Bon Tricot

I had hoped to show progress on a shawl I’m knitting using Knit Circus Opulence Yarn in Turquoise Pool.   But a dropped stitch meant I had to rip back an entire lace repeat.  Quite frustrating, but I did learn a new skill – putting in a lifeline.  I could have ripped back a lot more if it hadn’t been for that trick.  Moving forward, I’m going to use lifelines for remaining lace.  Since my last post, I’ve also ventured outside the sock realm.  I signed up for a sweater class at my LYS.  I’ve selected Purl Soho’sSweater Sweatshirt for my project.  I must say after the first class, I was a little discouraged.  I assumed that sweater knitting would be the same as socks or shawls: as long as I got gauge, I would be good to go.  But no.  Because my gauge is different than the pattern, I will need to make the smallest size, and the cast on number as well as the decreases will also be adjusted.  The instructor say...

I decided it was time for a little spring cleaning.  I had two shawls in different states of finishing: my Drops of Honey Shawl not started and Claire Randall Fraser one-quarter knit.   The Drops of Honey shawl is the first installment of Indie Untangled’s Where We Knit Club, and since I knew the next installment was shipping May 1, I was motivated to cast on-cast off. This is my first time using merino-silk yarn.   It was quite the treat!   The golden-honey hue is not one I would pick for my blue-grey-turquoise loving self, but I couldn’t be happier with the finished product.   It’s a great neutral and can be paired with anything.   My son, who was fascinated with this project, compared the shawl to honeycomb.   Sounds like something an aspiring knitter would say.   Besides the merino-silk fiber, this is also my first time knitting a Janina Kallio  pattern.   But it won’t be my last.   In the meantime, I’m woe...

Happy Star Wars Day!    There’s been an abundance of Star Wars themed yarn this year, and I have fallen for many of them.  After completing my Brandy Milk Punch socks , I cast on a new pair using Two SistersYarn Company’s These Are Not The Droids You're Looking For.   I stumbled across this skein in February on Etsy.  It was the only one left, and it's dyed on their Canyon Creek MCN Base, which is 80% superwash merino wool, 10% cashmere, and 10% nylon.  The striping sequence is  five rows R2-D2 blue followed by Storm Troopers white, Millennium Falcon grey, Chewbacca brown, BB-8 orange, and the First Order black.   I have completed two repeats, and I'm loving the color combinations.    And speaking of droids, Must Stash Yarns is having a Star Wars KAL.  To determine my allegiance – Empire or Rebels – I took a quiz .  And it looks like I’m going to knit for the Dark Side.  My skein of Rey arrived in...

I was in New Orleans last week.  The city inspired me to cast on a new pair of socks using French Market Fibers , a New Orleans-based indie dyer.  This fingering weight yarn is a blend of merino and cashmere, and it’s the creamiest thing I have ever knit with, much like the cocktail for which it’s named.  I had never heard of Brandy Milk Punch, but I saw it listed on the drinks menu at dinner one night.  So I tried it.  It won’t become my signature drink, but Brandy Milk Punch yarn could possibly become my signature color.  I always thought knitting with neutrals would be boring, but not so with this yarn.  The color has so much depth and dimension.  And the yarn mirrors the drink perfectly! I used the Parade pattern , which kept my interest but did not require a lot of concentration.   Better yet, I was able to get a cable effect without a cable needle.   I really love how he these turned out, but I’m goin...