good things!

when i posted last week i only talked about one project that came off my needles this past month.

i would be remiss if i didn't take a moment to mention some of the other objects that are no longer in ball form but now actually have a shape and point of being and are no longer part of my stash - a very good thing!

first up - this lovely headband for my dear friend and god-daughter emma. 

this project comes with a little story and when i'm finished you'll see why emma and i are like two peas in a pod! we were at church about a month ago when during the service i noticed a young woman a couple of rows in front of me that had an intriguing  hairstyle with her hair piled on top of her head. below that, wrapped around her head was a knitted headband. of course, this immediately caught my attention and i found myself spending the remainder of the service fixated on the construction of that headband. i just couldn't seem to take my eyes off of it! after a potluck dinner following the service i was preparing to go home when emma came running up to tell me good-bye and give me a hug! in the course of our hug, emma leaned into my ear and whispered "did you see that girl with the knit headband? do you think you could knit one for me?". and there you have it! like minds think alike!

so here is my take: 

the pattern consists of a horseshoe cable with seed stitch on each side. i started with 28 stitches - 6 stitches in seed stitch, 16 stitch horseshoe cable pattern, 6 stitches in seed stitch. i repeated the horseshoe cable pattern 17 times.

i stitched the bound off edges together and ran a gathering stitch and pulled it together a bit and then knit a band of eight stitches in seed stitch long enough to go around the band to cover the seam. in retrospect, i probably should have gathered it just a tad bit more but, hey, i'll do that on the next one. btw, i used brown sheep worsted weight yarn that i had in my stash! busted!

and here is my dear sweet little emma in her new fashion accessory! she loves it! and she probably would want me to tell you that this isn't the way she really wears it but she was so excited when she opened the package that she had to put it on then and there!

next up: this little number called: here and there cowl

I used one skein of noro taiyo sock yarn - 420 meters. i got the pattern at close knit and knit it in the round to avoid a seam - can you believe that it was NOT written to knit in the round? i can't, but, hey, to each his own! this yarn had a rough hand to it and i can't fathom knitting a pair of socks with it - i think they would be very scratchy and my feet just don't need that!

and last, but not least, is this hat - buckthorn cap designed by franklin habit. the yarn is blue moon fiber arts, socks that rock lightweight in the colorway: it's not all about me Brown  and silkie socks that rock in the colorway: It's about me. It's about me all the time.
this was the october rockin' sock club colorway and one of the patterns.

it involved stranded colorwork shaped like a buckthorn branch. i love the crown shaping and the little idiot cord loop at the top!!

and that's a wrap for this report! and that's a good thing!

falling into fall!

help me, i think i'm falling

in love again!

when i get that crazy feeling,

i know i'm in trouble again!

carly simon

at long last, fall has arrived! we were blessed with an overly long summer that just didn't seem to want to stop! we were still having sunny, warm days that allowed us to continue wearing shorts until way into october - guess that's what global warming will do for ya!

ya know, you've just got to have some of that traditional northwest fall weather to put ya in the mood - the mood for fall knitting, i.e. sweaters, scarves, gloves, hats, etc.! frosty mornings, falling leaves and rain, lots of it! and now, we've got it - rain has arrived!

i started fall off with the following:

this is the third installment in the Miss Babs World Tour 2012. the destination for fall was Sierra Nevada, where the trees are dressed in lovely shades of yellow, orange and brown just like this fabulous yarn! the color in the first two pictures is pretty close to the actual yarn which was a beautiful mix of colors hand-dyed by miss babs.

included in the trip paraphernalia was this northumbria dk - bfl yarn and the pattern for this lace cowl and mitts designed by cecily glowick. this yarn was like knitting with butter - so soft and smooth - an absolute wonder to knit!

that's how one works their way into fall in my book!