Lucy Sweetland – Ink, Yarn & Beer

Project Inventory

Today is nearing the end of the spring break. The weather has been wonderful, with a day of rain to clear the air, and sunny days with wind and fair skies. The trees are budding into leaf, the birds are making love songs, and the squirrels, well, are going nuts.

And in the middle of all this, I have managed to get a grip on things, meet up with people for lunch, read a bit, knit, and think about (but not do) some gardening. I have a fig tree and plum tree which need attention, a vine to move, and so on. And a lot of knitting projects. When I have time to play, I like to begin things. But do they get done?

Owls

All I need to do is sew on the buttons – but I made a mistake in the darts so, rip it or not? This is a pattern by Kate Davies at Needled.

Buttoned Cardigan

Only a few inches left on the sleeve and I am done. What’s taking me so long? This is a cardigan by Eva Weichmann, owner of Eva’s Needlework in Thousand Oaks, CA, which I’ve mentioned before.

Top Down Beret from Hell

I’m beginning the decreasing toward the brim . . . not soon enough!

Hat in Design Mode

I found an issue here – bobble placement. Back to the drawing board.

Golden Autumn by Lucy Sweetland

Just a gorgeous hat, but I got sidetracked. Lucy is one of my favorite designers and photographers.

Gloves

One hand down, another to go.

Mittens in Design Mode

Out of my Cascade 220 stash.

The Relentless Scarf

So boring I can’t stand it.

Socks

Lots of socks. Too many. And this is not all the inventory, either.

Socks to be Ripped

The yarn is from Riihivilla in Finland, naturally dyed with cochineal and indigo. I’ve decided that the yarn is too pretty to hide on my feet, so now all this is sitting on my desk while I reconsider how to use the yarn to show it off.

Victorian Lace Shawl

Nearly done. It’s been sitting on a shelf for two years. I don’t know what is taking me so long, but I think it will get finished pretty soon. It is a beautiful yarn, perfect for the pattern, and the colors have a lovely iridescence.

What’s a girl to do?

Coline – by Lucy Sweetland

A few weeks ago I mentioned I’d won a free pattern.. Lucy Sweetland of A Black Pepper decided, very generously, to share a copy of her hat Coline with a few lucky people. I was one! And I just fell in love with this hat.

Altogether, I have made three Colines in the past few weeks. Two were out of worsted weight yarn, tweedy red and blue Wool Ease. These are destined for the wool-sensitive, gotta-throw-everything-into-the-washing-machine family members. The red Coline was a bright, cardinal red, and impossible to photograph. The blue one was not easy to photograph, either, but I am not especially good at photography! Nonetheless, these hats do show you the beauty of the detail and design which make Coline so lovely.

The third Coline I made out of some hand spun yarn I made years ago out of grey and cream Shetland, mohair, and mylar I carded together. The Wool Ease hats were easy to knit up, but the hand spun yarn was slick and kept sliding off the needles. I am keeping the hand spun hat for myself, though, as it really is my favorite.

If you are looking for a beanie or close-fitting hat, Coline is perfect. And if you want to see very nice photographs of Coline, be sure to head over to Lucy’s website – not only is she a great designer, she also is an amazing photographer. And now, Coline comes in other flavors – mitts and a neckwarmer as well.

Anemoon – Finished!

There is absolutely nothing to dislike about this hat! It looks great on, and knits up quickly enough. The pattern directions are clearly written, the charting is easy to follow. Lucy Sweetland is a talented knitter and designer – not to say a great photographer! Check her out her blog, A Black Pepper.

Needless to say, my photographic skills do not do justice to this hat. What do you expect from a digital point and shoot? Well…I may buy a new camera in the future, too, and then??

94 Days Until Christmas

The Buttoned Cardigan is at a point where I have to focus and pick up stitches for the sleeves. I like to do this when it is quiet, when there is good daylight, and I can listen to music that soothes the nerves. Calmness. Once I’m there, I will be able to work on the sleeves and watch a movie, but until that point comes, it is time to work on more mindless projects, or at least the sections which I deem mindless. And, with only a few days left for Christmas, I felt it was a good time to begin work on projects for family members.

The two projects I have going on right now are Anemoon, by Lucy Sweetland, and Ishbel, by Ysolda Teague.

Lucy Sweetland is a very talented designer and photographer, with an eye for clean design combined with beautiful touches. Anemoon is an example (see below). Her Emerald Mitts are also another example. Check out her blog, A Black Pepper. There is a link for her under the “blogroll” to right, as there is for Ysolda Teague of Scotland. Ysolda is another talented designer who creates everything from little mice and mushrooms to intricate sweaters.

Anemoon

A number of years ago I attended a conference at Asilomar in Northern California where I took a dyeing class with Nancy Finn of Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks. From this workshop, I have about 300 yards of single ply mohair-wool blend that is sort of a mottled purple. Knitted up, a stitch here and there stands out, bright against the rest of the stitches. It is this yarn that I am using for the Anemoon beret by Lucy Sweetland, author of “A Black Pepper” blog.

I think the word “anemoon” is Dutch, and means “anemone” in English. The anemone is a beautiful flower, elegantly simple.

This beret is like the flower – very elegant, simple, with a sophisticated design. Cables emerge from the body of the beret, not out of the ribbing as most cables do. A number of plain, purled rounds are done, and then the cables begin, like a stem, to emerge and twine, with bobbles like flowers to add interest.

Straight out, cables annoy me! I really don’t like the idea of doing an Aran sweater at all. In a beret or hat, cables don’t go on and on and on. Much more fun!

Anemoon is intriguing because the cables weave in and out, yet are held within four panels which repeat themselves. I’ve separated out the panels by containing them with different colored stitch markers setting up their boundaries, and a different one to mark the beginning of each round. For someone like me who doesn’t like doing a lot of cables, Anemoon is the perfect project. What you see here was accomplished, once the ribbing was done, in a few hours of a lazy afternoon. I’ve totally enjoyed the rhythm of the cables and watching them grow along with the hat.

This yarn makes me think of storm clouds as they fly across the sky. Colors shift and puddle, and then change in the blink of an eye.

Ishbel

I began Ishbel just a few days ago, and am in the process of doing the stockinette that leads into the lace. Pleasant, easy knitting – perfect for doing in front of the television. The color is a lovely turquoise merino-bamboo blend single-ply. I’ve got about 400 yards, so the small Ishbel may be the one I end up making. As a shawl, or neck scarf, the yarn will be very pleasant against the skin as it is not scratchy at all. I am making Ishbel for a family member who walks to work; she can wear it on those chilly mornings approaching so soon.

Who Gets Anemoon??

While I’ve got definite plans for Ishbel, I must admit, this Anemoon may end up on my head! I’ve got the ribbing of another started in a white tweed for another family member . . .

And for More Distraction . . .

Look what came in today’s mail! I’m in trouble now! I still have my Selbuvotter mittens to finish!