Sunday, February 5, 2017

February?!

So the month of January seems to have come and gone without a blog post.  I had promised myself that I would do at least one blog post a month.  I'm doing well so far!  Ahem.

Anyway, I suppose one reason I haven't posted this year is that I've just been beavering away on the same thing.  I don't think I've even shown it on this blog yet.  Well, here it is.  It's called Firebirds, and it's a design by Jade Starmore, the daughter of Alice Starmore.  It's a kit from Virtual Yarns.


Here is the swatch I knitted to check on my gauge -- just so you can get a better view of the motif.


I won a prize for the Fair Isle KAL from the lovely Fruity Knitting Podcast.  It was money towards yarn  from Virtual Yarns, and Virtual Yarns doubled the prize!  And so I was able to put that money toward buying this kit.  And I love it!  If you'd like to see a beautiful finished version of this sweater, you can see Andrea's version on her podcast.  She converted the pattern into a pullover for her husband, Andrew.

I also got to go to Vogue Knitting Live in NYC in January.  It was fun -- got to see lots of knitting celebrities and check out all the vendors.  My favorite celebrity sighting was this one.


I don't know about you, but to me, Kaffe Fassett is a god.  It was amazing to see him and Brandon Mably in the flesh.

I'll leave you with a picture of Mia.  Hope everyone has had a good start to the New Year.


22 comments:

Ann at Beadlework. said...

Congratulations Margaret, what a lovely thing to be able to do. I have both those books so envy you being able to meet the two authors - their use of colour is amazing.
The Starmore mother and daughter produce beautiful patterns.

Vickie said...

Whoa Margaret! Firebirds is soooooooo cool! You are so good! Wow. How cool is that?! You got to meet Kaffe!!

Anonymous said...

Oh how I love this kit! I have tried to do something similar years ago, but I was not good at keeping all the colors straight! I am in awe of your beautiful work. No wonder you won a prize! Congratulations! How wonderful! This is amazing!

deb said...

Wait, Kaffe Fassett is a knitting god too? I knew only about fabric/quilting. Amazing man.

Firebirds is gorgeous!

Rugs and Pugs said...

I am always blown away by your knitting skill.
Gorgeous!!!

Jackie's Stitches said...

I think that is the cutest swatch I've ever seen! Mia looks cozy. I could not even imagine meeting Kaffe. I wish I had 10% of his color sense!

Vera said...

Kaffe IS a God!! LOL Firebirds is gorgeous Margaret. It will be stunning. I just won the book "Tudor Rose" by Alice Starmore. I think everything is more complicated than I could dream of creating at the moment, but it will be fun to page through the book and dream.

Vicki said...

I love the colors in your new project, Margaret. They are absolutely beautiful! I admire your knitting skills. Mia is snuggled in a tight ball - it must be cold there.

The Inspired Stitcher said...

Oh Margaret, the colors! This sweater is going to be amazing! How exciting to get to see a knitting god! It would have been fun to be a mouse in your pocket at Vogue Knitting Live! I can only imagine all the scrumptious things you saw and touched.

woolwoman said...

oh oh - I'm so jealous you got to go to VK NYC ! and to see Kaffe and Brandon - WOW! I'm sure you saw so much you were on overload. I'm so excited to see your Firebirds FI - you've been keeping secrets from me LOL ! You might even inspire me to get my Starmore kit out and see if I can still do fair isle. I purposely have not kept up with the Virtual Yarns website :) cheers and have a great week - Mel

Evelyne said...

Wow I love your knitting and the colours! Amazing!
Last week I met Kaffe Fasseett and Brandon Mably, They are so creative and inspiring.

Have a nice knitting week.
Evelyne

Carol said...

I'm blown away by this project, Margaret--what a beauty!! And how wonderful that you won a prize for your knitting (not at all a surprise to me, though, as everything you knit is amazing!)... Looking forward to seeing your progress... And give Mia a little hug for me :)

marly said...

OK. I thought the other projects were complicated. Firebirds is just so beautiful. It amazes me that people come up with the pattern for these stitches and color changes, but much more so to see someone actually follow it!

Samplings from Spring Creek said...

Your knitting is amazing! I would never think about a project that ambitious and complicated. Miss Mia looks so comfortable

Clara said...

Congratulations on your knitting work....it's amazing!!!!

Beth said...

Kaffe is a god! The god of color! Amazing knitting you've been doing - such a complex pattern.

Penny said...

Firebirds is gorgeous, Margaret! Such pretty colors! And how much fun to see a couple of your favorite knitting celebrities! Mia looks very cozy and content. : )

Brigitte said...

Wow, what a treat to meet Kaffe Fassett. I have several of his books and although I haven't made a Kaffee Fassett quilt (yet) it' so much fun to leaf through his books and enjoy the colours of his fabrics.
Congratulations on winning that Prize - and what you bought for the money is gorgeous. The name for the pattern is perfect and the colours of the yarns are just terrific.

WipStitch said...

Hello Margaret. Found your blog while searching for tips on The Manifesto by The Scarlet Letter. Just wanted to know your progress on 40 count silk gauze. How is it going? I have done some projects on 40 count but decided to try 32 count for Manifesto since it is such a large piece. I just started so I am about as far as your last post. Please let me know...hope we can keep in touch.

Karoline said...

Firebirds is just stunning, I'm enjoying watching it progress. I was very jealous of your trip to Vogue Knitting, it looked amazing!

Kaisievic said...

Kaffe Fassett is amazing! I still have some of his books from the 80s and 90s. Such a clever use of colour. I love your new project - it is gorgeous and I cannot wait to see it finished.

Jocelyn is Canadian Needle Nana said...

Seeing Kaffe in the flesh...swoon! Loving all your wonderful knitting well deserving of a trip. Pretty Mia overseeing things still.