Athena Dreams

Ladybug, Ladybug

Isn't there a rhyme that starts with Ladybug, Ladybug? I thought that there was, but then that's as far as I got with it... so on to the topic: the Marihøne, or Ladybug sweater from Dale's Soft Treasures for Little Ones.

Sleeves are finished and now it's on to the body... this little lovely is for my niece who turns one in April - I can't remember the date, but as this is the first time having to remember her birthday, I'll get it straight after this year.

It's a sweet little pattern, and so perfect because her big brother has called her Ladybug since she was in her mum's tummy. I opted not to use the Baby Ull, the colours were a little too crayon-y and bright, and my sister in law is much more fond of earth-y colours, and so I chose RYC Cashsoft 4 ply. The gauge is not quite spot on, but the sweater will be a tiny bit big, which will just mean that it will still fit her next fall.

The RYC is beautiful, and I chose some similar/same colours as what I used for her Apple Tree Baby Blanket that was made from the RYC Cashsoft Aran. Funny how the colours do not carry through between all the different weights of the Cashsoft. I had wanted the Aubergine colour from her blanket, in the 4-ply, and it didn't exist, so we went for a more blue/purple.

Now, does anyone have good instructions for a pom-pom for the hat?

Tree Jacket

Now, not technically a cardigan, it is called a "jacket", though I have no idea why, since it's a pullover. I chalk that up to one of the mysteries of designing, and naming creations.

While waiting for wool to arrive that I had ordered for 2 of the cardigans on my list for 2008, I found the Classic AL from Elsebeth Lavold that I had ordered from Webs a month or so ago, when it was on sale (it's still on sale, and a few great colours are left). It is a beautiful dusky shade of violet, that she calls Desert Night. [I love a designer who takes the time to name her colours.] And it was the perfect gauge for the Tree Jacket pattern that I had just bought on line from Zephyr style. It was kismet, it was meant to be, that, and I had finished Morning Glory, and was awaiting the arrival of cardigan wool, and that meant the hands were empty.

This is my first time using the Classic AL, and it is really and truely lovely, running through my fingers and around the needles like soft and fuzzy ribbons. Soft and airy, and all around beautiful.

I am almost finished with the body, another 2 inches or so to go, and then come the sleeves. This is my first top down, one piece sweater, and it seems to be going pretty well so far. The directions are really clear and easy to follow, and I love their notes about the pros and cons of waist shaping and openwork stitches. Great pattern, it gets many stars.

The Meeting and the Glory

This weekend I introduced the two halves of Morning Glory. I finished the second half a few weeks ago, but since there has been no sun, I put off their first encounter so that it could be documented. It was tentative at first. They didn't recognize each other, they weren't sure, and, truth be told, they were shy.

Time, as they say, does a myriad of wonderful things, and once they had had a chance to really look at each other, and have a chat, there was some chemistry, some spark, some unnameable thing that they saw in each other, and recognized as familiar.

So now that the introductions have been made, and the two have begun the celebration of a life long partnership, let the kitchener-ing begin (could that word, kitchener, be any less lyrical?). I'm having some practice on some heavier yarn, just to get warmed up... now that the these two Glories have met and approve of each other, I really must join them in a beautiful and tidy way.

Blue Skies Indeed

7 days of sun after 22 straight days of rain . . . getting out in the sun was the highest thing on the list this week. But I came in for a break and found some different Blue Skys . . . kind of a pricey set of needles, so then the question becomes: is the needle tin (plus the needles of course) worth the cost . . . hmmm, to be pondered.

A Swatching Good Time

Many swatches have now been made for the Dale Cardigan, for which there is no name, other than #3 in Dale Book #138. I think I shall refer to it as the Dale Leafy Border Cardigan. There, now that makes me happier, there is something that feels sad to me about un-named objects, they somehow don't feel cared for enough.

So here's a little reminder photo of the cardigan.

Now, before I unveil the swatches, parenthetically I need to say that the light here has been grey, if not down right twilight at 2pm, for more than a week now. I got photos taken this afternoon, by taking them outside - the wind was cooperating today, and the rain was falling straight down, instead of at the 45 degree angle it has been falling at - so out to the porch with the big roof overhang we went.

Elann Peruvian Pure Alpaca Fina in Loganberry below, Deep Purple above with Cafe au Lait in pattern

Elann Peruvian Pure Alpaca Fina in Walnut below, Chestnut above, with Smoky Grape in pattern

Elann Peruvian Pure Alpaca Fina in Loganberry below, Chestnut above, with Smoky Grape in pattern

The Alpaca is truly lovely, but I am not getting gauge. It says it is 24 sts to 4" on #2 or #3 needles, but it's more like 28.5 sts on #3s, and to go up to a #4 will make the fabric too loose, and floppy. I tried knitting more tightly and then more loosely on a couple of different needle sizes, but I don't think I can make it happen. The fabric it creates is really best on a #2, and in that case I will be at about 30+ sts per 4" and given that I don't have the best math skills, and that seems quite a jump in gauge from the original pattern, I don't think I will try to do any conversions. I want a fabric that is going to drape and move, but this may be too light.

I want to save the swatches though and write down in my notebook, because I think the Alpaca would be lovely for something, just not this cardigan

So, I moved on to another yarn that was marked 6 sts per 1". Telemark. And some very different colours for me...

Knit Picks Telemark in Garnet Heather below, Flame Heather above and Brass Heather in pattern.

This swatch did not get blocked for it's photo op, so excuse the bumpiness... The gauge is spot on. The fabric is a bit more stiff than I'd like it - it's very tight - but the Tiur that the pattern calls for knits up much the same way. The Tiur I find a bit too scratchy, and I was surprised to find that the Telemark was much softer and still feels like a good solid wool.

So, there's my swatching story so far. I am not sure that I want to start test swatching a ton more yarns, but I will of course take suggestions if any of you have any... And, would love to hear sounds from you more experienced stranded knitters: should the fabric be on the more "stiff" side with not much drape or can I get a bit drapey?

It's back to the Morning Glory.... about 1 more pattern repeat and I am done with the second half!

Swatches, Swatches, where's the Sun for my Swatches

Well, since the dark and stormy skies that arrived on Monday are not cooperating with me in taking photos of my swatching efforts, I give you some swatches of lovelies from my winter garden taken this past sunny weekend.

It's still such a lovely and miraculous thing to have not just green things, but little flowers popping up in my winter garden. Growing up and living in much much colder climates before moving to the bay area, makes me so appreciate all this green.

As soon as the sun arrives back in my neighborhood, photo shoot will commence, for now, hope the flowers make you smile as much as I did this weekend.

The Morning Glory

Winter light sure makes it difficult to photograph the knitting. The light is so low and bright, or the clouds are hiding the sun.... But I digress right away here... the first half of the beautiful Morning Glory was finished last week. I have already cast on for the second half, and already am feeling anxious about the kitchener that will need to put the 2 together. Slow down, I say to myself. Don't get anxious about things that have not arrived yet. I'll deal with the kitchener when I get there... but, you know I am still thinking about it, here and there.

Here is the mesh section at the beginning of the pattern. Looked so lovely hanging on the curtain rod in front of the window where too much light was coming in...

and the main body section with all the little "crosses". Altogether a great pattern, not something that I can memorize and work without looking at the charts, but hey, that's what sticky papers are for, to mark my place.

So, though I have declared this, 2008, to be my year of the cardigan, second runner up for spotlight presence are the wraps and shawls I have been collecting patterns for. And, with regards to the year of the cardigan: swatches are coming for the stranded cardigan from Dale Book 138 (pictured above). I think it's going to be a luscious alpaca finale for this one. Swatch photos and requests for colour votes coming tomorrow!

2008: The Year of the Cardigan

I thought it would be interesting to make a declaration of some kind, you know, to start the new year. And so, to that end, 2008 will be my year of the Cardigan. Some of the cardis pictured above I have had on my to do list, oh I think for maybe 10 years or more. I have held onto the patterns, I have looked at them all several times a year, and I have made no progress.

Now I want to be clear and state for the record, that I am not attempting to make all 16 (there are actually 20 something cardigans in my ravelry queue now) BUT that I will make some of these. OK, that sounds like I am wimping out from my grand declaration, so I AM declaring that I will make at least 8 of the ones pictured above.

The Poetry Cardigan is first on the list since I have been discussing it for I think well over a year now and haven't yet put words and sketches and swatch tests to work. As to my second, third, fourth and so on, that will need to be decided. Opinions?

I will be making yarn and final decisions before the end of January. Yay for the Year of the Cardigan.

The Year that was 2007

2007 was a year of 2 Firsts for me. Socks (Broadripples) and Crochet (Larger than Life and Babette). I finished my very first pair of socks in January and I completed my very first granny square in June.

2007 was the year of the fingerless mitt, blankets galore and not finishing as much as I put on my plate.

15 pairs of mitts were knit and gifted, and all the mitts (except Fetching) were designs of the lovely Anne Hanson, who I am sure I probably gushed overly much about at some point or another this fall.

Two baby blankets were started, one finished the other frogged due to technical (read: gauge) difficulties.

I learned to crochet and started the Larger than Life Bag AND the ubiquitous Babette, neither of which I finished as of yet, due to holiday knitting interruptus, but they will be back up in the headlines.

There is the Poetry Cardigan, ah yes, the Poetry Cardigan, which I have spent endless hours choosing colours for, and charting colours for, and test swatching for... and have not started the actual cardigan. It's on the list for 2008...

I also spent some time queuing projects in my Ravelery, in hopes of getting a grip on my plans and my over-enthusiasm for new projects and new skills. The queue is rather long. Very long, really. And there are some things that may not happen, but it was most helpful to put that list together, or at least start it, and see how delusional I may truly be.

So, 2008. I know not yet what, if any, firsts there will be, or what challenges I will set for myself, other than finishing more of the things that I have started. I am hoping to start and finish a few sweaters this year, and add to my sock experience, and perhaps learn a new corchet square or two. That's the limit of my ambition as of the second day of the year.

Hope all your holidays were wonderful. Hope the resolutions (if you do that) are written! And hope everyone's new year has had a great start to it. Here's to an abundance of fibre fun in 2008!

Happy Solstice .:. Happy Holidays

There were so many things to write about, so many things to be shared, so much work to finish up, so many people to meet up with as the holidays were arriving, and then, the cold and sniffles and coughs arrived at our house. . . When the body wants to slow down, the body has the final say. . . it is slow going with a head full of cotton, but there's lots of tea, and a fire crackling, and candles burning, and soup to eat, and a blanket to wrap up in, and so plans didn't go as planned, but the winter times they are for slowing down and that's seems to be the keyword this week.

Here's to a wonderful holiday to you all: with many friends and family and smiling faces and warm winter-y hugs and whispered dreams coming true and heartfelt prayers shared and then answered.