In the studio

Stole, silk and rayon, stockinette st with garter "rib", size 10.5 aluminum needle, 10 in.

I was up in Saratoga Springs at Saratoga Needle Arts and just got wildly inspired by the yarns there last week. So I selected a sea green silk yarn, dyed by Woodstock Wool Company, and an old Berocco silk and rayon tape that was on sale. I love this fabric. It's a riff on a fabric that Colinette has shown all over the place in their adds. They use much lighter weight yarns and get a marvelous effect. But I've got at least three pieces in progress using the same principle, but with very different types of yarn. In this version I'm knitting 4 rows of stocinette with the lighter of the two yarns, then 2 rows of garter with the heavier yarn, in this case the tape. Because of the silk the drape of the fabric is very dreamy.

In the studio

Scarf, rib stitch, mixed fibers: cotton, rayon, wool, acrylic, size 5 wood needles

I'm surprized that there isn't another entry for this scarf, since I think it has been around for a very long time in my studio. I fished it out of the "in progress" heap and finished it last month. I'm sorry I didn't take a photo of the crazy red ruffle that I added to finish, all around the scarf. It is hemp and done with a size 4 needle, and very ruffly!

Finished scarf

Scarf, alpaca, rib stitch: k5, p5, size 5 bamboo needles.

I used the magnificant natural alpaca from Woodstock Wool Company for this scarf. Unlike almost all my other scarves, this is a short one. It's a gift for my cousin Geoff, and I imagine it going under his overcoat, on top of his business suit. The short length will make it all very neat and yet take advantage of the warmth of the alpaca.

Finished capelet.

Capelet, single crochet, hemp with "E" seed beads [at the end of each fringe]. Unsized crochet hook, equivalent to about a size 1 or 2 steel hook.

If this didn't take so doggone much time I'd make bunches of them. It's easy to improvise once you get the hang of how to increase in a circle. I like the feel of the hemp in my fingers. The May 9 entry has better focus, but this is the absolutely completed version.

It took *forever* to do the fringe, which was:
crochet 19 sc,
turn,
add bead,
sc, half dc, dc, tr, dc, half dc, sc,
sl back up to the top of the chain

It makes a sort of teardrop shape pendant. The bead at the tip adds a little glint.

It felt like I was making hundreds of them, because the bottom edge has so many stitches, and I made a pendant/fringe every three stitches.

Finishing: I made a picot edging for the neckline, which softened the austere line of my starting chain [I worked from the neckline down]. Blocking was essential to make the fringes behave themselves, and since there were so many, it took a lot of time. But it looks lovely with those finishing touches.

Finished scarf

Scarf, crochet, mohair and wool, size F aluminum hook

I used a wildly neon green in this scarf and I like the way it lightens up the fabric.

Scarf, wool, intarsia color work, rib stitch, size 10 wood needle.

This is a very soft yarn, and I love the color work. I've wanted to do more low-contrast color work with the intarsia technique after doing very high-contrast pieces, so this is my first attempt.

In the studio

Scarf, mohair strips, size 10 wood needle, rib stitch

This scarf comprises three thin strips, all done in different stitches and in different color ways. I talk about it like it's done, but not quite yet. I'll fasten the strips together in very interesting ways.

Heck no, I didn't stop knitting. In fact, I can't believe I stopped blogging for so long, I kept imagining how everything would look on the blog. I have more photos to be divvied out one entry at a time. I'll post while I'm around, then there'll be a short break, and I'll resume again after the 15th of this month.