I’ve been lucky enough to win a few give-aways over the past few years, but didn’t ever have the chance to photograph them…

So a belated “Thank You!” for these lovely prizes:

from Lizzy House who designs lovely whimsical fabrics and patterns

and Hawthorne Threads who have a great selection of lovely fabric and excellent service.

Bamboo shoots

Glass

Produce

Old finds

Buttons pop off

Ducks with ‘fros

Plus lots of knitting and re-knitting.

This is the Cria from Ysolda Teague’s Little Red in the City.  Everyone’s been going crazy over this book finally being released and I thought maaaaaaaaaaaaybe I could knit this out of 100 grams of alpaca fingering.  Right.

I tried liking this sweater as a bolero, but that just would not do!  So my shawl was ripped and now I love this sweater.

Many modifications were made, but I think that’s sort of in the spirit of the book which really intends to teach exactly how to make the perfect sweater for you.

I used a red contrast yarn left over from this project, just like when I knit a sweater for my grandma, and I really love the little touch of cute.

pattern: Cria . Ysolda Teague . Little Red in the City

yarn: Anthracite (?) . Alpaga . La Droguerie

This was my shawl…

But a sweater caught my heart.

Much as I tried to save the edging by cutting and just ripping the plain center portion, in the end one perfect knit trumps two awkwardly lopsided projects.

pattern: Cladonia . Kirsten Kapur . Through the Loops

yarn: Anthracite (?) . Alpaga . La Droguerie

The yarn I bought in Paris was to knit a Cladonia.  It’s a pattern that has been on fire around Ravelry recently and I just love the delicate lace.

The project was started on my flights home and I got all the way through the stockinette portions.  One of my flight attendants stopped to comment on the pattern, and he even asked whether the bind-off in the pattern was crochet or knitted – how cool.

The lace was knit over a few lazy days at home.

I added two buttons bought in Madrid at the cutest merceria, Almacen de Pontejos, where you really need to fight to be served.  There is also an i-cord loop to help it all stay around my shoulders.

pattern: Cladonia . Kirsten Kapur . Through the Loops

yarn: Anthracite (?) . Alpaga . La Droguerie

The shawl used up about half of the yarn, so a little over 100g.  It was so cozy and warm…  More on that tomorrow!

I had a wonderful trip to Paris a month ago (in my whirlwind of packing, moving, packing, moving etc. I’m painfully behind in blogging) and brought these home as a souvenir.  250 grams of alpaca fingering from La Droguerie.  The shop was delightful although not speaking French made ordering a bit difficult.  The attendant took my order and then went into the back to wind the yarn for about 10 minutes.  The yarn is so soft and lovely, and over the next few days I’ll show you what became of it.  I even got to knit some of it twice…

The 4 highlights of my trip in no particular order:

• Luxembourg Gardens
• Villa Savoye by Le Corbusier
• Les Brigands at the Comic Opera
• Fougasse at Maison Martin Boulangerie on the Ile Saint Louis

My last knit before moving house was this little cap to match the baby sweater for a friend.

pattern: Easy Peasy Newborn Sock Hat . Kelly McKiernan . Knitty Gritty Thoughts

+ Just a Leaf . Hinke . Suds and Soda

yarn:  Smaragd . BritSock . UmschlagWolle

I knit the hat exactly as the pattern was written, then doubled the i-cords and double-stranded the leaves to get them a bit plumper and sturdier.  Then I over-dyed just the leaves to make them pop!

Ready for new beginnings.

This has been accompanying me everywhere recently, including on a little trip to Paris…

There are definitely some strange moments when I completely messed up the pattern, but overall it was a great knit for keeping the hands busy and the mind free to wander.

pattern: Horai . Hiroko Fukatsu . Please Don’t Eat the Daisies

yarn: Bazaar (lace club colorway). Silk/Merino Lace . Hedgehog Fibres

Silk hankies have been popping up everywhere since the Yarn Harlot’s post about them earlier this year.  Another great resource on how to spin them is Amy Singer’s account of spinning silk hankies on Knitty, so I thought they’d be a great beginning spinning project.

Well, I finally got around to dying the silk caps (similar to hankies but a different shape) that I bought to learn spinning a while ago.  Super fun!  I read these two (1 . 2) tutorials a while ago, but just sort-of winged it.

I love them!

A friend is having a baby in a few months and of course I wanted to make her something.  When we last talked she didn’t know if it would be a boy or a girl, and anyway, who says baby knits have to be in blue, pink, cream, etc.

I love this pattern, it’s squishy and subtle with really interesting shaping. But there are so many ends to weave in! I’m also looking forward to a few more designs by Tora Frøseth including the Mind Reader.

The yarn was a whole skein leftover from my sweater and a new skein from umschlagWolle.  I love both, and also seeing the same yarn in different projects.  Luckily I have more of the green, plus a few more colorways to try.

pattern: Angle . Tora Frøseth . Tora Frøseth Design

yarn: Composition Book Grey. Merino/Bamboo . Madelinetosh

and Smaragd . BritSock . UmschlagWolle