And now we return to knitting...

I ventured out to photograph my Fiore di Melanzana stole somewhere besides the front porch. This is a rock that is a short walk from our house. It's a flat rock in the middle of the woods. Dwight sometimes calls it our "thinking rock." He used to go there to relax and just think. The kids like to go there and have pretend picnics since the rock makes a perfect table. It's usually hard to photograph anything near the rock because of the leaves blocking out the sun, but this time of year is really pretty there.

This stole was fun to knit. It was surprisingly quick once I dedicated all of my knitting time to it. I really like how there was no grafting. You start with a provisional cast-on in the center and knit from the center out for each side. The long side edging is knit along with the center of the stole. The edge for the short ends is knit on sideways and there are only a few 10 stitches to bind off. I love this type of stole construction. It makes for a very fussy-free knit. There was lace patterning on both sides of the stole, but it was easy to do once you saw the pattern emerging after a few rows. Again, I can't say enough good things about Anne's patterns.

Details:
Pattern: Fiore di Melanzana by Anne Hanson (knitspot)
Yarn: Knit Picks Shadow in Grape (2.75 skeins)
Needle: size 3 Knit Picks classic circular for the main section, size 2 (2.75mm) for the edging
Size: tall width and petite length-blocked to 25 inches wide and 87 inches long
Start: September 27, 2008
Finish: October 29, 2008

Cookie A said that it was okay to give out this link. That's the layout for her book!!! The book comes out in April. I'm so excited. I did a sample knit for the book and it's the one on the cover. Cookie says that the cover is being changed, but those socks should stay. Those socks were fun to knit, but I was nervous knitting it to a size slightly different than mine.

I finished E's modified monkey socks. I did knit a little on my Slow Bee #2 stole, but decided that I should start knitting some gifts. I'm using some left over cashmere and knitting cowls. Dwight could use one, but who knows if he will actually use it. If not, I'm sure someone will appreciate it. My current plan is to just keep making them until the yarn runs out. I have some leftover navy blue and a dark green. I think that I have enough yarn to make two from each color.

I just got my order from Knit Picks today. I took advantage of their book sale and bought a few books. I had to get Nancy Bush's Knitted Lace of Estonia. I flipped through it when it arrived and could see myself knitting quite a few of the projects. The shawls are so pretty, but I will definitely knit them in something besides the neutral colors shown in the book. That will have to be later after the gift knitting is done.

I also bought Not Just More Socks. I love the gloves with the beads on the wrist and the convertible mittens. I have a ton of sock yarn and it's time to make something besides socks. This book is perfect for that. I've gotten good use out of the Not Just Socks for Kids book and thought this one would be just a good.

Enough typing and time for more knitting...