BLACK MAGIC DIAMOND LACE SHAWLETTE

My newest design! 

Just fresh off the needles (US 6) and it only uses three balls of yarn! I chose a 100% cotton tape yarn of course in black. It is a fun piece to knit. Starting with the lace part while you still are excited about your new project and ending with knit and purl rows when one is usually not as interested any more. The pattern for this project is available in my Etsy store http://www.etsy.com/listing/48829888/pattern-lace-shawlette-scarf-wrap-black and once I have a good picture it will also be on  Ravelry http://www.ravelry.com/people/absoluteknits  which is actually the best knitting site I know. 

Right now I guess I am in my more lacy phase probably because it is hot here?

This was a busy week getting the last things done before the kids are home from school. To make things more exciting I got a new design accepted for Knitter's Magazine http://www.knittinguniverse.com/flash/universe.php . It will be their 100ths issue and I thought this would a good reason to design an item called "CELEBRATE". I wonder if they will keep the name?

The Vogue people will make a new book about baby items and there will be three of my designs in it as well.
Lots of good news! 

Lace Border Shrug

Finally I got this shrug done! And I have to say I did a good job! It stinks to praise yourself but this one was a tough one. I got this yarn from Germany from a sheep sanctuary Naturwerkstatt Zopfy and they sell this special yarn which is not chemically treated.
I have had the yarn since February and all the projects I started I did not finish. The yarn felt not right and my knitting looked bad. Then when Easter came around I thought I would try to dye the yarn with my left over egg dye and then the miracle happened! The contact with water turned this yarn into a beauty and my gauge turned into a nice piece of knitting. The yarn dried extremely fast and I could tell the difference between treated and untreated yarn.
Now all I have to do is to write down the pattern and ship it off to Germany with lots of good wishes for many sales! So the sheep will have a good life and can produce more of their wonderful wool. Without these friends we knitters would be quite empty handed!

Skacel Lacy Cables

Last fall I designed this sweater for Skacel Yarns. They make great knitting needles as well!
I learned a lot while knitting this sample piece. It is knitted all in the round and there are no good areas to start a new ball because I like to hide the ends in the side seams. So what to do? That's when I came up with my best way ever to connect a new ball:
split both yarn ends in half, which means when the yarn consists of 6 plys you split it so you have 3 plys on each half. Do the same with the new ball. Then combine one half of the new ball with one half of your working yarn. Knit about 5 stitches with the "new" yarn, then continue to knit with the all new ball. When weaving the ends in you can split the ends to single plys and weave the ends in a star shape.
I wished I had taken pictures......This method works great for all yarns and makes the least visible change.


http://www.skacelknitting.com/s.nl;jsessionid=0a010c551f43699d060649d04e5d97d1aef819872477.e3eSc38RbhuLe34Pa38Ta38Nbx10?it=A&id=7265

LACE WEDDING SHAWL

If someone asked me what my favorite yarn is I would probably say Kidsilk Haze by Rowan http://www.knitrowan.com/yarns/kidsilk-haze.aspx .This yarn is so incredible to work with and although it is expensive (about $15 per ball) with only one ball you could make a shawl like this one!

It measures 10" X 52" and there are many ways to wear it. 

I have made this one for my neighbor Barb whose daughter is getting married this month. Of course I picked a discontinued color (nightly) and I had to investigate to find more yarn on the internet. I ended up ordering three balls at Purls http://www.purlsoho.com/purl

mostly because I thought it would be cool to receive a package from NY! I want this shawl to be wider so I will add on to the sides. Then there would be two options to make it: a lazier version with only one ball and if a wider scarf is desired and patience is not running low this would be the second version which I am currently working on. 

Ribbed Keyhole Scarf

One week after surgery! My right foot is in a cast and I am on crutches (I actually prefer my neighbor's walker....). I finished a scarf from the 60 Quick Knits book where three of my patterns can be found. I am not very happy with the pattern since someone thought it should be rewritten (and now there is a mistake in it!) and also the finishing which  according to me should be blocking was changed to "do not block" and this is just impossible! But I will get over it.....
I have knitted this scarf for my local yarn store IRIS FINE YARNS where I also teach knitting classes on a regular basis.
There will be a book signing night in May!

BRANDON MABLY COLOR CLASS

Today I had the honor of meeting Brandon Mably! He is a British knitting celebrity and very famous in knitting circles. Here you can find more information about him
 http://www.brandonmably.com/1/Home.html

We started the day off with picking a favorite postcard and then choosing colors from it which we then had to transfer into rows of yarn with about 6 different colors per row. His British accent was quite "charming" as he would put it and his jokes were very entertaining as well. I learned a lot!

Tomorrow I will be off to surgery! I ruptured my Achilles tendon when I tried to push a heavy piece of furniture......

See Through Sleeve

  I have picked up one of my older projects. This photo shows the sleeve of my hopefully soon finished circle cardigan out of Noro and Habu yarns. It is actually a fun project and the sleeve has only 64 stitches at the top! And it is knitted in the round only! The background and sleeve show the grey Wisconsin sky.