So J and I went to Chicago last weekend for a "grown-ups" only getaway- fun! We flew in on Saturday morning and stayed until Monday evening. We did a ton of walking, ate great food (deep dish pizza at Exchequer and more high-end fare at fabulous MK in the River North area), had a drink at the top of the John Hancock Building at night, went to the Art Institute, the Field Museum, and did one of the Chicago Architecture Foundation's architectural boat tours- highly recommended! Our hotel was in a great location, just a block off of Michigan Avenue directly West of Millenium Park. We got some great photos in front of Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate (aka "The Bean") sculpture. Check out this one with a girl in a very fancy Quiñceanera dress swirling behind me.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Knitting by "The Bean"
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Projects Started and Projects To Do
I just got my Webs catalog in the mail- always a fun thing to peruse. One pattern really caught my eye, the Grey Cables Jacket by Debbie Bliss (photo below). It's done with Debbie Bliss Rialto yarn and in a booklet called Ritalto Classics. Unfortunately, Webs is out of stock of the booklet, and when I went to my LYS they didn't have it either. I'll have to keep searching.
In the meantime, it's not like I really need a new project as I have several other things going, including the Tangled Yoke Cardigan and another version of the February Baby Sweater (a gift for my cousin and his wife's new baby, see photo above). I'm using some stash yarn- Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted, not the best for baby clothes since it needs to be handwashed, but the color is gorgeous.
I've also cast on for the Snicket socks with a lovely Araucania Ranco yarn in a slightly varigated green colorway. I'm excited about these.
Monday, August 04, 2008
My First EZ Knit
I have been really intrigued by Elizabeth Zimmermann and have looked at lots of her books and patterns, and projects people have made from her work, but haven't yet had the chance to make something. I just finished my first "EZ" project, the February Baby Sweater on Two Needles. This was a really fun pattern and I love the finished project. Like so many of her patterns, it's knit from the top down with no seaming. This one is a yoked cardigan with a lovely "gull" lace pattern. The lace pattern is super easy to memorize and goes along quite quickly.
I did find her instructions for the sleeves a bit confusing, but using Ravelry (wonderful Ravelry!) I came across Lilomy's revised sleeve instructions (much clearer and easier). For this project I used yarn in my stash (yea!) as well as buttons I had (another yea!). The pattern is a bit of a challenge, sizing-wise, as there are no specific sizes given. I just used the yarn I had and sort of guessed on needle size. This is a gift for my niece's 1st birthday. Hope it fits!
The Nitty Gritty Details
Pattern: February Baby Sweater by Elizabeth Zimmermann
Yarn: Rowan Cashcotton DK in Colorway Cashew (619)
Needles: US 6
Started: July 7, 2008
Finished: August 3, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
Nether Garment
I finally started Elizabeth Zimmermann's Baby Sweater on Two Needles which I had been wanting to cast on for quite a while. I started it in some acrylic yarn from my stash but just wasn't happy with the feel. I switched to some other stash yarn- a much nicer one, Rowan Cashcotton. I also used this for Baby M's sweater and I loved the finished project, really soft and a bit fuzzy. More on that (with a photo) shortly.
The pattern is from A Knitter's Almanac which has a project or a few projects for each month of the year. The baby sweater is from a chapter for February (thus is well-known moniker- the "February Baby Sweater"). Another chapter is on nether garments. Ha! I love the name but I am definitely not interested in knitting long johns. Here's the nether garment I knitted instead.
Details:
Lacy Thong by Laura Rinata from Spring 2007 Interweave Knits
Started July 10 and finished July 11
Yarn is Rowan Cashsoft
Knitted on size US 5 circular needle
