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...

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...

Punxsutawney Phil may have predicted an early spring, but the weather in the mid-Atlantic has been blustery and cold.  I thought I would bring the sunshine indoors by knitting Tanis Fiber Arts Blue Label in Saffron .  I purchased this yarn two years ago during the Boxing Day update.   I had never shopped TFA, and wasn’t prepared to be cartjacked.  This skein was the only one I purchased, and it’s been hanging out in my stash, not quite sure what it wanted to be.  When I came across the Wheatley pattern , I knew Saffron had found its match.  Et voila . Despite being fingering weight, the yarn is a little thicker than I’m used to, so my 64-stitch cast on is not as snug as I would like.  But I think these will be a great companion with my rain boots – socked full of sunshine on damp, soggy days.

I was never the cool kid growing up – a jenny-come-lately.  So it’s no surprise that my DVR list is a bit light.  No "it" shows are in the queue.   Downton Abby ?  Nope.  Breaking Bad ?  Missed it.  House of Cards ?  Natch.    Walking Dead .  Nada.  And Game of Thrones ?  It shares the same fate as the character, Jon Snow.  But even though I’m not watching hit shows, I knit with yarn inspired by them…that should count for something, right?    And so it goes with these bad boys: These are being gifted to my mom for a belated birthday gift.   White Birch Fiber Arts in You Know Nothing Jon Snow Until next week, bon tricot !

I cast off my Harold and the Purple Crayon socks this week.  I purchased the yarn, not so much for the color, but for the book it celebrates.  While there’s nothing wrong with purple, and truth be told, I used to love that color, I have grown less enamored with it the older I get. Desert Vista Dyeworks Harold and the Purple Crayon Of course it’s not purple’s fault.   Purple’s innocent, a victim of color crime, if you will.   See, in my circle of work, people have manipulated and exploited this color to justify behaviors that, in other professional settings, would not be tolerated.   For me, purple conjures obstinacy, entitlement, and narcissism.   You may wonder what could happen to taint this color.  Well about ten years ago, a former colleague introduced me to her passion for purple pigment.  Perhaps passion is not strong enough.  She worshipped at the altar of purple.   She organized her entire life around it....

Knit-a-Longs (KALs) are great for digging into the stash, except…well, when they’re not.  I’ve been participating in Desert Vista Dyeworks’ Officially Unofficial Monthly Sock Club .  Each month, participants post a picture of their yarn accompanied by a completed pair of adult-sized socks.  The KAL began in January, but it wasn’t until late February when I had my first DVD skein in hand.     Given my exceedingly large supply of fingerweight yarn, it’s only logical to assume that I would have one, or two, or ten skeins of DVD, but I confess, I did not.  Since the KAL is structured into four quarters, I decided to wait until April to dive in.  So far, I’ve knitted Halley’s Comet, the Entertainer, and Monopoly.   Halley's Comet The Entertainer Monopoly This month, I’m quite enchanted with Harold’s Purple Crayon, and I’m surprised at how fast these socks are working up.   But the irony of expanding my sta...

Happy Belated Mother’s Day!  This year, we decided to go home for the holiday.  My husband and I are from the same town (we lived seven streets apart from each other growing up) so deciding where and with whom to celebrate has never been an issue in our family.  We’re very lucky that our kids get to spend equal time with both our parents who are only a few hours drive by car.  Since I knew we would be traveling, I decided to cast on for another vanilla sock.  Straight stockinette is easy to knit while on the go, and although I used to enjoy reading in the car back in my younger days, I now find with age it makes me sick, so following a pattern was out. of. the. question. for our four-hour drive.   Besides, I’ve been eager to get my needles into Opal’s Little Prince jacquard sock yarn, and a vanilla sock seemed like the sweetest treat.  The color I picked is #7763 and it reminds me so much of the dog-eared Le Petit Prince paperback that ...

I’m addicted to indie sock yarn, and after the success of my Missoni knock-offs , I’m excited to merge my love of handknit socks with all things Burberry.  In my search for self-striping sock yarn on Etsy, I came across TurtlePurl’s Trenchcoat colorway.  The designer’s listing states that U.K. fashion plaids inspired the yarn. I have always adored tartan plaids.  I’m particularly enamored with Burberry’s iconic Nova Check, which accents many of its designs, including the brand’s signature trench.  What I’m less enamored with, though, is the label’s exorbitant price.  So imagine my delight when I found this smashing yarn!  I paid a little more money to upgrade the yarn base with cashmere.  I justified the splurge: I’m indulging a luxury experience without the luxury cost.  In keeping with Burberry’s classic appeal, I decided to use my tried and true vanilla sock pattern – ribbed cuff, stockinette leg, foot, and toes.  I’m delighted wi...

Back in 2011, like millions of thrifty fashion lovers, I camped outside (okay, I got there five minutes before the doors opened) my local Target waiting to shop the highly anticipated (and well-marketed) Missoni for Target line.  Weeks before the launch, I had scoped out the look-book and identified exactly which items I wanted to buy.  But despite having a disciplined plan of attack, all restraint, and apparently reason (my own, in case that wasn’t clear), was cast out of my cart, presumably so I could fill it up with things I had never planned on buying. As if that wasn’t bad enough, after hauling my purchases home and trying to forget how much money I had blown, I then… logged onto the website – or at least tried to – to purchase even more zig-zag wares!  From there, the my insanity escalated.  Before I knew it, I was trolling Ebay bidding on overpriced merch that would make the seediest loan shark blush.  There I was at 2 am scoping out auctions, in...