Potholders!

I find I am always working on something. Little bits of time here and there and things get finished. The latest of my finished objects are the five potholders for the 2010 potholder swap.

I had fun making these. P helped; she advised me on when to change colors and which color to use. Here are the backs.

She likes to watch me crochet and wants to learn that next. I suggested that she finish the six stitch wide scarf she is knitting for her doll first.

So, we sit next to each other and make things. There is not much better than that.

I have started a file of her design ideas. Yesterday she designed hats.

Stripes, swirls, pompoms, braids, tassels, fringe, it's all there.

Designing

My sewing room is directly under our bathroom reconstruction zone. Without a ceiling, plaster debris and sawdust often rain down onto my desk from the work area above. I have resorted to keeping my laptop closed most of the time and vacuuming my desk and the computer key board several times a day. It is difficult to work in this environment so I have been spending some time writing down a few knitting designs. I have several sock and hat designs swimming around in my head.

P has watched as I try to work the patterns out on graph paper. This is the first she has seen of graph paper. She was so intrigued that she wanted to try it herself and has designed her own sock.

She has moved on to planning out a few doll quilts and even a dress she wants me to make. It has pompoms on the bottom, sides, and even the sleeves!

My designs seem to take longer. I figure, knit, pull out, knit some more, make more notes... my mind races. While I am knitting on one idea my mind is working on another. I think I'll start knitting another sock tomorrow just to get the design out of my head so that I can knit on one or the other peacefully!

I 'll be sure to let you know when I have a pattern written out. In the mean time it's back to the drawing board for me.

It was a bright, sparkly morning..

This is how one of P's current favorite books begins. "It was a bright, sparkly morning,..."

This morning was a bright sparkly morning. No, we didn't wake up to green grass, pink trees, butterflies, robins, and happy dogs. But, the sun was shining brightly and we heard lots of birds when we went out.

Perhaps some of that bright feeling comes from seeing P's dress laid out with blocking pins!It was an Olympic event to get this knit in sixteen days! I still have some finishing work left but my goal was to complete the knitting.

YAY!

D is also home for spring break week.

What is adding some sparkle to your day?

Distraction

Olympic knitting update - I finished knitting the yoke and am almost finished the second sleeve. Still left - knit the skirt, block, finish the back opening and neck edge, and smock the yolk.

This week I have learned that it is hard for me to work on just one project. Shiny things like new colorful yarn call to me.

Potholders are small. Just how much time can it take away from the Olympic knitting project?

You should also read about Stephanie's Olympic knitting project.

Fun stuff.

Olympic Knitting - Progress Report

Here is the knitting progress thus far. This is the yoke of the dress. It is knit in knit 2 purl 2 rib and uses a lot of yarn. This part will be smocked after the dress is finished. I have had to pull out some sections and reknit them so that they will fit. The arm hole for this size was very small compared to the chest measurement. I think I've got it right now. I will now have to adjust the sleeves to fit the larger arm holes. That could be tricky. The sleeves and skirt are knit in a lace pattern.

With a knit 2, purl 2 knit pattern there is lots of time for the mind to wander. I have been thinking of crocheting some old fashioned pot holders. And then, what do you know, but there is a pot holder swap starting on Ravelry. I had to join.

I got some pretty cotton yarns and my little helper volunteered to wind them. She loves to use the swift and ball winder. How could I refuse?

These little yarn cakes are now patiently waiting for the Olympic knitting finish line celebration.

Snow Day!

We FINALLY had some fresh snow! There was even enough for schools to be canceled yesterday. Yay! We knew there would be no school before we went to bed so we slept in and then played. P and I made snow angels and lots of mitten shaped holes in the snow. She wanted to take a walk but high stepping in the snow was harder than she thought it would be. We did explore the garden space. Look at those old sunflowers.

I finished another project yesterday too. P chose a beautiful rhinestone jewel for the front of the doll sweater.

There is a larger rhinestone button on the back. She thinks it is very beautiful.

Now, I think I may be ready for some Olympic knitting. We cast on tomorrow night.

Yesterday evening we had a fairy sighting. P said the wings didn't help her gofaster or help her fly. But, she said, they did make her smile.

They made me smile too.

Dolled Up

P's doll has a new dress.

I finished this last night and am pleased that the dress fit the doll perfectly when worked straight from the pattern directions.  P wanted sleeves that went all the way to the wrist so I just made them a little longer.

The pattern is F in the picture below. I used the self patterning sock yarn instead of knitting a two color design. P is thrilled. She has put in an order for a pink version of dress E,  a pair of underpants like those on the line, some socks, and a snowsuit.

We shall see.

I am off to spin some more yarn to make sleeves for the cable doll sweater I am knitting.

Needling Around

I may have mentioned earlier that I often have multiple projects going. It is so true. These are all knitting projects that I have been working on in just the last couple of days.

Clockwise from the upper left:
1. the sleeve for another doll sweater like this -  being the third sweater knit from this pattern I stalled after knitting the body and starting the sweater. Really not much knitting to do but I was a little tired of the design.
2. a block for the barn raising afghan shown here. I found the bag of blocks and left over sock yarns when I cleaned in the sewing room and started working on these again.
3. The hem of a doll dress from a pattern in this book. I am letting the self striping, fair isle print of the yarn do the knit pattern here. I got the yarn at the thrift store (see yesterday's post). 234 stitches with a provisional cast on picot hem. Very tedious I really thought this would be a quick knit. After I finish cursing this hem row I think things will speed along.
4. Plain crew sock for D. This is the project I keep in my purse for whenever I have a spare minute to knit.
5. The swatch for the dress I'll be knitting during the olympics - the pattern picture is here.

Oh, and I just remembered the hat that I'm designing. I had a pattern worked out for the top down but am thinking about rewriting it from the bottom up.

Don't think this is all that I have on the needles though. I have some almost forgotten projects buried deep under piles of other stuff.

Remember this ? Well, I actually frogged it a few days ago. I am going to come up with a better pattern for this yarn, the gauge was just not working out and this? That Christmas tree in the background was from December 2008!! I may end up taking this one out too. I am learning that when a knitting project stalls this long that there is a reason.

I am focusing on knitting these days because my sewing room is open to the construction area upstairs and I don't want to get out fabrics and scraps and have them get dusty. My knitting projects are quite a bit easier to keep contained. Well, one at a time, they are. If I keep starting more they will be just as cluttery as a scrap quilt in progress.

There is never a dull moment around here.

Handspun Handknit

This little doll sweater was knit as a sample for Chris's Blue Faced Leicester roving. It was a real pleasure to spin this fiber and the yarn turned out very soft. I split the roving lengthwise into fourths before spinning. This is what it looked like before I started.

P loves this sweater. The pattern is for an 18 inch American Girls style doll but she was thrilled when we discovered that it also fits her doll. She has seen me knit two of these sweaters that were not for her. Both sweaters have been mailed away.

I am sure you can guess what I did last night.

I spun some yarn for a sweater for little miss Petunia's doll.

I don't know when I'll get that next sweater knit.

A mother's work is never done.

Too Many Irons in the Fire

Maybe it's because I finished up so many projects in a hurry for holiday gift giving. Maybe it's because it is a new year which is full of new beginnings.

Whatever the reason, I have started a lot of projects the last two weeks. Some are special orders and others are items for myself. I am even trying to write up a few knitting patterns from some of my designs.

Maybe I have too many things going at one time.

Today when I got up to get my coat so that I could pick up M from school, I walked through the kitchen and saw a batch of cookie dough in the mixer bowl from this morning. How did I get out of the kitchen to work on something else before I baked the cookies?!?

I am trying not to think of all the OLD projects that I have started...Focus.

I need to FOCUS

.Oh, yeah, I also ordered some yarn from Knit Picks.

Super Warm Pink Mittens - the experiment

Two years ago I made P matching mittens, hat, and a scarf.  They are getting a bit small but she has been wearing them this winter. The mittens never were very warm for her so I have been thinking about how to make warmer mittens that will be good for playing in the snow.

My plan was to make lined mittens but to make the outer mitten felted. I used Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino for the inner mitten and made it to fit her hand first. I started with a provisional cast on so that I could start knitting the outer mitten from there.

I knit the outer mitten larger, about the size of my hand, on larger needles but with the same number of stitches using Jaeger spiral spun frogged from a project my neighbor started years ago and said she would never finish. The preknit yarn that I didn't take the time to steam before using gives the knitting a bit of a textured look but I didn't worry about it because I knew it would look completely different after the felting anyway.

The inner mitten yarn is 30 percent microfiber and will not felt.

P wants to make sure you see the Christmas tree made by the space between her hands in the picture below.

After a bit of squishing them around in hot water in the sink we have finished mittens! The end result is a more weather proof outer mitten with a soft inner mitten next to the skin.

I hear they kept her hands warm on the playground at preschool today.

I love when this kind of experiment works out.

Now B says he wants a pair...A crafter's work is never done.  

Handmade Holiday

Here are a few of the handmade gifts given this year. This little sweater is for a doll.

I made one of these ascots a few years ago and really like it. The pattern is from a workbasket magazine from the 1940s. This one is made from alpaca. I should have looked in the mirror before taking the photo because I didn't have it on quite right.

There is just one toe left to knit on D's Christmas socks. I think I can finish that today.

B helped out a bit with our handmade gifts too. I couldn't find a frame that I liked for this print so he made one from some walnut he had in the basement.

He used old glass from a barn window and an old violin string for the hanging wire.

I think it turned out great.

I also consider my calendar handmade since I took the pictures. We gave a few of those too.

I think we did well to have a mostly handmade holiday

.edit: The print came from Jenny's Bake Shop on etsy. She has them in different sizes and colors.

Elf Shoes

You may know that I can easily get sucked in to fads on the interwebs. Well, it happened again.The last few weeks I had been seeing cute elf shoes in all sizes pop up on blogs and flickr streams.

So, on Christmas eve I asked my neighbor to download and print out the pattern for me (we don't have a printer).

I threw D's half knit Christmas socks in a box, wrapped them, tossed them under the tree and started knitting these.

I finished knitting them and felted them on the 26th.

P loves them. We even think they may posses magical powers.

I am already knitting a second pair and have another request after that.

I shall have to restrain myself a little so that I can finish D's socks before he heads back to college.

Excited About New Yarn!

Do you remember when I posted about this future project? Well, I sent the photo to Chris and she custom dyed this wool! I can hardly wait to get started! I need to finish up a few more things but this is really calling me.

Chris had a booth right across from me at the craft show last weekend. It was fun to be able to chat and catch up. Sometimes it was a little difficult to hear her over the screaming calls of the yarn. In addition to the custom wool I came home with a few other things.

Three hanks of this fabulous wool jumped into my bag. Chris said she dyed it for me the same day as the rose yarn. She thought it would look good on me. I think she is right. I put it in my bag before I knew she had dyed it with me in mind! How perfect is that? I plan to make a pull over sweater for myself out of this.

I am eager to spin this Blue Face Leicester roving.  I know it will look different from the dyed yarn.

And, because it called to me from across the hall, I picked up this pink and brown wool.I think finishing so many projects in the last few weeks has me ready to start some knew projects after Christmas. I am looking forward to some comfort knitting this winter. I may even participate in the Knitting Olympics this year.

Are you getting excited about any new projects?

I hope you have a  happy Winter Solstice. Remember, after today the days are getting longer. It is a good thing to keep in mind while shoveling snow the rest of the winter. Each day is a little longer than the one before. That is what gets us through until spring - that and the knitting.

Something in the Air

I love the flurry of creative activity that occurs in the last days before Christmas. Everyone in the family seems to be working on projects.

D made this origami crane. Tiny. VERY tiny.

P has cranked out a few of these little cats on her sew handy sewing machine and filled them with rice. I think they turned out super cute!

Here is a peek at one of my recent projects.

I'm still working on this one.

Yep, we love all of the holiday crafting.

It's time to put my feet up and knit....I hope you are keeping warm and doing things that you like to do.

Swallowtail Shawl

After finishing the Ishbel shawl I still had a large ball of the lace weight alpaca left. I pulled out the Fall 2006 issue of Interweave Knits to knit the Swallowtail Shawl designed by Evelyn Clark.

The first part of the shawl knit up very quickly. Then, I got to those nupps in the edge lace pattern. They just about had me pulling my hair out. 

Purl. Five. Together.  What a crazy idea - especially since two of the five were yarn overs.

I think it was worth the effort once completed. Don't you think?

Shawl knitting is addictive.

The Magic of Lace

I really enjoy the magical last step of a fine knitted lace project. The project transforms from what appears to be a tangled pile of yarn to a gossamer web of lace.

Here it is, my finished Ishbel.

I knit it with Angel Face from Briar Rose Fibers. It is 100% alpaca and is super warm.

The shape of this mini shawl allows it to be worn in a variety of ways. I know I'll be knitting it again with some other yarns.

(Thanks to D for pausing to take this photo during the barn clean out and floor repair project. You can see that he was not overly concerned with the background of the photo.)

Progress Report

I've been busy this week - really.

Do you want to see proof?

The Ishbel - one more row before the bind off! Then blocking. 

The Animal Crackers quilt - partly quilted.

Now, it is back to the grindstone. I have the last batch of applesauce for the season on the stove!I have a few more pumpkins to cook but I'll do those on chilly days to help heat up the kitchen. (We haven't had our corn delivered for heating the house yet.)

B has planted garlic and rye. After we harvest the carrots and beets and store them in the cellar the gardens should be just about ready for the winter rest. Whew.

Lacy Rib Socks

I've finished another sock! These are adapted from Evelyn Skae's Lacy Rib Baby Socks pattern.  Adele chose Bare by Knit Picks for the socks. It is a very soft Merino wool and silk blend. (70% wool, 30%silk)I'll be taking a little break from the sock knitting to work on some other projects the next month or two.

I actually started a mini shawl - the infamous Ishbel - and found that I am very used to knitting in the round. Knitting rows in two directions took some getting used to. I am trying it in lace weight alpaca from Briar Rose Fibers.

Out of Focus

Some days this is how I feel in the fall - blurry and out of focus - only able to concentrate on one small thing at a time.I have a lot of things I want to do and projects to work on. But when the darker days of fall arrive it is hard to keep the momentum.  I move slower. When the cloudy overcast days start to pile up I just want to snuggle under a quilt on the couch and read a book while sipping cocoa or tea.I keep plugging along at a slower pace. One stitch at a time, making progress while I adjust to the shorter days.