Blue and Cream

Today's posting includes more of the knitwear I've been working on this summer. And again, Sarah is my model.

            Silk, Merino and More

In this picture, Sarah is wearing wrist warmers rather than mitts, so there is no opening for the thumb.  They can be worn indoors, tucked under the cuffs of a sweater.  Or they can be worn as outerwear to keep your wrists warm at that spot where your coat sleeve and gloves sometimes just don't quite meet. 

The wrist warmers, along with the matching hat, are made from a yarn that is a mixture of 52% mulberry silk and 48% Merino wool.  The yarn, which is made in Peru, is spun loosely and has a high loft.  The feel is particularly soft to the touch.

The long scarf is loosely knit in a basket weave pattern and made from multiple strands of yarn.  The fibers include wool, bamboo, silk kid mohair and rayon chenille.  There is also one thin strand of an opalescent metallic thread that reflects the blue yarn and adds a bit of shimmer. 

Cream Baby Alpaca

This hat is made from three strands of baby alpaca.  One thick and one thin strand are a natural cream color while one thicker strand is a soft camel color.  For the scarf, I added a strand to mohair to the mix, giving it a slight halo effect. 

The scarf is 66 inches long and can wrap twice around the neck.  The cable pattern is double sided so the scarf looks good no matter which side is showing.  Because of the yarns used, all of the pieces are very soft to the touch.







Freshwater pearls are sewn around the bottom edge of the hat which is made to be loose and worn low.  This is a hat that will be warm but won't be so hard on the hairdo since it is not form fitting.

For purchases, special orders or questions, please e-mail me: marylarue@bellsouth.net

My blog: http://marylaruedesigns.blogspot.com

Luxury Knitwear

While it was excruciatingly hot outside in July and early August, I kept indoors with my stash of luxury yarns and knit away the days.  With audio books to entertain me, I had quite an enjoyable month.  I discovered Laurie R. King's Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes books and especially enjoyed knitting as those played.

I am including a selection of my new knits here.  You'll see many being worn by my young friend Sarah who is a wonderful model and was kind enough to pose for me today.  Pictures of other new pieces will follow in the next posts.

This rose colored cowl and hat are made from a bulky weight Merino Bouclé.  The designs are simple.  It is the texture and color variations in this fine Italian yarn that add interest.  This cowl is designed as a mobius strip and is wrapped around twice.


The yarns I chose for my new knitwear pieces are made primarily from mixtures of baby alpaca, mulberry silk and Merino wool. When I went to the second annual Kentucky Wool and Fiber Festival in Lexington in May, I was lucky enough to find several large cones of 100% rayon chenille being sold by a weaver. This chenille is from the former Churchill Weavers in Berea, KY and is wonderful yarn. I have incorporated the white, natural and black chenilles into some of the pieces I have been knitting this summer.

This is the same basic mobius strip design as the rose colored cowl.  Again, a simple design with wonderful yarn adding texture.  For this, I used one strand of baby alpaca yarn and one strand of looped (curly) baby alpaca.  Both are bulky weight yarns so this is a substantial piece.  It is finished off with an edging of baby alpaca in a soft camel color.



For purchases, special orders or questions, please e-mail: 
marylarue@bellsouth.net
My blog: http://marylaruedesigns.blogspot.com