Monday Morning Mirth
Old Irish Saying:
Grant me a sense of humor, Lord,
the saving grace to see a joke.
To win some happiness from life,
And pass it on to other folks.
Happy St. Patricks’s Day!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
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Thinking about knitting the Aleita Shell? The instructions work with yarns at 21 sts per 4 ” over St st giving a Finished Size: 32 ½ (36 ¼, 40, 42, 45 ¾)” bust circumference AND they also work with yarns at 20 sts per 4 ” over St st (or 5 sts per inch, which might be easier for some folks to find…) giving a Finished Size: 34 (38, 42, 44, 48)” bust circumference. The row gauge for both is 28 rows per 4” (7 rows per inch). Using this easy to find gauge expands the size range of the pattern a bit. The pictures below show the Shell with 1" of ease and it’s a size 38. |
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Pattern found in Interweave Knits Spring 2008 pg. 72 |
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Here’s a list of yarns that would work with this design— |
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| Artful Yarn | Cliche | 55% Cotton/30% Linen/15% Acrylic |
| Arucania | Pomaire | 100% Pima Cotton |
| Berroco | Bonsai | 97% Bamboo/3% Nylon |
| Berroco | Lumina | 54% Cotton/36%Acrylic/10% Poly |
| Berroco | Nostalgia | 46% Cotton/30% Acrylic/24% Nylon |
| Berroco | Softwist | 59% Rayon, 41% Wool |
| Blue Sky | Worsted | 50% alpaca/50% wool |
| Brown Sheep | Cotton Fleece | 80% Cotton/20%Wool |
| Brown Sheep | Lambs Pride Superwash |
100% Wool |
| Brown Sheep | Serendipity | 60% Cotton/50% Wool |
| Cascade | Pima Tencel | 50% Pima Cotton/50% Tencel |
| Cascade | Venezia Worsted | 70% Merino Wool/30% Silk |
| Classic Elite | Princess | 40% Merino/28% Viscose/10% Cashmere/ 7% Angora/15% Nylon |
| Debbie Bliss | Cotton DK | 100% Cotton |
| Elann | Camila | 50% Cotton / 50% Linen |
| Elsebeth Lavold’s | Cotton Patine | 100% Cotton |
| Nashua | Creative Focus Cotton | 100% Mercerized Cotton |
| Nashua | Natural Focus Ecologie | 100% Pima Cotton |
| Pakucho | Organic Cotton | 100% Cotton |
| Plymouth | Linen Isle | 50% Cotton/30% Rayon/20% Linen |
| Reynolds | Cottontail | 60% Cotton/40% Microfiber |
| Reynolds | Saucy | 100% Mercerized Cotton |
| Rowan | Calmer | 75% cotton/25% acrylic |
| Rowan | Handknit Cotton | 100% Cotton |
| Shibui | Merino Kid | 55% Kid Mohair/45% Merino Wool |
| Southwest Trading Co. | Yin | 60% Wool/20% Silk/20% Bamboo |
| Tahki | Cotton Classic | 100% Mercerized Cotton |
| Twilleys | Cotton Freedom | 100% Cotton |
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
DST does save time daily…
At last, it’s possible to start taking some pictures in natural light around here! We’ve been living in the Grey Zone for about 45 days straight, many of which included snow. This is quite possibly the longest Winter I ever remember; just day after day of socko cloudy skies and nose-numbing temperatures. That, my friends, is my true thermometer: my nose. But when it’s chilled, I panic! Bring on the cowls!
Ye olde nose is a Detective Dog—a couple of weeks ago, I was sitting on my couch minding my own business and the nose went COLD! Turns out the furnace was broke and the rest of me (all swathed in a nice woolie sweater) was just fine and it wasn’t until the nose alarm that I would even bother trying to figure out what was going on. Thanks nose! ;p
And I love the natural light for photography! Here’s a comparison, done with some studio lights I have…
You can see, it’s kind of flat, a little washed-out, a little boring…
Natural light makes a much more interesting picture, IMHO. First of all, it’s easier to match the true color of the object. The white balance or color temperature is really forgiving, especially right next to a window or on a porch. When you go to electric or flash lit scenes, the color balance & temperature shifts and now there is a color cast introduced into the picture.
Digital photography is hungry for light. The more light you can give it the sharper the picture will be. Even the most incredible lens is a slave to the sun!
Me too! I long to go barefoot!
It’s been with fine anticipation that I’ve been working on this pulli. I’m about 5 inches into the yoke now—going a little slow with all those stitches… The cotton/wool blend (80/20) is definitely not yet warm enough to wear around here but hopefully will be done right about the time I’m ready to go sockless ;)
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