Yarn Along - May 30

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! ~

I'm actually reading something this week, yay! Last week or maybe the week before, I borrowed the first "Fifty Shades" book from knitting group on a Thursday and was done with it by Tuesday.  I mostly feel unsettled about it.  I feel a strong dislike of the main character, Ana.  The writing is not all that great - there are way too many references to Ana's "inner goddess" and "subconscious" that they are cartwheeling or tapping their feet or rolling their eyes or whatever.  I was not sold on reading the rest of the series, but I do want to know what the gals at knitting are talking about, so I will continue to read.  I also am digitally flipping through Gourmet Ice Pops and am looking forward to trying some. I found today at a T.J.Maxx these star ice molds that I have been eying online for a while and look forward to using them. 

I'm working on a hat, but expect it to be done tonight / tomorrow so that will get its own post.  In the picture you can see my Lanesplitter. This is perfect "auto-pilot" knitting, once you get going.  I am really enjoying working on it, even if I won't be able to wear it until the cooler days return!

I Love Green

I recently finished a sample shawlette for Romney Ridge Farm.  When I was talking with Kelly about knitting for her she told me that she was looking for a small shawl that would be like a one-skein wonder to use up a skein of her hand-dyed sport weight, that I could pick the pattern.  I immediately set off on Ravelry and found several possibilities but settled on the "All About Love" pattern by Silvia Bo Bilvia. The skein I received is the most wonderful tones of green.  I loved working with this yarn and the pattern, though I did have to modify.  I worked up the lace section as written and had not even used up an ounce of the yarn.  I did continue on to complete a bulk of the short rows and was still not even half-way through the skein.  I ripped back to the lace and then worked another 16 rows of lace. 

Here is the "before blocking" shot:


And after blocking:


I am a big fan of blocking wires now - they are a bit fiddly at first, but they do make things easier.  This shawl is a bit more rectangle than crescent, but it still works.


Looking back, I may have done better to cast on more stitches instead of just repeating the lace (I have less than one ounce of yarn remaining), but I am pleased with the end result! I would knit this pattern again. The lace is not complicated at all and was good SnB knitting or tv knitting.

For Jackson

This weekend Jackson turns 7! Way back in July, 2005 we brought the little wienie home. 

If you have read my blog for any length of time you know what a good sport he has been and continues to be.



A lot has changed since then, and he has dealt with fairly well.  He is barky and ornery but he loves a good lap, a snuggle, and always has a kiss waiting.

Love you buddy!

This Moment - Please watch your brother.

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Ugh

Yesterday was A. Day.

I dropped my phone while grocery shopping.


I'm working on this lovely sample knit - I love the yarn, I love the pattern. I did the lace repeats as written and have started on the stockinette portion - I have another 20 rows or so to go and then the bind off. I think I should have done more lace, as I still haven't even used half of what was there at the start! I will be frogging this back to the lace and working another repeat!


Here's to Tuesday. Let's be better, hm?

{this moment}

from soulemama
{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Just the Knitter

I am not a stylist. I am hardly even stylish! I do enjoy looking through magazines like "Vogue Knitting" and the boards on Pinterest for styling ideas, but I often do not follow through on such things.  I am happy to be "Just the knitter" of the samples and let other people worry about the styling.

My most recent "knitter-for-hire" job was a sample of this summer poncho for The Yarnsisters. This job had a few firsts for me. First "Vogue Knitting" pattern, and I have to say I was pleased with this pattern - it was straightforward, no errors, nothing confusing.  A bit tedious maybe, but once I got in the groove it was good for SnB or being in front of the television.  The yarn, Zealana Kiwi Fingering is a natural blend of 40% fine New Zealand Merino, 30% Organic Cotton and 30% New Zealand Possum fiber. It is light yet warm.  I did come across a few possum fibers that at first glance I thought were from Jackson's fur - but when I remembered that there was possum fiber in there I was able to ignore that!


Here is the poncho after blocking on my dining room table.


I really could use a mannequin for things like this - or fancier hangers maybe - but it looks much nice on a shape versus being flat on the table.


Here it is on my shape. Please ignore the striped shirt and jeans.  I really am doing my best to imitate the model shot from the magazine, which looks silly but is the best way to show off the lace!


Somebody saw me trying to take a picture and wanted it.  She is way more stylish, always.

A few other notes, while I was knitting this my bamboo circular got a snag in the tip - it kept catching the yarn! I picked up a Knitter's Pride Dreamz circular needle to replace it and I LOVE it! I definitely plan to add more of these to my tools! This project took 1937 yards (!!) so that brings my knitting total this year to 2.48 miles!

Yarn Along - May 9

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? ~ from small things 

Hurray! I finished all the knitting on the Summer Poncho sample. Ends are woven in and it is blocking out on my dining room table - you can see a bit of the lace in the photo. I have no idea as of yet how to shoot the FO - that one is a styling stumper to me. I will post more about it soon as it does deserve a post of its own! You can see I have two yarn cakes wound up and ready to go. The brown one is Manos del Uruguay Wool Classica - I was commissioned to knit a "Deer with Tiny Antlers Hat". That should be fun, as you know how I am with hats around here. The green is a skein of sportweight yarn from Romney Ridge Farm to be a shawl sample. This green is so so lovely - I am really anxious to get started on the All About Love pattern for this one. I spotted a free Kindle book last week or the week before and because it was about a dachshund, I had to grab it! Sasha, Extraordinary Dachshund - I am only a little bit in, but I like it - good pet stories always get me!

Stash Happy or Happier Stash?

I totally lost steam on the "Knit & Crochet Blog Week" - I can't quite put my finger on it. I felt like many of the post topics were either really similar to what has been done in the previous years or were all about participating in a contest, which I just don't have time currently to push my photography or video skills right now. Oh well. For a long time I have been rather stash happy with the yarns that I have acquired. I am lucky to get to try new yarns when I test knit and sample knit - I even get some of them as payment for my knitting services. Lately though I have been doing a bit of drooling over new yarns and I decided to refresh the stash a bit and add a few things. And for the most part I have a potential plan in mind, so I'm not just in collecting mode! A recent update at The Loopy Ewe had Malabrigo Finito and I jumped on this limited run yarn. I was interested in it when I spotted the Waiting For Spring fingerless mitts pattern on Ravelry. I have one skein in "Pearl Ten" for those and then I also have two skeins of "Cereza" for a to-be-determined project. This stuff is like buttah - I hope it knits up that way! I also finally managed to get to my LYS, Madison Wool before picking up the Lorax from school. I was powerless against yarns from Manos del Uruguay. 2 skeins of Serena, likely to become a cowl. 2 skeins of Silk Blend, likely to be a cowl or fingerless mitts. 1 skein of Maxima, probably for a hat, maybe a cowl. I'm on the home stretch now of the summer poncho sample I have been working on monogamously - it's been a fun knit, but I am really starting to feel the pull of other patterns and yarns. For now, they sit next to my computer and current WIP to be eye candy and snuggled with.