Tag Archives: sport

let’s do the (mango moon) twist

Posted on by

there is just something about this yarn.

do you see it?

how the cotton/linen mix rustles up this kind of luxurious shimmer

i’ve no idea, but look how it almost glows with possibility!

this is mango moon ‘twist’, a sport weight beauty.

doesn’t the ‘blueberry’ colorway remind you of faded denim,

you know, that point where your jeans are so perfectly broken in

that they are almost faded into wearing right through,

which makes them soft as butter & makes you

never ever want to take them off?

…that color.

i started this post a few weeks back,

put it on the back burner to knit a little something in this yarn

and quite honestly, got so distracted by the possibilities

(there are so many things that i thought i heard

this soft, yet strong, yarn yarn begging to become)

that i’m only getting round to posting now.

you can see how that’s a designer’s rabbit hole, right?

this  lovely stuff is still on my needles

and i’m still enjoying it.

truly, that’s knitting

at its best!

‘shimmer’ taken from 18:4 of isaiah.

note: now for just a little of the nitty-gritty.

i was given this skein from mango moon yarns to review,

but, you all know me, and

a free skein of yarn (even if it is shimmery)

isn’t ever going to make me say i like what i don’t.

i’m much too stubborn and pig-headed for things like that…

Save

Save

Save

Save

not like the other

Posted on by

two skeins of yarn.

both sport weight, both 75% yak, and

both from the same yarn company, but there the similarities end.

IMG_8634dar

the yak down takes to dying so well. look at what depth the colorways have.

the down is soft, too. so soft. huggable even.

for the himalayan trail, an added

25% of merino leads to lovely stitches

(this yarn shown above in orange #32, brianna).

on the other hand

bijou basin ranch added bamboo to the lhasa wilderness.

(shown above in ruby, #35).

this blend is still wonderfully soft

with the added benefit of bamboo’s anti-microbial effects.

check out how the fiber mix shimmers in the light.

gorgeous.

for me the next question always is, ‘what to knit?’

the gauge of the two yarns is close.

close enough to adjust

with a simple needle size change.

with that in mind, i’ve begun

a hat that will be one layer of each yarn.  teamwork.IMG_8640dar2first the himalayan trail, top down and in the round.

it’s even softer knit up than it felt skeined, which i am loving.

exactly what comes next for this hat is a bit vague to me still.

it will definitely be a layer of the silk/yak blend,

but lacy?  or textured?  or…

this is what i love about good yarns and knitting:

the options just stretch out ahead of you like an open stretch of road.

time to turn up the radio, take a deep breath,

and see what lies ahead.

the disclaimer: bijou basin ranch

gave me this yarn to play with, but you know me.  i am

way too stubborn to be influenced toward lies or embellishment by two free

skeins of yarn.  therefore, the opinions expressed here are honest, and truthfully mine.

‘question’ taken from 21:29 of job.

cey & i: blog tour, day nine

Posted on by

osci rockerboho collagefresco is a yarn

that has oh so much going for it.

wool makes it warm, alpaca makes it so soft,

and there’s just enough

mohair

in the mix

to give a warm glow sort of halo

to the projects knit up in it.

i, like lee meredith,

like options.

this particular hat has load of them.

i actually went ahead and knit myself a version with no pleats,

just extra room and comfortable slouch to spare.

that’s a go-to kind of hat for me.

today on the blog tour, lee’s blog ‘do stuff’ is up.

be sure to comment for a chance to win a free copy of ‘osci’

and while you’re there, check out her ingenuity and creative-vibe.

as far as things knitting related, but not knitting exactly,

i love the old album yarn bowls.

so much.

‘glows’ taken from 24:11 of ezekiel.

cey & i: blog tour, day six

Posted on by

i love clogs.

i have for awhile now.

the weight of the shoe itself makes me feel substantial,

a force to be reckoned with.

another, more crazy, truth is that i am only recently

discovering the joy of wearing hand knit socks.

not sure what took me so longIMG_8333bt

(perhaps a lasting bout

of second sock syndrome)

but now i’m all in.

with hand knit socks in the drawers,

i wanted to pair them with clogs and slides.

alas, heels are functional

and not often the pretty part of the sock.

since what i wanted didn’t match up with what i found,

IMG_8326bti set out to fill the gap.

garter stitch runs

from the cuff

through the heel flap

with a back center column

of paired knit stitches.

these are

the rocker version of imp.

for contrast,

the remainder of the sock

is straight up stockinette.

its opposite is the boho version:

mainly reverse stockinette stitch with a column of garter stitch

dividing two wide vertical stripes of stockinette stitch up the back.

imp boho side and heeled heelmy friend lindsay pointed out

how all that reverse stockinette stitch gives these socks

a sort of ‘princess sole’.

all i know is that they feel good this way,

and that’s what i wanted.

the imp socks are featured today

on the blog of my favorite local yarn shop, ‘in the loop’.

if i could give you anything knit related, i’d give you a lys as supportive as they are.

‘princess’ taken from 45:13 in the psalms.

introduction

Posted on by

i have been wanting to introduce you

to harrisville design’s new yarn ‘flywheel’.

this sport weight is so sweet

to work with and

the tweediness is spectacular.

today, harrisville blogged and said everything

that i thought i wanted to say.

so, you can simply check out the details

in their post over here.

caryn-scanlan-talitha001‘today’ taken from 6:11 of matthew.

photo by caryn of caryn scanlan photography.

when winding up is winding down

Posted on by

cowls are notoriously tricky.

there’s too small, just right, too big,

followed by just right to be doubled, and then way, way too big.

i’ve been working on this cowl for a couple of weeks now.IMG_5618crop

it wasn’t until i wove in the ends this morning,

that the proverbial light bulb went off in my head.

this is not wool.

which i knew all along and is significant because

when i swatched at the begining, i calculated the # of sts to co

based on the swatch stretched out (my cheater’s version of blocked).

since i’ve planned this all along as a spring to very early fall piece,

 i chose a silk cotton blend.  intentionally.

the faux pas is that only when trying it on for the first time

did i discover my mistake.

so, instead of ‘just right’ i have too long to be a single loop

and too short to be doubled.  sigh.

now i’ll have to keep

my eyes open for a friend who likes their cowls this length (because some people do)

then this can become a well loved gift

and i can have another go,

a fresh start with

new #’s.

my cowl is still coming,

just a little a later than i thought.

file this under: live and try to learn to pay more attention from the get go.

‘fresh’ taken from 3:11 of james.

‘corner of the roof’

Posted on by

this is a favorite proverb of mine:

“better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife”.

you better believe it.

when i start to feel all snarly and discontent

i remind myself of this.

no man of mine is gonna wish he was on the roof.

when i think of a roof,

i think of a pagoda.  no idea why.

the new england roofs of my childhood are nothing like them.

i’ve never even seen one in real life.

still, that’s what comes to mind at the mention of the word.

amazingly intricate and interesting.

442-5247B-B-R18Ai was aiming to capture

both of these things in this new cuff design.

the way the increasing creates a textural ‘x’

across the top of the square is pagoda-like to me.

IMG_4373crop27do you see it?

now that roofy-ness on my arm

is a good reminder to take a deep breath and be grateful

no matter what.  and always.

pagoda pic from www.novaexperience.net.

‘corner of the roof’ taken from 25:24 in proverbs.