More Wooly Goodness

Completed a couple of weeks ago, but not shown -- Velynda, from Chic Knits . Knit in a now (sadly) discontinued yarn from Nashua Handknits, Julia.






The photo is not very well lit, but perhaps this closeup of the stitch pattern will show a little better:
















Notice also the closely matching vintage buttons!

And then there's a project that languished on the needles for many months, no idea why, as it's lovely yarn from the talented dyer Carol Sulcoski at Black Bunny Fibers. The pattern is Beret Gaufre, available as a free download from the also talented Veronik Avery. Apologies for the lack of French punctuation.

A sewing free post

The fleet of sewing machines takes a short break so that yarn can hit the spotlight -- there's always knit/crochet going on at Mingling Yarn, it just doesn't always make the cut as far as posts.

First up, a little cowl from Virtual Yarns -- Maud, part of a multi-piece set (cowl, gloves, tam). This was knit as a warm-up, practice piece for the main attraction -- the Oregon vest. I've had that kit in the stash for (mumble, mumble) years, and it's finally time. Or, getting closer anyway!






My two-handed, two-color knitting skills are quite rusty, so this was a nice little exercise for a bigger project. Not perfectly executed, but at least now I feel better prepared.

Next, a little crochet neck scarf/shawlette -- South Bay Shawlette from the folks at Lion Brand -- I'd link to the pattern itself, but I believe that you need to register for their freebies.


Quick, easy, but attractive pattern that is easily memorized. The yarn was given to me by Margaret, local knitting/spinning/weaving/just-about-anything-with-fiber guru, who used a good portion of it in a mystery shawl project. It's Seiku (sometimes spelled Sekku) from Noro, and is a blend of cotton/wool/nylon/silk - 420 meters in a 50 gr. skein. Typical of Noro are the exuberant colors, and the 'interesting' way it's spun -- while this is a lace weight yarn, it ranges from very loosely spun DK-sized slubs to tightly spun invisible strands. OK, maybe not quite invisible, but darn close - certainly very thread like. I like the way it turned out, it will be a fun little accessory, but I seriously doubt that I'll be using this again -- life is just too short to be holding your breath (against breakage) with every stitch. We won't even mention how Mr. Monty sat on it and broke a strand. Not to worry, he's still living, although he did not get to lick my ice cream bowl that evening.

So, the first knit/crochet project of the new year. Small, but delightful.