My Knitting Life

Skye Tweed VestInterweave Knits Spring 2005Yarn:  Rowan Harris Aran DK ~ "Celtic Mix"Needles:  2, 3 AddisSize 47", for my brother (not)Completed December 27, 2006

I worked on this vest on and off for over a year.  It was one of the most tedious projects I have ever completed.  The dark yarn, small needles, and free floating zig zag cables drove me to distraction many times.  Just finishing it has filled me with a huge sense of relief.  In the end, it is too short and small for my brother, despite the fact that I added length, row gauge clearly the culprit.

When you start something so long ago, work on many things in between, and keep sketchy notes, it is hard to isolate what went wrong.  I am sure I swatched, but I couldn't find any evidence of it.  My scribbled notes on the pattern helped me match the front to the back, but I have no recollection of why I chose the size I did, or why I made it the length I did.   The yarn was a great look for this pattern, though. 

I guess I'm just going to have to find a guy to fit the vest instead of making the vest fit the guy!

What a great way to end the year...two major WIPs off the docket, and on to some fun knitting, maybe something for me this time...

Happy New Year!

"Larstrop"Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton, Book Number TwoNoro Iro ~ #4010.5 NeedleSize XLCompleted ~ December 19, 2006

I can't wait until my husband opens this Christmas morning.  I have a feeling, barring any fit issues, we'll be seeing a lot of this one around the house.  It's got a cozy, sweatshirt feel to it, light weight, but warm because of all the texture.  I am most proud of how I matched the stripe sequence with the sleeves and fronts and back...

~Side Seam~

It took a lot of splicing and starting balls midstream, and checking to see which direction the balls had been wound in.  Luckily, I started this before the stress of the holiday season, so I just had to get back into it and finish for the holiday.

Hope everyone is holding up OK as the days wind down til Christmas!

Yesterday, I got some fun news...two of my sweaters will be featured in a fashion show in our town's Annual Holiday Stroll!  I can't wait to see what they look like on real models.

Also yesterday, I had a stroke of genius!  I spent the last week searching high and low for something to make for my husband for Christmas, when it hit me...why not finish something you already started?  So I'm back to these two...Larstrop and Skye Tweed Vest.  Let's see if they hold my interest this time.

The weather is cold and wet, perfect for snuggling up inside with a good knit and a Thanksgiving feast.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Sassy Cardigan IIPeace Fleece Zahra Fog, 4.5 skeins5, 7 needlesOctober 7-20, 2006

I am focused on knitting from my stash. This sweater took me two weeks. Would have been quicker had I not also worked up a scarf in the same time frame, also from the stash. I am looking at my stash like a shop. When I want to start something new, I go shopping! I know it's not the most creative thing to knit another Sassy, but the first one gets so much wear in the winter. Why not have another?

Mistake Rib Scarf2 skeins Noro Sarubia21 stitches, Size 10 needles

Crayon Box JacketPattern by:  Christine BylsmaNeedles:  Size 10 Straight, 8 circs for collar and button bandYarns:  Base Yarn - Nashua Creative Focus Worsted in CreamChild's Size Large

Accent Yarns included:  Berroco Suede (dark green) , Noro Blossom (brown flecks), Rowan Kid Silk Haze, Rowan Kid Classic , Lamb's Pride (pink), Manos (light green), among other novelties in various combinations, mostly from my stash.  It only required two skeins of the base yarn, less than 440 yards.

I made this for my mother last spring and into the early summer - it will be her birthday gift in October.  I found the knitting of the squares addicting, and it was fun trying to get the colors and textures balanced.  All the while, I was thinking of fun new versions - one all in Noro, one all in natural sheep colors, a Manos version, etc. etc.   The pattern was well written, and somehow, with all the different yarns, it turned out very symetrical and to measurement.

happy birthday, mom!

The other day in the shop, the shop owner was helping a customer select yarns for a project.  She was a new knitter.  When the owner suggested that she might add in some "novelty yarn", the customer said "what's novelty yarn?"

We all paused for a minute.  Then one of us said "you know it when you see it."

We can all spot the yarns with names like Fizz, and Fuzz, and Firz, etc. etc.  But what about some of the gorgeous yarns put out by Noro and Mountain Colors, for example.  They're fuzzy, and fluffy, but have something special about them that just seems to separate them from the crowded novelty market.  Take, for example, Noro Blossom, or Mountain Colors Merino Ribbon.

Recently, my mom admired a sweater on a lady at one of her lady gatherings.  She asked me if I could make one for her.  I love to knit for my mom, because she will appreciate and wear whatever I make.  I contacted this lady and tracked down the pattern.  When I got it, I saw that it uses novelty yarns, mixed in with a base worsted weight...not exactly my cup of tea!

I started to play with some yarns from my stash.  I thought some Nashua Worsted in cream would make a great base.  Then I remembered I had some Noro Blossom left, so that would be the main accent yarn.  Before I knew it, I was knee deep in yarns having so much fun to combining textures and colors.

This sweater is making me appreciate the novelties a little more, as they become much more interesting when used as a part of a whole, to provide just the right bit of texture or color.  Not to mention how much fun it is to knit mitred squares.  Positively addicting!  And as I'm working on this one, other versions drift into my head...one in all natural, a Noro version, a Manos version, and on and on....

Some yarns chosen:  Lamb's Pride, Manos, Noro Blossom, Rowan Kid Silk Haze, Nashua Worsted, among others...

Anyone else out there struggling with that white New England light?  Here is the back of Larstrop, all knitted up in it's glorious Noro color, bleached out by the winter daylight.  Hrumph.  I think it looks like a field all plowed and ready for planting.

On the bright side, I am having so much more fun knitting Noro this time, because I am trying to re-create the stripe sequence.  Here is how I patched together several skeins to get the stripes to repeat in order...

I just wind the skeins into balls, and then stare at the tops until I can see which direction the yarn is going.  Sometimes I have to start from the center, other times from the outside.  And I usually have to wind some off to get to the right starting point. 

Why do I find this so amuzing?

One Really Expensive Vest...

That would be the Skye Tweed Vest, in the foreground, which I think I have been knitting since last Fall, I lost track.  It's Rowan Harris DK, Machair.  I love the yarn, but I'm so bored to tears with the pattern, that at the end of every repeat I run out and buy a bunch of Noro and knit a whole sweater before picking it up again. 

This time, Iro's the yarn, Larstorp's the pattern, for my husband.

~Iro, Color 40~

Meet Inishmore.

(Treat yourself.  Click on it.)

Meet Suzanne.  Inishmore's talented creator.

Suzanne doesn't have a blog, yet she never fails to stop by and lift my spirits with her kind comments on my site.  Over the past year or so, we have shared emails about our knitting, yarns, patterns and sometimes life things, too.  She knit Inishmore in Patons Ballybrae, sadly no longer available on the market but a great yarn for this sweater.  Doesn't it just look perfect on her?  I have always wanted to knit a cropped Inishmore.  Now I'm really convinced that there will be one in my future.

Thanks, all for your nice comments about "Holly".  Any comments today should be for Suzanne!

 

"Holly" from Naturally Noro ~ Jane Ellison

8 skeins Noro Transitions

Size Small, 10/12 Needle

January 2 - 12. 2006

I don't usually make New Years Resolutions, but after seeing Liz's sweater, and after working up this one, I came up with one I can possibly stick with....

"Try more color."

~a couple new squares for my collection~