Liesl in Sundara's Aran Silky Merino

I'm in love with Sundara's aran silky merino yarn - it is so very soft to the touch, and the colours are striking. A little while ago I was able to pick up 3 skeins in the colourway Viridescent, and have been eager to cast on with it. After an exhausting business trip last week, a lazy weekend of knitting was on the books. I picked up this yummy yarn and the pretty Liesl pattern and cast on.



The pattern is really well written and extremely flexible - wide neck vs tighter neck, short sleeve vs long sleeve, frilly picot edge vs standard cast off, buttons vs ribbon vs other... lots and lots of options to customize and make it your own unique version.



I used a slightly smaller needle than the pattern called for, and went up a size to compensate. I cast on for the wider neck because I figured the thinner yarn and smaller needle would end up producing a smaller neck than the one in the pattern - it turned out just as I'd hoped.



This is July's sweater for NaKniSweModo.
Pattern: Liesl by Ysolda
Yarn: Sundara Aran Silky Merino, Viridecsent - 2 skeins (only a very little bit left over)
Size: 36in
Needle: US 10.5

I'm so very happy with the end result. Just need to find a suitable button for the top.

Rowan Joy

I'm still plodding along with the NaKniSweMoDo challenge, and this top - Rowan Joy - marks June's contribution. That means I've passed the half way mark - yay!



This felt a little like another 'cheat' project to help keep the monthly FOs coming -- it was in the WIP pile, it's chunky yarn on big needles which always goes super fast, and there are no sleeves to work on either. Yippee!



Pattern: Rowan Joy, size medium
Yarn: Rowan Cotton Tape x 6 skeins
Needles: US 10.5 and 11
Modifications: None



With the exception of wrapping my head around the slip stitch/chain stitch edging (took me a few goes to figure it out, and then had to be careful that the 'chain' was appearing on the RS) this is a super easy and fast knit. And unlike most of the chunky yarn sweaters I've knit to date, I actually think this one turned out pretty nice and doesn't make the wearer look larger than they actually are.



Ooh what to work on next? Pull Tempest out again, maybe?

Cashmere Lace Ribbon Scarf

It truly is deliciously soft - this is the lace ribbon scarf that I was knitting for a dear colleague, out of a silk/cashmere blend. It has been a delight to work with, and will be difficult to part with.



I'd planned on finishing up sooner, but luckily our farewell luncheon had been pushed out until later this month. So I still get the chance to gift it in person.



Seems I like taking pictures of this type of scarf in a tree - I did the same with my last one. At least with the last one it was in the privacy of my Mum and Dad's back garden. For this one I was laid at the base of the tree in my front garden, snapping pictures up to the sky. I can only imagine what the neighbours must think about the eccentric English lady next door ;o)))



Pattern: Lace Ribbon scarf - free from Knitty.com
Yarn: Jade Sapphire Silk Cashmere in colourway Caribbean Mist, one skein

Rowan Geno

I just completed Geno for my NaKniSweMoDo (Knit a Sweater a Month in 2009) May sweater.



This one's been in the hibernation pile for a good while now. I'd started back in August 2008 - it was going to be my Ravelympics sweater (cast on during the Olympic opening ceremony; cast off by closing ceremony). I'd made a pretty good effort and just needed to knit the buttonband and then finish. But picking up stitches, and finishing in general, tend to be my least favourite parts of knitting, so it had been tucked away in my yarn cubbies.

It wasn't until I realised that I don't yet have a sweater completed for May's NaKniSweMoDo that I decided this would be a quick solution. (Technically you don't have to complete a sweater every month but I know myself well enough that if I don't there'd be little chance of completing 12 sweaters in the year).



I am thankful to have the nudge of the NaKniSweMoDo challenge - sewing the sleeves on seemed to be more problematic than I'd anticipated. The pattern was written with a little gathering at the top of the shoulder. I was trying to avoid excessivly poofy shoulders and instead ended up with poofy armpits the first time round! Erm, yes, not a look the best of us can pull off. It took me several attempts to make the sleeves sit to my liking, and if I hadn't committed to finishing this for KAL it probably would have been returned to it's former home, never again to see the light of day.

But all's well that ends well - I'm really happy with the cardi. In fact I'm thinking it could be one of my handknit faves so far.



Details:

• Pattern: Geno by Marie Wallin from Rowan 43
• Yarn: Rowan 4-ply soft (instead of Rowan 4 ply cotton as is used in the original pattern)
• Size: 34
• Needles: US 2 and US 3
• Cast on: Aug 8, 2008
• Completed: May 30, 2009
• Mods: None (that I can recall)

Temporarily distracted

In the back of my mind Ive been thinking that I should be working on the scarf that I'll be gifting early next month. Or the sweater a month KAL project - I still haven't completed anything for May.

Instead I've been distracted making these barn raising squares:


On Friday night I picked up a bag of Pagewood Farms 'sock bites' (think a bag jammed full of mills ends) and couldn't wait to try out the yarn and different colourways.


Although a little fiddly to start, once you get going they are great 'on the go' projects.

I'm completely hooked!

Bright and Cheerful

That's the theme for May's card swap at stamping club. I decided to use the "Wild about you' stamping set - I just love the Elephantika. I don't think it comes more cheery than this little guy.


As I was in the stamping swing I also put together some thank you cards - I've been a little overdue in sending some out for my birthday bootie :)


It's gorgeous here today in Colorado (after a rainy night) and so I spent the afternoon doing some much needed work in the back garden. Hope you are having a great weekend too.

Now back to the scarf...

Still knitting...

It's true. Despite what you'd think from my recent blog postings :)
I'm currently trying to stay focussed on another lace ribbon scarf.


It's a gift for a dear friend at work who has been a mentor to me over the last couple of years. She will be leaving our company at the end of the month and I'm sorry to see her go. I wanted to show my appreciation... and well, isn't this what us knitters do?


The yarn is scrumptious! It is Jade Sapphire's Silk/Cashmere 2 ply and is soo very lovely to work with. The colour is pretty too with some slight changes in depth of shade. So it's proving to be an enjoyable knit... good thing too... I am trying to complete this by a week tomorrow. Wish me luck! (Yes, if you read my blog regularly you'll know that I don't learn from past experiences :o)

Birthday Crafty Goodies

Joe and I have been away celebrating my Birthday this last week - first to Disney in Florida, and then a few days relaxing by the beach. We had a lovely time and I thoroughly enjoyed what turned out to be a birth'week' (vs a birth'day'! :)


In usual fashion I was spoiled rotten with lots of fabulous gifties - a BIG thank you, and much love to friends and family. xoxo

Amongst the birthday goodies were a bunch of crafty gifties:

My Grandma got me these really pretty Cath Kidston sewing accessories -- pin cushion, sewing kit and needle holder. I'm really loving the Cath Kidston designs and was tickled pink with this set. The other thing that made this so special is that it complements the sewing basket that she had put together for me when I first left home for University (what seems like many, many moons ago). I still have, and cherish, that basket today. It's nice to add to it with these beautiful new accessories.


My sis, Jac, sent me this fabulous 'Big Birdie Skirt' sewing kit -- how cute is this! Can't wait to try my hand at it. (First a 101 sewing class at Fancy Tiger methinks). Oh, and if you have a wee one I'd definately recommend checking out their clothkits website as some of the designs for kiddos are too cute for words.


Jac also sent me this resin fishy key chain. I love it! She's been crafting some fun and funky resin jewellry recently and I got to receive some of the spoils. I always love a good hand made gift :) Thanks sis - this is cool!


Mum and Dad sent me some brilliant craft inspiration books - one for polymer clay beads and another for pottery. I enjoyed making the polymer clay stitch markers and now I have some pointers on how to achieve different effects. I'd also been thinking about going back to our local rec center to take some more pottery classes - they have great facilites and a wonderful teacher. I really like the projects in these books and am eager to try my hand with the clay crafts again. Thanks Mum and Dad xoxo.


Lots of wonderful birthday goodies tempting me to keep the crafty bug alive and kicking!

On top of all this, the lovely Dany had also sent me a package with some really pretty Italian yarn, and a pattern she has written for a skull cap. The pattern is really cute and will be perfect for those snowy Colorado winters! Thank you Dany I really appreciate your thoughtfulness :)


All in all another wonderful birthday!

Spring

It's starting to feel like Spring is really here: Hoping we've had the last snow of the season, and enjoying seeing the flowers start to bloom.

I'm making good progress on my Spring sweater - Tempest. The back is now finished and blocked. (Which makes all the difference in the world - it now looks like it should fit me, rather than a small child!).


The theme for this month's stamp club was Spring and so I made these tulip cards for the card swap. I'm really happy with how these turned out, and they were really quick and simple to make.


Stamp club this month was also dedicated to flower motifs. We made a pretty 'watercolour' rose card. I think this is an effective technique and will be trying it again: You stamp and emboss the (rose) image and then spritz the whole thing with water. Take a paintbrush and some ink and dab it onto the wet design - the ink spreads with the water and creates this watercolour effect. Simple! (You probably didn't need this much info right?)


We also made a cutesy flowerpot Mother's day card (this one will be going to my Mother-in-Law as Mother's day in the UK has been and gone already). My MIL loves to garden and so I think she'll be tickled by this.


Hope you are enjoying Spring too ?
Sam

Crafty Twitterings

Some updates on my crafty endeavours (be warned, it's a long rambling one...):

First a long overdue thank-you to Hyeknitter. The lovely Lisa awarded me the Kreativ Blogger award. Talk about making a girl's day!

There are times I wonder why I do the whole blogging thing - whether to continue, or not. Especially with Ravelry and Flickr out there enabling me to share knitty projects with friends, and pics with friends and family. But then I think of the super nice people I've met through blogging and it all seems more than worthwhile. Thank you to everyone who swings by :)

Back to Lisa's blog - if you are unfamiliar with it, I'd recommend that you check it out. She's got some lovely projects posted out there - leftovers vest, Ariann, tree jacket... And a gorgeous pair of Malabrigo socks.

This sock posting was the last little nudge needed for me to run out and splurge on some Malabrigo sock yarn of my own - umm yes, 3 skeins of the yummy stuff.

Side note: Every time I come home with more yarny loot Joe has started doing his best Shirley Bassey impression and singing 'Yarnfinger' (think Goldfinger) - "She loves only yarn.... only yarrnnnnn"! I asked him whether he thought I might have a 'yarn problem' (I've been acquiring it at a ridiculous rate recently). He said it would only be a problem if I didn't like the stuff. Good man!

OK, back to the crafty goodness. A little while ago I'd posted some earrings that I'd made. My blogger friend Dany really seemed to like them, and so I popped some in the mail for her a couple of weeks ago. They arrived the other day, and they are a winner. Result!
I've also been stamping quite a bit. I attend a stamp club every month where we make a couple of items at the club and swap cards we've made at home. Here's a few showings from the last couple of months ('cos I've been a lazy blogger and not posted about them until now... that and I think that most folks that read the blog are coming for knitterly fodder).

Feb stamp club projects (there is candy on each of those St. Patricks day lolly sticks) :

March stamp club projects - that's right there's chocolate in there too!

And I also stamp with my good friend Cheryl (which is always a treat as she makes me the most delicious lunches too!)

The first is a Ghirardelli chocolate box (that's right, more of the sweet stuff!) And the last row of 4, Cheryl made the 2 Easter cards on the right for Joe and I, and his parents. How cute are they!

Whew, bet you are glad that lengthy post is done!

Hope you are having crafty fun too,
Sam

Loppem

So here it is, the lovely Loppem:

• Pattern: Loppem (From Norah Gaughan Collection No. 3)
• Yarn: Red Rocks Fiber Works 'Winter Park' (100% Merino) in Colour 'Sing like Pink' (if only I could!)
• Size: I chose to knit one size larger than I normally would. One of the things I like about this pattern booklet is that it shares the actual size of the model, and the size she is wearing. It seems the tiny wee thing in the book was wearing a size larger than I would have picked for her... and so I figured I'd take the same approach.
• Modifications: I did knit the yoke a little longer than the pattern calls for simply because I wanted the cable pattern to finish at the end of a repeat (vs the middle of one)
• Things I'd do differently next time: In hindsight I would have made the lower section a touch longer instead of the yoke. This way I'd still get my full cable pattern repeat and I'd have the cute cap sleeves. Not that it looks bad as is. I'm actually super happy with the outcome. I just think it could be improved on... aah the beauty of hindsight.

I was a little disappointed with how the pattern was written. (Note: check for errata before you begin - I know this should be a general rule of thumb for all patterns). Aside from the errata issue, I'm never fond of having to figure out how to evenly space increases or decreases... I like the pattern to do that for me. (Picture it - late at night, feet up, glass of wine... that's right the brain has gone into relax mode... last thing it needs is to kick back into gear to solve some basic math).

I absolutely love this yarn. Such a rich colour. And so very soft and smooshy. And I think there might be enough left to make myself some fingerless mittens. Bonus!

And, as I mentioned in my last post, this counts as my NaKniSweMoDo sweater for April.

Knitty Update

Loppem is blocking! That's right, still on track for the NaKniSweMoDo one sweater a month. I'm enjoying the nudge it is giving me to finish sweaters. This one is for April - just have a couple of buttons to sew on and a few ends to weave in. But first it needs to finish drying. The knitting went pretty quickly (being tucked indoors as a result of a snowstorm helped).


While I'm waiting for Loppem to dry I pulled out Tempest and some Red Rocks sock yarn in 'Granny Smith' colourway. This will be a nice lightweight Spring cardigan.


And then there's the araucania/patagonia hexagon blanket -- I added a few extra hexagons this last week, and like this more and more as it grows. The colours are fun, bright, happy colours and the nubby texture adds interest. Seems it has another admirer...


And last but not least I received this fun card from my Mum. She just loves the handknit felted clogs and is on her 2nd pair this winter. Dad says she has 'special slipper eating toes'. (Seems Joe has the same problem.) I know it's just slipper love as demonstrated by some serious wear -- gotta love when a handknit is soo well received!


This cracks me up! Thanks Mum xoxo

Hibernating

It's been snowing in our neck of the woods. A lot.


The winter storm watch started yesterday morning and by the end of the day we had at least a foot of snow.


Still Joe and I ventured out (like crazy people) to celebrate a friend's birthday and watch Tang Concubines at the theatre. Which I thoroughly enjoyed! The performance was spectacular - the dancers pulled off moves I've only ever seen in Cirque du Soleil performances. The costumes are dazzling, the stories interesting and the music majestic. It's a little saucy too: At one point the mother of 2 young boys leaned over and suggested they cover their eyes!


It was quite the hair-raising journey to get there and back (snowy roads on the way there and a pea-souper of a fog on the way back). But we made it home safe and sound and when we woke up this morning it was still snowing! Big, wet, heavy drops of snow. (I'm hoping that once all this snow clears up our lawn will start to look a little more like grass and a little less like straw!)


Needless to say I won't be going anywhere today. If at all this weekend. Which means good hibernation time -- watching movies, hanging out with my hubby, baking and trying to make a dent in my mound of work. Oh and knitting, of course!


To all my local girls - stay warm and safe!