Sock it to me.
10 Oct 2011 2 Comments
in Off the Needles, Spinning a Yarn
Again interrupting the beautiful daily Kansas posts, I have a little crafty to show. I am so excited about this one.
A few months ago, I participated in a Spin-a-long. That is, I ordered some fiber dyed especially for a group of spinners and we all spun them up. When it was all over there was a drawing for a prize, and I won! A short while later I received this beautiful superwash merino braid from FatCatKnits, in the colorway “Wretched Kiss.”
I spun the yarn up intending it to go in the shop, but I miscalculated and ended up with a larger skein of 2ply and a shorter skein of navajo plied leftovers.
With colors this bright, I decided that I was going to have to knit myself some socks. It took me a little while (as I got distracted by other projects) but now, just in time for fall, I have some awesome socks.
My little cabbage.
06 Oct 2011 2 Comments
in Off the Needles, Spinning a Yarn
As much as I hate ruining the pretty line of October posts, I have another 1-2-3 to share!
A while ago I purchase a pretty fiber batt, “Rich Girl” batts from a Ravelry friend, Adventures in Fiber. I purchased this around the time she opened the shop and she was kind enough to stuff a second batt into the package as a bonus! The colors were rich magenta and purple.
At first I wasn’t sure how I wanted to spin these batts, but then during Tour de Fleece I threw caution to the wind and spun them into singles:
The yarn came out pretty, and I got about 400 yards out of them, but I hadn’t counted on the silk creating nepps and uneven singles. So I waited, and as always happens, the perfect pattern fell in my lap.
At the beginning of September my friend Chrissy asked me to test knit her new cowl, one that she was calling Chou Cowl (and knitting in the colorway Mon Petit Chou).
Voila! My Cabbage Leaves:
Cherry Bomb
28 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
in Miscellaneous Craftery, Off the Needles
Some friends of ours are expecting their first child soon and after harassing them to find out what it would be (boy or girl), I decided I need to knit something special. But I can’t seem to do anything simply, if you know what I mean.
I had a few balls of this in my stash that I thought I would use up:
But as the days went by and I hadn’t started knitting, I had to admit that I wasn’t super excited about knitting a cotton candy pink blanket, even though it is for a girl. Rather, what I realized is that I’m kind of spoiled by all the lovely hand dyed yarns I work with and this yarn just seemed SO flat to me. So I got a harebrained idea. One that involved a lot of Kool-Aid
After an hour or two of soaking, cooking, cooling and waiting I ended up with something that I affectionately call “Cherry Bomb.”
I was thrilled with the makeover. The photos just don’t do it justice, but what I got was a subtle semi-solid with cherries and pinks and all of the depth I was looking for. It took me a couple of weeks, but I knit it up and photographed it this evening.
Now all that remains is wrapping it up for the shower, and then welcoming the little girl herself!
Time flies
13 Sep 2011 1 Comment
in Off the Needles, What tales we weave
I don’t think I can keep track of time any more. It seems like I just picked tomatoes and made tomato sauce and here it is several weeks later. What have I been up to?
Well there was this:
This is Sweater #6 for the year. My goal is 11 and I’m very behind, but I love this one. It’s an adaptation of Elizabeth Zimmerman’s February Lady Sweater. The original was a sort of unshaped cardigan, and this is a very shapely pullover. I knit it in about 3 weeks and it was a pleasure to knit. The yarn is Madelinetosh Vintage (worsted weight) in the colorway Black Currant. I can’t say enough good things about this base – it’s delightful to knit with – or the depth of the dyer’s colors. Absolutely delicious!
Last Christmas, Wes surprised me and bought me an Ashford Knitter’s Loom. For whatever reason, I just couldn’t get into it. I warped it backwards, then I warped it with wool that was too sticky. Then I wove a scarf that was about half too small and then, to add insult to injury, I felted it while trying to get it to even out (by tossing it in the dryer). On the whole, totally unsatisfactory. I duly warped the loom to try again, and promptly let it sit. For months.
A few weeks ago I pulled it out, determined not to waste the beautiful yarn that I had cut into pieces to warp the loom. One scarf and I was out. Except, this time it took. It was quick, it was beautiful and don’t tell him I said this, but it was fun! After a few nights I had gone from this:
to this:
You also may notice that the quality of my photos has gone up a bit. I can take absolutely no credit for that whatsoever. For our three year anniversary, we decided to splurge a little and get a new camera. We ended up getting a Canon Rebel T3i, and so far, we LOVE it.
More soon… I have adventures in Koolaid for you!
Three and some change.
21 Aug 2011 4 Comments
in A Picture's Worth 1000 Words, Here Comes the Bride, Off the Needles
Often, when close friends of mine get married, or have children, I knit them blankets. I don’t know what else says love and welcomes new life (whether together or for the first time) than a blanket to cuddle under, to keep warm. When Wes and I got married, I really wanted to knit us a commemorative blanket. I wanted us to pick the patterns and yarns together, and I wanted to knit us something for our new life together. My caveat was that I didn’t want to stress about trying to finish it for an August wedding, so with that in mind, I suggested I would finish it for our first anniversary.
Well three patterns, three yarns and three years (and some change) later, it’s finally done. I actually finished it last week – exactly a week past our third anniversary, but only got to take photos today.
The Pattern: Paintbox Log Cabin Blanket
The Yarns: Noro Kureyon (various colors) and Lamb’s Pride Superwash (Northern Lights colorway)
The Needles: US 8′s
The Verdict: The pattern was easy and the squares were addictive. The fun part was laying them all out and picking where we wanted them to go. I also loved that there was no seaming needed – each of the garter sections has a three needle bindoff! I love the finished product and I can’t wait for it to be winter so I can snuggle with my honey under it.
Sweet Little Natasha Bird
22 Jun 2011 5 Comments
in Off the Needles, Spinning a Yarn
I’ve been dying to post this one, but have been keeping quiet in deference to the designer!
I recently used spun up some beautiful Fat Cat Knits Falkland fiber into a luscious singles.
Around the same time a dear friend of mine, Chrissy, was asked by the owner of Twisted Fiber Art to design a shawl around a photograph and the colorway it inspired. I test knit the pattern in my beautiful Natasha.
Kits will be available shortly here.
In the mean time, I’ll share mine with you:
As easy as…
22 Jun 2011 1 Comment
in Off the Needles, Spinning a Yarn
One: Two if by Hand, Mixed BFL, April Club “Diving Horses”
Two: Fingering weight singles, ~375 yards
Three: Hamamelis Shawl by Kirsten Kapur
Destination: A special friend in New Zealand.
Swimming the Channel.
06 Jun 2011 1 Comment
This weekend I finished knitting what may possibly be my favorite knitted sweater to date! There is just nothing like picking a luxury yarn, in a color you love, and ending up with a garment that fits and flatters. I wish every sweater journey could end this way, but I’m very happy when it happens.
The Pattern: Channel by Yelena Malcom
The Needles: US 5′s
The Yarn: Squoosh, Merino Cashmere Nylon, Colorway Tsunami
The Verdict: I already proclaimed my love for this. I wanted to call the garment Tsunami (after the colorway) but cast on immediately after the tsunami happened in Japan, so instead I went with swimming the channel. My favorite parts of this sweater are the wonderful rounded neckline, and the swirls detailing the bottom which flatter the waist. The yarn was absolute luxury – the cashmere makes the yarn so unbelieveably soft. And of course it’s my favorite color. I will almost certainly use this pattern again!
In which I confess my inability to follow a pattern.
23 May 2011 Leave a Comment
in Off the Needles, Spinning a Yarn
A while back I bought a GLOWING braid from the fabulous Micamynx. I mean it practically glows in the dark.
I decided to challenge myself a bit and split the braid in two lengthwise. My goal was to spin the halves separately and ply them together. I was hoping that I would spin consistently enough that the colors from the two halves would match up. The results weren’t half bad.
I ended up with about 250 yards of a worsted weight yarn. Next I had to decide what to knit. I found a cute little free pattern on Ravelry – Little Shells by Holly Griffin-Weidener. The only problem is that once I printed the pattern out, I sort of goofed it up by not reading carefully enough. So the idea for the pattern is definitely not mine, but it’s my own interpretation of it!
Progress
06 May 2011 4 Comments
in A Home of Our Own, Off the Needles, Spinning a Yarn
I still feel weird coming back to the blog and posting about things that don’t seem important – and these days there isn’t too much that seems important. That said, there are things happening in our life.
On the home front, we just undertook a big project: re-siding the house. We didn’t exactly undertake it ourselves really, we hired a company to do it for us. It was a BIG job and it’s costing us, but we’re so pleased with how it’s turning out.
This was what our house looked like when we bought it:
This is what it looked like 2 days ago:
On the crafting front, I’m continuing in my quest to knit 11 sweaters in 2011. This one is a bit different though, in that it’s my first handspun sweater. A few months ago I went into my stash and pulled out 5 braids of fiber. The pile looked very colorful and I wondered idly if I was going to end up with a beautiful sweater or loads of rainbow barf.
I began spinning early this year, and it took me a while to spin 6 bobbins worth. But I did:
I held my breath as I plied the yarn, hoping that I would like what I got. And guess what? It was pretty!
I finished up with 1000-1200 yards. Then I had to decide what to knit. I settled on the Shalom Cardigan because it was a simple pattern that would show off the handspun. I had to do a little math to make it work, since my yarn was a worsted weight and the pattern called for bulky. But I think I made it work.
I finished the sweater in the car last week, and blocked it early this week. I wore it for the first time yesterday and loved it SO much that I wore it again today. At lunch today, over ice cream, sitting outdoors in the sunshine, I had a friend snap a photo.
