Archives for November 2010

Orchid Thief Stole My Heart

The Orchid Thief Shawlette  pattern stole my heart from the moment Ysolda Teague proposed it for my book, Brave New Knits. Eventually, I knew, I would have to make one of my own.

There were exactly two skeins of Sundara Yarn’s (sadly discontinued) Silk Sport in my stash, with 225 yards in each – just enough to complete the project. The Basil Over Buttercup colorway is a glowing, vibrant green so rich it’s almost iridescent. I’ve seen some gorgeous orchids that are close to this shade of green, so although it may not be the first color one thinks of when contemplating orchids, it definitely worked for me.

I’m glad I didn’t attempt this project sooner, because the transition from Chart #3 to #4 would definitely have stumped me without Ysolda’s corrections. But now it works – and so beautifully! Thankfully, both friends and Ravelers with more courage than I were kind enough to post their experiences to help the rest of us overcome our trepidation.

Given how quickly the project went (I’m not an especially fast knitter, so less than two weeks from start to finish is pretty speedy for me) I think I’ll have to make another.

November 10, 2010 By - 5 Comments Tagged With: , ,

Wow! Just… Wow!

I learned yesterday (thank you, Shannon, for passing along the link) that Brave New Knits made it into the Top Ten Craft books category in Amazon.com’s Best Books of 2010. If you could see me now, you’d be laughing, because I’m doing a very, very, very happy dance!

November 6, 2010 By - 1 Comment Tagged With:

More Fabulous Places to Knit

Tacoma, Washington is home to Yorkshire Yarns, where I had the pleasure of spending an evening recently to do a signing and trunk show for Brave New Knits. I love the wire mannequin on the far left of the photo below; so Victorian looking, and so perfect for modeling the Silke Jacket.

Sonya Acord is Yorkshire Yarn’s owner; she organized a very fun evening for the book signing event complete with snacks and refreshments.

Yorkshire Yarns is also the LYS of my new friend, Jen Hagan (far right in the photo below), who introduced me to Sonya and facilitated the event. Jen hosted me during my visit to the Pacific Northwest; one more example of how the knitters’ community has grown because of the Internet. I never would have met Jen (and her sweet husband, Fred) if it weren’t for Ravelry and knitting blogs!

A good friend of Jen’s did a fantastic job modeling many of the garments from Brave New Knits. Here she is in the Krookus Cardigan:

And here she is in Jen’s own Global Cable Coat (with one of the pretty little Lace Flower Pins on the lapel). Jen is making a second Global Cable Coat to try out a different yarn… it’s gorgeous already, and I saw only the first six inches or so.

Next stop on my whirlwind tour was Seattle’s Tricoter. I confess that it has been one of the biggest goals in my knitting life to visit Tricoter, which has been one of the premier yarn shops in the U.S. for many years, and whose owners have published a few knitting books of their own.

Below is the staff of Tricoter, from left to right: Jason, Beryl, Julie, Ola, and Lindy. I spent a lovely afternoon there signing copies of Brave New Knits and meeting some of the knitters who are lucky to call this wonderful shop their LYS.

Jen met me at Tricoter for the afternoon to see the shop for herself after hearing so much about it over the years, and to introduce her amazing pattern line, Figheadh Yarnworks, to the owners. Below you see her working on that second Global Cable Coat… thanks for the company, Jen!

November 5, 2010 By - 1 Comment Tagged With:

Fabulous Places to Knit

The last two weeks of October took me to some amazing yarn shops and introduced me to some amazing knitters. One was based on the ground floor of a beautiful Victorian house, complete with charming cottage garden. Mona Rummel, long-time owner of this shop, Eugene, Oregon’s wonderful Soft Horizons Fibre (which does not, by choice, have an internet presence, hence the Yelp link for information about the shop), decided she had to make Shannon Okey’s Silke Jacket for herself:

Customer Sara, who pre-ordered her copy of Brave New Knits, was enamored with Melissa Wehrle’s Origami Shrug:

Another customer, whose name I didn’t get (sorry!), fell in love with Ann Weaver’s Johnny Rotten Jacket:

Kate, a Soft Horizons Fibre employee (and such a willing model that she tried on most of the book’s projects!), was particularly fond of Teresa Gregorio’s Milk Maiden Pullover:

And staffer Sydney was very excited to try on Ysolda Teague’s Orchid Thief Shawlette before casting on for one of her own:

At Portland, Oregon’s Knit Purl, the walls of color were a total feast for the eyes, though I didn’t manage to catch those stealthy staffers trying on the garments from Brave New Knits.

November 3, 2010 By - Leave a Comment Tagged With:

Finally… An Ishbel To Call My Own

Although it seems that lately I don’t have much time to knit other designers’ patterns, Ysolda Teague’s Ishbel shawl made a great plane project a few weeks ago.

Everywhere I go, I run into a knitter who tells me with great excitement that she has knit up four Ishbels, or sometimes five, or maybe even as many as eight, no lie! So finally, I just had to try it for myself.

And I have to admit it is a very satifsying project; simple stockinette concluded with a simple lace border repeat. Great for a long plane or car ride. A wonderful way to show off a beautiful skein of laceweight or sock yarn.

Mine is in Malabrigo Sock, color #809, Solis. Mmmm… the scrumptious yarn in that divine colorway was as lovely to work as the project itself. I even had quite a bit left over of the single skein, leading me to believe I should have made the large version after all. Next time. I guess I might just become one of those serial Ishbel knitters….

November 1, 2010 By - Leave a Comment Tagged With: , ,