A few weeks ago, while perusing my Twitter feeds, I saw a retweet from someone saying that Lucy Neatby was looking for test knitters. Ms. Neatby happens to be a very important person in the knitting world. (I do believe when telling a friend about this project I referred to her as Lucy effen Neatby – meant entirely in complimentary awe of her talent).  I shot off a quick email and next thing I knew I was signed up to test knit.

The pattern arrived a day or so later, and I had those first pangs of anxiety – you know that sort of stomach dropping moment where you think maybe you’ve bitten off more than you can chew?

The pattern was for a double knit baby bonnet. Our good old friend Wikipedia defines it thusly:

Double knitting is a form of knitting in which two fabrics are knit simultaneously with two yarns on one pair of needles.

Clear as mud?

The pattern called for a tubular cast-on, which was also something I hadn’t ever tried. I’m sure had I invested in the collection of Lucy Neatby technique videos, I’d be well versed in this method, but I went looking for a tutorial online and found one of my favorites, Eunny Jang, here:

Duly fortified with this knowledge I set about casting on and it worked beautifully.

Now I by no means consider myself an expert at the technique of double knitting, but here’s how I went about it.  I kept my chart close at hand.  Normally I don’t need to track the chart excessively with highlighter tape, but because each stitch on the chart was actually TWO stitches (both the inside and the outside color) and because sometimes these colors were switched (to create the patternwork) I tracked it VERY carefully.

The top panel of the hat is worked back and forth meaning each time I turned my work over, I had to reverse the “main color” and the “contrast color.” In color terms: on one side red was my dominant color, with the white snowflakes in contrast, and on the other side, white was my dominant color with the red snowflakes in contrast. I only did a few rows at a time through the top panel of the hat. Also, I knit with both colors of yarn in one hand, but I switched each row so that the dominant/main color of that row was the more tensioned yarn (with the contrast color just following along). If you knit continental, this may be easier for you.

The rest of the instructions in the pattern were clear and concise. It took me a little over a week, but I got through the pattern and save one (unfortunately very visible) mistake, I completed the project.

Me: Stick a fork in me, I’m done! I finished 11 sweaters in 2011!

Him: Well you got that one in just under the wire, didn’t you?

Me: Holy shitballs I knit 11 sweaters in 2011!

Why yes, yes I did.

1. Vestpa, 2. Jeweled 3. The Amazing Technicolor Dream Sweater, 4. Blue Morpho Surprise, 5. Channel, 6. Staying Warm at Camp, 7. Rosy Retro Redux, 8. Idlewood, 9. Rocky Coast, 10. Rusty, 11. Lobstah

May I never be so silly as to try that again.

We’re now in the time of year when I take most of my photos on the weekends, so that I can use natural light. I can’t seem to take photographs under lamps and indoor light that I like quite as much as those I can take in natural light.

Anyway, I gathered up a ton of stuff this weekend and got out the camera.

There were a few spins:

And of course there was knitting. A test shawl for a friend:

And my favorite, a new set of handknit fingerless gloves.  I didn’t actually spin this yard, but rather traded for it in a group on Ravelry. I LOVE the colorway though (by one of my favorite dyers, maude & me).  I mixed up two patterns to make my own.  When I was done I had a bit of handspun leftover, and you know it’s a SIN to waste good handspun so I made a matching headband/earwarmer.

I also cannot say enough wonderful things about etsy. I got the buttons from a crafter in Israel!

Next time… more weaving, and sweaters #9 and 10!

I finished this one on Saturday, and I LOVE it.

The Pattern: Idlewood

The Needles: US 10.5, US 8

The Yarn: Lamb’s Pride Superwash Worsted, Midnight Pine

The Verdict: This is a great sweater. A cozy cowl neck, a great layering piece, and looks good on a variety of body types. I know this one will get a lot of wear. Apologies on the color distortion here – the sweater is a pine green heathered with red and gold flecks, rather than the grey-green it appears here. I’ll try for a closeup soon!

A few months ago, I participated in a Spin-a-long.  That is, I ordered some fiber dyed especially for a group of spinners and we all spun them up. When it was all over there was a drawing for a prize, and I won! A short while later I received this beautiful superwash merino braid from FatCatKnits, in the colorway “Wretched Kiss.”

I spun the yarn up intending it to go in the shop, but I miscalculated and ended up with a larger skein of 2ply and a shorter skein of navajo plied leftovers.

With colors this bright, I decided that I was going to have to knit myself some socks. It took me a little while (as I got distracted by other projects) but now, just in time for fall, I have some awesome socks.

A while ago I purchase a pretty fiber batt, “Rich Girl” batts from a Ravelry friend, Adventures in Fiber. I purchased this around the time she opened the shop and she was kind enough to stuff a second batt into the package as a bonus! The colors were rich magenta and purple.

At first I wasn’t sure how I wanted to spin these batts, but then during Tour de Fleece I threw caution to the wind and spun them into singles:

The yarn came out pretty, and I got about 400 yards out of them, but I hadn’t counted on the silk creating nepps and uneven singles. So I waited, and as always happens, the perfect pattern fell in my lap.

At the beginning of September my friend Chrissy asked me to test knit her new cowl, one that she was calling Chou Cowl (and knitting in the colorway Mon Petit Chou).
Voila! My Cabbage Leaves:

I had a few balls of this in my stash that I thought I would use up:

But as the days went by and I hadn’t started knitting, I had to admit that I wasn’t super excited about knitting a cotton candy pink blanket, even though it is for a girl.  Rather, what I realized is that I’m kind of spoiled by all the lovely hand dyed yarns I work with and this yarn just seemed SO flat to me. So I got a harebrained idea. One that involved a lot of Kool-Aid

After an hour or two of soaking, cooking, cooling and waiting I ended up with something that I affectionately call “Cherry Bomb.”

I was thrilled with the makeover. The photos just don’t do it justice, but what I got was a subtle semi-solid with cherries and pinks and all of the depth I was looking for.  It took me a couple of weeks, but I knit it up and photographed it this evening.

Now all that remains is wrapping it up for the shower, and then welcoming the little girl herself!

Well there was this:

This is Sweater #6 for the year. My goal is 11 and I’m very behind, but I love this one. It’s an adaptation of Elizabeth Zimmerman’s February Lady Sweater. The original was a sort of unshaped cardigan, and this is a very shapely pullover. I knit it in about 3 weeks and it was a pleasure to knit. The yarn is Madelinetosh Vintage (worsted weight) in the colorway Black Currant. I can’t say enough good things about this base – it’s delightful to knit with – or the depth of the dyer’s colors. Absolutely delicious!

Last Christmas, Wes surprised me and bought me an Ashford Knitter’s Loom. For whatever reason, I just couldn’t get into it. I warped it backwards, then I warped it with wool that was too sticky. Then I wove a scarf that was about half too small and then, to add insult to injury, I felted it while trying to get it to even out (by tossing it in the dryer). On the whole, totally unsatisfactory. I duly warped the loom to try again, and promptly let it sit. For months.

A few weeks ago I pulled it out, determined not to waste the beautiful yarn that I had cut into pieces to warp the loom.  One scarf and I was out. Except, this time it took. It was quick, it was beautiful and don’t tell him I said this, but it was fun! After a few nights I had gone from this:

to this:

You also may notice that the quality of my photos has gone up a bit. I can take absolutely no credit for that whatsoever. For our three year anniversary, we decided to splurge a little and get a new camera. We ended up getting a Canon Rebel T3i, and so far, we LOVE it.

More soon… I have adventures in Koolaid for you!

Well three patterns, three yarns and three years (and some change) later, it’s finally done. I actually finished it last week – exactly a week past our third anniversary, but only got to take photos today.

The Pattern: Paintbox Log Cabin Blanket

The Yarns: Noro Kureyon (various colors) and Lamb’s Pride Superwash (Northern Lights colorway)

The Needles: US 8′s

The Verdict:  The pattern was easy and the squares were addictive. The fun part was laying them all out and picking where we wanted them to go. I also loved that there was no seaming needed – each of the garter sections has a three needle bindoff! I love the finished product and I can’t wait for it to be winter so I can snuggle with my honey under it.

I recently used spun up some beautiful Fat Cat Knits Falkland fiber into a luscious singles.

Around the same time a dear friend of mine, Chrissy, was asked by the owner of Twisted Fiber Art to design a shawl around a photograph and the colorway it inspired. I test knit the pattern in my beautiful Natasha.

Kits will be available shortly here.
In the mean time, I’ll share mine with you: