Botanica Medallion Vest Travels (Straight into the frog pond)

Botanica Medallion Vest on the beach in Malibu CA

Every season, I find that there’s one project that I feel is a must have item. This summer it was the Botanica Medallion Vest. It was the Vogue Summer Knitting cover piece. I liked the idea of using the doily-like center to make the back of the nest and to add a wonderful shawl collar that made the front of the vest.

Based on the pattern, I decided to use a range of colors in Tahki cotton. I bought some aqua and forest green to coordinate with some white that I already had. I swatched and knitted the center a couple of times. The border with its combination of stitches was an unusual way to create a circle which gets larger on the edge.

I brought this project to Los Angeles with me and I even got some knitting done on the beach. But as I knit, I realized that I didn’t enjoy making it. The work with the triple wrapped edge stitches was driving me crazy so after lots of thinking and knitting time invested in this project, I am letting it go.

I have learned that sometimes you just have to take a deep breath with a project and send it to the frog pond. Knitting is a part of my life that should bring joy and relaxation. It’s an area to be creative and sometimes the bravest step is to admit that a project is just not happening for you.

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Botanica Medallion Progresses

Tahki Cotton Classic in white, aqua, & blue-green

Over July 4th weekend, I bought some more Tahki Cotton Classic at Purl By the Sea for the Botanica Medallion Vest from Vogue International. I was concerned that I wouldn’t have sufficient cotton for the edging. In addition, I bought a skien of darker blue-green in case I decide to switch to a different lace pattern for the medallion.

I started the center medallion. After knitting several other doily patterns, this one is relatively easy. Unlike doilies which have a lot of open work lace, this medallion is knit fairly tightly since it makes a flower. The flower is reminiscent of the blue starfish (yes you read that correctly) that we saw in the Cook Islands on our honeymoon. 

Unlike other doilies that I’ve knit, the medallion has created a bump in the middle. I am concerned that it will not block out. 

Medallion in progress - Side view of bump

Center medallion in Tahki Cotton Classic

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Montauk Bound With Knitting

Montauk Sweatshirts for Sale

 

We love the beach in Montauk which can be relatively empty (at least by New Yorkers’ standards) on holiday weekends. It’s a wonderful expanse of beach with rolling waves that make for peaceful rejuvenation. Of course, it’s not every Manhattanite’s idea of a “local” beach but my husband and I make it an adventure and it beats battling the local airport or driving out of town.

The over 3 hour train trip from NYC’s Penn Station to Montauk gives us an opportunity to sleep, read or knit. We enjoy bagels and coffee on the train and are ready to hit the beach by the time we get to Montauk.  There are a variety of local taxi companies that meet the infrequent trains making getting to the center of town a breeze. From there we can walk to the beach, food and Purl By the Sea.

Atlantic Ocean Beach - Relatively Empty at Montauk

Kite Surfers at Montauk Use Strings Differently from Knitters

I always love visiting Purl By the Sea. While most knitting stores attract wonderful knitters and crocheters, there’s always laughter around the knitting table at Purl By the Sea. It sends out such good vibe that my husband likes sitting in the spouse rocker and hearing the joyful chatter.  

 

Entrance to Purl By the Sea with Flowers Blooming

On July 5th, there was a local spinner giving a demonstration and selling her roving and yarn, both merino and alpaca. The spinner’s wares were spread through out the store.

Spinning demonstration at Purl By the Sea

Spinner's Wares at Purl By the Sea

 

Local Spinner's Roving at Purl By the Sea

Additionally, Nora Franzetti, the owner of Purl By the Sea, had been to TNNA and stocked up on new yarns and wonderful books. She brought back samples of yarns and books that she’s considering. She showed me a stack of signed knitting books to make any knitter jealous.

Since I am still swatching and testing the Botanica Medallion from Summer 2009 Vogue Knitting, I bought more Tahki Cotton in aqua and forest green to add more color to the top.  I was lucky that I picked a color that many of the Purl By the Sea knitters don’t like!

For me, the entire day was a knitting adventure. I had time to work on several projects including the Fountain Pen Shawl and the Hemlock Blankie which has been a great beach project. 

Hemlock Ring Blankie on Montauk Beach

 

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Shiri Mor’s Botanica Medallion Sweater from Vogue Knitting

   

 

Shiri Mor's Botanica Medallion on Vogue Knitting Cover

When I started knitting lace doilies, one of my friends suggested that I check out the pattern on the cover of Vogue Knitting Summer 2009. It’s an unusual pattern by Shiri Mor. It’s more of a vest than a sweater. It consists of a center circle knit in the round like a doily and a separate border knitted with a variety of lace stitches so that it is larger at the outer edge than the inner edge. 

 

Interestingly, the sample is knit in Blue Sky Skinny Dyed Cotton for summer wearing. Given the way that the pattern is knit, it is a strong candidate for a Noro type yarn which would add a wonderful pattern to the center and stripes to the outer circle.

When I first thought about doing the top, I wanted to combine several colors. I wanted to use the watery blues and greens that have been showcased in Eileen Fisher’s windows on Fifth Avenue this spring.

Due to the fact that I’ve been on a yarn diet (of course, those of you who are regular readers know that I allow myself yarn treats and occasional splurges like MDSW and Webs Tent Sale.)  Therefore I decided to use some Tahki Cotton Classic from my stash. The 4 1/2 balls of white Tahki Cotton Classic (or 432+ yards) that I got at a yarn swap  wasn’t enough to make the top.  Combined with one or two other colors, it was a good start.

Tahki Cotton Classic in White, Aqua and Blue-Green

After studying the Botanica Medallion pattern, I realized that it was difficult to adapt to multiple colors in the way that a vintage doily might be. Therefore, I bought 5 skeins of aqua at Purl By the Sea (or 540 yards) in Montauk.

Flower Medallion of Shiri Mor's Vogue Cardi

32 rows of Botanica Medallion in Tahki Cotton Classic

While it’s a rare event that I get gauge (of course, I was using needles that were 2 sizes smaller), I set out to knit the  medallion centerpiece of the sweater. After knitting about 34 rows of the 54 rows needed, I realized that, while my gauge was on target, the piece even after blocking was way too small to work for me.

Given that the centerpiece of the Botanica Medallion consists of close stocking knit and reverse stocking knit, I chose not to increase the needle size to make the piece larger. Also, I am using 100% cotton which should be knitted tightly for garments. Therefore, I decided to look for another doily to use in lieu of the flower / starfish pattern medallion of Mor’s piece. 

Having made several different doilies, I estimate that I will need a pattern with about 70 rows. Although a pattern which allows me the flexibility to add more rows to reach my goal is optimal. Further, it’s important to take blocking into consideration. For example, my Heirloom Doily Placemats grew from 15″ to 17″ in diameter when they were blocked. I assume that the piece will grow about 10-20% due to blocking the lace (which is different from non-lace blocking.)

While some of you dear readers might be upset at this change, I am thrilled since it will allow me to use a variety of colors and to have a unique design at the center. I am thinking about making the border striped but I am not sure that I will like the color changes. I will need to test knit them.

P.S. For those NYC based knitters, Shiri Mor is teaching a class focused on making the Botanica Medallion at Knitty City.

Submitted by Knitted Yarns-Editor-in-Chief

2008 FOs and UFOs

As 2008 draws to a close, I have been reviewing my knitting for the year and my growing list of UFOs. Due to our wedding, much of the first half of the year was focused on the big event. As a result, 2008 was not as productive as 2007 in terms of finished objects (aka FOs).

 

2008 FINISHED OBJECTS:

• Essential Tank Top in pink cashmere/silk bought at Silk City Fibers – Pattern from Lace Style
• Woodstock Sweater in beige mercerized cotton bought at Silk City Fibers – Pattern from Sculptured Knits by Jean Moss
• Wedding Shawl in grey Jaggerspun Zephyr bought at Sarah’s Yarns – Inspired by Victorian Lace Today
• Honeymoon Cami in white silk bought at Sarah’s Yarns – Pattern from Knitty
• Honeymoon Vest in Noro Sakura in blacks/greys from The Point – Pattern loosely based on The Knitters’ Handy Book of Sweater Patterns
• Leaf Lace Kimono in Noro Lilly bought at The Point – Pattern from Interweave Magazine Summer 2008
• Baby Kimono in yellow cotton bought at Silk City Fibers – Pattern from Mason Dixon Knits
• Warshrag in Rowan pink and black cotton bought at The Point – Pattern from Mason Dixon Knits
• Souvenir Socks in Crystal Palace bamboo blend bought at Colorful Stitch
• Lace Ribbon Scarf in white silk bought at Sarah’s Yarns – Pattern from Knitty
• Lace Ribbon Scarf in pink/purple Koigu bought at Loop from Knitty
• Saffron Tunic in Beige Jaeger Sienna Cotton bought at Webs – Pattern from Sculptured Knits by Jean Moss
• Purple Chevron Sweater in purple Twinkle Toes from Tess Designs – Pattern inspired by Interweave Chevron Tank Top
• Sister’s Purple Vest in Kyoto bought at ArtFibers – Pattern loosely based on The Knitters’ Handy Book of Sweater Patterns
• Shetland Triangle in Berrocco NaturLin Green bought at Purl by the Sea – Pattern from Scarf Style
• Triinu Shawl in Grignasco Top Print Pinks/Purples bought at Smileys NYC Sale – Pattern from Lace Knitting in Estonia

 

2008 UFOs (Unfinished Objects – a graceful name for knitting that still languishes on a set of needles buried somewhere in the knitting basket)

• Lily of the Valley Shawl in white Jaggerspun Zephyr bought from Sarah’s Yarns – Pattern from Lace Style
• Silk Ribbed Corset in Jaeger 100% white silk bought from Webs(will probably be frogged and used for a wonderful shawl)
• Laced-Front Sweater in white/butter merino/silk blend from Tess Yarns bought at MDSW 2007 – Pattern from Knitted Lingerie
• Apres Surf Hoodie in magenta merino blend  bought at Joan Vass Sale May 2008- Pattern from Interweave Magazine Summer 2008 – Honeymoon project
• Sister’s Lace Ribbon Shawl in grey angora/silk bought from Knitty City – Pattern from Knitty
• Dad’s Classic Ribbed Pullover in Italian wool blend bought from Silk City Fibers – Pattern from Sally Melville’s The Purl Stitche
• Raha Scarf in blue alpaca bought at NYSW – Pattern from Lace Knitting of Estonia
• Dreaming in Orange – Noro Lilly Ribbon Lace Scarf
• Mom’s Black Lace Scarf in alpaca/silk laceweight bought from Knitty City – Pattern from Barbara Walker’s A Treasury of Knitting

(Not documented is the Navy Mohair Lace Scarf which is still waiting to be finished. Since it is in mohair, it is easier to finish than frog!  It is still left on the needles from last year.)

 

While last year, I was inspired to finish my projects. I found that not having any knitting in the queue can be a challenge if you can’t decide what to make.  I hope to finish many of these UFOs in 2009 while adding new projects with different challenges.

 

My biggest piece of advice is not to knit any part of your wedding outfit. It’s waaay too much pressure and the planning is enough pressure on its own. That said, I was glad to have the wedding shawl and other honeymoon tops to wear.  Also, bringing knitting on my honeymoon allowed us to have souvenirs of a trip to a place that didn’t have lots of touristy trinkets.

Happy Birthday – Sister’s Birthday Vest

For my sister’s birthday, I decided to make her something special. Since I didn’t allow myself very much planning time, I was lucky that I had some wonderful Kyoto from my trip last September to ArtFibers with partner in knitting Amanda.  Even better is the fact that this luscious blend of 75% silk and 20% mohair was in a deep royal purple which happens to be this year’s “it” fashion color!

 

Given that my sister’s wardrobe is peppered with grey and black outfits (despite living in suburban Los Angeles, no one’s informed her wardrobe to give up the always stylish New York black!). This will make a great background for my fitted vest.

 

Of course, my sister thinks that I’m a mind reader. When I asked her for her measurements to ensure that the vest was a perfect fit, she told me her bra and pants size. With these only marginally helpful guidelines, I decided to aim for something that fit me and hopefully was a svelte fit for her. Since I only had 605 yards of yarn, I decided to made a plain tank top like vest with 6 rows of garter stitch edging to prevent rolling.

 

Having made many vests and tank tops, I made a small swatch and used that as a guide. Given Kyoto’s delicate nature, I tried not to have multiple starts as I do with many of my projects.

 

During the knitting I prayed that my sizing would be correct. With size 7 needles, it went fast since much of what I have been making has been on size 2 and 3 needles.

 

In total it took about a week to make and I was surprised to discover that it fit me perfectly.

 

Since my sister was in town for her birthday, I lent her my apartment. I decorated it with hokey pop-up birthday decorations. I left the vest in a gold bag along with two champagne flutes. In the frig, I left a bottle of champagne and a chocolate cake with candles taped to the top.

 

Purple Kyoto Yarn From ArtFibers in San Francisco

 

P.S. Sorry that I didn’t take a photo of the finished vest.

 

Baby Kimono and Warshrag on Fire Island Beach

We were lucky to sneak in a couple of days on Fire Island after our honeymoon. Fire Island is a shelter island off the southern shore of Long Island which is like a piece of heaven on earth (although nothing like the Cook Islands!)  While my husband wind surfed, I knitted on the beach. In addition to my honeymoon projects, I had two small projects which is unusual for me.

 

Summer 2008 on Fair Harbor Beach

Leaf Lace Kimono Progresses on Fair Harbor Beach

Honeymoon Vest Arrives at Fair Harbor

Sunset on Fair Harbor With Boats

Sunset on Fair Harbor

 

For a friend who was pregnant, I made a baby kimono from Mason Dixon Knits. It’s a wonderful piece of knitting that’s easy to do. I had checked it out on Ravelry and fund numerous versions of it. I made it in a butter yellow which could work for a boy or a girl.

 

Heartbreakingly Cute Baby Kimono in Yellow Cotton

 

For a friend’s knitting bee, a group of us decided to make her a basket full of hand made washcloths. It was like a KAL. We all used Rowan Cotton and the wash cloth had to be nine inches square. I was excited since I had wanted an opportunity to test out the warshrag pattern also in Mason Dixon Knits. I bought black and pale pink for my washcloth which I called “Good and Plenty” since it was the same color as the candy! I must say that it was a fun pattern to knit and gave me an opportunity to test out another way to knit two colors that made a nice texture.

 

Cook Island Honeymoon Knitted

The love that filled our wedding amazed us and filled us with joy. Despite being the hottest day of the summer (although it was the first weekend in June), the celebration went off with relatively few hitches!

 

We were glad that we had a few days to acclimate and get things in order before we headed off for our honeymoon. For our honeymoon we went to the Cook Islands which are located in the South Pacific about a third of the way from New Zealand to South America. We made our decision based on a Google search for “romantic honeymoon” (I kid you not!) We also used TripAdvisor which we swear by to help us decide on hotels, Etu Moana and Rarotonga Beach Bungalows.

 

If you want a place where you can relax and unplug from your everyday world, I wholeheartedly recommend the Cook Islands. They’re the perfect place for a romantic getaway complete with blue-green lagoons, hotels with small individual huts and white sands. We stayed at two different islands, Aitutaki and Rarotonga. To our surprise, we were the only ones who spent any time sitting on the beach.

 

Romantic Beach Front in Aitutaki

 

Raratonga Beach Bungalow

 

View of Beach on Raratonga

 

 In between the romance, walking on the beach, snorkeling and kayaking, I found some time to knit while I soaked in the natural beauty. Knowing that I’d be away from my usual New York knitting emporiums, I planned three projects to overcome difficulty or boredom. They were the Apres Surf Hoodie, Leaf Lace Kimono and Honeymoon Vest. I brought two sets of patterns and needles of the sizes required.

 

Here are some photos of two of my projects, the honeymoon vest out of Noro Sakura for my husband and the Leaf Lace Kimona out of Noro Lily.

  

Leaf Lace Kimono on Aitutaki Beach

 

Leaf Lace Kimono Under Aitutaki Tree - Yarn Harlot Style

Knitting on Etu Moana Deck Overlooking the Beach

 

Leaf Lace Detail

 

Honeymoon Vest on Aitutaki Lagoon Tour

 

While I didn’t finish any one project, I made progress on all three of the items that I brought. Since the Cook Islands are not a major shopping center, these projects are a way of having a souvenir of my honeymoon.

 

Honeymoon Knitting Planned

While many of my knitting friends think that I’m off my rocker to think about knitting on my honeymoon, they overlook the fact that our honeymoon to the Cook Islands involves a lot of flying and airport time. Our flight to Rarotonga leaves from Los Angeles where we’re visiting family and friends and we’re coming home by way of Chicago where we’re visiting more family and friends.

I like having a variety of projects in case one of them hits a snag or gets frustrating. Here’s what I’m planning to do:

– Honeymoon Vest – It’s a gift for my newly minted husband. This is a basic v-neck man’s vest. I’m not using a pattern. I’m using my gauge and his measurements to ensure that it fits. I’m using Noro Sakura which I bought at The Point on sale. It’s my third garment in this yarn. It has pieces which are wrapped in silk thread where I reverse my stitch (use purl instead of knit) so that it pops. This would not be every man’s dream since it has pink (oh my!) but my soon-to-be husband is color-friendly.

– Leaf Lace Kimono – This is a pattern in Summer 2008 Interweave. I must admit that I was influenced by the queue on Ravelry. I am using 6 skiens of Noro Lily in fushia, turquoise and orange which I bought on sale at The Point. (Sorry but $11.50 per skien is a bit pricey for cotton/silk blend, even if it is Noro!)

– Apres Surf Hoodie – This is another pattern that I was influenced by Ravelry.  My soon-to-be husband commented recently that I liked hoodies around the time I was fishing for a project. I am using some wonderful merino/acryllic in magenta, olive green and cobalt blue that I bought at the Joan Vass Sample Sale.

Wish me good luck!

2007 – The Year in Yarn

Looking back, 2007 was a year where my knitting made significant progress. When I consider the projects that I completed this year, I wonder where I found the time to make them all! By category, here are my 2007 finished objects:

SWEATERS

• Black and Red with Fair Isle Crewneck Sweater – Made from Karabella cashmere and silk blend. I created the pattern myself to use the leftover 4 1/2 balls of black that I had from another sweater. Since the yarn was purchased at the Lion and Lamb’s going out of business sale, I couldn’t return them!
• Hairy White Sweater – Made  in an acryllic blend from Anny Blatt. I discovered that once knitted up my skin didn’t react well well to the material, so I gave it to my sister who is more resilent to fiber content.
• Red Debbie Bliss Alpaca and Silk Sweater – Made in Debbie Bliss Alpaca and Silk  purchased at The Point. This cherry colored sweater is soft and warm.  I gave it to my mother for her birthday.
• Rust Silk Sweater – Made in 100% silk purchased at Silk City Fibers. It was a birthday present for my boyfriend.
• Yellow Silk and Grey Rayon Sweater in Wide Bamboo Stitch. Made in silk blend purchased at Silk City Fibers. I adapted a Sally Melville pattern from The Purl Stitch.
• Pink and Lavendar Summer Sweater. Made from Misti Alpaca pima cotton and silk purhcased at the Knit Cafe in Los Angeles. I started out to make a sleeveless top and decided that the swatch was warm and soft. When I called to order additional pink yarn, there was no more. As a result, the sweater combines the two colors.
• Laced-Front Sweater. Made from Brooks Farm Harmony purchased at Rhinebeck in 2006. This was a pattern from Knitted Lingerie.
• Cross Your Heart Sweater. Made from 100% fingering weight alpaca purchased at Rhinebeck in 2006. This sweater was adapted from a Rowan pattern.
• Origami Cardi. Made from 1oo% wool purchased at Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival 2007. This pattern appeared in Interweave Magazine in Summer 2007. It is probably my favorite project this year!
• Fishtail Lace Sweater. Made from 80% merino/20% cashmere blend purchased at The Point. This was a store pattern that I adapted and added long sleeves.

OTHER CLOTHING ITEMS

• After Dark Nightie. Made from Lang’s 100% Egyptian cotton in periwinkle blue purchased at the Joan Vass Sample Sale in 2006. I used the Mason Dixon Knitting book which inspired me to knit more lingerie. I have worn this nightie as a dress!
• Dad’s Vest. Made from Noro blend bought at Webs. Since my dad claims that he has too many sweaters, I made him a vest based on his measurements without a pattern.
• Red and Orange Ribbon Tank. Made from Seville ribbon purchased on sale at The Point. This project was a pain since the ribbon was so shiny that it kept twisting (required a rubber band on the ball to keep it in place!). Due to the lack of red, I added orange stripes.
• Yellow  Cotton Tank. Made from 100% cotton purchased at Silk City Fibers. I used a reverse wide rib based on the threaded twist to the cotton. I was proud of the lines of the top despite the relatively simple item.
• Shaped Lace Tee Shirt. Made from Lamb’s Pride Cotton Fleece purchased at Purl By the Sea. I used Knitted Lingerie’s pattern. It is a dusty rose.
• Verona Socks. Made from Lion’s Brand (don’t cringe!) sock yarn.  These socks were started en route from Venice to Verona. I even knitted them waiting for the opera to start in Verona! Of course, they took me a year to finish!

Additionally, I made several scarves and triangular wraps for friends and family.

Further I extended my acquaintance with several yarn selling establishments. Among them were:

• Yarn Seller – Good resource with near/in York, ME.
• Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival – Always an incredible yarn experience. While trying on the pocketbook, it’s great for your stash especially given the smaller local farms.
• Knit Cafe – A mecca on Melrose in West Hollywood, CA.
• Colorful Stitch – A two story yarn emporium in Lennox, MA which has swatches of the various yarns and unusual samples.
• Webs – Well worth the trip! The back room/warehouse is a treasure trove of yarns at great prices.
• Purl By the Sea – At the end of the world, at least from a NYer’s perspective. A wonderful assortment of brands, colors, price points as well as tools.
• ArtFibers – A pink second floor enclave in San Francisco’s financial district. It allows you to test their various materials. It only sells their brands in colors to make your mouth water.
• Chix With Stix – A large airy store in Forest Park, IL. It has two knitting tables and a wonderful sofa for significant others.
• Loopy – Nestled in Chicago’s Loop this knitting treasure has a wonderful, helpful staff who don’t believe that you have to follow patterns religously! It carries a lot of small producers and a wide range of fibers.

Noteably, I wasn’t able to attend Rhinebeck this year. That said, my stash has grown very nicely.

P.S. Pictures of recent accomplishments will appear later.