April 2012

Whew, April.  A busy month, but not for knitting.  Just so you know why I din't get as much knitting done as usual, my life for April:  Brought my Mom home from rehab after a hip replacement, Easter and company, daughter in Rochester smashed her thumb and needed surgery.  So, I'm glad April is over :).  Now the knitting...

I did finish the beaded top I had been working on for the last couple of months.  The picture on the left is the front and and on the right is the back.  (though I guess you could switch that too)  It is knit with Findley, a lace weight silk wool blend, doubled to knit as a DK.  It is so beautiful and drapey.  I am very happy with it.

I group of us started an Entrelac Envelope Purse from the book Entree to Entrelac.  I made an evening bag in black and decided that any good evening bag needs beads.  So mine has beads!

Then a new pattern book came in from Noro, really cute sweater on the cover... you can see where this is going already.  We have the yarn it calls for, but I chose a differnt yarn.  Actually I ripped out a sweater that was too big for me and knit it out of that.  I used Katia's Bombay.  I also added sleeves, but it is cute either way.

Other than that, there was a little customer finishing, a swatch for another idea brewing and still the unfinished projects from last month.  I won't bore you with the pictures, sadly, not much has changed with them.

And next month.  I vow to finish at least one of the 2 unfinished things in my bag, then.... who knows.... So until next month, Happy Knitting, Nancy

March 2012

Well, in March my KADD (Knitter's Attention Deficit Disorder really kicked.  I didn't do a very good job of staying focused, but, here goes...

When I left you in February, 2 sweaters were started.... well, we'll have to get back to them later, they are still in progress.  It seems that when something caught my eye this month, I had to try it.  So, I intrupeted those projects and knit this shawl.  As you look at it, you might recall, I knit the same shawl last month, with a different yarn.  The pattern calls for a DK yarn, last month I did it with a lace weight, adding a few rows. It was beautiful, but not quite big enough for me and I wasn't quite satisfied, so I decided to go again.  This time with fingering weight, Ella Rae Lace Merino (yes, I know you are tired of hearing about this yarn) and beads.  Now I love it.  The beads embellish the top floral area and the bottom border.  Did I mention I love it?

A few more rows on the 2 started sweaters, then a new yarn arrives.  From Noro, Ayatori.  Well, it is a DK weight, Silk and Wool blend and I have never felt a Noro yarn so soft.  And such pretty colors.  You can guess where we go from here... I had to knit it.  A cute drapey bolero it is.

In between here, I have been working on finishing some sweaters for customers.

We had a few samples that were out of date (the yarns gone or almost gone). So new fingerless gloves.  The first, from Lace Merino Worsted, what a wonderful crisp yarn in great colors and the other in a new Noro, 100% cashmere.  Oh my, need I say more?

And a baby surprise sweater, this time in Summer Stripes, by Sirdar, a cotton blend.  Cute!  Even better if it weren't on it's side, I tried everything , for some reason, I can only post the picture on it's side, sorry!

 Then an idea I have been thinking about for a while.  A large bead on I-cord as a necklace.  So I have been shopping around looking for large beads, with big enough holes for I-cord.  No luck. So the other day I was sitting here and it came to me... Sculpey Clay.  I happen to have some here and so I made beads before I left the shop for the day.  I found yarn to match.  I went home and baked the beads and knit I cord.  I wore one the next day.  Aren't they cute?  I think they could make great gifts.


Then one more sample update.  My Gossamer Shawl needed to be redone in a color in stock, so it's in progress.

And still on the needles, with some progress being made, my Comfy Cardi out of Noro's King.  I had just cast on last month, so I have done some knitting on this.  It's good social knitting.

And finally, my beaded Findley top.  I am further along, but I was struggling with the neck a bit and I find when I am not quite sure what to so next or want to avoid trying to figure it out, I end up starting new things.  As you can see that happened this month.  I really do love this and am happy with how it is turning out and last night, I sat down and worked on the neck.   A few rip out's and maybe I am on track....we'll find out next month....

Happy Knitting, Nancy

February 2012

Well, February was kind of a sad month for me.  As you probably know by now, I lost my best friend, Teddy.  He came to work with me almost every day for 12 years and I miss him and his companionship.  He was a good friend, but his health was failing quickly and it was time for his suffering to end.  So, I am sure he is in heaven greeting all the knitters and running around pain free.  But I miss him... 
I want to thank everyone for their kind words and thoughts, it was a comfort and felt good to know so many people understand and are supportive. Thank You!!

Now, knitting...

The black cardigan, in Ultra Alpaca Light, done!  As a matter a fact, I am wearing it as I type this.  Not much to say about this.  It is a basic black cardigan, but I do love the yarn.  I actually bought this just for this sweater, thinking I'll try it and see if I like it enough for the shop.  It is now in stock and on the shelves.  I must have liked it, :).  It is as wonderful as Ultra Alpaca, but a little thinner, DK, so a very nice indoor weight.  Pretty colors too!

As ususal, I was distracted by a pretty new yarn.  We already carry Findley, by Juniper Moon Farms, and I have knit with it as well and love it.  It is a lace weight, silk and wool blend.  What's not to love, right?  Well, now it came in as Findley Dappled, multi colors, ahhh....  So, a shawl had to be made.  I have been admiring this shawl in a Prayer Shawl book that we have and have been waiting for the right yarn...

And a couple of  Neck Warmers.  Super easy, pretty buttons, great gifts.

Another new yarn, another sample sweater (which I will steal and wear at some point).  Captiva, from Berroco.  A light summer yarn that has a little shimmer.  I love this cute top!

And on the needles... Findley, again, but this time doubled, for a sweater.  And yes, if you look closely there are beads.  The very early stages, but this should end up as a 3/4 sleeve pullover.  At least that's the plan.

Then a more portable project and this was just started, so hard to tell anything from the picture, but it is the Comfy Cardi in Noro's King.  Now if you have a very good memory, you'll remember that I did this already.  I didn't love the color, so I gave it to a friend and am making another one for myself in a color I like more. This cardi really is comfy and is worth making a second time.


That's it for now, March should see these last 2 finished and who knows what else...

So, Happy Spring Knitting to you!  Nancy

January 2012

The first month of 2012, gone already.  Is it just me or does time just seem to dissapear?  Especially with so many knitting project that need knitting.

Well, January saw the end of a few and the beginning or a few more.  Mittens, check.  Knit with Noro's Silk Garden, they match my scarf and coat great.

Also finished my husband's navy blue V-neck.  Boring, but done.  He just needed a plain indoor sweater, so here it is.



Then the new Vogue Knitting magazine came in, of course there was this cute sweater I couldn't resist.  It is a Dloman sleeve, drapey thing.  I am wearing it today.  It is really comfy and cute (if I do say so myself).  It is knit with Filatura Di Crosa's Gioiello with just a hint of glitz.

Then in between we got this cute scarf yarn in, Berroco's Lacey, so... a scarf!  It is super easy, you don't actually knit, you just sort of bind off.

And on the needles... Another boring sweater.  I needed a plain black cardigan to wear with... everything, haha.  So I am trying a new yarn, we don't even carry it, but maybe....  It is Ultra Alpaca DK.  Very nice, of course we have the worsted weigh, which I love, but I wanted the sweater to be a littl more lightweight, so I am trying it out.  So far, so good. You may see it on the shelves soon.

Well, that about it for January.  There are balls of yarn sitting on my desk waiting to be knit, so as soon as the black sweater is done....

Until next month, Happy Knitting, Nancy

December 2011

Happy New Year!!
I finished up a couple of 2011 knitting projects and am ready to start the new year with some new knitting projects and finishing up a few older ones too.

So, finished. The afghan. Though I will say this week I missed knitting it a little because it was so warm on my lap.  As you can see, it got lots of use during the holiday week with a visiting daughter :)


And finished, just last night at 11pm, my sweater.  The seemingly endless project.  An A-line, tunic, knit with fingering weight yarn (Ella Rae's Lace Merino).  Did I mention, I LOVE this yarn!  I am wearing the sweater today.  It is just what I'd hoped it would be.  I love when that happens!

Then the project that was started and finished during Christmas week.  As you can see from the picture of the couch above, my daughter was home.  She got a cute dress at the outlet mall that is sort of dressy, but no sleeves.  Navy and grey.  She thought she needed a navy blazer to go with it, but navy blazers are harder to find than you might think (like impossible), So, mom volunteered to knit a cardigan for it.  She told me what she wanted, found a yarn, Cashsoft DK, and a week later... a sweater!  I had to show you the back, too.  I think it turned out cute and will go nicely with the new dress.

That's it for finished projects.  My husbands navy sweater is still on the needles, with a little progress.  I am about an inch from the armholes.  So, progress...   Same yarn as my daughter's sweater.  I was hoping there'd be enough, but I think we'll be ok for him. 


And I deceided I need a pair of mittens to match (well, almost) the pretty scarf I made last month for my new coat.  So I found a Silk Garden color that is close to the Silk Garden Sock I used for the scarf and started mittens. These and my husbands sweater are first on the list, then on to more fun stuff...

That's about it for December, except for a few customer finishing jobs.  I have piles of yarn sitting on my desk waiting to be knit and ideas swirling around in my head, so I guess it swatching time!

Well, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and is ready to start a New Year.  Until next month, Happy Knitting, Nancy

November 2011

Whew, it's been quite a month..., but on to the knitting.

A couple of finished projects from last month, my husband's sweater. Done.  But.  Just had him try it on, the sleeves are a bit long, so I have too fix that, so I guess it's not quite done after all.  That's the beauty of knitting sleeves from the top down, all I have to do is take the bind off out, rip back and reknit the cuffs at the right length. One of these nights soon, I promise....

And for me, knit with Cotton Classic, a summer sweater. I know, it's winter, but.... it is actually from a winter pattern and knit in a cool weather yarn, but I don't do alot of short sleeves in the winter and loved the sweater, so I knit it in cotton for the summer.  The buttons are actually in the back, cute!  (Though, you could wear them in the front too)

A couple of new scarf yarns, one in stock, one coming, so a couple if new scarves.

And a new coat (on sale at Coldwater Creek) so of course I needed a new scarf to go with it.  The multi-directional scarf from Ann Norling, knit with Silk Garden Sock, is what I chose.








And I have 3 projects on the needles, all fairly big projects, so they are going slow, especially since I am working on all three instead of finishing up one at a time.

First, I have had yarn set aside to knit an afghan for the newly painted family room, since it was newly painted... a couple of years ago.  hmmmmm... hope I get the afghan done before it needs painting again :).  Anyway, it's a pretty slip stitch pattern and I am making progress.  I love making an afghan in the winter, the bigger it get, the warmer you get.

Another sweater for my husband.  A boring one, DK weight, navy blue, raglan sleeves, knit in the round.  He needs a good basic sweater, but, not interesting knitting, which maybe why I keep working on the other things.

And the sweater I love, and want to finish because I want to wear it, but.... it is an A-line tunic knit with fingering yarn.  Yes, you heard right... and maybe a little crazy, but....  I am 7 inches into it and I start decreasing, so it will start to go faster, right??
(I am not sure why these pictures won't go where they belong, but I am sure you can figure out which one is which.)  

Well that's it for me, other than a few customer finishing jobs.  Hopefully December will bring the end to my 3 projects and the beginning of a few more.  I wish for all of you the happiest of holidays filled with joy, wonder and finishing knitting projects.  Until next month... Happy knitting and holidays, Nancy

October (and the end of September) 2011

Whew, another busy month (just life in general).   So anyway, on to knitting...

Finished from last month, the potato chip scarf (you just can't knit enough of them...).  This one is knit with Filatura Di Crosa's Gioiello.  It is a soft Mohair with a strand of color and of bit of glitz. It's a fun little scarf.

Also left over from last month, another scarf.  This one is knit with Rowan's Cashsoft DK and is a Christmas gift for the young man in my daughter's life.  My one and only fishished Christmas gift.

And there was a Jacket started last month, finished!  Knit with Tahki's Jackson, the colors are great.  I love the sort of textured color effect it makes.  It's a quick jacket, since the yarn is chunky.

Then... a yarn I've been wanting to try.  You've heard me talk (on and on) about how much I love Ella Rae's Lace Merino (fingering weight).  Well now they have the same yarn in a worsted weight,  Of course, I had to try it.  I used a Plymouth pattern for this cute slouchy sweater with pockets.  I've worn it a couple of times and I love it.  The yarn and the sweater.

Another new yarn.  I have been admiring this yarn, it is wonderful!! Silk and wool, lace/fingering weight, almost 800 yards per ball.  Beautiful clear colors. What to do, what to do??  The pattern book came in and though I liked the patterns, I wanted something else.  Hmmm, argyle lace.  That sounds interesting, so I went to the drawing board (aka. the computer) and came up with a pattern.  And swatched.  I liked the pattern, not sure about the fabric.  A little flimsey for a sweater, perfect for a shawl, but not quite right for a sweater.  Hmmmm, again... Double it.  So I did and it knit at a DK weight and I LOVE it! And so, the birth of a sweater.  If you listen closely, the yarn will tell you what to do.

We needed a sample.  A fun Chunky yarn from Noro, Hitsuji.  Lets try vertical stripes.  So I knit this vest side to side and put the seams on the outside for fun.  Cute over a plain blouse. And very easy to knit.

And in my bag. A sweater for my husband (probably a Christmas gift)  Knit with Noro's Retro and Silk Garden.  It's almost done, if you look closely at the picture, you'll see the yarn hanging off the sleeve.  Finish the sleeve, weave in some ends, buttons and done!  He loves a Henley neck.

And  sweater for me.  Actually a summer sweater (I know, my timing is a little off), but I saw the pattern and really liked it (with a few minor adjustments, of course).  It has short sleeves and buttons down the back, at least it will, right now it's just a blob.  Cute.


And a few more ideas brewing and yarn in bags waiting...

Until next month... Happy Knitting, Nancy