Cutie Pie

I love these pics of Charlie modelling a sweater that I made for him maaany moons ago. Look at him 'working the camera' at such a young age! I especially love his response when I asked him to show me the back of the sweater. (I'm pretty sure I won't be doing the same when I model my next completed FO heheheh)

Pattern = Rowan's "Pumpkin" from "Pipsqueaks"
Yarn = Knitpicks Andean Treasure

Jac, I've been looking through old photos today... I stumbled across these. Your little fella is such a cutie pie and brought a smile to my face. Give him a kiss for me. xxx. Love to you, and everyone back home. Sam.

Silky Wool for the Tangled Yoke

I was going to be good. I was going to use stash yarn for the Tangled Yoke cardigan. But I knit up a swatch and it's difficult to get the right gauge with this yarn without forfeiting drape -- it just felt too rigid. There was nothing for it but to go yarn shopping! I did and I found this:

I think it's going to scream 'holiday sweater'! I love it.

PS - ignore the nobbly bit on the swatch. I was dog tired last night but was determined to knit this up before I crashed. It is only the swatch after all... I'll be sure the real deal is knit whilst I'm at least half awake!

Tools I love

Look what my father-in-law made for me:


It is inspired by the homemade yarn swift by Crafty Diversions. I love it! If you need one of these and can't quite bring yourself to splurge on one, I'd highly recommend taking a look at her instructions. For the longest time I've been persuading my husband to help out, or have draped the hank around my neck... this new yarn swift is a HUGE improvement.

Another tool I love is this magnetic chart holder:

I've been working... and working... and working (you get the idea) on the Icarus Shawl and my post-it note just wasn't up to the task of keeping my place on the chart. I was sure there had to be a better way. I took a look in one of the larger craft chain stores and found this chart holder in the cross stitch section -- it's essentially a metal board that comes with some magnetic rulers. It couldn't be more perfect for what I need. Now if I can only get close to starting the frilly edge of this shawl...

Another capelet

There's not been much knitting this week; my brother is visiting from the UK and we've been hanging out. There is one update though... I made another capelet with some lovely cotton yarn from Blue Sky Alpaca. The yarn was a kind gift from my One Skein Pal and I finally put it to good use. (Excuse the fuzzy pic - my photographer is absorbed in a Miami Dolphins game... who knew football had started already? It must be a pre-season game).

Hey Jac, would you like this capelet?
I think it would suit you more than me. Let me know, and I can send it home with Baz.

Quick update

It's been a productive weekend. Jessica finished her Noni striped purse. I love how it turned out, and such great colours! I'm really impressed with how far her knitting has come in such a short time.

And she also finished her felted robot. So now Jessica and Ian both have crazy knit robots. These things are hilarious... but these guys love them.

I made pretty good progress on the Icarus shawl. It feels like I've spent forever on this already... and I've still got a long way to go. The colour is pretty. I'm hoping it turns out as well as some of the others that I've seen and admire.


And I also knit up a swatch for the tangled yoke cardigan. It's just a touch over the recommended size; I'm going to re-knit with a smaller needle to see if that does the trick without the fabric becoming rigid. I'm hoping that Interweave will run a KAL for this sweater -- it will be fun to see how others are progressing on the same project.

I love this time of year

The mailman brings lots of knitting goodies -- first there was Vogue knitting, then the latest Rowan mag, and today Interweave knits.

My favourite, by far, is Interweave knits -- it's packed full of projects that I'd love to make. At the very top of the list is Eunny Jang's Tangled Yoke Cardigan -- it is stunning! And if my wish list isn't long enough, Joe has chimed in that he'd love Jared Flood's Cobblestone Pullover. And who can blame him... it is a lovely design. (Yes my hubby actually has to sit through a review of each and every knitting magazine I receive hehe).

***Ooh... just had a rummage through my stash and think I have the perfect yarn for the Tangled Yoke Cardigan. It's a Rowan DK Tweed in a lovely mauve colour. I'll be knitting up a swatch this weekend to see if I can get the correct gauge***

No other knitting news this week. I'm hoping to make good progress on the Icarus shawl this weekend. And to post some pics of Jessica's felted purse -- it looks fantastic!

Stitch 'n' Pitch

Stitch 'n' Pitch was a lot of fun this evening. I met some lovely, talented ladies and made good progress on the Hedera socks:

Jessica finished her Noni bag.

The weather held up (yesterday the heavens opened and the game was rained off for the first time in a couple of years); we received great goodie bags (I was most impressed by the donation from the Lambe Shoppe -- some beautiful Elizabeth Austen yarn).

Oh, did I mention that the Rockies won! ;)

More projects

I haven't had the heart to frog Joy just yet. Instead I've decided to start something new:

1. Debbie Bliss Ribbon Wrap Top
There are so many nice patterns in the Debbie Bliss Silk Collection I was undecided over which should be 'the one'. When I was back in the UK I consulted my fashionista sis who recommended the ribbon wrap top. (She's also working on one of these and it's looking beautiful. That was it, the decision was made.)

2. Icarus Shawl
A friend will be celebrating a milestone birthday in the next couple of months. I thought this might make a nice gift for her. I hope it turns out ok -- I only have limited experience with lace. We'll see...


Other knitting news? It's the Colorado Rockies Stitch 'n' Pitch tonight. It was a lot of fun last year, and so I'm really looking forward to it. (Jac: This year I will try to avoid the official photographer when I'm guzzling down on a hotdog! Yep, not very cool!)

Road Trip: Black Hills, South Dakota

We just spent an amazing weekend in the Black Hills of South Dakota. We'd gone with the intent of seeing Mount Rushmore but had no idea of how much the area offers -- it's a beautiful part of the country, with plenty to do. Here's a couple of the highlights:

There's Mount Rushmore, of course:

And Crazy Horse (I hope they finish this -- it will be spectacular):

We also took a tour through Jewel cave, the 2nd largest underground cave in the world. We went on the "scenic tour" but for the more adventurous there's a 4-hour tour that involves crawling through some pretty tight spaces.

Now no trip would be complete without a yarn store sighting -- and I was happy when I spotted the following place as we were about to start the long journey home (unfortunately there was more 'stuff' than 'wool' - boo!):

All in all it was an excellent trip.

Weekend knitting

After a lazy weekend of doing nothing much but knitting, my Anthropologie-inspired capelet is now complete:

Ok, so it's more of a cardie than a capelet. I don't see myself as a capelet kinda gal so I decided to make it longer.

I loved working on this project -- working the sleeves and the body in one piece; minimal finishing; being able to take a 'recipe' more than an exact pattern and make it to measure; working with such a soft yarn.

For it to be complete in a weekend was an added bonus.

Lazy day

We've been having a lazy day here today -- the weather's hot and energy levels are low:


I've been taking advantage of the downtime to work on turning this into this.

Meanwhile Jessica has been working on this fun Noni bag:

It has been a good day.

Joy gets frogged

I think Rhonda is right -- Joy needs to be frogged:

Pesky Gauge

I've been working on Rowan Joy. I never did knit a gauge square because... well... I recently knit Shingle using the exact same yarn, and the exact same needles. So I figured since Shingle was 'spot on' in terms of the gauge, Joy should be. Right?

Wrong -- it's off by a shocking 5 inches! See where the point of the 2nd needle ends -- at the 19inch mark. Yep, that's where my knitting should be.


So what could change so drastically?
I've heard it before, but never put much stock in it... until now, that your state of mind actually affects the gauge at which you knit. And I guess I've been wound up pretty tight recently if my knitting is anything to go by. LOL!

So to avoid looking like the Michelin man in this top (checkout the new slimline version!), and to avoid ripping it out, I've come up with a cunning plan! I'm going to knit some side panels... and not just square side panels, but some shaped side panels that will take this somewhat boxy design and turn it into a figure-flattering masterpiece. Smell a disaster in the works? Yep, me too!
Does anyone have ideas for a better solution?

Other things -- I did make these groovy mod podge tins! And it doesn't get much simpler than this -- arm yourself with a 'thing' to decorate, some pretty paper, and a tub of mod podge glue and let the fun begin. It's like being back at PlaySchool!

Uncooperative models

Yesterday I made this and this.

I thought it would be funny to get my favourite models to 'work it' for me. But Buster was having none of it! And, as you can see, Bella isn't much into it either:

(And who can blame her for prefering to get her belly scratched than sitting still and striking a pose!)

Excuses for having a multitude of projects

I started another new project -- Rowan Joy in cotton tape. This should be a nice quick, mindless knit.


I don't know about you, but I like to have a variety of projects on the go:

• The 'mindless knit' -- the projects that I'll pull out when a good movie comes on TV.
• The 'attention to detail knits' -- the projects that I'll pull out when I want to shut myself away, listen to some good music and completely focus on something.
• The 'portable knit' -- the stuff that I'll pull out if I'm travelling, or going somewhere there's likely to be a wait.
• The 'gift knit' -- the stuff that brings the most joy 'cos it brings a smile to someone else's face :)

And then there are those projects that move between the categories depending upon where I am in the process. For example, the Roadster sweater falls in the mindless knit category... until it comes to picking up the stitches from the border, and then it falls into the 'attention to detail' pile. I did make some progress on this recently -- the Roadster now has a front:

My portable project: Hedera socks. One of the socks is complete, but I'm not too thrilled with the colour I chose... it's too dark and grungy looking. In fact I'm soo unimpressed that this rarely sees the light of day!


And then there's my recent 'gift knit' -- a knitted robot!!

Ian had seen 'Craft' magazine with the robots on the front and thought it was hilarious. Jessica and I decided we'd each make one (a great way to make a dent in the ever-growing stash). I bought the magazine... only to find out that the pattern isn't actually included... and it's not even available for purchase on the web anymore! Aah well, I figured that since it's essentially a bunch of squares, Jessica and I could create our own versions using the pic as inspiration. So here's Ian's completed bizzarro 'bot:

Lenten Rose Socks

After writing my blog entry this morning I decided it really was time that I finished the Lenten Rose socks. So here they are in all their (long-awaited) glory!

Look what came in the mail!

It's my latest installment from the Petal's collection. Beautiful isn't it!

I am so far behind with my installments that it's ridiculous:

• Back in January I received my shipment of the Lenten Rose sock yarn... and the 2nd one is still on the needles!


• In March I received the Birds of Paradise colourway.


• And in May the Dahlia colourway (my absolute fave so far!)

Given my slower than slow progress with knitted socks, I decided to jump on the Chevron Scarf bandwagon, and make one of these beauties using the Birds of Paradise and Dahlia colourways.

(Besides, this yarn is far too pretty to be hidden within a pair of shoes!)

La Piazza dell Arte

This weekend we headed into downtown Denver to admire the work of the street artists at 'La Pizza dell Arte'. Here are a few of my favourites:

And of course I was drawn (no pun intended!) to this one (it bears a slight similarity to Bella!):

Rowan Shingle in Cotton Tape

It's true... I finally got my act together and finished Shingle! I hope my pal is as pleased with the end result as Buster seems to be.



Aside from getting stumped on the slipped stitch edging, this was a good simple knit. I am really happy with the drape of the yarn, and pleased that I could get this nice versatile neutral colour. My friend loves it too, so that makes me especially happy :)

It doesn't get much better than this

A yarn store that sits right next door to a chocolate shop!