I Love Marc Jacobs, but…

I could soooooo knit this!

Pithy instructions: hand dyed DK weight, knit in the round, 1x1 rib for 1” brim, switch to bigger needles and hold the yarn doubled , knit till long enough, decrease rapidly & bind off, add a pom-pom (if you’re into that sort of thing).













And this!

Pithy instructions: 2 strands sport weight (different colors) held together or marled dk weight. Appears to be knit flat so use a tubular cast on, k3, p2 for 1 inch, some sort of faux cable/rib for about 8 inches ( at the same time gradually decreasing 3 sts each side), then 5-6 inches 1x1 ribbing, bind off, sew seam.

Pictures via shopbop (a great source for sewing and knitting inspiration)

Avacado Star

Way back in March, I received a huge compliment that came with a wicked awesome box of free yarn! Lion Brand Yarns is without a doubt one of the main reasons I am such a crafty knitter today. I was very surprised and delighted to learn that not only are paying attention to what people are doing with their yarns, but they really appreciate their customers on a personal level as well. 

So what did they send me in this awesome swag box of yarn goodness? 

1. A congratulations card with a picture of knitter on it, which lives in my cubicle at work.
2. 2 Skeins of Woolease, Navy and Burgundy - my go to yarn for gifts and for washable knits.
3. 2 Skeins of Lion Organic Cotton, Vanilla and Cypress - I think  I'll make some luxe washcloths with these.... not dishtowels mind you! For the bathroom.
4. 2 Skeins of LB Collection Pure Wool. The Lion Brand team has noticed that I like to dye yarn and as soon as I decide on a color scheme (oh the endless choices) that is going to be a fun experiment.
5. 2 Skeins of LB Collection Organic Wool, Avocado and Toffee. Toffee is not one of my favorite colors, but I think it will be fun to try to over dye it with purple and let some of the brown show through. The Avocado is a gorgeous shade of green that isn't really anything like the refrigerator we had in the 80's. It's a bright, cheery shade that looks like it belongs on a tree at the end of summer. To date, this is the only skein I've knit with from the swag box, but I have plans for the rest!

So the hat.... It's a Marsan Watchcap. I had to knit it longer than the pattern called for because the super stretchy rib would pull a shallower hat right off my head. This yarn is perfectly suited for this pattern. It makes a nice squishy rib that is dense enough to keep the wind out. I made the man size and it stretches REALLY big to accommodate even the roundest bowling ball shaped head I can find. 


Also... that cowl.... that's Lion Brand Yarn too. It's Amazing. I modified it from, wait guess..... a Lion Brand pattern! It's the Port Chester Cowl but I made the entire thing in ribbing so it would be reversible. I also used and strand of Puno alpaca instead of 2 strands of Amazing. I switched back and forth between Grey or Blue alpaca held with either Wildflowers or Arcadia. It's a stripey 2x2 rib and it's long enough to wrap double around my neck or drape down loosely.  I like the amazing yarn... I keep thinking about what else I'd like to do with it. I think it looks great held double with a solid; it mutes the color changes even further.

Still waiting for spring

So that pretty, lovely, hand dyed merino became this soft and comfy hat!

Pattern: Simple Pleasures Hat

Yarn: 1 skein LB Collection Superwash Merino DK (hand-dyed by moi) 

and way less than 1 skein of Rowan Kid Silk Haze, color: Midnight 

Needles: Sz 8 16" bamboo circulars

My only modification was to increase the number of CO sts to 96, so that it would be super relaxed and slouchy on my 23" head, and when I got to the first decrease round I decreased evenly down to the required 88 sts. Knitting this hat was very relaxing and pleasant. It definitely lives up to its name. I was a little worried that I wouldn't have enough of the DK merino because I only dyed 1 skein but it turned out that I had enough left over for a beautiful lace swatch. The colors go together perfectly with the KSH that has been hanging around my stash forever. This hat also compliments my Ice Queen (another recent, un-blogged FO).

I've been so productive knitting lately (not so much with the sewing unfortunately) that I kind of have a back log of stuff that needed to get photographed and posted. This weekend The Boy was sweet enough to photograph what must have seemed like a whole trunk show. I don't think I'll get around to blogging about everything... I don't think I'm that disciplined in the blogging department yet, but I do want to share some of my recent favorites. 

This one makes me super happy.

Pattern: #22 Lace Shawl, Knit.1 Spring 2008

Yarn: Universal Yarns; Eden Silk, 3 skeins in Brick.

Needles: Sz 7 Addi Turbos.

I am freak'n thrilled by this shawl. It is pretty, practical, and it was way easier to knit than it looks and it was fast and fun. (Except the edging. That was boring, but over soon enough).

The chart is available for free download on the Knit.1 website. Not the lace edging... need the magazine for that (although there is an error in the edging anyway that's pretty easy to spot).

I did modify the chart somewhat because I noticed that it didn't match the magazine picture. Basically, I made all the double decreases centered instead of left leaning and I changed some of the side lace decreases to always face inward (ssk on left edges, and k2tog on right edges) so that they flowed into the lace pattern.

FYI: the error in the edging is that the giant YO is miswritten as a M1. 

It just doesn't really work as written.  

Something else that makes me happy:

 An awesome mostly stockinette sweater, that I didn't have to knit!

My knitting buddy Laura knit this gorgeous Sunrise Circle Cardigan and as she was sewing up the first seam had to face the awful truth: this cardigan had sleeves meant for monkeys. They were WAY too long! So after marinating in time out for a whole year, she gave to me! I have monkey arms! And I can't believe it, but only a month later I finally seamed it up and stitched down my first hem.

I think I did a pretty decent job at it if I must say so myself. The sleeve hems took 1 evening and the body hem took 2 evenings. The buttons & loops were super quick.... which makes me think it has something to do with the fact that this is a free knit, and I have relatively little work invested in it. How else can I explain letting my Retro Swing Jacket languish without proper closures?

There's more that I've knitted and finished and photographed, but I have a TV date with Anthony Bourdain and even MORE knitting. Ciao!