Dear Jan,
If you thought I was referring to hat knitting, I couldn’t blame you. I’m not; what I am talking about is the snowiest winter here in the Twin Cities in a long time, and that another foot of snow is expected by the time the current storm passes.
Sounds like a good excuse to knit. Now I am talking about hats! This one is Lacunae by Anne Hanson of Knitspot. I modified her pattern, using chunky yarn so fewer cast on stitches. I think it worked rather well, though next time I’ll read ahead and make sure I use a number of stitches that will divide nicely into the decreases for symmetric pattern placement. Still, it worked out fine. The yarn is Misti Alpaca Chunky in forest green, with size 10 needles and a 72 stitch cast on.
I also couldn’t resist when Jocelyn mentioned that she has cast on a shawl that has been in my queue and in my pattern library since last spring - Stephen West’s Daybreak. I’m knitting it in Marisol Nuna (merino/silk/bamboo) in a shimmering brown and a complimentary blue. This yarn is supple like bamboo yet has some life in it from the wool - I’m liking the way it is knitting up! (The color in the photo isn’t right - more gold in the brown and a deeper blue would be closer.)
And, because we can’t live by knitting alone, some spinning. I’m working on the rest of Nora, all of her black wool, hoping to get enough for a sweater again. In order to minimize variation as I spin, I’ve invested in plastic weaving shuttle bobbins and a bobbin winder (learned this trick from Jasmin of the Knitmore Girls). I’ll spin up all the singles, then will ply them all at once.
I love my gray Nora sweater which matches Selkie perfectly; this one will match The Poison Pawn. I’m sure they will both keep an eye on me while it progresses.
And I’ll keep an eye on the snowfall. Sigh.
Love,
Ellen
P.S. By the way, the WHNHH effort is now at over 32% of Congress covered. I am pleased!
Jan and Ellen are identical twins who have always had an innate fashion sense. Crafting is an integral part of their lives and they stay stitched together sharing their love of knitting, family and community.
February 20th, 2011 at 11:45 pm
That shawl will be gorgeous — Stephen West has become one of my favorite designers. 32% — w00t!
February 21st, 2011 at 7:24 am
Very striking shawl. I’m liking it!
And I love the hats. Never worked with Nuna before. I’ll keep my eye out for it, to stroke it sometime.
Have to rip my cowl, but the polka dots on it are cute.
Cast on a poncho-y shawl yesterday. We’re getting some of your snow. Sigh.
February 21st, 2011 at 5:55 pm
Ooh! The colors for your Daybreak are just gorgeous!! (I love browns and blues together, and those are an especially nice pair.) Your lacunae hat is wonderful, too - I made a pair of mitts with her pattern for Rick that he wears nearly every day. I should make him a hat to match someday (when Congress is covered) - and speaking of which, 30%+ - you’re amazing
February 24th, 2011 at 9:20 pm
I have to admit I rather enjoyed our latest snowfall. The ice storm, not so much, but it’s just fun to laugh at winter and tell it to give us all it’s got at this time of year. Spring is coming!