In progress

I tend to take shots of my projects while they are in progress.  But, given that I can't show most of them to you until they are finished, I forget to post pictures of the projects in progress.  So here are a few.

Helen's Grace:

The Magenta version of Troy's Folly.  Knit in Madeline Tosh Merino Light.  (I love love love this yarn!!!)

Omelet:

I hope you've enjoyed these amorphous blobs (I know I did!),
Joyce

Weekend knitting

I spent most of Sunday knitting and watching Netflix.  Netflix watch instantly has transformed my world.  I rarely watch tv.  That's not to say that I don't watch any tv, but with the joy that is dvr technology, I (like much of the country, I suspect) don't watch my tv shows when they're on regular tv.  I'm much too distracted for that! (Plus one comes on while I'm at work and another comes on the night of knitting group. What was CBS thinking?!?!)

But, I only watch three shows regularly.  Which means that when I want to knit a project that is somewhat complicated, I have to search for something to watch.  Netflix has come to my rescue.  They have tons of tv shows and movies that I can stream to my computer.  I will admit that I mostly watch the PBS and History Channel shows that they have available, but Hubbie and I have recently begun watching Futurama together.

Given that it has been the spooky time of year, I've been watching a lot of shows on ghosts.  I love this time of year because I get to gorge myself of ghost stories.  Reading them, listening to them, watching tv shows on them.  So much fun.  I don't actually believe in ghosts (I think), but I grew up in a family with a tradition of telling ghost stories at get togethers.  I used to love to sit next to my mom as she told stories of the house that she lived in that she thought was haunted.  I'd get chills and goosebumps.  It was awesome!

Sadly, my family is now spread over a good portion of the country, so the tradition hasn't continued.  Instead I turn to the internet and Netflix and the ghost stories of others to give me my Halloween chills.

My glut of weekend tv watching go me through a garter stitch scarf and 70% of the shawlette version of Mercia.

Winnie the wonderdog was kind enough to model the scarf for me.  He's such a cutie (but also a total spaz. The only reason he sat still long enough to take this picture was Hubbie standing behind me holding a treat.)

It's knit in an angora wool Handspun by Jamie Harmon.  It's really quite soft and lovely.

I'm knitting the shawlette version of Mercia in the Knit Picks Stroll Tonal sock that was left over from the shawlette version of Butterfly Bush.  It is the perfect amount and the yellow shows off the stitch pattern really well.

It's about time Mother Nature realized it was Autumn,
Joyce

Butterfly Bush Shawl

The Butterfly Bush shawl was the first shawl that I charted from my design notebook.  (The others had thus far been designed using stitch dictionaries.)  The design notebook goes everywhere with me (except to the lab today which meant that I had to design my Mother In Law's Christmas shawl on the back of another pattern. Oops!)

Originally knit in Malabrigo Silky Merino in Pollen, I sent pictures to Knit Picks and requested yarn support.  Much to my joy, they said yes and sent me yarn.  (I love yarn! Sorry, got distracted for a minute.)
The DK shawl is worked in Knit Picks Gloss DK in Jade on size 8 needles.

The fingering weight shawlette is worked in Stroll Sock Tonal in Golden Glow on size 5 needles.

The pattern for Butterfly Bush is available through Knit Picks or by clicking on the button below.

GiGi laid claim to the Jade version before it was even finished, but that's only because she wanted the Malabrigo version.  But... I had to put my foot down and say no.  I know, shocking, isn't it?

It's a pity I don't really look good in yellow,
Joyce

Birthday thoughts

I turned 30-mumble mumble this past week.  Many people mark the start of the new year on January 1st.  For me the new year starts on my birthday.  I feel as though that day marks both an end and a beginning.  On my birthday, I let go of the hurts and disappointments of the previous year. I turn instead to gaze upon the year ahead where all things are possible with the feeling that I can make positive life decisions and enjoy what the year has to bring.

Oh, and what am I going to knit this year?  How exciting!

I freely confess that I am a shawl knitter.  I love to knit shawls (shawls, and more shawls).  Socks are beautiful, but unlikely to be knit by me (you have to knit TWO of them, in the same yarn even!).  Ditto sweaters (this may change, but since I don't wear them, why knit them?).  I do knit the occasional hat (oddly, the nephews won't wear shawls), but 99.9% of my stitches go to shawls.
So, that said, I know WHAT I'll be knitting this year- shawls.  I even know who most of them will go to- GiGi (she's insistent like that), but I don't know yet what they will look like, what size or shape they will be, or what yarn I will use.  All of these questions get me quite excited for the new knitting year ahead.

Oh, I'm imagining it, NYC, and it is awesome!

I started the lace weight version of the yellow highlighter shawl.  Hey! I only promised TK the shawlette version, so she should be ok. :-D

As you can see, it's not highlighter yellow, but more buttery.  GiGi, however, loves butter yellow and I have to have something to give her for her birthday next year.  It won't take that long to knit, but I've already made her Christmas present.

Meet Mercia, or at least the corner of Mercia.  She is a fingering weight shawl that I've submitted to the Knit Picks Independent Designer Program.  I've released three patterns with them and a fourth to be released in the next week.  I'll make sure to talk about them soon.

I spent my birthday working.  I teach a couple of Biology labs at one of the colleges that make up the City University of New York.  I'm also working on a PhD in Biology with the same university.  So I spent my birthday teaching and working on my research.  On a positive note, I got to spend the morning in the woods at Inwood Hill Park.

It's the closest thing that Manhattan has to a natural area.  The weather was cool (high 60's) and sunny.  It was a beautiful way to start out the day.  Plus I got to knit on the train on the way back to campus.