A quick look at Greetings from Knit Café by Suzan Mischer.

what I would knit Canyon Hiking Socks, Huge Triangle Shawl¹, Lala Scarf, Red Carpet Gown
what I wouldn’t knit Felted Saddle Blanket
patterns here I haven’t seen in other books Boxer Shorts, Yarmulke
controversial I know people have very strong feelings about knitted dresses…There are two in this book, and I like one of them (!) - The Red Carpet Gown.
reason I bought the book It opens with a few pages on the making of Knit Café. I think every knitter has wanted to open a yarn store at one time or another and it’s fun to read how Suzan Mischer came about opening hers. The book goes straight into the patterns (no pages on tools, gauge) - each project is by a different designer, contributors include Julia Trice, Deena Williams, Mary-Heather Cogar, Kat Coyle …
knitter friendly ? Will have to knit and see.
cast on I would probably start with the Lala scarf because I have KSH in my stash.

¹ A friend asked me a few months back, “Do you knit throws?”. I think this would be a good gift. The pattern starts off by saying that it’s not the quickest knit and yes, it’s stockinette. Anyone else starting his/her Christmas knitting in June?

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Posted by brooke at 10:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

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I was in Queens for work today, battling holiday traffic and rain, searching for a yarn store. (Okay, actually I wasn’t searching, I was on a work-related errand. Definitely no thinking about knitting, looking for yarn or knitting during work.) Where are all the yarn stores in Queens? The only one I know of is Smiley’s. Is this an untapped market? Or do knitters just take the train into Manhattan and shop at purl, habu, the yarn co… On the way home I picked up this book – I can never get enough of these hard cover coffee table-like knitting books. I can’t resist. Next up, the health food store to get some organic chocolate. By the time I got home the sun was out and this cashmere sock yarn was in the mailbox. Now what to do first…read, eat, knit?

Posted by brooke at 08:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I haven’t knit a pair of socks in seventy-two days. Skip lunch. Go to local yarn store. As I pulled out my addis, the woman next to me handed over her sweater pieces to be seamed and then left to get Starbucks. Ending the sock knitting fast, my mind was ready, my fingers limber. But then… I must be the only person who can’t knit toe up on the first try. I knit and ripped a couple of times. I got carried away wrapping and slipping the loops back and forth on the needles. I was making it too complicated for myself. Or maybe I just didn’t get it. It wasn’t the pattern or the yarn, it was me. The woman sewing up the Starbucks sweater helped me until I got it right. Things started to shape up. One thing is for sure, I’ll never go that long without a pair of socks on the needles again.

Posted by brooke at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Icarus shawl progress.
Five repeats of chart 1.

Posted by brooke at 10:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Canvas, silk, velvet & brocade, cotton, recycled… So many ways to carry knitting projects.

I must have my knitting with me, even if I know I’ll only have a few moments during the day to knit. I probably look like a bag lady, knitting bag over shoulder and handbag with everything else. So far I’ve been able to keep them separate –wonder how long that will last? Here’s a little flash of my knitting bag. Work in progress, notebook, pattern. Crystal Palace and clover needles, light enough to carry around just in case someone wants to learn to knit on the spot. Some alpaca and silk hiding in the corner. How do you carry your knits?

Bag by Offhand Designs. Knitty (hey, the Spring issue is up!) reviews it here and you can find it in pretty colors over at pureknits.

And one last thing. Go read this.

Posted by brooke at 10:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Is there someone in your life who you wish would knit? Someone who, despite your efforts, hasn’t shown any interest in starting to knit him/herself? When they visit do you casually throw a skein of yarn at them to see what kind of reflexes they have to wool? Do you keep your bookshelves filled top to bottom with fiction, except the shelf at eye level, which contains all knitting books? Or do you just put yarn and needles in their hands and say, try it?

Wish she would knit. For me this person is my sister. She has supported my knitting…buying me knitting books, tagging along to the yarn store and wearing what ever I knit her. (She actually wears what I knit! In public and sends emails with photos of her wearing the knits to family and friends.) I don’t want to push her into knitting. And you’re probably wondering why I don’t just say, Hey, wanna learn how to knit? Not sure why. But I just realized recently one thing. That I’m a big fat selfish knitter. I haven’t been knitting items in her favorite color. Red. And the perfect example of me being a selfish knitter is that my next thought was about my stash…If you stayed at someone’s house, and the shelf next to the guest bed was filled with yarn in blues, greens and browns and your favorite color was red, you wouldn’t want to knit either. My plan is simple. 1. Start knitting things in red for her. 2. Keep a ball of red yarn and bamboo needles in my bag, so when I see her she won’t be able to resist... 3. Start stashing up on the most luxurious red yarns available.

Above, number 1 & 3. This yarn is sure to get her thinking. Sundara Yarn.

Pattern: Icarus Shawl by Miriam Felton from Interweave Knits Summer 2006.

Also, thank you for all your lovely comments on the finished somewhat cowl.

Posted by brooke at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

watercolor 5 x 7 inches

Posted by brooke at 09:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pattern: The Somewhat Cowl by Wendy Bernard
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca & Silk in Plum from kpixie.com
Needles: addi turbo circulars and bamboo dpns in sizes 3.5mm and 3.75mm
Gauge: 24 sts and 32 rows to 4 inches
Modifications: None, really. I knit the second smallest size using the revised pattern with waist shaping. My cowl ribbing is a bit shorter than specified in the pattern.
Blocking: I didn’t block the sweater.
Started: 4.14.06
Completed: 5.4.06

Thoughts:
Sweater high. Knitting a sweater top down. Love it! I think this is something I’d find at Barneys. (Sweater high.) It’s stylish and shapely with a somewhat cowl. Back to knitting top down, did I mention how much I love it? I’d be interested in your thoughts on knitting sweaters this way – pros, cons, other good patterns. Did you see the gorgeous Something Red knit by Siow Chin? Also lots of good references on top down knitting there. Maybe Something Red or this pattern in a long sleeve version...maybe in cashmere?

Posted by brooke at 08:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Posted by brooke at 08:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)