July 29, 2003
Speaking of Pink
I mentioned on Fiber Traditions that I had a needlepoint WIP and Madame asked to see it, so here it is. It's called "Peony" and it's by Kaffe Fassett, purchased from Ehrman Tapestries.
Here's a close up. Is it pink or is it pink? No fancy stitching here, just coloring with yarn instead of crayons!
Linette
July 27, 2003
Not Many Buttons, Not Very Successful
The (Not) Many Button Vest is finished. I am really not sure I like how this came out. The original pattern is in Folk Vests, but I am sure Cheryl Oberle wouldn't endorse what I've done to it!!
It all started with 6 hanks of Noro Silk Country in a lovely blue (mostly silk, with some black and brown alpaca fluff plyed in). Surely 360 yards of this discontinued stuff would be more than enough to make the front of the vest and the I cord finish, and I could use something else for the back.
A few small lots of this yarn popped up on eBay but not this shade. I bought 4 hanks of cream to make the back, it seemed a better idea than using some totally different yarn in a dark grey I had lying around.
Well, it took every bit of 6 hanks to make the fronts, so I went searching for more cream to be able to complete the back.
That was when I discovered I could have gotten more blue easily because this yarn is in the discontinued bins at lots of retailers. Sigh. But I'd committed to the cream. So I got more cream and more blue.
Final result: I used 6 hanks for the fronts, 6 hanks for the back, and just under one hank for all the I cord. I also did the 3-needle shoulder bindoff and the crocheted side seams with the ridges on the outside, because whichever color I used, it would show in a tacky way. I was right about the side seams, but the shoulders would have looked better if I'd put the ridge on the inside - a 3 needle bindoff really is almost invisible.
I'm puzzled by the variability just between these 2 shades of the same yarn. The blue is a bit shiny, and slightly liquid in the hand. The cream is absolutely matte like cotton. Go figure.
The garter stitch is very cuddly, and this will be cozy and warm. But I'm not sure if I like it!! And I still have 2 hanks of blue and 1 hank of cream hanging around to remind me that originally this project was supposed to USE UP stash and not ADD TO it. Sigh. At least I'm pretty sure that I don't want to add insult to injury by sticking a bunch of buttons on it....
July 25, 2003
Red vs the blues
I'm chugging away on Scarlett. I think I've entered "the zone" with Scarlett. You know, that state in knitting where your hands do the work with hardly any involvement from your brain. In fact, I'm working at home today trying to finish up a paper that I'm writing, and the only way I seem to make progress is if I allow myself to pick up Scarlett and knit a few rows for every few sentences that I work on. I hope my boss doesn't see this. But then, if he spends his time reading knitting blogs, it would hardly be a problem, would it ?
In spite of Miss Scarlett's virtues, however, last night I was feeling a little burnt out by the "redness", so, feeling the need for some "blueness", I picked up an old WIP, Marina, and did a few rows. It's interesting that every photo of Marina I've seen online is a little different colorwise. I find the design is more ornate than anything I'm likely to wear, but it's very pretty and great fun to knit. I'm using the pattern found in the Woolcraft mag. The yarn is Jamieson spindrift.
Linette
Pink Tea Tweaks
A big thanks to Mary for spiffing up the Pink Tea blog! Aren't the little teacups beside the titles the best?
Madame certainly hopes that all you new Pink Tea socialites will post soon. Her browser is getting worn out with continual checking :-)
Sheila
July 24, 2003
Hello! A great big thanks
Hello! A great big thanks to Madame for setting up this virtual soiree. I have been wanting to start a blog for some time, but with 3 monkeys in the house, I'm afraid that I won't have enough time or content to retain interest in my own blog. This, I think, will be the perfect solution!
Yesterday, I was sitting on the couch enjoying my two hours of peace and quiet, knitting away on a lovely stockinette sleeve for monkey #1, when I realized that I was starting to doze off. Not a very frugal way to use the precious peaceful time! I suddenly realized that I needed a project to stimulate the gray matter. A miracle WIP, so to speak. Hmmm...I know I have a lovely aran WIP here somewhere. So I went digging through the closet, and there, beneath an open bag of size 5 Pampers, lay the antidote to my malayonaisse...
Jen
This project was started some 5 or 6 years ago when I attended a knitting retreat sponsored by Sisu Designs in Ely, Minnesota. The project is titled, "Aran Cardigan", and is being knit in Tahki Chelsea Silk. The yarn is a lovely navy, with flecks of purple. At the rate of 8 rows per year, I should be able to wear this to monkey #3's college graduation.
July 23, 2003
Intro
OK, I guess somebody has to say something :-) I'm very excited to be part of this virtual soiree and hope others will show up soon.
Last night I finished the front (or maybe it's the back, I'm not sure) of Scarlett. The yarn is Jamieson Soft Shetland in Lacquer.
Linette