Friday, October 17, 2008

Beautiful?

Dare I? I still have to locate the beads(am pondering whether they are really needed), I have the right yarn and needles now (see below). I just love the look of this cowl and am such a romantic at heart that I know I would wear it, especially when on a foggy morning. (photo is from Knitty's website)



This is the lovely stuff of dreams Rowan Kidsilk Haze that I won on ebay and now it has a destiny. Hope I can do it justice. I will need to learn how to do a Provisional cast on (I don't know how to crochet, guess I'll have to learn). I needed a 16" circular needle with sharp points and I could not locate the Addi Turbo Lace in this length.



I've discovered that the right knitting needles does make a difference in your knitting experience. One of my friends Tricia innocently stopped by my desk with some of these beautiful colored wood knitting needles from Knit Picks - they were so smooth and shiny - with defined points, plus they were pretty reasonable, considering that I have been purchasing the Addi Turbo's as needed, it was time to shop smart so I bought the detachable cables which will be more reasonable as only the needle part needs to be purchased and a few circulars. I will be venturing into the world of sweater knitting soon and the multiple cable lengths will really help. I have really come to appreciate the needles that I have acquired and remember when I first started I had a bunch of old heavy metal needles which made my hands ache. So it was either give up knitting or begin to explore other materials. We learn from experience about what we like and dislike, and now I stick mostly to the Addi Turbo or wood knitting needles depending on the project to be knit and the yarn I am using.

Aren't these pretty? So my theory is, pretty needles = pretty knitting. Right?






These headbands are such a quick knit, they hide a world of flaws (such as when your hair color is growing in faster than your trips to the salon, which of course I would not know about as my hair just naturally changes color all by itself every four weeks). I love Kody May's headbands, I get so many complements on them, she has several free patterns on her blog and her hats are really cute on. These headbands are knitted on size 8 circular needles with Patons SWS (Soy Wool Stripes), it is reasonably priced and available at most craft stores.







The Farmer's Market has become quite small, so this was my last visit until next March. I had a difficult time finding subject matter as for the most part my berries and fruit were gone and the vegetables were definitely limited. (This might be due to the heat wave and the Santa Ana's we experienced with wind gusts of up to 85 miles per hour).


The onions were quite lovely, they just have so much more pizazz than your ordinary store bought variety, they shimmered in the late afternoon light.





There weren't many fruits left, these grapes did look good though.








7 comments:

Dave said...

Oh, that cowl will be beautiful!

Definitely agree on the right tools for the right job, and if they make you happy as you use them, the project just flies. Relatively speaking.

gilraen said...

I recognise the botanic Garden plate by Portmeirion!! That was my Wedding dinner service etc :)

I love the cowl! It is exquisite!!

I too love the Knitpick needles :)

Anonymous said...

The Addi's are too fast for me. My stitches just keep falling off the needle. I guess that is great if you are a speed knitter (which I'm not). I love the feel of wood and I'm changing out my metals for wood with each new project. The cowl is beautiful and your choice of yarn is one of my favorite colors. I hope you post a picture when you are done.

Aline said...

The cowl pattern is so pretty. I have a Portmeirion plate too! Small world. Fun to see it here. Your photos are a joy.

Tracy Batchelder said...

It really helps to have the right tools for the job. I like your pretty needles = pretty knitting theory.

smariek said...

Those needles are pretty!

The cowl is gorgeous and I think it is very easy since it is just feather & fan. The only difficulties (for me, that is) would be doing the beads (cuz I've never done that before) and knitting from a chart (which I can't do at all, and would have to translate it into row-by-row instructions to work from). I think the cowl would look heavenly in your Kid Silk Haze. Can't wait to see your finish this!

Linda said...

I think the cowl will be gorgeosu. I love the colours in your pictures.