I feel chatty today, so this could be quite a long post. It’s a(nother) gray day and even though spring is 2 days away, at my house it’s high winter. We’re still wrapped up in afghans, Purl is still wearing her sweater, and not one of my heavy sweaters is washed and put away for the season. Even though I’ve been knitting with spring yarns for months, I crave the touch and warmth of wool in my hands. So, I’ve been having fun with a little spontaneous Fair-Isle knitting, using Alice Starmore’s Fair Isle Knitting to figure out patterns and so on. Using about 5 colors of Nature Spun Sport, I made a cowl and, not really wanting to weave in all the ends, I lined it with a leftover ball of soft, soft, soft Road to China Light in a surprising color. Then – since it’s still cold and gray outside – I made a hat that relates to the cowl but doesn’t actually match:
Of course, the picture shows the jog on the cowl (where a new round starts). Yes, there are ways to avoid it, but when you’re just knitting for fun, well, it’s hard to get up off the couch and look up the article(s) that suggest different ways. I avoided it on the hat by putting a plain column of background stitches between the motifs. Anyway, it’s been a lot of fun and if the weather stays ugly, I might get a pair of mittens out of this, too!
I also finished Knickknack, from Norah Gaughan’s latest collection. It’s a great openwork piece with little fitted sleeves that keep it from being just a blanket. I’m sorry to say that I had to re-write the pattern almost completely. The design is attractive, I wanted to make it immediately, but when I read the pattern, I thought, “No, really, why?” the whole way through. Anyway, I wrote up my notes so that you can do what I did.
This shows the shape (or lack thereof):
I used Serena from Manos to make mine, and it’s going to be a favorite when the weather warms up. It’s like most cottons, dry to your hands when you knit, but just the kind of dryness that feels good to wear when you’re hot and sticky. There’s a little bit of alpaca to make the knitting smooth and pleasant, but not enough to provide insulation, especially in an airy piece like this. We just got in some beautiful colors:
that I wish I’d had for mine, I would have made it in that pale yellow. For some reason I’m craving yellow this year. It looks so fresh and, well, sunny. At least I think that’s the color of the sun, if I remember rightly.
One more thing that I’ve been doing just for fun, and because it’s a good cause: I’ve been making some simple baby hats to donate for a fundraiser for the Nurse-Family Partnership. Barb Werner is a great knitter and runs the program, which helps young low-income mothers, who have often not received much mothering themselves, to give their babies a good start in life. This program guides them through a healthy pregnancy, teaches them skills they’ll need, and monitors the baby’s health through its first 2 years. It’s a worthwhile endeavor and they are collecting handmade hats and booties, knitted or crocheted, to sell to raise money. I’ve been doing hats from free patterns on Ravelry with various kinds of washable wool:
The first is Liberty Wool, the yellow is 220 Superwash Sport, and the third (not done yet) is in Sausalito. When I looked up patterns on Ravelry, I found 16 pages of free patterns for baby hats in sport or DK weight yarn! There are 6 pages of free patterns for booties in the same weight. So find those leftover skeins or come in for some fun new yarn – be sure everything is machine washable, of course – and get going. Drop them off at the store – and make them cute! The cutest hat and the cutest pair of booties will each win a $10 gift certificate from Yarn Gallery. (Cuteness will be determined by the “Awww…” factor from an impartial but susceptible set of judges.) The drive ends on Mother’s Day, so our collection and contest will end on Sunday, May 5 to give us time to get them to Barb.
We got in some great new colors of Sausalito this week:
and just 2 new colors of Panda Silk:
Both these yarns are gorgeous and great for socks, baby things, scarves and shawls, and fingerless mitts as you can see from the pretty Verdigris mitts that Kristin Ruth made from Panda Silk:
Virginia Griffith finished this beautiful sweater (from a cute but poorly written pattern – took some ripping and a lot of perseverance – totally worth it, I think) in Dream in Color’s Everlasting DK. I love the way she styled it, and it will be wearable well into spring because of the lacework and the short sleeves:
And this reminds me that Panevino, the restaurant Virginia manages, is having a Women’s Wine Dinner on Monday, May 6 and we are getting a table together. This is a fun evening, with great food and wine and a nice way to connect with other knitters you may not have met at the store. If you’d like to know more, we have the menu at the store and we are collecting the reservation deposits ($20, non-refundable once we give them to Virginia) until April 19. Come join us!
Mary Ann Posey Made another beautiful lace shawl for a friend:
Here is a closeup of the beadwork:
Barbara Garbus was fascinated by the Double-Knit Cowl and decided to jump in on her own. She did a great job of mastering this rather tricky technique and produced this little beauty:
Okay, I could go on, but Jackson is sending me “Time for my walk and some breakfast” looks, so off we’ll go on this gloomy morning, while Purl naps after a tough morning of eating and playing. I love how she greets each day with enthusiasm and says hello to each of her many toys every morning like she’s never seen them before. Everything is new and fun again after a good night’s sleep! We should all live in the moment, right?
See you soon…
Trish
