Ode to Ishbel

Tess Designer Yarns - Petite Silk (450 yards), 1 skein. As you can see, I JUST made it. Had to change the pattern to get points on the shawl before the yarn ran out. Shawl is lovely and large. Weighs nothing.

would you like a little Broccowli with your knitting?

A lot of wonderful things came about as a result of this pattern.

First, the yarn...a special gift from Chris, the star behind Briar Rose Fibers. Until now, her yarn could never be on my needles, since Briar Rose was a 100% wool shop. But thanks to some persistent prodding by my friend, Jennie the Potter, Chris has now added silk to her shop! You can find the new yarn here.

It's called Penny Lane, and it's really awesome. 2ply silk, thicker than what you usually find done by hand dyers, and of course [!!] the colors are Chris' signature Briar Rose deliciousness. The cowl only takes one skein, so you can indulge without guilt!

Then, after a blog post requesting test-knitter help, Jenny stepped up and has been just super-fabulous and awesome. Her handspun -- which is what she test-knit the pattern with -- is impeccable. And her cowl, since it was knit in a creamy color, isn't Broccowli. It's Cowliflower! Oh, heavens, I love a good vegetable pun any day. Turns out Jenny sells her handspun and other goodies at her Etsy shop. Yum.

So there you go. No longer is Montego Bay the only lonely pattern in my shop. Now you too can knit your vegetables and then wear them! To get your copy of Broccowli, visit Amy's Mindless Knitting. Both patterns are a modest $3. Happy knitting!

Broccowli!

Mama needs a test knitter before the pattern can be let loose on the world.

Interested? Write me at knittymagazine AT gmail and all that rot.
Eta: man , you guys are fast! I'm all set. Thanks, all!
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Meanwhile, the pic at right [of the fabulous Debra, glowing with luv] shows pretty much the typical fruits of my labors since we chatted last. I've been knitting cowls of all description, happily ensconced on the couch, with a blanket over my lap and a box of kleenex close at hand.

Yup, I -- like every other person I know, including my husband -- got a cold. Mine hit just after the issue came out, and just when I thought it was going away, I got hit with more of the same but worse. It's not the flu, but it's buggery annoying, that's for sure. It's meant 2+ weeks of nose blowing, hand washing and general sloth, and it's not done yet. I suppose there's no better time for this to happen than the holiday season, when the business world is pretty much shut down, but it sucks anyway. At least I didn't have a trip that I'd have to cancel because I was sick.

And yes, I got a LOT of knitting done. Lots of gifts, most of which I can't show here yet because -- having been sick -- I haven't been to the post office yet to get them to their intended giftees.

So getting back to work is a little harder than I anticipated. I figured I'd ease into things by getting the new pattern ready for test knitting, and lots of I-can't-share Knitty work.

And more knitting. And finishing the dining room curtains which have just been a pile of [really pretty] raw fabric for at least a year. New year, new curtains. Sounds good to me.

i moebiused!

Remember this? Well, as promised, I cast on that evening, pulling a skein of craziness from my wall of special yarns. It's [I've just discovered, thanks to the power of Google] "Raggedy Cotton" from Henry's Attic. It's strips of cotton cut on the bias [so it's stretchy!], and dyed with my favorite aqua blue by Laura, who is rather good at the dyeing thing. I bought it at Lettuce Knit ages ago and had no idea what to do with it.

It's odd as yarn goes. It's not the softest yarn, but in the finished piece, it's got a lovely substance and it's the most wearable moebius I've ever knit. [In non-wools, they tend to be pretty floppy and I didn't want floppy.] I haven't washed it yet which may soften it, but I have put it on my head and wrapped it around my neck in multiple ways and it is quite fabulous.

What was most fabulous was that I only had 6" of yarn left after this project. 3" from my cast on, and, after choosing a random place to bind off, JUST ENOUGH to go around both sides of the piece [aka a freaking LOT of yarn], leaving a 3" tail. I believe Cat charmed the project from afar.

things!

Urchin, complete. what is that yarn? why, it's my first handspun! silk hankies, bought at Rhinebeck the first year i went, from Chasing Rainbows [colorway, Pansies].

looks relatively cute from the front. from the back and sides, not so much. maybe with a scarf around my neck? the expanse of neckness without hair hanging down over it is a bit startling to me.

- therefore, i've cast on a Gretel. i do believe, however, that darling Ms Ysolda is on crack about the stockinette gauge after multiple tests. we'll see if it actually fits with the finer-gauge yarn i'm using and her same stitch count. the band is absolutely big enough so far, hence the "on crack" thing.

- yesterday was hub's and my 18th [!!!] anniversary. before we fell asleep, we both said we'd marry the other again in a second. damn straight. i don't know how i was lucky enough to find this challenging man who's helped me fix my baggage, but i was and i'm very thankful of it.

- my head is aspin [ha! pun!] with thoughts of Rhinebeck. last year, we did SOAR and had a blast, and i am constantly thinking of Denny who's there right now and what she might be doing. and drinking. and suspending from balconies. but even more, i am so looking forward to seeing all my people at Rhinebeck.

- i might also be formulating a short must-have shopping list because there's no way i'm doing Rhinebeck without a plan. the #1 thing is a specific spindle, and i'm not telling which because if i get there and they're all gone, there will be such wailing you have never heard. after that, it's all gravy. or artichokes.

- my Rhinebeck hoodie is ordered and shipped to Jillian, my unofficial-official US-based postmistress. Cafepress impressed me -- they shipped almost immediately. so if you wanted one, there's probably still time to grab it! just sayin. there's always a coupon on the left sidebar of the shop, just in case you wanna go for it.

- oh, in case you didn't know, Jillian and I are signing at Carolina Homespun on Sunday at 1pm at Rhinebeck. we don't have time to do the author tent this time, so come see us at Morgaine's booth [she's the coolest, you know].

- there's more, but i have to get to work.

I <3 Laura + Ysolda

Ysolda designed the sweater.
Laura took the picture [and did a great job. I haven't liked a picture of myself in I don't know how long, and I like this one very much.]

i've got a Liesl!

One of the bonuses of having a world-famous knitwear designer stay in your house for a few days is that you can browbeat her for a pattern she's designing and knitting right in front of you.

This is the reason my Liesl is done, even though the pattern was just released today. My version is knit from Araucania Nature Cotton [7 skeins] and I just love it. It's not a BGK-styled big girl knit, but it's quirky and I like wearing it. I just try to channel Denny when I've got it on, Denny being the queen of asymmetry in clothing and layers of knitwear.

Laura and her new camera will be taking pictures of the sweater on me at Ysolda's request later today.

p.s. brother, do our floors need refinishing. sigh.

i'm not saying oy vey, really.

Miko was taking pictures of my Artfibers coat [this is the first one that I finished ages ago] and making me giggle. my eyes get very small when i giggle. Scout thinks it's me saying, "oy vey!"

so here. my finished coat. i do adore it -- it fits well, and my absolute favorite touch was jillian's idea:

the final 4 rows of the collar are knit in my first real handspun [from silk hankies]. it turned out to be a good enough gauge match and there's something about the color that sets off the purple perfectly. jillian, you are a genius.

the other Artfibers sweater turns out not to be so flattering when closed on my frame. here's a closeup of the front:


shawl pin purchased at the Purple Purl to celebrate my finishing! i actually think i'll wear it on the purple coat instead -- it suits it better.


this is the front, closed. again, not the best angle, if you ask me. and here's the back:


it's got that shruggy back construction, because of the way its made. doesn't bother me. notice the length is perfect, despite my neurotic worryings.

i'll try again tonight to get a pretty pic of it from the front, because it CAN look flattering when open.

so there. TWO FO pics in one post. please try not to die from the shock.

Monday morning randomness

My new favorite Podcast: Answer Me This Podcast -- often rude at times and definitely something for not-easily-offended adults listening privately. Helen and Olly speak their minds and they're damned funny. Well, I think so, anyway.

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Imogen is FINISHED. As Jacquie told me to, I trusted the pattern and it fits really nicely. I realize I owe this blog photos of both my Gypsy projects [Imogen and the purple jacket] and will beg someone at the Purl tomorrow to take them. Pony pants for everyone!

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I'm back on the long-term laceweight stockinette scarf. It grows easily and doesn't often require me even to look at it as I knit. A perfect KIP project. When [if ever] I finish this one, I'll cast on another with a new skein of laceweight. Because I don't think I could have enough of these scarves, and knitting them is a mindless joy.

done!

it's done. and yeah, my hands are tender.

but it's not blocked yet, in case he wants to wear it in THIS:



and now...back to Imogen!

What happens when Emma Jane gets a little. Well. You'll see.

When I visited Emma Jane earlier this month, one of our to-dos was to shoot the beauty shot for my most recent design, Everlasting Bagstopper. [Yup, it's in the Knitty surprise that just went live!]

We'd decided it wasn't a photoshooty day after all, until I found myself driving us up the side of Owen Sound [the actual body of water that gives the town its name] and I found this spot. And then Emma did her magic. I particularly like the last two: action shots. Woo!






For those who wonder, I didn't initially design this bag to be in the magazine. I searched all over the interweb to find a bag like this because I needed one, but I couldn't find anything that collapsed into it's own pouch [except the nice crocheted bag on Crochet Me]. So I took the Montego Bay stitch pattern [I *was* going to call this pattern Montego Bag :-)] and started knitting. By the time I got past the base of the bag, I realized it was [IMO] good enough to share. I hope you like it.

this designing thing takes brains!

Seriously. That's where I've been. I finished the first thing for summer Knitty, which [thanks to my own rules] I can't tell you about. I'll blog it after we go live. I can tell you that I didn't set out to design a pattern for the magazine. I set out to make something I really wanted to have. And then I realized there wasn't another quite like it on the web, so now you can have it, too.

Then there's the other thing. See, I found this amazing yarn [again, can't share deets yet. Sorry] and I wanted to make up something in it for the summer surprise. But this design was harder to push out of my brain and is only now on the needles, being knit.

Anyway, soonish. You're all busy having summer fun anyway, so you can hang on a while, right?

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Meanwhile, in jewelry-making world, all is very interesting. Few FO photos to share with you for reasons beyond my control, but I do have this one:



Thanks to my 40+-year-old eyes, I can't see the wibblyness in the edge of the bezel when I wear it or even when I'm working on it. Only when my macro lens shows it to me. Frustrating? You bet. I think I'll be buying a magnifier. But in any case, this pic does show the depth of the chalcedony stone and the interesting orange glow it gets at certain angles. Amazing, for a piece of polished quartz, eh?

Anyway, the ring is absolutely what I wanted, wibbly bits and all, and I'm very proud of it. I made a matching plain band for my husband in silver [no cab] and it's as comfortable on him as mine is on me. He's actually wearing it.

I also made a pair of silly earrings and a small cuff bracelet. Which is still at Sarah's because someone polluted the tumbler and it needs, um, a bit of repair work. She's gonna make it all better. That one I'll post when I get it back.

Lost wax is very interesting so far, and I'll be excited to see what I can ultimately produce. For now, I've been rooting around the house, collecting all the yellow and broken gold I've been hoarding for years so I can sell it to the refinery and buy the new white gold I'll be using for whatever it is I make.

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Several years ago, I took a weekend class at Riverdale Farm to make a silver ring. I was quite proud of that one as well, but never wear it because it requires longer fingers than I have to be comfortable. [I can wear a child's large gloves, if that helps you imagine how short my fingers are.]





It's about a size 8, is very smooth on the inside and comfortable, as long as you have longer fingers than I. Is anyone interested in purchasing my first silversmithy work? I'll give it a beautiful buff before it leaves here so that it's like new for you, if you want. I'd like $75 for it.

Talk about a collector's item! :-)

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Knitting? Besides, the two things at the top of this post, I've been working on my Sea Silk Tuscany [in moss!] and staring longingly at my pink Cables and Os, which will soon reappear in my WIP file. And the turquoise cotton vest is also nearing completion. I just need to measure me and do some BGK numbers so I can add in some tit room.

I'm stalling, yes.

More on the Habu stainless/silk scarf

For those keeping score, this is not the actual Habu Kushu Kushu pattern, which calls for woolly yarn to be used along with the stainless and silk. For obvious reasons, that's not suitable for me. BTW, that photo is Olga's -- nice work, Olga!

Instead, after seeing the original, I decided to go wool-free. I bought two cones of the silk and stainless, cast on a bunch of stitches on a 6mm needle and knitted. Further details in the movie.



Why did I choose this as my Austin project? It was so hot, I couldn't bear to knit anything more substantial. I'm very pleased with the final result and will likely wear it Harlotting on Friday night.

Well, then. Here's some knitting content for ya.

I know it's my blog. :-) I still don't like to bore half my readers. It's a personality quirk. Consider the Daily Tidbits retired. For those who loved them [a distinct minority, bless your hearts], I may pop one in every now and then. But no more dailyness.

Instead, then, I offer a little peek at something. With no commentary. The ladies in Austin will know what it is, because I started it there and everyone was reasonably mesmerized by the weirdness of it. I'll have more for you shortly, including a wee movie.





It's done, btw. You won't believe how I bound this sucker off. But you'll have to wait to see.

it's not a boob.

it's supposed to be 18[ish] inches around the head. it's actually 22 [and yes, i swatched first]. never mind. i have a big head and you're supposed to wear it on the back of your noggin anyway. [pictures maybe later, if i'm feeling cute enough.]

deets: yarn is Blue Moon Sock Candy in Pretty in Pink (one skein is more than enough). pattern is from the Purl Bee.

happy pig year!

[can anyone tell me exactly what this banner says? the lady at the store gave me a rough idea, but i'd love a real translation] we're back from the madhouse which is Bright Pearl on new year's day in Chinatown. p.s. yes, i'm feeling better. thanks for all the get-well wishes!

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Thanks to May for this translation: The saying in the banner means "Everything goes as you hope". More literally meaning "ten thousand events goes pleasingly." Cool. Just perfect.

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new year, new sweater, right? well, i'll do my best to oblige. the pictures are horrible, so apologies in advance.


with my arm stretched out, it shows the raglan shaping.


here. on my bed. flat. ooh! waist shaping!


the only clear shot of the bunch. see how nice the fabric is after washing/drying?

summary: this sweater came from a rough pattern created by sweater wizard, a lot of trial and error and a wee bit of guessing. i didn't want to think too hard, so i went by eye, and kind of forgot the vertical shrinkage issue. despite this, the body length is just fine and the sleeves are a little shorter than i'd planned, but still very wearable.

this was a knit-to-zone-out sweater and it did the trick. it's also the first sweater i've finished in a very, very long time. and the reason i was able to finish it is that i turned off all expecations of perfection and creating a sharable pattern [sorry, guys -- my notes are horrific] and just knit the damned thing. it's comfy on the body, flattering enough and will help me break out of the knitting wraps only phase. i now want to knit another sweater, but I think maybe a Bombshell might be the ticket - something skillfully written and crafted to flatter, rather than the product of a generic computer program abandoned when it stopped making sense.

[yarn: suss twisted, which i love knit up. it knit irregularly because of the thick/thin nature of the two strands, but when washed and dried in the machine, it turns into the softest, most even fabric. it does take a little attention to finger-feel to notice if you're knitting both strands or have caught only one, but nothing a little crochet hook can't fix a few rows on in simple stockinettte. i'd definitely use this yarn again.]