July 2006 Archives
Knitting in the (topless and doorless) Jeep -- that gray streak you see on the right side is the road zipping by. Paul took the doors off the Jeep this weekend and we took a ride down the shore* (LBI and Cape May). I got to knit. I got a bit of a tan. I wore my new camo mini skirt. I drank a few mojitos. And I had a plate of my favorite fries (bacon, melted cheddar, and ranch...yum!)
What a great little break from the work-craziness.
I'll be back as soon as I can!
* That's Jersey-speak for "to the beach"
Sock knitting*, herb garden, the brick patio, and flowers. It's pics like these that keep me going when I'm this busy at work.
* that's 3 weeks worth of progress on the lace knee-sock from IK Winter 2004
Before I annouonce the winner, I have to tell you this was hard! I only had one copy to give away and so many people *really* wanted this issue. I was shocked by the popularity of the giveaway, and the fact that so many of you seemed to really want the issue for this project or that. I thought a summer issue wouldn't be as popular, and since it was only 2 years ago that there wouldn't be as much of a desire for it. I was wrong!
A few people asked in the comments about shipping outside the US. Of course I'd ship outside the US! So, everyone was entered in the contest (yes, even a stragler who entered in just after midnight EDT). It's a magazine giveaway, not the lottery. It's supposed to be fun!
So, who got the issue? gleek! Congratulations! In addition to having the week off of work, she won my little giveaway. Congrats! And thanks to everyone who entered. It was fun to see all the new names.
Oh! For the 50+ of you who didn't win...I have it on good authority that another giveaway for this same issue will be announced soon.
I came across this ebay seller while doing a little blog surfing this morning.
In the spirit of the log cabin blanket that is sweeping the blogs, here are a few other patterns that could be made from scraps. They're all from the ebay seller woolhelmina and they're all based on mathematical formulas. Cool!
The only catch is they're away until mid-August so their auctions are down. if you go to their feedback page you can click on previous sales to see pics. They're very unique!
A few of my favs:
Curve of Pursuit. See a pic of a finished one with a different color layout here at Smoking Hot Needles(scroll down to the July 13th post)
Vicki has a spare copy of one of her IK issues and offered it up to her readers. I think it's a great idea, so here's mine. It's Summer 2004.
The front cover:
You can find pics of all the designs here.
Designers include Kathy Zimmerman, Shirley Paden, Norah Gaughan, Véronik Avery, Teva Durham, Annie Modesitt, Nancy Bush, and Beth Brown-Reinsel.
Articles include Knitting out of the Pantry which talks about nontraditional fibers such as hemp, bamboo, stainless steel, soy and paper; Beyond the Basics: Working with Two Yarns which details 3 ways to knit and purl with two colors.
Leave a comment by end of day Tuesday if you're interested and I'll randomly pick one!
You may have noticed a few KAL buttons over there on the right.
When I joined them I swore that I wouldn't join any more until I successfully completed one of them.
Just one!
And if I asked for a vote back in May of which one I was most likely to succeed in, I bet most of you would have guessed the socks. While it still has a fighting chance (2 months to go, and Trekking prefers a basic pattern so they would knit up fast, and I have several balls of it in the stash so no problems there).
So anyway, it's the Summer of Stash! People, I haven't bought a single ball of yarn since a week before Memorial Day!
The best part? I'm feeling strong enough to make it at least another month without withdrawal.
Now, the genius part of this KAL is that you can list 2 exceptions. It's like the bonus points on Weight Watchers. Sanctioned cheating so you don't give up. I told myself that I could buy for anything I'm designing because I can't force a pattern to fit the yarn if a certain design inspires me.
This weekend, I wasn't sure what I'd do that cabled swatch in...so I remembered the Bemidji. Perfect! Great gauge and great color choice for checking out all the cable lines. I bought it a year and a half ago, so renewing interest in an older yarn is a great feat.
But, I didn't want a cream colored sweater. It just wasn't what I had envisioned.
And then it hit me...I had the PEFECT yarn!
Black Water Abbey in Moss. Moss does not accurately describe this color AT ALL. It has a mossy overall hue, but there are bits of blue and teal and yellow. It's a gorgeous, complex color, and I loved it from the moment I got the color card. I thought it would be my perfect St. Brigid but it wasn't meant to be. The gauge just didn't work out and the restulting fabric wasn't pleasant and light. Mary Beth* tried to warn me but I had to find out myself.
So, this BWA yarn -- what could be more perfect than designing for it? I get to pick the exact gauge I like for the yarn, and let the sweater grow from there. I have all the cables mapped out, and I've decided on a finished garment size (I sized up because I think this should be a looser fitting sweater...I'm a little nervous about that).
Many of you asked what this will become. At this point it's obviously a sweater. For now, I'm going to hold off showing you a sketch of the whole thing. Just to keep it interesting.**
*MB: i'm sure you're having a fantastic summer and enjoying the lack of the blog haunting for you to post, but i miss ya!
** i say to keep it interesting but it's really for motivation. since i'm pretty excited about this one, this will encourage me to knit knit knit so i can see how it progresses and share it with all of you! not showing you the sketch right now also gives me some more creative freedom to change my mind as i knit. i'm interested in seeing how closely i end up following the sketch, and i'll definitely post a pic of it when i'm done.
Knit and Tonic Wendy just released her latest pattern today -- it's called Sizzle (you can buy it over at The Garter Belt). It's a great little summer tank with a plunge neckline, darts for waist shaping, and side vents -- perfect for a hot night on the town, or paired over a shirt for a little more modesty.
Why am I mentioning it? I did the technical editing on the pattern. Many of you know my love for numbers so it's probably not a big surprise that I do some pattern editing too. I really enjoyed working on this pattern and I'm anxious to hear what you all think! Wendy's the designer so the kudos go to her for a fun, versatile design.
As for me, I'll be happy to hear that the top knits to the measurements in the schematic and all the stitch counts make sense. You know, all the little stuff that keeps a pattern editor up at night.
I've been sketching a lot of cables and knotwork lately, so it seemed logical to me to focus on fall knits. I know, warm weather knits can have cables too, but really...do you want to wear extra yarn on your body when it's over 100 degrees outside?
So, I knit up this swatch. It's got to be the biggest swatch I've ever knitted! It's in Bemidji Original Homespun -- a nice, undyed yarn that's similar in weight to Cascade 220, but similar in colorways to Cascade Eco Wool. It's a 4 ply yarn and there's a bit of vegetative matter in it -- nothing to rival Noro though.
I love the range of natural colors and could see any of them working up into a beautiful cabled sweater.
The best part though -- it's only $4.95 for a 225 yard hank. Not bad for a yarn that shows up cables this nicely.
And a bonus blue shot. Can you spot the handknit?
