Labor Day Knitting With Hudson River View

Hudson River View from High Line

To mark the close of summer, my husband and I took advantage of the good weather to watch the sunset over the Hudson from the new High Line Park.  Three flights above the westside of Manhattan, the High Line Park has been created from the remains of the old railroad tracks. It runs from the middle of the West Village to West 20th Street. The landscaping has integrated the sense of the old tracks.

The path snakes along and is covered at places with cultivated wild flowers. It includes limited seating with a good view of the Hudson River. We watched the setting sun as it sank into the New Jersey skyline melting into an orangey puddle of color.

I brought my Fushia Nightsong Lace Shawl and added some length to the piece. It’s a great project in terms of portability. Since it’s the second time that I’m using the pattern, I have a sense of the lace repeats.  In general, I try to stick with more mindless knitting for my portable projects.

Due to the brisk air, my husband donned his wedding sweater. It was more of a decoration than a garment but hopefully you can see the pattern.

Jean Moss Inspired Wedding Sweater

Nightsong Shawl with Hudson River View

Submitted by Knitted Yarns Editor-in-Chief

C is for Color

Color is a critical component of any knitting project. It’s what attracts us as knitters. It’s part of the inspiration and joy. Walk into any yarn store and the first thing that strikes you is the colors of the yarn despite the fact that most stores are organized by fiber type and brand. Tess’ Designs in Portland, ME is one of the few shops that’s organized by color, At Sheep and Wool Festivals, it’s the colors that pull us from one stall to another. 

Color is at the center of the eye candy that draws us to a specific yarn. Here’s a selection of colors from The Point in New York City.

Green, blue and purple hanks

Orange, yellow & red hanks

 

Multi-colored twisted hanks of yarn

Pink, berry & purple yarn

 

Light green & light blue yarn

Valentine's pink & red yarn

Manos in light blue, purple & mixed colors

Manos yarn in oranges and brick red

 

Each knitter has colors that attract her. I tend to be attracted to reds and pinks family . I have to push myself to buy a variety of yarn from other parts of the color spectrum. I find that I can knit with the most wonderful yarn but if the project’s a color that I don’t like, I find it difficult to push myself to finish the item. 

How does color effect your ability to knit?

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.