Fox-friendly fur and other ideas

Today I was going through my stash looking for yarn for something when I came across this poor, unfinished project in a bin. Having taken it out I was gripped by the desire to finish it. No matter that I'd waited nine years to do so, or that I was in that bin for something entirely different, I dropped everything and got to work. I did just happen to have some time since my boy was on the couch with a flu bug today, and only after making sure he had drinks and all the comforts he needed did I venture into the craft room. In a few hours I had the thing finished, and here it is, in all its silliness, the Vegan Fox from Knitty. I'm more of a "cheating vegan" myself, but one doesn't have to be a vegan to enjoy it.


The fox came in a kit put together by the designer with three fun yarns in one of two colorways, nice buttons for the eyes and nose, and a clasp for joining head to tail. My son and I had fun figuring out where the eyes should go--too close together and the fox turned into a possum, too far apart, more of a teddy bear. We finally agreed on the placement of the eyes and finished up.


Okay, cute as he is, he can't compare to the real thing. Aren't foxes just the neatest, most perfect creatures? I love them.


My head has been swirling with other ideas this past week. Don't know if you've been a part of the knitting frenzy in response to Kate Middleton's shawl, which she was spotted wearing recently while grocery shopping. Claudia and I exchanged messages saying how we liked it, and I decided to see if anyone had a pattern for the shawl. A search uncovered not one but several brand new versions of the "Kate" shawl, in different weights of yarn, and even a Ravelry group to keep track of them all.


I had the perfect yarn in mind for it, some Aslan Trends Del Cerro, a worsted merino I saw at my yarn shop. It's a green with some hints of blue in it so I knew it would work for me. The shawl I had in mind was this one by Cat Wong:


It's in worsted weight yarn, with a modest ruffle, and I thought it just might do to approximate the look of the original. However, the more knitting I did, the more doubts crept in about the ruffles, and I wasn't enjoying all that garter stitch. So I changed horses and got myself a copy of Terra, a shawl by Brooklyn Tweed that I've been admiring.

photo by Brooklyn Tweed

I'm enjoying the knitting very much, and while there is still some garter stitch, it's not every row. The pattern is a treat because it's so well written. I think my color looks a lot like the one called Button Jar in Brooklyn Tweed's Shelter yarn.


And now (sorry for such a lengthy post here), my last inspiration of today, which is an idea to crochet a throw, two words I don't often use in my crafting. I came across one in progress on a Norwegian blog called Dans pa roser and thought, I must have one like it. The blanket is made of granny squares. Here's my color palette of leftover (and not) yarns.


Now to figure out how to crochet a granny square!

Estelle withdrawal

My Estelle cardigan is finished, and I have to say I'm sad it's all over. This was the most fun knit I've done in a long time, and I think that's due to several things. It was knit on larger needles so it really moved along; it had enough going on with new construction techniques (for me, knitting top down is new) and design features to keep my interest; and the yarn is wonderful to work with, so it was a nice tactile experience as well.


I like the navy color I chose for mine, but there are some equally great colors popping up in the KAL. One knitter is doing hers in a bird's egg blue, which looks really cute.

Here's the back, with the ribbing:


Full disclosure: I did have a moment of horror when I was completely done with the sweater and decided to soak it to even out my stitches on the sleeves from using DPNs. When I put it in to soak I could feel the yarn go soft and loose, and knew it was going to be an entirely different gauge when I took it out. I hadn't expected this, because the yarn is fairly sturdy and spun in a worsted fashion, not a loosey goosey yarn like an unspun single or something. I could not resist trying it on damp and it was a different sized sweater, about 3 to 5 inches longer than it had been! So I freaked out a bit and dearly wished I'd washed the swatch I'd made before starting to knit. However, the next day all was well. I got the idea to try to dry the sweater in the dryer on a rack that you insert to dry things flat. After about 20 minutes or so on the lowest heat, I took it out, and lo and behold, it had sprung back to its original size. Amazing! I've never worked with a yarn that does this before, and I don't know if it would have done it on its own without the extra heat of the dryer, but I'm awfully glad it did. Faith restored in my knitting, and I'm happy with the project.


Now that I'm done with Estelle, I perused the Quince pattern section and came across this cardi that had only just been added to the website. This is the Abigail cardi by Cecily G. Macdonald and it's worked in their fingering weight wool/silk blend called Tern. Tern doesn't come in the whole color range of their other yarns, and it takes the dye differently than the wool, but what they've got is lovely. I actually like the pale color above called Oyster. I've been interested in doing a project using small yarn on large needles, and that's how this is made. It's done on US 6s, so it shouldn't take forever to knit, even in fingering weight, and you get a lovely lightweight thing that's perfect for places where there's too much air conditioning or at the park before the sun hits or something. I'm debating on whether I should use some Hempathy I've got in my stash, or splurge on the Tern.

There are other things that I liked in Quince's pattern section. The cardigan below, really a jacket, is called Solstice and is also by Cecily G. (I'm reminded of the giraffe in Cecily G. and the Nine Monkeys by Curious George author H.A. Rey). Anyway, it's done in Osprey, their next heavier yarn from Lark, on 6.5 mm needles.


This one is called the Annabel pullover, by Carrie Bostick Hoge. Also done in Osprey, it's a cropped pullover. There's also a cardigan version sold as a separate pattern.


And last, the Fiona pullover by Pam Allen is made with their unspun bulky yarn Puffin. Isn't that a great name for a bulky yarn? An easy top down sweater. I could see this in several colors, but my favorite is the ice blue called Glacier.


Just a little bit of inspiration for you!

The yarn shop where I work part-time is participating in the LYS Tour of the Puget sound region, which takes place over four days. I've never done this tour of 25 local yarn shops, but quite a few knitters make the rounds to all of them, which makes them eligible for prizes. The shop should be quite busy today, but in a happy way.

Knitalong progress

The Estelle knitalong is going well. Led by Paula of the podcast Knitting Pipeline, it began on the first of May. We all work at our own pace, and with our own particular fitting and gauge issues, with advice and encouragement offered in the knitting group. While some are just beginning, others are already finished with their Estelles. As you can see, I've gotten through the body of the cardigan. I had no major stumbling blocks in spite of the fact that I never knit anything in the round. This weekend I began the feather and fan neckband. It's going to take more than one ball of yarn just for the neckband, and since my row gauge was a little bit off, it's a good thing I got an extra ball.

I'm really happy with my color choice and love working with Quince and Co's yarn. The color Twig, a neutral light brown, is also a popular choice.

muzzerZ's completed Estelle

And here it is in red:

Paivis's Estelle

I think it looks good in any color, and the sweater will be a good addition to the wardrobe. It's simple enough to finish relatively quickly, but it has some points of interest as well, such as the feather and fan borders.


I'm still also knitting occasionally on my charcoal pullover, and I'm about halfway through the first sleeve. My cat chose to lie on the front piece when I had it out after steaming--do your cats do this with your knitting? I think it must smell faintly of sheep, or something they like. I've put it up where she can't get to it, but it does need to be de-haired, because this cat is a thick-coated silver tabby, and I'll wash the whole thing once I've got it all seamed up.

I recently noticed while looking thru my Ravelry favorites that even though I've knit only a couple of shawls myself, many of the projects I've admired enough to put in my favorites are shawls, shawlettes, wraps, and stoles--18%, in fact. I must really like them. So I thought I'd show you the top contenders for my next shawl.

The first two are by Robin Ulrich, or TruKnit on Ravelry. The top photo is Lesia Loop, and it is tagged as a scarf/cowl/wrap, but I consider it a wrap. I've already bought the pattern (just $2.50) since it gives me something to do with two balls of my Frog Tree Brushed Suri. The second is a shawl for which the pattern has not been written, but she's working on it. This one was knit in Madeline Tosh Light, and I love that color she made hers in.



Next is one that's been in my favorites for a while now by Emma Fassio, called Emma's Paris Shawl. It's a free pattern on Ravelry. I love the simplicity of it and think it would be lovely in any yarn with a halo to it, like alpaca or angora. This one was knitted in alpaca.


And last is the very popular textured shawl by Orlane. The original, and this one by Wovenhand, is made with Blue Sky Alpacas' Suri Merino. Again, I love the colors these were made in!

Wovenhand's version

I've got a couple of yarns in my stash that I would like to use for a shawl. One is this angora by Butternut Woolens, about 500 yds of it.


The other is this alpaca, provided by Alfie the alpaca at Meadowview Alpaca Farm in Canada, and I've got just over 1,000 yds of it. I would like to make a shawl that uses most of the yarn, though, so perhaps one of my other faves would work better for this one.



But I've got time to ponder this while I finish knitting my Estelle cardigan. Happy knitting!