What's on my needles (week 78)

It occurred to me that we have just four months left till Christmas and Hanukkah!!!  

Soooo, I finished two quick projects:

..one is the Block Island Gansey Hat which took less than a week:

Click here for my project notes

This is the link to the kit (yarn, pattern, project bag and part of the proceeds go to SCI):
http://www.northlightfibers.com/seamens-church-institute-sci-block-island-gansey-hat-kit-designed-by-deborah-newton
North Light Fibers will be at the S&W Festival and might also come to The Knitting Garage (we are working on that, so stay tuned!)

..the other one is a cowl in the same colors as the earrings I had made the week before (as they were well received).  The cowl is knitted up in the Madeline Tosh A.S.A.P. and took ONE DAY!!!

Click here for my project notes

The pattern by Antonia Shankland is aptly named "Speed Demon Cowl".  Here is the link to the pattern which you can purchase on line for 6.00 USD  (you have to be logged into ravelry):  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/speed-demon-cowl 
You can also buy the pdf at The Knitting Garage if you don't want to buy it directly from ravelry.  That way you can pick out the yarn at the same time.  I just found out that you can print (in color!) at the UPS store on Rte 9.
I made this one with just two skeins and think it is plenty big enough.  With so many pretty colors you will have a hard time choosing which color combination to work with.

What's on my needles (week 77)

Last week I was using quite a different type of needle:  A Beading Needle!

I made two pairs of earrings for gifts.  This is still a bit faster than knitting a gift :)
I made this pair for my son's girlfriend; partially to see if she likes the color combination.  Next on my list for her is to make a cowl in Madeline Tosh ASAP in those two colors :)

These came out quite nicely

one half done, working on the second half

Another pair for my colleague :)

It was fun to get the right beads aligned...

...and to be working with Swarovski Crystals (the yellow and orange)

Julie liked them so much that she put them on right away

 But I also used my knitting needles

I finished the "Yes Checks" hat for The Knitting Garage.  Already three customers started on their own "Yes Checks" hats.  This is a quick and hip knit; a free pattern designed by Stephen West specifically written for the beautiful Hedgehog Yarn from Ireland.  Click here for the free pattern on ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/yes-checks

My Pattern notes

 It is such a quick knit that one of our customers already finished hers!!

So pretty in the color "Budgie"...

..in 8 x8 checks :)

At Home I finished the sleeves for my Featherweight Cardigan.  I am leaving the last step (Knitting the collar) until our road trip, because this will be an easy one to do.

Click here for my pattern notes

I cast on the Block Island Guernsey hat.  I had to enlarge the chart, but now it is going to be quick to the finish.

Click here for my pattern notes

   

What's on my needles (week 76)

Yippee!

I am so thrilled to see one of my patterns knitted up and finished by one of our customers!!!
Eileen knitted up my pattern "Knot Your Average Shrug" (click on the link to get to the pattern page).  She used about 2 1/3 skeins of Lana Grossa Aria which is a 100% cotton Dk weight yarn and comes in many pretty colors. It is a "tape" yarn and has a nice weight giving the finished project a good drape. You can buy the yarn at the Knitting Garage in Rhinebeck!  Eileen used a US# 10.5 needle to create a loose fabric.  She cast on 50 stitches and choose to knit in a simple ribbing (k1, p1) rather than the more intricate pattern which would not have shown up well in this yarn.  She loves her finished shrug and I am so happy to share pictures with you. I have sold the pattern to several knitters, but this is the first finished shrug I see.  I am happy she took me up on the challenge to knit this in a different yarn; it looks sooo pretty!!  See for yourselves:

Eileen seamed the two ends together in the back.  You can also join them in kitchener stitch

This yarn comes in many beautiful colors!

My other bit of exciting news this week:

When I received the "Cast on" magazine in the mail this Monday I noticed an article about "North Light Fibers" on Block Island.  I was there just a few weeks ago!!! Check out my post from two weeks ago:  What's on my needles (week 74)

That's me in front of North Light Fibers

My husband very proudly said: "See, I take you to places which are "in" before they are even "in"!"

I hope you all have a wonderful week of summer knitting fun and everything connected to it!

What is on my needles? (week 75)

This is the yarn which is presently on my needles.  It is yarn from Ireland; hand-dyed and incredibly SOFT! 
I wish you could feel it !  Would that work through a 3-D printer?

The yarn is newly available at The Knitting Garage at AL Stickle and has been moving off the shelves pretty well.  No wonder, who can resist with color names like "Monarch", Teacup" (just one skein left), "Budgie", "Villain", "Pod", "Aroma", "Hunter", "Raven", "Pheasant" and "Cinder"?!  It feels a bit like magic knitting with these. 

The yarn is a DK weight 100% machine washable merino wool and if you go to the Hedgehog Fibres website, you can choose from several FREE patterns: http://shop.hedgehogfibres.com/category/patterns.  I found an additional free pattern written for this yarn by Stephen West :  "Yes Checks" and decided to knit up the hat in a 16 x16 check for the shop. 
The yarn feels soft in my hands and has a wonderful stitch definition.
The pattern is fun.  The hat will be tall enough to double over the ears for extra warmth.

Yummm!