Idle Hands

Knitting Break

I haven't been knitting much these days

due to tremendous finger pain.

I attributed my pain to

too much knitting at Christmas time or perhaps tendinitis. 

Unfortunately, my pain did not go way.

Eventually I was diagnosed with ganglion cysts 

on my right index and middle finger 

tendon sheaths.

(Hmmm, do you think this could be caused from

too much knitting and
too much time on the computer mouse?)

I'm having hand surgery tomorrow.

Since I'm right handed,

I will be out of commission for awhile.

I hope to be back in a few weeks.

(In the photo:  On my needles:  Louisa Harding Divine Lace Scarf in Rowan Kidsilk Haze
and stitch marker by Mae Soren from Knitique, A Yarn Boutique.)

Elderflower

 The Knitter

I haven't picked up the UK's The Knitter magazine 

for quite some time now.  

While at Barnes & Noble the other day, 

I certainly could not resist Issue 41

because it came with a free 

Louisa Harding pattern supplement!

 Elderflower 

by Louisa Harding

Included with The Knitter magazine 

is a glossy-color supplement for 

Louisa Harding's Elderflower pattern.  

It's a treat for sure, for Louisa Harding fans, like me,

 and includes the same beautiful photographs from her

  Absinthe pattern book, 

which the pattern is from.  

I haven't been able to find the Absinthe book

 at my local yarn stores 

so I am thrilled to have this supplement now 

for my Louisa Harding library.

The Elderflower pattern can be knit three ways:

as a collar, a cowl or capelet, 

depending on which Louisa Harding yarn and needle size you use.

I plan on knitting the cowl version in Louisa's Thistle yarn.

 I love Thistle and, just so happen,

 to have two colors in my stash, 

Holly and Aqua.

Thistle 

So now I need your help...

which color do you think I should knit my

 Elderflower cowl in?

Holly or Aqua?

Not Your Grandmother's Knitting!

 Designer, Joan McGowan-Michael

I love the family stories by top designers in,

My Grandmother's Knitting.  

I bought the book last year as soon as it hit the shelves.  

My favorite design in the book is the 

Angelina Shrug.

This pretty vintage-inspired knit 

just happens to be designed by,

(a favorite local Designer)

Joan McGowan-Michael. 

I often travel miles to meet my favorite designers.  

Yesterday I didn't have to... 

because my favorite LYS,  Knitique

hosted a book signing and fitting clinic with Joan.  

 Angelina Shrug

I loved reading Joan's story in the book 

and how she named her Angelina Shrug

 after her Mother.

The shrug is a tribute to Joan's Mother's fabulous 1940's style 

and is modeled after the bed jackets of that era. 

Joan says in the book:

"My Mother was a 1940's fashionista."

Well, Joan is quite the fashionista  herself!

Throughout the afternoon,
I had a chance to chat with Joan.

 I found out that it was her mother who taught her to knit.  

 Her mother taught her the garter stitch and Joan was hooked.  

As a young girl, Joan went on learning more about knitting 

with the help of Girl Scout books at her local library.  

At the age of 20,

 Joan became a professional fashion designer
after finishing design school. 

She landed her first job with Frederick's of Hollywood. Wow!  

That job obviously had a big influence on Joan because her first book (2007) is titled,  Knitting Lingerie Style!

White Lies Designs Trunk Show

In 2001, Joan founded her company White Lies Designs. 

She is well loved for her romantic designs 

that will "fit and flatter" ladies of all sizes.  

Joan credits working as a 

Custom Bridal Wear Designer (later in her career)

 to really helping her understand fitting different body types,

 including plus sizes.  

Joan took her knowledge from the fashion world 

and transferred it to her knitting designs and patterns.

During a brief talk at Knitique,

 Joan mentioned tips about "tweaking patterns" for knitting. 

She shared tips about:  

raising or lowering waists, nipping a waist and widening straps.  

All helpful tips depending on your body type.  

Knitique is also hosting a Trunk Show with 

Joan's White Lies Designs garments.  

The most talked about patterns yesterday at Knitique,

were Joan's Angelina Shrug, Krista Tee 

and her Angelina Vintage Jacket .

I want to knit them all!

Danielle & Joan 

Thank you to Danielle, the owner of Knitique

(and my knitting teacher)

 for such a fun event yesterday with Joan. 

Thank you to Joan,

for being so fabulous and 

for sharing your fashion tips with all of us yesterday!

PS:  I can't wait to knit my own Angelina Shrug...

it just has to wait awhile due to my upcoming hand surgery. 

Elinor's Tea Gloves

 Miss Elinor's Tea Gloves

...because a Lady can never have too many gloves 

for afternoon tea!

 Sense & Fashion Handwarmers

I just finished my first project from 
the 2011 Jane Austen Knits magazine.
I've named my tea gloves after my favorite character 

Miss Elinor Dashwood 

in Jane Austen’s 
Sense & Sensibility.

The pattern is actually called 

Sense & Fashion Handwarmers 

I'm just sure the designer, Hannah Poon

had Miss Elinor in mind when she designed them!
Can't you just imagine,
Elinor wearing these handwarmers
when Edward Ferrars stops by the Barton Cottage
for a visit and tea. 

 Time for Tea!

I was immediately drawn to this pattern in the magazine. 

I love their lacy design 

and that they are perfect to wear to afternoon tea.

I also love that they are knit in Louisa Harding's 

Grace Silk & Wool yarn...

which just happens to be one of my favorite yarns
and is always in my stash! 

The pattern is very well written 

and consists of a four-row lace pattern repeat.

They are a wonderful one-skein project and only require 

one ball (110 yards) of Grace Silk & Wool yarn.

The Designer says:

"Both handwarmers can be knitted in an afternoon."

I think it's a bit more realistic to take two afternoons to knit them

(which I did)

allowing for proper hand/finger rests 

and tea breaks, of course.

Jane Austen Knits 

Applause to Interweave on such a lovely publication,

Jane Austen Knits. 

The magazine not only has 35 Austen-inspired projects but 

also lovely articles on 

Jane Austen (1775-1817)

and the 

Regency Period. 

If by chance,

you don't have the magazine,

Interweave just announced that you can purchase 

the patterns from the magazine online now.  

I just know, 

Miss Jane Austen 

would delight in all this fuss over her!

Cosy Up!

Mollie Makes Mug Cosy

Put the tea kettle on...

I love this adorable mug cosy
featured on the cover of last year's
Mollie Makes, Issue Seven. 

This clever cosy is designed by Kate Reiser .

Kate's cute Crochet Chai Cosy 

features an adorable felt tea tag that you embroider.  

I love her tea tag idea!

Kate's an American and
has a darling Etsy store called Knit Storm.

She specializes in original knitted and crocheted 

mug and cup cosies.  

For those of us that love to create...
Kate's Chai Cosy pattern was published online today

 in the UK's Guardian Newspaper.

You can find the pattern here.  

Thank you Kate and Mollie Makes
 for sharing your adorable cosy pattern 

for all to enjoy!

Haven

 Haven Scarf

My Haven scarf is finally off the needles!

Haven is a beautiful lace panel knit scarf by Kim Hargreaves
from her 

Heartfelt, The Dark House Collection.

Kim designed the scarf to be knit in Rowan's Cocoon yarn but

I knit my version in Louisa Harding's Hulda yarn 

to match my Louisa Harding Kenzie beret.  

I think the two patterns, by two fantastic British designers,
makes a very pretty boutique-style set.  

To top it off...

Kim and Louisa are great friends...

so I think they would approve of my pretty beret and scarf set
knit from their patterns!

 My Haven

I started my Haven scarf way back in October of 2010.  

For one reason or another, 

my Haven scarf became a UFO.  

Knitters recognize this term as an "unfinished object".

Knitters often put projects down for awhile 

due to the excitement of starting new projects.  

When a project is put down for a long time,

we knitters refer to this as "hibernation". 

I'm not really quite sure why this scarf went into such a long hibernation?

Haven is a wonderful pattern by Kim and such a pretty scarf.

I wish I would have finished it sooner.

I'm currently on a mission to finish up my UFO's 

due to my upcoming hand surgery.

(I'll write more about that soon.)

I'm so happy, 

I can check this scarf off my UFO list.  

Knitter's Blocks

After my Haven scarf came off the needles,

I couldn't wait to soak and block it.

Pre-blocking my scarf measured 8" x 70".  

After a soak and blocking,

it pinned out to 10" x 84".  

Kim's final measurement is 11" x 84" so my version 

came out very close.  

I am very pleased with this project.

To block this scarf,

I used my new Knitter's Blocks for the first time.

Love them!

Happy Hearts Day!

Valentine Heart Sachet

I hope your Valentine's Day is filled with some 

"sweet treats"!

I love this heart sachet pattern by Vicki Sever 

that was published a few years back

in several Interweave Magazines. 

I filled my sachet with dried lavender from my garden.

You can find the pattern information

here.