Seeing Stars

For his 18th birthday, my son Michael wanted a purple dodecahedron star. How could I resist making this? Pattern: Celestine by Norah Gaughan ( www.berroco.com/exclusives/celestine/celestine.html ) One skein Cascade 220 ( with 2 inches left over! LOL!) in Purple Hyacinth, size 6 DPNs. It was a blast to make; now my younger son wants one, too. In red, of course...

"Making Mathematics with Needlework"

The summer before last, I had the great fortune to send my son to the Hampshire College Summer Studies in Mathematics program( www.yp17.org ) for the second time. He had a wonderful time learning and playing with mathematics, and I got to hang out with sarah-marie belcastro ( www.toroidalsnark.net) , a Math professor at Smith College, who is co-director of the program. She was knitting a magical toroidal object with teeny tiny double pointed needles! We got to talking, and I mentioned my interest in knitting and quilting. She was writing a book about Math and needlework, and I enthusiastically offered to be a pattern tester. Well, several months later, she sent me the patterns for two mobius quilt designs. I had a blast constructing these, and for good measure, made a quilt of a "squashed dodecahedron"...I sent them to sarah-marie, and now, I'm thrilled to hold the book in my hand! My quilts are on the hard cover, and you can read the directions to make these in the book! it is available from Amazon, or directly from the publisher, AK Peters ( www.akpeters.com ). The directions for making your own knitted torus are there, plus fascinating papers on mathematics as it relates to needlepoint,blackwork embroidery, quilting, knitting and crochet. Truly a feast for those of us who love mathematics and needlework.

The Little Flower Doily

My friend Andrea, of Bad Cat Designs (www.badcatdesigns.blogspot.com ) shared the pattern for her doily to several of us as test knitters, and here is my version of this beautiful design. Size 10 crochet cotton, 00 needles, 7.5 inches diameter.

Pattern Recognition

My resolution for the new year has to do with documentation. Writing patterns is one of my goals, even though my current main love has to do with devising and making up my knitting as I go along. Enough people are starting to ask me for patterns that I think it is about time to delve into writing down some of the stuff I've made. Trouble is, I do take notes, but sometimes I just have to re-knit stuff to know exactly what I did, as I kind of make decisions as I go along. I suppose I have an attitude that I can figure out anything I want to make now ( except I have yet to comprehend lace circles in a very deep way, but I'm seeing that as a long term goal, too!) and I'm willing to rip liberally if necessary. Writing patterns, however, is a whole 'nother game. It involves setting down in formal terms, using a specific,universally acknowledged code, something that is inherently a process. And since I borrow liberally from every source I find, mutating and metabolizing it to suit my intended effect, it becomes difficult to acknowledge my sources. I just can't always recall where I found a particular idea! When I'm doing this for myself, it is not a problem, but when I consider doing this for someone else, a lot of issues come into play. Anyway, recently 2 people asked me to write up patterns for sweaters , one of which I've made, and the other was a formilization of an idea I'd been kicking around in my mind for a while. I really appreciate having " test knitters"; someone who can knit along with my directions and give me feedback about my instructions, as sometimes what seems obvious to me can be opaque to someone else! So, Thank you Jackie and Patti!

So, I've been working this week on The Leaf Lace Vest. I've gotten it written up to Row 9, and above is a photo of that. Cotton Classic, size 9 needles. As it leans on the ideas of Evelyn Clark, especially in her excellent book "Knitting Lace Triangles" http://www.evelynclarkdesigns.com/ ,I would encourage you to get this book! Evelyn graciously encouraged me to write up my pattern, and I am very grateful to her for her marvelous designs and her clarity of thought. Now all I have to do is find the time to learn charting software, and I'll be good to go! Graph paper and pencil is still my friend...

Apollo Vest

What do you do if you buy some very expensive yarn and fall in love with it,but don't know what to make of it? I bought 2 skeins of Apollo yarn, a silk and wool luxurious blend hand dyed by Great Adirondack yarns....but didn't have a plan for it! So, I made a shawl. But I don't really wear shawls, so I ripped it out and made a scarf. But the yarn was too pretty for a scarf, so I frogged that. Then I realized nothing would satisfy me until I had a vest, so I ponied up for a third skein, and made a simple lace vest. Size 10.5 needles, raglan construction, v neck. I put a bit of feather and fan on the bottom edge instead of ribbing. Very comfy to wear, warm and not too heavy. The beautiful felted and beaded pin is a gift from my talented friend Benedicte Caneill, who makes amazing quilts, has a glorious singing voice, and is a careful and enthusiastic teacher. I'm so lucky to have her as a friend...

Sea Lettuce Scarf

In my work at Sticks and Strings yarn shop ( http://www.sticksandstringsknitting.com/ ), I always love to play in the Koigu yarn. We sell a huge assortment of this yarn, and the colors are fantastic. One of the best patterns for playing with this lovely merino yarn is Lucy Neatby's Sea lettuce scarf, which has a very clever short row pattern that is interesting to knit and fun to wear. Here is my version of the scarf: I love how it folds up into a lovely cylinder. I knit it on size 7 needles, in 4 skeins of Koigu Kersti, a merino crepe yarn that is simply delightful...

Rhinebeck Sweater Updated

I finally finished this sweater sometime in December! At first, I hurried to get it done for Rhinebeck, but missed that deadline. I knit some other stuff, then it got cold, so I went back and finished this one. I lengthened it to below hip length, added some more cables and finished with a wide rib. I had a blast playing with the shaping and now I enjoy the warmth and snug fit! Even though the variegated yarn obscures the cables, I love the complex riot of color and design...