Everything is coming up Weaver

Leaving this was pretty tough. It was equally pleasant to hike around each day (despite the fact that all the Biergartens were closed... here I am in front of one located in the Zauberwald (Magic Forest) near the Hintersee):
and to watch the weather out the window of my Gasthaus.

Comfort is found in the fact that I returned to New Job, even though I have been rather inept and slow these past few days due to jetlag (22 hours of travel on Sunday via cab, train, larger train, flight to Philadelphia, flight to Boston, retuning at 9:30 pm. Hmmm). So far, New Job is Good Job. Hooray!!!

Oh, and here's a closeup of the knitting on the table in the picture above. I was mad to think I would finish this by Christmas. But the beauty... oh, the beauty.

Wiedersehen!

bis Sonntag!

Check this out on Thursday at 9 am and Saturday at 10 am.

This Week in Knitting

Yes, I finished the crazy project from my previous post. The inspiration was here. Click on the thumbnails. That's what I'm talkin' about. My sister Beth wanted in on this action, so the SCARF will go in the mail to her next week.

Last weekend I completed a new sweater, the details of which I could not photograph in daylight until today. Behold, the World Series Sweater, which, aside from the very top portion, was all knit during Red Sox/Indians and Red Sox/Rockies games.

It's made from two cakes of Evilla Vorgarn, in colors A 01 and A 75a, purchased from Wollsucht. I held the wool double throughout, at times knitting with both ends of the same round, at other times knitting from one end of each round. It's a simple raglan, with the A-line shaping attained by increasing the needle size twice on both the body and sleeves. If you're interested in knitting with unspun yarn, here are some tips:

1. Knit slowly. Relax. The Red Sox will do just fine without all your worrying.

2. Keep the rounds right on the floor by your feet, so you're pulling the ends pretty much straight up toward the knitting. Too much of a diagonal and they will split every few feet.

3. Be sure to swatch first and wash and block your swatch. This will reassure you about the softness and durability of your final product as well as give you correct gauge.

4. Really, knit slowly. Big motions. Relax.

5. Spit splice when you're yarn falls apart. This is a sign that you are not sufficiently relaxed.

The positive of this yarn? Well, it has a great halo, and is exceptionally warm and light. SUPER warm and light as a feather. And it has this awesome floatiness. I highly recommend it.

Oh, and this is a faux cardigan; the buttons in front are tacked into place. Do not think you can make buttonholes in unspun yarn, since they will shred apart after just a little in-and-out button action.

I made a back pleat to match the front button detail. The buttons are antique mother of pearl, gotten from the same estate sale at which I purchased my Loom to End All Looms.

A row of single-crochet around the neck (done in Evila 2/8 in the color of the unspun; yes, I do have a lot of stuff from Wollsucht) gave some much-needed stability. I LOVE IT!

Friday's knitting was swatching: this is Dream in Color Worsted in Black Parade. Oh baby. It's going to become a Classic sweater for a Christmas recipient, which means not too much detail here until after the new year. Oh well. Go buy some of this yarn. I mean, look at it, all deep purple and bottle green and deep grey in the sunshine, how could you say no?

Euphoria

It goes without saying that this is how I've been feeling since Monday. A Red Sox World Series win (yes, Kevin Youklis is one of my favorite players, and has a blog here) and New Job news first thing the next morning. With jobjob ending this Friday and New Job beginning November 12, I decided to go somewhere during my precious, precious week off.

I'm going here. My Gastehaus will look out over this very view. I'll be there from Tuesday, November 6, to Sunday, November 12.

I'll be on the bridge waving at several points during my time there; I'll let all of you know when. Not that I expect normal people to look at me, but my mom will. Hi mom!

Meanwhile, I have some "all hands on deck!" Sara present knitting I have to complete by Friday. Here's where it stood at lunch today:


I can do it!!!! The yarn is sportweight from Mama Llama, purchase from Woolgirl. The color shifts are subtle, like a Lorna's Laces or Koigu semi-solid, but with almost luminescent sheen. I'm also making something nutty. Check it. It's made from 1.5 pounds of Semi-Solid Blue Faced Leicester Roving from Amy at Spunky Eclectic. Does anyone have a guess?

Thanks for the congrats and support about New Job, everyone!

I AIN'T GONNA WORK HERE NO MORE

A million miles away from here,
and I ain't gonna be treated this way.

Some sunny day
I've been waiting so long
Gonna walk right on out of here
And I ain't gonna work here no more.

David Byrne, A Million Miles Away

Bye bye, jobjojb. Hello New Job.

But I, I work in his factory

First up, beautiful knitting. I've made a sack hat modeled after the one Shackleton wore often during his adventure with the Endurance knit from the yarn I spun from my Spunky Eclectic fiber club May (MAY????) offering, Nightshade. Here it is, almost complete, basking in the natural light at jobjob:

I also finished my Waterfall socks; more details can be found here on the Woolgirl Sock Club blog.

Work under Dr. Richard Cory at the Neurosurgery Factory continues. If it weren't for the health insurance, I would run screaming. Does a jobjob have to be so humiliating and abusive?

I Meet Norah Gaughan and Look Ridiculous

Look how cute she is! She was at Windsor Button in downtown Boston yesterday. Brilliant, yet understated and friendly and smart. And seeing her new pieces knit up, well, I'm very motivated to make MOST of them now.

The cropped sweater, called aamu, is one of the sample knits from Berroco volume 1. Looking at these photos today makes me feel as if it is a part of my wardrobe already; it was a struggle to postpone the purchase of the yarn, Berroco Pure Wool Nuance, but I had a special order waiting for me to work on a design I've been thinking about for months. I couldn't leave without the Ultra Alpaca Light for anais, though. Just couldn't.

In other news, I've finished up the Entrelac-n-Stripes scarf for unnamed Christmas recipient. I was in no rush to finish this one, it was so much magical fun to make. Entrelac and stripes! Entrelac and stripes!

Oh, and yay Red Sox!!!