A little crafting

It has been a while since I've shared some crafty goodness.  I have been crafting - a lot- and it hasn't been all knitting!  A stretch for me for sure.  I'm not a patient knitter or a very patient stitcher but I'm working on it. 

So here is a little mishmash of what I've been up to in the last few weeks.

From left to right:  Transatlantic, booties, a dress sewn for a gift from a Simplicity pattern, In Threes Cardi, one simple socks, Stripes Study (again), Embroidery and Curtain from Alicia Paulson's Embroidery Companion. 


Phew.  That was fun!

Yarn Along Wednesday

Participating in Ginny's weekly Yarn Along...


I missed last week's Yarn Along.  It was the first one I missed!  It wasn't for the lack of knitting or even a bit of reading...life was just too busy!  I'm not sure what I've been so busy with as it seems my list is ever growing and still so many things need to be done. 

After finishing two really big projects, a Catkin and Whippoorwill, I'm ready for some steady non-thinking knitting.  I'm participating in a SAL (Shawl Along) with Skein on Ravelry and have decided to use my skein of Skein to make another Stripe Study shawl.  Simple and mindless garter stitch.  I think that is what I need right now.  For a more portable project I started a simple pair of socks too in a rustic tweedy wool.  After freezing for what seemed like an enternity this winter, I think I need lots of woolen socks. 

I'm still working on Pride and Prejudice and now am getting to the meat of it.  It feels a bit odd to read such a classic on a Ipad but I love the feature of touching a word and having a the definition pop up for you.

Christmas in May

I decided to take the advice of a knitwear designer this year reguarding knitting for Christmas.  He feels most creative towards the holiday gift giving when he takes a year "off" from a majorly knitted Christmas.  With that advice in mind and my natural tendencies to over do it (so that I'm knitting in the wee hours of the morning), I'm only going to give a few knitted things. 

I thought I should probably start early.  I've got a long queue of things I plan to knit my boys.  I plan on forcing Logan to wear an obnoxious amount of longies this fall and winter.  Uniform vests for Mason. Lots of socks. 

I wanted to give something to my sister-in-law's mom.  Her family is always so thoughtful and frankly, they let her marry my brother.  I think that is worthy of some sort of medal of honor.  Like her daughter, she is quite beautiful and graceful and I thought a Whippoorwill would be a perfect thing to give.

I wasn't sure what yarn to use for this project other than I knew I wanted something very feminine, silk and wool, and very light and soft.  My mom, aunt, SIL, and Nana all thought about it over Spring Break with me.  Finally, I found the perfect one.  Becoming Arts' Eos Fingering was just perfect.  I stalked the colorway - Sanguine Sky- and as soon as I was emailed that it was finally in stock, I put my iphone to work.  Life is good when you can buy wool on your phone.

Now I just need to figure out the best way to pack this until winter. Christmas is only 207 days away.

Yarn Along Wednesday

Joining Ginny's weekly yarn along....

After finishing last week's knit, I really tried hard not to knit any and finish some embroidery projects I have sitting around.  I lasted about 72 hours before I couldn't stand it anymore.  I cast-on last night for a Whippoorwill for my sweet sister-in-law's mother in an attempt to get an early start on Christmas knitting. 

As for what is being read around here - I'm still on Pride and Prejudice and my boys are really into reading everything about ducks and geese they can get.  We got three little White Chinese Geese in the mail early in the morning today.  We are just fostering them for my parents since we live in the *city but it will be so fun for them!

Looking forward to seeing what everyone else is working on!

**I need to clarify what a city is as I guess I don't technically live in a "city".  I live in more of a "bedroom community" or "quaint little town" or "wanna be suburb of another not so large city".  According to Wikipedia, a city is a relatively large and permanent settlement.^[1][2] Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.

Thank you for pointing that out KS.  I dearly appreciate finding the appropriate words to use in any given sentence.  I hate to be wrong.

Hazel

My latest finished project was so much fun. It was the hardest and most consistently labor intensive knit I've yet to do.  And it was so worth it.

The Catkin shawl was really intimidating at first.  5 charts, 9 pages long, 3 hours just to do the swatch...made me quite nervous.  It wasn't something that I could do watching TV or when my kids were happily playing around me.  It had to be at night when all was quiet.

I'm always amazed at how shawls look when they are on and right off the needles.  Blocking with wires is is a new skill I've acquired with venturing out into the world of shawl knitting.

It takes some time to get the wires right and I have a tendency to forget what the pattern's designer wants you to end up with and over block angles.  I think it took me well over a half an hour to get this one just right.

I'm not sure who this is for.  I really want to keep it for myself even though it was *possibly* for someone else.  I feel like it is really a work of art and am quite proud that I actually did it.   We'll see.  It might be under the tree or (more than likely) wrapped around me.

3 hours

It took me 3 hours to knit a gauge swatch. 

This might not be a good sign of how long my next knit will take me.  Lots of charts.  Lots of stitches.  Light weight yarn and little needles.  I might not be able to resurface after this one.

Finished Object/Fresh Off! or FO in knitter's lingo

I finished a large project last night with my absolute favorite yarn colorway - Kelp Forest. It was dyed by a very talented dyer and a great person Leidy of Western Sky Knits. The ladies of Western Sky Knits are my favorite peeps.  Sarah, my old cohort, is there now since Tree Frog Knits had to close.  So of course it makes them even more special!

I had the hardest time finding the right pattern to use this yarn.  It was a sport weight and I had just two precious skeins of it and no contrasting colors to work with.  Luckily, I found a simple and pretty pattern by a great Finish designer, Verra, of 100% Rain.  She is also the designer of the Stripe Study shawl I recently completed and has many more designs I have my eye on.

I love how this one drapes and stays on.  The yarn is dyed to perfection and just is so soft.  The colors are so perfect and vibrant, and green!!

I only have one lonely sock in my basket to finish now.  A new pattern just came out and I need to do it and since I'm lucky enough to be one of the moderators for the group, I know I'll need to help answer questions.  It will be the hardest knit I've yet to do - I'm already nervous about it!  Now if I could just decide who it will be for!  Looks like Logan and I are heading to the yarn store tomorrow!

After a busy weekend

After a busy weekend, we are slowly getting back to the rhythm of things.  Like most of the midwest, we have been hammered by rain.  Luckily, we were given Saturday and Sunday almost rain free and we took advantage of it. 

Plus, Nathan's parents were here for a scant day and a half - so we were able to take advantage of them too!!  Plant shopping and more yard work.

Nathan has put a lot of work into our yard this year.  I hope I can keep it up while he is away with work! 

All the boys like being outside so much.  Baby Logan especially.  He points to go outside all day and looks out the window often.  I just wish his allergies would be so willing to go out as well.

Easter morning was quiet for us with just morning church service and a day of desserts since we gave them all up for Lent.  The boys found their baskets and were excited to play with their new games.  We all felt rather ill by the night though.  We did a good job of giving up sweets and most processed food and after the weekend of indulging, we all didn't fair so well.  Now I just have to get all the junk back out of the house!

Trying to take a picture of all three of them is nearly impossible.  Logan has no patience for sitting still and Mason seems to be unable not to look like he belongs in a circus.  I finally had to show Mason what he looked like with crossed eyes and weirdo smile.  I hope it finally clicked that he is not cute at all that way.  At least he tried for me once.

And finally over the few days, I managed to finish a knit.  A fresh spring green for my littlest man.

In the Basket

With the weather unable to decide if it should be 80 and sunny or 40 followed by a tornado, my knitting basket isn't getting as much attention as it should (either has my house:) ).  On the needles now are a pair of ribbed socks in two soft honey bee colors from Quince and Co and a simple playground shirt on a bamboo blend for little Logan.  It stills surprises me how long a pair of socks take on size 1 needles.  I swear I knit for quite a while and still it barely looks like I did anything!   I do prefer knitting with two 16" circular needles vs. dpn.  I feel like I can put it down easier and don't have to worry about such a sharp little needle escaping my basket.  I did finish a scarf I had in the basket this week and was glad to see it done as well as the Easter basket I was working on with last week's Yarn Along.

As for reading this week, my boys and I are still working through the Magic Tree House series-#9 now.  It has been fun to make all kinds of predictions and my oldest is so in to them.  I am just about to finish Yarn Harlot's Things Knitting Has Taught Me and I've been reading through an interesting book about the knitting and textile industry in Ohio aptly named Ohio Knitting Mills.

-------------------  following Ginny's Yarn Along weekly knitting and reading posts 

Yarn Along Wednesday

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs...~ following along with Ginny's weekly postings.

Right now I have three projects on my needles.  A pair of socks I started last night, a shawl, and a tunic sweater for Reagan.  As I was drifting off to sleep the tunic was plauging my thoughts.  I think I need to frog it.  The yarn, one of my all time favorites, Marr Haven, is just not right for this. Plus, I'm trying to use of some scraps of dyed colorways in Marr Haven and I'm not feeling the colors.  So I think I need to rip it out.  Reagan asked me to make him something for spring to wear and I like this pattern but I can't decide if he'll wear it enough before it is too warm out.  This yarn might be too warm. 

I'm reading my third Yarn Harlot book, Things I've Learned From Knitting, and of course enjoying it well.  As much as I like long, detailed books, these short almost essay like books are nice for the bits of reading time I can steal in my day.  My boys and I continue to read the Magic Tree House books and it is fun to see them remember what happened books past and how they use pictures to predict what will happen next.  I'm also working through Knitting Socks to teach myself how to make them.  I made a pair of 4 sts per inch super thick sock and really liked it.  Now that I'm making a pair with 7 sts per inch, I'm a bit intimidated!

Busy little knitter

I'm a busy little knitter.  I love it.  My friend asked me how long it took to make something...maybe 3 days?  Obsessive she asked.  Yes I proudly answered.

Since late February, I've either started or finished these.  I've had fun with them all.  Grumbled with a few.  Gave some as gifts. Snuggled with those who wear it.

all knits are on my Ravelry page.

yarn along

Participating in Ginny's at Small Things where we share our weekly knits and reads.

Last week I missed my first yarn along while my family was on vacation. While we were at our sunny and warm destination, I began working on a Stripes Study shawl. I so love this. I am a fan of simple garter stitch and with the little element of short rows, it is fun and easy to make. Perfect for picking up here and there which seems to be the best kind of knit for me. I had to use my phone for my weekly picture as my computer is in the shop and my connectors for the ipad are not here yet.

I'm still working through Yarn Harlot' Knitting Rules! and am enjoying it as well. I think it is also great for picking up here and there and squeezing a few pages in those few moments during the day. My boys are really into the Magic Tree House's chapter books. We read book 3 while we were away and they are eager for the next one. Buying books via Kindle on Amazon for the Ipad is getting too easy so I think a trip to the library is in order.

Looking forward to reading some Yarn Alongs!

sorry for the huge picture. I'm not to smooth on woring the ipad lol!

Yarn Along Wednesday

Following Ginny at Small Things for the weekly Yarn Along where we share our current reads and knits...

Last week I was almost finished with a sweater knit for my sweet baby Logan. I finally finished it after many froggings and a lot of grumblings and not so lady-like words.  After a stern talking to and pins stuck to it, the blocking seemed to do things well enough.  As I sighed about my failings with this knit, my husband commented that "normal people would never see that!"

  Now I have a great, easy, instantly pleasing knit, Seamless Raglan Sweater for sweet Logan and for a KAL on Ravelry.  I don't have to show this sweater who is the boss.  Super simple and sweet. 

I also finished Yarn Harlot and really enjoyed it.  I already have the next book, Knitting Rules, on my Kindle app waiting for me to loiter around a WIFI to download it.  In the meantime, I'm perusing and reading through two cookbooks looking for replacements for cereals and crackers for my family.  I've been baking bread from Tassajara Bread book for over a year and I just love it so much.  It has the best whole wheat muffin recipe.  The book is so great at really describing and showing you how to work with yeast and how to take one component and use it throughout your baking.  I also got the book, Feeding The Whole Family, which has some nice recipes to try.  My kids eat well but we stay in our mid western bubble and are trying to add different foods in our diets. 

Looking forward to reading others' Yarn Along! I'll miss next weeks (my first miss) as we'll be vacationing!

Trunk Show

Last evening, I had the pleasure of attending a trunk show and book signing of knitwear designer, Stephen West.  It was held at my local yarn store, Klose Knits, and was really sweet and fun.  Stephen, and his charming mother, came from Chicago area on the train along with a suitcase of woolly goodness.  All around the show room Stephen had his knits from both Westknits Book 1 and 2 as well as other pattern singles.  It was so great to actually see and feel the samples, try them on, and get a feel for their incredible and intricate or simple construction.

I have a lot of ideas.  That might not be a good thing.

Stephen was very sweet and humble and I was a little pathetically star struck.  I asked him to pick out yarn for a project from his new book, West Knits 2 - Transatlantic, and he happily obliged.  He choose some great Blue Sky Alpaca yarn which I am quite a fan of in pretty naturals.  I just made a Norie hat from the same base/weight and it is great to use.  I'll have to save this special project for after the Easter season as I have some special little knits I really need to do.  I think it will be great to knit the Transatlantic as the weather warms and a lighter, more complicated project is what I need. 

I really wanted to finish a West Knits project (well another one) to wear to the show.  I worked on my Pansy Clockwork every second I could get.  My children did not help in this task - really, how many times is a dog's dish of water fun to play in?  Hundreds of times to a almost one year old.

But, obsessive knitters do prevail!  I had to blow it dry after blocking, while holding said naughty baby, and managed to get it just right to wear.  Aren't we cute!  He put his one so we could match.

Ah, the little things in life - makes a knitter quite happy.

I must go knit some more.

Yarn Along Wednesday

Joining Ginny for another Yarn Along where we share our current knits and reads...

taken at night - color not very accurate

Last week I was feverishly working on my Harvest Moon cardi knit.  I finished it and am so pleased on how it turned out!  It was a lot to knit and more work than I was anticipating but really fun to figure out.  Plus, I loved the yarn which makes every knit just that much more engaging. 

This week I am feverishly working on a Clockwork scarf/shawl by a desinger I'm going to meet for a book signing and trunk show. I'm a bit excited about it. I do have other knits that I've knitted by him, but I "needed" something new and more spring like.  I've had the yarn for this pattern for a couple of months and this was the perfect opportunity for me to knit it.  I love green and purple together.  It is a bit tedious with 270+ sts per row but I'm sure it will be worth it in the end.  I just hope I can finish it in time! 

I've decided that my previous read, Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, is just not working for me.  Just not my taste. Where is the hero?  The epic romance?  Mr. Darcy?  So, to fill my time while I knit away, I've taken the advice from Like Mother, Like Daughter's Yarn Along post, and am reading (or listening to) Lark Rise to Candleford.  Oh. My. I love it.  Even though it isn't a "story", I just love it.  I love to read about that time before everything became so mechanical, mass produced, and when artisians were appreciated for their necessity towards their community.  I'll probably listen to it twice. 

a bit more accurate color

Looking forward to seeing more Yarn Alongs!

Yarn Along Wednesday

For this week's Yarn Along via Small Things, I am still working on my Harvest Moon Cardi and reading A Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and my boys and I are reading the chapter book A To Z Mysteries: The Talking T Rex. 

I'm taking forever on both the book and the cardi.  I mostly blame the cardi though as I am a bit obsessed with trying to finish it.  It doesn't help that I do have those 3 kids to raise and am trying to find anything I can for the garage sale our Mom's group is having.  Both seem to dampen my time lately!  I did get the pocket done on one side tonight/this morning.  I knew if I went to bed it would haunt me in my sleep while I try to puzzle out the best way to do it.  I think I have it though!  Sewing with tweed is difficult as it is so hard to see what you are doing - especially at midnight. 

Yarn Along Wednesday

For Yarn Along Wednesday, I am still plugging away on the same book, Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, and knitting a Norie hat and the Harvest Moon sweater.  Last week I was working on the same hat but I ended up turning it into a cowl so now I need a matching hat - in red.  The sweater is slowing plugging along and now I'm on the pockets.  I've yet to make pockets like this before and am excited to see how it turns out when it is done.  In my basket are more projects waiting to happen...a shawl/scarf tester for a designer, a hat for Reagan, and another hat for spring for me!
What is in your basket?

A Late Yarn Along

Now that my cable is back on and I'm able to sit down for the day, I have to quickly get my Yarn Along in!  I've yet to miss one and I don't want to start so I'll make it brief!

I'm still reading Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and still liking it.  I'm just now getting into to it. I'm also reading through pattern books as I find them so inspiring.  The Shetland Trader is my new one and the pictures and patterns are just so beautiful.  I love how Jared Flood captures a moment.  So pretty.  Patterns are beautiful - such a great mix of modern and tradition - my kind of knitting.
On the needles is a hat from the Shetland Trader - Norie - in sport weight self dyed wool. I needed something light and bright during the snow storm we just had.  Also on the needles is my last sweater for the winter.  A Harvest Moon in SHELTER's Faded Quilt (also by Jared Flood).  I l o v e this yarn.  I know I'll have to get more of it once I downsize my stash. 

WIP Wednesday

Now that I've finished my last custom (for quite a while), I can really get cracking on this season's Tomten.  Reagan picked the colors and design so I'm plugging along on it. I sure hope it fits like last year's did.  That was perfect for him and he wore it all the time. 

Also on some little needles are yet another pair of mitts.  I really like making them.  They used to scare me as I am not a fan of dpn's.  This is my first time really using 9" circs.  After I get my rhythm with them, they go pretty fast.  DPNs seem not to agree with my day time grab and go knit a few stitches lifestyle.    These are the Green Thumb pattern.  It is knitting up nicely.  I've had this yarn for about 4 years.  It was supposed to be a vest of some sort but it just was too fussy looking for me.  I think they'll be pretty.  If I knit them again and I probably will (or some variation), the wrist portion's length is not long enough for me.  I'd (I'll) add an inch or two.

 

Happy knitting!

On and off the needles

I've been busy clicking away on a variety of projects.  All of them have been fun, fast, and more the pleasant to work on.  With my shipment of yarn expected to arrive any day now, I'll have to put my needles (mostly) down while I tackle my coop order. 

But for now, I'll continue to happily work away every second I can get.

My Oatmeal sweater is now blocked and finished.  I so love it.  The yarn is great but not as soft as I was assuming.  I was planning on making Logan a mini-me version of it.  Fat babies in bulky yarn are extra cuddly but I think this might bother him.  So the three skeins I bought in yellow for him will be made into something else.  I already know who and what it will be.  Definitely a Christmas gift!

My sweet neighbor, in her mature age, wears sweaters in the 90 degree humid heat so I think a Batkus is  perfect Christmas gift for her. I'm knitting this with a prima cotton from Araucania Pomaire Multy.  I really like it. I'm not a cotton yarn person. Wool is my first and true love but this is great to work with.  I can see why Shelley, aka Waldorfmama, would knit this pattern often.  It is really easy, knits fast, and makes a lovely little something.  I think I'll take her notion and keep one always going on the needles.  It just seems like a great gift to give. I might even have to cheat on my first love and get more Pomaire for those who might be afraid of my buttery wool. 

I also finished up a couple of pairs of Alice mitts and have started some Toasty mitts as well.  I have the lofty goal of knitting up all of my scraps in the two dresser drawers I have of them.  I do like these since I am able to ditch the dpn's and go to my 12" circ needles.  Super fast. Super mindless.  A perfect obsessive compulsive knitter's project.

Reagan requested, again, that I start on his Tomten sweater for the season.  He loved and wore his last year's Tomten often.  I can not tell you how much we both loved this sweater.  Even more, I loved it because it made him feel special in it.  I hope his new one has the same affect.

What are your projects this week?  Happy crafting!