Botanique

Here is my finished Botanique

Casapinka designed a new knit along early 2021 called Botanique.  Because I had so much fun with the Sharon Show, I decided to buy the yarn and knit along.  But somehow there wasn't as much hoopla this time and no one in our group was knitting it, I lost interest.  But I have cast on this past week and am ready to start.  I bought Emma's yarn in the super silky the Floridian Zest color way.   It is 80% super wash Merino and 20% Silk.  There are 400 grams in each skein.  I am knitting on size 5 needles.

The kit suggests using the colors in this order:  Cally Girl, Floridian Zest, Hot Tamale, Tangerine Mist.

Hmmm....the colors are not in that order in photo below.  The order below is Floridian Zest, Tangerine Mist, Hot Tamale, and Cally Girl.

I found a photo that showed a way to wear the shawl when it is finished that I like a lot:

I am using size 5 needles which is what the pattern calls for.  Here are the labels:

I put few scraps of the yarn in a tote in my bedroom closet that says summer yarn

The Cupid Shawl

Again at one of the Vogue Knitting Live events this year, Rebecca Glazier of Wild West Dye introduced her new Cupid Shawl.  So it is my new mindless project.  The yarn is scrumptious!  Honestly it feels wonderful as I knit!  Rebecca uses non-superwash and natural dyes!  It is fingering weight on side 4 needles.  And I bought it as a kit from her site.  Rebecca sends just the amount of yarn that you need....it is generous. A bit left over. And exactly these colors.

 

Color Courage

 After one of the Vogue Knitting Live events in 2020, I bought a shawl called Color Courage from Lakeside Yarn.   The shawl was designed by Cynthia Cushing

 What was of interest to me with this shawl is that it starts out as a triangle shawl and then about half way through changes into a less pointed, more crescent shape with longer span from tip to tip.  So it was the construction that I wanted to try.  I finished it over the weekend and blocked it today.  I will post a photo tomorrow.  The verdict is still out about how I feel about this shape.  However, in general I find triangle shawls hard to wear.  And yet I often like the beginning of the triangle shawl.  

The yarn is sensible sock knit on size 5 needles.  I have stored the written pattern the came with the kit in the kitchen file.  It was a very mindless knitted product.

In February 2024, I realized that I had never posted a photo of the finished product.  So today I am posting Color Courage.  

Incan spice yarn

I started a project with Incan Spice yarn that I bought in Lexington from the store that was going out of business a few years ago.  Mitzi and I had transported several dogs and cats and we treated ourselves to a stop in the knitting store.  I love this yarn!  I love the colors.  It is fingering weight and has a bit of silk in it as well as baby alpaca and extra fine merino.  The yarn is a bit splitty and I am finding it too hard to work with in the pattern that I have chosen.  So I am going to put the project up until I choose something else.  If the project I am working on right now works out ok, I may do a shawl that is similar in shape.  Where one begins with a triangular shawl but then switches to a longer and less deep shape.  The pattern that I am using is Color Courage that I bought from the shop owner of Lakeside Yarn.  I will just add my own stripes and patterns to the basic shape.  I am going to put the project in a small basket on top of the bookcase in my bedroom.

 

Scrunchies

The Goldy twins received scrunchies for Christmas that have been knitted.  They are very cute and I thought I might make a few.  They came from American Eagle....so it might be just as easy to purchase.  They are knitted as a tube with a hair rubber band inside and then seamed.  Actually I am thinking that the hair band needs to be inside from the very beginning....The gauge is 6 stitches to the inch knit loosely.  

You can see the seam if you look carefully at the white scrunchie.  The length is  and the tube is approximately 3 inches in diameter.  But that measurement would not be crucial.  Here is a photo that shows the seam better:

The tube measures 18 inches in length.  I had Kya stretch the scrunchie out as far as it would go and it measured 9 inches so the entire tube would be double that.

 

Knitting for Katie 1981

 While going through old albums looking for Christmas photos for the 2020 zoom Christmas parties, I found a couple of photos of Katie in her handknitted (by me) bunting.

And another with Katie in Jack's arms:

When Katie began walking I cut off the bottom and added ribbing so it was a sweater.  I still have the sweater in the playroom over the garage.

Jason and Mary's sweaters Dec 1976

I am working on photos for a slideshow for our zoom parties this Christmas.  And found this photo of Jason and Mar4y in the Matching sweaters that I made for them.  In December 1976 Jason would have been four and Mary would have been 2 and a half.  We were living on the farm in lavalette.  This property is now a part of Creekside golf course.