Where, O where has she been???

If you were worried that something bad happened to me, not really. I got super busy with work and time just seemed to evaporate. I am hoping you can relate and can forgive my absence. It wasn’t quiet around here due to lack of knitting, that’s for sure!

I finished my cotton summer sweater – Edinburgh Tee – and I have to say I am pleased with how it turned out.

I made a size large and used less than five skeins of Cascade Ultra Pima. Had some trouble with the sleeves – miscounted the rows when I was working each side of the neck a couple different times resulting in some creative vocabulary and frogging, but finally got it right. I am very happy to have finished a summer project while it is still summer and I can get some wear out of it!

Found this really fun Berroco yarn on the Shop Hop earlier this summer and made up a pattern for it. The yarn is Brio and its a wool/acrylic blend with a touch of sparkle. The simple pattern uses k2tog/YO or YO/ssk to create directional lines. It ended up the perfect length to wear long and drapey or to wrap twice around my neck. Of course, I will not be wearing it anytime soon since its hot, hot, hot here right now!

I also finished knitting on my HPKY Fringed Vest – although it still needs to be blocked and have its fringes finished off. It was last seen in its original skeins in this blog post. Here it is today where it will likely be for a bit since, as previously mentioned, its a bit too hot for a long, fringed vest right now:

I am currently knitting on a super secret sample that I cannot share just yet as the yarn has yet to be released, but there will be more on that soon.

Also, stay tuned for an update on Fall classes. I will be teaching through Washington County Community Education (both Woodbury and Cottage Grove) as well as at What in Yarnation in Cannon Falls again. Watch for sign up information shortly!

It’s here!

The kit I ordered from Hand Painted Knitting Yarns (HPKY) a couple weeks ago came in this week. I promptly unpacked it and oohed and ahhed over the pretty yarns. The color is the rich version of Idemeneo, a combination of orange, purple, and the pink/red that transitions between the two. I’ve since wound it all up into useful yarn cakes and (gasp) swatched. Twice, even! While the Fringed Vest is not terribly fitted, it would still be nice to approximate gauge. Looks like I will be using a US9 – and I need to acquire a longer circ since this is knitted the long way. Cast on 250-300 stitches! Do not think my little 16″ circ will do that job very well.

One thing this yarn really drives home is how differently various fibers take up dye. All five fibers pictured are dyed in the same colorway – the color variations are from their fiber content. From left to right they are:

HPKY Pisa – 36% Baby Alpaca, 61% Merino wool, 3% Nylon

HPKY Parma – 80% Wool, 20% Silk

HPKY Pisa Glitter – 38% Baby Alpaca, 60% Merino Wool, 2% Lurex (that’s the sparkly stuff), 3% Nylon

HPKY Biella – 60% Nylon, 40% Kid Mohair

HPKY Fantasia – 60% Nylon, 40% Columbian wool

Another photo from a different camera and before it was wound:

This photo is the same yarns in the same order, except it includes the one skein of solid black, which is HPKY Milan (70% Baby Alpaca, 12% Merino, 18% Nylon). When I was knitting up my swatches, I was giving serious consideration for swapping out the black for some shade of purple. I just thought it looked too harsh with the other colors. We’ll see.

I didn’t know I needed that!

Last night, I went to a reception at What in Yarnation! for designer Bernadette St Amant from Hand Painted Knitting Yarns. She had a large array of HPKY products and enough knit up samples we each could have worn two or three and there would still be some leftover! It was very cool to see the variety of yarns and the many neat ways they were crafted into finished objects, from shawls and wraps to afghans and everything in between.

One cool thing I learned – HPKY makes kits based on their Lengthwise Garter Shawl pattern (scroll almost to the bottom of the page). These kits include five different yarns, all color-coordinated, and of course, the pattern. It is an easy, doable pattern for virtually any level of knitter. At this point, you may be asking what was so cool about them? Well, the package some of them with the needle needed and sell them at hospital gift shops! Since we do not always get to plan enough to grab our knitting when having to head to the hospital, I thought this was a great idea! Everything you need to get started immediately, something to keep your hands busy while waiting, and an easy enough pattern you can knit while distracted.

And while I went to meet Bernadette and to learn more about the yarns and patterns, I really was not planning to buy anything. Really. I certainly do not NEED any new projects. Really.

So, how is it I ended up buying something? Well, as the samples were being tried on, one in particular drew my eye. It looked nice on everyone who tried it on, which is a big selling point for me. And best of all, the kit could be ordered in the colorway of my choice. After a bit of a dilemma about whether I should spend the money or not, I ended up ordering the kit for a Fringed Vest (near the top, about third pattern listed). I chose the colorway Idomeneo, the rich version. And of course, at least one of the yarns has glitter in it. Can’t wait to get the yarn and get started!

Cuz I did not know I needed it, but clearly I did.

Now, I need to finish up a few things so I can start this new project as soon as it comes in…