Lisa Kay Knits... and Quilts!

Back in late 2007, my mom and I were shopping at the Galleria in St. Louis, and we happened upon this sweater in Brooks Brothers. I had never actually bought anything in Brooks Brothers, and it seemed at little bit "out of my league," to be entirely honest. I thought the pink and brown Fair Isle sweater was the bee's knees, and my mom purchased it for me as my Christmas present that year. While it was my first thing from Brooks Brothers, it wasn't the last. They usually have a few Fair Isle sweaters each year, and I keep an eye on them. It is one of the few stores where I've seen wool Fair Isle sweaters, ready-made. Fair Isle is usually hard to find, often only in two colors, and typically not wool. The wool yarn, to knit it yourself, is generally more expensive than a store-bought sweater (even at Brooks Brothers), and a store-bought sweater is instant gratification! One of the benefits, also, of a store-bought sweater is that they are machine-knit, which all...

I spun wool for a colorwork sweater, a pattern called Aftur, available as a free download on the Istex site . The pattern name is the first word in the post title... and the rest is from the yarns. The main body yarn is "House of Bricks," a mixed fiber batt from Southern Cross Fibre. I had three four-ounce packages, and ended up with 940 yards of worsted singles. The four small colored skeins are "Barn Raising," an organic merino club from Southern Cross Fibre. To get the "white" in the colorwork chart, I added some undyed merino to the group. The Aftur pattern has a special aspect to it... Scarlett Johansen wears one in the movie, "We Bought a Zoo." I went and found the movie on DVD, and there are actually many excellent sweaters in the movie. I wonder if the folks doing the costumes were knitters... I am eager to cast on the Aftur sweater, but I'm making good progress on another handspun sweater, which I'm planning to finish, firs...

Hi, For my birtday, my mom and Mitchell and I went to The Loopy Ewe . This is the third year in a row (not that I need any more yarn)! Ha! I wore my new Sock Club Lite socks, and the elves were surprised they were done so fast... I did pick up two new yarns... Dream In Color, Smooshy, in colorway "Valentine" Hand Maiden, Swiss Mountain Sea Sock, in colorway "Blackberry" We also ate at The Cheesecake Factory at the Galeria. Mitchell liked the honey wheat bread and the Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake. (The three of us shared one slice!) What's not to like? Mitchell (and Daddy) gave me a birdhouse kit for my birthday present, and we put it together before bedtime. All the grandparents came over for dinner, and I cast on another sock, the Catnip sock for the "Socks From The Toe Up" knit along on Ravelry . This is the second sock pattern (not from the book), and is available on Wendy Knits for free. I used a size smaller needle tha...

Hi, I finished knitting the body of the cardigan, and I'm reinforcing the steeks, now. Chris saw this and gave me a disgusted look and said, "Is that the edging?" No. It isn't the edging. This green crochet will reinforce the cut steek and be turned to the inside. Just be patient! I'm anxious to try the sleeves. That means I have to get my scissors out and get cutting... Here's a close up of the crochet reinforcing. Five stitches to the left and right, you can see the "edge" stitch, almost always in green, a column of stitches that defines the edge of the steek. The bands (or sleeves) will be "picked up" at that column of stitches. It will be cut between the columns of crochet, and the five stitches between the cut and the pick up will be turned to the inside as a facing. (It gets sewn down... or whipped down, if you prefer. Ha!) Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi, I've gotten a pretty good start on the cardigan based on the December Lights Tam . You can see the XOX pattern that comes from the tam pattern. It still has the rest of the second peerie repeat (just started at the top of this picture) and then one more XOX pattern repeat to go before the shoulders... and sleeves and bands, of course. Below is the sleeve steek. Isn't it pretty? It seems a shame to cut it. It makes me realize why folks do "seed" stitch on the hands of mittens and gloves. It isn't just simple; it also looks nice! Below is my rough working chart of the peerie pattern. It is colored with my son's crayons. There is a fuschia row at the top that doesn't show up very well. It starts with the right column and continues with the left column. (I ran out of paper...) The red dots are where I'm doing neck decreases. These peerie patterns are pretty standard stuff, seen in several of the fair isle books. I basically started with a pict...

Hi, I finished my "December Lights Tam," a tam o'shanter from Interweave Knits (2007 Holiday issue, and reprinted in the 2009 Accessories issue), by Mary Jane Mucklestone. I used Knit Picks Palette yarn. I was eager and was familiar with it... Otherwise, I'd have been searching for yarn... I may try Jamieson's Spindrift for my next project. Hmmm. I like it so much that I cast on to make a cardigan. It seems like I have a lot of yarn, but I may need another ball of a few colors. I used the "body" chart from the tam (the two sets of XOX patterns, but not the hearts), and then I put together some "peerie" patterns based on a picture in Michael Pearson's "Traditional Knitting: Aran, Fair Isle, and Fisher Ganseys." (I don't own the book. I borrowed it from the library. I wish I did have this book!) I used the bottom band design from the "Water-Lily Jacket" in Alice Starmore's " Book of Fair Isle Knitting...

Hi, We made a shopping outing, today, with one of the stops at a book store, perfect for Christmas gift purchases. I couldn't resist browsing the knitting section, and I picked up Alice Starmore's " Book of Fair Isle Knitting ." (So, I got something for myself, too. That's life.) I read several sections to Chris, after we got home, because he has Scottish family background. The early sections of the book give a history of Fair Isle knitting and the evolution of knitting in the Shetland islands in general. The writing is quite interesting, actually. Chris started paying attention part of the way through, and he said, "What is this called? ' Feral ' knitting?" Hee, hee! I envisioned wild, obnoxious sheep, attacking Scotsmen. Too funny. I have been tempted on numerous occasions to start playing with colorwork, and I noted once again the "December Lights Tam," by Mary Jane Mucklestone, in latest special issue of Interweave Knits, the...