Again with the Mittens

Like I said in the last post - its mitten season. And Amy's birthday is coming up. She specifically asked for mittens for her birthday so here is another pair that I made. The pattern is the Yarn Harlot's and I like them a lot. I had a tough time with the little clusters on the cuff, and you can tell in this pair.

But I think I've mastered it on the second pair. I've not finished them yet, but need to get at it, since I want to give them as a gift on Monday.

I've also been spinning. Here is my latest.

Boy, did this stuff ever plump up when setting the twist. Its navajo plied BFL
combed top from etsy seller Mulberry Fibers. I only spun up half of this bump and I loved how it turned out. I've got a hankering to spin some other things so I wanted to clear up the wheel. The Knit Girllls are doing a spin along featuring different fibers and this month they are spinning Shetland! I've ordered some but haven't gotten it yet. I'll post pictures when I do. The point of the spin along is to sample different fibers. I've spun BFL, polwarth, merino, corriedale, targhee (see last post!) alpaca, and silk blends. This seems to be pretty much common fare in the spinning world. The most different thing I spun was tessewater and I'm thinking I should have done a bit more research to see how this fiber likes to be spun because what I ended up with was like rope.


I also finished up a hat!

Its another Icing Swirl hat by Ysolda. This is such a fast knit and the result is so on trend right now. (Like I know...hahaha) Probably another gift for Amy. I do like to spoil her with handknits. She does appreciate it. Since I've gotten something off the needles, that means I can cast on for something new. In keeping with my resolution it should be in handspun. I'd like to participate in Diane of Knitabulls podcast February KAL that she is hosting. Her viewers are knitting one of three valentine/heart themed knits. I do have some pinkish handspun that would be enough for the La La Love You Cowl. This is a cute cowl that would be a great gift for someone. We'll see!

Merry Christmas!!

Look at what Santa brought me!!

Yes, its the new Sidekick from Schacht. I realized that I wanted a new wheel when I was at the spinning retreat this past summer. Travelling with my Louet was a big pain. And while I was there, I got to try a bunch of different wheels and I really liked the feel of the Schacht wheel that was there. So, when Schacht introduced the sidekick later on this year, I knew I had to have one. Its designed to fold up and travel. And you can purchase a bulky flyer for it to allow for spinning art yarns - which is something that I'd really like to get into more.

Kevin bought the wheel from Gaspereau Valley Fibres. They are based in Nova Scotia (about an hour outside of Halifax) I love the look of their store, and someday I will visit it for real instead of online. Someday soon, perhaps.

So far, I've been spinning up my Bullseye Bump from Loop in the colourway Plum pudding and I'm loving it. I'm able to spin very thin and consistent. I'm hoping to get good yardage from my 'bump' and intend to navajo ply it to maintain the gradient colours. I'm thinking I'll knit a shawlette from the yarn.

I cannot believe that I've progressed to being an owner of three spinning wheels!! My friend Heather sent me pin which sums up my obsession nicely. It says "Spinning...because knitting isn't weird enough"

Spectra

Here it is...another Stephen West design. Obsessed much? Well yes, I believe I am. Lol. Make no wonder, just look at this stuff that he comes up with. Unbelievably simple, yet so effective.

Its knit in Berocco's Ultra Alpaca Fine and Noro Silk Garden sock yarn. I really enjoyed knitting this. I knit quite a bit while travelling to Toronto earlier this summer and vowed I'd knit until the yarn ran out - so its quite long.

I decided to lay it out on the piano so you could see the length of it. I highly recommend this pattern. It curves around the neck in such a nice way. There are endless possibilities in how to wear it.

I've finally lost my mind!

Let me warn you all first that if any readers are participating in Westknits mystery knitalong ...there are spoilers in this blog post!!!

Okay, now that formality is out of the way, let me go on to tell you why I feel that I've finally lost it. Kev and I just got back from a trip to Toronto!! We had such a great time. We went to two Blue Jays games. Saw the musical "Billy Elliot". Went to the Hockey Hall of Fame, and had our pictures taken with the Stanley Cup!! We ate at some great restaurants and did a little shopping! And I even got to go yarn shopping!! Surprised? No, I didn't think so. Here is what I bought.

Yeah, thats a lot of yarn!! It cost surprisingly less than I had thought it would. There are some yarns there that are totally new to me - yarns that I've never tried before, but have always wanted to try out. And there are some old favorites. There is even a sweaters worth of Cascade 220 in the greatest green colourway ever - destined to become some unknown cabled hoodie. I'll figure out the pattern at some time in the future. Knowing me, it'll be like 2 years into the future, but the way I look at it, I'm saving up all this knitting for my retirement.

I bought all of this yarn at a place called Romni. Let me tell you, this place is stocked. Overstocked in fact. A lot of my friends on Ravelry recommended this place to me, and I'm so so glad that I went, but... the day that we went was sooo humid and hot. And this store is so crowded and big and not air conditioned. It was really difficult to make my way around. So I basically made one sweep through, without really thinking about what I might like to make, and this is what I walked out with. I didn't even look at the books and magazines (of which there appeared to be plenty)

In other news, I was so excited to sign up for a Stephen West mystery Knit along. I've praised this man's genius on the blog before, so its no surprise that when this opportunity came up, I signed up right away. The first mystery knit along that I did was by Lee Meridith and I loved it! It was so much fun that I knew I would definitely enjoy Stephen West's KAL too.

So far, Mr West has not disappointed me! Here are my results to date.

Oh and did I mention that I ordered the yarn from 'A Good Yarn'? And did I mention that Jenny helped me pick out the colours? And did I mention that I couldn't decide on a colour so I bought enough yarn for two shawls? Is the title of the blog post starting to become clearer? No? Well, the cincher for me would have to be, when I got home from Toronto there was a package in the mail. A package from Knitspot!!

Apparently, I signed up (and paid for!) a six month club membership and totally forgot about it! I must be crazy, right?

Its August?

I don't know what it is about summer, but its like we are in some sort of time warp. I don't know if time speeds up in the Northern hemisphere, or is it just that our summers are so darned short. In anycase, I cannot believe that its August already. Only 8 more sleeps and I'm heading to Toronto!!! Hurrah...yarn shopping anyone?

In the meantime, I finished up some more Tour de Fleece yarn. Sadly, my Tour was way less productive than in previous years. I think it was because I was suddenly unexplainably smitten with my spindle. Go figure, and I have two wheels.

Jess was in town for the month of July. It was so great to see her and talk knitter with her. I had almost forgotten our language. Lol...good thing that I have ravelry and that I went to the spinning workshop. And Jess has finished her Sylvi. I was so impressed with it that I took pictures. This is in part to show off her mad skills and to pressure myself into at least casting on for Sylvi. I've had the yarn for close to two years now. Shame.

Knitting with Handspun

Knitting with handspun has always been a challenge for me. I've lamented this fact before. I'm not sure what it is. Either the project isn't worthy, or the intended recipient isn't worthy. Shameful, really. I've got to get over this. I'm starting to really build up a stash of handspun. I love spinning and the 'Tour de Fleece' is coming up. So that means I'll be producing more handspun.

I've trolled around on Ravelry. Other people seem to have no issues with knitting up their handspun. I've come across some really great finished objects there that have inspired me to cast on and knit already.

I've mentioned that I've been bitten by the Stephen West bug. His patterns are totally worthy of using handspun. And I have good friends moving to the Northwest Territories in July who are totally worthy of some handspun.

So, that being said, I knit up this little cowl called Drawbridge. Such a simple pattern. It can also double as a hat in a pinch. The colours of the yarn are nice and masculine. I'm sure my friend will like it.

Slog Sweater

I cast on for this sweater back in September. Its from the book New England Knits which I really, really like. There are a number of other sweaters in this book that I want to knit, but this one really caught my eye, and I cast on right away.

Well, here I am 6 months later and I'm just now finishing it.

I'm very happy with the finished cardigan. Its very wearable. It fits well, and I like it a lot. Why it took me so long to finish is anyone's guess. I think it was the endless amount of garter stitch. And when I got to the sleeves it was even worse. Garter stitch in the round is not for the faint of heart. It was beyond monotonous. So, I opted to knit them flat. I love knitting flat garter in front of the TV. The down side to knitting flat sleeves is seaming. But it appears I hate seaming less than I hate garter stitch in the round.

I promised myself that I would not cast on for another sweater until I finished this one. I was so happy to finish this sweater that I immediately cast on for Lady of the Lake Cardigan by Fleece Artist. This kit has been in my stash for quite some time - lets hope it doesn't take me as long to finish this sweater. Here is my progress so far

This is magical yarn for sure. I just love the resulting fabric. I'll keep you posted as to how quickly this one knits up.

Numbers 2 and 3

  The second finished project of 2011 is a hat.  The pattern is Spry from Knitty.  I knit it exactly as the pattern is written, using the same yarn (Noro Kuryeon) even.  I really enjoyed knitting this hat.  It features four intarsia panels in a colour changing yarn.  The designer also wrote a fingering weight version featuring 6 intarsia panels.  I think I'd like to knit this again.  I'm not sure who or where this hat will end up with, but my gift knitting for Christmas 2011 is off to a great start. 

Another item for my gift knitting box is this great Shawl that I finished.  FO number 3!  Its designed by Susanna Ic.  She designs these perfect little shawls that are so wearable.  Wear them like a shawl or a scarf or a kerchief.  I knit her Abrazo Shawl from twist collective last summer and I really enjoyed it.  I liked knitting this even more since it was done in a worsted weight yarn, knitpicks Andean Silk.  This is a wool/silk/alpaca blend and I really, really enjoyed knitting with it.  (Dangerous for me to even look at knitpicks website - way too tempting, and I'm trying to cut back...well...somewhat)

I'm always amazed at pre and post blocking pictures.  This one is no exception.  Can you believe that some people never block their work?

The picture on the bed is closer to actual colour.  Look at my yellow croc.   

And here is my attempt at an artistic shot off my back porch.  Sadly we don't have a lot of snow. 

I'm off to a slow start!

My first fo of 2011 is the leafprints shawlette by Anne Hanson.  I've joined several KALs on Ravelry, including 12 shawls in 2012, and 52 projects in 52 weeks.  I'm a week behind on that one. 

The details about this shawlette?  Its knit from Tanis fiberArts Purple label cashmere sock yarn.  I bought this yarn from 'A Good Yarn' in St. John's/  Its a cashmere blend and is really lovely.  I love the grey/blue mix.  Of course I love all of Tanis' yarns.  But look at how close I cut it.  Seriously, thats all that was left. 

I'm very happy that I bought those blocking wires from knitpicks.  They make blocking less tedious thats for sure.

Happy New Year!

Yeah, I'm about a week late.  Oh well.  Things have been busy - work, life, etc.  Aimee and Max have move out, which makes me so sad, in ways I can't even explain.  It has been an absolute joy to have them here, especially on the heels of Mr. C's passing.  They filled a void for us.

Now, I've taken over Aimee's empty room.  Everything is now in there.  My two wheels, drumcarder, loom, skein winder, niddy noddys, sewing machine, yarn stash, fabric stash.  I could go on and on.  Some day, I'll post photos of my lovely craft room.  I'm very happy with it.  It is so nice to have everything in one place. 

I usually set some goals for myself in the new year.  Fiber goals that is.  Personal goals, I won't go into here.  Though maybe I should.  It might make me more accountable.  Well, in 2011, I would like to

• knit, crochet more from my every growing library.  I have been so fortunate to have a family that gets my fiber addiction.  Every occasion usually means I get some new books and magazines.  I love that.  They are a great source of inspiration.  But, I seldom knit from them.  I want to knit more from my knitting library.
• knit using my handspun.  I think I mention this quite a bit.  I love spinning, but find it incredibly difficult to find projects 'worthy' of the handspun.  I have to break this mentality somehow.  2011 will be the year to do it.
• knit a sweater for my mother.  I have had a fleece artist kit in my stash for some time now.  I love the pattern and the yarn.  I just have to do it.  Christmas 2011 - I hope to have a sweater for mom.
• knit more for Kev.  Poor Kev.  I never make him anything.  This has to change.  He is such a great supportive partner in everything I do.  And he spends a lot of time outside.  He needs to be warm too.
• start making and spinning batts.  I love to spin batts.  I have a drum carder.  There is no reason why I should be buying batts.  I could make them easily.  I need to do this more.

Speaking of batts, I was lucky enough to get some of hobbledehoy's batts just before the holidays.   I just love the way it spins up into a thick and thin single.  You can't see the sparklies in this, but there is just enough shimmer in here.  I think I'd like to weave this.  I've been so, so happy with weaving lately.  Its unbelievable how fast weaving goes.  Here is a simple scarf that I wove for Heather B.  Simple yarn, but with the slow colour changes, its very effective.

 One last photo to show you.  Here is a trio of handpun hats that I made for my trio of daughters/stepdaughters.  I love the hats,  I love the girls.  I hope they will wear the hats.   Picking a favorite would be like picking a favorite daughter right?