First off, I apologize if you checked back yesterday and were looking for a finished Anouk. Becky was not too keen on wearing it for a photo shoot yesterday and so I was biding my time 'til she would oblige me.

So, today, I sneaked it over her head and she said, "Mommy, did you make dis for me? Tank you tank you!"

I couldn't believe my ears. She threw me off kilter. I'd had a whole speech ready to go on how great the dress looked and wasn't it comfortable?!

"Wow, hey you're welcome girlfriend!"

A few of the finishing details I had to work out with my friend who is a sewer and a quilter. She recommended reinforcing the pockets by using a bit of fabric on the other side and then sewing a little triangle on the outside.

Of course, on the fly, I used a prewashed dryer sheet and that worked just fine. Not too pretty though, but cheap, eh?

Button B did manage to stay out of the button box by reinforcing Button A on the backside. Thanks for all the button votes, they split pretty much down the middle so I just had to decide for myself.

Yikes! I'm thinking. Make it so!*

Lookin' for a Crazy Daisy

*yeah, makes no sense to you either does it?

Going under the needle

I hauled out the big Bernina this morning. It's been a long time. There was some finishing things I wanted to do, like reinforce the pockets and machine sew on the backs of the tabs.

Thanks for all the button votes! I chose the button and will post up a finished Anouk tomorrow.

In the meantime, I'm getting rid of some yar. If anyone's interested in these yarns:

Click for a better view
Peace Fleece (dk and lt green, grey accordion recycled), K1C2 Douceur et Soie, Debbie Bliss Wool Cotton (Spruce and Mallard), Rowan 4-ply Cotton (magenta), Harrisville Designs (sage green), Schoolhouse Press (used for Noel's accordion--grey and red), Natural-dyed Tinctoria yarn (tiny little skeins)

I'm selling them to save for a new spinning wheel and just don't need them in the my house anymore. If you are interested in any of these yarns, please email me at leigh@woolflowers.net.

Here are my button finalists for Anouk. The runner up button gets a spot in the

button box.

Will it be:

Button A

Or

Button B

Who takes it? Which button reigns supreme?

What I did in the spare moments of my weekend:

KPPPM + An EZ chevron pattern = Fun!

And there's always room for another gratuituous koigu picture.

When I first started knitting, I knitted mostly lace. I stopped when Noel was about a year old because it was just starting to feel too tedious to do after a stressful day of child programming. It was the end of the great lace era and there are skeins upon skeins of laceweight yarn languishing in my stash these days.

Anyway, the shawl pattern calls for size triple 0 needles and "yarn that is no longer available" but goes on to say you could use a thicker yarn, maybe a 2/24 or 2/25* and a size 0 needle

Yikes

This week I will probably start thinking about the yarn I'd like to use. Maybe Jaggerspun something or other. I visited Sandy Terp's house once to pick up some yarn and she showed me some of her shawls (beautiful!). She had a beautiful one in purplish grey and the color has stuck with me for Magickal Earth shawl.

This time around, I plan to cast on provisionally and work the shawl and then go back and knit the edging directly onto the shawl after it's done.
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*I always think of that scene in Mr Mom, where Michael Keaton's character is talking to his wife's boss about electrical stuff and he says something like , "220 224 whatever it takes."

With all the Charlotte's Web knitting going on around here lately, I decided I had to pull the Koigu out of the closet and start working with it.

What will I be making?

This!

I have to admit, when I was a beginner knitter, I thought Koigu was atrociously garish for everyday wear (or anyday wear). Now, I'm ready to make a Jazz cardi for myself. Granted, if I do, it will be in a single color way and not five. Still sufficiently loud enough for you to spot me coming should I wear it whilst wandering through the crowds at Rhinebeck.

I've come a long way, huh? Or maybe not?

Oh, how the ennui does set in when working with a solid color.

Interested in a gratuituous koigu close up?

I tried.

But in the end the duplicate stitch won out. Intarsia is way too fiddly for me. It looks pretty okay if I do say so myself and it was easy. And those pockets really make the dress.

Here's a closeup of the pocket. The yarn is very drapey and non-elastic and so the pocket needs some reinforcement because it's already pulling out of shape. That's good because I need a good excuse to haul out the big Bernina, and spend 20 minutes setting it up and then sew about 20 stitches.

But I do so love that fair isle bag.

So, who's with me? Anybody?

"Bueller?"

"I want my 2 dollars!"

(Yes, I spent too many hours watching 80s movies this past weekend. What-evah!"

Pattern: Phildar
Yarn: Rowan Cotton Glace

I sure did. And I'm sure glad I'm done! For such a simple looking thing, it gave me fits. The biggest fit came when I blocked the finished back and it shrank up about an inch. sigh! So, I set that piece aside and started working on the front and considering my options.

Should I rip to the armhole shaping or should I just leave it be?

I ripped. I went back and added 12 more rows to the body before beginning the armhole stuff. The only reason this was a headache is because I couldn't remember how I'd worked all those 4 stitch decreases and how I jogged the stitches at the end to work the i-cord straps and the kitchener bind off simultaneously. Fiddly.

I really should get a pen and paper to write these things down.

And I betcha you're wondering how in the world I manage to replicate everything for the front! (I didn't!)

Remember a few posts back, I had realized that I'd fallen in love with 1.23 ounces of mystery vendor fiber? Well, after a few emails, I found out the vendor that sells the fiber is Potosi Sheep and Berry Farm. (Scroll down for contact information, if interested.)

I finally got around to plying the singles I pictured below and the plied yarn looks like this:

I'm wondering: see how the stitches on the gauge swatch do that skewing thing? Does this mean my plying isn't balanced?

You know what this means? The tank is done. Yehaw. (yehaw!)

Now, bring on the intarsia lesson(s)* for Anouk. Bring it on. And bring me a Xanax while you're at it.

Hear me Duplicate Stitch as I scoff in your general direction. I will make stripey pockets before I duplicate stitch anything ever again. (ya'll know I'm just kiddin? surely you do)
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*You know how long I've been putting that (those) lesson(s) off. Intarsia? Um...never thought I'd have a use for that. Surprise surprise.

PS--Pictures of the tank as soon as I can convince HRH Ms Becky to wear it.

Here's one of my purchases from MDSW. It was some fiber I bought spur-of-the-moment while on the way out the festival gate to put some other recent purchases in the car, which I couldn't find for a bit, but that's another story.

Anyway, this fiber was heaped in bags and it was "help yourself" so I grabbed a huge amount, or what seemed like a huge amount to me, and thought I had at least 4 ounces. Turns out I had 1.23 ounces. Not enough to make much! And at that time I didn't feel like going back and adding more.

Figured I'd get some the next day.

And oh how I'm wishing I had done so now.

Thank goodness for the internet. I'm off to go through my receipts to figure out just who I bought this from.

They were next to the Cestari Yarn place (aka Chester Farms Outside S02) at the Festival gate across from the info booth.

OKAY, I can't figure out who it is! And the list in the back of the MDSW isn't helping because there is no map. Major bummer.

Happy Update!
The vendor who sells this fiber is Potosi Sheep and Berry Farm. (Scroll down for contact info.)