Noro's Modular Afghan

The Fall WEBS catalogue arrived in the mail a few days ago and there were some  nice projects to put on my Wish List.

                                                                              

It seems to me that the quality of the patterns has really improved over the years in this catalogue, and I think the Modular Afghan by Anna-Beth Meyer-Graham is absolutely amazing.  The yarn is Noro's Taiyo and I have already put in a order for it in this colorway:

Here's a closer look:

                                                                          

When it's done, I may have a hard time deciding whether to drape it on my couch or hang it on the wall.    Will post pictures as I go along. The pattern is in the new Noro book Knit Noro:

                                                                            

                                                                              

I've been working on a poncho for my grandaughter and it's almost done.  I used a thick and thin yarn from my stash called Melody by Austermann:

Here are a few pictures:

                                                                                                                          

Putting the fringe on:

                                                                            

      
I'm going to add some decorative buttons; not sure which ones.  I think Maeve would like the cupcakes:

                                                                                

                                                                              

                                                                            

  
Enjoy the day!

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It Must Be the Mountain Air

Nice interview with Diane Soucy in the latest edition of Patternfish.  Diane is the owner of
 Knitting Pure and Simple and lives in the Lake Tahoe area which is known for having more than it's fair share of Olympic medal winners in skiing and is also home to some talented people in the knitting world.  There is a great little variety store in the Historic District of Truckee and once upon a time Diane was it's manager.  An avid knitter, she started bringing in some interesting yarn and then, in answer to a need, starting designing patterns that would be easy for knitters to follow,  thus lowering the frustration level and increasing the enjoyment of  spending a lovely weekend in the mountains knitting by the fire.

In the Patternfish interview, Diane said that the Top Down Swing Pullover was her most popular women's pattern.  Here it is modeled by Kelly from Lake Tahoe Yarn Company:

                                                                

                                                                    

 It's made with Royal Lama Silk from Plymouth in  size 9 needles  to give it a softer drape.  Speaking of Kelly,  I couldn't resist this picture of her at Harvey Sheep Ranch, just north of Truckee:

                                                                            

Have a sports team that you passionately follow and want to knit a scarf or socks in their colors?  Contact Kelly and she will hand dye yarn in your favorite colors so you can knit along while cheering on your team.  Here is a skein dyed for a SF Giants Fan:

  

Here's one of Kelly's designs called Petal Soft Hooded Cowl:

                                                                                    

Another talented knitter from our neck of the woods is Elizabeth Doherty.  Elizabeth is a graphic arts designer who is now designing her own knitwear patterns and you may have seen her Litchfield hat in
Twist Collective, Fall 2011:

                          

I also like her sock pattern called Plowshares made with madeline tosh sock yarn:

Laura Zander, the owner of Jimmy Beans Wool, started out in Truckee in a tiny shop in the train station:

                                                                                    
At the time, she barely knew how to knit, but with help and encouragement from Lorna (of Lorna's Laces) and Diane Soucy, along with her own tech and marketing skills,  she and her husband have turned Jimmy Beans into one of the fastest growing small retail businesses in the country, according to
Inc. Magazine.  Jimmy Beans has since moved on to a much bigger spot in Reno but her web site makes it easy (too easy!) to keep in touch.

Lots of talented people up here in the mountains!


Can't resist including this photo from a walk in the woods - enjoying these last warm days of summer!

                                                                              

                                                                        


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

A Finished Sweater

Finished my Araucania sweater from Design Book Three and these days, a finished project is really an accomplishment.  Summer flew by and I got very little knitting done; lots of friends and family visiting which was lots of fun:

                                                                        

Here's my sweater done in Araucania Azapa:

Azapa is 30% alpaca, 45% merino 15% silk and 10% donegal and is hand dyed in Chile.  I love this yarn; so soft  and I love the hand dyed colors.  Unfortunately, they have discontinued making Azapa!

                                                              


Came across a nice web site for baby and children's sweaters.  It's called Roo Designs and I love her choice of designs; they are all so cute and the sweaters are colorful and easy to knit ensuring that you will have it finished before the child grows out of it!  Here are a few of her designs:

                                                                                    

                                                                                

And here's a picture of the little guy I would like to knit one for:

Have a nice day!

                                                                              

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

And Now For Something Completely Different

There's some pretty unusual knitting going on out there; take a look at what I came across during some web browsing while I killed time at the DMV,  getting an oil change and at various other times while I was in a Dead Zone,  cell phone wise and otherwise.

This is Scarfish,  the dead fish, by Thelma Egberts.   Can't picture the reaction from my grandson Rowan;  it would probably be, Cool!!  The look on his mother's face would be something different!

                                                                                      


Perhaps this would be handy if the heat goes off this winter at your place or if you happen to live in an area where the phrase "wind chill factor" gets used alot:

                                                                              

My friend Cris sent this off to her friends.  Evidently there is real potential for security knitting in the high tech world:

                                                                                

Here's Bokaclava by Anne- Marie Dunbar:
  

                                                                                        
                                                                                                      

Ol' Squid Face by Anne- Marie Dunbar:

  

A roll of toilet paper:                                                                              

                                                                                    

A killer rabbit run amok by Knitting Magic Girl:
                                                                                  

                                                                                

   Biology 101 by Emily Stoneking:

                                                                                

                                                                                

  
Have a great Labor Day Weekend!