Gotcha! No, I’m still here in North America, but I am casting on a short-sleeved summer sweater in Tahiti yarn from KFI. The colorway with the white background has been calling me for months, and I’m finally giving in. The pattern is Ariel from Knit N Style magazine June 2010 issue.
If I finish this quickly, I may offer Daughter a sleeveless tank in one of the other colors. I think the pink would look great on her.
Apologies for having been such a poor correspondent this spring. I’ve been busy knitting on our Nora’s Sweater KAL, and I’ll be posting pictures this weekend. I also hope to take pics of the sweater I’m working on for me in Cotton Supreme Batik from Universal, my Shingle socks, and the mystery shawl knitalong I jumped into.
All that knitting, plus some techie additions. We are now on Facebook and Twitter. Lynette has started a Hearthstone Knits group on Ravelry, too. Find us, follow us, knit with us.
Nora’s Sweater from the cover of Interweave Knits Winter ‘09 is our next Knit Along Project. It is an intricate and gorgeous sweater — coming and going — with cables, lace, and knitted pleats.
We’re recommending Lana D’Oro from Cascade because it feels fabulous and has the perfect drape for this design. Be sure to hurry in to order your favorite color for this project.
The Knit Along begins on Thursday, February 11, during our regular evening knitting gathering. We meet from 5:30 or so until the shop closes at 8:00 p.m. There’s no charge for participation, but please use a yarn purchased at HearthStone Knits.
I can’t wait to get started! Are you coming, too?
Here is Daughter in her Christmas gift. She really liked it and was very surprised. We decided to shorten the neck about half — it was just toooooo big. The yarn is Kashmir Aran from Louisa Harding and the pattern is Nesselrode from Berroco Booklet #288. It was great to knit, and I’m really pleased with the result.
“Nonpareil” means unparalleled and I hope that’s what Daughter’s new cardigan is going to be. I’m using the Nonpareil design from Berroco’s new book “Blackstone Tweed.” It’s a great pattern in a superb book, and I’m enjoying it tremendously. It’s also working up fast – which doesn’t hurt at all.
We carry Blackstone Tweed yarnin the shop. It’s yummy to both the fingers and the eyes with its gorgeous texture and fiber combination. Even so, I’m using a different yarn for Daughter’s cardi. She’a alergic to the angora in Blackstone Tweed, and I’ve been looking for a special pattern to make for her using Hillside Linen yarn from Plymouth. Nonpareil seemed like the perfect solution, and it will complement her figure perfectly.
Daughter is not a lover of wool and is very sensitive to anything scratchy – plus angora is completely out. The Hillside Linen is half alpaca and half linen with a wonderful visual texture and a very soft feel that she really likes. The drape is ideal for this pattern, too.
All in all, it promises to be an unparalleled success. I can’t wait to finish it and have her try it on!
My latest project is the Open Cardi from the “New Harbor” pattern book by Classic Elite. This will look so cute on Daughter, and she picked a lovely Periwinkle shade of Classic Silk.
Classic Silk is a wonderful blend of cotton and silk that is just perfect for 3 seasons in St. Louis — possibly 4, depending on your personal thermostat. It’s worsted weight so the project worked up quickly. It’s on display in the shop now. This is the price Daughter pays for her sweaters; they have to do sample duty for a while!
For the first time in ages, both the projects I have on the needles are for ME!
The bigger project is a cardigan: Vanda from Knitters’ Magazine Summer ‘08 and the yarn is Mountain Color’s Merino Ribbon in the Alpine colorway. The gauge is not the same, but that seldom stops me; I just fire up my calculator and have at it. My version is longer with a more swing-jacket outline which I achieved by knitting the bottom pattern two needle sizes larger - then 3″ on the next size - then to the final size. It’s really turning out great. With the longer silhouette I decided on 3 buttons instead of just one. The yarn is beautiful and provides a fabric that reminds me a little bit of chenille. Sort of hard to describe, but really cool!
The smaller project is a pair of socks out of Sock Donegal (HPKY) in Turandot. Pretty wild, huh? The pattern I’m using is Herringbone Rib Socks from Interweave Knits Winter ‘08. It was excerpted from the book Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn. It took a few rounds to get the hang of the pattern stitch and then it was off to the races. I’m really enjoying this sock, and the design does wonders for blending the colors. I think that’s what I find the most fascinating about knitting this pair. If you plan to knit this, be aware that the stitch pattern has a taut gauge and your socks will require more stitches than you usually use (8 more for me). The large size in the pattern will fit my “healthy” ankles just fine. I turned the heel on the first sock last night, and I can’t wait to wear them.
Time to go knit. Now which project shall I pick up first?
