Twisted Knitter

I knit this in 2008, inspired by the awesome green Malabrigo Lace that I purchased from Stephanie at Spritely Goods. I have an inexplicable weakness for the laceweight version of Malabrigo and it's the rare colors I covet. I scored one a few weeks ago (again, from Stephanie's site) and I'm going to use it to knit the very same scarf again.

Although it's a color I don't typically wear, I'm still dying to knit with it. My pattern, formerly a free download on Ravelry, is now for sale for $1.99. I tweaked the design, layout, and photo a little bit -- not so much to make major changes but to make my pattern Kindle™-friendly. Formerly, you couldn't view the lace chart on a Kindle™ but now you can -- just make sure you have the latest software release which gives the Kindle 2 native PDF capability. Naturally, you won't NEED a Kindle™ to view the pattern, but if you have one, you can store it there. Why $1.99? I hope to share more details about that in a few weeks. Most of my patterns are still free and they'll remain that way even after I make revisions to them. See? I told you I'm still knitting!

Posted by Janet at 08:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

I love scarves. I love living in a place where our winters require lightweight accessories and no bulky outerwear. And most of you already know that I adore green. So when I saw this color of Malabrigo merino laceweight on Spritely Goods, I had to have it. Although several knits distracted me from finishing this scarf as quickly as I would have liked, I devoted myself to it completely in the last week and finished it the day of my root canal.

In the past, I've started several other BIG lace projects only to make mistakes and get frustrated. This leaf pattern was something I could manage while watching television or when sneaking in some early morning knitting time.

And then there's dreamy red laceweight yarn:

While it seems this soft red yarn could easily distract me (once again), I've instead rescued another lace project from hibernation. So to satisfy some tactile desires, I did nothing more than wind the red yarn and swatch with it. Now it will sit for a while until I find the perfect pattern.

Before I close, I also wanted to share this cute little accessory bag from Splityarn:

It's adorable and functional. I'm using it to carry stitch markers:

Posted by Janet at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (25)

I believe that the pattern is correct as written, but please let me know if you have any questions regarding the pattern or the instructions I've provided. If you knit one, I'd love to see it!

Posted by Janet at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (21)

I worked today so you don't get an in-progress photo of the Leaf Lace scarf. I'm about one third of the way into it now and still at the giddy-romance stage. I don't get tired of knitting it and often have to put it away before I'm ready. Projects should always feel this way, don't you think? I'm finally listening to myself (heart and gut) and figuring out what I enjoy knitting and wearing. Knitters - just be selfish. Knit what you love. Avoid the pressure and the bandwagon unless you see something you really want to knit. Figure out what your "style" is. And have fun.

Posted by Janet at 06:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)

You know, it's difficult to blog about knitting progress while you're making it. I've focused on the scarf quite a bit over this past week and have become an even bigger fan of the Malabrigo laceweight. Lace knitting purists might not like this yarn, but it is so soft and easy for me to work with. It grips my needles in such a way that it's perfect for my wonky knitting technique. Paired with an Addi Lace needle, it's a dream. I'm sorry if I owe you an email or a phone call -- this project has had my devotion.

However, thanks to my friend Megan's willingness to drive to Yarntopia in Katy, Texas, I did get out to meet Laurie (Crazy Aunt Purl) and purchase a copy of her book (now autographed). When I got home, I started reading it and finished it a few hours later. You don't have to have been drunk, divorced, or covered in cat hair to enjoy this book. If you've ever hit bottom and found your way back again, you will relate to her heartfelt and humorous story. There are even a few knitting "recipes" in the back of the book, including one of Staci's. Laurie's felted bracelet bag is adorable and unique.

If you love Rowan, Fleece Artist, Louisa Harding, and Mama Llama, Yarntopia is the perfect place to go to see a full selection of each of these yarns (they have some Rowan yarns I'd never seen in person before). Catherine of Mama Llama Knits was having her trunk show yesterday and I found some irrestible green sock yarn (the green -- it's an obsession):

Time to get back to the knitting -- I have socks to finish!

Posted by Janet at 07:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (20)

I had some decisions to make this past week -- some were happy ones and some were not so happy. And on a handful of things, I'm still in limbo. This is difficult for a decisive person. I'd rather make a wrong decision than no decision at all. One of the easier decisions last week was buying the green Malabrigo laceweight from Stephanie at Spritely Goods. I have a stitch dictionary in which I've bookmarked mostly "leaf" lace patterns and I had to have this gorgeous spring green for one of my favorites. It arrived the same day I was using 4mm green freshwater pearls in a necklace. While my idea to use the two together hasn't worked out, I'm still moving along on a wonderful organic leaf lace pattern.

Other Malabrigo lace on the needles is the Pearl Ten colorway for the Orchid Lace Scarf. This is the pattern I won as part of Brenda's contest on her blog, Molecular Knitting. I've cast on and placed my markers but now need lace needles. I thought I could manage without them, but I don't find much joy in knitting lace with blunt-tipped bamboo.

In light of all of this unfinished lace business and unfinished decisions, I want to share with you some things that dropped into my inbox this past week -- timely and unexpectedly helpful treasures:

From Ali Edwards' AEZine: Why Wait? - read the entire thing. Don't wait.

From Steve Pavlina's Personal Development Insights(TM) Newsletter (a brief quote for you while I try to figure out if the entire article is on his website): "How do you establish the habit of thinking about what you want? First, do your best to catch yourself thinking about what you don't want, and consciously stop and replace those thoughts with positive alternatives. It doesn't matter if the alternatives are realistic or not." It's a great article about consciously and purposely replacing WORRY with DESIRE.

And finally, another from Ali Edwards' AEZine: Creative Sharing: "Sharing information and concepts and skills helps us all. There is power in sharing - acquiring knowledge and then passing it on. One of the best ways to become ever more adept at your skills, and hone your own personal creative philosophies, is to teach someone else."

(Comments closed due to SPAM, please contact me via the link on my blog sidebar if you have any questions)

Posted by Janet at 06:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (18)