Saturday, May 23, 2009

These kilt hose were fun! Here is a pair of really handsome legs showing off the cuff and start of the leg. I think Joe would win the ugly knee contest but he enjoyed trying on the hose as they were knit. These are "He' mo Leanan Kilt Hose" by Anne Carroll Gilmour of Park City, Utah. My uncle in South Carolina has received them, they fit and he will wear them to a pipe band concert on Memorial Day.





I've not really been missing - just camping again. We had another truck camper RV rally near Sturbridge, MA. Lots of fun though rainy and cold for four days. Lots of knitters there and we sat under a big party tent and knit sweaters, socks, etc. I even had a friend Kitchner the end of the second kilt sock.

I wrote asking for the Dragon Boat pattern which has been long out of print



and got the PDF back the following morning. This pattern so looks like a jacket to me I might knit it in Lion Brand Fishermen yarn in brown and white. I get 7 sts to an inch on US #2. Nice tight fabric that would be very warm. I've also been working on the top down raglan in Cottage Crafts worsted weight (see the blog post of April 7th). Top is all done in a basketweave down to the start of the sleeves which are now on a thread. Body is started with big wide flat cables. I tried it on and it will fit though a bit big. I bet it will block smaller.

We're going to take another long RV trip this summer, going out to Glacier National Park. I've got to figure out a fairly easy pattern to take so I can knit at night. I'm not taking Henry VIII so I won't start it early!

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Henry VIII was waiting in our mailbox today when we got back from errands. I ordered the kit from Virtual Yarns, Alice Starmore's company in Lewis, Scotland. It came in a good size box that stuck out of the mailbox. Fortunately it hadn’t started raining. Amazing I didn’t have to sign for the box.



The box is heavy cardboard, carefully wrapped in brown paper with royal mail stamps and customs voucher. Inside the yarn is wrapped in tissue paper and has a Starmore seal holding the tissue paper closed. The yarn has an AS lable on each group of colors. There are many different sizes of skeins with no indication of yardage or weight.

The colors are just glorious with intermixed flecks of color in each skein. As a super treat to myself, this is worth the price for the kit. There is also a heavy stock paper pattern card in color with all sizes.

Is it mid September yet when the KAL (knit along) is going to start? I will try very hard to not even wind a skein because once that is done, I'll start to swatch and once I swatch, I'll start to knit. Henry's been put into a cloth box and set on the bookcase, in sight but out of reach - for now.