This and That

Hi Knitters,
Every summer our neighborhood pool has a silent auction fundraiser along with an adult social. This year a woman in the neighborhood contacted all of the knitters who go to the pool to knit 4 inch squares. She is going to sew these squares together to make a blanket to auction off. Of course I am contributing. The only stipulations are that you should use bright colors, use garter stitch (okay I cheated a little on this) and that you only use 100% cotton. I turned in 4 squares yesterday and I have these 4 to hand off today. I can't wait to see the finished blanket. It should be pretty darn cute.

Remember my ripple stitch scarf from Jan Eaton's Ripple Stitch book? I am making progress. Every day or so I pull it out and add a few more colors. I think I have about 30 inches completed.

I think I will make it at least 60 inches. I like a long, wrappy scarf in the winter. Those Jo Sharp colors are doing no wrong.

I am going to visit Knit 2 Together with you today. Do you have this? It is for sale on amazon for $5.50. That is a steal, my friends. I looked through this again yesterday and every time I see this book I like it even more. First of all I love Tracey Ullman. She used to have a style show on some obscure channel and I used to watch it all of the time. She would interview various designers and she would try on clothes and give her perspective which was usually funny. I'll never forget one time Tracey was making fun of American parents and how they gush endlessly and claim their children are always gifted at everything. She said English parents don't gush like that, they just nonchalantly say, "Oh, you're okay." I like that mentality. I am always telling my kids, "Oh, you're fine." It is good not to get too worked up about things sometimes.

This beautiful cashmere neck warmer is on my list for next winter. It looks so warm. Mel Clark of Wildfibers has designed all of the projects in the book. She is quite talented and has a great eye for detail. You can tell she has a fun sense of humor, more than enough to keep up with Tracey.

This great felted bag is called sea anemone. It is made from 2 strands of Cascade 220 held together. Now, I don't think I would do the orange embellishments, but I love the bag shape and I have tons of cascade 220 lingering about. Maybe a stripey version would do me fine.

Mel designed this fantastic circular sweater made in Koigu Kersti, one of my faves. There is a simple lace pattern and I am digging the shawl collar. Love the older model, too, she's lovely. I notice these things.

How can you go wrong with a sweat pea sweater. I love those peas and they are done so delicately here. Gorgeous. I don't think I would make this one, but I appreciate its beauty.

When Mel and Tracey were on Martha Stewart, Mel wore this sweater. I was happy to see it on her because she is an average size woman and it looked terrific on her. I think that ribbon on the neckline is a pretty touch.

What a beautiful little shrug made from Blue Sky Alpaca's Silk. Oh it is dreamy. Mel claims beginners at her store have made this. So maybe if you are a beginner at lace this may be a good place to start.

What a fun picture. Don't you ever feel like doing this? I do. Check out that subtle ruffle detail on the side, so cute. This added touch makes all of the difference. I paid full price for this book and I think it was worth it. Now will I knit an apron? No. Will I knit a pair of pantaloons to wear under a skirt? No. But there is never a book where you are going to knit every project. The number of knittable projects for me way outweighs the number of projects I won't knit. I read patterns anyway, even if I don't care for them, because you can learn so much.

There are great little stories and fun tales from Tracey and Mel's past. Plus don't you love the Wildfiber ads in the knitting mags? They are like the spirograph art from my childhood.

Yay for Wednesday. Now go get that book!

best, susie

p.s. I think Tracey received some static for just being a celebrity and not being a real knitter. She is a real knitter and she is funny and witty and she helps shine the light on knitting in a positive way. I say go for it. Also, she and Mel did a great interview on NPR awhile ago. I can't even remember how I found that to listen to, it was an obscure link. I bet if you dig you could find it, too. It was a fun listen.