Stasia's Place Of Grace

Tuesday, December 16, 2003

 

I finished Jeff's Paton's Classic Wool (Merino) hat, done top-down in a 2x2 rib. Jeff was less than thrilled with it. He says it looks like a girl's hat because of the band. I think it looks like a standard seaman's hat! I'll take a pic for my next entry, and if you'd be so kind, perhaps you could give me your suggestions on how to fix it. I've still got to get this top-down hat "recipe" perfected... the ones I make always seem to come out too wide at the bottom, despite going down to a smaller needle size for the band. Humpfh!

I've postponed working on my sister's Christmas afghan yet again by starting another new project - some quick mittens from a free pattern given to me by Ruhama's Yarns today.

The pattern calls for Lana Grossa "Caldo Print" - a big, cushy, yarn in lots of color variations. I got the ubiquitous skeins of orange and raspberry, as usual, but this particular colorway in lime and purple is destined for my Tuesday Caribou Coffee Knit Nite buddy, Kate. I think they'll match her lime green fleece jacket.

Ruhama's doesn't have online ordering, by they are helpful and great about answering their e-mail. They had tons of this yarn in stock. The "India" and "Bingo" by Lana Grossa are also lovely (but not for quick mittens!)

Here is the pattern, if you'd like to try it out. These knit up unbelievably quick and would make great last-minute gifts.

The sample mittens in the yarn shop had little 2" snippets of leftover yarn hooked around the wrist to make a sort of fringe. I'll post a pic when I've finished these so you can see what I mean.

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You know how I've been finding and buying orange and raspberry yarn lately? I think I found out what has subconsciously inspired my purchases (aside from the colors of my Blog):

Guess the book was on my mind while I was waiting for it to arrive! I love it, by the way. As with "Knitting In America", (also by Melanie Falick) I'll probably never make anything from it, but it's lovely to leaf through... this one even has instructions for a hand massage, some recipes, and of course the standard gorgeous photos. I was completely relaxed after reading it.

The whole subsconscious color thing must've sunk in quite deeply, as I realized when I opened an unrelated (or so I thought!) package from the nice guys at ThreadbearFiberArts.com:

The guys at ThreadBear were so helpful with color selections and checking stock for me. They charge actual postage only, their offerings are discounted, and I was very pleased with the speed of delivery. No, they don't have instant, online ordering, and no, not all items are illustrated... but they make up for those inconveniences with their discounts and service.

The patterns, by the way, are for Black Sheep Bags' "Lily" and IndiKnits' "Perfect Pouch", both felted. I'll probably make both in Kureyon, but Cascade 220 is an option for the "Lily", also. ("Lily" takes 4 balls of Kureyon or 2 of Cascade 220; "Perfect Pouch" takes 2 balls of Kureyon.)

What's next for me, an orange and raspberry and/or purple sofa? I'd better not go car shopping, that's for sure.

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I have some questions for you sock knitters out there. This pair of socks was given to me by a friend in Belarus (Russia - sort of) and I'd really like to know how you think they were made:

Were these made from the toe up? Here is a picture of the toe which looks like a "star" type:

And here is a photo of the heel. I'm not sure how it was constructed.

Toe at top of photo, ankle at bottom.

Ideas, anyone?

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My home-grown cotton boll has finally started to open! C'mon, Cottontot! Gotta' make some use of my charkha!

Maybe I'll be able to spin yarn and knit a sock for a mouse. I wish more bolls would have developed, especially from my brown varieties, but I'll save the seeds from this one and try again next year.

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Someone appears to be gaining a bit of weight from all the good food he's been getting lately:

Blue Jays are among my favorite birds. This one poked around for a prime peanut...

... and tossed it down his gullet before darting swiftly away through the woods. Jays are incredibly agile flyers. I love to see the flash of their bright backs against the tans, grays, and browns of the winter stalks and branches.

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May today be merry and bright for you. Please leave a message in the Tag-Board, and try out my NEW SMILIES!

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