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After working on socks in the car during the day, I wanted a different project to work on during evenings in the hotel.  This Shapely Shawlette from a pattern by Judy Pascale was just the thing.  The yarn is sock yarn from JWrayCo in Lerwick Harbor Purple.  It turned out the perfect size for an accent shoulder shawl, and the pattern was really easy to memorize.

I didn’t have it quite finished when we got back, and I was searching through my dresser looking for something else when I unearthed these beads.  What a perfect match for my almost-finished shawlette!!  Serendipity!!!  I added them to the bind off row and voila!  What do you think?

Now that I’ve caught up with everything that piled up while I was on vacation I can catch  you up on my travel knitting.

Socks are always my favorite car project.  I can knit, talk, and watch the scenery all at the same time.  On this trip I learned that I can also babysit the GPS while working on a pair of socks.  [By the way, the GPS has been named “Shirley” because my husband kept saying, “Surely, she’s crazy!”]

The pattern is a simple 8-stitch repeat that I could keep just by watching the results.  It spirals around the foot like the Blue Ridge Parkway curls through the mountains.  When it was time for the foot, the pattern decided that it needed to use switchbacks to climb from the toe to the ankle.

We were on the way home while I was knitting the second sock, so it had to spiral the opposite direction.  After all, balance is the keep to a happy existence, right?

P.S.  The yarn is Crazyfoot from Mountain Colors, and the design will be available the last week in July.

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.

The “Traveling Socks” are coming along great.  I’m currently working on the second sock which is a mirror image of Sock 1.  I should have pics this weekend, maybe I’ll even be finished!

Also hope to have pics of the Shapely Shawlette from Judy Pascale’s pattern that was also travel knitting.  I’m trying to work out how to bead the bind off.

Have a safe & fun holiday weekend!

I’ve been playing the new Crazyfoot sock yarn from Mountain Colors, and it knits up beautifully.  The twist is great for pattern work.  The colorway is “Chinook” and this swirly design looks like it’s been blown around in a high wind.  The pattern will become a whirlwind when it reaches the foot, and the other sock will twist in the opposite direction.  I’m having a lot of fun with this so far.  What do you think of it?

Our summer class has been sent to everyone on our e-newsletter list.  If you haven’t received yours, just follow this link. There will be lots of cool things to learn, and I hope everyone finds something they like!

P.S.  Be sure we have your email address so you won’t miss out next time.

Here’s what I was knitting on Mothers’ Day.  It’s an afghan for Daughter and Son-In-Law.  It will match their living room and be big enough for both of them to snuggle under.  It’s kind of boring since it’s all garter stitch, but it makes great idiot knitting when I’m tired.  I try to work on it a little every evening when I’m too tired to do more challenging things.  If I keep with that plan, there should be no problem finishing it by Christmas.

 Join us on this lace adventure!

This lace capelet appears on the cover of Vogue Knitting Magazine Spring/Summer ‘10, and it is our summer knit along project by popular demand.

We’ll cast on Thursday, June 10th, around 5:30 p.m.  You’ll need #7 and #8 circular needles and Debbie Bliss Prima yarn.  We want to make sure everyone has her favorite color, so dream over the color card and call us with your choice soon: 314-849-9276.

I only had 4 or so projects going, so I decided to use all that free time with a lace shawl online knit along by Susan Pandorf.  ;-)  It’s based on Arwen’s Evenstar pendant from the Lord of the Rings.  (Yes, Virginia, I am a nerd.)  I love the design and the yarn I chose (Cashwool from Lane Borgosesia).  It’s slow going because the lace pattern requires being awake and alert.  Not every evening, I’m not!  Here I am, mired in the middle of clue #4 with 500+ stitches in each round.  There are two more clues before the border begins.  All I know about the border is that it has 2900 beads.  I’ll report in later about this KAL — provided I’m still sane!

This is my second time around with this yarn (Cotton Supreme Batik from Universal Yarns). I had been making the Carnival Top from Knit N Style April ‘09, and it was looking and feeling great.  Love the yarn.  I had finished the “skirt” portion when I realized the sweater was going to be pretty heavy to wear — heavy as in ounces, not temperature.  Hence the change in plans.

The new pattern is the Summer Open Cardigan (Knitting Pure & Simple #294), and it is really flying along. I started it on Friday, and here are my results on Sunday.  Pretty cool.  The fabric is going to be wonderful in St. Louis in summer.  As always the Knitting Pure and Simple pattern is a breeze to follow.  The pattern is written for worsted, so it will look great in lots of our summer yarns including Weekend, Oceanside Organic, and Cotton Supreme.  Check it out!