Cure for the Winter Blahs
Originally uploaded by smithsonjane
We finally have sunshine!! In honor of the turn in the weather, which is sure to revert to grey skies tomorrow, I am abandoning my current Ravelympic project in favor of Ishbel knit in beautiful, buttery yellow Malabrigo sock. I have a week to finish if I want a medal. It’s doable. Unfortunately, that means I have to give up on my mittens for now. They’re looking pretty good, too. But I gotta do what feels right.
2010 Knitting and Spinning Resolutions
Okay, I am just going to pretend like it hasn’t been four months since I’ve posted anything. So moving on….
A list of my fiber-related resolutions for the new year:
1. Stash-busting. I would like to knit up all of the beautiful hand-dyed yarn in my stash. For example, I have a good amount of Miss Babs yarn (my fave) so I would like to knit all of that up so that when I buy more I won’t feel guilty about it. Towards this resolution, I started the garter yoke cardigan from Knit.1 using Miss Babs Yowza! Whatta Skein in the Smooch colorway that I purchased at Stitches South last year. It is knitting up beautifully. No pic of the sweater in progress, but here’s a pic of the yarn.
2. Spin more. Related to the first resolution because I have lots of lovely fiber waiting to be spun and knit into something beautiful. Have already gotten a start on this resolution, as well. This week I spun up a hank of Miss Babs BFL in the Iris colorway. It’s a two-ply of varying thicknesses, but I’m pretty pleased with it. I think my Traveler was shocked that I put it to use.
Color isn't very accurate. The purple is more purple and there is more green than what appears in this pic.
3. Knit a project or projects with my handspun. The first project I plan on knitting is the Rayne Wrap by Cosmicpluto using the Miss Babs Iris colorway mentioned above.
4. Knit more fair isle projects. I have at least two fair isle kits in my stash that I would like to knit – Eunny Jang’s Autumn Rose Pullover in the Knit Picks Aquatic colorway and the Sipalu Bag, also from Knit Picks. I also want to give fair isle mittens a try.
5. As a special challenge, I want to knit the Lacewing Shawl by Knitspot. I saw this shawl at Stitches South last year in April and fell in love, but I found the pattern intimidating. I’ve made a couple of projects using laceweight yarn since then so I think I am ready to take it on. I purchased the yarn and pattern from Knitting Notions at SAFF in October. I just love the Green Apple colorway.
6. Continue knitting chemo hats for Hugs for Heads. One per month is my goal.
7. Knit more socks. My sock output suffered a little last year because of my goal to knit twelve sweaters in twelve months (more about that later). I don’t want to get too crazy, but my goal is to knit at least six pairs.
So there you are. My resolutions typed up and put out there for all who cares to see. I think I have gotten off to a good start, and we’ll see how it goes from here.
Happy Anniversary!
Three years ago today, Buzz and I were married in the field behind my parent’s house. It was a wonderful day, and he’s a wonderful guy. I love you, honey, and happy anniversary.
The Fair!
Hubs and I went to the Tennessee Valley Fair on Sunday to visit with some of our friends who show Jersey dairy cows. Their farm is called Oak Breeze Dairy out of Wartrace, TN. They love showing and make it a family affair. Their cows are beautiful. 
There were Holsteins, too. The University of Tennessee had a birthing exhibit, where we saw this little guy (or gal). I love baby calves. I grew up on a Holstein dairy farm. I miss the farm sometimes, but not on cold, winter days. We mostly walked around and admired the animals, and I took lots of pictures.
There were sheep, of course.
We really enjoyed the poultry barn. I was amazed at the variety. Buzz raised chickens for 4-H when he was a kid. Rhode Island Reds, I think.
There were rabbits, too. I couldn’t find the angoras. I’m sure they had them. And of course, a fair isn’t a fair without giant fruits and vegetables. I snapped a shot of this 181-lb watermelon. I wish I had put something in the picture for scale. It was truly amazing.
The Yarn Patch and Future Projects
Back in August Carol, Sherry, Sandi, and I made a day trip to Crossville. First stop, the Bean Pot, where we had a little breakfast. The tenderloin biscuit was delicious, but their sweet tea was surprisingly bad. This is the South and they should know how to make a decent glass of iced sweet tea for Pete’s sake. Next stop was Little Blessings Quilt Shop. We oohed and aahed over all of the pretty fabrics. I purchased several colorful fabrics to make more project bags. Sandi had a hard time choosing which bag patterns she wanted to purchase. There were so many!
I’ve already whipped up one bag. I love this fabric because it looks very vintage to me.
Our final stop was the Yarn Patch, and we found it to be a wonderful shop filled with beautiful yarns and warm, friendly people. I purchased yarn for two future projects, both from Berroco – Diorama and Napoleon. The yarn is a new offering from Berroco called Vintage Wool. It’s a super soft wool/acrylic blend, and the colors are gorgeous.
I purchased the Chocolate colorway for Diorama and Lilacs for Napoleon. I would not have chosen Diorama for myself just by looking at the picture in the pattern book. It wasn’t until a helpful customer insisted I try on the sample that I fell in love with this pattern. And I kept coming back to the Chocolate colorway. I would have called it Bronze. The acrylic gives the yarn a subtle shine. Napoleon is from the Blackstone Tweed pattern book. I love almost every pattern from that book. I hope to get around to these two soon, but there are so many other projects that will have to come first.
It was a great day spent with great friends. We had so much fun we are going back again this month for another visit. And in October a group of us are going to SAFF in Asheville. Should be another great trip. I feel so lucky to have such wonderful friends. It’s another reason to love knitting – all the fabulous people you meet.
Of Unbirthdays and Magic Balls
At the end of August my knitting group celebrated everyone’s birthday in one phenomenal Happy Unbirthday party. There was ice cream cake and punch, appetizers, tiaras and best of all magic yarn balls. Each of us put together a magic yarn ball to bring to the party. We wrapped lots of trinkets, treasures, and gifts in 200 yards of worsted weight yarn. Then we had a drawing and everyone got to take one home. Unfortunately, I don’t have pics of the magic yarn ball that I made (it was very bulbous and not very attractive) or of the one I received (I was too eager to unwind it and find the goodies inside). However, I do have photos of what was inside.
I used Knit One Crochet Too Ty-Dy Wool in the Grapes colorway and lots of ribbon and lace to wrap mine up. I loaded it with goodies, two of which I made especially for the recipient. The first was a little felt pouch of which I am very proud. It was my first attempt at blanket stitch and needle felting. I purchased the felt and cut out the shape. Then sewed it up using the blanket stitch and continued around the top with the stitch to give it a finished edge. I needle-felted the design using Knit Picks Palette fingering weight yarn out of my stash. I drew some inspiration from this scarf. I had a lot of fun with it.
Second, I whipped up a drawstring project bag. It’s my third using the tutorial at Between the Lines. I really enjoy making these little bags. I dressed the drawstring up with a couple of beads at the ends of the ribbon. The fabric is from Hobby Lobby.
The magic ball I received was made by my friend Debbie. Look at all the little goodies. I especially love the pin and the knitting needles. The yarn is a heathery green wool grown locally from heirloom sheep at Blackberry Farm, and the mohair was an added bonus. I plan on knitting a ruched scarf. Thanks, Deb! And thanks to everyone for a great party!
Blog, Blog, Blog, What Happened?
Wow! I haven’t posted anything since July. I’ll use the excuse that I’ve had a very busy summer. We’ve had several visitors, and we’ve made a couple of trips, too. And there’s been lots and lots of knitting. Late night knitting, baseball knitting, knitting in the car, knitting on my lunch break. You get the picture. Speaking of pictures, it rained a LOT in July, and rain makes it difficult to photograph projects.
I finished my Selbu Modern and made two more hats for Hugs for Heads. The first week of August, I helped deliver the hats we collected in July. What a great feeling to help others. Our basket is overflowing again, and we’ll be making another delivery soon. Our fellow knitters are doing themselves proud.
On the left is Chapeau Marnier by Marnie MacLean out of Cashcotton 4-ply [rav link]. I left the ribbon long on purpose so that the recipient could cut it to the length she wants. Lovely, lovely pattern. I’ll be making one of these for myself one day. Upper right is the Saturday Afternoon Hat by Julie out of Rowan Wool Cotton [rav link]. This is a very quick knit pattern that can be dressed up in lots of ways. I added a flower, and I’ve seen it knit in more than one color, which looks great, too. The flower took me longer to knit than the hat. The hat I knit during a Tennessee Smokies baseball game. The flower for some reason was a real pain in the butt. And lower right is Selbu Modern from Zeitgeist Yarns [rav link]. Another great pattern that I would like to knit for myself one day. I used a heavier weight yarn than the pattern called for, which resulted in a nice, thick hat. I think should I knit again I would use fingering weight.
In upcoming posts, I’ll tell you how my year of sweaters is coming along. So far I am on target to complete 12 sweaters this year. Woo-hoo!
FOs: Hugs for Heads
As I mentioned before, The Knitting Nest is sponsoring Hugs for Heads. We are making hats for the cancer ward at Blount Memorial Hospital. My fellow knitters and crocheters have been churning out some beautiful hats in the softest yarns. I made these three in the last month, and I am currently working on Selbu Modern. Making these hats is almost instant gratification, which would probably explain why I would rather knit hats than work on anything else right now (Orangina, I’m talking to you).
Pattern: Pi Topper Chemo Hat, Corey Laflamme
Yarn: Rowan Wool Cotton in Flower, 1+ balls
Needles: Size 8, magic loop
Love this pattern, but I used needles that were a little too large for the yarn. The hat is very drapy. The band is a little loose, but hopefully, someone with a largish head needs a hat. Button from Hobby Lobby.
Pattern: Pi Topper Chemo Hat (I told you I love this pattern)
Yarn: Rowan Wool Cotton in Moonstone, 1+ balls
Needles: Size 6, magic loop
I used Judy’s Magic Cast-on to start the hat this time, and it worked very nicely. The size 6 needles made all the difference, and this hat fits much better. Button from Hobby Lobby.
Pattern: Canopy Sprintime in Philadelphia, Kelbourne Woolens
Yarn: RYC Cashcotton 4-Ply, 1 ball
Needles: 2.75mm, 2.0 mm
This is the second beret I have knit, and I love knitting them. The two I have knit have both been from the top down. I need to try one from the brim up, but I have a feeling I would prefer the top down, since I prefer to knit my socks from the toe-up. This is another great pattern, very well written. The yarn is deliciously soft. I have another ball that is destined to become another beret.
And finally, here is my progress on Selbu Modern, a great pattern from Zeitgeist yarns. I took a fair isle class at SAFF with Nancy Shroyer last October, and I left very excited about stranded knitting. However, this is the first fair isle project I’ve attempted since then, and my skills are a bit rusty. I’m knitting two-handed, and my right hand throwing is still a little unsure. My tension is just okay. I’m curious to see how it looks after a wash. And again I can’t say enough about this pattern. I’m having loads of fun working on it. Hubby was very impressed. The yarn is Rowan Wool Cotton. Recognize those colors? I’m using slightly larger needles sizes than stated in the pattern because of the heavier weight yarn, 2.5mm for the brim and 3.25mm for the body. It seems to be working fine.
I’ll leave you with a pic of Petie the Kitten and my hubby (beer in hand) surfing the net. I couldn’t resist the cute. We’ve nicknamed him Speedy Petie because he loves to run around the house at top speed.
FO: Vogue Drop Stitch Scarf
Pattern: #13 Drop Stitch Scarf, Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2009
Yarn: Araucania Ruca
Needles: Knit Picks Harmony, Size 5
Great pattern, but there is one typo, which I detailed in a previous post. Like any scarf, I was tired of looking at this one about halfway through. I motivated myself by placing a marker near my needles when I would work on it so that I could see how much length I added to it everytime. It really helps to be able to “see” your progress on a project when you get to a point where it doesn’t seem like you are getting anywhere.
I used about a skein and a half of the Ruca. It produces a very drapy fabric, and it has a nice sheen. It is a little splitty, but not so bad that I found it frustrating to knit up. When I wove in my ends, I was worried about them coming out because the yarn is so slick. For added security, I wove in about an inch, and then I split the plies into threes and wove those in individually. I’m hoping this will keep them from working themselves out.
I like my scarves long so I knit until it reached from finger tip to finger tip. It measured 63″ long when I had it blocked out. Of course, this yarn is not wool so it does not block like wool. The drape and weight of it takes over. It is not a light, airy scarf. Overall, I am very pleased with this project.
Right now, I am devoted to Orangina, although it is sorely trying my patience. It seems I have to rip back every third or fourth row due to my inattention. Miss a yarnover, ssk, or k2tog and everything is thrown off. I have also been knitting the Springtime in Philadelphia Beret for Hugs for Heads. I’m using Rowan Cashcotton 4-Ply, and it is sooo soft. The pattern is lots of fun and very well written. If you live in the area, please donate a hat. It will be greatly appreciated. If you want to drop yours at the Nest, she is taking the next batch on July 6th so please have them there by the 3rd. Thanks!
FOs: Sweaters!
Wow! I didn’t realize it had been so long since my last post. It’s been raining here a lot in East TN, which makes it difficult to take decent pics, and I like my posts to have pics if possible. I have several projects that I have finished recently that I can include in my goal to make this the Year of the Sweater.
First up is a sample that I knit for The Knitting Nest from one of the Debbie Macomber pattern collections. It’s the Child’s Cabled Pullover from Leisure Arts book #4692, Knit Along With Debbie Macomber: Debbie’s Favorites. Very cute pattern and the yarn is DreamBaby Shine DK from Plymouth. I only needed two balls for the smallest size. The yarn has a shiny strand through it and makes a very pretty fabric. I finished this one in May, just in time for Ms. Macomber’s book signing at the Nest. Ravelry link.
Next, I finished the February Baby sweater in Jeanee for my friends’ new baby girl. The pattern is a classic, and I really liked the Jeanee yarn. I found the buttons at Hobby Lobby. I really think they make the sweater. I knit the sleeves in the round by adapting the instructions from the Lady version. Ravelry link.
And finally, my Cavern Cardigan. Another great pattern, and quick to knit. I used the orange Pomaire yarn that I had originally purchased for my failed entrelac scarf. I bought a fourth skein, but I couldn’t find another one in my dye lot that matched very well to the three I already had, a disadvantage to kettle-dyed yarn. No worries, though. I made my cardigan short-sleeved, and I like it that way so it worked out. I’ll use the fourth for a market bag or something. The Pomaire was very nice to knit up, and it did not pool in any unattractive ways. As for pattern mods, besides the short-sleeves, I did an extra set of raglan increases, and I cast on an extra stitch under the arm. Ravelry link.
