Moment of truth

I've done a lot of this...



Now I'm ready to do this...



But first I might need a little bit of this...

Slow and steady

Wins the race... hopefully.


I'm trying to get my vest done in time for Rhinebeck. Sorry I've been so quiet lately, but I'm trying to stay focused and take advantage of every scrap of free time.

I also didn't think that a daily progress shot would be all that interesting, since it's growing at a snail's pace. But it's still an absolute joy to work on, if not the most portable project in the world.

I've reached the arm/neckhole decreases, so I think it's quite possible that I'll have it done for the big weekend. The big question is: how difficult will it be to get the button band "just so". In my experience, it can be a fiddly and frustrating task getting it right. It would be a shame to have all that lovely fair-isle marred by a puckered or loose band. Wish me luck.

Anybody else going to NYS Sheep and Wool Festival? Are you knitting something special for the occasion?

So far, so very very good

You know how some knitting projects are effortless and seem to knit themselves? I'm talking about the kind of project that unrelentingly compels you to "just knit one more row" because each new colour and pattern addition delights you more than the last?


The Oregon vest is that kind of knitting. I've been working steadily on it for the last week, loving every minute. Thanks Alice!

For those who are wondering if everything else in my life has been set aside, well, sorta, but I haven't forgotten that I need to:
- update you on Cobblestone (which is my "no matter what's going on" knitting, while Oregon is my "sit and concentrate" knitting)
- finish showing-and-telling the rest of my vacation stash enhancement (and oooh, there's some good stuff I haven't blogged about yet)
- talk about the lovely knitter who nominated me as a "rocking girl blogger", and then nominate some bloggers that rock my world
- break out a few FO's that are on the brink of being done
- and tell you about what I may or may not be doing with my new spinning wheel.


I'll be posting more about these later. Right now I've got some fair-isling to do...
Happy Labour Day everyone!

Travelling to Fair Isle

Sweet Jeebus, I just got the best package in the mail. My very first online yarn purchase ever. I decided to go for the best right from the start.


Oregon Vest
by Alice Starmore, Virtual Yarns
Spring Colourway


I was inspired by the brilliant Danceswithwool and her incredible Henry.

I think Alice Starmore is a knitting genius. One of the first knitting books I bought was Aran Knitting, followed by The Celtic Collection and Fisherman's Sweaters (how I wish I also had a copy of her Book of Fair Isle Knitting). I've knit a few of her arans and ganseys, but no fair isles, mainly because the yarns outlined in her books are discontinued and it's really tricky finding substitutes.

The other problem with her designs is that I find the sweater shapes to be too boxy for my body type(if anyone knows how to rework these patterns to be more flattering, like changing them to raglan and adding waist shaping, please let me know). Many of the sweaters I saw on Virtual Knits fell into the "boxy" category, but this little vest caught my eye, and Alice did all the work picking the colours.


The kit far exceeded my expectations. This is simply the most beautiful heathered wool I've ever seen. And the colours, there are 17 different colours in this vest!!! The yarn is also incredibly soft. I cannot wait to knit this. My (kookoo) goal is to have it done by Rhinebeck. Come on, it's totally doable, as long as I quit my job and give up trivial time-wasters such as sleeping, eating and bathing.

It was so easy typing in those magic credit card numbers. Waaaay to easy.

New and improved

My face is blushing like a peach. Thanks for your lovely comments on the cashmere neck thingie (gotta find a better name for it!)

So I bring you vacation loot, part two, but with a bigger, better photo format. First I need to say that I'm woefully inept when it comes to computer-techie stuff. It took me all this time to figure out that I can control the size of my photos through Flickr (I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the Everest that is Ravelry, and I've only recently started using Bloglines, so you'll have to be patient with me). Actually, I didn't figure it out on my own. I got excellent advice from the some of the best bloggers around. Thanks guys for bringing me out of the dark ages.

I might slowly try and replace my old photos with bigger versions, so I apologize in advance if I make your bloglines pop for a while.

****Edit: Actually, please bear with me while I fudge around with my template. I realized that my old one wasn't wide enough for larger photos, and I'm having a bit of a hard time adjusting colours/fonts in my new template. So hopefully I'll have this all sorted soon...****


I'm ignoring the crazy heat and plugging away on Cobblestone, by everyone's not-so-secret crush, the aforementioned Brooklyntweed. Jared, can you feel the love?

And like Heather, I actually convinced myself that I was a good wife for buying yarn for my husband. I did it under purely altruistic motives. Plus, the Rowan Scottish Tweed was 40% off at Purl, so I was saving money right? RIGHT???

Speaking of Purl, I realize I might be a little obsessed. Check out how I accidentally spelled "mother-of-pearl" in my last post.

Peachy keen

Here's my first installment of the "souvenir yarn" I picked up on my holidays.


Jade Sapphire cashmere, in #37 "Dreamy Peach"

Purchased at Purl Soho. At first I bought it to make the Pashmina Cowl from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, but I felt that the fabric was a little too slouchy. I didn't want to end up with a puddle around my neck (albeit a lovely cashmere puddle) so what I'm doing now is knitting a rectangle in garter stitch (yes, I'm one of those garter-loving fools). The garter ribs give it more structure and body. I'll sew it up into a tube, and then affix some button loops ( Isolda has a great tutorial for this) and mother of purl buttons to "cinch" the tube snuggly around my neck. That's the plan anyway. I'm kinda winging it for now.

I couldn't resist picturing this yarn with the beautiful peaches we're getting this year. They're absolutely divine, juicy, tasty and fragrant. I'm mad for peaches.

Because I'm not obsessed enough as it is

Uh oh, what have I done?


Life may never be the same again. My head is spinning...