Rip it. Rip it good.

7 Small Shawls: T - 146 days and counting down.

Le sigh.

But on other fronts, all is looking good in green and beads!

The lovely yarn is Creating from A Verb for Keeping Warm in Limon.

The pictures really don't do the color justice.

And the Maia mitts.

Well, they're just the right combination of girly and tailored for me.

I am in love.

Meanwhile...I am imagiknitting the next shawls to come and swatching for secret projects. Stay tuned!

Vive la différence!

7 Small Shawls: T - 147 days and counting down.

Pretty amazing, eh?

Can you believe this is the same pattern as this? Things always look better in green with beads. Just sayin'.

Wait 'til you see the whole picture!

I'm on my way

7 Small Shawls: T - 151 days and counting down.

Look! It's green.

And beaded - from stash yet!

Isn't it amazing how different the pattern appears in a semi solid color? I love how the leaf pattern looks like a watermark on the ribbing. The lovely yarn is from Kristine at A Verb for Keeping Warm. It is "Creating" in Limon, and the pictures truly don't do the color justice. At all. I love Kristine's yarns. Did I mention before that I'm going to do a design for her initial year of the Pro-Verbial Yarn Club? It's a secret which month, though. :)

Also? I got a new bag, and I am smitten with it.

I've been using a knitting bag as my carry-all and it has always bothered me that it isn't leather. I do so love leather. Love the smell of it and the feel of it. If I could sniff leather, silk, new books and warm California evening all the time, I'd be very very happy.

So I went looking for a leather bag, and found this great deal at Overstock.com! I love the color. It is super bright and happy. The bag has tons of space. I can fit several projects. And? It smells like leather. :happysigh:

It's not easy being green

7 Small Shawls: T - 152 days and counting down.

Today, we had a little visitor in the basil. I think he may have been a bit lost, but I'm not sure. He was a long way from the pool of water where he was most likely a tadpole.

When we realized that the frogs love our little "fountain" (a big word for a tiny spot of water), we let it go natural, and they come back every year. We all watch the eggs hatch and the tadpoles grow up, sprout legs, and go hopping away. The boys put pieces of wood down so the tiny froglets can crawl out of the water, and every morning we get an updated account of how many frogs have grown out of tadpoles. This year's crop has matured and left, so seeing this little guy again was a big treat!

In other news, I finished one of my Maia mitts today and started another. The new one is green. And beaded. :) I really like the way this one turned out in the variegated yarn, but I do love my green.

The lace pattern travels down the back of the hand.

And there is pattern around the cuff, as well.

The thumb gusset appeals to my anal retentive side.

It's looking very cool in the green. More pics of that later!

So now, the Maia hat...beret or beanie? That's the question! I'm already guessing it's going to be beaded. And I'm thinking it's probably a beret. Am I right?

First things first

7 Small Shawls: T - 153 days and counting down.

RIght? :) Thank you all for your great comments! The winner of my little give away is...Jane - comment #27! (chosen randomly at random.org) Jane, please email me at romi (at) designsbyromi (dot) com with your address and I'll send off your pin!

And shawl #3's name? Celaeno!!!

While we were all thinking of Celaeno, I was also working away on my Maia fingerless mitts. I love how the knitted fabric stands up before it's blocked!

The Maia mitts are patterned down the back of the hand,

and around the base.

I love the yarn, but I'm also going to knit them in a solid green. Because, well...I love green with a passion, and because I want to see the pattern pop more. Shall I bead the second version? And would you all like a hat to go with them? Let me know!

Dirty laundry

7 Small Shawls: T - 160 days and counting down.

We're digging out of a huge pile of it here. But I'm too embarrassed to show you any pics! So it's back to the Maia fingerless mitts I'm knitting. I love how this one stands straight up!

I've made some progress, even though I've been working on other projects as well.

You can see the beginning of the patterning here.

The yarn is really lovely, but it's fairly variegated, so the pattern doesn't pop as much as I like. I think it's ok, but I will probably re-knit these later on in a solid or semi solid color. Or maybe I'll beg my friend A to knit them up when she gets back from Oregon. :D This one will only be available in the 7 Small Shawls eBook, not as a single pattern.

Ann asked about the cast-on used...it's a tubular cast-on. I will show a tutorial for it when I start the second one! It's my absolute favorite for socks, mitts, and hats because of the great finished look and the stretchiness.

My resolution to get to bed early and get up early is already toast. I am such a night owl! I work much better when it's late rather than early. For instance, right now it's 10:50 pm and I am full of energy! :sigh: I'm going to keep trying, though, because everyone else here is a morning person. Wish me luck, please!!!

Take it easy

7 Small Shawls: T - 162 days and counting down.

I've been trying to rest my poor fried brain a little bit this weekend. I'm happy to report that it's working. I feel almost human again! :)

I did do some knitting today on my Maia mitts, and I started a thumb.

Since they're top down, the thumb gets knitted on. But I didn't think about this until I had done the ribbing and was down to the thumb. See what I mean about a fried brain?! It's a good thing I had more than one pair of US 1 dpns. :) I knitted the thumb from the the other end of the ball, but the finished pattern will be different, and, erm, more logically planned out. I'm finishing one mitt and then checking myself on the second. Then it's off to my test knitters!

For those of you who asked, the yarn I'm using is from Lucy Neatby in the Sugar Maple colorway. Its quite pretty in person too!

Meanwhile, I'm working on the edging for my starry shawl, although I think I've ripped more than I've knit. Some times are like that.

I'm trying to turn over a new leaf this coming week. Up early in the morning and to bed early. Wish me luck! I'm such a night owl! This may not work....

Small town

7 Small Shawls: T - 163 days and counting down.

Remember my mail carrier? The one who insisted on loaning me her spinning wheel because she thought I needed to learn to spin? And then found me a little spinning wheel at a garage sale? Today, she brought over a giant basket full of basil, beets, lettuce and onions. Look at this!

So we had fresh pesto this evening. zOMG it was good. I love living in a small town. :)

In other news, I went to my knitting group this morning and began my Maia fingerless mitts in earnest. Twice. Knitting group is not conducive to concentration. Heh. But today I managed to get this far.

They are top down mitts, because the pattern really needs to be around the wrist and it also needs to point down, just like the shawl. This is the first pair of top down mitts I've designed and I'm having fun with them, especially dreaming up the thumb. You'll see!

I also wanted to share my little trick on keeping my dpn knitting ladder-free. I never leave the same exact stitches on the needle. I always work one or two from the next needle.

It works amazingly well!

Onward. :)