doodles in string

I can't stop

2012-02-13T20:01:00.001-06:00

I may be a wee bit obsessed at the moment with dyeing. I also can't stop reading the Hunger Games books. I don't think the 2 are related but you never know. Happy Valentine's Day :)

another use for swatches

2012-02-12T12:42:00.000-06:00

The girl started violin lessons last week. I couldn't resist renting one for myself, too. The rentals don't come with shoulder rests and they cost $35. After trying various cloths and sponges I discovered my swatch was the perfect thickness.

I'm also having fun with Instagram on my phone.

And spinning.

(Northboundknitting BFL in 'Nocturne' spun to fingering wt.)

And more dyeing

And knitting. I'll show soon.

Happy weekend.

finished julia

2012-01-29T15:16:00.001-06:00

Pattern: 'Best Friends Pullovers - Julia's Sweater' by Kristin Nicholas (in 'Color by Kristin')
Yarn: Nashua Handknits Julia (wool, mohair, alpaca) in 'magenta', 'squash', blue thyme', 'coleus', 'velvet moss', and 'lady's mantle'

I've had the yarn in my stash for about a year with the intention of making this sweater, so I'm glad I finally set aside some time to do it. It only took a little over 2 weeks, while working on other stuff as well, so it was pretty fast. The worsted weight helped, too. And this yarn! Such loveliness in this fibre blend and the colours are saturated and gorgeous.

The pattern itself is great, too. The motifs in the charts are interesting and the embroidered embellishments are fun additions (there are also supposed to be French knot thingies on the tops of some of the flowers which I attempted and failed miserably at, so they're omitted).

I did find the collar needed decreases added to the corners or else it stood up awkwardly, then I shortened it so the opening wouldn't be too small. I also wish the sleeve openings were a touch longer. Once you have steek remnants and hem stitches in there they bunch a bit under the arms. I lengthened the sleeves by several inches, since the pattern has 3/4 length and I wanted full. Otherwise, I'm generally happy with this warm sweater, and I think the girl likes it.

variance

2012-01-23T07:01:00.000-06:00

Pattern: Variance by Lisa Mutch
Yarn: dk weight 2-ply yarn I spun from NorthboundKnitting Superwash BFL roving in 'Wicked Witch of the North' colourway

The NorthboundKnitting group on Ravelry is having a knit-along and I couldn't resist using this gorgeous yarn I spun last fall from Lisa's fibre. I love these colours and her wonderful cowl pattern is a perfect vehicle to use handspun yarn to its best advantage. It even wraps twice around your neck for maximum warmth. Love. Love. Love.

more julia

2012-01-21T11:59:00.000-06:00

Now that the holiday knitting season has passed I've reverted back to my old habits of working on too many projects at once. Bad me. So I'm trying to finish up several smaller things this week to check off my list while I work on the above obsession. The body's now done save for blocking and doing the embroidery bits on the row of flowers. You can see how it's a basic tube with steeked sleeve openings and neck. No shoulder shaping, either. Even though it's fair isle, the worsted weight means it's knitting up super fast.

It's crazy cold and we've all been sick this week, but the upside is it's fantastic knitting time. Stay warm, peeps.

winter winds

2012-01-14T11:09:00.001-06:00

Oh, January. Why must you bring dreary, freezing weather, winter winds and stomach flus? In rebellion, I've played hooky from the projects I probably should be doing right now and turned out a fast gift for my friend's birthday...

Pattern: Gretel by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran in colour # 21211

and started a colourful pullover for the girl that's cheering up the dreariness...

Pattern: Best Friends Pullover - Julia's Sweater by Kristin Nicholas
Yarn: Nashua Handknits Julia

I've made Gretel once before and I love the pattern and its fabulous cables. The Rialto Aran is a great yarn for stitch definition and would be perfect for any cable project. The Julia yarn is also wonderful - it's a merino, mohair, alpaca blend with a soft and lovely halo and saturated colours. I just realized Ravelry indicates it's now discontinued which is a huge shame. I'm thoroughly enjoying this quick and interesting project.

Also, here's a modelled shot of the wee sweaters I made my niece's sons last month. Are they not the cutest brothers ever?

Stay warm and knit what pleases you.

first FO of 2012

2012-01-02T23:53:00.000-06:00

Happy new year! I hope 2012 brings you much in the way of good things.

I have some resolutions, including finally finishing up several projects that have been lying around here for far too long. The following is a good example, started about a year ago for my sweetie. It's the Cambridge Jacket by Ann Budd, in Cascade 220 Heathers colour #2425. I don't usually match the called-for yarn and colour exactly, but I really liked the heathery burnt orange of this one.

I made many mods to this pattern, including lengthening the body and sleeves and working the sleeves from the top down using short row cap shaping. I'm happy I did because it allowed me to fine tune the length several times. I also skipped the crochet chain edging in the pattern (because many Ravelers said theirs rolled up continuously) and did hemmed cuffs on the sleeves and body with a grey contrast lining.

I like the bit of weight this gives the bottom and grey and orange are a favourite combo of mine. I think I'm also growing fond of zippered cardigans.

cowichans for tiny tots

2011-12-28T19:49:00.001-06:00

So, the 'losing my mind by deciding to knit two sweaters a week before Christmas' comment had to do with these.....I figured they wouldn't take long since they're bulky weight and for small guys.

Pattern: White Buffalo Tiny Tot's Sweater and Toque

Yarn: Briggs and Little Country Roving in 'black', 'white' and 'dark grey' for the larger sweater and in 'sheep's brown', 'white' and 'medium brown' for the smaller one

A size 6 for my niece's older son

And a size 2 for his little brother

They were fast and fun to knit. The only mishap was buying the zippers before I started because I overshot the length for the bigger one by just over an inch so when I went to sew it in on Sunday night I couldn't. I dug out all the zippers in my stash. Then I dumped out all my wooden buttons, but had nothing useful. So I had to wait until the fabric store opened at noon the next day to rush there while simultaneously getting ready for a big family party. Happily, the zipper got in and they got their sweaters in time. I hope they keep them toasty.

I should also mention that my Expectation pattern that was downloadable from Sanguine Gryphon is temporarily unavailable because Sanguine Gryphon is no longer in existence as of the end of this month. Sarah and Gryphon are re-opening as two separate yarn companies in the next few weeks, so the patterns' rights reverted back to the designers. I need to re-knit and re-format, so it will be a few weeks before I can get it up again.

Hope your week is going well.

phoenix socks

2011-12-27T10:45:00.000-06:00

pattern: 'Clandestine' by cookie a
from: Knit.Sock.Love
yarn: Malabrigo Yarn Sock in 'tiziano red'

I was so proud of myself for starting this Christmas present way back in July but ran into a small snag when I realized the cuff of the first sock was too snug. However, thanks to your encouraging comments I tinked back and re-knit the cuff and then completed the second sock in time to send them to my stepmom a few weeks ago.

I really love this pattern, this yarn, this colour. They were somewhat challenging, as I only occasionally knit lace, but epitomized what I love about the sock paradigm: you can get through anything when it's only 14" long. It was so nice to have socks to knit for carrying around again and I decided I will continue to do so forever more. Nothing beats them for bleacher knitting. I'm happy Santa gave me some new sock needles for this.

After lots of family, fun and food we are relaxing at last. I hope you had a great time, too.

peace and joy

2011-12-23T14:32:00.001-06:00

I found these Christmas action photos my daughter took on the camera. Sorry for the holiday knitting-induced silence over here. I lost my mind a bit a week ago when I decided I could make 2 sweaters before the 25th, but everything's going fine. I'm looking forward to seeing our families and enjoying the gorgeous weather.

I wish you the happiest of holidays.

crazy month post

2011-12-11T10:28:00.020-06:00

December and June are always such madness. I have been knitting like a fiend, but I can't show you much. Except for a sweater I hope to post soon because it's not a surprise for its (very patient) recipient. I hope your holiday knitting isn't overwhelming you.

In the meantime I thought I'd pass along this charming video. Because really. There's nothing cuter than singing lambs.

I also decided when I braved the mall yesterday that I'm really loving the current trend of 'outdoorsy' wear - plaid flannel, cabled sweaters, fair isle. I've always loved this stuff but now it's everywhere (including lots in acrylic that I know would be sooo much better in good wool...). This is truly my favourite season, knit-wise. I saw some springwear in one store and thought 'Already? Let me enjoy the wintery stuff a bit longer!'

Oh - also, I'm reading all your great blog posts, everyone, but not commenting because recently Blogger refuses to let me, for some reason. I've been through all the (so-called) Help info and can't find the problem. So, I'm mute and frustrated. But I'm here for you.

Happy weekend.

out of this world

2011-12-04T15:28:00.010-06:00

Look around you, in this extraordinary Country, and contemplate the various Shows and Diversions of the People, and then say, whether their temper or mind at various periods of our History, may not be collected from them?

G.S. Eckham, 1840, Exhibitions of Mechanical and Other Works of Ingenuity

We went to Orlando last week. It was the first time we've gone there and it was utterly perfect. Off-season, so not a lot of standing in lines, great weather and lots to do and see. Seaworld was fabulous, as was Disneyworld. Kennedy Space Center was a nice diversion. Even met a real shuttle astronaut, though my favourite part was the IMAX movie shot on the Hubble Telescope. We conquered all the crazy rides. Even the classic Space Mountain. It's a Small World was cool from a retro graphics perspective, but oh, that repetitive song. I can't imagine working in there.

It was great escapism. I was actually able to forget the holidays are so close. The mall's crowds were a shock when we got back. Maybe I could just get everything online if I hurry? I also have lots of knitting to finish and not enough time. Same as every year. It's so cold here now I'll just put my sandals away, make some tea and get to work.

I'm dyeing here...

2011-11-19T11:35:00.013-06:00

doing some colour experiments...

and spinning some fibre others have dyed...

and bundling up with the sudden onslaught of winter. But not complaining because in a week we're going south to see the sun.

Hope your weekend is fab.

ridge

2011-11-11T16:33:00.011-06:00

Yes. Two posts in one day. I'm so reckless.

This is something I've been working on lately - a top-down raglan cardigan in Shalimar Yarns 'Breathless'. It's a merino / cashmere / silk blend that is absolutely amazing to knit with. Her colours are wonderful, too. This is shown in 'Glacier' (MC) and 'Gunmetal' (CC).

I have loved welts and ridges for a long time, and I really liked how this yarn felt when folded, so I decided to use welts in my design. The sleeves have three of them which form a sort of extended cuff, and this is repeated on the front edges. Then the top and bottom of the body are hemmed. I think this gives nice structure to the fingering weight sweater, as does the gauge of 26 sts / 4" (10cm). I debated for a time about closures and settled on eyes and hooks on the upper front, so as not to distract from the ridges.

I was also wanting something, similar to the ridge, on the back for interest and came across Erica's ingenius decrease pleat, which she kindly permitted me to use and reverse for a top-down. Overall, pleased.

11.11.11.11

2011-11-11T11:30:00.005-06:00

Today is Remembrance Day in Canada, so we are not at work or school but instead are taking a moment to remember all those who have fought so hard and given their lives to ensure we live in a safe and peaceful country. 11:00 am is the time, specifically, we do so. We wear a poppy over our hearts as a symbol of this. I knit one for myself and 3 others from Laura's pattern and wonderful post here. The size variation of the ones above are due to using and subsequently breaking several of my 2.25mm wooden dpn's (using worsted weight wool; it needs to be tight) and then going up 2 needle sizes and also adding one extra round of stitches on the next ones.

Whatever you're doing this weekend, I hope it's peaceful.

wovember

2011-11-02T10:51:00.009-05:00

Wool. The most wonderful fibre in the world. Also highly misused as a term to describe multiple fibre combinations that contain no sheep's wool at all. There's a campaign this month to inform people about wool and its properties - the amazing Kate Davies is starting it here, and the official website is here and under the button at right. On the heels of Shetland Wool Week, Jamieson and Smith is involved and offering prizes for the Wovember photo gallery - also check out their new book Knit Real Shetland here.

Speaking of wool, Jared has a new fingering weight version of Shelter yarn which looks wonderful.

Winter's coming. Put on some real wool.

knitting for menfolk

2011-10-23T08:44:00.013-05:00

I have, periodically, offered to knit or been requested to knit for the 2 wonderful guys in my house. It doesn't happen a lot, so when it does I try to be accommodating. I've had a few other things going lately, but next on my list is to finish this zippered cardigan for my husband

and a knitted hockey jersey for my son.

There's been an interesting discussion going on in the Ravelry Designers' group concerning knitting and designing for men and boys and their aesthetic 'limits'. My guys seem to be pretty typical to what others are saying; no bright colours (this is a pretty burnt orange), complicated patterning or shaping, etc.

However, the knitted hockey jersey is a good challenge and fun from a historical perspective, as originally all the game jerseys were knit (by the players' grandmas?).

Then there's the Tragically Hip video for 'Courage' (which I'm unable to find a link to) in which Gordon Downie is wearing a Bruins sweater knit by his mother. Anyway, kinda cool.

My question for you is this: I want to knit this jersey for my 11 year old in worsted weight, and I have the logo yarn colours in this weight as well and was just going to intarsia that part.

Do you think it will be too pixelated? I then considered doing it in fingering weight and sewing it on. Being a 'fair isle circle' that will be a bit of a trick, but maybe look better?....in case you're wondering, I've already decided not to attempt the little air force wings on the shoulders. Feedback welcome.

Happy weekend!

not Rhinebeck. better.

2011-10-17T10:39:00.008-05:00

This weekend I went on my first knitting retreat, hosted by Mona and Odessa from my LYS - Wolseley Wool. It was absolutely awesome. I would have on-site photos to show you if I had been able to find room to bring my camera in the 2-loads-to-the-car amount of stuff I hauled there with me (spinning wheel, lazy kate and bobbins, carders, knitting project, yoga mat, deck chair, sleeping bag, pillow, gluten-free snacks, a few clothes).

We went to a nearby camp and there we spun and knit and had great classes and hilarious conversations and ate the most awesome tasting food. It was made even better for me by the fact it was on Rhinebeck weekend which has always made me a bit sad because I wasn't there, but this was just as fun (and I think I might get a bit irritated by those huge crowds anyway). I spent all of Saturday learning to make fancier yarn (though my attempt is not worth photographing) from Francine of Rovings who is such a wonderful person (she's met Jared Flood and says he's very nice). I did some kool-aid sock yarn dyeing (below) and learned to make felted soap scrubbers. We enjoyed watching deer wander through the camp.

All in all a fabulous time and I'm so glad I went. Being around fellow fibre-lovers for awhile made me feel a bit less obsessed and a little closer to normal.

fleece project :: conclusion

2011-10-10T11:10:00.000-05:00

Here's a quick recap if you're just joining us...

I received a raw Welsh fleece from my friends several months ago. I don't have a photo of the particular sheep in question, who was very dear to my friends, but I imagine she looked somewhat like this.

It arrived like this

full of lovely oils and farm related stuff, like goat hair

I washed it all (it took about 3 hrs) and it came out gorgeous and fluffy

Here it is some of it carded

and spun into a roughly dk weight 2-ply yarn

and then I knit some mitts

lined with some soft alpaca

and a matching hat

and sent them off to my friends this week as a thank you for their wonderful gift. I hope they keep them warm this winter.

We enjoyed one fabulous Thanksgiving dinner with our family last night and have another to look forward to tonight (winter's coming; we need to bulk up ;). Last night we also had our first NHL home game after losing our team 15 years ago. Our city was ecstatic (hockey is rather big here).

We have much to be thankful for.

Apiary

2011-10-02T14:49:00.006-05:00

Thanks to some fabulous testers I now have this pattern up for release (here and sidebar). The yarn is Lioness Arts Smooth Merino Fingering in Mr. Jarndyce (Bleak House Collection) - a subtle and lovely violet-y purple.

I know I've mentioned numerous times my adoration for neck apparel, not liking chilly necks, etc. and I wanted the option of a fairly straightforward but interesting single skein project. This honeybee stitch was really fun to adapt to my needs and I love the airiness of the result.

We've started to have a few nippier mornings and evenings and I find this scarf is great to throw on with my jean jacket for a walk with the dog. It's been super busy around here with classes and activities starting again (and construction season not yet over). I hope you're all busy and happy, too.

epic knitting fail

2011-09-16T23:00:00.008-05:00

Since I'm currently working on stuff that's taking awhile I thought I would amuse you with something else. About 2 months ago I decided to make cookie a's Clandestine socks from 'Knit.Sock.Love' and I swatched with many yarns until deciding on some fabulous Malabrigo sock yarn in a deep red (tiziano). Putting aside my misgivings about using a yarn without nylon content for durability I succumbed to its velvety softness; likely swayed by the word 'sock' in its name.

I proceeded to spend many hours knitting happily along, progressing through the charts (which are much more complicated on the leg than the foot. By then you're home free). Very time consuming but very enjoyable as well, so I was looking forward to sock #2. However, as I went along the nagging voice in my head persisted and it said "you've knit a million socks. You always cast on over two needles to ensure there's enough stretchiness on the cuff. You didn't this time because you're insane and you followed the instructions to the letter and they just said 'cast on' not 'cast on over 2 needles' and you were busy thinking about the charts and you weren't really paying attention to what you were doing and now you.are.screwed."

Of course, I completely ignored the annoying nagging voice until the very very end when I was confident I could try on the sock without pulling out a needle (thus letting fall a row of lace stitches I would never recover from). And, as you've guessed, there is a certain undeniable tightness to the cuff I am completely unable to come to terms with and the sock has been banished out of sight ever since. It doesn't even deserve a colour photo right now.

I'm starting again. LATER. With something with a bit of nylon, over 2 needles. Because it has to work next time.

apiary

2011-09-09T17:19:00.008-05:00

Pattern: mine

Yarn: Lioness Arts Smooth Merino Fingering in colour 'Mr. Jarndyce'

My plan was simple: come up with a neck accessory that would use as much of a single skein of lovely handdyed yarn as possible. I swatched many many times on many different needles with many different ideas until I got here. I love the honeybee stitch and on 5 mm needles doing it is like knitting acrobatics. Using bamboos helped immensely. It was easy to memorize and fun to make. It has a reckless, loopy quality I love and it looks great on either side. Plus, I used all but a few metres of the skein. Score.

intrepid

2011-09-01T21:15:00.006-05:00

Pattern: Intrepid (not yet released) by Connie (yellowcosmo)

Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy in colour #41

This was a test-knit for Connie, who is, I think, one of the most amazing designers in the world. The patterns she's released are gorgeous, and many of her projects are originals as well. Some of them I visit periodically just to have moments of bliss. Like this. And this. And this. (For those of you not on Ravelry, I apologize).

This dress has a fabulous shoulder method and top-down construction. The cable on the front is great and the pockets, too. The Hempathy is a good yarn choice for its drapiness and light weight. My gauge meant a slight airiness to the fabric which, for modesty's sake, prompted me to don a sheer black and blue skirt underneath which acted as a pseudo slip. I will try it with only tights once the temperatures are cooler.

All in all a great summer knit and a totally enjoyable pattern.

why I knit

2011-08-29T18:56:00.011-05:00

Both my maternal and paternal Grandmas knit and they found the time to teach me how when I was a young and impressionable girl. I remember making a garter stitch scarf and even a whole cardigan (which I don't remember actually wearing) before wandering off to other things.

I didn't get back to knitting until many years later. Too late to enjoy knitting with one of my Grandmas, which I greatly regret.

This week, my other Gran passed and I am still in a state of disbelief that she's gone. Both of them were utterly amazing and wonderful women and I feel extremely grateful that they were my grandmas.

I'll miss you very, very much Gran.

fleece project, part 3

2011-08-19T19:15:00.009-05:00

The wool I am in the process of washing-carding-spinning-knitting is a fleece from my friends' Welsh Mountain sheep. I've been doing some reading and the typical staple length is 8-10cm and micron measurement is 35-28. What I have is a lovely mottled brown / grey and reminds me of some shetland I spun last year.

I'm spinning a 2-ply

resulting in a roughly dk weight

I have about 230 yds so far. When setting the twist I gave the yarn a final bath of hot water with detergent to get out the last of the lanolin. You can probably tell my carding and resultant spinning was not the smoothest in the world, but the end result exhibits a certain rustic charm I'm enjoying.

I'm getting some prepared Welsh from Lisa soon, so I'm looking forward to spinning more of this lovely breed. My friend has chickens in her backyard. I'm sure no-one (but my dog, maybe) would notice if I had a little sheep in mine...

wip wednesday

2011-08-09T21:51:00.013-05:00

miscellaneous works in progress...

messing around with light scarf ideas and fingering weight yarn. fabulous skein from Dani.

test-knitting this piece of brilliance from Connie

(the crazy heat ended, so back to) spinning the fleece I washed and carded

making these. they rock.

starting obedience classes next week. though she's already perfectly awesome.

contiguous study

2011-08-02T21:35:00.005-05:00

Pattern: SusieM's Contiguous Method for the shoulder seams and sleeve caps, then the rest was from my head

Yarn: Madelinetosh Sock Yarn, 3 skeins in colour 'kelp'

I love top-down construction for sweaters, so I wanted to try out this method for establishing the shoulder seams and sleeve caps. It differed quite a bit from other methods I'd tried...I kept thinking of it as sort of an amalgamation between a raglan and set in sleeve method. You work along a single line of back of neck stitches, increasing on both ends to form the front and back shoulders, then increasing again to make the sleeve caps.

From there I just stayed simple, making 3/4 sleeves and easy stockinette with some garter trim. Nice loose gauge in fingering weight yarn in an absolutely fabulous deep teal colour. Great summer knitting.

crafting at the speed of light

2011-07-24T07:59:00.007-05:00

I really love knitting, but sometimes I also love having something quick to accomplish that's started and finished in one day.

Fabric and pattern from Purlsoho.com. Pattern includes top, long top, tunic and dresses sizes for girls and women. I made the girl's top size 8 for my 7 year old. They don't seem to have the same fabric I used anymore, but look at this awesome print. En-biggen the swatch to see the 3 knitting aunties.

Anyway, it should be a good summer top for the girl in this super hot weather. Now we're off to the beach.

Pods

2011-07-18T21:41:00.010-05:00

Pattern: Pods (mine)

Yarn: Dale of Norway Heilo in #5042 Orchid, #5062 Plum Smoke and #9145 Asparagus

"Let's make [mittens] in May...large projects may lie heavy and warm on the lap, but small things like mittens and socks are easy to carry about outdoors, and can be made surprisingly fast. Stash them away as they are finished, and when the time comes, next winter, you can deal them out with a liberal hand"~ Elizabeth Zimmermann

About 16 months ago I made the Seeds hat. Soon after that I decided I like to have the option of matching hats and mitts sometimes and I should really design some mitts, too. I finally got around to that.

It's been so exhaustingly hot and humid lately, even thinking about wool has caused me to perspire. But if I go too long without knitting I start to get twitchy, so I dug out all the small projects I've been meaning to get done; hence the mitts. Besides, EZ said the warm weather months are perfect for knitting them.

For both the hat and mitts some basic colourwork skills are helpful to have. Both hat and mitts have turned hems for extra warmth and have similar charts. The needle sizes are slightly bigger on the mitts than on the hat, only because I have a bit tighter gauge on dpns than on circulars. Your own gauge may vary.

Hope you're having a great summer. :D

leonie

2011-07-13T22:02:00.006-05:00

Pattern: Leonie - Adult Sizes by Dani Sunshine

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino dk in #162B

I seem to have a thing for test-knitting cardigan patterns in the stifling heat of July....it's over 30 degrees C here right now, so I threw on the lightest tank top I could find and got this photo taken fast. This was a quick and enjoyable knit. A well-written pattern that I would completely recommend to anyone. There's also a wonderful child's version here.

The yarn caused it to grow during blocking, so it's roomier than I intended, but right now I'm not really minding that. I didn't enjoy the yarn in general as much as I first thought. It had several annoying knots and the plies had loosened in several places, causing them to fuzz. I may make this again in a different yarn at some point.

Dani herself has a fabulous wee yarn shop here. I just adore her colours.

I thought I'd also give a plug for a great readalong / knitalong group on Ravelry for those of you who enjoy Edith Wharton. I can't resist Misa and her great ideas! I'm actually listening to Brenda Dayne (from Cast On!) read 'The Age of Innocence' from LibriVox so I can knit these fabulous socks at the same time.

While I sit close to the air conditioner. And the panting dog.

Stay cool, cool peeps.

the dog hair won't show on this one...

2011-07-05T16:54:00.006-05:00

It hasn't been all carding and spinning around here. I've also been testing another knit. I don't know what it is about "looking for test knitters" that I find so hard to resist, but I had to do this great cardigan. I may also need to make the adorable child's version. I enjoy the whole deadline thing, as it helps to counteract my natural urge to hop between a kazillion projects at once.

I'm using Debbie Bliss cashmerino dk, which of course is fabulous. It's been in my stash and been allocated and re-allocated too many times for too long and it just had to be used. This is the perfect fun but fairly simple knit to let my brain chill after a June which was way too crazy busy.

Hope you're keeping cool.

fleece project, part 2

2011-06-30T20:11:00.010-05:00

I said I would talk about carding the washed wool so I will, but I should stress the fact that I'm totally new to this. In fact, this is the first time I've used my carders since they arrived a few weeks ago because I've always been uneasy about carding and bought combed top instead. All because I showed a complete ineptitude for it at a learn to spin class several years ago. Anyway, I'm over it now and this is a lot of fun.

my resulting little rolags...

I'm starting a single sport-ish weight but am thinking about a 2 ply.

I'm trying to practice long draw for this woolen situation, but it's really halfway to worsted. I'm guessing the wool is shetland, though the staple length is a bit shorter than I've seen before. If I'm a goof for trying woolen with shetland, feel free to say it, but it's looking nice.

and zoom out to show the ever-present dog nose...

Sophie can't resist the wool. It still has so much of its lovely sheepiness.

Happy Canada Day!!

fleece project, part 1

2011-06-26T07:48:00.010-05:00

So, last night I got home after having a wonderful day at Wolseley Wool and I decided to finally take the plunge and try washing my first fleece. Some friends of mine own a sheep farm in Scotland, so they spend part of their year here and part of their year there. A few weeks ago they asked if I was interested in having a fleece from one of their dear sheep. It came to me wrapped in plastic:

Which, when unwrapped...

looked like this...

full of lanolin and straw and fabulous sheepy goodness. So I re-read the notes I'd taken from several sources on how to do it, and then I prepared my stuff: rubber gloves, nylon laundry bags (like you wash delicates in. people other than me, at least. I have no 'delicates'), clear dish detergent (you can't use 'soap'. it will make it felt), and my laundry room sink. I'm grateful, yet again, for having a double laundry room sink. But you could do it in your tub. It's pretty messy, though.

I weighed the fleece before unwrapping it and it was about 5 lbs, 10 oz. I divided it into 5 roughly equal portions and then put the first one into a laundry bag. I filled the sink with the hottest water I could, then added about 1/2 cup of detergent. I put on the gloves and swished the water just enough to mix it without making a lot of bubbles. Then I added the fleece bag and gently lowered it so it was covered. I was careful not to agitate, swish, etc, as this would cause felting. I left it there for about 15 minutes until it had soaked through but the water hadn't had time to cool. You don't want that.

The water was pretty dark brown after the 1st wash. I lifted the bag, let it drain, put it in the adjacent sink, and then emptied and re-filled the 1st sink with hot water and detergent. Another 15 minute soak which took most of the brown out. Then I did 2 similar soaks in water without detergent. Then I put the bag of fleece in my washing machine and just put it through the spin cycle, which took 90% of the water out of it without agitating it. Then I took it out of the bag and laid it over whatever I could find in my laundry room to dry.

I repeated with the other 4 bags, this time doing 2 together at a time, since the first bag's process took over an hour. (My children and dog were at the lake, so I had some time. Keeping the dog away from the wool this morning has been a challenge.)

After washing it all, it is now fluffy and sweet smelling and gorgeous:

Next segment: carding wool.

Hope you're having a great weekend. :)

coneflower

2011-06-23T21:24:00.010-05:00

Pattern: Coneflower (mine)

Yarn: Viking of Norway Bjork in #568 'Mauve', #567 'Lilac' and #537 'Pea Green'

Finished Chest Size: 22” (23”, 25”, 27”, 29”, 30.5”, 32”)

Size: approx. 1 (2, 4, 6, 8, 10,12) yrs.

Here is the pattern for a child's stranded cardigan I've been working on. I tried to make it as accessible as possible to someone fairly new to stranded work. The pattern repeat is short and easily memorized, the floats are never too long, there's not a lot of shaping, and it only uses two colours throughout most of it.

The body and sleeves are knit in the round from the bottom up and join under the arms. Then you work the raglan yoke to the collar. There's a steek on the centre front, but this is not to be feared. I'm here for you.

I enjoyed working with this yarn and it's a great weight and content (90% cotton/10% merino) for milder temperature days. This was a store sample, but I plan to make another one soon for the girl.

Happy Friday!

Of course I could buy something that isn't teal, but why?

2011-06-18T10:23:00.013-05:00

(new summer top:)

(I'm thinking I'll spin this merino/mohair blend into something resembling this.)

There has also been knitting. And pattern writing. And general insanity that is the month of June when you have 2 kids and a construction-oriented day job.

And if you live in Winnipeg and are in town next Saturday, I'll be at Wolseley Wool with my patterns and stuff, so come say hi! I'm looking forward to talking knitting and yarn for a whole day.

Have a good weekend!

dogwoods

2011-06-06T21:21:00.017-05:00

Pattern: Dogwoods (mine)

Yarn: 1 ball each Sandnesgarn Sisu (80% wool, 20% nylon) in 3 colours: MC: I755 ‘Dark Teal’, CC1: W001 ‘White’ and CC2: I733 ‘Turquoise’

A few months ago one of my fabulous LYS's, Ram Wools, challenged people to come up with a sock design and I really like a challenge, especially a knitting one, so I charted and knit until I made these. There was some trial and error, but I'm really happy with how they turned out and I really, really like this yarn for colourwork.

They have deciduous trees in profile on top of the foot and on the leg, and in plan on the bottom of the foot (yah. I'm a landscape architect). They're knit from the toe up, with short row toes and heels. I would recommend having some sock knitting and colourwork experience before trying these, but I'm certainly not going to fence you in if you're keen.

They're a free download from Ram's website (see above and sidebar for link). They're also crazy comfy and I'm wishing it was still warm sock-wearing weather. However, it is perfect warm sock knitting weather, so there you go.

decisions, decisions...

2011-05-28T12:32:00.015-05:00

I decided I wanted to spin another sweater, so I bought 550 grams (20 ozs) of some gorgeous handdyed Falkland from Kirsten to spin into a 2 ply dk-ish weight yarn.

I have about 600 yds after finishing 8 ozs, so I'm hoping I'll eventually have enough for a light cardigan.

But I can't decide if I should find a simple pattern for it like this one, or come up with something simple myself.

Meanwhile, I'm at the top of the yoke now with the child's cardigan I'm designing, so I have to make a decision about what I want the neck to do. I found some good buttons for the front this morning, so I'm nearly there. I'm really happy with this yarn and the way it's turning out in general.

I also just bought some impatiens for my porch planter, half my juniper bed perished this winter and needs severe pruning, and the weather is finally nice right now, so I should get outside and get dirty. Happy weekend.

random saturday

2011-05-14T15:38:00.003-05:00

The warm weather is finally finally here, therefore I want to work strictly on small or lightweight projects for the next few months. So currently in progress are some socks, a shawl, a fingering wt. scarf, a cardigan for me and the cardigan you see above which is something I'm designing for a fabulous woman named Mona who owns one of the yarn stores here. It's in sport weight cotton, sized for children and will have a cardigan or pullover option. I'm pretty happy with it so far.

I also put together a bird, nest and tree-themed wall in my diningroom (click on photo to en-biggen).

a. this is what I started with, as I've owned and loved this antique photo of a bird on a tree (complete with real feathers at the bottom) for years

b. my fabulous cousin sells these in her shop here . I adore everything she makes.

c. print by Matte Stephens - his shop is here. Awesome, no?

d. I owned these already - original prints of trees by a local artist whose name I don't have - they were in a pile of prints for sale in another artist's studio when I toured through one day

e. print on page from a dictionary from this shop

f. print of birds in the forest from this shop

I love Etsy. Since I'm talking about it, some of my other favourite Etsy shops are: here for spinning fibre, here for handdyed yarn, and here for wooden buttons.

I hope your weekend is going well. Now I must take my dog for a stroll in the sunshine.

we'll buy a dog named...

2011-04-30T13:25:00.012-05:00

Pattern: Seeds

Yarn: Cascade Superwash Sport, colours 900 (dark grey), 1946 (light grey), and 1910 (light teal)

I decided to try out Cascade Sport for stranded projects since I can buy it at my LYS, so I made another of my Seeds hats. I really enjoyed this yarn. One of my beefs with some superwash yarns is their "filminess" of superwash coating. This one doesn't have that. It's lovely and soft instead. I want to make a whole sweater out of this now.

And because I know you are all on the edge of your seats, the name we finally picked for the sweet beastie below is: SOPHIE.

About 2 months ago while my daughter and I were still haunting the humane society every saturday and I knew every adoptable dog in the city by name, my daughter started singing this Backyardigans song over and over again. That made us decide that if we were to ever get a girl dog her name would be Sophie. Then we got this dog and got sidetracked with a million other names until finally circling back.

But it made me laugh when I saw this comment here last week:

Anonymous said...

I'm going to embarrass myself by de-lurking & offering the name that instantly popped into my head: Sophia. Her eyes are calm & wise (but not w/o sass). I love dogs, I hope she's your girl.

Amazing and cool. Happy weekend, peeps.

new things that are great

2011-04-22T09:18:00.011-05:00

Things have been busy lately here in the Doodle house. First I have to show you these fantastic socks I've been testknitting for Susi. She is such a fabulous sock designer. I can't say enough about them. They're challenging, graphically intriguing and super warm and well-fitting. My Rav project page is here. I used a mix of stash yarn to get the colours I liked. Many fingering weight mostly-solid yarns would do. She's also done a fingerless mitts version, which I love.

Thanks Susi for this wonderful pattern!! I know I'll be making these again.

The other news is we have a new friend in our house. She's a 6 month old Lab cross from one of the wonderful shelters here. She's been in foster care for the last while with a fantastic guy and his 2 wee dogs, so he did lots of great work socializing her and helping her with her shyness. This is her first day with us, and she's already adjusting really well. We hope very much that she likes it here. As several of you know I've been searching for the right dog for us for quite awhile.

We're still trying to figure out what name she needs and have come up with a long list of candidates so far. Something will click soon.

Hope you have a great long weekend. Happy Easter!

socks are hard

2011-04-01T15:41:00.008-05:00

So I got it in my head about 6 weeks ago that I wanted to design some socks. Seeing as I've knit lots of them I thought I knew my way around them a bit. So I started charting and knitting and more charting and more knitting and ripping. It's 6 weeks later and I have knit a total of 4 complete socks and have 1 to show for it.

Pretty frustrating, but each time I kept telling myself "hey. it's just a little sock. not much to rip back and reknit....after its timeout." It started having 3 charts; now there's 2. I've also switched up the heels and ribbing. Susi offered a very helpful tip, as well; many thanks!

I think it's there. It's super comfortable and warm. But I guess now it needs a mate.

expectation

2011-03-29T13:06:00.014-05:00

Pattern: Expectation (mine)

Yarn: Sanguine Gryphon 'Eidos' in Zeus and Thales

I am really happy to finally show you this cardigan I was working on a few months ago. It's in the new Sanguine Gryphon collection of patterns for spring and it's the first time I've been published by someone other than myself, so I'm pretty excited. I took very few photos of it back in January before entrusting it to the postal gods, but you can see their lovely photos at the link above. They always have inspirational themes for their calls. When I was in Fine Arts, one of my favourite periods was Art Nouveau - the theme for this collection.

Gustav Klimt's Stoclet Frieze paintings inspired the curvilinear colourwork in this sweater. The paintings are 'Expectation', the 'Tree of Life' and 'Fulfillment' - the 'Expectation' portion is the female figure on the left.

The talented people at Sanguine Gryphon were really wonderful to work with and their yarns are amazing. They also donate regularly to Heifer International - an organization which provides animals to families in need worldwide and they're also donating 50% of all pattern sales until April 15th to the Red Cross for aid to Japan.

My kids are on spring break, so we're having fun relaxing this week. They're riding their scooters on the still-ice-encrusted sidewalk, hoping to encourage the warmer weather to arrive. I can't post photos of plants sprouting out of the ground like many of you have, but we did roast hotdogs and marshmallows and spend 3 hours outside yesterday afternoon, so that's not bad.

Happy Tuesday. :)

some people do crosswords...

2011-03-24T19:32:00.030-05:00

I really adore pretty much anything to do with the act of knitting, knitting tools and knitting techniques. But were I to be stranded indefinitely on a desert island and could only bring one knitting project with me (totally plausible)...it would be something complicated, super time-consuming and stranded. Thin yarn and charts provide such great entertainment value per dollar spent and per hour knit.

Speaking of which, the uber talented Kirsten just released her Urban Mandarin pattern and I am really looking forward to doing this one. It has fabulous style and I absolutely LOVE this motif. It's in Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport, one of my favourite yarns. There are some great FO's, too. This is going to be a fun knit.

(photos by Kirsten used with permission)

I'm currently test knitting these wonderful socks by Susi, who is another designer of fabulous stranded knitwear. I love Latvian braid and the crisp contrast of the black and white. It's very exciting to me that there are so many knitters doing really interesting things with colourwork design right now.

I'm also working on this. Which is part of a humble sock I have ripped and re-knit a couple of times but which I think is finally getting somewhere in the vicinity of where I want it.

Hope you're having a great week. Spring is coming. I can almost feel it.

pattern release - Hibernate

2011-03-17T09:17:00.006-05:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I thought it was fitting to release a green sweater pattern today and I'm hoping the weather will warm up enough in the next few weeks I can shed my parka and just wear this outside.

Pattern: Hibernate (see sidebar)

Yarn: 8 (8,8,9,9,10,10) skeins Quince and Co. Puffin (100% American Wool); 112 yds/102m per 4 oz / 100g skein). Shown in #129 ‘Parsley’

1 skein Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran; 100 yds/91 m per 50g skein). Shown in #300008 (dark brown) or about 60 yds of any aran or worsted weight yarn

Notes: The body is knit from the top down with the upper body worked in pieces to the bottom of the sleeve openings and then joined together, then worked in pieces for the pocket openings. The sleeves are worked from the top down using short row caps.

I recommend wearing it with 2-4” of positive ease, as it's a bulky yarn. It's suitable for a beginner knitter.

As with many of you, I'm sure, my heart and mind have been with the people of Japan this week and the horrific situation that they are continuing to be faced with. For the next month I'll be donating 50% of sales from all my patterns along with my own donation to Doctors Without Borders to assist Japan.

Happy Spring to you! Here's hoping a green sweater will encourage some new green shoots of life through all the snow.

cardiganizing

2011-03-12T11:24:00.007-06:00

So last year I finished this lovely Lopi pullover and have worn it periodically in situations where I know the temperature will remain cool, such as inside hockey arenas. Because it's a pretty warm sweater and not really conducive to wearing at the office, inside my house, etc. I really love the colours in the yoke and like the icelandic wooliness of it (and I forgive the pattern's shortcomings such as lack of shortrow shaping in the yoke and waist shaping).

So last night I decided to make it into a cardigan because cardigans are the greatest things in the world and because it would give it a cooling factor for indoor situations.

Sorry I didn't take photos (it was evening), but all I basically did was rip back the collar (which was folded and tacked down) to about 6 rounds and bound it off again. Then I found the centre column of stitches on the front, ensuring it was in the middle of the yoke motifs. This happened to correspond to the decrease rounds in the yoke, so it was not so much a strict column of stitches up there as a vertical line. Then I took some slippery superwash sock yarn and my big needle and stitched a quick line where the middle is.

Then I took the sewing machine and did a row one and a half columns to either side of the middle for reinforcement, though this yarn is as sticky as Shetland and they wouldn't have gone anywhere anyway. I just like to make my sewing machine feel loved once in a while.

Then I took out the sock yarn and cut straight up the middle. Picked up stitches along each side and did 6 rows of seed stitch like the cuffs and collar, buttonholes on one side. Added buttons. Tacked down steek sts to the inside. Et voila!

I am going to wear this a lot more now.

fibre.yarn.idea.

2011-03-06T11:45:00.016-06:00

I've been spinning. And charting. And notemaking. A bit of knitting.

This is some wonderful Old Maiden Aunt superwash merino in 'Crest of the Wave'. 100 grams spun into about 260 yds. of sport weight 2-ply. I'm thinking about combining it with some solid teal yarn I have - maybe in the yoke of a cardigan?

This is part of 16oz of Crown Mountain Farms superwash merino in 'Touch Me'. It came to about 644 yds. of worsted weight 3-ply. My daughter has drawn up what she wants me to make with it for her. I have another 16oz I can spin if I need it.

More tree charting. This is a bit of a(n) preoccupation (obsession).

happy weekend!

random thoughts friday

2011-02-25T09:45:00.022-06:00

I've had trees and tree-like shapes on my brain lately as I'm working on a chart for a project. They're generally a constant source of imagery in my head and I frequently dream of forests and bosques. I've also been listening to Arcade Fire a lot; mostly while riding home through the tree-lined streets after work on the bus. I saw them in concert last fall and I'm so glad they're getting the recognition they deserve. Speaking of trees, this is a cool film by Chris Milk with Arcade Fire's "We Used to Wait".

I'm also trying to curb my obsession with Ann's fabulous new design, as I have many other things to knit right now. Though I do have stuff that would work in the stash...

I'm also doing a lot of spinning, so I'll post about that soon. Hope your Friday is fab.

keeping the dog warm, take 2

2011-02-20T10:18:00.008-06:00

Pattern: DROPS dog coat, again

Yarn: Cascade 220 superwash colour # 1909

So I really felt I had provided the dog with too small a sweater in my last post, so I re-knit it in the largest ("Cocker Spaniel") size in another superwash yarn. This is a great heathery, deep red and works well with the cables. She seems to like it, though she's really amenable to pretty much anything. She goes home today and we will miss having this very sweet dog.

We're all suffering from bad chest colds here, but I hope you're having a good weekend.

the dog needed a green sweater, too

2011-02-13T10:30:00.005-06:00

Pattern: DROPS dogcoat

Yarn: Knitpicks Swish worsted in 'Dublin'

Here's another green sweater that only took a week to make. Hmmmm....if I stuck exclusively to bulky yarn or very small sweaters I would have 52 by the end of the year...

Here is wee Kira who is staying with us again for a week. Although the weather is fantastically warm today she allowed me to try it on her. I was using leftovers from a previous sweater, so I worried about running out of yarn the whole time and made it a bit shorter as a result. I also started this before I had her to measure, so I was guessing between "Bichon Frise" size and "Cocker Spaniel" size. I picked Bichon Frise but used worsted instead of dk weight yarn, hoping to split the difference. I'm not sure it worked because I think it's a bit snug. After blocking I'll take another look and decide. Regardless, it's a very nice pattern.

Hope you're having a great weekend. Happy Valentine's!

and now for something completely different...

2011-02-06T10:37:00.008-06:00

Pattern: from my head

Yarn: Quince and Co. Puffin in 'Parsley', plus a bit of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in brown for the pockets

Something super quick (it took a week) in bulky warm yarn - I've been piling on the sweaters as I leave the house for various cold hockey arenas and this one will work well for that, I think. I love the big collar that can sit open or button up for extra warmth. I also adore these fabulous dark toggle buttons. The yarn from Quince and Co. is wonderful, too. The outdoor photos show the colour best. In my haste during the photo shoot I missed buttoning one button - my sweet 10 yr. old photographer was freezing! (not me, though. I was toasty)

I decided to make pockets on the side 'seam' (there are no seams on this) with the Bliss yarn to match the buttons. The construction is top-down, with set in sleeves made with short rows on the caps.

Fast. Fun. Warm.

Sant'Angelo

2011-01-29T11:49:00.006-06:00

Pattern: Sant'Angelo by Kirsten Jensen

Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport in #740 'Snow, #135 'Hurricane Seas' and #N78 'Turquoise'

I loved every minute of this one and I think I'll wear it a lot. It took a bit longer than I'd hoped as other stuff got in the way, but I'm glad I'm still done in time to enjoy it while the weather is cold. That is about a 4' pile of snow in my front yard. We're a bit tired of shovelling every few days, though we're not nearly so bad off as those south of us.

I'll post the winner of the previous post's contents later tonight. Hope you're having a great weekend!

Update: The random number generator gave me comment #4, so Andrea from At Home Mommy Knits is the winner! Thanks so much to everyone for checking in and telling me what you're doing! I love hearing from you.

two

2011-01-23T10:50:00.010-06:00

So my blog is turning two in a few days, and since I did a giveaway on my first blogiversary and-it-was-fun-but-I'm-not-necessarily-starting-a-tradition-or-anything-so-don't-count-on-it-every-year-but-you-never-know-cause-I'm-sort-of-fond-of-traditions....here's another giveaway. Enough Dale of Norway/Dalegarn 'Heilo' to make my Seeds hat pattern. I'll throw in a hardcopy of the pattern and send you the pdf, too.

So leave a comment about whatever you're doing /thinking/knitting and I'll pick one using a random number generator on the day - Saturday Jan. 29th - 9:00 pm CST.

Thanks for stopping by and hope your weekend is going great!

the weather outside is frightful

2011-01-14T17:58:00.008-06:00

Sant'Angelo check-in. This is going to be lovely and warm once it's done and I'm looking forward to finishing, since it's rather cold right now. I've decided I want a whole closetful of stranded sweaters. Gobs and gobs of 'em.

Speaking of stranded, I'm sure you've caught the Harlot's great post about working with multiple yarns at once. I especially enjoyed #6, as it's so easy to be frustrated when learning a new skill. I also hear many many people say they consider themselves unable to even attempt stranded knitting / steeking, etc. in the first place. To you I say 'be fearless, friend!' Have the spirit of adventure. If it's something you really want to learn, then just go for it. Accept that you will suck at it for a bit. Like everything, it gets better the more you do it. Start small, but start somewhere.

I also want to mention this designer whose ingenious brain churns out amazing stranded creations: isn't Connie's dress fabulous??

Stay warm and have a happy weekend.

2010 knits

2011-01-01T18:11:00.016-06:00

I always feel like I have about 12% of the time I wish I had to knit/design/dream about everything I want to knit. Today I've been looking over everyone's collages of their year's knitting and decided to do one myself since I've never done that before. It made me realize I knit more than I thought I did last year. If I included my many WIPs (shudder) I would have almost as many again.

I've tried to write out a knitting schedule for myself for the next several seasons to plan my projects. That 12% of time is so quickly filled by an activity that can sometimes feel so slow. Immensely enjoyable. But slow. So time is precious. Some resolutions, inspired by craftivore, are also prodding me to best organize this 12%:

1. knit more projects I design

2. knit only what I love

3. finish up that WIP backlog

4. knit down the stash

5. get the 6-yr-old knitting to help with #'s 1-4

Here's to a new year. Happy knitting!

end of year calm

2010-12-28T17:14:00.012-06:00

We're enjoying a quiet week off after the excitement of Christmas and luckily the weather is fantastic (we haven't had the blizzards so many others have lately). Today was warm and bright and the perfect morning for a walk in the woods.

We're lucky to have a 700 acre oak/aspen forest and marshland right near our house, which is where we walked today with our little friend Kira who we're dog-sitting for a week. She's wonderful and fun.

and some knitting content...

When my Mom saw my Shadow cardigan she wanted one too, so I made this for her. The yarn is SweetGeorgia Yarns superwash sport in 'Blackberry'. I love this yarn and will definitely use it again. They're in Vancouver and sell roving as well as yarn bases in many gorgeous colourways.

I hope you're having a great week too.

I think I have a thing for snowmen

2010-12-23T11:25:00.003-06:00

I hope your holidays are full of joy and the coming year brings you many wonderful things. See you in 2011.

14.12

2010-12-14T10:07:00.003-06:00

So today's my birthday (as it is every year) and, like every year, it's a weird mix of freezing cold weather, excitement and stress about the upcoming holidays, and a burning desire to just sit and breathe deeply for a minute and enjoy the day.

Since my last birthday I finally got off my butt and put to paper some of the designs I had in my head and I'm really grateful for your support and feedback. So for my birthday I thought I would make my patterns 50% off for the next week ('til midnight on the 21st). The discount should appear at checkout.

I have many many more in the works, so next year's sale should be more significant. Thanks, you guys. May you have a peaceful and joyous december 14th.

everybody (yeah), rock your body (yeah)*

2010-12-05T09:36:00.006-06:00

* stuck in my head after seeing the Backstreet Boys on the American Music Awards. My daughter guessed every single winner correctly minus the Alternative category. She knows music.

The body is done! The topmost rounds were a bit tricky working on 4 dpns, but it's snug and safe on a circular now waiting for the sleeves to join it.

What's also done is the painting. Finally.

So, I'm doing OK at getting ready for the holidays, but I'm a little stuck on a cute, homemade project the kids could make for their teachers, friends, etc. Any ideas? (Speaking of homemade, we have several of these guys hanging out at our house from a few years ago. I have a thing for snowmen). I'm thinking bookmarks? ornaments? pencil toppers?

Happy Hannukah, friends! Hope your weekend's going great.

how many times can I bore you with pictures of the same sweater....

2010-11-28T11:46:00.008-06:00

It's really because I'm test knitting this that I feel I should do a weekly check-in on my progress, so I apologize for dwelling on the same thing every week (feel free to change the channel). Which is convenient because there are other knitting things going on I can't talk about anyway (isn't it always like that this time of year?), so here's week #3 of this. I was really hoping to have finished the body by now, but alas. I was also hoping to have finished the house painting by now, but there are still drop sheets in my photos, so no need to say anything more. Sigh.

You can see the various steek setups here - the neck in the middle and the two sleeves at the sides. Shaping is occurring at various rates on either side of them, so some paying attention is needed.

We've had almost a winter's worth of snow already, so getting around this week was cumbersome. But this time of year and the snow make me think of sweaters with reindeer and toques with birds like in this book. As I don't have time to make such items myself right now I would have to pay someone to knit them for me which would just be silly, so I won't. I actually had the thought 'I hope winter lasts really long this year so I have enough time to knit everything I want to'. Obviously, the cold is addling my brain.

Happy snowy weekend to you.

november's too busy. maybe december will be quiet....

2010-11-20T13:44:00.006-06:00

Week #2 progress shot of Sant'Angelo. Still loving it. Wishing I didn't have hockey games, swimming lessons, meetings, etc. every single night of the week so I could work on it more, but still progressing (I went to a hockey game with my son and 4000 other school patrols last night and had the thrill of standing in line for an hour to meet Nathan Kress of the tv show iCarly. Even though I'm not 12 I still thought he was super cute). I haven't resorted to taking the sweater and its cones with me to these functions (to my son's relief, I'm sure) but I may still. I need a good pair of socks or something as I'm completely lacking in travel knitting at the moment but I'm afraid to start something else.

There's also those plastic drop sheets on the floor in the photo. Painting is still going. Taking awhile due to the vast geography to be covered, but looking good.

Hope you're good, too. Happy weekend.

winter's coming. need a warm sweater.

2010-11-14T11:23:00.006-06:00

Week #1 progress shot of Sant'Angelo. I love everything about this project. I also love working with the yarn cones. Just set them on the floor and go. They stay where you put them and don't bounce around like skeins, reducing tangling. No changing balls, either.

I'm thinking of stranded knitting a lot lately, as I'm also reading this book, wherein she describes knitting Alice Starmore's Mary Tudor sweater over the course of a year. I'm having dreams of windswept landscapes dotted with sheep. I love the rhythmic binary process of two colour work. Kate has expressed this experience wonderfully here.

I am also in the midst of painting vast areas of ceiling and walls. My livingroom, diningroom, stairway and upstairs hall were painted a uniform soul-deadening browny-grey by the previous owner of my house. I have learned it was his attempt to eliminate the visual noise of the 1970's era colours of the owner previous to him. But I am ashamed at myself for having lived with it for 6 years with the feeble excuse it was done right before we got here. Now it's becoming a fresh canvas of warm white. I need new artwork now. And some new furniture. Out with the old, I say.

Happy weekend.

Sant'Angelo start

2010-11-07T12:26:00.003-06:00

I just started test knitting this absolutely gorgeous sweater (sorry - Rav link only) by the brilliant Kirsten Jensen and I am thrilled to be doing it. I'm working with giant cones of yarn, as skeins were unavailable. I like the cones. It feels like a knitting portage when I move about the house with it (I may get more than my usual number of odd looks at childrens' swimming lessons and hockey games. So be it). And I love this yarn - Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport.

We are enjoying a wonderful bout of warm November weather here which is great because we have many construction projects to finish. This time of year is always such a race.

Our extended family had a party yesterday for my parents-in-law who celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary this month. 60th! Hope you're having a good weekend, too.

still here

2010-11-04T22:10:00.006-05:00

Sorry for the radio silence. I've had a crazy week what with going to Minneapolis and then Halloween happening, all of it fabulous. I'm doing bits of knitting and I'm also spinning the pink blend you see above, intermittently. It's another 3-ply worsted weight. I like how the 3 plies balance each other physically and visually. I'm thinking about doing something with a side-to-side construction for vertical striping. Only 24 more ounces to go.

Hope you're having a wonderful fall!

eta: The fibre is Crown Mountain Farms superwash merino in 'Touch Me' colourway. Gorgeous fibre!

tundra

2010-10-24T13:17:00.009-05:00

Pattern: my own

Yarn: Crown Mountain Farms superwash merino in 'Riders on the Storm' colourway

So I finally got around to knitting up all that yarn I spun last winter. I did this top down with set in sleeves to try to use as much of my yarn as I could, although I only needed about 1200 yds. of the 1418 total I spun. This was from 32 oz spun into a worsted weight 3 ply.

This sweater should have taken me a little more than a week to make. It took over 2 because I ripped out and re-knit the lower 1/2 of the body no less than 3 times and one of the sleeves completely twice. I felt like that guy in the Greek myth who rolls the boulder up the hill every day only to have to start again at the bottom the next. I want to be in love with this sweater and I'm not yet, but it's getting closer.

Anyway, the yarn from this fibre is gorgeous. The colours working together reminded me of an arctic tundra landscape.

Now I'm off to Minneapolis for 5 days to a Parks conference, and I'm trying to decide on the car knitting. Hope you're having a great weekend.

Shadow

2010-10-16T11:51:00.012-05:00

Pattern: Shadow (my own)

Yarn: Blue Moon BFL Sport, shown in 'Shadow' colourway

2,(2,2,2,3,3,3,3) skeins); 661 yds/604 m per 8 oz / 226g skein). Actual yardage used: 1075,1150,1200,1300,1400,1550,1700,1800) yds.

To take my mind off the fact I'm not at Rhinebeck, I thought I'd release my Shadow pattern!

It's a lightweight but warm collared cardigan. I've been wearing mine pretty constantly for the past several months and it works in many situations for work or casual wear.

It's knit from the top down in the round with raglan shaping and a steeked front opening. Cuffs are hemmed, and i-cord edges the front opening, forming button loops. Ribbing creates some waist shaping and increases create a slight A-line to the lower body. Link to pattern on the sidebar.

Thanks so much to my tech editor Joeli, and all my fabulous test knitters. You are all very generous and helpful.

Hope you have a great fall weekend!

sea princess

2010-10-09T11:42:00.010-05:00

Pattern: 'Sea Princess' by Elena Nodel (not yet released)

Yarn: Cascade 220 in colour 8912

I spontaneously decided to sign on to test knit this lovely pattern last week and I'm happy I did. Elena has made a very versatile sweater - sized 6m-14 yrs., 2 sleeve length choices and 3 back cable choices (this is the most elaborate version). She'll also be releasing an adult version. She also has patterns for similar pants and a skirt. Here is her designs page on Ravelry. Super cute collection!

I wanted to make something purple and warm for my sweetie as she's had a hard week. Sadly, we had to make the decision to return Gracie the dog to her home on the farm. We all miss her.

Hope you enjoy your long weekend. It's gorgeous and warm here and we have most of the dreaded leaf raking done already, so we can relax. Later, peeps.

terra

2010-09-26T09:56:00.014-05:00

Pattern: my own

Yarn: The Fibre Company Terra in 'Shale' (40% baby alpaca, 40% wool, 20% silk)

Needles: 7.5mm

As I found my last post somewhat depressing, I thought I would show something happier. Thanks for your thoughts on the pink sweater. I'm going to put that project in a time out until I decide what I'm doing. I have many projects going right now that are taking awhile (yes. I know that the first of those things results in the second) and some have their 'issues', so I needed some instant gratification for a change.

I found this wonderful yarn the other day and decided to see what I could make with only two skeins. I've mentioned before my dislike for chills in my neck region and I've had the habit lately of wearing lightweight scarfs/shawls indoors, so I'm putting together a collection of such accessories.

I used 7.5mm needles for a super drapey feel, cast on 26 sts and sat in front of the tv for some completely mindless stockinette. I stopped when I was almost done the second skein and it wrapped around my neck twice. Then I bound off, seamed the two ends together and then seamed the whole thing into a tube. All ends hidden, no need to block and no need to tie together when worn. I wanted a simple way to showcase this soft and textural yarn and this is perfect.

things what are pink

2010-09-25T11:50:00.018-05:00

This:

is currently turning into this:

It's another sweater's worth of CMF fibre and it's going to be awesome. It's all sketched out and everything. I know I haven't knit up the last sweater quantity batch of CMF fibre, although it is started. I decided not to make the Tea Leaves cardi with it but something from my head instead. Just to continue the 'making it from scratch' theme, I guess. And I'm intrigued about designing for handspun at the moment. Anyway, more on the above once the 32oz are finished spinning.

I've returned to my bad 'multiple-WIPs' ways lately after a few months' attempt at knitting monogamy. So as not to overwhelm you, I'll just talk about something else that's pink.

It's top-down (obviously), raglan, steeked, and stranded. The pattern will change in an inch or so again, increasing in scale as it goes down the slightly A-line body. It's for my daughter. It's going fine except I cannot.stand.the.yarn. At least in this particular application. It's Knitpicks telemark and I'm knitting it to its usual gauge but the thing is it's just too densely spun a yarn for my liking here. And it's resulting in a fabric that's too dense and generally un-drapey. I wish I'd used Lamb's Pride sport; same gauge but a more loosely spun ply.

I'm trying to decide if I should continue and just live with the fact it's a denser sort of sweater (for outdoors?). And maybe try thrashing it against some boulders at a creek to soften it...

Or do I frog?

And if I continue should I keep with the small pattern down the arms, or switch to plain light pink for a layered effect, or omit them altogether? Thoughts?

Happy weekend!

gracie

2010-09-18T11:59:00.005-05:00

This is our sweet new housemate, adopted from our niece. We love her already and we hope she likes living with us, too.

Hope you're having an awesome weekend.

1/4 lb. Cowl

2010-09-13T20:20:00.010-05:00

The 4!Ounce!Challenge! on Ravelry was such a great motivator to come up with a way to use 4oz. of fibre, since it's such a common amount to buy. Here is the finished version of my pattern - it's available free on the sidebar.

I made two versions - one in dk-weight with button holes and this one in worsted weight which has button loops. This Hello Yarn Falklands top in "Grouch" colorway which the fabulous Lisa generously sent to me was such a wonderful thing to spin and knit with. You fiber club people are (as I always suspected) extremely lucky!

Winter is coming. You need a warm neck or you'll get sick. Happy knitting!

prototype

2010-09-01T20:33:00.013-05:00

So that merino I spun needed to be something and the 4!Ounce!Challenge! is on and Lisa, bless her heart, has sent me some absolutely fabulous Hello Yarn falklands fiber to enter the contest with so I've been thinking about what one can knit with 4oz of fiber and all I can think of when I think towards winter is how cold my neck gets and how much I hate a cold and drafty neck. A cowl is a humble and ordinary sort of project, perhaps. But there it is. A prototype in the stuff I dyed while I finish spinning the real thing, which is this:

Isn't it gorgeous? I know. I love spinning this. Thank you, Lisa. You totally rock.

girl day

2010-08-29T12:08:00.008-05:00

This is what my daughter called yesterday, as it was the day we got up early and headed over to the salon to have our hair done for my niece's wedding, then dressed up and hung out with the bridesmaids while they had their makeup done. We had the backstage pass because my daughter was the flower girl; an honour she accepted with much seriousness and anticipation.

Her main job turned out to be ensuring the adorable 3 year old ring-bearer made it down the aisle with the rings, which they both managed to pull off. The wedding itself was beautiful and full of fun and my children never let the dance floor grow cold.

I did manage to find something to wear and not finding something summery to wear to a summer wedding until the very last minute of summer meant it was also on sale. :)

Knitting-wise, this is my current obsession, in between working up a pattern for some incredible fibre Lisa sent me. More on this later.

Happy weekend, peeps.

shiraz

2010-08-23T06:45:00.004-05:00

Pattern: Shiraz by Thea Colman

Yarn: Knitpicks Swish worsted in 'Dublin'

You may recall I was testknitting a lovely sweater back in July - here it is! Thea has released another fabulous and totally wearable design. Last week it cooled down enough (momentarily) for me to actually wear it and it was super comfy. Now the heat's back, so it will have to wait.

My Shadow cardigan pattern is back from the tech editor - please let me know if you're up for testknitting. Do not fear the steek! It's easy as pie and I'll walk you through it.

Edited to add: I have enough test knitters for the Shadow cardigan now. Thanks for your help!!

Hope you're enjoying these last days of summer.

Shadow

2010-08-14T08:27:00.010-05:00

Pattern: my own

Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Art s BFL Sport in colorway 'Shadow'

Needles: 3.75mm and 3.25mm

The black blob of the previous post is now done. It's a raglan shouldered top-down cardigan knit in the round, with a steeked front opening. The cuffs have a turned hem and the front opening has an attached i-cord edging with button loops. Some waist shaping achieved with 2" of ribbing.

Despite the heat, this was an extremely enjoyable knit. Sitting right next to the air conditioner helped. It went really fast, as it's all right-side stockinette and it was great to be able to try it on as I went. I made this one with zero ease (36"), as Amy is often saying zero ease in the bust is a good thing. I frequently default to +2" or more; maybe it's my mid-80's grunge highschool self talking there.

I am so pumped/pimped for fall. Happy weekend.

insane in the membrane

2010-08-07T12:39:00.003-05:00

It's hovering around 30 degrees celsius (86 F) most days here with a high humidity level because it's wanted to thunderstorm every 12 hours for the past 3 months but I'm knitting with wool. Black wool, no less. And a whole sweater's worth; no fooling around on a little hat or sock. But I had an idea and for some reason I have to knit it up. Right. Now.

I am also thinking about some quick projects using handspun. There's a cool contest going on right now on Ravelry for just that. I don't happen to have any of that particular fibre in my stash (I don't know how that happened) but I'm thinking of doing it anyway and just not submitting.

If I can manage to switch my thinking to small, quick and light on my lap.

Happy Saturday!

hmmmmm...

2010-07-30T17:43:00.007-05:00

So that merino top I dyed

spun up into 256 yds. of 3 ply worsted-to-dk weight

I know I said I was shooting for fingering. Didn't happen. Mostly due to the nubbiness of the top, which is somewhat evident in the photos, which made it much less smooth to spin and control while doing so. I was picking off nubs every few feet. This was due to my forceful dye job on the roving several years ago when I was new at it and beat the daylights out of the wool, turning it into a near-felted dense mass which no amount of drafting could smooth out completely. I don't have carders. I need carders. No matter. It's spun. Not the greatest yarn in the world but I'm thinking it would make a lovely cowl or something where the individual stitches are not so important as the overall texture.

Anyone have a favourite neckwarmer/cowl/any other pattern that would work? I know that's what Ravelry searches are for, but I like getting recommendations. Next you can help me find something to wear to my niece's wedding cause that's killing me (just kidding :).

Have a great weekend!

by hand

2010-07-26T19:18:00.019-05:00

I love owning things that someone has made by hand. They are the things I would miss the most if I were to lose all of my possessions. I love making things for other people and I love receiving things they've made.

These are some things I'm loving right now. I went to a craft sale the other night and found this wonderful little 'drawing'

I have also been irresistibly drawn to some wonderful (Cdn.) indy dyer yarns lately...Viola sock yarn, for instance:

'paprika'

and 'inky'

and Tanis Fiber Arts fingering weight

'jewel'

'peacock'

And I haven't wanted to take off this wonderful t-shirt my friend silkscreened. I love artichokes.

And my cousin makes these totally adorable guys. I had to defuzz him a bit for the photo shoot cause he has seen a LOT of snuggling action around here.

More knitting soon.

3 more sleeps

2010-07-16T18:04:00.005-05:00

I'm trying not to hyperventilate about my vacation ending in a few days. I'm in full denial by staying up super late every night listening to knitting podcasts, catching up on blogs and knitting. (Oh wait. I do that all the time normally. But without the sleeping in part.)

I'm dividing my fibre time between spinning some merino I dyed a few years ago...

(I have 4oz and I'm shooting for a fingering 3 ply. Sorry about the blurry pic.)

and my incredibly fun and lovely testknit. (Should testknit be hyphenated? 2 words? I keep wondering)

It's as-yet unblocked and armless but I think you can see its charm. Thea is such a fabulous designer. You can tell I'm in the finish-as-you-go camp. It breaks things up a bit and I hate doing all the finishing at the end. Even with seamless construction.

I'm also doing tons of sketching and swatching for new stuff. I will eventually need testers, if anyone's into it.

Now I should probably go and round up something for supper, since I don't think slurpees count.

home sweet bed

2010-07-13T18:50:00.006-05:00

Travelling is wonderful, but after 11 days of the four of us living together in confined spaces (tent, car, hotel room) it's really great to spread out again in our house. Here's a shot of the forest next to our campsite 2 nights ago.

Knitting-wise, this is my progress on the testknit. I'm further along than this now, even with some ripping back of a few rows foolishly knit in a too-dark tent. This is such a great design. (Yes. Both the other sweaters were dragged all the way there and back without being touched or needed. But I'm happy they came.)

I forgot to mention a bunny I made my friend for her adorable new baby before we left. I love this pattern.

I also got to run into one of my favourite yarn stores, Boucle, in Fargo. Such a sweet little place and I love the whole strip of stores on Broadway where it is. I got to feel up some yarns I can't get where I live and I bought just a few sock yarns (Madelinetosh!) since we had about 3 cubic inches of space left in the car.

Hope you're having a good summer.

windy city check in

2010-07-09T22:02:00.005-05:00

I love Americans and I love travelling in America. I love the accents, the clean cities, the weirdness with tea (having to specify "hot" tea when I want tea, and remembering the iced tea isn't sweetened). We are having a fabulous time.

I always love Minneapolis and the trip to their zoo was great. It's wonderfully designed, and we didn't expect the dolphin tank. Very cool. Wisconsin Dells was OK. The waterpark was great. Lake Geneva WI is totally lovely.

I have wanted to visit Millenium Park in Chicago (above) for quite awhile now. It features fabulous public art and architecture and I'm so happy we got to see it today.

Knitting is happening, though the days are packed and end for the most part in a dark tent. I'm 1/2 done the body on the green cardigan. My fears about running out of knitting were, of course, unfounded.

Hope you have a great weekend, dudes.

load up the ipod

2010-07-01T18:26:00.014-05:00

So today, Canada Day, officially starts some holiday time in the Doodle household. I don't have to go back to work for a whole 18 days and I plan to milk the restorative goodness out of every second of that time. In about 36 hours we're heading out on a road trip with our map, our tent and every hope that the wonder of modern technology that is the portable dvd player will help to take the edge off the sibling bickering that sometimes befalls us after more than 4 hours driving.

So I'm planning the knitting. I want things using a single type and colour of yarn, engaging and time-consuming without demanding every second of my attention, and preferably on circular needles. These fit the bill.

First up: a super cute sweater I'm testknitting for Thea. I am loving every second of this green moss stitchiness.

If I finish that I have this Grapevine (Rav link) going. Yes. That is more Hempathy.

And if I finish that (it could happen), I dug out this Coraline I started a billion years ago. It barely qualifies as a cast-on yet, but it fits the criteria and the yarn is so tiny it will pack small.

I realize my anxiety over what to bring to knit while camping is equal only to my delusion about my superhuman ability to knit massive amounts of sweater fabric in a short period of time.

Catch ya later.

new pattern

2010-06-26T10:23:00.006-05:00

Pattern: Ecotone

Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy (34% Hemp, 41% Cotton, 25% Modal; 153 yds/140 m per 1.76 oz / 50g skein): 9 (9, 10, 11, 11, 12, 12, 13) skeins. Shown in #040 Olive Drab

Notions: One 1.5” (35mm) button, and two 3/4” (20mm) buttons

Sizes: 36"(38",40",42",44",46",48")

As I had some requests to write up my notes for this, I obliged. The pattern has been tech edited and is now available (see sidebar). The construction is fairly simple and suitable for an intermediate knitter. It's knit in separate pieces and then seamed together. The body pieces are knit flat while the sleeves are knit in the round and set into the body at the end. I-cord finishes the edging.

I've been wearing mine for the last several weeks and find it's a versatile sweater for work or on weekends. The yarn is a wonderful texture and weight for cooler summer days and it drapes beautifully. Hope you like it.

Now to prepare for a certain soon-to-be-six-years-old girl's birthday party tomorrow. We're going to see Toy Story 3. Yay!!

Happy weekend!

love love love

2010-06-19T08:38:00.005-05:00

Pattern: Shetland Triangle by Evelyn A. Clark

Yarn: Tanis Fiber Arts Blue Label Fingering Weight in 'Garnet'

I had an urgent desire to knit a shawl this week. I've been meaning to replace one I made a few years ago in the same colour as this in a single ply which had become sort of fuzzy and felted (no more single ply lacework for me). This is one of my favourite patterns of all time. I've made it once before and plan to do it many many more times. (I'm trying really hard not to cast on again today for one). It's easy to memorize and goes quickly and has plain purl wrong side rows. It's a good "comfort food" pattern for me. I know I'm going to enjoy making it and it will turn out fabulous.

And this yarn! I am always so happy to discover a great yarn, and this one is handdyed by Tanis in Montreal. (I may also have a soft spot for Montreal. I took my Fine Arts degree there). Her yarn is so nice to work with and her colour choices are causing me many wasted hours of indecision. She even sells roving!

Hope you have a great weekend, peeps. Happy fathers' day!

ecotone

2010-06-10T20:31:00.005-05:00

Here is that green thing I've mentioned...

(awkward looking pose to show cuff detail...)

Pattern: my own

Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy

I came across this amazing yarn in my LYS awhile ago and I couldn't stop fondling it. You know the drill. So I bought several balls of it and had almost made it out of the store with them when I saw the most wonderful buttons I had ever laid eyes on. I have been on a quest for a very long time for a good dark, wooden, concave, large button. And there it was. So I put it together with the yarn and made this.

I think it works OK.

space cadet

2010-06-04T15:09:00.002-05:00

Just a quick post to say that maybe the stress of getting water in my basement last weekend (remember our beautiful new floors?yah.well), near-constant threat of more thunderstorms/water, crazy workload at work, etc. is finally messing with my brain...

A while ago I watched part of Planet 51 and totally fell in love with the 'sets' and their curvalinear buildings, street furniture, etc. I think the "circle connected to another circle by a line" thing is stuck in my head. At lunch today I did a quick excel chart for maybe a future fair isle thingamabob and I started out just doing trees. Then they were trees mirrored (like trees and roots), then flipped horizontally. Circles attached with lines.

Then I stood back and saw the weird optical illusion thing happening with the diagonals. I don't think I could handle a whole sweater of this. Even 40 years ago. Happy Friday!

rainy day musing

2010-05-29T13:26:00.004-05:00

So I'm working on the cardigan above and I'm really enjoying it. A LOT. Not using a pattern and relying completely on my own small brain is very challenging and thrilling. But I've been purposely saving the tops of the fronts for last because I kept changing my mind about how to go about the neck area in general. I am a big fan of collars. I like fabric around or in the vicinity of my neck because I don't like a draft. This is a transitional sort of lightweight sweater so it could go either way - cozier with more collar, or more summery without.

After several hours of thinking and sketching about this (I'm a slow and frequently interrupted thinker) this morning, I think I've decided on no collar. Ha. Done. Now I can knit on. I hope to finish this soon to show you.

I'm also doing a minor destash (Ravelry link). I just can't knit everything I own.

Have a great weekend!

sunny summer cardi

2010-05-24T11:59:00.007-05:00

Pattern: "Snaps n Lace Cardi" by the fabulous Thea Colman

Yarn: Knitpicks Shine Sport in 'Butter'

The girl has just as sad a supply of summer sweaters as I do, so I thought this would be a fun and quick solution. It totally was. Thea (Babycocktails) has a great assortment of sweater (and other) patterns to choose from, especially cardigans which are my favourite sweaters of all. There's also an adult version of this one, which I'm planning for myself.

Thea's part of Amy Herzog's Fit to Flatter Series, which is pretty much the most wonderful thing on the internet I've found in a long time.

Here in Canada we have today off (Victoria Day), so we managed to fit in a quick trip to the lake before the LOST finale last night and still have a day to get stuff done around the house. Every week should be like this.

the future's not ours to see

2010-05-16T09:41:00.010-05:00

Pattern: Que Sera by Kirsten Kapur

Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Cotton, colour #636, 6 skeins

I had an urge to knit some lace and I need some lighter weight sweaters for spring / summer, so I grabbed this pattern. Unfortunately, I had downloaded it when it first came out a few months ago and then failed to check for errata before starting. I never do that. Until now. Of course, there were quite a few changes, only related to my size, which I didn't clue into until it was too late. No matter.

My stitch counts for the body pieces are a bit different but not too bad, and I switched things up anyway for the buttons, which was the other bit of errata. Once I had all the buttons on as per the pattern last night I decided I preferred only 3 close together at the top. So the middle one doesn't have a corresponding hole. The long body length worked better for me with buttons only at the top.

I hadn't used this yarn before and I quite liked it. It's very soft and lofty, though it may pill as a result. And I love this teal. I also love my "moss" ring - from here.

the grass grows

2010-05-09T14:19:00.009-05:00

'Sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes and the grass grows by itself''

Zen Proverb

One of 2 plants my children gave me today. Then they tagged along with me through the greenhouses at the garden centre. The fresh plant smells! The heady aroma of living things after a long, cold winter. Totally intoxicating.

The underside of a cardigan I'm working on. I love the hummocky landscape of lace.

The beginning of a cardigan I'm designing. Lovely summer weight hemp and cotton.

I hope your spring is green and peaceful. happy mother's day.

argyll cardigan

2010-04-27T22:21:00.008-05:00

Pattern: Argyll Cardigan by Wendy Baker

Yarn: Rowan RYC Baby Alpaca DK in Cheviot, Southdown, Lincoln and Jacob

I think I may have mentioned my dislike of intarsia. This was mainly due to an early-knitting-career intarsia disaster of which we will not speak. It lies, mercifully forgotten, somewhere at the bottom of my daughter's closet. But the gorgeousness of this baby alpaca yarn enticed me to try again and I'm glad I did. Even though I also had to sew seams.

When I bought this yarn for the project over a year ago I was well ahead of the unexpected argyle trend that was everywhere last fall. My poor sweetie could have been so hip had I not been so distractible with other knits. (But really it's a timeless style, right?)

Nowadays intarsia and I, while not exactly close friends who go on long vacations together, are at least acquaintances who nod curtly when we pass on the sidewalk.

2010-04-25T12:51:00.004-05:00

I've decided to donate all proceeds from my Seeds pattern towards cancer research in memory of my brother-in-law. Because no-one on this earth should ever have to go through what he and his incredible family just did.

He taught me a lot about being a parent and focusing on what is most important. He will be greatly missed.

get outside

2010-04-22T14:47:00.004-05:00

(find this awesome t-shirt here). Happy Earth Day!

Seeds

2010-04-13T10:15:00.009-05:00

The Seeds hat is tested and the pattern is for sale (see sidebar). Thanks so much to my test knitters for your help! I very much appreciate it.

This is a stranded hat with some extra length and hemmed edge for extra warmth around the ears. I don't know about you, but when it's -40 degrees celsius I don't like to have cold ears.

Yarn: Dale of Norway / Dalegarn Heilo, one skein (109 yds) each of two colours (purples) and about half a skein (55 yds) of a third (green)

Gauge: 24 sts / 4"

Finished Size: about 21" head circumference

made from scratch

2010-04-09T22:42:00.009-05:00

Pattern: basic toe-up

Yarn: my own

This is superwash corriedale top I dyed last year some time. I then spun it into a 2-ply fingering weight and got 95% of the way through knitting these socks back in December or so, mostly at childrens' swimming lessons, I think. Then I got sick of them for no good reason other than the superwash finish on the yarn finally got to me. I understand why superwash wool is a marvel of modernity but I have to say I really prefer the feel of natural wool.

Anyway, I was racing out the door to something the other day and panicked because all I had by way of knitting either involved charts, 6 balls of yarn at once, or was too big to transport, etc. Then I dug these out of the WIP cupboard and smiled. Half an hour later they were done.

These were a very fun process at every stage. I even left enough yarn to make a matching pair for the girl, so I have more fun in store. Happy weekend!

testy?

2010-04-06T21:48:00.006-05:00

So I've written up the pattern to this hat I posted a few weeks ago and I'm wondering if anyone wouldn't mind helping me test knit it? Please let me know. Thanks!

I have enough test knitters for this one now! Thanks for your help!!

something else not knitting

2010-04-04T12:28:00.013-05:00

We had some gloomy rainy days last week on our holidays. The first day we went to the movies. The next day we dug through the recycling bin for cereal boxes, grabbed the 2008 Ikea catalogue, and made these. 2 1/2 hours of rainy afternoon fun. There's also a new streetscape on the Lego table.

Happy Easter!

edited to add...

As per special request by C., here is a shot of the Lego streetscape. Note the fancy silver marquee sign on the theatre in the middle and the pedestrian-scale facades....there is a fondness for walkable communities in our house.

tea's a brewin'

2010-03-31T14:59:00.005-05:00

This is what 24 oz. of Riders on the Storm CMF fibre looks like spun up in a worsted weight 3-ply. I have about 1050 yds. now. I think I will need about 28 oz. total to make the Tea Leaves cardigan I have been craving. Not the fastest way to get a sweater, but I also haven't had a lot of time to dedicate to it lately. Having this week off is certainly helping, though.

I'm sure mine will weigh quite a bit more than those made in the called-for single ply yarn. Hopefully not in a bad way. Or else this pile will be a whole LOT of mittens. (I guess I would be ready for Christmas. But that would be sad nonetheless :(

More later. Happy Wednesday!

best friend shirt

2010-03-28T11:10:00.005-05:00

I was organizing picture files and came across this one I had meant to share. For Christmas I made my daughter this t-shirt with an image of her friend, Brown Doggie, who she has been inseparable from since birth. The idea is from this fantastic book by Amy Karol (the template is downloadable); go check out her blog, too. She has tons of great food and creating things ideas.

Now I have a week off and wonderful house guest (my Dad) to look forward to. I hope you're having a great weekend too.

done like dinner

2010-03-23T19:30:00.007-05:00

Pattern: Vancouver 2010 Adult Pullover by Dale of Norway/Dale Design

Yarn: Dale of Norway/Dalegarn Falk in colours black (#90), white (#20) and red (#4018)

Whew. I was happy to weave in my last end on this puppy, though it really was a fun sweater to knit. It has the shock cord at the bottom to cinch it in, the zippered neck (I bought the official Dale zipper) with the doubled collar (black on the outside, red inside), the cool badge. It seems warm and comfortable. It should fit the boy for several years. I just wish it wasn't so warm around here so he could wear it once or twice before next winter.

Now back to our regularly scheduled knitting...

a hat from my head

2010-03-13T19:45:00.007-06:00

Pattern: my own

Yarn: Dalegarn Heilo in colours 5062, 5042 and 9145

I realize this is not the Olympic sweater I've been droning on about. That's nearly done. Really. But I got distracted making charts this week. Obsessed, actually. I had purchased 1 ball each of 3 colours of this yarn just to try it out and decided a hat was really the biggest thing to be made from it (when I finished I had very little of the light purple left). So I got to work thinking something up.

I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. It was very cool knitting a chart I had made myself. I know there's not enough contrast between the light purple and green on the bottom bit. I'll probably do it again with another colour combo. Otherwise, I'm pleased.