Just recently, I've found the love for fingering weight yarn.  I purchased some Malabrigo Sock yarn last summer, hoping to make my oldest a poncho.  I cast on, even threw in some beading, but an inch or two into the raglan increases I realized that I would be knitting this poncho forever.

I didn't even bother to frog what little progress I'd made on the poncho.  I just broke the yarn and started on a pair of socks.  I found this gorgeous pattern -- Absinthe by Sara Morris -- and cast on.  These socks are worked from the toe up.  

I learned Judy's Magic Cast On, which was a little intimidating at first, but it was super easy and fascinating to see how your first two rows magically fit together.  No grafting!

This pair of socks was actually enjoyable to knit.  I bought 40" long size 1 circular needles.  This was a life saver and I can't imagine going back to 4 or 5 dpn's.  I also have learned to read charts in the last year or two.  While I initially fought learning to read charts, I find it much easier to keep track of where I am in a pattern with a chart.  

I wish I had captured some better pictures of these socks before I gifted them to my mom for her birthday, but I'm not as flexible as I used to be.  The combination of cables and lace make for a beautiful pair of socks.

 

briggs street on the beach

Today was a beautiful morning to hit the beach with my knitting.  This is one of my favorite spots in town.  It's so crowded in the summer that I only make it there once or twice all season long.  But now that fall and October are here, I have the place almost all to myself.

I'm working on Briggs Street by Dawn Catanzaro.  What a beautiful, simple pattern.  I'm using some yarns out of my stash that were originally destined for other projects.  But when I saw this project on Ravelry, I abandoned those plans and started right away on my sweater.

I don't hold out much hope for many more beach days this year, although I will be pleasantly surprised and won't complain if there are plenty.  Today is one to hold on to.

Sugar

I'm happy to say that my newest design, Sugar, is included in the latest edition of Petite Purls.

I loved knitting this sweater.  From the open, lacy look, to the yarn, it all came together easily.  

The yoked cardigan features an i-cord cast on and bind off.  I have to admit I was hesitant about including both of these techniques in the design.  I tried an i-cord bind off unsuccessfully two years ago when I was knitting a blanket for my youngest niece.  I gave up after a few tries and just crocheted a neat little edge around the whole thing.

But a more recent try at knitting Paper Dolls by Kate Davies encouraged me to give the i-cord cast on a try.  And it was such a success that I figured it was worth trying the i-cord bind off again.  And this time the technique just made much more sense to me.

Some knitters say that you should let the yarn speak to you and tell you what it wants to be.  As I've followed this advice more recently, I've abandoned more projects than I care to admit because the yarn just isn't the right fit for the pattern I'm working on.  But I think the same thing can be true about techniques.  Sometimes you just have to wait for the right project and what was difficult before is easy now.  It's all about patience I suppose.

I hope you enjoy knitting Sugar as much as I loved designing it!

  

where has the time gone?

Please excuse my months long absence from blogging.  I've missed it!

Last fall I purchased a burnt orange, gorgeous Malabrigo Rios and I didn't know what to do with it.  I tried swatching some patterns and none looked right.   I've been taking to heart the advice that if you let the yarn speak, it will tell you what it wants to be.  So I was very excited to find Malabrigo Book 3 in my local yarn store this winter.  The minute I spotted the Twisted Cowl by Breean Elyse Miller in Book 3, I knew it was the right fit for my Rios.  I have a lot of scarves, so I decided to give this one to a friend.  It just needs a few buttons and then it will be hers.

And I've been carrying this scarf around in my purse for the last month or so.  It's the Jaywalker Scarf pattern by Jody McKinley.  It's for my littlest.  Spring arrived early this year in Maine, so she'll have to wait until next fall to wear it, but she gets excited every time I pull it out of my purse to work on it.  She's my pajama loving, barefoot child, but I hope she'll wear it when it's finally done.

I've also knit two girls' sweater this winter but I've had to keep them hush hush, as they're samples of my newest sweater pattern coming out soon.  I'll post more about it as soon as I can!

yarn along

Just two more gifts to knit before Christmas!  Last night I started this pair of fingerless mitts for my daughter.  The yarn is an organic merino by Becoming Art in her "Neverland" colorway.  My daughter has a hat in this colorway but doesn't wear it as much as she'd like because none of her mittens or gloves match.  So I'm hoping she'll be excited to get these mitts.

I'm still reading The Other Boleyn Girl.  It's entertaining and easy to read a couple of pages at a time.  I've seen so many of you in these Yarn Alongs mention Simplicity Parenting that I finally got a copy for myself yesterday.  I'm hoping to get through it over the next couple of weeks, while acknowledging that a book about simplicity is an interesting thing to read during what I think is one of the least simple times of the year.

I hope all of your gift making is coming along well.  As always, please feel free to leave a link to your yarn along post in the comments.  And thank you to Ginny at small things for hosting another yarn along.

my newest favorite craft

I have always loved making paper snowflakes.  They're fairly easy to make and they're simple little decorations for the windows.  But mine have always left a little something to be desired.

Last week, I saw this tutorial by Michele of Michele Made Me.  In it, she describes how she folds the paper for her snowflakes.  I've just always folded the paper in quarters and then folded the quarter into a triangle.  But she folds hers differently and that makes all the difference!

It's really the simplest craft.  All you need are scissors, paper, and a free minute or two. I love that Michele makes them with recycled materials.  I've been using catalog pages from the many pounds of catalogs we've received so far this holiday season while my children have used brightly colored origami papers.  Either way, it feels like a new twist on an old craft.

Yarning Along

Hello, little owl!  I made him as a gift for my sister for her Christmas tree.  Last week he was unstuffed, but just an hour of extra work and he was done.  I made his eyes out of felt and affixed them with hot glue.  And next time I'd add a little fringe on his scarf, but I do think he's just right anyway.

I'm just about to start working on the second fingerless mitt for my oldest.  It's the only thing I'm knitting for her for Christmas.  I'm actually doing more sewing this year which is beginning to make me a little nervous given that I am a much better knitter.  I'm hoping to start the sewing projects soon.  All the fabric is here, I just need to prewash it all.

By the way, I'm really anxious and excited to start the sewing.  I'm in love with the fabrics I chose.  But I need to prewash them.  Prewashing fabrics is, in my opinion, the equivalent of knitting and washing a gauge swatch.  They're pretty necessary steps if you want the item to actually fit and look right, but they just seem like obstacles.

And I began reading The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory.  I found it for $1 last week at a book sale and like that I don't have to worry about returning it to the library, given that it's rather long.  I like historical fiction--although I don't know how accurate this novel is--but I'm enjoying it anyway.  It's perfect for picking up and putting down in between things.

What are you knitting and reading this week?  Thanks to Ginny at small things for hosting another Yarn Along.