I am on the last day of a week off from the store.

What does one do with a week of when one works at a yarn store?  Why one knits – off course!  LOL!  I also blogged, walked (too much snow to walk as much as we wanted), took way too many pictures on those walks and knit lots!

I started two new projects.

A while back on Pinterest I stumbled across a Vintage Collar Pattern.  I attached the photo to the Handpainting with Dye Page – thinking that it would paint up beautifully! I think that the pattern might be German in Origin – I am open to information though.  The pattern is a chart only – everything else is up for surmise.  The symbols for the lace pattern are not any that I recognize.

I traced the photo back to a Russian Blog.  On the blog was a photo of the pattern plus what the blogger had knit from it – a beautiful turtleneck Dickie style collar.

I have decided to make this into a Summer Whimsy garment.  Not practical for much but fun to wear!

It will be like a little poncho.  With an I-cord and tassel finish around the neckline.  It will only be about 7 to 8 inches deep after blocking.  And I am going to paint this!  So I am knitting with Jamieson’s Ultra, undyed, on 3.0mm needles.  I am using miyuki size 8/0 beads very liberally, applied with a crochet hook after every decrease.  And hopefully I will have enough beads to add quite a few to the crochet edge finishing.

The other project I started is quite different.

When the other mitten is finished these will be a pair of fingerless mittens for the Buffalo Wool Co.  Knit out of Earth (natural colour) and Sexy (Calamity Jane colourway), these mittens are cabled and then finished with buffalo leather straps that the Buffalo Wool co. sells on their site.  They are designed with a lace insert that finishes at the back of the hand and the leather straps are laced together over the lace insert.

When I saw the straps on the site I started to wonder what I could do with them.  This is the resulting idea.  I have the first mitten done – I will have to fit the other one in sometime!

I love the Earth yarn.  It is very springy and has great stitch definition.  I think that I will be working some mittens for myself out of this yarn.  Maybe layering a laceweight shell over a plain mitten – ummmm!

I am also working on two circular shawls, both of which are at about the same point – forever rounds – about 32 each – away from their respective edgings!  One is knit with Sexy in the Annie Oakley colourway and is called the Squash Blossom Shawl! and the other is for painting and is being knit with undyed Einband!

The Garden Gate shawl – the circular shawl for painting – is also going to be my next KAL.  It is being test knit as I am writing it out as it is being knit!  Lots of patterns and beads.  I will let you know as the writing and knitting progresses when the KAL start date will be.  I am hoping for mid-April!

I have also been busy working on other patterns and blog pages and postings and generally keeping myself occupied!

Happy Knitting

Lynette