scarf

Jaeger Siena cotton yarn
crochet pattern from
Natural Style Clothing & Accessories (ナチュラルスタイルの服と小物）
by Yumiko Kawaji (川路 ゆみこ)

Painting in the Kitchen Sink

Sometimes extraordinary pleasure
can come from the least expected sources,
such as the kitchen sink.
After cooking up some beets
and Italian sausages
the resulting color scheme was delightful.

winter's flowers

When the winter garden is void of flowers why not crochet your own flowers into a cotton lei?
The thread is Olympus Emmy Grande Herbs (エミーグランデ　ハーブス) エミーグランデ
I love this crochet thread.
I love the sheen,
I love the density of the twist,
I love the durability,
and I love the ease with which it works up into various projects.
The pattern is from Edging & Braid Variation 106
(エジングとブレード かぎ針で編む、とびきりかわいいデザイン１０６).

snowy

This morning it is winter white everywhere. No snow, but a deep frost at twentyfive degrees. The broadleaf evergreen leaves of the rhododendrons are curled up and held tight to their stems. They look like they are shivering. So for this winter day I present to you my latest knitted creation fit for the cold. It is made from left over yarn from another sweater. I have not made a cable and popcorn stitch sweater in quite some time. The popcorn stitches are pretty tedious to create. They interrupt the flow of stitch creation.

The yarn is Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora and sheds like crazy but is ultra soft and cozy. The pattern is from Hand-knitting: Spring/Summer (てあみニット) by Nihon Vogue (日本ヴォーグ社), obviously a Japanese pattern. I love Japanese patterns. They're represented in a visual manner, with charts, rather than page after page of text. This sort of pattern description is exactly how I like to work, visually. Interestingly there is only one size in many Japanese patterns and fortunately they have all fit me so far.

Yesterday I wore the sweater and vest, of the same yarn, together to work and felt wrapped in toasty blanket for these frigid days of mid winter.