You scrubby little urchins!

This has got to be the QUICKEST knit EVER! This beret is made up of 7 panels of short rows - it took me 15 minutes to knit up one of the panels, so that means a total of 1 hour and 45 minutes to knit this. there are so many bulky yarns to use for this, every one will look totally different! The pattern is from Knitty, called urchin (due to it's odd sea-urchin shape), This is going to be a class at Wild Purls this summer.

LOOK AT THESE:

Knitted out Farmhouse Lumpy Bumpy, I still had plenty of yarn left.

This was knit out of Noro Iro. My thought is it's the most flattering;

 so soft and fuzzy, a lot better drape 

 (especially on my model, Karen!)

Knit from Plymouth Lana D Oro, this was certainly the easiest. It was the first , because I wanted to be able to get the feel for the pattern and didn't want any "yarn" distractions. It was a good plan, laying the groundwork and confidence to race in the others, knowing they would be both quick and beautiful.

But will the Bride like it?

The scallops are perfect. The sewing is finished. The pictures are taken. But will the Bride like it?
Hopefully, she’ll appreciate the work involved. The scallops took alot of practicing and in the process I found out from TanisKnits that there were some errors in the scallop portion of the pattern.
The bag itself was very easy, the scallops were a new technique for me - challenging, but fun! I had to order the hardware from the source listed in Vogue Knitting, and added the lining, which I think is very important to add structure to the project.

Finished Nature's Colors Pillow

Works in Progress

I'm definitely moving ahead on these projects! Half the pillow is done, and it is gorgeous. This is a very simple pattern. The first 6 rows are garter stitch on needle size 6, the rusched portions are achieved by increasing one stitch in every stitch (doubling your stitch count), and then knitting with a different colorway on needles 2 sizes bigger for 6 rows again, and alternating these rows. I'm also working on my class project, the Satchel. This is for Stephen's Graduation, and I've finished the bag portion, just working now on the strap. I'll be also adding pockets and I'm still figuring out a computer sleeve. Stephen asked for that, I'll try to customize this a little further. The stripes are based on stripes of 4's: 4 - 8 -8 - 4 -4 -4 - 8 - 8 - 4. It makes the knitting go faster, plus you are automatically keeping track on row counts.



Okay, I also wanted to throw in this picture of the first day of class. It may be indicative of how the class will go. Laurie's yarn pooped a big mess. We have a great group of knitters, some new, some been doing it awhile. Everyone is almost done, and I'm sure we will be hitting the laundrymat next week. If anyone reads this, bring some quarters!

New WIP'S!

Look at all the projects I've started! The new messenger bag is me getting 2 things done with one stone! I'm teaching the class on messenger bags and the finished product will be for Stephen's graduation. Then there is Nikki Epstein's ruffled bag from the newest Vogue Knitting mag. It's going to be for my nephew's bride-to-be. Check out the yarn - It's beaded silk! It's gorgeous. Ummm, then there is "Penelope's Pillow" from the book, Knitter's Stash. It's knit out of 2 colors of Noro Silk Garden on 2 needle sizes. And I'm about half way done with my first pair of socks and still working away on Jim's sweater. At this moment, I'm probably the most excited about the ruffled bag and Penny's Pillow. Penny's Pillow is really going to be a Wild Purls sample.

Ocean Sunset Fisherman Rib Scarf

I just finished this for Wild Purls as a store sample. This was only inspired by Brooklyn Tweed's Noro scarf. I used the fisherman rib instead of the basic K1,P1 rib, and because of that, I changed colors every 4 rows instead of 2. I also used 3 colors because I wasn’t getting the color variation you get from Noro. This is 20 stitches wide, close to 60 in long (I stopped about an inch short) Generally, if this was for me, it would be another foot long. I like a good wrap - but it was for the store - and I already was using 4 balls of yarn. If it was longer more yarn would have been required

Rib Pattern: *K1, K1B* repeat to last 2 stitches, K2

My Seattle Adventure

On Wednesday, March 19th, I took off for Seattle to visit my daughter Maddie. She's going to school there and having a blast! I thought I would post my trip diary to help me remember what I did. I'm expecting to forget cuz I'm gettin' old, you know!
Wed, March 19: Caught an early plane ride and arrived around 8:00 am - just in time for breakfast at CJ's and then stocked up Maddie's apartment with food and goodies. We hit the grocery store first, then Costco, and finally Target. Maddie was pretty thankful and said so many times! Pretty sure we followed that up with Starbucks. We also hit up the little store on 1st that's going out of business to claim Maddie's points. My mind is blank (what did I tell you!) what we did for dinner - but we rushed home to get ready for our KD Lang concert - which was right, and I mean, right across the street at the Moore Theatre.
Oh my gosh, KD Lang sounds exactly how she sounds on her recordings! You know how studio recordings enhance the voice, well, KD needs no enhancing. Her voice is perfect, pure. Her song selections were on target, a great mix between her new album, old albums and her country twang. Maddie was enthralled by the sound of her voice.
Thursday, March 20: Our day to ourselves! First, we hit Starbucks (of course!) then over to the Art Institute for Portfolio Review. We looked at all the departments - Graphic design, animation, interior design, industrial design, even culinary. Most were quite impressive. We then headed over to Pike Street market for lunch - We ate at Beecher's, home of the "World's Best Mac & Cheese". It was as they said! Soooo yummy - the perfect comfort food! I think it was this afternoon we also went to the Seattle Art Museum and took in some modern art and a large show on Roman art from the Louvre, then rushed over to "Ride the Duck". This is an amphibious vehicle that gives tours to "tourists" around the Seattle downtown area and up to Fremont and into the harbor. It was a funny tour with a funny guide who, as it turns out, is from my home town, SIDNEY MT! It was freaky! Can't wait to tell my dad. After the tour, Maddie and I got back to her apartment so we could go have a great dinner at Serious Pie, a pizza place close to Maddie's place. It was great fun, cuz we met up with my good friend Jan's daughter, Katie and she had dinner with us. Lot's of great gourmet pizza. We ended up at home, doing lots of Political Science and Philosophy homework cuz finals for Maddie were on Friday. I'll bet we stayed up till about 1:30 am.
Friday, March 21 Unfortunately, Maddie had finals all day, so I was on my own. I didn't mind thought since I had a few stores to visit. My main shopping mission was jeans. Since Aileens had closed and that's where I bought my David Kahn Jeans, so I needed to replace mine. Katie recommended a store called Karen Danneberg. I had so much fun shopping there. It ended up that my sales girl, Sasha, turned out to know Katie! Small world. I ended up with a black pair of Christopher Blue jeans - can't wait to wear them. After that, I walked over to So Much Yarn. I found some beautiful yarns by Laines du Nord and Pagewood (sock yarn) I loved these together, but not sure what plans I will find for them. Maddie got out early and we drove to Alkai beach and enjoyed the water, then rushed home to join her friends at Umi Sushi Bar. I tried it folks. More on that later. Cheesecake at Cheescake factory. Atonement

Saturday, March 22: We met Lisa and Emily at Starbucks for coffee at 10:00 am and started our shopping spree. We hit Nordstrums and Anthropology. We all got some great finds - shoes and clothes. What fun, then lunch at a local brewery and Lisa and I tried a beer sampling Dookless was the best. Spa in REdmond, home for a late dinner - clam chowder - easter morning, baskets, church, dinner,Sound of Music, home, flyhome.