... along came Ishbel

In the fall of 2005 I bought a beautiful skein of Fleece Artist merino "basic sock" yarn at the Kitchener-Waterloo Knitters' Fair, and I've been saving it since then for the right project. It was just so pretty -- a semi-solid forest green. Too pretty for socks, even though Fleece Artist is a great sock yarn. Also, it was precious because it was from a previous generation of Fleece Artist sock yarn; a few months later, they changed suppliers (or something) and the sock yarn got a little fatter and a little softer. So once this skein was gone, my stash of F.A. v.1 would be gone, too.

And then, just a couple of months ago ... along came Ishbel.


A super-fast knit because it's half stockinette, Ishbel took me just a few evenings of TV-watching to finish. The pattern includes instructions for two sizes (as well as for sock yarn and laceweight); my version is a combination of the two. I'd planned to knit the small size, for more of a scarf, but when I'd finished the stockinette section I still had so much yarn left. I wanted to use as much of my pretty yarn as I could (what was I going to do with a quarter of it left over?), so I kept knitting. My stockinette section is from the large size, and then I went back to the small size for the lace portion. (I see on Ravelry that a lot of people have done this. It's certainly the way to get the most of your yarn.) Blocked, my Ishbel measures about 54 inches (137 cm) across the top, and about 23 inches (58 cm) at the deepest point (which isn't actually a point!). It's a great size -- not too big, but big enough to wrap solidly around my neck. And I have, literally, a handful of yarn left over. (So I'd estimate that it took ... about 320 meters?)


And with that, I'm going to disappear for a while. I need to be more focussed on my school work for the next little while, so I'm taking a break from both the Internet and knitting. Only e-mail and writing for the next month (?). We'll see how it goes, and I'll be back when I've got a good handle on my work. Enjoy the beginnings of spring! And thanks for all your nice comments on my recent FOs -- you're sweet. xo

FO: Amelia Cardigan

Here's my Amelia cardigan (free pattern by Laura Chau), in a springy green ("larch") wool-cashmere blend by ColourMart. Love it! The yarn felt like a wool-cotton blend while knitting, but it bloomed like crazy in the final soak and is soft and drapey. Much like the similarly shaped February Lady Sweater, I find that Amelia is universally flattering (having looked at a zillion photos of finished Amelias on Ravelry). The vertical lines are columns of twisted rib, which looks sharp and allows lots of stretch for a good fit. I followed Laura's pattern to the letter, and I'm thrilled with the results. Thrilled! New favourite.

FO: Cleite shawl

I tried to model my lovely new shawl outdoors yesterday -- it was windy and cold, and kind of dark:




Then I realized I'd been showing the wrong side of the shawl, and I was cold, so that was the end of that! Still, you get the idea. The pattern is Cleite, from the fall 2008 issue of Twist Collective. The yarn is Fino by Alpaca with a Twist: 70% baby alpaca/ 30% silk. It feels fabulous, and it's very warm. I did eight repeats of the main chart instead of nine, which the pattern calls for. There was enough yarn to do another repeat, but I thought the resulting shawl would've been too large. Mine is about 70 inches (180 cm) across the top, and about 36 inches (92 cm) deep at the centre point.



It's a well-written pattern, and as far as lace goes, it's easy. Cleite would definitely make a good first shawl for someone to knit.

I also finished my Amelia cardigan on the weekend, so I'll show you those photos next time. March to the finish, knitters! Get those languishing knits off the needles!

Oh, Noro

I recently bought a ball of Noro Kureyon Sock yarn, and I want to use every single inch of it. There are two steps to achieving this goal: (1) divide the 100-g ball into two 50-g balls and (2) knit socks from the toe up.


Step 1 is done. Obviously no attempt will be made at making matching socks. For me, the whole point of Noro Kureyon is the colour changes, so I will be knitting plain stockinette socks and just watching the magic happen. This is colourway S236: medium green, teal, black, grey, pink, gold, lime. It sounds like a crazy combination, but it will work somehow, because it's Noro.

I'm not going to cast on for these socks until I finish something else, though. I have five WIPs on the go right now, which is a lot for me: two cardigans, two pairs of socks, and a shawl. My next FO will likely be either a Cleite shawl (1 repeat left) or an Amelia cardigan (1 sleeve + yoke left).

Mooky says have a good weekend...


... and can I come in now, please?

Review: Knitting the Threads of Time

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Knitting the Threads of Time: Casting Back to the Heart of Our Craft takes knitting seriously, as a historical practice, a significant economic force, a means of communication, a gathering place for women, and a path to self-awareness. No apologies, no distancing from "grandmas," no deprecation of knitting's pleasures -- indeed, Nora Murphy does the opposite: she actively seeks to locate hand-knitting within a larger history of fiber and fabric production, and she writes of both her own WIP and the craft in general (and the people who do it) with nothing but respect.

At one level, the book is the story of a sweater, from conception through finishing. The author decides to knit a sweater for her son, and the project takes her through four winter months in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Any of us who go through a similar "dark season" each year can certainly relate.) This WIP is a device that allows Murphy to weave a number of different ends into the story, so to speak: arriving at the point where her stitch count requires a switch from DPNs to something longer, for instance, she ruminates on the material origins of "knitting pins" (early North African knitters used brass wires, rural knitters in New Zealand used fencing wire, etc.). Such historical information is not limited to knitting but extends to weaving, First Nations beading and quillwork, and other crafts; Murphy also brings in ancient legends and historical events related to handicrafts, fabric, and clothing, showing that such "women's work" has in fact played a very important role in culture and history in many parts of the world.

I absolutely recommend this book. Because I'm bookish and nerdy, KTTOT had me at its index and bibliography (swoon!). It's a smart book about history, a compelling account of a craft, and even -- just a little -- a tale of suspense (Will she or won't she finish Evan's sweater by Christmas?). It has something for everybody without trying to please everybody, if that makes sense. I can imagine I may even pull it off the shelf and read it again when next year's dark season comes around.

p.s. to Nora Murphy: Have you considered making your other son a quilt? Because I'd read that book. I'm just saying...

Slaving over a hot stove

...to cook up two batches of yarn.


1. starting, 2. measuring, 3. cooking, 4. cooling, 5. drying, 6. admiring

Last weekend, I did some stovetop experimenting with wool, food colouring, and white vinegar. I had a 100-gram ball of white wool, which I divided into four small hanks. Batch 1 had 20 drops of red food colouring in it (which made a pretty light pink), and batch 2 had about half the 28-mL bottle (which made the most saturated bright-raspberry colour!). I think I'll knit a striped hat.