Mermaid in action

Here's the sweater in action on Easter. Sorry I don't have a full shot yet but I didn't think to get one. Love the color, love the fabric, love my mods to the pattern. I am quite happy, though I think it needs some more blocking. It's a little sheer, so I wore it with a similarly shaded long-sleeve shirt because it's so blasted cold here in the Chicago area this April. I mean, it snowed today! And the snow is still on the ground. I don't even have the heart to photograph it, it's just so ridiculous (and wet and not very photogenic). Thank goodness I'm a knitter! At least I brought Isobel's hat/scarf/mittens set and my Malabrigo gloves.

I'm working on a beret from Greetings from Knit Cafe in some of the leftover Alpaca Silk. There should be enough also leftover to make some long gloves for next winter.

And I'm ten rows from the end of the Old Shale Shawl I started when attending Stephanie's talk last week. Man, is it going fast - thanks again, Suzanne! I'll let you know if I need packing help. Unfortunately, the shawl got out of hand, and I had to buy more yarn to finish it. Of course, they didn't have the very pretty Monet's Water Lillies-esque yarn I started with, so I found a mixed purple skein that should complement the main yarn nicely. I'll post a pic when I'm finished, which should be in a couple of days. The pattern calls for one skein of Misti Alpaca lace, which I have, and the yardage is almost the same, but I did go up a needle size, since the Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn is bulkier than the laceweight. So, lesson learned: that means you need more yarn :)

But guess what?!? I think we're going to stop at The Fold on the way to visit my Grandma on Saturday! Home of lots of Blue Moon Fiber Arts yarn! I'm anxiously awaiting my next STR club shipment, even though I haven't done up my Monsoon socks yet, since that yarn is in the boxtobeshipped.

Since my stash is in cardboard, I'm working on acquiring a new stash by checking out some of the new "local" yarn stores. There will be a full report later.

Harlot in Chicagoland

Oh, she was great. Charming, self-deprecating, funny - your typical Canadian. I won't say Stephanie is "cute", since she exhorted us all to reject folks calling us knitters cute. So, instead I'll say she is attractive and very personable. I don't think the cover of the new book does her justice.

The Bohus was gorgeous and inspired many in the 200some crowd, I'm sure.

Franklin was there, I believe, but I didn't have a chance to introduce myself as my BFF and I were turning into pumpkins by the time I got my book signed. I have a very blurry picture since I haven't figured out how to control the autofocus on the Fahncy camera, and I wouldn't want to post a picture on my blog without asking him. 'Twould seem something like an invasion of privacy.

Anyway, here I am with Stephanie, her sock, and the start of my Old Shale Shawl.

Thanks, Stephanie, for a most enjoyable evening!

Chi-town Knitting

Well, it's more like North Shore Knitting, so far. But I have acquired another skein of CTH Supersock from Montoya Fiber Studio in the semi-solid Green/Purple colorway. /beautiful. LIke Monet's Waterlillies. Thanks, Mom! A shawl may be in your future. Unless the yarn needs to be socks...

Speaking of socks, I'm going to see the Harlot tonight! I even volunteered to be hat coordinator here, since no one is yet listed on the Represent page (scroll all the way down for other coordinators). We'll see. Something to keep me busy and get me involved in the area fiber (fibre?) community. I just have to remember that it took time to find Yarns in the Farms (Hi, Goddesses!), so I need to be patient.

I did find another LYS not too far away. The Village Knit Whiz in Glenview seems nice, has a good yarn selection, and even had some toys for Isobel to play with. Just wish the lighting wasn't fluorescent. I'll have to work on it :) They had quite a lot of yarn, from Artyarns to Colinette (not just kits) to Malabrigo, as well as lots of "standards" (various Dales, Encore, etc.). It was perilously close to Isobel's lunchtime, so I wasn't able to acquire anything, but I have my eye on some variegated Artyarns Supermerino in a green/blue (surprise!) colorway. No idea what to do with it, which is the other reason I didn't buy any. How much would I need?

Speaking of yarn acquisition, my dear Yogabud asked about moving the stash. It's in a big cardboard box in Gloucester at the moment. I only grabbed a few skeins when I packed our suitcases. So, there may have to be some SABLE here. Luckily, there is a sale tomorrow at another LYS, Three Bags Full, that my mother's friend told me about.

I'm closing in on the end of the Mermaid Sweater (yes, I've been knitting like a fiend) and am trying to decide if I should repeat the lace pattern at the neckline. I think so, since it might seem odd if it just ends. I'm worried about there being enough structure at the neckline to hold everything up. The turned hemline at the neck definitely adds support.

I think I'll be working on some shawls after this. Old Shale, perhaps? (Hi, Suzanne!)

I Heart Knit Night

I'm sure I've mentioned how wonderful and amazing my Wednesday night knitting group at Yarns in the Farms is, but I must do so again. Wonderful. Amazing. I love these women. I have always appreciated their mad skills, their cameraderie, their kindness and laughter, but last night I got to appreciate their love and support and well wishes. Thank you, ladies, from the bottom of my heart. Your friendship means so much to me, and I hope that the next time I'm in the area it will be on a Wednesday night.

So, we made it to Chicago without incident today, except for many tears on my part. Isobel was a champ on the airplane (she even let me knit a few rows on the Mermaid Sweater, while she watched some Miffy, which is one of the lovelier toddler shows out there, if you're in the market), and loooooved Jill's Popsicle Pony. Thanks, Jill, that one's going into heavy rotation, I can tell! Then my parents met us at O'Hare with open arms.

I've already discovered that La Harlot is coming to town shortly, so I plan to drag my best friend to meet her on 3 April. Yikes! That's coming up. Thank goodness I taught my BFF to knit last summer. She may still be in the hat and scarf stage (what is that, like, larval?), but she remembered that I'd mentioned the Harlot one time, and she's up for anything for me.

I hope to find some good yarn shops here and a knitting group ASAP. No one can take the place of my Knit Night dear ones, but, as we know, knitters everywhere are good people, so I should be able to find someone who understands how insane it is to have a yen for lace shawls when you live with a toddler. Many thanks, Suzanne, for the old shale pattern. I brought the yarn in my carry-on and will let you know when I cast on.

I hope to be better at pictures but I won't make any promises today. I'll keep you posted. Love you!

Life

Life has gotten in the way again.

Isobel and I are leaving for Chicago on Thursday morning. I don't know what I'll do about the blog title, since I will not be in Gloucester any more, but that can wait.

In the meantime I'm knitting away (and doesn't my wrist know it!) on the Mermaid sweater and have started the waist-shaping increases and am most of the way through the second skein on the body. Miles of stockinette with the prospect of a sweater at the end is good knitting.

So, if you know of anyone who needs a kick-a** art director in Chicagoland, lemme know. And keep knitting.

FO sighting - Lala Scarf

I promise I'll post a picture tomorrow. I finished this cutie pie with a sc, c1 bindoff (single crochet, chain one for those who don't speak crochet, not that I do), which worked perfectly. I might do this one again but use smaller needles and go farther to make a bigger one. Only concern then would be the bindoff, which takes a loooong time but is very pretty. I like it, but the fabric is very open, as you'll see tomorrow.

Slip Slip asked about my Hourglass Sweater in the Queue post, but since it's a WIP (work in progress), it has moved out of the queue and into the work bag! I cast on for the bottom of the Mermaid variation last night and completed one repeat of the lace pattern WITHOUT INCIDENT! Yay, me! One more repeat, then perhaps a couple of spaced-out repeats: I went from solid lace to lace every other "stack" on the sleeve so will probably do the same at the hem of the body. Then, smooth sailing stockinette with occasional decreases for a while. Ah, the kind of soothing knitting that we all need sometimes.

Did you know there was a new Yarnival last month? Me, neither. I've got to figure out how to stay on top of that, probably Bloglines.

Queue Up

For M E
Sand Dollar Shrug (Capecho) from VK in Sylvan Spirit "Moonlight" (have two hanks, need 4? more)
Reversible Socks from the Rockin' Sock Club in STR Midweight "Monsoon"
Icarus from IK in 100purewool "Blue Knots" (?)
Slouchy Cardigan from Greetings from Knit Cafe in Sheep 3 (once it comes in)
Beret from Greetings from Knit Cafe in BSA Alpaca Silk
Beaded Gloves from Handknit Holidays in BSA Alpaca Silk
Turtleneck Sweater from my own pattern (TK) in 100purewool "Sky"
Minisweater from Glampyre in 100purewool "Pasionaria"
En Garde from my own pattern (TK) in handpaintedwool Boucle "Natura"
Print o' the Wave stole from Eunny Jang in handpaintedwool Merino laceweight "Black"
Kiri from Polly/All Tangled Up in Kidsilk Haze "Caramel"
Reading In Bed Shrug from IK in BSA Brushed Suri "Toasted Marshmallow"
Newsboy Cap from YITF in Sheep #1 "Light Blue"
Socks in CTH "Blues"
Counterpane Pouch from Handknit Holidays in Alchemy Silk Purse "San Francisco Sky"
Raglan Duster in Alchemy Haiku "San Francisco Sky"
Long Gloves in BSA Sport Weight "Turquoise"
Neck Warmer in Malabrigo "Little Lovely"
Brea bag in Reynolds Alpaca Regal "Blue"

For I S O B E L
Children's Sweater from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts in Malabrigo "Purple Mystery"

S T A S H I N N E E D O F A P R O J E C T
almost one skein of Manos del Uruguay "Flame" (leftover from a felted hot water bottle cover)
three skeins of Cashmerino (DB and otherwise) "Grey", "Navy", "Silver" [Fetchings spring to mind, of course]
partial skeins of Kidsilk Haze "Candy Girl", "Fondant", "Trance"
two partial skeins of K1C2 Douceur et Soie "Cornflower"
two skeins of Kidsilk Haze in "Heavenly"
one skein Misti Alpaca lace "Grey"
one skein CTH Suri Lace "Northern Lights"
three-ish skeins Imperiale Super Kid Mohair "White"
bag of Rowan Calmer "White", "Powder Puff", "Sour" (given to me)
14 skeins undyed Lopi (given to me)
two skeins Araucania Atacama "Aqua Mint Blue"
almost one skein Malabrigo "Shocking Pink"
one skein Blue Heron Chenille "Cayman" (?)
almost two skeins each BSA Organic Cotton "Bone" and "Sand"
one skein BSA Bulky Hand Dye "Light Blue"
two skeins SWTC Bamboo "Tequila" (gift)
indeterminate amount of Richesse et Soie "Soft Sunrise"
one skein Malabrigo forgotten-color-name-orange
one skein Jade Sapphire cashmere 2-ply "Robin's Egg"
one skein Reynolds Blizzard "Grey"
remnants Reynolds Blizzard "White" and "Caramel"

P R O J E C T S I N N E E D O F Y A R N
Anemoi Mittens
variation on Rowan Brocade sweater
IK Top-Down Cable Raglan by Glampyre
Wing o' the Moth
Alexander McQueen mammoth sweater
Seraphim
hats
Fisherman Christmas Stocking
Aran Tree Skirt (am I nuts?)