The Perfect Occasion

You know that moment when you have the perfect outfit for the perfect occasion and all that is needed is to reach in the closet and Voila!?  That was my yesterday.

Thanks to a free pattern from Knitting Fever and the perfect summer yarn from Noro, I was ready and feeling happy.

TaDa!  Let the temperature rise and the sun keep shining.  I love this bit of mesh crochet.  The Noro Kibou is a cotton, wool, silk blend - just perfect for August.  And probably September, too, given the long range weather prediction.

 I even had sunglasses with frames to match the look.

Feelin' good!

Update: Time Out Project

Recently, I confessed a failure on the needles.  Utter Failure. 

Once upon a time (during the early days of the relationship) every stitch was humming along.  All was lace filled thrills and smooth going.

And then the whole wad became hidden in a project bag and given corrective action:  48 hours of banishment.

It turned out that forty-eight hours was too long.  I dreamed (literally - even waking up and turning on a light to make sure the solution still made sense whilst awake)  and started a new day energized at the brilliance of the solution that would solve the problem.

One hour.  For one solid hour I wore the "big & powerful" glasses and worked stitch by stitch manipulating the yarn just so.  It was slow going.  Perseverance and determination were required.  Tunes were played.  Caffeine was consumed. 

The answer to the problem, in the end, was so obvious.

The whole wad - bag & all - is now banished to the back of the closet.  It was either send that mess off to think about what it had done or I was the one who would be needing yarn therapy.

And that's all I'm gonna say about it.

Except for this.  I ended up in yarn therapy.  Two skeins later, my delight with all thing yarn has returned.  OH, happy day.

Toasty Warm

The local news today is filled with coverage of the late summer heat.  Thoughts of summer are swirling in my mind and hot weather is impacting my knitting.  A linen/silk blend is in time out because it was not playing nice.  While it learns a lesson,  100% silk hit the needles.

Summer of another kind is also impacting my work.  In the dead of winter here in the northern hemisphere, I'll be vacationing far south in the southern hemisphere - at the bottom of the earth where summer is not as hot as it is here in Los Angeles.

So I made this.  It is an ear warmer headband made from Madelinetosh Tosh Merino held double.  The pattern is great and it is available free.  Snow Trails Ear Warmers  is easily adjustable to fit any adult head and with thought on the size of the ear cover parts, it would work for older kids and teens.  You might also be interested to know that this is a quick knit.  It worked up in just one afternoon!

There is still one skein and a tad left from making this.  I'm thinking of either another hat or a fluffy cowl.  This yarn would look smashing worked with a herringbone stitch.

Yep, I will be toasty warm even when "summer" is freezing cold.

Success, Failure and Hope

What a weekend!  There was almost no down time.  What with a meeting, a program of really interesting small project ideas, shopping, cleaning, cooking and supporting our local Food Truck event, I am worn out.

There was success on the yarn front.  I made a bright green bulky weight snug fitting hat for me because this winter, the man & I have a huge  trip and such things are needed.

After the last big trip, we discovered that our travel washcloths (yes, I do bring hand knit or crochet washcloths when I travel) are getting a little worn.  That brown boring thing in the photo is the beginning of a new travel cloth.  This time I'm trying Hempathy.  It will be interesting to see how it holds up.

And then there is the project bag.  It is hiding an utter failure.  I'm so distraught over the wrongness that I refuse to show what went wrong.  It is one of those things where with each stitch I knew it was not working out.  It practically screamed, "This ain't gonna work."

Finally, when the thing was half put together, I was forced to accept the inevitable.  TIME OUT!  In that bag is a wad of knitted stuff and more yarn.  And I'm not looking at it. . . . until I find my nerve to do what needs doing and just fix the thing.  I know what to do.  I don't want to do it.

So I cast on for more warm head gear to distract myself.  But there is hope.  I've set myself a goal of opening the bag and taking a calming breath within the next forty-eight hours.

Prayers are welcome.

Fun Things That Happened Recently

 Fun Thing #1.  I was asked to design a hat for an upcoming e-collection.  The requirements are simple:  worsted weight & for the head.  There is a restriction on the name of each hat - but let's keep that surprise for another day.

Malabrigo Rios is my yarn of choice.  The pattern has a strong nod to history and the Los Angeles car culture.  And just for fun, it combines a narrow TSS (Tunisian Simple Stitch) band with stockinette knitting.  The narrow width of the band means that no special hook is required.  However, an embellishment of bling is strongly suggested.

 From what I understand, there will be five or six hats in the collection.  Watch for this to be release by The Knitting Tree, LA.

 Fun Thing #2. 
It is sample making season!  Well, it always seems to be sample making season in the yarn shop world.  But I returned from extended vacation to a whole heap of work that needs doing. 

This is the back and front panels for Rialto Ribbed Top from Quaternity Knits.  The yarn is Interlacements Irish Linen which just happens to be perfect for southern California - or any hot prone climate - due to its blend of linen, cotton and rayon. 

The top parts go in the "other" direction so it will be fun to watch the yarn do its thing.  Quaternity Knits patterns always have a lovely twist that keeps the making fun and interesting.  Check it out.

Fun Thing #3.  The Los Angeles Quilt Show and Fiber Festival just ended.  It included lots of fun vendors offering quilt and fiber supplies.  (Bet you didn't expect that!)  My Plumage was on display.   The pattern is Crochet Sweater which is free from Knitting Fever.  This fun openwork is only two balls of Noro Kibou. 

This sweater has also been to Vogue Live that was in Pasadena  and to TKGA/CGOA down in San Diego.  The weird thing is that this is one thing I made just for me - and I have yet to wear it out in public.  But I should get it back this week and have it for the remainder of this slow moving summer.

The End Is NOT In Sight

Summer has settled down for a long drawn out stay.  Heat and humidity make it hard to think of long sleeved wool sweaters.  So most things on the hooks and needles are light and breathable fibers.

Like this one.  Right now, I call it I-Summer.  The colors will make me think that cooler temps are on the way even though the dog days hang around.

The pattern is free and you can find a link here.  The pattern is from Lion Brand.  What I like is that it is adaptable to what the knitter wants to do.  I only did one lace pattern and color blocks & stripes for the rest. 


Right now, the neck opening is looking rather sloppy and the option to pick up and knit a few rows of ribbing is in my brain.  That should give a finished look more to my liking than the purl rounds of the pattern.

But we will all have to wait and see how the yarn holds out.  Cutting it close with the orange.