Live Stitch @ Little Knits

I am posting new Tilli closeouts as I type this entry (must publish this entry before midnight to keep the 30 entries for 30 days going). 

The first Tilli closeout is Sequined Lace and comes in all solid colors and the Dusty Purple happens to be my favorite. 

And the second (and last) Tilli closeout is Beaded Silk with Sequins and my favorite color – this was hard to pick – is Bridgetown Brown. 

And, finally, my new quick and easy project: a pair of mitts knit with a new yarn I saw at a local show, Zealana’s Rimu.  Rimu is made of 60% New Zealand Merino and 40% Possum.    On skein it is soft and lovely but had it not been for the skirt that was knitted with it I would not have gone for the yarn.

The skirt clearly had been around, possibly worn, washed and  gone from show to show and was it soft!  I mean cashmere level soft and may be even softer with a definite halo.  I cannot see myself wearing a knitted skirt as I imagine it will cling to every curve but I will make an exception for this skirt.  Though I would probably look silly constantly petting it while wearing it.

So I cast the mitts on and one skein is supposed to be sufficient: a single ball of Rimu weighs 50 grams and has 167 yards of yarn.  More on that later.  I know it supposed to be enough I just cannot believe it.

Goodnight to all!

Nice header right?  I kept thinking why right ‘Another New Sock Line?’  Say what you mean, so I did.

Fortissima Country Colors does the self-patterning thing just right, with beautiful colors and patterns that are not too random or too symmetrical.

  

When I look at these colors #16 calls me the first, it says ’knit me and then wear me ASAP’ and I am usually a red girl.  I am already knitting my older son a pair of socks with color #10, which he calls ‘tiger.’

Country Colors comes in 100 gram skeins so one skein is enough for a pair of socks.  It is machine washable and has a soft hand.  I think Opal’s Rainforest has some serious competition.

While I am here I might as well make a quick note to let you know that Austermann STEP came out with new colors and a set of Jacquard patterns, which it did not have before. 

 

I am sure you all know about STEP, it has jojoba and aloe worked into the fiber and makes lofty and lovely socks.

I am going back to my forever-lace project, this is the 5th time I have knitted the same pattern from Knit One, Crochet Too. 

I also have to figure out what to knit with approx. 600-675 yards of light DK weight yarn that was hand painted lovingly by Pat of Fly designs.  Here is a photo.  It is so pretty that I could not put our name across the skein.  Any ideas? 

I have fallen in love with a new yarn, a rustic looking raw silk with a tiny bit of viscose (90-10% split), Ella Rae’s Shibu.  I have been trying to find the right project for this lovely yarn, a pattern that would allow me to knit up something that would show its character and depth.  I wanted something very feminine yet not too frou-frou.

And then I saw Tangled Yoke and thought, this is it!  There was a small problem, the gauge was not quite right but I really did not want to use any other yarn, Shibu was it and I was going to make it work.  This lovely raw silk was going to be my yarn for Tangled Yoke.

So, I swatched, swatched and swatched, with English Rose.    Shibu calls for a needle size of US 7, so I kept dropping the needle size first to 6 then to 5 and then to some odd in-between sizes.  Finally, I got my gauge.   My swatched looked really nice too, raw, not wooly but still substantial and very Voguesque (can I say that?), with viscose shining through my stitches.

Then I cast on, proud and happy, having made it work.  I cast on 250+ stitches and knitted and knitted.  Fighting the yarn, which was trying to tell me “I am not meant for this pattern.”  I got into the pattern by at least 70 or so rows and I knew I was defeated.  Shibu hated to be forced into a gauge that it was not meant to be and wanted a different pattern.  So I admitted defeat and my folly and frogged.

 I still love Shibu and I am looking for the right pattern for this stunning yarn.  I still want to knit Tangled Yoke, a project just for me, and I am looking for the right yarn. 

It is a beautiful day in Seattle, crisp, sunny and smells like Fall.  I love Fall, my favorite season of all – makes me want to knit knit knit.  I think it is the perfect day for a bowl of soup and some careful stash perusal.

Hope you are well and knitting with a smile.

When I opened the Interweave Knits’ fall issue I was looking for an ad and going through the pages with quick flips, without paying too much attention. 

And then I saw her,   Tangled Yoke, how shall I praise thee, let me count the ways (my apologies to Ms. Browning)…I must, I will and I shall.  While I struggle to redesign my MS3 for a symmetrical look (with too many other projects on needles to count here and now), the clean grace and simplicity of this pattern has stolen my heart and has me searching for the perfect yarn.

Any body else knitting the Tangled Yoke?  I googled and found a KAL but not much going on there so I think I shall swatch on my own and see how it goes.  Please do let me know if you are knitting it too.  I am planning and hoping to knit mine with the least amount of wool and still achieve the same look.

Behold my needles, here I come!

Cheers to you all and a good night.

Sue Fulay

I am sure some of you know of the Mystery Stole 3 knit-along (MS3), with 6000+ knitters joining in the conversation.

I am knitting several versions of the MS3, to see what it would look like with different yarns.  I love knitting lace (that is putting it mildly – I love the magic of lace, what one can do with lace stitches always amazes me).  I also like to experiment with different weights of yarn while knitting lace, which is how this post came about.

 When deciding on which yarns to try for MS3 I did not limit myself to lace and fingering weight yarns and picked from yarns that I liked including Goby, a 35% viscose and 65% cotton yarn by OnLine yarns.  On skein this is a beautiful yarn, with its silky sheen and softness and viscose peaking in and out of the cotton fiber.  It looks like a little jewel.

 I cast on and knitted my MS3 with US size 7 needles (4.5mm).  I started with bamboo needles and really did not like the experience.  The viscose content of Goby did not do well with my old bamboo needles either.  So I switched to Addi Turbos, and this worked better but was not really what I wanted either.  I finally tried my Addi Lace needles and found the right needle for Goby, the pointed ends of these needles worked very well.

 I stopped this version of MS3 when my first ball of Goby ran out of yarn, which was not sufficient to finish clue #1 (which has 100 rows), but came close to it. 

 

 When I compare this MS3 to the other versions I find that it is larger and more substantial and would make a lovely summer/fall stole.  It has great drape and the yarn shows its sheen very well.  That being said, I will not complete my Goby MS3.  I am going to make a cardigan with Goby instead.

One more version coming up later this week, as soon as I finish one more clue.

Hope you are all well and knitting with a smile.