Hot Cocoa Cassatt - One Sleeve Done

The sleeve worked up quickly, and I could read while I was knitting.  I set up the chart for the cable pattern in my Knit Companion app so it was easy to keep track of where I was and I used the smart counters feature to keep track of how many rows I had knit so I could work the shaping on the lower arm.  I didn't do any shaping until I had knitted to just past the elbow, then I did decreases every 10 rows, working 5 decreases in all.  I still haven't quite decided if I like the cropped length.  I'll decide once I finish the other sleeve.  It will depend upon how I end up styling it with my wardrobe.  I can certainly see Audrey Hepburn wearing this sweater.  If I don't like it I can always rip out the bottom and add some length with the leftover yarn I will have.  And if I do like the length I may use the leftovers to make a little cabled ascot to wear with it - I can definitely see Audrey wearing one.

Pattern:  Cassatt (part of the Sweet Paprika Sweater Club) by Elizabeth Sullivan
Yarn:  Sweet Paprika Minuet in Hot Cocoa
Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Hot Cocoa Cassatt - Collar Done, Body Done

After finished up my Burgundy Pullover I went back to my Hot Cocoa Cassatt.  I really love the yarn for this one.  It is soft and I love the colors.  I worked on the right sleeve for a while and then I checked my yarn usage to see how I was doing.  I'm not doing any shaping on the sleeve until I get past the elbow (my arms are a little muscular and I usually have trouble with the fit of sleeves on my upper arm in store bought clothes) and I wanted to make sure that I would have enough yarn to still complete the collar.  So I decided to take a break from the sleeve and finish up the collar.  I used up the remnant of the second ball from the body and then joined the fourth ball that I hadn't used any of and finished up the collar with that.  Now I know that all of the yarn that I have left I can use on the sleeves.  I haven't decided how much shaping I will do on the lower arms, but I know that I want some ease.

I've already received an email telling me that the third sweater kit will be shipping soon.  I really liked this club and hope they run it again.  You know in advance what the sweater patterns are and you only have to order the ones that you want.  I went for all three patterns.  Then you get to pick the colors that you want for each kit.  I must admit that I'm not as big a fan of mysteries as I used to be and at this point in my knitting career there is only one yarn dyer that I let surprise me - The Unique Sheep.


Pattern:  Cassatt (part of the Sweet Paprika Sweater Club) by Elizabeth Sullivan
Yarn:  Sweet Paprika Minuet in Hot Cocoa
Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Burgundy Pullover - Finished!

I finished up the second sleeve yesterday afternoon.  I really liked working the sleeves from the top down.  I did make one slight modification to the lace pattern - I switch the s1k2psso to a Central Double Decrease or s2k1psso.  I figured that would help make the lace not quite so obviously directional and I think it worked.  I have enough yarn in a dark blue to make one more of these pullovers.  There are currently 5 projects for this pattern on Ravelry, and I've done 4 of them.

Pattern:  Ladies Sweater - 1838 from Moments No. 005
Yarn:  SMC Select Extra Soft Merino Fino
Needles:  US 2.5 (3.0 mm) and US 3 (3.25 mm)

Snow Queen - Clue 6

This is the penultimate (I love that word) clue of the Snow Queen shawl.  I did not add any extra beads to this clue, or to the final clue.  I've been plugging away at the second sleeve on my Burgundy pullover, and I received the yarn for a test knit yesterday.  I'll probably spend the weekend finishing up the pullover and getting started on the test knit.  I transitioned to my 5th skein towards the end of this clue - where the purple really starts to dominate.

Project:  Snow Queen by Janine le Cras
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Marici Fingering in Dusk on the Fjord
Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Burgundy Pullover - One Sleeve Done

I finished up the first sleeve last night, which is good, because it is pretty boring knitting, but I can't read while I'm doing it.  I'm happy to say that the chart that I worked out for the short row shaping was perfect.  Now on to the second sleeve.  I'm really trying to finish up some projects so I can start some new ones.  There are so many things that I want to knit, but I don't want to have a whole bunch of works in progress.

Pattern:  Ladies Sweater - 1838 from Moments No. 005
Yarn:  SMC Select Extra Soft Merino Fino
Needles:  US 2.5 (3.0 mm) and US 3 (3.25 mm)

The Unique Sheep Retreat - 2015

Last weekend was The Unique Sheep Retreat at Hawkesdene House in Andrews North Carolina.  Although I took my camera with every intention of taking pictures I didn't take a single one.  I think I was just too immersed in the experience to detach myself enough to take photos.  Photo taking compels one to become an observer, and last weekend I was just being, completely and thoroughly in the moment.  It was wonderful.

I made the felted sheep in the top photo.  Her name is Roxanne.

I also dyed yarn.

And three silk shawls.

I had to dye three shawls so that the Beadcats (Carol and Virginia) could each have one.

I have never done a knitting retreat before - but it was so much fun and I'm already signed up for next year.

Burgundy Pullover - Body Done

I also took this project along to work on during the Match Ceremony.  It was a pretty cool ceremony.  They pulled the envelopes at random from a pillow case and at noon, once everyone had their envelopes, they all opened them at once.


I'm working the sleeves top down, so I picked up my stitches around the arm hole edge, figured out the stitch count, which worked out to 72 stitches or 9 repeats of the lace pattern, and charted up the lace for all of the short rows.

Pattern:  Ladies Sweater - 1838 from Moments No. 005
Yarn:  SMC Select Extra Soft Merino Fino
Needles:  US 2.5 (3.0 mm) and US 3 (3.25 mm)

Jazzberries and Lemon Drops - Finished!

We took the day off from work yesterday and went to Charlottesville for the Match Ceremony at the UVA Medical School.  Amy was learning where she is going to go for her residency (UCLA).  I brought this along to work on during the car ride.  I finished it up on the drive home.

Pattern:  Over the Moon by Vicki Mikulak
Yarn:  Luxe in Jaded Jazzberry
Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Snow Queen - Clue 5

This picture really captures the colors.  I transitioned to the 4th skein towards the end of this clue, so the purple is starting to appear.

Project:  Snow Queen by Janine le Cras
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Marici Fingering in Dusk on the Fjord
Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Jazzberries and Lemon Drops - Border Halfway Done (Almost)

It has been over six months since I last worked on this shawl.  I've had the border yarn for a while, but hadn't figured out which border I wanted to use.  I finally pulled it back out last week and wound the border yarn and did some weighing and some figuring and finally figured out that I had enough yarn to do this border, which is the same one that I used on the Tart Berries and Honey Shawl.  I am not quite at the half way point and working with the first skein.

The reason that I pulled it back out was that I wanted a project to take to the Unique Sheep Retreat, which was this past weekend that used their yarn and would be easy to work on while visiting.

Pattern:  Over the Moon by Vicki Mikulak
Yarn:  Luxe in Jaded Jazzberry
Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Snow Queen - Clue 4

Here is my Clue 4.  I transitioned to my third skein in this clue, so the pink is really starting to dominate.

I'm heading off to The Unique Sheep Retreat today at the Hawkesdene House down in Andrews North Carolina.  This is the first time I've done something like this.  I'm very excited to be meeting people that I only know from Ravelry and I know we're going to have a lot of fun.  We're going to do some dyeing and make chocolates and felt a Unique Sheep.  I'm taking my camera so I'll try to get some good pictures, but I probably won't do any blogging until I get back.


Project:  Snow Queen by Janine le Cras
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Marici Fingering in Dusk on the Fjord
Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

The Quest for the Perfect Tea Pot

Ever since I discovered Tea Forte I have become a major tea aficionado.  You may recall that I bought an old refrigerator and turned it into my tea cabinet.

The first tea pot that I used is the one pictured in that photo, on the shelf, left hand side.  We picked it up at a department store when we were out with Bruce's daughter buying her some things for her apartment.

It is a nice little tea pot and brews enough for two, barely, but the wire mesh basket has folds and some of the bits from my teas get stuck in them making it harder to clean.  Plus the wire mesh allows more bits to get in to the tea.  Then I broke the spout.  I repaired it, gluing it back together, but now it dribbles a little when I pour.

Being a Tea Forte fan I went to their web site to look for a new tea pot and found this beauty by BonJour.

From a purely esthetic perspective it is a winner.  I love the fact that I can watch the tea steep and the spout pours beautifully.  The infuser is a steel micromesh.  It works wonderfully and is easy to clean.  Hardly any bits get out, and because of the design of the pot, the few bits that do escape get trapped in the bottom of the pot itself.  Do you see how the pot itself is a sphere, and where the spout attaches?  The tea bits settle right against the side of the pot as you pour and the liquid passes right over them.  There is a plunger, as in a French Press, which traps the tea leaves in the bottom of the infuser and stops the steeping.  The first pot of tea that I brewed with this tea pot was the best that I had ever tasted.  It was divine.  Unfortunately there is a silicon piece in the plunger and it now smells like cinnamon.  Our two favorite teas both have cinnamon in them, but we also like other flavors.  I have disassembled the plunger and soaked and scrubbed the silicon disk, but to no avail.

So back to the internet I went in search of a new tea pot.  This time I just went to Amazon and found this one by Le Creuset.

It comes in purple, always a plus in my book.  It has a nice stainless steel infuser that is huge in comparison to the other two.  No crowding of tea leaves here.  The pot itself has a nice wide opening so it should be pretty easy to clean.  And it is a nice size, easily able to hold enough tea to fill our favorite tea mugs.

Time will tell, but the first cup tastes pretty darn good.

Hot Cocoa Cassatt - Body Done, Almost

I still need to work the collar.  When I started out I figured I would work the collar after I had finished up the raglan shaping and before I started working the body.  But when I got to that point I decided to keep working the body at least until I had used up the skein that I was working with (I am not crazy about having multiple yarn balls attached to a project - they just get in the way).  Then I decided that I would do a contrast color for all of the ribbing so I ordered some more DK yarn, a different brand but with a similar yardage and content.  While I was waiting for that yarn to come I joined the second skein and kept knitting on the body.  I had worked about 3/4 of that second skein and the body was about to my waist when the yarn came.  I tried it on and decided that I wanted to keep the cropped length of the original pattern so I went ahead and worked the ribbing in the original color finishing it off with the Tubular cast off as directed by the pattern.  I do love the way that cast off looks.  I didn't do any shaping on the body as I wanted a bit more ease.  I started working on the right sleeve last night.  I am not planning on doing any shaping until I get down to the elbow (my upper arms are a bit muscular and I almost always have problems with clothes being too tight there).

Here is a close up of my lovely glass buttons.

Pattern:  Cassatt (part of the Sweet Paprika Sweater Club) by Elizabeth Sullivan
Yarn:  Sweet Paprika Minuet in Hot Cocoa
Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Snow Queen - Clue 3

This clue finishes up my use of the Crystal AB beads.  I used Pink Pearlized Crystal AB beads on the "arms" of the snow flake and Purple Lined Amethyst AB beads for the beads that are called for in the pattern.  I wore this shawl to work this past Tuesday, the silk is very warm and the cape version hangs nicely.  The bulk of the beads are on the shoulders in the star burst section so you really don't notice the weight.

Our weather is certainly appropriate for a Snow Queen.  We had about 6 inches of snow yesterday, including about a half inch of sleet.  We stayed home from work yesterday, and we'll have to dig out today.  Depending on when our road gets plowed we may or may not make it into work today.

Project:  Snow Queen by Janine le Cras
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Marici Fingering in Dusk on the Fjord
Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Hot Cocoa Cassatt - One Skein Done

After finishing up the yoke I cast on the stitches for the underarms and started working the body.  Once I had worked all of the first skein of yarn I put the stitches on scrap yarn so I could check the fit and get a couple of pictures.  I'm adding the buttons as I knit.  They are glass bead buttons with little roses on them.  I slip the loop on the shank over the stitch after I make it.  Here's the back.  I'm really loving the color of the yarn.

I'm going to keep on knitting the body for at least one more skein and then figure out what I want to do from there.

Pattern:  Cassatt (part of the Sweet Paprika Sweater Club) by Elizabeth Sullivan
Yarn:  Sweet Paprika Minuet in Hot Cocoa
Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Hot Cocoa Cassatt - Raglan Yoke Finished!

I cast this on Saturday, but didn't really start knitting on it until Sunday.  Besides modifying the pattern to knit top down I also modified the cable pattern.  The original had "knots" or "bobbles" replacing one of the arms of the longer cables, but I don't do "knots" or "bobbles" so I recharted the cable pattern to remove that feature and complete design.  Readers familiar with Barbara Walker's book Knitting from the Top will recognize the view, although the yoke doesn't join the way it does in her drawings because the drawings don't take into account the third dimension of the body.  The yoke doesn't stay in a flat plane, it drapes across your shoulders.  I used right and left lifted increases throughout, which I think gives a nice decorative effect on the raglan "seams" and a nice edge along the neck line that will make picking up stitches for the collar pretty easy.  I've now placed the sleeve stitches on waste yarn and cast on the underarm stitches.  I'll work about an inch of the body and then check the fit.  Based upon the measurements, the fit should be good, but it is always best to confirm.  I also need to check my yarn usage so I can make sure that I won't run out of yarn with the modifications that I want to make.  I'm thinking of working the collar, cuffs and bottom ribbing in another color of yarn, just to give me more freedom to play with the design.


Pattern:  Cassatt (part of the Sweet Paprika Sweater Club) by Elizabeth Sullivan
Yarn:  Sweet Paprika Minuet in Hot Cocoa
Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Hot Cocoa Cassatt - Swatches

I did take some time yesterday to wind up one of the skeins of Sweet Paprika Minuet in Hot Cocoa that I got as part of the Sweet Paprika Sweater Club, which I joined last year.  The pattern calls for a US 7 (4.5 mm), and the yarn band calls for US 6 (4 mm).  The pattern gauge is 20 sts and 28 rows, while the yarn band has 21 sts and 28 rows.  Given that this is a DK weight yarn I figured that the US 7 needles would be too big for me to get gauge so I started with the US 6.  The swatch on the left is the result.  I have the row gauge spot on with that swatch, but not the stitch gauge.  I also didn't really like the fabric, the stitches are just a little loose for my taste.  So I swapped out my US 6 needles for US 5 (3.75 mm) needles and swatched again.  The result is the swatch on the right.  I have the stitch gauge spot on with this swatch, but am a little short on the row gauge.  I like the fabric, so will go with the US 5 needles.   For this pattern stitch gauge is more important than row gauge so I will adjust the pattern accordingly as I knit.  Because I am knitting this from the top down instead of the bottom up making length adjustments will be even easier.

Here is a shot of the yarn in the skein.

Sweet Paprika Yarns Minuet - 100% superwash merino wool (100 g/220 yds).  It is a lovely yarn, soft, a little lofty, nice twist, feels wonderful to knit with.

Pattern:  Cassatt (part of the Sweet Paprika Sweater Club) by Elizabeth Sullivan
Yarn:  Sweet Paprika Minuet in Hot Cocoa
Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)