The Kneedle Junkie

Time Flies When You're Having Fun and Making More Socks

2009-09-07T09:54:00.000-07:00

Has it really been three months since I last checked in?? It sure has been a busy summer!

My daughter graduated high school a few days after my last post. Here we are on her big day - and the necklace I crocheted survived the trip (whew!):

She's since started college, while my son's started Kindergarten and lost two teeth, almost all in the same week:

My husband also hit the big four-oh last month. We first saw a Dotsero concert:

I then took him to Beau Jo's, where I had friends and family gather for a surprise party to get back at him for whining all summer about "getting old." He had no idea what hit him:

I baked him a gluten and dairy free cake for the occasion:

Somehow I've managed to find time to knit in between all this, daily life, work, etc. I finished the striped socks I started a while back. They became a "just because" gift for a friend:

I also finished some baby socks this morning, my first attempt. I used the Basic Baby Socks pattern from KnitList.com and the Magic Loop technique:

My son's godfather and his wife had another girl almost two weeks ago but didn't know what they were having when I started, so I used a ball of Berocco Comfort Sock in Stewart Island that I had in my stash. It doesn't have any wool, so it won't irritate baby's delicate skin, and the colors were neutral enough to work either way.

I'm planning to make yoga socks for Mommy in the same yarn so they match. Let's just hope I can get little one her pair before she has a growth spurt!

Statement Necklace

2009-06-14T19:12:00.000-07:00

Stitch Diva recently posted a free crochet pattern by Jennifer Hansen called the Statement Necklace. I'd been looking for something to go with the dress I'm wearing to my daughter's high school graduation and this was perfect.

In the pattern Jennifer suggested trying seashells instead of the flat marbles. So I picked up some Patons Silk Bamboo yarn in Sapphire and found a bag of shells at Big Lots that had some pretties in it.

Here's how the necklace came out:

I found the pattern really easy to do. It took me about half a day to assemble all told. The shells were a little tricky to work around, but still fun.

Because of the shell's irregular shapes, I had to use some glue on the backs of each piece. I chose Aleene's Jewel-It, which I had also used to put the googly-eyes on my friends' kids' fish hats a while back. So far it's holding well. I'll put a little more on tomorrow to make sure it holds together while traveling.

Cross your fingers and let's hope it makes the trip... if not I have another crochet necklace I made from a Berroco pattern last year I think I can use as a backup.

Another Sweater for My Boy!

2009-06-02T13:54:00.000-07:00

I put together another sweater for my son on the USM. He picked out the color, it's Caron's One Pound in Sunflower. I added a stripe of Red Heart Kids in Crayon Multi:

I'm happier with how this one came out. I had a better idea in regard to the size, especially as I wanted to make it a little larger so it will fit him in the fall and winter. Next time I should be able to get the ribbing down better too - the woman who sold me my USM was able to find the instruction/pattern booklet and get that to me so now I'm able to go over the techniques at my own pace rather than having to skip back and forth through the DVD.

A handsome sweater for my handsome boy!

Drop-Stitch Lace Shawl

2009-05-27T11:56:00.000-07:00

I finished my black shawl - this is the one I initially started on needles and then decided to do it instead on the USM:

I'm really happy with the outcome... I used the size 4 keyplate, and a lace technique. Then when I was done I dropped stitches at various intervals. The end result is a more open, lacy pattern.

I wanted something nice and light to go with the dress I'm wearing to my daughter's high school graduation next month. I think this will work well, and it will be easy to pack.

Also, while it was still a bit slower to do on the USM than regular stockinette because I had to stop at each row and prep it for the lace work, it went faster overall than using the needles. I was able to finish this within a couple of weeks, compared to it taking several weeks to finish it maybe a third of the way, so it really saved me some time.

If anyone wants, I'm posting the pattern here - feel free to print up as you wish:

Drop-Stitch Lace Shawl

Skill Level: Easy-Intermediate

Measures approximately 45"x80"

Materials:

Lace or fine weight mohair or similar blend yarn. I used 3-1.75 oz. skeins Patons Lacette in Touch of Black. However, Patons has since discontinued this yarn and does not have a replacement. Possible substitutions are:

Rowan Kidsilk Haze
Crystal Palace Kid Merino
Karabella Lace Mohair
Colinette Parisienne

Size US11 (8.0mm) knitting needles OR
Bond Ultimate Sweater Machine using size 4 keyplate
Tapestry or yarn needle

Gauge: 13 sts = 4", 15 rows = 4". Gauge is not important for this project.

Notes:

The knitting needle instructions use the garter stitch as this allows for a simpler pattern that is reversible. This is not possible to do on the USM, but it still works well reversed. You can adjust the knitting needle instructions to use stockinette instead if you like - just purl the knit stitches on the even rows instead of using knit stitches for each row.
Patons Lacette tends to catch onto itself, both when unwinding it from the skein and when working the dropped stitches after binding off. For this reason I recommend winding the yarn into a ball before using it to detangle the yarn and make it easier to use.
Additionally, when doing the dropped stitches, the yarn may again catch on itself. If this happens just carefully and gently pull it loose from itself, using a crochet hook if necessary. It will require a little patience but is worth the end result.

Instructions using knitting needles:

CO 88 sts.

Row 1: K10, *(YO, K2 tog) 4 times, K12*, repeat between *s four times, (YO, K2 tog) 4 times, K10.

Repeat Row 1 until piece measures 80" or desired length. If you wish to go longer you may need an extra ball of yarn.

Binding off:

*BO 4 sts, YO, drop next st, pass previous BO st over YO.
Next, BO 3 sts, YO, drop next st, pass previous BO st over YO.
Next, BO next 10 sts, YO, drop next st, pass previous BO st over YO.*

Repeat between *s until you bind off the last YO/K2 tog group. BO 4 sts, drop next st, pass previous BO st over YO, BO last 4 sts. Pull on work to make dropped sts go all the way down to the bottom row.

Instructions using the USM:

Bring forward 88 needles to holding position.
Use the closed-edge cast-on (e-wrap) technique to cast on 88 sts from left to right.
Thread carriage and K 2 R, ending COR.
Going forward, prep all ODD rows as follows:

Working R to L, leave the first 10 sts on their needles.

Transfer every other st from RIGHT to LEFT to the next needle for the next 8 needles, meaning you will transfer 4 sts total. After establishing the eyelet rows, you will basically transfer a normal stitch to an eyelet stitch.

Leave the next 12 sts on their needles.

Repeat second bulleted step for the next 8 needles.

Repeat third bulleted step.

Repeat fourth and fifth bulleted step twice more.

Repeat fourth bulleted step once more.

Leave the last 10 sts on their needles.

Move carriage from right to left.
Going forward, prep all EVEN rows as follows:

Working L to R, leave the first 10 sts on their needles.

Repeat second bulleted step above, except transfer the sts from LEFT to RIGHT.

Repeat bulleted steps 3-8, except again, this time going left to right.

Move carriage from left to right.
Repeat Steps 4-7 until you have K 216 R, ending COR. As the work hits the floor, roll it up around the hem and clip it on either side.
Bind off using the backstitch technique, working right to left. To achieve dropped stitches, thread the yarn behind the stitch you want to drop - do NOT thread it through the stitch. Then, simply thread it through the next stitch over in the same way as if it were the adjacent one.
Remove knitting from the machine and pull on the dropped stitches until they run all the way down to the bottom row.

Ta Daaa!

2009-05-14T06:22:00.000-07:00

I finished the shawl I started last weekend on my new Bond USM, thanks to hubby letting me be a knitting fiend on Mother's Day:

Even if I hadn't had that much time on that day to work with this project I still get the feeling I would have had it done in less than a week. I just love how fast the machine works. Again I am not completely done with knitting by needle, far from it, but knowing I can do something this nice on the machine and quickly really tickles me pink.

I've packed up the shawl along with a few other things to send to my daughter as a late Easter/care package. I hope she really likes it!

In the meantime this got me thinking a little outside the box with my black shawl I'd been working on to bring with me to my daughter's graduation. I've started to realize I may not have time to finish it before I fly out next month, so I bit the bullet, unraveled the work, and restarted it on the USM. No pictures yet but will have that soon.

It's definitely going nice and fast for sure, but not without its challenges. Because I'm working with a single strand of Lacette, a fine weight yarn, and I'm using a larger gauge plate (4) to get roughly the same effect I had with the size 11 needles, the USM seems to try and drop stitches a lot more easily. But as long as I take it nice and slow it seems to be doing okay.

I'll try and update this post with pictures later on showing my work in progress. If not then I will definitely show the finished product, and again I will share the pattern... this time I'll be able to provide instructions for both by hand and by USM.

Confession Time...

2009-05-09T16:22:00.000-07:00

I've joined the ranks of cheater: I got myself a used Ultimate Sweater Machine Deluxe kit off eBay. It arrived in the mail a few days ago:

For those who are curious, here are my impressions so far:

It has a steep learning curve.
For best results (or results at all), you MUST watch the DVD/video that came with the kit and follow all instructions EXACTLY as they show. If you don't you'll have a lot of dropped stitches or work that falls off the needles entirely.
Prepare to have this happen in the beginning anyway even if you do follow the directions to the letter. It takes some practice to get used to how to run the carriage across the needle bed, get around when the carriage jams, etc.
When the nice lady on the DVD says take an evening to yourself without the kids or pets around to distract you to learn the USM, DO IT. Otherwise your dog won't come out from under the bed for a week and your kids' teachers are going to be calling you asking where they learned such creative combinations of swear words. Like I said, steep learning curve.
If you try to get the USM off eBay, ask the seller about the condition of the machine. Does it have parts that are cracked or broken? How long have you had it? Are there any missing accessories? I didn't out of my excitement in finding one for half the retail cost and discovered upon opening it that a tab on the carriage was broken, a part on one of the needle beds had cracked and broken off, and the pattern booklet was missing. If I had known any of this I would have negotiated a lower price or asked for free shipping - thankfully the broken parts were repairable and minor flaws so it wasn't that big of a deal, but it would have been nice if I'd had the pattern book as it apparently goes into much better detail about using the USM than the DVD does, and I don't think I should have to spend $10 for one online. Not enough to rate the seller as bad, but very possibly neutral.

That said, I'm having fun learning to use the USM and have already done my first project - a long-awaited and promised sweater for my son:

Bear in mind this is before I washed and blocked it, so it looks a little short here. Now that I did, it's a nice length in the torso so he'll be able to wear it nicely. The only part I did not do on the machine is the neckline and that's because it's not possible to do stuff in the round on it. The yarn is Patons Classic Wool Merino in Denim Marl.

I've also started on my second project with the USM - it's going to be a lace shawl using Patons Lacette in Lilac Lace and Cream Caress, double stranded:

There are some people who have claimed on Amazon reviews that you can't do anything intricate with the USM like lace and ribbing. This isn't true - no it doesn't do it just straightforward, you have to remove stitches off the needles and rework them by hand, and it does slow down your work. But it still goes much faster than knitting the work by hand on needles.

It isn't to say I'm giving up making things by hand for good. Far from it! I still have my pride, LOL. I also still love doing socks, making crochet projects, and more. But I love that I can crank something out quickly as a gift or to incorporate with other techniques.

Projects du Jour

2009-05-02T13:25:00.000-07:00

I've been a huge knitting fiend the past few weeks. Life has been pretty stressful, and knitting and spinning are my favorite escapes. I like to keep several projects going at once as although these pastimes center me, I'm still pretty fidgety and like to jump back and forth.

First, I've been spinning some alpaca fiber I bought last summer while my daughter was visiting. It's Alpaca with a Twist's Handspinner's Dream in Brindle - I got it from The Recycled Lamb:

I also knit a baby dress/jumper for a friend - she's 35 weeks along with her first girl. I borrowed my inspiration from Berocco's pattern Alexa Bernadette, adjusting the stitches/measurements slightly to accommodate the yarn I used and make it newborn size. I made it sleeveless with a crocheted neckline and armholes. The yarn is Sugar n' Cream in Maple Sugar from their Confectionary Colors:

I decided to use the Sugar n' Cream yarn to make myself Knitty's W tank too. I used the Maple Sugar and Marshmallow Confectionary Colors. I really do like making garments using Sugar n' Cream - it's light, soft, comfortable, easy to find, it interchanges easily with most patterns using worsted weight yarn, and you can't complain about the price:

I'm also working on a shawl where I'm incorporating lace and will add drop stitches after I'm done. I'm using Patons Lacette in A Touch of Black to make it. If it turns out I'll share the pattern here, as well as a list of yarns that you can use instead of Lacette, which Patons has discontinued:

Finally, I'm trying my hand at Knitty's Plaited Points sock pattern. I'm using the Magic Loop technique and using Berocco Comfort Sock yarn in Southland. I think the colors are so pretty and yet subtle enough to still let the cable pattern pop:

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T10:04:00.000-07:00

Hope all of you are having a blessed Easter and are spending it with family - be they blood or choice - and that you are experiencing the miracle of God's unconditional love as shown through the Cross and the Resurrection.

Hubby and I are making it a quiet day at home. He's outside BBQ'ing chicken and sweet potatoes glazed with honey, Earth Balance, cinnamon and nutmeg on the grill. I can't wait! Meanwhile I'm enjoying my first cup of coffee in 40 days :-)

I finally finished a project I'd started for my husband too long ago, a pair of fingerless gloves I knit with my first ball of handspun yarn off the drop spindle. I dyed them with coffee and black tea - because it's been, ahem, over a year since I finished the last one, there's a little color variation between the two. Hubby loves them nonetheless:

Don't ask me why the picture is vertical - it wasn't when I took it. Oh well...

Gone Fishin'!

2009-04-05T09:39:00.000-07:00

My son's godfather has two kids, both of whom had their birthdays recently. So, I gave them fish - hats, that is... Knitty published a just-too-cute pattern for a one-size-fits-all Fish Hat [Dead or Alive?] in their Winter 08 issue and I couldn't resist. I decided for fun on both to glue big googly eyes on the fish instead of going with sewing/embroidering felt circles per the pattern and I really like how they turned out.

Here's the one I made for the little guy - I used Red Heart Super Saver yarn for the solid colors, and for the variegated stripes I used Red Heart Kids in Crayon:

For my friend's daughter I used Lion Brand's Vanna's Choice in Eggplant, Olive, Pink and Espresso:

Latest Happenings, and My Last Minute Vanna White Contest Entry

2009-02-01T20:15:00.000-08:00

Once again, I've been pulled away by way too many things going on and find myself having gone without updating here. Life has been a whirlwind the past month and a half while I've been catching up with work, getting through the holidays, and most recently going through a family emergency.

It's all been so much everything in me is screaming for a mental health day, and yet, where will I find the time? Maybe I can knit myself up a strait jacket that will keep me warm and comfortable while they drag me off in it.

A month ago, I started work on a shrug for the Lion Brand Vanna White yarn contest. Potential prizes include Michaels gift cards, cash and a trip to L.A. to meet Vanna. I put together a design of my own and finally finished it tonight.

The contest ends tonight at 11:59PM CST. I thought I'd gotten my submission in late but realized I likely got it in on time since I'm an hour behind Central and I sent it in just after 9:00PM. The judges will probably think I'm some babbling idiot explaining why I was "late" getting my entry in. Proper sleep for a change, anyone?

Here are photos of my shrug. I'll be honest, it didn't turn out like I wanted and I'm not sure I like it. I'm convinced it's going to end up on What Not to Knit. My husband thinks it's great so maybe I'm just being my own worst critic.

Oh well - it's not like I have anything to lose. Hopefully my acne, fugly hair, pot belly and dark circles under my glowing red eyes don't scare the judges or scream I'M OLD AND DOWDY too loud:

Wish me luck either way, perhaps they'll like what I did better than I do. At the least maybe now I can pick up the sweater I'd intended to knit for my son again.

Update/Daughter's Christmas Socks

2008-12-18T11:49:00.000-08:00

I've realized it's been almost three months since I posted... it's been so busy. So I thought I'd sneak on here, post an update and a picture of my most recent completed project.

A little over a week after my last post, a specialist confirmed what my regular doctor hinted, and what I had long realized: I needed surgery to fix ongoing health problems. Two weeks later I went under the knife.

The whole thing went very well. I only had pain enough to require a morphine pump the day of the surgery, was able to go home the next day, and after only needed Percocet and Motrin for a few days before I was able to wean off onto Motrin only.

I spent six weeks in recovery and returned to work at the beginning of this month. I'm still processing, adjusting and healing - it takes up to a year to be completely "normal" again after the procedures I had, and the process has its ups and downs. I just hope during the "down" days I test everyone else's patience a lot less than I manage to drive myself nuts.

In the meantime, of course, I have relied on my knitting for sanity. I was able to finish my daughter's socks that I started a couple months ago in time to send them off to her for Christmas:

I hope she likes them and that they fit her feet. I had a lot of fun working with the On Line Supersocke.

In the meantime, I'm taking a break from sock knitting to work on a sweater for my son. I've been wanting to make him a pullover with cables for some time and I found some Patons Classic Wool yarn in Denim at my local JoAnn's on sale a few weeks ago that will look nice on him. Because I'm horrid at guessing how much the cables will pull the yarn in I've had to start the project over three times, so it's not going to be ready in time for Christmas, but he'll still have something nice to wear on really cold days this winter soon enough.

Son's Socks are Done!

2008-09-21T18:38:00.000-07:00

I finished my little boy's socks last week - they're the very first pair I've knit start to finish:

I did a better job grafting the toe on the other one this time. I guess it's one of those practice make perfect type of things.

Here's the little man checking them out - I couldn't get him to model the finished product but he did like the way they felt against his skin:

In the meantime I've continued work on the sock I was making in On-Line Supersocke yarn, and I've started a pair for my husband using JoAnn's Soles & More in Grey Shades. I take turns working on each - as you can see I've gotten to where I'm constructing the heel with the first pair:

I'm using the same pattern as for mine with the first pair, except I'm making the top part a couple of inches shorter so I can make the foot a little larger. I love how the self-striping is turning out - my husband couldn't believe that the yarn does all that fun and colorful work all by itself, all I have to do is knit and enjoy :-)

With my husband's I'm using Patons' Spiral Socks free pattern. I picked up a leaflet for it while I was at Shuttles, Spindles and Skeins a few weeks ago. You can click the link above to access the pattern online - it requires membership but it's free and they don't spam you unless you let them so they're cool.

Pitter-Patter of Little Feet

2008-09-06T14:40:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not expecting... just focusing on the little feet already in my home and those of a friend's.

I've started work on some socks for my son. He got so excited watching me make mine that I decided to put that project down for the interim and do some for him instead.

I'm using JoAnn Crafts' own brand of sock yarn called Soles and More. My son picked out a ball that self-stripes in shades of blue, red and grey. I'm using the Magic Loop technique with a size 3 29" circular and sort of doing my own thing based on ideas I picked up from free patterns at Lion Brand and Red Heart.

I've already got the first one done - my son modeled it for the camera:

I'm hoping I can improve my Kitchener/grafting stitch for the second one. I don't like how it turned out on the toe here at all.

I also knit up a pair of booties for a friend's baby. I used the Snuggle Booties pattern from Bev's Country Cottage. They went really quick and easy. Since the little guy is almost two months old already, I used the instructions for making the 3-month size along with size 5 needles to make them just a little bit bigger - I'm hoping that will do it:

The yarn is Sirdar Snuggly Domino DK baby yarn in Deep Blue. I've had it in my stash for some time. It's been discontinued since '05. I may or may not make a matching hat as I have a couple more balls.

I'm planning to finish my son's socks now that I got the booties done. From there I'll probably finish the pair I'm doing with the On-Line yarn. I also got a couple balls of Soles and More in black and grey shades that I plan to use to make socks for my husband, and then I might finally get around to finishing mine.

The Joy of Socks

2008-08-12T08:35:00.000-07:00

Oh all right, so my post title is dumb :-)

This is my first attempt at knitting socks. I'm using Red Heart's Heart & Sole sock yarn in Spring Stripe and using the accompanying free pattern Red Heart has on its site:

I figured I'd make a pair for myself first, that way if I mess them up then I'm the one who has to live with the mistake :-D

If these turn out well then I'll be digging into the ball of On-Line sock yarn I got from The Recycled Lamb and knitting up another pair. The color variations in that yarn look like they'll be a lot of fun.

Update, 8/18 - First one down:

I think my son approves:
I've also started a pair of socks using the On-Line sock yarn and a technique called Magic Loop:

Basically Magic Loop is where you use a longer circular needle to knit a smaller garment in the round. This site and this video are good tutorials if you want to learn more.

The advantage of Magic Loop, aside from not having to deal with DPNs, is that your work will supposedly come out more seamless. Given this is my first effort I suspect that won't be the case for these socks, but in the meantime I'm enjoying the striping coming out of this yarn and learning something new.

Mother-Daughter Time

2008-08-03T13:52:00.000-07:00

My daughter came out to visit this past week from California - I can't believe it's come and gone already. She came out with her father, grandmother and aunt.

We belatedly celebrated her 17th birthday when she got here. I gave her my Little Meggie kick spindle and emailed her Jan's demo of it from YouTube at her request so she can see how to set it up and get it going at her pace.

I finished her W tank just in time. It looks really great on her:

It did turn out a little on the large side for her so she is opting to wear it as a vest, and it's working out pretty good. She got a lot of compliments while she wore it here.

We got her a really gorgeous lemon poppy cake from Rheinlander Bakery:

We spent most of our time the rest of the week doing what we do best - raiding all the fiber, yarn and craft places we could hit. We first went to Shuttles, Spindles and Skeins out in Boulder, where my daughter got herself a few ounces of a beautiful merino roving and some gold Angelina fibers that she has already started combining on her drop spindle:

My son loves to watch his sister on this video over and over :-)

I also got myself some "Summertime" roving by Alpine Meadow Artisan Fibers that I began spinning on my wheel right away:

We also visited The Recycled Lamb in Lakewood for the first time. While my daughter grabbed a few balls of bright colored wool yarn from there, I got myself a ball of sock yarn and half a pound of alpaca fiber. We descended upon Hobby Lobby a couple of times too so my daughter could spend the gift card my MIL gave her and got even more yarn.

My daughter went home with several pounds of yarn from my stash - I felt it was time to go through what I had and pass it along. She is planning to keep some and then give away the rest to her great-grandmother and possibly to charity.

When we weren't busy going to the craft stores we were busy using what we got, sitting around like a couple of old ladies and making our projects :-)

My daughter's grandmother also visited SS&S and Hobby Lobby while here. She said she had to shut her eyes at one point or she would end up buying everything in both stores.

We managed to get away on an overnight trip up to Idaho Springs and also visit the Buffalo Bill museum and grave on Lookout Mountain. My daughter did an Old West portrait at Margie's while in Idaho Springs that turned out fantastic - I loved watching her dress up in costume and have fun posing for the camera:

My husband and I had one done for our anniversary last month, so now we have a matching picture to put up with ours... one day we'll get one done of our son when he's older and can sit still and then we'll have the whole family!

My daughter also made a painted stained glass project for her aunt, who has a birthday the day after hers:

Finally, we caught a couple of movies - Iron Man and Wall-E. I have already seen Iron Man and love it, my daughter thought the electromagnetic thing in Tony Stark's chest was "creepy." Wall-E was a hit for us as well as my husband, it really bowled us all over.

8/11: I just got an update on my daughter's trip back home. Her Dad had decided to attempt the I-70 route back to Cali and it was a challenge between massive rain, a sandstorm, and just having a hard time getting the RV over the passes in the mountains. Thankfully they had family in Vegas who treated them to some hospitality and relaxation before they made it back home last night. As long as everyone is safe and sound, that's what counts.

Navajo Plying and Tank Tops

2008-06-24T10:30:00.000-07:00

Hot enough for you all out there yet now that it's officially summer?

"Oh God - air conditioning, please!!!"

We're supposed to flirt with 100 degrees tomorrow and Thursday here. Still, it's nothing to complain about compared to where my daughter is - she told me it hit 110 over the weekend in her area. From what I've seen it looks like she'll be getting a reprieve soon though if not already.

But enough about the weather - this Kneedle Junkie wants to talk about her addiction!

I recently decided to learn how to Navajo ply, in which you triple-ply from a single strand of spun yarn. The Joy of Handspinning site has a mini-video and a page dedicated to this technique but I needed more, and frankly I needed a "Navajo Plying for Dummies" type of lesson if I was going to get it.

Enter rexenne's most excellent YouTube video, How to Navajo Ply: Demystified and Unraveled. To say that she is a genius in being able to teach something that otherwise looks incredibly complicated is an understatement. She not only explains how to do it but adds a couple of tips for making it easier, AND - bless her heart - slows parts of the video way, way down so you can actually see how it works. Throw in her upbeat personality and some fun background music, and you've got yourself an awesome tutorial.

After watching the video I tried my hand at Navajo plying on some old baby yarn... and did better than I thought for a first try. So, I took the yarn I finished spinning from the roving I got at Stick and Stone back in April and did it "for reals."

Here's my end result:

I have to say for only my second effort I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Still haven't decided what I will do with it yet, especially as it's only about 8 ounces of yarn. I may wait until I've spun or bought something that coordinates with the color and then see what it inspires me to do.

In the meantime, I've been making tank tops. Maran Illustrated has its knitting and crocheting book for free online, which contains a pattern for a summer tank top. I used Lion's now-discontinued Magic Stripes yarn in Denim Stripe to make one for myself - I made it to wear out to dinner for my anniversary this weekend, and it'll be a fun top for the 4th of July:

I found the Magic Stripes yarn at Big Lots a few months ago. Like the Fettuccini yarn they had it at an insane discount, $1.50 per ball. They no longer have it that I can tell, I suspect they were just helping get rid of the last of it (it looks like Lion Brand's replaced it with something else since). I have, however, seen some people selling it on eBay here and there. I plan to use what I have left to make my son a sweater.

I am also making a tank for my daughter as one of her birthday gifts. I found a really nice pattern on Knitty called the W tank and I've already finished one side - I'm using some of what I have left of my Lion Brand Homespun in Adirondack and it's coming out nicely:

I am running into one snag though. I'm so low in my stash of this yarn that I've got mismatched dye lots - they don't even look like the same yarn when you put two skeins side by side. That's what I get for not listening to my ex-mother-in-law about how a project can get ruined if you don't get enough of the same dye lot. I may have to fudge it a bit to get the other side to at least look halfway the same.

Aside from that, I'm finding that knitting this pattern is just a lot of fun. It's quick and it's actually pretty easy once you get the hang of it. I may end up making one for me and there's at least one other person I can think of who would look good in this. Probably will use another yarn though so I can make sure everything matches!

This and That

2008-05-14T12:14:00.000-07:00

I don't have any specific updates to report, just thought I'd share a few pics... hope you enjoy.

First, I finished spinning my silk - sorry for the fuzzy photo, for some reason my camera decided the texture on my couch was more interesting:

I've decided I'm going to use it to make the short-sleeved version of Stitch Diva's Hourglass Jacket. As mentioned on the site it does work up pretty quickly - in just a couple hours I got the first part of the back and the armhole shaping for that section done, and I've never done broomstick lace before.

I did get another couple ounces of the pink silk from Rose Weaving so I will hopefully have enough to finish the project - I may go get another ounce this weekend to be on the safe side. But it will have to wait a bit as I finally started in on the wool I got from Stick and Stone while in California last month:

It's proving to be a nice fiber to spin, and I like the way the taupe is coming out. I also got a mauve-ish color - I had thought everything was the same color because they do look so close. I'm cool with it though, I think they'll go together nicely on a project.

My daughter also sent me a CD of the pictures she took during our Tehachapi trip last month that include shots of the purse I made as my Confirmation gift to her. I spun the yarn using Sullivan's felting fiber pack in Heritage colors.

She got pictures of me finishing it up in our hotel room, as well as goofing around wearing it as a hat. The circular knitting needles looked like little bug antennae sticking out the top and we both had fun laughing about that.

Fort Lupton Heritage Fair

2008-05-04T12:19:00.000-07:00

My family and I went to the second annual Fort Lupton, CO Heritage Fair yesterday.

"Dude, where's my pants?"

Unfortunately it was rather cold and windy (which makes me wonder how the guy in the picture above fared), and with my men fighting off some nasty respiratory thing that meant we couldn't stay long. But it was still fun to visit - they had re-enactments of the frontier days, including the Buffalo Soldiers, Native American dances, music and Annie Oakley. A couple of different people demonstrated candle making and blacksmithing. There were different activities people could do too, such as re-enacting Viking sword fights, tomahawk throwing, panning, and they had a barbeque where everyone could feast on pulled pork, buffalo and beef.

They also have an old schoolhouse and a home from the 1800s that they've restored and are now historical landmarks that you can go inside. The house has restored furniture and other amenities, including a sewing machine - you can even see the belt that helped move the needle with the help of a foot pedal:

They also have women from the South Platte Valley Historical Society who demonstrate handspinning and weaving. People could come over and learn how to use a weaving loom if they wanted.

This nice lady here allowed a young girl to help her draft the wool she was using to spin yarn.

All in all we had a great time and if you're from the Denver/Boulder area, I think it's a great event for your kids to attend so they can experience history in person.

The Joy of Silk

2008-05-03T08:35:00.000-07:00

I bit the bullet and got myself about six ounces of a very pale hand-dyed silk from Rose Weaving Gallery and Studio in Arvada a couple weekends ago at a discount:

This week I started spinning it on my wheel. It was my first time attempting to spin silk and it was a challenge at first. The fibers are so slippery they can get away from you quickly - and they did quite a few times! I also ended up with some areas that were as thin as a thread trying to figure out how much to draft out to get a consistent weight.

But now I'm getting the hang of it and my yarn is starting to look better:

I also discovered the belt had loosened on my wheel, which explained some of the trouble I was having with getting enough twist all of a sudden. Fortunately Jan has instructions available for download at Heavenly Handpsinning on how to tighten the belt. I followed the steps and in no time the wheel worked again like a charm.

The fibers are so slippery it drafts and spins quickly. Also because I tend to spin on the fast side as it is, the increased twist actually works well with the silk. I'm not sure if it's the dye or something the fibers picked up in the store but it also smells very pretty.

I won't get to buy silk fibers very often but I will definitely enjoy the opportunities I get to spin this soft, luxurious fiber.

Audrey

2008-04-21T09:07:00.001-07:00

I knit myself up a quick, easy and fun project over the weekend called the Audrey Turtleneck Shell. The pattern and the yarn are from Lion Brand - the yarn is Fettuccini in Coppertone:

I got an incredible deal on the yarn. I found it at Big Lots for $1.50 a ball - normally it's $9. So for just a dollar and a half more than the normal price, I was able to get enough to make the entire thing!

I also modified the pattern a little - normally the turtleneck is 10 inches long, but I made it about 6 inches instead. I felt it would be too bulky and goofy looking if I went the full length, and at the same time it's still long enough that I can roll it down.

The only problem I've had with it so far is that the armholes stretched out some when I washed it last night, so I will need to reshape it again. Otherwise it's surprisingly light for a bulky wool yarn and it's a lot of fun to wear.

More Fun with Kool-Aid

2008-04-13T13:09:00.000-07:00

I decided to try my hand at being a little more creative with the Kool-Aid dyeing last night and this morning... I've spun about a pound and a half of the Corriedale I got to make my husband a sweater using my Gratia wheel so far and hubby mentioned recently that he'd like some color in it:

My husband likes tie-dye so I thought I'd give that a go... and I decided to try the microwave technique this time, not really following any directions in particular but going off of what I observed using the stovetop technique. I figure if I botched the yarn I can just make a brown shade by mixing the different Kool-Aid colors together and cover my tush :-)

By the way if my site is the first you've come across in researching Kool-Aid dyeing techniques, bear in mind that it works with protein fibers only, such as wool, soy, or silk. Cellulose and artificial fibers such as cotton or acrylic will not take Kool-Aid dye. The same goes for if you want to color using easter egg dyes.

If you're working with a blend such as wool and cotton or wool and acrylic, the wool fibers will take the dye. It is a combination of the acidic Kool-Aid package mix and the protein in the fibers that make this work together. There are tons of other sites out there that discuss dyeing techniques for all different fiber types and I recommend doing lots of homework so you can decide what technique you want to use and how you want to dye your yarn or fiber.

So here's how I did my Kool-Aid wool, "tie-dye" style. First I put the yarn I'd spun in a resealable bag with just enough water to get it wet and then microwaved it until it was really hot, about 90 seconds to 2 minutes:

Next, I created some colors that I thought would work well within what my husband likes. I made a dark orange/terra cotta shade by mixing Orange and Black Cherry, an olive green using Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade with Orange, and then varying shades of indigo blue and violet with the ice blue raspberry and/or Berry Blue mixed with Grape... the ice blue turned out more purple shades with the grape, whereas the berry blue made more of a blue/indigo color. Here you can see me prepping the colors - I added water that I boiled in the microwave first, which seemed to help the mix dissolve better:

I then took an old oral medicine syringe and squirted/injected the colors into the yarn. The syringe gave me control over where and how much I could put the colors; if you're just working with one color then you can just dump the entire container into the bag and massage it through:

I found that if I didn't take care to inject color exactly where I wanted it, then it would leave undyed patches. Given I was going for a tie-dyed look, that actually worked out very well, but if you're wanting uniform color make sure you get the dye everywhere you need it to go.

From there I microwaved the yarn again to get it very hot. This time because the yarn was already warm from the first nuking, it only needed about 90 seconds... and it comes out scorching so make sure you are using oven mitts to pull it out of the nuker:

Oh and unlike what you see me doing, I recommend using rubber gloves for the process. Kool-Aid is a bear to wash out of your skin, and if you have any cuts or scratches on your hands, the acidity from the Vitamin C in the mix really stings.

After microwaving the dyed yarn I let it sit for a while... the yarn is so hot it'll cook itself. I liked that over the stovetop process because then you can just walk away, you don't have to babysit it. But if you have little ones like I do keep it out of reach - I know I'm being annoying but I can't emphasize enough how hot the yarn gets. Additionally you will need to massage the yarn from time to time to make sure it continues absorbing the color, so again, keep the oven mitts handy.

When the yarn finishes absorbing the color the water is virtually clear:

At that point I squeezed out the excess water as much as I could. I suggest opening the bag and letting the yarn cool a few minutes, but if you're impatient like me you can just don the oven mitts and squeeze it out while holding the bag open upside down.

From there I hung the yarn to dry:

All right, so I use the rack where we store our mops and brooms to dry my yarn and our calendar is still on February. I have a small place and it's been busy. Work with me...

After the yarn drip-dried for a while, I re-wound it to help disperse the moisture, get some air in between the strands, then put them on a towel in the sun to dry. They're still sitting on the back of my couch, making the house smell fruity... so far my cats seem to understand their normal sun spots are taken and are dozing elsewhere.

My husband is admiring his yarn every time he walks by; he really likes the colors I got out of what I did. I also experimented with mixing things a little differently with various skeins, having the pretreated yarn be wetter or dryer before coloring, and also with sprinkling the dry mix onto the yarn after coloring it but before putting it in the microwave.

These experiments resulted in some color variations as you can probably see, but I think they'll all still go together well when I knit hubby's sweater. I also did try tying off parts of some skeins prior to dyeing to get more of the tie-dyed look and that gave me some nice white bands here and there.

My almost four year old son seemed to show some interest in what I was doing too. If he were older I would have had him help me with the painting process (not with cooking though), but between it being a really nice day outside and his preferring tire swings and mud, he's got his prerogatives :-)

Oh and by the way - yes, I do have a large stash of Kool-Aid, your eyes did not deceive you in previous photos:

I somehow got lucky when I hit our local Big Lots last night. They had boxes of the stuff, 50 packs for 5 dollars - I calculated that to come out to 10 cents a pack, what you'd pay for the generic stuff on a good day. So I stocked up and now I've got enough to keep things colorful for a long time.

Happy Trails...

2008-04-09T07:48:00.001-07:00

Hope you're all ready for a long post with lots of pictures. I just returned last night from a trip out to California, where I got to see my daughter go through Confirmation and spent time with her.

We enjoyed our time together, which included an overnighter up in Tehachapi. First, we visited the California Poppy Reserve in Lancaster:

By the way, this is THE time of year to go. As you can see the scenery is almost surreal - the hills are intensely bright orange from all the poppies in bloom, and with the blue sky it makes for an incredible contrast. The pictures we took just don't do it justice at all, you really have to go and see it for yourself. They are also going to have a Poppy Festival the weekend of the 19th at a park in Lancaster that will have festivities, arts and crafts and more.

We then got to see a train go through the Tehachapi Loop:

Finally, we saw the big cats at the exotic feline compound in Rosamond - this serval was a bit friendlier than the bobcat that hissed at us when we tried to take his picture:

We also visited Tehachapi's famous Apple Shed restaurant and gift shop for lunch, where my daughter picked herself up some of their well-known fudge. I am not sure if I like how they've rearranged things since they got new management a couple of years ago but it is still a fun place to visit.

We also indulged in our spinning and needlework aplenty. We found a spinning supplies place in Van Nuys called Stick & Stone where we got an incredible deal - all their fibers and yarn are 70% off right now as part of a spring sale. They were pretty picked over by the time we got there but we found some nice roving nonetheless, and there's still some good stuff left, so if you're out in that area make sure you hurry and grab what they've got before it's gone!

Oh and I also suggest that you call them before you go. The owner told us that she isn't running normal business hours on some days, but if you call ahead of time like we did she will keep the store open for you.

We also visited Skein out in Pasadena. I picked up a pair of handbag handles and a small pack of roving from them. They also had a small knitting group going on while we were there.

I used the handles to create a handbag for my daughter as her Confirmation gift. I knit the bag using circular needles and yarn I spun on my Gratia wheel using Sullivan's roving pack in Heritage colors. My daughter watched me make it but didn't know it was hers until the very end so she was very pleasantly surprised when I handed it to her :-)

I also learned to use Kool-Aid as a dye the right way - when I did my Blue-faced Leicester roving a while back I didn't realize that I needed to follow some important steps, which left my wool on the pale side... mind you I still like how it looks, but this time I got a more vivid color. I found Knitty and yarngirl both had good suggestions for dyeing with Kool-Aid.

I also decided to spin the roving first and then dye it as yarn. When I did the roving first it made the wool kink and stiffen, which makes it harder to draft while spinning. Also dyeing it after spinning helped set the twist.

Here are my results using three packs of grape Kool-Aid on an ounce and a half of roving with varying natural shades that I spun on my Louet Octagon drop spindle:

Oh and yes, it smells as intense as it looks. I took it home with me in a ziploc bag in my carryon and I could still smell the grape through the bag.

My daughter and I also took some yarn she'd spun on her drop spindle and used lemon-lime on it. I don't have any pictures of the end results but it turned out this fantastic bright green - so fun! I'm hoping when she and her Dad get the disc together they've promised me of her pictures from Tehachapi that she'll include a shot of it.

As always my trip to California was too short and it's never easy leaving. It was my home most of my life, and it's always hard to say goodbye to my daughter until I see her again. But hubby has been talking about having all of us go and visit again in the fall, and I will get to see my daughter in the summer... here's hoping I'll have enough time off down the line and that the months in between go quickly.

Happy Easter!

2008-03-25T09:22:00.001-07:00

Peep! :-)

I made a whole bunch of these adorable chicks for my family Easter Sunday using Berroco's free pattern. Instead of using their Plush yarn I used Yarn Bee's Luscious, and I used a J hook instead of the K hook they call for in the pattern, mostly because I don't have a K hook in my collection yet. I also turned the chicks inside out after sewing them almost all the way and put just a bit of poly stuffing inside them to make them more puffy before closing them up and making the beak.

They were a hit - my nephews fought over theirs to where Dad hid them all in his jacket, LOL. Even my father in law loved his.

I sent my daughter an Easter care package that included a hairpin lace loom so she'll be ready for her lessons when I see her next week. I also gave her a sweatshirt on which I painted some butterflies:

Finally, I ordered the Little Joe drop spindle from Heavenly Handspinning.

I couldn't resist - I love the spoke wheel design, and besides... if my nephew's fascination over seeing Gratia means anything I may have another young'un to teach how to spin, meaning I may be giving him my octagonal drop spindle.

My Gratia is Here!

2008-03-17T09:03:00.000-07:00

UPS showed up with my Gratia wheel just as I was pulling into work on Thursday. Darn!

But I did get a chance to play with her over the weekend. Here's a couple pictures of her after I put her together:

... and here is a video demo I made this morning so you can see Gratia in action. I apologize for how dark it is (doggone camera, grrr), but hopefully it'll be enough for you to see how it works:

She was pretty easy to put together, and I also found that she's rather lightweight, roughly 9 pounds. As I guessed she's relatively small, so it's really easy to move and store her where she's not in anyone else's way when I'm not using her. If you live in a small place like I do, Gratia is a perfect fit.

Gratia is also pretty quiet. It doesn't sound like it in the video demo but she is - my husband and son are able to play/watch TV while I'm using her without much fuss at all, and I've also used the wheel after they've gone to bed without them hearing it... given sound normally travels down our hallway big time that says a lot.

The wheel comes unfinished. I used Howard's wood treatment on it, which contains beeswax and orange oil. You can get it at Home Depot. The finish was just gorgeous when I was done. For the lubricant I used Tri Flow; it contains banana oil with teflon, so it doesn't damage the wood finish and the teflon ensures I probably won't have to worry about squeaks or friction for quite a while.

All in all I am very happy with Gratia. Let's just say that if it's wrong to be in love with an inanimate object, I don't wanna be right.

Celia, So Far...

2008-03-12T09:24:00.000-07:00

Just a quick snapshot of my progress with Celia - I've finished the cups for the front and now am working in the pattern for the bottom front part:

It's working up rather nice and quickly and I like how the two colors go together. It'll be a lot of fun to wear during the summer.

In the meantime I'm still eagerly awaiting my Gratia wheel. According to UPS she's in Kansas right now, about halfway across the state, so she'll probably be on my doorstep sometime tomorrow just as they've predicted.

Corset Top is Fini!

2008-03-10T17:12:00.000-07:00

I was able to finish my corset top (pattern courtesy of Annie Modesitt) on Saturday night after all:

I'm really pleased with how it turned out. After I put on the buttons it turns out it's not too tight, it's actually a perfect fit with just a little room to spare, which is how I like it. Hubby says he thinks it looks great :-)

I haven't quite jumped back on with my Giselle project yet. I wanted to find a quick and easy tank top to put together and after poking around some online, I settled upon Celia, a free crochet pattern from Berroco - I'm just doing the top as I don't have a need for the shawl.

I am using the Aunt Lydia's "Denim" quick crochet thread in Linen that I have left over from my corset project, and also in Chambray, which is a really nice medium-dark blue. I was thinking about adding a third color because I was worried I'd run out of the Linen color but in digging through my yarn bins I found another ball of it, so I'm good to go!

Gratia

2008-03-08T14:31:00.000-08:00

I was finally able to order one of the newest spinning wheels from Jan Ford and her company, Heavenly Handspinning. It's called Gratia, which means charity or grace in Latin, and it is a little smaller and less expensive than the first wheel, Fidelis (faithful). I'll probably receive it sometime next week and once I get myself up and running on it I will let you all know what I think. Jan's husband created a 6:1 bobbin for it as well as a hybrid that will do either 6:1 or 9:1.

Jan is also offering another wheel that will come with some assembly required. However it will be an easy assembly, just using three screws. That wheel's name is Adomo, which means to fall in love with. Again this one will be available for a bit less than Fidelis, and I think it's right in between Fidelis and Gratis in respect to size.

I am still coming along with the corset top. I have one sleeve done and managed to get about a third to halfway done with the other this morning. I'm having a little tummy trouble this afternoon so I'm not sure I'll be able to finish it yet, we'll have to see.

My husband also gave our nephew his hat and mittens for his birthday this afternoon. I wasn't able to be there, but my nephew liked them.

Coming Along...

2008-03-06T11:22:00.000-08:00

I've finished the body of the Annie Modesitt corset top and am now working on the sleeves:

I also tried it on... and it's a little tight. Fits, but a bit tight, and I will probably need to stretch it a bit when I wet block it. I probably should have gone with the next size up. I'm a little surprised given I went with larger needles to try and accommodate the gauge.

Still I'm pretty happy with how it's turning out and again I can probably shape it so it's a better fit when I block it.

Threads of Compassion is Coming to Boulder!

2008-03-05T12:17:00.001-08:00

I'm really excited about this... I have been in touch with Moving to End Sexual Assault (MESA) in Boulder about possibly starting a Threads of Compassion chapter out here in my area. The staff member with whom I've been corresponding brought the idea to the rest of the staff there and they are totally on board with it! I think this is go great - I've been wanting to find a way to use my knitting and crochet skills to help others.

So cross your fingers and wish me and the folks at MESA luck. They will be spreading the word through their staff and connections and I will be doing the same with those around me. I'm really hoping we can make a difference and help those who come forward for support feel they are not alone and that our efforts will help give them comfort and strength in the hard times.

Corset

2008-03-04T13:44:00.000-08:00

I've put Giselle on hold while I'm working on a corset top pattern from Annie Modesitt. I wanted to have something nice to wear for Easter and this is proving to work up faster - it's also so very pretty and I think it'll be perfect for spring:

The pattern calls for silk yarn but I've opted for a more budget-friendly Sugar n' Cream cotton yarn in Summer Twists for the main color, and then Aunt Lydia's cotton and acrylic yarn in Linen for the secondary color.

It's further along now than when I took this picture. I've added the second color at the bottom with just a few rows left before I do the finishing and the sleeves. I'm also thinking about adding some beadwork to accent parts of the garment and I found some buttons made from shell at Wal-Mart that I think will look very nice. I'll update with more pictures when the project is done.

Valentine's Shawl

2008-02-19T08:18:00.001-08:00

I made my daughter a hairpin lace shawl based on a free pattern from Berroco's for Valentine's Day - I used Yarn Bee's Truffles Ladder yarn to do this one: She really likes it and recognized the hairpin technique when she saw it from the scarf I gave her over Christmas. I asked if she'd like me to teach her how and she said yes, so I will do that when I go to visit her in a few weeks :-)

I also made myself Stitch Diva's convertible wrap using Lion Brand's Incredible yarn:

I love how it turned out, but I think I may have messed up where I'm supposed to put the buttons. I'm probably going to have to move one of them to another corner and then see if I can get it to do all the neat things you see it do on the pattern.

I'm also working on a pattern I bought from Stitch Diva called Giselle. It's a blouse normally knit using silk yarn but I'm using some yarn I've had in storage for forever to make it that's wool, cotton and linen, and I just ordered a skein of Tilli Tomas' Plain and Simple in Forest to make the twisted cord trim and belt when it's done:

I know it doesn't look like much because the circular needle is warping it to make it look like a shoe, but it is beginning to take shape and look nice.

Finally, I had promised my 5-1/2 year old nephew I would make him something, so I knit him a hat and a pair of mittens based on patterns from Bev's Country Cottage:

I will be giving these to him for his birthday next month. I made them using Red Heart's Super Saver yarn in Banana Berry and I love how the different shades of yellow, blue and green striped themselves.

Hairpin Poncho, Fingerless Gloves, Kool-Aid Wool and Harvested Cotton

2008-02-01T08:05:00.000-08:00

Yep, I'm back again already... I finished the hairpin lace poncho for my friend's daughter, who is turning 2 this month:

I'm still amazed at how fast hairpin lace works up. Just one strip would come together within an hour or less... I made 4-2 1/2" strips, and 4-3" strips using Yarn Bee's Paradox in Pansy and a size H crochet hook. Each strip consists of 176 loops, making them 22" in length. I used some guidelines a fellow member of my Yahoo! hairpin lace group posted for making ponchos, choosing one that would fit a child size 2-4.

I then made two panels consisting of two 3" strips in the middle, and a 2 1/2" strip on the outer edges, using a single crochet to join the loops, which made the panels 11" wide. I then used some Patons Cha Cha in Vegas that I had leftover from my daughter's hairpin scarf to edge the panels and join them to each other.

I also forgot to show off my fingerless gloves that I knit from yarn I spun out of some really fun colored wool I picked up at Shuttles, Spindles and Skeins - I love the way the yarn just sort of naturally made its own stripes:

I got the pattern from the Knit & Plenty blog. I'm also making a pair for my husband:
I'm using the plain Corriedale I spun a while back for his. I decided to try dyeing the first glove with some coffee, and I really like how it turned out, as does hubby. It also smelled interesting for a while, like a sheep that had too much espresso :-D The smell has calmed down some since.

I tried my hand at dyeing again when I picked up some plain Blue-faced Leicester from Shuttles, Spindles and Skeins over Christmas. I decided to use Kool-Aid, which I've heard is supposed to be really good. Here are my results: The blue-green is from some sort of blue raspberry, the bright red is cherry, the darker red is black cherry, and the pale pink is pink lemonade. I've already started spinning it a little and it's turning out nice... I also like how soft the Blue-faced Leicester feels.

My daughter is continuing to enjoy handspinning. I sent her a pound of Columbia/Dorset blend from Paradise Fibers as an early Christmas gift and then emailed her grandmother several links on dyeing fibers with natural ingredients in case she wanted to give that a try. Sure enough she did - she used food dye to make every color of the rainbow. Awesome! I'm hoping I'll get to see what she's done when I visit her this spring... I'm really excited that she's continued to show so much interest in spinning and crochet.

Finally... last spring and summer I decided that even though I don't live in the cotton belt, I'd try planting some Pima seeds and see where that would go. I was pleasantly surprised with a small field of cotton plants, even in my lousy soil:

I was also surprised to find out just how beautiful cotton blossoms are. The pink and yellow colors are delicate and yet stunning, it's almost like a rose:

Sadly, the frosts came and killed off my plants before the bolls could really mature - I think if they'd had another 2-4 weeks I could have had better success. But I was still able to gather a few and get some fibers out of them - the seeds from them are no good but I can still spin what I got:

I'm thinking if I try again this year, I'll get the actual seed package from Cotton's Journey rather than just plucking them from a bag of bolls like I did last time. That way I'd have many more seeds and would increase my chances for more plants. I would also want to find some way to create a makeshift greenhouse sometime in March or April that could protect the soil and the plants from frost until things start warming up mid-May, and/or plant them indoors a couple weeks early and then transplant them outside. I'll have to do some more homework on this to find ways to optimize my chances for a better crop.

Of course anyone who has any suggestions is also welcome to comment. I'd love to hear if any of you could help this Colorado gal out with her cotton.

Hooray - Pictures!

2008-01-29T08:54:00.001-08:00

A belated Happy Holidays :-)

As long-overdue promised, I finally was able to put some pictures together of some things I've done recently. First, I wanted to show some of the handiwork I did with the Little Meggie kick spindle from Heavenly Handspinning: I used some pastel wool roving from Sullivan's here to make this yarn. I eventually knit it into a nice little hat: It's a bit on the big side but it works for the days I have my hair bunched up in a bun, or more often, when I've got an inflated ego. Since it's wool and I double-stranded the yarn, it's also great for the cold snaps we get where I am occasionally between late December and mid-February when it can drop down to the single digits and below zero.

Also as I mentioned a while back I've been learning hairpin lace. I started out by making my own loom out of plastic knitting needles and a pair of foamie letter I's: Eventually as I became more comfortable with the technique, I splurged and got a handmade wooden hairpin loom they sell on Stitch Diva as a birthday gift to myself - here you can see me making another strip for a poncho I'm making for my friend's daughter who got the little sweater and hat I made for her birthday last year: I'll post a couple pictures here when I'm done with it.

I've already managed to make a few other projects with hairpin lace, the first being a couple of scarves: The one on the left was a Christmas present to my daughter, made with Patons Cha Cha in Vegas. The one on the right I made for a 13 year old girl that I picked from our giving tree at my church, again made with the Vegas Cha Cha and Patons Pooch in Spring Blush.

I decided to be more daring with my next project and made a shrug: Being as I'm still learning this technique the shrug is a little tight but it'll be good for the warmer spring days when I wear shorter sleeves under it. For what it's worth it did keep me on the warm side when I wore it over a turtleneck Christmas Eve. I made it using Yarn Bee Mosaic Twist in Flashy.

I also made myself another hat with the hairpin lace: I based the hat on this pattern, but it didn't turn out the way it was supposed to as you can see. So I improvised and added the braided tassels with leftover yarn to make it funky and eccentric instead. This is also in Yarn Bee Mosaic Twist and Paradox in Pansy.

I've been learning cross-stitch and punch needle embroidery too. I gave my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and aunt-in-law punch needle projects that I unfortunately didn't get to photograph before I wrapped them up. But, I was able to get a picture of my first cross-stitch effort, an ornament kit that I picked up from the thrift store: I also made a bookmark for my daughter that's personalized with her name - here's a close-up: Finally, I knit another hat for my son and crocheted him a pair of mittens using patterns from Bev's Country Cottage site - the yarn is Red Heart Super Saver:
So there you go, there's some of what I've been up to lately. It's a lot but I also know I'd promised pictures and I haven't uploaded any in months so you might say I'm making up for lost time.

About the Mother Marion Spindle...

2008-01-02T14:08:00.000-08:00

A couple of people have written me asking about my Mother Marion kick spindle, where they can get one and how I like it, so I thought I'd write a quick blurb... I do first want to clarify that the videos you're seeing on my blog are NOT mine, but rather the seller of these spindles. I've simply referred them on my site so people can see what they look like and how to use them.

That said, I LOVE it. I have the Little Meggie model, which has the scalloped wheel. It has a nice balance and weight and spins very smooth and freely.

It's also just plain gorgeous. I don't recall what the wood is but I recently used some beeswax wood preserver to clean it up and the wood absolutely glowed. Being a family member of various men who did woodwork and took pride in it, I definitely appreciate the fine craftsmanship.

I am able to spin yarn with it a lot faster than a drop spindle, which I still use from time to time as it's easier to take with me when I travel. But the kick spindle takes precedence when I'm home... I suspect the only thing that will tear me away from using it is if/when I make or buy a spinning wheel and learn to use that.

Oh, another advantage to the kick spindle is that it's great if you live in a small home with little space like I do. My husband and I are constantly playing Tetris with our stuff to try and make more room, but with my little kick spindle I never have a problem finding a place to either sit and work with it or put it away when I'm done.

The seller also said that smaller kids love to sit on the floor and spin the whorl to "help" spin and she's right - my son will come over, say "Push?" and then start twirling it. He even knows after watching me what direction it should go so he won't end up unwinding my work :-)

Now, where to get one... the person who sells these normally does so on eBay, but if you contact her and ask real nice she would probably be more than happy to sell you one direct. If she contacts me and gives me permission I'll post information on how to get a hold of her directly, but for now I'm going to respect her privacy and just direct anyone who asks to eBay.

A Badly Needed Update

2007-11-28T08:35:00.001-08:00

I just realized it's been over three months since I updated my site. My apologies and I promise, promise promise I'll upload some photos of my work soon. We've been back and forth with hard drives and also it's been a bit nutty with my job and family lately.

In the meantime just a quick update on what I've done when I've had that rare and precious spare time. Mostly I've been learning some new things - punch needle embroidery, cross-stitch, and hairpin lace. I've wanted to learn the latter two for quite some time and now I'm finally doing it! As always they ended up just looking a lot harder to do than they actually were when I sat down and gave it a try.

The end result is that all the ladies in my family (and a couple of the gents, if I have time) will get something handmade for Christmas. My daughter, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and husband's aunt are all getting a punch needle project. I also did a cross-stitch brass bookmark mongrammed with my daughter's name that turned out wonderful, and I did a fun and funky scarf with hairpin lace and bright colored fuzzy yarn that I'll send her in her Christmas care package.

By the way if anyone who wants to try out hairpin lace is having a hard time finding a loom like I did (NONE of the Michaels, JoAnn or Hobby Lobby stores near me carry them in-store, online only), you can DIY your own. The Little Projects blog shows how to make one from wooden skewers and glue sticks, while 10,000 Great Ideas has instructions for doing one from a coat hanger.

I did the coat hanger one and while it works well I still wanted something adjustable. So I went to a Michaels, found myself a pair of plastic knitting needles, two large foam letter I's, and went to work. I poked "starter holes" at 1", 2", 3", and 4" spaces starting from the center out in each of the foam I's. I then pushed the knitting needles all the way through one, then I used the other to cover up the needle points. I find that the foam grips the needles really nicely and doesn't fall off.

I'm still planning to get myself a real hairpin loom come next payday *blush*. But, I sure didn't do too bad with the one I made, and at $4 total for the parts it's a bargain compared to getting something similar online that would have cost twice as much between the actual loom and shipping costs.

Pine Ridge Reservation Needs Your Help!

2007-08-20T10:18:00.000-07:00

My husband just sent me the following email... if you knit or crochet for charity this is a great opportunity to help someone out:

There is an Indian reservation that is in really bad shape. Unemployment is 85%.
Apparently they need blankets for the elders and children.

"If you know how to knit or crochet visit the Love Afghans for Pine Ridge Reservation. This group collects knitted and crocheted afghan squares and makes them into for full size afghans to send to Pine Ridge. You can also donate yarn you have left over from your projects."
(if link above doesn't work, here's one: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/loveafghans4prr/ )

Computer Down

2007-05-03T16:03:00.000-07:00

Looks like our hard drive decided to say sayonara last week, it just went downhill fast all of a sudden while hubby was working on it. Fortunately he's very good with problem-solving these things, so we've got a spare drive hooked up until he can order a new one, and he was able to slave the bad one and with the help of a Linux OS called Ubuntu, pull off all our files onto DVD backups. So thank God I didn't lose all my photos of projects I've done or the ones I recovered from my business a few years ago.

But it does mean that until I can figure out how to use Gimp (Linux's answer to Photoshop) in conjunction with our digital camera on Ubuntu, I won't be posting any pictures. Hopefully I will catch that up fairly soon.

In the meantime, a quick review of stuff I've been working on...

First, I got my Mother Marion kick spindle a couple of days ago from the lady whose husband makes them. I absolutely love it! I tend to have a problem with spinning too fast and over-twisting the yarn with it, but then again I have that problem with the drop spindle so what else is new?

But it's definitely easy to learn and it works fast. I was able to crank out four ounces using dyed wool roving from Sullivans in Rich Autumn shaeds. I decided to try something different and spin fibers of different colors together at the same time - I spun the brown, blue and green together, then I did the purple, gold and red. From there I twisted the two separate yarn shades using the kick spindle to make a bulky double ply yarn that is quite stunning. I really am enjoying working with this roving.

I'm also spinning some yarn from the Vintage colors. I'm doing just one color at a time like I did with the School Colors for my daughter's hat. I spun half on my drop spindle already but I'm going to finish it on the kick spindle and then do another two-ply yarn. Since I picked colors randomly back and forth that should give it a different effect.

I'm planning to use these yarns to knit felted clutch purses for my mother in law and sister in law as Mother's Day gifts. Yes, I know I had mentioned doing a jacket for MIL, but I'm running out of time... and I admit I'm having so much fun with the handspinning it's taking the fun out of knitting from premade yarn.

Speaking of felting, I did my first project in that a couple weeks ago: A pouch for the rosary my SIL gave me as a Mother's Day gift a couple years ago. It used to belong to her and hubby's grandmother and it deserved a better place than the cardboard box it came in, so I made the pouch out of the remaining yarn after my daughter's hat was done. I then followed the directions I found online for felting using a washing machine. I just thought it was the coolest thing when it came out the way it was supposed to - I'm so used to the opposite on everything I do the first time!

So hopefully I can turn out some nice projects for my SIL and MIL too... and hopefully they aren't going to visit my site in the next week or so and have their surprise spoiled *blush*

Finally, I bought two pounds of natural white NZ Corriedale from Paradise Fibers this morning, which I'm hoping to spin into yarn that's a bit better than my first efforts for that sweater I might finally get around to knitting for my husband (gah, my procrastination is showing!). It looks like they have a pretty good selection of different fibers, colors, dyes, etc.

I was very impressed with their prices - even with shipping costs I still saved seven dollars over what it would have cost me to get what I wanted over at my local spinning supply store. I was even MORE impressed when they let me purchase it through Google Checkout, so I was done in less than five minutes... and then they shipped it out not even an hour after I placed my order! Woo hoo!

So once I figure out how to get the camera working with Ubuntu to post new pictures (and learn how to edit them in Gimp) I'll throw up photos of what I've been up to... and maybe the wool I bought will be in by then too. I'll let you know whether the quality of their product is as good as their customer service.

My New Toy...

2007-04-25T18:41:00.000-07:00

I got an early Mother's Day present... or maybe a belated birthday present, since we're right in between the two.

I have been looking at alternatives to drop spindles that would let me crank out yarn a bit faster but still be fun and fit within my budget as well as my tiny living room. I looked into charkhas and possibly making my own wheel or charkha.

Enter the Mother Marion kick spindle. While I automatically fell in love with the idea, the original models, however, are still a bit out of my price range.

I decided to look for them on eBay and found someone whose engineer husband not only figured out how to make them but improve on them. He added ball bearings to reduce friction so the spindle can spin longer between kicks. I've included links to their YouTube videos on the left that demonstrate how these work.

After patiently answering my many questions (including a "yes" to whether I could buy one directly) I settled on a wooden model with a scalloped wheel. My total cost was about half of what I'd pay for an original Mother Marion, not to mention I'm plain impressed by innovative these are. I should be getting it pretty soon.

First Handspun and Hand Knit Project

2007-04-17T18:14:00.000-07:00

Well it's not much but I've knit my first item out of yarn that I spun by hand - it's a hat for my daughter that I'm sending as part of her belated Easter package later this week. I used Bev's Stretchy Hat pattern in the adult size:

I've tried it on and it's comfortable, stretchy and kept my head very warm. It'll be good for times her Dad takes her up to the mountains.

Spinning Cotton

2007-04-17T17:06:00.000-07:00

I've been playing around with cotton a little bit. I found a Web site called Cotton's Journey a couple weeks back (I have their site under my links as well), they sell educational material on growing cotton, supplies, even a spindle with a sliver of cotton for someone who wants to spin cotton thread.

So I ordered a bag of Pima cotton bolls (you get about 30), and a 4" cotton mini-bale that is enough to make a long-sleeved top if spun fine. I originally thought of buying the seeds as well to grow my own, but realized that there would probably be more than enough contained in the bolls... that is if I can get them to grow in the climate where I live, apparently I do not live within the cotton belt so I may not have much luck.

My order came in the mail just a few days after I placed it. Here you can see the process as I've prepared the fibers and then spun them. First I pulled the cotton locks out of the bur:

From there I extracted the seeds out of the locks:
I then did a process called hand carding, to straighten out the fibers and prepare them for spinning. Yes, that is a dog slicker brush I'm using - I bought two of them and find that it does the job just fine for an amateur. Not to mention it costs about half as much as it would to purchase a set of hand carders and, well, sorry but I'm cheap:

From here I gently shaped the rolags of cotton I carded into slivers:

Finally, I spun the cotton fibers into yarn:

As you can see it spins a little finer and tighter than wool. Like the wool, I also have had to get a feel for just how much I need to draft out while spinning so my efforts are uneven, but better than I expected for my first try. Unlike the wool however, I plan to make this a two-ply yarn since it is spinning so fine, at some points it's like thread though bulkier in others. But that's all right with me, it just makes for a more interesting yarn :-)

Once I'm done with the bolls I'll try to figure out how to bust open the mini-bale and spin that too. Though at the same time it just looks cool the way it is... then again, nah, I can always get another if I want a conversation piece.

Nephew's Hoodie - Finally Done!

2007-04-10T12:51:00.000-07:00

Gee, I'm only, what, a month late on this? Oy...

So yes, I finally finished my oldest nephew's hoodie, a belated birthday present that more or less ended up being an Easter present. Again this is the one in which I used a free pattern from Lion Brand using Bernat's Soft Boucle yarn in Slate Shades.

He wasn't as thrilled about it as his Mom was. As with my friend's son, she will be able to hand it down to her youngest when it's outgrown, so it will get to see a lot of use.

In the meantime, I've continued with my handspinning. My ball of natural wool has continued to grow - it's up to four ounces now:

I also spun four ounces of multicolored yarn this week. Hobby Lobby has bags of wool roving that's for needle felting but I found it spins into a real nice yarn - this was six small balls of different bright rainbow colors:

It proved to be a lot of fun to spin. I've since set the twist on it and am using it to knit my first handspun project - a hat for my daughter, yet another belated gift that will go out with her Easter package when it's done.

I am also working on another project, a jacket for my mother-in-law as her Mother's Day present. It's a cute swing jacket pattern from Lion Brand and once again I'm using Bernat's Soft Boucle, this time in Richest Red.

My First Ball

2007-03-29T15:54:00.000-07:00

I wound my first ball of handspun yarn yesterday.

I was right that I spun it too tightly but fortunately I've been able to correct it. I first followed the suggestion of placing the yarn in warm water, which helped loosen it a bit. It's interesting how when wet you can smell the grass in the fiber, it reminded me of being on a farm. Not sure if that would be the case with the dyed wool, I'll find out eventually though when I spin the blue batch.

Since then I've wound the yarn into a ball a couple of times, twisting the yarn in the opposite direction of the spin just enough to un-kink it where it curls over on itself, then work that down towards the end, and so on. The end result turned out rather decent for a first effort, I think:

I'm guessing this is about half of one of the ecru/natural balls of wool fiber, or two ounces. That's about a fourth of the total amount I bought in this color - it's going faster than I thought it would. I'm still entertaining whether I want to leave the yarn as is or wind it with another strand to make it two-ply.

In the meantime I'm still working on my nephew's hoodie. I've gotten the front and back done and am almost finished with one sleeve, so we're getting there.

I also gave the hoodie I made for my friends' son to him at his birthday party over the weekend. His parents pointed out that when he's outgrown it, with the neutral colors his little sister can have it afterward, and with their beautiful complexions it will look great on both of them. So it will get plenty of use down the line. Hooray!

Handspinning

2007-03-26T15:09:00.000-07:00

All right, all right. I admit, the sweater knit from cat fur got me all fascinated. NO, I am not pinning my long-haired baby to the floor and shearing him, you can relax.

"Don't you EVEN THINK about it, lady!!!"

But, it put a bug in my brain nonetheless and I started looking up resources about handspinning my own yarn. I started out by looking at The Joy of Handspinning, where you can see mini-videos that demonstrate how to use a drop spindle or spinning wheel, as well as pages upon pages of where you can get fibers, wheels, spindles, and even shop at an online store.

Eventually I stumbled upon a site for a local handspinning supply shop called Shuttles, Spindles and Skeins over in Boulder. I dialed them up - do you have drop spindles? Why yes we do, the nice lady said, and our spinning instructor will be in the next day if you're interested!

I wasn't able to get there in time for the instructor. But, I was still able to talk to a couple of really nice ladies who shop there regularly, one of whom told me more about drop spindles than I could have imagined. She helped me pick out a good one, a gorgeous 3" whorl Schacht Hi-Lo Spindle that she said is fine for beginners.

From there I picked out several ounces of a natural Corridale wool and a few ounces of Corridale in a pretty lighter colonial blue to spin - I'd read wool is the easiest to start with, plus it appears to be some of the least expensive fiber. To be honest the cost of buying your own wool to spin is I think comparable if not even a little less than buying wool yarn.

I started spinning Saturday night (why does that sound like the beginning of a rock and roll song?). While I think I'm still doing it kind of tight and I had a couple of fits and starts, this was my first effort:
This is where I ended yesterday after continuing it: I am learning how to get a feel for the fibers and just what thickness gives me certain widths. Again I'm not sure if I'm doing it too tight, it wants to twist around itself at points and I'm worried that means it is. I sure hope that doesn't mean I'm going to have to undo it and start over.

After watching me quietly the past couple of days, my husband wondered aloud where we might be able to scam a spinning wheel. He knows I plan to use the yarn to make a surprise for him, perhaps he's trying to hurry me up :-)

But I told him that is QUITE the pricey investment - you're looking easily at $400 to start in some cases and it only goes up from there. Maybe if I got my business started again and was whipping out items left and right it might be something that paid for itself, but as it is I don't think I'd ever get there.

For now I'm having fun learning for now with the spindle. Not to mention it's proving a fantastic stress reliever, even when I huff and grunt because parts of the yarn unravel or break and I have to start over.

But my troubles sure do seem to disappear when I sit down with that spindle. Whodathunkit??

Hooded Sweater

2007-03-11T07:51:00.000-07:00

I've finished a hooded sweater I mentioned in another post. It's for the son of my friends for whose daughter I made the matching sweater and hat last month. It was her birthday then and now his is coming up later this month.

I used a free pattern off Lion Brand's Web site designed for their Homespun Yarn. I used the Sierra shade to do this one. I love the earthy, rich colors that come out of it and I think it'll look good on the birthday boy.

I'm currently working on another one for my nephew who just turned five last week. I got a little burned out on doing so many projects at once and had to take a break so this will be a belated present. I'm using Bernat's Soft Boucle yarn in Slate Shades for his, it's a lighter weight yarn but it's almost as bulky so it's knitting up in about the same dimensions. It'll be nice for these upcoming spring days.

On a side note, I found an awesome Web site I've added under my Good, Bad and Interesting section called the domiKNITrix. It came up in a Google search I was doing for knit skull patterns (my husband has been bugging me to do something for him with a skull in it for years). Definitely worth checking out.

Colorado Woman Knits Sweater From Cat Fur

2007-03-09T06:08:00.000-08:00

From the "What the...???" department: A Colorado woman (no, NOT ME, so don't even ask!) saved up all her cat's shed fur, sent it off to be spun into yarn, and then had one of her coworkers knit it into a sweater:

I mean, sure, it's pretty... but what do you do when it coughs up a hairball on you while you're out shopping? Or begins clawing its way to the top of your head when a barking dog comes rushing towards you?

I can see all her friends getting mad at her. "Damn it, you've shed all over my couch! Off!"

Seriously, I think we can label this as being overly devoted to one's pet. I'll stick to the sales at Hobby Lobby for my yarn, thank you :-)

Rosary Pouches

2007-02-19T16:51:00.000-08:00

A couple of rosary pouches I crocheted as a free gift with rosaries I created and sold on eBay a few years ago. Yep, Kneedle Junkie does more than knit and crochet - I've dabbled in jewelry making and rosaries.

I'll post a couple pictures of rosaries and necklaces I've done another time. I have a little one requiring my attention at the moment so this is all I'll put up here for now.

Another Bolero

2007-02-19T16:39:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post I decided to make another Barcelona Bolero (pattern available for free at Lion Brand) for myself after doing one for my daughter. I managed to finish it just in time for my date night with hubby on Saturday:

I'm really happy with how it turned out - I used the Adirondack color once again. The Homespun yarn is not only soft and comfortable but it kept me really warm while we went out to dinner and a movie - and that's saying a lot for these chilly Colorado nights!

My daughter gave me lots of kudos on her bolero too when I spoke with her on the phone - she says it's so comfortable she wants to sleep in it :-) She wouldn't be the first, I've already napped in mine!

I've already moved onto my next project - a hooded pullover for the son of my friends, again a free pattern from Lion Brand. He'll be three at the end of March. I am also going to attempt to make one for my nephew, he's turning five in just a couple weeks. It's turning out to be a relatively quick and easy pattern - I'm doing my friends' son's with Homespun yarn in Sierra while I'm going to try something different with my nephew's and use Bernat's Soft Boucle yarn.

My Son's Evolving Hat

2007-02-11T09:57:00.000-08:00

Okay, one more post (I've been on here too long today!) and then off to Mass. The following actually ended up being an interesting exercise that showed me how much more yarn gets used crocheting projects versus knitting them.

This is a hat I crocheted for my darling son a year or two ago:

The little man got a lot of compliments on it, but being as he has grown consistently like a weed since birth it was quickly becoming smaller on him.

One day a woman who'd commented on the hat suggested I unravel it and knit a new one for him. But would it be enough yarn? I thought.

I decided to finally give it a try a couple months ago. I found Bev's Basic Stretchy Hat pattern, unraveled his crochet hat, and knit it in a size larger than he is now - the crocheting had stretched the yarn thinner as well so I used size 7 needles instead of 8.

The end result - it actually fits larger on him:

Sorry I couldn't get one of him modeling it. Last I checked many if not most boys nearing their third birthday are NOT fond of hats for more than thirty seconds.

But not only did I have enough yarn to redo the hat I even have a small amount left over to do a pom-pom if I wanted. Vive le difference!

Wedding Veils

2007-02-11T09:39:00.000-08:00

Yet more pics I thought I'd lost forever - I did a custom wedding veil after selling the one I made and wore for my wedding on eBay. The lady had seen my veil that I'd made and wanted one similar, except with ivory materials.

Unlike my veil I hand-crocheted the larger trim on it for her. But both veils were sewn by hand and were chapel length. Here's a detail of my veil's trim:

I also put a headdress on mine. I purchased all the supplies from Michaels and then constructed the veil by hand from there.

Sadly the scans I did of our wedding photos were also lost so I'm not sure I have a pic on the puter of me wearing it. If I do track one down I will for sure add it here so you can see what it looked like.

OK, NOW I'm excited...

2007-02-11T09:32:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I found this! It's a picture of a mermaid doll I crocheted five years ago:

This is exciting to me as a lot of pictures of projects I did from this time are gone - we'd backed them up to a CD when our computer was acting up before a reformat, and since then the CD has been damaged from moving to the point that I'm not sure we'll ever be able to recover them. So to find anything from this time period is a big deal!

Afghan and Pillow

2007-02-11T09:22:00.000-08:00

Okay, we changed our minds about going out before Mass so I'm able to post a few more pictures. This is an afghan and a pillow I crocheted for my daughter as a Valentine's gift three years ago:

She was 12 years old at the time and I felt bright, vivid colors would be perfect for her. They not only were great for her age but they remind me of her and the sunshine she brings to my life.

Oh, Wow, I Forgot About This!

2007-02-11T09:07:00.000-08:00

I actually have a photo of an afghan I made ten years ago - I'd forgotten we had a picture of it as we currently have it in storage somewhere:

I crocheted this using a wave pattern and several skeins of yarn in varying shades of pink, green, red and white. I think it's big enough to cover a twin bed at least, I made it pretty huge!

Well, hubby and son want to drag me out to do some errands before we hit Mass, so I must be going for now. I've been able to dig up quite a few pictures of older projects to my surprise and joy, so I'll post those when I have time later. Ciao!

Knifty Knitter

2007-02-11T08:53:00.000-08:00

So far I've mostly done hats with my circular looms:

This one is of my son "modeling" his Dad's hat:

Hubby has since removed the pom-pom. He initially had wanted it but decided it was too goofy.

I've been looking at different sites that have patterns for the Knifty Knitter that go beyond hats and scarves, so maybe down the line I can start getting more creative with this versatile tool.

Poncho and Shawl

2007-02-11T08:37:00.000-08:00

Some previous Christmas gifts I've done. This is a poncho I knit for my sister-in-law in 2005:

I used size 17 kneedles with Homespun yarn in Adirondack (I told you I had a lot of it...), and Red Heart Symphony in Earth Brown. I crocheted both the neckline and the hem.

This is a shawl I crocheted for my daughter in 2004:

I used a specialty yarn whose brand escapes me at the moment - if I find a ball of it with its label still intact I'll update this post with what it is. I only remember it has DK in its name and the color is Flamingo. I crocheted two large triangles using a basic mesh pattern then single-crocheted a neckline all around and added tassles to the bottom.

Edited 3/4/07 to add: I found a label for the yarn I used on my daughter's shawl - it's Sirdar's Salsa DK. It consists of 50% Merino wool and 50% acrylic. It looks like this one too is no longer manufactured, I bought it from a specialty yarn shop out of state five years ago so I guess it would stand to reason it's no longer around.

Silver and White Tank Top

2007-02-11T08:13:00.000-08:00

One of the few times I knit anything for myself other than hats and scarves - I did this tank top using some silver/grey and white yarn I'd found at Big Lots:

I used the Trendy Tank pattern from TLC. It's a free pattern I found at my Hobby Lobby down the street but you can download it here as well. Normally they suggest using their Macaroon yarn, I decided to use a yarn from Sullivans called Crinckle that was in a bin at Big Lots for $1 apiece (I love a bargain!). The color is Cloudy Day - it's variations of grey and white with a lilac/pink shimmery fiber throughout that the pictures don't do justice. I get the feeling it's discontinued as I couldn't find it on their Web site.

Valentine's Present for Daughter

2007-02-11T08:05:00.000-08:00

I knit a bolero for my teenage daughter as a Valentine's gift:

I used Lion Brand Homespun yarn in Waterfall - the picture directly above shows how beautiful this yarn is in both texture and color. I love working with it for those reasons... not to mention it's bulkier than worsted and works up quickly, so you can have a gorgeous garment or afghan in no time. As a bonus, it's also very soft.

I got the pattern from Lion Brand's Web site. They have tons of free patterns you can access with a free subscription. The pattern I used was Barcelona Bolero.

I am currently knitting myself this same bolero in Adirondack. I think Lion Brand has discontinued that color, I didn't see it available on their site and I haven't seen it in my local craft stores. I've had several skeins of it left over in storage and decided why not? So when I'm done with it I'll post pictures up here.

Little Girl Sweater and Hat

2007-02-10T10:17:00.000-08:00

I knit a matching sweater and hat set for the daughter of some friends who's just turned one. Here's the front of the sweater:

Here's the back:

Here's the hat:
I used Red Heart Super Saver in Monet for the variegated colors, and Lion Brand Pound of Love in Pink and Lavender for the solid colors. The hat pattern I used was the basic stretchy hat pattern off of Bev's Country Cottage site (link is to the left). I improvised the sweater pattern by knitting panels in different colors and stitch patterns borrowed from various books I have on patterns including knit/purl patterns, laces and bobbles. I used one of my son's older sweaters to be able to measure the sweater for a size 2T.

I delivered the birthday girl's present at her party yesterday. Birthday girl couldn't care less as she was on a sugar buzz from the cake :-) But Mommy and Daddy loved it and said she'd be wearing it to church the next day.

I've slowly been able to load pictures of other things I've made the past couple months on the computer from our digital camera, and I've found a few pictures of items I've knit and crocheted, and a couple handmade things, in archives here and there. So I'll be posting those soon.

Thanks for Stopping By!

2007-01-26T13:04:00.000-08:00

I've just set up this blog for my friends and family to see what I'm working on lately with my knitting and crochet projects. I have been knitting for roughly ten years and learned to crochet when my daughter was a baby, so that's nearly sixteen years. Nevertheless I do not consider myself terribly advanced... just doing much of the same things all that time.

I do both freehand and loom knitting and I have made garments, dolls, and knick-knacks. Unfortunately some of my photos from a few years back were destroyed while moving, which is a shame since I had done some really nice things for both my daughter and to sell on eBay when I had a crafts business.

Truth be told, I also have several large storage bins full of yarn that have been sitting around for ages, and it's time I started whittling down my supply. What better way than to finally put it to good use?

As soon as I'm able I will start posting pictures of various things I've done already. I currently have about six different projects going at once - no joke. I like to multitask, what can I say? :-)

So keep coming back, I promise I'll have new things up here soon!