Heh heh, I like this photo:
It’s the too-small cashmerino shrug and the Rowan Summer Tweed shrug — I made the cashmerino one in the smallest size with the wrong (oops) gauge. The tweed shrug is the 3rd size and is right on gauge. What a difference those few stitches make!
Well, the happy bride and groom left for Italy yesterday… two weeks in Italy, ahhhh…. snap …oh, yes, back to reality. Thanks for everybody’s beautiful and kind comments about the wedding photos!!!
It’s time for new projects. The two one-skein wonders are blocking, I’m wearing my finished Soleil, the DH’s second sock is almost done and I’m almost finished the lilac Paisley Lace Shawl! About 10 rounds to go — but since each round is at least 500 stitches, that will take me approximately… forever…
So! What’s in the knitting bag today? Dale Baby Ull! For the Baby Norgi sweater from Knitty.com. Armed with my new 2mm and 3mm Addi’s, steeking, here I come!
Oh, of course, this is just practice for a steeked sweater for me. I won a copy of Alice Starmore’s Tudor Roses on Ebay and am planning to knit something out of that next — I didn’t see any fair isle projects I liked in her Celtic Collection book, although I love the cabled Cromarty sweater…
In the meantime, I’m picking yarns for St. Brigid (from Starmore’s Aran Knitting, also out of print)… Here’s the Blackwater Abbey yarn sample card I just received… I’m considering either Pink Heather or Iris, so I ordered a couple 1oz skeins to test drive:
Now that I think of it, is it wrong to knit a Scottish designer’s sweater in Irish yarn?
Anyway, I also finally got up the courage to start spinning the Ashland Bay merino that I bought a few weeks ago. It’s so soft and smooth to spin! I love it! I’m spinning this thin for a laceweight 2-ply that I’ll use for a shawl. Maybe another Flower Basket Shawl or maybe the Meadow Flowers Shawl from the Knitters’ Stash book:
On Saturday, we attended my brother-in-law’s wedding… This wedding started early — 5:30 am for some of the girls — mostly because the girls had to be ready by 9 am for the “door games” where the guys in the wedding party have to negotiate with the bridesmaids for the bride. The bribe? Some money, cake, tea, and a whole roast pig. Once the bridesmaids allow the groom to enter the house, there’s a tea ceremony for the bride’s family — the bride and groom serve tea to the elders in exchange for gifts…
It’s been a crappy week — too much work, too little sleep, being snarky enough with clients that they actually notice (oops). Ah, you know. Here’s the shrug I’m rushing to finish… it’s in Rowan Summer Tweed:
And here’s proof that I’m still knitting the Manly Sweater. Here’s the finished front! Two sleeves to go.
So in my search for an appropriate Scottish Heather yarn sub, I’m going to try to get my hands on a sample of Jamieson’s Soft Shetland (soon to be called Shetland Heather Aran). Anne at She Ewe Knits is sending me a sample card and some yarn for me to test drive. I found the Simply Shetland site and have been considering these colours:
Yes, that’s right. In my current obsession with Starmore and that darned “Aran Knitting” book, I’ve glommed onto the idea of knitting a St. Brigid for myself. Funny enough, I’m actually ok with this aran sweater being oversized. What I’m not ok with is a huge fair isle sweater. I don’t want to put myself through this kind of stress.
So it was a productive weekend full of finishing. Those two socks. The black Soleil along with its clean crocheted edges. All that work on the front of the Manly sweater (I’m about one inch from finishing the right front). And of course, the One-Skein Wonder shrug.
Remember when I said it was a practice shrug? Yeah, I didn’t even read the gauge info on the pattern let alone check gauge. Heh heh. And it makes a huge difference. The pink cashmerino shrug ended up being knit at a gauge of 20 spi when the specified gauge is 16 spi. The result?
It’s a yummy, baby pink but tiny little sweater. See, photographed here with the finished Soleil (which fits me to a tee) for comparison — I can get the shrug on, but would never actually wear it out in public. It’s ok though, I bought more yarn (!) and will check my gauge first!
Driven by an obsessive, passionate and often tumultuous relationship with colour, Felicia Lo is the owner of SweetGeorgia Yarns, a handpainted yarn and design company based in Vancouver. Founded in 2005, SweetGeorgia Yarns is about intense, relentless and unapologetic colour in luxurious natural fibres and textiles. She writes about all things knitting, spinning, dyeing, and weaving here at sweetgeorgia.
SweetGeorgia Yarns Studio is located at #401-228 East 4th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V5T 1G5 near the corner of 4th and Main. We're officially open Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9 am to 6 pm. Other times are available by appointment. Just give us a call!
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