WIP: Brick

 

A while back, I picked up a skein of squooshy Blue Moon Fiber Arts Targhee Worsted from the shop in a bright, bright red called Brick. On my very long to-do list is to reformat my older patterns, and part of that is knitting up and photographing some new samples. This one, Blake, is the first scarf I ever released as a pattern on Ravelry, and it's so simple that it barely qualifies as design - and yet that's part of what makes it such a wonderful knit: the repetition of knits and purls, the subtle texture, the comforting simplicity of the final product.

And there's the story behind it, too. This scarf is the one that my mom taught to me when I first started knitting, as I awkwardly practiced the difference between knits and purls. I could remember what knits looked like well enough, but got hung up on purls. I had to constantly remind myself that they were the opposite of what they sounded like - not like the smooth, nacreous surface of the pearl itself, but more like its coarse origins: the sand in the shell, the craggy ocean floor.

I knit the scarf over and over again throughout my late teens and early twenties, always as gifts: for friends and lovers, in colors that made me think of them. Evergreen. Black. Sky blue.  Not all of the relationships stuck - in fact, most of them didn't, except for the long-haired, guitar-picking dude who would later become my husband - but the knitting did. The lopsided gait of my hands gradually became more skillful, and after those scarves I turned to bigger and more challenging things - always with the memory of those first tentative stitches, that feeling of ambition and awe at the possibilities that lie in a ball of wool.

And that was maybe the biggest gift of all.

Happy Thursday, friends.
<3
Cory

WIPs: A Sweater; A Sock; A Plan

  

First off, thank you for your kind words and well-wishes on our house news! It been so wonderful to read your lovely comments, especially after long days of scrubbing, painting, and moving. You guys are the best. <3

But back to knitting! In between everything else going on, I've been trying to focus on just a few knitting projects at a time: sneaking in a few gusset decreases on a plain but sprinkle-tastic pair of socks in Knitted Wit Victory Sock here; knocking out a few rows of my long-suffering Custom Fit blouse there.

Last, I've been scheming a new project to get on my needles: a Robin shawl by Lee Meredith, using butter yellow, soft grey, and neon pink stash yarns - Shibui Sock, Baah! La Jolla, and Tosh Sock, to be precise. I think the weight and twist on these yarns will play very nicely together, and I've already sketched out a few different color variations and hit upon one I really like.

Now, I just need to finish something...! With a studio to finish painting and a whole house to move, I'll have plenty of time for that, right?

Happy Friday, friends!
<3
Cory

FO: Suki

  

Are you sick of seeing finished things yet? Wheeee I hope not!

Suki is another striped shawl that I started (and finished) a while back, but it took a while to block and photograph. The mink yarn created an incredibly light, soft fabric that almost feels too luxurious for everyday wear. The pattern had been in my queue for a long time, and it ended up being super fun and quick to knit.

I had a hard time coming up with how to style it - all of the outfits with mid-century vintage dresses that I tried ended up sort of flat and dull. Then I grabbed this strappy silk printed dress on a whim, and surprisingly, it worked! I love the juxtaposition of such a classic color with a fun, modern print. The dress does have a bit of a '70s vibe to it because of the blouson effect, the deep neckline, and long, figure-skimming silhouette - not too much of a surprise, though, since a) I've been jamming on the '70s for the last year or so, and b) mixing genres is fun!

The dress is destined to be garment duplicated, and the shawl has been keeping my neck warm in the wildly variable early spring we've been having in Seattle.

Details on Ravelry here.

UFO Pile: Or, This Sweater Thing is Getting Ridiculous

 

In the past, I've tried not to be too precious about my shameful finishing issues. I am fully aware that as a knitter and maker, I live two separate but parallel existences: the wildly creative and productive fantasy life in my brain, and the actual one where I finish a few things and shove a few more in the bottom of my knitting basket to ignore.

Of course there are always reasons: I get the odd bout of tendinitis in my wrists and can't work with cotton until it improves; I can't find my pattern notes; I need to rip back and fix a mistake before continuing. But at some point these reasons resolve themselves, and I really don't have any excuse at all besides I don't wanna.

 

So last week, I did some of that knitterly housekeeping that is a necessary pain in the butt: I figured out where I was in my Custom Fit sweater and finished the back, and I ripped back the sleeve to my Ondrea Cardigan - which, by the way, is finished except for the second sleeve and button band. (Seriously??? Seriously. This is so dumb I can't even.)

At this point, I am so over knitting both of these garments, but I have to admit that I'm pretty excited to own and wear them, which makes me think that I need to rethink this whole process-knitter identity of mine. Perhaps instead of all process, I need to get a little more motivated to work towards the product as an enjoyable part of the experience.

Food for thought as I hold my breath and try to bust these suckers out.

Happy Wednesday!
<3
Cory

WIP: Provence, Part 2

A few weeks ago, I finished knitting the body of my Lace Scarf Cardi and had to stop - some of the photos on Ravelry showed sweaters that were longer in the shoulder/bust area and shorter in the body than I'd like, and I wanted to block the body portion to see how long it would really be.  I hung it up to dry, to see how much the linen in this linen/alpaca blend would stretch upon wearing.  The verdict?  I think it's just about right.

I had a relatively chill weekend for the first time in weeks, so I stayed home with Lumberjack, watched Battlestar Galactica, and worked on the sweater.  It's funny, now I can totally tell what has been blocked and what hasn't been - the lower body is pretty soft and smooth, and has a lovely halo. From the gathers on up, however, the fabric hasn't quite settled into itself.  It's bumpy in the lace and less cohesive as a fabric in the stockinette - you can see a lot more individual stitch definition.

The cast-on of the sweater was just stockinette, so the other day I picked up a grosgrain ribbon in a similar smoky lavender color in hopes that I can tack the ribbon to the lower hem to keep it from rolling.  I had hoped that blocking would flatten the cast-on edge, but it's still curling pretty bad.

Overall, I'm really happy with how it's turning out.  Hopefully it continues in this direction!