McQueen

As in Alexander. Just found this genius sweater on Andrea's blog. She is the owner of Fable Handknit. Anyway, that sweater is gorgeous - the color, the scale, the simplicity. I might have to work out something similar for myself. But then that would be the end of the bulky sweaters, as the Regal Alpaca is also on the bulky/heavy worsted side.

And it's almost done! I finished knitting the sleeve and did up all the seams last night, while watching Terminator 3. In case you didn't already know, it's awful! I enjoy the occasional sci-fi/action/adventure movie, thought the first two T movies were pretty good (loved Linda Hamilton's biceps in T2), and I like Claire Danes. But this was filled with expensive explosions and baaaad acting. Wow. But that was good for finishing work. Now I just have to sew in the sleeves (eep) and figure out how I want to fasten the fronts. I'm dreaming of ribbon bows in some floppy, scrummy, ombre silk, which is probably impractical.

Oh, and then I have to crochet around the edges. I think I get the single crochet thing, having watched a couple of Knitty Gritty episodes lately that used it. But then you're supposed to do a row of "crab stitch", which is, apparently, backwards single crochet (!). Guess I'll be googling that one.

In yarn acquisition news, the yarn buyers group I belong to is doing a group buy of 100purewool yarn. They have merino worsted (similar to Mmmalabrigo according to some) and merino laceweight. But I'm not as wild about the colors as, say, Handpaintedyarn/Malabrigo. But the laceweight merino seems to have disappeared from HPY's site, so I'm guessing Malabrigo will have that line soon. And 100pw's site is tough to navigate and get a good idea of the colors without clicking fifteen times. That makes me crazy!

But why am I cooing over lace yarn anyway? Am I a shawl type of person? It must be the artsy me. So, what pattern would I do: Eunny's Print o' the Wave Stole, Anne'sWing o' the Moth Shawl, Polly's Kiri, Stephanie's Snowdrop Shawl? And those are just the free ones (oops, Anne's isn't free, but that's OK). Then there's Victorian Lace Today, which seems to have taken parts of the knitting world by storm.

So close!

We're up to the final shoulder shaping on the final sleeve. The sweater should be complete by this weekend, which means I have to get back to my other WIP, Grandma's Shawl. Oh, the guilt of it all. And then I've got to make my square for Amy's baby blanket, but that will be quick and fun.

Knit Night at Yarns In the Farms was enjoyable, as always, last night. Jill hosts Tuesdays, but Carolyn came by, as well, which was great. I wish I could just go both nights to see *everyone*, but there's more to life than knitting (blasphemy, I know!).

Hey, that's me in the poncho on the couch! And here's a picture of Mom's Clapotis! Oh, the pictures from the shop are great, aren't they? I just love the camaraderie I find there.

That's the news from here. I'm thinking about an original pattern for my Handpaintedyarn Boucle, as well as color options for all that Lopi, if I'm going to turn it (or some of it) into a sweater.

The Kindness of Knitters

Do you have some fun fur? That may not sound like a question that will lead to the aforementioned kindness, but if you've got some lazing in your stash, make a chemo cap out of it for the tweens and teens at Children's Hospital Boston for Mini's contest. Many thanks to Cara at January One for mentioning this .

As mentioned 2007 is the Year of Knitting for Meeee, but hats are quick, and this could make such a difference for a youngster. And it gets the fun fur out of the stash!

Alpaca in the home stretch

The second sleeve is almost complete, though we had a small disaster last night: the screw that connects cable to needle snapped on my Bamboo Sister Set last night. I had forgotten to pair the increases and only discovered my error when getting ready to do the next set, nine rows later. Not a big deal, since there are only 44 stitches OTN at this point, and I know how to weave in a needle back where I need to be and frog safely. But clearly, I shouldn't have used the "slack" of the needles the project is ON.

Lesson learned: use a tapestry needle and that piece of dental floss that floats around your tool kit, post-Clapotis disaster.

Luckily, I have another size 9 needle (bamboo circular), probably purchased before the Sister Set entered my life, so I could regroup and continue. Not sure what to do about the Sister Set. Peter seems quite upset, since he purchased it for me way back when. But it may have lived out its useful life to some extent. I'm not a very tight knitter, but I have snagged up the tips some - to the point where I had to file one down a bit with an emery board (also kept in my handy tool kit).

I really like the compact nature and flexibility of the SS, as well as that the needles are bamboo, but I may need to explore new options. I love my Bryspuns but really prefer a set. I might have to check out the Knitpicks Options set, though I'm not a huge fan of metal needles. Word is they are more satiny than Addi Turbos.

Oh, so I'm about halfway through the sleeve. And the shoulders are three-needle bound off. And the one sleeve is sewn up. All I need to do is finish this sleeve, seam it up, seam up the sides, and set in the sleeves. Oh, wait, that's more than I thought. But I'm so excited, since I cast on for this sweater just over a week ago.

Knitting around the 'net

Thanks to Heather's nudge I put myself on the Socks That Rock Rockin' Sock Club waiting list. By the time I am invited to join, hopefully, I'll be ready to tackle socks.

And I'm not ready because I'm still working on sweaters. I want more of my own handknits to choose from a la Brenda. Get better soon, lady! In case you've been under a rock (or don't listen to knitting podcasts - same thing), Brenda Dayne usually includes a Today's Sweater segment in her 'cast wherein she talks about the sweater, yarn, pattern, and saga that went into its creation. Most enjoyable. I want that.

MapMuse is updating their knitting/crocheting/yarn shops listings, and, I guess, since I put Yarns In the Farms on there, I just got a request from Cindy asking for any updates to shops and groups in the area. It's such a great idea to have a central repository for this information.

Another invaluable repository is Yarndex. Someone on the Knitlist asked for a yarn sub recommendation yesterday, and when I pointed her to Yarndex, she said she didn't know anything about it. Amazing how many resources there are online. And it's always nice to be able to help people out.

As the chief knitting enabler in my Knitting Lunch group, I gave my departing co-worker a copy of Last-Minute Knitted Gifts so that she can make an Hourglass Sweater with me. Hehe. I'm a few stitches closer to asking my dear LYS ladies to order me two skeins of Schaeffer Nancy in Jane Addams, though it keeps bothering me that online stores recommend three or more skeins for a sweater. I suppose I'm small in the range of sweater sizes.

Ooh, have you seen Tess' Designer Yarn? I found them via Rabid Knitter, where she made a Placket Sweater from one skein of their Superwash Merino (with yarn left over for a hat). 'Twould be great for Isobel in Rose Blush.

On the cardi front, I sewed up a sleeve as mentioned yesterday and am starting the decreases for waist-shaping on the back.

The Power of Knitters

I'm sure by now you've heard the crazy news about the Socks That Rock Club and their bank that couldn't believe so many knitters would want to buy sock yarn that they shut their financial services down. If not, check any other knitting blog today (I particularly like Yarn Harlot's take. And I love that she calls non-knitters muggles. So true.

I know Stephanie and others harness the power of knitters for good, charity-wise, but I wonder if we could harness that power for even more good. Something to think about.

In my knitting news, I moved the fourteen stitches remaining for the right front of the cardi to a stitch holder last night while watching Bell, Book, and Candle, which I can't believe I never watched before. Kim Novak has such crazy eyebrows. Anyway, I neglected to put another skein of yarn in the ol' French Market Bag before heading out this morning, and today is Knitting Lunch. Argh. I had a little bit of skein two left and my swatch. So, while waiting for the sushi to arrive (we do things right here for Knitting Lunch), I sewed up the completed sleeve. One less bit of making up to do at the end! How genius to not have any more yarn! Ha.

But the sleeve fits. Brava, Kathleen. The front seems on the small side, but I'm attributing that to the stockinette curl, which makes it impossible to flatten against my front for guesstimating. It's the correct dimensions, so I'm sure it will be fine.

The Knitting Lunchers are talking about getting together once a month outside of work, since one of our own is leaving. There was even talk of a KAL, and I suggested an Hourglass Sweater, since some folks talked about wanting to make a sweater.

Manly knitting

Perhaps it's having discovered It's a Purl, Man and Sticks and String, and having Brian come to Knit Nite, but knitting for men has moved to the fore of my brain lately. Even Grumperina mentioned men and knitting today, having test knit a pattern for Annie Modesitt's newest book.

So, aside from the sweater (new) for Peter, perhaps golf club covers are in the offing. There are those cute fairisle ones on knitty. And I just found these.

Wait! Isn't 2007 the year of knitting for meeee?!? Yes, but I imagine a few projects for loved ones will crop up.