Thread Theory

Elise's Sweater

Nothing like a new baby to get me knitting - this is for a client's baby girl. Her parents wanted to be surprised about their new addition's gender, but I just knew it would be a girl. OK, I took a gamble, and I had this really cute peach yarn... I think the green buttons look very smart.

Almost Done!

All this super soft fleece baby sweater needs is buttons and a few ends woven in. I better hurry - it's getting chilly in Maine, and the recipient is now 3 weeks old! Knit in "Fleece" from Knit One, Pearl Too. I have enough yarn left over to make a hat. But first I'm going to make buttons. Because I'm a crazy woman.

Finished - Super Soft Spiral Hat

There's nothing like the first hard frost to motivate me to knit hats!

This Spiral Hat is from 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders. The Marci Blank hat in the book is knit in self-striping yarn, but I love how it looks (and feels!) in solid black Debby Bliss alpaca silk.

This pattern is quick and easy. The spiral is a cinch, and most of the hat is knit on 16-inch circular needles.

My model, aka daughter Harriet, took one look and said "Can I please have it?" 

  Here's a side view, which shows the spiral. One note: This is a "one-skein wonder" but it took one-and-a-half skeins of the alpaca silk, which has 65 m/50g per skein.

I love one-skein projects because they can help shrink the size of my yarn stash. (Not that this hat did that - I bought the yarn!) The knit and crochet projects in 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders, edited by Judith Durant and published by Storey Publishing, could keep anyone busy all winter. There are plenty of hats and scarves, but also egg cozy hats, shower soap holders, belts, a tie, a checkbook cover and other fun patterns that could result in some serious stash reduction.

Like Buttah

That's "Like Butter" for those of you that don't live in Maine. (And, no, I didn't grow up here, and I don't speak with a Downeast accent, but I like to say things like, "Like Buttah.")
This supersoft Manos Strata cotton yarn is courtesy of my One Skein secret pal. I've always been a fan of Manos wool (which is soft, too, but not nearly as snugly as this), but I had never had the pleasure of knitting with this lovely yarn. I have not decided what I'll do with it. I have a few babies to knit for, and it would be perfect for that - but I'm feeling kind of selfish and want to keep it. As I was watching it go through the ball-winder, various shades of pink and orange (the overcast Maine weather was not doing it justice in the photo shoot) were passing by - it's so pretty! Thanks, pal!

SP 8 Pal Introduces Me to Lace!

My super SP8 pal is introducing me to lace knitting in more ways than one. I was speechless when I realized that what I though was a skein of mohair was actually a lace scarf! (Please excuse my beat up kitchen chair model - my daughter is still in bed and I don't dare get a poodle to model anything hand knit!)
My pal is quite an accomplished lace knitter. Check THIS close up out!

My pal, who it seems is a ballet-dancing mathematician from Wisconsin, also sent me some tips on taking up lace-knitting, and included some beautiful Koigu (Why have I never knit with Koigu?), patterns and some lovely sterling, freshwater pearl and Swaravski crystal stitch markers! So I am off!

Thanks again!

I'm Spoiled!

I have been seriously spoiled this summer by two great Secret Pals. A box of incredible goodies arrived from my SP8 Pal. It was packed with stuff, including a skein of gorgeous Lorna's Lace, which I've always wanted to give a try... PLUS some beautiful soap her sister made (most of which has already been distributed in my bathrooms)... PLUS an enormous bar of chocolate (and yes, that wrapper in the photo is Empty!)... PLUS gardener's soap... PLUS kitty toys ... AND... the PIECES DE RESISTANCE - beautifully hand-knit, blue alpaca wristies for my long, skinny arms, which are always exposed in the cold weather. As you can see, they fit beautifully! Thanks, pal!

I'm quite impressed with your knitting, and those wristies give me a good reason to look forward to the cold weather. Plus they will leave my fingers free to knit. (I have a few secret projects going on, myself!)

NEXT, my One Skein Secret Pal sent me a beautiful skein of Peace Fleece.
(Big Coincidence: I sent my One Skein Secret Pal a Peace Fleece skein, too. She's already turned it into a gorgeous leaf-shaped cravat!) I love knitting with Peace Fleece; it feels great in your hands, it behaves itself, the colors are gorgeous, plus it's from Maine! This One Skein Pal has played some tricks on me, sending me packages from around the country (the pal gets around!). I will save her latest offerings for my next post. But I just love this blue and think it might make an asymmetrical cabled hat OR the cabled footies (for me, of course!) from the One Skein book. Thanks again!

And now for a little about me...

SP8 opens the door to self-indulgent musing.
1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I'm a fiber junkie and am willing to try just about anything once. I usually stick to natural fibers, and I'm always fondling the handspun stuff, But I often use acrylic fleece-like yarn for baby presents. I can't say I'm fond of other acrylics. I'm not big on the novelty yarns with eyelashes, fur, confetti or other things popping out.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? Frequently-used straight needles are in a vase on my desk (where they taunt me as I do "real" work); I've got a dedicated drawer for other needles and hooks; on the road, I've got a canvas needle holder for straight needles that I sewed and a very ugly Addi Turbo vinyl circular needle holder. Some day I'm going to sew something more attractive to replace it. (If this makes me sound organized, don't believe it. I'm always searching for missing needles in the bottom of old plastic yarn shop bags.)

3. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I learned to knit 10 years ago. Im a permanent intermediate knitter. (Also a permanent intermediate skier, by the way - I'm sensing a reluctance to PUSH myself!)

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? There's one on there, but it is out of date and full of things my husband and daughter want and is not to be relied upon.

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) Lavender. Balsam. Mint. Eucalyptus. Anything, really, but licorice!

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? Yes! Chocolate. Mint. Caramel. Ginger. Did I mention chocolate? Again, anything but licorice!

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? Sadly, I dont spin. I sew. I try to embroider and quilt but never get to it.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I like folk, bluegrass, Americana-country, rock, jazz, classical, I love accordian ... anything but heavy metal. Yes to MP3s.

9. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand? I like black; lately I like blue-green mixes and pink-red-orange mixes, various blue mixes ... anything but maroon and rust, really.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
One husband, one 9-year-old daughter. Two dogs. One cat.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Yes, yes, yes, no. (Note: Im tall and skinny; My head is BIG; my fingers are LONG; my feet are HUGE; my arms are LONG; this must be why I took up knitting -- so things fit!)

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Sweaters, baby stuff for gifts, getting into blankets. I just knit a One Skein cupcake and want to try more fun sculptural stuff. Im just about to knit a cat toy.

13. What are you knitting right now?
Not much for me! On my needles: One baby sweater (no rush; baby due in July); one Irish Hiking Scarf (my travel/waiting room project); one summer T; one log cabin blanket just begun; an abandoned pair of socks. (Plus one super secret project I can't post until its done.) I've been fooling around swatching with leather cord and also some wire ala Alter Knits it's not headed anywhere yet.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Yes! (Honestly, if you don't, I don't want to know you.)

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Straight & circular, bamboo & aluminum; not usually plastic but I've used 'em in a pinch. I like Swallow Casein needles for certain yarn, too.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Yes to a winder, no to a swift.

17. How did you learn to knit?
Jil Eaton (of MinnowKnits fame) taught me. I was pregnant and nesting. What perfect timing to meet Jil, who got me excited to knit up a storm for my impending daughter.

18. How old is your oldest UFO?
Two years ago I taught myself to fair isle knit on a cross-country drive; Im not quite sure what to do with the object, which remains on a big circular needle. Maybe a pillow?
Last winter I knit Blossom, a cardigan that you can see on my blog. It's all knit and I just never assembled it; the yarn is gorgeous but very, very bulky; it's knit on 35 needles. The pieces are so heavy. Even in Maine, I can tell I am going to broil in it. It sits in a basket and mocks me. This summer I will sew it together for a fall jacket. Really.

19. What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas, for all sorts of reasons.

20. Is there anything that you collect?
Yarn, don't you?
Other than that, no real collections come to mind. I'm a sucker for blank books/notebooks and I have huge piles of unread New Yorkers next to the bed but I'd hate to say I "collect" them!

21. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I dont subscribe to any of the magazines, but I run out and buy every issue of InterWeave Knits, Knitters Magazine and Vogue Knitting. This summer I'd like to learn one of the alternative sock methods or lace knitting; this will bring on a whole new level of yarn lust, I'm sure.

22. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? I have to learn either the Magic Loop or knitting socks on two circular needles or something. So far the magic of sock knitting (at least on four little double points) has eluded me!
Also, I'm going to learn to knit lace very soon. Really. I keep buying lightweight scarves/shawls - which is ridiculous for a knitter, isn't it?

23. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? Nope. Not yet. Big, as in really, really big. Size 10.

24. When is your birthday? 01/06

My old eyes

No pictures, no WIP updates, but this really has enormous knitting implications. I had an eye exam this morning and said to the eye doctor, "I can't knit and watch TV at the same time!" (This is a big problem, as one of the big benefits of knitting for me is it makes TV/movie watching time productive.) The problem is that I need my glasses to see the TV, but I can no longer see up close with my distance glasses on. I've chosen to look at my knitting and have the TV be a blur.
The eye doc prescribed BI-FOCALS - transitional lenses, actually. I could find this a depressing sign of growing old. But actually I can't wait to get the things so I can once again knit and actually see Law & Order (or The Sopranos or The L Word or whatever I'm amusing myself with as an excuse to knit).

Aargh!

How'd that happen? I'm knittin' along, finally having found a little time to devote to my summer T, doing the easiest stitch in the world - no cables, no colorwork, just mindless stockinette, when I notice several rows back a dropped stitch! I was half asleep (that's how it happened, I guess), so I set it aside to repair another day. I had just transferred this project to a faster set of needles. It was dragging on my Crystal Palace bamboos, so I went out yesterday afternoon and bought some slippery Addi Turbos. Once I pick up that dropped stitch, I predict this T will be quick work.

Olympic Sweater Gets a Workout

I love seeing my knitted gifts actually being *worn* by their recipients. I'm told that my Olympic Knitting project is getting plenty of wear. (Good thing, as it won't fit much longer, I'm sure!) How about that for a cute baby!