Amhra'n

Amhra'n
Originally uploaded by emmasdaughter

It has been a long time coming. But...My favorite sweater design is once again available for purchase.

This sweater is heavily cabled, worked from the bottom up and has minimal seaming. (just the collar facing is seamed) It is a bit of a bear to set up, but, once done, the pattern is almost too easy! Wouldn't recommend for a beginning knitter however.

If you are looking for a project that will keep you busy, not bored and loving your knitting, this could be the one.

You can find it on Ravelry. Just follow the link. Or, if not a member, just send me and email and you can purchase it through Paypal.

Contrast and Color

Contrast and Color
Originally uploaded by emmasdaughter

Another pic that I just love!

B & W In the Gray of Winter

B & W In the Gray of Winter
Originally uploaded by emmasdaughter

Just a pic using the new camera. Had to share!

My Catty Muse

Sometime an inspiration strikes.  You don’t always know where it comes from or why it strikes at that particular moment.  It could be the way your brain synapses fire, it could be a color or combination of patterns, or it could simply be your muse found you.  But, whatever the cause, an artist is always glad when it does strike. 
My muse deserted me for years; I mean years!  I would get ideas, but they wouldn’t make it from my head to my hands.  Something stopped the process and I would go find an already written pattern and be happy.
Then, one day last week, my muse not only struck, but whapped me upside the head!  “Bev,” said the annoying little being, “You are such a Catty Bitch!”  And there it was!  A thought.  An idea.  Something I could get behind – cuz let’s face it, my muse was spot on with the evaluation.
I went looking through my color palette of  yarns.  Blue?  Nah – too calm.  Tossed it aside.  Yellow?  Hmmm…Overdone.  Threw it back on the shelf.  Orange?  Hey – it’s a Catty Bitch, not a fruit drink!  Again, to the floor.  Brown?  Could be a good start, we all know what brown is.  Then to put some other colors with it.  Heathers for the times we want a little cloudiness and subtlety to soften our edges.  Rust to calm the brown in our lives.  And green!  Green for no particular reason other than it was incongruent with the background color.  Sounds good to me.
Then, needles in hand, I preceded to listen to my muse.  Make it curl!  Throw a few bumps in there.  Braid a bit.  Make it sassy!  I laughed to myself as I knit.  I threw myself into the project with a vim and vigor that hadn’t been mine in so long.  It was fun and people wondered who the crazy person was, sitting in the corner laughing hysterically.  They were afraid to come close for fear of a needle in the eye.  And, yes, I had many – 5 to be exact.
A few hours later what lay before me was worthy of all the laughter and fear that that laughter had evoked.  What lay before me was worthy of  the long desertion by my muse.  What lay before me was…

Catty Bitch Mitts!

And they are now available on Ravelry.  If you aren't on Ravely, you can get a PDF copy if you ask nice.   Have a blast making yourself or for some dearly beloved Catty Bitch of your own.

Patterns Anyone?

I have just uploaded two Emma’s Daughter original designs onto Ravelry. 

The first one is a sweater that I designed a few years ago for Knit Picks.  It has been languishing within a pile of patterns that I have sold in the past.  Now, resurrected, it is again available either on Ravelry or by going to my Sweater Patterns page, above.
The second is a new pair of socks made with a sport weight sock yarn.  These are quick and easy to knit.  Slipped stitches add an extra layer of warmth, making them an excellent winter sock!  The pair pictured were made using Zwerger Garn’s Opal 6ply.

Cascade Cash Vero

I am currently knitting samples for the new store.

Sample garments sell patterns - of which I don't carry many because of Ravelry being so rich with free ones.  I am knitting up a pair of Susie's Reading Mitts for a future class.  And let me tell you, they are so soft that they may not make it to the sample display!

But, sample garments also sell yarn.  And the yarn I am using now is like knitting with butter!  It is Cascade's Cash Vero DK.  I have to say it is similar to Debbie Bliss CashMerino in that it has just a small amount of Cashmere.  But oh does that Cashmere pack a punch!

Cascade's blend is 55% Extra Fine Merino, which gives the yarn a wonderful elasticity and makes it behave as a good wool should.  Then they added 33% microfiber acrylic to the blend which gives the yarn a nice handle and added sturdiness.  Add 12% cashmere to the mix and you have knitting heaven!

I don't know how it washes up yet.  But I can tell you it is truly a dream to knit with. The mitts slide on and off so easily.  They are so warm and so soft that I want a pair in every color!  And there are many to choose from.  Currently I have given this yarn top place in my baby yarns.  I carry the soft baby colors of pink, blue, mint green and white, along with black, wine and gray.  As the cash flow pick up I hope to bring in more colors.

If you have never tried a cashmere blend yarn before I would highly recommend this as a starting point in your fiber exploration.  It is easy to knit with, relatively affordable at under $9 a ball, and so soft that you will want to spoil yourself and knit up something to keep!  Head to your LYS as soon as you can and give it a touch and a fondle.  If you don't have it locally, give me a holler - here, on Ravelry, or Facebook and we can get you taken care of.  You have to try this yarn!!!!

I give it a Blue Yarn Ball!

+It is soft to the touch

+It is easy to knit with and doesn't have a tendency to split

+It show great stitch definition

+Is relatively affordable

-Only has 125 yards per ball.  

Too Much To Say!

After a couple of months...who am I kidding...after a summer off from blogging I realized too much has happened and there is too much to say to leave the doors closed any longer.  So here I am, dusting off the bookshelves so to speak and sticking my toe into the blogging waters once again.  (How do you like those mixed metaphors?)

It was a busy summer.

The beginning of June saw the Boyfriend and I taking our first "couples" vacation in over 20 years!  We drove down to the D.C. area to visit our mutual and much loved friend Becca.  She gave us a whirlwind tour of the monuments and the city.  We stayed at her home and branched out from there.  It was only 3 days, but it was 3 days that changed my life.

As a result of our visit I went back to work.  Not just any work mind you.  With a bit of prodding from Becca and the support of the BF, I am now the proud owner of a small yarn shop in Clinton, NY.  I. Love. It!

Shortly before the shop opened I was in a bicycling accident and broke my shoulder and my wrist.  That was a minor set-back, let me tell you.  Talk about crazy!  Still, almost 3 months later, it is still painful.

But the shop is now open and an internet store is under construction.  This minor change in my life has lent new focus to this blog and will undoubtedly give me so many more things to chatter on about.  Yarn, knitting techniques, knitting groups, new friends...it will all find a place here.

Hope to see most of my old friends find there way back here and hope many more stop in.  I am glad to be back!!!