No idle hands here!

A friend of mine gave me a ball of Newton Farm’s chenille yarn for Christmas. It’s soft and beautiful! I’ve never actually worked with chenille before, and this particular yarn is a fine weight—DK most likely. I tried swatching it in a variety of ways, but I think the beauty in this yarn is the color combination—handpainted, as well as the texture and shimmery-ness of it. I felt like it was best to keep it simple, and since I have 350 yards of it, I can make a simple, yet lovely shawl, using size US3 needles.

Using such small needles for such a big project prompted me to look for some yarn that I bought, probably 3 years ago—with the intention to make German stockings. I haven’t yet reached the point where I’m really ready to tackle socks in earnest. But this yarn—Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine—is beautiful. It really does fit the bill for sock yarn, given its 30% nylon content. The rest is alpaca and virgin wool. I think it will make a beautiful lace stole. I have about 860 yards of it, which is plenty. If memory serves me correctly, this will be my first bona fide lace project because I’m using such fine yarn (as if that’s the requirement for making lace—bah!) fingering weight. I’ve never used this weight before, and it is tiny!

I quickly finished a short-sleeved sweater for Faith, called Eiblin Mor. Thank God she loves it. I guess in the future I just have to remember to check in before I start garments for her. How dare she have her own opinions! I decided to use Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky yarn because 1) she wanted it in black—Sorry. I’m not spending a ton of money for black yarn. 2) She’s an 11-year old…the garment might go through some wear and tear. We agreed on charcoal grey, and I have to say that it’s surprisingly pretty! It knit up quickly and it was a pleasure. The price was nice too.

Finally, I finished my shawl cardigan from Vogue. I think the combination of mohair and alpaca yarns is a winner. The only thing I wish I’d done is use a tighter weave for the Frontier Fiber alpaca/merino (the trim part of the sweater), because it’s a little stretchy. I’m hoping that it will keep its shape over time. I have 400 yards left of this so I need to use it wisely.



Lastly, in a much earlier posting, I started a toddler boy sweater in green wool called “Action.” I had to rip it out because quite frankly, I couldn’t stand knitting it. The design was made out of a combination of knits and purls and although it’s beautiful, it’s a pain in the ass to knit. So now I’m making a simple raglan sweater for my son. Knitpicks Swish worsted in “lawn” will be the body, Cascade 220 Heathers in blue will be the trim and sleeves. I think it will be pretty cool. Mitch says it reminds him of a Dr. Seuss character. Oh well…Ethan sort of acts like a Dr. Seuss character pretty much all of the time so it’s appropriate.