Perfectly describes this Classic Elite tweed yarn. It’s my rustic version of the Equestrian Blazer to be worn in the country walking muddy roads with my dog. Lately a knitted jacket is all I’ve needed with the warm weather this season. The yarn is knitting up nicely, structured but not stiff and the short rows give it a clean shape. I plan to start my Christmas knitting this weekend. I’d like to knit my dad a Shifting Sands scarf. Any yarn substitution suggestions -what’s your favorite sportweight yarn?

Posted by brooke at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (15)

“This is the oatmeal of mittens.” - Yarn Harlot

Thrummed Mittens
Pattern: Yarn Harlot
Yarn: Filatura Di Crosa Antarctic Wool Superwash, 2 balls plus a bit of a 3rd for thumbs
Fiber: Superfine Merino from The Yarn Tree, approx 1 oz.
Needles: Brittany 3.25 mm & Takumi bamboo 4.25mm
Notes: knit the thumbs following the pattern for thrummed mittens in the Winter issue of Interweave Knits

I’ve been wanting to knit a pair of these mittens ever since seeing Veronique's thrums. The project also fit a few requirements I had in mind when the desire to start something new hit Saturday morning. Small, practical, warm, uses yarn (and roving!) from stash, knit in stockinette stitch. Okay, it could have been anything...thrummed hat, thrummed socks... :) I imagine I’ll get lots of use out of these and they were a blast to knit. I can’t help but laugh when I look at them –neat little stitches on the outside and crazy wooly roving on the inside!

Posted by brooke at 08:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Rain and gusts of wind swirled around us while walking the dog late last night. After cleaning off her muddy paws I put on the teapot and finally got around to setting the twist on my latest handspun. I spun this fiber over the course of many evenings and it seemed to fit my mood and match the weather of late. Early this morning things had dried up and I was able to take a quick picture of the yarn before heading out for the day.

baby alpaca top from the yarn tree

Hope you all have a great weekend filled with yarn and needles.

Posted by brooke at 08:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Pattern: Fred Textured Sweater from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms, Beautiful Designs Using Organic Yarns by Louisa Harding
Yarn: Green Mountain Spinnery Cotton Comfort (20% organic cotton, 80% fine wool), 3 skeins
Needles: Crystal Palace straight size 3.75mm and 4mm, addi circular 3.75mm for finishing neck edging
Gauge: 22 sts and 30 rows = 4 inches st st with 4mm needles
Size: 6 mos.
Started: knit this swatch on Aug 13 and started the project shortly thereafter
Completed: Nov 9
Notes: The left front shoulder has three buttonholes. I crocheted three small buttons because I didn’t have small enough buttons on hand.

I worked on this little baby sweater secretly for months and finally mailed it off last week. Just in time -the little guy was born this week. The chevron pattern is easy, but required a bit more attention to keep the pattern correct when incorporating the decreases for the body pieces and the increases for the sleeves. I think the start/end markers on the chart for the sleeves are off a stitch because they didn’t match up to the number of CO stitches. I adjusted the markers to make it work. I chose unbleached white, but the yarn also comes in other gorgeous colors.

I love the progress shot above – I thought I was so close to finishing, but then the sleeves – baby or adult they always take longer than you expect!

Posted by brooke at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Thank You! for all the comments on my surprise jacket. Despite all the garter stitch it really was a great knitting experience – and it’s so quick! I’ve been pondering what EZ project to knit next. I may dig out the EZ pi shawl from A Gathering of Lace that I started last spring.

When I first started knitting, I never thought I’d like knitting lace. The entire circular cord covered with hundreds of loops, the wound up ball of lace weight yarn that doesn’t dent until after multiple charts, the bunched up stitches carried around in your bag for months and months. Now I want charts, the thinnest of yarns and 3.25 mm needles (and a copy of Victorian Lace Today, please).

Above, Ene’s Scarf from Scarf Style, two out of four charts done and soaking up windowsill light.

Posted by brooke at 07:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Pattern: Baby Surprise Jacket
The Opinionated Knitter by Elizabeth Zimmermann
Needles: Addi circ 5.0 mm 24”
Yarn: Kona Bay Wool from Pure Knits (1 sk green, 1 sk blue)
Gauge: 5 spi
Size: 6 months
Mods: Provisional cast on at cuffs, picked up these sts and added sleeve length in green, although there are 5 button holes I only sewed on 4 buttons
Started: 10.25.06
Finished: 11.06.06

This all garter stitch jacket is an intriguing knit and when things start to get “v. odd, indeed” (you’ll know what I mean when you knit one), just follow EZ’s words and “press on”. I messed up the middle a bit (the part where you do a large number of inc’s in one row- I did them over a handful of rows) but it still turned out okay. Only two short seams to sew and it’s reversible!

cross posted at zimmermania

Posted by brooke at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (20)

Working from my stash for the past month or two has been easy. Things seemed to match up – the pattern, yarn, color. But I think I’ve almost reached the point where it is not working. (Save for sock yarn.) There’s a pattern I really want to knit but nothing in my stash matches the requirements. I tried to convince myself that I could use some silk/cotton/wool blend yarn I have on hand (even swatched), but it just seems wrong for a project that should be knit in 100% wool.

It seems that a lot of my stash is made up of left over balls, two of this two of that, because I pad the yarn requirements when buying for a project. Two balls left over from these socks. Two balls left after this sweater. And the thing is I don’t think I’ll knit something new with the yarn now or later. The yarn memories in it are too much – like this gorgeous cash iroha – failed attempt at knitting a sweater with it and now I have 8 skeins (2 different dye lots) that I know I’ll never use. I’d like to sell the yarn, all of it to one knitter, but I wonder if anyone would pay for a box of good, but orphaned balls of yarn. Maybe I should start buying only the amount of yarn the pattern requires, but I doubt it - the fear of running out of yarn is too great.

Posted by brooke at 07:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)