never commit to anything wholeheartedly!) that's about 15.5 inches wide.The decorative bands are interspersed about every three inches, give or take. The stitch is a modified version of what I saw deemed a "Pillar Stitch". It's supposed to make very firm fabric, which is what I wanted, but I realized it just had too many holes for needles to slip through. It's about 14.5 inches high - barely large enough to hold my 14 inch long straights. If I were to make another one or revise my pattern notes, I'd compensate for that and work in an extra inch or so.There is a garter stitch border on three sides - the top and both longer sides. It was knit from one skein (exactly, no extra left) of grey Lion Brand Wool-Ease Worsted. The green yarn which forms the pocket fabric and detail stitching, as well as the binding on the edges, is a mystery yarn that was gotten thrifting. It was in a bag marked 100% Unknown Fiber, but feels like a very soft animal fiber. I'm inclined to say it's an angora or cashmere, with possibly an acrylic mix. The yarn isn't as shown in the pictures - the grey is a much more "bright" grey, being more white based than black based. The green is a darker green with hints of muted rainbow colors that shine only in light - the yarn reminds me of fish scales. As I alluded to - there is a single crochet border (I can't seem to get past it in my designs, I just love it so darn much...) as well as detail stitching. The detail stitching, seen mostly only on the front of the case, is what forms the pockets on the backside. I modeled (or tried to) this piece after Toxicodendron radicans, or, Poison Ivy in vine form. The big fuzzy grayish vines that grow on trees (Not to be confused with Parthenocissus quinquefolia - do you know how long it took me to learn to spell that? Virginia Creeper) is what I worked with for this project. I'm not sure if I succeeded in capturing the look or feel of the plant - you be the judge. I just know I like (mostly) how it looks.