And finally!

And, finally, my last post for the day.

This is a test knit I finished up over the weekend.  This tank turned out beautifully.  The design and shaping was effortless to knit.  None of this, "...bo 2 sts at each end over the next 6 rows..." business.  The result is a classic, tailored tank that is so heavenly soft against the skin. I am truly amazed at the beauty of this design!  I will definitely be looking forward to more designs by Amanda Bell.  The pattern hasn't been published yet so I don't have a link to a pattern yet.

 
Castanea Sativa by Amanda Bell
Yarn: Sunshine Yarns - Silk Cashmere 2 ply
Color: Feather
Ravelry

If you've been keep up with today's post, you will notice that all these projects have been knit with Sunshine Yarns.  Yes...my current obsession.  It does hurt that Dani lives here in town so her yarn is so easily accessible.  And it doesn't hurt that she delivers it to me at knit night on Tuesdays.  And it doesn't hurt that she's one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet.  If you haven't used her yarn, do it!  The colors are so beautiful and that Silk Cashmere is the softest yarn I have ever knit with!

Stitches Midwest 2011

I WENT TO STITCHES MIDWEST!!!!  It was so fun!  My first Stitches event.  It was such a quick trip.  I was in on Saturday morning and out Sunday morning.  I met up with some awesome people and bought lots of yarn!  My only disappointment...I didn't run into Jared Flood or Stephen West, both of whom were in attendance on Friday night (so I heard).

It all started when my friend, Lynna, asked if I was going.  She said she'd be taking the bus down for the day with some people from her neck of the woods.  Well, that was all I needed to get the ball rolling.  Next thing I knew, I had a room booked and an airplane ticket purchased!  And the next thing Lynna knew, she was driving herself in for the two days, shuffling me back and forth from the airport, and shacking up with me in my hotel room!  :-)

While I was there I met up with a designer, Sarah Burghardt from Sarah Bear Crafts and a good friend from here in Colorado, Bich-Thu.  Unfortunately, I forgot to get a pic of Sarah and I together...but we did buy yarn together.  :-)

This is Bich-Thu and I standing at the entrance of Stitches.  Not a great pic because it's from my phone.

While I was there, I just had to stop by the Malabrigo Yarn booth.  I was hoping to check out the new bases that I've heard about but no such luck.  They didn't have any samples for me to fondle and oggle over.  But to my surprise and delight, the sweater that I knit as a sample almost two years ago, was hanging in their booth!!!  Can you say, "Squeeee!"  I know, I normally don't like that word but I was just so excited!

The blue sweater just to the left of my head is the sample I knit.

And last, but definitely not least, this is a picture of Lynna modeling the cowl I knit for her as a thank you gift for schlepping me to and from the airport.  Of course, I forgot to get a pic of us together, at Stitches, but she was kind enough to take photos and send them to me for sharing on my project page (and blog).  This cowl is so, so heavenly in this yarn.  I will definitely be making another one for me.  :-)

Here Comes the Sun by Melissa Kelenske

Yarn: Sunshine Yarns - Silk Cashmere 2 ply

Color: Feather

Ravelry

 

It was really nice to finally be able to attend a Stitches event.  Though I wasn't able to take any classes this time out, I will definitely plan on it next time.  I was fortunate to be able to meet up with Lynna, a woman I've been friends with for almost two years now.  She found my blog and we've been friends from then on.  This was our first opportunity to meet in person.  We vowed we will get our families together, eventually.  And to be able to meet up with Sarah was a treat because she's famous to me.  :-)  She's as sweet in person as she is online. 

ETA: Ooops!  I forgot to show off the loot I purchased!

   
1. Marisol Yarn - Sulka - Truffle (206)
2.  Miss Babs - Yummy Superwash Sport 3-ply - The Gothic Queen
3.  Ella Rae - Lace Merino - no colorway given

As promised...

As promised, I have a few knits to blog about.  I think I'm gonna just post about them all separately. 

I'll start with my Stephen West, Westknits Mystery Shawl, aka Earth & Sky.  I was so excited to start this. But I had issues from the get-go.  I am awful, absolutely awful about choosing colors to go together.  So after much deliberation, I sought advice from an expert...Dani from Sunshine Yarns.  I've received so many compliments on the colors of this shawl but I can not take credit.

Earth & Sky by Stephen West  

Yarn: Sunshine Yarns -  Single Ply Merino Fine 

Colors: (a) Rose Garden; (b) Plum Wine; (c) Jungle Green 

Ravelry 

 If you know my project history, you know that I do not, often, choose patterns with intarsia or stranded knitting.  This pattern had both.  The intarsia I didn't know about until I was well into the second clue of this mystery knit.  But the stranded knitting I knew about and opted for the challenge.  I love the final result of the shawl but I will have to admit that I wasn't fond of knitting it...for the reasons I just stated.  Had I known ahead of time, I would have preferred to end the shawl's larger stripes with the Plum Wine versus the Rose Garden.  As a result, I changed up the color variation on the border.  All-in-all, I am happy with my shawl and will definitely use/wear it. I've decided, recently, that I prefer semi-circular shawls or shawls that arc versus a triangular shape. The wing span of this shawl makes up for the triangular shape making it much more functional.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter!  I can't help but share a pic of my boys in their first hand knit garments, by me.  I was so excited for Easter to arrive so that I can see my guys wearing their vests all day...together.  I couldn't stop looking at them and saying, "You're so handsome!"  I'm such a (corny) mom!  :-)

Basic Vest for Children by Diane Soucy
Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn - Merino Worsted
Color: Verde Adriana - 117; Continental - 26; Pale Khaki - 602
Ravelry: Seamus's vest; Ronan's vest

Notice the picture in the upper right hand corner of the blog page?  That was the boys three years ago on Easter.  I tried to replicate their poses (unsuccessfully).  I wasn't a very good knitter back then.  Those vests were given to the boys for their two year birthday from a friend of mine.  They are not hand knit but I still loved them none the less.

Mandel

I'm so excited about my latest knit!  This was a test knit for a fellow Raveler in Germany, Anke (fallmasche).  Mine didn't turn out quite as refined as her's nor some of the other test knitters' but I'm still in love with it, none the less.  I love everything about this sweater.  The saddle shoulders and pleats on the side make for a really flattering fit...which is the case for every test knit I've seen thus far.  It did end up big under the arms and above the bust line and the sleeves were a bit too long.  Though not pictured here, I did remedy most of that by dampening the sweater with water and throwing it in the dryer on high heat.  Normally, I wouldn't recommend this but the yarn does say machine washable.  I know, typically, that doesn't equate  to mean really washable but in this case, it worked out just fine.  I'm definitely going to knit this again in a short sleeve version and/or at a tighter gauge.  I'm sorry the pattern is not yet published so I can't share a link with you but as soon as it is published, I will update this post. (eta 02.19.11 - pattern is published and links added)

Mandel by fallmasche

Yarn: Rowan - Felted Tweed DK

Color: Clay - 177

Ravelry

A few more...

Keeping up with a theme, today's post will show off a few hats that I knit recently.  And from these two knits, I've realized that adding cables to a hat provides added thickness and warmth making 'em that much cozier.

The most recent hat I finished was a test knit for Breean Elyse.  And since knitting it, I've fallen in love with cabled hats.  I can't stop looking at them or for them.  This one was a special treat because it was for me.  Zinc is one of my favorite Malabrigo colorways.  And the hint of taupe really helped make the cables pop!

Obstacles Hat by Breean Elyse

Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn - Twist

Color: Zinc - 613

Ravelry

Now this hat was knit on a whim.  This was for a friend's mother that recently had brain surgery and as a result needed hats to help protect her from the cold Minnesota winter.  I wasn't even looking to knit a hat but when I saw the pattern and noticed it called for some yarn in my stash, I cast on!  I didn't do the best job paying attention to the plain knit rounds so it isn't as slouchy as the pattern called for but I'm not so sure that's a bad thing.  Because of the chunky yarn and the cables, the hat ended up being fairly heavy so a slouchy hat may have resulted in a hat that wouldn't stay on the head (at least that's what I'm tellin' myself).  :-)  I hope this does the trick and helps keep her head warm!

Slouchy Braid Hat by Cheryl Beckerich

Yarn: Berroco - Vintage Chunky

Color: Lilacs - 6183

Ravelry

I Don't Know Why

I don't know why I haven't blogged in awhile.  When I think maybe I will, my next thought is, "I could be knitting."  I always seem to place these self imposed deadlines on myself and then the thought of blogging instead of knitting gets me all stressed out.  Ach!  There could be worse things, huh?

Well, I have a lot to share since my last post.  I'll start with a few shawls that I finished up recently....

This first one is a (belated) test knit I did for Debbie O'Neill.  I am really please with the end result of this shawl.  I wasn't so sure about the color as I was knitting it, but after blocking, I'm in love.  The bamboo in this yarn resulted in such a light airy feel and the silk gives it such a nice sheen.  This will be perfect for those spring/summer evenings when a sweater would be just too much.  The stitch pattern transitions nicely from one section to the next without getting too long.  I enjoyed this knit, very much.

Arielle Shawlette by Debbie O'Neill

Yarn: Araucania Itata Solid

Color: 2009

Ravelry

My next knit flew off the needles.  Unlike the last shawl, this one has more of a crescent shape.  The colors of this shawl are absolutely gorgeous!  I just love pink and brown together.  For those of you heading out to Stitches West, stop by  Sunshine Yarns - booth 1139, as Dani will have this on display at the booth for all to touch.  :-)  When I finally received the much anticipated Malabrigo Book 3 booklet, I was (pleasantly) surprised to find that Stephen West has three patterns in the book!  He did not mention a peep about it.  Though the shawl is crescent shaped, per his usual style, it still has nice angles and symmetry.  

Lakedale Shawl - Stephen West

Yarn: Sunshine Yarns - Classic Superwash Sock

Color: Badlands (pink) & Coal Creek (brown)

Ravelry

Instant Gratification

Ah...isn't it nice when you can get an FO in less than an hour from start to finish?  These little gems are instant gratification.  I busted out 6 of them in less than 5 hours of knitting time.  These are my final FOs for 2010.

Café by Miss T (page 42)

Yarn: Dream in Color - Classy & Malabrigo - Rios

Ravelry

I've been off the grid for a while because I was working on a sample knit.  That sample knit was the biggest knitting project I've ever worked on...ever!  And the longest thing I've ever knitted on a consecutive basis.  I can't post any pics until the pattern is published but I'm very excited to share it!

Happy New Year and here's to many happy FOs this year!

Sea Princess

...and how...isn't she! 

This was, by far, the most challenging and rewarding test knit I've ever done.  I really love how this little sweater turned out.  And I had a hard time parting with it.  This pattern gives you a lot of bang for your buck.  It comes in sizes 6 months to 14 years (depending on the yarn you choose)!  The pattern is very comprehensive so nothing is left to guessing. I finished this test knit back in October but waited to blog about it until it was gifted.  This was a late birthday gift for a friend's daughter.  It's a perfect fit and I couldn't be happier that she has it. 

Sea Princess by Anadiomena

Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed

Color: Angel Delight - 168

Ravelry

Christmas Knitting...

Now that Thanksgiving is just one week away, I think most of us have lined up what we'll be knitting for gifts and started knitting or planning.  A friend of mine shared this with me this morning and I just had to share it with my fellow knitters.

Christmas Knitting

Yo! Yo!

Our first accumulation of snow this morning.  Perfect timing for Ronan and Seamus's winter hats that I finished sewing the buttons on last night.  Every year it's a struggle to find a hat pattern that all of us (me, my husband, and the boys) like.  For me, it's a struggle finding a pattern that I really want to knit.  For my husband, it's finding a hat that won't look too crafty.  And for the boys, it's finding a hat that they will actually wear.  After (only) one evening of searching and deliberating, I settled on Stephen West's Piece Out hat pattern.  I always want to cross my arms in front of my chest and holla "Yo, yo!" when I say the pattern name.   :-)  Anyway....  This is my first project in Malabrigo Rios.  Heavenly!  It's really soft and the colors are so rich!  I have the same colors in the Malabrigo's Merino Worsted base and it's just not as vibrant.  Ha!  Not like that will get me to stop using it, though.

Piece Out by Stephen West

Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn - Rios

Color: Paris Night - 52, Lettuce - 37

Ravelry

And on to other knitting news.  I'm really frustrated with the number of WIPs I've got going on right now.   I'm hoping to get two more finished up before the weekend starts...because I'm gonna be adding two more WIPs!  :-)  These hats were a nice reprieve from all the test knitting that I've been doing.  I do love test knitting...it gives me the opportunity to knit something I otherwise probably would not knit.  (How's that for sounding passive?)  :-)  But I do enjoy it...and hopefully, I'll be blogging more about those in the upcoming month.

Some lace...

I've recently finished some lace projects...not to be confused with lace weight.  I love lace patterns because they are so forgiving.  Lace stitch patterns tend to hide changes in my tension much better than garter stitch and and even more so than stockinette stitch.

I was fortunate enough to do another test knit for Kirsten Kapur of Through the Loops.  The Snow Drops & Snap Peas patterns can be purchased individually or as an e-book set.  This set is a great gift giving knit because they're such quick and easy patterns.  I finished each mitt in one evening and the hat only took a few more.  I will be donating this set to the Salinas High School 20 year reunion's auction to benefit the Mr. Getris Scholarship Memorial Fund.

Snow Drops & Snap Peas Slouch by Kirsten Kapur

Yarn: Dream in Color - Classy

Color: Blue Lagoon - VM160 

Ravelry

Snow Drops & Snap Peas Mitts by Kirsten Kapur

Yarn: Dream in Color - Classy

Color: Blue Lagoon - VM160  
Ravelry

This next lace pattern was just something fun for me.  After a summer of test and sample knitting, I wanted to knit something just because and just for me.  This vest is perfect!  It will still be warm for more than a month so I'll get to enjoy it without long sleeves for a little longer and it will help keep me warm in the cold office at my new job!  :-)  Oh...and have I mentioned how wonderfully soft this madelinetosh yarn is...heavenly!  

(Yes...another crummy self portrait, but look at that sky and those Rocky Mountains!)

Crystal by Mel Clark 

Yarn: madelinetosh - pashmina

Color: Rose
Ravelry 

2010 Rockies Stitch 'n Pitch

Last night marked the annual Colorado Rockies Stitch 'n Pitch.  A group of us from a local knitting group carpooled down to participate in the festivities.  I didn't actually get much knitting done as I ended up messing it all up shortly after the game started.  All was well in the end...it just allowed me to watch more of the game.  The Rockies pulled thru with an exciting win! 

That's me (in the pink) working on Crystal.
Photo courtesy of Emmy
 

Curatio!

When I say that in my head I feel like Harry Potter.  :-)

This is a test knit I did for Through the Loops - Kirsten Kapur.  It's a beautiful triangular shawl with such fantastic texture...the wrong side is just as beautiful as the right side.  My gauge, of course, was much smaller than the pattern.  I'm such a tight knitter and should know better but I always think I can block it out.  When will I ever learn that blocking is not a cure-all?  :-)  Anyway, regardless, this is still the largest shawl I've knit to date.  It's so beautiful!  I know I keep using that word but I can't think of a better adjective.  It's the pattern, the texture, the color, and of course...the yarn.  The yarn was so soft and wonderful to knit with and only increased exponentially after washing. 

Ravelry: Curatio

Pattern: Curatio Shawl by Kirsten Kapur

Yarn: madelinetosh - Prairie

Color: Winter Wheat

Not for lack of...

Though I haven't blogged in a bit, it's not for lack of knitting.  I've actually been pretty busy...most recently with test knitting...and sock knitting.  In this post I'll show off the socks that I test knit for Cookie A's upcoming book, Knit.Sock.Love.  The patterns I test knit had all been previously released but she wanted all the patterns test knit in the new book format.  Here they are in order of completion.

Ravelry: Monkey

Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A

Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn - Sock

Color: Arbol - 858

Ravelry - Hedera

Pattern: Hedera by Cookie A

Yarn: Sunshine Yarns - Classic Sock Yarn

Color: Split Pea

So these...are not done.  I've only completed one sock so far.

Ravelry - Lissajous Stockings

Pattern: Lissajous Socks by Cookie A

Yarn: Louet - Gems Fingering Weight

Color: Cloud Grey - 21

The Monkey and Hedera patterns were surprisingly easy and fast!  I loved knitting those patterns.  The Lissajous Stockings turned out beautiful...but they were hard.  Hard on my hands and hard to knit.  The heel flap has cable crosses on the right and wrong sides...not an easy feat for me.

Pink Dandelion - Samothrace Shawl

Last year, a couple of my friends, Kristi and Debbie, launched their own yarn line, Pink Dandelion Yarns.  I was lucky enough to snag a skein from their first release!  Pink Dandelion offers great colors and their Nylon Sock is a good value for an indie yarn at 420 yards per hank.  Mine actually had over 475 yards!

Recently, I saw Kristi knitting a prototype of a soon-to-be self published shawl pattern.  And every since then, I've been bugging her to let me test knit the shawl.  She was finally ready for me to start last week and this is the result!  I love it!  Don't you just love those points...so cool.

Ravelry: Pink Dandelion Shawl
Pattern: Samothrace by Kristi Geraci

Yarn: Pink Dandelion - Nylon Sock

Color: Money (That's What I Want)

 This is a great shawl for those that are either intimidated by lace or don't like lace shawls.  I also like this shawl because it is not just a plain garter stitch.    Believe it or not, this is an instant gratification shawl.  The stitch pattern is so quick and easy, paired with the garter stitch, it really makes for a speedy knit!

Estes Park Wool Market - 2010

This past weekend marked the 20th Annual Estes Park Wool Market.  Unfortunately, it was a wet and soggy weekend so I didn't take the time to see any animals or shows.  I did, however, shop the wool market!  Look at the pretties I found.

Lower left-hand corner: Creatively Dyed Yarn - Calypso - Gentle colorway

Remaining pics: Plain & Fancy - Sport - Banboo, Bamboo/Dk Brown, Brown

For the Plain & Fancy, I will be making the Colonnade Shawl by Stephen West.  And I've already started knitting a pair of socks out of the Creatively Dyed.  My first try at 2-at-a-time!

(You'd never know they were coming from the same skein of yarn.)

 We've had a lot of precipitation this year and many of our bike paths and pedestrian bridges are flooded from all the rain fall and snow melt.  After the Wool Market, we all headed into town and warmed up at Kind Coffee.  The coffee shop has a little patio along the Big Thompson River (I believe) and it was running fast!  The picture really doesn't do it justice.  The little video clip I shot gives you a better idea of how fast it was running and how loud it was.  All in all, it was a great day, despite the weather, and fun to be in the company of knitters for a day.

Herbivore

Oooh...my latest knit!  And I love it.  I love the drape and weight of this shawl.  This yarn is a wool/silk blend that gives this shawl beautiful sheen and drape.  The weekend is going to cool off considerably around here so it will be the perfect occasion to wear it at the Estes Park Wool Market.  The colorway is a bit funky and typically not something I'd pick for myself.  But Mew Mew's was having their 4th Anniversary Sale and I was intrigued by it, I figured it would be a good time to try it.    This is my first Stephen West knit and I'm really happy with the result.  The design is interesting and classic...not to frilly or funky for me.  I've been dying to knit his Daybreak and Colonnade patterns, too.

Ravelry: Herbivore

Pattern: Herbivore by Stephen West

Yarn: ShibuiKnits - Staccato

Color: 50's Kitchen - 151

The latest

Gosh...it seems like it's been forever since I've blogged.  I know what people mean about the summer getting so busy.  My niece graduated from high school last week so we've had two weekends in a row of functions in her honor.  And now that the birthday festivities are over and done with, I actually got some knitting done.

This is going to be Part II of my great unveiling since I had a Part I.  Though the shower was for three pregnant woman, you will notice that there are only two in the pictures.  That's because I didn't have any of Kristi's gifts done by the time the shower rolled around.  Alas, I still do not have any pics of her but I do have pics of the items that were gifted to her.  The first project is a WIP that was started back in January for Kristi who's baby shower was back in August and who's baby was born back in November.  So needless to say...this is a little belated.

 

Ravelry: Log Cabin III
Pattern: How to Build a Log Cabin by Cara Davis

Yarn: Dream in Color - Classy

Colors: Flamingo Pie (VM410), Cinnamon Girl (VM11S), Good Luck Jade (VM410)

This sweater was finished shortly after the baby shower.  I had a hard time finding a pattern that I thought would do this yarn justice.  What so special about the yarn you ask?  It's Kristi's own handspun!

Ravelry: Garter Yoke Baby Cardi
 Pattern: Garter Yoke Baby Cardi by Jennifer Hoel

Yarn: Handspun by Kristi

 Ok - now on to stuff for me.  :-)  

I finished a test knit for a fellow Malabrigo Junkie, Tori Gurbisz.  I knitted my first shrug back in April and fell in love with them.  This shrug was knitted in lace weight and has such a great feel against my skin.  My first garment in lace weight and I can't wait to knit another.  I'm now on the hunt for a lace weight cardigan.

Ravelry: Dulcet

Pattern: Dulcet by Tori Gurbisz

Yarn: Malabrigo - Lace

Color: Apple Green - 11 

I'm waiting for the pattern to start another test knit.  I can't wait!  In the mean time, I'm keeping myself busy knitting a shawl.   I was hoping to have it done by tonight...but I guess I can give myself a few more days to knit it.  :-)  Ta ta for now!

Catch up...

Time for a little catch up.  It seems that I've been lax in blogging since Malabrigo March, but really, it was just that I had a lot more to share during that month.  So, you may see a few posts from me today.

First and foremost, I have finally finished my Gansey Girl socks by Debbie O'Neill!  I've had these on the needles since December.  This was a test knit for the designer.  Lucky for me both socks were the same so I only needed to test the pattern for the first sock.  These were knit ShibuiKnits Sock, Wasabi colorway.  I don't know why these took me so long to finish...it's not like I didn't enjoy knitting them...second sock syndrome.  In fact, I finished the leg and foot of the second sock in less than 2 days.  I love this pattern but am really disappointed with how the yarn striped and pooled.  I totally expected this colorway to be semisolid but looking at Ravelry reviews, it seems to be the norm. Oh - and though the dye lots were the same, you can see that one sock is lighter than the other.

Now my next FO was my first attempt at an all crochet project.  For the past two years I have knit my mother-in-law slippers for her birthday.  I didn't this year.  Not because she doesn't appreciate them...but quite the opposite.  She wears the out so quickly!  And it really disappointed me that the slippers that I've knit her have not held up well.  And with recent blow outs on my hand knit socks, I've become a bit disenchanted with hand knit foot wear.  (Note: I started the socks above before the aforementioned blow outs.)  What to do?  When I was browsing slipper patterns, I saw several crochet patterns that I really liked...but alas, I did not know how to crochet.  But the idea of crocheted slippers really excited me!  My rationale was that crocheted slippers would be thicker than knitted slippers and therefore last longer (?).  We'll see.  I found a pattern that consisted of single and double crochet stitches, only, and decided to give it go.  SO!  My first (real) crochet attempt, Mary Jane Slippers by Lisa Gutierrez knit in Shelridge Farm - Soft Touch W4, Wedgewood and Pink Lemonade colorways.  Granted they aren't exactly symmetrical but I think they turned out pretty cute, nonetheless.  These were gifted for Mother's Day and she loved them!