Friday, July 30, 2010

July 2010


Whew, what a month.  Knitting had to fall to the back burner a bit this month.  We were busy finding my daughter an apartment in Rochester (for her new job, yea!!) and then moving her out of her old apartment and into her new one.  So between cleaning and driving (not riding) and shopping and moving, my knitting time was slightly curtailed.  But anyway, I managed to get a few things done (one finished just this morning, so you could see it).

I finished up the Kimono, knit with Plymouth's Mushishi.  It is a VERY easy sweater and looks great on everyone who has tried it on.  The yarn is a silk and wool combination with great colors.  Great TV or car knitting.

We got two new yarns in that I knit up scarves for.  The first is Flying Print from Filatura Di Crosa.  This I made into a "bubble" scarf with some increases and decreases.  It's fun! 



And the next is Evviva, also from Filatura Di Crosa.  This is just a simple garter stitch, but I changed colors halfway through, making for a funky scarf. 


Then I knit up the samples for the December Knit and Knibble.  The pattern says they are luggage tags, but I think they would also make great Gift tags. They are knit with sock yarn and the perfect way to use up little leftovers.
And last but not least, finished this morning in a rush so that I could take a picture and share it with you is the sweater I started last month with the beads.  It was inspired by and very loosely based on a cardigan in the last Knitter's magazine, but I changed it to a pullover, changed the pattern st count and added beads.  And I am very happy with it.  I used Blue Heron's Rayon Metallic, which has a hint of glitz and added beads.  The pattern is a little time consuming because you bind off and cast on 3 stitches every for rows, and of course add the bead.  But I think is will be really cute over a camisole.  This sweater is for me and will probably head home in a few days.


So, that's it for finished knitting.  I have also started a sweater with a ribbon yarn from my stash (too little done to even show you yet), the lace stole is still in the bag and was left untouched this month and new yarns are arriving so it it sample knitting time. 
Until next month, Happy Knitting, Nancy

Friday, July 2, 2010

June 2010

June must have been a busy month, my memory is a blur.  Ahh, yes, my son is back from college and my daughter is off coaching a swim camp, but needs to move to Rochester while she is away and I think I knitted somewhere in there, no wonder it's a blur.  Well on to the knitting...

I did finish the reknitted Tulip sweater as promised.  And I love it.  Tulips and Purple, some of my favorite things.  No wonder I was willing to reknit it.  It is hard to see here but the bottom panel is tulips with a lettuce edging.  Done and worn!


I also finished the Little Girls Jumper that I had started last month.  It is soooo cute.  It is kit with Noro's Kureyon Sock Yarn.  It can be knit with any fingering weight sock yarn.  You can see this jumper on display at the shop.

I also wanted to make a sample up using Plymouth's new Merino Superwash.  It is a wonderful worsted weight Merino that can me machine washed and dried.  So, using a Plymouth pattern for the yarn I knit this sweater featuring a pretty fair Isle pattern. The pattern shows a turtleneck, so I knit it with a plain crew neck to show how easy it is to change something like that about a pattern,

Now, this is where I got myself into a little bit of trouble  It is the season for new yarns to be arriving and for me to be knitting samples, but... new magazines came out and I saw some things I liked, well, liked but wanted to change.  So, there are a couple of things in the new Vogue Knitting that caught my eye, but I haven't started anything yet, so we'll talk about that later when I do.  But there was something in Knitter's that inspired me and that has been started.  I say inspired me because, it is a cardigan and mine is a pullover and I have altered the stitch pattern slightly to accommodate the beads that I added.  So it is just like the pattern in Knitter's, but different (haha).  I am not quite up to the armholes.  I am knitting it with Blue Heron's Rayon Metallic and adding beads.  It is beautiful and I hope to get it done this month. 

But I got waylayed by another sample.  This is an adorable A line Smocked Sweater knit with Plymouth's Happy Feet DK.  We are doing in class for this sweater in July and August so I wanted to get the sample done right away.  That is why the newsletter is a little late, I thought I could finish faster than I did.  So, last night it was finished and photographed this morning.  In the class we will adjust the pattern a little.  We will knit some of it in the round, learn about smocking and knit the sleeves from the top down.  Classes will be a few weeks apart giving everyone lots of time to knit in between.

The lace stole is still in progress, but was mostly ignored this month,  And last night I cast on for another sample.  This one is with a new yarn from Plymouth, Mushisi.  It is a silk and wool blend in a huge skein with 491 yards.  I am going to knit the Kimono sweater that is in the shop and has been extremely popular.  It should be beautiful in this yarn. 

And that's it for June, I will keep knitting my way through July.  I hope you do too (and have as much fun as I do)  Have a wonderful summer and Happy Knitting!  Until next month, Nancy