Neige hat

I know it's a little early for snow, but I wanted some instant-gratification knitting last weekend.

Neige hat.

I unvented the pattern, casting on 48 stitches and working garter in the round till it was tall enough, then decreasing gradually to round the top.

The yarn is Blue Sky Alpaca Bulky, in a soft cloud grey.

I used 2 skeins.

It's extremely warm and soft.

Winter, I'm ready when you are.

A little bit dotty

While in Soho, I made a pilgrimage to my favourite store, Dosa. Their clothes are entirely hand-stitched and breathtaking (also breathtakingly expensive). Several of their garments were sprinkled with hand-sewn circles. Inspired, I decided to sew my own little bit of whimsy.




I pulled out my scraps bag (finally, a use for them).


The background is white and seafoam linen from a skirt I took in, and the yellow circles are bits of Anna Maria Horner voile.


I like the wonky little stitches.


I don't know how much I will wear this. It's a tad bit odd, isn't it? I don't have many things in my wardrobe that will go with it. And I'm afraid the white background makes it look like a bandage. Perhaps I'll make a more subdued version for winter. I'm thinking charcoal, black, plum with a little bit of acid green thrown into the mix. I'd also love to make one with a mix of Liberty of London tana lawn.

Anyway, it was great fun to make!

Brief sojourn in Brooklyn

 While we were in NYC, we spent a day in Brooklyn, mainly to see a wonderful Kiki Smith exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. The show featured her drawings and sculpture.










I was really taken by her delicate yet powerful drawings.

We also visited a store I've been dying to see for a long, long time.


Pip-Squeak Chapeau are famous for their incredible knitwear, but they have beautiful clothes too.


I spent a lot of time trying everything on, and walked away with several linen dresses. I had read about the owner and designer, Sveta Dresher, in Selvedge magazine, so it was a treat to meet her in person. She was as lovely as her clothes!

If you find yourself hungry in Greenpoint, may I suggest a lovely pizza place? Paulie Gee's serves up Neapolitan-style pizza with amazing combinations of fresh local ingredients. Great food, service and surroundings.

A perfectly rainy Saturday

It's nice to finally reach the weekend, after my first week back at work.

Soft rain gives me the perfect excuse to stay indoors, listen to Cocteau Twins, and do gentle things such as:


Sort antique mother-of-pearl buttons.


I bought a jar full of them at a charming antiques store in Brooklyn called Le Grenier. What a find!

Pull out some cold-winter knits from the back of the closet. I realized I never added these to Ravelry, so I took a few photos.


A giant garter stitch cowl. I improvised the design.


I used Debbie Bliss Como, which is cashmere soft.


Small cables sprinkled on a plain hat. 


Made out of delish Blue Sky Suri Alpaca. Again, an improvised design.

Hope you do sweet and gentle things this weekend too.

Coco for Coco

I found the tripod I had been looking for for months, so I can show you the pullover I finished at the cottage. It was perfect for those cool evening walks on the beach.



Pattern: Coco, by Jo Sharp (with a name like that, how could I not knit it, right?)
Yarn: 8 skeins of Jo Sharp Silk Road Aran Tweed, in Vermouth
Needles: 4 mm


I'm quite happy with the fit. It's comfortable, but not too baggy either. I think I finally understand what mods I need to make to fit my pear shape. I cast on for a large, then decreased gradually to end up with the smallest size for the top.

Coco was an easy, straightforward pattern. The yarn is deliciously soft and beautifully tweedy. My LYS says that Silk Road will no longer be distributed in North America. Has anyone else heard this? I hope this isn't the case!!! It's one of my all-time favourite yarns.

Lovely fiber motherload

Ahh... We had a fantastic, romantic, rain-free vacation in New York City.

Of course, I got my fiber fix:




Habu 2/24 naturally dyed cashmere, and a wooden darning egg from Smart Time Designs.





Blue Sky alpaca bulky, in the palest dove grey.





Weeks Dye Works overdyed linen, in straw.





Swan Island worsted, in grey. Enough to knit an Acer cardigan.





Nani Iro Fuwari linen.





Road to China Light, in citrine.





Alchemy Kozmos, in platinum. I'm knitting a very simple basket weave scarf.



It's hard to believe that the holidays are almost over... it's been such an excellent summer! But all this lovely stuff does make me look forward to the coming cooler days. Are you excited about fall too?

Celebrating a dozen!

Years, that is. DH and I are leaving tomorrow for our (sort of) annual anniversary trip to NYC.

It's supposed to rain again.

No problem, I packed my wellies.

(taken during last year's rain-soaked trip)

Talk to you when I get back, in 10 days.
Keep well, lovies.

Sounds of silence

I know extending radio silence around here is far from unusual. But in case you were wondering, I've been away from it all, on a much needed vacation.

A large part of it was spent, sweetly, in silence. Well, not silence exactly.

 
There was the lull of the ocean waves...


and the wind in the pines...




and the hushed turning of pages...


and the soft clicking of needles...

No tv, no internet, no email, no music, no telephones, no clock tic-toc.


Nowhere to go and nothing to do but just be.

That and of course my sweet husband, some great food and wine, my knitting (another Alice Starmore fair-isle), a pile of books (I read 8!), rowdy games of domino, and a shoreline that went on for kilometres on an practically deserted beach in Prince Edward Island.

And I (re)discovered something very, very important. There is not enough silence in my life. Though most would describe me as an outgoing, extroverted person, I actually crave solitude and calm. It's what makes me well-balanced, peaceful and productive.

And now the goal is to respect that. I want to find as much quiet in my "real" life as I can.

But I will be back. I do have knitting to show you.

La droguerie

What's the next best thing to sauntering over to La droguerie to pick up a few treats?

 
Having your peeps do it for you.

My parents were recently visiting Paris, and picked up a few goodies for me:

 
Petites Pièces et Accessoires


(I want to knit every single thing in this book!)


Metres and metres of Liberty tana lawn bias tape.


Merci maman et papa
xoxo

Plain stockinette extravaganza

I'm still recovering from "the work project that ate my life".

So, I'm afraid it's more stockinette for you.



Vanilla sock, in Noro Silk Garden, S269.



I figured that blogging about plain socks is better than not blogging at all, right?

Anyone paying attention to my queue and favourites in Ravelry knows that my fingers are just itching for some intricate lace shawls in rich, jewel tones. To be continued....