Follow my unending quest to knit up my fiber stash.
Monday 01 Sep 2008
Changes
Well, the oldest child is now safely ensconced in the non-ivy-covered halls of his Southern Californian country club college.
Damn it’s clean quiet around here.
I’m currently using his temporarily unoccupied bedroom as a staging area for a little stash reorganization. Plus, I found a kick ass bookcase thing at IKEA this weekend. It’s bigger than the photo would indicate. That top, center cubby is holding an Indigo Moon batt, and three Grafton batts, and a batt from Miss Babs.
And here’s another change . . . I have photos of three FOs!
A basic felted bag that patiently waited nearly two months for its turn in the washing machine (more info on Ravelry here):
A basic pair of gloves that practically knit themselves (more info on Ravelry here):
And my latest, soon-to-be-available pattern, Heat Wave, which I knit with just one skein of Brooks Farm Primero (more info on Ravelry here):
I just need to take better photos and make the last minute edits to the pattern. I loved this design worked up the the Wooly Wonka silk yarn (only available with the kit) but I love this version just as much. The Brooks Farm yarn has been burning a hole in my stash for nearly two years and this was the perfect project. The skein has only 500 yards of yarn but this finished stole is really good sized — almost 70 inches long and 21 inches wide. And it’s unbelievably warm. I’m really pleased with how it turned out.
18 comments Susan | knitting, designing, patterns, shawls, random, lace
Wednesday 20 Aug 2008
Wanna Win A Book?
When Fiana Goberstein asked me to be part of her blog book tour, I happily agreed. I’m a knitting book junkie and and was curious to see the book she wrote together with Dawn Leeseman.
The book is called Casual, Elegant Knits and it’s published by Martingale.
When I thumbed through it the first time, I felt like many of the designs were geared toward beginning knitters. After a second, closer look, I’m revising my original conclusion. Most of the designs incorporate clever, slightly advanced techniques that give adventurous beginners or intermediate knitters a springboard for trying something new.
For example, the fingers on these gloves are created with a crochet technique:
And look at the interesting cast on for this hat:
If you’re inclined to make such things, this skirt looks like a great basic. It’s cleverly shaped by changing needle size.
You can see some of the other designs in Ravelry by clicking here.
I also like the glossary in the back of the book. The illustrations demonstrating the various techniques used in the designs are very clear. It’s a very good resource for the advanced beginner.
So . . . who wants to win this book??
All you have to do is leave a comment to this post and I’ll pick a winner at random when I return from California. But there’s a catch. Your comment has to contain a question for Faina or Dawn. The answers to the questions will be posted here in early September.
Have fun!
