ensemble mania

it’s crunch time around here as we pull within two weeks of our spring ensemble release and the last few samples are arriving at knitspot HQ. today’s featured design is a variation on the illas cíes pullover i showed you a couple of weeks ago—actually, it’s a marriage of that design and my beloved ivar cardigan, with benefits.

this gorgeous sample in our hempshaugh lace (in millet), was graciously knit for us by the incredible kristi. i am amazed at how substantial it feels, mmm.

this design—costa figueira—features the same openwork panel as illas cíes with the same placement as ivar. it also has the same dimensions, gauge, and shoulder line of ivar, but i’ve added body shaping next to the panels to feminize it a bit and add some structure to the summery fabric. you could wear this as a vest or by itself as a top; it’s lovely.

the pattern still includes a pullover version and an option to add sleeves, but there is another addition to this one, to fill a request from barb and cynthia (that’s me, the people pleaser).

now we can make it dress length to wear as a fall jumper. the added skirt is flared a bit at the princess lines and side seams. barb knit her sample in stone soup fingering yarn; i took some quick photos in our yard the other night but i promised her i wouldn’t show them on the blog (it was dark and windy, not the most flattering light). but she keeps saying “did i mention that I LOVE THIS??”

i guess she loves it. i promise i’ll post photos as soon as we have some nice ones—probably after the weekend. and then we’ll find out what cynthia thinks . . . gotta have approval from the board, you know . . .

OH! i almost forgot to tell you about a cool and related thing that happened this week—staci perry of verypink.com published a new free video tutorial for my curling neckwarmer and mitts design and it’s a great production. if you know a newbie knitter who would like to make this design, i recommend telling them about this piece. and if you love the costa figueira vest i just showed you or  the illas cíes pullover design, but are afraid the stitch pattern is beyond you, it’s probably not, but this tutorial will give you a chance to practice and put your mind to rest.

these delicious socks, knit in our ghillie sock yarn by general hogbuffer are the bavarian cream of the crop. they’ve got embossing to beat the band. the bossiest embossing!

those ankle medallions are the bomb, haha. we’ve actually had them in house for a while, but today i gave them a hot sudsy bath and now they look positively sculptural.

i just adore my new llama project bag, a gift from my dear friend kimkimkim. she knows what i like, haha. the funny thing is, i almost got her this exact same thing for her birthday last month, but then paused because i had a feeling she might have one already. and not three days later she sent me one (she bought us each one).

anyway, i’ve got something special inside. do you want to see??

i think my blue blob may actually be done, hooray. i had planned to add another tier to the hem with more mesh and then a border, but i i took it off the needles the other night to check something and wow, i really think enough is enough with this one—more would just be gaudy, no?

the profusion of activity and foliage at the bottom is just what i had in mind; the movement in the stitch patterns is really enhanced by the sheen of the spirit trail nona that i’m knitting with (colorway aquarius—see it at maryland sheep and wool in a few weeks!).

and you know, it’s good to hold back a little at this point i think. i can save the rest of what i had planned for another shawl . . .

actually after checking the thing i wasn’t sure about (whether the fabric was TOO ruffly to be able to block flat), i did put it back on the needles to begin the mesh of the next section. and i knit about eight or ten rows.

but i am totally fine with ripping back and then casting off, especially since i left my lifeline in place just at the right spot. so that’s what i’m going to do.

after i get back from canada. which is where i’m going this weekend in a few hours, to do some workshops with the ottawa knitting guild. or maybe tonight; we’ll see how long i last after writing this (i have to leave for the airport in a couple of hours and i am nowhere near tired at the moment, haha).

my biggest problem with it right now is not ripping back, but what to name it—i’m at a loss. any ideas? it’s kind of tropical, but also very garden-y, so i don’t know.

at any rate, i won’t be done yet with this project—i need to get started right away on a sample in our own yarn, so i’ve wound up a couple of skeins of better breakfast fingering yarn in the waffle shade (so warm and soft, so yummy!). this will give me a chance to test the pattern again fully, which will put my mind to rest. it should o pretty quickly, now that i made all the big mistakes with the first one—no reknitting of big sections this time. and much more compact for travel knitting .  . .

ok, i think that’s it for now. i will try to stop back over the weekend with some touristy pictures of ottawa. i’ve never been there, so it will be an adventure.