splityarn

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?

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.

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!

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.

one stripe for each

Last May, the Husband and I flew up to Boston for a vacation. At the time we had no inkling that we would move here 6 months later, so we tried to make the most of the week. Like with any trip, I wanted to hook up with some knitters and have a social evening getting to know people that I'd only known previously online. Elisa was one of those knitters. She's funny, sweet and dude! she gave me handspun yarn. Definitely a kindred spirit. I wish she hadn't moved to California before I moved to Boston, because I'm sure we could have been fantastic partners in crime. I get the sense the two of us could have got into a lot of trouble if we lived in the same city.

A few weeks ago I took that gifted handspun and combined it with some Brooks Farm Tierra Blend and knit myself a striped 1x1 rib scarf. The creamy coloured Tierra Blend is loosely spun and works perfectly with the pinks and greens of the handspun. The result is a thick and gooshy scarf that looks like stockinette. It's soft and fuzzy and perfect for Spring. The absolute best part is I get to wear a scarf that's the product of two friends. One stripe for each of us. Thank you Elisa, I couldn't have made this scarf without you.

Project details on Ravelry.

oh look, it's another brown hat

The Coronet toque I knit before we almost moved to Minnesota has seen a lot of wear this winter in New England. The Cashmerino while soft is not holding up as well as I'd like. It's fuzzy, pilly and disheveled looking. As we move into slightly warmer Spring temps, I wanted to knit a new hat that would keep me from looking like a ragamuffin.

I picked up a couple balls of Rowan Calmer on sale a month or so back from A Good Yarn. In one evening of knitting (and using less than one ball) I cast on and finished Grumperina's Odessa. No beads on this version, I only had purple in the stash.

More details on Ravelry

uh, whoops

It's funny, because when you hit 'publish' in your head, the posts don't actually make it on to the interwebs. Somehow I keep forgetting that.

Wicked is about 80% finished, even though I haven't knit a stitch of it since last Sunday. All that is left are the sleeves and working out the increases I want for the waist shaping. I'd considered not putting the kangaroo pocket on because really, who wants to draw attention to that area of your tummy, but if I don't knit it the sweater becomes really blah. It's just a top down, easy-peasy pullover and I'd like it to have a little something more to it. So pocket it is. Besides, I'm not ever going to keep anything in it, so it's not going to make me look that much poochier.

 

I've updated the shop for this week. Next week look for some matching needlecases and some more matchy-matchy pouches.

wicked redux

It was exactly a year ago that I started knitting Wicked. That first incarnation met an untimely demise with only a sleeve to be finished. Although it was a really fast knit (under two weeks if memory serves) it was still hard to rip. When you frog an entire project knowing you'll have to reknit, sometimes it's best to leave the yarn in a time out in the stash. Yesterday I hauled out the same green Brooks Farm Fourplay and cast on for Wicked v2.0. The yarn is so delicious. When I knit with it, I'm surprised I put it away for so long (but then I remember the sizing frustration. Grrrrr.)

I'm sorry pretty yarn, it wasn't your fault. I shouldn't have punished you for so long. I hope you'll be happy to be back out in the sun and coming with me to SPA this weekend for some knitting and manicures and girlfriendy goodness.)