bestitched

knitting and other things in Ireland

I thought I would share a few shots from the trip. We had an extremely lovely time in Ireland. We saw lots of old things (which I love) and were also fortunate to meet up with friends since I was there for a conference. The Ls had a great time.Here's the littlest one riding a stone lion at the hotel.

But the trip was not without its ironies. It was confirmed that the universal parking gods hate me. They hate me good.

It rained a lot, we ate fish + chips with friends

and saw the sites (newgrange)

nightfall over Dublin

And I finished yet another baby sweater.

And when I got home to the States, there was another birth announcement waiting for me in the mail.

I can't dance, but I can knit a hat

I used Malabrigo Cotton in Lima to knit Insaknitty's So You Think You Can hat (ravelry link).

I lurves my new hat.

progress

Here's the latest iteration of the the quilt. I bought a new machine last night (Janome Sewist 521) and got back to work. Wow, what a difference a new machine makes! That last one was a real hunk of shit.

I started a new hat out of Malabrigo Cotton (colorway Lima). This stuff is gorgeous! Finally, some Malabrigo for the non-wool knitter.

And the first leg of a pair of knit board shorts for LL. I know my girl can rock the board shorts.

Two down, four bazillion to go

How I wish I could knit a cowl right now (cause you know, it's the perfect weather for a cowl). But no, happily, it's the perfect season for new babies. So I'm making baby sweaters. Lots of baby sweaters.

I sewed the buttons on the offset wraplan. I love this sweater.

Pattern: Offset wraplan by Fyberduck

Yarn: Handmaiden Flaxen in Dandelion

Buttons: Vintage mother of pearl

The next is a variation of the February Sweater

Pattern: February Sweater by Elizabeth Zimmerman. I followed Knitting School Dropout's lead and chose plain stockinette for the body rather than the lace pattern. She is brilliant.

Yarn: Hemp for Knitting Hemp Lux in Pomegranate

Keep an eye out for more baby handknits coming soon.

 

taking a break from the baby sweater

To make a luscious cowl.
















Yarn: Handmaiden Swiss Mountain Cotton Silk in Topaz
Pattern: Nova's Birthday Cowl
Mods: My gauge was 6 st =1" using US 6 needles. I cast on 121 stitches.

The pattern was simple and easily memorized. The resulting cowl is gorgeous and the yarn is heavenly.

Thanks Nova for a great pattern!

A hemp baby sweater?

Clearly I'm insane. My fingers HURT.

Another baby sweater

I'm still thinking about buttons...I dunno, maybe something more colorful?

The yarn I used is Handmaiden Flaxen which is composed of silk + linen. It is absolutely gorgeous. Absolutely friggin gorgeous. Texture, color, resulting fabric are astonishing. I must make an adult-sized garment for myself out of this yarn.

Glove me

I finished the gloves about a week ago. I love them.  It's a great combo of yarn (Handmaiden Sea Silk) and pattern (Rusalka Gloves by Robin Melanson).

It's hard to take pictures of your own hands.

I think my favorite part is the little twisty tie. Must make more twisty ties!

Rusalka gloves

There are so many patterns I love from Knitting New Mittens + Gloves, but my first project had to be the Rusalka gloves knit from Handmaiden Sea Silk (although running at a close second were the motorcycle gloves).

The pattern is wonderfully written, with clear instructions for the fiddly bits. I'm leaving the beads off these since I don't really care for sewn-own beads (I'd rather knit them in). The gloves are a quick knit and a nice break from all the baby knits that seem to be queuing up. 

A February sweater in April

Pattern: February sweater from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter's Almanac

Yarn: Nashua Ecologie Cotton in 077

Buttons: Mismatched vintage from the stash

Oh, and if you haven't already, spend $10 lousy bucks for crap's sake!