First Spring Finished Object!

Following that heavy poncho from my last post--which I HAVE worn in my chilly home office--I veered completely in the other direction and knit an airy, lacy silk scarf called Allegria, a beautiful pattern by Emma Fassio. I used the gorgeous Habu Silk that was left over from my daughter's Ombre Tank Top, in the natural color, and I think it came out great. I was especially happy to take a few photos of it outside, and hopefully will get someone to take pics of it on me over the weekend.

This was a great introduction to using lace weight yarn, which I think I have only done one other time. I wasn't sure I liked it at first, but I got to love it, and it's certainly a nice change from all of the bulky things I knit all winter and that dominate my Etsy shop. I may now shop for some lace weight for the Nuvem shawl when I go on the NJ Wool Walk on Friday with one of my Panera knitting group friends.

Now that the scarf is done, I'm moving on to more stash-busting, and I'm determined to use up the 1900 yards of bright red Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece that has been in my stash since 2008. I guess it's the oldest worsted in my stash. I had originally bought it for the Central Park Hoodie, but my taste has changed a bit (although I would like to make that sweater one day), and after some back and forth with a bunch of patterns, I've decided on the A-line Hoodie by Diane Soucy, from the book Knit Red: Stitching for Women's Heart Health. I've had this book for years and this sweater was one of the reasons I bought the book--but I've never knit one thing from it. So if I successfully complete this project, I will not only have used up a nice chunk of stash, but also used a book for the first time. Good for me!

Back to the Wool Walk, we're planning on going to about 6 shops on Friday--will report back!

The Boyfriend Scarf

I know there is that superstition that a girl shouldn't knit a sweater for her boyfriend before they're officially a couple, but I don't think it applies to 1)the girl's mother knitting for the boyfriend and 2) a scarf rather than a sweater! At least I hope not, because I just finished a gorgeous scarf for my daughter's boyfriend, which I will add to a package of gifts she left for me to send to him while she is studying abroad in Europe this semester.

I am so happy with this scarf. The pattern is Christian's Scarf by Agnes Kutas-Keresztes. There is a matching hat pattern on Ravelry also (both are free!). This was a wonderful, rhythmic pattern that was fun, easy and looks fantastic--no curling, just the right amount of texture. The Cascade 220 Superwash that I used was the perfect yarn--softened up with soaking (and a little spin through the dryer after blocking), very durable and just the right weight. My daughter chose the very rich, not quite black shade called Jet. I definitely want to make this scarf again. Can't wait to see how the boyfriend likes it--I will mail it in a few weeks.

Another very successful part of this project was the use of the Inspinity Premium Blocking wires. I bought these a few years ago and they are fantastic. The set comes with a number of different lengths; they are very flexible (almost like threading a needle in and out of the rows and produce a beautiful result. I highly recommend them!

Hand Knits Are a Bright Spot in a Cold Winter

It's been unusually cold here in NJ as well as throughout the US, as I don't have to tell most of you. I was struck the other night, when I mustered all  of my motivation to walk out the door in sub-10-degree-weather and a foot of snow and drive to my book group meeting. When I walked in, our hostess asked me to take my boots off at the door, and when I walked into the meeting, where some of my fellow readers are also knitters, I was greeted with admiration about the number of hand-knits I wore and carried:

• a hand-knit, mohair sweater (knit pre-Ravelry, so no photos or links!)
• hand-knit socks
• a hand-knit cowl and matching mitts from one of my favorite cold-weather yarns, Misti Alpaca Chunky
• and I carried a hand-knit, felted bag, which contained my current WIP, a beautiful men's scarf for my daughter's boyfriend

It struck me that, although I hate the cold, it is a pleasure to have the opportunity to wear so many of my knits at once and to know that they are the best antidote to being cold. My husband and daughter have been wearing their hand-knit socks every day during this cold spell, and my son, braving his first winter at college in Michigan, is grateful for the bulky scarf and hat I made him.

I even made a sale of a warm, bulky hat in my Etsy shop! This makes me want to drop everything and knit 24/7 (so does the fact that I don't want to go outside!) This makes me even more determined to do something to make knitting more of a part of my life--and find a work solution that will allow me to devote more time to this craft that I love so much. I hope 2014 will be the year that I finally make it happen.

Stay warm, everyone!

So Much to Be Thankful For

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with dear friends yesterday. We'll be sorry to see them go when they move across country soon, but we know we will stay in touch.

Prior to the day(s) of cooking, preparation and finally eating, I had completed a knitting project for each of my children. Thankfully, both of them flew home without delay during a nasty Nor'easter and on the busiest travel week of the year. They modeled their knitwear yesterday before we sat down to eat and both seemed genuinely happy with their finished object.

 

I'm pleased with my daughter's sweater, the Estelle Pullover--she tried it on Tuesday night and I made some notations about where it needed to be slightly bigger; I then blocked it and it fits PERFECTLY. My son's scarf, the Textured Triple Stripe Scarf from 60 Quick Knits, is long, particularly since I knit it in bulky instead of worsted and didn't do my calculations exactly right--but he likes the warmth of it looped around his neck and it looks great on him.

Wish I had them home longer, but in general, life is very good today!