yarnplay

Posted on Posted in designing, lace/shawls, projects

ooof—here it is thursday and i still haven’t cleaned up my yarn room.
that’s the bad thing about being a grownup; when it comes to keeping your toys tidy, no one orders you around anymore.

i did square away half of what i wanted to do in that room yesterday

because i really really had to pick out and wind up some yarns for upcoming projects. with the last of what i have OTN almost done (more on that later) and a ten-day teaching trip coming up (rochester, here i come!), i’m going to need some knitting to take along.

i decided to knit my little iris from this luscious tanis red label fingering yarn (front and left, above)—a singles spun of merino, cashmere, and silk which has the perfect sheen and glow to show off stitch patterns. since i have previously knit this shawlette only in a bright, solid cotton blend (kollage creamy, love it), it will be interesting to see what it’s like in the tanis chestnut, a dark tonal colorway.

i cast on the other night and worked the first few rows, just to get the fiddly part out of the way (that’s my strategy for making a project truly grab-n-go). you probably won’t see all that much of this until i actually hit the road; i’m thinking it will be a great traveler, since i know the pattern and won’t need to keep track of calculations or corrections while i knit.

i’m not sure yet what the red briar rose kindness is going to be, but it’s definitely an accessory—i have about 500 yards of this merino-wrapped-with-silk luxury to work with. i’m toying with the idea of designing a big red scarf to give to the red scarf project, then donating the pattern proceeds for november/december to the red scarf fund—sort of a two-fer to benefit one of my favorite organizations.

of course you do NOT need to purchase any patterns at all to give to the drive or the fund; that is absolutely not required. you can knit and give on your own as well (which is what we do the rest of the year). i just thought it might be fun to organize it a little for the holidays; sometimes a big group effort is inspiring.

okay, moving on . . .

in the center of our delicious grouping, we have zen yarn garden serenity 20 in one of my favorite colors this year—a nice bright—but not garish—turquoise. actually, roxanne calls this colorway tealicious (and i think it might be the same as what she now has listed as frosted teal). it doesn’t really matter what it’s called, because it’s equally yummy under any name—the merino and cashmere keep it next to the skin soft and the nylon makes it tough.

perfect for socks or any accessory that will be exposed to considerable wear. i wish i could say i was making socks, but no—can you guess what i have planned? (hint: it’s not a pony)

underneath the ZYG cake is my cake of gray cotton/merino from (i think) maple creek farm. i can’t find a website for them, but according to the ravelry database, they don’t appear to offer this blend anymore.

no matter, i have enough to make a very nice shawlette of exactly the size i prefer; i may even have enough for matching cuffs, though not fingerless mitts. i’ve been waffling about whether to use it for another hazeline (one of our FiFC club patterns) or to design something new with it. i’m leaning toward something new, but with a similar measure of garter stitch—i like that about hazeline and i want it to be cozy. so on that one, i’m thinking . . .

these two mysteriously dark yarns from spirit trail are next up in my sweater knitting queue. on top is lyra, a merino/alpaca/silk blend in colorway toadstool (love!!). below that is birte in colorway fig, a merino/cashmere/silk blend which is the DK version of the sunna i’ve enjoyed knitting with so much.

i have a few very loose ideas whirling around in my head, based on some old sweaters i designed years ago and never wrote patterns for. i won’t be replicating those, but some of the fabrics are still intriguing to me, so i may reinterpret them. it all depends on what happens when i swatch.

meanwhile, i am barreling down the homestretch on my large nona scarf. as you can see, this is a large scarf that will block out to be about 15 inches by 60 inches. i could make it even longer than that, but i think i’ll opt to make matching lace cuffs instead. i like the projress shown in the photo above; i had no idea i’d knit that much on it this week.

up close, you can appreciate a little better what a gorgeous fabric this yarn makes. the colorway is rosewood, one of my favorite reds (these are great photos for color accuracy; it really is just that rich in person). i’m naming this scarf “motheye” because of the single nupp that adorns the last row of each repeat, where the decreases come to a point.

it’s hard to see the nupps when the fabric lays flat, but they’ll be much more three-dimensional after blocking. i think i have just eight or so repeats left to knit and then i’ll be done. it’s possible i’ll finish this tonight if i don’t get distracted by swatching.

most likely, i’ll just want to crash with this simple project when i finally get to sit down later on, haha. there’s a lot going on around here right now and we are busy, busy.

with that, i’m going to go—today is errand day and i want to squeeze in a run before we go.

23 thoughts on “yarnplay

  1. I’ve never thought about starting all of my travel projects before I leave- but that would probably cut down on all of the time I spend procrastinating casting on because I don’t like the idea of doing all the fiddly beginning work when I’m on a plane or in a car!

  2. Never one to question genius, but…. doesn’t it seem a wee bit like tempting fate to name any wooly fibery goodness something that includes the word ‘moth’? 😉 Or is that like a protectorant? A sort of anti-moth name?

  3. I love the idea of the red scarf project pattern! I can’t wait until the BR Kindness makes its debut.

    I’m glad to see the Rosewood colorway knit up. I have a stash of that colorway in Sunna waiting to become a BelAir sweater. But I guess that won’t happen by itself…

  4. So glad there is no one to boss you around to put away your toys. The yarn is glorious. Such beautiful colours, I am inspired to do some dyeing. The scarf is looking great, happy knitting!

  5. My studio is all in boxes, so labeled as my husband says. I was on a trip in Spain, when he thought it would be a time to doing hardwood floors in the last two rooms.
    The floors are coming long, finishing by Saturday. Then the mess beginnings. I’ll probably find yarn from the Dark ages.

  6. So much deliciousness! I’m knitting Dovecote with the Fig Birte I bought at Rhinebeck, and loving both pattern and yarn.

  7. Those are some beautiful yarns, all lined up and ready to go! I love having a project cast on before I’m really ready to knit it; it just takes all the startup barriers away, doesn’t it?

  8. Oh, that Mothereye scarf is gorgeous! The color is so deep and rich and shows off the pattern just great. I know this is one that I’ll want to knit as soon as it is released.

    Finally picked out yarn for the Hourglass throw. That and Rene will be my winter big projects.

    Love all of your yarns, Anne. You’re so wise to get a head start on your travel projects.

  9. Your Nona scarf is gorgeous. I absolutely love the color. I don’t think I’ve found a single base yarn that ZYG dyes that I haven’t absolutely loved.

  10. “Toadstool” is a hilarious color-name, but my favorite colors in this bunch are the Zen teal and that Birte Fig – wow, that Fig is beautiful.

    Is that the cuff of a wristwarmer?

  11. I just love the colour of the teal yarn – so, so pretty. I wonder what you are knitting with it? I also like the dark blueish tones in the yarn on the LHS.

  12. i’m so bummed that i can’t get up to Rochester for your visit there! i love how many projects you have lined up – can’t wait to see how that tanis chestnut fabric looks, the colors are gorgeous in the skein.

  13. A couple of posts ago you were all about frosting, and now you are all about cakes (yarn cakes, that is). That is a bit out of order, but all yummy!

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