The Turn-A-Square continues to occupy my thoughts as it's allowing me to both delve into the recesses of the stash for perennial workhorses like Noro while at the same time exploring new colors like my current obsession, Lamb's Pride Worsted 'Silver Streaks at Nite'. (I'm a sucker for stoopid spelling like 'nite'--guess that 'ght' is not long for this world).
Way back in the early days of being an lys accolyte at the table--you know, the table where you sit and knit and knitters that know better than you tell you everything you (never) wanted to know about their medical history and dysfunctional marriages, occasionally knitting would come up and people would make solemn pronouncements like "...never knit with black. Black is impossible to knit with". Somehow I accepted statements such as this one as axiomatic truth, because the more experienced knew so much more than me. It is for this reason that when I saw 'Silver Streaks' I initially internally scoffed at the notion, because, you know, black is forbidden and all, but upon further inspection I knew that it was destined to work. And now I want nothing less than an entire sweater out of this color. In your face, knitting trolls...
The Specs
Pattern:Turn a Square by Jared Flood
Yarn: Noro Yuzen (#1), almost a full skein and Lamb's Pride Worsted 'Silver Streaks at Nite', a half a skein. The Yuzen is a new one for me, and it's a winner. Although the gauge isn't a perfect match with the Lamb's Pride, the two together worked out fine . Babs has declared Lamb's Pride to be the most undervalued yarn around, and I must say that I agree.
Needles: Size 7
Mods: None
This photo shoot is brought to you courtesy of the campus Botany Greenhouse, which was a welcome sight during today's sinister wintry mix. Its lush green foliage and thick, humid air were just what my model and I were needing to brighten our slog across campus. As you can see, I'm back to my trick of enlisting beautiful Frenchies to spice it up around here...
Thanks for the walk down memory lane with all of your 70s reminiscences--just seeing the word 'Shasta' again was a pure delight. Sometimes I question how sentient I really am when I do things like see a hat on Flickr, obsess over how amazing it is, rush off to Ravelry to queue it only to find out that Oops! I've already queued that one, and recently, too! Isn't aging and the deterioration of one's mind fabulous? I suppose making Alzheimer's jokes really isn't funny for obvious reasons...Let's chalk such moments up to mucho Mary Jane in the 1980s and not contemplate other far less appealing genetic explanations, ok?
The Specs:
Pattern: Felicity by Wanett Clyde
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Suri Merino in Seamist, one skein exactly
Needles: size 6 and size 8 needles
Mods: I cast on 90 sts and went from there. I also made a poofier top by doing an extra set of increases, but I like the Jiffy-Pop shape of it and feel that it's a hat that might be worthy of everyone's fave knockaround pal, Strawberry Shortcake.
The shape of this hat it was sets it apart from the others--it is so versatile. It seems modern and yet there is a touch of whimsy in there as well. If you're looking for some stockinette therapy, this is your next hat pattern--just make sure to choose a yarn that will flop around a bit.
I guess you could say I'm on a major roll with the whole hat thing. I figure I've got the rest of the year to fuss over socks, sweaters and shawls--right now I am 100% hat centric and am loving it. And after Felicity I have even more in the pipeline!
I believe I might have been a tad hasty when I said in a fit of self-loathing that I wanted to ditch my stash. Let's face it, it is because of the Ye Olde Yarne Shoppe on the third floor that the following series of events could take place:
- search on Ravelry for 'men's' hat patterns
- click on the Purl Bee blog after finding the precise type of hat I was looking for, scanning the yarns required and realizing that while I don't have those precise colors in Casscade 220, I most certainly do in Brown Sheep Nature Spun and some random Classic Elite Wings for a faux cashmere lining
- send my eager shop girl Peeperlou upstairs with a basket to fill my order
- and voilà, I am in business.
Whitney, that author of the pattern, talks about how this hat reminds her of her childhood in the 70s, and I so agree. My older brother (class of '76) always wore a hat like this when he was listening to his Bread albums on his 8-track tape player while drinking Dr. Pepper (a profoundly 70s beverage) and using his Presto Hot Dogger machine. Laura made a joke on Flickr that this hat made her want to have fondue and watch Matchgame--the Seventies possibilities are endless! I just had to make this hat for strictly nostalgic purposes...
The Specs:
Pattern: Whitney's 70s Ski Hat
Needles: Size 7
Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted in "Goldenrod", "Orange You Glad", "Nordic Blue" and "Spring Break"; Classic Elite Wings #2385 for the lining.
This might be the first time I've made a hat for two people to share. One of the recipients (class of '78) loves the color orange so I wasn't worried that it would be too loud--and luckily they are both amenable to the sharing concept. I'm doing this type of 'two birds with one stone' knitting more often!
The Manos Silky Blend you see pictured above represents another first--it might be the first time I have purchased yarn out of sheer humiliation. While in NY, me and my large purse and even larger rear end paid a little visit to the Point. You might know this very cramped store with huge tables that take up almost all of the space in the joint from the Spiders fame? In any case, there is not a lot of breathing room in there. So as I was fondling the Manos display I made a misstep, turned around and my purse swung around and sent a gigantic display basket filled with loud, clattering hangers off a ledge and down a staircase. "Hi! Don't mine me, I'm just visiting from out of town!!". Yes--there were disapproving glares and looks of incomprehension and mild disdain. Covered in shame, you see, I had to purchase the yarn in my hands at that point--it was my only option.
Thanks to all of you that gave me the many recs for what to do with two skeins in Malabrigo in Apple Green. I learned about so many new patterns and have queued many of them. In the end, Earthchick and her Scrunchable Scarf suggestion have carried the day. Thanks Stacey!
I am, at bottom, a hat knitter. I just really can never have too many hats at my disposal--I even made a little private (pointless?) vow to wear a different hat to campus every day this month. And since I am teaching a M-W-F schedule plus a day for advising and other duties, that's 16. Well I have just increased my chances of realizing my secret plan by two, as I proudly add these two darlings into the rotation:
This is the perfect project that helps you remember what you loved about the Noro in the first place. The sheen of the Cash Iroha + the tripped-out color changes of the Silk Garden = extreme hat joy. Their gauges are spot on with one another and so pairing them together is a cinch. Think of this combo as the Garanimals of the yarn world. I am now crestfallen as finding that link has caused me to discover that this brand is now sold only at Satan's Lair, i.e. Walmart. Is nothing sacred? Is the world of my youth completely gone?
The Specs
Pattern: Turn-A-Square by Jared Flood
Yarn: Hat #1 (light green), Silk Garden #242 and Cash Iroha #106; Hat #2 (dark green), Silk Garden #255 and Cash Iroha #100.
Needles; Size 6 and 7, HiyaHiya circs.
Time: Each hat takes basically two days of leisurely knitting, with time off for other projects. Check the name of the blog, people.
I could have easily entitled this post 'What a difference a green makes', as the two greens here couldn't be more dissimilar. On the skein I much prefer the lighter shade, but knitted up I can see that the darker shade has its merits as well. Different strokes and all that...
One of the most appealing aspects of this project is that it introduced me to the jogless stripes technique. Umm HELLO where have you been all my life, jogless stripes technique? I can't believe I had never tried this or heard about it. It has improved the joins to the point that you almost don't see them. Man I wish I had this technique back when I was doing the Kauni cardi and was getting trashed on the Ravelry discussion board for trying to not make a cardigan and proposed knitting it in the round. But what about the jogs?!!! The board became alarmed, my knowledge was questioned. Humiliated and shamed, I gave up. But if I would have had this technique maybe I could have triumphed over the Rav trolls. Whatevs.
This is a great pattern, and I hope to make bunch more, just not now. Tiennie, how do you do it?
While inspecting my stash (Rav link here, don't judge me) I noticed that before I had my head turned by the sexy Malabrigo, there were many other yarns that caught my fancy--so why not knit them up or something? There are worse fates in life than having to knit the yarn you bought on a lark, right? Luckily this is where the cowl becomes a stash bloated knitter's best friend. So all purpose and ready for action. First up...Darkside Cowl in Artyarns Supermerino!
The Specs:
Pattern: The Darkside Cowl by Sarah Fama
Yarn: Artyarns Supermerino, #133, 1 skein
Needles: Size 6
I have a major love-hate with variegated yarns (hence the whole Malabrigo obsession to begin with. Don't the stitches just pop ever so perfectly?), and the variegation on this cowl is just the right amount and is almost on the verge of annoying me, but in the end, it doesn't. The pattern is very quick and make a really nice, elastic fabric.
I seem to have a real thing for the Noro as well and was happy to discover in the above-mentioned stash (still not judging, remember?) more than a few skeins of Cash Iroha. Fourteen of these skeins are set aside for an Hourglass sweater-- Babs has banned me from mentioning this sweater, but just say the word Babs and the Hourglass is ON--but there are several other random colors that seem very cowl worthy.
The Specs:
Pattern: Stacked Eyelet Cowl by Ami Madison, modeled by the Curmudgeon.
Yarn: Cash Iroha, #110, 1.5 skeins
Needles: Size 6
This pattern is really a gem, a classic cowl for sure. Cash Iroha, your silkiness to too much to resist, however your yardage, well, it's no Malabrigo, that's for sure. Sigh.
This non-Malabrigo kick is destined to fail, I can see. To that end, look what the giant sweetheart of a knitter Jodi sent me in the mail, all because I said I liked the color:
Can you believe it? Two skeins! Such a nice surprise. Since I have been on a one skein kick recently, no patterns are immediately coming to mind. Any ideas? Suggest a good pattern and I will have Peeper-Lou draw a name and send you a skein of the Artyarns Supermerino pictured above. Let's pay it forward, people. I'll shut the whole thing down around noon on Tuesday. It's all gimmicks, all the time around this joint. Suggest away!
You all are too sweet--I appreciate the kind words regarding my dad and I am so glad to know that you have my back in the 'paybacks' department. Many of you expressed concern that the Curmudgeon had not adequately paid his debt to society and had somehow gotten off easy at Needlework Unlimited with the measly Jitterbug and J.Knits purchase. Fear not! This girl took your words to heart. Before leaving the Twin Cities, I high tailed it over to St. Paul to the Yarnery and picked up the three skeins of my new bff, Pagewood Farms St. Elias sock yarn (pictured above). This yarn is so utterly gorgeous that I might even cast on a pair of socks right away--yes, it's that good.
I am very pleased to note that Kiri is finished and in the can. Is there anything more satisfying than blocking a shawl? To watch it unfurl, inspect it in its final form and look out on the great expanse of it and think that over series of weeks that you somehow managed to follow the pattern and made that gigantic thing, well, that's quite a feeling, isn't it? I strongly recommend this pattern--at any given moment, you always know where you are. This might be the case with other shawl patterns and I have just revealed my shawl ineptitude, but Kiri is by no means intricate and thus very likely to not lead you astray... Thanks to Ashley for suggesting this pattern--as usual her recommendation was spot on!
The Specs:
Pattern : Kiri by Polly Outhwaite
Yarn: 1855 Fiber Company Alpaca Merino. Three skeins in 'Sweet Pea'. I purchased this yarn at Maryland Sheep and Wool this past May and since I am hell bent on knitting all of the yarn purchased at that event, it was a good choice for this pattern and allows me to continue with my 'knitting shawls out of counter-intuitive fibers' drill.
Time: October to January, off and on.
My next knitting endeavor is going to truly blow your minds. The teaser title : A Series of Small Knitted Accessories Not Made Out Of Malabrigo...
