pigeonroofknits

FOUR DAY SALE! 15% off

2012-01-06T13:12:00.000-08:00

Happy new year everyone! I need to move some product to bring in new stuff, so from today, friday, January 6th through Monday, January 9th, use coupon code happynewyear2012 at checkout to receive 15% everything in my shop!

Colour Combo Love

2011-12-30T02:22:00.001-08:00

Loving this colour combination in Cassiopeia lace singles. From left to right: "Bitter Orange"; "Honey"; "Tansy"

Holiday Sale Extended!

2011-12-19T04:24:00.000-08:00

Holiday Sale extended through Tuesday, December 20th! Use coupon code holiday11 to receive 12% off all purchases in the shop!

2011-12-11T21:23:00.000-08:00

Pigeonroof Holiday Sale!

through Sunday, December 18th, use coupon code holiday11 at checkout to receive 12% all purchases in the shop.

p.s. I will be out of town from the 20th through the 28th. The shop will remain open, but all purchases made during that time will ship upon my return.

a true black

2011-11-30T14:10:00.000-08:00

I'm very pleased with Soot, my newest colourway, and my successful attempt at getting a true black. I really like this colourway on the cassiopeia lace singles; the silk gives a lovely bit of shine.

10% off code!

2011-11-09T16:53:00.000-08:00

use coupon code novlace11 to receive 10% all purchases through November 12th!

Shades of Autumn

2011-10-22T21:31:00.000-07:00

showing up all over the shop.

Siren Two Lace autumn set

Autumn spinning fibre set

give yourself a bit of autumn in fibre...

more experiments

2011-10-20T23:20:00.000-07:00

more playing around with eco-printing, courtesy of the major influence of India Flint. If you haven't looked at her books, Eco Colour and Second Skin, don't wait, go now.

I'm enjoying this venture into the unknown...getting away from my usual routine of making product, product, product...while I love it, and it's necessary to pay my rent and bills, I'm finding myself needing to get back to just playing around with materials. I did go to art school, after all.

I still haven't really figured out how to take decent photos inside; all these fabric (silk) are far lighter and yet more nuanced than in these photos.

on a PRS related note, more tussah silk in the shop; I really like these two skeins, "TLS Celestial":

possibilities

2011-10-15T20:02:00.000-07:00

"I dwell in possibility"

margaret far, daytrip

siren two lace in silent mauve gracing my dressform in the afternoon light

making a basket with handspun yarn and cotton string

experimenting with the eco dye process on handmade felt and silk organza

hoping good things will come my way eventually if I can just move through this difficult time with patience and grace

adapting to change

2011-10-11T21:48:00.000-07:00

"At the start of a voyage, prudent sailors write in their log, "From A toward B", not "A to B." That's because they know all too well that conditions may change dramatically during the course of the voyage, so they have to be prepared to reconsider their goal. Survival may depend on their adaptability."

I found this quote on a blog somewhere, and I printed it out and taped it onto my computer. It seems to sum up where I've been the last few months and where I am now. Around the time I turned thirty, the universe seemed that it decided to throw everything it could at me....and to keep doing it. I feel like I'm in constantly changing conditions, and still uncertain about how to keep my direction. So I try to keep my head up, and to keep going, and to believe in my work, to believe inme, with all my flaws and good parts, and to believe that somewhere out there is a partner who will love and cherish me for who I am.

I've also been craving making things. Not just product, but things. So I'm trying to carve out a little bit of time every day to swatch and to experiment with some ideas that are floating around in my head. This swatch has been an idea in my head for months; it felt so good to finally get it realised.

the top is Brooks Farm Yarn Mas Acero, the middle is handspun rambouillet/angora singles and kidsilk haze, and the bottom is the handspun on its own. The whole thing is then felted. I'm excited about exploring this idea further, combining feltable handspun wool with superwash yarns.

it feels good.

a few new things in the shop

2011-10-10T17:54:00.003-07:00

I've just listed a few new things in the shop I'm excited about. First off, I've been making batts again; this one is called "Lunar" and is composed of silk, merino, and firestar, all handdyed:

then, there's a couple of new yarns, in very limited quantities, that I'll be putting up as I dye them in Luminosity colourways: 60/40 merino/silk boucle, and rustic tussah silk singles.

tls blessed 60/40 merino/silk boucle

tls vitrine tussah silk singles.

my life today

2011-10-05T13:47:00.000-07:00

Oh look, sun! (drags fibre out to dry.)
damn. clouds. (drags fibre back in.)
Sun! (drags fibre back out.)
"Atticus, shut up!" (cat making annoying yowls for no reason)
dyeing, check email, hoping for email back from boy. no emails. damn.
shit, is it raining? (dash out, find a few drops of rain on fibre. drag fibre back in.)
oh, goody, email. damn. supplier has emailed about price increases in two months. great.
yes, sun! (drags fibre back out.)
clouds again. (drags fibre back in.)
think I'll sit and surf blogs for a bit while recovering.

Coastal Knits and coupon code

2011-10-03T22:29:00.000-07:00

When Alana Dakos contacted me about using my yarn in a design for the upcoming book, Coastal Knits, I was thrilled. Alana Dakos and Hannah Fettig are two of my favourite designers out there, and I knew that the book would be full of amazing patterns. I wasn't wrong. The sweater that Alana designed using my Cassiopeia DK yarn in the colourway "Juniper" is amazing.

She has very kindly given me permission to use the photos of her Gnarled Oak cardigan, so here are some beautiful photos of it:

Stunning, right? Just amazing. This book is available for pre-order right now, and, if you pre order it, it comes with two instantly downloadable patterns. I couldn't be happier how my yarn was used; the cardigan really brings out the unique (and hard to photograph!) colour of Juniper.

So, in hot anticipation of the book, which will be released mid-October, from now, Monday, October 3rd, through October 15th, use the coupon code coastalknits2011 to receive 10% all orders in my shop. I have Cassiopeia DK in stock right now, so if you'd like to order some yarn for this cardigan, do so now!

new colourway: Fetish

2011-09-23T20:04:00.001-07:00

New colourway! "Fetish" is a gorgeous deep, dark black red. Shown in Cassiopeia DK.

Weekend Sale!

2011-09-09T14:01:00.001-07:00

PRS weekend shop sale! Use coupon code weekend11 to receive 10% off all purchases from now, Friday sept. 9th through Sunday, sept. 11th.

silk/mohair

2011-09-01T18:49:00.001-07:00

I like these colours together.

grove

2011-08-16T01:47:00.001-07:00

new colourway, Grove, now available in the shop, shown here in Original Sock.

Discount code extended!

2011-08-06T19:34:00.000-07:00

just popping in to say that I've extended the sale through August 13th! Use coupon code happyaugust11 to receive 15% off all orders in the shop. :-)

happy shopping and happy august! I can't believe that in two weeks I'll be turning thirty. Gotta say, I'm quite looking forward to it. :-)

stripe study

2011-08-02T19:43:00.000-07:00

oh, dear, it's taken me months to photograph this. Anyways. Loads of people have already knit this, and loved it. I loved knitting it, and I love the finished knit even more. Even though this is easily the type of knit that you could lose steam during, for some reason I found it endlessly addictive. The combination of soothing garter stitch plus the striking asymmetry of the finished shawl kept me going without me even noticing. I used a couple of skeins of Cassiopeia fingering singles-- the green is Spanish Moss and the brown is Oak. This shawl will definitely be a staple in my wardrobe when the cold weather comes! it's so warm, yet so ridiculously light.

While in Portland, I stopped into Powells, the bookstore to rule all bookstores. I managed to restrain myself, and only picked up a couple of paper backs, and this lovely book. I'm a sucker for books on sketchbooks, and this one is particularly inspiring; it gives glimpses into the design processes of a variety of designers, from smaller ones to larger ones like Karl Lagerfeld. The thing that really convinced me to buy it, though, was the part on Margaret Howell, a designer that I'm slightly obsessed with.

This book makes me want to work in my sketchbook more. I still have all my sketchbooks from art school, and there's something really comforting about having all one's digressions, thoughts, and scraps of inspiration contained within the covers. I don't really have an inspiration board, so I'd like to work a little harder to coalesce things in my sketchbook.

back in town

2011-08-01T20:33:00.001-07:00

Yay, I went on vacation! Some friends of mine and I used Sock Summit as an excuse to go up to portland for a mini vacation, which I think all of us badly needed. I have to confess, though, that I am exhausted. Walking everywhere plus air conditioning going on and off made for exhaustion but no sleep. :-(

Portland is a cool town. I didn't get to explore nearly as much as I wanted to, mainly because I kept within walking distance. I have an absolutely terrible sense of direction and didn't trust myself to get on the train alone. So no yarn shops for me. I did, however go to the market place at Sock Summit. I didn't sell this year, so it was nice to just go as a viewer. And...I bought only one skein of yarn. I'll take a photo of it later.

One of the things I realised while I was there, though, was that the bloom has kind of gone off shows like that for me. There just isn't anything really that excites me at those kind of shows now. Not that the yarns that the sellers had wasn't beautiful-- its just that between my large commercial yarn stash and all the yarns that I dye, why would I buy anything? And, I also want to be careful to not be influenced, even unconsiously, by what other people are doing. If this was only a part time gig for me, I probably wouldn't feel so strongly like this, but since it is my full time job, I do. Do other dyers feel this way? I actually, weirdly enough, found it kind of stressful.

I did, however, purchase a few pattern books that I really wanted-- a couple of absolutely stunning Shibui pattern booklets and the new Rowan 50. I think that this Rowan pattern book is probably one of their strongest. Ever since Kim Hargreaves left Rowan, I haven't been that thrilled by their output, and I didn't even buy the Spring/Summer 2011 issue, a first for me since I started knitting. Now, however, I think that they're really getting back to their roots.

So classy, and absolutely on trend. Simple, elegant, warm.

Something that you'd definitely see in a shop and fall in love with. Shades of Stella McCartney and Lutz and Patmos. (well, M.Patmos, since the two are not designing together anymore.)

Knit this in a deep navy, and you'd look like you stepped right off the Celine runway. Definitely on my list. I may even have to purchase yarn for this one.

sweet, sexy, and chic all at the same time. Perfect for a winter party. One of the best uses of Kidsilk haze I've seen Rowan do in a while.

There's other rowan booklets coming out too, but I haven't decided yet which ones to buy. Congratulations, Rowan! An fabulous job. What do you think? I can see some people say, oh, boring, but I think--- Classic and Contemporary. So often recently Rowan seems to be offering very complex patterns that would either cost the earth to make or would be unwearable except in rare circumstances. Or, you'd have to be super skinny and tall to carry off the patterns with any sort of elegance. I think that quite a few of the patterns in this book are ones that would work for a variety of sizes and would become wardrobe staples.

cheers for now-- oh, and don't forget to use coupon code happyaugust11 at checkout to receive 15% all purchases in my etsy shop through August 6th!

Happy August 15% PRS sale!

2011-07-31T20:52:00.000-07:00

Happy August everyone! August is my favourite month, so, through Saturday, August 6th, use coupon code happyaugust11 at checkout to receive 15% all purchases in the shop!

just to say hi

2011-07-13T00:21:00.000-07:00

I'm so behind...I've got a few finished knits, but to be honest my knitting mojo has been flagging a little. Thus the radio silence around here. I've been dealing with some personal things going on, which have left me, after work, little energy to do much except play tetris, obsessively, on my iPad.

so i thought I'd just pop up a couple new colourways I just listed in the shop:

black eyed susan in high twist sock

circumvention in high twist sock

hopefully i'll be back soon with some actual knitted items...in the meantime, I thoroughly enjoy seeing what other people knit with my yarn. :-)

Pigeonroof News

2011-06-22T17:27:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! A couple bits of news and happenings, in no particular order:

Pigeonroof Studios is the sponsor of this month's podcast episode of Never Not Knitting. To hear the podcast, enter to win 5 skeins of PRS yarn, AND there is also a coupon code you can use to receive 10% all items in my shop through June 30th, go to http://nevernotknitting.blogspot.com.

PRS is also partnering with Ennea Collective for a KAL and SAL; the fibre, Violet Cachet, as well as yarn dyed in the same colourway (for those who neither spin nor wish to) is available in the shop. A beautiful shawl pattern will be in the July edition of the web magazine. If you haven't checked out Ennea Collective before, do so!

Pigeonroof Studios will be a vendor at Vogue Knitting Live in Los Angeles in September-- stay tuned for more information!

And, last but not least, some yarn info: a new yarn, 70/30 superfine kid mohair/silk will be showing up in the shop. This yarn is gorgeously soft, with a shimmering silk core. Cassiopeia DK is also FINALLY on its way, for those of you who have requested some skeins; if anyone else has a request for this yarn, please convo me!

Memorial Day weekend sale!

2011-05-26T19:31:00.000-07:00

Memorial day long weekend sale! Starting now, use coupon code 11memorial to receive 10% all purchases in the shop. This runs through midnight, monday, May 31st. enjoy!

new colourway love

2011-05-26T01:06:00.001-07:00

Nothing gets me into the mood to create new colourways than having lots of new and fabulous yarn around. :-) I think these three colourways are some of my favourites, shown on the new Cassiopeia singles.

Blackcurrant, shown in Cassiopeia laceweight singles

Mallow, shown in Cassiopeia fingering weight singles

Mallard, shown in Cassiopeia fingering weight singles

Cassiopeia Fingering weight singles...even more amazing.

2011-05-13T11:18:00.001-07:00

The same luxurious 75/15/10 superwash merino/cashmere/silk blend as the lace singles, but in a fingering weight singles yarn. The softness from the cashmere and the shine from the silk combine with the merino to make the most perfect yarn for shawls or sweaters. At $27/skein for 420 yards, it's an extraordinarily good deal. Now available in the shop.

indigo ink

electric violet

bronze age

Cassiopeia Lace singles. Just amazing.

2011-05-08T21:03:00.000-07:00

it's here....Cassiopeia in a laceweight singles. 800 yards of an amazing blend of 75/15/10 sw merino, cashmere, and silk. Takes dye like a dream. Feels like absolute heaven.

pale wisteria

electric violet

charcoal

Shop update Thursday, May 5th 7:00 p.m. PST

2011-05-03T23:01:00.000-07:00

er...just like the title says! shop update on Thursday, May 5th, at 7:00 p.m. PST. Lots of stuff-- Bacchus Aran, Luminosity siren two sock and spinning fibre in 50/50 merino/silk and more, plus possibly some more!

I'll be posting some preview photos tomorrow and thursday before the update in my Flickr site; I'll name the set Preview May 5th. My flickr name is pigeonroofknits.

cheers!

New yarn in town

2011-05-02T18:40:00.000-07:00

There's a new yarn in town...High Twist sock. This yarn is quite similar in feel and spin to Super Sock, but lacks the nylon. It takes dye like a dream, and is the perfect yarn for socks or even garments! I can envision absolutely gorgeous shawls and adorable baby items knit out of this yarn.

specs:
100% superwash merino
Fingering weight
400 yards/skein
$23/skein

Sarcen Variation

2011-04-21T18:14:00.001-07:00

as soon as I dyed up this yarn, I knew it wanted to be the Variance cowl. I liked the juxtaposition of garter stitch and stocking stitch, and it shows a slightly variegated yarn to its best advantage. I'm very happy with it; it's stylish and warm. I find that these infinity cowls work best with my style than the shorter cowls; I always feel a bit foolish in the short ones. These I think look better on me-- and they're certainly warmer. or so I think.

I've also been spinning up some natural wool; I've built up quite a big stash of it. I find spinning up natural wool rather restful sometimes after a long stretch of spinning coloured wool. I don't know what I'll knit with these skeins, but I have an idea of some sort of stripey or colourwork sweater down the line.

handspun shetland

handspun jacob

Cupid Handspun Mitts

2011-04-16T12:22:00.001-07:00

In keeping with the small projects theme, I knit these fingerless mitts from some of my handspun superwash merino in the colourway "Cupid". The pattern is a free one on ravelry, by Vera: it's the Easy Handspun Mitts pattern. Super fast and super cute, it's a great pattern, great fun to knit, and quite addicting; I can imagine making many more of these, both in handspun and non handspun yarn.

On another note, there's a new colourway in the shop:
Nosegay, shown below in Siren Two sport:

I like it. :-)

Hornblade

2011-04-13T17:54:00.001-07:00

TLS HORNBLADE sw merino/cashmere/nylon SIREN TWO sport, now available in the shop.

a couple of favourites

2011-04-08T11:51:00.000-07:00

I lovecreating Luminosity yarns. It's so freeing; it's the closest to painting I can come to without actually pulling out paints and brushes and canvas. I haven't done any painting in years, but creating the Luminosity yarns *almost* comes close.

I just put a couple up in my ; I like these so much I saved a skein from each colourway to knit up for myself.

tls sarcen, sw merino/cashmere/silk Cassiopeia DK

tls Chimera, sw merino/cashmere/silk Cassiopeia DK

Woodland Cocoon

2011-04-05T10:32:00.001-07:00

Lately I've been all about knitting small(ish) projects. A big part of this is the lovely weather we've been having; it's hard to feel like knitting wool when it's so gorgeous outside. When I saw the Cocoon Shawl and Cowl by Rose Beck, I instantly fell in love with the wonderful texture. I had two skeins of Bacchus Aran in Woodland hanging around, and it seemed to be the perfect fit. I've not blocked the cowl; I'm not sure if I will, since the puffy texture is so great.

Don't be afraid of the P5tog; it's not that hard. I knit (purled?) them by slipping 4 stitches on to the right needle, purling the fifth, then passing one at a time the four slipped stitches over the needle and the purled stitch.

State Street Cowl

2011-04-02T18:45:00.000-07:00

Just in time for lovely weather.... the State Street Cowlby Pam Allen, for Quince and Co:

The simple knit and purl pattern creates a lovely texture:

Mine turned out a bit wider than in the pattern photo, but it's still incredibly warm and quite stylish. I knit it in Rowan Big Wool, in an effort to manage my ever growing stash. (something that's hard to do when you're a yarn dyer and spinner.)

On a different note, there's quite a bit of Cassiopeia DK in my shop right now! This is the 70/20/10 superwash merino/cashmere/silk DK weight yarn that is absolutely dreamy to knit with-- the cashmere adds a wonderful softness and the silk gives just the right amount of lustre. Some of my favourite colours are listed:

Serpentine

Bitter Orange

JuniperThis colour is so impossible to photograph; Alana Dakos has done a much better job here.

and Sage Leaf.

I always have so much problems putting this yarn up for sale; I can think of endless garments and accessories I want in this yarn. Another thing I love about this yarn is that it has such good yardage-- 260 yards per skein, and for a DK weight yarn, that's great!

playing catch-up

2011-03-23T12:35:00.000-07:00

whoah. i didn't realise it had been so long since my last blog post! In that time, I've written a number of blog posts...in my head. (I do this sometimes in the car or when I can't sleep. This is normal, right?)

But there has been knitting. The first project has been done for ages now, but, sadly, I'm only just getting round to blogging it. It's my EZ cashmere sweater:

after the disaster of losing half a completed sweater somewhere between my house and my bf's house, I couldn't bring myself to start that sweater over again, even though I purchased more of the same yarn for it. In rummaging through my stash, though, I came across some lovely thick aran weight cashmere tweed from colourmart, and decided that knitting with cashmere was just what I needed to console myself. I also wanted something fairly simple to knit, because simple knitting fits more easily into my life. Elizabeth Zimmerman to the rescue....again! This time I tried her set-in sleeve variation-- which is absolute genius. Even though raglans are very simple, I'm not always convinced that they're so flattering on me, since I'm rather well endowed. Sometimes I think raglan shaping enhances that-- not the look I'm looking for. If you've never tried EZ's set-in sleeve variation, from Knitting Workshop, delay no longer-- it's incredibly simple, looks great-- and is knit entirely in the round. no seaming. Amazing.

The sweater is warm and cozy, but, just a wee bit too short. I keep thinking I"ll lengthen it...but I probably won't.

My next project was a shawl that had been on the needles for almost a year and a half, for no real reason. It's the Fenland shawl, knit out of RYC silk wool in an olivey drab colour. I had an odd amount of this yarn, purchased from a fellow raveler, and it ended up being the perfect amount-- I only had about a third of a ball left when this shawl was finished. It's a beautiful pattern, and knitting it in a dk weight yarn made a lovely, cosy size.

The third project is the Edith hat. I busted this one out in a week, I was so obsessed with the colourwork. I knit this in Pigeonroof Studios Super sport (there's still some in the shop), which turned out to be perfect for colourwork.

not perfect-- my tension is all wonky and it's a bit too large, but so much fun to knit. I can really get into the rhythm of colourwork, which ends up making the project hard to put down. It's always, "just one more row, just one more row..." and the next thing I know, it's one in the morning. The hem and the stranding makes this hat super warm.

phew. I"ve got a finished cowl to photograph, and more things on the way, but we've been having a spate of cold, rainy dreary days here lately, making photographing knit items not under the light box darn near impossible. cheers, everyone!

15% coupon code discount extended to Feb 9th!

2011-02-07T22:46:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone-- I've decided to extend the coupon code discount through Wednesday, February 9th!

15% coupon code

2011-02-05T17:48:00.001-08:00

from now, Saturday February 5th, through Monday, February 7th, take 15% all purchases in my shop by using coupon code fairsarae29.

yes, please, I'll take all of these

2011-01-23T16:51:00.000-08:00

I keep a big folder of knitting inspiration that I tear out of magazines; sometimes it's just colours for dyeing inspiration, but often times it's knitwear. the above page I took out of British Elle or Vogue, I'm not sure which. I'd like ALL of them in my wardrobe, especially that cute little cabled number second from the left on the top. They all seem to have a sort of tunic-y length, too, which is always an aesthetic that I like. Even the plain grey one appeals to me; it'd be really simple to knit, and if it was knit in luscious yarn, even better!

I'd love to try my hand at copying that cabled sweater.

on a sweater note; my sweater in progress that I lost has seemed to have disappeared into the ether. Along with the measuring tape and addi lace turbo in the bag. Damn. To console myself, I have cast on for a simple sweater in cashmere. That makes it all a little easier to bear.

There's also some new handspun in the shop, some with whopping great yardage!

The first one: Petalia, handspun sw merino, fingering/sport weight, 476 yards.

Guacamole, handspun from a batt I handcarded, with bfl, silk, and sparkle, sportweight, 272 yards:

Gooseberry Jam, handspun merino, sportweight, 440 yards:

and, last but not least, Cretonne, handspun BFL, sportweight, 152 yards:

Lost:

2011-01-16T23:20:00.001-08:00

Lost, somewhere between my house, my car, and my boyfriends house: one bag with a half finished sweater. Also lost because of this: knitting mojo to start another sweater. Snif. I was really enjoying the knit, too.

However, if you haven't lost your knitting mojo (and hopefully also not have lost a knitting project, half finished), I've put up some new yarn in the shop! The first is a new dk weight, a lovely blend of 58/42 superwash merino and silk, in a singles yarn. Shown here in bitter orange:

also, some fantastically luxurious silky merino worsted, in TLS colours, shown here in Fantasia (top) and Dead Water (bottom.)

Great Shipping Changes: Free U.S. Shipping!

2011-01-12T20:33:00.000-08:00

I've just changed my shipping prices for my shop, and it's for the better! From now on, all United States purchases will ship FREE; Canada and elsewhere will have flat rate shipping, meaning that the shipping costs stay the same no matter how many items you purchase.

FO: Quincy

2011-01-12T17:51:00.001-08:00

A horrible photograph of me, but at least it shows the hat. I've been wanting to knit Quincy by Jared Flood for quite some time. My first attempt ended up really wonky, but this second attempt worked better, although it ended up a bit small, so it's more of a beanie than a full on hat. I used the Fibre Company Terra yarn in Spruce, which was such a lovely yarn to knit with; knitting with it was an absolute pleasure. I'd actually bought these two skeins right after the booklet came out, intending to use them for this very project.

This picture shows the colour better:

I've joined the 11 in 2011 hats group on ravelry, so you'll be seeing a lot more hats from me. Habitat is next up on my list. I've also given myself the challenge of knitting 11 lace projects in 2011, to improve my poor lace knitting skills, as well as 11 sweaters. Seems like a lot, but it also seems doable. I'm also challenging myself to knit a fair amount of these projects from stash; I'm not on a yarn diet per se, but I just don't have much yarn money these days, I have a lot of yarn, and I could use the room it takes up!

I've been spinning, as well; these three are in the shop now:

Attic Flowers, fingering weight, superwash merino

Sandalwood, fingering weight, superwash merino

Waterflush, chain plied superwash merino. Self Striping!

A funny thing; I hadn't chain plied in quite some time, but I did it recently to ply some yarn for my granny square project, and to my suprise, it ended up so much better than my previous attempts! Even though I hadn't done it for ages, somehow the rest of my spinning must have improved and thus improved my chain plying. Mysterious, but satisfying.

granny squares

2011-01-07T17:45:00.000-08:00

a few weeks ago I got the bug to make granny squares; I used the basic directions from the purl bee. A bunch of squares later, I'm ...dare I say hooked? I've got quite a little pile going; not enough yet for a blanket, but it's on the horizon. I'm using chain plied handspun for the centres and cascade 220 superwash in white for the outer rows. They're so satisfying!

I've also been on a batt making binge, lately, in between sleeping a lot (I've got a rather pernicious and weary-making cold); these are the ones I just popped up in the shop today:

"Guacamole"

"allspice"

FO of 2010: Bergen Cowl

2011-01-05T17:40:00.000-08:00

Quite possibly my most favourite knit ever, this was my last FO of 2010, the Bergen Cowl by Carrie Bostick Hoge. I knit almost all of this in one day; I couldn't stop knitting it! I used two seconds of Siren Two sock, each colour held double, and it ended up being a warm, squishy fabric. Knitting this made me think I need to do some more stranded knitting, it was so much fun. I don't think I've ever been so addicted to knitting something before; I kept saying to myself, just one more row, just one more row...

Happy new Years everyone! A lovely message from a customer alerted me to the fact that my blog was down, and made me think I should resolve to blog more often. :-)

the ravelry project page is here.

in progress

2010-12-17T11:24:00.000-08:00

knit knit, purl purl. Delicious yarn makes it very satisfying!

15% coupon code for my shop!

2010-12-11T12:06:00.000-08:00

I'll be moving into a new studio space in January! I'm really excited about it-- it's MUCH bigger, about 1000 sq. feet, and is pretty bare bones-- exactly what I want, since I won't have to worry about getting dye on the floor and everywhere. :-)

To help fund the moving in costs, as well as equipment (I have to buy a stove, plus move a bunch of things), I'm offering 15% off everything in my shop from right now, 12 noon, through December 31st. To get the 15% off, use the coupon code newstudio2011 when checking out your purchases!

Handspun Twenty-Ten

2010-12-06T11:12:00.000-08:00

I love this sweater. Warm, cozy, unique. And knit with my handspun! I spun up a three ply bulky yarn a little bit ago from a bundle of CVM roving I purchased on Etsy about a year ago. It was pretty quick and dirty spinning, but I loved the natural colour. Even the bit of VM in the fibre didn't faze me. This yarn was made to be this cardigan!

A good addition to my winter wardrobe. :-)

project details here.

delicious greens

2010-12-03T19:37:00.001-08:00

It may be cold and the trees bare outside, but it's very green here in the studio! I've been making a bunch of Gradation spinning fibre palettes, in all sorts of colours, but these two may be my favourite so far-- in greens, of course!

mixed bfl

baby alpaca/superfine merino

and, a new colourway, shown here on super sock: Green Baize

all available in the shop!

Greenmaile and batts!

2010-11-18T12:41:00.001-08:00

Although this was an extremely quick knit, I procrastinated for ages on blocking it and photographing it. It's the Maile shawl by Carissa Chang. I knit the small version, which really was an error on my part, because although the finished item is absolutely lovely and I had a fantastic time knitting it, it's a bit too small for my tastes. Just to clarify-- this was not the designer's fault, but mine!

The yarn was Super sock I had dyed in a TLS colourway, and it worked perfectly with this pattern; I particularly love the leaf border. I'm partial to leaves. :-)

I also just added some new batts to the shop; I'm particularly pleased with these, Calomel and Cinnamon Spice, both containing superwash merino, cashmere, silk, and firestar for sparkle.

Calomel

Cinnamon Spice

lust.

2010-10-25T21:02:00.001-07:00

celine fall 2010, image from Style.com

I can't stop thinking about this vest. I've already stashed away some skeins of Bacchus in Inkpot to knit my own version of it.

starflower

2010-10-24T17:57:00.000-07:00

starflower, shown in bfl/silk

available here.

transformations

2010-10-19T19:43:00.000-07:00

I often come up with colourways while dyeing fibre. I'm not sure why, exactly, but it's while dyeing spinning fibre that I get the ideas of what combinations would work. This is especially true when dyeing the Luminosity Project fibres, because that gives me a chance to try out new colours next to each other and on top of each other that I may not have otherwise thought of. the question "what if" always drives me when devising new colours: What if I combine these colours? Or add these two colours to an already existing, but simple colourway? It's a lot of fun.

It's also fascinating to see how colours look so different on fibre than on yarn. Part of it is that the yarn gets reskeined, but it still feels like a bit of magic to me, seeing the fibre colourways come alive in a very different way.

two of my newest colourways, shown here in fibre:

morning star

dazzle

and now in yarn:

morning star in SUPER sock

dazzle in SUPER sock

I think it's pretty cool. I can fall in love with a colourway all over again when I see it in yarn. And, conversely, can see how some colourways, that while they work in fibre, actually don't work in yarn!

actual knitting content to come soon...I've actually finished a few things, but have been extra lazy in taking photos.

fully stocked

2010-10-18T12:36:00.001-07:00

There is a TON of fibre and yarn in my shop right now! I didn't really mean to do a big update, but it sort of ended up happening that way. :-)

Also up in the shop right now is Super Sock in Inkpot:

so if you're looking for the same yarn that Veera used to knit her Folded pullover in, you'd be good to go!

instant gratification

2010-10-10T12:02:00.001-07:00

sometimes you just need some instant gratification knitting. I'm in the middle of lots of projects, but nothing is really near completion, and I needed something finished! Plus I had a skein of handspun that was a little too uneven and yardage-poor to sell, but I loved the colour, so I knit up the fingerless mitts from melanie falick's Weekend Knitting, a pattern that I'd been planning to knit for ages. Result? Fun, very warm and easy fingerless mitts, completed in an evening! I see more of these in my future....

pure silk YUM

2010-10-09T18:51:00.001-07:00

Stella's Plum pure silk lace, 1000 yards/skein

Espresso pure silk lace, 1000 yards/skein

yum. that's all I have to say.

pure tussah silk lace back in stock!

2010-10-04T10:51:00.001-07:00

pure tussah silk lace in TLS sea leaf

Finally, there's some more of the pure tussah silk lace in the shop! I adore this yarn base, but it's not always easily available to get, so when I can, I snap it up. It's a singles yarn, but extremely strong, and creates a fabric that is shiny, drapey, and light as a feather. Plus, the singles construction means it's easy to avoid splittiness! At $30 for 575 yards, and always dyed up in TLS colourways, I think it's a pretty good deal, and anything you make with it is sure to be stunning.

grumble grumble

2010-09-30T18:05:00.000-07:00

This week, frankly, sucks. And I need to grumble. First, I picked up my computer on Monday, only to have it break ten minutes after I began to use it. A trip back to the Apple Store today informed me that now I need a new hard drive. I can't say how thankful I am that it's still got a month of warranty on it, since it *just* got a new logic board. I'm behind on everything-- I have too much to do and not enough time to do it in, trying to get out all the club shipments and other shipping, dyeing, and all the other marvellous things that happen around here. Only my assistant is out of town this week, meaning that I have double work to do. I just found out I need to pay 5 grand in taxes. I forgot to pick up toothpaste at the grocery store this morning, meaning I have to squeeze the tube really hard. and I really, really want to knit and have no time; I've only had time to knit a little experimental swatch, pictured above. oh, and my studio has reached new depths of messiness and I don't have the time to clean it right now. arggghhhhh!

two part shop update

2010-09-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone-- there will be a two-part update on September 29th and the thirtieth-- the first one will be at 7:00 p.m. pst Sept 29th, and the second part will be at 12:00 p.m. PST on Sept. 30th, giving you a great opportunity to make use of the free shipping september!
however I will not be able to send out an email to all of you on the mailing list this time, because my computer is broken and is currently at Apple being repaired. Of course, all my databases are on there, including my mailing list. (don’t worry, I managed to copy over the club addresses). I’m working on a borrowed computer.

eight more days!

2010-09-22T18:47:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder...eight more days of free shipping in my shop! I'll be adding more, too.

I've also been having fun making a bunch of batts, after a long hiatus-- the following two are up in the shop now:

jolly green, composed of cashmere, silk, bfl, firestar, and merino

fairy lights, composed of silk, merino, cashmere, and firestar

I think I'm going to have to take a little break from carding, though, as it's really hard on the shoulder.

Veera's lovely designs with Pigeonroof Yarns

2010-09-16T17:30:00.000-07:00

I know I raved about Veera in the post before last...but I'm going to do it some more. :-)

A little while back, Veera bought two skeins of yarn from me, and I popped in a few additional skeins for her to play with. What she has knit up with my yarns was just beyond my wildest imaginations-- the garments are so incredibly beautiful!

The first one is "folded", knit in my 80/20 superwash merino/nylon SUPER SOCK, colourway "Inkpot":

I cannot wait for the pattern. It's the perfect layer, and all the clever details make it something I need in my wardrobe.

The other garment is "Golden Wheat", knit in my 60/40 merino/silk Bacchus Aran, colourway Honey.

Veera was kind enough to give me a copy of this one to test knit, and I'm furiously trying to decide what colour to knit it in!

Thank you, Veera, for your lovely, lovely designs and for providing such wonderful patterns for us all to knit! and thank you for letting me use your photographs.

on a last note, I put up some Siren Two Sock Gradation Palette sets in Green in the shop. they're super fun!

playing with grey card

2010-09-12T16:41:00.001-07:00

For my birthday this year, my wonderful partner bought me a Nikon DSLR. I have been wanting one of those *forever*, and although I'm still figuring it out, already I've spent more time researching and reading the manual than I did with my previous camera. (which I plan to sell very soon.) Yesterday, I picked up a grey card at the local camera store, and although these photographs are by no means perfect, I think they're the closest I've ever gotten to the real life colours of yarn:

charcoal 60/40 merino/silk DIONYSIUS aran singles

Reptilian 60/40 merino/silk DIONYSIUS aran singles

Turmeric in Mauve...and Free September Shipping!

2010-09-10T16:53:00.000-07:00

A little while ago, I emailed Veera to ask her if I could test knit her Turmeric pattern. I have given myself a personal goal to knit everything Veera knits, because everything she knits is something that I want in my wardrobe. Simple yet never boring, classic yet innovative, her designs are just amazing. Can something be both classic and avant garde? I think so. I hope so.

I wanted to try out my Super Sock, and I had fallen in love with the colour Silent Mauve, so I cast on with it. I think it worked out well; the colour, the fabric, everything came together wonderfully. Little details like the button, the pleat, and the neckline all come together to make a wonderful garment. It wasn't a quick knit by any means, since I did have to go down a couple of needle sizes, and the garter cuffs, neckline, and bottom edge did seem to take forever; but I never really tired of knitting it. Studio liked it too-- she helped me block it. No pics of that, though.

oh, and by the way...I'm offering free shipping, both domestic and international on everything in my shop during the entire month of September! Happy Fall!

Hats!

2010-09-08T10:27:00.000-07:00

I've decided I need more hats. Hats are fun, small and relatively quick projects, and I always find myself needing more hats in the Winter. Actually, they're pretty useful year round here in the Bay Area. The first one I knit was Crooked Paths by Melissa La Barre, in a TLS colour of Siren Two worsted:

I've worn this already quite a bit, and I like it. It's slouchy without being *too* slouchy, and adds just the right amount of warmth.

The next hat I knit was the Poet Society Tam, and I knit this pretty much because I wanted to knit up something in the dionysius yarn, in the colour Espresso.

Although a singles yarn is not the best, perhaps, for cables, the cables ended up being lovely soft waves-- and wow is this yarn nice and warm. The silk adds a gorgeous sheen.

Two hats made for Fall/winter! I've got lots more queued up, though...

Fibre club!

2010-08-28T18:31:00.001-07:00

Just dropping by to say that there are still quite a few slots left for my regular fibre club in the shop, so grab them while you can!

silk pogona

2010-08-25T17:40:00.000-07:00

continuing with the theme of always having something on the needles of my own yarn, I knit the lovely Pogona shawl by Stephen West. This was my desk project; I knit a few rows every day, every so often, and soon I had a finished shawl/scarf! This knit was very much a case of the yarn and the pattern choosing each other; as soon as I saw the pattern and saw the green plied silk in my stash, I knew all I had to do was knit.

I was really pleased with the knitting experience; the silk seemed as though it might be a bit splitty, being made up of multiple strands plied together, but it wasn't really; I've knit with other yarns, cottons, silks, and even wools that were far more splitty to work with. And the finished fabric has this great crunchy, cool drape and beautiful sheen.

Goodale cardigan and new yarns!

2010-08-18T13:12:00.001-07:00

Continuing with the theme of the last post, I recently knit Goodale, another fabulous cardigan by Cecily Glowik Macdonald. I knit it in "Juniper" Cassiopeia DK, which really ended up being a perfect match. The pattern is really well written and fast to knit. I love the finished product....unfortunately, not on me so much. I have a feeling that Cecily is much more petite than me, and much less...um...endowedthan me. It might work with a full skirted, vintage style dress, but I don't wear dresses like that much. Oh well. It's still a fabulous pattern, and if you're less broad-shouldered and less busty than me, it's sure to be a winner. :-)

moving on, more new yarn! The first is another 60/40 merino/silk aran weight, Bacchus., shown here in "Bronzed Teal":

I swear, this yarn begs to be knit into squishy, thick cables.

The next yarn is another sock yarn, but it's a damn close dead ringer for Koigu. It's 80/20 superwash merino/nylon, 400 yards per skein, and takes up the dye like a dream:

shown here in Silent Mauve.

cecily glowik macdonald pattern love

2010-08-15T20:21:00.000-07:00

Cecily Glowik Macdonald is fast becoming one of my favourite designers. Her patterns are just so beautiful, classic, and clever, and extremely well written. She's just published two patterns featuring my Siren Two sock, which makes me so incredibly happy and honoured that such a wonderful designer would knit with my yarns.

Lorimer is a cute little cropped vest, which would fit easily into any wardrobe as a layering essential. It's knit in the colourway "Etude". Get the pattern here!

Candelia is a little short sleeved cardigan, with fantastic buttoned pockets. It's such a beautiful cardi! Get the pattern here!

I'm thrilled with how well my yarns look in these garments-- it's easy to get sort of jaded on my yarns when I'm working with them and dyeing them all the time; seeing them knit up so beautifully is a wonderful kick in my pants to keep working!

new yarn-- DIONYSIUS

2010-08-08T14:49:00.000-07:00

yum! there's a new yarn now available in the shop, DIONYSIUS, which is a 60/40 merino/silk aran singles yarn. It's deliciously soft and silky, perfect for accessories or garments! I couldn't resist dyeing up a bunch in Luminosity colours:

"TLS SPRING LEAF"

and:

"TLS TANGERINE"

However, it'll soon be available in repeatable colourways as well! I really love this yarn-- which is no surprise, since it's got a hefty dose of silk in it! I think you will too. :-)

calling for Krystina:

2010-07-23T18:09:00.000-07:00

Hi Krystina, who left a comment on the "mon tricot" posting-- I can't reach you since I can't view your blogger profile! But I'd love to do a trade for some mon tricot books. Can you either contact me through ravelry (i'm pigeonroofknits) or at pigeonroofstudiosATmacDOTcom?

Thanks!

indigo cardigan

2010-07-14T11:26:00.001-07:00

this has been done for ages... and worn quite a bit, but I'm only finally now getting around to blogging about it. Bad marks for me.

It started out as a classic elite pattern, but only insofar as I followed the cast on numbers-- three or four rows into it, I realised that it was just a basic top-down raglan pattern, and so I ditched the pattern and just made the rest up. I'm quite pleased with the outcome-- I wanted something with drapey fronts and a slightly a-line construction. Worked out just fine, and I'm also really happy with the short rows I worked every so often on each fronts, to make the fronts go down more. A year ago I never would have though about that, so it's nice to notice every now and then how much my knitting knowledge has grown.

I knit this in Pigeonroof Studios Cassiopeia DK, which is a really, really nice blend of 75/15/10 superwash merino/cashmere/silk, with a yummy shine and softness. This cardigan was knit in "Indigo Ink", but there's some other nice colours in my shop still.

I did have a heart stopping moment when, after wet blocking, I realised that the sleeves had grown in ways I had never imagined (the picture was taken when the cardigan was still slightly damp), but after it had dried fully, they're now pretty much perfect. phew!

I'm also extremely pleased with how much wear it's been getting; it's nice to realise that I actually now have a few knitted items that I wear just as much, if not more, than my store bought clothes. This cardigan, Lena, and my Ingenue sweater are all in pretty constant rotation, which pleases me to no end.

I've also been doing a lot of spinning, even though I'm not participating in Tour de Fleece. The yellow handspun is Lazy Daisy superwash merino, in a fingering weight, and the blue purple one is Morph 70/30 superwash Blue-Faced Leicester/silk, also in a fingering weight. I must say, the 70/30 superwash bfl/silk fibre is quite possibly one of the easiest to spin fibres I've ever come across. It wants to be spun into fingering weight! Both these skeins are available in the shop, by the way.

the new way of blocking

2010-06-09T11:48:00.001-07:00

i.e., the calico cat method. Studio decided I needed help blocking my new cardigan.

mon tricot

2010-06-07T17:37:00.000-07:00

lately I've been finding myself a little bit obsessed with stitch dictionaries. I love how each collection, while having many of the same tried and true stitches, can still have new ones that excite and inspire. maybe it's just seeing them in a different context. I found myself browsing Amazon for stitch dictionaries the other day, and came across this series, "Mon Tricot". From the prices given on the bottom of the cover, it looks like it was released in the UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, but not in the U.S., probably why I've never heard of it.

it's so very 1960s/1970s, but there are a lot of gems. I only wish the patterns were charted...but that's not so hard to do, with a pencil and graph paper.

I love how these stitches are called "imitation embroidery". Some of these would look really nice knit up in my luminosity pure tussah silk lace, I think. I think i'll swatch some soon.

oh, for more time...

2010-06-05T13:06:00.001-07:00

handspun coopworth and romney/romedale cross

habu indigo dyed silk paper; handdyed silk; habu linen paper

oh, these yarns are tempting me, calling for me to swatch them and knit with them... but I have a cardigan on the needles that needs to get finished first, since it's in a new yarn for pigeonroof. I have so many ideas and things I want to make and do in my head, but finding the time is hard. I feel like I should always be working, working, which to me means dyeing and winding and shipping, not knitting, even though that's a part of it too.

I love how different the two inspiration bundles are...the habu and silk is so summery and light, and the handspun is so very woolly; but they don't seem so disparate to me...

blooming ptarmigan

2010-06-04T10:29:00.001-07:00

blooming on the neck of my dress form...jared flood's new, perfect pattern. I say perfect, because it was so easy and quick to knit, plus super big, easy to follow charts, my favourite. knit in one skein of my cashmere/silk dk, Luminosity project colourway. a perfect knit for a special skein.

wandering

2010-05-23T12:00:00.001-07:00

just off the needles and blocking board...the wandering the moor shawl. This was a fun knit, although I did get a bit confused when knitting the lace chart. That's not the designer's fault; it's mine; I'm pretty rubbish still at knitting lace, so one side of the shawl is beautiful and perfect...the other...well, not so much. (I didn't photograph that side.:-)

I knit this in my Siren Two sock in "Gilded Oak". I knit the larger size, so I had to break into a second skein. The combination of yarn and pattern worked out beautifully-- the shawl just glows.

on to the next shawl! I've got Centrique started on my needles.

cedar leaf

2010-04-30T20:14:00.001-07:00

This is my version of Alana Dakos's Cedar Leaf Shawlette, in garter stitch. The garter stitch wasn't intentional; amazingly, I completely misread the pattern and knit all the stockinette part in garter stitch. Which made it a loooong scarf. Really long. But the leaves were so much fun! I knit it in my superwash merino DK weight yarn, in Dolma. I probably could have gotten away with just one skein, but since garter stitch takes so much yarn, I had to break into a second skein. ah well.

on another topic, I've got a bunch of a new 4-ply 50/50 superwash merino/silk fingering weight up in my shop! This yarn is absolutely luscious-- the yarn is just the perfect blend of merino and silk, with a soft lustre.

4-ply 50/50 sw merino/silk in Dusty Rose

in Blueberries

With 435 yards per skein, at $24 a skein, I think this yarn would be perfect for spring and summer shawls. I only wish I had more time to knit!

It's no secret, I think, that I adore silk. Any spinning fibre or yarn blend with silk, I'm a sucker for. Even more than cashmere. Silk just takes the dye so beautiful, and, in my mind, improves any fibre!

milkweed

2010-03-06T16:27:00.001-08:00

Almost exactly a week before Stitches West, I realised I had no samples knit up of my 70/20/10 baby alpaca/silk/cashmere fingering yarn. Clearly, this would never do. The only question is, what to make? I didn't just want to make a swatch; I wanted to knit something that showed off both the luscious colours and the silky soft drapeyness of the yarn. Also, it needed to be quick. Enter Laura Chau's Milkweed shawl.

This shawl was wonderful to knit; because it's garter stitch all the way, it's really fast, and it's one of the most well-written, well-charted out patterns I've knit. I especially appreciated the numbers she put in on the chart to show how many plain stitches you had in between yarnovers and ssks and ktogs; it saved me many a headache. Plus, I knit it out of less than one skein of a 400 yard skein, and what could be better than that!

so my advice? Go knit it! And if you want to knit it for $28, with a gorgeous skein of yarn, go to my shop. There's lots of colours in stock, and I can always dye you up any of the repeatable colours I have available.

quick gifts

2010-01-21T10:37:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, the two little girls of the family we spent new years with had a joint birthday party. We bought them a cricket loom, but I also wanted to give them something more immediate. They're both learning to knit, as they're homeschooled, with the curriculum heavily influenced by Waldorf education. I didn't have a lot of time, so I knit them both garter stitch scarves, knit lengthwise, with scraps of handspun and handdyed yarn I had sitting around:

The purple one I knit for Maia, the eight year old, and the pink/red one for Lola, the six year old. Both of them had a heavy dose of sparkle and shine, perfect for two little girls. Although the big hits of the girls' birthday presents were American Girl Doll accoutrements (did you know that there's now a homeless American Girl doll? I find this hilarious, if ridiculous.), they both loved the scarves-- Maia immediately put it on and raced off to play with it still slung around her.

I also took the Charcoal Rose scarf off the blocking board, and it's lovely. Drapey, thick, but warm:

It's beautiful, but I'm not sure I'll wear it. My taste in scarves veers towards the ridiculously simple; in fact, my favourite scarf (which I really need to wash) was my first knitting project when I got back into knitting several years ago. It's just a seed stick scarf, knit out of Karabella Aurora 8 in a deep brown. By the way, if anyone wonders how this yarn holds up, it holds up amazingly. The stitch definition is just as nice as when I first knit it, and there's zero pilling. plus, it's super warm.

Also, I've opened up memberships for a Luminosity Project YARN club! I've been dyeing these yarns in a new way (although still within the Luminosity Project way), and I'm loving how they're coming out. here's siren two sock in TLS Greenstick:

yummy. It's hard for me to sell these yarns, I love them so much. For more info, or to purchase a membership, please visit my Etsy shop.

happy new year!

2010-01-05T16:00:00.000-08:00

Happy new year everyone! I hope everyone had a fantastic New Years; mine was well, not exactly quiet (there were three kids present, all under the age of ten), but really wonderful, spent at friends in Sunnyvale.

but now it is 2010, and back to work! The first FO off the needles (and still pinned to the blocking board), is the really aptly named Simple Knitted Lace Scarf, by the Knitting Fairy, knit in Charcoal Rose Siren Two worsted, two skeins:

This was a pretty quick knit, even if I just knit on it in twenty-five minute intervals here and there every day. Super easy pattern, and easy to memorize, both things of which are fabulous in my book. Oh, and blocking wires? How on earth did I live without them? They're awesome!

I don't really have any strict New Years resolution, other than the usual things...excersise more, eat better, lose a few pounds, etc., etc. Oh, and knit from my stash. Actually, that shouldn't be too hard, as I have some really huge business expenses in the next six months that pretty much eliminates any disposable income I will have. Spending money on yarn is not an option. Thankfully, I dye and spin yarn, and already have a massive stash.

Oh, and as my New Year's gift to you? Free Shipping, both domestic and international, in my shop all through January!

red beret

2009-12-24T11:22:00.000-08:00

This was an impulse cast on, mainly because I was cold! I had two skeins of DK weight cashmere, dyed in the Luminosity way, so casted on a beret. And cast on again. And again. I must have started this beret at least three times, knit and ripped back at least twice, before the final incarnation. Thankfully, the tight multi-plied construction of the yarn held up wonderfully, and working the yarn just made it softer. It probably would have been way faster if I had actually swatched, but, you know, live dangerously. It's just a made-up basic beret pattern, nothing special, and it's still a little big, so I may knit another one soon. I still like it! It's very red!

I didn't block it, mainly because I was scared it would end up being even bigger. I may toss it into the washing machine next time I do laundry. Maybe.

On another note, there's been some great new yarns coming in to Pigeonroof Studios: Cassiopeia fingering and Aphrodite lace. Both of these are quickly becoming my favourites. Cassiopeia is a 75/15/10 superwash merino/cashmere/silk blend (really, really soft and gorgeous!). Aphrodite is a 50/50 two ply superwash merino/silk heavy laceweight, and I can't wait to start a project with it. It's absolutely stunning.

Aphrodite lace in "Melusine"

Cassiopeia fingering in "Underworld"

both yarns are in the shop right now, in various colours, so go see!

And merry christmas everyone! Or Happy Holidays if you don't celebrate Christmas. I'm off for two nights at Sea Ranch!

A Very Long Post

2009-12-03T12:38:00.001-08:00

Wow. Is it December already? I'm such rubbish at updating this blog. Things have been super busy around here chez Pigeonroof, what with the A Verb For Keeping Warm holiday fair coming up this weekend. Please come if you can! I'll be selling lot of yarn, handspun, and spinning fibre; you can find out all the details here. Also, Stitches West is coming up end of February! Seems like a long way off, but really, when I think of all that needs to be done before then, it's no time at all. I'll be sharing a booth with Karrie of Girl on The Rocks, booth #742. this year, I plan not to be so sleep deprived!

I've also finished up a bunch of knitting; the first sweater, which I call my stripey cashmere jumper, is a unargued successful fo for me:

I loveit. It's knit out of a very tightly spun, multi-plied cashmere, dyed in the Luminosity way, and it was heaven to knit and to wear. It's a simple top-down raglan, with hemmed edges, and the fit is perfect.

Here's a better image of the saturation of the colours:

yum. The cashmere yarn has an almost cottony feel, but was marvellous to knit with; and I know it'll wear extremely well.

The other sweater I finished looks beautiful, but, sadly, is ridiculously too small for me. I mean, it would just look obscene on me. Which is too bad, since I love the colours. The sweater is Tempest from Knitty, knit in pigeonroof studios ORIGINAL sock in Agave and Celadon:

The colours couldn't work together more perfectly, and the knitting was actually quite quick and easy, but with seaming...well, let's just say my arms aren't skinny enough, and my bust...well, this cardigan would never close. Still, it'll make a great show sample. I may try to do a top-down cardigan with these colours in the future, since I like them so much; I don't, however, love seaming, and I need to remember that. Knitting in the round is the way to go for me.

Just one more picture of the pretty colours:

and the cute red buttons.

the spinning, of course, continues non-stop; I have a little pile of handspun slowly growing to sell this weekend, and I'd like to have a bunch to sell at Stitches:

Is there anything more satisfying than a pile of handspun, neatly skeined? I don't think so. I've also managed to squeeze in a bit of selfish spinning, which is hard for me; I always feel like I should be spinning for the shop:

Just a little bit of natural wool, from left to right: Coopworth, Romedale/Rambouillet cross, and Coopworth. The two skeins on the right were spun from these little two oz bags of fibre I picked up over a year ago at a little knitting spinning store near Eureka, CA. I love spinning natural roving; I don't know why, but my spinning always ends up looking so perfect with it, and I love the natural colours. I have no idea what I'll do with these, maybe a colourwork hat?

desire socks

2009-10-02T11:16:00.000-07:00

except that I've not woven in the ends, these socks are done, and I'm happy with them. They're rather short socks, but I like my socks either very short or very tall, and it was a small skein to begin with. It's always fun to see how handspun knit up; it's always a welcome surprise.

October is here already, and I for one am happy-- I love the fall, at least once fire weather passes. living in the East Bay, I'm always sketched out by fire weather, ever since the massive Oakland Hills fire in 1991, which burned down most of my elementary school and took the houses of lots of my classmates. At the Rockridge Bart station, there's a whole wall of painted tiles dedicated to remembering the fire, and I can still find the one I painted so many years ago as a ten year old.

But the best part of the fall and winter weather on the way? Fall and winter clothing! and knitting!

Shetland Triangle

2009-08-14T19:01:00.000-07:00

Ah, the shetland triangle. What can I say about it that hasn't already been said? It has all the elements of knitting that I love: easy, easily memorized (well, sort of; i'm really hopeless at memorizing patterns), quick-ish, and looks absolutely stunning when blocked. Oh, and you can knit one with one skein of sock yarn, which always rocks. I even added repeats, since I was knitting on smaller needles, and squeaked by with about a yard or two to spare.

For once, I actually have a lot of finished objects, thanks to lots of time spent in the car on the way to and back from Portland, plus constantly knitting while there. I'll eventually get around to photographing, but this is what's currently on the needles: the Tempest cardigan from Knitty, in my ORIGINAL sock in colourways Agave and Celadon.

stripeys! I hope this cardigan works out well, because I love the colours, and the pattern is great. Plus, I really need more cardigans in my wardrobe.

It's great to feel able to knit sweaters again now, because a) there are a TON of fabulous new fall sweater patterns out there, and b) I have a lot of sweater yarn. Too much, in fact. I was going through my stash, and had the horrible realisation that I have five bins full of yarn, a box full of yarn, cubbies full of yarn....and it's pretty much all sweater quantities. No more yarn buying for me!

My stash is stressing me out for the various reasons:

1. I will be thirty in two years. I really do not want to have this much stash by then.
2. It takes up space. this is important in a small apartment.
3. It represents a lot of money spent. (although, I'm a really good bargain shopper, so I would say that 90% of the yarn wasn't bought at full price. This has sometimes led to mistakes...like, what am I going to do with twenty skeins of Jo Sharp comfort mohair in a weird greeney black?)
4. All of the yarn represents a really fabulous wardrobe for me. Unfortunately, I can't wear just yarn.
5. I occasionally get really existentialist and freak out about being such a consumer.
6. I could destash, but I really, really like all the yarn.

My only solution: no more sweater quantities of yarn until I've made a significant dent!

on the needles

2009-08-01T18:49:00.001-07:00

Turns out that the thing that can get me knitting socks again is handspun. Handspun by me, at any rate. I couldn't resist caking up the skein of handspun superwash BfL in the colourway "Desire", and casting on; socks knit out of handspun are so much fun, watching the colours change in the lovely rustic striping so unique to handspun. With any luck, I'll get them finished by sock summit; they're a good traveling project, anyways, for the long drive up. (I'm splitting the driving with Girl on the Rocks, so I estimate I'll have a good four to five hours of knitting time. If I don't nap most of the way.)

They're turning out distinctly fraternal, but I don't care. I love them anyways.

I'm also on the edging chart of the Shetland Triangle, although I must admit to having lost my enthusiasm for it; why is it that so often at the end of a large project, or large-ish, anyway, it's so hard to push through to the end? I need to finish it and get it blocked before Wednesday, though, so push through I shall. Tomorrow.

It's astonishing to think that all those little egg carton bumps will block out into gorgeous lace. Knit from Original Sock in the "Woodland" colourway, which is amazingly hard to photograph correctly. It's both a little browner and greener in person.

Stonewash Scarf and a new favourite colourway

2009-07-29T17:49:00.000-07:00

When I saw finished photographs of Veronik Avery's Lace Ribbon Scarf on ravelry, I knew I wanted to make it. I'd liked it when I first saw it on Knitty, but even more so when I saw other people's versions. The only thing was, I couldn't figure out what yarn I wanted to make it out of. Sometimes I get precious about patterns; I know I want to make them, but can't find just the right yarn, and don't want to spend the time knitting it out of yarn that is not "just right".

All that ended when I came up with the "Stonewash" colourway:

it's a delicate, lovely denim-y blue, and the way the dye interacted with the yarn gives it a sort of luminous glow. Immediately after it dried I knew that was the right yarn for the scarf.

Knitting it was fun, although it's not exactly a mindless knit, since you do have to pay attention. And it dragged quite a bit towards the end, when I just couldn't wait to get the damn thing finished. Now, however, blocked, it looks gorgeous, and will make a beautiful fall accessory.

I'm really into this whole knitting scarves and shawls from sock yarn lately; even though I have loads of sock patterns and sock books, I find myself not all that into knitting them right now. Knitting scarves and shawls seems to work, though, as a skein of sock yarn is usually quite enough for accessory-type shawls and scarves.

on sock yarn note: a new favourite colourway, "Bridle". This came out of the pot and I went "Whoa."

I like it. A lot.

simple yet effective shawl

2009-07-14T11:51:00.000-07:00

This has been finished for quite some time, but for some reason I'm only just now getting around to blogging about it. The pattern is by Laura Chau, and is the "Simple yet Effective Shawl." An apt title, since it's ridiculously simple to knit; I'm a big fan of anything I can knit in movie theatres. I used one skein of Pigeonroof Studios Original sock, in the colourway "Comfort", which produced a perfect shawl/scarf. I won't wear it as a shawl, anyways; I'll wear it as a sort of larger neckerchief/scarf:

I'm starting to stress out big time over Sock Summit; I think that I won't be doing anymore shows after this. They're just too stressful, and the financial strain I'm always on before shows is really not fun. One of the upsides, though, is that because I"m dyeing so much, new colourways seem to be sprouting right and left. Two of my favourite ones are Cloudyfold and Bearded Iris; shown respectively, in superwash BFL and BFL:

I'm still updating my Etsy shop on a regular basis, so keep a lookout for lots of new colourways.

FO: Ene's Scarf

2009-06-24T09:42:00.001-07:00

My first big lace project is done, and I'm pleased with it. Ene's Scarf from Scarf Style, by Nancy Bush, is not exactly easy, but it's not hard, either. There was a long hiatus between the start and finally picking it up and finishing it, for no reason other than it requires concentration, at least for me. There are quite a few mistakes, but since it's my first big lace project, I'm not complaining! I'll probably make it again, when I get the courage to tackle the massive cast on again.

The yarn is my Siren Two lace, and I love how it worked with this pattern. I plan on using this yarn again for more lace projects!

every so often I come up with a colourway that I fall head over heels in love with. Sometimes the colourway happens first on spinning fibre; sometimes it happens on yarn. The above colourway happened first on yarn, but I love it in spinning fibre too. The colourway is "Agave", shown on Siren Two sock and BFL. I don't know exactly what I like so much about this colourway; mabe it's the slight moodiness, the way the deep spruces and browns combine to look like varieties of rusted metal. I love rust; in fact, in college I did an entire print series based on rust.

another fo-- and a sneak peek!

2009-06-11T10:49:00.001-07:00

Finished, blocked, and buttons sewed on...the Drapey neck cardi! I love this cardigan-- Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool is so soft and yummy, and the result makes me happy.

Lots of mods: I basically just used the cast on numbers and improvised, referring to the photograph a little bit. Straight sleeves, an asymmetrical front, and long front lapels made a cardigan that's unique and fun.

now, a sneak peek on my first big lace project, blocking happily and waiting for a semblance of sun to come out for a photoshoot. (what the hell is up with the weather here in the bay area? It's June, people!)

Ene's Scarf, knit in my Pigeonroof Studios Siren Two lace in the colourway "Saffron." It only took one skein, with leftovers!

all my own yarn, all the time.

2009-06-03T15:02:00.000-07:00

As I write this, I must declare...I have the mother of all hangovers, due to a super shitty day at work yesterday and a couple strawberry margaritas to ease the pain. (actually, I almost never resort to alcohol when I have a bad day, and don't drink that much in general, so when I do...I know it's been a really, really bad day!) Let's just say that yesterday was one of those days when I was wondering why the hell don't I have a job with a regular--and a hefty-- paycheck? And yes, to those who ask...even when you work for yourself, you can have bad days at work! Only you can't just leave work!

Ah well. Today, disregarding the hangover, is much better. I also have a couple beautiful things on the needles. Soon, too, I'll have an FO-- the drapey neck tweed cardi is done, and just awaits the sewing on of buttons.

First on the needles: the ever popular and beautiful Liesl, by Ysolda Teague:

I'm knitting this in Pigeonroof Studios Siren Two Worsted in Indigo Ink. It's a bit darker in person. I gotta say, again...wow. I love this yarn. This yarn plus addi lace turbos equals a happy knitter.

How about another little closeup?

yum.

the other thing is Laura Chau's (cosmicpluto knits) Simple yet Effective Shawl, knit in Pigeonroof Studios Original Sock in a variation of the Comfort colourway. (it ended up a bit more orangey than the regular colourway, but I really like it!):

simple it really is. and it's turning out so pretty! I plan on wearing this tied kerchief style around my neck, maybe with a white shirt and khakis...

Tuesday Evening

2009-05-27T15:49:00.000-07:00

The very easy, very beautiful Tuesday Evening(rav link) cowl, by Hannah Ingalls, knit in Pigeonroof Studios Siren Two Worsted in colourway "Lettuce." (p.s. there happen to be four skeins of this colourway and yarn in my shop right now)

This cowl was super quick and super fun; I cast on a few extra stitches since I was knitting at a smaller gauge, but the pattern and the yarn worked perfectly. I still have a lot of yarn left, maybe over half the skein? It's perfect for spring or even summer here in the Bay Area.

spinning through the stash

2009-04-26T13:50:00.000-07:00

The other day, I was sorting and going through my spinning fibre stash, and realised, with a gulp, that I had, oh, approximately EIGHT bins of spinning fibre. Eight. Packed completely full. Some of it is my own, which also grows at an alarming rate; these consist of experiments, odds and ends, new colourways i want to spin, braids that fell apart when braiding, etc. But there's also a lot of other people's fibre that I've bought.

This gave me serious pause. So I've been spinning with more intent, trying to make a dent in my spinning fibre stash, and curbing my Etsy purchases. I'm not going cold turkey, because supporting other small fibre businesses is one thing that I feel very strongly about continuing, but I'm just buying a little less. The spinning has improved in speed, though, since at Stitches West I indulged in the smaller of the Schacht Reeves Saxony Wheels. An expensive wheel, but I swear, when I spin on it, I hear the angels sing. Plus, it spins at a high ratio, so it's perfect for spinning the thinner yarns I like to spin.

I've been putting up some of my yarns in my Etsy shop: here's a couple that I just put up (and sold):

"evergreen", two ply, fingering/light sportweight, from roving dyed by AllSpunUp, superwash merino.

"Horstia", DK/Worsted weight two ply extrafine merino, spun from roving dyed by FreckleFace Fibers.

I love spinning.

In progress

2009-04-22T11:32:00.000-07:00

In progress: Drapey Neck cardigan, knit in wonderful Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool. It's loosely based on the same name cardi from Pipibird on Ravelry, but the instructions didn't quite match up with the photograph of the original (I'm not complaining; it was a free pattern), so I went by the cast on info and numbers and sort of made up the rest as I went along. Endless stockinette on size 3s is not exactly quick, but several movies, long car rides, and working on it in small bits has made it grow faster than I feared it would. I do love Elsebeth Lavold silky wool, and I'd had this bag of grey silky wool in my stash for a while, so I'm enjoying it. Only one sleeve left to go, then weaving in and blocking!

Yarn has been coming in at an alarming rate, so my solution? Knit faster!

Re-Entry

2009-03-14T12:51:00.000-07:00

Stitches West was: fantastic, exhilarating, exhausting, tiring, and totally draining. It was a wonderful experience, and I sold quite a bit (and bought quite a bit), but the crazy rush getting ready up to those four days and the non-stop-ness of Stitches took more out of me than I thought it would. I totally expected to come back, sleep for a day, and jump right back into work, but it didn't work out that way. Instead, I slept for a week. I think I was so exhausted because I'd been really running on excessive caffeine ingestion and adrenaline, and when it was all over, my body just revolted. Everytime I would even think about the dyepots, I would get depressed. :-)

But, now, I'm feeling more myself. A whole day climbing outside yesterday did much to restore me, and I can now face work with enthusiasm.

Right before Stitches, I started a pair of socks for myself in Circe sock in Olive Leaf:

They're knit on size O Addi Lace turbos, and the pattern is the openwork rib from Sensational Knitted Socks. They're the perfect socks for taking around; easy to memorize, and just enough going on to be interesting without being boring.

I've also started an Ene's scarf from Scarf Style in Siren Two lace in Saffron:

This is slower going; while I find lace very relaxing, I'm not very good at it, and I have to concentrate. I know the border is a little wonky, and there are multiple other mistakes, but I'm quite pleased with it nevertheless. The yarn is a dream to work with, and I can't wait for the finished product.

EZ comes to the rescue!

2009-02-20T11:15:00.000-08:00

This year seems to be all about sweaters for me, so far. This is due to a need for more sweaters in my wardrobe, and my increasingly growing sweater stash. Plus, I like knitting them. So, you may ask, where is my February Lady Sweater? Well....it has been having several dates with my ball winder.

I loved knitting it; loved the yarn, loved the pattern, and it was pretty quick. However, when I finished it....it was too damn big. Way too big. No matter how much I tried to convince myself that it could work...it just couldn't. Wildly unflattering would be an understatement. So, off to the ball winder it went, since the yarn is beautiful. (and very expensive.) It's already being knit up into a new sweater.

A panacea was needed. I had ordered a fair amount of merino roving from Funky Carolina, and had spun it up intending it for a sweater--- it decided to be an Elizabeth Zimmerman sweater. I'd been wanting to make another EZ sweater for a while, since the last one, while pretty, is really a little too short. So this time I measured a favourite long-sleeved t-shirt that had the desired measurements, and used that for the calculations. I had originally intended a raglan, but the round-yoke style seemed to fit better with the stripiness of the yarn.

I like it. It's warm, which was what I wanted, it fits well (although next time I might add a little more ease, as it is very form fitting and only a thin t-shirt really works underneath), and I'm way happier with the colours that I originally thought I would be. Not that the roving wasn't gorgeous; it's just that as I was spinning them, I was a little iffy as to how the colours would work for me.

It was a definite boost to my knitting ego that I needed, after knitting an entire sweater that was too big. Plus, it was fast. at around 4 stitches to the inch on size 8 needles, this sweater went at lightning speed. Yay!

On another note--- I'll be selling at Stitches West! I'll be sharing a booth, and will be in booth #637. If I don't have a severe melt down before then, with all the stuff I need to do, I'll be seeing as many of you that come! I'm thrilled, but also nervous--- will I have enough stuff? Will people buy it? Will I survive three and a half days of being "on"? (I'm a little more excited than I should be about the proximity of the convention hotel bar to the marketplace.)

yummy yoke

2009-01-03T19:14:00.000-08:00

Although I'm on the body of the February Lady sweater, I thought I'd just post a pic of the garter yoke, because I'm trying to get back to blogging more....and it's so pretty! I had bought 3 skeins of the Fibre Company Terra yarn from a destash on ravelry a while back, and when Article Pract had Terra as one of it's December Staff Picks (20% off!), I saw it as a sign to buy a lot more. :-)

I adore this yarn. It's unevenly spun, and occasionally there are really fat lumpy parts, but I don't care. That's part of its charm, and the colours of Terra are to die for. (ha, I just typed 'dye' instead of 'die') I see a lot more sweaters made of this yarn in my future, even though at around $16-$17 a skein for 100 yards at full price, it's not exactly inexpensive.

Lately, though, I find myself a lot more willing to spend more on lovely high quality yarns and not blinking so much at the price. It's not that I have any more money than usual, just that knitting with a yarn that I absolutely love is such a treat and a pleasure. Of course most people know this, but I think it really fits in with the whole "slow stashing" idea that was broached on Knitter's Review. The idea that you maybe buy less often, but buy yarn that really speaks to you, that really makes you do a double take, even if it's a little more pricey. And I love how this idea takes into account all of us yarn manufacturers and dyers that want to stay in business. It's why I still buy yarn at my LYS, even if I can get it a little cheaper elsewhere. Why I don't subscribe to magazines but buy them either from my LYS or the awesome local independent magazine store. (Issues, off Piedmont Avenue. Amazing.)

If I loved it when I bought it, and it feels beautiful to the touch and to knit, I'm going to be more likely to finish the item, and to invest the time to make sure the item that I knit with it fits well or is beautifully seamed. Of course, there are still a lot of affordable and budget-conscious yarns out there that are fantastic, too, like Cascade 220, which is a great workhorse yarn and feels good to knit with, as well as some of the Knitpicks yarn and others. And if I see a great yarn on sale, I'm certainly not going to pass it up. But I'm okay with spending a little more money now. After all, I put a great deal of time and thought into providing high quality yarns to my customers, and they're certainly not the lowest priced yarns or fibres out on the market. But I hope that they're a pleasure to knit with and spin with.

So here's to a great year of slow stashing and knitting with wonderful yarns that you love!

another pic of the yoke, because the colour (rosewood) is so beautiful:

sunny caught a squirrel

2008-12-30T18:23:00.001-08:00

So, I know there's been an absence of knitting on this blog lately, but I have been knitting! And when I remember, I will take a photograph of my boyfriend all wrapped up in his winter knitted Christmas gifts. A hat and scarf, since I believe the sweater curse very firmly. And I've got a February Lady Sweater on the needles, in some delectable Fibre Co Terra, a sock in my Circe yarn that I'm designing, another sweater on the needles, and a very seventies- coloured log cabin blanket. But for now, you get Sunny and her christmas present: a squirrel. Sunny adores squirrels, in the sense that she goes crazy after them and the fact that they run up trees and cackle at her drives her nuts. But now she has a squirrel of her own!

the above photo is how Sunny's been pretty much ever since she got the squirrel (which we posed in the tree, made clucking noises, and dropped down to her). She puts its head in its mouth and basically just blisses out on it for hours. And carries it everywhere with her. I love this dog so much, and only wish we had full custody of her and not just half. (she travels with my boyfriend's kids when he has custody of them.)

Happy new years everyone! I'll be spending mine chaperoning my bf's son's new years party, so nothing too raucous will be going on over here. Ah well, lots of knitting time, right?

plumbing and yarn

2008-12-22T11:20:00.000-08:00

So, a few weeks ago, I noticed that my kitchen sink was leaking. as in, I looked under the sink and there was an inch of water. Great. I plopped a kitty litter bucket under it, and kept using it. That worked for a while, until the day before yesterday, when I became aware that water didn't seem to be going through the drain at all, and instead seemed to just go straight down into the bucket. So, I took a closer look at the pipe, and put my hand up to it--- and it folded and crackled in my hand. Pipe? should not have the consistency of tinfoil. Ever.

This is what the pipe looked like:

To say that I was a little freaked out would be a bit of an understatement. I need my sink. Not for cooking, or doing dishes (heaven forbid!), but for dyeing. Oh, yeah, and my landlords were out of town. Also, i'm not a big fan of calling my landlords to fix things in my apartment; that would require herculean efforts of cleaning on my part, and I just like to take care of things myself. Thankfully, my boyfriend knew a little about plumbing, and off we went the next day to the hardware store, where we were informed that our pipe diameter could not be replaced by PVC pipe, because the diameter was only for bathroom sink pipes. Great. But, we managed to find a pipe, and now my sink is nicely working again, for the cost of eight bucks.

all this is just to say-- chrome plated brass pipe? Will disintegrate into the consistency and strength of tinfoil over time. yippee.

eta: I'm pretty positive that my dyeing had nothing to do with the demise of the pipe-- I use citric acid, which is food grade, and as an acid, it's super weak. I'd have to have been pouring nitric acid down that sink all year for the pipe to corrode that fast! I did a little research, and it turns out that this can be a common problem for really old plumbing. Like in my apartment.

Toasted!

2008-12-04T09:52:00.000-08:00

And well done, too! "Toasty" mitts by Leslie Friend, from the blog A Friend to Knit With. Or look it up on Ravelry. These are yummy, and the Siren Two worsted yarn is the perfect yarn for these-- soft, squishy, and warm, these are the perfect winter accessory. Super simple to knit, too! I knit the Toasty mitts instead of just the armwarmers because I like a little more hand coverage...but I like the idea of slouchy armwarmers, too. Maybe I'll knit some in Siren Two sock held with a strand of kidsilk haze....

an aside: I recently got an email from a customer expressing concern over some what she considered undissolved dye spots, or spots of secondary colours on my yarn...so I thought I'd address this issue. I dye my repeatable colourways in a unique way that is quite different from many other dyers, and it can result in secondary and tertiary colour spots. This is part of the colourway. For example, my new colourway, Icicle:

If you look closely, you can see spots of blue. I photograph each skein when I post it to Etsy, precisely for the reason that you know exactly what you are getting. I don't have standard photographs for each colourway for this reason. I like this effect, and the method of dyeing is how I can get the hints of blues in colourways like Venetian and Harlequin, or the blueish haze in Hydrangea.

Every skein of yarn is handdyed, and so there will be variations. That's part of my yarn, and that's why I try to photograph my yarn so you know what you are getting. It doesn't seem to have been a big problem for anyone, but, like I said, someone asked about it, so I thought I'd explain a bit! It's more noticeable in semi-solid colours, but it really depends on the colour.

FO: RYC Soft Lux Tunic Sweater

2008-12-02T15:25:00.000-08:00

About a year and a half ago, I bought a bag of RYC Soft Lux in a gorgeous sage-y green colour from Little Knit at a fabulous price. I'd been coveting this yarn and colour for quite a while, although I'm not really a sparkly person. Luckily, the sparkle just adds a wee bit of interest and flattering glitz, and the yarn itself knits up really, really nicely. I cast on for a top-down sweater, knit a few rows, and there it languished until I picked it up a few months ago and finished the sweater.

Knitting this sweater was incredibly simple and pleasant-- knit all in the round, I just added waist shaping and increased so that it would flare flatteringly around the hips. Even when I had to rip out the bottom part and re-knit it, for the proper flare, knitting in the round is so fast, that it wasn't bad at all. The result is just what I wanted-- a warm, cozy, flattering tunic that can be dressed up or down. It's long enough that it could be worn as a dress, with tights or leggings and boots, or tossed over jeans. I've been wearing it pretty non-stop, and the yarn seems to be holding up well. Success!

Also...thank you to everyone who signed up for club memberships last night! Wow! What an experience-- my heart was pounding as I listed them, and I'm just thrilled that people were as excited as I am! I've already started placing orders for the fibres and yarns, and am eager to get to work.

Time Change

2008-11-30T13:08:00.000-08:00

I've sent out emails to the people on my mailing list, and posted on the Ravelry group, but want to say it here as well: Club memberships will open at 8:00 p.m. PST Dec 1st in my Etsy shop, NOT 7:00 p.m. I've had to change it because I've found a laser printer through Craigslist and I need to go pick it up. Sorry!