New Pattern: Cap Sleeve Shrug

Create luxury, and wrap yourself in the elegance of times gone by.

With cap sleeves and generous gathers, the Cap Sleeve Shrug is unique and bound to catch the gaze of an admirer or two. Finish your shrug with a personal touch: decorative buttons or maybe ribbons.

Femininity at its finest.

The Cap Sleeve Shrug pattern is for sale through Etsy and Ravelry for $5.50.  It is suitable for beginning to intermediate knitters and utilizes knowledge of knit (k), purl (p), yarn over (yo), knit two together (k2tog), and knit into the front and back of a stitch (k1fb).

One size fits most. Length can be adjusted. Armhole max. opening is 14 inches.

Enjoy!

Heart-to-Heart / Vinarþel Cake and Coffee Stencil by Bility

This is a gorgeous stencil for dusting cakes and coffee from Bility (www.bility.is).

Heart-to-Heart / Vinarþel Cake and Coffee Stencil

Bility is an Icelandic company whose metal candleholders, bookmarks, and other housewares reference beautiful Icelandic nature and imagination.  The Heart-to-Heart / Vinarþel Cake and Coffee Stencil brings together the art of knitting with food and friends.

Time to tackle my stash!

So the move from Cambridge, MA, to Berkeley, CA is complete.  We're moved in.  And I have an office/studio now!  It feels great.

The move communicated to me, however, just how much yarn I really have (too much).

Therefore, I've resolved to begin sorting through my stash and using these wonderful yarns to create garments of both my design and from designs I've admired in various publications over the years.

Project #1:  Gabriele Shrug

This gorgeous pattern is from the booklet Rowan Winter Warmers (2011), and I'm knitting it with Rowan Lima in Machu Pichu (orange/brown).  I'm making size Medium, and I will need six balls of yarn.

I only have five balls of Lima in my stash, so I will purchase one more.  I'm not too worried about the difference in dye lot, as I think the design will accommodate the new ball of yarn in the sash, collar, and cuff sections.  If the color is slightly different, the garment will still look balanced.

Reykjavik Yarn Bombing

Just beyond where Lækjargata and Bankastræti cross is a fabulous yarn installation:

Book - Knitting with Icelandic Wool

While in Iceland a few weeks back, I purchased the book Knitting with Icelandic Wool (Vaka-Helgafell, 2011; ISBN 978-9979-2-2110-4) / Prjónað úr íslenskri ull. It contains 65 patterns for making garments with Icelandic wool. It also contains a history of Icelandic knitting traditions.

I purchased the English language version at the bookstore Mal og Menning in Reykjavik. A cool find!

Icelandic Knitting - Glöfi Woolen Factory Outlet in Hvolsvöllur

I recently returned from a wonderful trip to Iceland with the mom. We spent a week touring the countryside in a rented car, seeing Reykjavik on foot, and visiting the Blue Lagoon. Iceland is beautiful.

I had a special experience visiting the Glöfi Woolen Factory Outlet in Hvolsvöllur in the southwest coast region (http://www.randburg.com/is/glofi/). The helpful staff at Hotel Rangá pointed me to the outlet when I expressed in buying yarn from a local seller. I had seen a farm along out journey that advertised wool yarn, but it was closed. The Glöfi outlet turned out to be a yarn and knitwear factory with a retail room in the front. The retail section offered sweaters, wraps, hats, and mittens. I asked about buying skeins of yarn.

I was in luck. A very nice women lead me to the back of the factory, where I was offered my choice of yarn. I chose four colors in natural tones in approximately sport weight. Was I in heaven!

I can't wait to design and knit a special sweater with my new icelandic wool.

Boston Yarn Bombing

There is a wonderful spot in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood where yarn bombing has been a fixture for the past several years.

Various yarn creations adorn the concrete barriers where the SW Corridor Path meets Newton Street between the Orange Line's Back Bay and Mass Ave. Stations.

The first set of photos is from July 2011.

I took the second set of photos in January 2012