Tuesday, July 29, 2008

After Pinwheels, Hexagons...


I am back into geometry! Remember the Pinwheel sweater for Valentine? I love knitting odd shapes. As a matter of fact, there is nothing like an odd shape to keep you entertained. So how did this new entertainment start?
It started with Windsor Button, the store where I work, during a visit on one of the days I am off work accompanied by my oldest daughter. ( Between you and me, I should just put a cot in the store, it would be a lot easier, as I seem to be unable to stay away from it, even when I am off!)
Browsing the shelves led to staring at some Kureyon, then pointing to a favorite color, and my daughter saying what a nice scarf this would make, and how it would go so well with her new corduroy jacket. This led to purchasing the yarn. When I asked her what type of stitch she wanted, she said "Surprise me!".
Once we got home, I pulled all my knitting magazines and books off the shelves, and started looking.




I originally thought I might make the scarf that was on the cover of the Holiday 2006 Vogue Edition, but then I looked at page 91, and I knew that this would be it.
Hexagons,knit out of Noro, edged in nice contrast colors, pieced together, and lined with luscious velvet!




So here we are, I calculated that I would knit 10 hexagons, and after a few days of work, I have 10 hexagons.
It is now time to pick up the stitches along the sides of the hexagons, and for that I have chosen another Noro yarn Cash Iroha in a rich berry color (84).
I decided to do things my way of course. I really liked the wrong side of the hexagons, with the pick ups emphasizing the geometry of the shapes. The wrong side will be the right side for me.




That's it for now...

Sunday, July 27, 2008

A Scarf for Mr. SockPixie



Once the pinwheel sweater for Valentine was finished, I knit a very cute little sweater for my little neighbor, and as always forgot to photograph the project. Well that's ok, because really I wanted to talk about the yarn I used for it. I used Encore Worsted a mix of acrylic (I can hear some of you screaming) and wool.
I had never worked with this yarn, and I needed something very washable, with a fun color, at a good price. I decided to try it, and I loved it. It is really nice,does not split and comes in great array of colors.



Because I had some left over, I decided to knit a quick project with it: a scarf for Mr. SockPixie. The colorway is color 7172, and I used 1 3/4 skeins of yarn for a 72" long scarf. I cast on 40 stitches, and selected a K1 P1 rib, to get a nice, thick scarf.
My original intention was to knit this as a Christmas present, but being me, I could not wait to give it to him. I should try to control myself however, as I may be in real trouble when Christmas comes!

Sockpixie Promenade in Paris


The new SockPixie colorways are up. This week I am taking you for a promenade in Paris. The colors are created with ultra small touches of color for a no pooling effect on rich background colors.

Bonne Promenade!

SockPixie Store Website Problems

OK, this will be one of the most frustrating Sundays for me. I have been trying to do my store update for the last 4 hours, and so far have been able to upload only 2 new colorways, as the website is being very "moody". I am hoping that things will be back to normal before 6 p.m....

Sunday, July 20, 2008

A Pinwheel for Valentine...


The other day, I made the big mistake of reading the news! To say that I felt worried would be an understatement. Instead of panicking, I grabbed some lovely yarn, and knit something that I knew would make me smile instantly: a sweater for my sweet Valentine, my droopy-eared chihuhua girl.

I had this ball and a half left of Artful Yarns Heavenly. It was bulky and stripy, in other words, a perfect match for a quick pinwheel sweater. I read the pattern on Elann, quickly cast on and absorbed myself in the peacefulness of the circular knitting...

I did not even have to make any alterations. I placed the leg holes at the appropriate place for Valentine, and stopped the knitting as soon as I judged the sweater was long enough. I seamed the sweater under the belly, and crocheted a row of slip stitches along the armholes!

It took only a few hours, and after that, I felt utterly relaxed and seeing Valentine proudly parading the sweater brought the inevitable smile to my face. After I covered her with kisses, I truly felt that the world had to be the most perfect place...

This Week's Colorways...


The SockPixie colorways are here. They are using the same impressionist technique as last week, but this time with a little added twist: each colorway comes with its own skein of contrast color so that you may knit the cuff, heel, and toe wit it, or stripe, or chevron, or knit my Bird of a Feather pattern!
The colorways have a fun spirit, there is even a Dalmation color!
Have fun with these new colorways...

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Impressionist Colorways



Here are the new SockPixie colors for this week. My inspiration this week was the art of the impressionists. I was so obsessed with getting the right look,that I worked on a very different way to dye the yarn to get it to have this soft almost random color impression. Each color touch is nop more than 3 stitches. I just love the effect, and best of all there is no pooling!
Here is a knit sample.



I have been so busy that posting to the blog as been really hard, but I have been knitting a lot, and have a lot to share with you in coming posts.

I hope that you enjoy my impressionists!