Yarnmaven

Samantha

Sometimes I knit something that I don't want to put down.  And when I finish it, I don't want to give it away.  I just want to admire it and touch it.  So it is with this little confection called Samantha, by Kate Gilbert.  I used 3 skeins of Dalegarn's Baby Ull in a lovely violet, though the camera did not capture the true color.  This pattern is so pretty, I love the faux smocking effect and all the picot edgings and the little lacy detail along the front band and sleeves.  This sweater is all about the little details.  I found some vintage shirt buttons in my grandmother's button tin that I dive into now and again for little treasures and I think these will work fine.  I even have an extra one I am throwing in with the sweater.  And hard as it is, I will be giving it away.  My friend Barbara is having a new grandbaby girl.  She picked this sweater. 

Thanksgiving is over but we're still eating turkey sandwiches - one of my favorite things about Thanksgiving.  I made pumpkin pie with fresh pumpkin and though it was nice not to waste a pie pumpkin, nobody seemed to be able to tell the difference between fresh and canned - in the future I will save myself the trouble.  Now the wrtched shopping season has begun and I will have none of it.  Y'all be careful out there.

The Minimalist

If only it were called the Minimizer.  But there is only so much yarn can do.  I have heard the chatter over the Minimalist Roll.  Yes, the stockinette front band on the Minimalist Cardigan rolls in a bit.  It was a feature of the design.  Try and block it out.  You will fail.  One knitter I saw on Ravelry even reversed the pattern of the knitting: doing the body in stockinette and the band in moss, so great was her fear of "the roll".  She defeated it.   But it wasn't really the Minimalist Cardigan any more.  AND she had to do all that knitting in stockinette.  I embraced the subtle roll of the band that softens the appearance of the sweater.  It wasn't the sweater roll that bothered me.  Not until I saw the photograph was I appalled by the roll.   Apparently I have put on about 47 pounds while I wasn't looking.  Okay, maybe not 47, but enough to notice that now I have a "roll".  I do not look forward to the holidays facing self-denial.

Pattern: Minimalist Cardigan
Yarn: Rooster Almerino DK in Ocean
Mods: I suppose that I had row gauge issues, I had to reknit and reconfigure both the sleeve caps because they were just wrong. 
Remarks: I love this sweater.  It was a fairly quick knit, it has texture which I love and I think it fits pretty well, though I may not love my body right now.  It is warm and soft and I really like the color. 

Kid & Ewe follow-up:

I went to Kid & Ewe and ran into Katy Blogless and hung out with her and the other knitters from Houston who were on the Twisted Yarns retreat.  It was good to see them, but I missed the activity and fun of the event we organized last year.  This year it was pretty much a shopping trip.  Last year was a blast!  So, somehow, I suppose we ought to organize another gathering for next year.  I did go straight to the Brooks Farm booth as soon as I got there.  I went over my limit this year - I bought 2 skeins of Duet this time and also a random purchase of cotton yarn from another vendor at an astonishingly low price thinking it would make good baby sweaters.  Oh, and I bought one patten.  Lace washrags and soapbags from Fiber Trends.  I'm not sure what makes me think I can knit lace yet, but I remain an eternal optimist. 

Kid & Ewe Road Trip

It's THAT time of year again...Kid & Ewe is this weekend in Boerne, Texas.  Are YOU going?  Last year, Christine and I planned a knitblogger potluck meet & eat and it was a blast!  We must have had about 30 knitbloggers from all over the state, the event coordinator let us set up right next to Brooks Farm Yarns because a vendor failed to show so we were right in the middle of things!  There were prizes and food and tons of fun.  I still have not spun a single fiber with the spindle I bought.  I didn't have the time to organize anything this year - and Christine has been trying on a new career so she's been pretty busy too.  I plan on going on Saturday and hope to see some knitblog buds there, but if someone has something planned, I haven't heard about it. 

There hasn't been a lot of photo evidence, but I have been knitting.  I made these booties for a friend's grandbaby, and a sweater and knit pants to go with are planned as soon as the yarn arrives.  I have been working on a Minimalist Cardi for myself and that should be done before Turkey Day.  I have tons of UFO's that I really need to wrap up and have considered the Clean Slate by 08 Along (Ravelry Knitalong), but don't know if I can handle the pressure.

I've also been sewing.  It's becoming a bigger issue all the time.  It's like I just think I can do anything I want with my time, all I need is more of it.  So the things that are getting overlooked are things like housework, yardwork, gardening, laundry.  And if it bothers anyone in the house, then perhaps they should do something about it.  Anyway, I made another Day in the Park Backpack Tote.  It's for a friend from Russia.  I've also purchased several vintage 50's patterns and fabric lately and I'm just waiting till the bad weather days where we have to stay in all the time to work them up.  I have been enjoying Erin's A Dress A Day blog for a while now and she has completely inspired me to this craziness.  I want you to know that I am trying to coordinate the knitting with the sewing.  That goes for the blogging as well.  I know that there are a bunch of folks that do both.  My hope is that nobody who visits here minds the occasional non-knitted creation. We'll see how that turns out.

So, will I see you at Kid & Ewe?

Welcome November and Dia de los Muertos

Heralded in with grace and calm now that all the sugared up children have left the streets.  I like November.  I smell turkey already.  It is usually a productive month for my knitting. We shall see since my attention towards sewing projects seems to be conflicting with my knitting needs of late. 

My dad passed away on this day 12 years ago.  This day or there abouts, we aren't sure - the death certificate gives Nov. 1.  I still think about him every day.  I am not one who shrinks from death or cemetaries so the Mexican holiday of the dead is one I fully embrace. 

It's a downhill slide to the end of 2007, let's hope it's fun.