maggistitches

2011 knitting, part two

 

 

I learned when I went to China for Betsy the value of having a project tied to such an adventure. Even though this Citron shawl took me much more than two weeks to knit, I think of it as my heritage-tour knit.  I used the spec'd yarn, Malabrigo lace, because I had it from a Mystery Stole I gave up on years ago. Some of this yarn also went into the stripes of the Volt shawl a year earlier. 

 

As soon as I discovered this Little House Shawl pattern -- I think it was via Twitter -- I knew Little B had to have one. I didn't realize that her teacher was reading the books to her first-grade class. And when I started it, Wee C said she must have one, too, and she will, but it may not happen before 2011 ends! Sock yarn from Virginia dyer Spirit Trail Fiber Works in her favorite color.

   

Here is the Middlefield Pullover from New England Knits, which I quickly finished this fall in about two months, using delicious hand-dyed yarn from Juniper Moon Farm (this is from their sheep, not the new line) that I bought the first time I visited what has become one of our most special places. Perfect buttons, too, which I bought from Jennie the Potter at Maryland Sheep & Wool ~ without the yarn in hand. As the card held five, I had jeweler Louise Ellis convert the remaining pair into earrings. Ravelry was a huge help with this knit, as other knitters' project descriptions guided several  modifications I made to the pattern.

 

 The last project I finished this year (although there's one more on the needles for a 12/29 delivery) was this Albers Cowl in seven colors of Koigu. Designer Ann Weaver has two projects based on Josef Albers' “Portrait of a Square” paintings. Last winter Kay Gardiner blogged about her Albers Shawl and suddenly I had to make the Albers Cowl. The best part is that soon after her post I was in NYC and Kay & I went to Purl Soho together. She affirmed my color choices and I cast on in her company. These squares were my carpool knitting all year. I decided to give the cowl to my friend Sarah for Christmas (and make another one for myself thereafter.) 

2011 knitting, part one

Looks like I havent blogged any projects since March. But there were some, of course; I just tend to stick to Ravelry for their recording. Hardly getting my money's worth over here, except that it was handy to have the other blog during our summer heritage tour. How about a quick recap, for old time's sake? And then I will think about evolving the blog ~

First I made another Koigu ruffle, this one for my friend Cheryl after I posted a photo of mine on Facebook and she asked for one.

I also finished these simple ribbed socks for my cousin Susan, who hosted us for her daughter's wedding in April. 

I'm not usually a colorwork gal, but I always liked this pattern in the Webs catalog, and I have had this Elann yarn for years. Waiting for the temperature in which I can wear it! And I think I probably have leftovers for a coordinating hat . . .

    

For a change from my usual baby booties, I knit two pinwheel blankets this summer. The first is a washable wool, and the second was in assorted shades of Cotton-Ease. Both for boys. I edged the first with crochet and actually can't remember how I finished the striped one (that lives in New Jersey now).

 

The Tea Group at CCCWA

Late supper - or is it brunch?

"It was really fun when we got off the plane and we went swimming and the pool was really cold. Now we're getting some food and this lounge is really comfortable." -- Caroline, whose attention I can barely draw from the synchronized swimming on the bar TV.

Knitalong Cardigan

Back in the fall, designer Becky offered a knitalong to test a new pattern, Catamount. It looked like a good fit for some yarn that had been in my stash since my first trip to Maryland Sheep & Wool in 2005, Seacolors. I hadn't designated a pattern to go with the dyed-in-seawater shades, and I'd lost interest in making one like those displayed by dyer Nanney Kennedy with different color sleeves and such. I finished it in less than two months! Sometimes it's a nice break to knit on bigger needles ~ 

For a while I was ambivalent about this sweater, and I thought about donating it to ART 180's annual Art Karma auction in December. The open-front design seemed like it might emphasize the belly beneath ~ not the best look for perimenopausal me. But I also really liked the yarn and how it turned out overall, so I kept it. Finding perfect buttons at Quilting Adventures may have cinched the deal: even though they are plastic, I love these purple swirls.

With the wide neckline, not every top works underneath this sweater, but a camisole is good. I haven't tried wearing it unbuttoned, but it made a nice ensemble with my suede skirt. There's a great deal of yarn leftover, so I will probably make a variety of accessories from the rest ~ maybe matching sets of mittens for the whole family! 

 

New Year's Ruffle

We popped over to Virginia Beach for a change of scenery with our friends Barbara & Gillian on Thursday the 30th, so I looked around for a simple knitting project to take along. Even though I wouldn't have car-knitting time, I anticipated pool knitting and new-year-countdown knitting. I have a couple other shawls in the works but they involve charts; I really wanted something sort of turnkey that I could associate with our New Year's getaway. When I attended (my LYS) The Yarn Lounge's October workshop with Anne Hanson in October, the shop had a Churchmouse Yarns display of patterns and samples and Barb's Koigu Ruffle caught my eye. With plenty of KPPPM in my stash, I eagerly grabbed a copy ~ and found it just the thing to take to the beach as 2010 came to a close.

 It's pretty simple: cast on many hundreds of stitches, knit a few rows, then a few decrease rows. A center section of plain stockinette, then back to increases and longer rows. I finished in nine days, five of which were back to regular workaday life. The pattern suggests an option of pressing the ruffles out, but I think I like the curlicue version just fine! 

Yes, I knit this fall

 When I told people yesterday that my new shawl took six months to knit, they believed it, what with its 77,000 or so stitches.

But I also finished a skirt, a sweater, a sock, six baby booties, two coffee-cup cozies and a pair of fingerless mitts since my last post three and a half months ago. Still, let's start with the wrap, Grace Anna Farrow's Volt from A Fine Line.  I noted in a prior post how Kay helped me find a better project for the four skeins of Tess' Merino Lace I bought at MS&W in 2009, intending them for a Spectrum Scarf. (I may actually have leftovers to knit a variation on that scarf, but I decided I have plenty of scarves already, including a really special pink one. ) I didn't mention in my previous Maine post in September that we actually visited Tess' Designer Yarns, where I swapped out my fourth hank for a more solid and bright pink, the darkest one. What a lucky happenstance that was, to be in Portland! So I worked on this project in Virginia, North Carolina and Maine, from June to December, from the beach to the mountains. And it was worth it! 

When I came back from Maine I finished Lanesplitter, and posted a photo on Facebook and Ravelry, so this may seem redundant. I used three balls each of two colorways of Kureyon, the blue-gray 91 and black-brown 55 that had been in my stash for ages, never becoming Booga Bags for my friends. I'd never imagined knitting a skirt, but this rectangle was quick, fun and easy.

I've been using up the leftover Noro bits just this month; the mitts are for me and the coffee-cup cozy for Wee C's 4th-grade teacher. Another cozy went to Little B's kindergarten teacher. 

  
What else? I still need to sew the buttons on the sweater, so that can be a new post when I've done so. The sock is one of a basic ribbed pair; its mate is on the needles. And the booties [Rav link] have been delivered to Hank, Emerson and Latane!