Jobo Designs

So I'm just working away... and BAM!  I get an email from Hunter Hammersen pop up in my email notification...  and I think to myself:  "that's the woman who designs those cool socks!"   <<insert squeal of delight>>

I've won a contest from the blog Violently Domestic - Hunter's newest sock pattern AND a skein of Yarn from Barking Dog Yarns!

I have been watching Hunter's patterns online for a while now... hoping that someday I'd get to make one especially admiring "popped" and "nugatory."  I've been keeping my eye on yarns and waiting until the right one came along to match one of the patterns. 

Well I guess it's going to be quite easy to decide now! 

<-----"Sky Pirate" 100% Fine Merino Sock Yarn from Barking Dog Yarns

Nugatory - by Hunter Hammersen  ------------------------------------------>

I can't wait for the mail to get here :)

The Shetland Triangle has been a quite enjoyable project... beads included.  The tiny crochet hook was very easy to use, and even the beaded rows flew along at reasonable speeds.  I decided that the shawl didn't need all-over bling, but perhaps just the last few pattern repeats.  After some deliberation, I choose to add them to row 9 (the mostly plain knit row of the 10 row repeat) and then to bead the very points of the border with 3 beads on each point, and the centre one of course.

The beads themselves seem to match in quite nicely.  At first I wasn't sure if the slightly rainbow essence would match the Plum yarn, but I think that they compliment the shawl more than a plain flat black bead would have.  I actually found these beads by accident while shopping at Michael's - they were part of a premade necklace with multiple strands of beads.  There were strands of plain black shiny seed beads, several of these "e" beads that I used for Shetland Triangle, some silver metallic looking "e" beads, and finally some black "e" beads that have the look of hematite.  I bought the whole necklace for 99 cents... and I only used one strand for this piece!  I'm sure I will find something else to do with the rest at some point.

In the end I worked 2 more repeats of the initial lace pattern than the instructions called for, and surprisingly enough, I managed to use only one skein of the KnitPicks Shadow Lace that I had.  I wanted this to be large enough to wrap comfortably around the shoulders, but I don't really know the recipient that well, so I wasn't sure she would want a really huge overpowering shawl.  I think I reached a decent happy medium on size.  This also means I have enough yarn to make another of these... maybe for me, since I am feeling undecided about giving this away.  I think that's usually how I know I did a good job... if I like the item well enough to keep it myself, it's likely nice enough to be giving it away to someone else?

When I was knitting this up... using the prescribed sized needles... I had wondered if maybe I should have used larger needles to get a more airy feel to this shawl.  As usual though, the magic of blocking evened out balance, and I think it feels just about right. 

The finished shawl is light but still has enough substance to warm up the wearer.  I am always amazed at how much warmth a light shawl can give.  I think it's kind of like afghans.  How can something so full of "holes" trap so much heat next to the body?  Must be one of those life mysteries ;)  I hope that the person I made this for will feel good when she wears it.  I tried to think kind and comforting thoughts as I knit along, so I like to think that maybe those good vibes will go along with her wherever she goes.  Positive Energy is Good Medicine in itself.

I have been sitting on a skein of Fleece Artist Peter Rabbit for quite some time.... The story behind it is that I purchased it on a whim from North Shore Island Traditions based on the feel of the yarn alone.  Normally I go for the more blue / greenish tones exclusively, but in this case, there were very limited colorways in stock so I couldn't choose the usuals.  I decided that even though I normally don't knit with yellow or orange, that I generally find these colors bright and sunny, so I should step outside the box and try it regardless.  This particular colorway features bright yellows and oranges, reminiscent of Big Bird from Sesame Street... but in my mind at the time - reminded me of sunsets and Golden Flowers.

The Yarn itself is so unbelievably soft, albeit a little sheddy...  I had initially intended to knit socks from this, but then it struck me to try knitting a shawl/scarf.  I know that next winter when it starts to get cold around here (love the Canadian Winters) that the angora will be warm and soft against the skin in a way that no other fiber can be.  "Peter Rabbit" consists of 70 % Angora, 20 % Nylon and 10 % Wool for a super soft, softly haloed, and light as a feather.  I managed an entire Ishbel of the small size from a single skein.  It isn't huge, but it fits nicely around my shoulders, and I think will be perfect in size to wrap around the neck to protect from a winters chill.

Now I have Knit Ishbel (by Ysolda Teague) a few times before... so I knew what I was getting into.  The beginning in stockinette just flies by!  And though I seem to have issues memorizing the charts, even those fly by so fast that I hardly remember them.  I chose in this case to make the small size, though I think I might have done an extra section of the lace chart.  I remembered from blocking before that this shawl doesn't end up completely triangular, but more of a curved shape on the top.  When this was blocking on the spare bed all I could think of was how much the shape reminded me of a golden Pheonix rising.  It feels almost like golden wings.

The yarn in the skein had a bit of a halo, but after knitting and blocking, the halo intensified a bit.  You can really tell when the shawl is up against another object how much of a Halo it really has.  I thought in the beginning that maybe the halo wuld be too much and obscure the vine lace, but in the end I think it still shows up ok.

In general, orange is not a color I would often wear, or purchase items in that shade... surprisingly, the warm bright color doesn't look awful with my skin complexion.  I come from a family of red haired folk... So I am very pale and I have a lot of freckles (my husband teases that if I ever needed a medical Freckle-ectomy, we'd go broke paying the bill)  I'm not sure what I will ever wear this with, but the warm fuzziness around my shoulders makes me tempted to buy an outfit to match!

Another reason I decided that I needed to try working with Angora is the fact that I have an English Angora Rabbit coming to live with me around the end of June.  The bunny (henceforth referred to by his royal name, though he hasn't be chosen from the litter yet...) Ruttiger was born on May 10th as part of a 6 bunny litter, and though the smallest bunny has passed away, the other 5 are thriving and growing fine.  The breeders plan on keeping the white bunny, but there are two "blue" and two "torte" babies that will be up for grabs.  I plan on going up and officially meeting the kits next weekend, so expect photos then.  Meanwhile, I have been in a nutso nesting phase... buying the supplies I will need for Ruttiger's homecoming (aka cage, food, bedding, grooming equipment, etc)  I am very excited for our new pet to come home and get cozy at Casa-Jobo.

Here is another shot with the "Ishbel on Fire" cozied up with a plain seed bead necklace... which looks surprisingly nice :)

Did you ever notice how difficult it is to take photographs of yourself?  (Yes this is in my Bathroom, and Yes, it is a little Blurry.  No I had not been drinking... though there was wine shortly after the photo shoot)  At least I managed to sneak a smile in :)

Another successful shawl... warm, cozy, elegant, and very very Golden Yellow / Orange.  I hope I don't look silly in this color, because I kind of like it!  (you definetly won't lose me in a snowbank with this on! as my grandma would say)