Eine Kleine Knit-post on the sly...

This is another quickie post, as I'm up to my ears in work, whereas... back at the studio I have been up to my eyeballs in aran weight cashmere (which is, in my opinion, far far more pleasant than stacks of fine print):

Aren't those skeins just begging for a cuddle??

And now the obligatory knitting update. I am about 93% done with my cashmere pullover in Briar Rose. Here you can catch a glimpse of it reflected in the beautiful silver jewelry box that my best friend gave to me for Christmas -- filled to the velvety felt-lined brim with stitch markers and safety pins!! She knows me too well. :)

Happy New Year and Happy Knitting, everyone! (that includes all of you who swing by and lurk)

ANNOUNCEMENT! Merino, Aran Weight Cashmere, Silk

(1) NEW: 100% aran weight cashmere --

As of today, I am pleased to announce that all of the colourways on THE LIST are now also available in 100% worsted/aran weight cashmere, for those of you who prefer quicker knits. Each 8-ply, 2 oz. skein is 100 yds and knits up at approx. 4-4.5 sts/inch on needle sizes (US) 8 - 11. Each skein of aran weight cashmere is the same price as the sportweight cashmere listed on the information sheets.

(2) Merino Update --

If I have already sent you a Paypal invoice and/or you have already paid, you are in the queue and your skeins will be made up as soon as the long-awaited shipment arrives.

As of now, however, I am unable to take on more merino orders until further notice due to supply issues.

Happily, anyone wishing to place orders for hand-painted cashmere and/or alpaca won't have to worry about delays and the like, and I would be glad to take and process those as normal. :)

(3) Silk --

For those of you who have been waiting for silk and pricing, you haven't long to wait. In January I'll be issuing a new information sheet which will likely include both the Tussah and the slightly heavier silk. So, watch this space!

~*~

In the meantime, I hope you've all had a lovely holiday weekend, surrounded by family, friends and plenty of good cheer!

HAPPY NEW YEAR and Happy Knitting!

Axelle :)

Winter palette and some bits and bobs

I'm actually too tired to come up with a catchy title -- or even to post, for that matter, so if anything I say doesn't sound remotely eloquent or even make sense, I can't be held accountable for it. That said, here goes...

I've been busy in the colour studio, as some of you know, and I also managed to get a little experimentation in. I've been working with a new yarn, an aran weight cashmere, which is great for knitting projects quicker on slightly bigger needles (US 8 - US 13).

Tapping into the wintry side of the spectrum, I came up with these two new colourways, which are variations on the "night" theme.

The first, initially commissioned by my father, who wanted some masculine purples (he didn't actually say masculine, but I knew what he meant), is Orion:

Here's a close up of it here, in the aran weight cashmere:

And this other colour is one that I'm quite fond of because it reminds me of so many things, Midnight Orchid (also in aran weight 100% cashmere):

And a close up:

On the silk front, I also got up to a bit of swatching with the Tussah. The fabric is so light, soft and cool, like a spring breeze, and knits up with a texture that I think embodies what I think of as "rustic romantic". This here, I think, is destined to be a tie-back halter top along the lines of the St Tropez halter top.

But just to show you how fickle a fiber fiend I am, even with that on the needles, my eyes strayed to this new batch of silk which just arrived in the post. Look at the sheen of this fiber! It's a bit heavier in weight than the Tussah, but even softer and extremely smooth. I can't wait to test-paint these.

Lastly, just so you see that I'm not just salivating over colour/fiber possibilities, here is the beginning of a sweater in Briar Rose cashmere. There's much more to it now, but I'm too knackered to dig out the digital camera. But this should give you a fair idea of the look of it. It's not even a full piece yet, but it triggers something in my memory about some pieces I'd seen before by Missoni... or maybe Paule Ka?

Hmm... I'm sure I'll remember the designer in my sleep...

Night all! And, for you midnight knitters, Happy Knitting!

Why I hate Blogger

Or maybe it's Hello I hate. I haven't decided yet. Maybe both. Not only does it seem to allow updating only when it feels like it, but I've only just realised that Hello (or Blogger, or both in cahoots with one another) replaced some of the close-ups of Cirque, Coco and Plankton in the List of Colourways with pictures of the recently dyed silk. Since stupid Blogger is unlikely to apologize to any of you for the confusion, I will: sorry. I've fixed the page now and had to resort to Photobucket again.

Anyway, at least it's accurate once more and you can peruse at will.

FYI: Merino Orders

Just to let you know that if you have ordered merino skeins, I'm still waiting for my supplier's delivery which is running late, apparently, due to the Christmas postal crush. But I want to thank you all for your patience. As soon as they are in my hands, your skeins will be made up!

Have a lovely day! And happy knitting, all!

Today's post is brought to you by...

... yarns that epitomize "sartorially sexy":

Sexy Thing #1:

Clapotis in cashmere. She's FINISHED, ladies and gentlemen! It was actually below freezing today at noon but my neck was toasty warm in the snuggly soft caress of this scarf!

I've still got in on now as I type. The cashmere is so soft, I may never want to part with it. I used 3 skeins in Water Lillies for this and followed the pattern to the letter apart from (using my yarn and) using US 6 (4.0 mm) needles -- and I still had about half a ball left over. I suppose I could have made the scarf a bit longer, but she's already about 60 inches long, measured from point to point, which for me works splendidly.

And now, Sexy Thing #2:

SILK.

You are about to get a special sneak peek at some new things I'm planning to introduce early in the new year: a line of silks. These here are 100% Tussah silk, from silk worms raised in the tropical wilderness which produce a wonderfully textured silk that is feather light and soft to the touch -- silky soft, you might say! So, for your viewing pleasure, here are the results of some of the very first silk colour trials, which I'm quite pleased with! --

Briar Rose:



Cirque:

Coco:



and Plankton:


Now the needles and I are going to give the silks a good fondle.

Happy knitting, all! :)

More Clapotis

She's growing! Only barely half-done, but she's such a joy to knit in the cashmere -- whisper-soft to the touch. I may just have to knit another one (or two) after this. Have a look:



Every time I look at the dropped stitch rows she reminds me of these fields in Provence. And, particularly compared to the naked trees outside at the moment, a welcome little mental vacation it is, too.

(On a wholly unrelated note, has anyone else had trouble updating? I've had to use Photobucket for that image up there.)

Hope you're having a lovely weekend, everyone. Happy Knitting!!

Progress on Clapotis

O the weather outside is frightful...and it really is -- one of those days where the rain comes down in sheets so thick they may as well be white squalls ramming against a little fishing boat. Luckily, I'm in the warm and dry of my office, and although my caffeine fix has long ago gone tepid, I'm quite content not to be Out There. And yet... in between the fine print and the phone calls, my mind strays to... Clapotis, where she's waiting for me at home (notice the creative use of home office desk supplies, "Stitch Markers" sponsored by Staples):

You can see the Water Lilies I made for my own use in the cashmere is a touch more on the mauve/purple side because I'm a mauve/purple girl at heart. :) I'm on the cusp of the section where I'm supposed to deliberately drop stitches, which I'm steeling myself for, and I suddenly find myself in a quandry.

Anyone ever seen Due South, the Canadian TV series about the cute do-right Mountie and his cynical Chicago cop sidekick? There's an episode where Constable Fraser has to force himself to shoplift a pack of Milk Duds in order to get himself convicted and imprisoned... and he can't do it. Why? Because of his conscience. It just feels wrong. Or maybe naughty. Yet it's for a good cause. Anyway, that's how I feel about deliberately dropping stitches. When I get home, we'll see how I feel then. ;)

In the meantime, pangs of conscience aside, I've hit a snag in knitting her up. Literally. A snag. I was trying out a pair of Suzanne's rosewood circular needles to test the stability of the needle and cord joins. They failed miserably. I was happily knitting along until I realised that the stitches weren't slipping from the cord onto the needle as easily. And it was because the metal connector/join whatever you call it had come off. See it here, cowering in mediocrity and shame between stitches:

*sigh* So I'm considering it a lesson learned and will revert back to my favourite Addis. The Clapotis will survive!

Bon tricot, everyone!