splityarn

new items in the shop

I've been kicking it into high gear since I got over my cold. Time for a shop update!

call your mother

Happy Mother's Day Mum!

(Sorry, I didn't have a 70's photo with all of us. Your eldest son always seemed to be the one taking the picture.)

And your grandkitties love you too.

eye candy friday, macromay edition

I've been levelled by the flu this week. Ugh. I haven't been outside in days so all my Macro May photos have been taken in my sewing room.

I have been knitting, but it has taken a backseat while I try and recover. Writing patterns and Dayquil really don't go well together. This Malabrigo is now a half a cowl though and it's gorgeous.

eye candy friday, cats in bloom edition

I love watching the relationship continue to develop between Indy and Teek. She had never really spent much time living with other cats, so it's all sort of new to her. Teek, well, he's still new really, isn't he. He'll tentatively approach, leaning in close to lick her head. I'm always very quiet hoping that she'll let him snuggle in a little. Closer, closer, lick, lick and then CHOMP! He'll bite a little orange ear. He's definitely a teenage boy now.

Good thing she doesn't let him get away with anything.

It's reflected in Teek's actions around the house but outside Spring has definitely hit the Northeast.

Daffodils are everywhere.

harlotry

I always have the best time at Yarn Harlot book signings. It's wonderful to be surrounded by like-minded knitters in such a positive environment. I come home exhausted but happy, my pocketbook lightened and new yarn in hand.

Mum and I made the trek out to Northampton with Jess, Maryse, Kellee, Stitchy and Ms. Melanie. Those girls are made of good times. I'm fairly sure that we could have stood around in the parking lot talking for HOURS afterwards. And really, we kinda did.

The event was flawless, WEBS was packed and well organized and much yarn was bought. Whew!

When do we get to do it again?

eye candy friday, all around boston edition

Since Mum has been here, we've really been trying to hit all the good bits.

The view of the North End from a super fantastic semi-secret free tourist spot. That white steeple you see is the "One if by land, two if by sea" tower at the Old North Church with the Bunker Hill Monument in the background:

The T station at Harvard Square:

On the water under the Longfellow Bridge:

On the water under the bridge near the Museum of Science:

The rest of the Boston photos are here in the flickr set.

a marathon weekend

One of the bonuses of having family fly into town is getting to take some time to see the city as a tourist. Boston has hosts the world's oldest marathon and is a major prestige event. My mum and my aunt flew in last Thursday ahead of the crowds here for the marathon. My aunt had qualified to run and Mum was coming in to offer some support. Conditions on Monday were sunny with a nice breeze so it didn't get too hot. Mum, my cousin-in-law and I set up about a half mile from the finish line and waited until my aunt ran past.

I didn't expect to get as emotional as I did, but the enormity of running 26.2 miles and the amount of people running toward the finish line quite often brought tears to my eyes. We cheered everyone who had their name written on their bib and encouraged the few that were faltering so close to the end.

My Aunt kicked some serious marathon ass and finished in 4:02:18. She placed 20th out of 154 in her division (60-69 year olds) and resolved to do even better next year. I'll be there supporting her again for sure.

falconry isn't my gig

The body of the Tangled Yoke is finished. I confess I haven't put much effort into it lately. Spring is in the air and I've been busy at the sewing machine instead. The only time I've worked on the sweater is at knit night and on Saturday afternoons watching marathon sessions of Deadwood on DVD.

I cast on for the first sleeve this weekend and despite a niggling feeling, kept knitting. It just seemed so big. By the time I finished the ribbing and started into the stockinette portion it was confirmed. It's a gauntlet. Hawks can swoop in and land on my wrist kinda big. Mum is flying into town this afternoon so I'll try it on her then, but my suspicion is that it'll be frogged before I go to bed tonight. Sigh. I had really hoped I could make a push and finish it to have Mum model it and take it home with her, but I think I have to frog that idea too.

eye candy friday, out and about edition

I went downtown to get our taxes finished up and stepped across the street for some pictures on the Common. Spring is juuuuuust starting to hit Boston.

The wildlife is out in full friendly gimme-food force.

Including yours truly. (Another of my 365 shots. Cartwheels! They're popping up everywhere.)

(more mushrooms and knitterly pouches going in the shop this arvo)

Over the ribbing and through the woods

Garter rib is not my favourite rib. Even though you work the actual ribbing every other row, it always seems to take longer than a plain ol' two by two. I feel like I'm always double checking my work. I can't zone out as much as with a regular rib or like with stockinette. I don't know if it's just the way my mind works or what, but it drives me a little batty. Thankfully I have the worst of it behind me now. The body for Tangled Yoke is worked as one piece so the only ribs I have left to think about are the sleeves and they're still a ways away.

On to the stockinette!

heaps more knitterly pouches

Now in the splityarn shop!

And OMG! Squirrels!

 

positives and negatives

I really wasn't sure how I'd feel about a pullover sweater when I began knitting Wicked. I'm such a dedicated cardigan girl, that I had concerns I'd feel trapped. It's not so much a claustrophobic thing (because obviously I can wear t-shirts aplenty) as not being able to cool down whenever I want. The biggest selling feature of a cardi is that someone who is always too hot can just unzip or unbutton a bit to regulate her temperature.

As it turns out, Wicked works nicely for me. I wore it all yesterday afternoon post-photo shoot and didn't feel trapped once. The silk in the Brooks Farm Fourplay gives it a lighter, drapier feeling than straight up wool would and the short sleeves and wide neckline don't make me overheat.

In the end I went pocketless and I'm ok with that. The last thing I want is to add some poochiness where I don't need it. Overall, I think Wicked v.2 is a winner. Just remember, if you knit it, heed my warnings and knit it with plenty of negative ease. I knit this one two sizes below my measurements.

Project details on Ravelry

greeeeeeeen!

Along with the Tangled Yoke, there's another knit that's been sitting in my queue. I'd been hesitant to blog about it because this project has already broken the interweb once, but now that the pattern is for sale I won't be contributing to the mania.

The Hello Yarn Fiddlehead Mittens Kit.

I almost don't want to take the skeins out of their perfect little cardboard home. Gorgeous! I haven't cast on yet, but it's definitely in the works for this week. The Kit with the yarn is a little tricky to get your hands on, but Adrian has a ton of suggested yarn substitutions. The best part? If you don't want to spring for the kit, you can buy the pattern PDF through Ravelry. The genius bit is it stays in your Rav library so you never have to worry about losing the file. Brilliant, eh?

purple is the new green

I was hoping to have Wicked finished in time for a St. Patrick's Day all-green reveal, but she's not quite ready. She's soaking in the sink in fact. Pocketless, but soaking. I still can't make up my mind about that damn pocket.

While I continue to ponder the pocket, I cast on for Mum's birthday present; a Tangled Yoke cardigan in a luscious plummy colour of Felted Tweed. The time pressure is off on this knit as her birthday is today. (Happy birthday Mum! Your sweater isn't ready.)

I'm in love with the colour. It's almost brown, not quite purple. A blending of my faves with Mum's. And it seems someone else in the house likes it too.