7.20.2007
busybusybusy
I survived my first year of teaching! And now I am enjoying a nice long break, frozen margaritas, summer sun, and the best part of summer... LOTS of knitting time! I have THREE finished sweaters to show off. First up is Orangina, and I think this may be my most wearable knit yet. I love the color and it fits really well.
I also finally figured out what that gorgeous raspberry Cash Iroha was meant to be - the Central Park Hoodie from the fall '06 Knitscene! I kept trying to make it be an Hourglass Sweater, but it just wasn't in the cards. I learned a lot knitting this sweater (cables, seaming, buttonholes and buttons, picking up stitches), and I'm really proud of it. It's not perfect, but I love it - and it's SUPER warm and cozy. To the left is a photo of me wearing it at Christmas.
In other news, I finished up the Textures2 scarf and also made a baby blanket for my friend Elizabeth using Mission Falls 1824 wool. I really enjoyed the yarn and would definitely use it again - there were so many beautiful colors to choose from! I ended up going with stripes - mostly blues and greens and a little orange thrown in for fun. I also made a skinny scarf with a skein of Ozark Handspun. I love love love this yarn. It comes in beautiful, rich, fun colorways and it's spun and hand-dyed right here in the Ozarks!
As always, I have a few projects waiting to be cast on...
Rusted Root with Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Cherry Moon (ebay find!) Aren't these Zephyr patterns great? I've also been eyeing their Tree Jacket for fall - anyone planning on knitting this? If so, what yarn are you planning on using?
Rusted Root
Lotus Smock Cami with SWTC Bamboo... this is done with hairpin lace crochet, which is SO cool. I bought a walnut lace loom from Ed Jenkins of Jenkins Woodworking as recommended by Stitch Diva and I've played around with it a little bit, but I still don't quite have the hang of it. I've been trying to catch the Knitty Gritty episode about it but haven't had any luck. Any advice is appreciated.
And, yet ANOTHER crochet project, this one from Stitch 'n Bitch: The Happy Hooker. It's called Short 'n Sweet, which is a good sign for a first REAL crochet project. I haven't really crocheted much yet, but I practiced today with some single and double crochet and played around with the pattern and I feel fairly comfortable with it. I'm planning on using Rowan Calmer in this purple color.
And to finish, I have some new Koigu in a really nice colorway - three skeins of it. I'm thinking one of four options: (1) buy another ball and make another Clapotis - perhaps for a gift? (2) another Chevron scarf, slightly shorter than the one I made for my mom (3) socks, like maybe Jaywalkers? I think they're cool, and I'd probably enjoy knitting them, but to be honest I'm just not all that bothered about having a pair of hand knitted socks since I pretty much only wear super short athletic socks when working out. (4) a multidirectional scarf (yeah, that one pictured down there didn't make it... it turns out I'm not a big fan of having mohair wrapped around my neck)
On a final note, if anyone has any great ideas about what I should do with 220 yards of lambsilk and 100 yards of mohair (in complimentary colors), I'd love to hear them! A word of advice to new knitters: don't just buy one ball of completely random yarn just because it's pretty... get enough to actually make a whole project, even if it's just something small :) Happy knitting and look for more FO pictures coming soon!
I also finally figured out what that gorgeous raspberry Cash Iroha was meant to be - the Central Park Hoodie from the fall '06 Knitscene! I kept trying to make it be an Hourglass Sweater, but it just wasn't in the cards. I learned a lot knitting this sweater (cables, seaming, buttonholes and buttons, picking up stitches), and I'm really proud of it. It's not perfect, but I love it - and it's SUPER warm and cozy. To the left is a photo of me wearing it at Christmas.
Last up is Sahara. This is an amazingly well written pattern and I HIGHLY recommend it. I love that you can try it on as you go, and I feel like I learned a lot about designing a sweater in a way that minimizes seaming and allows for lots of shaping for different body types. Now that I'm finished, I do kind of wish I had gone with my original color choice, which was white with turquoise stone accents. I used the recommended Tilli Tomas yarn - Pure and Simple and Disco Lights, both in jade. I think the jade is beautiful, but it has this sort of space-dyed look to it and there is a strange ring of pooling right around my waist, which isn't exactly the body part I try to emphasize. It is a beautiful top, though, and I'm sure I'll get a lot of wear out of it. Maybe I'll make another one in a solid color with long sleeves for cooler weather. The picture to the right is a close-up of the neckline.
In other news, I finished up the Textures2 scarf and also made a baby blanket for my friend Elizabeth using Mission Falls 1824 wool. I really enjoyed the yarn and would definitely use it again - there were so many beautiful colors to choose from! I ended up going with stripes - mostly blues and greens and a little orange thrown in for fun. I also made a skinny scarf with a skein of Ozark Handspun. I love love love this yarn. It comes in beautiful, rich, fun colorways and it's spun and hand-dyed right here in the Ozarks!
As always, I have a few projects waiting to be cast on...
Rusted Root with Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Cherry Moon (ebay find!) Aren't these Zephyr patterns great? I've also been eyeing their Tree Jacket for fall - anyone planning on knitting this? If so, what yarn are you planning on using?
Rusted Root
Tree Jacket
both from zephyrstyle.com
Lotus Smock Cami with SWTC Bamboo... this is done with hairpin lace crochet, which is SO cool. I bought a walnut lace loom from Ed Jenkins of Jenkins Woodworking as recommended by Stitch Diva and I've played around with it a little bit, but I still don't quite have the hang of it. I've been trying to catch the Knitty Gritty episode about it but haven't had any luck. Any advice is appreciated.
And, yet ANOTHER crochet project, this one from Stitch 'n Bitch: The Happy Hooker. It's called Short 'n Sweet, which is a good sign for a first REAL crochet project. I haven't really crocheted much yet, but I practiced today with some single and double crochet and played around with the pattern and I feel fairly comfortable with it. I'm planning on using Rowan Calmer in this purple color.
And to finish, I have some new Koigu in a really nice colorway - three skeins of it. I'm thinking one of four options: (1) buy another ball and make another Clapotis - perhaps for a gift? (2) another Chevron scarf, slightly shorter than the one I made for my mom (3) socks, like maybe Jaywalkers? I think they're cool, and I'd probably enjoy knitting them, but to be honest I'm just not all that bothered about having a pair of hand knitted socks since I pretty much only wear super short athletic socks when working out. (4) a multidirectional scarf (yeah, that one pictured down there didn't make it... it turns out I'm not a big fan of having mohair wrapped around my neck)On a final note, if anyone has any great ideas about what I should do with 220 yards of lambsilk and 100 yards of mohair (in complimentary colors), I'd love to hear them! A word of advice to new knitters: don't just buy one ball of completely random yarn just because it's pretty... get enough to actually make a whole project, even if it's just something small :) Happy knitting and look for more FO pictures coming soon!
