Pretty summer swatches

My friend D. in Argentina brought me some lovely summery yarn when she visited last month. It's got three different colors in it -- chocolate brown, cream, and a grey-ish purple pastel. It's a twisty, nubbly cotton twisted with something synthetic and satiny that looks like nylon to me.

The hanks are big. She brought me some wonderful lofty lambswool once that was in big hanks, too. I wonder if this is how all yarn is sold in Argentina.

I wound the first one wound up into a big ball.



The yarn has a rustic feeling, and I swatched two variations of knit/purl that I think accentuate the stripey, organic look of it.



The one on the bottom is horizontal dash stitch; it is mostly ss with little strips of purl running through it. The one on the top is vertical caterpillar, which is mostly reverse ss, with lines of knits. I'm really torn as to which one I like best. At first I was in love with the horizontal dash. But then I made the caterpillar just for the heck of it and decided it was my favorite. Now I'm just not sure... We'll see what they look like after blocking. I am thinking this will be a simple, summer shell. A straightforward, wearable project to break up the monotony of Gatsby rounds.

Little Things

Some spring potholders, as ours had become threadbare and fingers were starting to burn around here...



Perhaps not a showcase for sewing virtuosity, but this is really not the time for that anyway. And they *are* lovely, if I do say so -- I made two denim and two red fish, so we are well stocked now.

Also getting about waist high with Gatsby. Herewith approximately 6".

Some kinds of helping...

Now that the weather is too warm to actually wear it, I am getting around to hemming my purple dress. Kitten is helping. Final photos t/k.

Gatsby grows

Knitting in the round is like growing out my curly hair -- it takes twice as long to see the progress. Circles, you know?

Here is Gatsby Girl as of this morning.

Birthday Scarf

My friend, R, the recipient of the indigo scarf was kind enough to participate in photographing the finished item for le blog.

Here is a modeled photo of the scarf in action. It's still cold here, and this was a definite scarf weather day. My friend has an extremely stylish coat, and I was pleased to see the scarf holding its own in the ensemble.



The above is probably the best photo overall, but here is a closeup of the center of the scarf, which was grafted together for symmetry. I did not want to knit the scarf all in one piece and end up with three points on one end and two on the other. I wanted both ends to match and to meet in the center. I am not the best grafter in the universe but I do okay. I don't think that my friend can probably tell it's there. Each side is about 10 sections of garter chevron ending with three ridges of garter. On the first one I added two rows of plain st st, one row of st st with 4 large bobbles evenly spaced within it, and another row of st st. On the second one I ended with three ridges of garter and then grafted the live stitches to the live stitches at the end of the first piece.



And here is the scarf flat and folded, which shows that symmetry on the two matching ends.



I was quite pleased with how this scarf turned out. When planning for it I knew that I wanted to do something different from the usual plain garter or ribbing, but I also didn't want it to be ugly on the wrong side. Lace was not appropriate for either the yarn or the personalities involved. This stitch worked out beautifully, because on the wrong side of the scarf it simply looks like reverse stocking stitch. There are no weird depressions or crossed stitches like you get with cables or many decorative stitch patterns based on knit and purl. Also, because of the interspersed garter stitch in this pattern it does not curl. This was a very satisfying project, quick to knit but with enough creative thinking to keep it interesting. I may have to make a similar one for myself in that gorgeous seaweed color I love so much...


FINAL SPECS FOR INDIGO SCARF:
YARN: The Fibre Company, Terra in Dark Indigo (60% merino, 20% alpaca, 20% silk). Beautiful, soft, elegant, lovely yarn.
NEEDLES: US 8 bamboo straight needles
TIME: A couple of weeks in the midst of other projects.
DESIGN: 2 garter chevron stitch panels grafted in the center and separated by a ridge of large bobbles. Slipped stitch knit edge with one vertical purl row before pattern begins.

PS I had almost no yarn leftover from this project, but you can see a small contribution was made to the Mallard, where it adds luminosity to the eyes.

Three of a Perfect Pair

It's natural to desire a mate...



It's usually best, however, to find a mate who is complementary -- rather than *exactly* the SAME...



Sometimes I really surprise myself with my own spaciness. I can't believe (and yet I can, I can) that I knit the whole entire second mitten without realizing it was another left hand. Hm. The question now is whether to frog or just press on and make 4. It's a good small project for the train and gatsby will soon be impractical for commute-knitting. I think some lucky person is getting nice, alpaca mittens that match mine for Christmas ;-)

Gatsby progress

I've cast on in the round for the body of the Gatsby Girl pullover. The ugly teal at the bottom is my provisional cast on so that I can hem up the live stitches when finishing. The 1x1 ribbing is not my favorite to knit, but it looks nice in this pattern and is broken up by the cables. So far this pattern is pretty simple to knit, but slow going with the dk yarn and size 3 needle... I am still so in love with the Rowan Wool Cotton and this lovely putty color that I am perfectly content.



Here's a close up that shows the beginning of the cables:



Loverly!