the painted iris

I've started a simple lace mohair scarf for my mother for Christmas. I did a few test swatches and settled on a garter stitch border of 4 rows by 3 stitches at each side. I chose a colorway of Crystal Palace Yarns Kid Merino called 'Painted Iris' to use. I love the name, and a beautiful yarn to match! It brings about romanticism of the iris works of VanGogh and Monet.

My only criticism of the project is that my aluminum needles are too slippery for the mohair, so I really have to stay alert. This may take a few weeks to complete as I currently have an attention span of only one repeat. I'm OK with that, I have until Christmas.

it's really not-so-rugged

My latest knitting project is the Not-So-Rugged scarf from the book Knitting With Balls. I'm using Kid Merino mohair 'Espresso' from Crystal Palace yarns as well as Cinnabar from Louisa Harding yarns. I'm loving how this is turning out! I've already decided to make another one for a friend. This is also my first time working with mohair, and I'm really enjoying it. I think I'll have to make a mohair lace scarf for my mom for Christmas. You really can't start to early :)

crochet placemats

My latest crochet project is a set of placemats inspired by a bedspread pattern on the Antique Pattern Library website. I've been working on this for several weeks, doing picking it up only occasionally. I've almost completed one placemat. In order to get the size I wanted I had to change the size and quantity of the crochet stitches. My original idea was to make a contemporary, solid border around the flower motif. However, now that I have a few flowers joined, I'm thinking that I will just make more and leave the edges unfinished and organic. While I love this pattern, I certainly don't live in a "doily" house, so whatever I decide it has to have a modern twist to it.


My sweater has really been coming along. I've attached the sleeves and I'm decreasing my way to the neck. I can barely put it down. I seem to want to go faster in the final stretch!

rick's first sweater

I've just started my first sweater! It's the Seamless Saddle Shoulder Pullover by Elizabeth Zimmerman. I've had this in queue for a couple of months now and I've been contemplating what stitch patterns to use, the color, the style, etc. I've finally decided that I want a very basic sweater in stockinette. This will allow me to focus on construction and form as opposed to pattern, and I will get a lot of wear out of it as it will be a versatile garment.

I'm using Paton's Classic Wool Merino "Worn Denim" on size 8 needles. At this point the plan is to create a hem in a contrasting color (to be decided), and create a crew, or possibly v-neck. I think I have some time to figure that out.

grandma's "lehmus" shawl

I've been working on my first lace project. This is the Lehmus shawl pattern and I'm making it for my grandmother. I'm making this out of a worsted weight yarn, Lion Brand Wool-Ease "Dark Rose Heather", on size 8 needles.

My grandmother is going into the hospital for hip surgery later this month and I wanted a heavier shawl to help keep her warm while she is away from home. She's had both hips replaced before, however the newer one is over 15 years old and she has to have them both done again. She's more worried this time around as she's a little older and has difficulty getting around as it is. I'm hoping this shawl will help to ease her anxiety and encourage a quick recovery.

I was a little intimidated at the begining and it took me a few tries to get started. Most of the pattern is in another language and I didn't see where it told me to purl every even row, I had to figure that out for myself. I also had a difficult time following every stitch on the chart, however it became easy once I figured out what each stitch did and how it worked with the row below. Now I don't have to refer to the chart as much. Let's hope it continues to go well, I still have much more to knit before it's finished.