Emilee Knits

The Hemlock Ring blanket was for my grandmother, and the trusted couriers who delivered it were my parents. While they were in Illinois they also visited my cousin and her new baby. I made a Sheldon for him, and they delivered that also.

I’m surprised that it took me this long to make Sheldon, considering the fact that I read Ruth’s blog regularly and I’ve made my share of knitted toys. It’s a great pattern, and I would encourage anyone to make it. I’m particularly impressed at how the relatively easy pattern on the shell captures the look of a real turtle shell.

I used Mission Falls 1824 cotton, which was a good choice. I think the rustic texture is particularly suited to a toy reptile, and I had plenty of it around the house. It did come out a bit bigger than called for as a result, but that was not a problem.

Thanks Ruth, it’s a great pattern.  I hope baby Walter likes it!

Finished!

Pattern: Hemlock Ring Blanket, Brooklyn Tweed
Yarn: Cascade Eco+ 1.5 hanks
Needles: Knitpicks Options Harmony, #10
Dates: March 1, 2008 - April 12, 2008

I really enjoyed making this.  It had the perfect mix of interesting pattern rounds and mindless plain rounds.  I did the whole chart, so mine is bigger than most.  The bind off took forever, but I think it looks neat and it was worth it.  The only problem was maneuvering the huge number of stitches around the needle.  It was especially difficult because the rippled edge caused the stitches to exert some pressure on the cable.  I killed two Options cables trying to get the stitches around.

Once again, I am amazed at the miracle of blocking lace. Here it is, fresh off the needles. I can’t decide if this is “slime mold phase” or “dog’s breakfast phase” but either way it’s ugly. My shoe is in the frame for scale.

But then I blocked it, and the beautiful pattern revealed itself. 

While this pattern was fun, it wasn’t really “bloggable.”  First of all, it was a surprise, and the recipient checks the blog every so often.  So even if she wouldn’t have known it was for her, I felt a little weird talking about it publicly.  I can talk about it now because the package is with some trusted couriers who have probably already given it to the recipient.  (Hopefully they took pictures when they delivered it.)  Secondly, it was a boring project to write about.  The one post I did about it was the only one in recent memory that went six days without a single comment.  (No, I wasn’t offended ).  But seriously, there wasn’t much to look at and there wasn’t much to say.  It was a fun, relatively easy project that didn’t look like anything special until the very end.  But now that I’m done, I’ll say this: its popularity is well-deserved and I highly recommend it.

Whoa, hello out there!  Long time no see.  You didn’t think I forgot about you, did you?  Well, maybe I did, just a little.  Hemlock Ring is not a photogenic project, so I’ve been knitting away but not really photographing it.  I’m nearing the end on that though, so I’ll have updates soon. 

Anyway, without further ado, here is my stash.  It really falls into four main categories:

Plain yarn, enough for a sweater:

From left to right, we have Debbie Bliss Merino Chunky in teal, Filatura Di Crosa 501 in Pink and Magenta, and Debbie Bliss Merino DK in Aubergine.  I also have Jo Sharp DK somewhere, the same amount and color that I used for Glasgow Lace.  I’m pretty sure I got all of this at Webs’s tent sales.  The teal is in use on Tailored Scallops, is basically in hibernation until next fall.  I used a little bit of the pink for Elijah.  The magenta is quite bright, so I need to find something simple to make with it.  I really love the color of the Debbie Bliss Merino DK, but I hear it pills so I haven’t decided what to do with it yet.

Plain yarn, not enough for a sweater:

This is mostly Cascade 220, mostly intended for things like hats, felted bags, and other small items. I have enough of the Valley Yarns Northampton in green and gray to make a vest, so I will swatch and see if it works for the Deep V Argyle vest.

Noro:

It’s pretty clear that I have a thing for Noro. I have vague plans for all of this yarn, actually. For instance, there is that sweater design project that I told you about awhile back. I won’t be working on it for awhile though, because I’m not working for clothing for myself until I see how this fitness plan turns out. (I’ve lost 11 pounds! Woo!) That pink and orange color in the upper right needs to be something for my sister, and I’m still figuring out what, exactly.

Cherry Tree Hill:

About a year and a half ago I went a little nuts with ebay and Cherry Tree Hill mill ends. I put one to good use with Serranoand I’m trying to figure out how to use the others.  The mauve and teal on the right is enough for a simple, light pullover.  You can see that I’ve started to wind the stuff in the center of the photo.  That was a gift from my wonderful Secret Pal Jody about a year ago.  I’ve been calling it “spruce” in my head because it is a mix of spruce green and brown.  I think that my next project will be to use that for some sort of shawl, maybe Tuscany or Shetland Triangle.

 Well, there you have it.  I didn’t show anything currently in use on a secret project, nor my oddball bin which is lost in the basement somewhere.  Man, that’s a lot of yarn.