Belated Mother's Day



I finished it at last. It was only five days late. I think this shows it was worth it.

That's my mom wearing the Short Sleeved Lace Cardigan from Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2007. I enjoyed knitting this pattern so much. It is extremely simple. I think it would be a perfect first lace project for someone. The slanting eyelet pattern is very easy to memorize, or even better, it is so easy to read the knitting that you don't have to memorize the pattern at all.

I love the eyelet ribbing detail. You don''t even have to knit buttonholes. The eyelets are used instead. I haven't added the buttons yet, and I don't know that I will. My mother seems to prefer to wear it open.

I just realized that this is my first FO in three months. I've been knitting almost everyday, but I haven't been making much progress on my WIPs. I have to remember to keep adding small projects to my to do list. The satisfaction of actually completing something reenergizes me and helps me focus on the bigger things, like the sadly neglected Forest Path Stole.

I picked up my FPS last night for the first time in a month. I'm going to try to knit a little of it every day. I do want to finish it. It is just so hard to be disciplined when there are so many other crafty distractions.

All hail the return of Cotton Ease. I humbly bow to her graces. Until last week I really never understood what the fuss was about. Sure I noticed the online uproar when it was discontinued, but it never occurred to me that a Lion Brand yarn could be all that great.


I have purchased and used wool ease in the past. When I first started knitting, I decided to knit my nieces and nephew scarves. The only thing I could stand at the local Michaels was the Wool Ease. I didn't really like the colors or the feel, but I thought, "At least it's machine washable". I knit all of the scarves, but I didn't enjoy one minute of it. I just can't stand how plastic the stuff feels. I've also knit with Homespun (arghhh!) and the suede one (ho-hum). I have to say that I don't generally have a positive view of the yarns at all.



But then last week I noticed Cotton Ease at Michaels. I had been looking for an inexpensive machine washable yarn to sub for a summer top pattern. At first I was just going to but a couple of balls to check it out. When I picked up and felt it, I could resist. I bought ten balls, 4 in a light blue and 6 in violet.

After a Mother's Day knitting fiasco which I will relate later, I needed to whip up a quick replacement gift and I remembered this pattern from the latest Vogue Knitting.








The pattern calls for Lion Brand Organic Cotton which is the same gauge as Cotton Ease. Boy does this pattern show this yarn to it best effect. Cotton Ease knits like a dream. It shows of textural knitting beautifully. Here are a couple of close ups:

The eyelet pattern is just gorgeous:








It is also incredibly light. Cotton is much heavier than wool, but the added acrylic makes this blend (208 yards to 100 grams) exact the standard weight of wool. This means you can add all of the cables, texture, and bobbles that you want, without creating a garment it takes a forklift to pick up. I have wanted to knit a cotton blanket for a long time, but I hadn't yet found a good inexpensive sturdy light weight yarn for the job. This is definitely it.


The only negative comment I have about the yarn is the limited and slightly depressing color selection. It is clear that Lion Brand tried to come up with a more sophisticated color palate. I do think the taupe color and the lime are lovely, but this yarns calls out for rich and vibrant colors. Hopefully if the relaunch is successful enough they will expand the colors choices.

I hate your baby..



I started a crazy quilt months ago for the baby of a friend of mine. I thought I had chosen my fabrics well and the piecing method seemed very forgiving. So I had just about finished the top when I realized that I was making the ugliest quilt I had ever seen. It was so bad that I was afraid that if I gave it as a gift it would not signify love and hope and comfort, all of the things a baby quilt should communicate. No, it would say loud and clear: "I hate your baby!"



I'm a good person. I don't hate babies. Okay maybe one or two, but in general no. So I had to come up with a solution. I saw an fabric ad in a quilting magazine that had a lovely quilt draped on a chair. I had to make it. I didn't stop to take pictures until the top was done and I was basting the layers together. Here she is:





My piecing skills are not so good, but I've decided that the wonkiness of my seams can be read as charmingly naive rather than sloppy. I'm rather proud of it right now. My first quilt will say: "I love your baby."