Yarn chicken

Why is it that playing yarn chicken makes me want to knit faster?

I've spent the last few evenings binding off 864 stitches. Why I have ended up with 864 is a story for another day. 

Stay tuned for the yarn chicken winner. Will it be me 😁 or will I need to go stash diving?  

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Ankle warmers

My first FO of 2019. 

The Minnesota Clog Topper. 

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Langfield and Tensfield

I was looking for a good pattern for a hat to make for a friend who has lost her hair due to chemo treatments. 

First I made an Icing Swirl by Ysolda Teague. That turned out nice and soft but a little floppy. I had made some mods to make it a bit bigger than the last one.

Then I found the Langfield and Tensfield patterns by Martina Behm. I love them 😍 and just keep on making more. 

And more. 

And more. 

And more. 

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100 acts of sewing

I have been knitting some great hats (more later). 

But today I made Skirt No. 1 😁

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Carbeth gauge swatch

Needle size really does make a difference. I've knit up and blocked a swatch of knit picks wool of the Andes bulky. 

The suggested gauge is 14 stitches/ 4 inches or 3.5 stitches per inch. With size 11 needles I got 11 stitches/ 4 inches or 2.75 stitches per inch. With the size 10.5 needle I got 13 stitches/ 4 inches or 3.25 stitches per inch. 

On size 11 the fabric looks interesting and bulky but I think it is just too loose. The fabric looks better with the 10.5. The gauge is still not right but I can compensate by knitting the next smallest size. The difference between my gauge and the suggested gauge is about 3 inches in the finished garment. 

If I used the 11 and just knit my usual size I'd end up with a sweater more than 10 inches wider than I want. 

Needle size makes a difference. 

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North Shore yarn crawl goodies

Here are my goodies from the North Shore yarn crawl earlier this month. 

I didn't post earlier because some of these items were gifts in a swap. My partner has received her package, so now I can show off all the goodies.  I've already started working on Low Tide with the Ultra Alpaca Fine.

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North Shore Yarn Crawl 2018

I've been pretty much ignoring the emails about the North Shore Yarn crawl this year.  My yarn usage has been low over the past few years, and my yarn and fiber purchases have outpaced my yarn use.  But the yarn crawl starts today and so I looked at it more closely.

My new yarn store find (Another Yarn), closeish to my office, was on the crawl list.  So is what I thought was my closest LYS (Merrimack Yarns).  But looking at the list I found there were several stores I had never heard of nearby.  Some are clearly new, others just new to me.

A GARDEN FOR KNITTERS

52 Water Street, North Andover, MA

CIRCLE OF STITCHES

66 Wharf Street, Salem, MA

HOOKED KNITTING

65 Eastern Ave, Essex, MA

ROMNEY RIDGE YARNS

18 Market Street, Ipswich, MA

It almost made me plan a path to visit them tomorrow.  You qualify for the grande prize if you get a stamp from at least 6 of the 9 shops in the crawl.  But then I thought no need to run around.  My next few days are packed.  But it is good to know there are places nearby to visit when I need to smell the wool fumes.  And who knows, maybe I will visit one. 

Mora home stretch

My Mora is a size medium. The one I made for my sister was a large. I know I made mine to be a little longer. I have 9 cable repeats in the body. Hers has 8. I used a size 8 needle to do the color work. Rather than the 7 I used for hers. But I did not expect to use 2 additional balls of yarn compared to hers. Have I knit a dress without realizing?  

Very strange. 

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Tween knits

Two years ago when my niece was turning 9 I asked my sister what she wanted. I had made her a wild vanilla that she loved but had outgrown. My sister said she would love another. 

I promptly started another but got bogged down in the keeping track part. It has sat on my window sill gathering dust and making me feel guilty for years now. 

Flash to this week when my niece turned 11. When I asked my sister what she would like she said she would love a tunic sweater "like" the one I had made her. That opened my eyes. I didn't have to make the same one (even though I had one right next to me that was already 25% complete). I could make one "like" it. Maybe perhaps one that didn't have a pattern over 20 pages long. 

And thus started the search, which is sometimes the funnest part. I think I have settled on Low Tide by Tin Can Knits. I've owned the pattern for a while. It provides 12 sizes, which give wild vanilla a run for its money and the pattern is only 3 pages long!!

I just frogged wild vanilla. I will recycle the dusty pattern (I still have a digital version). I will spend some time reading Low Tide this afternoon. 

My Mora

I ended the year and started the new year knitting a sweater for myself. I learned a bit about the pattern and yarn by knitting my sister's Mora. Now I'm putting it to good use. 

One thing I knew I wanted to change was the color scheme.  My sister brought enough yarn from Iceland to make two sweaters, alternating the color scheme.  I knew that I would make the gray sweater for her.  She wears mostly blacks and grays.  I loved the blue-green yarn, but I found that in tone it was very similar to the gray.  It made for a very subtle sweater.  This was perfect for my gray loving sister.  I wanted more pop.  

I wanted something that contrasted nicely with the beautiful blue-green.  I was hoping for an orange or an orangey-red.  Many of my local yarn shops have closed over the past few years, and I wasn't sure where I could get Lopi without ordering it.  I knew I could always order from Webs, but I wanted to see the contrast in person, and I didn't want to drive to Northampton.  And I wanted the yarn soon.  As snow days were approaching (earlier in the month) I envisioned getting stuck in the house with no yarn to continue my sweater (ack!).  

So I stopped by Another Yarn on the way home from work one afternoon.  I had never been there before.  It was a nice bright store with a lot of space (though parking was not great).  They did not have a lot of Lopi, and I almost bought the wrong kind, but they did have some that I thought would work nicely.  It was not the orange/red I was looking for but I think the cream gives a nice contrast and will look great.  

The colorwork has been moving along quickly.  Very soon I will be starting on sleeves!

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Mora complete

I completed Mora on Christmas Day.  I washed and blocked it and gave it to my sister on the following day.  I think it fit her very well.  

And I learned a few things about what I might do when I make my Mora.

To me, from me

I was out shopping for some yarn for my SIL when I found a few goodies for myself.

Although I haven't been writing, I have been knitting.  In late October I started a sweater for my sister made from yarn she brought home from Iceland back in 2016.  I'm in the home stretch, working on the yoke of Mora.  I hope to have it finished to give to her when I see her next week.  She has stopped asking about it, and I haven't told her that I started it, so it will likely be a fun surprise.  

Knitting it has gotten me in the mood for more colorwork--which is good because I plan to make another Mora for myself--she brought home enough yarn for two sweaters. A few weeks ago some ravelry friends were mentioning the latest interweave knits.  I haven't had any interest in Interweave since I let my subscription lapse a few years ago.  But this issue was different.  This winter issue had some sweaters that looked like things I would wear.  So I grabbed it today.  

I have also been intrigued by posts over the past few months by Sonya Phillips on Mason Dixon Knitting.  They make me want to make my own clothes.  I have some books about sewing, but maybe this one will get me going.  

Looking forward to reading, knitting and sleeping over this winter break.  

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10 year blogiversary

I was just looking over the blog and realized that I missed my 10 year blogiversary earlier this month. Though I haven't been keeping up with the blog much (let's face it, I'm the only one that reads it) I have been doing some knitting. 

The long promised sweater for my sister (made from yarn and a pattern book she got in Iceland) is nearing completion. Arms have been joined to the body. Now to finish the yoke. 

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A decade of Ravelry

I just noticed that last week was my 10 year anniversary of being on Ravelry!
A lot has changed in 10 years, but Ravelry is still a fabulous resource that only gets better the more people post their projects.

2017 Fiber Revival

The forecast threatened rain but 2017 Fiber Revival at Spencer Pierce Little Farm was dry with cool breezes. 

The kids watched the end of an old timey baseball game while I shopped at Stitched by JessaLu, Spunky Eclectic and Mad Color Fiber Arts.

 They saw the farm animals and we took a tour of the farm house. 

And I now have an itch to purchase a charkha wheel. 

Here are my goodies. 

Not your typical blankie

I'll be seeing some family and friends in the next few weeks, and some of them have had babies.
Here is a baby blankie that is nearly done.  Not your typical baby blanket, but it is super soft and machine washable.
Full details once it is finished.

Washcloths

Getting back into the knitting swing of things by knitting washcloths. 

Here is a sample but not all. Some are in the laundry. 

Been thinking about making this pattern from the first Mason Dixon book since I acquired the book a decade or so ago. 

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ballband-dishcloth

I also made the swifty from the second book. Turns out there is an errata. I always forget to check these things. 

 Still needs some buttons. I was going to make it buttonless but the fabric snags in the little holders. I modified the flaps a little but likely would not the next time I make this. 

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/swifty

A new LYS in the neighborhood

Over the past few years several local (and not so local) yarn shops have shut their doors. I have gone from having an LYS within walking distance, and others in areas that we occasionally visit, to having to think hard about where one might go to get some nice yarn.  Granted I don't need any yarn, having plenty on hand, but you never know when the urge to knit might strike.  And when that happens you have to be ready.  

I'd heard about a new outpost of another yarn shop in the area.  Coveted Yarns is in Gloucester.  I've been there, but only on a yarn crawl.  They have opened a sister store in Groveland--not quite next door, but close enough that I might consider going out of my way to get there.  Merrimack Yarns opened last week and I went today to check it out.  

I was a little turned off by the location.  The street was under construction and the yarn shop is squeezed into a shopping plaza where the main commerce seems to be a gas station and an old timey looking package store (that's a liquor store for those not in New England).  This was not a good sign.

But when I went in I found a bright space filled with excited knitters, squeeing over yarns and patterns.  At first the yarns themselves didn't jump out at me, and I didn't expect to buy anything.  Then I saw a few samples.  That is the kiss of death for me.  If I see a sample that looks interesting I am much more likely to buy something.  

Here are my purchases.  Both destined to become cowls.  One will be In The Mean Time Two.  The other (much crazier yarn for me) will be an Interrupted Cowl.  I expect I will return to Merrimack Yarns.   

Needle felting

This is the back side of my current wip. A needle felted dragon. I just love the fuzzy soft bluriness of this back side. 

I purchased this kit at NH Sheep and Wool last Sunday. I have another kit from last year that I haven't started yet. 

There were more goodies purchased at NH sheep and wool but they will have to wait for another time. 

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Hexis

Here are a handful of hexis I made recently. 

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