Introducing... the Klee Scarf in cashmere

(I know. Three posts in four days. It hardly seems possible! But I couldn't wait another second to tell you all about this:)

Colour has taken possession of me; no longer do I have to chase after it, I know that it has hold of me forever. That is the significance of this blessed moment. Colour and I are one...

-- Paul Klee (1889-1940)

The expressionist artist renders less what the eye sees than what the heart and mind sense and feel. In this spirit, behold the building blocks of your own expressionist masterpiece in luxurious cashmere. Introducing...



One cashmere scarf kit. A world of possibilities.




Pattern Directions:

This is the best part -- there aren't any! The example shown here is merely for inspiration. Cast on as few or as many stitches as you like and change colours, add accents as your whimsy moves you to create your own unique piece of wearable art!



Each kit includes 8 x 50 yd mini-skeins of Estelle (100% Italian sportweight cashmere) in eight assorted colourways carefully selected to provide you with a rich, vibrant palette.

The Klee Scarf kit yields a scarf around 104" / 264cm long.



Where to find:

The Klee Scarf Kit is US$110.00 plus shipping, and may be ordered via email (sauveterre AT gmail DOT com).




~*~

Happy Knitting, All!

Clap-Happy!

[x-posted at The Cashmere Gallery]

Spring is a bit of a drama queen. Its temperament always reminds me of adolescence. For those of you who have teenagers or have been one yourself, don't you think that's true? It's mercurial. Capricious. Spontaneous. Moody. And anything but dull. Grim and gloomy one moment and bright and sunny the next. It's enough to send the most confident of groundhogs back into his hole for second-guessing.

Last week it was hot here. And I mean H-O-T. Hot, like I-should-be-sipping-cocktails-in-Ibiza hot. Everywhere you looked, out came the pasty, winter white skin, peeking boldly out of tank tops and shorts (except mine, of course, me being in my standard office attire black).

But don't get me wrong. It's not that I have anything against summery weather, but with only the decrease rows left on my second Clapotis, I was looking forward to accessorizing all that black with a dramatic blaze of colour. And I was just about resigned to packing up the winter clothes when suddenly... the temps shifted.

And here's what I wrapped myself in for work this morning (kindly modelled by my trusty clotheshorse, Gwyneth P)--

Thank God for spring, sunshine, a cool breeze and the excuse to wear the latest cashmere Clapotis in colourway Hotel California:





Gotta love those waves...




ETA: For Meredith and Lindsay, the cashmere I used was actually about 630 yds of a sample of 4-ply (think Light DK-weight) cashmere that I'm going to be adding as new line. And it is AT THIS VERY MOMENT being spun expressly for us! There is an enormous shipment that will be arriving at the beginning of next month and I'll post about it as soon as it does. As an alternative, you can use about 4-5 skeins of Estelle, the sportweight cashmere to achieve this pashmina-sized Clapotis. For this Clap, I extended the straight rows in the original pattern by adding 3 extra repeats.

AND

in other knitting news, I've also finished work on a secret project for unveiling. Soon.

So..

*dun dun DUN*

Watch. This. Space.

Silk Boucle II

Since you asked for it…

As of today I'll be taking orders for the silk boucle (see previous post). Each 50g skein is 90 yds and is available in all colourways. (Please bear in mind that colourways shown in cashmere or alpaca may appear differently in the silk boucle.) At the rate Blogger updates on dial-up, it may be some time before I update the List of Colourways (and Prices), so I'll tell you now that the boucle knits up at 5-5.5 sts/inch on US 6 (4.0 mm) needles. Each skein is $20.00.

In response to LBellatrix's comment to the previous post, I actually had done a swatch for you all in the Rivendell but was thwarted in posting pics by D E A T H L Y S L O W S P E E D S in the Land of Dial-Up. Here they are now, just to give you an idea of what I mean by the pointillist effect of the fabric.

This first picture is the swatch front: st st on the bottom and moss st on the top.



And this is the same swatch from the back: reverse st st on the bottom and moss st on top.



And... some super-close close-ups.

Stocking stitch:



Reverse stocking stitch:



Moss stitch:



Now, I'm not usually a boucle knitter, but I'm really taken with the lightness, feel and sheen of this fabric. I've already started a pattern for a shell… hmm... or maybe a sexy summer halter in rev st st or moss st. …OR as an accent for something like this lovely jacket from the spring issue of Tendances by Phildar:



OH, the possibilities!!

In other knitting news, I finished my second Clapotis in cashmere – just in time for the next spring chill. And I’d love more than anything to share pictures with you, but I can’t at the moment. Perhaps later, then.

In the meantime, happy knitting, all!

Silk Boucle! Pics and a poll:

My internet connection has inexplicably expired, so I am messaging you all from the bleak and desperate Land of Dial-Up. I had more pictures to share with you, but I'm only able to upload these (at least they're something, right?).

This week I painted up some silk boucle:



(Left to right, the colourways are: Japanese Maple, Hotel California, Haystacks, Rivendell, Atropos, and Water Lilies.) This silk boucle is truly soft and gives an interesting, almost pointillist aspect to the resulting fabric (think Georges Seurat's La Grande Jatte or this coastal scene by Theo van Rysselberghe).

So, here's my question for you all: what say you? Would there be any interest if I added this as a new line of hand-painted yarn? Each 90-yd skein (that's 50 grams, to those of you who count that way) knits up well on US 6's.

(and now back to our regularly scheduled eye candy...)



Happy Knitting, all!