When I dye a yarn that looks like one color from a distance but breaks up into dozens of totally different hues up close, I am happy. I was in a rush and didn't try hard enough to capture the exposure/light/whatever properly in this picture, but I hope the variations come across. From far away, this looks like a standard grayish green-blue. But it's got pink and yellow in it, too. (This is another reason why I don't dye/sell standard colorways. I could never reproduce all those colors from skein to skein. And I'd get bored trying.)
Here's the latest batch of yarn I'm about to put online. (Actually, I'll probably save a couple for wholesale.) The quick pick I took doesn't do them justice. I mean, the skein that I took the above shot from is the one on the far left. Can you even tell?
I didn't think so.
Why, you might ask, are these not skinny-striped skeins, like I had planned on making? They're coming, they're coming. The combination of a column due, a child on vacation, and a half-dozen likely playmates out of state on vacation, has really put a cramp in my dyeing this week.
The knitting, however, is cruising. My daughter has been falling asleep before me for a change, so for two nights I've stayed up and knitted and watched the Olympics. The crazy thing is, I almost think I could finish this sweater by tomorrow and wear it Saturday. I only have 5 or 6 more inches of 3x1 ribbing. I want to wear it out rather than around the house because Tubey has these slightly belled sleeves. Not the kind suited for scrubbing toilets or washing dishes. Much more appropriate for sitting in a gym for 12 hours watching wrestling. The sane side of me says, "Finish the last rows AT the tournament." But the smart side of me says, "You won't know when you get to the last rows unless you try the thing on, which you can't do AT the tournament."
And another little part of me says, hey, you have a new niece and a new nephew due in the world pretty soon, and the nephew is going to require a baby shower. Hurry up and finish Tubey so you can get cracking on a hip but sweet baby sweater. (I rarely knit for nieces and nephews because it's all I can do to keep up with my own family, and besides, my in-laws breed like hamsters; I'd never make it.)
So, aside from the Tubey dilemma: Anyone know of a hip but sweet sweater pattern for a baby boy?
I'm planning to knit Devan on Knitty for my son later this year. (It's already too hot for sweaters here.) Plain and easy with self-striping yarn. I dunno if there's a small-enough sized pattern for a baby, though - I can't remember offhand.
Posted by: Carrie | February 23, 2006 at 04:14 PM
Love the colors, will not buy (repeating the mantra). There's a Simple Baby Knits book by Debbie Bliss that has a couple of easy baby sweaters, hats, blankets, etc. I got it from the library. I'm not positive of the correct title. Adorable stuff.
Posted by: Cindy | February 23, 2006 at 04:47 PM
Those are GORGEOUS...do you spin them, too, because if you do, I think I'm going to stick my head in the oven! As for baby sweater, there is a great one in Erica Knight's Simple Knits for Cherished Babies...a little v-neck cardigan done in Rowan All-Seasons Cotton (knits up FAST) and a matching beanie. I usually give this combo on a teddy bear...when the kid is done with it, the bear has an outfit!
Posted by: Marcia | February 23, 2006 at 05:09 PM
No sweater ideas, but as for the yarn...you really know how to tempt a girl. ;)
Posted by: Katy | February 23, 2006 at 05:56 PM
That's gorgeous Jessie - just like a Titian. When you look closely at a Titian you can see that the "red" hair actually has yellow, blue and even green in it. It's amazing really.
Posted by: stephanie | February 23, 2006 at 06:20 PM
I did a sweater from Debbie Bliss Baby Knits (I think that's the name of it -- or maybe Easy Baby Knits?) that was a super-huge hit. It's very simple, and I don't know about "hip," but the recipients (both parents are attorneys) had their baby's professional photograph done in the sweater, and also when I gave it to them, there was another attorney present who said, "It looks like a JCrew baby sweater!" Just a plain stockinette sweater with rolled hems and neck, buttons on the shoulders. I did the same sweater twice for baby boys, in different yarns. My favorite was Classic Elite Flash -- pretty pricey for a baby knit, but that baby wore that thing for a LONG time.
Posted by: Norma | February 23, 2006 at 06:41 PM
Gorgeous, gorgeous. Must not snatch them all up!
There is a SERIOUS dearth of cute knitting patterns for boys, IMHO.
Posted by: Laura | February 23, 2006 at 09:32 PM
I am TOTALLY coveting that yarn!
I NEED some.
snif...
As for boys sweaters, I've modified any number of things for cute boyness.
Even the infamous 5-hour-baby- sweater is easy to make more "macho" I wonder if I wrote down how I did that....
Posted by: Helen | February 24, 2006 at 12:34 AM
I must have that purple yarn.
NOW
Pretty Please?
Posted by: Scout | February 24, 2006 at 08:29 AM
I like the two Knitty patterns, Baby Norgi and Trellis. They are both cute, but I don't think they look too easy. :(
You know I'm a big fan of your yarns! That purple one stands out as my favorite too.
Can't wait to see your finished Tubey!
Posted by: heather | February 24, 2006 at 12:28 PM
Oh, so beautiful! I was wondering - would you possibly be interested in being interviewed for the Pointy Sticks podcast? I'm working out the kinks to doing phone interviews still, but wanted to toss the idea out to you. The podcast is at pointysticks.org if you want to check it out!
Posted by: Christine | February 24, 2006 at 06:58 PM