Please send some positive thoughts my way tomorrow morning at 9:30 when I take her in to the vet.
Leaf Lace Scarf is a free pattern from Twisted Knitter. I'm using the "Oak Creek Canyon" colorway of The Plucky Knitter's merino fingering weight yarn. The lace pattern would show up better in a semisolid yarn, but I like the effect of a pile of autumn leaves.
Both of these patterns are Ravelry discoveries, and they're easy and fun to knit.
Pattern: Midwest Moonlight, from Scarf Style
Like tea? See what the Onion has to say about one tea drinker. Good ol' Onion... I wonder how well tea would go over if it were marketed like energy drinks and sold with an electric teakettle advertised by George Foreman (or Brett Favre... yummy). :-)
Midwest Moonlight is growing by leaps and bounds. It's an easy lace pattern, and the yarn (Elann Peruvian Baby Cashmere) is oh-so-soft. I did manage to screw up a bit while working on it at knit night, but the problem was easily remedied. I thought I had already learned the lesson not to knit lace at knit night, no matter how simple it is, but apparently not.
Holiday knitting is underway...
Milan Jacket from Louisa Harding's Natural Knits for Babies and Moms.
Capricha in one of her less dignified poses
Garnet Hill is selling this very cute handmade hats and mittens Advent calendar banner. Now I'm not much for Advent-themed decor, but I do like wintry hats and mittens. This would be very cute with, say, the initials of each family member/pet done in duplicate stitch. And it would be a great way to use up some scrap yarn. Or some of my many balls of pill-tastic Patons Classic Merino, which is great for knitting but craptastic when it comes to wearing.
I knit just one Korknisse last year; this time I'm aiming for many, many more. All using Patons Classic Merino, of course. :-)
The new Knitty surprises? FABULOUS!!!
Nothing makes me happier than a knitting project with a classical theme. Juno Regina, you will be mine. Oblique is quite nice, too.
A full knitting update will have to wait for later, as blogger ate my photos this morning. Bad blogger... no donut.
Please ignore the dreadful color combo (delft and delphinium)! This was the only Telemark around, and I couldn't wait for my new order to arrive to swatch.
Guess what? It rocks! No curling, there's a really neat, corded edge, and I'm thrilled with it. EZ was right, but I was right, too -- it was a pain in the a$% to do. It's worth it, though. Hmm... the color combos don't look too different on the computer, but they look quite different in real life.
I'm spending the evening at home in front of a roaring fire, knitting, and possibly watching season 1 of Angel. Oh yes, grading papers, too.
Pattern: Sandy's Diagonal Baby Blanket
This is a very easy pattern to follow, and it's nice not to cast on or bind off a ton of stitches. I made the stripes wider than the pattern, and I substituted aran weight yarn for chunky. I wanted the blanket to be soft, floppy, and cuddly, so I went up to size 9 needles. In retrospect, size 8 would have been better. The final segment comes to a strange point. I may end up adding the corner tassels as per the pattern just to disguise the goofy corner.
They knit up so quickly, the shaping makes them interesting, and they're not too fussy in terms of fit. Since there's not too much yarn involved, it's a great way to experiment with new yarns, ones that would be too expensive for a larger project, or that ball or two you found in the clearance bin at the LYS. This is my first time knitting with Rowan Kid Classic, and I'm enjoying it immensely. The mohair gives it a nice fuzziness, and the lambswool reminds me of the sweaters I wore as a little kid during those freezing Minnesota winters. I want to knit a little Tomten jacket in this exact shade of cherry red.
Special Topics in Calamity Physics
The Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes mystery series,
Michaele (AKA the Knitty Professor) collects "puking" animal creamers -- china creamers in the shape of animals where the mouth is the spout. She had a contest for a name for her newest acquisition a while back. I contributed the playful name "Vominatrix" and was the lucky winner. She sent me my very own puking cow creamer, an awesome card, and some beautiful dark blue laceweight wool yarn from Sweden that I just love. Thanks, Michaele!
Dropping all those stitches was terrifying, but it worked out quite well in the end! I had to start it at knitting night for the moral support. Many thanks to Ms. Prolix, who dropped the first stitch for me! BTW, her Venezia is coming along beautifully. I wish I had that much knitting skill and patience!
Pattern: Hattie's Rose Garden, from Briar Rose Fibers
Pattern: Midwest Moonlight, from Scarf Style
Wow! There's a lot of dedicated sock knitters out there! Thanks to all for entering my little contest. I'll keep taking entries for the rest of today, and I'll draw a couple names tomorrow.
Unless you're one of my swap partners, this entry is probably not too interesting.
KNITTERS’ COFFEESWAP QUESTIONS
1. Whole bean or ground?
Whole bean
2. Fully-loaded or decaf?
Fully-loaded, full-throttle
3. Regular or flavored?
Either! Flavored usually wins out, but really good regular is awesome, too.
4. How do you drink your coffee?
I make a pot of drip coffee just about every morning, and drink my coffee with fat-free half & half (thank you, modern science) and sugar as I check my email. I sometimes break out the espresso maker or the French press. For a special treat, I add a nip o’ Bailey’s to my coffee.
5. Favorite coffee ever?
Steep & Brew’s Icing on the Cake, from the
6. Are you fussy about your coffee or will any old bean do?
Medium-fussy. Not a big fan of my mom’s Folgers or my in-laws’ Maxwell House.
7. Favorite treats to have with your coffee?
Biscotti, scones, coffee cake, cookies. I grew up in a Minnesotan-Scandinavian-Lutheran household like in
8. Anything else about your coffee preferences?
I love trying new coffees from indie roasters, esp. flavored coffees.
9. Yarn/fiber you love?
Soft, natural-fiber yarns are the best! I’m a big fan of Malabrigo, Rowan 4-ply soft,
Not a fan of 100% acrylic, boucle, or anything too wild.
11. What's on your needles?
- “Hattie’s Rose Garden” shawl in Mountain Colors alpaca blend, in deep shades of raspberry, blue, brown, and green.
- diagonal striped baby blanket in DB Cashmerino Aran - lots of colors!
- Mr. Greenjeans cardi in violet Malabrigo
- squirrel and oak mittens in Knit Picks’ Wool of the
12. Favorite colors?
Blue (light or dark), plum, dark red, lavender, chocolate brown, green, natural, wine... Not a fan of really bright or pastel colors.
13. Allergies?
Cigarette smoke, dogs, molds, pollens – nothing too much to worry about. No yarn spun from Golden Retriever fur, I suppose. I'm allergic to cats, too, but that doesn't stop me from having two of them. :-)
I’m looking forward to trying some new coffee and getting to know some knitters! I really like mugs – ones with
Almost 2 years. I learned at a coffee shop here in
Intermediate. I’m fairly new to colorwork, and so far I love it! I’m into cables and easy lace.
Blue is my absolute favorite color, pretty much all shades from periwinkle to navy. I also like dark red, plum, green, lavender, aqua, chocolate brown, and cream/natural. I’m not a fan of really loud or bright colors or pastels.
I love how they look, but I haven’t tackled any actual Lativan patterns yet! I’m pretty excited about Scandinavian-style mittens, as well as whimsical variations. My favorite pattern is “Squirrel and Oak” mittens from Hello Yarn. I’m working on a pair in chocolate brown and tan.
Me! My husband wouldn’t wear mittens, and we don’t have any kids yet (just cats).
Baby stuff, socks, shawls/wraps, hats, scarves…
Straights or circs. I haven’t tried magic loop yet. I stick to bamboo or wood most of the time, but I do like Pony pearls for socks and the Knitpicks metal circs. I would like to try Swallow flexible casein needles at some point.
Squirrelly Swedish Mittens! Close runner-up = Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Norwegian Mittens
Beaverslide!
I’m very into cooking and baking (love Cooking Light magazine). I’m a big reader (mainly fiction), I’m into music (indie rock but also things like Simon & Garfunkel), and I like to quilt, embroider, and cross-stitch.
I like mugs – esp the blue floral Polish pottery mugs, mugs with
I like sweets – chocolate (milk or dark), mint chocolate, scones, biscotti, and dried fruit. I’m trying to lose a few pounds, so not too many goodies, please! I love trying new teas and coffees. I’m not into gummy or hard candies.
No kids yet. We have two beloved brown tabby cats, Capricha and Kylie.
Almost everything! Snowflakes, cold air, snuggling under a down comforter, ice skating, sledding, cross country skiing, ice-covered trees, wearing handknit woolen socks and mittens, drinking hot cocoa in front of my wood-burning stove… I grew up in
Driving in
It features a wide array of projects, from a sweet, lace-edged wrap cardi to intarsia baby blankets, to textured rompers. Daykin most definitely likes pockets, adding them to the rear ends of baby dresses and the chest of a cute little baby vest.
Notes: This is not a difficult pattern, but the instructions for shaping the V-neck and armholes are woefully inadequate. I'm sure Harding was trying to make it easy for knitters with different row gauges, but I ended up writing out row by row instructions. The yarn was quite nice to knit; I like it better than RYC's Cashsoft line. It's soft and slightly elastic, and the cashmere gives it a soft glow. I easily could have made the largest size (up to 12 months) with two skeins.
Not the best picture, I must admit.
Alas, my hands are too big. I'm going to frog and reknit. This was knit on 3s using KP Wool of the Andes (worsted weight), and I can just barely squeeze my hand into it. Should I go up to 4s or head straight to 5s? Any opinions?
F. Pea's Super-Natural Stripes baby cardigan, knit up in Mission Falls 1824 Cotton (in need of a button and a bath). The 4-patch quilt top just needs a border.
Sandy's Diagonal Baby Blanket, a free pattern from Jimmy Beans Wool. The yarn is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran on size 9 needles.
Photo: Knitting Daily/Interweave Press
So far, so good...
Hmmm... not so good after all. Looks more like very odd yarmulke. Embarrassingly enough, I didn't know how to pronounce that until I was 19. There was exactly one Jewish kid in my grade in my entire Minneapolis suburb (which was not small), and somehow traditional head coverings never came up in casual conversation.
My knitting group met at my place last night since our coffee shop was closed, and it was great fun. Martha Stewart's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Squares were absolutely yummy. It also inspired a frantic cleaning frenzy! It's so nice and clean in here now.
Pattern: Saartje's Bootees Yarn: The Plucky Knitter, 100% Merino Single Ply Fingering colorway unknown ~ I'd call it "Woodland Brown" Needles: Knit Picks US 2 circular (metal) Size: large
Next up? A Vine Lace Baby Hat to match, already on the needles. Cute so far, but YOs at the beginning and end of DPNs -- what a b^&*$. Magic Loop knitters would probably enjoy this knit more than I do.
I haven't been this excited about any music since I first heard The Decemberists. Speaking of which, Colin Meloy's old band, Tarkio, is great, too. Much more alt country -- finger-picking, violin, etc. There's still the storytelling element, but it's not quite as literary. Sometimes it's a bit forced (I'm thinking of a particularly painful line about Albert Camus).
Omnibus is, as you would expect, a compilation album.
Wisconsin Sheep and Wool was a lot of fun. It's not a huge festival, but there were some gorgeous sheep and marvelous vendors there. Connecting with sheep farmers, meeting the little woolie guys who provide me with yarn, petting a soft angora rabbit -- much better than Stitches Midwest. The highlights:
~ Briar Rose Fibers - so many beautiful, saturated colors
Check out the fabulous horns on this guy!
Basic Mittens
wonderfully whimsical Squirrel and Oak mittens from Hello Yarn
