Friday, July 29, 2011

July 2011

Well, July was a busy month.  New fall yarns are starting to arrive and as usual, I can't keep up.  But I tried....



First, I finished something I've been working on for a while.  The Ruffled sweater knit with Ella Rae's Lace Merino.  And... I love it, just what I was going for. (I love when that happens!)  This is a wonderful lightweight cardigan that I can wear all year round and in my favorite color (surprising, I know!)





So in between, there was a scarf.  This new yarn from Katia, Triana.  So cool and so quick and so cute!



Then a Sweater, new yarn from Berroco, Boboli.  It reminds me of a Monet painting,  the colorways are great.  And it needed an embelishment, so a cute flower corsage. The flower is just pinned on, so you could add it to any sweater, a coat, jacket or headband and dress it up.  They would make cute gifts. (A free pattern from Spin A Yarn or on Ravelry: here)


And inbetween, that, I had to do a project for the Knitting Guild for the October meeting.  We will be learning the Brioche stitch, so I made a Brioche Cowl and Gaiter.  They turned out really cute (if I do say so myself).  Brioche is really cool because it creates a reversible fabric that can feature a different color on each side.  Fun!  On the Cowl I used 2 different colors of Ultra Alpaca and on the Gaiter I used Mochi Plus (a self striping) and Tancano (solid).

Then, I had a lot of customers coming in to buy a ball of ribbon yarn.  They were taking a class at the library to make a felted purse.  Well, one of my customers made the purse and brought it in to show me.  Adorable!!!  So I called Sherry Kowalski from the Broome County Libraries, who held the class and asked her about the pattern.  It is her own design and she was kind enough to allow me to share it with my customers.  So naturally I had to make a couple.  I did one with worsted weight wool (as the pattern calls for) and one with bulky wool, making a little larger bag.  Aren't they cute?  What is so clever is that the addition of ribbon yarn is what makes it "bubble".

And in my bag.... Berroco Flicker.  This will be a beautiful cardigan, someday soon.  This yarn is interesting it is a cabled yarn with an amazing amount of stretch and it's sooooo soft.  It is alpaca with a just a touch of glitz.



And...  A Scarf.  I am going to offer an Entrelac class in October, so we need a sample.  This is the beginning of a the scarf we will make in the class.


Then, because I didn't have enough to do, I started a Wallaby.  Actually I love this yarn and have been wanting to knit with it and Wallaby seemed to suit it and it's an easy pick up sweater when I need "social" knitting.  So, that's it for July... Who knows what August will bring. There is still lots of new yarn that hasn't been knit yet, so I guess I still have lots to do..  See you in August... Happy Knitting, Nancy

Friday, July 1, 2011

June 2011

Well, June was a busy month, but I don't have a lot of knitting to show for it.  For the first week I was away on vacation and only did a little knitting.

I went back to the Entrelac Skirt I told you about a few months ago.  It's on fingering weight yarn so it doesn't look like it but there has been progress.  The waistband is complete and I am working my way down the skirt.  That was pretty much my vacation knitting.

Back home I did a few scarves as samples for the shop and one as a gift.  The gift was a lacey scarf knit with cashmere and silk that was completed and blocked the night before I needed it, so sorry, but no picture.  The others... Two muti directional scarves.  One with Jojoland's Rhythm and the other, a new yarn from Crystal Palace, Mochi Plus. 





Then a new yarn, Boulder from Tahki.  It comes in a huge ball and knits up quick on a size 35 needle.  Really pretty colors.





Then a little more work on the soldier knitting for my daughter's boyfriend.  Socks, yes, you heard right I knit (and finished a pair of socks).  Black socks... not fun knitting for me, but they are done.  Hopefully they will help keep him warm (and safe) through the Afghan winter....


And still for the boyfriend, (and his platoon) hats.  I finished another one and thanks to my wonderful friends (you know who you are) we have 17 so far (working our way to 26, the size of his platoon).


And then, more knitting on fingering weight.  The cardigan I started last month, or the month before... Progress, but not done.  I am working on the sleeves.  And even though we are getting in some beautiful new yarns that are calling me to knit samples out of them, I vow to finish this first!  Hopefully within the week....

So I guess that's it for June, I don't feel like I have alot to show for it, but 2 fingering weight projects are SLOW...  My hope for July is to have some beautiful new samples to show you in the wonderful new fall yarns.
Until then.... Happy Knitting, Nancy