In defense of plant fibers

I've got to hand it to Ann and Kay, they've really managed to bring me back to the land of cotton these days. Sure, I made a cotton baby sweater a while ago, and started in on another, and I made a great pink kid sweater from cotton a couple of years ago, but I've been working primarily with wool for the past couple of years, especially after getting into socks and spinning. I haven't tried spinning cotton yet - I'm a bit chicken since my short-staple skillz are rather sucky.

Here and there in blogland you hear some people slagging on cotton and extolling the virtues of wool. Don't get me wrong - I adore wool. And alpaca. And silk. I have a shetland lamb fleece that I'm combing just a bit at a time, like sipping and savoring a fine wine. But honey, when it hits 90 degrees here in April or May, the wool gets put away into its happy cedar hideaway pretty quickly, and plant fibers become the business of the day.


Exhibit A: Dishcloths from Mason-Dixon Knitting. See how happy my kitchen counter looks? I love these. I had a small stash of the actual Peaches & Creme cotton left over from a baby sweater that I used for these, and the local craft store had the other brand for $1 a skein last week. (I am confused as to why all the local big craft stores carry the more common Sugar & Cream which is made in Canada, when Peaches & Creme is made here in NC, maybe 3 hours away.)


Exhibit B: Log Cabin Rainbow Blanket. I was going to do a mitered square thing, but these seemed too bright for what I intended. But in this form, they just look so happy!


Exhibit C: Raindrops on Roses linen hand towel. This stuff is like knitting with corrugated cardboard shreds, but the color is awesome, and I know it will soften up nicely after washing. I can already feel it relaxing down at the bottom where it has been squished around more in handling. (Yes, technically, this is linen and not cotton, but I'm including it in the plant fibers category.)

And just to let you all remember that I do still have a special place in my heart for the wool, the current sock in progress (Child's First Sock in Shell Pattern, Knitting Vintage Socks, Meilenweit Fun unknown color #). (What, you think I don't have a sock on the needles, too? Silly.) Clearly, there is a plague of startitis going on here, but I'm having a good time.

And sometime in the next few weeks, I'm going to have something to do with the umpty-nine packets of Kool-Aid I got last year...

Banana fanna F.O.-fest

I'm always surprised when I actually finish a knitted object. I'm knitting along, and then there's the last stitch, and then, well there's no more knitting to do on it. If it's something I've really enjoyed working on, there's a tiny bit of disappointment of being done, but that certainly pales in comparison with the "Whee! It's done!" celebration. Without further ado, I present Eris.

Specifications:
Started - last fall sometime, I think.
Finished - 4/13/06 (True to form, it is about 90 degrees out today, and there's no chance I'll wear this til about November.)
Yarn - Handspun dark brown wool of unknown provenance. I'm thinking this was more of a downy wool, since there was no lock structure to speak of, and it came in carded batts from my aunt-in-law's stash. It was a little greasy at first, so I re-washed it, and it turned out very light, fluffy, and soft. I did size D of the pattern, so I believe the yardage was around 1200 yards of a very lightweight 2-ply. The whole sweater weighs 12 oz, so this is a deceptively lightweight but warm sweater. The only mod to the pattern was putting the cable corner on both sides, instructions for which can be found here.


I really learned a lot from making this sweater, including short rows on a grand scale, grafting sideways ribbing (on the bottom border), really funky cables with short rows at the same time, and just how wonderful it is to not have to seam a darn thing when you're done. Overall, it was quite an enjoyable knit, and I can't wait until it gets, well, not as hot this fall and winter. It fits well, and I anticipate wearing it often.

Also on the F.O. podium are my Sockapaloooza socks. I refrained from the try-on shot, since my sock-pal's feet are about an inch longer than mine, and they would look silly. So the deck tried them on instead. It's my third time through this pattern (although I haven't reached a Cara level of craziness), and I still find it pretty cool. For sock yarn that has a tendency to pool, this tends to break it up nicely and variegate it well.
Pattern: Jaywalker, by Grumperina (84-stitch size)
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Gold Hill
on size 1 dpns. This stuff makes extremely soft socks.
Started: February 2006, Finished: 4/11/06.

I finally checked out the Mason Dixon Knitting book that everyone has been raving about, then immediately picked up a copy for my very own and set to making my very first cotton dishcloth with my longstanding stash of Peaches & Creme cotton. Hooray! This book rocks on so many levels! Unfortunately, the local craft store was closed today (duh, Easter), so I'll have to check out their selection of cheapo cotton later on. I know some people have a longstanding dislike of knitting cotton, but here in North Carolina, it often makes a lot more sense than wool. Plus, I figure I'm supporting the local economy. More kitchen textiles to come, and in the next installment, another lovely application for cotton yarn.

KAL update

Despite my truculent passive resistance to all things resembling deadline knitting, the Sockapaloooza socks are coming along rather nicely. I think there is much more green in the completed one than there is in the one that I'm working on now, despite the fact that the dye lot numbers match. Hmmm... I think that's just part of the personality of hand-dyed yarn. The Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock is just so soft to work with and to wear. I hope my pal will like them!



Eris just wants a second sleeve now, and true to predictions, it's almost done now that there's no chance I'll want to wear a wool sweater until October. But it's still fun to knit. I am not fond of seaming, so the sleeves are being done on dpns, just like a big old sock.



I did modify the pullover to put the overlapping cable corner on the bottom on both sides, since the asymmetry of the pattern as written would likely drive me nuts over time. The procedure for doing this modification is listed on the same site as the pattern, and was pretty easy to do.

I finally had a small splurge moment in Barnes and Noble the other day, and succumbed to the temptation of this and this. Both are way fabulous, and I've already cast on for the Child's Sock with Shell Pattern from the sock book. I foresee many fun projects here!

Welcome, Melanie, to the joy of being a twin momma! They're adorable, and you guys will do great! It'll be a blur at first, but it'll definitely never be boring. Congrats, babe!