I'm obsessed

With Stephen West's patterns. Its all I can think about. I cast on for his daybreak shawl a little a while ago. I can think of nothing else. I'm using yarn that I bought while in Montreal. Sweetgeorgia yarns - Cash luxe fine. And oh my god!! Its heavenly.

I've been pondering why some projects that I cast on, I love initially and then it gets kinda ... meh...not so interesting or entertaining anymore. The yarn is splitty, the pattern gets boring... something just doesn't hold my interest.

But not this time. I don't know what it is about this particular combination of yarn and pattern, but I absolutely have no desire, whatsoever to knit on ANYTHING else. I'm a woman obsessed.

I'm guessing that I have about 1/2 the shawl knit. I'm going to try for the largest size depending upon yarn amounts. This yarn is beyond gorgeous. The colour is stunning. The fiber content is so, so soft. The yardage is generous. Their website says it has 375 yards but for some reason, I thought the label said over 400 yards.

Once I finish knitting this, I'm sure I'll cast on for another Stephen West pattern. I'm really thinking Bandwidth. We shall see.

On Hiatus

I hope I've spelled hiatus right. Well, it seems that I'm on a knitting hiatus. I've come down with some sort of inflammation in my elbow. Its what I imagine tennis elbow to feel like - except I don't play tennis. And weirdly, its in my left elbow. I'm thinking its due to knitting, but I'm a little perplexed about the whole deal since I mostly use my right arm when knitting and I sort of just prop my left arm on a cushion or arm of the sofa and use it to more or less balance my knitting.

Kev and I just got back from a 5 day trip to Montreal/Sherbrooke, Quebec. My friend thinks my elbow problem may be due to shopping, as I sometimes grasp things in the crook of my arm when I'm picking things up. Entirely possible. Shopper's elbow. There you go.

So, right now, I'm on my 5th day of self imposed knitting hiatus - just to see if it helps with the pain. So far, not a lot better. I am wearing a brace and rubbing anti inflammatory cream on it. This seems to help some, but as soon as I take the brace off, it (ie pain) comes back.

This hiatus has done wonders for my knitting fantasy life - as I'm prowling Ravelry all the time now. I've bought SO.MANY knitting magazines and two new knitting books. I've also bought a lot of yarn. I believe that I'm somehow trying to 'scratch an itch' or something. I can't get my fiber fix by actually doing, so I've got to get it this way. This is entirely self defeating, of course, since I've already speculated that shopping is making it worse. Oh well, live and learn I guess. No more shopping....wait, I can online shop still. Woo hoo.

On this trip to Montreal I was thrilled to discover a new yarn shop had opened up. Its called Espace Tricot. They have only been open since July and they seem to be doing well. They are trying to stock yarn brands that the other stores in Montreal don't have. I looked them up online before going and I was so happy to see that they carried Koigu!! I bought two skeins. I have no idea what to make with this, but it was just too pretty to resist.

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Here is the rest of my haul from this store. Take notice of the Steven West book Westknits Two! I had been debating buying this book online and downloading a copy, but seeing it in the flesh, just about sent me over the edge. Like I said, my knitting fantasy life has now taken on a life of its own. I swear I want to knit every single pattern in this book. As soon as my arm is better, I'm casting on for all of them...at once. Really, I am.

I also got some Addi Lace needles, that I've been wanting to try, and some Hiya hiya DPNs, a super cute wooden button, some charms and some free Soak samples.

And finally, here is a photo of the reason for our travels. My beautiful daughter. She was performing in a recital. She was amazing. It was the first time hearing her sing classical, and (as her friend Shaun pointed out) it was also the first time I ever heard her sing as a soprano. All throughout school Amy sang alto. When she went to high school she even sang tenor with the boys. When she gets to Bishop's university, her voice coach tells her that she is actually a soprano. Crazy or what? Isn't she stunning??

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Slog Sweater

I cast on for this sweater back in September. Its from the book New England Knits which I really, really like. There are a number of other sweaters in this book that I want to knit, but this one really caught my eye, and I cast on right away.

Well, here I am 6 months later and I'm just now finishing it.

I'm very happy with the finished cardigan. Its very wearable. It fits well, and I like it a lot. Why it took me so long to finish is anyone's guess. I think it was the endless amount of garter stitch. And when I got to the sleeves it was even worse. Garter stitch in the round is not for the faint of heart. It was beyond monotonous. So, I opted to knit them flat. I love knitting flat garter in front of the TV. The down side to knitting flat sleeves is seaming. But it appears I hate seaming less than I hate garter stitch in the round.

I promised myself that I would not cast on for another sweater until I finished this one. I was so happy to finish this sweater that I immediately cast on for Lady of the Lake Cardigan by Fleece Artist. This kit has been in my stash for quite some time - lets hope it doesn't take me as long to finish this sweater. Here is my progress so far

This is magical yarn for sure. I just love the resulting fabric. I'll keep you posted as to how quickly this one knits up.

The Big Project

Megan (of Stitch It podcast fame) has decided to do a 'big project'. She plans on processing a fleece right from the start. Me, in my infinite wisdom, I've decided that this would be a great idea and I'm going to Big Project a long with her. My proof? This box.

In this package there is a well skirted fleece of corriedale/merino/ramboulet cross lamb - 4 pounds of it. I'm not sure if this will be enough to make a whole handspun sweater (since I'm sure there is at least a pound of lanolin in the fleece) But there will be enough to make some serious yarn. I'm thinking this is a better quality fleece than the whole Jacob debacle of 2009. Its a white fleece, so it'll be easier to dye right? And this time, like Megan, I've decided to process smaller batches and spin from the lock this time. Anyways, I'm hopeful. Wish me luck!

In other news I've been doing the freeform crochet a long on Ravelry again. Every March is international crochet month. I love, love, love this game. I don't always love my final item, but I usually learn a few new stitches and make a few friends in the process. Here is what I've got so far.

Interesting, isn't it?

I need a new project

I don't know whats wrong with me, but I have no real desire to cast on new projects. I'm trying to finish whats on my needles. Which is a fairly long list.

1. Prairie Rose Lace Shawl in Paton's new lace yarn from The Knitters Book of Wool
2. Greenfield Cardigan in Cascade 220 from New England Knits
3. Pinstripe Slouch hat in Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 from Knitting 24/7

These were all started keeping in mind my new goal to knit more from my library. But I'm not sure why, I just don't feel like finishing them. I love all 3 projects. I'm enjoying the patterns and the yarn, but I just keep looking and lusting after other things. Why can't I finish them? Especially the cardigan. I've been working on that since September, and I won't allow myself to cast on for another sweater until I finish it. I only have 1 and 1/2 sleeves to finish. I know what the problem is though. I hate knitting garter stitch in the round. It is so annoying. I've decided to knit the sleeves flat and them seam them up afterwards. That should make for decent TV knitting at least.

I did manage to finish a crochet project though. This time not from a pattern in my library, but from a freebie on Ravelry called Calm Cowl. (Ravelry link only -yet another reason to join)

This was crocheted using Rowan felted tweed. I loved this yarn so much. The resulting fabric is very nice, with great drape. This is sometimes hard to get in crochet. I'm very happy with this cowl. It will likely be a gift for my daughter or one of her roomies. The house is having a depressing time with boys and whatnot, and could use some cheering up. So, I will send woolies. Nothing says I love you, like woolies

When good gauges go bad

Lame title, I know. Especially considering I refuse to do gauge swatches on hats. Sweaters, yes. But not hats. Even the great Elizabeth Zimmerman used hats as swatches.

So, really, its my own fault that the first hat that I knitted turned out gigantic. It was meant for Morgan - as a Valentine gift. The cute little hearts were too sweet to resist. He was in need of a new hat since the ganomy I had knit for him had gotten way too small. Now that I think of it, I did knit him a handspun earflap hat a little while back, so I'm not sure why his mother asked for a new hat. Oh well, who am I to resist knitting hats for gorgeous little boys. Not me. Resistance is futile.

In any case, I now have two heart earflap hats. The first hat was knit in size 18 months to 4 years. Perfect for our 2 1/2 year old Morgan, right? Except, it turns out that the finished hat ended up too big for me! Likely great for my large headed offspring, Amy. There is no such thing as too many hats, she tells me. So, I'm lucky in that regard. When my hats have gauge issues, they are sure to fit someone in the family right?

The second hat, I ended up going down a needle size and knit the newborn size. It'll be a perfect fit for Morgan. I should have paid attention to the comments that other knitters had said about this pattern on Ravelry. A lot of others had said that this pattern ran kind of big. Who knew it would be that big though!!

Oh, details about the hat. The pattern is from the book "Weekend Knitting" and its called "Almost Famous Luggy Bonnet". I knit both versions in Knitpicks telemark yarn, except for the yellow hearts, they were done in knitpicks stroll tonal held double.

Numbers 2 and 3

  The second finished project of 2011 is a hat.  The pattern is Spry from Knitty.  I knit it exactly as the pattern is written, using the same yarn (Noro Kuryeon) even.  I really enjoyed knitting this hat.  It features four intarsia panels in a colour changing yarn.  The designer also wrote a fingering weight version featuring 6 intarsia panels.  I think I'd like to knit this again.  I'm not sure who or where this hat will end up with, but my gift knitting for Christmas 2011 is off to a great start. 

Another item for my gift knitting box is this great Shawl that I finished.  FO number 3!  Its designed by Susanna Ic.  She designs these perfect little shawls that are so wearable.  Wear them like a shawl or a scarf or a kerchief.  I knit her Abrazo Shawl from twist collective last summer and I really enjoyed it.  I liked knitting this even more since it was done in a worsted weight yarn, knitpicks Andean Silk.  This is a wool/silk/alpaca blend and I really, really enjoyed knitting with it.  (Dangerous for me to even look at knitpicks website - way too tempting, and I'm trying to cut back...well...somewhat)

I'm always amazed at pre and post blocking pictures.  This one is no exception.  Can you believe that some people never block their work?

The picture on the bed is closer to actual colour.  Look at my yellow croc.   

And here is my attempt at an artistic shot off my back porch.  Sadly we don't have a lot of snow.