Month March 2012

FO Friday: Ashton Sweet Pea

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I fear I am becoming a bit of a fingering-weight shawlette whore …

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Project: Ashton Sweet Pea

Pattern: Ashton Shawlette

Designer: Dee O’Keefe

Available: FREE! on Ravelry

Yarn: Socks That Rock Lightweight in Sweet Pea

I had this ball of STR saved from May 2010.  I tried (and failed) to make the club sock that month.  The yarn seemed boring and lackluster, too pale.  But, oh how this “spirit” colorway shines in a mostly-stockinette shawl!  Ashton is a great pattern in it’s own right, but the designer makes it even better by intentionally making it accessible to the beginner lace knitter.  A thoughtful step-by-step process leads a novice lace knitter through the  process of reading charts to make a traditional top-down triangular lace shawl.  I have, in fact, already recommended this pattern to a friend and a knitting student. I did do one repeat less than the pattern called for, because I knew I was working with a smallish skein.  I ended up with 6g left after the bind off.  Success!

New Patterns Released: Twins and Entwined, Cabled Mug Cozies

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Announcing my two latest patterns: Twins and Entwined, two cabled mug cozies!  Both are available FREE on Ravelry, so go download a copy today.

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I designed this pair of patterns for my upcoming “Intro to Cabling” class at the Hub Mills Store. The class is two hours long and costs $20.  I’m offering it twice in the near future, on Saturday, April 21st, and Saturday, May 19th, from 10AM – noon.  “Twins” is the simpler of the two patterns, intended for the knitter who is totally new to cables.  “Entwined” is a bit more complex (though not as much as you might think!), meant for a knitter who has done a bit of cabling before, or an adventurous novice.

If you’d like to take my class, call (978) 408-2176 or email yarn@hubmillsstore.com to reserve a seat.

Both cozies take less than 50 yards of worsted-weight yarn, plus two buttons, and can be finished in a single day.  Both are also appropriate for learning how to cable without a cable needle — something I will also teach in class, because I think it makes cabling SO much quicker and easier.

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FO Friday: Button Mitts

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Project: Button Mitts

Pattern: All of ‘er Buttons Mitts

Designer: Lorilee Beltman

Available: sometime in Jan 2013

Yarn: Socks That Rock Lightweight in HRH Crown Princess of Purple, Violetta

This is the Jan 2012 Rockin’ Sock Club yarn, in the “not a sock” pattern.  I am thoroughly in love!  The cinched cable is delightful, and I love the buttons-as-seam closure (they are just sewn in place — the mitts do not unbutton, they just slide on). Nicely shaped wrist and thumb, high marks all around.

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Tips and Tricks: How to CURVE8

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In the not-to-distant future, I’ll be releasing a new pattern via Knit Picks IDP.  The Mhara Baby Blanket features a cool wave embellishment that is worked as you go.  Here is a little “sneak peek” of the pattern, in the form of a video tutorial for how to work the CURVE8 embellishment stitch.

 

New Lace KAL: Goddess Knits Anniversary Mystery Shawl

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For the 4th year in a row, I will be making an “Anniversary Mystery Shawl” courtesy Renee Leverington of Goddess Knits.  As to the reason why … here are the results from the first three years:

2009: Victorian Romance

8622 shawl

2010: Mandala II

0174 completed Mandala II

2011: Summer Rain

(See my posts about joining the 2011 KAL and the FO Friday for Summer Rain for more information.)

2830 Summer Rain shawl

I think they speak for themselves, no?

Anyway, the signups are now OPEN for this most excellent and FREE lace shawl KAL.  Go to the Anniverasry Mystery Shawl 2012 group page at yahoo, and join.  That’s all there is to it. You have until May 5th to sign up, but after that you are out of luck.  Renee creates beautiful hand-dyed lace yarn for the KAL, but she doesn’t require knitters to use it.   I rummaged through my stash, and plan to use Ivy Brambles Romantica in Pine Tree:

2383 Ivy Brambles Romantica in Pine Tree

CO Monday: Purple Hedgehog Hat, Berringbone Patch Socks, Bam Boo Branches Store Sample, Silver Ribband

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Welcome to CO Monday, or (as it shall be known this week) “Have I Lost My Mind?”  I started four new projects this week, even though I already have multiple projects already actively in progress.  Perhaps I am crazy, and believe I have grown extra arms, and need even more projects to keep my extra arms busy.  I hope those extra arms already know how to knit.

I think the cause is simple: I’m getting near the end of many of those WIPs, and I’m anticipating the lull that follows — the panic that sets in when I don’t have enough projects! Eek!

So, here are the four newbies:

Purple Hedgehog Hat — I bought a skein of Mushishi as a courtesy purchase when I checked out Aunt Margaret’s Yarn Shop in Chelmsford, MA.  The main draw of this shop (for me) is that they carry a full line of Knit Picks needles, including interchangeable tips and cables! But, I didn’t need any needles on this visit, so I chose a big cushy skein of purpley yarn.  It has long color repeats, but they aren’t that different from each other.  I’m taking full advantage of the color repeats with the short-row bumps in this hat. I have two bumps done so far :).

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Next up: Berringbone Patch Socks.  I haven’t made a pair of socks in quite a while.  It was time.  I’ve had this skein of Stroll Hand-painted around for a while, earmarked for socks … I did change my mind about the socks I was going to make, though.  I’ve decided I really don’t like lacy sock patterns, because they don’t wear as well as more solid patterns. I’ve finish the cuff and gotten about four rows into the herringbone pattern.

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I also cast on for a store sample for Hub Mills of my upcoming CEY design, tentatively called Branches.  The pattern sample is in cranberry, but the store sample will be this gorgeous purple:

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I cast on for this project, because I had finished the cape I was making as a store sample.  The pattern book won’t be out until June, so I have plenty of time to work on it.  But, when I work in the shop, I can only knit on projects for the store — I wanted to make sure I had something to do with my hands if it turned out to be a slow day.  As it happened, it WAS a slow day … but I didn’t work on the purple project at all.  Instead, I cast on (and then finished) a Sliver Ribband for the store.  We recently got in several kits by Laura Nelkin, and I got to make this one:

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I stranded the beads and knit it up in a single day — the kit comes complete with the yarn, beads, clasp, pattern, and even a little threader to help put beads on the yarn. I give it high marks!

FO Friday: Wicked Abstract

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I finished this a while ago, yet all I can say when I think of it is, “oh, cashmere!”

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Project: Wicked Abstract

Pattern: Abstract

Designer: Tonia Barry

Available: $6 download from CEY’s website

Yarn: CEY Wicked

Abstract is a shawlette worked tip-to-tip, punctuated by cable rows.  After the body is finished, the ruffle is picked up from the long curved edge and worked in the same cable pattern.  I thought it was the perfect vehicle for my windfall cashmere. Let me tell you, cashmere is amazing to knit with, an experience bested only by wearing the FO around your neck!  I used up every single last bit (well, almost).  I try steam-blocking the ruffle, but it didn’t really set — I’m actually happy with the curl, so I may never block it properly.  (Don’t tell the knitting police!)
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Zombies Heart Brains: Mini-Skein Swap

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I have succumbed to hexipuffs!

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My goal for 2012 is to make one hexipuff each day … but of course I started in February, and sometimes I miss a day, so my tally so far is a mere 20 of 366. I was also hampered by a distinct lack of the right kind of sock yarn.  I have a scrap blankie also in the works, and for that one I am restricting myself to yarn from socks/shawls/etc. that I have actually knit — it is more of a memory blanket, and I love looking at the squares and remembering the projects I made with that yarn.  But, for my beekeeper’s quilt, I’m being a bit snobby — I want to use “fancy” sock yarn only, and have no repeating colors.  It says something about my knitting habits that I was able to make 20 little puffs that meet this requirement, using only what I had lying around. But aren’t they pretty?

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In order to get enough different yarns, I have jumped down the mini-skein swap rabbit hole. The basic concept is that 19 or 20 mad knitters totally sane people agree to each take a perfectly good 100-gram skein of sock yarn and chop it up into 5-gram miniature skeins, good only for hexipuffs, blankie squares, and the like.  I’ve signed up for six different swaps so far, and the first batch arrived yesterday, hooray! This swap had a “rainbow” theme — each swapper signed up for a color and went from there. Joy! I actually knit four hexipuffs last night (the last four from my own stash), so that I could give myself permission to start in on this batch.

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Which all brings me to … Zombies Heart Brains! I’m hosting a swap!  The theme, naturally, is zombies — all kinds.  As of this writing, I have filled 14 of the 19 slots — which means 5 slots are still open to you, dear reader.  Allow me to tantalize you will some of the yarns already in the swap.  Surely you want 5 grams of each?? 🙂

 

Cast-on Monday: Knit Your Own Dog

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I started a special project over the weekend … something I’ve been stalling on, because it is so important to get it right. I’m making a custom knit-dog for a friend who lost her dog recently, without warning.  My “agility family” held a raffle to help cover the vet bills, and I donated a custom-knit dog.  Someone commented to me that they hoped the winner would give it back to the person who lost her dog — and I said, well heck, I can just knit her one regardless. I didn’t want the winner of the raffle to feel like they had to give up their prize.

But, the dog in question is a mixed-breed dog — none of the patterns in the NYOD book are perfect.  Faced with the daunting task of memorialized a beloved companion, with his own unique look, I have waited and pondered and waited some more.  Last night I settled on the right “base” pattern, that I will modify (mostly in color) to achieve a look close to the much-missed original.  Wish me luck!