That Nicky Epstein

My non-knitting friends (95% of my universe) think it's funny when I refer to famous knitters as "Rock Stars". My recent idol is Nicky Epstein. I've got several of her books and have been reading them--the Tuscany book just makes me long for warm sunshine and good olive oil. I'm dying to make the sequined wrap using Disco Lights.

Knitting on Top of the World has been sooooo inspiring... I'm making my first Fair Isle project out of that book using Rowan Cocoon from my stash, although I did need to buy a few new skeins with contrasting colors. I started with the cuff on one sleeve first; it is turned up over the regular sleeve. I love the diamond pattern. I'm wondering if I will ever memorize the pattern so I don't have to use the chart!

In the meantime, I started a scarf using some Pure Merino from my stash which reminded me that I love working with it. So when I saw the Northern Lights sweater, I decided I MUST make it in Christmas colors. I like that it has a pattern on the bottom which will keep me interested. The sleeves are three quarter length, which I am particularly fond of, since I read that your wrists are the smallest bone in your body and that length is slimming. Haven't cast on yet, because I've been obsessed with the Rowan Earth Stripe Wrap today. Beauteous!

Say Good-bye to Summer
It went far too quickly. There are Fall, Halloween and even some Christmas decorations sneaking into stores. Don't rush me!

I've been working on quite a few projects (of course) but my favorite by far at this moment is a Halloween sweater for my youngest niece. This started as a scarf--I had been flipping through one of the Barbara Walker books and found the lace bat. That lead to discovery of several more Halloween-related images and the purchase of some Mission Falls 1824 Wool. I didn't like the way the reverse side looked, so I converted it to a cardigan.

I started with the sleeves which were easy to finish. Then I started the right side--that's a bat in green on the bottom and a Jack O'Lantern in orange. I have to find the label for the fringe I used to join them (it will also be the trim).

The right side features Barbara Walker's spider--I used some New Smoking to add some shiny-ness and some sequined yarn to enhance the "webs" I put in above her. Let me just say for the record that I don't think I've sweated so much over a stitch as much as I did the left twisted purl...yikes. Thank goodness for YouTube and KnitPurlHunter.

I started to put a cat on the back using the Mission Falls as well as Trendsetter Aura but wasn't loving it. So I switched to twin trees--the branches are bare and intertwined (more cables!). I have some buttons that look like animal eyes that I'll use in pairs to look like creatures hiding in the woods. I hope this isn't too scary! I've ordered more cute buttons to help lighten up the mood as well as buttons for the front closure that look like hard candy.

It's been difficult working with black AND cables, but it is going to be worth the effort.