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That is, multiple foliages.
The vital statistics
Pattern: Foliage by Emilee Mooney from Knitty
Yarn: green - Manos del Uruguay 100% wool, less than one skein; grey - recycled lambswool, as used to make the wide-brimmed hat
Needles: 4.5mm and 4mm Addi turbos
Start to finish: green - 28 November 2008 to 2 December 2008; grey - 2 December to 5 December
Comments: I've now knit three of these beanies, the first having been one of my secret pal gifts. That one I knit in Malabrigo worsted and it's been interesting to see how the different yarns produce a different finished item.
These were two pretty uneventful knits. I didn't like the Manos del Uruguay as much as I had hoped to. It was a special skein of yarn because a dear friend was kind enough to purchase it for me when on holiday in New York a couple of years ago already when it wasn't available in Australia.
As such I had planned to use it to make something for baby bear but these hats had to be made and the yarn was there. I wasn't pleased by the thick/thin nature of the yarn, I like things to be a little less rugged than that.
The grey lambswool is excellent to knit with, lovely and soft. I still have heaps left of it, I actually hardly know what to do with it. Anybody want some?
Verdict: Successful knits but autumn has come and gone and it's winter now so no more foliage for a good few months.
I'm really quite obsessed with knitting at the moment. Yes, I've been a keen knitter for a few years now, even an enthusiastic knitter but at the moment I really am obsessed. All I want to do is knit, and log it all into ravelry. Perhaps it's a way of bringing a bit of control and order to these chaotic times.
So, let me share recent knitting activity with you here too:
- I knit on the way to and from Las Vegas, on the airplane. This is very exciting for an Australian knitter because you can't take knitting needles past security at Australian airports.
- I'm doing quite well sticking to my 'knit list' approach. I've actually got two practical knits on the go at the moment but only because I was swapping between available needles and patterns while we were away. Even just the mental discipline of the approach is working for me so far.
- I finished the first of my two 'thank-you foliage' projects. I'll wait until they're both finished before writing/showing more.
- I have discovered that lace knitting is a quick and demanding addiction. I cannot get enough of the swallowtail shawl but I really do need to sit and knit a repeat in one go which requires some good blocks of time. And time is something I can never get enough of. But that's ok because I can still think about all the lace knitting that I'm going to do next. My project knitting queue (both mental and literal) is filling up with yarn overs and knit two togethers. I'm so excited!
In this vein I have been shopping for laceweight yarn - thrift shopping, of course. The selection of woollens at the thrift stores in Las Vegas was pretty poor. Quite a lot of cotton knits, way too much acrylic, but no cotton/wool/silk blends or anything like that. I always trawl the 'sweater' aisles at the thrift stores, even though I do have more woollens and more yarn than I need. But always looking for ... something. Anyway, sweater aisles in LV were a dud but I did go and have a quick rummage through the dresses and look what I found:
Eighty-five per cent alpaca, fifteen per cent wool, light/dark brown but with flecks of red and blue in there as well - exactly what I had in mind. I'm pretty confident that it will unravel to laceweight and the best part - it's a dress, a long sleeve full-length dress (awful really, don't visualise too closely) so there will definitely be enough yarn. That's always my worry with recycling yarn, I'm never quite sure that there will be enough until that last stitch is cast off and that anxiety can be enough to discourage me from getting on with the knitting, witness the baby ballerina top.
This post is a bit of a ramble. So many thoughts to get out at once. These past few days, I've missed blogging.
Here's a little something that I have been working on, on the side. Not too many details because it is a gift for my secret pal.
That is, multiple foliages.
As such I had planned to use it to make something for baby bear but these hats had to be made and the yarn was there. I wasn't pleased by the thick/thin nature of the yarn, I like things to be a little less rugged than that.
