Fun Weekend!

I had a fun weekend full of knitting and stashing. First, I got home Friday and had this in the mail:



That’s Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted, in the Mixed Berries colorway. Then on Saturday, I got the new Rebecca magazine. I’ve signed up for the Rebecca29 knitalong, to make this:




Also on Saturday, I hung out at Knit Happens, where I saw Holly and hung out with Wendy. They are a riot! I will have to go sit and knit there more often.

While I was there I bought the yarn for the Rebecca sweater. I wanted it to match this dress I have, but since I didn’t have the dress with me, I agonized over the color choice. Let me know what you think: looking at the pattern above and the yarn and dress combo below, do you think it’s a good match? The GGH Soft Kid also comes in a soft blue or peach, which could also be good...




Meanwhile still knitting on Lucky. No photos, nothing to see here…I've finished the back and am working on the right front. I’m excited that the designer has started a blog! Go visit Melissa over here.

Happy knitting, everyone!

Cotton is from a plant?

Is it just me, or is this a bit snarky?

Here’s what I wrote:

"I have recently learned about the cruel practice of "mulesing" used in the Australian merino wool industry. I am very concerned about this and am looking for sources of knitting supplies that I can be certain are not the result of cruelty toward animals.

What is your policy about the treatment of the animals which are the source of your yarn? I would be very grateful for a response and would be glad to share it with the knitting listservs of which I am a member."


This is the response I got from a yarn company which shall remain nameless:

"We do not buy any Australian wool at all. If you know our products and you say you do, you would realize that over half of our line is fancy Italian ribbon, eyelash and ladder yarn. This is nylon which does not come from wool. The remainder is cotton which comes from a plant, rayon which is also plant fiber and alpaca from a friend's farm in Pennsylvania. Plain wool is very cheap and we prefer to use exotic luxury fibers such as silk, alpaca, suri and mohair. Our superwash merino comes from a friend in New Zealand who actually owns the purebred Merino at her farm."

Need I be told that cotton is from a plant? Someone must have had a ‘knot in her yarn’ when she wrote this…

In general, the responses have been very positive. When I first wrote yarn companies about the mulesing issue, I didn’t realize that I was writing while most of them were away at TNNA. I’ve re-written a number of the companies and gotten good response. I have heard from 11 companies so far. I will post a summary soon, I promise!

New Project

Hello there. Long time no see! I have been away – I was in Orlando on a business trip. Yes, a business trip to Orlando in the middle of February. It was definitely all work and no play, to the point that I didn’t get more than a few rows done on Lucky. But this weekend, I started cheating on Lucky anyway, with this:



This is Poppy from Debbie Bliss, in the Cotton Angora book. In the foreground you’ll notice my current drug – I mean YARN of choice: Blue Sky Alpacas’ Blue Sky Cotton in the Orchid color. This project is the perfect marriage of yarn and color. This sweater is for a 1 year old, and this yarn is soooo soft. I believe this cotton is organic. Also, the pattern is a dream – it’s really well-written and quick. I started knitting on Sunday morning, and as of almost noon on Monday, I have only a sleeve to go. Here is my progress so far:



A couple of others in blog-land have done this pattern and had good success. I will be sure to post a picture when it is completed. It always makes me so happy to make baby items – I think about the child it’s for, and how they will grow – it’s so positive and life-affirming.

Well, that’s it for now. Happy knitting, everyone!

Luckier by the Minute

I am plugging away on Lucky. Surprisingly, even though I am working on US 3s, it seems to go pretty quickly. I am enjoying the clover lace pattern, and the increasing and decreasing isn't too bad. Now I'm closing in on the raglan shaping:



Dare I hope that Lucky can be a spring sweater, rather than a fall sweater?

Although normally I knit more than one project at a time, I find that this project is more than enough to keep me occupied. Maybe this project will spark a new direction in my knitting: more challenging projects, but fewer projects. We'll see.

Everyone is talking about the new Rowan - some websites have previews of the magazine. I don't want to look at the previews because it will spoil the surprise when it finally arrives in my mailbox!

I am still in search of the perfect yarn for Clapotis. I was at the DC Stitch 'n' Bitch meeting yesterday, and someone had yarn from Serendipity. It was sooooo soft. It was like touching a cloud, I kid you not! So, I may just pick a colorway that seems good and go for it. I'd better hurry - it was 55 degrees in Washington today! Some people are saying winter's over already. Having lived north of the Mason-Dixon line most of my life, I'm not so sure.

That's pretty much it on the knitting front. Work is pretty busy right now, so my posting has been (and will continue to be) somewhat sporadic. I have a big meeting coming up, and after that - a little R & R. I'm thinking about either getting out of town for a few days, or having a little day spa experience. Should be fun either way!

By the way - check out the birthday gift Amelia got! Totally beautiful. We should all have such friends!

**UPDATE** Okay, I am really inspired by Amelia's Simply Marilyn sweater. The DB Cashmerino Superchunky is super-expensive. I found some Cascade Ecological Wool at One Fine Yarn for $15 for a whopping 478 yards. So, I would only need 2 skeins to make this lovely sweater! I am wondering if it is reasonably soft and lightweight. Does anyone have experience with this yarn? Gimme a holler if you do!