Christmas Knits

I am glad to have a daughter who lives in a cold climate, so that I can give her handknits for Christmas. And she likes them, too! :-)

 Dressy shawl (Dinner at the Eiffel Tower) 

 Warm Shawl/scarf (Hitchhiker)

Socks, 10% cashmere

A very warm hat, bulky alpaca

 Daughter, in hat! :-)

And two wash cloths.

The slippers I made for Sam turned out too small, so they are going to my Mom, and I have made a new pair for Sam, but they are still drying, after being felted, and will need leather sewn on the bottom when they are completely dry.

Gnome Sweet Gnome

When Christmas time rolls around, I am overtaken by a desire to make cute little things with wool and felt. This year, little gnomes from my favorite book, Feltcraft, and twisty trees on corks, from here. Oh, and a cute little bunny made from a garter stitch square.

Knitting Weather

Ok, summer is gone, and it's time to put a few new pictures up here.

Ok, so maybe this is my shawl phase.

I even put up hangers so that I can hang them all up on the bedroom wall...

Add caption

 This yellow one is also finished. Looks like I forgot to take pictures. It is actually a bit too long to make sense.

Yeah, slightly obsessed. 

I promise to knit a sweater soon.

What I Did on my Summer Vacation

Picked blueberries in the dooryard....

 Ate lobster

Visited my place of origin

 Two Lights, Cape Elizabeth

 with Karen and Liz

 and Portland Head Light

and ate my mother's still-excellent cooking!

Elwell Family Gathering

Mom and dad

Lynnie (Evelyn Elwell Uyemura), Eddie, Richie, Kevin, Karen, Mom and Dad

Oscar (Eddie Elwell)

Grandma (Barbara Elwell)

Grandpa (Edward Elwell Sr.)

Karen's dog Stella

The Three Stooges (Rich, Kevin, Eddie)

Kevin and Karen

the lobster!

Karen Elwell Allen

August 4, 2012

The Green Leaves of Summer

I thought I would post a couple of pictures of my latest shawl before I head east for some time with my extended family.

The pattern is Summer Flies (meaning Butterflies, not actual nasty flies!) and I used an alternative edging that some kind person posted on Ravelry as "My Version of Summer Flies."

The yarn is Handmaiden 75% silk and 25% camel, known as Camelspin, and it is to die for--so lustrous, so soft, easy to work with, hefty, and heavenly soft and smooth.

I had some doubts as I was knitting this, but the finished product erased all anxieties. Although there was some serious excitement/anxiety as I was binding off over 400 stitches--I was running out of yarn, and ended up with literally 6 inches to spare, out of 400 yards!

 I'm wearing this on the plane tonight and pretending I am a cool person!

Yeah, that much yarn left. Yikes! (And actually, I ended the pattern several rows early because I knew I was cutting it close, but I didn't know it would be that close!

Deep Blue Seas Garter Stitch Shawl

Sometimes all you need is garter stitch and good-looking yarn:  I have this pattern, super simple, for sale through Ravelry for $1.00. Click on button below that says Buy Now. You do not have to be a member of Ravelry to purchase this pattern, but you have to use PayPal.