winter knitting.

some almost-finished sweaters and an almost-snowy sky.

maine.

I am lucky to live so close to such a beautiful state as Maine! I am entranced by the many islands, small coastal communities, and remote, rural living. I often fantasize about my husband and I living off the grid in a house surrounded by water like this couple (maybe someday...) But a great thing about being so close to Maine is the opportunity to visit KnitWit Yarn Shop in Portland and shop their selection of Quince and Co. yarns!

I chose the colorway "gingerbread" to make Agnes and am loving it already. It's knitting up so squishy and soft!

Rhinebeck!

This was my first year attending the annual New York State Sheep & Wool Festival (referred to by many as simply "Rhinebeck", the name of the town where it's held). It was a wonderful experience! My friend Rosie and I spent the beautiful fall day shopping for ecological yarns, petting sheep, and eating some tasty treats (lamburgers!) Here are a few photos I took.

Can't wait to start knitting with my new yarn... and for Rhinebeck 2012!

autumn walks.

I love taking walks in the fall when the air is cooler and there is so much changing color, light, and movement to see.

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all photos were taken on the go with iphone/instagr.am.

the journey is the destination.

Am I different from a lot of knitters in that my enthusiasm for knitting is deeply embedded in the process rather than the final product? Although I am always pretty thrilled to wear a sweater, gift a pair of mittens, or show off a shawl, knitting is more about the making than the wearing for me. Because of this I work pretty slow and careful, obsessing over tiny details and pausing at every stage of the project to take things in (I also get distracted or don't pay attention and make loads of errors which I have to redo, but that's a different blog post!) I don't think I could ever knit a sweater in a weekend, no matter the pattern or yarn, and to be honest, I don't even think I would want to...

This particular sweater is the story of several months in my life, starting on the February day my friend Rosie and I traveled to Portland, ME and purchased Quince & Co. yarn from KnitWit (as well as ate french fries in Duckfat, admired pretty garments in Chellis Wilson, and poured over cookbooks at Rabelais). The journey continued through the spring as I worked through the colorful charts of bulky cable stitches from my seat on the sofa and carried me through the steamy summer months where I could only bear to hold a sleeve's worth of wool on my lap. It lead me right up to the fall, as a garment emerged and I began to get excited about paring with jeans and boots or tights and a dress... and maybe even to Rhinebeck next weekend?

These photos aren't great, but they capture the process and the satisfying moments that I paused and noted my progression. They are the journey, which is where the true essence of the story lies.

I still have to block this (and take some better photos) but I feel like the real project is done and that (to me) is as exciting as it was to cast on. It's new story is sure to be told with every wear.

Pattern: Aidez by Cirilia Rose

Yarn: Quince & Co.'s Osprey in Chantrelle

Modifications: Instead of knitting five separate pieces and seaming them, I knit left front, back, and right front panels as one piece, carefully following the multiple charts right up to the armpits (18"); knit the sleeves in the round on dpns till they were also 18" long; joined all the three pieces Elizabeth Zimmerman style to knit the yoke, shoulders as one piece incorporating raglan decreases; knit the collar to the back of the sweater; seamed the very back of the collar and kitchered the armpits. Voila! Forgot to do the waist shaping decreases. Oops.

For more project details please view my ravelry page or feel free to leave a question in the comments!

one year.

As September finishes I realize it's been one full year of living in the same state, the same city, the same apartment. It's not much of an accomplishment, just interesting to point out after so many years of moving (for good reasons!) from the city, to the island, to the desert, and back. And after one year I am continuously happy with where I live -- it's a good feeling!

The photo above is my most recent labor of love, Edie Shawl by Bristol Ivy for Quince & Co. I am knitting with their yarn chickadee in the shade of honey. It's slow going for me, but I am loving how the pattern emerges (like stripes and polka dots!) It's quite different from other shawls I have made, which are typically lacy, drapy and open, but this one is sure to be a favorite when it's done!

If you aren't already signed up for Quince & Co's emails, I highly recommend them (you can sign up right on their homepage, quinceandco.com.) They are pretty simple, just a photo with a link to a new pattern, but the styling, design, and beauty always take my breath away. It's a treat to find one in my inbox.

For Edie, I am knitting along with another blogger/raveler in Oklahoma. Hi, Shelli!

I'm all ears.

A few weeks before a friend of mine was due to have her baby on 4th of July weekend, I decided to knit her two little hats. She had shared pictures of baby hats with oversized animal ears on Facebook and I felt I could grant her wish. I quickly searched ravelry for patterns to make a mouse and a bunny hat and found this and this. I purchased superwash wool in the appropriate colors and began what I thought to be a simple little project.

I just finished yesterday, 3 months later. What the heck took me so long??

Making the hats was the easy part. They are small and quickly flew off my size 9 needles. I used the picoted cast on for one, which was fun, but decided to mix it up and add a seed stitch border to the white hat. Both came out nice.

My big hang up really, was on the ears. The pattern for the rabbit ears was clear and concise, telling me exactly what to do, but (typical) I refused to listen! I experiemented with bigger ears, more tapered ears, tried different ways of seeming the ears. I think I made 6 rabbit ears total... and I am pretty darn sure that rabbits only have 2!

In the end, I ended up making the rabbit ears exactly as the pattern describes. The same size, shape, and method. No imporvisations neccessary. duh. How can 376 ravelers be wrong? Its funny how that happens.

The mouse ears were less complicated. I let the pattern (free, here) do all the work.

In the end they are a little lopsided, one rabbit ear is (somehow) bigger than the other, and some of the pink yarn shows through the white... but who cares? I had to let my perfectionism go on this one. It's going to be worn by a baby, who is going to steal the attention away from my knitting for sure. No one is going to say 'that seam is off', or 'that mouse ear is slightly more round'. No, they are going to be speechless when they see the adorable baby Matilda wearing my hats.

heart vermont.

This heartfelt post from Savory Knitting came to my attention a few days too late to purchase a pattern, but not too late to help out.

Savory Knitting has shared an emotional, first-hand account of the devastation in Vermont from recent hurricane Irene, as well as ways to help out with the recovery. I was fortunate to have only experienced a little rain and wind during the storm, but not everyone had it this easy, and many folks in Vermont lost a lot or are still cleaning up.

Please note that Green Mountain Spinnery in VT is donating proceeds from their shop between September 3 to September 11, 2011 to the Vermont Disaster Relief Fund. They are located in the heart of this lovely state ...AND their yarns are amazing! I am thrilled to add more of their fiber to my stash as well as help out my neighbors.

You can shop their beautiful yarns here: http://www.spinnery.com/shop/

early autumn.

Hi!

I didn't mean to go so long without posting. Please don't mistakenly think I was 'On Vacation' (as my last post suggested) that whole time. I glanced at my blog occasionally and thought how nice that concept was though, so I guess that through my blog I was able to savor that sweet, summery week off I had back in early August a little bit longer.

I've been working on a flurry of knitting projects these last few weeks and getting excited as the weather cools and it starts feeling more and more like fall. I have nothing finished to show you though, the only thing I have completed in the last month was this, which I highly recommend.

it. was. amazing.

happy fall everyone!

on vacation.

spending the week on martha's vineyard with some friends!

visiting some of my favorite spots.

eating some delicious food.

enjoying the light, the sand, and the sea.

knitting a little red cotton shawl.

having a great week!

island bound.

Getting ready for vacation... enjoying Lena's book, and swatching for luna!

The yarn shown here is Angora Extra.

I am also experimenting with the Kushu Kushu scarf kit I bought last summer in Santa Fe, NM.

Even though I am only a few rows past the cast on, I am having trouble getting excited about the project. Not only is the yarn tricky to work with, but it just does not have the same pleasurable feeling between my fingers as woolly fibers.

I do like that the project makes me think of my summer in Santa Fe! I was orginally drawn to the project by a sample I saw knit up in a shop there. I thought the fibers, colors, and end result were truly unique.

We'll see how far I get!

ginkgo leaves in summer.

I finished knitting ginkgo on July 1st, blocked it on July 3rd, and finally photographed it today, July 17th! To me, that means it's finally done.

I increased the stockinette portion to 215 sts for a much larger shawl. I absolutely love the end result, even though I had to find another skein of yarn when I was pretty close to the end. This shawl took just a few yards over 4 skeins of Blue Sky Alpaca Silk.

I love how the little bit of lace punctuates the stockinette!

This was a truly wonderful project to knit. The pattern is designed by Maggie Magali and is available as a free download on her lovely blog Fragrant Heart.

Thanks to Nancy of gettingpurlywithit.com for introducing me to this pattern!