Rhinebeck! Sunday! Come hear Joan Tapper & me share our adventures dropping in at fiber farms across the US, collecting original patterns from generous designers at the farms, and putting together our book Shear Spirit , at the authors tent on Sunday , 2:30-3:30. The title: "Sheep, Alpaca and Yaks: Oh MY! " . We'll also be signing books and generally hanging around from 10-noon at Nanney Kennedy's Seacolors Booth, 26V. A rare chance to meet us both at the same time. Come getchyer tattoos.
So..about that knitting...
Modeling thanks to Julie & Lulu at a picnic last weekend.
In the background you'd hear 'oh no. Don't . She'll put it on the blog. You know she's going to show you on the blog, right?'the deets
yarn: Handspun alpaca from Victory Ranch, a heavy worsted weight, approx 230-250 yards of a blended fawn fleece, natural variations from a rosy tan through offwhite, resulting in the gentle striping in 2 places
pattern: Aibhlinn from Knitty winter 04
needles: size US9
modifications: heavier yarn than the pattern called required some adjusting for gauge. I cast on 95 stitches to start with, for about the same circumference as the pattern's 143. I knit until it was about 18" long, then did the final bobbles,enough for lots of drape and allows me to make it into a hood without exposing my neck in back. The beauty is, you can try it on as you go.
notes:
I admit it, I am a zealous new convert to the cowl. Before, I thought.. cowls? a knit for those too lazy to scarf, and bobbles were, well, too silly. I dissed them as the clotted cousins of the pompom.
No more! I embrace the bobble. I adore the garment. It was a wonderful travel project. Interesting but not all consuming, knitting most of it in the car around New Mexico (Joan:" It's not that you knit that fast. You just knit...a lot".) and while sitting around Speaking of holiday knitting, I dove in with some Lumpy Bumpy I've had since the old Hopyard Spinnery farm sale days.
She has real stores now so that barn craziness is history. I can't decide if I like this or not. Jury also undecided at SnB last night.
Possibly they all thought it was butt ugly and were too nice to say so. I guess I'll know when its blocked . It's for a college aged niece who loves these colors, I'm just not sure how she stands on worms. Pattern here.
Hm, I figured out cowls the first month I learned to knit. I was like "why knit twice as much when you could knit half as much?" I think it's not laziness so much as being focused. Heh heh.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I wasn't too into bobbles either, but then I made some, and they're so fun to make!
Nice cowl!
I am working on a cowl right now, because I don't want to deal with scarf ends, as a wearing feature.
ReplyDeleteI like the look of the scarf for your neice, but if you are not sure, the yarn looks like a good match for the Urchin hat by Ysolda Teague, posted on Knitty about a year ago.
I'm not so much for the bobbles, but maybe on the ends. And I can tell which model is your sister...
ReplyDeleteSigh, I wish I could be at Rhinebeck this year!
ReplyDeleteAlso, that yarn in the last picture? It's vaguely biological looking, but not necessarily in a bad way (but then, I'm a biologist, so you may not want to listen to me)
I hesitate to call myself a trendsetter (as if), but I wore a cowl at Rhinebeck LAST year. I love a cowl/neckwarmer with a coat -- no added bulk in the boobage area (though I could use some, it's always just a little off, ya know?) and easy to pull up over the chin (or even nose) if needed, given the weather.
ReplyDeleteBefore I messed up, I cast on some Lumpy Bumpy that my daughter had for a Bounce beret/tam/hat. I've had a thing for that wormy scarf for a while, but haven't given it a go yet.
*Sigh* Have a fun weekend. I'll be kicking myself and trying to find out what kind of chocolate will console me best. Or something.
P.S. Time is not on my side lately, but I have played around with lights -- a little. As soon as I can find a minute to think, I will formulate my thoughts and questions.
The cowl is lovely! I've been holding that pattern in the "to knit" pile for quite some time, just waiting for the perfect yarn. Why is time always the issue?
ReplyDeleteThe worm scarf is... interesting. I really like the texture but am now having flash backs to a marine biology lab experiment that I had to do years ago. It was an exploration of osmosis, and we had these big red pyrochaetes - worms with TEETH!! We had to pull them out of their saline solutions at given time intervals to weigh them to see how much weight they gained or lost.
Guess who drew the 3am slot???
Coming from a college girl, I love the scarf! I've actually seen a few similar ones on my campus already. I'm sure she'll love it, especially if you know she already likes the colors :)
ReplyDelete