Friday, November 26, 2010

Lucy Neatby Workshop

Sea Lettuce Scarf by Lucy Neatby

Knitted Samples by Lucy Neatby
 Amazing! I never understood Lucy Neatby's knitting before, but after taking her workshop I am just blown away. Her work is fabulous, and truly genius. I took a class to make a Venus Rising cardigan. The construction was so different, and produced a lovely sweater with many, many possibilities for variety and fit. She has a fearless sense of color, and combines them beautifully. The samples she brought to the workshop were so gorgeous, photographs do not do them justice.


Lucy Neatby workshop. She is wearing a Venus Rising Cardigan.

Lucy Neatby workshop. She is wearing a Venus Rising Cardigan.

Construction explained. Got it? Good. Try it!
Explaining some technique via one of her DVDs.

Lucy's Cat's Pajamas yarn, did I mention cashmere?

I first saw Lucy in person at Sock Summit, she was hard to miss with her pink hair! She was so sweet, and patient, and after her ordeal at UK Knit Camp in Scotland, beyond generous.
If you ever have the chance to take a class with Lucy, I cannot recommend it enough. You will learn so much, and even though her videos and books are quite comprehensive, nothing compares with having her right there in front of you.
Thanks Lucy!
 
 

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone has had a great Thanksgiving, and plenty of turkey and pumpkin pie.

I am very fortunate that I have so much to be thankful for, and when things are not going so smoothly I will try to remember them.

In the meantime, am I the only one who is a having a $#%@# time getting photos and text properly aligned in my posts? Yeesh. It's faster now, but .....

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Ribs

 Of alpaca are quite nice in the winter. Misti Alpaca Chunky makes a great quick and simple hat.
Perfect for something simple to knit.
The hats are so soft and warm, expect to see a few more around here due to all the requests.




This scarf has been a long time WIP. 
No, it is not finished yet. 
It's nice to knit, Ultra Alpaca, so I can't complain too much.
Even for a scarf.


Monday, November 15, 2010

Buttons for the Snapdragons

Buttons on.
Snapdragon mitts finished!
Ends woven in, everything finished.
 
Snapdragon Flip Top Mitts by Ysolda Teague
 
Berroco Vintage yarn wool/acrylic 


I had a tough time choosing buttons for these mitts. I wanted a shank type button just because I thought it might be easier to button. Yes, one mitt is longer than the other. I swore I kept count, but if you know how I knit you know that that is not entirely true. I have a bit of a seam where I picked up the flip top, because I pulled a bit too tightly. The pattern was very nice, but the knitter could have been more careful.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

The Aftermath

C2, D., and C1(VERY reluctantly) and I tried archery yesterday.
It was fun, and I really enjoyed it, even though I couldn't aim to save my life.

We went to Archery Bow Range Chicago, which was a great place.
The people were very nice and the facility was really cool.
...but OUCH!


Monday, November 8, 2010

Quick Green Mitts



Crystal Palace Kaya, Funky Chunky Mitts by Lindsey Williard
I needed a quick knit for a gift to someone at C#1's school who has been very helpful and supportive. I knit these quickly, since I didn't make a thumb, but then I realized the buttonhole thumb opening needed some reinforcing. So they sat. They're still here. I have to photograph an accompanying pair of mittens that will go to another wonderful person. Those are complete, but in need of photos.

Construction is over for now. I have a bed, new windows, a nicely painted room and now 2 clean and reorganized rooms. Yay! The dust is awful, but both of the C's helped out by dusting.