And after Lime Gimlet... I give thee... Lemon Twist!

Of late I am experiencing "Mohair Madness"... I just can't get enough of this soft, fuzzy yarn!

And so... after my Lime Gimlet... I went on to a Lemon Twist! Same beautifully soft Kid Silk Five by Grignasco, same Lite Brite colours this time a sunny yellow! And again.. the Candy pattern by maanel, a quick, easy knit!

I added a ball and used a slightly larger needle (5mm instead of 4mm) the results were a larger, softer, fuzzier wrap. I love it!

Here they are together.. you can see the difference in size! 

In the meantime... how about a lime gimlet??

After my Rowan Silk Haze Stripe experience, the mohair/silk blend has really captured my fancy!

I started browsing Ravelry.com for some ideas.. and I came across this little piece Eye Candy  ... it didn't take me long to run out to my favorite LYS in downtown Lucca  to check out what they had in a mohair/silk blend... no synthetics please.. just real kid mohair and real silk!




Paolo immediately suggested Kid Silk Five (made in Italy, naturally!) in what he called the "flu" colors.... that would be "flu" as in Neon... fluorescent. I chose this lime green and a bright lemon yellow (still begging to be knit!) When I saw it knit and blocked... a Lime Gimlet came to mind and hence it's name!

The Kid Silk Five is a bit thicker than the suggested mohair blend.. but the results are magnificent! A light-as-a-feather shawl that will float around your neck and shoulders for just the right amount of warmth you need on a cool, breezy summer evening!

All I can say is FUN, FUN, FUN!!

Pronti, Via! si comincia ad organizzare un workshop sulla filatura di Art yarn!!

Foto - Wool Wench

Da un anno a questa parte io e la mia carissima amica Silvia sogniamo di organizzare in Italia un workshop sulla creazione di filati artistici... filati una loro personalità pieni di colori, perline e spirali

In questi giorni sono a contatto con Wool Wench - artista tessile che vive in Olanda ma che viene dalla Nuova Zelanda. 

Stiamo pensando ad un week-end all'insegna della lana... filatura, maglia e tutto quello che ci viene in mente!

Nei prossimi giorni comincio a mettere qui sul blog gli sviluppi

intanto... alcune fotografie...per amMAGLIARvi


filati artistici di Wool Wench

Wool Wench

Wool Wench

Wool Wench

Wool Wench

Progetti con "art yarn"

KnitViktim

KnitViktim

KnitViktim

I Never Promised you a Rose Garden: When the yarn dictates the project

Sometimes it's the yarn that sets the pace and determines the project. This was the case of my"Rose Garden" shawl knit in Artyarns Rhapsody, 80 % silk, 20% mohair, colour 1024.




When I started knitting... I saw roses  under a blue summer sky...

beautiful shades of pink from the deepest to the most pastel, shades of green from the deepest emerald to cool forest green and pale pea green, bits of chocolate brown here and there and tiny patches of sky blue. I was going to knit a  lacy and sophisticated shawl... but when I saw this garden of roses bloom before my eyes, I decided to let the yarn be the star in this simple but dazzling shawl.

Then another shawl came to mind, one I had made last year for my daughter in which I used sections of mohair to create some transparency... and I remembered the half a ball of pale green mohair sitting in my stash... perfect for creating a grassy garden path in the midst of my roses!

I think the results speak for themselves... a rose garden of a shawl!

Knitting with textured or "art" yarns:II

Back in October I wrote about knitting with textured or "art" yarns. Many times these are hand-spun creations that incorporate charms, sequins, beads and other little focal objects into the yarn. 

When I saw this yarn - appropriately called "sparkling mermaid" - I absolutely could not resist it! Before I actually purchased it... spending $49 in this day and age for a mere 135 meters of hand-spun yarn is no easy decision - I went back and looked at the photos many times... I imagined holding it, feeling it's softness next to my skin, admiring all its sparkling beauty draped around my neck!

Reading the description of the yarn written by the yarnie that had spun it (http://www.etsy.com/shop/weirdandtwisted) was the famous straw that broke the camel's back... and I gave in to temptation!

"extra soft merino light blue and teal, a small amount of light blue linen, fine merino wool deep turquoise, and lots of sparkling angelina (glittery fibre). I spun in blue sewing thread strung with sea shells, sequins of silver and teal, and lots of different glass beads: clear round ones with a kind of rainbow shimmer, frosted-looking blue ones, and faceted blue ones."

I bought it and waited for inspiration! My first idea was to combine it with Artyarns Rhapsody in a beautiful variegated to create a shawl... but the more I thought about this idea... the less I like it. Then the other night, while I was trying to come up with some cowls to make for sale at the Philadelphia Headhouse market next fall, my sparkling mermaid came to mind... and after exchanging a few ideas with my virtual yet very real friend Paola who has a real sense of color and loves garter stitch as much as I do.. I decided on a very simple cowl in garter stitch.. as Paola said "with a yarn like that... go for garter stitch and you can't miss!"

So... I cast on about 90 stitches.. joined in the round, marked the start of the round and "gartered" away! After about an inch I made some decreases and then again after another inch so the cowl would fall and drape softly at the collar bone.Then I just knit until there was enough yarn left to bind off... the results? beautiful! if I do say so myself! Unfortunately the photos do not do justice to the sparkle of this yarn... you'll just have to try and spot me wearing it!!