New Flora in My Garden

Pattern: Flora by Kate Kuckro on Knitty.com
Yarn: Jo Sharp's Kid Mohair in Rosehip and Alpaca Kid Lustre in both Ripe and Vintage (all three held together)
Needles: Vintage Aluminum US 8
Started: January 2, 2007
Finished: March 14, 2007
Notes: This was first blogged about here and here. I added a third button as a stabilizer because flower tended to flop. Jo Sharp yarn is so soft against my skin. Before it was washed and blocked, I could take or leave the feel of the yarn. But after . . . oh baby.

Here is a close up of the large button that should show through the center of the flower. It was purchased at JoAnn Fabrics and I can not remember the name or brand. JoAnn's had a lot of them in stock. I love this vintage feel and think it compliments the scarf yarn and style beautifully. The designer's thought was to have the button show through as the eye of the flower. Because of all the twists around the button hole, it sometimes doesn't show through as well as I would like it to. Overall, I really like this scarf.

All finished ~ just in time for spring. Let's all hope some of those early spring outdoor soccer games are cool.

Just In Time For Spring

I haven't worked on Flora for a while because I ran out of yarn. Knitting the body began with Jo Sharp's Kid Mohair in Rosehip and Alpaca Kid Lustre in Ripe and Vintage all held together. Ending this project with the same yarn would be nice. The yarn is very enjoyable to knit with. Colors are ever-changing, with absolutely no pattern/pooling, which is fun. An added bonus is the Alpaca is very soft, especially pleasing since it will be going near the tender skin of my neck (I am a delicate flower, you know).

The scarf portion is complete, but I did not have enough yarn for the flower. Because I really wanted the dye lots to match, more was ordered more from Lost Art Yarn, in Traverse City. This was where I purchased the original batch and they (thankfully) had the same dye lot in stock. So after some exchanging of vital purchasing information, the yarn is now here.

It came in the mail today! Whoo-hoo! But aliens seem to have taken over our house, so I hope I get to use the yarn at all (really, it's Soccerchica being goofy - gotta love her).

Speaking of Soccerchica, there are lots of soccer games this weekend for her. We had two indoor games last night, two games for a Tournament in Wixom today, and another indoor game in Grand Rapids on Sunday. Yep, I'll be doing a lot of driving. But knitting will go with me.

At my current rate I should finish this about mid May. It goes without saying that I will have to wear it once before she is put away for the season. I think Flora will look stunning with my Bermudas, t-shirt and a cute pair of strapy sandals - in June. Pray for a chilly morning. . .

I'd Like to Think I am Full . . .

While we were up North this week, it was necessary to take a break from skiing. So a drive to Traverse City was in order. One of my favorite yarn shops is there. Called the Lost Art Yarn Shop, it boasts a large selection of yarns, patterns, and needles. Here is my score!

Yarn: Jo Sharp Alpaca Kid Lustre in Ripe (the light pink) and Vintage (Wine). The third ball is Jo Sharp Rare Comfort Kid Mohair in Rosehip. I bought these to knit Flora. This will be the first time I have knit with three strands held together. Should be fun!

BTW ~ I removed several pictures of my kids off Trixiestix. This was a personal choice due to some discussions with RM that scared the living day-lights out of me. Of course it was about children and the internet. Now, I don't think that knitters would ever do anything; it's the psychos that would stumble on them that scared me. So, I will insert new pictures as available. Thanks for understanding.