Queued: Cabled Swing Cardi

From The Knitter's Book of Yarn

Norah Gaughan is one of my favorite designers. I find myself uniquely drawn to her patterns. She always seems to have just enough detail and never overwhelms the garment. I think her Cabled Swing Cardi in The Knitter's Book of Yarn is no exception.

I wanted to knit up this cardigan as soon as I saw it, but I've been torn about if I should knit it for me.  I think the length and the way the bottom panels will hang, will not flatter my pear shape. I think this would make a fantastic fall jacket, and I have a girlfriend who lives in a climate who will never need more than just that.  I've kept this in my queue because I think it could be a perfect gift for her. There are plenty of other Norah patterns that I'll be able to make for myself.

Queued: Nouveau Bohemia

From Photo.Knit.Dog

My new friend Lina released her Nouveau Bohemia pattern just last week. I only know a couple designers, and I admire them all.  Lina came to our last knit group right after the full pattern and the different versions were all done. I got to admire the beanie version up close.

It is a beautiful hat. I love the lace and cable combination. I think my favorite is the beanie, but I may change my mind once I see a couple versions in a solid color. I've got some left over Andean Silk that I've been thinking about making a hat with. It is a solid purple, but it has a lot of bloom. This pattern might also be the perfect excuse to pick up some madelinetosh.

There are only a few projects on Ravelry right now. This is the moment to get ahead of the knitting fad. By next winter everybody is going to have one.

Queued: Rag Bathmat

From Julie Weisenberger

Rag Bathmat was designed by Julie Weisenberger. She has a lot of great patterns.  There is so much to like about this one.

First of all it looks great.  I cannot think of a better way to mark your home as a knitter's domain than with a chunky cabled bath mat. (Ok maybe a beautiful display for your stash would work too.)

Another thing that I love is that it is made out of scrap fabrics. The one in the picture is made of a couple cut up sheets.  Julie even includes a great tutorial on rag knitting. It is up-cycling and eco-friendly at their best.  I had a pile of old white t-shirts that I was going to cut up to make this, but they were accidentally swept up and taken away in a donation trip. Now I'm waiting to collect a few more to rip up and knit together.

The final part of this that I love is the texture.  Just the thought of these bumps and cables made out of soft cotton under my feet, makes my toes happy.

FO: Viper Pilots!

The weather man won't promise me any sunshine so I decided to go ahead and take pictures of my Viper Pilots inside.  The lighting is horrible, but it is good enough to show you that I have a FO!


Since the pattern for these socks was a Christmas gift, I cast on at the very beginning of my Christmas trip in 2009 and I brought them along for this last Christmas trip as well, it seemed only appropriate to take their picture up with all of our Christmas cards. (Yes I've taken down the tree and all of the decorations, but I haven't been able to part with the cards yet.  Many of them are great pictures of our friends and family and I love seeing them when I come home from work every day.  Besides, I just received one this week; it certainly hasn't gotten its fair share of display time.)

All of the pictures I have taken previously focused on the vipers that run down the front and back of the leg. Seeing them on the sock blockers really made me love the swirly clouds that run down the sides.  Those cables required a cable needle, so now, it is great to be able to look at them without complete frustration.

It was a challenging patter, but I love this finished product.  As an added bonus, I've decided that there is nothing at all unprofessional about this royal blue. They will be keeping me nice and cozy at work tomorrow.

He Likes It!

Another hubby update:

Mike started himself a garter stitch scarf, but he wasn't satisfied with the outcome. So, I taught him how to purl and now he is working on the scarf he wants instead of the scarf a 'new knitter' is suppose to be making.He took me at my word when I told him it was easy, and now he is making his very own Palindrome. He is a really tight knitter so the cable rows are his least favorite, but overall I think he likes it.