KnitBrit

On the needles right now are a pair of my love squared fingerless gloves. The pattern can be found in Shannon Okey’s AltFiber, a book I am very proud to be a small part of. The gloves are worked in two colors with a two color rib and thumb gusset that I’m particularly fond of. This is the third pair I’ve made and have plans to work on a chartreuse and brown pair once these are finished. 

I’m also working on a sock project for Shannon right now. Can’t say much about it other than the yarn, which she dyed, is phenomenal. Can’t wait to share all the details on this project. 

I’m very lucky to be sharing Shannon’s intern, Carrie, this afternoon. We are making a visual tutorial for our production knitters and since language is a barrier, the photos will work very well. This is a common technique to use for people with language delays or deficits and we used visuals almost exclusively when Ben was younger, so it seemed like a good idea here. 

One of the most wonderful things about being a designer is having the opportunity to work with some fantastic yarn companies. I have to admit to being a little jealous of Jonelle from SWTC - she always has the best yarns, and gets to play with them way before the rest of us do. She has been very generous recently and shared the love. I received a goody bag last week full of delicious new yarn including Therapi, which I’ve been dying to get my hands on.

It’s made from Jadeite, yes - rock! I’m not exactly sure why, and it certainly doesn’t feel rocky, or even pebbly. In fact, it’s very smooth. It has 30% Jadeite fiber, 50% fine wool and 20% silk. It’s a very intriguing concept, and I’ll be interested to see how the yarn is used. You can see it in the photo - it’s the brown yarn. Below it is the Terra, which is a cotton bamboo 50/50 blend. Between the smoothness of cotton and the sheer silkiness of bamboo, I can’t wait to start working with this on a fantastic crochet project in mind. Next to that is the Phoenix, a 100% soysilk ribbon. The feel of this fiber is incredibly soft - one of those skeins that you almost don’t want to work with, just pet and fondle. But I can imagine a stunning loose-weave scarf would look and feel spectacular in this yarn. At the bottom of the picture is the Vespera. It’s a hand dyed 100% Merino from Uruguay and I have to say, the color just glows. I can’t wait to use this yarn.

SWTC always have the most interesting fibers at work, and they always seem to be at the cutting edge of new fiber technology. I’ve used a lot of their yarns in many different projects and love both the versatility and the fact that they’re available at our LYS. Thanks Jonelle!

Shannon gave me the opportunity to work as her assistant this weekend down at Knitters Connection in Columbus. Of course, I jumped at the chance and we left bright and early Friday morning and got there just in time for her 9 am spinning class. I’m no great shakes at spinning, so I was looking forward to helping as well as learning. The thing that I really love about being around a group of fibre people is that I always learn something from them, even if it’s a different mind set - the way we all approach fibre is slightly different and I adore looking at things from all the different perspectives. I hope it makes me a better designer, I know it opens up my eyes each and every time. 

I have to admit my resolve to NOT get a spinning wheel was severely shrunk during this class. Don’t get me wrong, I want one with a passion, however I know me. Two years with a wheel and I’ll have the sheeps and be living out on some farm somewhere. Not the best deal for Benjamin and his utter fear of the outdoors!  But the motion of spinning appeals to me, the mechanics of the wheel as it turns is incredibly soothing and the creation of yarn - well, all I can say is “WANT!”  I can _see_ myself spinning. However, I can see myself spinning to the exclusion of all else <g> so for now, I shall lust from afar

After the class we left Columbus and went down to Athens, which is about 70 miles south. The countryside down there is stunning. Lots of hills and trees and old farm buildings, not to mention some seriously delightful slate roofs. The colors were inspiring and the shapes to die for. Athens itself is a beautiful campus and it was hilly. I miss hilly towns. This one reminded me of Conisborough in Yorkshire. I used to live at the bottom of a hill that was staggering, but having to walk up and down it two or three times a day made me the fittest I’ve ever been. 

Saturday morning was Nuno Felting class. I had no real idea how this was done other than the abstract basic details. Watching the group learn and seeing the lightbulbs go off when they saw results was wonderful. We pretty much tore up the convention center by taking over the bathrooms to “thwap” our felt creations against the sinks! It looked like something out of CSI, but felty and soapy rather than bloody and gooey. 

I had a super fun weekend, lots of giggles, lots of good food, a trip to the North Market and new friends. Who could ask for more? Oh, and I _didn’t_ buy any yarn! 

As is customarily the case with me, once I get the hang of something, it crashes. Thus was the case with my blog. I was having a blast blogging about this, that and lots of nummy yarn. But wordpress had other ideas and decided that my version was incompatible with the new version and it went kaboom! I’m not the most technologically able person so I was pretty much at a loss - thank goodness hubby helped out. Apparently, we will very soon be pattern enabled too, so those of you who are asking for the tech bag and Mitrebox Jacket don’t have much longer to wait.

The last month has been one of the busiest in recent history and I’m sure I’ll forget a thing or three. 

Firstly, I have to say thank you to the delightful Ann White for hosting our semi-annual snb retreat at her condo at PeaknPeek. Too much wine, too much good food and the best company! Not to mention a visit to the Cultured Purl in Eerie. Speaking of…. when I first moved to the States I’d see all these signs on the highway for Eerie, Pa - always called it scary dad! (just one of my sillies) Anyway, moving on… the weekend was truly blissful and incredibly relaxing. Thanks to Stacey, Amy, Ann, Martha, Juniper, Adrianne and Renee for a wonderful weekend. Can’t wait for the fall. 

On the needles last month, a very comfortable pair of Koigu socks, my Mitrebox Jacket in sumptuous Malabrigo Kettle dyed Worsted, (#80 Azul) another Tech bag started in good old Cascade 220 and a pair of socks that I started to design and abandoned half way through. 

I didn’t get the chance to go to TNNA last weekend - Benjamin was graduating elementary school - wow! but I am going to Knitter’s Connection tomorrow for a couple of days thanks to the incomparable Shannon. 

Photos to follow along with more details on the Mitrebox jacket. 

Let’s see if we can keep this going for longer than two months this time! (wish me luck!)

Another sock, this time with a rather silly name. When I was trying to decide what to name this sock, I was thinking of holes, and, quite naturally for me, holes led to “Toad in the Hole” one of my favorite things to eat. The food is yorkshire puddings with sausages baked in them, covered in thick onion gravy. The sock is a simple lacy wonder done in STR Pondscum - quite an appropriate yarn, I thought. The photo below is close up detail of the sock - but don’t judge me too harshly, it isn’t blocked yet!

The sock was originally done in ShiBui, which took two skeins but it only needs one STR medium weight.

The pattern should be available here for download by next weekend if the paypal gremlins cut me some slack

I’ve had this idea for mitered cables since I read an article on Ravelry about traveling cables and was intrigued to say the least. Erica at River Colors tempted me with some delicious blue Mal and I was off and running.

It really took some figuring to get that mitered corner, but I’m pretty happy with the results, and whilst it may not get the approval of purists, I’m fairly certain that it will be easy for intermediate knitters or even confident beginners who have done a cable or two in the past.

Here’s a pic of the corner -

it’s a little fuzzy, but that’s ok, you get the idea.

If all things go to plan - and I realise that was the kiss of death - then I should have the edited pattern for the jacket up for sale by next weekend, along with my other patterns and various stitch markers, pin cushions, etc.

 

NOTE: yes, I gave it all the kiss of death… le sigh……

I have to throw this out there - it has nothing to do with knitting, but enquiring minds need to know.

Am I the only one who has noticed that every week, within 37 minutes, someone brings up Lupus on House? The first season, it seemed that the mom was usually to blame for the patient’s ailments. I’m guessing they got rid of a misogynistic writer or two, but lupus? Every week? Come back Jeeves and Wooster - all is forgiven!

I made this sock a while ago. Equal parts frustration and admiration led to the pattern, which in all honesty is a poor relation of Eunny Jang’s Bayerishe sock. I’m utterly in love with the Bayerishe. I don’t know how many times I started this sock and tinked it back in frustration. There was some serious mental blockage going on there. I’m not saying that it’s a difficult pattern, and I must stress that it is very well written - I just had this huge mental block telling me that I _could not_ knit this sock. In the middle of my frustration, I decided to take each pattern component and practice working it individually. And that was the birth of the Merry Go Round. The cable is a variation of the Seven Sister’s cable, however, the use of Tofutsies really defines the gorgeousness of the stitches.

I really get a kick out of stitch definiton in cables - it’s kind of my thing right now.

As you can see, the original was done if Tofutsies, and can be seen at River Colors in Rocky River, Ohio. I revisited the pattern this week, however, and since my stash of Tofutsies is ear-marked for other projects, I’ve used some handpainted yarn of the same weight. My talented friend Martha painted this for me, and I love it. I’m especially happy with the way it just has those hints of rust here and there. Delicious socks

BTW - I did finish my Bayerishe and am still utterly in love with them and in awe of Eunny’s skillz.

I can’t believe it’s been six months since I blogged - I’m not even going to attempt to play catch up, however, one of my infamous lists may just whet your appetite - if you want to know more, just let me know.

So, in the last six months I’ve:

Made costumes for a HS version of Guys and Dolls
Attended seven IEP meetings - the longest lasting over five hours
Had six cortizone shots in my back
Participated in two knitting swaps - scarf and amigurumi.
Lost a brother
Had a four day impromptu visit from my mom
Got a lovely pattern in Shannon Okey’s “How to Knit in the Woods“
Got six (yes six) lovely patterns in Shannon Okey’s “Alt Fiberr”
Had red streaks in my hair
And got rid of them a month later
Crocheted three amigurumi’s and 2 doilies
Knitted three pairs of socks, four scarves, a jacket, a cushion and two hats
Edited a book - ok, I’m halfway through
Designed enough patterns to keep me knitting for years
Probably not slept more than four hours in any given 24 hour period.

I think those are the highlights. I’m pretty sure I’ve forgotten a thing or two, but you get the drift.

Sometimes, things just click. I’ve been working on a couple (of dozen) patterns for various projects, and things just came together this week like they haven’t in months. The knee sock that I’ve wracked my brains over just flowed out of the needles, and I’m thrilled with the way the increases worked out. An “on the spur of the moment” tofutsies cable sock flew and just seemed to create itself. The tech bag written pattern finally finished, and a couple of secret patterns are actually on needles now.

I’m totally taking advantage of this creative streak - not sure how long it will last, nor if Ben will allow it to grow, but I’m loving the mood.

I think that going with the flow has really helped the last little while. I’ve not forced anything, if I got stuck on a pattern concept, I put it down and moved onto something else, and for the most part, it’s been a successful venture. Most importantly, I’ve gone out of my way to write everything down - and anyone who knows me knows that this is something I don’t usually do.

Perhaps it’s post-Rhinebeck euphoria? Maybe my hangover from the Ravelry party has finally cleared? Maybe it’s the five hours of sleep I got one night this week? Whatever is causing this, I’m loving it.

Sadly, I can’t post photos because everything I’m working on right now is either for our SNB secret scarf swap or for books….. I’ll have to see if I”m allowed to post teaser photos.

I’ve also got together with friends to knit this week, which always rejuvenates my spirit and keeps me going. Martha and Ann were great fun midweek for cookies and earl gray, and then tonight, Martha and I went along to Studio Knit in Medina for their knit and chat session. The gals there are always so welcoming, and I have to say, I love that store. I think it’s the only yarn store I’ve ever been in that doesn’t seem cluttered, but still has a huge variety of yarn and notions. I’m looking forward to going back there soon.

Amy and I will be heading upto StitchCleveland and River Colors on both Saturday and Sunday this weekend - Saturday teaching our bevvy of beauties in sock club and Sunday teaching a tofutsies bootcamp - can’t wait!

I’m trying to plan a weekly sock class for next year, and although I think I have it locked down, I thought I’d throw it out there and ask everyone what they want in a sock lesson? Let me know.

boomshanka