You know how some people just have their knitting thing?  like complete and utter love of lace or cables?  like that is all they want to knit all the time?  well, I think I found mine.  It shouldn’t really come as a surprise considering how much I love the interplay of colors and the simpleness of stockinette.

Could you tell with all of the colorwork projects of late? 

I wanted to try colorwork for years, but I was nervous about the technique.  I delayed even trying it.  I still have a lot to learn, but I am really in love with the process and the results.  And for some reason, it really seems to work up quickly!  Perhaps it is because I can’t wait to see how the colors will interact on the next row?

The Jacquard Pulli was a test trial - I wanted to see if five disparate yarns from my stash could come together in a Fair Isle pullover.  I think I lucked out.

The colors are combining and creating a lovely spring-themed knit.  I am using the deep brown as the main color - a nod to Project Spectrum’s Earth element - and mixing in the pink, cream, greens and blues.  Each yarn here has lived in the stash for over a year, so this is truly a stashbusting project.  And how quickly she grows!  I started this project for Project Spectrum, as well as the Lord Stanley Stashbusting KAL on Ravelry.  So far, I have knit this much after watching two playoff hockey games. (Go Penguins!)  However, when the hockey gets intense, I have been known to put the colorwork down, for fear of messing up the charts… such was the case during last night’s nailbiter between Pittsburgh and New York! 

I have found it quite simple to keep the tension in the stranding.  My floats don’t pull too much, and with a light blocking, I don’t think there will be any puckering.  I am using yarns of slightly different weights (the pink is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, but I have always thought of it as more of a worsted weight; while the green - Knit Picks Andean Silk - and blue -Cascade Lana d’Oro - are a lighter worsted, bordering on DK-weight).   

SO, yes, I am quite enamoured with the colorwork… maybe it is just a phase, but I see this one sticking around for awhile.  Guess what’s on my shopping list for this weekend?

What’s you knitting thing?  is there a technique that you just can’t get enough of? 

Given the opportunity, I can definitely drop some cash on nice yarn. I have done it before. As I stated previously, New York City could appropriately be called New YARN City with all of the shops and the amazing selections on a relatively small island (Manhattan). In previous years, I have brought a second bag for my purchases… this year, I showed remarkable restraint.

…not because I am immune to the siren song of great yarn…

More like the fact that the BIGGEST yarn festival is virtually in my own backyard this weekend.

I alluded to my purchases in the last post. After spending a good chunk of time camped out on the floor at Kinokuniya bookstore, I brought home three craft books:

The bottom two are pattern books featuring lovely intricate designs. There are many colorwork projects and some beautiful accessories as well. The second is a smaller book focusing on Men’s Knits - specifically sweaters and vests. (As you know I like to knit for Kris, so one of these sweaters could very well be on the needles for the 2009 anniversary sweater!) The third and final book is a collection of Eastern European folk motifs charted for cross-stitch and embroidery. I think the charts would be perfect for knitting as well as embroidery. The simple Japanese aesthetic really appeals to me - I could have left the store with many more books in hand!

At School Products, I came away with a cone of Aran-weight wool/alpaca/silk blend. It weighed in at 2.5 lbs, so I should have approximately 1100 yards, according to the calculations. Plenty for the stranded colorwork I am planning! If you have rough estimates in mind, this is the place to go to find nice yarns and blends. I am always pleased with their selection of natural fibers. I almost walked out with some yak fiber too… but I left it behind for the next trip.

It was my first time to visit Gotta Knit! and Erin and I was happy to meet Goldie, the sweet owner. She told us that the shop had just moved to Midtown after being in the West Village for many years. They are on the 5th floor of the building, but if you look up from the street, they have a visible sign with the store’s name. There was a nice selection of luxury fibers and some “new-to-me” yarns. Upon walking in, my eyes fixed on a cream-colored Noro skein on the table. I figured it for the new Kuryeon sock yarn, but Goldie told me that it was even better - the new(er) Silk Garden sock yarn. Imagine my excitement! Goldie told us more about the shop’s expertise: when you buy yarn at their store, they will actually customize a pattern for you using the yarn. You can tell them the style and kind of garment, and they will write it up for you! An amazing and unique service. This skein of Noro and two issues of Rebecca came home with me.

The two new yarns in my stash were quickly “balanced” (as Jenna puts it) by the cast on of my new small transportable knit: Laila’s Socks from Folk Knitting in Estonia. Truly inspired by Terhi’s amazing version of these socks last year, the yarns jumped out at me when I did a quick survey of the sock stash. I made this bit of progress on the train ride to New York.

Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Loden / Louet Gems Pearl in Mustard

…quite possibly a match made in heaven…

Three years in a row: our springtime excursion to New York is becoming somewhat of a tradition! We only stayed for two days this year - Kris was in conferences, and I was out and about taking in the beautiful spring weather and sights, and meeting up with some old and new friends.Thank goodness for alternate work schedules and post-doc appointments! Without these things, I would have missed meeting with two special people. On Thursday, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Connie. We have corresponded for months, and I have admired her amazing parade of designs in several of the recent knitting publications… she designed the beautiful Printed Silk Cardigan that I knit for my sister, and her newest design was just previewed for the Interweave Knits Summer 2008 issue. We had a lovely Thai lunch, and headed to a local cafe where we knit, talked about yarn and her design process, and sipped on some coffee. In the mid-afternoon, Erin called us to meet up. We met her at Habu Textiles.

Habu’s selection was quite tempting, but I remembered the kit that I bought during last year’s trip, and resisted the urge to get more.

Erin had plans for a bag, so we headed over to Mood Fabrics, made famous by Project Runway. We didn’t have any celebrity sightings, but we enjoyed going through the store and looking at their HUGE selection. There were three large floors stacked floor to ceiling with fabric bolts of every imaginable fabric.

Connie and I were in awe - since neither of us regularly sew, we were overwhelmed by just how much variety there was! In the end, Erin chose a great corduroy. Stay tuned to her blog for plans and progress! After that stop, we headed over to School Products, one of my favorite NYC yarn shops. We got a little turned around, but luckily Connie’s husband (via cellphone) helped us find our way to the shop! I picked up a lovely cone… more details in the next post.

A few hours later, Kris called to say that his meetings were complete, and he walked down to West Village to meet us at The Point. We sat around the table, ate some delicious snacks from their cafe (Connie got the most beautiful cupcake - I wish I had a photo!), and I flipped through some of the new books on display. Erin played with our wide-angle lens (we have the same camera, so our lens fit on her camera) and the infamous baskets-of-yarn-wall. It was about this time that some strange wind blew through the city, and set me sneezing and sniffling. My allergies got worse throughout the evening, but how could I let them get me down while I was having fun?

Connie headed back home after our time at The Point. I was so happy to meet her and to learn more about her “real life” as well as her knitting and designs. She was such a great help to me while I was knitting the cardigan, and meeting her was a real joy! Thank you, C!

After a fun dinner at Cowgirl in the West Village (yummy margaritas and some good veggie options too!), we headed back to Times Square for some night photography. Of course, there were hundreds of other people there doing the same thing, but we still had a lot of fun.

The next morning, I went to Bryant Park to check out the new location of one of my other favorite NYC stops: Kinokuniya Japanese bookstore. Their needle craft (knitting, crochet, embroidery) book collection is larger than any other book store I have been to, and I decided to take my time and go through the books.

Sitting on the floor, I poured over dozens of patterns and stitch directories. Even without reading the language, it is relatively simple to understand the schematics and charts outlined in the books. I am hoping that when I cast on for one of these projects, it will be intuitive. If not, I can ask my Japanese friend to help me with some translations…

It was the perfect day for photography, so when Erin met me for lunch, we decided to head towards Central Park for a photo afternoon. On the way, we stopped by Gotta Knit! a great yarn shop on 34th Street, and talked to Goldie, the owner. I bought a beautiful skein of yarn… more details to come.

Central Park was filled with people, but Erin and I had plans for some improvisational photography, and we didn’t let the crowds stop us. With her handy camera remote and my wide-angle lens, we got some great action photos!

Down | Middle | Up

We did about 20 cartwheels before finally getting the middle shot with both of our legs in the Y position. The funny thing? there were several groups of people sitting within a few feet of us, but no one even looked twice when we did all the jumping and cartwheeling!

Kris and I were completely beat after the busy two days in the city. Once we got home (after a two-hour Amtrak delay) we broke off some aloe for the sunburn, and went right to bed. It was a short and sweet trip!

Nearly three weeks have passed since I bound off my sister’s cardigan, and I am ready to cast on for a new sweater!  I enjoy making the little projects in between the larger ones, but I have had the realization that my real joy comes from sweater knitting.  And I can’t deny the joy any longer! 

My queue is long, and there are many beautiful sweaters on the list, but I must say that there is a recent addition to the list that I just can’t get out of my head.  I picked up two Rebecca magazines in January, and this sweater was an instant stand out.

Jacquard Pullover
Rebecca #34

With a stash of odds and ends, and a few cohesive groupings, this pullover seems like it could actually be a real stashbuster too - using yarns that have been in my stash for many moons… I pulled out my random worsted weight skeins and did a little color matching.  I came up with several combinations, but after a lot of shifting, I decided on this one:

Clockwise:  DB Cashmerino, Jo Sharp Wool, Cascade Lana d’Oro,
Knit Picks Andean Silk, and Jo Sharp Wool

They are not all exactly the same gauge, but close enough to make it work, in my estimation.  I am thinking that the brown will be the main color, and the others will be the highlights in the stranded colorwork. I reserve the right to change it up if the swatch looks weird.  However, in my mind, and with a little visualization help, I think it just might work.

…and this very well could be the great elemental pullover - it has colors from each phase of Project Spectrum!  I hope I can finish it before the end of PS

Cast on is imminent!

Over the years of blogging, people have asked me why I don’t design knitting patterns. It definitely is not for the lack of ideas and inspirations… but I have a hard time moving from that conceptual state to a real, tangible knit. And, there is a lot of math, and swatching, and sizing involved - none of my fortes, as they say. So, I simply enjoy picking and choosing from the incredible and ever-growing canon of knitting patterns in this world.

What if you have an idea for a pattern that doesn’t require math, swatches, and sizing? of course, it is simple. It is easy and customizable… and not really anything new, but an interesting “take” on it, nonetheless. I have joined the “Cowl Craze” that is currently sweeping Flickr and Ravelry, and I offer up my own variation on the theme.  Parikha did it, Orinda did it, and Kirsten did it last week! 

Lichen Cowl
Yarn: Cascade 220 Wool
Needles: Size US 8 (5.0mm) 16″ circulars
Download PDF here

This cowl was inspired by the varying shades and textures of lichens. Knit simply in the round with added texture of purl rows and color changes, this cowl can be worn with the “right” and “wrong” side out. One side offers the purl bump texture, while the other displays alternating stripes. The cowl can also be worn simply draped over the neck and shoulders, or looped twice for a snug warmer fit around the neck.

The variant green shades - both Cascade 220 from the stash - were not colors that I would normally pair together. The military green (colorway 9429) and the heathery teal (colorway 9451) were both purchased many years ago at my local yarn shop. The pattern uses about 100 yards of each skein, with plenty leftover for another cowl, a hat, or some matching mitts.

I knit this cowl for Project Spectrum’s Earth element (greens!), as well as the Lord Stanley Stashbusting knitalong on Ravelry.  This cowl was on the needles through several important Round 1 playoff games.  Round 2 starts this week!  what else can I make?

This pattern can be found in the web format on my newly minted Patterns page, or as a downloadable PDF.  You can also add it to your Ravelry queue!