framboise

Done and dusted! I enjoyed knitting Hilary's beautiful Citron pattern. Miles of stockinette, perfect for knitting night or catching up on a boatload of Masterpiece Mystery episodes.

 pattern: Citron, by Hilary Smith Calais

yarn: Sweet Georgia Yarns Superfudge, 1 skein (~550 yds)

needles: Clover US 7 bamboo circular

 my ravelry project page

notes:
Easy, classic pattern that will be very wearable. I intended all along to give this shawlette to a friend, but parting with it will still be difficult. I didn't get to knit the whole ruffle -- 100% my own fault, as I substituted a fingering-weight yarn (for laceweight), upped the needle size, and blissfully ignored gauge issues. I'll definitely revisit this pattern for myself.

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So, back to Masterpiece Mystery...  this is an addiction I've cultivated since childhood (credit the Edward Gorey intro for that one), and luckily I married someone who enjoys it, too.

The most recent Poirot episodes have been beautifully shot, and the wardrobes and sets are magnificent, but the actual stories... oy vey. I know that David Suchet would like to finish the entire Poirot catalog, but I get the impression that they're now scraping the bottom of the barrel (not the best Agatha Christie has to offer).



I'm also getting caught up on Wallander -- Kenneth Branagh is fantastic, and the whole milieu is evocative (plus that amazing theme song by Emily Barker and the Red Clay Halo). That said, Scandinavian crime fiction and TV series seem particularly awful to read and watch given the terrible events in Norway this past week. My heart goes out to my family's homeland.

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On a more uplifting note, my friends are in the midst of a baby boom! So many opportunities to knit wee sweaters and the like.

I'm branching out and trying a new pattern, the little garter cardigan by Ragga Eiriksdottir (from Knitting Iceland). Don't worry -- the shocking pink yarn is all waste yarn -- there will be no gaudy contrast in the finished product. I absolutely love how Ragga incorporates an i-cord edge as you knit the body. It's very clever, and Elizabeth Zimmermann would highly approve! The pattern is pithy and expects you to use your noodle as you knit -- it would be very easy to miss the instructions for buttonholes. Susan B. Anderson just posted a very handy tutorial on how to do a crochet provisional cast-on that works well for this cardi.

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in other news...

- Spotify is now available in the U.S.! Are you using it? I am! It's pretty handy and user-friendly.

- Brooklyn Tweed's new Wool People pattern collaboration is just beautiful! It makes me long for autumn. Gudrun Johnston's Levenwick assymetrical cardigan pattern has captured my fancy. I'm not sure I'm ready to cough up the cash for Shelter, though. I wonder if some stashed Cascade 220 or Rowan tweed might do the trick?

- The fall 2011 issue of Knitscene is out, and some of the projects are just lovely! I've let my Interweave Knits subscription lapse (there's never anything in there that I want to knit anymore) -- perhaps it's time to switch to Knitscene.