The Guernsey

My husband is modeling the guernsey I knitted for our son, Torben. I used wool called "Botanica" from Halcyon in Bath, Maine. This wool has an extremely tight twist. I couldn't break a strand with my hands without doing bodily harm to myself (I know because I tried.) The stitch definition is just fantastic. This sweater doesn't even need blocking!









I used Priscilla Gibson-Roberts' Knitting in the Old Way and Elizabeth Zimmerman's "Gaffer's Gansey" as my guides. I totally forgot that Meg Swansen had an updated version, which I will use on the next guernsey because I do like the neckline. This one seems to hit right at the Adam's apple and beards and men's necks being what they are, it wears the edge down. My son is an inch or two shorter than my husband so I think the sizing is perfect. This was such a joy to knit. I used the crochet steek method for the sleeves which I prefer to getting a sewing machine out and struggling with tension, etc. It worked nicely.







It is rather embarrassing to be so crazy about knitting dishcloths lately when it wasn't that long ago that I was too snobby to knit them. Right now they are so relaxing and I complete one in about an hour with very little effort. I guess Mason-Dixon Knitting was the turning point in my dish cloth career although I haven't knit a ballband dishcloth in a while. Finding so many interesting color combinations in the cotton yarn is also a great deal of fun and I like the pattern stitch swatches.

























You can find my notes on sweaters and all my projects on Ravelry where I am "PrairiePiper".

This is the waffle stitch that I used on revamping my husband's gray saddle shoulder sweater that I wrote about in yesterday's post.



The dishcloth "group photo" was actually taken after several were given away.

It's Pumpkin Season

The giant Guernsey is a bit unwieldy for portable knitting. I've been trying to think of something cute to make for my neighbors who are adopting a set of twins. I usually avoid knitting the same thing twice in succession unless it is fairly small. My friend Sarah reminded me of these cute pumpkin hats which I have never made before. Of course they are simply a stocking cap in pumpkin color with lines of purl to make the pumpkin ribs. I combined two patterns. You may notice that the hat on the far left has a wilted vine. That is because I decided to be a Wee Smarty Pants. The curlicue stem pattern (Crazy Aunt Purl) said to cast on 19 stitches VERY loosely. Well, backward loop cast on is quite loose and hey, maybe I could avoid two extra ends to sew in if I just used the existing green thread at the top. The result is a wilted vine, which isn't half as cute as the perky vine in the middle. That is my favorite. Then I made one with a plain blunt stem in a slightly larger size. I KNOW that twins mean two babies, ok? There is another set of twins out there that I never made anything for and I'm sure they are going around pumpkinhead-less right now. One more hat to go. Oh yes. In a moment of desperation, I bought acrylic yarn because it was the right color and readily available. This self- avowed yarn snob is going to admit that it isn't really THAT BAD! Acrylic has improved in the last 25 years but it is still plastic and not as nice for the heads of wee babes. When this is gone, I'm going back to natural fibers. Really.



Dishcloths with cheap cotton are another diversion. They are good learning tools and wow, those "ombre" yards do hold my interest. The center cloth is my absolute favorite. It is a lace variation of the well-known "Grandmother's Favorite". Love that lace in the middle.

The Mason Dixon Log Cabin cloth was fun until I realized all the ends that I would need to weave in. Twenty-eight to be exact. The photo was taken after I had dealt with about 1/2 of them. It is a great way to use up odds and ends of cotton.




I've actually knitted about 7" of the second sleeve since the photo was taken. I'll finish it this week. I panicked and ordered two more skeins of yarn from Halcyon and now I think I may actually eek it out with the original 10 skeins. This thing is a pain to turn in my lap now but I'm forging ahead.

Just for Fun

I guess I'm rather late to the dishcloth craze although I have made a few. I didn't know there were so many possibilities until I got on Ravelry. Mason-Dixon Knitting gave me a fresh outlook on the dishcloth. I've enjoyed choosing colors without worrying whether they would actually look good on any human being (some of them wouldn't). As I knit the classic ballband cloth I felt as if I were in a sort of color trance. Then I progressed to the Petal Dishcloth which is round with 12 segments. That was great fun and perfect for airport knitting. Now that I have more than enough for every day of the week, I'm starting on a baby sweater.