Monkey For Me

I loved the way Knitty's Monkey socks came out for my Sockapalooza pal so I made myself a pair in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, the Purple Club colorway. They remind me of the hydrangeas in my front yard. I will have to wait until fall to wear them though. It was 101 degrees according to my car thermometer yesterday.
In other knitting news, I've finished the Montego Bay Scarf and I am all ready for Mystery Stole 3 which starts tomorrow. There are over 3000 members in the KAL. It sounds like fun and I can't wait.

Knitting and Summer Events

Saturday I went to the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn. My husband and I didn’t get there until pretty late and the weather started to get threatening so we walked up and down aisles really quickly and tried to take everything in. It was very crowded and seemed more commercial this year. The jewelry was very polished and expensive. There were lots of tee shirts and note cards and a few big companies like Adorn magazine and Etsy. I only saw one place selling yarn. There were a few felted items but nothing special. Maybe we just rushed too much. I liked the location, at the bottom of a former pool. All that peeling paint seemed kind of decadent. We heard thunder and didn’t stay.
By the way, I finished the Boteh Scarf from Interweave Crochet a while ago. It went so quickly and blocking really finished it. I love it.
I joined something else, right after I said I wouldn’t. The Mystery Stole 3 KAL sounded just too intriguing. Last year I bought some Misti Alpaca Lace, I don’t remember why. But I’m going to try to use it for this. Every week we get a new clue and end up with a beautiful stole. How can anyone resist? Here is the swatch we were directed to make. We are also going to use beads, first time for me.

A Winning Package

I came home tonight to a wonderful treat! I won the first Inspired by Nature KAL contest and Tracey sent me the most astonishing package. It had Fleece Artist Hand dyed 100% cashmere, my first ever cashmere, in the most amazing rich red color. It is 200 meters of the softest yarn I have ever felt and I can’t stop stroking it. Tracey included a lovely little bag to keep it in, some Soak wool wash, and a fantastic card showing a chevron scarf. I loved making one and another scarf is definitely on my must make list. Tracey where did you get that card? I just love it. Thank you so much for everything. This is an inspiring gift. I have never won such a terrific prize.

Inspired Summer Knitting

Here is my first Inspired by Nature FO. Although I started these socks before I joined the KAL, I think they really reflect the colors of spring flowers. I was lucky to find this yarn on a trip to San Francisco last summer to visit my son and all I time I worked with it I was reminded of these colorful flowers along the walkway to my house.


Last weekend I bought a skein of Handmaiden Sea Silk at Windsor Buttons in Boston. I love to buy yarn as a souvenir. I'm thinking of making Montego Bay Scarf by Amy Singer from the new Interweave Knits and I want to use it for the KAL so I looked through some photographs and found these luscious summer fruits. I think it qualifies.

Canada Excursion

I just got this package from my wonderful Knitter’s Tea Swap partner Jacquie and I am thrilled! Everything in it is so unusual-and from Canada. She sent:
Teas from The Tea Emporium-Imperial Jasmine and Rooibos Anise both of which I have never tried and sound delicious plus a couple of maple tea bags that smell fabulous
A package of tea filters so I can make my own tea bags
A lovely box of Simryn chocolate, yum, yum
Fleece Artist Merino Wool in my favorite colors, which I cannot get where I live at all and which I have always wanted to try
The little Black Book of Tea which not only tells everything anyone would want to know about tea but also has what look like delicious recipes
Knitspiration, an inspirational journal for knitters drawn from the book Inspired Cable Knits by Fiona Ellis which I cannot wait to use to record my ideas and projects. It also has some knitting thoughts, directions for a beautiful yoga mat bag and even yoga poses for knitters in it.
An adorable “sheepy” card
Jacquie has truly sent me an outstanding package. Thank you so much Jacquie. I hope you get your package from me soon and are as happy with it as I am with yours.

Inspiration

Here is the finished Lion Brand Yarn Cropped Raglan Sweater. Please don't look at the outfit. I know it doesn't match. I used the new Cotton Ease in taupe. I started it right before our Virginia trip for in the car knitting and it worked out well. It’s a top down knit and I just did row after row of stockinette while my husband drove. After I got home the stockinette quickly became old and it seems like it took forever to finish. Really, it was only about two weeks. I think it fits well and it is very comfortable. I lengthened the sleeves and hem. Eventually I would like to make another one, after the memory of stockinette hell fades.

I’ve been having trouble deciding what projects to make lately and today I came across an interesting site. Inspired by Nature KAL suggests you take inspiration from nature for your next project. I could certainly use some inspiration, so I joined. I’m going through my recent photos to see if any of them inspires me. I’ll be passing by Webs this weekend (well, it will only be a little way out of the way) so I can get any yarn I may need. This may be a great way to select my summer knitting.

I also started the June/July Victorian Lace Sock from Six Sock Knitalong. Actually, I have already finished the first sock. I’m glad I used this striped yarn instead of solid because it hides the myriad errors I have made. I am certainly not a lace knitter. It is a simple pattern but I’m always losing my yarnovers. Once I finished my Sockapalooza socks I wanted a pair of Monkey socks for myself, so that will be my next project.