Soleil is finished

I actually finished the soleil tank over a week ahead of time, before the trip to Toronto. It's very comfy, but I had to block the heck out of the armholes to make them stay flat. I also think next time I'll make the armholes a little smaller, to fit my top better. I love the feel of the yarn, BUT after wearing it in the city, with my backpack purse rubbing against my back, I've noticed that this yarn.. the Jo Sharpe Soho Summer, had some of its plys 'worm' out , so there are some very thin loops sticking out where I had any friction against the fabric. I managed to pull some of them back into the yarn by manipulating the fabric after washing.. but it was a little disappointing to see this.

Otherwise, I love it.. and yeah, I love the olive green color. I have another bag in ivory.. but I haven't decided what to make with that yet.

On to summer knitting

I think summer is finally coming (or here!). I have realized that the knitting obsession that re-took me after a near 5 year absence is not going to leave, and has only increased. From the moment one project has been completed I've found I MUST have needles in my hands again.

So this time something practical and much needed. I have lots of funky tank tops, but not many suitable for work. After a snap purchase last month in Northampton at Webs, coming home with some Jo Sharpe Soho Summer cotton dk yarn in olive green, I set to work on a tank top, slightly sexy, but still suitable for work. I'm knitting the Soleil tank from Knitty.

My brain must have been mush recently, as I could not figure out from reading ahead in the pattern just HOW the v neck separation worked. Thanks to John and others on the knitlist I subscribe to for wiggling my mush brain back to something more like a gel brain!

I love the feel of this yarn, very soft, and it seems to have a nice drape to it. It feels like it will be a nice cool cotton to wear. You have to be careful of splitting stitches with the many plies in the yarn, but it's working ok. I'm doing this on a number 6 circular bamboo needle.

As of this morning I am 3 rows away from binding off the middle section of the back, nearly done with the back, yeah! Here's a front shot so far. The front neckline comes next. My goal? To WEAR this in Toronto two weeks from today!

Checking out the Magical Moebius Strips

After the magic loop socks, I read a bit online about Cat Bordhi's books.. A Treasury of Magical Knitting, and A Second Treasury of Magical Kniting. I was intrigued about the idea of the cast-on she uses for creating and knitting moebius strip from the middle out. So at the end of February I bought both books. The first one is great for learning her method and then using it to create some fascinating scarves and wraps. The second also teaches the cast on, but she then goes on to use it to begin more 3d objects like bowls, bags and cat beds!

I tried out a simple scarf, one for a young friend of my partner's, and this one.. using a funky mixed fiber yarn I purchased on ebay, with a doubled thinner rayon yarn for the Icord edging. Fun.



Next, I HAD to try a cat bed! We have two Siamese cats, one 15yr old traditional and one almost 7 year old modern. Stretch, the modern, needed a new cat bed.. or at least something to distract him from me for a while (he's a bit needy).
I can't remember exactly how many stitches I cast on for the moebius part of this project, I think about 400 or so, but I used a very bulky lambswool yarn from a sweater I bought to recycle at Goodwill. Cost me all of $1. The only mistake I made was doing the initial moebius knitting part on Denise needles (and a very old set to boot), which kept coming apart on me. After many cursed nearly lost stitches, I bought a 60" Addi Turbo so I could finish this sucker.

The cat decided he liked the bed even before it was finished, as he'd crawl inside it as I was decreasing the bowl part and sit there in the piece as I knitted away, occasionally sticking his head out. Unfortunately we never got a photo of him inside the partially knitted bed.

Here's the finished bed.. felted, but still a bit too floppy. No matter.. Stretch still loves it. I promise to add a shot with him in the finished project some time. Meanwhile I took this shot this morning, on the kitchen table, sans cat.

Magic Loop Socks

So after I tired of making 5 Clapotis in a row from Sept to January, I set about learning to make socks on one long circular needle (Magic Loop Method). I made these socks while trying out the technique, which, at first was took a little getting used to, especially making sure the stitches on either end are fairly tight, but not so tight that you can't slide the other side of the needle onto. This will make more sense once you try it out. I found that the Addi Turbos or the Susan Bates silvery circulars worked best for this.



I eventually tried knitting socks with 2 circulars.. and found that it was just too much circular needle hanging down, and it annoyed me when I would change working on sides, but the magic loop I have gotten much faster at, and may now be my preferred method for knitting socks.

Just recently I knit a pair of 2 socks at the same time on 1 circular needle.. the cast on was rather hairy and so was the heel section. I briefly switched to 2 circs with the 2 socks, and that just made me crazier, so back to the one circ. In the end, I found that it took me 3 weeks to knit a pair instead of my normal 7 days (of a normal work week). So.. back to knitting one sock at a time, but with the magic loop.

Clapotis... or what I did from Sept thru January

So I found myself intrigued by this "Clapotis" pattern for a knitted scarf/wrap with dropped stitches, and knit on the bias. I guess I was a little late in discovering this wonderful pattern, but it turned out to be a GREAT palette for knitting with a variety of fibers, and looks especially good in handpainted or variegated yarns... So below are three of the FIVE that I knit this past fall/winter. (oh yeah, they make fabulous Christmas gifts for young adult women)

The first one.. I kept for myself, was knit from what must be at least 7 year old stash yarn (a mystery cone of variegated silk/rayon in muted purples, magentas. It has a great drape, and became my preferred scarf wrap this year.. I even wore it as a stole/wrap with a sleeveless purple velvet gown to the Moosefest Gala and Auction last October (of 05).





I wish I could remember where I got the coned yarn from.. sigh. But it inspired me to add some more variegated rayon type dk weight yarn to my stash....

My next two clapotis (photos not available for these) were done with a handpainted softball cotton and a bizarre coned purply yarn with bright blue and magenta bits stuck in it.. that I doubled to work with.. both left as Xmas gifts, but were well received.

In January I knit one for my partner.. out of Noho cotton that I purchased at Webs (www.yarn.com). It worked out great even durin the winter, has a different feel than the rayon, but still drapes beautifully! She wore it all thru Feb, March and even part of April...





The last one I've done was with a shiny and super soft rayon yarn called "Luminesce" that I found on ebay, in a 'mica' color. I was unsure whether I had enough yardage for a full sized, so I cut the width down by a few repeats and made more of a scarf with this one. It also has a fantastic drape and is so so soft. Gonna have to do some more with this yarn: