Well, my sock journey has begun. I chose Regia yarn color 03765. It has an interesting design and is fun to watch it unfold as I knit. I am using a size 1 Addi Turbo 8″ circular needle. Very small to knit with but since I really don’t like double pointed needles (which is why I haven’t been a big sock knitter), it’s working out all right. I had knit one pair of tube socks (no heel) on double pointed needles (see photo on the right), but this is a regular sock with a heel flap. We will see how it goes :P. The pattern, a basic sock pattern (it’s one she uses to teach new sock knitters and I have no link to share with you, sorry), was gifted to me by Benita aka the Fiber Pusher on Ravelry and she has a blog/podcast, Basically Benita , as well. You should check her out at either or both places :).
yarn
Jasmine Scarf :)
This scarf is called the Jasmine Scarf by Pearl Soho. I was intrigued with the pattern design. It looks like a herringbone design and is pretty. I’m hoping to have this done in the next week, I am making this for a friend who just had her last round of chemo and is cold and requested a scarf. I thought this design was pretty and wanted to use a nice warm yarn so I chose some of my prized Andean Yarns, Alpaquita Superfina. I was lucky enough a couple of years ago to buy a full pack of 8 skeins of this yarn because it is soooo soft and squishy. Unfortunately it is now discontinued, but I use it for special occasions :). My friend is special :).
2 New Knot Bags & Knitting a New Hat
I put these two bags in my Etsy shop. I’ve made the Stress Zebra Knot Bag before for a friend but this one is for my shop, it’s just so cute. Don’t we all feel like this sometimes? The alpaca design looked very good, but it’s a pain to sew out because of all the thread color changes, even tho some of the colors are the same. Still it’s a nice looking design.
This hat, Basia, is a very nice knit and the texture design is pleasant to look at. I’m making this for a special family member who requested a hat from me. She said she wanted lavender, so I ordered the Lilac Jacquard acid dye for 1 of the polypay skeins I still have (only about 4 more skeins tho, have thoroughly enjoyed knitting them :P). I love the way kettle dying comes out, instead of one solid color they are usually shaded, no complaints here :). You can also see on the hat the beautiful stitch marker I got from MekaMika on etsy.
The mega snow storm missed us except for a trace of snow. I won’t complain, I didn’t want 1 or 2 feet of snow :). I love the El Ninos that come every few years, they make for a much more pleasant winter here :).
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016 and New Year Knitting
I wish everyone a very Happy New Year filled with spiritual peace. May we look forward and not backward.
Yes, I’m knitting one more hat, was trying to get done before the New Year but alas it won’t be done until New Year’s day. This is some of the polypay yarn I had processed from the fleece that was given to me. I dyed it blue but some of the yarn didn’t take up the dye as well as other parts in the skein and there were some very light spots from where the skein was tied (even tho’ I loosened the ties quite a bit), but you know what, it makes it look like faded denim so I am not going to complain, I know the recipient will enjoy it :P.
I made a kn
itting New Years resolution, I made other resolutions too, but if I share them and I don’t complete them I’d have to hunt you down and wipe your memory (like they do on Star Trek) so you are better off not knowing what they are :P. My knitting resolution is to knit some socks. Something I’ve wanted to do for a while now. I’ve gotten a step closer when I bought this book by Ann Budd, who is well known in the knitting community for sock construction, today at the 1/2 Price Book Store (I love that store!!). The other book I have ordered from Amazon is Knitting Rules! by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee aka in the knitting world as “the Yarn Harlot”. It has a sock pattern called sock recipe: a good plain sock. I have heard many people say this is their go to sock pattern. Then when I get the sock pattern I want I will get the needle size it calls for (because the needles I will get are Addi Turbo 12″ circular needles and are expensive so I need the pattern first to see if I need size 0’s, or 1’s, I’m not a big fan of double pointed needles) and begin my sock journey. 🙂
Another Hat Finished
This is a two by two ribbed hat I just finished. This is for a little family member :). It looks purple but it is a bright blue, not sure why I am not able to capture colors properly sometimes, sigh. I just can’t seem to quit knitting hats, this one is a relaxing knit. I would tell you where to find this pattern, but I copied it to a word document and the name doesn’t come up in a google search. 😦 But there are plenty of patterns just like this one on the internet :).
I have one more hat to knit before Christmas, I’ll post a picture of it after Christmas :P. I have just been so driven to knit lately, good thing tho, it’s relaxing and creative all at the same time, and who can’t use relaxing and creative at Christmas time :).
Large Winter Cardinal Bag and Maddie’s Hat is Finished
I finished another large bag this morning. I love cardinals, they are beautiful and have a very distinctive song. They add much needed color to a very otherwise dreary winter scene. When I saw this fabric I knew I had to make a bag, I have enough fabric to make another one for myself as this one is in my shop.
I also finished the hat that goes with the sweater I am knitting for Maddie. It’s cute, hope she’s not getting to old to enjoy the colors I had chosen last year.
1st Snowfall for Winter 2015-2016
1st Snowfall Winter 2015-2016
Our first snowfall for this winter season was a dozy. About 5 inches fell from yesterday evening thorough overnight. I know winter isn’t officially here yet, but I don’t think winter knows that 😛
Polypay 2×2 ribbed hat view 1
Polypay 2×2 ribbed hat view 2
I did finish the 2×2 ribbed hat from the Polypay yarn. It turned out pretty nice. I am pleased with the result. I hope he will enjoy it as well.
Trying to decide what to make next with that yarn :).
Polypay Yarn!!!
Polypay Fleece
Polypay Yarn
To the left is the Polypay fleece I was gifted from a friend this spring. Because I was very busy with little ones this summer I did not have time to spin 😦 , so I decided to let The Shepherd’s Mill go ahead and spin it into yarn for me this year instead of just processing it into fiber to spin. I do heavily skirt the fleeces because they do not put coats on them and the fleeces are pretty dirty and loaded with vm (they are raised as meat sheep rather than for their fleeces, tho because the ewes are Polypay they have a softer fleece.) I take off the really ugly stuff and pull out all the vm that I can and send in the fleece to the mill, they wash it (usually twice) and process it. I sent in about 4 lbs of skirted fleece and received 2.55 lbs of yarn (picture on the right) and a little left over roving that I will spin.
I will knit a hat for my friend’s husband and son from their own sheep as a thank you :). I’m sure they will appreciate the extra warmth this winter :). Now to pick a pattern to knit and colors for the yarn :).
Are You Ready for Some Football? 2015 and Some Knitting :)
Are you ready for some football?
Yep it’s FOOTBALL season again!!! I am excited to see how “The Boys” will do this year. They were pretty decent last year, a controversial call did them in at the end of the year. They have lost their first pre-season game, but it’s just that pre-season :). GO COWBOYS!!!
sock yarn from SpinningStreak
This is some beautiful sock yarn from SpinningStreak ‘s Etsy shop (she’s in England). She has some gorgeous yarns. I saw this yarn and tho the shipping from overseas is not cheap, this yarn was talking to me. I have a friend who recently lost her sister and I wanted to so something special for her and I knew this yarn was it. The comfort shawl I have decided to make is called Ethereal Shawl . It’s very basic and simple but because it’s a light weight yarn on large needles it will look light and airy, and should knit up quickly. I’ll post a picture when I am done. She also sent it in a really lovely organza drawstring bag.
July and August knitting
I have been watching some family little ones this summer and have been very busy and haven’t had a lot of time to knit, but here are some things I did work on this summer. A comfort shawl for a friend who had to have a defibrillator put in in case she has a heart attack, she’s really young for this kinda of thing :(. I don’t add the fringe when I make them, but that is just my preference. I like having something easy to work on, keeps my hands busy and keeps me grounded when I feel overwhelmed or stressed out and the dishcloths are perfect for that. The one on the left is called In-Thirds-knit-cloth by Michelle Crimm . It’s a free pattern from Ravelry, easy and very pretty. I love using the Sugar’n Cream cotton Stripes for this cloth, sooooo pretty. I made another one that I already gave to a friend and so I put the left over skein so you could see the lovely colors she got :). The dish (or face) cloth on the left is the old standby Grandmother’s Favorite dishcloth .
I packaged up and sent off the Polypay fleece my friend gave me earlier this year. Because I still have roving from the last fleece she gave me and I wanted to get a couple of hats for her husband and son out relatively quickly before it gets cold , I opted this year to have them process it into sport weight yarn. Cost me almost double but when I get it back in 5 to 6 weeks it will be ready to dye and knit :). It should be about 3 lbs of yarn. I always err on the side of caution when I skirt the fleeces and skirt it more severely because the sheep are not covered and I left too much ugly stuff in the first time and the roving was still full of stuff and noils because I also did not remove the short lengths from the longer back fiber. I don’t want to ruin nice roving because I didn’t skirt it enough. Her husband and son each will have a hat made from the fiber of their own sheep. Should help to keep them warm on their farm ;).
It’s Yarn!
Handspun Cria
Ok, I finished spinning on Thursday but didn’t have time to ply until today. It’s offically yarn :). It is soooo soft. It came out about 16 wpi (“wraps per inch” for those who are yarn impared :P) that is, depending on what chart you use, fingerling to sport weight and I’m gonna call it sport weight, and this skein is 224 yards. I was worried that I might over ply but I didn’t and it is luxurious to handle. You can see one of the spools of singles and the fiber on my August 17th post.
- click on picture for larger image
I’ve put this picture up so you can see the twist. I’m pretty impressed with the results of this Cria Alpaca yarn. I will need to buy some more of the fiber tho, as this was not enough for a shawl or capelett, it used about 4 of the 6 ozs. I will need to spin probably 1 & 1/2 to 2 more skiens. It will be a pleasure to spin more but I’m sorry that I have to wait to knit it up :P. Maybe I’ll knit as I spin to urge me to spin more frequently to finish :).
I purchased this wonderful roving from Deer Trace Farm in Fayetteville, TN. They don’t appear to have a website so if you are interested in contacting them regarding some fiber just email me and I will hook you up with their email addy and/or phone number.
Oh yeah, I got to watch the Dallas Cowboys play yesterday evening (still indoctrinating my 3 year old grand daughter to be a Cowboy fan :P.) They won, I wasn’t sure they were going to, they certainly did not have it all together the 1st half and were down by 2 touch downs, but then they revved it up during the 2nd half and won. But then they have always been known as a 2nd half team. 🙂
LDSVenus-knits 