On My Needles || July 2012

July 5, 2012 Leigh Martin

I tend to keep a number of projects going all at once, so rather than highlighting a single work in progress, here are some updates on the items I've got going. Not included are the mushroom caps I've been working on for my Wood Decay Fungi project, which I'm now leaning toward titling "Decomposition". With that project I'm finally past the knitting stage and am working on getting the caps assembled and ready for installation. Hopefully you'll see something on this by summer's end. Foundations

As I've mentioned before, this is an original pattern that I am designing as a gift for a friend. The finished garment is a baby blanket, although it could probably be knit up in a super bulky gauge in cotton and would make a really cool rug. I'm not going to say too much about it until it's finished and in its home, but as I'm a tree hugger, think about the title and that together and let your imagination run wild! The yarn I'm using for this project is Knit Picks Swish DK in Bark.

Aran Braided Sock

I've been working on this for a few weeks now, since I finished my first pair of socks. It's going somewhat slowly since I just pick it up here and there (mostly during my lunch break at work), but I love how the color striping lays out on the diagonal. You've got the braid texture from the cabling and also the spiral of hues running down the length of the sock; it's gorgeous! Can't wait to finish these up and start wearing them. The yarn is Staccato Sock by Shibui, which is a super wash merino blend with silk and nylon. The color is #161.

Mantra Scarf

I've decided to expand on Mantra and develop charts for some new phrases and make an entire series. Since I've been a little inspired by Fiona Apple's new album as of late, the phrase "Feel Everything" really stood out to me and I decided to use it as the next phrase. I'm working on my continental style knitting so I can more efficiently weave in the floats. If I can get it down pretty well then I think I will enjoy making a lot of these. My yarn of choice for Mantra is Berroco's Ultra Alpaca. The main color (background) shade is called "Moonshadow" in this current scarf, which I love. It's not too far along yet, but here's what I've got so far.