Bellingrath

It's all about the Irishgirlie these days. Or so it would seem :0) I knit up her Bellingrath shawl(ette) in a pretty beige/grey Sock-a-licious, called Chateau.First of all, the yarn. It has a little silk in it. Oh boy, does it feel smooth through your fingers as you're knitting it. I liked that very much.
The colours were muted. I wanted that, so I could wear this piece with as many things as possible. I've been wearing it over this white t-shirty/tunic and that little bit of extra warmth was very welcome on a couple of cooler days recently. I'll be wearing a lot more in the months to come (thank goodness the cooler weather is starting to be upon us!).
Now, the pattern. What I like about this one, is that the pattern is in a panel down the middle and there is a pretty large chunk of stockinette either side, to give your brain a wee rest. The lace is, once again, wavy and lacy (to my eye anyway). I don't know what your inspiration is for the waves and the lace lately Carrie, but I'm digging it.
I had read on Ravelry, that a couple of people had stopped the edge pattern at 5 repeats instead of the called for 6. I got pretty worried about it, but on Carrie's advice, weighed my yarn to make sure I had enough. There was actually plenty leftover, as you can see in this photo.

If you're looking for a small, one-skein project for maybe Christmas gifts, I would recommend this one for sure :0)

Happy Monday :0)

Wavy Lace Scarf with the mystery name

I finished up the test knit for Carrie's new pattern in a record week(ish). It blocked out beautifully as you can see here. It's all wavy and lacy.I'd say this next pic was a much more accurate representation of the actual colour of the Kollage Creamy yarn used. I'm always amazed at how washed out the camera makes the colour. I've taken to making a shadow across whatever I'm photographing outside, to make up for that.
Blowing in the breeze.
Laid out blocking. See the wavy edges too :0)
All in all, a quick and easy knit. Drapes like nobody's business and is soft as a newborn kitten's teeny pink paws. I can see it being worn on a balmy evening during your Caribbean Christmas cruise. Or bunched up round your neck, against November's chilling wind. Either way, you'll look pretty as a peach.

Thanks for letting me test-knit, Carrie :0)

I gots me a new pastime.....

I've seen Jenny Hart around the web quite a lot, and also on the TV show "She's Crafty". Her work has always intrigued me. I've never been into embroidery, although a million moons ago, I did some cross-stitching.

When I was in London, last Christmas, I visited The Make Lounge, a store/workshop for all sorts of 'crafts'. I had been following their blog for a while - I do like to hear about what's going on 'at home' - so when the opportunity arose for me to have a day in London sans small people, I headed straight there.

They have a small but fine collection of yarns, fabrics, buttons and other crafting materials. I saw they stocked Jenny's embroidery transfers (Sublime Stitching) and bought the 'Garden Variety' packet, thinking I'd stitch something up for Hubbs to use in her allotment, maybe to carry home her potatoes or courgettes :0)

I found this little bag in Michaels for, like, $2 and thought that would be perfect. So here is the side with the Sublime Stitching designs......

Love this little beetle.....

Orange tree?

Fluffy bee, could've used a darker yellow....

After buying the Sublime Stitching transfers, I also bought a book by another embroiderer, Aimee Ray. I saw her book Doodle Stitching in Barnes & Noble and couldn't resist. I used her designs and drew them (no transfer necessary) on the other side of the bag........Cute toadstools.....A buzzy bee......A sunshine of french knots.......Let's hope Hubbs likes it :0)

And you know we have critters all round our house. Well, when it's not hornworms and snakes, it's praying mantis. Here's one on the rocking chair on our porch.

FOG

Hizknits tweeted this video a few days ago. I have watched it several times since and thought maybe you'd like to share in its beauty, this fine weekend.

FOG

Testing, testing, 1,2,3

I'm test-knitting Carrie's new pattern, a lacy scarf, knit with Kollage's new yarn Creamy.My photo's are a pretty poor representation of the colour. It is called Turquoise Sea, and is a beautiful seafoam-green-turquoise-blue. OK, my description is just as inadequate as my photo, so Click for a better picture.
Creamy is a great name for the yarn. It's made with 80% milk!!! The other 20% is cotton. It really does feel like a cotton, but, erm, creamier. It is not so harsh as cotton, softer definitely. But it does knit like cotton, as in, it doesn't stretch much.
The lace pattern is knitting up quickly and is pretty easy to memorise - for my depleted memory anyway - you'll have it memorised after the first rep, I'm sure. I'm almost done with the first of the two skeins the pattern calls for. It will be beautiful when blocked out. Very drapey. It suits the 'Turquoise Sea" colourway, with it's waves :0)

OK, now to knit on it some more :0) Happy Friday.

UK Trip

In July, Teddy and I went on a trip to the UK. We had a wonderful time, visiting with family and friends, with a few daytrips here and there. Here's my big boy, right at the top of the London Eye, overlooking the Houses of Parliament. You can see Westminster Abbey, just behind Parliament. Did you know that the Abbey is 1,000 years old? I just LOVE London. Another day, we took a trip out to Legoland, near Windsor. It was perfect for this Lego crazy kid. Here's a pic for all you Harry Potter fans :0) We had a great day with my mom and her husband - it rained a wee bit, but only for a couple of short spurts. It kept us cool and no trip to England would be complete without it ;0)

Gratuitous kitty picture. This is Junior, the Tanns' kitten. She is the funniest thing alive and such a joy. I had forgotten how much fun these fur-babies are. She loved attacking our feet at night. Teddy spent all the time we were there, chasing her.

The reason for our trip was to attend my Dad's wedding. I made the bride and groom this pretty trippy blanket. Same 'design' as my Noro log cabin, it's made from Traditions yarn from JoAnn's (discontinued) for the squares and Debbie Stoller's Bamboo Ewe yarn for the borders.

Fun!!!

Ha'mama'lis

I loved Cristi's test knit for Through the Loops' shawl design, Hamamelis. When Mother's Day came around, I decided to make it for my mom. I had the yarn, Purl Up & Dye, in this beautiful dark green with shades of gingery brown. There was enough to make the medium size shawl, with a small ball leftover.

The pattern was easy to follow and I thoroughly enjoyed knitting this shawl. My mom loves it too! I blocked it using some metal rods I got from Home Depot - such neat edges.

The horrible critters in my garden, were in fact "Hornworms". I swear, all the hairs on my arms are standing up from making that weblink. We (I should say DH) uprooted the whole plant they were on and disposed of it. I recently found another tiny one - I tore off the branch it was sitting on and disposed of that too. We've had a fair few tomatoes from these plants, although only 7 or 8 seem to be red at the same time. A small snack :0)