Yarn disappointment in Bermuda

Last week my husband and I took a cruise to Bermuda--my very first cruise! Of course, I was looking forward to checking out the yarn stores there--would they be filled with Rowan products? Or perhaps other, more elusive, British brands? I'd done my homework--the Internet helped me locate two yarn shops in St. George, though I couldn't find any in Hamilton.

On our leisurely way down to Bermuda (it is interesting how it takes twice as long to get there as to get back :-) ) I spent some time knitting, though not as much as I expected. After all, there was all that food and all those shows competing for my time! In Hamilton, I inquired at the city's information booth about a yarn shop, and was directed to the yarn section at a local department store. I was so excited, walking towards it, seeing so many skeins of yarn on display. Imagine the letdown, though, when I realized it was all Caron, Red Heart, and Lion Brand! I thought I'd arrived at my local Michael's! Ah well, there were still the two stores in St. George. When we got to this charming little town last Friday, I hunted them up. One carried all sorts of craft supplies, but the yarn selection was very similar to what I'd found in Hamilton. And the second shop, quite a nice space, mostly stocked Patons yarns! I did find some cute point protectors in the shape of a hat and mitten, and a nearby store had some pretty handmade coin purses, so I bought one to hold stitch markers. And had to make do with that!

I was surprised at how small Bermuda was. We took two tours (one a glass bottom boat, the other a horse-drawn carriage ride), and both tour guides provided lots of fascinating information. One was stronger on flora and fauna, the other on history, so they complimented each other well. The Bermuda and US dollars are fixed at the same rate, and are interchangeable, which made it very easy--no need to exchange money. We were told prices there are high (virtually everything has to be delivered to the island), and we found that particularly true for lunches--each one cost almost $50 for two, just at regular restaurants--nothing fancy. Luckily, the food was very good.

My husband and I hunt out bookstores wherever we go, and we did find several stores with new books, and one with used books. It was fun to see both books from the US and the UK, but again, prices were pretty high. We found several books at the used bookstore, and other than my few knitting-related items, that was the extent of our purchases. No fancy jewelry store visits for us (how many jewelry stores can one small island hold?!?!?!).

Just before we left, I finished my Textured Circle Shrug by Stefanie Japel, and I can't wait to wear it this fall. The yarn--Frog Tree Merino Melange--is to die for. I mentioned it to Liz, owner of my LYS, The Spinning Room, and am hoping she might decide to stock it. I'd love to make more projects out of it.

Raffle Prize!

Last night, Liz Cassidy, owner of The Spinning Room in Altamont (NY), had a fashion show-and-tell, which was lots of fun. There were about 25-30 people, and everyone brought along one or more items that they were particularly proud of. There were some lovely sweaters and felted bags and shawls and more. Liz also had a wonderful selection of raffle prizes, many of which were donated by vendors. It looked like there were going to be prizes enough for almost everyone there, which was exciting. But names were called, and more names were called, and still more called, and I wondered if I might be one of the few who wouldn't end up with a prize.

Then Liz selected a fabulous prize to be the next one up--20 skeins of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in a lovely russet color, and the Winter Essentials pattern book. Oooooh, did this look good! And then wonderful Nancy actually did draw my name!! (We'd been taking turns pulling names.) I am afraid I screamed and generally had something of a fit. So now I just need to decide what to make with it! I found three patterns in the book that I really like, but unfortunately, they are for other yarns. So I'll be trawling through Ravelry to find a good pattern. Was it ever my lucky night!

Earlier this week I finished my Acer cardigan, and I love, love, love it. It was a great pattern--and there was NO seaming! Since I'd sewn the buttons on and woven in most of the ends before I had finished knitting, I think it took about 5 minutes of post-knitting work to finish it off. I made it out of Beaverslide Worsted, which is 90% wool and 10% mohair. It was nice to knit with, but even better is how it feels once washed--soft and almost slightly fulled--it is hard to describe. I wore it last night over a short-sleeved sweater, and it did not scratch! I'm afraid I've sent off for the color card for this yarn, I think I am addicted to it! When I went looking for buttons, I found some really pretty, slightly old-fashioned looking, ones at JoAnn. I was a little shocked to see they were $5.00 per card of two, but nothing else seemed remotely right once I'd

found these. I am really glad I didn't scrimp, because I think they are perfect.

In preparation for my Knit One Below class at the Spinning Room next month, I started the Curves and Columns vest today, but not 30 minutes after I did, I found out about Lion Brand's KAL for Stefanie Japel's Textured Circle Shrug. And last night, Karin was wearing a lovely sweater, Rhinebeck from A Fine Fleece. It really didn't call to me when I was picking out patterns from the book, but it is lovely in person. So I was all set to start it as soon as I finished the vest. Now I feel a bit overwhelmed. I wonder if there is any chance of playing hookey all week from work?!?!

Recent knitting and Lucy Neatby classes

Last night I finally finished the first Egyptian mitten. I am not sure why I am not enjoying knitting these as much as other stranded mittens. I think it may partly be because of the scratchy Jamieson's Spindrift yarn. I am sure these mittens will hold up very well, but working with it isn't as much a pleasure as using softer yarns. I'm taking a short break, but should certainly have the second one done before the cold weather sets in again! Seeing the first one done is motivating, as I do like the way the motif looks.

Just before this, I was on a hat kick--two for a hat exchange, and one, the Hurricane hat, for me. I saw one done in a lovely light blue/light green/turquoise Poems colorway, and just had to have one for myself! The pattern was a delight to knit, perfect for listening to a book on tape, as nothing very complex was going on. It knit up very quickly. Since the Poems is less heavy than the called-for Malabrigo, I knit the ribbing on 92 stitches, rather than 80, then dropped to 91 for the body of the hat (rather than 81). My only other modification was to shorten the body of the hat by 1/2".



The stranded hat is one of the ones I made for the swap (the other hasn't been received yet, so it is under wraps). My exchange partner made me a lovely lace hat out of Artful Yarns Jazz, in a colorway I just love! She also sent along three wonderful handmade soaps. What a great first swap experience!



On Wednesday I took two classes with Lucy Neatby at Webs--one on buttonholes and one called Hallelujah Grafting. They were great classes, and nice and small, so we got lots of personalized attention. I've been longing to take a class with Lucy since I started watching some of her DVDs, and was not disappointed at all. She is a fabulous teacher, and an amazing knitter. I broke down and bought another of her DVDs (Finesse Your Knitting 2) and put in an order for the first Finesse DVD. Because the classes were small, and we actually got through everything she wanted to teach us, she spent a little time showing us how to do the Swallow Stitch that is found on her Fiesta patterns. It looks really amazing, and isn't hard. So I just bought her Fiesta Mittens pattern off Patternfish, and hope to start soon (though there is that second Egyptian mitten waiting...)

My knitting books are absolutely overflowing all their allotted spaces. I would love to go through them and find even just 10 that I could put up for sale. But what strength of purpose that will take! What if the pattern I just have to have someday is in one of those books? Are there any words of wisdom you can share on this rather frightening undertaking?

Can't Get Enough of "Knit One Below" by Elise Duvekot

After finishing the Inside Outside scarf (see previous post), I decided I just had to make the Bottoms Up! felted bag. This entailed a quick evening run to my LYS (11 miles away) before they closed to get some needles I needed. I got back, and sat down, ready to plunge forward. Instead, all I did was mutter not-so-nice words for the next two hours. Part of the problem was trying to manipulate 4 large dpns with just 8 stitches total on them. I also wasn't sure I really should be trying to knit below into the cast on--the directions sure seemed to be saying that, but my knitting kept falling apart. I posted a message of desperation on the Ravelry group for this book, and a very nice woman responded, who said she would start a second bag to try to figure out what was happening to me. How incredibly kind! She assured me you do knit into the cast on, and mentioned using 2 circular needles. Though I'd not tried that method of circular knitting before, anything would be worth a try to get me out of my agony. After about 20 more minutes the next evening, I finally got it (or got it enough!). It is going well now, though I am about to run out of the navy yarn. Webs can't ship quickly enough for me!

The lovely woman who helped me is a designer herself--I can't wait to start her Mitered Striped Felted Bag for my mom. Her spring-like colors motivated me to get some bright ones myself.



Her wonderful help makes me think of pre-Ravelry days. I wasn't knitting for too long before Ravelry came along, but I do remember desperate runs to the LYS, even phone calls for more basic questions. Or I could ask one of several people at work, and I've done my share of that. But if the LYS was closed, or I was not at work, I was pretty much out of luck. Ravelry may not be the greatest thing since sliced bread--it is the greatest thing including sliced bread!

Oh, and in the package from Webs will be half the yarn I need for the lovely Chanel-like jacket in the book. I have the gray in Jaeger Matchmaker DK, so I've ordered the black in Schachenmayr Extra Merino, which is a nicely priced closeout. I hope they will work well together. I also have yarn for a vest from the book, and socks, and a hat.... Can you tell I am becoming addicted?

Back to an old project

I had started the Inside-Outside Scarf from Elise Duvekot's Knit One Below (also available for free at Knitting Universe) back in December, but other projects intervened, and it was sitting, neglected, in the bottom of the basket next to my chair. Friday night I pulled it out as an alternative to the lovely Egyptian mittens, which are seeming to take forever. I've really been enjoying working on the scarf this weekend. I'm using Wisdom Yarn's Poems, which has long, long color stretches. Rather than mix two different colorways, I'm playing it conservative with just one.

After purling some of the rows, I wondered if my usual knitting backwards technique (to avoid rows of purling) would work. And of course it does! It just took a second to see what was happening on the front side of the work when I started to purl one below, and I was set. So the project is going much more quickly now (no constant stops to adjust the tension). I think it is much more difficult to make a mistake doing it this way. I can see right away if my color columns are lining up or not, since the front of the work is always facing me.

Unfortunately, I've been wearing a very warm red coat most of this winter (not much choice, considering our weather), and this doesn't go at all! But if it starts to warm up a bit and I can wear one of my black coats, it should look good.

I've just started a hat, influenced by a number of sources but of my own overall design, and I think that is coming along well. But I'll get a bit further before I take a picture and write about it.