Yarn

Wearing Winter Woolens

The new winter woolens are being worn! P is modeling her new helmet hat. This is the third one I have knit for her. This one is knit with Artyarns Supermerino. I just love this pattern. One of these days I will write out the pattern. Actually, I have my notes in several places somewhere in the house. When I find them I'll get it written up in an adult and child version.

I wear my hat like this all the time. I can't stand for my ears to be cold.

D and B are also enjoying their new socks. Both are knit with Knit Picks stroll sport.

D's, on the left, are knit toe up. B's, on the right, are knit top down.

B is also happy to have a new pair of felted slippers. My next project is to try to make new soles and stitch them to the bottom of an old worn pair of slippers. The tops are always still in good shape when the bottom wears through.

M will be designing a new hat that I will knit for him. He did such a great job designing his last hat that I am eager to see the new plan. He is also designing a colorwork hat for his girlfriend. The design as I currently understand it will stretch my colorwork skills. I'll keep you posted.

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Hugs and Kisses

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I found this little baby sweater set yesterday while searching in the freezer. (I have it stored in the freezer to keep the moths away.)

This was a sweater I made preblog when I was pregnant with P.

I took the pictures to update my ravelry project page and I thought I'd share it with you too.

The pattern is Heirloom Aran Baby Set by Lisa Lloyd in the spring 2004 issue of Interweave Knits.  I don't remember the details on the yarn but it is a super soft merino wool.I even have proof that P wore it! Here she is in November 2005.

What a cute little peanut she was on her vintage pink thrifted blanket.

Weave a Wave

I am happy to announce that my new sock pattern, Weave a Wave, is finished and available in my shop.

The woven cables around the leg keep them snug so they don't fall down.

I love the subtle texture.

These are knit on US size 0 and 2 needles with Knit Picks stroll yarn.

The socks are knit top down in the round. The top rib pattern blends smoothly into the woven cable pattern of the leg. Directions for small, medium, and large adult sizes are included.You can find the pattern in my shop.

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On to Bigger Things

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After finishing a few more smaller projects I am feeling a little more prepared for the craft show on December 4.

I feel like I can now calmly return to a larger project like finishing another quilt.

I put hundreds of pins in it last night. I will be quilting it on the machine but haven't decided about the design yet.

I don't want to put any quilting on the stars. I really want them to float above the background.  Outlining each star would be very tedious but I kind of think it needs it. I would like a lot of quilting in the background but I don't want to do the old meandering thing either.

What are your quilting thoughts?

And isn't this backing fabric great? I had just enough for the back of this quilt!

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Tortoise and the Hare

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I have been working on this cable sock for a couple of months. It is the next in the "two make a pair" project. I love them but the cables were a bit tedious to work on in short spurts. I was also trying cables without a cable needle. I think that would probably be easier when not using size 0 needles.

Monday evening I started a pair of simple crew socks so I would have something small and easy to work on if I had to wait at the polls on Tuesday.  Well, it ended up that I didn't have to wait at all before voting. However, in two short evenings of knitting I completed the foot, turned the heel, and have started the ribbed cuff.

A quick knit project is a nice change. 

Norwegian Stockings that Rock

I finally finished my Norwegian Stockings! I love them. I could have made them a little taller for full knee socks but I was afraid I would run out of yarn. It turns out there would have been enough.

I did change the heel flap design a bit because I didn't like how the gusset pick up stitches pulled from the heel flap.

I am thrilled with how these turned out. They will be great winter socks because they are double thick with the yarns carried on the back.

I almost want to wear them inside out!

The pattern is Norwegian Stockings in Folk Socks: The History & Techniques of Handknitted Footwear, by Nancy Bush. The yarn is "socks that rock" by Blue Moon Fiber Arts. I used one skein of each Jewel of the Nile and 24 Carat.

Norwegiean Stockings - a progress report

I have slowly been progressing on this stocking. I knit the heel flap twice and turned the heel three times before I was satisfied. I was well into knitting the foot of this stocking when decided that I didn't like the way the pick up stitches for the gussets worked with the heel flap. The pick up stitches pulled the stranded threads on the back of the heel flap and made a bulge on the side of the flap and very loose stitches at the start of the gusset. I wish I had taken a photo at this point so that you could see what the problem was.

This is a photo taken after I reknit the heel flap and the heel turn. I love the way the stranding looks on the inside. I think this will make a very squishy, warm, and comfortable sock.

Below is the sock as it is now. I followed the basic checkerboard heel flap design but knit the first and last stitches of each row alternating yarns with each stitch. This worked a little better than the original design but I am still not thrilled with the pick up row.

I am going ahead with it anyway and am in the home stretch now.

This is a fun pattern to knit. I am trying to decide if I want to do the other sock with the variegated yarn as the back ground. I may have to weigh the yarns and see if I have enough of the gold to knit the second one this way.

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Knee Socks!

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I started a new pair of socks yesterday! These will be my first pair of hand knit knee socks.

These are the Norwegian Stockings in Nancy Bush's Folk Socks: The History & Techniques of Handknitted Footwear. You can see some fabulous finished stockings here  and here.  I'm using some fun yarn from Socks that Rock that I got at the Michigan Fiber Festival five years ago. I love the way they are turning out but I think I'll start over and do the ribbing on smaller needles. I tried them on and the ribbing is looser than the colorwork on the leg. Also, It was hard to keep the floats loose enough on the first two rows of the star pattern. The ribbing pattern tends to pull the stitches closer together and make the floats tighter. The long floats at the bottom of the stars are just right. When I reknit I'll pay attention on those rows and try to get it looser.

I know I said I wouldn't start any new projects until the UFO piles were gone but let's just say that I meant I wouldn't start new SEWING projects. A girls gotta have some handwork handy. I mean, really, I can't sew at the sewing machine while watching a movie with the family. Well, I could but it wouldn't go over well with the rest of the family. I also can't do machine work in the car. So, since I finished my latest socks  (pictures coming later) and also finished the applique on this UFO, which has now moved into the sewing UFO pile, I thought it would be OK to start these which have been on my to do list for years. Also, it is using up stash yarn. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. 

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Breaking the Rules

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I told myself that I wouldn't start any new projects until I had worked my way through some projects in the UFO pile. Well that didn't last long.

P's new baby doll was cold so what is a grandmother to do but make a socks and a hat for the baby.

I am OK with my rule breaking for the following reasons:
1. It used up all but about 8 inches of the yarn left from Petunia's Rose Dress. (cleaning up the slow way.)
2. The project was finished in a couple of hours and did not add to the UFO pile.
3. The baby is no longer cold and Petunia is happy with the new items for her doll.
4. The little socks are just too cute not to like.

P still wants more items for the new baby's wardrobe but for now these are enough. She has discovered that the new baby can also wear clothes from her other doll. They are a tiny bit big but they work. I also could not believe that in my huge collection of doll clothes sewing patterns I did not have a single one for a 12 inch baby doll. Not a single one. How did that happen?

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Petunia's Rose Dress

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Sometimes I need a deadline in order to actually finish a project. This dress is one of those times. The Olympics gave me the push I needed to finish the knitting.  The preschool Mother's Day Lunch is the deadline I needed to finish the rest of the dress. P has been telling me that she wanted to wear this to Mother's Day Lunch at preschool on Friday.

Last night I sewed on the buttons and this morning I worked in all of the thread tails.

I am pretty sure she likes it.I like it too.

There was a time back in March that I wasn't even sure I would finish this but now I am thrilled with the result!

The dress is knit from a 1945 vintage knitting pattern book. I used two whole skeins of Grandma's Blessing from Briar Rose Fibers.

Sock Knitting

There has been a bit of sock knitting going on around here. I finished up these quick knit socks for myself using yarn from my stash. It does feel good to use yarn that has been aging for a few years. They are knit with Artyarns Supermerino. I used size 2.5 needles (3mm) and zipped through the knitting. The toe up pattern and allowed me to use up all but a few inches of the two 104 yard skeins that I had. There was no guessing when to start the heel and fearing I would run out of yarn before reaching the toe.

Last night I started a pair of socks for B out of some stash yarn. 40 stitches on size 4 needles should also go quickly.

And then there are these, my next original design.

I knew that I wanted subtle cables to weave themselves around the leg.I searched all of my books for a stitch pattern and couldn't find onethat did what I wanted so I made one up. Some one else probably has made it up before but I have never seen anything just like it and I have a lot of books.

I  have started over a few times to get the gauge to work evenly between the ribbing and the cable pattern. I knit the ribbing on size 0needles and switched to size 2 for the cable pattern. I really like the way they are turning out.

Today we are having a beautiful sunny, breezy day and the garden is calling for attention. I am off to spend some time in the garden.

Estonian Sheep Puppet

The Estonian Sheep Puppet is finished!

This was a fun and fairly quick project. I used Dale of Norway baby Ull and size 0 needles. The result was a smaller puppet than the one in the pattern but it fits Miss Petunia's hand perfectly.

I wasn't sure I was keeping a good even tension on the color designwith the double pointed needles, especially in the tiny arms, but theblocking really made a difference in the finished look. A plasticEaster egg was perfect for blocking the face.

P thinks it turned out pretty cute and so do I.

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Vacation Knitting

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Our spring break trip has been fun and relaxing. We have been staying at my Mother-in-law's and taking in a few sights. Yesterday we had a wet tour of the cherry blossoms in DC.

A relaxing vacation means I have had a bit of knitting time.  I finished D's socks in the car.

I brought yarn for some projects I have been wanting to try but didn't want to start them until the smocking on P's Olympic knitting dress was finished. I have to admit that the smocking part of this project was not my favorite. In a fit of frustration I said "M, I'll give you ten dollars if you finish smocking this dress." I was teasing but he actually took me up on it!  I gave him a little tutorial and off he went!

That allowed me to start a pair of pink socks for myself. I am trying Judy Gibson's You're Putting Me On socks. I really like this pattern.

The first sock is almost finished now! Larger needles and yarn make for quick sock knitting.

I have also started one of these super cute Estonian Sheep puppets that have been on my knit list since I got summer 2006 issue of Spin Off.

It's time to get back to the knitting. I hear the needles and a bowl of ice cream calling me!

Beach Glass and Seaweed Socks

My Beach Glass and Seaweed Sock pattern is available in my shop.This is the first time I have written out a pattern in an official way for others to purchase. Coming up with the design was the easy part.

I had fun with the design  and was pleased to get the ribbing to transition into the easy-to-memorize four row pattern repeat. 

Putting the pattern into words so that other knitters can repeat the design came next. The biggest challenge, however, seemed to be getting the pattern into PDF format for easy download.Thanks to Adele, who test knit the pattern and helped with the technical writing and D for making the PDF conversion after I spent hours on it and couldn't get the formatting the way I wanted. Thanks to M for taking the great photos for the pattern and Barb for the name.

Thanks also to P and B who helped with the first photo shoot that really didn't work out very well.

And while I'm at it I should thank my mother and grandmother for teaching me the love of needlework.

Photo shoots can be fun!

Actually, I enjoyed the process so much that another design is already under way.

Instagram Photos

I finished the Dala Sweater and couldn’t be happier with it! The pattern is #dalasweater by @elenormortensen. More details on my ravelry page. #knitter #strandedknitting #operationsweaterchest #handknitsweater #makersvillage #makersgonnamake
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This summer we watched my two oldest grand kids one day a week. Towards the end of the summer they started making projects on their own in the sewing room. They made lots of little projects from my scrap basket including pillow cases and tiny quilts