Blocking is Hard!

I decided to block my first-ever lace project today. It was hard! Even though the shawl was damp, it was really difficult to get the top edge to be straight and totally perpendicular to the center stitch column. Sigh. Oh well! For my first effort, I'll take it! It was really fun to knit lace, and even better to see it stretch out. The Dream in Color yarn did very well, I think. I see another shawl in my future, even though I'm not crazy about the pointy parts at the bottom edges.

I also want to say a huge shout-out and THANK YOU to my knitting buddies who sent me the sweetest get-well card! It was such a suprise! (and I heard my hubby was in on it too - sneaky!) I really miss getting together to knit. But it won't be much longer before I can rove the city in search of knitters and more yarn, as usual!

Another fun thing: I sold some yarn on the Destash blog! It was my first time de-stashing and I have to admit, it was kind of thrilling. Plus - stuff really moves on this site! I sold each lot I posted in less than 24 hours. Apparently I have good taste, if an overactive buying habit!

And one more fun thing before I go: my friend has started a new blog with an awesome name: Knit Crit. The focus of her blog is knitting pattern reviews, and with your input, it will turn into a real resource for us to "look before we knit." So, check her out!

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Another FO

I got an awesome get-well gift from my dad: yarn! His wife's sister runs a yarn shop, so he had a little help with the selections. He sent a sweater's worth of Froehlich Wolle Bergschaff - a very soft, chunky, slubby and yet machine washable yarn - and a skein of Trekking for some socks. I wanted to hurry up and knit up a sweater to show Dad that I really appreciated his gift. So here's what I made:


It's a top-down raglan with a stand up garter stitch collar, garter stitch trim and three-quarter sleeves. Here's a close-up of the fabric:


All in all, a quick knit from a great yarn.

I'm also working on finishing a few languishing projects: 1) the two-color felted purse; 2) a pink cardigan that needs buttonbands; 3) the Norah Gaughan lace hoodie; and 4) the grey-navy raglan.

I've been watching many, many episodes of my favorite daytime shows, including Clean House, Get Color, How Do I Look?, and What not to Wear. Although some of these shows are about fashion and some are about the home, a common theme is CLUTTER. Although I am not in need of Clean House's services - our clutter is manageable and you can walk in our apartment - I have been thinking a lot about how I could better organize and use my things, get rid of things that are not working for me, and generally have a more harmonious life. So, I think getting rid of my knitting clutter by finishing projects is a good way to start that while I am resting. We shall see!

Projects

My mom has gone back home and my husband is at work. The healing process is going smoothly, and so I am just knitting away at home and trying not to get sick of TV. Thanks again for your greetings back to blogland! It's good to be (mostly) back.

I have progress pics to share! First up, I have a hat that was made from a kit from Cloverleaf Yarns. It was purchased a loooong time ago, so I'm not sure about the colorway - but they still sell them here. It turned out beautifully:


The picture's a little overexposed; the colors are actually a smidge deeper. It was fun to knit, alternating between chunky boucle, mohair/wool blend and heavyweight mohair in light to dark shades. It's double-stranded, so I knit it in an afternoon. It fits me, and it's warm - but they aren't my colors. Must figure out a suitable recipient for the hat...

...and, the shawl is finished! This took about a week and a half of solid, monogamous knitting (the hat came after). I love the Dream in Color yarn, and Susan's pattern was a perfect start for this lace newbie. Check it out:



And a close up:

Obviously it's not blocked, but I'm not quite up to that yet. Since I had extra yarn, I added one pattern repeat. I'm so excited to see how big it will get! All in due time...

I'm still knitting on my gray and navy sweater, too. I'm well into the yoke and am figuring out what lace pattern I'm going to use for the neckline. The lace is going to be hot pink, I think. My husband thinks the sweater will be "busy." We'll see! There may be another FO soon...

Later, y'all!

Me again

Hi everyone! I'm on the other side of surgery and happy to say that everything went very well. Thank you all for your good thoughts and well wishes. I know they helped keep me safe.

I am at home and on the mend. The pain is manageable, and my mom and my husband have been taking good care of me. I'm spending about 98% of my time in bed, but so far I'm not too bored...I've watched a LOT of DIY, HGTV and TLC. I'm also totally hooked on Top Design! (Why didn't Ryan get kicked off this week instead of Elizabeth??) I'm also knitting, but the turnaround time for photo shoots has lengthened substantially. :) I'm working on the Forest Canopy Shawl in the Dream in Color yarn I showed last week. It's beautiful so far! It's my first lace piece, so I'm excited to see it come together.

Also, I couldn't have been more surprised to receive lots of flowers! And since it is February and snowy, I thought I'd share some happy flower photos. Looking forward to catching up with all of you since I am back home and online.

New LYS

Thanks, everyone, for your thoughtful comments and well wishes. I accept them gratefully and I trust that everything will be fine.

Just a brief post today, partly because I didn't want the surgery post to be the only thing up here for the next two weeks! I wanted to mention an AWESOME new knit shop here in Chicago. It's called Knitwerks, and it's run by Cherrl Harmon. She is just the kind of person you imagine should have her own knitting store. She's competent and creative, welcoming and funny...and the store is a reflection of that.

I wish I'd taken my camera the first time I visited Knitwerks, but her website's got some pics. And, my stash enhancement will give you some idea of the selection:



Top right is a basket from Lantern Moon. Beautiful silk lining and a drawstring closure. I thought this would be great for knitting while prone - so I don't have to worry about runaway balls of yarn. Bottom right: Noro Kureyon. She's got Kureyon! I'm planning a multidirectional scarf with Karen Baumer's free pattern. Left hand side: this yarn is new to me. It's called Dream in Color, and it comes from Aurora, IL. It's springy and soft, with subtle mottled color effects. I'm going to make a Forest Canopy shoulder shawl with the berry color, and socks with the blue color.

So, what didn't I buy?! Cherrl's also got Rowan, Debbie Bliss, Fiesta, Interlacements, Blue Heron, and more! Plenty for you if you visit.

Later, y'all. See you soon...

UPDATED TO ADD: In case you've been wondering whether to pick up one of the two new novels about knitting, here's a review of both from the Christian Science Monitor.

Busy

Busy times around the sturdygirl household of late. I've been really busy at work, and busy attending to personal stuff too. It's all in an effort to get things squared away before I have surgery and am home from work and resting for four to six weeks.

Yes, you heard me. I'm having surgery on February 8. It's somewhat scary but I think it will be okay. I've never had surgery before, or had a reason to rest long-term for anything other than a broken bone (and that was when I was 6). I think the inactivity and temporary loss of my independence is almost scarier than the surgery.

On the plus side, I should have some quality knitting time to look forward to. When I first found out about this, I was wracking my brains for a special project to start and finish during my recuperation: a lace shawl, a cabled afghan, etc. But then I decided...screw it. It's too much pressure, and I'm not sure I want an item that just reminds me of a scary and painful time. I'm just going to do whatever I feel like and finish old projects, start new ones, swatch, practice crochet, or anything that comes to mind. My brain - and my body - need a break from deadlines and projects.

Oh, knitting? Right. I've been steadily working on my sweater, but realized through trial and error that it did _not_ need waist decreases. In fact, adding in waist decreases created a significant 'pooch' on the sides of the sweater. Not attractive. So after all this work...


(about 14 inches of fabric)
...I'm back to the picture you saw in the last post. Sigh. Oh well, knit and learn! Later, y'all...

Projects

I've been knitting, really! I've just been working on scarves, so I haven't posted any pictures. I've just finished one for the Red Scarf Project, and will send it off as soon as it's sufficiently blocked. I also made two scarves for Food and Friends in Washington, DC. If you have a scarf surplus, or just feel like making a scarf, you might think about making one for their Scarf Drive. They are a great organization. They are really in need of unisex, non-novelty yarn scarves.


I've also started on a sweater. It's going to be a raglan, with a sort of slouchy fit - and it's going to have (gasp!) a third color yet to be determined. I'm excited to see how it turns out. I'm using two colors of Berroco Ultra Alpaca, and after my work so far I can confidently say I am _not_ allergic to alpaca. Yay!

I have a lot of energy for knitting, but not for much else after work today. I realized late on Sunday that my weekend did not have nearly enough time for just lying about. Apparently I normally use the weekend to really relax, physically - and I was paying for it Sunday night and today. Anyhoo, I'll just try and slow things down a bit this week.

Hope you are all doing well!

Art

"You ask how I know of Toledo, Ohio? Well I spent a week there one day. They've got entertainment to dazzle your eyes: go visit the bakery and watch the buns rise."

-John Denver

Some of you may know that I am from Toledo, Ohio. I was there at Christmas this year, for the first time in a long time. It was great to go back to my hometown and see how it's changed (or hasn't). It's not the most exciting city (see above quote), but it does have a world-class art museum. When I was growing up, I spent a lot of time there, taking Saturday classes almost every term. My mom likes to tell the story of how, in order to get me signed up for my first classes (I was 6), she had to wait in line for hours on the first day of registration. She was about seven months pregnant with my brother, and she says she stood for a long time before someone brought her a chair.

I can't say I was the star of any of my art classes, but in high school I began to show a little promise. Unfortunately, my family relocated after my sophomore year, and I wound up going to a school with almost nothing in the way of an art program. After that, I did very little with visual art, although I did get more involved in music. My college degree is in biology. My current work (which, incidentally, does not involve biology in the slightest) requires very little in the way of creativity, especially with regard to the visual arts.

Not sure why I felt like talking about this; I just started writing and it came out. What got me on the topic was that I wanted to share some pictures from my Christmastime visit to the museum. I guess going there reminded me of a time in my life where I felt a world of creative possibilities. I'd like to think that through developing my knitting and (nascent) sewing skills, I'm entering another creative era of my life.

So anyway...here are some pictures from the collection at my hometown museum. I should also say that Toledo is the glass capital of the world, having been home to several of the largest makers of fine glass, the Libbey Company, as well as other industrial glass companies. The museum has a new Glass Pavilion which displays its vast collection of glass from antiquity to today.


Stegosaurus by Calder and the Museum


1st cent B.C. Roman bowl, mosaic ribbon glass technique


Libbey Glass punch bowl


Lalique bowl


Campiello del Remer #2 by Chihuly, inside the Glass Pavilion

An FO

These are my feet.


I made these socks from Sweetgeorgia Yarns Speed Demon yarn (which is approximately sport weight) in the colorway Viola. I got it from here (great service!). I loved working with this yarn - it knits up smoothly and the colors are dappled and don't pool.

My only (small) complaint is that owing to my large (US 10) feet there was not quite enough yarn to finish the toe of the second sock. I had a small remnant from the one other pair of socks I've made, so I just used that.

I asked my husband what he thought. "Well," he said, "it would have been cooler if both toes had that other color." Nice, but no dice. The remnant was insufficient for both toes. And I didn't want to dip into a full skein of something else to have matching toes for this pair, only to cause the same problem down the line. And it goes without saying that ripping both socks and making them shorter was out of the question.

Have you seen those shoes where they are mated but not matched? Look here. And so I have socks from the Camper school of design. Sort of.

Later, y'all!

My other New Year's project

The internet is a wonderful thing for knitting. It lets us share ideas, inspiration, techniques and materials. But the internet has also produced, at least at my house, a profusion of patterns - free and not free, downloaded or cut-and-pasted, and finally printed. They are in binders, or not, in plastic sleeves, or not, in knitting bags....and everywhere else!

So I did something about it.



This is a three-inch binder. There are almost 100 patterns in it. Of course, it only occurred to me to take a 'before' picture once there was no 'before' - only neatly organized patterns. So you can use your imagination (or perhaps your reality!) as to the mess that previously existed.

Now that I can find my patterns, the sky's the limit! Maybe now I will finally knit that Leaf Lace Shawl, Gigi, or Vex. It's a new year...who knows?

Vacation

Vacation Knitting


A New Knitter


Cuteness


New Year's Eve
More words later - time to cook some New Year's Day waffles! Best wishes for a great 2007, everyone!

Christmas Craziness

The Christmas season is in full swing chez sturdygirl. Husband and I are headed out of town this weekend for Family Holiday #1 with his family. Family Holiday #2 will be over Christmas Day with my family. Needless to say, the gift-buying, trip planning and organizing is intense! Luckily, I have been very cautious on the gift knitting or else I would be a basket case by now. As it is, I have had upset stomach and have been very cranky to my co-workers...so maybe I just need the basket. :)

Anyway, I did find time to make a warm scarf for myself. It will come in handy this weekend in Minnesota! Again, here's a cell phone pic:


I made this from Blue Sky Alpacas Bulky Hand Dyed in Lilac. This was SUCH a pleasure to knit. Very smooth and soft yarn, subtle shading, and fast! Nine stitches on US 15s, seed stitch. I love the look of seed stitch but I find it tedious - so this is a less taxing way to enjoy it. It took just a couple of leisurely evenings to finish. Three skeins and it's plenty long for wrapping around and tying if you want.

I've been trying to knit with alpaca lately to see if I'm allergic to it. I got a weird tingly feeling when I started a project with Berroco Ultra Alpaca, which made me sad because it's such a versatile, great yarn. So I knit this scarf, and I knit a swatch in a different color of the U. Alpaca. So far, no problems! I'm really glad, because after seeing myself modeling the hot new Ariann, I think I need that yarn! The alpaca gives it a great drape, and the yardage! Oh, the yardage.

Anyway, have a great weekend! Hopefully I will be back to posting more regularly soon.

Random Post for a Random Day

Hello all! I got a little sidetracked last week, but let me be sure to say a huge THANK YOU for all the compliments on my gold 'n' leafy sweater. Thanks for applauding my first riff on a pattern...maybe one day there will be a full-fledged sturdygirl design effort. Who knows?

Things have been crazy, though mostly in a good way. Wednesday, I went on a business trip to D.C. (well, Alexandria), which was great because I got to see my best friend A. My boss and I were supposed to leave on Friday, but got snowed out. I say snowed out because DC was a lovely 70 degrees - while Chicago was getting buried with snow and ice. So I got to hang with A. not once, but twice in three days! I also got some goodies at Stitch DC - no pic yet, but I will share soon, because the yarn I picked up is cool.

As far as knitting goes, I somehow find myself sucked into the vortex of holiday knitting. I did my best to avoid it, but it happened anyway. Right now I'm working on some dishcloths which will probably be gifts for my co-workers. It's never good to be caught empty-handed when a colleague gives you a gift! Here's a really bad pic from my cell phone:


(knitting at work - sshhh!)
The other thing I wanted to share is more knitting news. Have you ever heard of Colorsong Yarns? They have the best selection of Fleece Artist and Handmaiden yarns I've ever seen, which is great in and of itself - but now they've launched NatureSong, an online shop of natural yarns. Did you know Habu makes cashmere yarn? Check it, friends.

Anyway. That's pretty much all I have to say, except for this:


A stealthy shot of Benetton's yarn tree decoration. Kinda cool, but shouldn't someone be knitting with that stuff?!?

Thanks-knitting

Hi everyone! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving. Mine was very nice - a great meal with great conversation. We stayed in town, so the only transportation was a Chicago city bus. Suits me since I hate traveling on Thanksgiving. Anyway, it was a nice day and a relaxing long weekend.

I have two knitting news items for today:

1) Have you ever used the Yarn Search feature on Elann? Elann is a great source for discounted yarn, but the Yarn Search feature is terrific for holiday gifts. For instance, I am looking for some gold yarn to make a small scarf for a family friend. The Yarn Search feature lets you pick fiber content (e.g. cotton, wool, wool blend, natural fibers generally, etc.), gauge, color, season, and yarn brand. I chose the color, and let them do the rest. I found Elann Champagne, the perfect yarn at the perfect gauge! It's inexpensive, too!

2) Finding the perfect yarn brings me to my second item: finding the perfect pattern. Surely you have someone on your list who would love a handknitted item. And just as surely, your knitting list is already overflowing, so you are looking for quick yet beautiful projects.

Look no further! Shobhana has a great lacy scarf pattern that will whip up quickly. (click on her name to see how fabulous hers looks!) And through Dec. 31, she's donating a huge chunk of the proceeds from pattern sales to the Mongolia Project at F.I.R.E., the folks who ship all of your fabulously warm Dulaan items to their needy recipents. They need mucho cash to ship to Mongolia. So buy a pattern, knit it up, and keep your loved ones and the people of Mongolia warm this season.


Besides, everybody's doin' it....

Breaking Radio Silence

Hi all,

I've been away for a while. I've been knitting quite a lot...but this last week at work was a total bear. My bloglines has tons of new posts to read. I feel like I am limping toward Thanksgiving.

Anyway, at long last, I have pictures of the gold & leafy sweater. Here's the hanger shot:



And the being worn, headless shot:



The yarn is Cascade 128 Tweed in the color Maize. (the color in the first picture is pretty accurate.) I highly recommend this yarn. It's really soft and sproingy, and a great value (at least where I purchased it, Loopy Yarns).

I was worried about the neckline, since I didn't plan out the decreases very carefully. But it turned out fine! I just cast off each piece, picked up stitches and knit one row, and then bound off.

So, there you have it. I'm working on another sweater too, a top-down cardigan. I have to admit - the lack of seams is intoxicating! It seems like my progress is super-fast with this method, and it seems to use less yarn. Is this true? Anyway - I was going to try to use a different color for the neckline, hem and button bands, but then I chickened out. Maybe on my second cardi - I've actually never done a buttonband before.

This reminds me of a knitting realization I recently had: The two most difficult things I've tried to knit are both unfinished. They rank high in difficulty (for me) because one is my first two-color project (the felted bag), and the other is the Norah Gaughan hoodie with the lace border. Do you have this problem too? Or, when you're working on a challenging project, do you just plow through until you're finished? I know knitting is supposed to be fun, and it is. But I can't help but feel like I should try to push myself more.

Anyway, catch up with you later! Hope everyone is doing well and looking forward to the holiday.

Some Knitting News

It seems like there is so much going on in knitting, and I am forever learning about more cool things - so I imagine some of you feel the same way. So here are a few tidbits I've come across lately:

Knitalongs:

• Knit lace in Lacevember! http://lacevember.blogspot.com/


• Knit with Noro this month in Norovember. Sign up at http://minxknits.blog-city.com/

Lion Brand now has luxury yarn! They are offering three new yarns, one in cashmere, and two mohair/silk blends (the latter are even hand-dyed)! What is the world coming to?! (grin) Check it out here.

I love shopping online at Purl in New York City. Now they have a blog, the Purl Bee, that explores all kinds of quilting and knitting projects, techniques, new products, and even reviews of art exhibits and books. Recent posts have discussed vintage quilt designs and the work of Elizabeth Zimmerman.

I have been waiting for this! Vermont Organic Fiber Company is offering organic knitting wool, called O-Wool.This yarn is spun from 100% Certified Organic wool and is processed in accordance with the Organic Trade Association's Fiber Processing standards. They have a policy of not buying wool from farms where sheep are mulesed, meaning this yarn is cruelty-free. O-Wool comes in a great set of rich colors and has good yardage.

And a special newsbite for Chicagoans: The MCA, will be hosting Stitch n Bitch once again, on the first Tuesday of every month from November through May from 5:30-8 pm in the café. I went once and had a great time - I'd love to do it again.

And in my personal knitting news, the gold and leafy sweater is done! It just needs ends woven in and a photo shoot! Very exciting...

Election Day

Washington, DC - Election Day, 2004
If you have hopes and dreams for this country and the world, please vote today.

What I've Been Up To

Blogger hates me! I posted this week, I really did! But I don't think anyone could see it.

Anyway, that just gave me more time to make progress on my sweater. Here's what I've been up to:


This is the front, pre-blocking; I've also finished the sleeves. I'm now working on the back, and then it will be time to sew up this puppy!

This is not my own design by any stretch - it's more of a 'pinch of this, ounce of that' from a number of inspirations. This project has given me an even greater appreciation for people who design their own patterns from scratch! If I were to do it again, I would move the lace panel over so I could have done another decrease or two at the neck. (I didn't really think about that beforehand.) I'm still not sure how the neckline is going to pan out - I wanted a simple boatneck, maybe a row of crochet - but if it falls off my shoulders I will have to do something a bit higher to cover up the decreases.

So, I should have an FO shot for you soon. This weekend, though, I will be occupied: my best buddy M. is coming to visit from San Francisco! So I am really looking forward to that. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

(Blogger, don't eat this post!)

Nothin' but Knit

Hope everyone enjoyed the interview with Shobhana. I think Yarnplay is a stellar book, and you should all run out and get a copy - or make your local library buy one so you can borrow it.

Other than the interview, it's been a little quiet here on the blog. I've had a little startitis, because I had thought I'd be making tons of knitted holiday gifts at this time. However, upon further reflection, I've pretty much made all the gifts I'm going to this year, for the people I know will appreciate them, and that's about it. No need to break my neck on something that's beautiful to me, but not to the recipient. Onward!

This is what's new in my corner of the world:


1) A ribbed scarf, in Malabrigo Tuscan Sky. Wow, is this stuff great! It's a completely different animal than Manos...so much softer, more evenly spun (although thinner over all), more yardage...it's awesome. And the color in this picture? Competely accurate - like a beautiful blue sky with light, puffy clouds. I thought this would be a gift, but we'll see about that...


2) Jo Sharp Shawl Collared Cardigan. I've just started on the fab cardi pictured on the cover of this magazine. Here's a better picture. I'm using Jaeger Luxury Tweed. It will take forever to finish, so I've started on another project:


3) Swatches for a chunky sweater. It's heavily inspired by the Rusted Root pattern from Zephyr Style. I'm using Cascade 128 - but not tweed, in a color called Maize (the bottom swatch). This yarn is so soft and springy. Should make a nice, cozy sweater.

BTW - The red yarn above is Berkshire from Webs Valley Yarns line. I bought some to try out this new yarn, and I thought I'd make a Red Scarf at the same time. I think it's meant to be like Lamb's Pride and it sort of is, but it's softer. Very smooth to knit with and less hairy than Lamb's Pride. Good price, too!

Well, that's all I've got for tonight. Hope all your projects are flying off the needles!

Knitting in Color! Yarnplay author Lisa Shobhana Mason

Today I am so excited to be talking with Lisa Shobhana Mason. You may know her by her Big Bad Baby Blanket pattern in Stitch’n’Bitch, or by her blog, My Life in Stitches. And now, with her new book Yarnplay, there’s even more of Shobhana to love! The title Yarnplay is apt – Shobhana encourages her readers to play with beautiful fibers and striking colors to create fabulous projects. She combines these fibers and colors with modern shapes, creating cool, wearable designs.

Regular Knitting Aloud readers will know that although I love color and rarely knit with neutrals, I’m a little shy about mixing things up. So when I had the chance to talk with Shobhana about her book, I wanted to talk about color and how to work with it for the best results.

I'm pretty new to mixing colors in my knitting projects. Where would you recommend I start?

There seem to be two groups of knitters, those who are into color and those who are into intricate stitch patterns. Working with color is so second nature to me that I'm often stunned when I find someone struggling with color. (similarly, my friends are shocked when I reveal my lack of patience and skills when it comes to intricate lacework.) I've seen some really dreadful color combinations. It makes me wonder if some people are hard of color perception. Seriously. where to start? The more intricate the design, the less color you want. If it's a really simple pattern you can go crazy with color. Depending upon the intensity of the design, choose a few colors that you like. Take them out into the sunlight. Colors tend to look much different outdoors than they look in the shop or at home. Give yourself a few days to hang out with the colors that you've chosen. Chances are you'll make a few changes before settling upon a final selection. Get feedback from a friend whose taste you trust. If you can't even get started than you probably need a little inspiration. I find that quilts and wallpaper are good resources for color.

I love pastels (think duck egg blue), but I think an all-pastel sweater would be too blah. What are some ways to spice up a pastel/light colored garment?

Try using a different color for the trim. You could use a crocheted border around the neckline, cuffs, and hem. Or you could use a contrasting color for the first couple of rows at the hem and cuffs. I love duck egg blue with fire engine red, baby pink with black, powder blue with dark brown, and both pale yellow and peach work well with charcoal. As for seafoam green -- I don't have much use for that with or without a contrasting color!

When selecting a color palette for a project, is it all trial and error? What is your process for doing this?

It depends on my mood and what I feel drawn to at the moment. My personal preferences seem to change about every 6 months or so. I try to go for combinations that I’ve never worked with before and that I haven't seen anyone else work with lately. I start with one or two colors that I like and then I try to add a color that is unexpected. For example, when I started the 'Everything but the Kitchen Sink' sweater I was really into blues and greens. I added lavender to shake things up a little.


When mixing colors, I'm never sure how to deal with warm and cool tones. Is okay to use both in one project?

Sure! I think it works well with 2 colors, like violet and lavender, or with a few pairs of warm/cool combinations.

The color combinations in your book are modern without being overly trendy. How can I select colors for knitting projects that will still look great years from now?

That's tough. I find that color dates garments just as much as style. When I see grass green, I immediately think of summer / autumn 2004. When I see certain shades of pink I think of 2003. I'm sure that a couple of years from now when I see plum I'll think of autumn 2006 (and, if the runway shows are any indication, spring 2007). If we're talking about anything beyond red, navy, and your basic neutrals, color dating is hard to avoid. My advice is to choose colors that you know you'll still feel comfortable wearing in a few years.

I love seeing kids' knits in more modern colors, as in your "Baby A" design. It seems we're moving away from dressing kids like crayons! At the same time, it can be hard to choose colors for kids that aren't too 'grown up'. What colors and shades are you enjoying in kids' designs right now?


I like anything that makes kids look like people and not like dress up dolls. I really like to see kids dressed in blacks and charcoals and greys, but I’m just goth that way.

The holiday season is approaching! Although I love to give hand-knit gifts, sometimes it's hard to select a color for another person. How can I think about color when I'm making something as a gift?

This can be tough. Not tough to figure out, but tough to execute. What I mean by that is that you can observe what colors a person tends to wear and make your decision pretty easily. Unfortunately, I find that when I knit for someone the colors that they wear are usually colors that I find pretty boring to knit with. There's nothing worse than having to endure a whole project's worth of knitting in a color that doesn't inspire you. Choosing a color for someone that you think they should like or that you think that might look good in, but that you haven't actually seen them wear is usually a big mistake.

What do you think about sweaters made entirely of striping, bright yarns like Silk Garden?

The key is that the pattern needs to be really simple. Otherwise, it just gets a bit too noisy if you know what I mean.

Is there such a thing as too much color?

No! I knit a Koigu coat with about 65 different colors! If you're going to work with multiple colors or yarns you need either 7 or 37. Seriously. A weird thing happens when you have like 11 or 18. Somehow it just doesn't seem to work. Again, with something like this you need to keep in mind that the project is meant to showcase the colors and not the pattern. Keep it super simple!

I love how your Poppy pattern uses color to shape the silhouette of the wearer. How can I choose colors and combinations that show off my figure like this?

Honestly, I have no idea. I'm on the skinny side and I design sweaters that I want to wear. I, mostly, like garments that are fitted. I think it's sexier. I don't like to see anyone wearing a tent. I think bigger women look fabulous in sexy, fitted sweaters. The key is that the gauge needs to be fine. Chunky sweaters make you look bigger and nobody wants that!

Thanks, Shobhana for your wonderful book and your thoughtful comments. I can’t wait to get started on some of these fabulous Yarnplay patterns! You should too. Pick up a copy of her book -- Amazon link here-- and then hop over to Lolly Knitting Around on Monday for more discussion about the book.