This looks like the other picture, n’est-ce pas? You’re wrong! The trees are starting to emerge! I’ll keep doing this for 20 more inches with a stop along the way to add armhole steeks and do the neck shaping.
The fabric is very thick, but lightweight. You can see the nubbiness and multi-colored nature of the yarn.
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Thank goodness bunions aren’t on the thumbs — Sally can still knit! I just talked to her and she sounds great. So far, so good.
I really did miss my knitting peeps on Thursday, but it was well worth it. My kitchen (as old and outdated as it is) looks the best it has ever looked. It has inspired us to move on.Â
I have been working on Oregon and my American Beauty scarf. The scarf just gets longer so it doesn’t look any different (just look at the old picture). I received my latest issue of Interweave Knits and Kate Gilbert (Sunrise Circle designer) has a bolero pattern in it made with the same silk yarn as my scarf. Tres cher (French for ‘mucho bucks’). It’s kind of pretty but you can’t see how gorgeous the yarn is from the photo.
The other thing I’ve been doing is finishing up my State Fair entries. Everything must be turned in by mid-August. I’ll do a State Fair post then.Â
I took my Ponchette to the Knitters Guild meeting and had to wear it because of the blast from the air conditioning (I really don’t like being blown on). I loved my little Ponchette, and people raved about it. The advantage of the poncho-type shawls/wraps is that once they are on, they are on. You don’t have to keep fussing with them.
My little daughter told me NEVER to wear it with anything but black or green because it looked AWFUL with the maize-yellow shirt I had on. Thank you, dear.
I won. The battle for this yarn, that is (actually, Sally did not put up much of a struggle!). Sally bought a single skein of La Luz 100% Silk in the color American Beauty. All the way back from Omaha, I fondled and swatched and lusted after this small bit of lustrous, beautiful silk — in a red that shimmers not only from its silky sheen, but from the play of color from light to dark. I love this yarn!
I thought this would be very nice in a scarf and would showcase the beautiful silk yarn. My other scarf (feather and fan) is not looking good at all and is well on its way to becoming a UFO (UnFinished Object).Â
The Ponchette is history. I actually finished it and had to rip out two repeats, so it is finished and then some. I like wearing it as pictured below: more poncho style. It hangs long in front (covering my waist) and hugs the shoulders nicely. The thing I did differently here was to work an i-cord edge along the top so it would not be a raw garter at selvedge AND to give it a firmness so it would be less likely to stretch. I did not block it at all. The only blocking I might do is to pin out the points to make them pointier.
Here is the back:
And a seam detail:
So you won’t think I have something against handpainted variegated yarns, here are some pictures of a past sweater made using Cherry Tree Hill Merino and Silk DK in Gypsy Rose.  The pattern was in a summer issue of Vogue (2003 or 2004?). The one pictured in the magazine was quite short (view-of-bellybutton short) and had 3/4 length sleeves — I think to conserve yarn. At $35-40 per skein, I can see why! I added length and width, and made long sleeves, so I used 6 rather than 4 skeins. The way the colors are created in the yarn, each small diamond contains all the colors. I don’t think most other yarns would do that.
I love the way the neckline does a little zigzag. You do a crocheted edging to finish it off. The other change I made was to have the front and back necklines the same. They added a straight insert across the back which I found unnecessary.
Another past favorite in handpainted variegated is another Vogue design — from the 2003 Winter Special Occasions issue. I knitted it in Mountain Colors’ Mountain Goat, a mohair blend in color Yellowstone. It is fabulous yarn to work with!Â
The Norah Gaughan design is fantastic for garter stitch because the structure of the jacket provides support and therefore reduces stretching. Look closely at the back:
The diamonds are actually formed by two different pieces and joined through the center by picking up sts through the cast on edge. It is ingenious and extremely fun to knit. You start with one square at a time and keep adding on until the back or fronts are done. I wear this one all through the fall as a coat.
A reader asked me to post pictures of Ballerina, which I said I would do but haven’t yet. I really enjoyed making Ballerina, even though it felt like it took forever. And then there is the “translation” problem with the pattern. With Hanne’s designs, you kind of need an interpreter — and I’m not talking about Swedish to English. I think it’s more like Hanne to everyone else. She has her own unique way of writing directions that defies convention. I have finished my third jacket of hers and finally think I can understand her. I’m thinking of offering a class called “Hanne Helper.”
Anyway, as my knitting peeps know, I change every pattern somehow. On Ballerina, the changes were minor. I decided, based on my experience with Mermaid, to opt out of the built in i-cord hem. Instead, I added an applied i-cord after the fact.  I also did an i-cord bind off around the neckband and ended up not needing the sleeve band.Â
Here is a comparison of the two hem finishes for Mermaid (top) and Ballerina. I was more concerned about the appearance of the inside of the hem on Ballerina because of the design — it is a “swing coat,” longer in the back, so I thought the inside of the jacket might show at times.Â
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I think the Ballerina i-cord looks much better.Â
Not the best picture, but here is the front:
Front detail:
 
Back:
I am now a huge fan of i-cord in all of its forms.  I use it on just about everything. I am so un-original!!
PS — to my Thursday group: I won’t be there this week. I am going to the opening night of Wicked in the nosebleed section!
The Ponchette is at the 32″ mark. The finished length for the largest size is 53″ so I’m getting there. It is a lot of knitting! I would post a pic but it looks the same except wider. When you’re knitting along, you see all the gorgeous colors — seagreen, rose, gold, purple – but when you look at it overall, it looks kind of muddy green and reddish pink. Hmmmmm. Oh well, on I go. I am enjoying the knitting, and I’m sure when it’s done it will go with something!Â
Our internet service was out from the day I got back to today. We were all in withdrawal. Everything we did, we thought, “I’ll go check it out on the internet….no, wait, I can’t.” It was horrible! I had no idea I was so hooked.
I went to my friend’s daughter’s wedding on Saturday evening, which was the reason Sally and I had to hotfoot it back from Omaha. The wedding was beautiful. The following people were wearing my daughter’s jewelry creations:
Bride, three bridesmaids, two junior bridesmaids, two grandmas, one mother of the bride, two of my daughters, one guest, and me. I was bursting with pride! The junior bridesmaids each wore one of the small wedding ring purses on their wrists and then gave them to the bride and groom to open at ring time. It was quite cute. The bride wore the wedding purse throughout the reception.
I am 99% done with Ballerina — it is blocking at this very moment. I wanted to block it before knitting the cuffs so I would know how long the sleeves would end up. Good plan because the sleeves gained at least 3”!! Thank goodness because they were SOOOOO skimpy.
I’ll post more later with some pictures and the update on my next major project — it is something that has been aging gracefully for at least 2-3 years (maybe more).  Sally and I will also share our impressions of the knitting shops we visited along the way.Â
It is good to be home.
PS — Ballerina was dry this morning so I tried it on. The sleeves are the perfect length without adding cuffs at all (!?!). That was surprising! I’ll i-cord edge the sleeves tonight and it will be D-O-N-E.
The Wedding Ring Purses are complete. Ballerina is nearing the finish line. And all I can say about Sally’s Icarus Shawl is WOW!!
I have been too busy to get my Sunrise blocked, but I thought I would share some pictures of it anyway. It is such a cool pattern, and I enjoyed making it very much. I love things that are a little different — classic yet unique — and this certainly qualifies.
Here is the “oval”:
Here are some detail pictures:
Hem
Left front
I also spent some time on Ballerina. I recommend that if you make this jacket, you keep some notes or something. My two sides are not what I would call perfectly symmetrical. It’s not something you can see really, but I did need to fudge to get the numbers to work out, and I have no idea why. The stitch count is the same, so either Hanne designed it with the sides a bit off, or I am a bit off. Don’t answer that!
I am still toiling on my scarf and the wedding ring purses will be done this evening — pictures of them tomorrow…
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