"Anne Shoulder Scarf"

This is the "Anne Shoulder Scarf" (designed by Chris Carroll) made with the Schaefer sock yarn "Anne," a wool, mohair and nylon blend. It was very easy to knit, and made a great project for working on while watching the six episodes of Middlemarch recently (not all in one sitting). The scarf has a very pleasing circular drape; I like it so much that upon finishing it I went to my stash and found another sock yarn I had and have already started on a second scarf.

New Year, New Projects

During these two weeks at home I had planned to get so much knitting done, but somehow, I managed to do very little. However, I do have one finished project to show off...the third of the five Christmas stockings for Sigrid has been completed! I love the colors she chose and am enjoying seeing how each different pattern works up with these colors.

On my desk below you can see my other projects that are lined up: I've started a pair of socks for me, the purple yarn that is supposed to be Fran's sweater is there, and in the bag are several balls of a super-bulky off-white wool that are waiting to be turned into I don't know what.



This reminds me of my New Year's resolution: not to have quite so many projects going at once! I'd like to limit it to two at a time (a quick one and a slow one), instead of the current 4 or 5 at a time, which inevitably leads to such a loss of interest in a couple of them that they are later frogged and turned into something else or the yarn is stashed for a good long while.

I wish you all a happy and productive New Year, and good luck with your resolutions (if you have them)!

At Last, Some Knitting News

Today I actually have a couple of items to post about my knitting activity. The first is that I finished this shrug in just a matter of weeks. Participating in a "Knit Along" (KAL) that I found on the Lion Brand blog helped this go so quickly. I was eager to do this particular KAL because one of my favorite designers, Stefanie Japel, was leading it. The pattern for the shrug was the first post, and then each week, she posted pictures of the progress of the sweater and detailed instructions. Other people following the KAL could post their pictures as well. It really kept me motivated to finish the sweater and not get side-tracked and bored, as I often do. (Friend Josie is modeling for me--actually, she got the sweater because it looks so cute on her).

The yarn is "Cascade 220 Heather," 100% wool. Here you can see the interesting texture of the shrug:



Below I have a picture of some new stash! It's called "Linea Pura" by Lana Grosse and is a worsted-weight, subtly variagated blend of soy, bamboo, and cotton, all organic. The drape is lovely.

In Love with Purple

I love to knit and decorate with purple, or more specifically, lavender and what I like to call "aubergine" (a deep eggplant color). These shades are rich, yet also soft and subtle, and they go with many other colors (especially green and turquoise). The purple bowl contains variegated purple yarn on the left and the lavender and aubergine socks (knitted on two circular needles) on the right. The variegated purple yarn is a super bulky-weight cotton/acrylic blend by Sirdar called "Denim Ultra," and it is to become a sweater for sister Fran. Our aubergine couch is in the background.

Book news:

Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy. There's a reason they call books like this "classics." What a moving story! So much about the treatment of women in Hardy's time seems like it could still apply today. The latest PBS film of this story is beautifully done and follows the book exactly.

Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin. This amazing memoir was written by a ballet dancer who defected from China in the early 1980s to dance with the Houston Ballet. He came from a peasant family and was chosen as a young boy to be trained at Madam Mao's dance school. It's written in a simple, straightforward style that reveals the author's intelligence and sensitivity--and the story is also very dramatic!

Weekend Visit and More Yarn

This past weekend we had a short visit from Greg's brother John, his wife Susan, their daughter Maura, and family friend Katie. They were on their way back to the West Side after their ski trip in Idaho.



Susan gave me some sock yarn--a wool, silk and cashmere blend made by Lana Grossa in Italy called "Meilenweit." It is a very fine weight. I'm going to have to get better at making socks! Maybe it's time to learn to knit them on 2 circular needles:



Susan and I also fit in a trip to the yarn store that was having a 25% off of everything sale. This is Cascade "220 Superwash" wool in a worsted weight, and it would make a nice cabled or patterned cardigan:



This is a fingering weight wool blend by Araucania called "Ranco." More socks (for me?):



Here's another Araucania yarn called "Asyen" (wool, alpaca, and silk). It's the same one I am using for the clapotis. Maybe a hat?:



Stash building is addictive!

Knitting Time

My favorite time to knit is early in the morning, while I'm drinking my coffee. This usually only lasts for 15-20 minutes, sometimes longer on the weekends, but it has come to be a prized time for me. No one else in the house is up, and the pets have been fed and are quiet. I sit in my study and knit a bit without any distractions. I don't even do much thinking during this time, which has made me realize that it is similar to meditating, something I haven't been very successful with otherwise. It certainly relaxes me and makes me feel like I am starting my day off right. It is no wonder that knitters often joke about knitting being cheaper than therapy!

My other favorite time to knit is in the evening around 8 or 9 when Greg and I usually sit together for a while, listening to music or watching a movie.

So here are a couple of current projects! I decided I really must do something about all my WIPS, so I am diligently working on the Doris Chan crochet top I started some time ago (see Dec. 3 posting). I forgot to describe the yarn for that project in my original posting: it is a DK weight (light worsted) blend of wool and cotton by Brown Sheep Company and is called "Serendipity Tweed."

OK, I did start something new...this is for a "clapotis" scarf/shawl that I found here: http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall04/PATTclapotis.html. It is a very popular item to knit right now, as I learned on the Ravelry website. It's not a difficult pattern, but you do have to pay attention as you knit. It requires you to drop rows and rows of stitches, something I've never done before. The yarn I'm using is a variegated, wool, alpaca, and silk blend from Chile by the Araucania company called "Aysen." This is truly the softest yarn I've ever used. I'll be sure to post a picture when it's done (could be a while).

Early December Progress

Akiko's sweater now has sleeves, and most of the body has been knitted. I still have about an inch more to knit on the bottom, and then I will add a ribbed band and a collar. The sweater is meant to be short--it's actually more of a bolero. It's exciting to see it this far along!

Here's a picture of the crochet vest I've started from the Doris Chan book. The straps and neckline will be added after the body has been worked.

I just got back from meeting my good friend Larayne (from our Montana days) in Coeur d'Alene. We haven't seen each other in several years, and we had a lot of news to catch up on. We also happened to find a yarn store, and, well, you know how that goes...I now have some beautiful gold yarn in my stash! Here are the details: it's made by Cascade Yarns, is called "Lana Grande," and is 100 % wool. It's a bulky-weight yarn that knits up at 2 stiches to the inch, so my project will go fast, once I get started.

More Projects

Akiko really liked the pink ballet sweater, so I offered to make one for her too. The problem is that I couldn't find an adult pattern that was similar to the child's sweater, and I'm not very good at figuring out how to knit things without a pattern (although I'd like to learn how to do that at some point). But then we realized that Akiko is so small--maybe a size 0 or 2--that we could use the large size on the child's pattern. So that's the plan! I could probably figure out how to lengthen the body or sleeves a bit if needed. Here's a picture of the yarn I bought for Akiko's sweater:

It's a worsted weight 100% wool called "Cascade 220." It's very soft to the touch, and the pink is absolutely luscious.

Like any good knitter, I have several WIPs (Works In Progress) to show as well. I wonder how bad I am about starting a new project before I've finished the last one--I usually have 3-4 going at once. That's why I don't finish my projects very quickly I suppose, but it keeps it interesting for me. I wonder what the average number of WIPs is for knitters...

Below is a recently started vest for a little boy (Tracey, this one's for you). I'm making the smallest size, which looks like it would fit a 2 year old. I like to give baby gifts that the kid can grow into, so this would qualify since the baby is only 3 months old right now! The yarn is a softly variegated worsted weight wool made in Italy called "Vero." It's fun to knit with because you can see the stripe pattern develop as you go, and this yarn feels marvellous--soft, yet substantial. The pattern is from Naturally Fashion Collection #FC21.

Finally, here's a picture of a lace scarf I started during the summer. The yarn is a wool and silk blend 2 ply from Naturally called "Dawn." I've never knit a lace pattern before so I chose this very easy one to start with. The pattern is also from Naturally, #N1089.

I'll save my other WIPs for a later blog (yes, there are more).