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Little Copernicus is Done

Posted on by Joyce Makes Art

I just finished knitting the Little Copernicus sweater, and I'm so excited that I can't wait for daylight and the chance to take good pictures to share it with you.  I need to show it to you now.  Right this minute.  It is so tiny and cute!

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Here it is, all done, and in need of a good blocking.  I'm hoping it's small enough to dry overnight, because I can't wait to sew on the tiny mother of pearl buttons I purchased for it.

The yarn is Elliebelly Pixie Merino, dyed in a Paintbrush colorway.  Here is a close up shot, so you can get a better idea of how the yarn works in this pattern and how nicely the picked up rib edging contrast with the stockinette body.

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Never. Going. To. Stop.

Posted on by Joyce Makes Art

I just keep knitting and knitting and knitting and knitting.  But it's like a black hole.  It doesn't seem to grow, even as skein after skein gets sucked it.  Although it is now long enough to cover a small-sized person, it doesn't seem like it will ever be a real afghan.  I suspect there is some metaphysical law of knitterly progress that I am not getting.

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Knitting with Silk Hankies. Who Wants to Try It?

Posted on by Joyce Makes Art

Silk hankies anyone?

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I've had so many conversations with people about knitting with silk hankies since my original post on the topic, which piggy-backed on Stephanie McPhee's project, that I decided to share some of my hand-dyed hankies with a lucky reader.  Post in the comments below (make sure I have an email address so I can contact you if you win) and I'll pick a winner next Friday night. 

To get everyone started, here's a YouTube video that's very helpful.  It has very cute cats as an added plus.

 

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The Knitted Rug

Posted on by Joyce Makes Art

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Kimberly R has finished the rug she made for me, and was nice enough to provide pictures in advance of its arrival.  It looks beautiful.  I'm planning on using it as the perfect splash of color in our playroom, although it has occurred to me that it's so beautiful that I may be forced to redo our bedroom around it.

I sent Kimberly a big box full of Elliebelly yarn, dyed on a bulky superwash Merino base.  In case you missed that post and want to see the yarn, it's located here.  The idea was to put all those different colorways to use — I'm planning on using the leftovers to do scrappy sweaters for Ollie (and Ellie if the leftovers holdout).

This rug has to be one of the most innovative patterns I've ever seen.  Thanks Kim!

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Hermione Loves Ron

Posted on by Joyce Makes Art

This might be the cleverest pattern ever for a knit hat.  It's a simple ribbed watch cap, but the knit rows are cabled and the purl rows contain a simple lace pattern.

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The pattern is available as a free download on Ravelry and its called Hermione loves Ron because it was inspired by the hat Hermione wore in the Half Blood Prince movie in the Harry Potter series.

The yarn I'm using is Classic Elite's Princess, a blend of 40% Wool, 28% Rayon, 15% Nylon, 10% Cashmere and 7% Angora.  I was intrigued by that blend when I saw the yarn on sale at my LYS.  It has been really nice to knit with, although it is not as soft as I would have expected with the Cashmere and Angora content.  I'll be interested to see how it feels after it washes up.

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I've completed three of the four and one-half repeats the pattern calls for before going to decreases.  Although this is meant for my oldest child, it looks like he is going to have to fight off his younger sister to get it, and really, it is a bit more of a "girl pattern" than I anticipated when I began it.  I'm starting to think about a more teenage boy friendly version that omits the lace pattern on the purl portion of the rib.

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