SmileyHangingintheTree_web

SmileyHangingintheTree_web, originally uploaded by bindakay.

Here is my Smiley Hat. He is hangin' around in the bushes. I don't know why.

A Brilliant Colonnade

A colonnade is a characteristic in the buildings of Classical architecture, and consists of a row of vertical columns joined horizontally by an entablature, or a series of bands and moldings that sat above it, resting upon the column capitals. These bands can be highly decorated with relief sculpture.

Often, a classical building consisted of several colonnades, several rows deep. In Classical architecture, the front row or rows is known as the portico, and the surrounding colonnades (around the sides and back) are known as the peristyle.

I always wonder the purpose or thought behind titles. After discovering the true meaning of "colonnade", it's obvious why the designer, Stephen West of Westknits, chose this word to title his popular fall shawl/scarf on knitty.com. The series of columns create a colonnade but there is a horizontal joining each of the columns. These horizontals helped me "see" the pattern more easily, allowing mistakes to be seen and fixed more easily.

This is an easy pattern, but tricky at the same time. The knitter must keep careful track of the yo2 for they come at different places on each row, including before and after the k2tog. I suppose this is just everyday stuff for the average lace knitter, but since I am just a regular knitter, these tricky instructions are new to me.

I decided to offer this class at Wild Purls (in March), 1) because the pattern intrigued me in the different manners it could be worn,(not a granny shawl) 2) I liked that it only used 3 skeins of my favorite yarn, Manos del Uraguay (I could buy my fave without blowing my Christmas gift cards) and 3) that it introduced lace knitting in a way that could be easily knit by an adventurous knitter. And since that's kind of how I feel about my knitting most of the time, I thought there might be others (like in Lost) like me out there, waiting to discover another world on the same knitting island. Wow, I really digressed.

Bulky Gathered Hat

This was knit in 3 hours! Wild Purls just got this new bulky Noro yarn in the shop called Bonbori. Of course, customers are always wanting to know how yarns knit up so I made this up as a shop sample. Noro Bonbori is a bulky yarn - beautiful colors, not as soft as the silk garden yarns but then again, there is no silk in it. It knit up great, no splitting, and it got softer after I blocked it.

I modified my Perfectly Easie Beanie pattern and did some increases in the first Stockinette row, knit a few inches higher than a normal beanie, and then started my decreases. The extra height will make room for the gathered area in the back. With the leftover yarn, I made an I-cord (about 16 - 18” long) and fed it through 4 folds in the back of the top of the hat (if that makes any sense!) I did do a bit of blocking. I shaped and pinned it first, stretching it out at the top of the head to give more slouchy-ness so the gathered folds would have more to work with. I kind of like it!

Cocoon of Cozy

My daughter, Alice, has an obsession for "cozy". Since she was small, she loved being wrapped up in a warm cozy blanket. To this day, she'll tell you how much she misses her yellow blankie with the satin edging. She was three when it was left at a daycare or in a hotel room. We don't know what happened to her blankie, but we know she misses it. I suppose to make up for it, she now has a collection of cozy. Quilts, comforters, fleece, flannel. Sometimes she wears her sweatshirts to bed. When her dad wakes her up in the mornings, he has to search for her under her cocoon of blankets. I knew it wouldn't be long before she begged for a new blankie to take to college in Minneapolis (after all, it's cold there!). She started earlier this year, asking me every time she saw me knitting something new - "Is that my blanket?' "No", I'd have to say, "this is for a class, or the shop." Well, finally, she helped pick out the yarn - it had to be washable and dryable - (another obsession - laundry, can you believe it?), so she chose a chunky acrylic, a James Brett Chunky Marble. I love the Lizard Ridge Quilt pattern, so I started knitting last month. Between work, classes, working out and kids, I snuck in this blanket, and I just finished it tonite! What do you think?

Wild Purls SeaWorld

This month I designed our Wild Purls window around a special collection on loan from one of our favorite knitters, Shirley Greene, or Mrs. Greene, science teacher, as my son knows her. She is a pretty special knitter, who combines her passion for teaching with a love of knitting. She was inspired to create an odd assortment of phantasmagorical under-the-sea creatures. Hopefully you'll be able to fantasize that these knitted objects are actually swimming oh-so-gracefully through the waters of Atlantis (or somewhere like that)

Wedding Pillow

I love this pillow! I chose to do this from a advertisement in the latest VogueKnitting for Nicky Epstein's new book Knitting in Tuscany. However, I didn't have the book  - It was only released last week and I needed the pillow for my niece,  Britta's wedding June 5 - so I had to start it a few weeks ago. I'm so pleased with the outcome. The original was felted and I'm thinking I like it much better my way (hmmm . . a big surprise!)

Because it was based on a very small photo, I had to imagine what size it really was, along with materials. After seeing the original, mine is much smaller  - 14" square vs 20" square. I used a DK weight yarn, Dale of Norway Heilo vs a Louet worsted and a size 3 needle vs 11's. Of course, as mentioned above, Nicky's is felted and mine is not.
I'm really gonna miss this little beauty!

I Kept My Promise

I promised "the man" I'd finish his 2007 Christmas sweater by Christmas 2008 and I did it!
Yes, this took me about 18 months to finish, but it was well worth the wait. There were many gauge issues that I learned and hopefully will take with me on the next sweater project. Of course stiches per inch are alway very important, but row gauge can be equally as important, especially for shaping sleeves for a man whose arms are incredibly long.

I want to give a special shout-out to my friend, Joan, the Elizabeth Zimmerman of Billings, MT. If it weren't for her, my sweater would not have been sewn together and Jasper's Noro sweater would still be in the ball bands. Her finishing techniques are best you'll ever see and we are damn lucky to have her.

I'm extremely happy that my recipient loves this sweater and isn't lying about it. He was sick recently and the first thing he did when he came home to recoup was to put his sweater on. As the knitter -of-the-sweater, I was pretty pleased. Hugging him with this sweater on is like wrapping yourself up in the coziest blanket on a very cold day.