FO: French Press Cozy

Pattern: French Press Cozy from Design*Sponge
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in Red
Needles: Bryspun US5
Mods: I knit on i-cords rather than locating buttons for the closure.

Last month I knit this up as a little Father's Day present for Nick for our french press in Maine. I hadn't considered that the press itself is green (whoohoo, Christmas!), but a number of other items in the kitchen are red, so this seemed appropriate.

My feelings for this yarn are mixed. It makes a nice fabric and is pretty low maintenance (yay, machine wash!), but I don't particularly like knitting with it, and unless knit up at a small gauge, which it is here, it seems too floppy for my taste. But it does make a lovely, velvety fabric.

The knitting took about two-and-a-half hours and used under one skein of yarn. A really nice, quick project that will see a lot of happy use.

Maine Yarn Crawl

Isobel wanted to show you the bit of roving she received at the Portland Fiber Gallery from the spinning lady. She calls it her "fluff". Maybe I'll get her to be the spinner in the family, and I'll knit with her handiwork.

While we were up in Maine, we went on a little yarn crawl after taking Nick to the airport. We visited Knit Wit (just a block down from the Fiber Gallery), which is in a great space, has fun toys up near the front for kids to play with, and a really nice selection of yarn. I bought this GGH Wollywasch on sale and plan to make a yoke sweater with it at some point.

Pale blue (shocking, I know) for the body and brown, fawn, cream, and pink for the yoke. I'm thinking of adapting EZ's pattern from The Opinionated Knitter for the yoke. (Or I may pull a "Kathleen" and research fairisle yoke patterns ad naseum until I master the subject and create my own - you never know.) I also acquired a copy of Loop-de-loop at half the price. What a thought-provoking book, even a few years after publication.

After our visit to the Portland Fiber Gallery, which had lots of lovely roving, some handspun, and information and tools for spinning, dyeing, weaving, and such (which got a little overwhelming in the heat of the late morning, pre-snack), we had organic (in Isobel's case Vegan chocolate chocolate chip) cookies "as big as our heads" at North Star (a very hip cafe next door to the Fiber Gallery), then headed back up to our neck of the woods.

We checked out the Knitting Experience Cafe in Brunswick, which also had a nice selection of yarns (and some toys for 'Bel). I couldn't leave without some pretty blue mohair (my only confusion about this yarn is that I thought Trendsetter distributed Kid Seta but this is labeled "Cascade", but I'm not complaining):



And, of course we visited Ellen at Purl Diva, and I couldn't leave without some Fleece Artist sock yarn from the Great Wall of Socks. Isobel helped me wind it into a cake and declared that I could make her some *gloves* with it. They're always watching you, those little ones: Mommy has gloves for next winter from sock yarn, so Isobel must need them, too. I guess I'll have to look out for a winter coat for her that will match this pretty chocolate covered cherry colorway.




I also took Isobel to visit Romney Ridge Farm. Kelly was very welcoming, and Isobel loved meeting the chickens, ducks, sheep, dog ... in other words "the farm". And I enjoyed checking out all the yarn, including some absolutely gorgeous handspun mohair in a robin's egg blue color that was out of my self-imposed budget. But I did indulge in some of last year's millspun (by the wonderful people at Green Mountain Spinnery) that Kelly dyed a lovely spring green. It seems to be heavy laceweight or light sport, and I am thinking of a shawl for my sister with it, but it will probably have to marinate in the stash for a little while. Kelly said her next batch of millspun yarn should arrive in the next week or so, and then she'll hit the dyepots. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. Apologies for not snapping a picture of the shop, which is an adorable fiber-filled shed, but it was starting to rain. Next time.



And time spent in Bath isn't complete without a visit to Halcyon Yarns. I mean, I can walk there!



Misti Alpaca 2-ply (laceweight) in cherry red, Classic Elite Wool Bam Boo in a beautiful turquoise color (Halcyon is discontinuing Wool Bam Boo from their lineup, and I couldn't resist the color - just wish there had been more! I'll have to find a one-skein project for that), and a skein of Rio de la Plata Sock Yarn in Coral Rose - a lovely, lightly variegated orange that I think I'm going to turn into socks for my grandma. I don't think I mentioned that the Amy March Slippers I made for her for Mother's Day, according to her, didn't even go into the drawer but right on her feet. Now, that's a woman who will appreciate handknit socks!

FO: Gloves Can Be Deceiving

One seamed, one to go.

Model shot.

With the coat.

Fin!

Pattern: Gloves Can Be Deceiving from Knitty.com, Winter 2007
Yarn: Madeline Tosh Multi-Sock in Pool
Needles: US2 Bamboo straights (I know! I can't believe it either)
Mods: I knit these with one yarn only rather than the stripey sequence called for in the pattern, and, of course, I made the fingers longer than the pattern called for, as I have very long fingers.

This was a great project, perfect for the park. I even had a mom ask if I was knitting gloves on two needles in a somewhat surprised voice. "Why, yes, I am." The sewing up takes a little time and concentration, but these are totally worth it. I love the yarn, and, as you can see, they will look fabu with my new Alpaca reversible jacket from Winter's Gone Farm.

I bought the yarn from the lovely Ellen at Purl Diva in Brunswick (my hand can be seen here - well, first you can see me and Isobel modeling our sweaters, and *then* you see my hand in the next picture) and have about half a skein left. I'm contemplating a cowl of sorts with the rest, since we all know about Mad Cowl Disease. Hehe.

FO: Celtic Cardigan

The kit of deliciousness

The pre-washed product

Et voila!





Pattern: Celtic Cardigan (Ravelry link) by Fleece Artist (the lovely people who brought us the Yarn Harlot's Garter Stitch Jacket)
Yarn: Scotian Silk in Seashore (I think - unlabeled as to colorway - gorgeous blue mixed with silver, gold, and bronze); kit purchased at Purl Diva
Needle: US10
Size: S/M
Mods: None.

This was a super quick knit, especially post-Dad's vest (sport weight yarn for a man who's 6'4"), thanks to large-ish needles and an interesting construction technique. It's all in one piece. You start at one side "seam", knit around the back, then the front on one side, then you go back, pick up and knit the other front. And then you pick up for each sleeve and knit down. I'm still unsure of the sleeve length - it's bracelet-y, which I like now, but Summer starts this weekend, so I may feel differently come December. I have enough yarn left to make another sweater, so I can certainly add to the sleeves, especially as they are knit down to the cuff.

Again, apologies for the lack of model shot. I will rectify that someday. I included the image with my Cubs cap to give a sense of scale pre-blocking. This one grows a bit, as has been mentioned on Ravelry. And apologies that some of the pics are a little blurry - you can see the cool stitch pattern nicely in the last one, though.

This yarn is awesome! I loved watching the color progression with each stitch and row. You have to use a circular or swing needle with this project as you knit each row twice, which added to the construction interest. And, of course, this yarn has silk in it, which just makes it even better. I should probably rename the blog "Silky" instead of "Purly".

FO: Tulips

Pattern: Tulips (Ravelry link) by Kat Coyle, Knitscene, Fall 2006 (the one with the famed Central Park Hoodie
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk in Blush, just under six skeins
Needle: US6
Size: small/38" bust
Mods: I decided to go with rolled stockinette for the hems both on the bottom and sleeves rather than garter borders (and I didn't start off on a smaller needle) - somehow seemed to go better with the i-cord neckline, which I did via a pick up and knit/i-cord bindoff rather than knitting up sufficient i-cord and sewing it on; I also did short rows for the shoulders and a three-needle bindoff, just to see if I could do it, and ... I can!

Love love love this sweater! I've worn it four (five?) times since finishing it ten days ago. J'adore the yarn, as we already knew from Mermaid Hourglass experience and a number of Kat's berets from Greetings from Knit Cafe. Apologies for lack of a model shot, but my photographer is at work, and if I didn't write this up now while Isobel is supposed to be napping*, it might not happen for a while.

Though it looks like this took me a month from my Ravelry page, it was actually a very quick knit - Mother's Day and my father's birthday popped up in there and took away a bit of knitting time.

*Sadly, she's not, so I'd better go settle her down.

FO: Hemlock Ring Blanket

This one's for Isobel, and, as you can see, she's pretty happy with it.


A pose with the new knit.


'Bel as monster.


In all it's glory.

This was a super-quick knit. I started on the 1st and finished on the 4th - gotta love worsted yarn and a US10 needle after working on Dad's vest on US4s. I used Misti Pima Silk in this glorious cornflower blue color and switched to an Addi Turbo needle for sanity. And I started off with Susan Reishus's circular beginning on a crochet hook. It ended up being 36", so more of a cuddle blanket than a real one. I'll do a proper post later with links and everything, but we've got a date at the park with Isobel and her tricycle before the weather turns beastly tomorrow.

Isobel at Knit Night

There has been a lot of separation anxiety around here the last couple of months. Isobel is very keen to have me with her every second of every day. During the semester Nick had an evening seminar on Tuesdays, so we found a very nice baby sitter (named Kathleen) who came on Tuesday nights so I could go to Knit Night at Yarntopia. All went swimmingly, leaving was no big deal, until we came back from our visit to the Chicago area, and suddenly Isobel was weeping whenever I left. Then it got to the point where she would talk much of the day on Tuesdays about how much she was going to miss me. Needless to say there were more tears and she was always awake when I got home (after nine).

Now that the semester is over, Nick and Isobel can have a little quality time together on Tuesday evenings, and I can have some quality time with knitting grownups. It really is lovely to spend a couple of hours with people who understand when you suddenly go quiet and finger your stitches intently (counting) or who have a pair of scissors handy or who have an opinion on the editors of Interweave Knits. To help Isobel with her separation anxiety, yesterday we decided I would have an escort to Knit Night, so she could see just where I would be (a place without significant allure for a 3.5 year old). Things went very well, though she was still awake when I got home. Progress, if not perfection.

This morning Isobel crawled into bed and informed us that last night "I was feeling a little shy." Which was met with hoots of laughter, as she is not a shy person. But that's what she thought, and I'm intrigued by this articulation of feelings. My little girl is growing up. Pretty soon she'll want to come to Knit Night with her own projects.

I did make some progress on the Hemlock Ring, having acquired an Addi Turbo. The yarn just dragged maddeningly on my Bryspun. While it is 30% silk and 70% silky cotton, I think the inelasticity of both fibers makes it slow to move on plastic. So, if I could just count correctly on the "action" rows, I'd be sailing. At least there are four plain knit rounds between the lace rows in the feather and fan border. Still have to decide which border to do when it's big enough.