More Stitches

Greetings and Dear Laura;

Every year, when we plan our trip to Stitches, our little group discusses what of our knitting we can wear. We always enjoy seeing what the other knitters are wearing, but it's August in Chicago, so we always feel too hot to think of it. Since I was planning to attend Stitches West in February in northern California, it seemed that something knitted might be nice. The night before I left, I had to admit that the Burnished Leaves cowl was not going to be ready.

Enter Sue, who had brought a shawl that she had just finished to show us. She kindly offered to let me borrow it! It was the perfect thing to wear. I was a little chilly but a sweater would have been too much and my cowl not quite enough. I received several compliments and several requests for a link to the pattern.

(One person asked if I knitted my shawl and I truthfully told her that one of my friends knitted it. However, when people just said they liked it, I felt that 'thank-you' was appropriate.) The pattern is by Karen Frederickson as part of her Knit Happy Club offerings. I hope she'll make it available outside of the club soon!

That's all for today!

Keep knitting!

Cynthia (aka Designated Knitter)

 

Stitches!

Stitches West

Yes, I'm checking in from sunny California, where I have enjoyed two days of rest, relaxation, knitting and shopping.

I arrived very late on Friday but since my body is still programmed for EST, I was awake quite early. I had to wait two hours to find someplace open for breakfast! I spent my downtime for the day working on a little cowl using ArtYarns Bohemian Rhapsody. This yarn was a special birthday present from Lauren when I turned 50. I really wanted to be able to wear it instead of just admiring the skein! I chose a pattern called Burnished Leaves for a small cowl. It's a lovely pattern and the silk is luscious to knit with. I started it on Valentine's day and finished it Saturday evening. It's beautiful and fits nicely - I'd like to block it to see if the lace opens up a bit.

Stitches is marvelous! It's larger here than Midwest. It was fun to see shops from the west and some familiar faces as well. Miss Babs of course, and Webs and Yarn Barn. No Signature Needle Arts, didn't see any Kauni, and of course I missed Knitting Today. Atenti and Namaste bags were here directly with some specials (yes there was damage) and also Blue Moon Fiber Arts. A new favorite is Becoming Art. I had a pair of socks on the needles already, now I have a pair in DK weight working as well. Wonderful colors! The one on the left is DK Sunlit Amber and on the right is fingering Olive Oil. Scrumptious!

Well, I have more to report but the train to take me to my next destination arrives soon. More later!

Keep knitting!

Cynthia (aka Designated Knitter)

 

Oh my!

My iPad ate my post.

Greetings and Dear Laura:

Guess I'll have to start over, since the post I was working on was frogged by my technology.  First, I should admit that Knitting at Lunch has been encouraging me to post, so she should get the credit here (or blame, as the case may be!)

I finished my February Lady!  I cast off and blocked it in January, so I avoided having the project turn 2 years old without completion. 

 Here it is modeled by my lovely niece. It looks much better on her than it does on me!  I don't like the neckline or the raglan shoulders on me. Lea-Ann at Knitting Today thinks that I may like it better if it is shorter, so I may try ripping back a few inches.  Else I'm not sure what to do. I don't know if my niece likes it enough that I should give it to her or maybe I'll rip it out and try a new pattern. I don't want to have a sweater that I just don't like well enough to wear, but I love the yarn.  Oh well, we'll see!

I also just finished a pair of handwarmers to wear at work.  I wanted fingers with open tips for typing. I tried a pattern that I found on Ravelry and I really enjoyed it.  It is knit from the fingers to the cuffs. You knit the fingers and then join them as you knit the hand.  I find it much easier than gloves that start at the cuffs. This pattern also has a flap for when you are out of doors, but I didn't want that for this pair.  I think I'll do another pair with flaps sometime.

Ok, there's a quick update - the post that I lost was better - sorry about that! Talk to you again soon.

Keep knitting!

Cynthia (aka Designated Knitter)