Knitting Has Been Happening

Knitting Has Been Happening

I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth. I have just been busy going back to school working on my Bachelor's degree (one class each semester so far), full time work, part time work, lots of knitting, and some traveling.

Color Affection

 I finished this Color Affection shawl for a friend who moved from our area. This is the second time I made this pattern and this time I really liked it. It turned out nicer than the first one and it is so soft. I am hoping that it will keep this friend warm as winter will set in out in Utah before very long.

I used Woolike yarn from Michael's for this shawl. I was surprised at how soft and wonderful it felt as it is an acrylic and nylon blend. In fact, I liked the yarn so much, I went back and bought enough to make a lightweight sweater or two for myself.

Ashton

 I knit this Ashton shawl by Dee O'Keefe for another friend who moved to California. This was a fun knit. The pattern didn't have beads on it, but I thought some little purple beads would look so pretty on this shawl. I really like how it turned out and I would like to make myself one, probably without the bead though. The beading slowed the knitting down quite a bit.

This shawl was knit with a Zauberball lace which is a single ply. I don't really like to work with single plies, but this one wasn't bad at all. I might even succumb and purchase another ball one day soon to make a really large shawl for someone else. The beads were some that I had in my stash from a project many years ago. I only used one tube of beads, so I still have another full tube left in the stash.

H's Modig

 This little vest, the Modig, was made for our twelfth grandchild. It is made with Paton's Encore yarn which I picked up at Second Story Knits in Bethesda during the Metro Yarn Crawl in April. In fact, I started this little vest the night I bought the yarn. I only had a week to make it before flying out to meet this new little baby. I love how the blue and green car buttons just fit the vest. Perfect for a little boy.

Truth be told, this is the second Modig I made. I also made one out of stashed Luna yarn for my niece's baby who is about the same age as "H" but much smaller. My niece says her little one can probably wear this when she is five.

Maryland Sheep and Wool 2016

May brought the Maryland Sheep and Wool show. I loved going this year. I probably spent more money than I should have, but I found some wonderful things. I found that the jumbo flyer for an Ashford Kiwi will fit my Ashford Scholor, so I bought the jumbo flyer and can now get a larger skein when plying.

I found I really like Turkish spindles and I found a couple of really nice ones. I also replaced my Trindle. My first Trindle's arm don't stay in very well, they keep flying off when spinning which is very annoying. I like the new Tridle, it spins very nicely. I also bought some yarn: Ella Rae worsted in a pine green and Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in a pumpkiny color. I also bought one hank of fingering weight yarn from Dragonfly Fibers in their show colorway.

I have lots of new projects, lots of UFOs, and projects in the planning stages. I am hoping that getting back into blogging will help keep me accountable and give me a goal to get some things finished as I would like to share my progress on all these yarny pursuits.

Happy knitting and spinning.

Finished Damson

While on the trip to England I bought the book Whimsical Little Knits 2. There were a number of patterns that I really wanted to make. When L told me she was ready to quit working, I thought of making the Damson for her. I had some hand spun fiber that had been sitting in the stash for a while and I thought it would work up well in this pattern. I also thought it would look good on L.

I knit the Damson during my vacation time in July and then it sat, waiting to be blocked.

In October L was kind enough to take pictures for Jim and I. That gave me the perfect opportunity to present the shawl to her. I think she looks really good in the shawl and she will stay nice and toasty this winter.

I am definitely going to make this shawl again. I really like the construction of it and it's not like I don't have enough yarn sitting around around here. Who knows, maybe it will be a jumping off point and I will come up with something totally different.

Happy knitting and spinning.

Well Traveled Shawl

I started this shawl on the trip to England in April and completed it once I was home in VA. It's been in the car as the commuter project. Long rows of purl stitches makes the four minute light cycles go faster. It's finally blocked and has now been gifted to a friend. Hope she'll enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it.

The hurricane didn't affect us very much. We were lucky and just had rain and wind. We still have electricity, water and our lives are normal (as close to normal as normal can be). There are others in our area who didn't fair as well. Our prayers are with them.

One of the kids is here for a short visit. She will spend the next year in Spain on a study abroad program. Now off to get her up to head downtown.

Happy knitting and spinning.

Two More Shawls

This first shawl in today's update is the Sun Ray Shawl (Ravelry link) by Elann. The shawl ended up being longer than wider for me, but I think it worked out okay for a throw around the shoulders kind of wrap. This was sent to M for Christmas and I haven't heard back whether she likes it or not.

The second shawl is the Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn Clark. I used beads instead of the nupps and really like how it turned out. Am- really liked it also. She called me the evening when she received it and thanked me which I greatly appreciated .
There are two photos of the Swallowtail, one so you can see the beads and the second to see the overall effect. I will definitely make this shawl again!

The picture of the last scarf/shawl I made for Christmas seems to have gone missing. Kar, if you would have 'bug' take a picture and send it, I would appreciate it.

I'm off to enjoy my last weekend of vacation with my knitting needles and spinning wheels. Enjoy. Happy knitting and spinning.

Two Christmas Shawl/Scarves

I can't find where I saved the rest of the pictures of the ear-flap hats I did for the boys for Christmas, so instead you get the shawls or scarves I did for the girls. The shawls were all done with hand spun yarn. I don't remember all of the patterns, maybe I should get organized with where I put all that information. I do know that the light colored one is a lacy baktus. I did put beads along the increase edge, but didn't get a picture of those.


I don't remember which pattern I used on the darker shawl/scarf, but hope the daughter it was sent for enjoys it. I haven't heard from her whether she likes it or not. I have heard from one of the other girls saying she really likes her's. You get pictures of the others in the not too distant future.

I have really enjoyed having the past two weeks off of work. I have gotten some yarn plied (pictures to come), I've worked on spinning up some fiber that has been on the Hitchiker since October, I'm finishing up some knitting projects and just today I've gotten all my hand spun sweaters washed. I have really gotten my fiber fix during the past ten days!

I'll leave you with a picture of two of the hats in action. These two hats have gotten a lot of use lately!

Happy knitting and spinning.

Meg's Shawl

It has been a while since I last showed knitting content. I used my favorite quick pattern, the Forest Canopy Shawl.
I used Blue Ridge Yarn fiber in the Rock Climbing color . It doesn't look like they have it listed anymore.
I had four ounces which I spun and two-plied. I think it would have almost looked better Navajo-plied, but I didn't think I would have enough fiber to make the shawl then. I still like how it turned out and I have just a little yarn left to add to my collection of hand-spun leftovers.
It took me about four months to spin the fiber. What can I say, I got bored with it. But once I decided what I was going to do with the fiber the rest of the spinning and plying went very quickly. The knitting only took about two weeks and it was ready when ES left to go to Utah/Idaho for graduations and Arizona for work.

Meg likes the shawl and hopefully she will wear it often. ES told her it wasn't hand-spun, but I called right away and took care of that misconception.

I do have another shawl started, but then I also started a baby afghan for Bug's friend's expected little one due in June.

Happy knitting and spinning.

Aunt Gloria's Shawl

I was finally able to get pictures of my aunt in the shawl which Corb was holding up in the last post. Aunt Gloria says she really likes the shawl and has worn it already. It ended up being a good size for her. I am glad she likes it and will use it.


There hasn't been much going on around here besides work, commute, and taking pictures of flowers.

The photo of the plied yarn is the Gale's Art BFL 4ozs that I picked up at the Montpelier Fiber Festival last October. I did mostly a two ply which turned out fairly well, but then I had a little left over which I Navajo plied and I really liked how it turned out. After finishing the plying of it, I wished I had done it all as a Navajo ply and done away with the two ply. But I will put the two ply to use as some type of a shawl for the 10 in 2010 challenge which I am not doing too well on. I do have another shawl on the needles though and it is coming along fairly well.

There has been such beauty around these parts. Everything is blooming and I am have fun taking lots of pictures of the flowers and the contrasts of colors. I am also learning about the setting on my camera and trying to use them a little more.

I have been a little more consistent in attending Wednesday night knit nights and that has helped with renewing my desire to knit more and spin more. I am needing to whittle a little more time from the day for those activities, seeing as how life is changing some around here and the time that used to be there isn't there anymore.

Off to get some things done before church. Have a great week. Happy knitting and spinning.

Shawl One for 2010

I finally listened to my phone messages last night, so know that this shawl has arrived and was well received. I spun this yarn from 8 oz of a discontinued color and fiber from Dianne. I love her fibers and get a new one each time I see her at a fiber fair.

I used Evelyn Clark's book Knitting Lace Triangles to design this shawl. The knitting went really fast. I think it took me only two weeks to knit and that was only knit night and my Nascar race watching knitting at that.

I'm glad that Aunt Gloria will be able to use this shawl and hope she will enjoy it for many years to come. I know it is warm and big enough. I had to try it out before sending it to her. C was even kind enough to hold it up for me one morning. With his dark suit on, you can even see some of the pattern.

Happy knitting and spinning.

Amaryllis and a Shawl

Things have been busy around here, just like it is every where. I have been knitting and watching the flowers bloom.

The shawl is the Forest Canopy shawl and I should have blocked pictures in the next week or so. I ended up using 349 yards out of the 350 yards that I had. The shawl is a little small, but will fit the intended recipient nicely, I believe. I really enjoyed making this shawl and am looking forward to using it again in other shawls I make.

I have also been busy with baby knits. I should have a picture or two to show before very long. They are a pretty quick knit, the BSJs.

To close, I'll leave you with a picture of the amaryllis blooming. It had four blossoms on it, but became too top heavy and ended up leaning against the wall. I can't get a good picture now and the blooms are starting to fade pretty quickly.

Happy knitting & spinning.

Finished Adamas

Here it is two days into the New Year and I am still working on finishing projects from 2008. I haven't started anything new, but I do have a couple of projects ready to go.

Since I don't have anything new to show you, I thought I would finally post the pictures of the finished Adamas shawl I made for J-b and K's wedding reception in October.
The front view of the shawl shows the pattern a little better than the back view. It also shows the pretty shawl pin I picked up at Stitches East which I attended with Sheryl. The back view blends in with the color of the dress I wore for the wedding, but in real life it doesn't blend that much. The lighting was not the best to capture the pattern and it was too cold to go outside. I really like this shawl and have worn it on a number of occasions already.

Specs: Started in September. Completed by October 15th. Used just over 700 yds of Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Moccasin Trail. Knit on size 8 circular Addi's. Adamas was a fun pattern and went relatively quickly. I will probably make this pattern again.

Now onto finishing ES's socks--he had BIG feet!!

Happy knitting and spinning.

Wedding Shawl Pictures

Yesterday, Sheryl and I headed to Baltimore to the Stitches East market. It was a very fun day. We spent a number of hours in the market wandering around and looking at all the fun sweaters, shawls, fiber, yarn and books. We both bought plenty of everything. I'll show pictures in the next couple of days or so. The best part for me, was sitting at the same table as Alison and getting her to sign my book. She had three friends with her and all of them had on shawls that Alison had made. It was a memory I hope to remember for a while.

Speaking of shawls, I thought I would show you my Adamas shawl that I made to wear to the kids wedding reception.
Here it is blocking and then with me wearing it that night. I wore the shawl tied behind me, because I didn't own a shawl pin at that time. It is a fun shawl and turned out really well, in my opinion. But then I like all my shawls.

(If you click on the picture, it should make it bigger so you can see the pattern.)

My sweater is progressing, as are the socks currently in progress. I am working at least four rows a day on the sweater and will spend more time on it in the next day or two. After attending Stitches, there are so many things I want to make and spin. Now there definitely isn't enough time in the day.

Happy knitting & spinning.

Another Finished Shawl

I was going to give you a modeled shot of the shawl I just completed, but my friend for whom it is for couldn't meet today. And the next available day to meet won't be for about two weeks. I wanted to show it off, but this picture will have to do. I used almost two skeins of Opal #2020. I think it will look nice on her and I can't wait till I can give it to her. There is enough of the yarn left that I can make a child's size pair of socks.



Here is the moving storage room today. It doesn't look much different than last week. But there are definitely more boxes in there. "C" and I went to the mobile home and got packed boxes from there. We came home with about seven boxes. I also packed five or so boxes from the computer/craft room today. That room, at least, is looking like I am getting something done.

I am sure "E" and "Au" will be glad to have them, the boxes, out of their 'place' now. Besides the room the boxes were in is the baby's room and they want to get it painted before the baby comes.

I have been busy working away on my SoS socks. I have two pair on the needles and one pair is about done. I am three inches up the cuff, from toe up, and would like to put another inch or so on each sock. The Ravelry group is really busy with posts of people already finishing many pairs of socks. I can knit fast, but not that fast. Besides, I'm still packing and planning "R" heritage trip which we are starting tomorrow after I get off work.

"R's" heritage trip is a memory lane trip for me. I take the newly graduated child and take him up where I used to spend my summers in Mission Valley Montana and Kalispell, Montana. We might even get into Glacier National Park this time. "J-b" didn't want to go to Glacier when we went three years ago. Just letting you know, I might not post until we get back sometime on Monday.

Happy knitting & spinning

Silk Shawl Unveiling

I thought I would show you the process I went through for the silk challenge for the fiber guild. I didn't get to attend the "big unveiling" in May, but will be there this next Saturday to show everyone in person.


First, I spun the silk in the first picture. I had dyed the silk with the same colors that I had used to dye some wool I got from Heather that she got from Portland. I had three bumps of the wool and two ounces of the silk. Both fibers spun up very nicely. The silk spun up better than I thought it would! Lyn had told me that I wouldn't have problems spinning the silk, because of the way I spin anyways.


Here are the full bobbins of the spun fiber. The silk is on the left, in case you can't tell, and the wool is on the right. They look very much different on the bobbins than they did in the fiber stage.






Here is the fiber plied and skeined, ready to be wound into a ball and start the knitting process. I think, if I remember right, I ended up with about 560 yards altogether of the silk blend fiber. It worked up very nicely into this shawl by Myrna Stahman.





Here's the shawl, blocked and ready to be worn. Doesn't she look pretty draped over the wood cart?



I really think she looks better on.

I even wore her at church today when the chapel was a little too cool. I think I will enjoy this shawl and it's many uses.

Sewing Accomplished

The vests were completed. All but the button holes and buttons on Wednesday night. I laid out the pattern pieces and C cut them out. He didn't do too bad of a job, having never done it before. We had all the sewing and the hand sewing done by about 12:30 am Wednesday night. Then we went to bed. I told C he would have to bring them home from school on Thursday, so I could do the button holes and buttons. But Thursday morning I woke up at the regular time, 6:30 am, and couldn't go back to sleep. I got up and finished the vests before the boys woke up for school.

One of the girls from the choir class works at the same place as me. I asked her if C had worn his vest and she said he had. C even said Ms. B liked them and they looked pretty good for their section of 'Oliver' which they will be singing in concert next Tuesday night.

My knitting progress is coming along. I probably won't be at the silk challenge unveiling in May, I will have to work, so have a balled up picture of my challenge project, along with my Pi Shawl. The Pi Shawl is coming along pretty quickly. I had to buy new Addi's in the 47" length and now the shawl fits on there pretty good without being all scrunched up. Thank goodness Tish was having her anniversary sale and I could get a good deal on the Addi's.

Happy knitting & spinning.

M is Home from Bolivia

M came home from Bolivia yesterday. It is good to have her home, if even for just a little while. We had quite a few people over to welcome her home and have pizza and hear the stories she has to tell. It was fun. She brought lots of things home from Bolivia. I will get pictures of the Nativity she bought for her dad and post them, soon.

This is the shawl I made for M at Christmas time. I was afraid she wouldn't get it, so I didn't mail it. I blocked it on Monday night and I think it turned out pretty good. I think she liked it, but we'll see how often she uses it. She bought two ponchos in Bolivia which she says she wears frequently, so it might not be too hard to switch to a shawl.

I have been working on socks. I know I have completed three pairs since the first of the year, more than I have ever done in any one year since getting back into knitting many years ago. I have a number of pairs I would like to get done, they are on the list. It's just a matter of completing some other projects so I don't feel guilty working on the socks.

Happy knitting & spinning.

My baby's 16!!

"C" turned 16 today. It's hard to believe that that much time has gone by since we carried him home! What a character he is! He has been the source of laughter, anxiety and love. He bonds his brothers together and enjoys spending time with each one of them. Happy Birthday!

On the knitting front, I have this quick little shawl. It's almost to the cast off point. It was started a week ago today and has been my carry everywhere project since then. It even went to the Chukar's baseball game on Saturday night. My inside, night picture isn't the best and doesn't show the color well. When I have the shawl completed I will take an outside daytime picture and you can compare the two.

Happy knitting & spinning!