LK Knits

New WIP: Woodland Shawl in Malabrigo Lace

2008-09-22T18:08:49Z

I started Nikol Lohr's Woodland Shawl on the plane on the way home from England last week: I'm using Malabrigo Lace, in Azul Profundo, and it's gorgeous. The pattern is easy to remember, which I appreciate, because I am not enough of a lace aficionado to be interested in a deeply intricate pattern. I think this pattern will show the beautiful yarn off to perfection!

New WIP: Kate Gilbert's Wisteria

2008-09-21T13:53:11Z

My Brooks Farm Solana that I bought at Maryland Sheep and Wool has decided what it wants to be: Wisteria, by Kate Gilbert, in the first issue of Twist Collective. It's a lovely, organic, top-down cable yoke turtleneck, just the thing that I crave. I've got about 16 more rows to finish in the cable yoke pattern: Love, love, love the pattern and the yarn. I am a little nervous that I won't have enough yarn, but so far, so good.

WIP, but a little less so: my Central Park Hoodie

2008-09-20T17:41:29Z

I've returned to my CPH this week, and just finished the right sleeve: One sleeve, one hood, one border with buttonholes left! I look forward to wearing it as the weather cools in October.

Cat Bordhi at Stitches Midwest

2008-08-26T16:54:37Z

I took Cat's "New Sock Architectures" class at Stitches Midwest on Sunday. It was great, and I recommend a class from Cat to everyone. By thinking open-mindedly about sock construction (let's try putting the increases ... there ... and there ... ), Cat has really opened up the sock universe. I've always been a top-down, double-point sock knitter, and it's always worked for me, so I haven't messed with it; I've exercised my curiosity in other aspects of my knitting! This class is certainly going to change my view of making socks, particularly toes, heel turns, and edging. And I am so in love with Judy's magic cast-on that it's not even funny! Here's Cat demonstrating it:

WIP update: February Lady Sweater

2008-08-20T00:50:43Z

Jiminy, I am sure loving working on this one! It's coming along; the gull lace pattern is easy to remember but engaging enough to keep my attention. I haven't decided how many repeats to do before doing the garter stitch edge, though ... and I haven't given a single thought to the sleeves yet!

Quick progress on the February Lady Sweater

2008-07-23T03:08:29Z

OK, so for some inexplicable reason I felt the need to take a mental health afternoon ... so I made a lot of progress on the lace bodice portion of my February Lady Sweater: The gull lace pattern is intuitive, pretty, and fun. Elizabeth Zimmerman, you totally rock!

New WIP: February Lady Sweater

2008-07-22T17:04:14Z

So ... I got sucked in to the frenzy over this pattern that I discussed back in June, when the February Lady Sweater pattern was posted at Flint Knits. My frogged Coachella's gonna hafta wait ... The pictures don't do the yarn or the pattern justice. The yarn is Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Flammé, a wool-alpaca-silk blend that has a little bit of a thick-and-thin thing going on. I think it will show well in both the garter stitch and the lace. I've just started the lace portion, and am about to split off the sleeve stitches. Now, to pick out buttons ...

Fifi's an FO! Fifi's an FO!

2008-07-16T00:01:10Z

And she's going to the Bay Area with me this weekend! Great pattern, great yarn, great sweater. The colors are doing a strange pooling in the torso, but it doesn't really bother me. The top-down construction meant that I had only four ends to weave in, so it's ready to wear!

Flint Knits' February Lady Sweater

2008-06-10T21:13:05Z

I don't know who started it, but within the past five days five different people in my Ravelry friend list have queued the Flint Knits February Lady Sweater. My goodness, this sweater is just spectacular! Based on Elizabeth Zimmerman's February baby sweater, this lace cardigan is the same adorable sweater in adult size. And in Sundara worsted merino in green, it's just fabulous. I love how quickly this pattern spread (thanks to blogs and Ravelry). Pam only posted it on 6 June, and it spread like wildfire. I think I saw one person with it in my friend list, then I queued it, and then I saw four others in my friend list queue it. 88 people have already started it, and over 2,000 folks have queued it. Very cool! But I have to finish a couple of other WIPs first ... and then remake my Coachella, which I did not make with negative ease, to my great detriment.

WIP: Fifi update

2008-06-04T13:11:29Z

Fifi is coming along at a nice pace: I'm beyond the cable section at the top, and about one-fourth of the way through the bodice ribbing section. It's a nice 8-row repeat. I think I'll make it longer than the pattern calls for; I have a long torso, and I don't want it to be as cropped as in the pattern. The Brooks Farm Willow yarn continues to be a joy to work, and the colors are gorgeous! Should be ready for summer wear soon!

New WIP: French Girl Fifi in Brooks Farm Willow

2008-05-10T14:41:25Z

As soon as I got off the plane from Maryland Sheep & Wool I wound the Brooks Farm Willow and cast on for Fifi: It's a cabled yarn, wool/bamboo blend, in variegated gray-blue and lilac. The bamboo and the cable construction give the yarn good structure, and I am really enjoying working with it. It's also going to make for a lighter feeling garment that breathes, which is good for this project because it's a short-sleeved summery sweater. And then there's the pattern ... I'm such a sucker for the combination of top-down construction and cables. This is my second French Girl pattern; I liked the Fantine (which I strangely forgot to blog about ... will have to remedy that!), which also has that top-down construction. Fifi, though, is in a smaller gauge (worsted) and has cables. So far, so good; it's going pretty quickly, so I hope to be able to wear it before long!

Stash augmentation from MS&W

2008-05-10T14:11:51Z

Last weekend I went to Maryland Sheep & Wool for the first time, and it's just as overwhelming as everyone says. I was very disciplined and only bought yarn for three projects: 1. Peace Fleece worsted in Samantha-Katya Pink to make a Norah Gaughan Swirled Pentagon Pullover 2. Brooks Farm Solana in a yummy variegated green, to make an as-yet-undetermined aran, cable, Celtic sweater of some sort 3. Brooks Farm Willow, a fabulous wool/bamboo blend, to make a French Girl Fifi pullover. I went into complete ecstatic oblivion at Brooks Farm. I made a beeline for the green Solana; it grabbed me by the throat and thrust itself into my arms. How could I resist? Seriously, this stuff is amazing, both in color and texture: The first thing I did when we got back to Knitress' house was to wind it and swatch it with different needle sizes. This stuff is fabulous, absolutely the bee's knees!

Retro Rib socks: on the home stretch

2008-05-10T14:09:34Z

I love turning heels and knitting the gusset decreases. This is my favorite part of knitting a sock, especially on the second sock, where I just want it DONE!

Central Park Hoodie update

2008-05-10T14:05:04Z

I have not kept up with Knitress in the CPH knit along; she is almost done, and I'm just at the beginning of the first sleeve. Oh well! But I like how it's coming along, even if the progress is slow.

Still here ...

2008-05-10T14:02:57Z

Man, I need to update this sucker more often. But now that the house renovation is over I should be able to stay more on top of these things!