Long Live LaReine!

Another shawl, number 8 for me this year, but definitely one of my favorites.  Why?

Well, in part because it was designed by a friend, the first pattern I have ever worked that was designed by an honest to goodness friend.  Angela was one of the three founding members of the Fort Greene/Clinton Hill Knit & Crochet Group, so I've known her for more than two years now. In addition to being an accomplished knitter and crocheter, she used to design jewelry, so I knew she had latent design capabilities, but only recently have they re-emerged.  And boy, have they emerged.  This is her first design, and will be available to the public later this week, but she's already worked up another design and has plans for a third.  You'd never accuse her of being lazy.

Details:

Pattern: LaReine, by Angela Tong

Yarn: Araucania Itata Solid

Needles: 3.75mm

Started: September 12

Finished: September 29

Although it took me 2 weeks to knit this, it is not a two week shawl.  Because I was a test knitter for this pattern and I wanted the finished result to look as good as possible, when I made mistakes (dropped a stitch, missed a yo, etc.) I actually fixed them instead of ignoring them.  Also, because this pattern consists largely of stockinette, mistakes become pretty glaring, which makes them easy to find and easy to fix. The yarn that I chose is a light and airy wool/bamboo/silk blend, resulting in a soft, drapey shawl that's more suited to spring and summer than winter.  I love the color and chose it, in part, because the lace pattern in the shawl reminded me of flames, so I thought the orange would make a good pairing.  Almost all of the other test knitters picked up a water vibe and have knit LaReine in shades of blue and blue-green.  Not sure what that says about me . . .in any event, I give this pattern, and it's designer, a thumbs up

p.s. Angela's hosting a give-away on her blog right now, featuring yarn and the LaReine pattern, so I'd pop on over if I were you. 

You are an obsession, You're my obsession*

When I get into something, I really get into it. I know in my heart of hearts that it's a good idea, a good plan, a worthwhile use of my time. I want to know it, understand it, really experience it. The obsession may not last forever, but while it does, it is glorious. It's how I was with knitting, how I was with cake baking and how I've become with canning. Witness:

The product of my first week of putting up food. So far I've canned cherries and plums, made dill pickles, dilly beans, apricot jam, bourbon cherries and sour cherry preserves, and enjoyed every sweaty (it is August, after all) minute of it. I have to say that this has made me feel incredibly productive. What I mean is that I'm not a lazy person, but the projects I usually work on are small and discrete: knitting a child's sweater, sewing a set of napkins, crocheting a lapghan, baking scones. With canning, the volume of the end product seems so much more significant and takes so much less time to produce, that it's rather gratifying. I'm a little late to the game this season, so I may be doing more pickling than fruit canning this year, but I'm excited about it nonetheless. The Ball Blue Book has lots of intriguing recipes that will keep me busy for the next few weeks at least.

Last week I did manage to do a bit more than simply go to work and preserve foods. I also watched Season 5 of Entourage in it's entirety, met up with the Ft. Greene/Clinton Hill Kitting & Crocheting peeps for some crafting and bingo:

and went to the Flea with Alex and Matt.





Fun! They just moved to Brooklyn from the UWS and have done a commendable job of integrating themselves into the 'hood.

That's the lobster roll they bought for me. It was delicious! Not too much mayo, toasted bread and some green onions, rather than the celery more typically found in a lobster roll. I could not have asked for a better summer lunch.

Details:
Pattern: Springtime Bandit, by Kate Gagnon Osborn, from Kelbourn Woolens
Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Tweed
Needles: US7s/4.5mm
Started: July 6
Finished: July 16

It's a gift, but for a non-blog reader, so I think it's safe to show. I started this on the plane to Stockholm and had grand plans of finishing it on my return flight. Those plans were disrupted by my viewing of 17 Again, Duplicity and something else the title of which escapes my just now. This yarn is incredibly soft and cozy, requisite qualities for something that's to be scrunched up against one's neck. I've wet blocked it once, and it did open up quite a bit, but not quite enough for my liking. I'm considering another go-around, as I'd like the pattern to be a bit more visible.



Overall, I'm quite happy with this project, and look forward to presenting it to it's future owner.

*Don't tell me you've forgotten about Animotion!

Happy Holidays

What a tremendous holiday weekend this has been! Off work at noon on Thursday, then out to enjoy champagne and dinner in Brooklyn with Lauren, who's in from Paris.

Our last visit was a Christmas, so there was lots of catching up to do. I'd planned for us to enjoy our champers in a little park in Cobble Hill, but the weather neglected to cooperate.

The sky absolutely opened up! We took refuge in a tiki bar on Smith Street, ordered tacky and delicious rum drinks and waited for the downpour to end. Later, we meandered down the block for a yummy Italian dinner. Good night!


The next day, I was up early readying myself for a day at the beach with Lauren and another dear friend, Angela. This was our third annual outing to the the beach at Rye, and we really had such a lovely time. I'm a bit more of a sun worshiper than my fair-complexioned companions, so I was particularly grateful for the clear skies, but so long as I can sit in a lounge chair and stare at the sea, I'll not complain. Late in the afternoon, we repaired to the cabana for aperitifs. Pure delight!





The following day, the 4th of July, was another event: BBQ at Jeffrey's home. More delicious food and good friends. It began wholesomely enough, then devolved into proper debauchery. Quelle surprise!

Crafts? Oh yes, there's been quite a bit of that, as well. About two weeks ago Emily, a member of my knitting group, suggested KAL for a new pattern, Aestlight by Gudrun Johnston. I'd never done a KAL before, and was quite enthusiastic. I was a bit hung up on yarn, however, as I wanted to be sure not to repeat a recent misstep: using a multi-colored yarn on a lace project. Let me show you what I mean:

Details:
Pattern: Ishbel, by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Malabrigo Lace in Azelea
Needles: US6s/4.00mm
Started: June 16
Finished: June 27

The pattern is a lovely one, but the handpainted yarn was not the best choice for the project. While it is incredibly soft, all of the details of the lace are lost in the busy color changes. Argh! I shouldn't complain too much, however, because the dark bits do a good job of hiding several of the more obvious mistakes I made on this little project. I blame it on the super sticky lace-weight yarn. My yarn-overs and knit-two-togethers kept getting lost. If I ever work with lace weight yarn again, and that's a big if, it will have to be something smooth and silky like, well, like silk or bamboo. But merino? Nyet. Also, these colors are crap on me! Fortunately, they are fab on Nettie, a friend from knitting group, so I gave it to her.

See? I'm glad it will have a good home.

So, the KAL: After realizing that nothing I have in my stash of yarns would be quite right for this project, I made an indulgent visit to my favorite yarn store, Purl, and bought two skeins from the brand new line, Spud & Chloe. I had originally planned for this to be a travel project for my trip to Sweden, but excitement got the better of me. I knit up Aestlight with what for me can only be described as lightening speed. I'm not a terribly fast knitter, but I was able to get a lot done on the day I was home sick (btw, summer colds suck! It's totally depressing to be stuck inside, sweating with a sore throat when it's 70 degrees and dry outside).

Details:
Pattern: Aestlight, by Gudrun Johnston
Yarn: Spud & Chloe Fine, in Tutu
Needles: US6s/4.00mm
Started: June 28
Finished: July 4

Constructed from the neck down in a traditional Shetland manner, this mini-shawl really grew a lot after blocking. The birds eye lace opened up nicely, and developed a kind of 3D quality that's not apparent from the photos.

I love it! A keeper, I do believe.

I'm off on holiday tomorrow. Hej Stockholm, hej då New York!