In Like A Lion

Finished Objects

I finished my Custom fit Featherweight Cardigan. I started it back in November. I followed the directions for measurements on the Custom Fit website and entered all my details including the gauge swatch. I'm very happy with the fit, and since I used a mohair/acrylic blend its easy to take care of but very warm. Its also fuzzy!

Katie's Infinity Cowl in Michael's Country Loom, Rich Graphite color and the Creme color. I put a twist in the Rich Graphite one to make it a mobius just to see if she likes it. You have seen these before. These are made with size 15 needles, cast on 12 stitches and knit until almost out of yarn and then graft the ends together. I used the Kitchener Stitch.

Isabella's Hat - My daughter said that my granddaughter didn't have a hat that fit her yet so I used the left overs from making my boss's daughters Barley Hats and made her a quick one.

In Progress

Citron Shawl using Malabrigo Lace in the Lettuce colorway. I'm loving this single spun yarn and the lush squishy softness. It has really, really long rows now so I'm not getting as much done as fast, but I expect to finish it early in March.

Camping Cross Stitch -   I have worked on it. I have the logs for the fire done. I know its not much but oh well..... I have two new obsessions.....

Happy Scrappy Sock Yarn Blanket! I have renamed it and purloined Knittinwolf's name for her blanket. I  love the name and its making me very happy. My plan was to work one square a night and them move on to another project (ideally the cross stitch) which worked for a bit.... I had a false start and realized that for my mind to understand this I needed to make enough single squares to make up the width of the blanket I wanted and then connect them by picking up and knitting in the gap between two squares. So I ripped out what I had done, organized all my scraps into baskets for either the Barn Raising Squares or Happy Scrappy Squares. The ones that were too small for either I rolled into balls for Hexipuffs for the Bee Keeper's Quilt. I made a bunch of single mitered squares until they were wide enough to be as wide as I wanted the blanket to be. So now I'm back on track but I have been a bit single minded. Oh well.... no big deal right? There are no Knitting Police!

WEAVING!!!! That is my second new obsession! I purchased a homemade Frankenloom over a year ago and then had to wait for our addition to be built to be able to even bring it into the house. Then hubby and I had to figure out what we needed and he had to make some parts for it. I bought new tie up cords as well as new heddles. Then I got out the Craftsy class on Floor Loom Weaving, that I had for AGES, and went though it step by step. I worked on a sample piece that had some yarn issues but worked well enough for me to get the hang of it. Then I wound up some rug yarn and warped the loom and started weaving rag rugs. I'm using some quilting cotton strips left over from my quilting days. I am LOVING the results. I'm anxious to see how they wash up since I didn't do anything with the strips other than connect them and wind on a rag shuttle. There are raw edges so it may fray a bit but I wanted rustic.

I have also started the Hitofude Cardigan by Hiroko Fukatsu. This is a gorgeous lace cardigan designed to hang open in the front. It has very interesting construction and there is a Ravelry Group here for it that discusses techniques for choosing size as well as help in the transition areas. I highly recommend reading the group posts before starting this.

I did my swatches and determined that I needed a size 3 needle and I'm making the large size. It fits like a shrug so its very important you check your measurement around the neck, under the arms and behind the back in one long measurement. Use that and your gauge to figure out what size. Its all explained in the group.

This week I also cast on the Bankhead Hat by Susie Gourlay, using my Twist Fiber Studio Madison Worsted in the Amethyst color. This is the  yarn I won in the podcast giveaway. I needed some car knitting since I have finished the scarves. This is a free pattern on Ravelry.

I got my Twist Fiber Studio Kickstarter reward at spinning on the 15th and immediately started spinning. I chose 2 braids of fiber and a bag. I will spin up the fiber and use the bag for my knitting project. I got Polworth fiber as I haven't spun much of that.

New To Me

I went to a pattern design class on Friday held at Hancock Fabrics. It was only $10 for the class and was 3 hours. I wasn't expecting much but one of my goals for this year was to sew more garments. I thought I would need a dress form to fit things to me. However, this class was AMAZING! I did buy two special measuring tools, a cutting guide for my rotary cutter and a roll of velum for pattern making. I won't give away the secret sauce but we were given 7 patterns and a DVD that can be used for making a multitude of garments as well as instruction on altering commercial patterns. I feel much better about sewing garments for myself now. With knitting I can always rip it out if it doesn't fit. Once the fabric is cut it's too late. Especially if its too small! If you have a chance to take this class it is very worth it.

Coming Up

I am planning another scarf using the yarn from the sample I was weaving that didn't work well as warp but will be great weft. I'm going to use black cotton 8/2 for the warp and this rayon for the weft and practice twill patterns. I think it will be very pretty and good practice.

I do want to make the pillows in the Craftsy class, Floor Loom Weaving. I'm figuring out what colors I want to use. I'll have to have a look at some yarn to figure that out. I'll work with my personal dyer once I decide colors as I am not buying new yarn. But if you remember I said that my "payment" for making bags didn't count as that was income..... :)

I'm planning another pair of socks, deciding which pattern and yarn. I'm also thinking which sweater I'll do next. I have 3 planned that I need to spin for so those will take more time, but I have yarn in the stash for at least 4  more so after the Hitofude I'll cast one of those on.

That is it for now. I hope that March goes out like a lamb! See you next month, and Be Creative!!!

Two In A Row!

Welcome to February! I have some FO's and some WIP's.

Lets start with:

Finished Objects

I made a dog bed! I had seen this on Pinterest, I think it was Pinterest. And I had several old sweaters I had gotten from Goodwill with the plan to frog them and reuse the yarn. I decided this one was a good choice because its very "toothy" yarn and should be pretty durable. I neglected to take in progress pictures but its pretty simple. You sew up all the openings, stuff it as you go (I used regular poly fill) and then curl the arms around to make a the raised edge. I turned it over and stitched it all down. If I make another one I'll take in progress pictures. Molly loves it and her and the cat, Rascal, compete for space in it!

I also did some upholstery recovering. I had an older glider rocker that really didn't match my new studio colors. I found this fabric at the Foam and Fabric on Biltmore Ave when they were offering fabric 50% off prior to closing. I made slip covers for the chair back and seat cushions. You can find the tutorial here.

I also covered the tops of a footstool and a rack I use next to the loom.

While I was at Foam and Fabric I purchased a high density foam cushion for my loom bench and made a slip cover for it as well. You can find that tutorial here.

I delivered the Barley Hat and Oats Cowl (neck warmer) along with the Barley Hats for the girls. Here is a picture of my boss and his wife, who was the inspiration for making the hats. I think they may like their stuff.

I also finished my Sowing the Seeds Cowl by Little Yellow Uke. I used the You're a Mean One colorway by Desert Vista Dyeworks. Its a great pattern and I love the finished product. I took the leftover yarn and divided it into two equal balls and knit the Happily Ever After mitts by Susan B. Anderson. These are also a great pattern and knits up very fast. I used the Vanilla Bean Sock technique of S1K1 when coming to the beginning of a color change and then back to stockinette for the rest of the rounds until the next color change. Its very easy, and makes the self striping pattern look amazing. It also adds a little spice while knitting. I took the precaution of testing the color fastness since there is very dark red in this yarn and I'm glad I did. I probably should have waited until I had color catchers before actually washing the cowl and mitts but I washed the leftover yarn, one in just warm water and soak and the other one in warm water, soak and citric acid. There is an obvious difference. Before I have to wash the mitts and cowl again I'll get some color catchers as there was still a slight pink tinge to the water.

I also finished another infinity cowl for my daughter. This one is the Michales Country Loom acrylic yarn in the Shale color. Two more to go! I have put the other two skeins in the car in my car knitting bag so that I can work on them while waiting for the hubby to get off work. I can get several rows done in just the 15 minutes or so I wait.

I just got to move my Kilt Me Now socks from in progress to FINISHED!!!!! I finished them while watching the Super Bowl. They are Michael's luxery CMN blend in the Canyon colorway. I used the Knitmore Girls Vanilla Sock with the Cynthia variation which is K3P1, OMG heel and a 1x1 rib at the cuff. I used Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off but every 4 stitches I used a regular bind off for 4 stitches because it seems a little too stretchy. 

Knit/Spin/Weave/Crochet Meter Update:
I have knit 1360 yards as of the end of January!

In Progress

I'm still working on the Custom Fit Featherweight cardigan. I have all the pieces knit and they have been blocked. I have to wait for daytime light and the time to do it to seam them up before picking up the front edging.

I cast on the next infinity cowl for Katie. I have the Cream color and Rich Granite left. I decided to start with the Rich Granite colow. It will become car knitting because I'm bored with the socks! They are started with a chained provisional cast on and cast on 12 stitches. I may twist one of these for a mobius. Either way I finish by grafting them for an invisible seam.

I  have cast on something new. A few months back I ordered some Malabrigo Lace yarn in the Lettuce colorway. This is 100% Baby Merino and is a single. I'm knitting the Citron Shawl by Hilary Smith Callis. This is a lovely pattern and the yarn is spectacular. I am loving knitting it. 

 

I wound a warp a couple of weekends ago for my floor loom. I  purchased a used loom a year ago but have only gotten it in shape to weave in the past couple of months. I have some sort of mystery cones of yarn and I decided to wind a warp for a scarf from this rayon slub yarn. After I got it warped I chained it until I can warp the loom. It is 4 yards and will sley the reed at 24 epi. 

I have a new toy! I have been wanting something 3D printed. There are spinning bobbins being made but not for either of my wheels. The other day I found Turtle Made on Etsy and she makes 3D printed turkish spindles. I have a large turkish wooden spindle and have been eyeing the mini ones. I ordered  a mini spindle in purple. It came really fast and is just adorable! I had some green roving from Twist Fiber Studio and decided to practice making punis using a hand carder and use that for spinning with the mini turkish. It spins like a dream and is so lightweight. I played with it for a  bit and then decided to learn to ply on the fly. So I did a little practice. 

 

I plan to only talk about things I actually work on during the month so every post won't end up being a WIP parade. Thats it for this time. Thanks for reading. See you next time!

2015 Baby! Begin as you mean to go on...

Happy New Year!!! 

Wow, can you believe its 2015? I decided back in September that I would restart my blog in the New Year. Not as a resolution but because it really helps me keep up with my projects, gets my yardage logged into Knit Meter and updated on Ravelry.

I have set up some goals for 2015 so it seems like a good way to start the blog.  So here goes in no particular order:

• Blog a minimum of monthly, this includes updating Ravelry and Knit Meter
• Stash down, #noshitnonewyarn. Since I have store credit with Twist Fiber Studio for #sweatshopprogress this may be easier than it sounds. The exception I MAY make is at SAFF in October. It is hard to resist the fiber fumes.... :)
• Organize stash and catch up Ravelry. This one comes from getting my new studio space. I need to sort, organize, upload, and probably destash from the Wall O' Yarn. 
• Do garment sewing. I miss making clothes. I want to make some more.
• Do weaving. I'm on my way. I have ordered some parts for Frankie (my frankenloom) and should be getting those in soon. I got her new tie up cords and fell down on Etsy and got 500 inserted eye heddles. Out with the old twisted wire heddles!

Those are my main fiber goals, I do have some life goals as well:

• Fitness. I'm not going to say everyday, so many times per week..... Somehow that seems to work against me, gives me an out. So borrowing from Nike... Just Do It! 
• Diet. Not a specific, leave out whole groups of food, but make better, more mindful choices.
• Weight. That ties into Fitness and Diet. Making better choices and moving more will help. 

Notice I don't have specific numbers listed. I don't think that's the point and I don't even have them in my mind. I just know that these are the things I need to work on. 

Finished Objects

1. Sowing the Seeds Cowl by Zina Perry who is Little Yellow Uke. I used Desert Vista Dyeworks Viso Sock Base in the You're A Mean One colorway. Technically I have to pull back the bind off and do it again. I'll post a better picture when I do that. 
   
2. Infinity Scarf in my design. I cast on 12 stitches and am using a US size 15 circular needle in garter stitch. I used Michaels Loops & Threads Country Loom in the Rich Granite colorway. Its 100% acrylic and is a bulky weight yarn that has a thread ply on it.  This is for my daughter, Katie. I have 3 more skeins to make 2 more for her and one for her best friend. 
   
3. Hitchhiker by Martina Behm. I used Desert Vista Dyeworks Zien base in the If They Kill Rick colorway from her Walking Dead collection. This was a Christmas gift for my best friend in law. As soon as I can get a better picture with her wearing it I'll post that. 
   
4. Barley Hat by Tin Can Knits. I used handspun that was from Kaleidoscope Batts by Unwind Yarn Company. This is for my boss's wife who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. 
   
5. Oats (Cowl) Neckwarmer by Tin Can Knits. I used some mystery, probably acrylic, yarn in warm browns, gray and black variegated. This is for my boss, and I have something you will see later planned for their girls. 
   

Current Projects

1. Soay Cardi by Gundrun Johnson. This is an old UFO, about 2 years ago. I had problems with the sleeves and put it in time out. Its time to be done. I'm using Patons Grace 100% Cotton in the Lavander and Viola Colorways. I will finish this one after the Featherweight is done.
   
2. Vanilla Socks with the Cynthia Variation. This is a Knitmore Girls sock recipe that uses a 3x1 rib. Michael's Luxury Sock yarn 60% Superfine Merino SW, 30% Nylon and 10% Cashmere in the Canyon Colorway. I'm about halfway up the leg on these. I used the OMG heel and I'm not sure I liked it. 
   
3. Custom Fit Featherweight by Hanna Fettig with Custom Fit by Amy Herzog - Kraemer Yarn, Fountain Hill Brushed Mohair lace weight. 80% Acrylic, 20% Mohair. Color Y4002. I cast on the first sleeve last night. I plan to finish this by the end of the month. 
   
4. Itty Bitty Sock Yarn Bits Blanket by Christine Long. I'm using leftover sock yarn and this is a long term project. I'm not sure I'll continue this. I don't like the way it looks when you turn it and pick up stitches. I may frog this and start a Mitered square blanket. I may send it to my daughter as a doll blanket for my granddaughter. 
   
5. Barn Raising quilt by Shelley Mackie and Larissa Brown. This is also sock yarn leftovers. I like these squares but I haven't had time to sit in the studio and knit very much so I only have two squares done. Also a long term project. 
   
6. Home Is By The Campfire by Karen Ezell. This is a cross stitch with a camping theme. I'm making it to hang in our camper. I plan to finish it this month too. 
   
7. SPAKAL Sweater 2014. This is my first planned spinning for a sweater project. I am spinning a lovely chocolate brown Shetland wool roving from Hidaway Farms. I am spinning the singles as woolen using long draw and plying as a true 3 ply for a worsted weight yarn. I will be knitting the Harvest Cardigan by Tin Can Knits. 
   

Up Next:

1. 3 more infinity scarves/cowls using the Michaels Country Loom yarn. One each in Rich Granite, Shale and Warm Cream.
2. Happily Ever After Mitts by Susan B Anderson. I'll use the leftovers from the Desert Vista Dyeworks Viso sock yarn in the You're a Mean One colorway. This is a self striping yarn that looked great in the cowl but will be wider stripes in the mitts. 
3. Barley Hat by Tin Can Knits. There will actually be 2 child sized hats from some left over Kool Aid dyed handspun in Black Cherry and a Multi Color. I'll use the multi color in the ribbing, make the ribbing a little wider and then the pink for the rest of the hat. That will make the best use of the yarn and the multi color includes the black cherry so it really compliments well. 
   
   
4. Mr Greenjeans by Amy Swenson. I will use Universal Classic Worsted Tapestry yarn in the Vineyard colorway. I have already knit this cardigan but it was too big. Now that I have done the Fit to Flatter Craftsy class I feel more confident so I frogged the sweater and will reknit. This will be cast on after I finish the Custom Fit Featherweight and finish the sleeves on the Soay Cardi. 
5. Sock Yarn Blanket by Shelly Kang. This is a mitered square blanket and I am going to use sock yarn leftovers that I was using for my Itty Bitty Sock Yarn Blanket. 
6. The Beekeeper's Quilt by Tiny Owl Knits. This is hexipuffs made from left over sock yarn, stuffed as you knit them and then connected together in a blanket. If you are keeping track this is 3 long term sock yarn blanket projects. I have A LOT of sock yarn leftovers. 
7. Where There Are Bees cross stitch. I will start this after I finish the Camping cross stitch. This will be for the studio and I'll do it on linen cloth. I'll probably use my lap cross stitch frame so the linen doesn't get marks from the hoop. 

The Beekeeper's Quilt and Where There Are Bees cross stitch are kind of tribute to the fact that I'm planning to start a bee hive this year. 

This was a long post but I wanted to get a list of everything I have planned or in progress to help me set up some goals. I would like to have all current WIP's completed by January 31st with the exception of the sock yarn blankets. I would like to have my Up Next projects all completed by April 30th. Most of them will be sooner, but the cross stitch and Mr Greenjeans will take longer. 

I guess that's it for this month. Have a Happy New Year and make things that make your heart sing. 

Its A Slippery Slope

Welcome back! Ashley and I had a fun day yesterday that culminated in a field trip. I'll be talking about that in the Out for a Spin segment.

In the Bag

I have made some progress on the Tapestry Mr Greenjeans sweater. I am about halfway down the first sleeve. I wasn't happy with the appearance using the DPNs so I ripped it back and am using my #8 16" Addi circular. Its true, at least for me, that your gauge changes in the round vs. back and forth. Apparently my gauge when I'm purling is the culprit. Even though its still a little different with the circular needle I'm happy with it, and the fit is good as I decrease the sleeve. I want this to be a cozy sweater to wear over long sleeve and short sleeve tops so I wanted to be sure the sleeves were roomy. I have about 2" to go on the sleeves before starting the rib/cable pattern that forms the cuff.

I have to admit that I don't usually find myself interested in "fad" knitting. Especially with "fad"yarn. Sorry for the quotes, but that's how it looks in my head. Last post I showed you a poorly composed picture of my Favorite MIL's pink ruffled scarf. It was knit from Starbella Yarn by Premier Yarns. That is the "fad" yarn I'm speaking of. Its a net yarn with a selvage edge that you knit or crochet through the top row of holes. Its really very cute and and trendy! My friend Colleen who owns my LYS Make it with Yarn gave me a skein of Joy Metallic yarn by Plymouth. Its the same type of yarn that has sparkle in it. This was a damaged skein and I asked to try it out. I guess I can say its turned into my guilty pleasure. Its so easy to do. I started my scarf at the Superbowl kick off and finished it just before the Ravens were awarded the Vince Lombardy Trophy. 

When I gave Dina, my SIL, the pink scarf to take to her mom she really liked it. I told her I would make her a scarf but she had to pick out her own yarn. She picked out 3! Here is the start of the first one. 

I've also been working on dishcloths for my kitchen. I love cotton knitted dishcloths but I've learned not to bother matching colors to kitchen colors cause I bleach them every time I wash them. I found some kitchen cotton that is white with flecks of blue and green in it. It looks cute but doesn't bother me when the colors fade from bleach. I also don't want to take a lot of time making them with fancy patterns. On Sunday afternoon, yes before starting the scarf at kickoff, I cast on 35 stitches with #6 Chiao Goo circular needles and knit in seed stitch until it was square and then cast off. I should get at least 6 cloths out of the cone of yarn. 

I've made some progress on my Hitchhiker Shawl. I'm up to 20 teeth. That is about halfway done. Loving the color, texture and feel of this. It will be a favorite when done. 

I'm also keeping up with my Weather Scarf. I have 3 days to add to this but its completed through Saturday. Yes I have some ends to weave in.... :)

On the Drying Rack/Knitmeter Update

I haven't finished anything other than the Blue Green Ruffled Scarf. That one and the Pink one were 33 yards each so I've added 66 yards to my Knitmeter. 

Up and Coming

I am still planning the Holden Shawl, Cabled Preppy Cowl and some fingerless mitts but I wanted to show you my new addition to the Up and Coming segment, and the inspiration for the title of my blog post today. Some of you already know that my daughter, Katie, is expecting a baby. This will be #3 for her and our 11th grandchild. I've been planning some knitting, its a slippery slope!, but didn't want to buy yarn until I knew the sex of the baby. Last week she had an ultrasound and it showed that she was having a girl. This is good for all concerned because although she loves her boys.... she really wanted a girl. And Grams wanted to knit girly things.... So I've started to to look at yarn and made decisions on what to make. Yesterday when Ashley and I were on our Fiber Day Out we started out in Downtown Asheville. One of the stops we made was at Purl's Yarn Emporium on Wall Street. This was totally a spontaneous purchase. I saw a baby/kids hat that was so cute, and the yarn was rolled in a gradient looking ball and I saw a perfect color way. It is Be Sweet Bambino Taffy in the Candy Sprinkles color way. It is 100 yards of 70% organically grown cotton and 30% bamboo. I wound it into a center pull ball on my ball winder to reverse the colors so that as I pulled from the center it would start with the hot pink. I have one complaint, the color changes are achieved by knotting the yarn. I don't like knots. But so be it. Its probably the only time I will use this yarn. The pattern is on the ball band and its on Ravelry also, the Sweetie Pie Hat. This will be another learning experience since it uses a provisional cast on and I've never done that. 

As it came, isn't it beautiful?

After I re-wound it. Since the white is on the outside I put a yarn cozy on it to protect the white.

This is the hat in the Candy Sprinkles color way, picture borrowed from Ravelry

Out for a Spin

Have I said I love my WooLee Winder???? Well I do! At Roc Day spin group I carded some batts of Alpaca, wool and dyed mohair locks. 

I had talked about this before, but I spun it up last week. I had 11.65 oz so I split it into 3 and spun the singles on my WW in a thick and thin process. This was totally based on how the fiber seemed to want to be spun. I believe in listening to my fiber. 

I spun up my 3 bobbins lickety split on the WW...

Then I plied them using the Freedom Flyer for my Joy. Since I knew this would be a bulky yarn I used the Freedom Flyer and got about 2/3 of it on the first bobbin and then plied the rest resulting in 2 skeins. I have a total of 103 yards. 

Yes, that is Molly in the background...

This is sooooo soft and cozy. I'll be looking for a pattern to use but I'll be making a cowl from this. 

As I said at the top, Ashley and I had a field trip. We had a Fiber Day Out yesterday and visited 3 shops in Asheville, one in Hendersonville and ended up at Hidaway Farms. As a little background, Ashley found a group on Facebook called Spin a Pound, Get a Pound or as I like to call it SAP GAP. LOL.... basically its a way to connect fiber farmers with spinners to get their fiber spun. It is an international group as there are people from Canada on there. Actually, one of my fiber farmer friends, Cindy Telisak from Jacob's Reward Farm is on there! Ashley connected with Christine at Hidaway Farms who is right here in Hendersonville. Christine and her daughter Katie raise Shetland Sheep and are adding Icelandic Sheep to their flock. We picked up some fiber to spin for them and its a 50/50 split so we keep half of what we brought home. A great way to add to my fiber stash. I got a couple of pounds of brown and cream fiber from Charlotte and Butterscotch and about a pound of cream fiber from Camille that is first cut lambswool. She is giving us free range to spin, dye, ply as we want. 

Ashley also got cream fiber as well as gray and cream. We will trade some of our two color fiber so we have some of both color ways.

After we talked about our spinning background and showed our handspun samples and decided on how much fiber we would start with we went out to see the sheep. Ashley took a few pics for me after I asked permission to use them on the blog. 

This is in the pasture of ewes that have been bred. They are expecting as many as 11 ewes to lamb this spring. Some of them are definitely getting round. Ashley and I are hoping to make a visit for lambing and/or shearing. We had a great time, thanks Christine and Katie. 

Mindless Nattering

I've been thinking about the way that I use social media and how it connects me to the fiber community.   I am able to stay connected to my friends and family even though I have moved away as well as connect with my new friends and family here in this beautiful part of North Carolina. I can share my new surroundings with everyone as well.  But I also use pictures, Facebook, Ravelry, Plurk, Twitter etc as a way to keep track of things. Its how I can keep a journal of sorts of my life. Life goes so fast and its hard to keep track. I am also using this blog to track my fiber journey. So there are times when its going to be longer or with more pictures than other times. For anyone who is reading this, I hope you understand that the first reason I do this is as a journal. The second reason is to share my journey with anyone who is interested. So there may be a lot of pictures or a long post. I hope you don't mind. 

That's it for this time. I hope you have enjoyed my post. Please remember to make the most of every day. Life is short... 

See you next time!