FO #11

Pretty! This was a really fast project. I made it as part of a knit-along for the dyke knitting group from Bluestockings in NYC. They meet once a month, so I can't go very often, but I do look forward to it.

Pattern: birthday cowl



I wasn't going to participate, but when I went through the stash and found this Malabrigo look-alike yarn, I decided to do it. Isn't this a pretty pattern? It strikes the right balance between lacy and solid. It is long enough to go all the way up my neck, and it's soooo soft. It is definitely rolling out though, so I'm going to reserve final judgment until I block it. But right now, it's LOVE.

Yarn: I got this skein at The Quarter Stitch in New Orleans when I was there for a conference last fall. It was in this bin of skeins that were all unlabeled, each a different color. I wanted to ask about them, but the ladies who worked there were all caught up in this conversation they were having with one of their regulars, and it was just too awkward to butt in, so I just decided that it was Malabrigo (perhaps locally dyed) and bought one skein.

Needles: Size US 8 Boye interchangeable 16" circ

The pattern took about 2/3 of the skein, but I think I'm going to try to knit some fingerless mitts to match the cowl. Just little ones. I love it!

FO #10

What a great scarf. I am actually getting into the color. The two balls of ZarOne made a very short scarf, but when I blocked it, it actually relaxed a lot.

Pattern: Single Cable Scarf from One Skein by Leigh Radford. I'm surprised that I haven't consulted this book more often than I have. I've had it for a long time. I love a lot of these patterns! I'm going to have to remember it is there. Seriously.

Yarn: Filatura Di Crosa ZarOne, in a garish orange color. This color is discontinued, and honestly, are you surprised? Who did they think was going to buy this? I got mine in the gift bag from Stitch & Pitch 2007, and only thanks to my friend Constance was I able to get two balls together, as she traded me hers for some other yarn from my bag, which I bet is still in her stash somewhere.

I do like this yarn though. it is firm and soft, almost like a chenille, only with no worming. Working with it was fun, but I wonder if that was because it was only 120 yards and I knew it would be over soon.

Needles: Size 10.5 straight bamboo needles and a cable needle. What can I say? I'm lazy.



The scarf is just long enough to wear wrapped once around my neck, or wrapped twice and then pinned with a scarf pin, which I have pictures of but am not showing, because Spanky took them with the scarf turned backward, so they look funny. Plus, I don't have an appropriate pin to hand yet. I'd love to have one of those stick pins to weave through there so I can wear the scarf as a sort of collar, but I don't have one yet. I guess I'll have to use a dpn!

let's check the mags, eh?

I was really excited about the re-launch of knit.1. I always enjoyed it before--it was young, different, kind of kitschy. Now, it is a little more polished and more like everything else, but I'm glad to see they've kept up some of the silly things, like the amigurumi zodiac characters.

There's a great article on natural dyeing by Shannon Oakey (not that I'm into that, but the pictures look very instructive). What I was really excited about though was the article on the bloggers. They got some popular bloggers, including some I hadn't read before, to all submit patterns, and they have some information about each of them, such as their motivations/inspirations, and pictures of their work areas. I'd seen a couple of the bloggers talking about their designs on their blogs, so was curious to see how the spread would look all together. Not bad! Obviously not everything is to my taste, but I do so love these socks. I've long admired Ysolda Teague's designs, although I've never knit any of them. But these are the best knee socks I've ever seen. I am so in love with them. I also love the sparkly shawl and the airy scarf, but those aren't part of the bloggers' story. One of the things I'd really like to try is knitting with beads, and these two patterns are really cool. Maybe someday... I don't really care so much for the hippy fashion spread, but I kind of like Cathy Carron's crazy 'mock cardigan' with the lazy daisies. The color choices wouldn't have been mine, but I would love one of those in a blue and brown perhaps. I also LURV her two tone preppy cardigan with the bobbly front. I WOULD SO WEAR THAT EVERYDAY.

Favorite pattern count: 5

So what else have I been reading? Pretty much everything. I'll have to do a few at a time, I think. Let's go with the VK Winter 2008/9. I have a subscription to VK, and boy, I'm always excited when it comes, especially now that IK isn't so satisfying. This issue is not my favorite one, but it does contain a lot of beautiful garments. The one thing that does irritate me about VK is the size of the type in their columns. It is so small that it is like they're encouraging you not to read it. "Move along, you've got PATTERNS to peruse." I'm really glad that they have an explanation for the EZ snail hat, which I love. I also love the whole bulky yarn spread, especially the Faith Hale cape (the purple one in the preview). In the 'Winter Whites' section, I love, love, love Heather Carlson's sweater with the buckle across the chest. Love it. Not so sure I'd ever knit it, but I would really love to have it. That's about it. I'm not so into long gloves, and Tom Ford's cape thingie is not really that original. Not a big fan of Twinkle, although I'm weirdly obsessed with her little bra top vest. That's about it. Who knew I was such a fan of Cathy Carron though? Weird.

Favorite Patterns: 3

Oh well. Lots of pretty pictures in the mag, but not so many things I'd actually knit or wear. Next up: Interweave Crochet and Crochet Today. Yippee!

Super Bowl Sale!

Oh boy! This year, some ladies from our excellent JC knitting group got together and went to the Super Bowl Sale at Knit-a-Bit, a pretty awesome yarn store in Westfield, NJ.

I came away a little poorer, but with some great stash enhancement:

Shepherd's Wool, in Lilac, meant for Vivian, but I love it so much, I may use it for something else. Either way, it's a sweater's worth of yarn.

Also purchased (FINALLY!!!):

Enough Seduce to make Veil, my favorite pattern from Nora Gaughan volume 2. I never thought I would be able to afford that much of the yarn, but I just went ahead and bought it. I had to put back a book that I'd been wanting, but I did manage to walk out with Classic Elite's Autumn Book 1. I have Book 2, but there were a few patterns in Book 1 that I wanted pretty badly, so I'm glad to get the book at 20% off. The one thing I didn't get that I was looking for was the new Knit Scene magazine. I think they'd run out. But I can always pick that up on a newsstand somewhere.

ANYWAY. I know I was just complaining about the pressure I was feeling from my stash, and I probably should have done this before going to the sale, but when I got back, I was so inspired that I took everything out and dumped it on the floor in the living room, much to Spanky's dismay:


Yeah, all those containers are full of yarn. Anyway, I was able to pare out one bag to donate:


And then I pulled out all the sock yarn, which unfortunately didn't fit into one bag, like I thought it would. So I put the full bag into the closet, and left the half-full one out by the couch. I also pulled out all those pesky 1-2 skein combos that I tend to pick up on my travels and put those into another bag that I put next to the couch as well. I also have a basket for storing the yarn for bigger projects next to the couch. Then I put all the sweaters' worth amounts of yarn back into the closet. My plan is to work on one complicated project at a time, such as lace or a garment (oh, there's a bag of lace yarn in the closet too), and then supplement that with one or two smaller projects, just to use up that yarn and get the FOs rolling. My goal this year is to finish up the smaller projects and yet also work on a few larger garments. We'll see. But at least it is all organized now, so that I know where to find things. If you click through the pictures, there are notes that tell you what's there.


I've finished the One Skein scarf, which I'll discuss tomorrow. I'm still working on the Fred sweater in the Jeannee, which is not really inspiring me, so I just work on it at lunch at work. I'm sure it will be great when it's done, but I'm worrying about the suitability of the yarn for the pattern. We'll see, once I finish the back. I should probably be working this on 5s, not 6s... Ugh. Next up for home knitting is a cowl, which is part of a knit-a-long for the dyke knitting circle from Bluestockings in NYC. I wasn't sure I was going to participate, but now that I have my projects organized, I'm in. After that, it is the two-tone shrug from Stephanie Japel's book and the Clementine Shawlette. I know, I know, I keep saying that, but really, the yarn is wound, and I'm just waiting for the lace mojo to start again. It's been a while.