Southern Snowfall

Here's a little something to distract you from the fact that I have not been knitting this week:

Click here to zoom out

I started this piece as a swatch a few months ago and liked it so much that I decided to keep going and make it into a scarf for my wonderful friend Hope. Hope gave me the yarn (Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton) to play with as I was debating whether to purchase a huge pile of it for a bulky sweater. I ditched the sweater idea (well, at least for now), but I love the scarf. I call it Southern Snowfall because it reminds me of the snow we used to get in the tidewater of Virginia when I was growing up. Faint and delicate, with gaps where the sidewalk peaked through. A poetic scarf for a poetic friend.

Shirley Spins (and so does Julia)

I had an absolutely fiber-filled weekend, which included Friday night dinner and maniacal Griffith-finishing with Mary Heather, a full day of "work" at the Knit Cafe, and then a Sunday of spinning with Marnie. Marnie is an excellent instructor. Here she is teaching Shirley, my foster kitty, how to make magic with a drop spindle:

Shirley is a fast learner. Notice how she perfectly mimics Marnie's technique.

I have to warn you up front that there are no pictures of me spinning, because I was so taken with Shirley that I had to drop everything and take an entire series of her first spinning attempts. Here's another cute one:

Notice the funny position of the back paw. She's so intent that comfort goes to the wayside. This is what spinning does to you.

And, at Marnie's request, here's a close-up of Shirley from the same shot:

When she saw this one, Marnie's first response was "Oh look, I think her eyes were even a little crossed!" Spinning is dangerously mesmerizing.

In between doting on Shirley and clicking away with the camera, I did manage to learn to spin, and I actually found it to be really fun. I wasn't frustrated at all, which I attribute to the fact that I was using a kick ass spindle. This is not to say that I didn't experience the usual beginner pitfalls. I put too much spin in the yarn, let the twist hit the drafting zone, and ended up with my very own "handspun":

See Amy even new wool spinners can create "cat barf"!

I just had a heck of a time doing it. One more round with the brown batt and I'm moving on to the chocolate covered cherries bfl. Look out world!

Spin me a yarn....

I knew it would happen eventually. I've gone over to the dark side:

Witness the beautiful instrument of my undoing.

I have wanted to dye and spin yarn since I was a young girl (yes, I have always been a geek!), and recently I've found myself frequenting the blogs of virtual pals who spin and knit (like Tiffany and Boogie and Felicia). These women are so inspiring that I've found it hard to contain my interest in spinning. So, after a little careful budgeting, I e-mailed Tiffany to get some advice on resources for spinning. I expected her to send me a book title or two, but instead I got a wonderful e-mail full of links to great resources in book format and on-line. Tiffany has mentioned that she may make the e-mail into a post. I heartily recommend that you go over to Princess Knits right now and beg her to do so. It's fabulous information.

In this wonderful information-filled e-mail Tiffany reminded me that Amy King (aka "Boogie") sells spindles and roving in addition to her beautiful pottery in her on-line store Spunky Eclectic. The moment I read those words I was sold. I love Amy's pottery, I love (or is it envy?) that she makes her living in such a wonderfully creative way, and I was very excited to be able to purchase from an on-line friend. Looking over her stock, I was even happier as I discovered that she carries a beautiful line of handcrafted spindles from Cascade. The craftsmanship and quality of these spindles on a computer screen is impressive. In person, mine is pure heaven. If spinning with it is anything like the silly twirling around that I've been doing, I think I'm going to be really happy with my choice.

Since I know that you're dying to know, my spindle is the Pilchuck, made by hand out of maple.* Here's a closer view:

Each spindle from Cascade is named for a mountain in the Cascade Range and marked with the comapny's mountain seal.

I should mention that I chose the day that Amy went in for her C-section to e-mail her about the spindle, and she still managed to get my order out to me within a week and a half. She even tucked in the 2 ounces of merino wool that you see pictured above so that I'd have a little extra something to play with. I would've waited a few months if necessary. That is customer service. Insane! I also purchased some of her handpainted Blue Faced Leicester Roving:

It's called chocolate covered cherries. Yum! Click here for a close-up of the fibers.

But wait! That is not the end of the fibery tale. You may remember that I entered this contest a week or so ago and won this beautiful yarn:

Can you believe that Tiffany was willing to part with this?

Since Tiffany knew that I was going to start spinning, she included a few other goodies in my contest package:

There are little samples of different types of roving to play with, including a delicious red merino roving and a hand-painted roving, and some of Tiffany's handspun (the photo does not do it justice). There was even a bag of fine chocolates that I managed not to completely devour before photographing. (Chocolate is, we know, the Breakfast of Champions.)

I am so set. Now the only question is:

WHAT DO I SPIN FIRST?

(Seriously. Feel free to include your opinion in the comments. Do I begin with merino or bfl? Undyed, because the dyed stuff is too pretty to mess up? But what if I want to dye the merino? I'm thinking I may start with the brown roving in the back. It's plain and "regular wool" which should mean its good to start with but not so special that I can't "ruin" it with my uneven first attempts.)

*Just in case you are wondering, Amy recommends either the Little Si or the Pilchuck for beginning spinners. Also, a wool or wool-blend roving is purportedly easier to spin than other fibers.

Freebie: Sprout Hat

You gotta love the pompom! Click here to see the set.

Happy Green Sprout Hat
MindofWinter QuickKnits, designed by Julia Trice
Yarn: Just over 1 skein (98 yards/90 meters/skein) of Karabella Aurora 8(100% Merino) in Parsley (716) If you do a less fluffy pompom you may get away with 1 skein, but no promises!
Needles: Clover Bamboo DPNs in size US6 (4.0mm)
Gauge: 4.5 sts per inch in moss stitch.
Size: About 14 inches in diameter, to fit newborn to 3-6 months, depending on the infant.

Note/Disclaimer: I designed the Sprout Hat to go with Veronik Avery's Gansey Layette, which is in a very different gauge. To make the two as a set, you will either have to re-gauge my pattern or hers. I'd re-gauge mine!

Using DPN's, CO 64 sts, place marker to mark rounds if needed. Work 6 rounds in 2x2 ribbing as follows: *k2, p2* to end every round. Next round, dec as follows: *k14, k2tog* to end. 60 sts remain. Purl two rounds. On next round begin moss stitch pattern:

Round 1: *k1, p1* to end.
Round 2: *k1, p1* to end.
Round 3: *p1, k1* to end.
Round 4: *p1, k1* to end.

Repeat these four rounds until hat measures 5.25 inches from beginning, ending after either round 2 or round 4. Purl two rounds.

Begin decreases as follows:

Round 1: *k10, k2tog* to end.
Round 2: Knit
Round 3: *k9, k2tog* to end.
Round 4: Knit
Round 5: *k8, k2tog* to end.
Round 6: Knit
Round 7: *k7, k2tog* to end.
Round 8: Knit
Round 9: *k6, k2tog* to end.
Round 10: Knit
Round 11: *k5, k2tog* to end.
Round 12: *k4, k2tog* to end.
Round 13: *k3, k2tog* to end.
Round 14: *k2, k2tog* to end.
Round 15: *k1, k2tog* to end.
Round 16: *k2tog* to end.

Leaving an eight-inch tail, cut yarn, and using a darning needle thread through the remaining live stitches. Pull live sts off needle and thread through a second time to strengthen. Weave in ends on the reverse side.

Make a pompom about 2.5-3 inches in diameter and fasten to top of hat. I used this pom pom maker, but for years before I acquired it, I made my own "maker" like this.

For notes on the yarn and accompanying sweater, see this post.

COPYRIGHT 2005, Julia P. Trice This pattern is protected by copyright and available for personal use only. It is not available for sale or distribution without the author's express permission.

"Happy Green" Pattern Notes

Yeesh! This year has been tough. Between designs not yet released and gifts for people who read my blog, I haven't felt free to share my FO's with you, and that's just not fun. So it is with great joy that I bring you the pattern notes for "Happy Green," the baby sweater that I made for my friend Jen's baby to be.

Happy Green in her native environment - the bench outside my temporary "cottage" home. Click here to zoom in.

Gansey Layette aka "Happy Green"
Interweave Knits, Winter 02-03, designed by Veronik Avery
Knit with almost 4 skeins (98 yards/90 meters/skein) of Karabella Aurora 8(100% Merino) in Parsley (716) on Clover Bamboo 24" circulars and DPNs in size US6 (4.0mm), in a gauge of about 5 sts per inch in Stst.

Size: smallest.

The Pattern:
This is my favorite baby sweater pattern. As a rule, I don't knit a sweater more than once unless it's my own design, but I like this one so much that I've made it three times (here it is in white on my niece Sophie, which reminds me I need to complete those pattern notes!), and considered up-sizing it for myself. This is especially impressive since I've never made it in the recommended gauge or in the same gauge any of those times. (Nor have I managed to take great notes, so that if I did do it in the same gauge I wouldn't have to do the math all over again.) It's true love, I tell you.

If I had to pick two all-time favorite designers, they would be Veronik Avery and Norah Gaughan, because they both use unique construction to stunning (yet wearable) effect. This little gansey is no exception. Veronik has you knit the sweater all in one piece to the armholes, which are made by picking up stitches and knitting down to the cuffs in the round. She uses short rows along the neckline to create a lovely scoop and then employs a sewn bind-off all around the neck and the cuffs. Between these techniques and the lovely garter rib detailing, the gansey is a veritable sampler for the intermediate knitter, and a fun ride for the experienced knitter as well. It's probably only suitable for the intrepid beginner, but if you've got a few projects under your belt and are dying to make it, you'll definitely pick up some knitting know-how along the way. Plus it makes an absolutely smashing gift.

Aren't the buttons lovely? Courtesy of the Great Wall of Buttons, visited on our Michael Levine trip.

Modifications:
The only modification that I made was the gauge. This is one of those patterns that is great "as is". It's very well-written, too.

Impressions of Karabella's Aurora 8:
This is a workhorse of a yarn. It comes in beautiful colors, knits up at a nice gauge, feels soft and lovely to the touch and displays beautiful stitch definition. I would highly recommend it for ganseys, arans, and ribbed sweaters. The solid colors are fabulous, but the slightly heathered colors, like the one I chose, are really special. My photography really doesn't adequately display the rich depth of a piece worked in such a beautiful heather. Oh yeah, here come those two wonderful words again: machine washable

Possible substitute yarns:
A cheap alternative to Aurora 8 that springs to mind is Peruvian Collection Highland Wool, a very nice yarn in its own right. Still, it's not merino. If your budget allows it, always go merino.

Tips for Making the Gansey Layette:
Do the short rowing when your mind is fresh and you have a lot of time to devote. You will need to "reverse shaping" and that can be an ugly thing to bend your mind around if you are already tired or don't have the necessary time block. If you re-gauge - write it all down for next time!

Did you see this little number? My pal Dan at the Knit Cafe always adds an extra button and yarn to a gift - seems like a great idea.

Girl's Weekend with Knitting

I have a very tight group of girlfriends from college, and although we have gotten very spread out geographically over the years (Chicago, Cleveland, DC, North Carolina and LA), we make a point of getting together each year for a long weekend to hang out and craft (we are four knitters and one quilter). This year we met up in Cleveland twice, and we spent this past weekend haning out and celebrating the immanent birth of my friend Jen's baby. I made her Veronik Avery's Gansey Layette (my favorite baby sweater pattern to date) to mark the occasion, or as it was renamed by friend Crystal at the Knit Cafe, Happy Green:

The mom to be opening her gansey - Jen doesn't wear her hair like that - it's the "baby" bow from the gift!

Laura made Jen a beautiful version of the Kimono from this past summer's Interweave Knits. I love the way the contrasting trim makes the sweater look elegant:

Here's Cora admiring Laura's handiwork.

In addition to the wonderful baby knits, we showed up to the shower in style in Laura's handknits (I brought Clementine, but Cleveland surprised us with beautifully warm weather and there was no way I was making it in merino!):

Jen and Julia sporting Laura's Cable Eight Top

Jen and Laura sporting her own Fiery Bolero

It was a great weekend, full of fabulous FOs. Stay tuned for more pictures of the Happy Green ensemble, pattern notes for Happy Green and a freebie pattern of the "Sprout" Hat.