yarntherapy

new knitty!

Ooooh, pretty!

Lots of good stuff this issue, and a minimum of sock patterns. (no offense to all you crazy sock knitters, but I've mentioned before how little I am interested in knitting socks, so to me an abundance of sock patterns is a waste of valuable pattern space.)

Though I'm not interested in knitting socks, I do love sock yarn - the colors are always amazing and I love the springy texture. There are two patterns here that use sock yarns in other ways: Abotanicity, a sweater by Cassie Rovitti of Tubey fame, which features Trekking XXL in a cute pullover that sadly will probably not work on my body, and Jeanie, a "hanging cable" wrap that made me stop breathing when I saw it. It has cables and dropped stitches and all kinds of fun stuff. Someone on Ravelry called it "Clapotis, all grown up." I totally agree and I cannot wait to make it!

Remember that leftover full skein of Tilli Tomas Pure & Simple I had left over from my SKB? Yeah, that one. I was going to sell it for a little cash, but them I saw the pattern for Square Cake, which calls for exactly one skein of Tilli Tomas Disco Lights. So I'll be making that one for sure - either for myself or as a Christmas gift for my friend Carol, depending on when I get it done.

Still knitting handwarmers (the sale got postponed, so I have more time, yay) and still in a fight with Cherie Amour.

Back to Before

  Molly 
  Originally uploaded by laurelann

Yay, strike's over, back to work. SO glad that's all behind us.

Let's talk about Christmas, shall we?

I'm going to do my best to adhere to the "Buy Handmade" pledge, though I think dad is getting a wireless weather station. With money now being a little tight in the wake of the strike, I'm hoping to dig into the scary depths of my craft closet and make lots of lovely things for the people in my life. I will also be shopping like a madwoman on Etsy. God how I love Etsy. The Treasury feature is the best thing ever.

So the little pink sweater is for my niece Katie, who is three and a half and the cutest thing ever. She likes pink. Of course. The pattern is Molly from Debbie Bliss Junior Knits. What I love about this book is that everything is sized from toddler to like a 7 or 8, so I can use the book as she (and all the kiddies I know) keeps growing. Yarn is Araucania Nature Wool, purchased on sale at Webs and I really love it! It's soft and squishy and I love the subtle variegation of the color. I have some more in brown for a Central Park Hoodie, and I am looking forward to working with it again (and wearing it!)

My Wednesday knitting group managed to meet once during the strike, at Briana's apartment, and it was just as nice and relaxing as it always is. Some of us are working on items for a sale to benefit BC/EFA next week - I'm cranking out Fetchings and Dashings and I made a really cute little neckwarmer from yarn I bought a million years ago, so it's been great for getting rid of stash.

I did start on Cherie Amour for myself, but we're having a difficult relationship at the moment. It took me three hours to produce a 4" swatch, and don't even ask me how long it took to cast on. Yikes.