Tutti Frutti

First, the lovely, summery, blueberry-ish beginnings of a Tiramisu baby blanket. The pattern is free at Alicia Paulson's blog and the yarn is amazing considering that it's Lion Brand. Not that I automatically discount all Lion Brand products, but most acrylic yarns bother me because they have so little give. Cotton-Ease, however, is soft and springy. I haven't decided yet whether to gift this to baby Beth or to offer it to Binky Patrol or Project Linus. I'm leaning toward one of the blanket charities since Beth will be receiving many hand-knit clothes in the future.

I even have some fresh blueberries chilling in the fridge but I got a little lazy before snapping the photo. The color is "Violet," but it's much bluer than any violet I've ever seen.

I was not lazy with the next photo, however...Melon shawl deserved some melons.

It hit a high of 92 degrees today so I think I needed the visual association of cold melons alongside the warm mohair. Otherwise I will never finish this thing. I'm rounding the second corner of the edging and I know that all my corners are going to turn out wonky. I'm not going to stress about it and just hope that blocking will work a minor miracle. These are those Korean melons, by the way. They look a bit like squash but the insides are white, crisp, firm and sweet.

I've gotten to the beading detail on Joy. Although this may take a hiatus until I finish the baby blanket.

Finally, chocolate has nothing to do with fruit or knitting, but I found these goodies the other day at the Korean supermarket where my mother and I bought those melons. I just liked the vintage mail covers on these but the chocolate itself is yummmmmy. Chocolove, indeed.

Movin' on

I've finished one half of the Flutter Sleeve Cardi. Right now, it looks sadly abused and misshapen.

The instructions assure me, however, that it will eventually be blocked and lovely. The color is giving a really tough time in terms of photos. The true color is a deep wine red that reminds me very strongly of Moulin Rouge.

Here's a little detail:


Here's Posy, waiting demurely for her big modeling shoot:


Now I am waiting (im)patiently for the yarn to arrive for Joy and now am looking at an array of things I have my eye on for future present planning...

Luigi from Rowan 35. Maybe for Dad? Mom thinks it should be all one color. I kind of agree. I also cannot make up my mind if I should look at cottons or wools for this.

Cap-Sleeved Beaded Sweater from Vintage Knits. Designed by Sarah Dallas. It's so simple and sweet. I'm thinking maybe for a friend of mine. I am horrified by cap sleeves on my person, but I think they're adorable on other people. And after Joy, the sparse placement of these beads will probably be a breeze.

Finally, the Fair Isle Cardi from Debbie Bliss's Simply Baby. How cute is this? This will take some planning though, since the fair isle pattern is not done in the round.