CARLA PULLOVER
Pattern: “Carla” from Rowan’s book, It’s a Tape Thing (2004)
Designed by: Kim Hargreaves
Yarn: 7 balls of Rowan Cotton Tape in Glint colorway
Needles: Takumi Clover Bamboos, size 11 and 13
Started: June 3rd, 2006  Finished: June 15th, 2006
Modifications: Changed the sleeves to 3/4 length

Whether it is far away…

or close up…

I am loving this sweater!

The Carla sweater took me a little over a week to knit - she demanded my full attention with her lacy stitches and interesting details (See the weaving / embroidery on the sleeves?  This was done over the dropped stitch pattern, as described in the book.)  She demanded my attention so much that I actually skipped my yoga class yesterday in order to seam her up!  Of course, after all of this, I now have the perfect summer sweater.  (And just in time!  We leave for our beach getaway in one week!) I am so glad I went with the smaller size, like Angela suggested.  I made the Medium (36″), and it fits perfectly.  I may have to tailor it a little as I lose more weight. 

Oh Rowan!  Why did you discontinue a yarn after I fall in love with it?  Sure I got a little taste of the Cotton Tape with my Virtue Beret last fall, but after this sweater, I am in love with the stuff  … and now, this is all that is left … albeit, at a great sale price! (just because I am on a yarn diet does not mean that I can’t enable YOU to buy more!)  

I got this yarn at Ann’s Swap last February.  We threw all of our yarns in a big pile and then everyone went through and found what they liked.  We used the “honor system” for the trades, taking what we thought was fair, depending on how many others took the yarns that we brought.  Because this yarn was essentially free for me -  even though I traded a lot of my stash yarn for it – I would like to pay it forward to another knitter or crocheter.

 I have three full balls of Cotton Tape left!

Who wants the yarn?  Leave me a comment and let me know!

You may ask… what can I do with only three balls of Cotton Tape?  Well, here are a few possibilities…

1. Virtue Knit Beret, 2. Cat Crochet Market Bag,
3. Candy Crochet Hat, 4. Thrill Knit Tank (in size 32 or 34)

Of course, you could experiment on your own as well!  So, let me know if you are interested.  I will choose randomly on MONDAY NIGHT.  I will alert the winner and get the package off to you before I head to the beach on Friday. 

Don’t forget that today is the first day of signups for July’s Project Spectrum Postcard Swap.  You can start thinking about your purples now!  Signup continues through July 10th. 

Have a beautiful weekend – we are spending ours with our dads!

I will sew her up tonight, complete the sleeve detail, and show her off tomorrow!

Of course, with 2 hours of hockey game left, I needed something else to knit. I could have worked on one of the WIPs, but, instead, I started on a new blue…

This “Fuzzy Wuzzy” mohair is from Dancing Leaf Farm, born and raised here in Maryland. My friend, Donna, gave this beautiful “True Blue” colorway for my birthday last year. It has a TON of yardage, much more than this pattern calls for. If you look close enough, you can see that it is turning my needles blue! I had a feeling this might happen, so I chose my cheapy Ebay needles. It dyed my fingers too, so after knitting up, it will need a good rinsing until the water is clear. It may fade the yarn – it is a little bright, eh?

Last year, I worked a trade with Jacqueline. I admired her beautiful mohair camisole, and she admired a teapot only sold in the US, so the trade was born! She sent me the Jo Sharp Contemporary Knitting Two Collection book, and I found the Adagio Teapot she wanted. So, I am finally making that little mohair cami I admired!

Such a simple pattern – infinitely wearable in every season. I love the muted colors of the Jo Sharp mohair yarn, but I am committed to using up some stash yarns this summer, so I hope that this camisole turns out well with this variegated mohair.

I was ready to see the Stanley Cup awarded to the Hurricanes last night. I just had a feeling that they could pull through. Neither of the teams in the finals are “my” team, but I do enjoy watching good hockey, and this series has been incredible! Great stories and great plays. My sister Sarah goes to college just outside of Raleigh, North Carolina, so I hope to catch one of their fall games when I go down to visit her.

On Saturday night, Kris and I will be watching Game Six of the finals – counting down till the Cup is awarded. Whether it goes to the Oilers or the ‘Canes, I will have my knitting in one hand, and my tissue in the other… I always tear up when they skate around with the trophy!

1. Farmers’ Market vegetables, 2. Preparing summer squash, 3. Kris using Foodmill, 4. Fresh bread and bruschetta, 5. Stuffed Summer Squash, 6. Local Dinner

We ate an entirely “local” dinner – from the breads to the veggies!  Although no blue is represented (isn’t there some quote about how there is “no blue food”?) there was a spectrum of colors on our plates!  We used EIGHT herbs from our own garden – thyme, rosemary, parsley, sage, marjoram, chives, basil, oregano –  and all of the fruits and veggies were from the market.  However, we will have our own spread of fresh veggies one day soon – our garden is growing very well!  Although not edible, we have been admiring the lovely blooms of our lilies and lubelia.

Our morning in Takoma was wonderful.  Not only is the farmers’ market a beautiful environment with sweet smells and friendly faces, but the section of town where the market is hosted also has a range of great shops and cafes – two in particular for us crafty-minded peeps!  Now and Then is a gift shop with many unique pieces of jewelry, decorations for the home, and a nearly complete line of yarn from Brown Sheep and South West Trading Company!  I was excited to see these brands, because my LYS does not carry Lamb’s Pride, or the newer SWTC yarns.  (I am participating in the Summer of Stash, however, so I looked and touched, but made no purchases!  I filed the information away for another shopping trip after the Labor Day cutoff!)  Right next door to this shop is S & A Beads, a small boutique with many beads and jewelry-making supplies.  Another day-long trip to Takoma is in order – just so many shops to peruse! – we couldn’t stay too long with all of our fresh veggies and eggs in tow.

I had a lot of crafty plans for the weekend, but when it came down to it, I worked solely on my Carla pullover.  I guess I am just excited about wearing it!  I completed both sleeves (a very short excursion to “sleeve island”), and started the front. 

1. Carla’s sleeve, 2. Knitting on Carla, 3. Carla’s Front in progress

As you can see, I had some fun with the drop stitch detailing on the sleeves.  I love the way it looks.  The pattern calls for a weaving/embroidery technique on the sleeve’s dropped stitches.  I will attempt to follow the instructions in the book (they are vague), but I may just play with it and find something I like.  There are many different interpretations of the sleeves (as seen on the Carla knitalong blog) and I am a go with the flow kind of girl.

Yesterday, I met up with dear Coleen before our scheduled Knit Nite for some crafty supply shopping.  I needed some supplies for my Postcard Swap cards (matches went out – let me know if you did not receive yours!) and for a few other planned craftivities.  However, I had a hard time shopping because I had such fun taking pictures of all of the blue craft supplies!

(Can you tell that I am addicted to this Flickr Mosaic Maker?)

We headed over to the cafe and grabbed some dinner and tea before knit nite started. It was a nice time to catch up, and see everyone’s new projects (like Sarah’s recently finished Illusion Shawl – gorgeous! and blue!)  Sadly, MamaE couldn’t make it, but I did get to talk to her on the phone beforehand. I also got to hear about their daytrip to The Mannings (a huge fiber farm/school in PA) – read more about it (and see the pics) on Coleen’s blog.

Jennifer, Laura, Sarah, Eunny, Amie, Coleen, Jolene

After knit nite, I came home to watch Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals – what a series!  We have been watching a lot of soccer and hockey at our house these past few days.  It makes for very exciting knitting!

After the pals are paired up, we begin with a “clean slate” – so you have to sign up again for July’s Postcard Swap. Official signups begin next Friday, the 16th, and will stay open through the 10th of July. If purple is your color, start planning for it!

Blue stamps from some recent Postcrossing deliveries – from Finland, New Zealand, and Netherlands.

By sheer luck, I had some free time on Wednesday night, and even crazier still? So did Donna and Heather! We quickly organized some dinner and knitting time. (Poor Eilene was sunning herself on some Hawaiian beach and couldn’t make it…) We ate al fresco (and serendipitously ran into Liz!)and went back to Heather’s place for some knitting. You can read more about the little guy who decided to join us over at Heather’s blog. Pretty darn funny! It was a great night!

(More pics from our night)

I finished the back of the Carla pullover, and promptly started on sleeve one. The pattern calls for a stockinette panel in the middle of the lace, and when I reach the top, I drop two stitches all the way down. I am planning to make 3/4 length sleeves, just because I prefer them in summer sweaters, so this sleeve will be finished in no time. I think the whole sweater will be finished by the time we head to the beach – this will be a great addition to the summer time wardrobe!

I probably would have been finished with the sleeves by now, had I not been tempted away by the call of the sock! I didn’t have a blue pair on the needles yet, although I have some great blue yarns in the ol’ stash, so I quickly remedied the situation. This is Schachenmayr Nomotta Blue Jeans line, in two separate indigo dyes. Mom picked these up for me at a bargain basement store (only $2 a skein) and I immediately thought of striped knee socks. I think I have enough yarn to make that a reality…

I am using the free Blueberry Waffle Socks pattern: Simple stitches for a nice texture. I am also planning to cast on for my Summer of Socks / Trekking KAL pair on June 21st (Solstice!) Both will probably go to the shore with me for some beach and pool side knitting. All of the yarns are from the stash, because as you know, it is the Summer of Stash over here at Lollygirl.

We have a bike ride planned today, and lots of errand-running. I hope to have some knitting time this weekend, as well as some other Project Spectrum crafting – we’ll see what I have to show for it! Have a wonderful weekend, my friends!

My Carla pullover – before my knitting spree last night.  Now, the back is nearly complete!

Proud to say that I am actually working a lace pattern without major screw-ups!  Of course, it is not huge and charted and k7tog, but, it is lace!  I love working with the Cotton Tape.  I chatted with Angela a little last week about this pattern, and she noted that it has amazing stretch qualities (like most cotton garments), so I decided to take it down to a size smaller, planning to work in that negative ease. I also added a little length to compensate for my long torso.  I hope to make some good progress on this over the weekend, and have a finished knit to share within the color month.

I have also been enjoying my old blue knits - specifically my Koigu Indigo anklets.  I finished these back in February, and they have just gotten better with time. Many other knitters have lauded the qualities of Koigu, and I can see why this is a favored yarn.  It wears well, and keeps the color after washing. The colors are so saturated and strong, and they just may be my favorite pair of socks to date…

I also went on a Project Spectrum-induced hunt in my house for blue items… I found so many in my kitchen that I didn’t make it to any other room! Perhaps another day…

1. Blue glasses, 2. Cobalt Blue Silverware, 3. Blue Trivets, 4. Blue Teacups, 5. Blue Candlestick Holders, 6. Cobalt Blue Glasses

 One of my absolute favorite shades is the deep cobalt blue you see in the drinking glasses and silverware above.  I have some other cobalt blues around the house too. 

And I got some lovely blues in the mail as well!  What wonderful surprises from Anjo and Georgia.  Thank you!!

Anjo sent another wonderful package – with the BLUE Project Spectrum soundtrack (my set is nearly complete!), and some beautiful crafty supplies - ribbons, beads, and the best personal touch: handmade gift tags!  They are just delightful!  Many thanks Anjo, you are so incredibly kind!

And from Georgia I received this great package, with a skein of her hand-dyed yarn!  Here is a closeup of this beauty.  The colorway is “Cannon Beach”, and it is 560 yards of goodness!  She also sent some very cool stickers and some beads  (and some candies… not pictured…) Thank you so much!

A big thanks also for the comments on my two recent handknits! It is so great to hear from you

PS Green Anklets
Yarn: Sweet Georgia Yarns (from the Sweet Shop)
Needles: Size US 1 metal DPNs
Pattern: Basic stockinette anklet with heel and toe instructions from Nancy Bush’s Knitting Vintage Socks

While you are at it, pretend that these are better quality photos… my camera broke, and we had to use the crappy office digicam.  We ordered a new one and it should be here by Tuesday.  A weekend without a camera is not my cup of tea. 

German heel detail – I love the little purl bumps on the edges.  The small things always make the difference!

Classic three-point French toe 

I love these socks, and I love this yarn.  Beautiful saturated colors, and very nice variegation.  The yarn was handpainted by the talented Felicia at Sweet Georgia, and given to me last October (right after Socktoberfest!) by sweet Kira.  I was waiting to make something special with it, and when Project Spectrum rolled around, I knew that this yarn was meant to celebrate the green!  Too bad I missed the month (by a few days…) but I am very happy with the results.

Now, just to prove that I am wholly devoted to blues (for the next few weeks at least)… I started my Carla pullover.  The pattern is in the Rowan book It’s a Tape Thing (2004). There are several other patterns in this book that I want to make, remembering the good ol’ days with Kim Hargreaves!

And since I have no camera to capture any new photos, I dug through the archives to find some “never before seen” blue photos…

Blue Forget-Me-Nots - part of our wildflower garden last year

Jellyfish tank at the Waikiki Aqaurium – part of our Hawaii vacation last October

Blue fishnet socks and blue/brown shoes (one of my fave color combos – second only to pink and brown!)

More details about my weekend when I hear back from the official photographer

Have a great Sunday!

I just wish that each month was a little longer - I always have WIPs!  Luckily, I am on the toe decreases on my May green anklets, so they will not linger long (unlike the seed stitch purse, and the pom hoodie! I need to get back to those one day soon)

So many shades of blue call to me; my mother always told me that it was “one of my colors”.  I often worked it into my wardrobe with a comfy pair of jeans, or a tee, and since I started knitting in 2003, I have added more blues to my wardrobe!

My Alchemy sweater, Diagonal Fixation socks, Rhapsody pullover and Koigu Indigo Socks (plus a few scarves, a hat, a bag, and a sweater for Kris!) 

And more blue knits are on the way… among them:

Rowan’s Carla in Rowan Cotton Tape (colorway “Glint”)

This is my first big Summer of Stash project.  This yarn, a lovely slate blue, was acquired at last February‘s yarn swap at Ann’s.  It just so happens that it is the same colorway as the Virtue beret I made last August.  I really enjoyed working with the Cotton Tape then, so I know that this will be a good project as well.  I am planning to follow some of the notes on the Carla-Along blog, a knitalong that happened back in 2004. 

I have a lot of amazing blue yarns in my stash, and while I will not be able to get through all of them in one month, I do hope to make a little dent! 

Click here for more details about each skein…

(Some of these yarns are just a representation of the blue shade, and there are several more skeins in the stash for a larger project.)  This photograph was taken last May – 13 months ago – and I am a little ashamed to admit that none of these skeins have been knit up since then. In fact, my blue stash has even grown more since then.  Some blue additions since then…

(Click on pictures for more information about the yarns!)

 Have some blue stash?  I would love to see! Show your blues!

Flash that blue stash for me!
(and let me know when you do so I can see it!)

Don’t forget that the Project Spectrum Postcard Swap is now a month-by-month signup.  If you have not signed up for JUNE’S swap, there is still time.  Please fill out the form by June 10th, and you will receive your pal’s name by the 11th, I do solemnly swear.  Please read the new rules for the Postcard Swap carefully before signing up!

…and one more plug for the Project Spectrum Flickr group.  We are having tons of fun over there!  It is a great way to share all of your color-themed photos with your fellow PS-participants, and perfect for participants who do not have a blog!  Please email me, or sign up through Flickr if you would like to share your project photographs in this forum.  Participants can also leave comments for each other there – so let your pals know what you think about their creations!

Ready – Set – BLUE!