Did I say crafty stuff? This is what 34 looks like with crafty stuff.

The hat is new (the pattern is “Rikke”) and I love it despite the fact that it was in the 90′s this weekend and clearly inappropriate weather for a wool hat.

Other than knitting and spinning, I got to go see the touring production of Jersey Boys for my birthday and then have a delightfully delicious dinner at my favorite Kansas City eatery, Piropos.

Yesterday I ran all kinds of errands and came home and got cracking on getting my spinning and weaving shop ready for the Creative Hand Craft Show this November where I hope to be selling my wares for the first time. I ordered new business cards this morning and I need to get treadling!  My favorite photo from the shoot yesterday? A rainbow of handspun:

And finally, just for a little extra excitement, we spent last night hunkered down in the basement listening to the tornado sirens. There were two tornadoes that touched down in Olathe, two houses caught fire after being struck by lightening, quarter sized hail pelted the area, and we’re still under flash flood watch. Who knew 34 would be such an exciting year?

The bag I picked up was a whopping 20 ounces of ends so I was pretty sure I could get about 1000 yards of worsted weight out of it, or enough to knit a sweater. But when I started looking at patterns, one in particular jumped out at me, Snowbird by Heidi Kirrmaier.  And wouldn’t you know it, the pattern called for 1450 yards of yarn?  I mentioned my problem in a forum on Ravelry and a wonderfully kind spinner offered to sell me another 8 ounces.

So I began to spin.

And then I spun some more. Okay a lot more.

And when I was done, then I plied. A lot.

Then I knit a swatch… just to see if I was on gauge.

And I was spot on.

So then I began to knit. And knit. And knit some more. Towards the end I got a bit fearful about having enough yardage to make it through the project. I spent a few days frantically knitting faster (because you know that helps when you’re about to run out of yarn!) and then it occurred to me that I might have something in the stash that would help. And I did. I dug out some leftover Blue Moon Fiber Arts Woobu from a vest I made last year. The bamboo in the yarn approximated the shiny silk in the handspun and the colors were a match!

Finally, last week I was done knitting. And I don’t think I’ve loved any sweater that I’ve made more than this one.

The colors. The details. The pockets.

I love this sweater.

More to come…

One of Wes’s coworkers is expecting his first son in early June. Since I’ve started knitting a little something for the office babies I knew I wanted to knit a sweater. I went trolling through Ravelry patterns and found a cute stripey sweater. A quick inventory of the stash, a dash through my the favorite etsy button supplier’s store and I was good to go!

Pattern: Little Coffee Bean Cardigan

Yarn: Berroco Vintage in Dark Denim & Chana Dal

Needles: US 8

The verdict: Cute cute cute! I need to remember this pattern – it was a simple knit, worked up quickly and is adorable!

***

June baby number two is due to a friend in Seattle.  I got the idea while perusing buttons when I found some super cute sailor ones. Daddy loves sailing and has his own sailboat, so it’s a good bet the little guy will be going out on a boat sooner or later.  I made use of my stash again, finding this luscious navy yarn and an adorable little cardigan pattern with a shawl collar and voila!

The Pattern: Baby Sophisticate

The Yarn: The Plucky Knitter, 80/20 Superwash merino nylon, Cinzia Zicardi

The Needles: US 8

The Verdict: Love this one too! I held fingering weight yarn doubled for this one and so again, it knit up quickly. I love those baby knits for instant gratification! I’m so pleased with how this turned out and I hope mommy and daddy love it too.

Now let’s get to work on gifts for the August babies!

You’ve already seen one of the baby blankets I knit this year.

Back in January I finished another baby blanket for a dear Ravelry friend. She was due in April, but her baby girl decided to be contrary and arrived in early February. She’s doing well now and slated to come home in just a few weeks, but I was relieved to have finished the blanket to send ahead. The pattern is from Mason Dixon Knitting and used up a variety of easy care yarns I had in the stash. Mama wanted bright colors and I think this fits the bill!

This week I’m attending a baby shower for a coworker who is expecting her first, a little boy, in April as well. We don’t know each other super well, but we do work together and I do love knitting wee things, so I decided to make her a baby sweater. I jumped on the bandwagon and used the  Puerperium Cardigan pattern that the Yarn Harlot raved about a few months ago.  I had two balls of a beautiful blue DK silk merino that is so soft and squishy and perfect for baby. A quick trip through the etsy shop of my favorite Israeli button vendor and I was set.

I really think the buttons make the cardigan:

Now I’m getting to work on the June baby gifts (two!) followed by the August babies (three more)!

I can’t say enough good things about the pattern: Missoni Inspired Baby Blanket by Kelly Kingston.  The pattern is well written and beautiful presented.  It offers excellent tutorials on different stitches used in the pattern, as well as a host of photographs.

Although the pattern calls for a whopping 13 colors, I selected 5 that I thought complemented each other.  Most of the balls of yarn came from the stash, with a few extras acquired for balance. For those interested the yarn was Knit Picks Shine Sport in the colorways Orchid, Blush, Green Apple, Silver Sage and Grass.  I picked a US size 4 needle because I liked the fabric it created, and cast on enough stitches to get to my desired final width (about 40″). Other than that, I didn’t make further modifications on the pattern.

The blanket is now winging its way across the United States to my cousin and his wife who are expecting their little girl the first week in April. I hope they enjoy the gift.

A few weeks ago, while perusing my Twitter feeds, I saw a retweet from someone saying that Lucy Neatby was looking for test knitters. Ms. Neatby happens to be a very important person in the knitting world. (I do believe when telling a friend about this project I referred to her as Lucy effen Neatby – meant entirely in complimentary awe of her talent).  I shot off a quick email and next thing I knew I was signed up to test knit.

The pattern arrived a day or so later, and I had those first pangs of anxiety – you know that sort of stomach dropping moment where you think maybe you’ve bitten off more than you can chew?

The pattern was for a double knit baby bonnet. Our good old friend Wikipedia defines it thusly:

Double knitting is a form of knitting in which two fabrics are knit simultaneously with two yarns on one pair of needles.

Clear as mud?

The pattern called for a tubular cast-on, which was also something I hadn’t ever tried. I’m sure had I invested in the collection of Lucy Neatby technique videos, I’d be well versed in this method, but I went looking for a tutorial online and found one of my favorites, Eunny Jang, here:

Duly fortified with this knowledge I set about casting on and it worked beautifully.

Now I by no means consider myself an expert at the technique of double knitting, but here’s how I went about it.  I kept my chart close at hand.  Normally I don’t need to track the chart excessively with highlighter tape, but because each stitch on the chart was actually TWO stitches (both the inside and the outside color) and because sometimes these colors were switched (to create the patternwork) I tracked it VERY carefully.

The top panel of the hat is worked back and forth meaning each time I turned my work over, I had to reverse the “main color” and the “contrast color.” In color terms: on one side red was my dominant color, with the white snowflakes in contrast, and on the other side, white was my dominant color with the red snowflakes in contrast. I only did a few rows at a time through the top panel of the hat. Also, I knit with both colors of yarn in one hand, but I switched each row so that the dominant/main color of that row was the more tensioned yarn (with the contrast color just following along). If you knit continental, this may be easier for you.

The rest of the instructions in the pattern were clear and concise. It took me a little over a week, but I got through the pattern and save one (unfortunately very visible) mistake, I completed the project.

Me: Stick a fork in me, I’m done! I finished 11 sweaters in 2011!

Him: Well you got that one in just under the wire, didn’t you?

Me: Holy shitballs I knit 11 sweaters in 2011!

Why yes, yes I did.

1. Vestpa, 2. Jeweled 3. The Amazing Technicolor Dream Sweater, 4. Blue Morpho Surprise, 5. Channel, 6. Staying Warm at Camp, 7. Rosy Retro Redux, 8. Idlewood, 9. Rocky Coast, 10. Rusty, 11. Lobstah

May I never be so silly as to try that again.

We’re now in the time of year when I take most of my photos on the weekends, so that I can use natural light. I can’t seem to take photographs under lamps and indoor light that I like quite as much as those I can take in natural light.

Anyway, I gathered up a ton of stuff this weekend and got out the camera.

There were a few spins:

And of course there was knitting. A test shawl for a friend:

And my favorite, a new set of handknit fingerless gloves.  I didn’t actually spin this yard, but rather traded for it in a group on Ravelry. I LOVE the colorway though (by one of my favorite dyers, maude & me).  I mixed up two patterns to make my own.  When I was done I had a bit of handspun leftover, and you know it’s a SIN to waste good handspun so I made a matching headband/earwarmer.

I also cannot say enough wonderful things about etsy. I got the buttons from a crafter in Israel!

Next time… more weaving, and sweaters #9 and 10!

I finished this one on Saturday, and I LOVE it.

The Pattern: Idlewood

The Needles: US 10.5, US 8

The Yarn: Lamb’s Pride Superwash Worsted, Midnight Pine

The Verdict: This is a great sweater. A cozy cowl neck, a great layering piece, and looks good on a variety of body types. I know this one will get a lot of wear. Apologies on the color distortion here – the sweater is a pine green heathered with red and gold flecks, rather than the grey-green it appears here. I’ll try for a closeup soon!