Knitting interlude

Knitting is what I do so I know I'm not working. I needed a new hobby when my quilting pastime became my job. I tried beading, I tried scrapbooking (which ended quickly, once the fun of purchasing basic supplies was over), but needle and thread keeps calling me back.

I really enjoyed Camp Loopy this summer, which has reinforced my feeling that I really need to find local friends. Quilting friends never seem to work out. I'm a "herder" at heart, and I just can't help myself when a teaching opportunity arises. I need to find a group that will smile affectionately and say to themselves, "that Beth, she just loves to share". With knitters, I can just be one of the gang. Totally without credentials.

 

This shawl, Adhara, from Tanis Fiber Arts, was my third (and last) Camp Loopy Project. I was not happy with how it was knitting up, but once it was blocked I was thrilled with the outcome. My daughter-in-law, Amanda, received this for her August birthday. I will knit this again, with two yarns with less contrast and I think it will be spectacular.

 

 

With the leftover yarn, I knit a pair of fingerless mitts for her. To be honest, I think she was more thrilled with the mitts than the shawl. At least I got it half right! (And she loves purple, so maybe two thirds.)

 

 

 

Next I set out to knit sweaters for my grandchildren. About time, don't you think? Nicole's fit her perfectly, just a little big so she can wear it all winter. Alex's, however, turned out to be way too big, and nightmarishly long. What was I thinking? Lesson learned? Just because I still have yarn doesn't mean I have to keep on knitting. I will be tinking (to tink is to knit backwards, how cute is that? Don't you wish tliuqing would work for us?), about four inches off the length. And then maybe making a hat. The pattern is the Tomboy Cardigan. It is knit from the top down, using a new shoulder technique called the contiguous sleeve method, which results in the look of a set in sleeve without all the sewing. I do hope Susie is working on a book, because I want to knit every sweater this way.

 

And finally, this shawl:

 

 

It's Pleiades, and it turned out to be the neverending shawl. The pattern suggested that I weigh the yarn and stop increasing when I arrived at the halfway point of the skein. Yes, it efficiently used up most of the yarn, but I think perhaps I have finally learned that knitting to the end of the skein is not always best for the project, or the wearer.