Getting a little attention

I am making a very serious bid to reduce my stocks of yarn and fibre this year.  Stock sounds so much more business-like than stash, don't you think?  I have begun by listing my entire collection on Ravelry. But I'm not avoiding yarn buying opportunities altogether and last weekend was my local knitters event Unravel (sorry it's over now but it will be back again next year).  I know I have been associating with the people of the knitting world for a while when I go to such an event and the first thing I do when I arrive is to go looking for friends amongst both buyers and sellers. 

This year I also had a couple of sweaters to show off to some yarn and fibre sellers and pattern designers.  I wore one...

Angelus Novus

and carried the second (the handspun I blogged about last time) in my bag.  

My 'Very Green' cardigan is from a pattern by Renee Callahan of East London Knits called Angelus Novus  The only mods were to work out where to place the colour changes as I wanted to use a set of fabulous yarns I had bought a little while ago from Caerthan Wrack of Triskelion Yarn and Fibre

I was childishly excited to be showing off my cardigan to Renee and Caerthan (and my hand spun to Rachel of Porpoise Fur who was not only exhibiting her wonderfully coloured fibre but also one of the event speakers) but I did not expect to be stopped by so many people and asked the name of the pattern and where I got the yarn - of course I was glad to oblige!  

I have to pause for a moment to say how happy it made me feel to have so many fellow knitters say nice things about my work. Then again how could one fail to make something gorgeous from these colours

Triskelion Idris DK

wound and ready

I achieved a gentle colour transition between the greens by using a simple gradient technique 

The pattern construction is so so clever, beginning at the centre back hem with a garter tab, continuing as for a triangular shawl till the point meets the neckline - then... well you need to read the pattern, its really clever and totally seamless (by that I mean no actual sewing up)

I have quite a lot of the two darker, petrel shades left so last weekend I added one skein of red to my stash and I am spending a lot of time dreaming about what I shall make.  I need to do some maths but I might just have enough for a second very special cardigan.

there's aprox 800m here, that's enough for something, surely...

On other things I have just had time to run up a hat for my daughter Ez.  Its a fairly simple shape with a fancy cable design and a furry pom pom from Toft Alpaca.  You can buy the pattern from my Ravelry shop, it's going to be chilly at the weekend, but the hat is in Aran weight so there would still be time to make it.

In the end I came home from unravel with a little more yarn (only a very small amount!) and a few other lovely things.  More about those in a later post

xx

c