PURL DIVA*

Holiday/Weather Changes to Schedule

We will be OPEN on Memorial Day (Monday, May 27th), but weekend hours will apply (11 am - 4 pm).

Friends and FOs Update: Short Rows Anyone?

Just a quick update to show you two shawls that make the most of short rows. As you can see from the following projects, short rows can be used to great effect when you play with colors.  Here is Tam's Varjo shawl, a design by Veera Välimäki. Tam made this out of Madeline Tosh Merino Light in two different colorways (Baltic and Celadon).

This shawl has a unique shape and construction!

If you pay attention to Ravelry you might have noticed that recently there was a bit of activity involving the Wingspan shawl by Maylin of Tricoterie Designs. To show my support for Maylin, I decided to make a Wingspan for the shop. The pattern was fun and versatile, and works well with the color transitions of Noro Silk Garden Sock Yarn.

One of the great things about both of these shawls is that they make the most of garter stitch. Easy to knit. Easy to wear. We love garter stitch!

Friends and FOs Update - The Most Amazing Vest EVER!

Sue finished the most amazing vest ever for her daughter Samantha.

Before I show it to you, I need to tell you the backstory.

When Samantha was a child, her music teacher wore intarsia sweaters every day. Apparently this teacher had many wacky intarsia sweaters in her wardrobe, and she was not afraid to wear them.

This became a running joke between Samantha and Sue. So when Samantha grew up and became a music teacher at a middle school, there was only one thing for Sue to do: Knit Samantha a crazy intarsia sweater.

Sue found a pattern with a cat theme. When I say "cat theme" I don't mean one little demure cat. I mean lots of frenetic cats climbing and jumping all over the place.

But that wasn't enough. So Sue knit the cats in pink, and added some angora to make some of the cats fuzzy, and some boucle to make some of them look like those curly-haired LaPerm breed cats.

But that still wasn't enough.

So Sue added a few cat paw prints along the bottom edge. And some mice.

And since even that wasn't enough, she added some button eyes to make the cats look a little crazed, and took the time to add some picot edging, and then - what the hell - some large pink buttons for good measure.

So here it is. The Leaping Cat Vest*:

That's the front, and here's the back:

Isn't it WONDERFUL?

Isn't it CRAZY FUN?

Sue told Samantha about the vest as she was knitting it, and Samantha was incredibly excited. In fact, she was SO EXCITED that she told her students what her mother was up to. And then her students got excited.

I am sure that by now Samantha has worn this masterpiece to class, much to the amusement of her students. I only wish we had a video of that.

Brava Sue!

*Update: The pattern is Leaping Cats by Janice Wright, available in the book Masterpiece Sweaters.

Friends and FOs Update

Between our Harvest Moon KAL and other finished objects and WIPs, we are experiencing a bit of a Heidi Kirrmaier Love Fest over here at Purl Diva. Jytte finished her Harvest Moon (her daughter, the recipient of said sweater, stopped by for a photo op on a Tuesday - the one day we are closed). Jytte made a Vitamin D - another Kirrmaier design - and is modeling it here:

She made this out of Fiberphile Super Squoosh, but you can make it out of any fingering weight yarn. She loves this sweater (we do too!) and has bought some Tosh Merino Light to make another Vitamin D. 

I'm not sure if this next object qualifies as a finished object. It was already done, but I redid it. It's my Tea Leaves Cardigan - the focus of one of our past KALs. I wasn't happy with the button-at-the-top look, so ripped out the button band and reknit the band with more buttonholes. Lots of buttonholes. Seventeen of them, in fact!

In case you are wondering "Well, aren't you going to get tired of all that buttoning?" No. I plan to unbutton only a few at the top and then pull it off like a pullover. Easy peasy!

Surrey made these incredibly cute nursery rhyme-themed hats out of Cascade Heritage Sock yarn.

I took advantage of the snowstorm today to finish this Katahdin Hat out of The Fibre Company's Acadia.

And now I am mulling my next project.

Harvest Moon KAL Update

My Harvest Moon Cardigan is done!

In the end, I decided not to install a zipper or crochet button loops (which at one point I intended to use as a substitute to the one-button closure in the original pattern). Instead, I just sewed small buttons along the left band and maneuvered the stitches on the right band to create button holes. At some point, I will use thread to whip-stitch the edges of the buttonholes for improved stability.  But for now, the sweater is on one of the mannequins at the shop for you to see up close and personal!

Friends and FOs Update

Here is Emily looking adorable in her "Hermione Hearts Ron" hat (made out of Malabrigo Worsted). I now realize it's a little hard to see the cable and lace details of this popular design in this photo, but you can see the (free) pattern and more of the lace details on Ravelry by clicking HERE.

Sue made the Mirrored Cabled Swing Coat (pattern from the Fall issue of KnitWear) out of Quince Puffin. (Tamsin made one too!)

(Yes that's Cherylyn in the background. Perhaps I was just pretending to take a picture of Sue, but was actually "Kinnearing" Cherylyn...? Hee Hee.)

Sue also made this amazing blanket. She knit it as a tube out of Berroco Vintage, and then sewed it thoroughly so she could steek it. Then Cheryl helped her hide all the floats by sewing on a fleece backing.

(Stay tuned for Sue's next FO... It is crazy fun!)

Sharon made this cabled sweater out of Cascade 220 worsted, and had enough left over to make a Brambles Beret.

(Look at all those cables! She has much more concentration than I do...)

Well done, everyone!