  Summer in Pittsburgh can be so oppressive and the air outside now is like pea soup. Thankfully the skies do finally give way and drop some rain. There was even a rainbow last evening! The garden looks great now - the bee balm is a brilliant magenta and the day lilies are in full force. On The Needles: My current project is a sport weight alpaca top for myself. I have started this thing several times. I'm trying to create a ruffled bottom using an eyelet pattern from one of the Barbara Walker treasuries and then decreasing to a rib and eyelet pattern for the body. I started it as a cardigan, then ripped and started over as a close fitting pullover. I'm using Frog Tree yarn on Inox 2.75 MM needles.
If you're not familiar with Frog Tree, check it out. Not only are the colors beautiful and the fiber very soft, the company is owned by an American couple who have formed a not-for-profit co-op in Bolivia, with proceeds being returned to the Bolivian community. In this day and age of political disharmony, it is good to see that there is still a spirit of service out there. Still on Paper: A jacket to match the above sweater in a variegated Paternayan wool based on a pattern in a vintage (circa 1958) McCalls Needlework Magazine.
I still have to swatch but I think the jacket will be a combination of slip stitch patterning on the lapels and cuffs and stockinette or seed stitch for the rest of the body. I love this yarn but I have heard that JCA has discontinued it. I have made two modular vests with it this summer. It is the same wool used by needle-pointers; because it is a loosely plied 3-strand yarn, it splits easily, but once you get past that it has a wonderful hand.
Class Notes: I had the first Modular Knit class on Saturday at Dyed In The Wool on Babcock Boulevard with 3 students. It went well and everyone seemed to be on the right track when they left. I'll probably offer the diagonal version in the fall. Thanks to Carol Dragos, the shop owner, for giving me the chance to teach. It has been a pleasure. 
