Work In Progress Wednesday

Sometimes there is a confluence of wonderful things, that just have to be acted upon. Such for me were the long stashed crystal AB beads, the wonderful madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in Alizarin from last season's yarn club, and the rampant Steampunk mania that's going on in my HPKCHC Ravelry group.

Wiki says, "Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Specifically, steampunk involves an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century and often Victorian era Britain—that incorporates prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy. Works of steampunk often feature anachronistic technology or futuristic innovations as Victorians may have envisioned them; in other words, based on a Victorian perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style, art, etc. This technology may include such fictional machines as those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne or real technologies like the computer but developed earlier in an alternate history."

From the fashion perspective, this means waistcoats, spats, capes, fascinators and other types of Victorian garb.

With much room for fabulousness in the modern interpretation.

For a knitter, the genre is wide open. I've been inspired to use my confluent materials to design a beaded, hooded capelet with matching mitts. The mitts are underway.

Relevant fact: alizarin was the first natural pigment to be duplicated synthetically, in 1869. One can see why.

New Release Tuesday

After much knitting, test knitting, and number crunching, my Stolitsa cardigan is finally released!

Multi-season stockinette cardigan with short dolman sleeves, zigzag vine lace front panels, and ribbed trim. Cast on provisionally at the shoulders, Stolitsa is worked seamlessly from the top down, with cuffs and front edging/collar picked up and knit in rib.

The pattern includes a photo tutorial for the one-row, 2 stitch buttonholes; a video tutorial is also on my website.

More information is on the Ravelry pattern page. Thanks again to my lovely test knitters, for all their invaluable feedback!

 

Mom Swag

It's been a lovely Mothers' Day, and a spectacular ending to a motherly weekend. Dinner tonight was grilled steak from the Amish market, with sauteed mushrooms and horseradish cream sauce, accompanied by roast potato and broccoli rabe.

After dinner, I received an homage:

Both children show a proclivity toward handcrafting, with self-made cards. The one with the button is DD's; she mentioned the possibility of opening an Etsy shop.

In addition, my son's second grade was apparently very busy this week. At the Mothers' Day Tea on friday, my place was filled with this; only seven more months to redeem my coupons!

The weekend really was filled with things that warm a mother's heart. On friday, DD played Mme. Tumna the Faun, in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe:

DS was practicing for the World Cup:

And my DH, as usual, oversaw all of the busy activity :

On Mother's Day, even more than on any regular day, I want to acknowledge how my own mom modeled individuality, strength and love, and helped make me the person I am today. I miss you, Mom!

Work In Progress Wednesday

Polygamous knitting tends to distract me, and not in a good way. Too many things on the needles means not enough FOs. If I have two or three things going, that's ideal; a design project, a mindless project, maybe something frivolous or spontaneous.

This week the lure of Sanguine Gryphon's luxurious Gaia Lace was overwhelming. I bought this skein as an afterthought at Stitches East last fall; surprising myself and my knitterly comrades - chartreuse is definitely NOT my usual sort of thing. Yes, it's cashmere & silk, and very lovely . . . but still; Neon? Really? And it's turning out to be just the thing for a lacy, lightweigh scarf.

That yarn just might have kicked off a mini chartreuse era, because later that winter I bought a delightful coat on eBay. One can never have too many coats, preferably not black.

Returning to the topic of WIPs, the colorwork trend continues with my beloved Malabrigo. Even corrugated ribbing is  a pleasure to knit with this yarn.

And, really, you can find just about any color you desire, thanks to Antonio's wonderful dyeing. Inspired by an ornate Ottoman pillar in warm golden tones? No problem; Tortuga and Applewood.

 

 So, two WIPs for this week, but there's a hat looming, and a capelet in the works. Must try to nudge that neon scarf up from 1 to 2 repeats per day.

What I did on my Spring Break Vacation

This week was Spring Break, and we took advantage of it by making a few short trips. First a day trip into New York City, where we divided and conquered, with the boys going to the Police Museum, and the girls to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. The latter tells the stories of immigrants living in the tenement building at 97 Orchard Street around the turn of the century. The building is accessed by guided tour; we chose the "Piecing it Together" program, which highlights two Jewish families working in the garment industry in the first decade of the 1900s. The history, semi-restored building, and the entire neighborhood is interesting. DD on Allen Street:

Lower Manhattan of course contains numerous enclaves within minutes of each other. From the LES, we walked through Chinatown and a bit of Little Italy, to the Street of Values, Canal Street. Time was spent at the open fronted vendors' niches, where after sorting out which wall or corner belonged to which merchant, DD was able to buy a snazzy wallet, while I opted for a pashmina in my favorite colors.

Of course my artist companion had to visit the original Pearl Paint, and purchase some charcoal pencils as well as a new marker paper drawing pad. Then up lower Broadway, Street of Upscale Retail Outposts, and winding our way over to the West Village to meet up with the boys and have a Spanish meal at El Faro. By twilight we were on the way home.

 

Next day we took the opposite direction, and went to Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, Mushroom Capital of the Nation. The day was sunny and beautiful, and the grounds and Conservatory are amazing:

On the return trip, we routed through Philadelphia for a visit to the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, followed by lunch at Reading Terminal Market. DH did get a cheesesteak, although my daughter and I opted for chicken korma and saag from the Indian stand.

The afternoon we spent at the Eastern State Penitentiary, a fascinating, historic prison which now exists in a state of benign ruin. The prison was the first built with the goal of inspiring penitence rather than punishment, and introduced the radial architectural model. It currently is open for tours, and also houses a continuing roster of interesting art installations. It's creepy:

All this activity finished up with a family Easter dinner at home, and so I leave you with: Peeps Cupcakes!

The Gala 2011

Every year, the Education Foundation at my kids' school hosts an auction/dinner to raise money for enrichment activities. "A Knight To Remember," aka The Gala, means we dress up and send some resources toward education - two things worth doing.

My husband and I try to donate something to the auction each year; in his case, usually electronics or music-making equipment. In my case, a handknit - this year an ArachnoShawl in Cloudy Sky Silky with silver lined crystal beads. I'm happy to say, it made a couple bucks for a great cause.

 

And the event was a smashing success! Our table:

The Table of Merriment:

DH and I; our color theme this year was teal:

Buttonhole Tutorial

Some questions came up regarding buttonholes for a test knit, so I thought I'd make a photo tutorial. This describes a two-stitch, one-row buttonhole, made in the purl section of a K2P2 rib, like one might find on a cardigan button band. These instructions are based on Maggie Righetti's "the Neatest Buttonhole."

Five rows of K2P2 rib have been knit. Begin by knitting to the place where you want the buttonhole, in this case, to the P2:

1. Slip 1 stitch knitwise, then move yarn to front:

2. Slip 1 stitch knitwise, and pass first slipped stitch over second slipped stitch and off needle. Repeat step 2, for as many times as desired stitch length of buttonhole, in this case once:

3. Slip last stitch on right needle to left needle:

4. Turn work, and move yarn to front:

5. CO 3 using twisted purlwise CO. To do this, insert right needle purlwise into first stitch on left needle:

P1:

and place purled stitch on left needle:

3 stitches CO with this method:

6. Turn work:

7. Slip first stitch on left needle to right needle:

8. Slip last CO stitch over this stitch:

9: Then slip this stitch to left needle:

10. Continue knitting in pattern, in this case K2P2 rib: