I have a problem resisting fingering weight yarn. Treated myself to some (more) Sweetgeorgia CashLuxe Fine in Pistachio and Cayenne. Then noticed that my Cash Luxe Fine, even the pink tag, perfectly matches the pillow I made (years ago) with fabric from Tonic Living. Can't remember the fabric's designer, I'm guessing Micheal Miller. 

You can see a clearer picture of CashLuxe in Mist here. It was on the needles, but I realized I didn't have enough for the project I was attempting. Ha, there's another point for Knitting Mistakes and How to Avoid Them : don't pretend you have enough yarn when you know you don't. It will only end in heartbreak.

Little C is moving on from finger knitting to actual knitting. And it's going quite well. His goal? Ear warmers for his stuffie, Sylvester the cat. Will add photos as we go.

Teaching Kids to Knit

It's great to see all that secret knitting come to fruition! 

Check out Quince & Co's new pattern collection, Scarves etc. Some gorgeous, gorgeous scarves and cowls in there. And I'm so pleased to have my Hamilton Scarf included. 

Hamilton Duck's Springtime Story is out of print now, but of course, with the internet being what it is, you can probably find a copy of it. Hamilton Duck falls asleep under a fruit tree, wakes up covered in snow. He freaks out a little bit, then realizes that the snow is actually petals from the fruit tree, and that it is spring.

Here are a couple of instagram snapshots of something I'm working on. I get to work with Rowan Yarns Savannah, a cotton/silk tape yarn. It has a lovely finished texture, quite pebbly. It makes you want to stand around like a fabulous windswept model on a rocky English beach. (Unlike Rowan's wool blends, which make you want to stand in misty heather).

I've set myself the goal of knitting it in a few days. No problem, no problem. That will be, could be, just fine, as long as I don't make mistakes. But I'm prone to mistakes. Terrible ones. We'll see how it goes. In honour of common mistakes, I've added an article: Knitting Mistakes and How to Avoid Them . I hope that I can follow my own advice.

Oh and that's a crocheted provisional cast on, my favourite kind of provisional cast on. The only one I can remember how to do when I'm in front of the tv and too lazy to google provisonal cast on. 

There seems to be an explosion, nay, a veritable panoply, of hand dyed yarns available. Etsy is chock full of them, and most local yarn stores carry a little bit of artisan yarn. It's a lovely luxury purchase, and it's great to support a fiber artisan. And some of these artisans dye in smallish lots which sell out really fast, so that skein feels even more precious. Some of them sell so quickly that it's almost impossible to find the yarn in stock; instead, you commit to a yarn club and you get a new yarn every month or two.

I have a hard time resisting hand dyed skeins, (check out my Yarn Inspiration pinterest board for some that I've been coveting) especially in lace and fingering weights. 

Quick post today, but not really about knitting. Many knitting projects to share, but can't yet, too many secrets, shhhhh...

So I thought I'd tackle the name "Tricksy Knitter". Why "tricksy" I'm often asked? Actually, that's not true. I'm rarely asked. I usually get a bemused look and then I watch as the person writes down t-r-i-x-i-e-k-n-i-t-t-e-r. Maybe I should buy that domain too.

 I'll tell you what's in my notebook: Tiny Pants. Yup, another pair. Free pattern coming soon.

The Fitzgerald Scarf has been really popular, and it's a great pattern for the ambitious beginner. It has an easily memorized pattern with a small repeat. But the crossed slipped stitches can be a bit tricky; it's hard to visualize them when you read the pattern, and if you have tight tension, you might need to use a cable needle to hold them instead of dropping them to the front of your work.

For anyone wanting to try the Fitzgerald Scarf, I've uploaded a new version with charts. 

Happy knitting!

Speaking of tweed, isn't this a beautiful sweater? This is my mom's Kendrick in Debbie Bliss Donegal Luxury Tweed Aran, 85% wool 15% angora. Kendrick is a design by Ann McCauley, published in Brooklyn Tweed's Wool People 2. Kendrick has lovely detailing: columns of coin cables on the body that merge gracefully with the front neck shaping, and single coins at the cuff and waist that gather the fabric gently.

Oh culture, what a funny and charming thing. I've just been perusing images of "Tweed Runs," and had to share. For a little history, check out the official site. I was looking at the images of the New York City Tweed Run, and thought, "Wow, these people look like models. And where did they get all these great clothes?" Ah, some of them are models, for Ralph Lauren Rugby Tweed. But it's all still pretty fabulous. There are also some great shots of Ewan McGregor in the tweed run, with a pipe and a stuffed bear. The bear makes me think of Sebastian's bear, Aloysius, in Brideshead Revisited.