A lone knitter on the plains of the Dakotas explores knitting, spinning and other things worth doing.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Sock Flat
Sunday, December 28, 2008
It's Been a Christmas!
For the first time in my life, my mother did not make me guess what she wanted for Christmas! She has a couple feather pillows which my grandmother made for her. I wove covers for them soon after I graduated from college and they had finally worn away (gives you an idea how long I've been out!) I only had a few weeks, but I made these out of Sugar n' Cream and included a zipper so she can wash and dry them. I used a pattern from one of the Harmony Guides for the pillow on the left and the cable one is from the new issue of Cast On. I sized them for my grandmother's pillows as "standard size" was not part of her vocabulary! (At least the pillows were both the same size.) Anyway, my mother was pleased with her presents.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Rescue Chair Update
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Biloxi Blues
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Rescue Chair
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Spinning Update
As for the Vulcan & friend spinning, it wasn't consistently working out the way I wanted to so now I'm spinning the alpaca and wool separately and then plying them together. It took a little bit to get used to how slippery the suri alpaca is, but it's fine now and I'm loving the results.
For a little bit, I was wondering why I bought so much; but now, I'm really glad I did.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Spinning Vulcan
Sorry, this caramel swirl is not edible: It's Vulcan's fleece and that of some of his sheep friends swirled together in this delictible combination of suri alpaca (that's Vulcan) and wool. Since suri alpaca is slicker than black ice, Vulcan's owners combined his rich brown fleece with wool for easier spinning. Fortunately, I bought a lot of this because I keep changing my mind how I want to spin it up. Right now, I'm thinking three strands of as closer to barber pole as I can get it in one strand. In case you aren't familar with the term "barber pole" that's with the white and the brown spiralling separately like, you guessed it, a barber pole. What I've done so far has kind of a tweedy effect on the spool and it's keeping the rich brown color with just little flecks of white. What I wanted to avoid was having it blend into tan. Whatever garment it turns out to be, it'll be nice and warm.
Incidentally, Vulcan's photo is on his owner's website at http://www.rachalpacafarm.com then click on alpacas - his photo is near the bottom.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Wool Kitty
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
I found a new knitting mystery series!
The main character in the series (and the unintentional sleuth) is Ari Evans, who is a divorced mother of a school-aged daughter. She owns a yarn shop in a northeastern state and has a widowed mother, a well-intentioned aunt, a close friend who is a spinner, a grumpy ex-husband and a potential love interest, who happens to be a detective with the local police department. Ari comes across dead and dying people in very unlikely places and circumstances, who die in very unconventional and contrived ways and means. But it doesn't matter! It's still fun, fast-paced reading!
This time, a publisher of knitting magazine, who is known to be very critical of just about everyone, dies in Ari's arms with a knitting needle stuck in her back at a small wool festival in the New England town where Ari lives. Ari had met this woman earlier when she lived in New York. The cops decide to hold everyone at the wool festival who knew the victim; personalities and tempers flash and flare, but eventually Ari flushes out the murderer.
Unless there is a category for knitting mysteries, this book isn't going to win any huge publishing awards, but for a fast-paced read and interesting characters, it's a winner.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Sugar Maple Socks
I just finished another 2-at-a-Time Socks pattern by Melissa Morgan-Oakes - Sugar Maple Socks. Although in the Kaffe Fassett sock yarn, they don't look too sugar maplely. These worked up quickly and the while the pattern looks like a cable, it is just two stitches, one over the other, so no cable needle is needed. So okay, technically, it is a cable. As you can see, it's a great pattern for self-striping yarn.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Monogamy and the Polycrafter
While a lot writers, bloggers and podcasts emphasize "monogamy", I think the magic weasel word is "polycrafter". By no means do I have just one project going, so I'm not strictly monogamous. I have one project per art/craft! So, right now I'm knitting a pair of socks (Sugar Maple pattern from 2-at-a-time Socks by Melissa Morgan-Oakes in Kaffe Fassett sock yarn by Schachenmayr nomotta Regia Design Line); spinning Sally Sue (yes, she was sheared first); long-arm quilting Tesselating Cats, designed by Jinny Beyer; and piecing another quilt. Again, I rationalize with weasel words and differentiate between long-arm quilting and piecing a quilt as separate arts/crafts. I don't think monogamy is supposed to involve this much rationalizing or the use of weasel words. So the magic word is polycrafter, not monogamy.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
February Lady Sweater
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Lace Scarf
I just finished this lace scarf using the yarn I won at the North Country Fiber Fair about a month ago. I also won a pattern, but I really wanted to use my own pattern "Reversible Lace Scarf" and see how it worked with lace yarn. This is a lace-weight merino used double-stranded. It's a combination of pinks, browns and little yellow. Despite all the holes, it's will be warm, soft and snuggly - not at all itchy.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Two New Friends
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Velvet Curtain Cabled Gauntlets
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Frost Warning
The weather report this morning included a frost warning for tonight. Given how cool our summer was here, some of my glads are just now starting to bloom, while many of my black-eyed Susans are almost finished. I went out first thing and photographed my favorites, just in case we run out of sheets to cover everything up this evening.
Last fall I bought a multi-pack of different kinds and colors of glads. There must have been 100 bulbs because I was starting to consider digging up the back lawn to accomodate all of bulbs. Fortunately for me, I didn't have to (after all he went through to put in the lawn, I'm not sure what my spouse would have done had I dug it up!) I have them sorted (sorta) by color and these in the photograph are on the pink mound that is shared with a pine tree and a cedar tree. Whenever I see glads I think of my maternal grandmother, who had rows of glads in her garden - there were always plenty for bouquets.
Since I am a black-eyed Susan, I'm more than a little partial to those flowers. This year I have three different kinds in the garden. The one I have photographed below was a gift from one of our neighbors who didn't have room for it in her garden and she was afraid it wouldn't survive the winter in its pot. I am always ready to provide a home for black-eyed Susans and promised to give these a good home.
Monday, September 22, 2008
North Country Fiber Fair
I had a wonderful weekend at the North Country Fiber Fair in Watertown. Here are a couple photos of my winning entries. I took two firsts, the Booga Bag with Nicky Epstein flowers and the yell0w-orange skein of handspun from a roving I painted. The yellow-orange skein also took best of show, which is called the Kay Cheever award.
The two third place ribbons were for the Aran knit sweater and the bluish skein of handspun from my painted roving. (Incidentally, one roving of each winning skien is on my Etsy site - http://sheepishhandknits.etsy.com). I've never received any ribbons before, but that's probably because I never entered anything, anywhere before!
Even better than receiving ribbons was the time I could spend renewing old friendships. People were there whom I haven't seen in a number of years and conversations just seemed to continue from when I saw them last. It was truly a winning weekend!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Belle Epoque Socks
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
The Mystery of the Missing Sock
Saturday night I went to put some of the laundry away (he doesn't do everything - but I'm not complaining) and there was ONE LONE HANDKNIT SOCK on the table, just one. I panicked. It was from one of my favorite pairs. I looked in the dryer. I re-folded clothes, thinking it stuck to something else. I looked in the pack where I had the laundry bag. I looked in the space between the dryer and the washer - just in case it stuck to something and was erroneously dried. I looked everywhere - no sock. I even had a little trouble going to sleep that night. During all of this my spouse was blissfully sleeping, content in the knowledge all was well in his domain.
Sunday, I couldn't think of a way to address the missing sock without it sounding like an accusation - after all, I really appreciate the fact he does the laundry and I don't want to take that job back. Every so often, I would peek in the laundry room to see if the missing sock returned, it hadn't.
Just before bed, I went down to bring up more laundry - both socks were neatly placed together. Long story, short - I still don't know where the sock went, but it's back, washed and neatly placed in the sock basket.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Felted Cabled Bag
Saturday, August 23, 2008
I've Become a Podcast Junkie
For some solid information on knitting and yarn, my favorite is the KnitPicks podcast. When I have a little more time and want a good laugh with some information thrown in, I really enjoy limonviolet's podcast. Then there are a few by some very busy moms: Brown-Eyed Mom, Knaked Knits, knittingatnight and She-Knits. I doubt any of these women sleep, because not only do they have time for their children, work or school and knitting, but they podcast regularly too! Pretty impressive! That's my short list of podcasts. I listen regularly to more and frankly, if they weren't good, I wouldn't listen!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
I Dyed!
Monday, August 4, 2008
Small Felted Purse
This is the Small Felted Purse designed by JoAnne Turcotte and made out of one skein of Plymouth Boku yarn. This was a free pattern if you purchased one skein of the yarn. There is a slight shift in yarn - it's a single ply, slightly overspun yarn - so it's no surprise. I love the colorways and the purse is a great size for essentials and slips into my computer bag or briefcase.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Easter Egg Socks
We travelled to San Francisco a couple weeks ago for a few days. I decided to take one of my sock blanks along and knit up a pair of socks. I used the toe-up two-at-a-time pattern on KnitPicks.com website and just about completed the socks during the trip - of course, getting our flight cancelled in Denver helped provide the extra time to do that! I guess there's a silver lining in every cloud! I'm calling these my Easter Egg socks because they really look like the colors on Easter Eggs - maybe that's what I get for using food color and vinegar to dye the sock blank!
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Sock Blanks
I recently purchased two sock blanks from Knit Picks. I also purchased dye, but I knew at least one of my cats would likely participate (there's just no shutting these guys out), so I used food coloring adapting Julie Theaker's "cold pour method" described in her Knitting: Spring 07 article "Color to dye for." The photographs show the "wrong" side, but I thought that side photographed the best. The top photograph features my helper, Greta. I also relied on the McCormick Neon colors - the purple in the bottom photograph and the lime green in the top one are particularly striking. I wonder if any of the colors glow in the dark? Now to see how these knit up into socks!
Friday, July 4, 2008
Needled to Death, by Maggie Sefton - A Book Review
Monday, June 30, 2008
Two Socks/One Circ - Done!
I tried to upload the photograph of these socks in progress yesterday. Today, I finished and had better luck in uploading. The only challenging aspect was using the reinforcement thread on the heel bottoms (I wish I knew why I wear socks out there!) and the toes. Four strands tended to tangle - but it's possible! I used the Zane Grey colorway in Wildfoote by Brown Sheep and I think Granite would have been a better name for it because it looks like granite. I'm so glad I learned this method!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Two Socks/One Circ!
The first thing that disappointed me was the time it took to get to the heel flap. Then, I remembered I was knitting two socks at the same time, not one. Now, it seems as though it's going faster. I really like this method too.
My only complaint with DPNs is that if I'm knitting in public, they tend to escape. My most embarrassing escape was in a town meeting situation that was held in a theater. I like to sit in the back, so I don't disturb anyone. But this night, at a quiet moment in the meeting, one of my DPNs escaped and I could hear it roll down to the front of the theater. A couple other people heard too and turned back to look at me. I tried to look as innocent as possible. I retrieved it at the end of the meeting and of course, an acquaintance said, "Lose a needle?" I don't think that will happen with either of the circular methods.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Swizzle Socks
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Quivit
A few years ago, a friend dropped off a bag of cleaned quivit at my office. What a gift! Not only was it quivit - but she'd picked and washed it too! It has sat in the bag it arrived in hooked on to my spinning wheel until this past week. Now look at it!
About a week ago, I fixed the drive band on my wheel and found the "10 Minutes A Day" site on Ravelry. I can't just spin for 10 minutes, it's usually for the duration of whatever I'm watching on television or the pile of fleece in my lap.
This skein is 396 yards of lace weight/2ply/16 wpi, weighing in at a little over 4 ounces. I'm thinking scarf - stay tuned!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Jean Frost's Tremont Jacket
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Booga Bag
Here's a very different look for a Booga Bag! I was surprised it looked this elegant in black. I bemoaned the fact I couldn't do it in the Noro suggested in the pattern. A friend has one in Noro and it's so cute and sporty; but I think I'll get more use out of this one. In my one departure from the pattern, I added a felted square pocket inside, so everything doesn't shake to the bottom and spoil the lines. I also made Nicky Epstein flowers for it, but instead of attaching them permanently (once I get them felted) I think I'll use pins. That way I change the arrangement occasionally or not have flowers at all.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Harry Bear
Friday, May 23, 2008
The Wonderful Wallaby
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Textured Socks
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
The Friday Night Knitting Club, by Kate Jacobs
The Friday Night Knitting Club is a departure for me in my quest to read for pleasure. I generally read non-fiction, particularly history, or mysteries. When I purchased the book, I hoped it was a mystery, but no matter - it was still an excellent read.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Monster Sweater
I finished the sweater around the first of the year and wore it once. It was a little long from the shoulder to the armpit. Usually, I have the opposite problem. I discovered I wasn't wearing it as much as I thought I would and decided it was because of the extra length. Recently, I frogged back to the where I connected the body of the sweater with the sleeves and re-knit. I'm much happier with it now.
The bottom of the sleeves and the body have cabled ribbing. After I re-knit the top, I added about a 1/2-inch of 2/2 ribbing to the bottom of the cabled ribbing. This has helped the bottom from rolling up. I've never had that happen with a cabled rib before, but it may be because I staggered the cables.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Gneil Gnome
Given the little bit of white in his eyes, spooks my cats. I love moving him around the house when I know they'll run into him. It didn't take Hans and Greta long to figure out I was behind it!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Entrelac - The Adventure Continues
Friday, March 28, 2008
Entrelac
After a number of false starts, I discovered Linda Cyr's "Market Squares" bag in the Summer 2001 Knitter's Magazine. I wish I had the colors she had in my stash, but even so, I am very pleased with the results. I have a plethora of Green Mountain Spinnery Double Twist and this pattern really shows off the wonderful colors. The instructions for entrelac are the clearest I've found - even though I did some personal tweaking. I can't wait to finish and felt this!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton - A Book Review
Kelly is flanked by her new-found friends at the House of Lambspun, who have a wide variety of interests and professions beyond their interest in knitting - all of which come in handy.
There's a few little picky details that are in error regarding ranching and law, but these are easily ignored in this fast-paced mystery. I like cozy mysteries that keep me thinking and this one fit the bill. I can't wait to read the second in the series.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
"Must Have Cardigan" Completed!
Wa-Hoo! It's done and it fits! This was so much fun and it fits so well, I think I "must have" another! I chose this photograph because it shows the detail, although the rich red-violet color is a bit washed out. In the spirit of using the stash I have on hand before buying more, I found the little pewter buttons in my knitting/tackle box. Usually, I don't find these things until I've spent money on other ones that I can't return.
In searching through my stash I found an off-white worsted weight which would look more like the traditional Aran - but maybe not until next fall - just in case I really "must have" another!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Must Have Cardigan - WIP
I started this cardigan about March 1, even though I've had the pattern for a long time. The pattern immediately appealed to me because of the v-neck. One of the problems I have knitting cardigans is that the neck opening is too big. Conversely, the biggest problem I have knitting pullovers is that the neck opening is too small - go figure. The v-neck resolves this problem for both kinds of sweaters.
I'm using Green Mountain Double Twist in mulberry - kind of a reddish purple. I don't think Green Mountain is making Double Twist any more. I do hope they have kept the mulberry colorway - it's gorgeous!
Since I don't like to follow directions, I haven't made an exception in knitting this great design from Paton's. I have knit the body in one piece, instead of three, grafting the shoulders together. I am currently on sleeve one and instead of knitting it back and forth, I'm knitting the sleeve on circulars until I get to the cap. I love to knit, but hate to finish; so I go through all kinds of contortions to avoid any sort of piecing together. I will have to set in the sleeves in this one, but I'll sacrifice because of the great design.
One of the reasons I started knitting sweaters is because I could not find clothes that I liked in a small size. In fact, I recently made another cardigan and even though I sized it down, it just didn't look as good as the photo, sized down. I don't think I'm going to have that problem with the Must Have Cardigan. Since the body is pretty well complete, I have tried it on and it fits great!
Friday, March 14, 2008
Susan B.