Kauni Following

What a hiatus! It's been ten days since my last post. Work has been busy, and I'm feeling under the weather. Enough of the un-fun, fellow knitters.

Let's talk Kauni
When I posted about the exciting arrival of Multicolor-EQ (Rainbow) I knew that I wasn't going to knit Ruth's wonderful Kaffe Fasset-esque pattern. It's a beautiful pattern, but has too much horizontal focus for my frame!

I even thought about using the Kilim pattern in Sweaters from Camp with the square motif from Ruth's pattern.
*(no one online seems to have knit this pattern. Hrm. It doesn't have stellar instructions... but still!)
Why? It's knit vertically. Sleeve to front/back to sleeve. This is still a pretty great option for an easy knit- even if it isn't knit in the round.

I still wasn't happy. Way back in August a hunt for fair isle patterns started. Off to the Textile Center's library I went, where I picked up these:

I decided that I wanted a pattern that used approximately the same amount of yarn for the positive and negative space. I also wanted something that would have at least a partial verticle access-- or would not at least focus on horizontal striping. The best fit was "Turkish Maple" (open book above) from Meg Swanson's Knitting.

Before I swatched, I started stalking Kauni sweaters on Ravelry. Look at what turned up:

Kauni Experiment:Heidi's knitbits http://heidisknitbits.blogspot.com/
Love the simple geometry with neutral tones. Nice sweater.

Turkish motif: Liza at String Theory http://whitebirchfiberarts.blogspot.com/
Along the lines of what I was thinking about with the Turkish Maple sweater. Clearly, a Turkish motif, Verticle Emphasis, and Positive/Negative space use up the same amount of yarn real-estate. Great idea!
Now, here's the show stopper.

Maria from Passing Down Crazy (a mom-daughter knitting blog) is a fellow Minnesotan is in the midst of this amazing knitted work: Look at the wonderful 50/50 negative and positive space use! The perfect placement of color across the wheel with varing intensity (lightness/darkness). I'm not a huge fan of Fleur de Lis, but I love the leaf and Iris motif. Irises happen to be my favorite flowers!
The more I see the sweater, the more I love it.

Here's the downfall. She used a Dale of Norway stitch motif called "Damask".
A friend tried to order said pattern. The results?

Request: On Sep 25, 2007, at 1:02 PM, Deepa wrote Item #B22006 (Book) -- $5.50Dale 6023 DamaskWoman's cardigan to knit in two lengths. Adult sizes Sto XL.(6023)I would like to order this pattern. Please let me knowthe total cost and I will pay with Paypal.Thank you.Deepa

Reply: From: Velona Needlecraft [mailto:info@velona.com]Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2007 3:44 PMTo: Deepa Subject: Re: just sold out: pattern orderI am sorry but this was sold out a few days ago. Thankyou.

Bummer. I'm not going to lie. I've started charting the pattern in Excel.

Rain, Rain Go Away!

Dear readers, you do give the best advice. Sure, it's been weeks since I've finished any knitting project. Nothing makes this fact more glaring than Ravelry! Upon your resounding advice, I did rip out the Wollmeise sock and start again. It's just about to the heel turn.

There was a good deal of sun over the weekend. I took the dogs to the park a few times, so they were thouroughly exhausted!

Never too soon

It's never too soon to start holiday gifts, right? These will be given to a 25 yr. old who has a purple jacket. What do you think-- leave as fingerless, or knit full mittens?
Pomatomus pattern at knitty.com, 48 stitches on US 3s, Araucantia Atacama purchased on sale at elann.com, palm in rib. 2 skeins are needed for a pair with two pattern repeats on the cuff.
I wore the wrong shirt to work to model these!


Finger-smooshing update:
feeling better, still a little swollen, and permanent bruising under two nails.
(fuzzy pic, hard to take with one hand!)

Updates:

Go HERE to read Cathy's dizzying account of a fantastic and fiber-filled Twin Cities weekend. (exhausting yet wonderful :)

My fingers were smashed in a garage door over the weekend, so typing and knitting are not high on my 'fun' list at the moment. So far, bruises are getting lighter and I still have all fingernails!

Lately I've been having trouble sticking to any project. As proof, I'll fess up to another project recently on the needles.

I thought a simple yet beautiful Wollmeise sock in the Susanne colorway would help. The leg is nearly finished. When I tried it on, I realized it's about 4 stitches too small. Would you rip it out and begin again, or keep going and gift the socks?
Two news items for today:

1. The Bohus sales previously at Kimmet Croft yarns is now StageCoach Yarns. In fact, the old Kimmet Croft website routes you there! Mary Jo is ready to prepare kits-- so if you're looking to knit Bohus garmets at a *slightly* larger gauge than museum pieces, go and order! They create beautiful items.

2. LR is home. Toby has claimed it for his own.

Sock Monkeys!?!

If you know me well, you know that I kinda hate sock monkeys. (and clowns)

Sock Monkeys were the only toys around at my evil step grandmother's home. She made an entire sea of them. My brother, on the other hand, thinks they're absolutely hilarious. Two holidays ago I sewed orange and brown sock monkey pillowcases for him-- and now they're not only worn out, but they don't match his new home.

For J & G and they're new blue/green/tan condo walls:Since the Singer Featherweight was out, I sewed a set for myself.

No Sock Monkeys for me!


Knitting content? So, I pulled out a sock from the infamous drawer. This was my first toe-up attempt, and boy is the work sloppy! See how it torques? (It goes away with blocking). I think these were started 3 years ago. The yarn is wound in a huge ball, and I still thought verigated yarn and lace was o.k. I'm continuing with the pattern because the "Indian Corn" bearfoot color is a lovely autumnal shade, and the Tiger Eye lace actually does lend to a corn-like aesthetic.