Tag Archive | yarn

Finding Time

This is the busiest time of year if you have kids, which is why I haven’t had time to post anything in ages. The girl had music concerts and recitals and contests and auditions and award ceremonies. The boy had school parties and fifth grade graduation. Add that to the weekly lessons and time spent training the dog, and it means my knitting has fallen too low on my list of priorities lately. I have been finding time to play with my yarn here and there, just not nearly as often as I would like. But now that school is almost over I am eager to ramp it up, and it’ll get easier thanks to my fabulous Mother’s Day present! I told Alex I didn’t want him to spend money on me; I wanted the gift of time and energy. And boy, did it pay off. See, look:

That, my friends, is my new swift. I saw it on Pinterest and have been bugging the hubby for one ever since, and finally he made one! I love it. It works wonderfully, and it can fold up for storage or moving. That’s not all though: he’s been experimenting with turning wood, and I received a beautiful set of maple knitting needles. They’re 14″, US size 17. A bit heavier than the bamboo I’ve worked with before, but that wasn’t a problem once I got used to it.

I couldn’t wait to use them, of course. I wound 5 or 6 balls of yarn first, just to play with my swift, then I poked through Ravelry for a cowl pattern using that size needle. And heck, who could resist something called the World’s Fastest Cowl? I’d been waiting for the right pattern to go with two balls of this super bulky Trendsetter Genie that I’d picked up at an estate sale. I do love my bulky multi-color yarns, you know.

My other Mother’s Day present was knitting time, and the cowl lived up to its name. By the end of the day, I had a fabulous new cowl…that I won’t be able to wear for a few months.

I’ve got a couple other completed projects to share, but I can’t just yet (spoilers!). I also have four WIPs (that’s a lot for me) and plans to start another today. It’s the last full quiet day before school lets out, so I’m going to sit back and enjoy my solitude by casting on something just for me: a teddy bear with this Berroco Ultra Alpaca.

A Teddy Bear

May4

I decided to try to knit my own joyful little bear. I used the Ruby Bear pattern from Ravelry.

I cast on with some camel Bernat satin, since I had plenty in my stash and it’s soft and washable. The pattern calls for knitting each piece flat but I hate seaming so I decided to knit it all in the round, except the ears. I knit the body first and couldn’t believe how fast it grew. I also couldn’t help but giggle at his little bum.

I didn’t have much knitting time but I got all the pieces knitted in a few days. Today I sat down with my polyfill and got busy stuffing and assembling. I left the ends of the arms and legs open until they were stuffed, then cinched them closed.

The next step was the hardest part for me. I’m not the best at sewing pieces together but if you don’t look closely at the seams, I think he looks okay. The embroidered face was a new skill for me too.

I found a little red ribbon that looks perfect tied in a bow around his neck. I really enjoyed making him, more than I thought I would. He’s sitting next to my computer now, and he makes me smile.

Where’d my mojo go?

Apr17

I seem to have lost some of my knitting motivation. I’ve been so caught up in training the new dog that my focus has shifted. Maybe the fact that I can’t leave current projects out where I can see them prevents them from staying on my mind. Or maybe it’s the fact that I have two bigger projects going, and I really like immediate gratification. The only project I’ve finished recently is this scarf:

I have several single skeins of mercerized cotton in my stash and couldn’t figure out what to do with them. But with warmer weather supposedly coming, I’ve been wanting to make all kinds of lighter knitwear, and a Spring scarf seemed perfect for this color. It’s a bit shorter than I anticipated but I love the openness of the pattern.

I have re-started the shawl that Max ate, and it’s almost back where it was before. I did switch to the bigger needles and like it a lot better. So I guess he kind of did me a favor. Except that he killed my momentum and now I’m slower to get back into it.

The other project on my needles is a cardigan, my first knitted garment. I chose the Lilas Cardigan on Ravelry partly because it looked simple enough for a newbie and partly because I love the big, floppy collar. I’ve had six skeins of Cotton Supreme Splash in my stash for ages, waiting for the right pattern, and I think this is it. I’ve already used up one skein just making the collar.

But here’s the problem: this is boring. It’s a LOT of stockinette. I make it through one row and reward myself with an email or Twitter check. I know I’ll love it when it’s done, I just have to get there. And I think if I can push through to the point where it actually starts looking like a cardigan, I’ll get excited enough to finish.

So today, I have some knitting time. Hmm, what to work on? I think I’ll make another one of those lacy scarves in this CEY Imagine yarn…

Oh, I could just cry

Apr14

My first clue was the yarn label I saw on the floor as I unlocked the back door. A small, intact yarn label…that was in the middle of a ball of yarn when I left the house this morning. As I came inside, I saw a long dark trail along the dining room floor, and I gasped. It was yarn. A long tangled mess of purple yarn. Behind it was a pile of pink yarn. These were neat and tidy balls when I left. After an hour in the house with a bored dog? Not so much.

Near these travesties was another: my cute new YarnPop Gadgety bag was on the floor, intact but muddy and damp.

I was trembling with fear by this point because I knew what was coming. I knew what this yarn had been attached to. I had started a spring shawl for myself yesterday with these gorgeous colors, and I was loving how it was turning out. See, I’ll show you. Before:

Here’s the after:

Sighhhhhh. I know, I know. It could have been so much worse. If I had been gone any longer, the shawl would probably have been gone too. And I wasn’t too far into it, so I wasn’t losing too much time. As it was, I frogged it all very carefully. The yarn is beautiful Simply Sweet Whipped Cream, a blend of wool, mohair and silk. The mohair, which gives it that fuzzy halo, loves to tangle if you pull too quickly. So I worked slowly, making sure to keep my breathing even and steady. And when I was done, I realized I wasn’t really missing much yarn, though it looked my pink yarn ball had babies.

So now I get to start all over with my shawl, as soon as my Gadgety bag is dry. The silver lining is that I can switch to a bigger needle size, which I think will make a better shawl anyway. I’ve also learned that absolutely nothing is safe around this dog. Nothing. I’d cry…but he’s eaten all the tissues.

p.s. for those who are wondering, no, I did not yell at, or punish, the dog since he didn’t know better. It was my mistake to leave it within reach. He got to stay in the kitchen with the door closed while I removed all the evidence.

This Easter, the treat is the basket itself!

Apr7

I finished another project the other day, and I’m quite tickled with it. It was the cutest little bubble bag pattern, and since I’ve been on a felting kick lately, I thought I’d give it a shot with one of the random skeins of wool in my stash. I picked a bright grassy green and cast on, and the knitting went so quickly! It felted quickly too, unlike my last bag. This one only needed two wash cycles and it was ready to dry. After that, I found a pink ribbon to thread through the eyelets, and voila!

It’s small–only 5″ by 7″–but it would easily hold all the essentials. I’m also thinking it would make a great small-project bag! You can easily switch out the ribbon for any other color. For now, though, I’m thinking it needs to hold some Easter eggs!

Available for sale here

What’s at the end of this rainbow?

Apr3

My very first post on this blog was about some rainbow yarn that inspired me. It was beautiful Mochi Mini from Crystal Palace Yarns, and I bought it even though it was fingering weight and I don’t do fingering weight. I bought it and the toothpick-sized DPNs I needed to make some fingerless gloves with it.

I cast on that afternoon, and it took some getting used to the miniature needles and the thin yarn. Mostly, it took some time to get used to how long it took to make any kind of progress.

This was a few hours’ work. It was simple knitting, and I felt like I was doing something so delicate and delicious that I didn’t mind the time spent. I also loved seeing the colors emerge as I knit, and how they flowed smoothly from one to the next. I did run into two knots in beginning of the skein, but I didn’t mind that. I knit my thumb gusset, and managed to slide those stitches onto some waste yarn that was probably too fat but all I had.

On and on I knit, blissfully and mindlessly, just watching my rainbow come full circle. I realized as I neared the top ribbing that when I picked up for the thumb, it would be a completely different color. I pondered that, considering starting the other mitt until I came to the matching color for the thumb. Then I realized I didn’t want them to match perfectly. So after I cast off the top, I happily picked up the blue yarn through the orange thumb stitches. I had some problems with it: I went the wrong way or something, so my purls were facing out and I had that line of color. Oops. I pulled out most of them and started again, but there are still the little lines at the five stitches I picked up. Just don’t look too closely at the thumb, okay? Mostly I was happy that I didn’t have a gaping hole at the thumb. This was only the third thumb I’ve picked up, so I think I did pretty well. I put it on and it fit! Yay!

Then I realized I had to make another one. One that would match it exactly. Well, I’d already had the fun of knitting a glove with this yarn, so the novelty had worn off a bit. So it took me another week or so to pick it up again and cast on for the second mitt. This one went faster, and I knew what I was doing with the thumb stitches this time so it’s even better (close to perfect, if I do say so myself). And even though it started at a different color, the body is still mostly the same as the first glove. I put it on, and it fit! Yay!

Now, do you notice what I noticed? Yep, this one is smaller. This might be the time to confess that I’m not the best row-counter…but I tried with these! I really tried! And yet they still came out different sizes. Sighhh. At first I was disappointed and thoroughly disgusted with myself. But they’re for me, they both fit, and I love how they look. I discovered I enjoy knitting with fingering weight yarn, and I practiced making thumbs. And I might have enough rainbow yarn left over to squeeze out another pair…if I can manage to make them both the smaller size!

That Felt Great!

Mar30

Wool is not always my favorite fiber: it can be itchy and scratchy, especially against my sensitive skin. But one thing I do love is how it felts! I’ve made a few small felted purses in the past and just love seeing the transformation from the loose, floppy, shapeless piece of knitting into a firm, sturdy piece of felted fabric. I also love that it negates the need for sewing in a lining. I recently found a few books showing felted purses accented with novelty fibers, like fur or eyelash or pompoms, and I liked the contrasting textures. I’d picked up some more books at that huge estate sale, and in one I found my perfect pattern: this adorable Vintage Bubble Bag. And after I got my new shelves set up, and my yarn all organized, I could see that I finally some good possibilities to work with.

I started with the pinky-purple Cascade 220 because I had two full skeins of it, and I quickly matched it with the multicolor novelty yarn. I knew I didn’t have enough of the Cascade for the bubble bag, so I was toying with the idea of a contrasting band around the top edge. I liked this dark teal Lamb’s Pride, and it matched the teal in the novelty yarn, but I thought it would be too stark a contrast between the pink and the teal. I picked up a different skein of the Lamb’s Pride, a lovely shade called Supreme Purple, and as soon as I set the three together, I knew it was the right combination. I cast on right away, and since I was using two strands and bigger needles, I had the body of the bag done quickly.

As it laid there, I wasn’t sure I’d done the right thing. It was bigger than I expected, and I wished I’d switched to the purple as soon as I ran out of the novelty yarn. But it was so close to being done, and I figured the felting and shaping process would change it quite a bit anyway. So I knitted the endless 40″ of I-cord for the handles, stitched them on, and the bag was ready for felting.

In the past, felting had gone quickly and smoothly. Two cycles in the washer with a towel or a pair of jeans, and bam, it was felted. Not this time. The first cycle did nothing, and my washer complained that the load was too small. I added a couple of towels and tried again. The pinky section started felting, but the purple band and handles still had complete stitch definition. I was already using hot water so I had no idea what I could do differently. I tried one more cycle but saw little improvement. It was going to be hand felting for me. I talked to my SIL, consulted my knitting books, and filled up the sink with hot hot water.

I stirred and rubbed with the spoon, I beat it with the spoon. I rubbed the bag together with my hands, focusing on the purple band that refused to felt. Finally I picked it up, squeezed out some of the excess water, and started throwing it into the other sink. I really heaved it, feeling the sink shudder slightly with the force. I beat the bag against the side of the sink. At one point, I confess I even took it outside and slapped it against the side of the house. Then I did it all again. In a way, it was good therapy, allowing me to vent my frustration at the silly thing for not wanting to felt. Eventually, it got close enough that I was happy, though the purple band never felted completely. I didn’t have anything perfect to shape it with, so I just lined with a plastic bag and stuffed it full of newspaper, adjusting it until the was the shape I wanted, and I left it out to dry.

By mid-afternoon the next day, I moved it to the sunny windowsill and flipped it to allow the bottom to dry.

Finally, after almost two full days of drying, the bag was done! I’m so happy with how it turned out. It feels wonderfully Springy to me, and the little bits of blue and teal just pop out of the wool. It’s about 10″ tall and 12″ wide, so it’s great for either a large purse or a good project bag. I added it to my For Sale items on my Facebook page and my Etsy shop, though I’d be happy to carry it myself…especially with my cute little Junie Balloonie flower added!

Where does all the yarn come from?

Mar26

Today is a busy day so my time is limited, but I was enthused by my local paper this morning and had to share. There was a lovely long feature article about a local fiber artist, Jamie Root, who raises her own sheep for the wool. The article talks a bit about how she readies it for use and turns it into yarn, and then where she takes it. I met Jamie last year at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival and spent quite a bit of time talking to her as she showed me a bit of the process. As a newbie yarner, I was fascinated, and she was so friendly and welcoming. Most of my yarn time is spent on the latter end of the process: buying and using the already-dyed, wound yarns. I’m just now starting to realize how much more there is to the craft–or do I mean art? That’s another discussion for another day! Click here to read the article.

Happiness is contagious. How many people can you infect?

Mar24

if you’ve read my previous posts, you know I had a wonderful weekend devoted to yarn and crafting. The resulting energy, as well as all my purchases, encouraged me to reorganize my craft room. I packed up my scrapbooking supplies into the large closet, which let me eliminate one of my folding tables to make room for two shelving units. I was able to take all my stash yarn out of plastic tubs and get it out where I can see it and touch it. I grouped it together by fiber for the most part, though there are a couple of project bags and a “shawl yarn” area.

The remaining table is my main workspace for when I’m planning projects, packing orders, editing manuscripts, or even working on my own writing. I’ve got my scanner and printer handy, and my head is nearby for when I need to take some photos.

Here’s my little desk area that houses my laptop, pen collection and gigantic Edward puzzle. Yes, I’m an unapologetic Twilight fan. I hope you’ll respect me anyway. If it helps, next to it is a signed letter from Dean Koontz.

Finally, I was able to bring up all my yarny books and get them together in one bookcase. Next to them are the tins holding all my buttons, so I can match buttons to yarns. I used some black modular shelving to hold random crafty supplies and my current inventory of finished items.

I had it set up by Sunday evening, and I was just puttering around in it. It’s a happy room. It’s a welcoming room full of color and imagination. The funny thing is that over an hour or so, my husband and both kids ended up in here with me. No real reason. At first they were just admiring the changes, but then they stayed, and just hung out with me. And the next morning, I was in here working on my computer, and my son wandered in after he got up. He sat in the rolling chair and started looking at the pictures and things I’ve got in here, and he was content to sit quietly in here with me until he got hungry enough for breakfast.

Apparently I have become the peacekeeper. By that, I don’t mean I mediate fights, though of course I do. I mean that I have an abundance of inner peace right now, and I think they’re hoping to absorb some of it. I’m profoundly grateful for the way we have our life set up right now. I’m grateful that I have the time and resources to practice the things that bring me joy. And if I can share my joy with them by sharing my happy craft space, I’m delighted.

Stash-mania

Mar23

That’s it, I don’t need to buy any new yarn for…at least a couple of months! I thought yesterday’s spree at the LYS closeout was good, but today was even better: I went to the estate sale of a hardcore crafter. Based on her house, I don’t think there was a craft she didn’t do. It was awesome. Get this: Her entire finished basement was given over to yarn. There were 6′ tall shelving units lining one side, and tables on the other, covered with plastic tubs full of yarn.

The best part was that it was GOOD yarn. This wasn’t cheap acrylic, or even nice acrylic. This was merino, cotton, alpaca, silk. There was hand-dyed and hand-painted wool. There was Noro and Blue Sky Alpaca and Louisa Harding and Nashua and Tahki and Koigu and Rowan and Classic Elite. There was a ton of Lamb’s Pride which isn’t soft but is fabulous for felting. There was a whole section of novelty yarns that were unusual fabrics and textures. It was sorted by fiber so if you were picky about your yarn, you could just visit “your” section. Of course I had to trawl through the whole darn place. I tell you, it was the closest thing to heaven I’ve experienced…and it was all $2 per ball/skein. I can’t possibly list all the delightful yarns I got, but I’ll show you my favorites.

This is Blue Sky Alpaca & Silk, a sport weight that’s as light as a feather in my hand. It’s only 140 yards but it should make a graceful lacy scarf for the spring.

This is the only skein of Malabrigo (For $2!!!) that I found. It’s an old one called Violetas. It’s kettle dyed and 215 yards, and it will make something gorgeous for me. A hat? A cowl? What do you think?

This was really what made the whole trip worthwhile, and I’m sorry I don’t have a better picture to show it off: this is Classic Elite Inca Alpaca…and there were TEN SKEINS of it! It’s a periwinkle blue, and since alpaca is my favorite yarn in the whole world, I was over the moon and made sure to snatch it all up before anyone else could get any. I now have over 1000 yards of it, and it’s going to be my first knitted cardigan, I believe.

That’s not all, oh no, that’s not all. Did I mention she had a room lined with shelving? Well, now I have some of it, which means I was able to liberate my beautiful stash from the plastic tubs and get it out where I can see it and touch it every day.

Isn’t it wonderful? I’m so very happy with my craft room right now, and if I weren’t so tired from that last two days, I’d start knitting up a storm. As it is, though, I think I must unwind with a glass of wine…and dream of all the knitting I can start tomorrow.