The New Season...

Some might say Fall is upon us, the start of a new season, heralding the arrival of the haunting October winds and the grey days of November. That may be true, but for those of us who enjoy the fine art of fibre, it is the advent of Knitting Season!

The needles come out, the yarn carefully caressed, and the pattern selected. Cowls, socks, mitts, sweaters... nothing escapes our review as we make careful choices about what goes on the needles and what is to remain in the queue. It is the ideal weather for knitting.... albeit this past weekend may not have inspired many with thoughts of wool!

I have cleared my WIP list of a few items -- three shawl/scarves were blocked this weekend, excess sweater yarn returned within the 30-day time limit (that was a first!), and a few balls of yarn wound into cakes. The weather was ideal for blocking on the patio table; the deck awash in the warm sun and leftover summer breezes. And the view you see above (in the header), and these few snapshots, provided the backdrop for finishing these three projects.

Progress pictures, you ask? You bet!

The first is the long-finished "Sparkling Waves" shawl -- about three gradient skeins (teal) of Grant Creek Yarn called "Glimmer".

I modified the pattern to make it larger, utilizing all but half of a skein. The original pattern had about 1/4-1/3 of each skein left over. By adding more "waves", "froth" and "seafoam", the shawl ended up being much larger, but the yarn is still deliciously drapey so will wrap around to fill in the neck of a jacket when headed outdoors, or cover cold shoulders while watching television!

Next was a "purple" project for the current knit-along with the Hazel Knits crowd. This colour ("Primrose") was a club colourway -- which means it's a membership-only thing -- and has such a depth of purples and blues in the yarn! A knitworthy friend of mine wears this colour really well, and therefore this is going in the gift pile.

The pattern is called "Estuary", and the waves and lace lines really do look like rivulets in the sand. It wasn't a difficult knit, but it did require some attention. I think I modified one end of it due to not repeating the entire chart (rows 1-40), opting to continue repeating rows 21-40. It looks fine, and gives it a unique look!

Third to the blocking mats this weekend was a recent finish. In fact, the yarn was a recent addition -- from the Kitchener-Waterloo Knitter's Frolic in early September..... three skeins of it followed me home!

This was my first experience with "Mrs. Crosby Loves to Play" (yes, that's the brand name of the yarn!), and the worsted variety was called "Steamer Trunk". The colourway is "Peacock". It was a lovely knit in the pattern "Brickless"....and I know this sounds funny, but the yarn smelled lovely -- fresh and inviting -- as I knit!

So now on to new projects.... (okay, I do have one summer sweater yet to finish, but in all fairness, I only started it at the end of August!). On the needles now, I have another sweater to work on for spring (a sunny Hazel Knits yarn!), a mitt without a mate, and a pair of socks that have taken a back seat. I'm attemping a beaded shawl, and have another gift underway in a String Theory Caper Sock awesome cashmere blend.

My goal for the "new year" (yes, September is the start of the "new knitting year"!) is to complete one project before starting an entirely new one. The only exception to that "rule" is my beaded shawl.... aptly named A Thousand and One Nights! Given it's two skeins of yarn and 300+ beads, well..!! (And trust me when I say putting those on the required stitches is not done at the speed I'm used to when knitting!)

Happy Knitting New Year everyone!

Oma would be proud...

My knitting skills are largely attributable to my Oma -- my Dad's Mom. I can't remember a time when she didn't have a knitting project on the go, either in her hands or on the sofa-seat beside her. And boy, could she knit fast! She was the one who taught me the long-tail cast on long before I realized it was the "cool" thing to do, and I thought she created the three-needle bind-off! She would count the stitches in Dutch (I can still catch myself counting to ten in Dutch as I cast on), and distinctly remember her showing me this picture of a knit dress (yellow) that she wanted to knit for me -- I gracefully declined in favour of sweaters, which she knew would get more love/use.

One of my fondest memories of Oma's knitting was her entries in the fall fair each year. She would select her prized items, and Dad would drive them down to the fairgrounds for her in time for display and judging. It was an adventure to go and see what ribbons she had won after the judging had occurred, and there were always ribbons. I think I still have the red first-place ribbon she won for an intricate poncho she knit for me in public school.... and I know I still have the poncho!

Those memories were forefront in my mind this weekend as I took advantage of the encouragement from a work colleage and entered some of my handknit items in one of Ontario's oldest fall fairs. I had done this last year -- more of a lark -- when she suggested I enter some of my things. At that time, my three entries all garnered first-place finishes and I have tucked away the ribbons that accompanied those "wins".

This year I did it as much for me as for Oma, knowing she would have appreciated the sense of tradition, even though she's no longer with us.

Out of six entries, I'm proud to say five items were worthy of ribbons -- four of them first-place ribbons and one second place finish. Thanks Oma!