FO: Tuscany

I began knitting through the internet. A bit after I did, with a couple of FOs under my wing, I decided to invest more into it, and bought a book, No Sheep for You (rav). No Sheep seemed like a great choice, because I can't wear animal hair either. It has proven an invaluable resource over the years, and has helped me find suitable yarn substitutions.

Ever since I got it, I have wanted to make Tuscany. However, it is very difficult to find DK silk, and more so if you are attached to both your kidneys, as I am! Having discovered the wonderful yarns of Colourmart, I could finally do it!



Technical details
Ravelry project page
Pattern: Tuscany, by Amy Singer
Yarn: ColourMart Silk 20/60NM DK Weight, in Mid Brown
Needles: 3.75 mm
Notes: I am unbelievably glad I took the shawl out of my bag the day my lunch box, full of Thai curry, spilled inside it. I could have cried.


I found the pattern really easy to memorise. While I still carried the chart with me, I barely needed it, and had no problem knitting in the bus.
The shawl used about 1 1/4 cones (exact yardage still TBD, but about 1 1/4 to 1 1/3 cones), so I still have plenty of delicious silk to make something else. This makes me happy.

Yarn and brains

This past Sunday, as it was the last weekend I was going to be in London for a while (Alex has finished his placement and is now back home!), I headed out to I Knit. Frankly, I was a bit disappointed, mainly because I was expecting a much bigger shop. Most of what they had was animal hair, and then a bit of cotton. I was starting to become disheartened, when I found this.

Habu silk and stainless steel yarn (rav link). I about fell over, and in love. So I now have plenty of stainless steel yarn, and plan to make myself some chainmail.
Ok, perhaps just a shawl.

It has stainless steel! *squee!*







Oh, noes, the flying brains are attacking!

It is a common joke between Alex and I that, if we found each other's brain lying around, please try not to kick it, just pick it up and dust it off a bit. So I made a brain as a silly surprise for when he got back. Does it even look like a brain?
     
The brain is made using hyperbolic knitting, the basis of which is just simply to knit through the front and back of every stitch to make it grow hyperbolically. The spine and bulb are some i-cord with increases (can post exact instructions if there is demand for them). I promise it looks more like a brain when you actually hold it, but I found it very difficult to capture its brain-ness in the pictures!

Not everthing is high-brow control theory

Some beautiful handspun silk from the wonderful SpindleImp.
Some socks from Alex.
Two, in fact.
Some ridges and ribs for me.