don’t you love those little knit projects that entice a bit of play, once they reach FO status? for instance, elm row wristlets that look like elm trees when turned upside down?
i finished them off the other day in knitting class and put them on to soak once everyone went home (they almost just happened to fall into susie’s bag to go live at her house, but we caught her just in time).
these blocked out a treat—having no elastic fiber content, the mooi yarn relaxed completely in the bath and spread out in a beautiful, silky fan across the blocking towel. no coaxing at all to get the fabric looking lovely. they dried in no time, needing very little reshaping; i just turned them a few times to keep them from creasing. the drape is unbelievable
although my one-handed camera and posing skills do not do it justice.
the cool thing about this yarn (well, one of the cool things), is how it changes in the light—it’s like tiffany glass
when you put it near a stronger light source, it glows with fire.
this is the amber colorway, the leftovers from the elm row scarf i knit a couple of years ago.
this yarn is one of the most beautiful i have ever knit with—i am always impressed with its luxurious hand and the soft, enveloping warmth it provides, given its weight. but most impressive is the incredible fabric it makes; light as air, yet it drapes into gorgeous, rounded folds and holds its shape like nobody’s business—the ribbing bounces right back to shape when i take them off. it’s quality is truly top notch; it’s an investment that is worth every penny.
and because it’s an investment, a little project like this is a good way to use up every scrap of leftover yarn—i think they require about 110 yards as shown, but you could get away with even less if the cuffs were knit a bit shorter (they will also coordinate very nicely with the pea vines shawlette, i think). i need to write up the pattern for these and think of a name—something close to the scarf name, but not quite the same.
actually, i have two other projects on the go that are in the same dilemma—i’m deriving them from previously published work as coordinating pieces, and they’ll need names.
these mitts are stumping me. i have bougainvillea stuck in my head and i can’t seem to see around it. meanwhile, i am adding a respectable inch or two onto them every couple of days while i watch TV late at night (no sock on the needles right now . . .). i want to finish them before i leave town for thanksgiving.
and then there is the delicato scarf
which is also growing steadily toward completion, so i’m searching for a good name. one reason we like to keep the names slightly different is that it reduces the likelihood of confusing the files for printing, sending, or ordering. you’d think that was a small thing, something that would be easy to manage, but it gets annoying to keep lots of “file twins” straight (imagine yourself a teacher with a classroom full of identical twins—are you dizzy yet?). better to reduce confusion right from the start.
learning from experience—priceless.
enough patter about tangential concerns—let’s get back to chatting about actual knitting.
more wasp and rose—turns out i was lying the other day about being close to finishing section A; i wasn’t even close, having misremembered how many repeats i planned to do. but now i’m a lot closer—last night i got almost all the way through the last repeat of this current pattern. if i don’t get distracted, i should be starting section B tonight. the rows are feeling longer and those victorian stripes have achieved some striking impact now, which tells me it’s time to segue to the next part.
here’s another incredible fiber isle yarn—kami bison—that offers most of the same characteristics of the beautiful mooi yarn above (which fibre isle actually manufactures for louet). this yarn contains bamboo and bison too, blended with merino instead of cashmere. it has the signature drape of other fibre isle yarns, a lovely halo provided by the bison content, and is light and soft, with a glimmering sheen. PLUS, it comes in a very wide range of colors, the yardage is a bit more generous, and the price point is much more reasonable for most of us. what’s not to love? definitely a good alternative to the mooi.
now that it’s gaining some weight and size, i’m really starting to get into this shawl project. it took me awhile to get my engines warmed up on it, but now they are racing . . .
i received another completed sample from karolyn the other day to add to the trunk show; isn’t it lovely? this is a boxleaf triangle which she knit up in alisha goes around plush lace
she used one skein (maybe less) to knit this medium-sized piece. the colorway is chimney sweep—i just love how it knit up in this shawl. and the fiber is SOOoo squishy and cuddly. as i told karolyn, i might be tempted to wear this one once in awhile myself.
especially when i head to NYC in january; i’m sure i’ll need something i can pile up around my neck as well as drape across my shoulders (small shawls are so versatile that way).
another thing i did over the past couple of days is knit another swatch for my upcoming sweater project, this time on a smaller needle to see if i could improve the stitch definition and if that would make the fabric stiffer than i wanted
at first, i thought it was too tight, but then i washed it and it relaxed enough to be perfectly soft and snuggly. i also refined my stitch pattern choice a bit to increase the impact of the knit/purl contrast. now i just have to decide if i’m going to use cables or not on the seams; i’m not sure any more that i want them; not sure whether i’m going for this look or not (oooh, maybe i AM; that looks nice, now that i take another look at it . . . i should write a pattern for that. and how easily distracted am i??).
cables do add a nice textural detail, but they also stiffen and add weight to the fabric in the spots where they occur. do i want that, or do i want a sweater that’s more like a baby blankie all over? hmmm.
i’ll ask david—he always knows what i want.
23 thoughts on “little delights”
Anne
Can’t wait to get the pattern for those wristlettes! They would look great peaking out of a blazer or winter coat. I’m doing up your pea vines shawlette now – definitely addictive 🙂
Thanks for your advice on blocking wires last summer – bought them and used them for the first time just recently on my first lace project. I can’t imagine blocking without them now!
I like this sweater swatch much better than you last one a couple posts ago.
You cracked me up with asking David what you want – I’m the same way with my hubby!
Kelly
Oh, the wristlets! Once again you’re making me revise my stance on certain knit accessories (first shawls, now floofy sleeve-enders)! I hope they debut before Christmas!
…aw, man, thanks for reminding me that I bought the Boxleaf Stole pattern a year ago and never did get around to knitting it up.
Just finished up a pair of Curling mitts! They really FLY off the needles!
Those wristlets are gorgeous! I have a friend who would love them! She wears fingerless lacy things with almost every outfit.
The scarf looks so cozy! It’s beautiful.
Even if you don’t want that sweater look you link to a photo of, I sure do! Another spanner in the work of picking out just the right pattern for my delicious worsted Needle Food in my favourite colour, sigh. Wait, no – that’s why I love your blog! All the inspiration!
Well I’m just falling in love with mini-shawls. The idea of being able to make something so beautiful with just one or two skeins of yarn is appealing in itself – but because it takes such a relatively small amount – it means that fibers like the Mooi become manageable.
When I began knitting – you could make a sweater for $20 to $50 (or even less). The yarns were basically all the same (some kind of scratchy, half processed wool – or acrylic) and the patterns were too.
But NOW – Now we have the internet. Now we have designers like yourself. Now we have fibers that are wonderful beyond all imagining – and just LOOK what you do with them!
So – I’m just toddling along behind – like a baby in a toystore – picking up as much as I can – this pattern here – that yarn there! Isn’t it just FUN?
How about instead of bougainvillea, you call the mitts the Villa Mitts – like the Italian Villas covered in beautiful bloom filled vines. Just a thought.
What lovely projects! Can’t wait to see the items when they’re finished too. Love your yarn choices too…
Oh, those elm wristlets! I gasped out loud in delight when I saw the finished product. I’m definitely going to be waiting for this pattern so I can have my own matching set! (And, incidentally, I have the same exact yarn set aside for the set.)
mitts remind me of jacaranda!
How funny, I am knitting up a stole in that exact vine pattern (but in greens)! Only I started in September & got sidetracked. I’d love to say great minds think alike, but I’ve not achieved greatness yet 🙂
In that purple, I think of climbing vines. Maybe Clematis or Arbor (for the structure the vines are climbing)? Pretty work!
I love those wristlets as they are so pretty. I am sure they look gorgeous peeping out of the sleeves of a winter jacket.
The delicato (was that a type?) scarf — stunning. Perhaps that really should be the pattern name — “Delicato”. I hope I remember to check back when it’s done and available, because it is gorgeous.
Oh, mooi! I didn’t know about this yarn until now. Beautiful. All of it!
An idea for the lovely purple mitts: how about Aurantiaca? (See http://www.plantoftheweek.org/week130.shtml.)
I’m glad you are writing up the pattern for those wristlets–I will definitely make them to use up my Mooi leftovers (when I finally make Elm Row…sigh). I still love that Boxleaf Shawl every time I see it–I think I have yarn for it already-must check Ravelry! I just finished the back of Henley w/a Twist. It looks great! The sea pearl is so smooshy. I can’t wait to wear it. Of course I still have a lot more knitting to do!
What a lovely bunch of things! Stunningly beautiful and all fibery and all 😉 I really like those Mooi wristlets.
I must admit that I like the cables – a lot – but then I can’t feel what they’re doing to the fabric the way you can 🙂 And I love that boxleaf triangle!! Why haven’t I knitted one of those yet? I love that shawl. The mooi looks stunning; that may have to go on my Christmas list. So much yarn and so many good patterns, so little time….
mmmmm if i absolutely had to choose a favorite i think it would be delicato – cushy enough for winter but still very DELICATO!
and seeing that boxleaf makes me know i have to take mine out. i really knit it up too loosely.
lovely day at knitspot!
I have loved David’s sweater since I first saw it and have been waiting for you to publish the pattern. It is just the right look for my son. Are you planning to release it soon?
I must have the pattern for these Elm Row wristlets. They are PERFECT for my daughter for Christmas. Oh my.
Waouhh! super.
I just saw your design in the latest Twist Collective. I adore it so much I’m late for work now because I spent too much time looking at it. Simply wonderful!
OMG! I LOVE the Twist surprise! Anne, you’ve outdone yourself on that one…no wonder you were so excited!
Ooh, will you be at the Vogue thing in January in NYC? I am training up with some friends for the day, maybe we will get to see each other! Are you teaching classes?
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