Possessed to Knit

Wendy Knits Lace

Before Hurricane Irene arrived on Saturday, Fibre Space held a book signing party for Wendy Johnson's latest book, Wendy Knits Lace.  I had picked up my copy earlier in the week, and good thing I did as Fibre Space had sold out of her books during the event.  "Wendy Knits Lace" has a wide variety of lace projects including scarves, shawls, sweaters, mittens, cowls, and socks.

I had a wonderful time catching up with Wendy and becoming a "Wendy Knits Junior Stalker" and meeting her out-of-town guests, Stacy and and her sister, Muriel.  Stacy dyes beautiful Tempted Yarns.  Wendy is a gracious host, spending time with each of her fans and listening to our "Wendy Knits" stories. 

I have several projects going at the moment, however, I plan on knitting Wendy's Diamond Lace socks the first chance I get in my STR Goody Goody sock yarn.  The photography in Wendy Knits Lace is exquisite and I very much enjoyed seeing all of Wendy's designs in person. 

Thank you to Wendy and Fibre Space for an incredible afternoon!

Kittiwake Hat Completed

Here is my completed Kittiwake from Alice Starmore's Aran Knitting book.  I used 1 skein of Blue Sky's Royal 100% Alpaca yarn and size 3.25 mm Addi Lace needles.  I stopped Chart A at row 24 and then worked row 37, making the hat a little shorter and less slouchy.  I kept the cable twists in the same direction for Chart B, instead of reversing them as per the pattern, and I worked the purl 2 together decreases of row 24 in row 23.  Once I had 24 sts on the needles, I worked 1 more round of purl followed by a round of k2 tog and then I closed the top of the hat with 12 sts.  I left the tassel off and later sewed the folded edge down to make it more stable.  This alpaca yarn is very nice, but a bit drapey for this project.  At any rate, it will be a warm hat for winter. 

Wild Flower Socks Completed

Here are my vivid Wild Flower socks.  I love this Cabin Cove yarn dyed by Dave Daniels.  It is soft and strong with 80% merino wool and 20% nylon.  It holds its shape and is long-wearing.  I knitted these socks on size 0 Addi Turbo 40" circular needles with 72 sts and a short-row heel.  They were fun to knit with the unpredictability of the color changes.  I named them Wild Flower socks as the colors reminded me of a summer meadow. 

It also is nice to complete a pair of socks as I do have 3 other pairs of socks on the needles.  I have some of this yarn leftover and I am thinking of a Fair Isle hat with some leftover red Cabin Cove yarn.  It should make a fun, brightly colored hat, but first I have some socks in progress to finish.