Saturday, November 13, 2010

Percy and kid knits

Okay, I'll admit these photos are not much better than the last, but look at that blue sky--that's not something we see much of in November. And of course, if you click on the photos to see them actual--huge--size, you can see much more detail.


The shawl is growing on me, but I am still bothered by that second pattern in the middle. it seems too large for the design, and there really is no transition between the three charts, so it's a bit abrupt to me. But that's only looking at it close up. From a distance it looks pretty dramatic.
Here's the first of four sets for the kids: I did the smallest set first, for the three-year-old. I knit them actual stockings each year. We fill them on Christmas Eve and the children empty them and then wear them all winter inside their boots. I love it!
This is my first successful project made from my own handspun. My husband took our 9-year-old son to Gettysburg for a week for a birthday present. While they hiked the battlefields for four days, I spun some roving from the Yates farm in southern Vermont. I should have been working, but I had three kids to care for, so I put that off. The six-year-old wanted to learn to spin, so he played with me, and I decided to knit something up for him with the yarn. I finished the hat just after they returned, so it was a little vacation prize for the kid who stayed home. Well, one of them, anyway.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Percy preblock, blocking

I cast off Percy late last night. I ran out of the sea silk, so I stopped after row 31 of the edging chart, and joined some Gaia Lace in cobblestone mazes for the purl back row and bind-off. I love the look actually.



I look forward to weaving in those ends and trying to get some nice shots. We're supposed to have sun for a day or so, so it looks like the chances are good. I think these photos give a sense of the color, but it is just so much lovelier in person.--Thalassa Sea silk in Korrigan, from Gaia's Colours. Total yardage about 750.