Yep. Playing with the camera while I shop for yarn.
[Click, make real big.]

I went downtown to buy boxes for shipping packages and to pick up some yarn for a few friends. As I was walking across the Place des Terreaux with my honkin' bags of yarn and boxes, I got bitten by the "I wanna play with my camera" bug, so I dropped everything, pulled out my camera and snapped this shot. It's the Town Hall of the premier arrondissement. Last December, during the Fête des Lumières, light shows were played on this building. Right after I took the shot a little toddler stared at me, giggled and then imitated me by looking at the building and making a snapping motion with his finger. His mother and I laughed. That's right, kid. I'm just a box-totin', yarn-lovin' cwazy lady with a camera.

And I'm still knitting! Hear that? That's the sound of my butt landing as I jump on the bandwagon. I've been wanting to donate a knitted mouse to Wendy's mouse-a-thon for a while, but couldn't find catnip. Please note: If you live in Lyon, and go to your dog's vet and ask for catnip by describing it as "herbs that cats like" the vet is going to look at you like you smoke crack. Or, maybe even catnip. He had no idea what I was babbling about. Apparently, catnip is not to be found over here. No worries - I will be able to send over the mouse sans catnip to someone who will kindly stuff it with catnip and sew it up for me. I just hope the mailmain delivers mine before the deadline.



This is the kind of mouse I like. It doesn't dart
across the kitchen and do number 2 in the pantry.

Lastly, Jodi asked about selvedges (or selvages) that I am using on my son's preppy sweater. She noticed [very observant!] that the first rows of the piece shown here have garter selvedges, while the rest have stockinette stitch selvedges. The first rows at the bottom have garter stitch selvedges, because those are going to remain open to form a little slit at the sides. Garter stitch doesn't curl like stockinette stitch, so the open edges of the slits will remain flat. The rest of my selvedges, the ones that will be hidden in a seam, are in stockinette stitch (knit all stitches on the right side, purl all stitches on the wrong side) because I plan on using ladder stitch to join the side seams and sleeve seams, and I personally find it easier to sew and think it looks nicer when I use ladder stitch to join pieces that have stockinette stitch selvedges. I don't always use ladder stitch and/or stockinette stitch selvedges, though. It depends on what I'm knitting and how I plan on seaming the pieces, or if the pieces will be left with free edges or finished with crochet or have facings sewn-on or knit-on. It's a matter of preference, really.

Spring weather made a big appearance yesterday. Captain Destructo was home from school [no school on Wednesdays in France] so we headed out for a haircut, a lot of scooter riding (with me jogging behind...I ran around the plaza about 20 times. Hello! My butt hurts today), and some french fries. It's hard to believe that just two months ago we were having this "Oh, snow! How pretty! Better stay inside and knit" weather. Yesterday it was like "dancing through a meadow with butterflies" weather. Just look at the leaves on the trees outside of my apartment! Looks like I'd better finish up my cold weather projects before the weather gets too hot to knit them. Like my husband's ribbed sweater:




Good thing is, I've finished knitting the front piece. When my husband saw it, he got very happy and then asked, "Where are the sleeves?" Oops! Er...still sitting in skeins in that plastic bag over there? Must start sleeves next. In the meantime, I decided to distract my husband from the absence of sleeves by making about 5 dozen butter cookies following the butter cookie recipe from Melanie Falick's Weekend Knitting. Hellooooooooooooo, delicious! Very yummy, and worth the two enormous cement blocks of butter required in the recipe. I could feel my arteries harden as I creamed the mountain of butter and sugar together, but mmmmm boy. My husband took a batch of the cookies to work with him so I think I have managed to buy myself some more time to finish the sleeves on his sweater.

Lots of chateaux, lots of wine, a perfect view of the July 14 fireworks from the terrace of the apartment, a visit with the white tigers at Beauval, ogling Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Leicester at Chambord, rowing a small boat around the Cher river at Chenonceau castle, a magic show at Robert-Houdin's Maison de la Magie, a horse-drawn carriage ride through Blois, a light show at a royal castle...our trip to La Loire was incredibly fun and went by all too quickly. We made headquarters in Blois, where we stayed in an apartment ideally located in the vieux quartier with a beautiful view of the city. Some days we stayed in Blois; other days we hopped in the car for outings to Amboise, Chenonceau, Chambord and other places. Click the thumbnails below to see a few images of some of the wonderful things we saw and did during the first days of our vacation (there will be more photos in a subsequent entry):




Even with all the activities, I got to do some summer knitting! We made several outings to surrounding areas which required 15-30 min rides in the car, so when I wasn't reading, admiring the scenery, or napping with face embarrassingly squished against the passenger window (happened only once, thankfully), I was KNITTING. (The MS&W Festival tote that my pal Claudia gifted me a few months ago rode with me all over the Loire Valley. XOXO, Claudia!)



Photo above is of the front piece of my Phil Ruban cardi, and I seamed it while I was there, opting to save the dreaded weaving of the ends for when I got back. The cardi was too big to tote around with me, so I spent time swatching for some projects when in the car. I got lucky with the gauge on two and decided to start one of them while I was there: The "Jacke in Apricot" from Rebecca 27, using GGH Java in light pink. [Rebecca 27 is from Athena, who sent it to me back in May. Java is from Marta, who sent it to me a few weeks ago. Photos here!] And just for you, I have car shots: Pictures I took of things I saw while knitting in the car. All photos were taken while the car was in motion, and some required that I stick the camera out of the window in order for me to get a good shot. [Hello, I'm just a photo-happy tourist with some knitting in her lap!]

But wait...there's more! I left the Loire Valley with some stashy goodness [click here to see it]. While driving through a town after a visit to Amboise, Monsieur Le Hubby said to me (and I'm sure he regretted it afterwards), "We just passed a Phildar." Oops! The car skidded to a halt and I ran inside the store, on a quest for yarn on sale (SOLDES - magic word, that). I was in the store for five minutes only, but all I'm gonna say is: If you live in Contres and were hoping to pick up some discontinued Phil Ruban in fabulous colors, a whack tourist rabbit already cleared it all out.

This is the back piece AFTER I had reached the armhole shaping and ripped back [only about, oh...50 rows!] to where the waist shaping began because I discovered that I had done the increases over an incorrect number of rows. I surely wasn't going to leave it the way it was because doing so would have required omitting an increase, and you just know that I'm not going to do that. Maybe I'll get in the car and head back to the Loire for another vacation, because the return home appears to have broken my knitting concentration. (Okay, I'm kidding.) Speaking of which, I present you with:






I thought I'd throw in some more vacation photos for the cool people who visit my site on the weekends. Now, it's time for me to settle in for a quiet Saturday evening with the husband and some Cremant de Loire, which the good man bought during our trip. Maybe I'll knit some more rows on this cardi, which (in spite of my having to rip out once and wee bit of grumbling) really is a quick and enjoyable knit. GGH Java just rolls on the needles!

Finally...photos of my second finished project of the summer: my ribbon cardi! (Pattern from Phildar Ete 2004. 34/36 size, using Phil Ruban in Cuivre.) Oh la laaaaaaa...I really love wearing this cardi. It's lightweight and drapey, and my favorite part is the leaf edging at the neckline (probably because that's what I had the most fun knitting). The cardi's been finished since I returned from La Loire, but I didn't get the chance to wear it out until Sunday. And wear it, I did! Here it is, making its debut at one of the many murals in Lyon:



[Footnote: I just love these murals. We always have fun posing in front of them and looking at the details regarding Lyon that the artist included. Notice the spools of silk shown in the shot where I'm pretending to open the car door? Well, that's just one of many such details.]

Finishing details of the cardi: The pattern called for two cords, each made using two strands of Phil Ruban, to be attached to the front pieces. I decided to make the cords using my lovely new lucet*, which I had never used before. HELLO! Mademoiselle Lucet made a cord that was so fabulous I actually got up and did a happy dance right there. And speaking of which, you just know that there are customary dance shots for you for no reason other than it's fun:




*I had never used a lucet before, but I am so glad I did! It makes such lovely cord. I learned about it from Claudia, and was finally able to give a it try thanks to Carolyn, who very thoughtfully got it at MS&W festival and brought over to me when she came to Paris in May. Merci!

On Saturdays and Sundays this area of the park is swarming. But if you walk through here on a weekday (on your way to the Musée d'Art Contemporain*, as was the case here) it's nice and quiet. Perfect picture opportunity. So there you go. [Don't mind me, I'm just a camera-happy tourist lady!]

As for my knitting, I've kicked into serious multi-project mode. So that means that it's time to play "Let's Click a Thumbnail". Go on...click one:




1) I started another project. But with good reason! My son saw the Manly Jacket I'm knitting and the Pull Poncho I've recently started, and with the beginning of each project he's asked me (hopefully, I might add) if what I'm knitting is for him. [Awwwwwww!] There's going to come a day when Captain Destructo will think that wearing Mommy's hand-knit sweaters is beyond dorky, so I've got to take advantage of his yearning for knits while I can. To the rescue is a quick sweater: Pattern 19, the "child's tweed sweater", from Rebecca 24 using honkin' big 9mm needles and GGH Sierra. I'm not a big fan of bulky but this yarn is so fabulous I'd knit bulky more often if all bulky yarns were like this one. Very soft and creates an even fabric. I cast on for the back on Sunday evening and finished it while watching the Sunday night movie. (See, I told you it was quick!)

2) Manly Jacket: Two gorilla arm sleeves - check. One right front piece - check. Beginning of left front piece - check. [Scroll to the right to see it.] I started the left front piece yesterday evening, and completed the ribbing before I went to bed. Now it's all straight knitting until I reach the armhole shaping. Sounds monotonous, but this is my favorite kind of knitting because it means that I get to drink a kir royal before dinner and chat the husband's ears off without making mistakes.

3) Pull Poncho. Late Friday afternoon, while knitting with my friend Christelle [coucou, Christelle!], I finished one sleeve of the Pull Poncho and immediately cast on for the second. By the next morning I had finished the second sleeve. And now I see, my friends, why some knitters like big honkin' needles and bulky yarns. The knitting satisfaction one gets from completing something so quickly is so keen it's almost sinful. I think I'll ask Santa to put some 15mm needles in my stocking this year. And some more yarn with alpaaaaaaca.

*One can see the Musée d'Art Contemporain from the window of my apartment. It's in the long orange/glass building (La Cité Internationale de Lyon), partially hidden by the trees. Behind it is the lake seen in the photo of the park above. (And doesn't it look like we're having nice weather? Well, that photo was taken on Sunday. Today it's raining.)

Project details: Pull Poncho, otherwise known as "Thunder" from Rowan's Plaid Collection. I made it in XS size, using Rowan Plaid in Lavender Mist. Things I had initially considered changing but ended up NOT changing, and was very glad that I didn't when I wore the Pull Poncho outdoors: Make the turtleneck smaller and the sleeves shorter. Keeping the turtleneck big and the sleeves long (for maximum neck and hand coverage) is recommended if you'd like this poncho to wear like a mini coat, which is what I wanted. This is something that you can't wear in heated indoors for too long, though, because it's so warm. I had to open the windows in the apartment for the shots taken indoors! But as a cover-up for weekend promenades in the cold outdoors...ah, that's something else. As it turns out, I got to wear my Pull Poncho for the first time on Sunday for a visit to Vaulx en Velin and Miribel. [BONUS: Action shots of the Pull Poncho at the open market in Vaulx en Velin and with the swans at Miribel!]




The shot above was taken at les plages - the beaches - at Miribel. And as there is sand and water there, you just knew that I'd have a running on the sand shot for you, didn't you?




One can't tell from the shots, but it was cold outdoors. I, however, was nice and warm in the big ole blanket that is my Pull Poncho. I love it.

*I debuted my Pull Poncho on the day after I turned 37. Thirty-seven years old! Send botox. (Okay, I'm kidding about the botox.)

Project details: Kid Mohair cardi, pattern 4 from Phildar's Kid Mohair pattern leaflet 2005. I knit the 34/36 size, and used less than 5 skeins of Kid Mohair in Amande and 3 skeins of Sunset in Azur. And because the knitting gods are being kind to me after the torturous finishing nightmare I had with this cardi, Saturday was IDEAL Kid Mohair cardi weather so I was able to give the cardi a proper debut! I was planning on wearing the cardi for dinner out, but with perfect daytime cardi weather, my impatient self just couldn't wait until the evening to wear it. I wore it out to lunch, for a visit downtown, grocery shopping and then for a manicure. And here's a photo of the cardi acting like a tourist at la fresque des Lyonnais during its debut (with a BONUS of a mural slideshow!):



["I Love Lyon" footnote: La fresque des Lyonnais is found on the corner of quai St-Antoine and rue de la Martinière in the first arrondissement. The mural is on all sides of the building, and the side shown in the photo above has images of luminaries from and around Lyon. The higher you go up the fresque, the further you go back in time. Lyon is a literal gallery of trompe l'oeil murals; another one I've shown previously is le mur des canuts where I debuted my Phil Ruban cardi. End of "I Love Lyon" footnote.]

Things I did when I knit the cardi: Lemme see...tubular cast-on for the hem and cuffs. Shoulders were joined using backstitch. Sleeve and side seams were joined using mattress stitch. Front bands were also sewn using mattress stitch. The buttonhole was easy; while sewing the front band to the neck a space was left open for the button. That's it! But being the anal-retentive perfectionist that I am, I didn't weave in the ends where the buttonhole was located. I got a crochet hook and used the ends to create a slip stitch finish around the free edges of the buttonhole. Oh! And the button. I am so enamored with that button. I ordered it at my local Phildar boutique as it's the one called for in the pattern. It's pearly and shiny and the right shade of green and almost wafer-like in its thinness. And that's the end of my long run-on sentence because it's time for customary whack dance rabbit shots, where I RAWKED OUT with my sparkly cardi that makes me wannabe a rock star:




*I had initially planned on wearing the cardi with high-waisted tweed pants and a tucked-in blouse. But while window shopping a few weeks ago I saw the layered look for spring all over the shop window displays in Lyon: These little-nothing tops and camisoles worn long under short feminine cardis. When I saw this lacy camisole, I just had to get it so I could wear it this way under my Kid Mohair cardi and with what my husband calls my "rock star" jeans. After years of wearing stuffy lawyer attire, it gives me a kick to knit this kind of stuff and wear it any way I please. I love me a good trend.

The seaming party that finally commenced:




Okay, let's see...last weekend we were supposed to go to Vienne to meet the new baby in the family and pass on one gift consisting of a hand-knit baby sweater, size 12-18 months, reverse striped stockinette stitch, 100% wool, yadda yadda. The sweater got completed [yoo hoo...see all progress here], a neckband and buttonbands were added and blocking got done by last Wednesday. I was ready to seam, wrap it up and call it a finished present by Friday. Then the baby's parents called us on Thursday morning to tell us that they had to be in Grenoble on Saturday and didn't know if they'd make it back to Vienne by Sunday, so we replanned the visit for THIS coming weekend. Ah! Another week! Of course, I promptly put off seaming the rest of the sweater and left it sitting on the table untouched. I haven't gotten a chance to finish seaming it until today. Sing it with me now, friends: THE QUEEN OF PROCRASTINATION REIGNS AGAIN.

(But I will finish seaming today. Oh yes, I will. It's cocktail hour and Monsieur Le Hubby is home, so it's all about a seaming party tonight. Kirs for everyone!)

In another news, Bunny Peeps have landed in Lyon!




My very thoughtful pal Mariko surprised me by sending me Bunny Peeps (in pink, no less) and Girl Scout cookies [!!!] Oh, pink peeps, thin mints and peanut butter cookies, how I love thee! People, the house is officially rocked. And to show how grateful my cookie lovin' heart is for Mariko's kindness, I've put together a small slideshow of peeps postcards. Please, see the gratuitous Peep Show!

The seaming party that finally commenced:




Okay, let's see...last weekend we were supposed to go to Vienne to meet the new baby in the family and pass on one gift consisting of a hand-knit baby sweater, size 12-18 months, reverse striped stockinette stitch, 100% wool, yadda yadda. The sweater got completed [yoo hoo...see all progress here], a neckband and buttonbands were added and blocking got done by last Wednesday. I was ready to seam, wrap it up and call it a finished present by Friday. Then the baby's parents called us on Thursday morning to tell us that they had to be in Grenoble on Saturday and didn't know if they'd make it back to Vienne by Sunday, so we replanned the visit for THIS coming weekend. Ah! Another week! Of course, I promptly put off seaming the rest of the sweater and left it sitting on the table untouched. I haven't gotten a chance to finish seaming it until today. Sing it with me now, friends: THE QUEEN OF PROCRASTINATION REIGNS AGAIN.

(But I will finish seaming today. Oh yes, I will. It's cocktail hour and Monsieur Le Hubby is home, so it's all about a seaming party tonight. Kirs for everyone!)

In another news, Bunny Peeps have landed in Lyon!




My very thoughtful pal Mariko surprised me by sending me Bunny Peeps (in pink, no less) and Girl Scout cookies [!!!] Oh, pink peeps, thin mints and peanut butter cookies, how I love thee! People, the house is officially rocked. And to show how grateful my cookie lovin' heart is for Mariko's kindness, I've put together a small slideshow of peeps postcards. Please, see the gratuitous Peep Show!

First let's share the bad so we can just get it over with, already: I didn't get to debut my Popcorn Jacket for the Paris Tricot meetup last Thursday like I had planned (30 degrees celsius, anyone?), Le Bon Marche didn't have any Cotton Tape in white, I got a cold (but it was a Parisian cold, dah-ling), and my whirlwind week in Paris flew by way too fast. And don't you love how I used the word "whirlwind"? I've always liked using that word in blog entries.

Now comes the good:




I had a blast. Lots of sightseeing, great conversation, a bit of knitting, some shopping and quality time hanging with online knit buds. Like I told Bonne Marie (a.k.a. The Paris Metro Wonder Woman*): For me, every day of last week was like opening a window on an Advent calendar and getting a surprise treat because I kept receiving interesting nuggets of personal info and peeks at other facets that one doesn't get through a blog. The cherry on the cake: My perspective on knitting and shopping for yarn has been enriched; never again will I look at a knit garment or pick out yarn colors in the same way. And I got all this while visiting some great places in Paris.




Another big bonus was spending time with local knit pals [click for popup] I met last year, including Laetitia, Isabelle, and Kate, and experiencing a Paris Tricot meeting. It was awesome. And that's why I've decided that I'm going to organize more of these vacation visits with online knit pals again. [Public thanks to my husband for making it possible for me. Such a great guy.]




I'll be going back to Paris for a couple of days in July (Paree in the summer, bay-bee!) with my family and maybe by that time the uptight saleslady in the Entree des Fournisseurs will have realized that the Entree des Fournisseurs is a notions shop and not a library (ever gotten shushed in a notions shop? It's truly comic) and Le Bon Marche will have replenished its stock of Rowan Cotton Tape in white so I can finally fulfill my plan to walk out of there three balls of Cotton Tape in white richer. I may also return to the flea market (this was a first for me and I really enjoyed it) so I can get some more costume jewelry and stare at all that retro button-y goodness again.




It was quite a week. When I got back to Lyon from Paris, I slept for fifteen hours straight. Then I had a couple of surprises waiting for me: Mother's Day with my boy and my husband, and a snail mail from my pal Claudia containing some haute Y-A-R-N. It's silk. SILK! And I also want to mention the treat I got on the very day I left to Paris: From Rossana, a MS&W festival tote with a hank of silk and merino blend. More SILK! I need you to pinch me 'cause I'm pretty sure I'm dreaming all this. [P.S. I folded up Rossana's tote and placed it in my suitcase, so it came with me to Paris. XO, Rossana. It was the perfect thing for my knitting schtuffs.]

No, that's not all. There's more I'll be sharing about my knitters week in Paris; the things I saw and the places I visited. I just need to finish getting settled and sift through all 321 [!] photos I took so I can put up some slideshows for you. And of course, I want to update on the knitting. Stay tuned!

*Not only is she extremely talented, but she is one seriously cool lady. If you're a pickpocket in the Paris metro, don't even THINK about sticking your hand in B-M Burns's handbag.

Project details: "Shorty Cardigan", otherwise known as "Gilet" pattern 3 from Phildar's "Tout Lin" pattern leaflet 2005, which I bought from my local Phildar boutique. I knit the 34/36 size, and used less than 6 skeins of Phil Lin in Amande. I knit the back piece while I was in Paris, and the rest of the pieces back home in Lyon while reading Helen Fielding's Edge of Reason and Sophie Kinsella's Confessions of a Shopaholic. [Yes, I still like to read while I knit. If you can glue your eyes to the tv while knitting you can read while you knit, believe me.] I also got to watch (again) The Matrix while knitting one of the sleeves, and you know what? I can never get enough Keanu, oh no I can't.

Knitting and finishing notes: I made no changes to the pattern. The cardigan is knit using 2x2 rib and stockinette stitch. I used the tubular cast on for 2x2 rib on all pieces. Shoulders were shaped via short rows and joined using three-needle bind-off. I blocked all pieces using my ever-faithful steam-blocking method. [Slideshow of how I block here.] All pieces were joined using mattress stitch. I knit the neckbands separately (because they are knit on a needle that is a size smaller than the body of the garment) and sewed them on using mattress stitch. The buttonholes are vertical buttonholes and, to be quite frank, I don't like vertical buttonholes because they stretch but on this particular garment the vertical buttonholes looked better than horizontal buttonholes. The buttons I used were obtained at La Mercerie in La Croix Rousse, and they're lightweight wooden buttons that happened to be tinted the same shade as the yarn, which rocks my socks. I was going to use the wooden buttons originally called for in the pattern, but they were too big and heavy for the weight of the yarn and reminded me of buttons one would see on a "Dress Me" doll. (Wanna know how big they are? I tried using them at first and they wouldn't even fit through the buttonholes. Back to the Phildar boutique they went.) What else? Oh yes, I gave the cardigan a final blocking session by throwing the whole thing in the cold gentle cycle of the wash, and I placed it on a flat surface to dry. When my husband saw it on the blocking board drying, he said (jokingly, but still), "Oh! What a cute baby sweater." Funny guy.

All that said, I LOVE this little cardigan! Not only is it lightweight and knit in well-behaving yarn, it's so unlike anything I've ever worn before and I look forward to wearing it with strappy camisoles or sundresses. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to debut it because i) the weather is currently very hot, and ii) I'm waiting for my farmer's tan to go away. So! In lieu of shorty cardigan debut photos, I present you with a couple of slideshows of Paris:


*Or maybe I should call it the "kermesse tan". I got it while sitting in the sun for two hours at my son's school pageant because I was wearing a v-neck with three-quarter sleeves. A v-neck top with three-quarter sleeves at an outdoor school pageant on a sunny (albeit crisp) day! Einstein move, I know.