Shopping with Abigail

I am reluctant to post, yet again, another cute pic of Abigail, the shop cat/queen. She is just a cat, but one with a big personality (way too big for me many days). While I was away for almost three weeks, which was an apparent hardship on her (her main audience not able to admire her antics), she hung out in the shop as usual. One day, customer Bev set down her basket and Abigail climbed in, allowing herself to be carried around the shop, photographed, and admired. I know she was in her element, loving every moment!

Hats!!!

This is only vaguely about hats, but Susan's lovely spring hat made me feel like I should chime in.

Wednesday one of my favorite packages arrived--new yarn! This was yarn I had asked Claudia of Claudia's Handpaints to send me for a design we will be releasing in June. This will be one piece of a non-conventional sweater set--the camisole is done in Jade Sapphire 2-ply cashmere. Although I think the cashmere is about the best stuff there is to knit with, I love Claudia's yarn just as much. I'm taking both with me to a desert island.

The original sample was made for me--and I don't want to share my sample with the shop--so we're trying another color (it is sooooooooo hard to choose and my favorite is typically whatever I'm looking at) combination. The original color (Earth Dot) from Claudia's was chosen over the phone to go with an evening skirt I have. Not a completely logical match when it arrived, but I reminded myself that I always say (I hate that!) that it is often the best route with hand paints to choose something not quite a match to really make them pop. The cashmere I ordered without a color card was awfully yellow, but the resulting set--and my outfit--was smashing.

I was also waiting for another skein of Passion Flower fingering yarn because I had run out one sock short of a baby gift. I figured I would need to make two new socks with the new dye lot, but I didn't want to reknit the hat. This skein is very close. This is such a great baby gift--Lace Rib Hat and Sock--quick and portable. Unfortunately the baby arrived the day before the yarn so I need to finish this asap or the next thing I know the baby will be celebrating her first birthday. I got pictures yesterday and I swear she looked just like her dad when she was yawning! You can see what I was able to knit last night (what's on the needles)--and I didn't start until after 8 p.m. and was I in bed at 10:30 and I ate dinner too. The first sock doesn't look too dissimilar, but I'll withhold judgment until the second one is finished.

Spring is in the air!

All I can look at is pink and yellow and spring green yarn. I want yarn to match the crocuses in the garden (the two that the squirrels left me). The fire hydrant got a spring hat today.

I'm a bit stuck on knitting projects. I have a small bag cast on. It's turquoise and will be solid color entrelac with a knit lining (something bright!). I have some pink yarn on order to make Capped and another pink yarn swatching on needles that I think will be a cardigan.

I'm also working on a purse using free form knitting techniques. I saw a small handbag in a magazine that was patches of leather and I'm trying to create a similar look with knitting.

None of this excites me terribly, but I think I may still be a little jet lagged. The nice weather is distracting too as I want to be outside and it's too cool to just sit and knit out there!

Home from China

I arrived back in the US from China yesterday and home to Funkstown today. You can see my finished vacation project on the Lacy Cabled Scoop blog. I also got 1.5 socks done.

It was so fun to see women knitting in China, which enhanced a feeling of connection to people I did not know. Knitting is so cool that way.

The one non-sweater project I saw being created were these slippers. The women who created these were at a shopping area at the foot of the walk up the mountain to the "Ghost Shrine" on the Yangtze. I love the decorative increase!

On our last day in Shanghai, we were at a market and it seemed all the women were knitting, at least the ones who weren't chatting on their cell phones. All projects we see are from the bottom up circular sweaters knit on long dpns.

When we went downtown in Shanghai in the afternoon, Rose spotted yarn at the back of a shop. It was all wool and cashmere, mostly fine gauge. I bought this set of dpns as they were like the ones I saw the women using. Cost=$5, length=14". The 100 g ball of yarn, a nice wool, was $2.

Knitting in China

The other day we were in a small park in Xi'an and saw a woman knitting. Not the first we've seen, but we approached her and "talked". She was knitting with four VERY LONG dpns, which appeared to be homemade. She was making a sweater with recycled wool. The dpns were 0 or 1 size. Every knitter we have seen is knitting in this fashion - using dpns to do circular knitting.

Meanwhile, Mom, Rose and I knit when on the bus or boat during down time. Our fellow travelers must find this amusing/interesting as several have taken pictures of us!

Greetings from China

Today Rose and I climbed to the top of a very high hill--walking the Great Wall outside Beijing. Awesome and profound. I have never imagined myself being there, much less walking on the wall. It's very beautiful, one of those "see forever" vistas. 1075 steps up, then back down.

Yesterday we visited the Forbidden City, Tianamen Square, and the Summer Palace in Beijing. Tomorrow we are up early and take a plane to Xi'an where we will see the Terra Cotta Warriors, have a "Dumpling Dinner" and go to some kind of cultural show. A long day.

There are a couple of other knitters in our small group of 25. That doesn't include Mom (she's working on Lacy Cabled Scoop) , Rose, and me. We spend some time on the bus going from one place to another, so the knitting is perfect to pass the time.

Cable Hat "Bebe"

I knit the Cable Hat pattern using Fixation with the number of stitches used for the worsted weight in the pattern. The Fixation showed off the stitches fabulously and I was thrilled when I had a 4 month old model enter the shop. The hat looks much better on a child than on a ball of yarn!

Wine and knitting go together

With the Y2Knit shop, I have the benefit of being able to see all kinds of cool projects that customers are working on and finish. For 2007, I'm creating a gallery of finished projects to inspire us all. Check out the wine bottle bag knit, embroidered and felted by Hope Light.

Hope came upon the grapes by accident. She was rolling bits of mohair in her hand and realized she was creating grapes! This sits on the side table in her dining room. Don't you think everyone should have one?

A bottle of wine delivered with this bag would certainly elevate the hostess gift to new levels.