kitty: summer tee.... finally completed

How about this... Two knitting post pretty much back to back. I know that this blog has suffered much this year from lack of post and lack of knitting. Thank you for all the people who keep coming back to visit the blog. I really appreciate your friendship. Thanks....

Name: Summer Tee Designer: Priscilla Meredith Pattern : Personal Fiber: Habu Textiles A-1 2/17 Tsumugi Silk

In many ways I really couldn't be happier on how the sweater ended up. I am so proud of how my first colour work garment ended up. Yes there are tons of wonky stitches but I really didn't think that I could do colour work that wasn't twinned. The A-1 was pretty forgiving and I was able to use up a lot of stash yarn so it is helping my out of control stash.

The two sleeves are composed of multiple patterns that appear in the Spring 2011 Missoni Men's wear collection.

kitty: Sakura... Sakura... Sakura... Sakura Textured Shawl Recipe

Sakura... Sakura... Sakura Textured Shawl (The flower in the photo is actually a plum. My Sakura trees are in bud still.)

Pattern: Textured shawl recipe Fiber:Avril 1ply Silk and Wool Colour: Sakura Leaves Dyed by: Barefoot Shepherdess

Last year MG gave me two bundles of amazing fiber to spin for my birthday that had been dyed with the leaves of a Sakura. I absolutely fell in love with the colour and thought it was one of the pretties colours I had ever seen. So MG let me know whom she had ordered the fiber from and I went to check out her etsy store, Barefoot Shepherdess. (blog - etsy) I immediately ordered almost all the rest of the sakura roving and a hank of her yarn. I had wanted to make a shawl for a friend's birthday and thought it would be perfect. Even though I have had the yarn for a long time I still was sadly a month late getting her, her shawl. Sorry Vanessa, I feel really bad about it being late. It arrived yesterday so I can post photos finally.

(Playing with Custom Filters)

It is another version of the Textured Shawl Recipe. I went through all the patterns that she faved on ravelry and this was one of the ones on her list. :) Textured Shawl recipe remains one of my favorite patterns; I think this is version 4 that I have knitted in the past 12 months. Though I think I should probably find another pattern to make.

kitty: Two new books from Avril

Children Playing with Yarn No. 6		Torii Setsuko baby knits - cashmere and organic cotton knit By Torii Setsuko
Hardcover: 64 pages Publisher: Lavigne (2009/11) ISBN-10: 4904721063 ISBN-13: 978-4904721063		Hardcover: 64 pages Publisher: Lavigne (2009/12) ISBN-10: 4904721659 ISBN-13: 978-4904721650
Contains: Scarf/caplet, hat, baby blanket, shorts, Bolero, Tank Dress, Purse, Hat, Tank Top, Let warmers, Fingerless gloves, Cape, & Pants Mom and Child: Changing Blanket/Mom's neck warmer, Caplet for child or mom, Beret for mom and child, Skull cap for the family Tank for the family, Bow Tie / pompoms decorations, Hat, purse, & hat		Contains: Baby Blanket, Tunic Dress, One PIece Dress with Bolero, T Shaped pullover, Stripe Pants, Knot Button Cardigan, Rib Pants, Baby Boots, Square Knitting Cap, Wide Border Pants, Checkered Vest, Patchwork Blanket, 2way Blanket,
Every 6 months or so it looks like Avril puts out a book using there yarns. This fall though it seems they have chosed to publish 2 children's books for Avril Yarns. Torri Setsuk seems to have a great departure for the sleek subfusk designs that we have seen in the past. Here we have fairly bright coloured simple designs for children using rather bulky yarns. I wonder if she is a new mom or a new grandmother?

kitty: "Thursday" started on a Thursday

Pattern: Thursday by Kirsten Johnstone - blog - ravelry Fiber: Habu Textiles A-1 2/17 Tsumugi Silk Fiber: Tandy Leather Cord

Hopefully this will just be a really quick knit. it just seems I don't have enough time to turn around these days so knitting is left to conference calls. I didn't really know what to knit next and was looking for a project. I had always loved Kirsten's designs so I thought it would be a perfect project and nothing better than to start "Thursday" on a Thursday. This is how far I got last night. With MG's help I did the math for how much yarn to order for the Phildar sweater. Keep your fingers crossed.

kitty: Japanese Craft Book - 9784895112529

Japanese Craft Books - Amazon Jp - 9784895112529

Thread Play Book 1 (Avril) 36 pages - 2007/09 ISBN-13: 978-4895112529

I think one of the biggest problems with Habu / Avril yarns is that people have a lot of trouble envisioning what to make with them. HABU Addict symptoms: 1) Walk into yarn store 2) Oh and Ah over the new hanks of HABU 3) Run to the counter in excitement with one or two hanks, thinking that you life will not be complete without said new yarn 4) You place it on your yarn stash - that yarn glow continues 5) Happy Bliss Contiues as you stroke your new find 6) The glow fades and you realize once again ... What the heck will I ever do with said hanks of yarn? What was I ever thinking when I bought said yarn? Avril I think realized this with the creation of these little 500yen books. Each project takes only a small amount of fiber and each one uses something different. So atleast you have some small project to make you happy while step 5 is in full effect. The projects are simple; hats, finger knitting, tank tops, bags, knit collars, scarves, and shawls. You get a full picture diagram on how to finger knit and it is used in several hats and a scarf.

kitty: Japanese Craft books - 4895113582

Japanese Craft Books - Amazon Jp - 4895113582

Gifts to Give - Handweaving Avril Yarn Shop 143 pages - 2004/11 ISBN-10: 4895113582

Did I mention how much I want a loom again? Though the honest truth is, I have no idea where I would put one in the house. :( This book is amazing. Little small projects that wouldn't take a lot of time to weave to give for gifts for love ones. Simple projects that even a beginner could undertake. There is nothing really intimidating even for a newbie weaver. Projects: curtains, scarfs. placemats, pillows, shawls, lampshades, towels, purses, aprons, book covers, shoe bags, bathmats, Book is divided; Projects and illustrated diagrams, discussion on fibers, general information on looms, general how to's on setting up a loom, and basic weave structures

kitty: Japanese Craft books - 4277172091

Japanese Craft Books - Amazon Jp - 4277172091

Loosely Translated - Seeing Lovely Threads To Wear & Playing with shapes to make small articles Avril Yarn Shop 87 pages - 2007/02 ISBN-10: 4277172091 Avril Site (If anyone has a better translation, please let me know. The vocabulary was really hard for M on this title)

I could really end this review by the statement that it is a book using Avril yarns by Avril. Enough said I am in love. On a more concrete evaluation, there are several projects that have me really excited. I really want to make the white lace paper skirt. Not that I think it would look really good on me, but it is so amazing I really want to make it. I was excited when I saw the green paper shoulder bag pattern. This is a kit that I have almost purchased so many times. They just normally sale out of the colour I want before I can purchase it. On a funnier level, I would buy this book even if I didn't like Avril yarns purely for the hidden cat photos on every page. Whether it is a clock, a sticker, and a post card. The use of hidden cats made me squeal with excitement when I saw them. Contents: An amazing skirt made out of Linen Paper, Open vest, Full Apron, Short Apron, Vest with Multiple Collars, Crochet Shrug, Drawstring Cardigan (Similar to this one with long sleeves), Clouds and Stars, Scarf, Awesome Free form Crochet Necklace and Hair Ornaments, Crochet Leaves Scarf, Large Knitted bag, Small Handbag, Mixed Media Bag, Colonial American hat, Skull cap, Long scarf, Finger knitted vest (Detailed instructions on the other method), Felted rings and earrings, Mobil, Felted necklace, and V-neck paper sweater Section on: Photograph section, yarn section, knitted swatches, Charts/Instructions

kitty: Japanese Craft books - 4277430686

Japanese Craft Books - Amazon Jp - 4277430686

Rendezvous with Lovely Yarn Delicate little projects Avril Yarn Shop 84 pages - 2005/11 ISBN-10: 4277430686

While combing through the Avril web page, I came across a page that talked about some of there previous publications. I had already picked up a copy of Setsuko Torii Hand Knit Works and was completely in love so tried to figure out the ISBN's for the other titles listed on the site. I figure out the ISBN for one of the books; Rendezvous with Lovely Yarn, Delicate little projects (Approximate translation for the title) The book is really inspiring. The Finger Knit Scarf has already inspired me to knit my own. Though I didn't follow their pattern, it did inspire me to try my hand at finger knitting. This was a little adventure that has brought me a lot of joy this week. I have to say that I am in love with finger knitting for thick and thin yarns which are normally a challenge to find a good project that shows off there beauty. There are several projects I really want to make from the book; the little shopping bag, the felted kitty stole, maybe even some of the flowers. The book really wasn't the wonderful abstract designs that we are accustom to associate with Avril designs, but wonderful artistic fun little projects that show off the fibers they use. Little gems that you could do in a couple of hours just to make you happy. Contents: Fiber Ring, Felted Blocks, Felt Embroidery, Felted Blanket, Felted Flowers, Felted Pearl Necklace, Finger Knit Scarf, Finger Knit Shrug, Finger Knit Hat, Finger Knit Purse, Crochet Flowers, Crochet Belt, Leg Warmers, Tank Top, Stool Cover, Crochet Purse, Crochet Hats, Shopping Bag, Dog Collar, Dog Blanket with Felted Kitty, Felted Kitty Stole, Human Dog Collar Section on: Avril Yarns, Step by Step on Finger Knitting, Step by Step for felting, Crochet Flower Tutorials, and Diagram Patterns