While there are still a few hours left...

Happy Christmas!

Season's Greetings...

from the Land of Unfinished Holiday Gifts!

Santa's elves are (well, actually, one very tired, rather overworked, and enervated elf in particular is) a wee bit behind on the knitted gift front, but there is a chance that these might yet make it to a spot under the tree:

a simple scarf that has grown on the sly on trains, in doctors' lounges, and at the cinema



and a simple cardi that might not be done on time, but nevertheless comes with a lot of heart



The only émigré from the Land of Unfinished Holiday Gifts this week has been Fergus (from Rowan's The Bigger Picture), a thankfully quick knit in Rowan Big Wool (in black). I think my hands prefer needles US 10 or smaller, but on US 17s, this guy knit up in a flash -- perfect for Crunch Time Gifts, and well-toned forearms.

That said, we're still hours away from wrapping -- let alone opening -- presents in this house, so in lieu of a proper photo, here's a snap of it on an obliging Jedi Knitwear Model (courtesy of the little boy next door):



Happy Holidays, everyone!

Holiday Red

[x-posted at the Cashmere Gallery]

Vicki at Stanford has just sent these lovely shots of her Clapotis in Estelle, colourway Cranberries. Cozy cheer in any light.





She writes:

I just wanted to give you an update on what's happened since you sent the yarn! First of all, you were right, it arrived in fine time for my trip to Australia - and was shockingly soft and beautiful, everything I had hoped it would be in terms of color and texture...

Your yarn was wonderful to knit with - not only did the varigation help me discern what was going on in stitches (new stitch red, old stitch purple - very useful for a beginner!) but it was smooth, soft, and even, and very easy to handle. I felt like it almost *wanted* to be knitted. :) I looked forward to picking it up again!

Thank you so much for sharing these, Vicki! The scarf came out absolutely beautifully!!

Stockists

Until the official website is up and running, the growing List of Stockists will continue to be updated right here in this post. If you thought the only place to see the yarns was on your computer screen, think again! See them up close and personal (and meet some warm and friendly folks while you're at it):

In the U.S. --

California

Compatto Yarn Salon
2112 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90034
tel: (310) 453-2130
fax: (310) 453-2134

Maryland

Woolworks
6117 Falls Road
Baltimore, MD 21209
tel: (410) 377-2060

Minnesota

Yarnzilla
6020 Blue Circle Dr.
Minnetonka, MN 55343
tel: (952) 936-0030
www.yarnzilla.com

New Jersey

Knit1purl2
133 Route 9 South
Englishtown, NJ 07726
tel: (732) 536-6050

Knitknack
1914 Springfield Avenue
Maplewood NJ 07040
tel: (973) 763-6066

New York

The Point Knitting Cafe
37a Bedford Street
New York, NY 10014
tel: (212) 929-0800 or (877) 60-POINT
www.thepointnyc.com

Oregon

Woolgirl (online shop)
www.woolgirl.com

Pennsylvania

Loop
1914 South Street
Philadelphia, PA 19146
tel: (877) 893-9939 or (215) 893-9939
www.loopyarn.com

Knit One
2721 Murray Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15217
tel: (412) 421-6666
www.knitone.biz

Washington

Yarn Country (online shop)
www.yarncountry.com

Vintage Knits Wool Shoppe
6212 34th Street NW
Gig Harbor, WA 98335
(253) 265-1235
www.vintageknits.net


In Canada --

The Naked Sheep
2144A Queen St E
Toronto, Ontario
tel: (416) 691-6320
www.nakedsheep.ca

Introducing... Zhivago

Another day, another... original cashmere sweater kit. Introducing Zhivago: a sweater inspired in part by the glorious costumes in the film Dr Zhivago (the Omar Sharif/Julie Christie version of Pasternak's epic, rather than the Keira Knightley/Hans Matheson version).

In daydreams of skiing this winter, an elegantly insouciant, fashionably-off-piste sweater design haunted me until I finally committed it to paper and knit it up -- not once, but twice. Zhivago turned out to be a very quick knit, about 5-6 days for a completed garment, including steaming (in lieu of spaceboard blocking) and seaming. Knit in Pippin (100% aran weight cashmere), the pullover is fitted and sports both cabled cuffs and a collar, the simple cable pattern adding a twist (no pun intended) to the high, scrunched funnel neck. Since cashmere is eight times warmer than wool, and many times lighter, Zhivago will often eliminate the need for a coat. And again, the feeling against your skin? Divine.

Here you have Zhivago, wonderfully modeled by Marine and Nathalie. Both samples are in bust size 38, worn slightly oversized (in colourway: Bruise) and in true fit (colourway: Rum Point):













Zhivago is available as a kit.

Fits bust sizes: 36 [ 38; 40; 42; 44; 46; 48]
Materials:
-- 12 [ 12; 13; 14; 15; 16; 16] skeins of Pippin (100% aran weight cashmere)
-- size US 10 needles
-- cable needle
-- tapestry needle
-- waste yarn for seaming up (preferably in a finer gauge)

Have a lovely week, everyone! And happy knitting!

Snow White!

Despite fighting off a terrible bug (complete with chills, sneezing and hacking coughs) this weekend, I have had an absolutely blissful weekend as a bridesmaid at my very very best friend's wedding in Manhattan to a truly terrific man. (I find myself grinning now as I write because their happiness is really that infectious.) :D And, speaking purely as an objective fashionista, she was THE Most Elegant Bride I have ever seen, and that's saying a lot considering how many brides I've had the occasion to inspect. I'd show you photos, but being in the wedding party and gripping a bouquet with both hands makes it awkward, if not nearly impossible, to take good wedding shots.

I can show you what it looked like out the window this morning from the hotel in Soho:



I love these buildings. And their charm only increases with every inch of snow.



(The first real snow of the season... well, that I've noticed, anyway.)

And the wedding weekend brought more pleasant surprises, including bumping into Lynne from Toronto at the wedding! It's such a wonderful high to meet lovely people you've interacted with only in cyberspace and then meet unexpectedly in real life, particularly when they're even lovelier in person! Lynne, I missed you at the end of the evening (when we were all eventually kicked out of the venue so the caterers could all go home and sleep), but I wanted to tell you how happy I was to finally meet you and your husband!

One tip for the travelling knitter: if you're looking for a friendly yarn shop and great food, look no further than Bedford Street. Before a morning meeting, early Friday morning I wandered groggily around Soho searching for coffee and a quiet corner (to work on a project I'll get to in a moment). I went to The Point, which is by far the friendliest knitcafe I've ever self-caffeinated in. From the moment you walk in and park yourself at a table, you know you're in a creativity comfort zone. A huge thank you to Helane and Rebecca for such a warm welcome -- and congratulations to Helane who's getting married in the next few days! :) (BTW, Regina J, I thought of you, wishing I'd known in advance that I'd be at The Point; we might otherwise have arranged to bump into each other!)

And now, without further ado (and because it's past my bedtime and my eyes are now closing involuntarily), here's a glimpse of the "project" I was tweaking at The Point: a new pattern, now up in the new Knitty Winter 2005 issue. (ETA: The knitted gifts are adorable! Go have a look if you haven't already!)

Anyway, here she is. Introducing... Blanche-Neige.










Happy Knitting to all, and to all a Good Night!

:)