wordless wednesday

vintage inspired knit + crochet

bad things in threes

I've always been mildly superstitious. I balk at opening umbrellas indoors or walking under ladders, and I'm not overly crazy about black cats, either. The logical, intelligent part of me insists that these are just old wives' tales, persnickety fears brought on by culture's insistence that there has be a reason for everything that goes wrong. Sometimes, there just isn't.

Still, it seems that Zach and I have hit a "bad things in threes" slump again. First, he's had two expensive car repairs within two weeks (brakes and some other part I can't remember) that have cost a total of $1200. Then, when we got the car back yesterday, it was stalling out at stoplights. Double sigh. Finally, when we arrived home last night, Hector was coughing up blood. Again. Poor baby was so confused, and was wheezing, and it was very troublesome, but we tried to keep our cool; the last time we took him to the vet for this, they did nothing to help him, couldn't diagnose the problem, and charged us 600 bucks. Still, I hate seeing him like this. He's kind of listless and sad, and mostly stays huddled up in his box, a sure sign that he isn't feeling well. We're keeping a close eye on him. At least he's eating.

Poor Zach is stressed to the max. Here's hoping that once the bad things are over, we get three really good things (I'm still holding out for winning the lottery).

patternlove <3

I found these adorable colorwork mittens designed by Sadie & Oliver. Their website holds a treasure trove of whimsical and delightful patterns, but I fell in love with these.

P.S. September 26 is International Rabbit Day. Hmmm...maybe I'll knit these up to celebrate?

wordless wednesday

Painting with Fire

Enameled jewelry by Barbara Lewis, who I'm in the photo studio with this week! I get to work with some of the most fascinating people...so lucky!

a wool gathering

On Sunday I traveled to Yellowspring, Ohio for A Wool Gathering, which is my favorite wool festival of the year. It's at Young's Jersey Dairy (which, I might add, has excellent peach milkshakes) and has a few huge tents filled with vendors, sheep shearing demonstrations, spinning and knitting tutorials, and a hilarious kiddie train that looks like a death trap on wheels, constantly rattling by and always filled with kids.

I went with Jenni Claydon and Rachael Smith and had a grand old time perusing the gorgeous wares and petting the alpacas and sheep. We watched a shearing demonstration (I believe the man doing the shearing was wearing the exact same shirt that he was a year ago) and I drooled over the yarns at Fiber Optic and Knitting Notions. I also got to hold a baby angora bunny! This guy almost came home with me.

I also got a bunch of goodies: some pretty roving to make this sweater, and two skeins of hand-dyed laceweight (like I needed more laceweight...). Overall, the day was a success!

*All pictures are courtesy of Rachael Smith.

patternlove <3

Here at peachknits, Thursday is patternlove day. Today's pattern reflects my all-time favorite item to knit, the lace shawl.

This is the Jade Cashmere One Skein Shawl by Michelle Miller, or The Fickle Knitter. I don't think I'm alone in my love for cashmere. How can I be? It's so soft, warm and lovely to knit with, and Jade Cashmere comes in such pretty colors, too. Unfortunately, my budget allows for a lot more wool than it does cashmere. But I think that I might make an exception for this shawl, especially if it only uses one skein. I especially like the unique edging; it reminds me of honeycombs.

wordless wednesday

The Softie Awards

simplicity + the "unusable" yarn

I'm not sure why, but I've been really craving simple things lately. I've cut back on the exotic, spicy foods (goodbye, Thai noodles and gastrointestinal problems; hello, apples!), I'm in the process of streamlining and organizing at work, and I've been on the hunt for a simple little something to knit.

Apparently, finding a simple project was a more complicated task than I originally anticipated (i-roh-nee!) I first cast on for the Textured Shawl Recipe (which is exactly that: a recipe, rather than a pattern) using Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca & Silk, which was a gift from Katie, and a small amount of some DK handspun. At first, I really loved it, but about 30 rows in, it lost its charm. I wasn't feeling the combination. So...frog frog frog-oh. (It really is a lovely pattern, and when I find the right yarn for it, I'll cast on again.)

I then purchased the pattern Shaelyn, which is slightly more complicated but still has the simple, traditional, grass-rootsy feel I've been after. Perfect, right? Notsomuch. I casted on four times with different yarns and different needle sizes before I found the right combination. It was seriously a Goldilocks series of events. Yarn #1 was too fuzzy and didn't display the lace nicely enough for my tastes; Yarn #2 was like knitting with barbed wire, it was just so darn skritchy. Yarn #3 was too variegated, and muddled up the simple design. You get the idea. And let me tell you, it's pretty exasperating to cast on and knit the first 20 rows of something three times in a row. I pretty much have the repeat memorized.

But finally, I landed on a yarn that was perfect, although I was instantly apprehensive about using it. You see, I have a wonderful stash that I'm pretty proud of; it's the fruit of several years of collecting and saving, and it has some pretty awesome yarns in it. Unfortunately, I'm a bit of a miser when it comes to this stash. Rather than, you know, use it, I hold onto a lot of the skeins, waiting for the perfect project to come along and present itself. These skeins are deemed "unusable" because they're just so precious: they possess a particularly scrumptious fiber content, are in an extremely luscious color, or just cost an arm and a leg to purchase.

The yarn I cast on for Shaelyn with was one such "unusable" skein, for several reasons. I had purchased two skeins of Sheep 3 Yarn from the Sheep Shop Yarn Company over a year ago to knit Clapotis, but after a few rows, I just wasn't enamored with the result. Into the stash this yarn went, where it waited and waited. It's a precious yarn for a few reasons: I love the color, I have an odd amount of yardage (I have a weird obsession with fitting a yarn to a project that will use all or almost all of it up), it's a really lovely shiny blend of wool and silk, and it wasn't cheap. But it fit the weight and exceeded the yardage requirements for Shaelyn, so after much trepidation I cast on.

Of course, you've figured out by now that the yarn was perfect for the shawl, that I was incredibly relieved to be finally knitting my simple little project instead of obsessing over the materials and the needle size, that despite my fears that the yarn would eventually be used up, in exchange, I would have a lovely shawl to wear and enjoy forever. I mean, really, what was that yarn doing for me except sitting in its wire drawer, taunting me with its loveliness? Sheesh.

The lesson here, of course, is that I need to get over my yarn hoarding obsession, and just start knitting my "unusable" skeins. Perfect pattern be damned! I think my wallet will thank me.