Spring fever - I've got it

It's a bit embarrassing to have to admit that I've only completed two little baby hats since we last met. 

Yes, there has been ribbing (and binding off - woot!) completed on the gray Breezy Cardigan and I've actually had to rip out and re-cast on for the Acer Cardigan (new yarn was absolutely necessary) and I've worked a few more rows on the Fledermaus but it all boils down to -

Spring Fever.

Baby hats are merely a drop in the bucket of what I want to accomplish right now.

The Baby Leaves Baby Hat is easy and charming.

The second hat - an Otis Baby Hat - was fun as well.

(Flicker is playing jokes on me right now!)

But the best thing going on right now is

Spring. 

Next up on the springtime front? 

Shepherd's Harvest Sheep and Wool Festival on May 11-12, 2013!

Just say, "I forgot."

If you are of a certain age - old enough to remember sitting around listening to comedy albums - this classic line from Steve Martin fit my week perfectly. 

In 2009, the Minnesota Knitters' Guild's service project was collecting squares for afghans for charitable groups. We spent a year collecting squares and then had a gala meeting in January 2010 where we sewed up afghans. As a MKG officer, I stayed late sewing up and even took one home for sewing up before the next meeting.

This week, after moving and bagging the stash behind my chair due to an infestation of moths (ugh!), I found the pieces to this afghan and sewed it up.

I am not even sure if I know who was collecting the afghans but I promise to get it back to them. Three years later. And about those moths? They only touched one skein of yarn - because they were busy eating my expensive wool rug. It is currently being repaired and moth proofed. Sigh.

Just in time for a silent auction at my church, the Liberty Cowl. Simple to knit and the yarn does all the work.

 Leaving my plenty of time for my gray Breezy cardigan - I'm finishing up the ribbing! - and my Acer cardigan - cables are in existence! - and enjoying this FABULOUS MINNESOTA SPRING WEATHER!!

Hats and jags

Most knitters understand knitting jags. Despite my plans to finish my gray Breezy Cardigan, I've been indulging in a hat knitting jag. And it's all because of a good deed - I cleaned out my stash.

During the big stash closet organization earlier this year, I ran across some bags of my hand spun from years ago. In 2005, I bought the Shepherd's Choice competition bag of various fleeces at that year's Shepherd's Harvest Lamb and Wool Show. Then I had to come up with something made out of them for the 2006 show. Well, I put it off and put it off and ended up only having time to make a scarf.

According to my notes, the edge stripe of purple is Jacob wool dyed violet, the yellow is Southdown dyed with lemon jello and knitted with Kidsilk Haze, the green is Border Leicester, the golden rose is Lincoln, the turquoise knitted with Kidsilk Haze is Suffolk, the gold is Polypay, the red-purple is a mix of Ramboullet/Border Leicester/Corridown and the final pink stripe is Ramboullet.

The leftovers have been kicking around from box to box in my closet and I decided to use it all up with some hats. It seemed perfect for the Quarters Cap pattern by Kristin Nicholas. She recommended using all one color to make your first hat and that's just what I did

The first hat - the practice hat - I did in all one color of hand spun gray for Mr. Daisy. It turned out a little wide as I was misreading the pattern. Still, it's not bad.

What is that thing on your head?

After I had a good look at the pattern again, I tried again with all the colorful leftovers.

Hey!

He's a big fan of purple so this one is striped purple, turquoise and yellow. Yowza! 

Now, time to return to that gray . . . 

Is a swatch wasted time - or - Did you swatch that?

Last weekend I attended the Minnesota Knitters' Guild's retreat in northern Minnesota. Lots of knitters, relaxing walks, funny movies, and even enough snow to cross country ski. And one of the funniest conversations was about swatching. One fellow knitter never swatches. For anything. BUT  she only knits washcloths! But then she always asks other knitters if they swatched for their projects. 

And that led me to do a little swatching of my own.

I've been experiencing a lot of cable hunger - my current project, the Breezy Cardigan, is lots and lots of stockinette stitch - and I really want something different.

Right now, I'm basically knitting more than 360 degrees of sweater. Grr.

Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying the swingy shape of the Breezy Cardigan despite the stockinette tedium.

 After about two more inches on the body, I'll finish off with k2,p2 ribbing for a few inches. And then onto the deep ribbing that goes all around the neckline and the front of the sweater. And then add some sleeves and, ta dah, a cardigan!

On the swatching front, I pulled out some gray Shetland handspun, some Rowan Felted Tweed, and some  Classic Elite Yarns Inca Alpaca and worked out my swatches. I was good and even washed and blocked them. I had been eyeing the Inca Alpaca for an Acer Cardigan but I kept thinking it was a lot lighter blue. Actually, it's a misty, heathered teal that is much nicer in person. And I got perfect gauge with it!

Do you think I have a gray fixation? Here's some other gray handspun. One thing I've learned from my swatching is that my own "nothing special" handspun is not the worsted weight I've always assumed but bulky. So, I'm on the search for a good cardigan pattern using bulky yarn. Perhaps a Spoked Cardigan by Carol Feller?

After the fact

Well, I finally finished up Oldest Daughter's Final Blue Fantasy Sweater.

Yes, it's still hanging out in my sewing room waiting to be steamed but - all done!

I particularly liked the collar  - maybe there will be one for me in the future?

In the meantime, I've been working on two take along projects - 

The Splash of Color cowl in Liberty Wool - absolutely simple circular knitting that lets the yarn do all the work.

Also, another shawlette. The Fledermaus-Tauch shawl. I saw that Prairie Piper from the Knitting Pipeline podcast did this a few years ago (yes, I'm listening to the back catalog right now!)

Of course, I'm still chugging along on the Breezy Cardigan but it is simply back and forth in stockinette stitch right now so it's not terribly exciting. 

What is exciting is deciding what sweater to do next - I'm ripping apart my stash trying to organize it into sweater lots of yarn and what sweater patterns they match with.

One big mess!

Some deep, dark stash that needs organizing.

Hmm. I'm thinking an Acer cardigan. Perhaps in some Inca Alpaca I got years ago . . . I'll know better once the stash is aired!

Round and round

It's amazing what you can accomplish when you pull a project out for a few rows here and a few rows there . . .

I brought along my Skeins Shop Hop Missoni Cowl to work on when waiting for movies to start, slow times at book group, quiet moments during Sunday School and, yes, even church. I picked up this free pattern at the 2011 Minnesota Yarn Shop Hop at Skeins in Minnetonka. There isn't any pattern information on Ravelry and the shop doesn't have a website (!) but I think the pattern was written by someone at the store. 

I wasn't able to get the special limited edition Mountain Colors yarn so I used another color way - Bitter root. It's a hard color to photograph - either it looks a little drab or it looks florescent. 

It's a fairly narrow zig-zag pattern that you can wear long or double up. Lots of fun - I recommend both the pattern and the yarn. PLUS - the Doubleknit Podcast Fans group on Ravelry is having a Deep Stash KAL during all of 2013.  It's all about knitting up items out of older stash - and this yarn was from 2011 so my project counted! I'm off to post my cowl on the finished items list. 

Next projects in the queue -  the final inches of Final Blue Fantasy Sweater sleeve and my Breezy Cardigan. No KALs to participate in except my own "Finish this stuff up so you can cast on" along!

A truthful New Year

To be entirely truthful - the Palindrome reversible cable scarf did not get finished in December. That makes it the first project of the New Year.

Nico says, "Give me that muffler or I'll bite you!"

It's lovely and warm but rather short so Mr. R. wears it like a muffler (folded) rather than a scarf. I actually used up all the yarn (all 436 yds but doubled) so my only other choice is to sew up a loop on one side and a button on the other. He thought that seemed a little "old man ish" so - we'll see.

The cables are really nice - I recommend this pattern!

I do have an excuse, though. It's hockey season in MN and with tournaments every weekend (OUTDOOR tournaments!) that really cuts down on my knitting time.

8 degrees F.,  two overtimes, a shoot out and - a goal for Youngest Child!

At least the daylight makes for a more pleasant occasion. This past weekend, our first game was a night game.

A chilly chalk talk from Coach Frank.

And I have started my first sweater of 2013 - a Breezy Cardigan from Hannah Fettig. 

It's a top down cardigan with lots of stockinette stitch. As it happens, it looks more like a cowl than a sweater so far. I'm using up some Davidson Domy Heather - this is the never ending yarn. You can use it for anything!

Also since Youngest Child saw my  QuoVadis mittens (I wear them with liners to hockey games), he wanted a pair. Well, I showed him SpillyJane's pattens and he chose . . . 

Owl Mittens. 

Those are queued up with Cascade Yarns fingering in orange and grey to match his coat. So, I've pretty much covered any and all knitting occasions right now.  Time to pick up those sticks!

Waiting for the band

I received a lovely new tensioned Lazy Kate for Christmas and I was spinning away, just getting ready to use it and - bing - the drive band broke. Now, I'm waiting eagerly for my replacement band to arrive and I ran across this poem about Saint Distaff's Day on January 7.

 I thought I would share with you - historically, it was the day after the Christmas festivals ended (the 12 days of Christmas), and most women went back to work with their spinning… but it was also a day of pranks and horsing around.

Saint Distaffs Day, or the morrow after Twelfth day

by Robert Herrick,

Partly worke and partly play
Ye must on S. Distaffs day:
From the Plough soone free your teame;
Then come home and fother them.
If the Maides a spinning goe,
Burne the flax, and fire the tow:
Scorch their plackets, but beware
That ye singe no maiden-haire.
Bring in pailes of water then,
Let the Maides bewash the men.
Give S. Distaffe all the right,
Then bid Christmas sport good-night;
And next morrow, every one
To his owne vocation.

You can also hear 12 lovely versions read on Librivox here!

And, now, I'll go back to my knitting - not spinning, sigh!

A last look at the old year - and a Happy New Year to come

I just couldn't resist tucking that last cabled scarf into the picture - it'll be done by tonight. 

A happy and peaceful New Year (full of knitting) to you all!

I have to say that my favorite knits were the ones connected to Meg Swansen's Knitting Camp. Simple as they were, those projects were the most fun. Also, my Mobius cowl was quite an experience.  And that Challenge Lopi Sweater? Although Youngest Child is not enchanted, Youngest Daughter has asked for a cream colored Lopi cardigan. Hmm. Knitting is contagious!

Countdown to Christmas

The snow has arrived - finally!

Lucia Fest came and went successfully - the number of beautiful Nordic sweaters, dancing children and smiley Swedish faces was like the flip side of that quote about "you'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy." 

I finally blocked my Wilhimina Shawlette.

And, once I tinked back the mistake cables, the cabled boot toppers began to whir along.

Things don't move along until this gent takes a nap, however . . .

I let him stay on the chair long enough to get a good photo.

A bundle, a baby, and a book

In October, I committed to the 2 Knit Lit Chicks Gradient Shawl Knit a Long. No problem, I bought some excellent yarn from Desert Vista Dye Works and I decided on the Wilhimina Shawlette from "What would Madame Defarge knit?" for my pattern.

Well, I finally finished the shawl yesterday - it isn't blocked but that's okay. It looks like a bit of a bundle but it will block out beautifully.

And at the same time, we got a new baby in the house, 

Meet Nico! 

So, far, it's been a bit of nap off at our house. Our older German Shepherd, Zelda, has been studiously ignoring the new boy.

And, yesterday was also the end of 

National Novel Writing Month!

(NaNoWriMo)

This was the second year I've participated and once, again, I finished right on the dot. Basically, give me a deadline and I'll walk right up to it.

Today - time to nap, bake some muffins and knit some socks. And walk that pup - again!

Another road

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

- The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost

Can you sense me slowing down? Coming to a critical juncture?  Deciding what step to take next? 

For me, November is a month that represents just those feelings. Where do I go next? So many activities to chose from . . .

It's NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month, so I'm writing as much as I can. When I can. And let me tell you, I'm not on the downward slope yet.

It's the pre-Christmas rush. Like most knitters, I have some holiday knitting to finish up. Actually, I'd need to start it first.

It's the start of hockey season for Youngest Child - lots of hoiking gear from house to car to rink, etc. This isn't as much fun as you might expect.

I'm doing a Knit-a-long - the 2 Knit Lit Chicks gradient shawl Knit-a-long. Goodness knows why but I'm inching my way to the bind off. I'm thinking this shawl might make a two-fer as a holiday knitting project.

And there is that *&%$#@ blue sweater hanging over everything. I can only knit on it when Oldest Daughter is around to try it on. Those sleeves are killing me!

But there is the bright side of November as well:

Yarn! 

I bought some Roubaix Wool sock yarn from Winterwind Farm in a lovely heather cream color - which I have now dyed purple for Youngest Child's second pair of requested socks. The boy's on a purple kick, what can I say?

Soap!

I've been experimenting with using herbs from my garden in home made glycerin-based soap. So far, I've produced a lovely fresh Lemon Basil soap.

Marmelade!

 I am a big fan of using things up and when I discovered the bag of oranges I'd bought was none too sweet, I used them to make marmalade. Yum! (And please, please set up!)

Quilts!

 I've been hacking along on my Craftsy.com Quilt Block of the Month project and I'm practically done. The last two in fact, are on my cutting table right now. 

Special Dates! 

Yes, November is my Blog-a-versery and my birthday month. Yes, this blog started way back on November 14, 2005. Some things never change - the first problem project profiled?

The first blue sweater for Oldest Daughter!

Happy November!

Let's just do it again, shall we?

Madge returned - as a youth sized hat.

This time, I simply cast on 70 stitches and used the same size needles. This made it much smaller but still maintained the pattern. Not something I can wear but I think it will be a good craft to donate to the St. Lucia Fest at my church. 

Since then, I've been working on the third pair of Basic Ribbed Socks by Kate Atherley (known as my Wasting Time Socks)

This was a few days ago - I'm on the foot portion now!

and started a lovely Wilhimina Shawlette using a skein of Desert Vista Dyeworks Voir in the Burning Leaves gradient colorway.  This is through the 2 Knit Lit Chicks podcast Gradient Yarn Shawl Knitalong. Complicated, isn't it? They just like gradient (yarn dyed from one light to dark shade in one skein) yarns and decided to have a contest getting other people to use gradient yarns.

Once I actually saw how these yarns are designed - I just had to join. Sheer yarn lust, I admit, but I'm also enjoying knitting the shawlette. It's from "What Would Madame Defarge Knit?" with Heather Ordover, editor, and it's a very traditional triangular shawl.

A terrible photo but I had no where else to photograph it.

So far, I'm only on the light  colored portion but I'll just keep working until I use it all up. 

And, of course, I'm still working on Oldest Daughter's cardigan. I just hate doing those sleeves one at a time - very boring when I have socks and a shawl calling to me . . .

And, because I have so much spare time, I've started a new hobby - quilting.

I've been taking the Craftsy Quilt Block of the Month course and I'm finally getting my blocks sewn. Some block designs I love and some, not so much, but I've been making a point of using up my extra fabric and I like the effect. 

Lots of fun! 

I will never make fun of those pictures again

Oh, I'll never make fun of those photos again. You know, those photos! The self taken, vanity shots of projects. You know - someone wearing their knitted items with great pride - but with horrible, horrible photographs.

Because, I took that photo today.

Darn - I just couldn't get the photo I wanted! Everyone that showed the detail got blurry or made my hair look even worse. Hmm.

Not a good idea!

Madge is a fun little overnight project - just something to knit while I watched Warehouse 13 reruns. 

I used up some leftover Rick's Red handspun but I'm still not crazy about the pill-box  hat shape. I may re-knit it or just donate it to a craft sale at my church. We'll see . . .

Switcheroo

So - those blue socks I finished a little bit ago?

English Garden colorway

I finished the By Request Purple socks and then switched them for the Captain Daisy's Delight* blue socks. Same pattern, just purple and washable Berroco Comfort Sock. He may never notice . . .

*The blue socks were made out of a lovely Gypsy Wools Kona Fingering I bought out west last summer. Not machine washable at all!

Vacation knitting

Rule #1 of knitting: If you knit a pair of socks, 

Basic Ribbed socks

someone will snap them up. Surprisingly, Youngest Child and I apparently share a sock size.

Perhaps I'll make my next pair out of this loverly red sock yarn - a vacation-to-Pennsylvania souvenir:

Pagewood Farm's Really Red Yukon sock yarn

That's the ticket . . . girl colors!