summertime - on the needles

It's summer and I love it.  Love the heat, love the sunshine.  I admit that a backyard pool and two young kids makes it more enjoyable:)  Not really knitting by the pool weather though, or by the soccer pitch, as any yarn at 30 degrees C (or 90 degrees F) isn't really enticing.

I have four projects on the go - the never-ending Lorelai, a new hat - Windward Island -  from Babycocktails' Tiki collection, and a long vest for fall:

High tomorrow is 34 degrees (plus humidity) so I doubt any knitting will occur.  Soon enough!

dead calm

June was a month of stillness in my knitting world.  Other events took over my time and, more importantly, my energy.  I spent most of the month feeling like a ship stranded in the ocean with no wind to move me forward.  I had enough energy to do the essentials (barely) and sadly, knitting did not make it to the list of essential tasks.

Not scary like the movie (I'm not Nicole Kidman!) but more exhausting like trying to paddle in the ocean with a table tennis racket.

Still, I did sew up and finish my vest - finally!  Unfortunately it is not vest weather any more so it's in my closet until fall.  I like how it turned out though, and will definitely wear it when the weather cools down.

I'm slowly moving back to things that require energy and an attention span.  This will include finishing my Rory shawl, and casting on a new project from my stash.

distraction from frustration

I finished the front and realized I miscalculated the decreases on BOTH sides of the v-neck.  Ripped back and started from the neck decreases again.  It will one day look like this (from Vogue Knitting) but right now it's still OTN.

I am, in the meantime, enjoying my new copy of Amy Herzog's latest book.  I borrowed Knit to Flatter from the library.  Love the explicit instructions, detailed schematics, and methods for modification.  I will buy it, but decided to get Knit Wear Love to start.  Love it.  Love the patterns, the styles, the 'meta patterns' that are a foundation for adding different elements.  Each pattern has three styles and three gauges provided.  This versatility is great for me.  I hate knitting in fine gauges, and find it hard to modify a pattern to a different gauge on my own.  Don't get me wrong, I'm quite capable of doing the math and re-writing the pattern to my new numbers.  In theory.  But I don't have time or energy to redo a pattern to a new gauge, only to find it didn't work.

My only complaint is that the pattern tells me how many skeins of a certain yarn I'll need, but doesn't give me total yardage.  This means I have to go online, find out how many yards are in a skein of a given yarn, and then determine how much I'll need for my size.  Not a big deal, but I prefer the total amounts right on the pattern page.

I love several patterns already.  Lots of styles appeal to me in different ways.  Depends on my mood or where I'll be going with it on!  I will be reading and rereading this to pick one to start with.  As soon as I finish my vest!

taming the teenager

My Lorelai Shawl (named "Rory" on Ravelry because that's more 'me') is slowly taking shape.  I've decided to go for it, and fix my mistakes along the way.   The arrowhead pattern goes two stitches askew in the navy section, I have a mistake on the second half of the yellow band.  I am sure it will be lovely when it's done and only I will see the mistakes (unless the designer happens to stop by while I'm wearing it - she lives on the west coast so I find that highly unlikely).  I do love the pattern, and the colours, and look forward to wearing it with a tee and my jean jacket this spring.  Much like parenting, I'm letting go of the little mistakes so I can enjoy the process and the product.

Uncooperative

My Lorelai Shawl is lovely... and uncooperative.  Much like Lorelai herself at times.  I can follow lace patterns fairly well, charts and written directions.  I have ripped out the lace (starts with the navy) twice after four rows.  Stitch count is off, pattern is not appearing (the arrowhead lace).  My shawl is an uncooperative toddler who won't follow the rules.  Let's hope I can get it to cooperate!

On a less frustrating level, my Mai Tai yarn has arrived!  It's bright and spring-like and "grapefruity"!  Thank you again to the Berroco blog for the prize, and to Thea Coleman for the pattern.

Yarn Challenge - FO

I entered my project in the Yarn Challenge at Soper Creek Yarn.  It's from Graphic Knits by Alexis Winslow, a fantastic book with many projects I plan to knit.  This one is the Tanager Shrug.  I used the assigned yarn (Estelle Eco Andean DK), and love how it turned out.

Here's the photo from the shop window (number is my entry number, not placement number).  I didn't win, but as mentioned in a previous post that's not really the point for me.  I loved participating, voting, and the challenge of creating a project with a specific yarn and colourway.

The winning entries are on the Soper Creek Yarn blog, as are all of the other entries.  Check them out!

Blue Devil hat

While I wait for my Mai Tai yarn to arrive from Berroco, I am going to start up with a hat from the Tiki collection:  Blue Devil
I bought a skein of Madelinetosh Tosh DK for the hat in a bright blue.

I will cast on in a few days as soon as I get a few projects off the needles.  Can't wait!

Mai Tai for Me!!!

I love Berroco yarns, my LYS has lots  in stock.  I entered a contest on the blog sponsored by one of my favourite designers Thea Coleman (Babycocktails).  Imagine my surprise to get an email from Berroco's Amy Christoffers to tell me I WON!   I will be receiving yarn to knit the Mai Tai cowl from Thea Coleman's new collection "Tiki", and the designer sent me the ebook already!

To win, I had to enter a comment about what I'm doing to cope with the end of the long winter while waiting for signs of spring.  I wrote:

“To beat the winter blahs I take time to enjoy the small signs of spring on my outdoor runs, like slushy puddles instead of icy patches on the sidewalks, and being able to run with just my winter running pants and not the long underwear underneath! I would love a bright pink cowl to wear as I welcome spring!"

Photo from http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/the-babycocktails-tiki-collection
I will start with the cowl, but also plan to splurge for a skein of something special for one of the hats. I'm not Irish or superstitious, nor am I particularly lucky.  I don't like to gamble, and as mentioned before I'm not particularly competitive, but I feel very lucky right now!

WIP, FO, and TGIMB

FO - The hat is for a friend I adore.  It's Amstel hat by Courtney Kelly, knit with Berroco Vintage. It's a top down hat, not a typical construction for me.  It's a gift for a friend, knit by request:

WIP - I've started Sous Sous by Norah Gaughan.  It's a very oversized top, with a cable detail and an asymmetrical hemline.  It's not the usual silhouette for me, so I hope I like it when done.

TGIMB - Thank goodness it's March Break!  Ready to take a rest from work, slow the pace down, and bring in spring!

the least competitive

My LYS, Soper Creek Yarn, holds a Yarn Challenge every spring.  Each participant buys a kit that includes several small amounts of the chosen yarn in different colours.  We have about a month to knit something using the yarn. Or crochet, or weave, or do something equally crafty with it.  I have entered for the past 6 years, just missed the first year (wasn't as avid a knitter then!).

I enter to be part of the community; I must admit winning isn't really that important (although a gift card for more yarn is a welcome prize!).  I don't like to compete, I just like to participate.  I am always amazed at the creativity of the other participants.  I always choose a practical project, something I will use or give away after.  This often involves buying more of the chosen yarn to make my project, and knitting feverishly to the deadline.  This year is no different...

Here are my projects from the past few years:

A baby sweater in Mission Falls 1824 (now discontinued):

Legwarmers in Cascade 220 (my go-to yarn!):

A cotton tee in Berroco Weekend (not sure why I don't have a photo of the finished sweater):

Hat and fingerless gloves using Cascade 220 superwash sport:

An Olympic Themed hat using Briggs and Little Regal, a Canadian yarn:

This year's yarn is Estelle Andean DK, in 3 natural colours.  I'm knitting a shrug from Graphic Knits, with unusual construction.  I've trusted the pattern after worrying about the shape - I do find shrugs are hard to 'see' as you go since construction is usually a little different (e.g., centre-out, or side to side, or small pieces, or circular....).  Here's my in-progress photo:

The shrug is done, but I will wait to post more photos until the end of March and the end of the contest.  Voting begins at the end of the week.  I am most excited to see the other projects, and to have my item in the store window for a little while.

under construction

I am knitting a shrug, Tanager Shrug from Graphic Knits, that has an unusual (to me) construction.  It's knit in one piece, with a rectangular back and triangular points that grow from the back.  These triangles get folded over and sewn to become the 'sides'.  I am trusting the pattern and the schematic, and hope that it works.

I will have a lot of edging to pick up when I'm done the body - mindless tv knitting, here we come!

Irish Coffee - FO

My Irish Coffee sweater is done and I love it.  It's warm, cozy, but also pretty.  Good for days when the thermometre reading hovers in low negatives.  Pictures are 'selfies' in the mirror but the best I can do for now.

Irish Coffee... almost

I'm almost done my Irish Coffee sweater.  I've paused the body to do the sleeves.  My plan is to finish the sleeves, and then knit until I run out of yarn to get as close to tunic length as I can.  Deadline for the Babycocktails KAL is tomorrow (the 15th).   Not sure I'll make it but it will be close!