Quotation by Edgar Allen Poe
I happen to come upon this quote while reading a blogger's post. I think many of us feel like this from time to time:
"I became insane with long periods of horrible sanity" E.A. Poe
This past weekend I took a class -- a yarn dyeing class at The Point Knitting Cafe in the Village of New York City (
http://www.thepointnyc.com/) It was so much fun!! The instructor was really a blast and since there were only two students we decided to share our color palettes. I only dyed three hanks of Kraemer Yarn. The first one is called Jeannie, 80% Superwash Merino, 20% Nylon 100 grams Super Fine Weight approximately 420 yards before dyeing; the middle yarn is Kraemer's Sterling Silk & Silver, 63% Superwash Merino, 20% Silk, 15% Nylon, 2% Silver, 100 grams approximately 420 yards; and the third one is Janice, 100% Merino Wool, 100 grams, Medium Weight approximately 300 yards before dyeing.
I enjoyed this experience so much, that I have already placed an order for dyes and bare yarns to try out at home.
The Point is such a cozy shop. There is a cafe counter and you can order coffee, cappuccinos, lattes, etc. while sitting and chit chatting with other knitters! Visit the shop, you won't be disappointed. And while you are there, visit The Market, where artisanal breads are made one block east of the yarn shop.
This hat was a dream to knit. Needful Yarn is a lovely yarn and held up well to my frogging. I so enjoyed this pattern and was supposed to put it up on my blog as I had received permission from the owner at my local yarn store, but unfortunately I either misunderstood the instructions or something was not "right" with the pattern, so I haven't debut it on the blog.
The hat is knit up sideways and there are these peaks and valleys throughout, but somehow my peaks never met my valleys at the right junction. So, I continued the pattern as I thought it should be and came up with this. Its actually for a newborn/infant or so, and it sort of reminded me of Saturday Night Live (SNL) The Coneheads , remember them? Anyway its still rather cute. I used US #3 needles and loved every moment of this knit up.
I completed this hat last night. This hat is made with Knit Picks Sock Yarn in the blue colorway with US #3 needle and US #6 needle. This is knitted in the flat versus on circular needles. I realize how much I hate knitting hats in the flat and then having to mattress stitch the seam. I am not very good at it so I struggle with the seaming and force myself to make hats that have seams in order to get better at this techique. But I may just give it up and modify such patterns to the circular style instead.
This hat was really fast. 92 stitches cast on on US #3 needle for about 8 rows to create the roll then switching over to US #6 needle to complete the body. The decreases were fast and barely noticeable.
When I make this hat again I will use circular needles. . .pattern was easy enough to adapt it to circulars.
I recently completed this little girl's hat made with Debbie Bliss Cashmerino yarn in Pistachio and Lavender colors. The pattern is by Knit Picks under the free pattern section. I made a slight modification to the pattern in that the cable band should have been 21" but I cut it down to 19" and picked up the required 88 stitches to complete the cap portion. It worked out really well and I hope it will fit the 8 year girl I made this for! I hope she likes it.
http://www.grandviewfarmvt.net/
I recently decided to venture into surfing on Etsy.com. To my amazement and surprise, I found lovely yarns and wonderful vendors. I made a yarn purchase from Grandview Farm Vermont. A small family owned farm. I just fell in love with the picture of the yarn I saw on this site. Well after contacting the vendor, she made a special listing on her site so that I could order the amounts of skeins I wanted. The yarn came from her sheep named "Fedora" and was handspun by the vendor, not Fedora of course. . .
This yarn is so soft and clean. I wish I could just put my head on it to sleep its so soft!! Please visit this site and support our local farmers. I love doing this and wish we could all support them. They do a great job taking care of their animals and their 'homegrown products'. Good old USA made. . .
You can also find this site on http://www.etsy.com/
This hat I will never do again!!! I found that working 80 stitches on a 16" circular needle was a little difficult not to mention that making 'bobbles' was no easy task. The instructions were excellently written out, but the maneuvering was not an enjoyable task. I used Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino yarn in natural on US #6 -16" circular needles. I tried using 12" circular needles, not enough space to maneuver the existing stitches. I switched over to DPNs, but the needles seemed to be too heavy for such a delicate yarn and created ladders throughout. In addition to the difficult task of working a small amount of stitches on a circular needle, this particular batch or ball of yarn arrived with several "KNOTS". Something I had not encountered while ever using this yarn before. The finished product was very pretty despite all the hankerings with needles and knots!!!
Well, yes, more socks!! I love knitting socks and I love this Retro Anklet sock pattern found in the book Socks, Socks, Socks, page 10. I used Colinette's Jitterbug yarn, Jewel colorway, with US #2 needles. I know the socks look like they have no shape, but they fit beautifully. The colorway is such a happy color and I thoroughly enjoyed working with this yarn. Colinette never seems to disappoint me!!!
These wristwarmers were knitted with Alpaca & Silk by Blue Sky Alpacas, US #6 needle and using a free pattern by PurlSoho. The first wristwarmer came out pretty good!! The second one will have to be redone as the cuff and wrist slit were not identical. The pattern was not wonderfully written out for this beginner, and I am sure that advanced knitters would have no problem with the written pattern. The lace pattern is really pretty and the yarn makes it that much more luscious. . .
Well I finally finished the Lorna's Lace Shepherd Worsted Cardigan/Sweater with Hood. I am somewhat please, but not entirely. Overall the sweater came out 'okay' for being my VERY FIRST attempt at a sweater. This one had buttonholes, pockets and a hood to boot!!! My pockets have alot to be desired. . . they are not evenly placed!!! When unbuttoned my pockets look fine, buttoned you can tell its unevenly placed. . .
I used Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted Weight yarn, US #7 needles, Jay Pond Colorway Mill End, 225 yards. Out of the six hanks of yarn I purchased, I used four for this project. Not bad. . .
I used white button with a little flower design. The buttons cost about 50 cents at a local store.
I am in the process of attaching both left and right fronts to the back of the cardy. After this I will pick up stitches to begin knitting the hood portion. The sleeves have already been knit and are ready for attachment when the pattern calls for it. I have yet to knit the pockets and then attach those as well. This has been a learning experience for me. As stated in earlier posts, this is my very FIRST sweater attempt and I almost started to regret it. Had it not been for Carole Wulster of The Knitting Software Company, I would have given up. She helped me with the buttonhole spacing and the neck shaping all via email. Her instructions were right on the money!!! Great lady and great software, albeit that I have yet to learn how to use the software more efficiently. . .
This sock weight yarn is so pretty. This too was purchased from Jimmy Beans Wool (www.jimmybeanswool.com). Click on picture for a larger image and more information about the yarn.
This is a lovely yarn purchased at Jimmy Beans Wool (www.jimmybeanswool.com). Its lovely to the touch and I love the fact that its in its natural color. I hope to make a cable or basketweave scarf w/this yarn.
I picked up this lovely yarn by Lorna's Laces from Jimmy Beans Wools online shop (http://www.jimmybeanswool.com/). On occasion they have "Mill End or Odd Ball" yarns at a lower price. Its a great find. What mill end or odd ball yarns are yarns that the dye has not taken fully so that you don't have the deep color. But you know what, who cares!!! The colors are still beautiful and not told to anyone, no one would be the wiser. The yarn is still good quality and those looking at garments made by these lovely yarns would not be able to tell that the color didn't take as it should have.
You guessed it!!! I finally ventured into the sweater realm. . .my very first sweater. Remember I vaguely wrote about my commitment issues? Well, I decided to start with a child's sweater since that would be small and wouldn't commit me to too much time. My mom found this really super easy cardigan, yeah right!!! it has buttonholes that need to be spaced out evenly to wit, I have never placed buttons or made buttonholes on anything!! Well that is the part I have arrived at and luckily for me, I was able to contact Carole Wulster of The Knitting Software site. She has been extremely helpful in helping me or rather should I say, she figured out the calculations for the placement of the buttonholes on my sweater. I will shortly put that information to the task. Anyway she has this wonderful program called The Knitting Math Wizard which is supposed to help people like me with such issues. . .I have it on order!! Visit her site at
http://knittingsoftware.com/ .
The yarn I used for this project is Lorna's Laces Hand-Dyed Yarns, Shepherd Worsted 100% Superwash Wool. I got a great buy on this yarn as it was labeled "Mill End" or "Oddball" yarns, purchased from Jimmy Beans Wool (
http://www.jimmybeanswool.com/). The colorway is Jay Pond, US#7, 14" long - Lantern Moon Needles, yes Lantern Moon. . .I think you understand. . .it would keep me from wandering away from my 'commitment'.
The top photo shows what will be the back of the cardigan and the photo below is what will be the sleeves. I knitted the sleeves simultaneously on the needles so that both would have the same length and boo boos if any the same!
This lovely fushia colored Magnolia flower sits right outside my balcony in my backyard. This lovely flower only blooms for a short time, but boy does it brighten our coarsely groomed yard. The pink Magnolias are in my neighbor's backyard and that tree really blossoms generously. Flowers do bloom in Brooklyn. . .Enjoy the photos.
These little cute booties were knitted on US#5 needles with Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino yarn in white. I guess by now you must know how much I love Debbie Bliss yarns. I can't seem to get away from this lovely yarn. Its so soft and plushy. Try it, you'll like it.
Some of you have asked if the pattern is free, where you can find it on the net or place where it can be purchased. When I received this pattern from the designer, it was with the condition that I could not distribute the pattern. I was given permission to share a photo and nothing else. I agreed to this condition. So, in keeping with my word I cannot share the pattern details. When this pattern becomes available for purchase from its owner, I will definitely let you know via this blog page. Thank you.
This is the second time I attempt this hat pattern. It was supposed to have been a test pattern. The first time I made the hat I ended up not following the pattern as instructed but sort of let my hand flow with the rhythm of the stitches. The second attempt I had to force myself to stay within pattern. The results were lovely.
Take a look at the crown of the hat, its absolutely beautiful--if I should say so myself.
I used Lang's Silkdream (combination of wool and silk) in two colors, black and aqua, using US#6 circular needle.
Now isn't this cute? I love this pattern by Debbie Bliss. Its called Baby Striped Hat, but I didn't use two different colors but rather used variegated yarn by Zitron Lifestyle. I knit this hat in the flat on US#3 needles. I love the way it came out. The socks were also by Debbie Bliss using the same yarn and same size needles. I realized after knitting these socks, which were done on flat straight needles, that I don't like knitting socks flat. I prefer using my double pointed needles for the task.
I usually knit my socks on dpn's concurrently as I have not taught myself how to do socks on the Magic Loop.
