Long lost work in progress

This design is in Rowan's The Kasbah Collection. The colors mixed with a simple crochet detailing caught my attention and made me want to knit it.

Easy enough! It was cast-on...um, so long ago that the date escapes me. The body and sleeves were easily finished and Stitcher Bomb aka Sharon helped put the first rows of purple crochet on the neckline. We ran out of time and I was confident that it could be finished with my mad crochet skills.

So, the top languished until selling some extra yarn on Ravelry and remembering that there was a WIP around here somewhere. Turns out the crochet wizards blessed me one day this weekend and the neckline was finished.

Some boring details:

The neckline as written was too floppy and I tightened it up by skipping every 3rd space on the raffia color row. On the final row, I eliminated one of the chains (same for the sleeve edging). The length of this was extremely short and I added by taking off the final border, picking up stitches, and knitting until it looked good.

Turns out this is one of my favorite tops now and it has escaped the WIP status!

Finished shawl - the photos

The proper way to photograph shawls in a way that captures their true beauty always escapes me!

See it on Ravelry

I just couldn't wait

The Alka shawl is blocking, but I had to share. This pattern is from Myrna Stahman's book.

Confession, the book was daunting at first. It became less intimidating once it was quiet around the house and I could actually make notes. There are suggestions in the book about this particular shawl design and changes to be made allowing for bulkier yarn.

The yarn is one of the Sonoma colorways from the Hope Blanket.

This shawl is a sample for Briar Rose. If you catch them at a show this season, check it out. The colors are always so much more beautiful in person. I will put up more photos after it dries.

Spinning and the art of macaroni

I've been experimenting with my spinning. The red and tan roving is a mill end and is my first attempt at spinning thick and thin.

Something told me to spin and ply a little to see how it goes and when the fiber was wet it smelled very, very bad. When dry, it smelled fine. Coby had a tip that worked like a dream.

Run VERY !HOT! water and put some Dawn dish soap in then soak the fiber for 5 min. It is important not to move the fiber much to avoid felting. After the soak, run VERY !HOT! clear water and soak for another 5 min. Finally, spin the water out in your washing machine. There was just a tiny bit of fiber here and it squished out between towels.

The fiber smelled fine afterward.

In the meantime, the desire to spin finer weight yarn had arrived. This is angora, merino, and silk from Susan's Spinning Bunny. Originally 2 ounces, nearly half is spun up. We'll see how it goes once the ply has been finished.

A couple of projects made with Briar Rose are around here, too. A Myrna Stahman shawl is on the needles made with Sonoma. Guess is that it is about 75% complete. With increases every odd row, it is difficult to estimate. The rows are nearing 300 stitches and it is apparent that the progress will slow by the sheer volume of stitches.

Finally, this hat and mitten pattern will be carried by Briar Rose. Christy Roosien wrote the hat and a matching scarf pattern that is incredibly adorable. It is knit with 2 strands of Fourth of July on large needles. Guess what everyone is getting for Christmas this year?

One more thing to share. Mother's Day was low-key and that is fine with me. Sunday night, Bugg's boyfriend dropped by with a present.

My very own macaroni necklace! Let me tell, you, the designs have gotten cooler than when they were in Kindergarten - waves!

The kids laugh now, but still think it was pretty cool that I actually wore the jewelry made from food to work (at a bank) when they were little. Just to stick with tradition, I wore this necklace to Bugg's tennis match Monday. The boyfriend smirked a little, but he must have been so proud.

Coming to a show near you

Remember that blanket?

Wanted to let you know that it will be with Chris during the following shows:


Great Lakes Fiber Festival
May 24 & 25th 2008 Wooster, Ohio


and

NEW!! - Knitters Connection
"Knitters Market"
June 12, 13 and 14, 2008 Columbus, Ohio


Be sure to stop by and see Chris at the Briar Rose booth if you attend either festival.

Donations will be accepted at both shows (and online) until June 21st when we will draw a name and mail the blanket to one lucky donor.

Good luck!

What I finished this weekend - 5/04/2008

Interweave Knits published the Montego Bay by Amy Singer in the Summer 2007 issue. From the moment I layed eyes on it, I knew it would eventually fly off of my needles. Fast forward one year and here it is - finished!

It knit up quickly and the Handmaiden Sea Silk was a dream. This is the first time I've knit with it and (other than the silk smell) it was a lovely yarn. The colorway is Vintage and was acquired from Ebay last year.

Details on Ravelry.

Completion of this means there are 3 wip's floating around here. All concentration is on the Grasshopper socks that my kids are already fighting over.

The pattern is Stansfield #11 from More Sensational Socks and has been accommodating in the 'no pool' department. Of course, the heel area shows what could have happened with a different stitch pattern and it is unpleasing to my eye.

This is being knit from my lovely birthday yarn from Lisa.

The other two wips?

One is a Feather and Fan Shawl that reminds me of Charleston, SC every time I look at it. I haven't knit a stitch in quite awhile and it is, technically, a zzzzz. The pattern is fine, results desirable...knitting just needs to happen~maybe after graduation.

Second is Sunshine knit in Summer Tweed. All finished except for the last area of crochet around the neck. I stink at crochet and my friend Sharon usually helps, but we haven't been able to see each other in awhile. Perhaps I will take a stab at it pretty soon.

Graduation planning is taking a lot out of me and it will be emotional to see her walk across that stage. Tears were forming Sunday at church as we celebrated the seniors who will soon graduate.

....where are those Kleenex?

One more note: The IW Summer 2007 was a great issue. I've completed 3 of the designs and have plans for 2 more.

The correct guess would be...

Ok, let me premise this by saying there were a lot of good sock yarn sales this month...seriously, A LOT!

Remember that I want to send my daughter a pair of handknit socks every month she is in college next year...and she will have a jealous roommate who might need a pair now and then.

There were yummy, yummy yarns I longed to try and just ordered them, what can I say?

The number is~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~42!

Yikes!

Well, it WAS my 41st birthday, so there is one for each year plus one to grow on (which is much more fun than a spanking!)

I've tried to choose a variety of colorways, yarns, and variegation to gift to you. It was difficult, but I've ended up with this:

Dream in color Smooshy - November Muse

Araucania Ranco Multi - Color 307

Hill Country Yarns Sweet Feet - Crimson

Alice was the closest with a guess of 44 - Alice, please e-mail me with your mailing address.

Debbi was pretty close with her guess of 39, so I'm sending her this:

Hill Country Yarns Sweet Feet - Be Mine

It seems a few of you underestimated my desire to help stimulate the economy by being a consumer and I so admire the guesses of '51'. Had there been a few extra days in April, I just might have gotten there!

Thanks for playing along and helping me to celebrate my birthday month - you made me smile.

Let me give you yarn!

Erin's post today reminded me of some things that need to be done and this is the week they will happen!

One of these is to give you some yarn...seriously!

It will be a great fibery gift, I promise - some of my most treasured yarns will arrive on your doorstep. All you need to do is comment with your guess of how many skeins of sock yarn I've gotten this month.

Please remember:
1. This is my birthday month
2. I've shown reckless abandon with sock yarn
3. Purchases may be in-route and are accounted for
4. Included is sock yarn I've received through gifts, purchases and swaps
5. Photos and my Ravelry stash will not help you

So, how bad do you think I've been in April - hmmm?

Details: Closest guess wins; multiple correct guesses will all win; Yarn recipients will be chosen at 5:00P on Wednesday, April 30th

Have a fantastic day and thanks for just being you!

From fiber to Fibonacci

It makes me smile to think that knitters and spinners (and other crafters, too) can meet online, meet up for a fiber event, and feel like they've know each other for a long while.

It's a long story about how I came to love Briar Rose Fibers - a 'God' moment, if you will. Needless to say, Chris is a dear friend and my fiber world has been greatly enhanced since meeting here just about 2 years ago. It was through the Briar Rose Knit-along that I met Lisa.

Lisa is a very talented knitter who has designed for Crystal Palace and has recently put some beautiful patterns out on Ravelry which are going to fly off of my needles really soon. We finally met last Friday at CJKopec Creations. What a great day it was! A well-deserved break from graduation and college planning, gardening, and housework (which still needs finished). Anyway, Lisa added to my sock yarn stash build of recent days by bringing this Woolly Boully for my Birthday...she is so sweet!

Coby's studio was a veritable feast of fiber and there was little restrain. Lots of photos are coming, as the fiber is spun up...so here goes.

A little tuft of dreamy deep red merino and bamboo was plied with black merino to become 151 yards of light-as-a-feather yarn. The red is very nice and it spun up beautifully (once I got going). At some time in the future, I would like to get the red and ply it with itself.


Not that some spinning was accomplished, the next cast-on is weighing heavy. Dreams of Fibonacci danced last night and the yarn is very near...a pullover is in my near future!

Please help!

This blanket has been a labor of love. I asked for fiber, Chris sent it. I asked for knitting and designing, the incredible knitters did it. Now, I've done my part with sewing and edging the blanket - all 48" x 64" of it!

We are 26% toward our goal of $2000.00. If you haven't donated yet, please visit the American Cancer Society site we have set up and donate anything you can to help.

Thank you so much!

See it on Ravelry

When things are finished

I like it when things get finished all at once. Typically, there are not more than 3 projects on the needles at one time around here and they are usually balanced so at least one is a 'quick knit'.

Summer tops are a favorite to make for Bugg, partly because she is so small and they knit up so fast. She picked out the Athos pattern from Norah Gaughans Volumn 2. It is knit in Berroco Touche on size 5 and 7 needles. The only change made was to knit it in the round. Increases and decreases were made at the side markers. The side seam sewing was happily omitted.

The side photo was taken prior to putting the sleeves in. Bugg and I both liked this top a lot better with the sleeve.

After scouring Ravelry for finished projects in the same colorways of Silkience, trades were made to secure enough yarn to finish that darned Viva cardigan. If you make this pattern in the stripe sequence, pick up an extra skein of each color. The yarn was inexpensive, but with shipping, it was a better deal to swap on Ravelry.

I've been yearning to spin, but the blanket has been my primary focus this week. the edging should be finished tomorrow. A couple of different things were attempted and I will blog more about i-cord finishing when the final photos are up later this week.

The colors are so vibrant that I couldn't bring myself to discard any of the ends. I've a couple of ideas on what can be made with them.

Finished photos this week - I promise!

Ah...warmth!

The spinning bug has definitely visited this week.

I got a little bag of roving a few months ago in a Ravelry swap and wanted to see what I could do with it.

It is wool and rayon mixed with some angeline(?) and became a nice little 130+ yards of yummy yarn.




Quite an improvement from what it was before spinning.

I spun it all up on Friday and it hung balanced immediately.

I am pleased!

My next spinning adventure should take me to Beth along with my Briar Rose Roving that I've been coveting for quite awhile.

If you have a minute, go check out this Ivy League Vest. It is so beautiful!

Lovely little skein

Yesterday was hectic.

The majority of the day was spent sewing and blocking strips for the Hope Blanket Donation Drive.

We met friends for Bugg's tennis match and then had dinner. This, being my first real outing since oral surgery, I was tired!

Once home, I wandered by Georgia and felt her tug at my heartstrings. Funky Carolina had tucked a tiny little scrappie into one of my packages and it became this 40 yard little skein. My experience with fiber isn't refined enough to tell you what this is, but I know it is wool and has fairly long fibers. I should have taken a 'before' photo.

This was just enough spinning to satisfy my need to create and finish something.

Oh, the thoughtfulness of Funky Carolina is just one more reason I love to buy her wonderful fibers. Check out her Etsy shop.

What's that you say? You want a blanket?

...waylayed a few days by oral surgery but I'm back on track now!

Fiber can be finicky and I've decided to block again as sewing progresses which should make the final few seams a breeze.

I wish you could touch this for yourself - it is incredible!

Don't forget to donate to The American Cancer Society - it's a great cause!

A peek at some handspun

This roving was ordered from CJ Kopec's Etsy shop at the end of January. Edited to add: she has 2 available in this colorway in her Etsy shop today.

Secretly, I think this was more than 4 ounces because I was able to get 410 yards out of it.

The largest skein is approx 290 yards and the smaller is approx 120 yards.

It is ultra soft and will make something wonderful in the future.

All of the charity blanket rows are stitched together and I will post new photos at the end of the week.

What I finished today: Kentucky Sleep Socks

Kentucy Sleep Socks (2)
Originally uploaded by kniterella

Bugg will be surprised next year when she is sitting in her dorm room and the chill is just hitting. A box will arrive with miscellaneous goodies and these socks. She will have an 'aha' moment as she thinks "now, that is what those socks were for".

In the meantime she is slightly annoyed that these are her Kentucky Wildcat colors and they aren't being given to her.

The quest for repair continues. After 5 1/2 years following the 4wheeler accident, I've completed the last major teeth repair. It is a relief that in 10 months or so it will be all finished. It hit me yesterday that there has been a tremendous amount of time wasted on repairs for a 15 minute ride. Yes, I had a full faced helmet on. No, I wasn't going fast. Encourage your loved ones (and even those who aren't) to wear a mouth protector and to always be careful because freak accidents do occur.

I need to rest a bit and will continue stitching on the charity blanket tomorrow (hopefully).

Scotch Grace Thistle finished

Scotch Grace Thistle finished (8)
Originally uploaded by kniterella

A little break from stitching on the charity blanket netted a couple of photos.

Details on Ravelry but for those of you who have not joined up yet:

Scotch Thistle Lace Stole
500 yards of Briar Rose Fibers Grace
Size 5 needles
Finished size: 68" long, 17 1/2" wide

This was a quick knit (seriously!) that was cast-on the first day of Spring Break and finished a little more than a week later.

Better photos may come later. My favorites are always the modeled shots.

Edited to add modeled photos - more thanks to Bugg.

Wisteria!

Charleston, SC
Originally uploaded by kniterella

Wisteria was full bloom in Charleston along with the azeleas and roses! It was difficult to come back to the Michigan weather - although, it has been sunny today.

There is much to do to catch up with after being away. The charity blanket is primary on my list and with the squares all blocked, the layout needs to be determined and stitching it together will follow.

Knitting managed to happen while Bugg drove us around. No pictures this time, but it is lacey and so close to being finished that the final photos will probably show up before in process ones.

I want to catch up on the blog postings -- what were you all doing? There are over 120 new posts last week just on the blogs I regularly read...that will take some time.

One for the road

Mim is holding a contest for those who can show the signs of Spring. I've been floundering with the frequent snow this year and was so excited to see my little bud. I've watched him, dreaming for the day his bloom would finally burst.

We awoke to...this

Bugg and I are throwing in the towel and heading South for some of this...

My only regret will be that I won't be around if Bud does finally bloom!