Well, thank goodness THAT’S over! Onward…
It’s been a while since I’ve posted, so I thought I’d write a little catch-up post to bring you up-to-date about what’s been going on around here.
The Saints
First things first…the Saints are in the playoffs and we’ve won our first game. Though I am an ardent follower, I am no expert on football so I will dispense with the armchair quarterbacking that often takes place on Mondays.
Car Knitting
Here’s a funny anecdote…
A couple of weeks ago, I arrived home from the Artisan quite late at night and forgot to lock my car. Now, I absolutely NEVER forget to lock my car, so I think I may have hit the wrong button on my fob on the way to the front porch. I didn’t realize my mistake until I got into the car the next day and noticed that the door was unlocked and the console was open. Once again, I never even open the console, much less leave it open. It was then that I realized that someone had been in my car. Counting my blessings, I noted that nothing appeared to be missing (not that there’s ever anything in there) and that nothing was damaged. I drove to work knowing that it would be a slow day and I’d likely have a moment or two for knitting. However, when I reached into the back seat for my car knitting, I found that it had gone! Yup. That was the only thing they took. My knitting.
I think they probably saw the cute little project bag and grabbed it. Imagine their surprise when they opened it up to find a half-finished pair of Barrett Socks and a lethal-looking set of circulars!
So…needless to say, I had to cast on some new car knitting. I’m loving the colors in this yarn. It’s been in my stash forever, so it is a pleasure to finally pull it out and put it to work; it is Knit Picks Stroll Handpaints in the Koi Pond color way.
Maypole
I have finished the latest incarnation of the Maypole Shawl! I’m very pleased with this project because it achieves just what I hoped it would. I wanted a second Maypole with a solid or tonal border so that the stitch pattern would be more recognizable. I think I’ve done it!
CashLux Spark by SweetGeorgia Yarns is just so buttery and lovely to knit with. The color is an artful blend of pink and orange and gold that is highlighted with silver stellina. I hope to get more photos this week as the weather improves and add them to the Ravelry pattern page.
Solveig
This pullover has literally leapt off the needles! Even though I frogged the yoke once and started over, I cannot believe how fast this baby has knitted up. This afternoon, I’m planning to place the spruce bough motif along the bottom and from there, knit the ribbing. Then it’s on to “sleeve island” for me!
Durham
When I designed the Durham Mittens for Cascade Yarns earlier this year, I had a matching hat pattern in mind. Cascade is very good to me, so I reached out for yarn support for the hat. I have always loved the Eco+ line of yarns from Cascade and the Eco+ Merino DK is nothing short of divine. It is soft, sure and beautifully spun. When blocked, it produces a very light and tender halo. It is natural and perfectly lovely.
Anyway, as soon as the yarn arrived I went to work on the hat alternating easy twists with the more complicated double cable. Hmm. Not so sure.
On the mittens, the cable combination was a feature punctuated by restful fields of stockinette. On the hat, the cables suddenly became an all-over pattern with no where for the eye to rest. I think this is a frog. I’ll spend some time this week swatching some neutral intermittent fields to place between those major cable combos, then I’ll have another crack at it.
New Work
This is a busy time of year for Designers. Yarn companies and publications have decided on their next few collections and are excited to get started now that the Holidays are over. Happily, I have a big stack of work to get through. Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be looking for Beta Knitters of all sizes for an exciting new project for Brooklyn Tweed. I’ll also be on the look out for a couple of talented sample knitters. I’m going to try to get those calls out before the end of the week, so please pop back in.
I think that’s it for today! See you soon.
