I can't let 2007 close without a December post! So, here goes...
I joined Ravelry awhile ago and have been having some fun meeting up with other ravelers at different events! The first one was Rhinebeck and the most recent was at a Ravelry meet up in Fairhaven, MA (12/8/07). Pam of Lick my Sticks organized a Sunday Brunch meet-up At Eva's Yarn Store. It's a beautiful store with lots of wonderful yarns, patterns and more. She was very gracious and opened the store 2 hours before the normal Sunday time and offered a nice discount for any purchases. (Oh, you know I bought yarn!!!). The food was plentiful and it was so much fun meeting everyone. Lots of shopping and lots of conversation and new friends. Even without another meet-up (one's in the works for Spring!), I'd go to Eva's again. Eva is a knitter and her shop is very welcomingt o knitter's with places to sit, knit and chat. There's coffee and of course lots fiber to drool over . Than
ks Pam and Eva!!!
Eva was a good sport and modeled Cadbury Keeper's knitted Punk Mohawk. The picture og her shop is just a small part of it . Believe me there's much more to be seen! While there, I bought some Artyarn to make a seafoam scarf (2008), new sock yarn from J. Knits. It's a hand-dyed yarn in an almost solid color of burgundy red called "Massachusetts". It's a super wash too. I'll let you know how it knits up. It hasn't decided what kind of sock to be, so I'll decide later or maybe even have a contest with suggestions and a fiber prize. I've never had a contest, so maybe 2008 is the time to have one! I also bought some Chrystal Palace -"Taos" . I love the colors. It's 100% wool and very soft.Now,onto the F.O.'s! The first is the "Lace Leaf Pullover" This was a fun and easy knit, until I got to the grafting part of it. This sounds crazy, but I actually enjoyed seeing the grafting as it was completed and the fact that once done, It was not obvious where it was grafted. However, I pulled it and my hair out 4 times before doing it my way and looing the way I wanted it to- invisible!. Teva's directions has the have the upper part of the sweater bound off and the lower half of the sweater with live stitches. When I tried to graft it , I kept getting a line showing exactly where it came together. Finally, I undid the bound off edge and grafted both pieces live. Voila, a whole sweater. Would I make it again? Yes, but would make just a few modifications. Should I make it again, I'll share those mods. A year ago, I would never have thought of making my own modifications! I think this means I've grown at least a little bit in my skills! I used the recommended yarn and loved it. While making it, anyone who saw it commented on the beauty of the color. Believe me, my photography just doesn't do it justice. The yarn is Filites-Van Dyck. It's a chunky ya
rn and very warm! As you can see it's not fitted, but was comfy and went great with my jeans. here is a close-up of the wooden buttons I used.
I found these at my LYS. This store sells sewing,quilting, and other craft supplies. What I didn't realize was the extensive button section at the back of the store! If I hadn't procrastinated for so long, this sweater would have been finished last spring instead of his November! My next project is one that just made me smile and think of summer every time I took them out of my bag to knit.
.. watermelon socks! These were fun to make and I was fascinated by how the stripes and the watermelon seeds appeared just as they should as I knitted them up! The yarn is from Freshisle Fibers in Canada. It is 100% suffolk wool. I was obsessed from the moment I saw this yarn and had to have it. Only so many batches are made each year. 2007 was my lucky year! Initially, I wanted the fingering weight for socks, but like vesper yarn (which I scored this year too!) disappears 5 minutes after its put on the website for sale! I went with the worsted weight to make boot socks or around-the-house and am very happy with the results. These need to be washed before being worn ( I was in a hurry to post them), because the yarn is minimally processed ( I found straw in it). After the wash, they will be fluffier and whiter. So consider this a before picture and I'll post an after Pic later. Lastly, I make a the Noro scarf from Ocean Wind Knits. I loved the pattern and the scarf came out beautifully!. The pattern calls for Noro, but I substituted Plymouth Yarns - boku. It was easy to knit with and the color runs are similar to Noro. The pattern in the scarf is called Orca scale stitch. It's a free pattern.
Check it out!Well that's my end of the year knitting and I'm ready to start 2008 with enough projects to keep me going till the next millennium! I want to say thanks to everyone whose stopped by to say hello, offer support and be the wonderful people you are!! Hope you'll join me again in 2008. I'll certainly be dropping by your blogs with my coffee and knitting in hand! This last post for 2007 ends with Pictures of my sweet cats(although they look more haughty than sweet ...they really are sweet!)and me wishing you a:
HAPPY, HEALTHY,AND KNITTY NEW YEAR!!!
