Old Fashioned Cabled Stole

I finished my Old Fashioned Cabled Stole last night!  It really did not take too much time at all. I will publish the pattern as soon as my little fingers can muster the energy. It's a take on a keyhole scarf, except that both the ends have a little tunnel, that you thread the opposite end through. Pretty cool if I don't say so myself.

The mannequin is a size 6, but the thing stretches and is a very malleable garment that can be worn around your neck or shoulders in all kinds of flattering ways. I am a size 10 and my shoulders are proportionally small in relation to my boobies, so I am inclined to wear it a bit higher up around my neck & shoulders. Of course, if you are plus sized it is very easy to add extra inches to the circumference by adding a few inches to the main section while you are knitting. If you want it longer, add some extra stitches to the sections on either side of the cable.

Sorry about the stanky picture!  but you get the gist of it.

Jacket With No Name

The Jacket with No Name is finished and looks great in the Malabrigo Chunky! If i was to do it again i would skip the double seed stitch and either work the textured parts in seed stitch, reverse stocking stitch or garter stitch. also, i'd do the collar by picking up all the neck sts and doing short rows (if you do it you'll see what i mean) - garter stitch would definitely be helpful.

An Abundance of Hats

Liane knit up a Sunset Cabled Beret in Malabrigo Chunky, it's got a lot more body than the baby alpaca did (original yarn used in the pattern. to make it slouchy add an extra cable pattern repeat before decreasing.

A perfect, Prissy Little Cashmere Button Beret in Lana Grossa Pashmina. I'm just not a pink person, but the hat is great for those who prefer the non-descript look. Maybe in grey for John's Sister-in-law? I had a lot of the second ball left, more than enough to make something else (a beret for a little friend?). I am dying to make a bella clava in this pink cashmere.

This one, a Bulky Beret in Malabrigo Aquarella, did not look the way I had hoped, I'm going to either git it anotehr try in another shade or rip it back and give it anotehr go. It is too short, even for my little head. The colour isn't mine either, but that is neither here nor there. As you can see, Pluto is having a snuggle day. :-)

Sockhead Alert!

Check out Matt's (from manspun yarns) Sockhead Hat! he is using Misti Baby Alpaca Handpainted Sock Yarn in the colour 'bird of paradise' (I'm waiting for more of it to come in, it's back-ordered).  You can follow his progress on Ravelry, and the free pattern is HERE.

I Love Only Gold!

Finito! The Solid Gold Beret!  It is way too big for my poor little head, but it looks good and I've sized the pattern down.  The yarn is soft, pretty, comfortable, and you should see how it sparkles in the light at night!



Actually, what I really love is Black!  This is  a version of the above in a smaller size (S) and the black on black Lanalux.  It is my black bullion beret. Strangely, the black was a thicker yarn than the gold, so I made it on slightly larger needles. bizzarre!

I think that this hat might be a good archetype to display different yarns, so I'm planning on making one in the Lana Grossa Pashmina Cashmere, Noro Silk Garden, Dream in Color Classy and Malabrigo Worsted. The pattern is/will be available in the store and when I'm sure that I've worked out the kinks I'll put it up for sale as a PDF download online through Ravelry.

Solid Gold!

I bought gold yarn!  And Silver Yarn too!  But I know that most of you judge blingy yarns and that my choice needs an explanation.  Kristen and I were visiting the distributor last weekend and while we were there she spied a display of new yarn and fell in love. I probably would not have even noticed the stuff, since I'm usually considering the needs & desires of the majority (plus their sample was knit up in a really ugly colourway, black on metallic purple - it looked like a disco vomited). Kristen has a good eye for nice yarn and GREAT taste in clothes, so I looked at it more seriously.  It has a metallic chainette core which is surrounded in a dusting of soft, fuzzy stuff. The effect is a muted magpie, just enough glitter, but you don't feel like you are staring directly at the sun.

The stuff is called Lang Lanalux and I'm making a gold beret for the store, inspired by the metalic berets that have been swimming around the fashion pages for the last 3 years or so. You may not have noticed it, it's not a dominant trend, but it's interesting enough to file itself away in my memory. See below, a gold beret from Burbery Prorsum's Spring 2006 show.


Burbery Prorsum Spring 2006 RTW

But what really comes to mind when I think of gold is a show I used to watch when I was a kid, a music show called Solid Gold from the early 80s. The premise of the show  was to choreograph dancers (the solid gold dancers, see below) in skimpy, skin-tight costumes to snippets of pop music, from the billboard hits of the week. I'd say I endured the show more than liked it, I was a lazy kid, but I have a vivid memory of a group of women in tight, gold satin pants gyrating around a feature on the set and then writhing on the floor. This hat is dedicated to slinky, big-haired women of Solid Gold. The yarn isn't exactly 'solid' gold, but it's my Solid Gold Beret.

The Solid Gold Dancers, decked out in their solid gold regalia.

beret city

OK, I knit this Beret in Malabrigo Aquarella up and finished it before I got a chance to tell you about it. It is an Urchin by Ysolda. I was a little confused when I first started but once I got the hang of it it was really easy. One caveat, you will REALLY want to have a set of locking or split ring stitch markers at hand to keep track or your short rows. Every time i did a Wrap & Turn (w&t) I stuck a marker in the wrapped stitch. Listen to me now, believe me later. I'm not sure I love the Aquarella for this hat, it may be a bit thick. I should have made a size Small, I did a Medium and it's a bit big - although, if you have a big noggin it is probably just right. One thing I notice now, looking at the pattern pictures on Ravelry, I don't seem to have the ridges that bisect the sections. I must have read something wrong, but it's easy enough to adjust next  time (if there is one).

This is my Parisian Beanie Beret (raspberry beret) from Stitch Diva Designs - almost finished except for another round or two of decreases  and some ends woven in. I was working on it while in line at the flu clinic on Monday (don't go to the one at Yonge & Eglinton, what a mess). I made some good progress on it, almost finished except I RAN OUT OF YARN! I finished it yesterday, it is drying right now. It looks really big!  I think it may have been a mistake to knit it in a superwash yarn. After you wash a superwash it can often loosen up a bit, and I think that because this hat is knit on 6mm needles that a yarn that has a more consistent body would be a good idea. Maybe a Malabrigo Worsted or Lamb's Pride Bulky. Otherwise, i think it would be a good idea to change the needle size and use 5.5mm or maybe even 5mm. But I'll get back to you with the final pics and how I feel about it.

Hey, by the way, I taught myself how to knit with gloves on! The trick is to wear those thin, lycra stretchy one size mini-gloves. The ones at H&M are pretty good.

Poppies for Remembrance Day

I've been knitting Poppies for my family. Sorry about the lame picture, I've lost my light for the day and I'll try and take a better picture when the sun comes back (Red is also always hard to shoot). The picture above is one I made with some scrap Mission Falls 1824 Wool in 29 Raspberry (which I could have used in my hat above!). The mission falls was OK, but I really preferred the ones I made with Brown Sheep Company Lamb's Pride Worsted. I'll get some pics of those too. The Lamb's Pride held it's shape better, the colour was better too and it's slightly fuzzy quality is appealing after it's finished.  Oh, one thing about the poppies: use 3.75/5" double pointed needles! The pattern calls for 2.75mm and I found it impossible.  And by the way, I beaded the centre, just cause I like pretty things. ;-) Anyway, the things are small, fast, and satisfying. Plus, you won't lose your poppy or stick yourself! Just be sure to make a donation to the Veterans who are selling the poppies, the little plastic flower are a form of fundraising for them.

Cute Baby Update

There's nothin' like a little bit o' cute on a grey day! Here are the pictures I promised you of the Little Devil Hat I made for Harlow. The hat is so cute that I might make one for my Sister-in-law's nephew, Liam, who is 17 months old. Liam is one of those really fun kids that everyone loves because they're so easygoing and interact with everyone. He's got 2 words right now, 'this' and 'that', and I was charmed when he asked me to take a ride in his little plastic car by pointing at it and saying "this!". I also developed some affection because he was perfectly ok with my only being able to get my head and right arm into the vehicle. Crazy Kids.