On the Needles: Jill

It's that time of the year... the air is cooler and I'm itching to start a lot of new projects. And you know how hard it is to limit yourself to just ONE project.

I'm really trying to be good about not having a million half-finished projects all over my house. But the other night my family room had about 8 or 9 vinyl project bags scattered about. In truth, some belonged to my kids (they have slacked off on their knitting since school has started. I'll cut them a break!)

I have a number of things on the needles right now. I recently finished the Little Boater Crew sweater (Thirteenth Little Sublime Hand Knit Book, knit in Sublime Extra Fine Merino DK), but it needs to be seamed! We're working on that today, so it should be hanging in the shop in the next day or so. 

Front of sweater

I started a Color Affection Shawl this summer. I loved these 3 bright colors of Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine and thought it would be a simple knit. It is easy, that's for sure. But it's a little too boring for me... so I haven't made much progress. I have a trip coming up next month and will have some time to knit on the plane. Maybe it can be my project for that!?

Colors (l to r): Frove Mix, Grapefruit Mix, Orchid

I started a baby hat in June and really need to finish it! I must have misplaced it (I mean the yarn is SO tiny... it's My First Regia in 25 gram balls!) but now that I've found it I'm determined to finish it. Size 2 needles are a bit painful for my hands so I'll have to do it on a day when there's no gardening or interior painting on the schedule...

Pattern is in My First Regia Journal #005

This is what it will look like when it's finished: 

I started a sweater for myself two weeks ago with Berroco Remix, one of my all time favorite yarns. So far it's going really well, but I did set it aside when I found all of these other projects that are SO close to being finished. It's the Chic Knits Ariann Sweater. The feel of the Remix is just lovely!

And my Dreambird shawl is nearing completion! I think I have enough yarn left for one more feather, which will be a total of 14. It's going to block out nicely and I'm eager to see the finished result. The pattern was confusing, for sure! All of the moving of safety pins had me pulling out my hair, so I ended up making a spreadsheet in Excel that had row by row instructions. It was much easier to follow! But this was certainly NOT a project I could work on while watching tv. I pretty much needed to count each stitch. Oh well, it was still a fun project. 

Ella Rae Lace Merino and Noro Silk Garden Sock yarns

So that's 5 unfinished projects. Eeeeek! I better get a move on!

Duplicate Stitch

I'm happy to say that after more than 30 years of knitting, I have added "duplicate stitch" to my skills.

I'm not sure why I was against learning the duplicate stitch? I think I'd seen way too many bad examples of it to want to try it. But now I realize that the bad examples I've seen were because the yarn used for the duplicate stitch was too thin, or the tension was all wrong.

Barb took 5 minutes on Saturday to give Kaitlin and me a little tutorial. 

Counting the stitches and marking out exactly where the design was supposed to go took up most of that 5 minutes... the duplicate stitch part only took about 30 seconds to master. I finished it at home this weekend and now all that's left is seaming... my favorite part!

The sweater is the Little Boater Crew from the Thirteenth Little Sublime Hand Knit Book (#668). 

There's an adorable blanket that matches... what a great baby gift idea! 

The pattern calls for Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK, but as we already have a number of shop samples out of that yarn, I chose the Sublime Extra Fine Merino DK. I LOVE the yarn... maybe a sweater for myself will follow?

Elephants on Parade

Michele brought these in last week to share with us!

What a perfect gift set for a new baby!

This is Elijah the Elephant, and the Roo Designs Elephant Pullover (pdf pattern) knit to match using sport/dk weight yarns. She used Sublime Extrafine Merino Wool DK. It comes in a great selection of colors and is machine washable for friendly projects for little ones.

Stash Busting Child's Hat

This past Saturday we took a day trip to Helsinki and we traveled by train. On Friday night I set aside a travel knitting bag for my train knitting. I had just finished my crocheted baby blanket the night before and so I was itching for a knitting project.

Circles & Squares Baby Blanket - finished!

I decided to knit the Little Henry Car Coat - a cute little sweater in Sublime Baby Book #648 knit with Sublime Baby Silk & Bamboo yarn. I got a small bag ready and located the yarn, the needles and the notions I would need. But the pattern? MIA. I searched every nook and cranny of this tiny apartment, but I just couldn't find it. 

So, I grabbed some leftover Elsebeth Lavold Cool Wool from my stash and threw it into the bag with a couple of crochet hooks. I had no idea what I'd do with it, but it was all I could come up with!

The next morning on the train, I started a hat. I worked on it on the way to Helsinki, and on the way back from Helsinki, and then a little the next morning. I finished it off with a few flowers, and viola! It's a cute stash busting child's hat. 

Here's the pattern:

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75g of stash yarn, worsted

size F crochet hook

This hat should fit a child 18 mos - 2 years? It measures 17". To make it larger (or smaller) just repeat your increase rounds more (or less) and then add more (or less) length to the hat. 

HAT

Make an adjustable loop circle.

Round 1:  Ch 2 (counts as 1 hdc), 7 hdc into circle, join with sl st into 2^nd of ch 2. Pull adjustable loop to close circle. (8 hdc)

Round 2: Ch 2 (counts as 1 hdc), hdc into same stitch, 2 hdc into every hdc, join with sl st into 2nd of ch 2. (16 hdc)

Round 3: Ch 2 (counts as 1 hdc), 2 hdc into next hdc, [1 hdc into next hdc, 2 hdc into next hdc] repeat to end of round, join with sl st into 2nd of ch 2. (24 hdc)

 

Round 4: Ch 2 (counts as 1 hdc), 1 hdc into next hdc, 2 hdc into next hdc, [1 hdc into each of next 2 hdc, 2 hdc into next hdc] repeat to end of round, join with sl st into 2nd of ch 2. (32 hdc)

Rounds 5 - ??: continue working in hdc and increasing in this manner (8 sts per round) until your circle measures 6" in diameter. Then continue working rounds of hdc with no increases until desired length (I worked for about 3.5-4").

FLOWERS

With any color, make an adjustable loop circle.

Round 1: [ch 7, sl st into the ring] 6 times. Pull adjustable loop to close circle. (6 petals started)

Round 2: In 1st ch-sp [sc, hdc, dc, 5 tr, dc, hdc, sc], repeat alternating colors for each petal. (You will have two petals per color.)

Weave in ends and attach randomly to hat. 

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I love 3 dimensional hats!

Busting the stash, or at least trying to!

There are times when my stash just gets completely out of control. And while it's always great to have a stash - recently I've been trying to thin mine out.

When I started the little hat a couple of weeks ago, I needed 5 colors of in Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK. The hat is small, and as with any fair isle project, at the end I had a lot of yarn left! I hate to use just a few yards of a new ball of yarn, and throw it into my stash, to sit and wait for another project.

So, I decided make several smaller projects with my remnants. People always go crazy over baby bootie samples, so I did made a Bovva bootie, and then a Little Pump bootie for the shop (which still needs a button). And then I made the Vintage Racing Helmet which is just adorable! And then, because I loved how quickly that hat worked up, and wanted to make a little girl's hat, I made the Rosy Posy Hat. So sweet! The little flowers were so fun to make... no I-cord! Just a clever little cast on, bind off method that I will be using from now on. I did need to dig in my stash to find a remnant of a peach color for the flowers. Luckily I had some leftover from another sweater I'd made with this yarn.

And I'm not finished yet. I still have enough left to make another two-tone Bovva bootie, and I'm going to make a couple versions of the Little Striped Clog.I know I'll never use up every scrap of this yarn, but I'm going to try my hardest!

And the knitting's sublime...

So it's vacation week here in Vermont. And it's been windy, grey, rainy and snowy. Brrr! But that means it's been great knitting weather.

I'm not in the office this week - we have some big projects going on at home - including a major clean out of the house, basement and garage. We've lived here for more than 16 years, and even though we clean out often, there's always stuff you can get rid of. It's a great lesson in learning to live with less.

I don't have much time to knit this week, so when I was scrambling last Friday to pick up a new project before leaving the shop, my co-workers laughed at me. They said, "You'll never have time to knit that!" But luckily, before the major clean out started on Sunday morning, I DID have time to do some knitting.

I started and finished this adorable baby hat in Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK. It's in the new Eighth Little Sublime Handknit book and I just love the shape!

I also was in the mood for colorwork, since Barb recently completed her headband for the upcoming class. I'm not great at knitting with 2 colors at the same time and I wanted a project that would strengthen my "picking" ability. I love the hat, and loved the pattern. Here's my finished hat:There were two things I didn't like about the pattern, though. It's knit back and forth, which meant I had a number of rows that were on the purl side involving 2 colors. I'm quick to admit that I am terrible at picking and throwing (at the same time) while purling. So I need work there.

The other thing I did not like was that the pattern was that in many cases, you would use a color and then not need it again until an odd row, meaning you had to cut the yarn and start it again, when it was next needed. Ick. This meant TONS of ends to weave in, and I found that a bit frustrating.

Oh well, the end result is still precious. I love the colors I chose! And since I had to use 5 colors for the hat, I have a lot left, so I am making up a few of the booties from some of the Sublime baby books. They're quick to make and super cute.

I also made a Bovva bootie from The Second Little Sublime Handknit Book #606:And next up is a Little Pump from The Sixth Little Sublime Handknit Book #634. This is their image - I haven't decided which of my five colors I will be using...

And really, the yarn is just so luscious, that I'm not ready to part with it... just yet. So I may have to keep finding more ways to use up these scraps.

A sweater for Emma!

So Polly's little grandson Jack, who is 2 years old, is getting a new sister! She's due July 1st, and of course, Polly's already been knitting for her... Look how precious this little sweater and hat set are! She's certainly going to win a best dressed award, there's no doubt about that. This pattern is on the cover of The Seventh Little Sublime Hand Knit Book #640 and the sweater uses the Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK yarn. The hat is so sweet! I love the colors Polly chose. Can't wait to see it on Emma!

It's Time to Feel the Burn!

That saying reminds me of days in the 80s, when I'd faithfully work out to Jane Fonda's aerobic videos. I left the high cut spandex & wide belt wearing to Jane, while I followed her moves, all the while hearing her say "Feel the burn!" Well, I did feel the burn, and I didn't like it! But I took it as a sign that the dreaded workout was almost over and the great feeling of having worked out, was about to begin. No pain, no gain, right?

That's sort of how I feel with this sweater. I'm making the vest out of the Sublime Luxurious Wooley Merino in Book 639. The back and two fronts took me NO time. That was the easy part. I figured I'd be finished in just a few days. But then I started the neck.

The neckband is truly awesome. It's very textural, that stitch where you knit, leave the stitch on the needle, wrap the yarn around your thumb, knit the stitch again, and then bind off the first stitch over the second stitch. But each stitch takes as long to explain as it does to knit. And so while the main body of the vest went so quickly, the neckband made everything slow down to a dribble. Not much progress was being made. And I switched to other projects like my Seedling sweater.

I just picked this vest up again yesterday and decided that I needed to push through, and really feel the burn on this thing, just to get to the other side... to finish it. I'm going to LOVE this sweater. It's so amazingly soft and cuddly. And that neckband!? While it is a bit of a chore to do, it's THE most cushy feeling handknit I've ever made. I'm so excited to have that softness right up around my neck!

So onward it is. I've now finished the first side. And the second one ALWAYS goes faster. Doesn't it?

Manic-In Monday

A day late... sorry! Monday's are always manic, but add a holiday and it means that yesterday it was ALL hands on deck both in the shop and in shipping. I didn't even touch my computer all day.

This week, our gal is channeling spring in several shades of green. Her sweater is fun; it's a short-sleeved, boxy style that can be worn as is or pinned closed across the chest. Knit with a brand new bulky boucle yarn... but wait! There's nothing bulky about this sweater! It's super cozy and oh-so lightweight. (Her ruffled scarf is just a subtle hint that a couple of Flounce colors are back in stock now, with more to come.) Sweater: knit with Sublime Luxurious Wooly Merino yarn, from the Second Sublime Luxuriously Wooly Merino Hand Knit Book #639
Scarf: knit with 2 balls of Flounce yarn, free pattern

Introducing...

a newly expanded line of Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK. It's a mouthful, for sure. But worth saying over and over and over!

Welcome to the World of Buttons!

We've always carried a good selection of buttons in the shop, but our non-local customers have complained that it's so hard to find a decent selection online. So we've been busy over the past few weeks getting all of our buttons up online - and we're so thrilled to announce that the project is complete! All of our current button styles are photographed and available for sale online now.
We've sorted them out in the following categories for now: Adult Buttons, Kids' Buttons, Metal Buttons, Clasps, Ceramic Buttons, Danforth Pewter Buttons, Zecca Buttons, Lantern Moon Buttons, Mission Falls Buttons, Shell Buttons and Natural Material Buttons. So take a look!

Next week we'll put up our discontinued buttons, and these will all be on super-sale!

Speaking of buttons, I finished my Sublime striped sweater last night, as promised:And pulled some buttons that worked:And ended up with this:

Branching out

I've been straying a bit! Even though I have a number of knitting projects in the works, my attention has wandered a bit to other crafts. Now I'm just wishing for more hours in each day, so I can finish up some of these projects.

I still have a sleeve and the edging to do on my little striped Sublime sweater. It's terribly sweet, and I love knitting with the yarn, but I had to put it down to whip up a little doll sweater for knitting camp next week. Shawn is running the camp, and the kids are going to make an easy raglan doll (or bear) sweater and learn how to seam it together. Months ago, I told Shawn not to worry, that I'd take care of making up a pattern and knitting the sweater. Well, the other day she "reminded" me nicely that I hadn't made the sweater yet... and so I put aside my Sublime sweater, grabbed some Vintage Chunky and made this:I even finished all seams except for a few so Shawn can demonstrate for the kids. It's cute, easy and I know the kids can complete this... it only took me one evening.

And then, I got sidetracked again. We have been working on a category sort feature for all 1200+ patterns on our website... a way to narrow your search quickly - and find just the pattern you are looking for. This is a huge project on our end, and involved looking at (and through) every pattern and pattern booklet and classifying which yarn weight(s) and category(ies) and age(s), etc.

As I was looking through the Mission Falls patterns, I found an adorable hat and scarf set that are crocheted (Mission Falls Goes Crochet Pattern Booklet). I love Mission Falls 1824 Wool, and hadn't used it in a while. And, while I'm not a big crocheter, I do tend to go on crochet binges once in a while. I felt the binge coming on, and so I grabbed some yarn and started working on the scarf. (What's that? Is that a Sublime sweater calling my name? I'll pretend I don't hear it!) This scarf is SO much fun. I love love love it. I feel like I'm addicted to crocheted flowers now!

And to make matters worse, I've sort of gotten into a sewing project for Helen and Sophie. Their 11th birthday is in less than a month. I told them I would let them pick out some fabrics and I would make them some throw pillows for their beds. (Apparently, at this age, the idea of lounging or reading on a pretty bed with lots of soft pillows is appealing!) I'm not quite sure how making pillows turned into making pillows, 2 new reversible comforter covers AND 2 sets of new curtains. But at this point, non-sewer that I am, I'm in over my head and there's no going back. We'll see how it all turns out!

Stripes Galore

Hope everyone's holiday weekend was fantastic! We sure had some hot weather here in the northeast, but it's better than a weekend of rain, so I'm not complaining. We celebrated the 4th by heading to our camp in Maine. Thankfully, the heat wasn't too much of an issue, since this is what went on for 3 days: And it was breezy enough for sailing, so that kept things cool. I figured that since the weekend was about stars & stripes, I would start a little striped project of my own. I didn't go with patriotic colors, but stripes are stripes. I'm making this:In these colors: And it's coming along nicely!The yarn is new for us. It's Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK from Sublime. Quite a mouthful! But even though I can't ever remember the "exact" name (I get it confused with Cashmerino and others!) it is so wonderful to knit with!! The colors are beautiful and the patterns are incredible. Each little booklet has a wonderful selection of baby patterns. This pattern is in the Second Little Sublime Knit Book #606.

L O V E !