Thursday, April 26, 2007

Air Bear


Here's a very quick and cute knit, a great 'last minute' gift idea: the Berocco Air Bear. Visit http://www.berocco.com/ for the free pattern. I used the Air yarn, it was very nice to work with. Webs (http://www.yarn.com) has it on on sale for only $3.49 a skein, and you only need one! This is the first time I've used the actual yarn called for in a pattern. He's knitted with basically a front and back, with smart short rows (I think that's what they are!) for shaping, very clever. Anyway, hope you like him!

Friday, April 13, 2007

A Kitty, A Bunny and a Small House



Yeah! I FINALLY fnished my mother in law's scarf. It's *only* 4 months after her birthday, better late than never, right?? There is no way to capture the amazing colors in this yarn. It is called Cadenza, it's a hand painted superwash merino by Colinette. Lovely, lovely to work with, would highly recommend it. The funniest thing about it is the pattern is from "Last Minute Knitted Gifts" by Joelle Hoverson and I'll let you in on a little secret.....ssshhhh......this scarf took forever!! There was not a thing 'last minute' about it. Just be warned.



I've also finished up another project from the beloved "World of Knitted Toys", this time a cat. It doesn't really look anything like the pics in the book I don't believe, not sure why, but this is what I got. The yarn is Knit Picks Merino Style, which was perfect for this project. Sydney has already named the kitty Alissa!


I'll leave you with a couple pics of the Biltmore House, which is here in Asheville, NC. I had the opportunity to go there a couple weeks ago with some friends. Every time I see it, it still takes my breath away.

Thursday, April 05, 2007

We're Bloggin'....I Wanna Blog it with You!!







I know I am so cheesy. This hat is so 'yah mon' I couldn't resist. (For those of you who are saying 'huh?', I am refering to the song Jammin' by Bob Marley. If you don't know who Bob Marley is....well that's OK.) A really fun quick knitted hat, pattern test knitted for Miss Kathy over at my Knit Talk yahoo group. I hope she thinks I did a nice job! The pattern was printed in a word document, so it was a nice surprise for me to see this is actually a 'tam' or beret type hat, depending on how you wear it. I had been wanting one, so here it is! The yarn is 100% merino, handspun by http://www.yarnrescue.com/, aren't the spring colors just great?? She's a really sweet lady who also makes super cute monster knitting needles. Thanks Kathy for a fun pattern!





I've also included a little swatch I made of the new 'Cotlin' yarn from KnitPicks. I am pretty happy with it so far, being relatively new to knitting and testing different yarns, I don't know that I am really qualified to give any advice.....*however*, I will give you my thoughts thus far. I has a nice, soft feel, you do have to pay attention while knitting with it, or you might drop a couple plies, there was virtually no difference in gauge or appearance after I hand washed/dryed it. There are little bits of plant material, which are pretty easy to pull out. I think it's a really nice yarn for the price. I'll post an update after my garment is done and has gotten some use. I'm knitting the asymmetrical tank from Norah Gaughan's Knitting Nature.

Sunday, April 01, 2007

A Monkey for Me!




At least half of a monkey. I finished my first sock, or I should say, the first sock I knitted "correctly". The pattern is of course, called "Monkey" from the Winter 2006 Knitty: http://www.knitty.com/issuewinter06/PATTmonkey.html


Now I'm going to be a good girl and cast on for the second one so I don't get the dreaded second sock syndrome.

It's so funny now how I look at knitting patterns. There has definitely been a progression from the 'knit it now, knit it fast' stage into the 'wow, this is great, it will take FOREVER to knit this!!' stage. Now that I've mastered the cable (tee hee, not really), I'm looking for more cable complex patterns. And I also have to admit that I'm actually becoming intrigued with colorwork. That's because I found the most beautiful book, which you can see here: http://www.wolleunddesign.de/Bucher/poetry_in_stiches/poetry_in_stiches.htm .
Even is you are not interested in colorwork at all, you simply must appreciate these designs, they are very inspiring.

Currently, I am working on the Wicked sweater (link is in a previous post), the assymetrical tank from Norah Gaughan's "Knitting Nature", and the dreaded scarf that is taking way to long for the MIL. (Oh, yes, and of course I'll be casting on for the other Monkey sock! Yes I will....)

Have a great Sunday!