Showing posts with label Sundara. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sundara. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

thirty-two today

Thirty-two already?!? Wow!
Paul baked the most delicious chocolate cupcakes for my birthday. We celebrated with friends at the pub last weekend, with my family in Minnesota last week, and dinner at Cafe Selmarie is on the agenda for tonight.

Add in the fact that we just signed the lease on a cute new apartment (with a nice new kitchen! in a great, picturesque neighborhood!), and my 32nd year is off to a good start despite the nasty cold I picked up while traveling over spring break last week.

Less knitting was accomplished over break than anticipated, but I did manage to finish off two long-hibernating projects, both still in need of blocking (and a proper post with all the details):
An Ariel Scarf (a free pattern by Ysolda Teague) in Sundara Yarn Silky Aran Merino, which is a delightful yarn to knit, although it did leave my needles and hands a striking shade of red. I'm not sure how well it will hold its shape, but time will tell...

The other scarf is a Checkerboard Lace Scarf (a free pattern from the Purl Bee), knit up in Malabrigo sock yarn. This was my first time using this yarn, and I love it! It's soft, has great sheen, and the colors are saturated and deep, plus it didn't bleed at all. I'm not sure I'd use it for actual socks, but I'm definitely going to use it again for scarves and shawls. Now just to think about which color I'd like to try next... Solis? Violeta Africana? Persia? So many great choices...

Still chugging along on the border for the Noro giant granny square, although Kylie has a way of impeding progress.
She truly loves crochet. Smart kitty.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Socktober? I must have meant Scarftober!

Scarftober doesn't have quite the same ring, but apparently that's what October turned into around here.
Pattern: Crest of the Wave Scarf, by Judy Jacobs
Yarn: Madelinetosh Pastoral, Oxblood, 1.5 skeins
Needles: US 10 bamboo straights
*on ravelry*

Notes: Since I substituted aran-weight yarn for fingering, I decreased the cast-on to 41 stitches. The scarf is still nice and wide. This is a wonderfully intuitive pattern that has such pretty results.

The yarn is so soft, and it has a gorgeous sheen. It's very similar to Sundara Aran Silky Merino. Like its Sundara cousin, it bled a good amount in the wash.
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on the needles...

A scarf pattern by Ysolda that isn't terribly popular. How can that possibly be?!?!? It's even free!

It's the Ariel Scarf, and I cast on 42 stitches to make it just a bit wider. The lace pattern's almost sculptural -- I love all the texture. I'm using Sundara Aran Silky Merino in Ruby Port for this, and it's already bleeding like a mofo. My hands are red when I finish knitting, and I can see the dye swirling down the bathroom sink as I wash my hands. My bamboo needles are now red. I'll have to try adding vinegar to the wash water; I'm a bit anxious about it, especially since Sundara yarn is so darn expensive and difficult to acquire. Sigh...
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getting ready for the big show...
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on holiday knitting...

I'm considering knitting a Modern Garden cardigan for my mother for Christmas (ravelry details here). Mom has lost a lot of weight in the past year due to health problems, and this looks like it would keep her warm and cozy. As an added bonus, it would not take too long to knit! Double-stranded Eco Wool + size 15 needles. :-)

I had thought about knitting an o w l s sweater for her, but trying to guess about the waist shaping sounded like a recipe for disaster, plus it may be too twee for her.