It's Spring, it's Spring!

I've been wearing sandals for two days now - and it's funny to look at the leftover snow in the front yards at the same time.

In the "business of yarn" we worked on Spring last Fall. When the designs finally come out it's so old news to me that I forget that it's brand-spanking new to you! Here's what I came up with, I hope you like.


This is a slightly A-line Cardi in one of our new Artful Yarns, called "Cliché".



A top in "Marine" - a slinky, variegated yarn. It's knit in the round up to the armholes, then split for front and back.



This is - next to the "Cliché" cardi in Artful Yarns - my favourite of the Reynolds designs: A tunic in "Soft Linen".



A raglan knit in a new yarn that's called "Rise and Shine" - it's a play on the fact that it's made of 50% cotton and 50% mercerized cotton, which definitely lends some shine to it. (I can't help it, but the lady doesn't look 100% thrilled to be wearing it....or is it just me?)



A tee in "Top Seed Cotton", which is mercerized and hard wearing. Meaning that it can be thrown in the wash lots and lots of times and it only gets softer. The neckline on this one was a real puzzler, it took me a while to figure it out to my satisfaction.

That was a surprise, eh?

Thank you for all your enthusiastic congratulations!

I'm not nauseous any more (or so I thought, after two blissful, wonderful, nausea free days, I felt a bit queasy this afternoon again), but I haven't got a baby bump yet. That is to say, I do, but it's well hidden. I can feel it, but you can't see it. My due date is in September, it seems a long while away but we know how time flies.

We have been waiting very long for this to happen, there was a time when I thought I'd never get to be a Mom. You can imagine how happy we are about this baby!

You have to excuse the lack of knitting content - also, whoever thinks that I am going to have time to knit a lot of baby things...well, how was that about the cobbler's children? I'll try, of course, and console myself with thinking how little knitting it actually is. At this moment, however, the most important thing is to get my office cleaned out and turned into a nursery. A nursery! I'm excited, and I'll try to spread the excitement with the content of some knitter friendly boxes.

Random things in my life

- The older I get, the less I'm interested in my birthday.
- I got a haircut I really, really like.
- I'm finally finished with marathon knitting. 1.18 p.m. today on the dot.
- I gained 5 pounds since the beg of March and don't mind.
- Feeling nauseous all day long sucks.
- At least I'm not all day long tired anymore.
- I think it'll be a girl (but there's a 50% chance that I'm wrong.)

Hello there!

I'm back from my trip to Outer Space. I yet have to get used to Earth's gravity, the whole zero gravity thing out there is fun but a bit hard on the muscles. I said "hello" to Major Tom, walked on the Moon, but somehow I was really glad when the space ship landed on familiar ground. There's one thing I am absolutely sure of now: Knitting in space is NOT faster than on Earth.

Some of my exploits (well, tidbits of it) you can see here:





There's more. That's for another day.

2008 - really?

Yup, it's really January 4th already. Happy 2008, everyone. (Better late...well, as usual.)

I have been knitting. Robyn picked up some of my knitting today. It's (or was?) available in her January sock kit - the pattern I mean. What this means in return is that I can't show you my knitting. I tell you, it's a vicious circle.

I bet a lot of you come by and want to see pictures. I'll do my best to deliver some soon. Keep your fingers crossed. Oh, and I've already had enough of snow this Winter. We had to shovel out the car again after the New Year's Day surprise, but at least today our side of the street got cleared.

Wait, there was something else I wanted to tell you. I got an e-mail today from Interweave Knits. My "Tweedy Vest" is No 7 of Knitting Daily’s Top 10 Most Downloaded Patterns of 2007. Who'da thunk?

Here's the whole scoop:

1. Modern Quilt Wrap — designed by Mags Kandis for Folk Style (Interweave Press, 2007) in Rowan Kidsilk Haze, this wrap/oversize scarf is very loosely based on the traditional Log Cabin quilt block and worked square by square in the easy and satisfying mitered-square method of color knitting. This is as effortless as working in stripes, but the results are far more impressive.

2. Knitting Needle Knitting Bag — designed by Pam Allen for Bag Style (Interweave Press, 2007) in Nashua Handknits Creative Focus Chunky, this quick-and-easy knitting bag was the most popular handbag on Knitting Daily in 2007.

3. Icelandic Lace Shawl — designed by Sigrídur Halldórsdóttir (adapted for publication by Carol Rasmussen Noble) in fingering-weight wool yarn, shown in 100 percent wool Jaggerspun Main Line 2/8.This previously out-of-print pattern originally published in the July/August 1996 issue of PieceWork magazine is called the Thórdís shawl. The original of this traditional Icelandic shawl is part of the Icelandic Craft Council’s collection of textiles. It is thought to have been knitted by Thórdís Egilsdóttir, a resident of a small fishing village on the west coast of Iceland.

4. Tomato — designed by Wendy Bernard for No Sheep for You (edited by Amy R. Singer, Interweave Press, 2007), this sweater is knitted in Blue Sky Organic Cotton but worked at a tighter gauge than the ball band suggests to improve the drape and wearability. It’s designed to be close fitting, with waist shaping and a flattering scoop neck.

5. Corset Pullover — designed by Robin Melanson in Filatura di Crosa Elena, this feminine top combines lace, stockinette stitch, and twisted ribbing. The bodice is shaped with short rows and fitted with cinch straps, just like the corsets that Robin’s grandmother wore. (Robin is doing another design for JCA for Fall 2008 - I am thrilled.)

6. Knitted Cuddlies — designed by Louisa Harding for Natural Knits for Babies and Moms (Interweave Press, 2006) in Green Mountain Spinnery Cotton Comfort (cat), Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton (rabbit), and Vreseis Fox Fibre Chenille (teddy bear), this exclusive KnittingDaily.com excerpt offers one of the easiest patterns ever written for a knitted toy animal.

7. Tweedy Vest — designed by Mona Schmidt in Tahki Donegal Tweed, this vest can be worn as a knit tank. The tweed yarn and ribbing give it even more character.

8. Connections Red Scarf — designed by Sandi Wiseheart in Filatura di Crosa Zara for the Orphan Foundation of America’s Red Scarf Project, there are two ways to make this scarf: with the cabled border ends (for the more adventurous) and without (for those wanting an easier pattern). Wiseheart designed the scarf with its intertwined stitches as a meditation on family, connectedness, and the many ways we can say “I care” to those around us.

9. Pine Cone Scarf — designed by Robin Melanson in Mountain Colors Mountain Goat. Melanson used the familiar Old Shale pattern for this fringed scarf, but worked just one pattern repeat with a double strand of dark, richly variegated yarn to produce a chunky effect.

10. Broken Cables Socks — designed by Ann Budd in Regia 4 Fadig, this is the only sock pattern to make Knitting Daily’s 2007 hot list. The ingenious cable design is one that knitters will want to create over and over again.

Not bad. Not bad at all.