I’ve been indulging myself for the last few weeks, knitting things that I’m interested in instead of things I think other people might be interested in. I’ve been a bad LYS owner, but a happy knitter. It’s kind of fun to do this if you’ve been knitting gifts for other people or virtuously finishing up projects that you’ve lost interest in. I’m rewarding myself for getting my tax stuff off to my brother-in-law the accountant. Every year, starting New Year’s Day, I obsess until I have all the information together and feel like celebrating when I send it off. I’m celebrating with a nifty little pullover from Heidi and Anna Pickles, a Norwegian design and yarn duo. I liked this sweater
as soon as I saw it – I’m a sucker for tidy little pullovers and liked the little standup collar, the contiguous shoulders, and ribbed sleeves. I had Shibui Pebble and Cima at home in the color Brass. Held together they made the gauge easily and the fabric is both cushy and sturdy. The project is indulgent and just for me because the pattern, although available in English – sort of – is written for Norwegians, who learn to knit in the womb and need very few instructions. We Americans like everything spelled out in detail, so it’s taking a little trial and error at certain points in the pattern to get things looking right. This is how is looks so far, with shoulders done and sleeves started:
and with all the ribbing and size 3 needles, it will look very much like this for quite a while. That’s okay, though. The combination of yarns is wonderful and I’m enjoying every single (infinitely long) round.
I don’t think I ever showed you the finished fluffy pink jacket I made over the holidays (all of them; it took a while and there was a lot of moaning as I recall). It’s Flaum from Amirisu Magazine, Issue 8, Fall 2015. I used a lovely shade of Arioso from Lana Grossa and just love the way it turned out, now that I’m over the immense amount of ribbing.
And look at the way the very adorable pin that Andy Watkins gave us accents it perfectly. Thanks, Andy! Caution: There are errata for the pattern so if you have the magazine, be sure to look them up on Amirisu’s website. I hope that if you buy the individual pattern from Ravelry, the corrections will have been made, but be sure.
One more thing to show you: New knitting bags! I’m excited to have these exclusively in the store. Kathy K. is a local sewist. She collects used jeans and uses them as the main fabric, then adds fun fabrics and embellishments to the front of each bag. I love them! Kathy designed them to be strong, comfortable to carry and very functional. Every one is unique, beautifully pieced, with sturdy stitching, a magnetic closure, and a covered wooden stabilizer in the bottom. One large inside pocket holds your patterns and/or tablet, three small inside pockets hold all your accessories. The double straps are denim outside and lined with the complementing fabric. I’m happy to be able to offer them at $95 each. Here are a few of the bags that we have in stock, and Kathy can also do special orders!
(I’m not showing you my favorite – it’s little smaller and has a PINK floral lining – it may come home with me!)
See you soon!
