Feed a fever. . .the Kaffe Long Leaf Coat

Buffy, this heat wave has given me a fever. All I can think about is the cool New England autumn that is just around the corner. And Kaffe's Long Leaf Coat (free download) which he designed, I understand, while he was in Vermont...

        

                                        

... So I noticed last week that Rowan Scottish Tweed 4-ply and DK were on sale at WEBS. Then I noticed  that Rowan Scottish Tweed DK was an eBay Buy-It-Now at Yarnbow. A quick inspection of both online stores showed that only a few colors were left -- DISCONTINUED!

So I leaped. At WEBS I found the following 4-Ply skeins:

4 Machair (light green)
1 Lewes Grey
4 Rust
4 Sunset (red orange)
4 Claret
4 Heath (grey brown)
4 Lobster (dark red)

And the following DK skeins:

2 Sunset (red orange)
3 Thistle (eggplant)
1 Indigo

And at Yarnbow, these colors in DK:

2 Lewes Grey
1 Lobster (dark red)
2 Thatch
3 Purple Mix (rosy)
3 Celtic Mix (dark mossy green)
1 Lavender
2 Herring (blue/grey)
2 Autumn
1 Indigo

Even at heavily discounted prices, these yarns added up fast:  $234 with an extra $13 shipping from Yarnbow. (I asked that the WEBS order be held for pick-up.)

So out came the stash for the other 17 colors of the Long Leaf Coat.

I've got two beautiful mohairs from the WEBS tent sale, one a rusty Italian color blend appropriately called Autumn. And a real fabulous discontinued Valley mohair in a glowing red colorway. I bought packs of ten skeins for $20 a pack.

I did a few swatches:  2 strands DK on #10s, 1 strand DK and 1 strand 4-ply on #10s, 1 strand of DK and 1 strand of 4-ply on #9 needles.  The last swatch gave me a perfect gauge stitch-wise, and a bit shorter gauge row-wise, and was the winner. But the true tipping point was the #9 needles -- so off to the  local yarn shop for Addi Turbo Lace circulars in 40 inch length.

So what's a girl to do? Just cast on!

The 3-inch thistle hem is curling up for there is a purl row to set the bottom of the coat. The turquoise strand is woven in and out every 10 stitches to mark the grid so that I could start the leaf tips in the correct spaces. The dark claret yarn in the center is one of the heavy lifters (along with thistle). I had a 2 oz. skein of Green Mountain Spinnery Mountain Mohair yarn. It makes the perfect blend for the dark bottom of the coat. I need 7 more skeins (and one or two more of Thistle DK.) And the small thistle (purple) ball is the Scottish Tweed Thistle DK "unplied," as I am knitting a base of 12 strands--here the GM Spinnery yarn counts as eight, and half of the DK counts as four.  The needlepoint yarn is 3-ply for a total base six, so I can just use two full strands of needlepoint wool, and match and mix the colors easily.

I'm not jumping ship on the Jug Coat. I just need a project that is a bit easier with less thinking to take me into winter. So this is it, and you'd better get knitting because I'm hot on your heels!

Everybody into the pool

Buffy, fabulous sleeve! Reminds me of the color changes in Noro yarn: Kaffe was ahead of his time.

Yes, there is lots of action here, and a bit of it is knitting -- but the knitting is not on my coat. Dear Daughter and I are both knitting sweaters for her, of course. And then one room of the house has been emptied and two looms are now found, cleaned and set up to begin weaving projects.  DD has never woven, and she's determined to try with some of the mohair that I got at the WEBS tent sale in May.

Dear Grandson has a 16-foot donut pool in the back yard, and two inflatable boats with attached squirt guns. And a beach ball and canoe paddle. Lots of stuff for the basement as soon as DG leaves. I guess my part of the coat project is on hold for another two weeks as I enjoy all the frenetic activity that a family visit brings.

I've made two quick trips to the midwest and will soon be making a third. Dear Sister, since she is one in one hundred million,  might be invited to Omaha to see the expert who helped develop the hot chemo treatment (HIPEC) that is now having a bit of success in some circumstances. HIPEC is used in conjunction with the major surgery, but in her case it was thought that she had ovarian cancer so this procedure was not set to go. Now, after the fact, it can't be used. Maybe later. She's up against the age barrier, too. HIPEC has not been used on anyone over 67 since it is combined with the surgery and requires a five week hospital stay.

Tomorrow might be the last day of the heat wave; we're expecting an 80° day on Saturday. Can't wait.

The Bouffant Sleeve

Dear LuLu,

I know you have your hands full: our shared grandson is visiting you! Are you sweltering in the East Coast heat wave we've been hearing about? I'm safely back from Nicaragua, where it was hot and very rainy--and very green and lush. It's continued cold and wet here in the Northwest, until today, so I made some progress on Sleeve #1: