Decisions.

I've been all over the place trying to get my latest EZ project in gear. The main problem is that there are too many things that I would enjoy making. And too many good yarns to couple with great patterns. My first plan of attack was to take down the Saddle Shoulder Aran Cardigan (heretofore called SSAC) from Wool Gathering 63. I bought the pattern and have been itching to start, but have been keeping my eyes out for the perfect wool to match. In the meantime, I brokedown and purchased this...


To call it a 'new obsession' would be quite an understatment. Its the newest addition to my EZ library, and I think I can safely say my favorite of hers so far (the photography in the book gets extra points. I'm sure if there were modern day photographs of the patterns in her other books, i'd be partial to them as well... partial being a completely relative term in this context) . Having spent the last two weeks with my nose between the pages has succeeded in filling my head with all sorts of ideas.

I have had this Rowanspun Chunky in the stash for months, waiting for the right time to strike.


I've known I wanted a cabled jacket out of the stuff (shawl collar or hood preferred), but haven't had the time to sit down and design everything. Well, there's a cabled jacket in The Opinionated Knitter that has me thinking about this again. On top of this, my color cards from Beaverslide finally came (this is what I was waiting on to get the Wool Gathering Sweater started)... and again, everything went to shit:


there are way too many colors and wools that I want to use, and many a yarn thats perfect for the SSAC. Now, don't get me wrong. I have absolutely no problem working two wooly cabley cardigans at once. It actually seems an ideal situation. But then there are other things that I have to work on (for business or pleasure) that can't be ignored.

And there are things like this:


bad ass. truly.
that just make my life more complicated. I want one of these too. No, actually, I just want to look as cool as this kid does.

All the while, other cravings are being satiated.


Is it possible for there to be too much of a good thing? Doubtful.

Cant. Resist. The Urge.


Must. Fair Isle.

Swallowtail Shawl

Saturday the weather was too beautiful for city dwelling. We jumped in the car heading North from Boston with visions of red leaves as our guide . We ended up enjoying New Hampshire for the day and hiking in the White Mountains. Let me just say, you New Englanders know how to serve up a beautiful Fall! I had a great time (in Boston as well) and threw the Swallowtail in the bag, just in case a photo opportunity presented itself. In an afternoon-light-bathed forest, how could I resist?

Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark
Source: Interweave Knits Magazine; Fall 2006
Materials: Elann's Baby Silk (80% Baby Alpaca, 20% Silk) in 'Parchment' (just over 3 balls)
Needles: US 4 (mm) Addi Turbo Circulars
Total Cost: $10 (!)

Started: 11 August 2006
Completed: 25 August 2006 (dates approximate)

This project, while still being in the 'simple lace' category to me, was much more exciting and enjoyable than the other Evelyn Clark patterns that I've knit. I like the combination of motifs... but really its all about lace bobbles. They're awesome! Nupps for life!


There's not much more to say. I've seen a bunch of people make this great project, and if you like how looks... I say, make one too! Its definitely on the small side, but thats how it was intended. I would really enjoy doing the pattern again in say... a worsted? It'd be bigger, and the nupps would be even more voluminous...


I hate that its Monday already, but here's hoping everyone has a great week. Keep knitting.

Mountains of Wool

No matter how many sweaters I make, I dont think I'll ever get over the surprise at seeing just how much wool hides in one measley garment (this was just a male Medium, although it was baggy). I did a little sweater-harvesting this weekend. Found a blue tweed wool aran sweater at the bottom of my dresser on Saturday - I picked it up from Ross a couple of years ago for $9.99 or something ridiculous like that. It didn't fit all that well, so after a couple of hours, this is what I had laying around my apartment....




These photos were taken after soaking the wool in a bath for a few hours and hanging them out to dry. The wool seems to closely resemble Yorkshire Tweed DK - one of my favorite yarns - although is softer and machine washable! Its not necessarily a color I would purchase for a sweater, but it'll add some variety to my sweater arsenal (if I ever get around to knitting it up).


I know, I know - you were expecting a full Swallowtail report with this post. I'm really ready to give you one, but haven't had a chance to have a proper photo shoot. With the onset of Autumn comes the loss of ideal lighting for evening photography. But soon.

Do you remember Raspy? I'm so close to the end on this one - its been a long time coming. I have a few more inches on the second sleeve, then I'll toss it in the wash and seam it onto the rest of the body, which is patiently waiting for its final piece:


You can see from the photo that I alternated the neckline with shortrows (I'll explain more later) from the original straight-across boatneck required in the pattern. There are some other obvious changes (ommissions), but for now, I'll spare you the details.

I'm going to Boston this weekend, I'm not positive that I'll have time to do any fiber crawling, but any suggestions you have would be great! I know that there are a ton of great knitters in Boston. I've never been, so I'm excited. Of course what I'm most excited about is the 4 hour bus ride alone with my sweater.............

Pinned

So I finally got around to blocking...

A much more indulgent post coming soon to a computer screen near you.

treats

click each photo for more info

The Shetland Triangle

the slough of vacation knits continue to reveal themselves. This piece was already gifted and can now be shown publicly. You know the pattern, I've seen them all over. I love it though.

Pattern: "Shetland Triangle" by Evelyn A. Clark
Source: Wrap Style (Interweave Press)
Materials: Sundara Yarn Aran Silky Merino hand-dyed 'Burgundy over Brown'(2 hanks)
Needles: US 9 KnitPicks Options (my first time)

Start Date: 19 August 2006
Completion Date: 3 September 2006

Modifications: None really, other than the obvious subbing of an aran weight for lace weight (one of my favorite moves). I used the shawl calculator here (sidebar) to figure out just how many repeats were possible with what i had. I scrapped the last patterned row (and obligatory purl row) before the bind off to get a more subtle scalloping along the edge. For this one, I liked that look better.



This particular lace pattern is ridiculously simple to follow, but I couldn't help being drawn to its curvilinear quality. When it comes to lace, I am much more of a fan of organic, curvilinear, and sinuous (Madli, Print-o-the-Wave, etc) rather than more geometric pattern motifs (DFS, Faroese, most things in A Gathering of Lace, etc.) Of course I appreciate all sorts of lace patterns, but I find myself drawn to certain styles over others. With the Shetland Triangle, I love how the leaves are formed by undulating rows converging together towards a center point and then bending outward again with yos.


You can knit this thing on auto-pilot, and add as many repeats as you want (I love when a pattern works out like that). Use any yarn, any weight, and get something that is preferable to you, regardless of how many you've seen before.


And I can't put this post up without saying a short word about the yarn: this is definitely the most luxurious yarn that has ever graced my needles. When it was over, I was desperate for more, sad that it was done, and excited that it happened. Sounds like a torrid affair, doesn't it. The color trumps everything - no matter how hard I tried, the pictures cant explain to you the depth and saturation. Hand-dyed by an artist, its no wonder it was so mesmurizing throughout. Not to mention how it feels... (butter)

There's still one more shawl I have yet to show you, but I think I'll make you wait a little longer for it, since I've got very little knitting going on presently.