and we had knitting, too

even though i spent a LOT of time working in the garden over the weekend, i managed to get some knitting done as well. i took a break on saturday morning to meet up with debby and susie, which gave me a chance to finish the first of the cotton fingerless mitts i’ve had on my needles forever.

i love the way it turned out and it’s not even blocked yet; imagine how nice it will look after a bath. the ecobutterfly organic color grown pakucho cotton lace yarn i’m using truly feels like a luxury fiber—if you happen to be allergic to cashmere, this would be a lovely substitute; it behaves about the same in knitted fabric and feels lush. i’m using the deep green cotton lace (without copper)

i decided to name them sweet tea; anne marie helped me with the name and i love it. the pattern is all written, proofed, and waiting for me to get a sample done. i forget about them sometimes, because they live in my purse. while i do get some work done on them while on the go, i’ve realized that i need to pull them out and just get them done during an evening or two at home.

in fact, today i got a good start on the second one during our afternoon knitting class and now i’m through the lace hem. i’ll work on it more this evening and who knows—we could have a new pattern to release on friday (deadlines are good; this is what i needed).

i also worked on the the twig and leaf shawlette that i’m knitting in briar rose merino/silk stella lace

i think the color is closest to this one on chris’s website—oh yes looky there, she even named it Anne’s New Shawl, haha, so i guess that would be the one! but you know what? it would look great in any one of the gorgeous color ways on that page—i love 800, 802, or 810.

sigh; this is why i don’t shop.

i love how this yarn is knitting up—from a distance, it looks like all one color, a tonal blue/black/green. but when you get up close, you see all sorts of lovely streaks in shades of purple, blue, and green.

it’s a whole world in there. i know i probably sound like a stoner or something, because i said the same thing the other day about the squash plants, too, but oh well, welcome to my brain.

the hem is moving along about as fast as 450-something stitches can do in a lace pattern, yet i can see progress. and who cares anyway? speed is overrated . . . i love the way it looks, so that’s good enough for me. i’m almost halfway through the hem—once i get to the garter section of the body, it will all go a bit faster, i think and i can start taking it places, like upstairs to watch TV, haha. not that it’s a difficult pattern, but in the dark color, it’s hard for me to see, so for  now i only knit it in good light.

i’m excited about this piece; chris is having a sample knit in a heavier yarn too, which should be interesting. it will probably take more yarn, though i won’t know how much until it’s done. meanwhile, jocelyn is also knitting a sample in stella.

OH! and speaking of briar rose—chris is going to have an event in early october called yarn in the barn, which will be a yarn orgy an open house featuring briar rose fibers and other artisans and some classes as well. i’ve been invited in as the guest teacher for the weekend; chris has booked two sections of sweater fitness as well as a half-day shawl class (maybe featuring this very shawl). if you live in the midwest region and have been waiting for a knitspot teaching event within driving distance, this could be your chance. please contact chris to find out more.

talking about the new shawl reminds me that i have a new type of shawl pin to share with you—they are called knopki: pretty pointless pins and they are the brainchild of creator hattie adkins, who many of you are familiar with as a long-time and very dear friend.

anyway, hattie figured out a new way to make shawl pins that hold layers of fabric together very securely, without using any sharp points.

you can use knopki as removable buttons as well—they are perfect for that, being constructed a little like a cuff link with a button on the back, attached by a tiny covered elastic band. find  place in your fabric to push the smaller button through and there you have it; an instant closure.

i do love how nicely they hold the layers of fabric together—tight, but without squashing the folds and they don’t droop.

it’s a good solution for lace fabrics that you feel are too delicate to tear at with a pin. if you want to use them for buttons on a sweater, you might need to plan ahead to create the necessary holes in the button band. but that should be as easy as copying your plan for the buttonhole band. hattie has a page of knopki sets available for this purpose. you can also ask for custom knopki, tailored to your project.

nice right? well, hattie would love to treat us to a giveaway of a knopki pin—the winner gets the pin of their choice. so here’s what we’ll do: take a look at hattie’s etsy shop, then come back and leave a comment, telling us which knopki is your favorite. i’ll close comments at 9 pm EDST on friday, july 6th; we’ll notify the winner (and everyone else) shortly after.

now, you might think that this ends the post, but you’d be wrong!

i’ll show you the next thing if you promise not to laugh—i was having a very busy day and not only had i not washed my hair yet, but i forgot to remove my glasses. so just ignore all that, cuz despite my being a mess, i think you might want to see this anyway . . .

i got david to snap a few photos of me wearing the finished caïssa sweater.

i like it a lot; the fabric feels just lovely. it’s hard to believe this garment is 13 inches bigger than i am, isn’t it? but it fits a range of sizes—we tried it on several people in class today to be sure.

it’s ok the way it is, too, but i do want that  collar band to sit up higher, so i’m correcting that in the pattern, but other than that, i’m happy. i know i will wear mine a lot, once winter comes. right now though, it’s a bit too sticky.

alright now, time to get to work—stay cool and have a very happy 4th of july. we’re going to spend the day with friends who have lots of kids about; i can’t wait.