Something's fishy

My mom is a volunteer at the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery. Besides doing tours for schoolchildren and other groups throughout the year, they are gearing up for their big event as the salmon make their way back to the hatchery to spawn and die. The town celebrates this event by holding Salmon Days, where tens of thousands of folks make their way to Issaquah to watch the return of the salmon and generally mill around. I knit this quick project for her. I know my fish isn't anything like a real salmon, but he was fun to make.

It gave me a respite from my Felted Tweed project, which has met its end, too. I finished the back and front of the Paisley sweater, seamed it and tried it on. It was huge! I hadn't bothered to check my gauge because I had already done a sweater in Felted Tweed that turned out just fine. But my gauge was terribly wrong on this one, so I un-seamed and frogged it. I decided not to redo it but to cast on for a different project with the same yarn. So I'm now knitting Salina by Kim Hargreaves.


This sweater has been made by many and seems to look good on everyone. Hopefully I can have a success with this one! I'm most of the way done with the back (with some modifications based on others' comments) and have been measuring all along. I even frogged it once when I suspected the body was too long. We'll see.

This weekend I got to go to Churchmouse Yarns & Teas on Bainbridge. I had time to sit and knit and soak up some of the atmosphere. One thing I noticed is that the staff use quiet voices, which adds to the calming atmosphere of the shop. That and many other thoughtful things make this shop one of the best. The day I was there, a harpist was playing in the courtyard outside--unrelated to the shop but it sure was nice to listen to.

I bought one of their patterns after trying on the shop sample. The beret below is made of 1 skein of Handmaiden 4-ply cashmere. It's knit on very fine needles and by doing so, the yarn smooshes together to make a cashmere fabric, pliable but sturdy and so luxurious. I will make mine in black.


I also got this book by Kim Hargreaves recently. It is actually part of a birthday present from my husband, so I really should put it away since my birthday is not till November. I'll tell you more later, but the present comes with yarn! (I'm thankful to have a pretty great DH :o)


I hope you're finding inspiration for your fall knitting and any other crafty endeavors!