Architectural Fall

September ... what happened to September? Okay, I've been neglectful, but now it's October and Fall has dropped beautiful colors all around me. What project to take on next? I've got several in mind, and a few were started in busy September.

Kristin Omdahl shared with me a few new patterns to spice up the fall and winter. I'm currently working on a luscious wrap in Paca de Seda yarn, 80% wool and 20% silk. This stuff is soft and drapey ... and very warm for the cool months ahead.

I went to the Knitting Nature trunk show at Greenwich Yarn in San Francisco and saw firsthand the fabulous sweaters featured in Nora Gaughan's book. The Ogee Tunic is absolutely lovely, knit in a fine yarn with distinctive textural features that set Nora's patterns apart. The other sweater that I found elegant with tailored finishing is the Ram's Horn Jacket. I'd probably make it a bit longer for me.

By the way, those two gorgeous skeins of laceweight wool pictured on top of the book are from Inspirations Yarn. Margaret hand dyes her yarn in small batches, and the colors are phenomenal. These two lovely skeins want to be something, but I'm not sure what yet. I've got about 840 yards.

I also began working on something I had been thinking about for a long time. The last pattern in the book Dazzling Knits by Patricia Werner is the Metropolis Coat. The architectural design is mesmerizing. I had been storing up Classic Elite Montara and Cascade Pastaza for literally years, waiting for something to inspire me. If you haven't seen this book, it's filled with unique modular designs that build one upon the next, picking up stitches from the side of one module to add another. The Metropolis Coat and the Mola Jacket really caught my attention. I decided to stick with the purple-plum-blue tones for the Metropolis. I never would have guessed I would be using ALL my colors of this soft llama/wool blend to make one garment. (Montara and Pastaza are the same, both 50% llama and 50% wool, a somewhat chunky single.) The black lines throughout the pattern are the main color that improvise a stained glass look.

Aside from knitting, work and family pulled me in various directions. It's not surprising that I couldn't pin myself to one project at a time. I also started this small Herbert Niebling doily from the September 2006 issue of the German magazine Lena, purchased from Martina's Bastel und Hobbykiste in Germany. Martina is a member of the Knitted Lace list, and she speaks English. Her website is mostly in German, but if you click on the British flag on the homepage, you'll find it's easier to navigate. The doily is worked in DMC Baroque cotton and size 0 needle. The cotton is not the nicest, with little sheen compared to the lovely DMC Cebelia that I used for the Lyra.

Other cottons I've used are Opera and Manuela. Opera is shiny and smooth, made by Coats, and comes in a wide variety of colors and weights. You can order Opera from Yarn & Threads by Lisa. She has a good selection of colors and fast shipping. (I am not affiliated.) Supposedly, Manuela thread has been discontinued, but you can still find it in some shops.

Unfinished projects abound. It's a good thing I found this lovely faux leather box at Joann's last week. It holds a lot and fits nicely next to our sofa. When the lid opens up, it stays up, so I can sift through my knitty bits without too much trouble.