I am presently still lost in Peruville. I finished my gorgeous burnt orange mittens with nary a problem. They are WARM and fabulous. So fabulous in fact that my daughter requested a pair of her own. (after I had already asked her if she wanted me to make her a pair and was told no…) So I have started a pair in bright red for her. Here is a funny picture of the first one.

I also (finally) cast on with the apple green Peru I bought back in August. I am making a free vest pattern off of knitty.com called Boogie. Designed by Maine’s own amazing Amy King back I don’t know when, it is a fabulous knit. Made more fabulous by this terrific yarn… It shows all the details of the cable to full advantage. Looks like it is going to take 6 balls for the largest size and with only the two side seams to finish, it is QUICK. Quick and gorgeous free pattern in a luxury washable yarn in amazing colors. What’s not to like?

Stay tuned for Beth’s February Lady Sweater knit with Lana Bamboo and a tidbit of my latest foray into Swans Island; I went off the deep end with an 8 ball purchase…

When I got going on my Einstein Coat, Beth wasted no time casting hers on in an equally beautiful Noro yarn and word of our Noro versions got out to the Sit and Knit Group. They were very interested because not too long ago, they did an Einstein Coat knit-along of their own. So when Beth and I finished our coats, she sent out an email to the Group telling them to bring their coats on Monday night so we could all have a show and tell. Here is a small representation of the finished coats. 4 coats couldn’t make it, mostly due to being out of town on the backs of lucky recipients. (that’s how generous this Group is – knitting Einstein Coats for        gifts…)

While I was there, I snapped some pics of other projects they had on tap. This vest came from the book Folk Style and Debbie knit it out of two colors of Malabrigo Worsted. She is known in the group for her tendency to knit complicated color work sweaters, to keep from getting bored!

These slippers were made by Dottie who is usually busy filling up a chest with baby articles for as yet unborn babies. Seems like she has started a trend; there are now more than a few knitters in the group manifesting grandchildren with hand knits!

This last pic is an in-progress hand punched rug that Tammy is making out of our Halcyon Yarn Rug Wool. Tammy made her Einstein Coat out of Lambs Pride Bulky and is on her way to becoming an intrepid knitter with the help of her knitting group.

So here’s to the many talented and kind-hearted knitters we are lucky to host here on Monday nights. If you are a local, please come by and meet them first hand for some time on the needles!

I’ve blogged about it before, but now I am actually (finally) knitting with it and I LOVE it!! Peru is a blend: 40% wool, 40% acrylic and 20% alpaca; machine washable, lay flat to dry. Yardage is average for a bulky yarn at 116 per ball. It is soft. Pass the itchy kid-test soft. So pull out your size 10-10.5 needles and let’s get knittin’!

Susan already got knittin’ and finished a sweater for her granddaughter out of the magenta shade. It is the children’s Gifford Jacket and knit up quicky quick at this bulky gauge. Susan modified the pattern for short sleeves, per granddaughter request and look how cute it is!!

As for me, I found myself in need of a pair of mittens due to the blast of November weather we had in October. So on Wednesday night, I cast on a mitten with a rusty shade of Peru. On Thursday morning, I had a finished mitten for show and tell at work which amazed my co-workers. The amazement didn’t have anything to do with the beauty of the mitten (ha!) or how quickly I made it. It was the fact that I made a mitten at all. I do not knit mittens. Socks, sweaters, shawls, scarfs, hats by the dozen, but never mittens. I even knit lace. But not mittens. I have tried them and never quite gotten the knack. I don’t understand it but I have a severe mental block where mittens are concerned. They never look right or feel right or fit. Ridiculous, I know. But there you have it. Do I have a mitten phobia?

Anyway, I pulled out the good old Yankee Knitter Hats and Mittens pattern and cast on without trying to think too much about it. And before I knew it I had a mitten. And it’s kind of cute. The other conundrum here is that this pattern is done flat. I practically never knit anything in pieces. I will go to great lengths to avoid sewing pieces together. And here I have a mitten. Knit flat and sewn up. Who would’ve known? Still can’t say I’m crazy about knitting mittens but I am crazy about Peru. I brought home the orange that just came in and I am casting on this weekend to make the Yankee Knitter Easy Bulky Sweater with the cable front. (Which I will be modifying to knit in the round!)

Stay tuned next week for the Einstein Coat blog update and prepare to be amazed….

A couple of years ago Gwynn and I made sweaters, she for Meredith and I for my granddaughter, Sydney.  It was a very simple short-sleeved cardigan and as I knit, I kept thinking that I would love a sweater like that.  I decided it was simple enough that I could create a larger version–simpler than I thought!  Sydney’s sweater was out of Sockotta sock yarn on, of course, small size 2 needles.  I found that just by going to a worsted weight (in this case, Debbie Bliss Luxury Tweed) and size 8 needles, I had an adult sweater!  (Well, the beginnings of one–it is among my unfinished projects right now!)

The same kind of thing happened with the ‘Easy Side to Side Cardigan’.  You may recall the picture of Gwynn, Susan and me all wearing our Patagonia cotton sweaters.  I was determined to make an easier version of the pattern that should have been very easy, but wasn’t.  Finally I came up with a more straightforward pattern, still using Patagonia and was very pleased with the sweater which garnered lots of compliments!  But, alas, we have discontinued Patagonia and I had to find a current yarn.  Noro Iro is so reflective of the splendid fall colors of Maine this year that I chose it in shades of red and really whipped it up.  I subtracted 3 from the added stitches because this was a bulkier yarn on larger needles and still wound up with a very different sweater!  The initial revision was a hip length ’shawl with sleeves’.  Noro Iro is a more sophisticated version reaching to my knees, still very comfortable, versatile and warm.  I can’t wait to try another juggling numbers, but the pattern will be ready to go next week!  And you can follow it or play with it easily!

Gwynn and I are both still working on the Einstein Coat from Sally Melville’s “The Knit Stitch“.  And again, yarn makes a difference.  Gwynn’s in a very colorful Noro Iro (the one I would have used if she weren’t already!) is beautiful and fun!  Mine is in a subtle color path of Noro Kochoran giving a more classic impression. Several of the women in our Monday night ‘Sit and Knit’ group knit this coat through the winter in varying shades of Lopi, Lamb’s Pride Bulky and Jane even did  a beautiful coat holding Victorian Brushed Mohair and Victorian 2-Ply Wool together.  We could all wear them to the same function and probably not have anyone comment on everyone wearing the same coat!

Thank you Beth for figuring out that side to side pattern and knitting like a crazy person to get it ready for us. Here are the pics of our progress – mine is the rainbow version and I have one sleeve left to do. Beth’s is darker and much more elegant; she just started her first sleeve. What we really want to know is what are you going to make yours out of??

The leaves are changing (splendidly!), sweater weather is coming quickly, the new Volume XII Yarn Catalog is being put together and our Annual Open House is this weekend!  So there is lots going on at Halcyon!  We all have several projects on our needles, hooks and looms!  And yet, some of us are always happy for an excuse to pick up yet another project and color.

Our customers are wonderful!  Some of the mainstays are truly invested and eager to share their thoughts on some great marketing idea.  So when Betsy of our Monday night ‘Sit and Knit’ group came in with a pattern saying, “You should do this!”  and went on to suggest that we gather several of our pink yarns and make a display for October, I didn’t hesitate.  She reminded me that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Several of us here at Halcyon, as well as many of our customers, are survivors.  The pattern is a free downloadable Breast Cancer Awareness Scarf and it is lovely.  I grabbed a skein of Halcyon’s Gemstone Soft Twist Silk in pink and wound it into a knittable ball.  I knit the scarf in two evenings and was gratified by Betsy’s approval when I wore it to Sit and Knit this week. Make one for a survivor you know!

The Soft Twist Silk was a luxurious interlude from bulky hairy yarn. Like Gwynn, I am knitting an Einstein Coat, though mine isn’t nearly as colorful.  And Gwynn is right; it is just the right level of simplicity.  I attended a weekend conference last week and the Einstein was the perfect traveling project.  Mine is out of Noro Kochoran and the color way was a great ice breaker.  While at the conference, I was wearing the Side to Side cardigan I mentioned in one of the earlier blogs and several women asked for the pattern.  Now, I have written the pattern but no one else has actually knit the pattern and I wanted to make sure that it was coherent.   So I could hardly wait to get back to the store and pick out a current yarn.  I chose the red Noro Iro, cast on and promptly discovered I had left out a step in the pattern. Quick timeout for a revision! Now it is going very quickly while satisfying my need for color.  Check in next week for the finished project and pattern information!

Thank You Beth! for your busy needles and inspiration. The Pink Scarf is truly lovely and so is the awareness it symbolizes. On Sunday, I was able to finish the Purple People Eater…Bartlett Bulky doesn’t come in pink, so here is my favorite pink pic for the week. Meredith is my reminder to be grateful and aware. Go hug someone you love!

Anyway, back to the theme of simplicity. Once again this week I was perusing Lori’s receiving area out in the back of the store. (I am often to be found out pawing through the latest goodies from the UPS man…)We got a shipment of Bartlett Yarn Maine Wool this week. I remarked to Lori that I had never knit with Bartlett. This seems almost sacrilege given that it is our locally made wonder yarn. It is astoundingly reliable and sturdy. It comes in a rainbow of heathered colors and right-off-the-sheep naturals. It is the closest look to homespun we have and it can really take a licking. (remember Timex watches?) A particular color caught my eye and made its way into my arms and out front onto my desk. From there it was quickly on the umbrella swift and promptly made into knittable balls. (I just love it when that happens!) I knew right away that I wanted to make the Pure and Simple Weekend Neck Down Pullover. I think she called it the Weekend Pullover because she meant it for weekend wear but I have made a couple of these before and if you have a chunk of time, it really does only take a weekend to make one up. (the gauge is 2 stitches per inch on size 17 needles) There is no sewing or finishing to this sweater; you start with the collar so you don’t even have to go back and do that bit.

I remarked to Lori (as I was snapping up my pile) that I have never knit with Bartlett before and she relayed her Bartlett story to me. Lori grew up with a knitting Mom and as she herself started to pick up the craft, her Mom always told her to ‘Stay Away From Wool. It Itches and It Shrinks.’ As a result Lori grew up knitting with acrylic yarns. Lots and lots of only acrylic yarn. When she finally decided to discard the ‘No Wool’ tenet of her upbringing (only after her Mama passed away), she brought herself over the bridge from Woolwich and into Halcyon Yarn. After the familiar first-time customer ‘Wave of Overwhelm’ she found herself in front of the Bartlett Yarn. The color palette and its local origin was all it took to hook her. She recalls feeling that she was in the lap of luxury holding onto her very own Bartlett Yarn. Remember, she was an all-acrylic all-the-time girl. She wanted hard core 100% wool and Bartlett fit the bill perfectly. Everyone got a warm winter hat that Christmas and Lori has never looked back. In fact, her son Matt treasures his Bartlett hat so much he refuses to wear it. He doesn’t want anything to happen to it.

So here’s to Bartlett Yarn – our own Luxury Maine Brand. And to Lori for branching out to fall in love with Bartlett. And to my soon to be finished Purple People Eater impenetrable snow shoveling sweater!

It is made entirely with garter stitch. Yes, knit every stitch. After all, the book is called Book 1: The Knit Stitch. Everything in the book is made with the knit stitch. Plain, simple, back to basics knit stitch. (And it all looks fantastic) The coat is knit in pieces, starting with the lower body. Each subsequent piece is picked up and knit off of a previously knit piece. It is a puzzle, albeit a simple one. It really is a perfect knitting project. The actual knitting is so mindless; it is perfect for tired-at-night knitting (which I do a lot of with a 5 year old transitioning to kindergarten). You make a big piece of garter stitch fabric. You count and knit the right number of ‘ridges’ and then you cast off. You pick up and knit the next piece to the correct number of ridges and bind off. And so on and so forth. The pattern is written for a bulky gauge so the knitting flies along on a size 10 or 10.5 needle. What’s not to love?? Add Noro Yarn to the mix and I can barely control myself.

A Stellar Book, a Stellar Yarn, a Stellar Project; it really is just too much! Of course my funk is lifting. (take another gander at the Happy Basket). I will only go so far as to say ‘lifting’ because what me and my girl are going through is hard. I’ve said it before in the last few weeks – parenting is hard. I am single momming it and have been since Meredith was 5 months old. (that’s when her Dad died.) Doing double duty when I don’t have a double portion of patience is trying to say the least. I do realize under the exhaustion (deep under the exhaustion) that she is worth it. Even given my mothering woes, I would choose this again. But knowing that doesn’t make me any less tired or frustrated or low on patience. Hence the Happy Basket! This amazing coat and my fall television shows coming back on track will certainly go a long way toward further funk-lifting. What are you guys watching? Are there any Grey’s Anatomy fans among you? I am a brand new convert since just this summer. I don’t know what took me so long – except that I don’t usually go in for hospital dramas. Anyway, I’m on board now, with a vengeance. There will be much happy TV knitting tonight.

This is a crazy piece of stuff to take a picture of but here is my progress so far. Stay tuned!!

An all around life funk is one thing and I have seen my fair share of so-called funks, so I know they lift and dissipate as circumstances fluctuate. But this particular funk has affected my knitting. Now, knitting is what I use to alleviate my funks. When knitting isn’t working, I am up the proverbial creek. In my panic immediately before kindergarten started (the night before @ 9:00), I was desperate to start a new project. Something in a bulky gauge, with a luxurious yarn, quick, simple. I had so many amazing choices at my fingertips. Literally at my fingertips. (I work at Halcyon Yarn for goodness sake.) And I couldn’t cast on a single thing. Not a single thing.

And this comes from someone who generally suffers from cast-on-itis. Ask anyone I work with. It has not been an average week if I haven’t cast on 3 or 4 new projects. And planned a few more. There is something REALLY wrong when I can’t ‘Just Cast On”. Right before this funk, I was looking through an old Interweave Knits (Summer 2009) for a pattern for Deb (the Whisper Cardigan) and found an article by Vicki Square called ‘Start As Many New Projects As You Can’. (Dig it up and read it. It is about inspiration and knitting any and everything that inspires and excites you.) I felt so validated by this article and then found myself in a Cast On Freeze Out. New Project Stand Still. I’ve never been there before and I don’t want to go back again. As of this post,  I have finally found my way out.

And of course it was Noro that broke the stalemate. Wondrous, eye-popping, wake up your senses Noro. We added Iro back to our Noro line up this summer. (The fiber combination is 75% wool, 25% silk and has 132 yards per hank. Gauge is 3 stitches per inch on size 11 needles.) I have knit with lots of different Noro yarns but this is my first time with Iro. I will admit that I am partial to the blends containing silk so this isn’t a huge departure for me. It has been lingering in the back of my mind since we ordered it this summer and I have had a very specific project on tap. (You know how you put projects in your mental queue?) Well, this week my light bulb went on when I saw bags of this colorway out on Lori’s receiving pile. I snapped some up on Monday and promptly cast on that evening. Here is my progress so far on my very own Einstein Coat. I have wanted to make and wear an Einstein Coat for a long time but could never get excited about yarn choices. It is a heck of a lot of knitting, to put it mildly, and I wanted something exciting. I found it!! This pattern is in our favorite Sally Melville book The Knit Stitch and I am finally going to be wearing one this winter! You will all be able to spot me coming too – everyone here has dubbed it ‘The Coat of Many Colors’. There will more on this project and the yarn next week – must go knit…

I may have mentioned that my four boys were all born in the San Diego area.  One of them, at least outwardly, retains a very laid back, fun in the sun outlook.  Several years ago I remember trying to remind him without nagging at the end of Thanksgiving break that he had to complete his college application essay that day.  His response as he reclined on the floor was, “I work best under pressure.”  I couldn’t help myself, I exploded, “But you’re never under pressure!”  Not so his mother. My heart is constantly pounding with upcoming deadlines (frequently self imposed).  I promised Kendra I would finish the ‘Favorite Summer Sweater’ from Sally Melville’s “The Knit Stitch” in Taffy for the yarn catalog.  I love Sally Melville’s book and I love Taffy and I can hardly wait to wear the sweater.  There is an interesting technique incorporated into the pattern.  You begin by knitting on two different sized needles, decreasing onto the large and increasing onto the smaller needle creating a sheer effect for the bottom of the sweater.  I thought it was great fun when I knit the back, but I have torn out the front five times!  And finally conceded that it was time to do something else for awhile…

Taking a leaf from Gwynn’s blog, I bought some Swans Island Worsted to do another one of my favorite patterns, ‘Lacy Lovelies, Knitted Shoulder Sweaters‘ (Barbara laughingly calls these my fake sweaters!)  And Gwynn is right!  Like knitting with a cloud!  I could feel the tension drain as the beautiful blue-green cloud floated through my fingers!  As I knit, I’m planning my outfit around the finished product.  And just as I was sinking into the restful luxury of Swans Island, Susan announced that we had to have an ad for ‘Handwoven Magazine‘.

The Handwoven Magazine is sponsoring a contest for weaving with sock yarn. The idea was to tastefully group some of our sock yarns for the photo.   The ads were due on the 10th (as in today) the announcement came late on the 4th and I had my four year old granddaughter, Savhana, spending the weekend.  But none of that stopped the thoughts that came into my head from shooting right out my mouth!  (Will I remember next time to just shake thoughts out of my head?)  ”Wouldn’t it be better with something actually woven out of the sock yarn?”  So armed with Gemstone Silk Boucle and Berroco Sox Metallic (going for the same effect as Annalees’s beautiful crocheted shawl) I went home for the weekend.  I should admit right here (maybe sooner) that I am a novice weaver on a rigid heddle loom.  I love weaving.  I generally think it goes faster than knitting so I’m sure I thought at the time that I would whip out a vision of loveliness!  A mouth bigger than my ability!  But Sunday night after taking Savhana home, I excitedly set about warping my loom.  And even got some weaving done before going to bed at 4 AM. (I don’t work Mondays and Tuesdays adding to the thought that I had plenty of time to make the deadline!)  I had to make a show of domesticity during the day (housecleaning long neglected) and then my youngest son called to say he thought he’d drop by to help his Dad in the yard and, “Oh, by the way, what are you having for dinner and do you mind if I bring Jess and Alex?”  So another late start Monday night and weaving ’til midnight.  Tuesday I was ever mindful that I HAD to finish, but things were not going well–sock yarn stretches more than silk and I had no experienced way to compensate!  So I just kept adjusting tension and kept weaving until 3 AM. I then got up at 8 to finish, knowing I had to be at Halcyon for work at 9:00. (I wasn’t– giving Gwynn the opportunity to ask if the ‘weaving diva’ was ever coming to work.)  The discouraging part was that the finished product didn’t turn out as I hoped, or good enough to justify the beautiful yarns. (here is a pic of it drying in the courtyard) But it will be artfully draped as background in the ad and I am determined to do another with more time, thought and tips from Halcyon and Michael.  Maybe even enter the contest!  Meanwhile, I am returning to the lap of luxury and the Swans Island yarn–better, if no longer cheaper than therapy!

I waited bravely at the bus stop Wednesday morning with my big kindergarten kid. She got right in line to climb aboard; I had to pull her back to get a kiss. She climbed up, chose a seat and and started chatting up the girl next to her. Not a single backward glance. Which tells me I’ve done something right. Confidence and independence are traits to be desired – especially in a girl. It’s just that no one tells you how it will feel when the baby who depended on you for survival happily steps up on to the bus and away. Parenting has to be the biggest butt-kicker there is: becoming pregnant and hosting a life for nine months and then proceeding to grow them up and away from you. Who knew? No one, that’s who. Because if you knew going in you would never take the plunge. So anyway, I am wiped out and it is Annalee To The Rescue! with some of her crochet magic.

You might remember from a previous post the shawl (Diamonds Silk Scarf) she was making with Berroco Sox Metallic and our Gemstone Silk Boucle. She used a recipe from the Winter 2007 Interweave Crochet (which we do have in stock). Here it is in all of it’s beautiful finished wonder. (Be on the look-out for it in Interweave Crochet in an absolutely stunning ad.)  I think it was an inspired use of this sock yarn. She is back to her tricks with the same issue of Interweave Crochet, this time working on the pattern called Infinity Wrap. When she saw the picture, she loved the concept but knew it was ‘too big and bohemian for her taste’. Inventor that she is, she has taken the original idea and scaled it down. Using beautifully kettle-dyed yarn she is making it more of a scarf size. There will still be 5 of the main motifs (S shapes pictured right) using the Malabrigo Silky Merino which she will then join together and crochet around with red Silky Wool. Stay tuned for the finished project.

I have also snapped pics of her latest Amigurumi creations that she made for store display. They are very cute (and sometimes surprising!) hanging out all over the shop. If you’ve never been tempted by crochet before, these should do the trick. If you can get to the store, call and sign up for a one-on-one crochet lesson with Annalee. She is an amazing crochet instructor – keep a look out for her scheduled classes too. You’ll have your own critters in no time! My daughter came in and promptly ordered one of each, with the robot at the top of the list. I have not had my crochet lesson yet but am planning one.

So here’s to Annalee for falling in love with Amigurumi books and creatures and beautifying our shop. But more than that, thanks to Annalee for seeing the possibilities within a pattern and then being brave and adventurous enough to modify it to her own desires and specifications. I’m sure we could all use at least a small dose of fearless in our approach to crafting (and life).

Next week Beth will have a post about the sweater she is making with our favorite Swans Island Worsted…

.