Purple Haze

This summer, I've been going through a purple knitting phase.

Behold:

The lovely (and finished!) Hypotenuse shawl, knit in Rowan Felted Tweed, was one of the most fun knits I've done in a long time.  This thing flew of the needles.  Sadly, the colour (Horizon) is discontinued, but Rowan still maintains an admirable selection of other colours to chose from.  Although this colour doesn't qualify as purple per se, it has blue and purple and gray undertones.  It's gorgeous, and if someone can snag this shade in a close-out, I'm sure they won't be disappointed.

I've started a pair of toe-up, magic loop socks in Rowan Fine Art, colourway Tawny.  I think my sock-knitting days might be ruined, because the feel of this yarn puts my ample sock wool collection to shame. This sock is still in its infancy and might be frogged yet.  I need to lay my hands on a pair of fixed circulars, because my interchangeable Hiya Hiya 2.75mm bamboos aren't cutting it.  I was shown a super quick toe-up cast on method that is so easy I won't even feel bad for restarting.  My knitting neighbour has been trying to convert me to magic loop sock knitting for a while now, and I have a feeling she will finally assimilate me.  There is a pair of Addi Lace fixed circs with my name on them, just waiting for me to pick them up.  I'll report back.

The two skeins of Kidsilk Haze in a purple called Ultra is but the tip of the wooly iceberg.  Sadly, it's hard to get this colour to represent correctly on the screen.  It's not called Ultra for nothing.  I have seven skeins of this gorgeousness, and will soon cast on Lily Chin's Reversible Cabled-Rib shawl.  I've had my eyes on this pattern since Vogue Knitting published it in their 1999/2000 magazine.  Spurred on by Kelly's breathtaking blog post about hers, I succumbed to the temptation that is KSH.

The variegated skein of Rowan Kidsilk Haze Stripe will become Rowan's Belle cardigan, designed by Lisa Richardson.  I started the back two days ago, and it's growing quite quickly, despite the teeny 3.25mm needles.  I bought four 50g skeins for good measure, and the cardi will only require three.  I think the remaining skein will become Churchmouse Yarn's Bias 'Before-and-After' Scarf, a simple, easy and effective pattern that will use up any dribs and drabs of yarn leftover from the cardi.  Getting to use up every last little bit of KSH would make my heart sing.  (No, it doesn't take much to make me happy).

Kidsilk Haze from Rowan is referred to as KSH by addicts die-hard knitters.  It's the crack equivalent of the wool world, and isn't nicknamed Kidsilk Crack for nothing.  Knitting with KSH is an ethereal experience. 

Onward I forge!

And Now, Time for Some FO's

Ah yes, knitter's speak.  A FO is a Finished Object, the stark contrast to a UFO, or UnFinished Object.

Sometimes, projects enter knitterly black holes, and go from WIPs - Works In Progess - to UFO's.  No one can explain how it happens, but suddenly, something you've been bashing away on non-stop falls from grace, gets put in a bag, and left in the trunk of a car for maybe 2 years...not that that's ever happened to me, no way...

I really tried to knit from my stash this year, and I did a great job until Kate Davies' Rams and Yowes caught my eye.  Well, if that wasn't an impulse purchase, I don't know what is.  I started off fast and furious, made a few mistakes, pulled back a ton of work, and there the project languishes.  I vowed if I knit just 2 rows a day, I'd be done in 2 months' time.  That's not a terrifying commitment, yet it's not happening.  Maybe today, maybe today, is the optimistic battle cry of a rejected project.  After all, when all else fails, there's always hope.  I cling to that like a shipwreck victim clings to driftwood.

I do admit to having a gray mohair pullover in the trunk of the car.  It got cast on in a flurry, and it's nearly completed, and I don't really know what my excuse is for not finishing it.  Maybe it's become a fixture in the car, and seeing it in the trunk warms my heart with potential? I don't know, but what I do know is there should be a specialization in psychology expressly for knitters.  I'd sign up for intense therapy immediately.

On the positive side, Eric's Lopi fits my father like it was made for him.  The sleeve length is perfect, the look is perfect, and my father loves it.  Again, putting in the zipper took a leap of faith:

I've never sewn a zipper into a knitted garment before, ergo the procrastination.  It was fussy, fiddly, I swore, then I swore some more.  But the end result is sublime.  I added the gray decorative tape to hide the steek edge of the sweater, and although this little detail took literally hours of sewing, the effort was worth the outcome.  The inside of the sweater is now clean and properly finished.

Some people might say, "why bother"?  And it's true - why bother?  But then again, that philosophy can be applied to so many things in life.  Just call me a nit-picking over-achiever.  I wear that title with pride, dammit.

To give you an idea, here's a look at the inside before adding the trim:

The devil, she is in the details.  Ask any knitter.

Moving onto other projects.  I started off the year with the Cabled Buttoned Wrap designed by Plymouth Yarn Design Studio.  Inspired by a fellow knitter from our knitter's group, I cast on the exact same project with the exact same yarn and the exact same needles, and should have had the exact same outcome.  Alas.  I knit a lot tighter than dear Maureen, and with that tension, my shawl didn't have the same drape.  Lookie here:

I was disappointed, and wanted to frog the entire thing and knit it again with larger needles.  I thought of blocking it to oblivion and beyond.  In an epiphany, Maureen tried my shawl on, and preferred my tension over hers.  She's shorter and her shawl overwhelmed her.  So, we did a trade.  I took Maureen's shawl, Maureen took my shawl, and both of us wear each others' shawls with pride.  I gave Maureen her buttons back, since she had spent a small ransom on them, and then I dispatched my BFF Elaine to the wool store to find some buttons, because I hadn't had any luck finding something apropos.  This is what Elaine came up with:

Brilliant.  They suit the wrap perfectly, and the organic aspect appeals to my esthetic.  Not to mention, the finish is hand-rubbed and so smooth, just touching them soothes the senses.  I am in love, and this wrap has become my super-binky.  It is so infinitely wearable, I can put it over a thin coat, wear it in the house, at work, it's become a security blanket of sorts.  Although the wool looked bland on the skein, this colour (Drops Alpaca in Denim 8120) is anything but.  Little threads of red and brown interspersed through the wool gives a beautiful depth and neutrality. 

It's classic, it's malleable, and I am in love...

Now.   Sometimes we procrastinate about a project, just because we're not quite happy with what the instructions tell us to do.  I knit this little Lopi purse to match my Lopi Aftur sweater:

This pattern is from Istex and is called Taska.  I added two chart repeats, and ended up with a purse about 9" wide and 10" high.  The instructions called for knitted I-cord straps, and I couldn't bring myself to do it...it seemed chintzy and amateur and just didn't resonate with my inner knitter.

A few weeks ago, I headed over to a new LYS (local yarn store, for those not familiar with knittingese), and came across these beauties:

Ah-ha.  Now I know why I was procrastinating.  Because the universe wanted me to find these beauties.  Once the sticker-shock wore off, I put them on, and bingo!  Purse completed with a minimum of effort, yet maximum effect.  Man, do I love knitting!

Here's a look at the inside.  These handles by Sage Luxury might be expensive (gulp, I'll admit they cost me $55 CAD), but they finish the project off beautifully and are worth the money.  The quality is most definitely there.  So much so, I went back and bought another pair in black...  I'm not sure if I'll keep the dark brown on this purse, or switch them out for the black pair, I suppose it will all depend on what I knit next.

Again, because I'm in love, here's another view:

Can I mention one more time just how much I love the look?  Okay.  I'll shut-up now.  Project complete.  Verdict:  Total Success.

And, now for the pièce de résistance.  I actually finished the BMF.  (Use your imagination - this one I made up, B stands for Black, and the rest I'll let you figure out).

See how crinkled it is?  That's because it was SHOVED in the bottom of my knitting bag, literally scrunched into a little ball that started to work it's way into the corner of the bag, sort of like a terrifyingly huge wad of lint.  I'm not even going to bother washing it - although it might benefit a bit - because wearing it will help ease all those wrinkles out and even out each stitch.  I cannot believe the Black MoFo is donedonedone.

Hallelujah!

So there you have it.  My knitterly friends will know whereof I speak when I say procrastination is a necessary part of the creative process.  The rest of you should be so lucky.