the obvious choice

My skein of Noro Taiyo Sock traveled to Chicago with me this morning It's going to be a Gaia (rav link) shawl, for me. I've wanted one ever since the first I knit for my sister , in Silk Garden. This has more yardage ,so will be that much shawlier. Perfect project for  this weekend, while attending a professional conference. When I chose this colorway, it was pointed out it'd definitely be one I liked--because it matched ,exactly, fabric wound around my neck. They're the scarves in the background here as proof. I like to think of it as a cosmic convergence rather than being in a rut.

hue & me

 

It's getting bigger. Still not tired of it.

 

but it's starting to take a while to get fully around the square.

 

There's no real plan. I alternate contrast or cool/warm tones. Sometimes there are little runs of colors I particularly like. My other project right now is a  Cadence in Cascade Eco wool, in the satisfyingly sturdy & very plain natural brown/grey you can see on the the left next to the yellow (single crochet row). I cheated a little out of that sweater for this . Excellent alternatives to work on.

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I've run out of some of my leftovers in really odd colors. I'm hoping the outer edges won't be too boring, I have a lot of yellow, goldish yellow, brown & light dull blue.

 

Bobo and the Bigass Granny Square

denial

 

Dave finally got his sweater.  Cobblestone, knit in Berroco Ultra Alpaca and Potosi Sheep Farm hand dyed Blue Faced Leicester.

 

It was finished a month ago. The thing is, Dave doesn't like posing or the attention one gets in front of the camera. I know! cruel irony! Spending his life with a photographer. To make matters worse, I never feel Dave looks like himself when I shoot him, so I say, nah, not quite right, I didn't get you.  Who's this dude with a white beard who's showing up in my pixels.

 

This is the Dave I think will  appear in the photos.  I realized the problem is not with Dave's posing  but with my brain,  two weeks ago, when dear friends showed this photo of us in 1981.  Delusion! such a grand way to face the world.( Also: denim, such a wardrobe builder.)

 

FYI, I knit the Potosi Sheep Farm yarn every other row on the garter yoke, to mute contrast with the solid blue. I crisped up the detail in this image to talk about it, but it's a softer effect to the naked eye. What I didn't think hard enough about was the the short row areas.  You can see stripes by the lower yoke on the arm, and  in arm pits as blue wedges. I don't mind them much, though.  And in person? It's kinda like the beard color, you really just don't see it.

smarter by proximity

Photographing Your FO's class (taught by yours truly) Fiber Camp 2011

I'm pretty sure I have more brain power than I did yesterday morning.  

Saturday at Fiber Camp, this year at MIT. When I sat down in one of the classrooms, this is what was on the board. Do you love it? In the photo above, see  the lower right, in particular.

 

It seemed smaller than last year, but with a nice assortment of classes on the board Saturday. The MIT hallway of rooms was a different vibe than the big party feeling at last year's venue. This did not stop the spinners from settling in one bit. That's Guido Stein, Common Cod knitting community impressario on the left.

 

My class was full of awesome students (as usual). I mean truly, I am blessed with having a great group every single time. I taught a quickie 1 hour class.

 

We ditched the classroom in favor of a foyer, to work with light. I like teaching in the round for a demo rather than to a rows of seats.

 

Special thanks to my niece Ariana, who was shooting some footage for her senior project documentary film (Tufts 2011) nearby, so stopped in to see me. She wound up being the class model. For anyone who was there: this is a photo about her, not about the knitwear.

 

Knitting with beads class. I learned 3 ways to put beads into my knitting.

 

Until now, I only knew zero ways.

See? Smarter. Although just spending the day in a building with this kind of entrance grew me some new synapses. Or at least I felt that way.

 

Much thanks to the Common Cod Fiber Guild. Nice work !

blockhead

 

I didn't know I wanted to crochet a giant alternative granny square using my leftover partial skeins until I spied this one on Pinterest, where I invest  my primo procrastination efforts lately.

 

Fueled also by my utter admiration of Chawne's scrappy color quilting and improvisational knit blankets.

The presence of these books = final kicker. The softcover Jan Eaton 200 Crochet Blocks has the motif for my square, called Chocolate Box. If you're even vaguely considering the best swap around, this is the book you want.

The other title, Knitting Block by Block by Nicky Epstein is a hardcover worthy of inclusion in every knitting library. Like all her books, it's beautifully layed out, with well-lit detailed photos of each square, and clear instructions & charts.

 

The range is pretty amazing, from simple stockinette & ribs  through fussy sculptural features you might place on a purse, pocket or blanket. There're some patterns included, but I say get it as a reference resource & for  inspiration. Many of the blocks can be repeated along a scarf or garment, and she includes beaded squares, modular techniques, textural imagery, unusual cables, and fun colorwork, too.

 

See what I mean?

 

Whew, that might be the longest I've gone in days not thinking about my square. ahem.  I've added a few rounds since I made the top photo yesterday, and now realize that my smaller partial skeins are quickly eaten up in the growing square. These three, for example, are history.

 

These I have a pretty good amount of. I'd planned to only use skeins sitting here, leftovers from other projects. Solids only, thankyouverymuch.  But I already caved today, purchasing a skein of Cascade 220 in an orangely hue,9465,  to liven things up as my options get more limited. I also have a lot of red, from all the red scarf activity in recent years, and a good amount of  yellowy gold, dark brown and a greyish blue.

So, to sum up: no need to call me a block head, but obsessed might not be too far from the truth.

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official disclaimer: Knitting Block by Block by Nicky Epstein was sent to me for review by PotterCraft (my publisher, too).  I don't say nice things about a book unless they are 100% true.