Cashmere Reveal

I'm pleased to announce that my first pattern for Black Pearl Yarns is now ready for purchase! You may purchase the instant download pattern on my sidebar or go to One Planet Yarn and Fiber, where they are offering the pattern as both an instant download or hard copy. To buy their beautiful cashmere yarn for this pattern, go here!

Georgia by Melissa Wehrle




Difficulty:
Intermediate

Size:
XS (S, M, L, XL, 2X, 3X)

Finished measurements:
Chest: 30 (33, 37, 40, 44, 49, 54)"
Length: 22.5 (23, 23.5, 24, 25, 25.5, 26.5)"

Materials:
- Black Pearl Yarns (100% Pure Cashmere, 2 oz, 200 yds), 3 (4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7) skeins Ginger Peach
- 1 pair US size 5 (3.75mm)
straight needles or size
needed to obtain gauge
- 1 US size 5 (3.75mm) x 20"
circular needle
- 2 stitch holders
- Tapestry needle
- 2 (2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3) yds 5/8" wide
ribbon

Gauge
24 sts and 30 rows = 4"/10cm in
Stockinette St
24 sts and 32 rows = 4"/10cm in
Eyelet Pattern

P.S. Do you really need and want that yarn now? If you email info@oneplanetyarnandfiber.com, a little birdie told me there just might be a discount code available with pattern purchase.

Relaxing Holiday

Ahhhh, there is nothing like a relaxing holiday to rejuvenate and rest up! Turkey day was good and on Friday night we headed back to the city. Usually, I would spend my time in Jersey, but there were a few things we wanted to do in NYC this time around.

On Saturday we went to the New York Botanical Gardens to see the Holiday Train Show.


(Brooklyn Bridge, St. Patricks Cathedral, Olana, detail shot on Vanderbuilt(?) mansion, one train of many, and DB giving the "yay, fun" thumbs up)

The lines were really long and the adults were a bit pushy (hence the "mission accomplished" shot by DB), but a good time was had by all. I was just in awe over the historic buildings of New York worked up in bark, branches, leaves and flowers.

My favs were the Brooklyn Bridge and Olana. They are both great representations of the original.


Olana Fall 2005


Olana miniature

I've also gotten tons of knitting done on the KSH maternity sweater. The front should be done today. I am so happy this has been going a bit faster than expected. I need to get going on the second one soon!

Today I got to catch up on some of my blog reading (only 895 posts to go!) and DB is watching the Jets game. I'm not a football fan, but man, the Jets really have helped my knitting big time! In fact, my IKEA chair and KSH are calling! Happy knitting!

Quick Note

Just a quick note to say that the One Planet Yarn and Fiber webstore is officially open! I hope to be able to reveal some more secrets soon too!

Also, if you sign up for the mailing list this week, you will receive a discount code good for several brands of yarn and other products, and it's good until Dec 31st!

Happy Knitting! It's back to the KSH for me!

Knit, Knit, Knit

Knit 6 rows on the subway, 2 rows while lunch is cooking, 5 rows while waiting for email to load - this is my life now! Knit a row here, knit a row there. It has seriously paid off too! I have knit 16" in KSH on size 4's in 4 days! I am on a roll and there is no stopping me now. Now if I could only figure out how to sleep and knit - I would be set. There hasn't been much sleeping going around these parts lately.

Luckily a few of my projects have been pushed back, so that gives me a bit more breathing room and less stress for the moment. However, I have picked up another job that I am very very excited about. I am the new Creative Director at One Planet Yarn and Fiber (website coming soon!) - the parent company of Black Pearl Yarns and Yarn Botanika. This is in addition to my full time job + the handknit design, but I'm always up for a challenge! Lis and Jodi are so great to work with and I am so thrilled that they have given me this opportunity to work with their company.

And here is a little treat for you guys - I can't have a pictureless post! Here is a small peek at the Zen Blue sweater. It was finished up last weekend and I ended up with 3 yards of yarn left over! Ha! Blue sweater, you could not defeat me!



And last but not least - a little yarn porn.


Andrea from making things was kind enough to send me a color card and a sample of yarn from her company Fable Handknits. It is 100% baby alpaca and is so beautiful and soft. When things slow up a bit in the new year, you just might see a pattern for this beautiful yarn soon! And just to be an enabler - you can get it here.

Thanks so much to everyone who left a comment about my Tatami sweater in the last post! So glad you guys like it!

Secret Revealed!

I know you all have been anxiously waiting for some of my secrets to be revealed. Well today, you are in luck!

"Tatami" by Moi for Sundara Yarn



To buy this pattern and for more info, go here.

Weekend Fun

The curse of the 3rd sweater seems to finally be broken! I had to rip out a few more times before I almost lost my patience - then it worked. It was fine. The stitch count was fine. The pattern was fine. What a relief!

So I spent Friday night and Saturday morning working furiously trying to catch up on lost time. I did pretty well for myself and managed to finish the first front last night and should be able to finish up the second half tonight. Then it's off to sleeve land. It might be a race to the finish with the yarn though - see, the sweater might still have one more trick up its sleeve! Luckily, it's not a problem to get more, so hopefully the sweater will just leave me alone!

On Saturday I also visited the Edgar Allan Poe house in Philadelphia. Poe didn't live at this location for too long (1843-1844), but he did write a few of his better known short stories here. Poe has always fascinated me and I learned so many new things about him on our little trip. I hope to visit his cottage in the Bronx someday soon also. The Bronx site is actually furnished and has been restored to it's original appearance. The Philadelphia house looks nice from the outside, but unfortunately, the inside was nothing more than bare plaster and painted over hardwood floors. But the spirit and feeling of the house made up for the appearance of the rooms.



Well, I've wasted enough time on the internet for now. My knitting is never going to get done at this rate! By the way, did anyone out there listen to episode 39 of Cast-On? There is a lovely poem titled, "The Romney" which is a take on "The Raven" by Poe. I just listened to it last night and had a very good laugh!

More Yummy Yarn

Today I received more yummy yarn for my other maternity sweater project for Lark Books. (You guys are so smart! How did you ever guess!)


This would be Sundara Yarn Worsted Weight Merino in a beautiful chocolate brown color she dyed up special for the project. The editor wanted a dark mahogany or chocolately brown color and added one more week to my deadline to accommodate the search for new yarn. Man am I glad to have a hand dyer on my side! Sundara, as always, did a wonderful job.

And in Blue cashmere sweater news: I started one front, then at a major graphing decreasing point, I realized I left my graph paper and sketchbook at work! Luckily I had some stitch holders with me and had just finished a ball of yarn, so I just started the other front, ahem, 3 times. That's better than the first front though, I restarted that at least 5 times. And would you believe I made the exact same mistake in the exact same place in the pattern on both front pieces?

I think that we have a new curse on our hands.

I call it the "Every 3rd Sweater Curse." Every 3rd sweater I design tries it's best to torture me. It doesn't even matter if it's difficult lace or just plain old stockinette - it makes no difference. I've made it out alive and have lived to design again for the others, so hopefully this one will not be any different!