WIP: Disorganized!

 

I cast this on over the weekend (clearly in a state of denial about my many WIPs). It's the Present cowl, a free pattern whose simplicity is perfect to show off beautiful yarn. Nothing but knitting and purling in the round. 

The yarn is gorgeous. Unfortunately, I can't find the ball band, though if I had to guess, I'd say it's a Mountain Colors yarn. In this photo it has an orange cast; in the wool, though, it's more pink.

It really was the perfect thing for finishing the last season of Breaking Bad.

Check out other WIPs with Tami Amis.

Yes, It Was Awesome

I had forgotten how invigorating it is to take a really good class.

Learning to make the Latvian Scalloped Braid was fun. It was hard. It is definitely not intuitive. But the end result is worth the struggle. Here's the sample I completed:

Mary Germain taught the class. A former owner of a yarn store in Milwaukee, Wis., she has become an expert on Latvian knitting. She traveled there in 2001 and then went to Estonia in 2003. She has self-published a some books with her friend Sandy De Master. Mary explained the process very thoroughly and provided written instructions. I highly recommend taking a class with her if you have the opportunity!

Now I have to find a pattern that I like that has a Latvian Braid. I know there are a lot of patterns out there, but I need to find one that is not too daunting.

The marketplace was smaller than usual, but the quality was awesome .... but that's another post!

On My Bucket List

I picked up these three skeins of yarn today and I have to get them swifted (is that even a verb?) today.

Because tomorrow I am taking a class at the Madison Knitting Guild's annual Knit-In: Latvian Scallop and Braid. It's hard to believe that my huge stash did not contain three coordinating colors of sport-weight yarn for the class. But it didn't!

The LYS was really busy, which makes sense. I'm sure the two-day Knit-In draws a lot of out-of-towners. I was happy to see the crowd was shopping locally.

My class is from 9 to noon, and I have afternoon plans. This crowded schedule will keep me from spending too much at the Knit-In marketplace, which I'm sure will be full of temptations!

WIP Wednesday: Low Mojo

I started this on December 19, when the bulk of a long and very cold winter was ahead of me:

This is actually the second in a pair of leg warmers. I raced through the first one. Les Cables de Faux is an easy pattern and I knew I'd have lots of opportunities to wear leg warmers. Leg warmers, like scarves, can feel endless, though. Once I started the second one, my mojo evaporated and the whole project sat around for for a couple months. Maybe I would have been more motivated had I known exactly how long and cold this winter was going to be.

I came across it when I was whipping through my pre-wedding cleaning. At that point, I had only done the cuff and a few rows of the pattern. I would like to be able to have this one wrapped up -- I don't see myself wanting to knit legwarmers in July -- but I'm really struggling to stay focused on it!

Are there any projects you've really had to push yourself to finish?

Don't forget to see more WIPs at Tami Amis' blog.

Sunday Sketch

Should Have Been An FO

Can you see why this isn't the FO I was expecting?

I bet you spotted the problem immediately: I used a 1-by-1 ribbing for the cuff on on one sock and 2-by-2 ribbing on the other.

Yes, I feel stupid.

These are intended as a gift, but I can't see presenting them as a pair. I could keep them for myself, but they aren't my colors. The only satisfactory solution I could come up with is to buy a second skein of the yarn and knit another mis-matched pair.

Though these aren't colors I wear, I do like them -- and that's a good thing since I'll be spending quite a bit more time with them!

WIP: Autumn Trellis

I know that the last thing I should do is start a sock (way too many WIPs, but more on that later). But I just couldn't wait because this is the first time I've "designed" a pattern:

I am calling it Autumn Trellis. I have the "designed" in quotation marks because this is really just a variation on the basic top-down sock pattern. I don't remember where I found the stitch pattern, but I changed it a little bit so it's kind of original.

I don't envision myself as a knitting designer, but it's kind of fun to do something semi-original.

Don't forget to check out other WIPs with Tami Amis!

A Good Excuse For Not Blogging

Yep, we've made it official.

Keith and I got married over the weekend! After 11 years, we're pretty sure this relationship is going to work out.

We had a very simple ceremony at the state Capitol on Friday, followed by dinner at a tapas restaurant for immediate family. On Saturday, we had a dessert reception with family and friends. The weekend went exactly as I had hoped: very casual and relaxed. 

I had a "big white" wedding the first time around and, well, clearly a big wedding does not guarantee a long marriage. This celebration was just right. The moments when Keith and I exchanged vows stand out as the most important part of the weekend. When he said his vows to me, I knew that he meant every word. As did I when I repeated them back.

Celebrating with family and friends and very little fuss was just right for Keith and me.

The feeling of celebration was enhanced by news we had had received in the weeks before the wedding: Both my children have been accepted into graduate programs. Seth will be attending veterinary school here in Madison; Rachel is deciding between two criminology programs in Florida.

For all of us, life has its bleak passages. It's important to savor the good times.

Yarn Trends

Although this is a crummy flash photo ...

... the yarn itself is beautiful.  It's a skein of Miss Babs "Yummy" handpainted fingering yarn. I think I bought it from a destash on Ravelry -- though I'm not sure.

What I am sure of is that I was lusting after this yarn because there had been a lot of buzz about it on Ravelry and on blogs. I pulled this out of my stash yesterday when I was searching for a good yarn for a pair of fingerless mitts. I smiled when I saw it. I remembered how much I wanted it -- and then was amused by how easily I forgot it once it was in my stash.

Looking back, I can see that there are definitely trends in yarn popularity. Some, like MadTosh, retain that buzz. Others seem to attract less attention, even though people are still buying them. I haven't heard of anyone stalking Web sites for Wollmeise, although I'm sure people are still purchasing it.

 I imagine that Ravelry has helped a lot of indie dyers get buzz. I had a subscription to Yarntini sock yarn for a while -- but it arrived faster than I could knit it up! I remember swooning over Plucky Yarn when I actually encountered it.

There is so much amazing yarn out there. And, yet, I never seem to lose my desire for more! It's kind of like chocolate; I just can't get enough of the good stuff!

Are You Kidding Me?

A friend told me that Lion Brand has discontinued the pastel baby colors of its Homespun. This is serious. Serious enough that I got on Facebook to check it out -- and I hate Facebook the way other people hate Homespun. Lion Brand announced the discontinuation here.

Now, Homespun is not my favorite yarn, but you can make one incredibly cute baby blanket from it.

Given the strong reaction on Facebook -- where you can sign a petition of protest -- it appears that there is a market for this yarn. I am devastated that this blanket is no longer possible. Sure, you could substitute, but Homespun worked perfectly for this particlar item.

And the few people who have this in their stash are selling it for outrageous prices. Not very knitterly in my mind. However, who am I to judge? 

For more information, follow this link. However, I think you have to be on Facebook to see it. Sorry.