Finished Object

I finally finished my son's red sweater! I'm very pleased that he likes it. It is his signature color, and knit exactly to his specifications. I knit it top down and a little roomy so I can add length as he grows. He wants to add a zipper front, but that will have to wait until after the holiday so I can get one. For now, he is thrilled to have is own sweater--the first one I've knit for him. I got the yarn at Rhinebeck in October, and knit on 10.5 (american) needles, which was really hard on my hands, especially with the 6 hour marathon I pulled yesterday to finish it for the new year. Now on to other UFOs! I wish you all a Happy , healthy,and creative New Year.

Christmas Lace

I think my favorite Christmas gift to myself is this sweater! When it dried, it became a lovely teal with green stripes, and the sheen and softness of the silk shone through. I wore it for Christmas at Mom's, and it was deliciously warm and gorgeously comfortable to wear. I'm so pleased with how the color came out! I wish I'd thought to take a "before" photo, but in my haste to transform it, I forgot. As I love to knit lace, but am not a shawl person, I can see more variations on this pattern...and for Christmas my Mom got me more silk yarn in royal blue , so I have my summer project all ready. Now I just have to finish 3 UFOs, oops, make that 4 since I had to immediately cast on with the Paintbox Merino my brother got me , as I really need a warm vest before the snow begins...there will be some snow this year, right? 'Cause I've got boots, a hat, sweaters at the ready!

More knitting projects!

The hat obsession continues. Here is one for my brother, who I'll be seeing tomorrow at Christmas at my Mom's house. I hope he likes it...














And this is a lace sweater I knit over the summer in bright yellow green and blue silk yarn. I never could bring myself to wear it because the color was overwhelming. Last night I overdyed it with blue, and now it is drying. I think this one will definitely be wearable.
Happy Holidays to all!

Goddess of Knitting With Cats

My friend Elizabeth Rosenberg ( (www.Elizabethrosenberg.com and www.elizabethrosenberg.blogspot.com ) initiated "The Goddess Project" and encouraged her friends to create quilts reflecting their own favorite Goddesses.

Because my two cats are always rearranging things in my studio, lying on my latest quilt, helping me wind yarn, sitting on my lap and otherwise being a big part of my life, I decided to play with that theme, so I pulled out all the cat fabric I had and went to work. The shape of the Goddess was given by Elizabeth, but I wanted mine to be wearing a furry dress, surrounded by her minions, lost in the fiber frenzy
that sometimes is my life.

The ball of yarn appeared and the cats were delighted to play with it. I knitted her a vest on tiny needles and added some quilting for foliage in the background. Her name is Perdita: Lost Goddess of Knitting With Cats. Here is a detail so you can see the stitching. The background fabric is hand dyed by me.

Fantastic Felting

It amazes me what washing will do to knitted fabric. This hat went through three hot/cold wash cycles, and the result is exactly what I'd hoped. I love this hat! And so does my cat.
The purse had only 2 wash cycles, and you can still see the knit stitches, but the size is just what I was looking for. .. It is amazing how the stuff shrinks and compacts. And just in time; we're supposed to have rain today and then a cold snap for the rest of the week.

Felt up

So, why am I wearing a bucket over my head? Actually, this is the pre-felted version of a hat. I decided I needed a warm hat that I could wear in the rain and I thought felting might make a thick, warm, water resistant fabric that might be perfect for my needs. Besides, I had a stash of Cascade 220 on hand. I used my Brother Home Knitter to cast on 120 stitches at a loose tension(9), and knit 45 rows, changing colors to include some black and some handdyed Cascade. I then put it onto size 10 needles, and knit in the round with a decrease every 15 sts X8, then knit plain, then decrease every 14 X8, then plain, etc until I had decreased to 8 stitches, whereupon I ran the yarn thru and pulled tight. Then I put the other side on circular needles and increased every 15 sts X8, knit one row plain, increase every 16 X8, etc. until I had about 10 rows of brim, then cast off. In retrospect I should have distributed the brim increases more randomly, as the result wasn't a circle but an octagon ( duh!), although a man on a runaway horse would never notice, as my mom says.
Now to throw it into the washing machine for a few cycles of hot/cold and keep my fingers crossed!
I also made a purse, as I had the knitting machine out, so here is the photo of that one ( pre felting)..

Keeping warm

True to the magical thinking philosphy, since I'm busy knitting warm stuff, it will be mild and balmy weather. I'm not complaining, but it figures!It has been in the 40s and 50s in New York,which is odd for this time of year. I do think Global Warming is real, and this chaotic and bizarre weather is one indicator that I can see. We're keeping the heat down to 68 degrees anyway, so the house feels cold.
Meanwhile, I've made 2 sets of fingerless knits, spurred on by wondering what to do with one skein of yarn. Perhaps I'll have to knit warm stuff every autumn? LOL.
This pair was done by Magic Loop with two leftover balls of yarn, and it was lots of fun to arrange the stitches and figure out casting on. I enjoyed it so much I made a second pair, but used one ball working inside and outside the ball. It was great to be able to work until I ran out of yarn on both simultaneously!

Sorry for the dark photo. Same pattern;celtic cable and ribbing; hand dyed alpaca yarn. These are appreciably warmer than the purple Merino ones. Lots of fun. This was my first try at doing two things on Magic Loop; I can see how easy it was to keep in the pattern, and to get both done at the same time was fabulous!