so close

Posted on Posted in designing, lace/shawls, projects

heh, i’m not sure what happened but somehow my camera decided that all the photos today will be square instead of rectangular. we love variety, right?

so, i’m just about finished knitting this DK weight shawl in the morning smoke color (currently on backorder) of our breakfast blend DK, but i just couldn’t keep my eyes open last night to knit those final few rows (don’t you hate that??).

i’ve got slanting raindrops, i’ve got little buds, and now i’ve got hem welting in the works. after the third ridge, i think i’ll bind off. sadly, my second skein ran out just before that last ridge, so i had to break into a third skein.

this happens often to me—because i’m working from scratch and in pattern, i just never know the exact yardage i’m going to end up using. thankfully, i had a partial skein on hand to finish mine, but when i write up the pattern, i’ll cut back the upper portion of the shawl a little bit so that we can bring the project in with two skeins—at least for this size. a taller size would definitely require more.

anyway, it’s on my agenda to finish it up tonight and to work on the pattern later this week. we’ll be knitting one up in the fingering weight as well and the pattern will include instructions for both weights.

i’ve also been working pretty hard on secret club projects because i have a bunch of travel teaching coming up soon and i want to get ahead on the april and may chapters. this last release was a race to the finish that left me  breathless; i hate that it puts such a burden on everyone involved. i don’t want to be the bad, crazed boss.

here and there i put in a row or two on this pretty cowl. the openwork pattern is a little hard to see yet, but will become more evident as the piece gains volume. it’s just an abstract little horseshoe pattern that is worked inside out on alternating repeats. simple, but it makes the whole thing reversible.

i carry this piece along in my purse and add a row here and a row there. right now it’s going slowly, but i never know when one of its trips out is going to turn into a longer session where i add enough to see measurable progress. it will be good car knitting for our trip on friday.

this weekend we’re going to albany for a few days to visit my mom; david wants to set up her new computer and we’ll take a trip back to see mary jeanne at the battenkill fiber mill while we’re there. it’s maple sugar season in new york state and the sap is running well. several farms host pancake breakfasts to celebrate maple weekend and we are heading to mapleland farm, owned by mary jeanne and her husband, on sunday to partake. my mom and my aunt are coming along as well (you’ve met them in previous posts!).

many of you are familiar with mapleland products because they make that incredible maple sugar cotton candy you can buy at rhinebeck. yup, we are so looking forward to those pacakes . . .

so i have that blonde cowl to work on and then i also have this brunette one in a different stitch pattern. progress has been slow, but if i can get the patterns written up, our good friend candy is waiting with needles ready to knit samples we can use for the photos. which means we can put them in your hands faster.

speaking of samples, our pile of beautiful sample knits in bare naked wools yarns is growing with contributions from several generous knitters among us. the other day when i got home from detroit, two packages containing treasure were waiting.

the first was from judi, who sent a gorgeous peu bourgeons slouch hat in the burnt toast colorway, to go with the peu de pluie cowl i knit.

isn’t that gorgeous? and so perfect for these windy march days—i don’t know about where you live, but here, it’s really cold and the wind is howling. it’s been spitting snow flurries all day, too.

along with the lovely hat, judi also knit these drop-dead gorgeous wussypillow fingerless mitts in the longer length

which extend halfway to my elbow—again, the perfect foil for wind that wants to push its way up my sleeves.

these will look awesome with a jeans jacket or hoodie with the sleeves pushed up as well. heh; i think we might need the matching tam.

thank you judi for your beautiful knitting—your stitch work is so perfect. i wish everyone could have seen how lovingly each piece was packed and the pretty card that came with them. you are a dear friend to all of us.

i have more beautiful samples to show you, but i want to honor each knitter as a separate artist, so i’ll include the other new ones i have in future posts. it will take time, but like good chocolate, great knitting is better enjoyed in a leisurely fashion.

the fingering yarn is delightful to work with—it has enough heft and bounce to feel like the fabric builds quickly, yet it’s super soft. we are getting great feedback about its wearability for socks, BTW—knitters who received the yarn in last year’s club and knit the sock project offered have been writing and commenting that the fabric is hardwearing, cozy, and ranks among their family’s favorites.

i know that’s true for our house; david has put in a full season of wear now on his waffle creams and they look good.

ok, when i wrote that, i hadn’t checked them in a while and i thought “i better be sure before i go spouting off to everyone on the yarn quality”. so i went upstairs with my camera to root around in david’s top drawer. no need to go far, these socks were right on top, heh.

he’s been wearing and washing these weekly since our anniversary in november. the toe looks practically untouched—shocking to me since this is always where his socks give out first. they are not made from superwash wool, so he does them in the machine’s handwash cycle, then hangs them up to air dry.

there is some minimal pilling on the heels, but no thinning of the fabric—another vulnerable spot for david. the fabric feels substantial knit on size 2.25 mm needles. he says they feel cozy and warm, not at all scratchy—i think these are a real winner against our chilly floors.

speaking of not having enough time to knit—look what time it is, 5 pm already!! sigh, where does it go? i better scoot or i’ll never get a pattern out to candy. i’m sorry to make such a quick exit—how about i leave you with some dessert to ponder til next time?

i took a little time off yesterday morning to make a lemon meringue pie for my dear friend debby; we celebrated her birthday in class yesterday afternoon. i love this system—i bake something on class days and then we don’t end up eating the whole thing ourselves. there is just enough left for david and i to each have  serving tonight. yum.

14 thoughts on “so close

  1. My Waffle creams are my favorite socks ever. I have just received my Earl grey fingering- to make some for the dear husband. I think everyone I love should get a pair! The yarn is so nice both in the knitting and in the wearing, and I get so many complements on the pattern!

  2. My Dad reports that his socks are still in excellent shape. He really loves them. He still can not believe they aren’t cashmere. Judi’s mitts are really beautiful. I can imagine they feel lovely.

  3. Oooh, so much beautiful knitting. i can’t decide which one to comment on! Can’t wait to see theshawl–I’m on a shawl bender right now!

  4. Can’t wait to see that shawl finished. It already looks like I would like to snuggle in it! We use the same dessert strategy at our house – most of it must be going elsewhere, or in the tummies of visitors. Far too dangerous otherwise.

  5. I simply cannot say enough good things about the new yarn so it is wonderful to hear that it holds up well. I also love seeing how they work up in all the various patterns. It is making my queue incredibly long however!

  6. I can’t wait on the cowl patterns. Judi did such a wonderful job on the hat and mitts! As you know I admired them in class last week as I slipped on the gloves! So soft and such a wonderful knitter she is. Now the pie looks really good…gotta go eat something sweet now.

  7. On my good grief,I have had a lemon meringue craving for about 2 weeks now,you may have just tipped me over the edge!!

  8. I have to provide dessert on Saturday….I think it just might have to be a lemon meringue pie?

  9. I can’t wait to see the cowls, I was too late to get into the yarn club so
    I am hoping for the next one. I did join the ebook pattern club so I
    am keeping abreast of it all. I am SO excited to knit this gorgeous hat.
    It is still very cold here in New England and I need something for my
    daily walks! I have a skein of burnt toast, so I am ready! Love your
    posts Anne, meeting you one day is my dream!

  10. Oh YUM – for everything!!! The knitting – the pie – the way David’s socks look so perfect – – – Happy Spring!!!

  11. I’m headed up to Albany this weekend too for a visit with the family. I didn’t know that it was maple weekend – we might have to check it out! I’m also hoping I have a chance to steal away for a bit to visit Trumpet Hill (it seems I never have time to fit that into the agenda on trips home…)
    Have a safe trip 🙂

  12. That pie looks fantastic. What a great idea to bake and then share at knit group. Ive been sending baking to work with Andy, but there is no reason not to spread the baked goods around.

    I really loved knitting with Morning Smoke. It’s so soft and such a lovely color.

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