KnitMe

Agatha

Last week I finished 'Agatha' from Elsebeth Lavold's recent book Sentimental Journey.

It has a very simple crocheted edging that I found appealing although I do not enjoy doing crochet. This is the neckline with its edging.

I was worried that it was going to turn out too narrow, but simply blocking it by rinsing in warm water and laying it out seemed to relax it and it fit just fine.

The yarn was Noro Lily (70% cotton and 30% silk) - it's not so much plyed as a cabled construction, very drapey and lustrous to knit with and to wear. I used a bit more yardage of this than the pattern specified for the Cotton Patine yarn, I think because I knitted it slightly tighter and needed more rows to an inch. I was afraid of sagging - turns out I wish I had made the edging tighter, because I could tell instantly upon putting it on that the armholes were going to sag. I needed a quick fix (it was 7am Friday and time to run out the door) so I ran a sort of basting line of matching doubled sewing thread around the armholes and it seems to have done the trick.

I started this April 7th and finished it June 24th, and used almost 6 hanks of Noro Lily.

Coming soon: Dyeing and Plying Silk: The Thrills, the Chills, the Results.

Lydia's progress

I'm making slow progress on Lydia. It's been slow partly because several times I've had to rip out rows after deciding that I wasn't happy with the color combination. I think it's going to start progressing more quickly because I have a better idea now of what works and what doesn't.

Linette

WIP Roll Call

I'm way behind on my Pink Tea postings, so I'm going to try to catch up all at once here.

This is the Sophie bag from magknits.com, in sky blue Plymouth Galway.

It's such a perfect shape and size, it holds my wallet and cell phone and keys comfortably. I knitted the handles until they were 24 inches long instead of 20, and it hangs nicely over my shoulder.

I did have a glitch in the handles so if you peer closely you'll see that they are totally 'kluged' as we say in the computer business. First, I mistakenly thought you knitted one of the I cords from each side of the bag but you were really supposed to knit them both from the same side. Then, I knitted them both at once and accidentally crossed the yarns, so when I was done I had to snip the yarn to do the twisting - this did not hold up in the washer. So, the handles are wrapped and sewn with a strand of matching yarn. Maybe I'll make another one and give this one to Emily.

This is the completed back of the 'Agatha' shell from the newest Elsebeth Lavold book.

I'm about halfway up the front, and knitting relentlessly during lunch hour and Emily's baths, so I'm hoping to have it done soon to wear during July. Once I finish the front, all that's left is a boatload of crocheted edging. I'm using Noro Lily and size 6 needles - this yarn is so enjoyable to knit with!

This is my Siberian Winter - here you see about 90 rows completed, the border pattern plus about half of one repeat of the center square. To give you and idea of proportions, the total shawl is 370 rows or so, plus an edging. I am really enjoying this pattern.

And this is the left front of the lace cardigan in the Dale 109 book.

I'm using Alpafina yarn in cream, and 3.0mm needles. The yarn is not that impressively soft in the ball, but it is making a creamy fabric knit up. This will take me forever and ever but it will be beautiful to wear when it's finished. The pattern is extremely simple and it will probably get quite boring after knitting an entire cardigan in it, but I see this becoming carry-around knitting after Agatha is done. I started this on June 12th.

There's black merino on the wheel but nothing photogenic yet. There aren't enough hours in the day...

Thank you for all your kind comments about Morgan. She was a good cat. I think the other cat is a little sad about it but she doesn't seem really depressed. I don't think Emily has noticed yet that she's missing, she still tells people we have 2 cats and I don't have the heart to correct her.

The go-with-the-flo-FI

Yeah, it's a little busy, and yeah, the bottom's rolling a bit, but this is just too much fun! I think it's time to transition to wider motifs, and to cut down on the lime green. The rolling will block out, I hope. If it doesn't, I might fold the edge back like a hem and sew it down. That turqoise is Rowan fine chenille. I've been warned about using chenille in this project, but I can't help myself. I love that color and texture and had to use it. For all its flaws, I think this will be a fun, wearable garment. I'm calling her Lydia.

Linette

Morgan 1987-2004

Sophie is felted and photographed but I don't care today, maybe tomorrow.

Morgan (and her sister who is still quite alive and well, thanks) was a Humane Society kitty. She was the goofy one, the one who knocked things over and came downstairs like a herd of elephants, carried toy mice around in her mouth yowling.

She was the beauty queen, too - poofy pure white fur, a huge glamorous raccoon tail, extravagantly pink nose, impossibly loud purr.

She was afraid of almost all people, until about her last 3 years, when she suddenly became calm about it all. She made me completely crazy with inappropriate and widespread peeing, it's going to take some time now to track down and treat every place where she made a little mess. She went downhill over the past 8 or 10 months, even in her favorite perch under our tree in December she didn't look quite herself.

You always wonder at a time like this, did you wait too long, not long enough. I think not, though, I think today was her day. I felt peculiar signing the death warrant but I've been expecting it for months. Bye, Boo-Boo. We'll miss you.

Knit This Shawl

I finished my Wool Peddlers shawl (from the book Folk Shawls), and I have one thing to say: Everyone needs this shawl. It's incredibly easy and fast to knit, the pattern is easy to change by doing more repeats, it would suit just about any worsted weight wool that's reasonably uniform, and you'll love it when you're done.

It was too big to photograph without standing on something, and there was nothing on hand.

I used Noro Cash Iroha and size 8 needles, and knitted until I thought I had enough for the garter stitch border, which I ended up shorting 3 rows because I didn't want to run out before I was done.

I decided on a gentle, no-wire block, so I just washed it out in warm water and Ivory Snow and laid it out flat to dry. The yarn got even softer and smoother after washing, which I would not have thought possible.

It ended up just over a yard deep from neck to point, a perfect length. This will get a lot of use come cold weather.

Statistics: Started May 3, finished June 9. Just under 10 full hanks of Noro Cash Iroha in shade 86 (midnight blue).

I finished knitting the Sophie bag from Magknits yesterday and felted it today. Photos soon.

New Project

Don't you just love starting a new project?! As you can see, I'm still obsessed with fair isle. This time, though, I didn't swatch. Instead, this is what I did:

• Decided what I was going to make (a vee-neck cardigan)


• Picked out my yarns (which, along with Yorkshire tweeds, include some prized bits of leftover Rowan DLT and fine chenille).


• Charted a few motifs just to get me started and to figure out the stitch count (I'm using a multiple of 24 sts - a nice versatile number).


• Cast on.

The idea is to just get going and decide as I go exactly which yarn goes where. It's a very nice, constrained color palette, so it should work. At least, I hope it will.

My only dilemma is this: I've also put together a blue colorway, and now I can't decide which to knit first!

Linette

Marianne is a FO

Marianne is finished. I'm so happy! Next up is a fair isle cardi using the same yarn (Rowan Yorkshire tweed 4-ply).

Linette

Knitting the Blues

Life is very hectic right now, but I have been knitting. I did the cover poncho from Rowan 35, "Lola", which is crocheted from Rowan Handknit dk cotton. I had a couple of false starts figuring out gauge and remembering that the crochet terms were British, and need to be converted to American (I won't tell you how much I had to rip out when I finally figured that one out), but then it was smooth sailing. This is for a gift, but my daughter and I both like it, so I see at least one more Lola in my future.

The Yarn Harlot inspired me to start my own "Boring Cardi". Actually, I was really drawn to the pattern, "Beth" by Kim Hargreaves in A Season's Tale. The colors of the Rowan 4-ply glow, and are set off beautifully by the simplicity of the classic cardigan. Two Swans Yarn obtained the yarn for me, and it is just what I wanted. I am knitting the cardi in one piece to the underarm, and doing the seed stitch borders as I go (some short rows inserted along the way), so it has been great mindless knitting. With all of the school concerts, assemblies, meetings, etc I have been attending lately, I am actually making pretty good progress, even with the (gasp) size 2 needles.
I seem to be on a Rowan kick, and everything is blue! Here is a project which is also blue, but does use Austermann cotton yarn. I am still working on this lacy shawl which is supposed to be star-shaped when it is done. It is the Lacy Starfish Shawl from Just One More Row. Notice the current "blob" status. Does this look like it is going to work out to you? I suspect that it may be enormous when blocked, and am thinking about ending it shorter than the pattern calls for. Well, that also may be because I am tired of knitting it!

Anne

Wool Peddlers Shawl

This is currently my farthest-along WIP, the Wool Peddlers shawl from Folk Shawls. I am using Noro Cash Iroha (40% silk, 30% lambswool, 20% cashmere, 10% nylon) purchased on sale, which seemed like a risky choice given that the pattern calls for a mohair blend and I always find yardage requirements misleading when they are based on a mohair yarn... But, it seems to be working out quite well and I should have sufficient yarn to add at least one additional repeat of the 8-row pattern.

I don't know if I've succeeded in conveying the wonderful sheen this yarn has, but I've tried to take closeups so you can see how cushy the garter stitch section is and how nicely it changes to stockinette and works with the simple lace pattern. It's also an odd yarn, it's a fat single, and there are sections that almost seem unspun as well as sections that are a bit thinner than you'd think. Perfect for a non-precision project like this.

This is going to be an extremely cuddly shawl, and the pattern is super easy - if you have 900 or 1000 yards of worsted weight yarn you'd love to wrap up in, I'd say go for it. I have gone up a needle size from the pattern requirement (I'm using size 8) and I'm getting a fabric that's probably a bit loose for the yarn, but with a shawl I think that'll be preferable.

This is my current lunch-hour-Emily-bath-anywhere-everywhere knitting so I am hoping it will be done fairly soon. Then: To block or not to block?