Long Time, No Blog: Update #3 (I'm still making stuff)

I've made more things than a hat these last few months. 

(I knit socks through three national parks!)

(I knit stockings for my cousin and his bride.)

(I knit mini rockets for my nephew Ellis's third birthday!)

(I made a quick baby hat for my dear Hannah's new baby.)

(I finished a long-gestating cross stitch project for Mr. Cool.)

(I made a great little cross-stitch project my sister gave me for my birthday.)

Yellowstone Trip Souvenir Hat

When we arrived in Jackson, WY prior to our trip into Grand Teton and Yellowstone, I had the boys drop me off at the local yarn shop.

It was a delightful little shop, and I found a lovely Wyoming made yarn, in the colorway Grass--a perfect choice, as we had been blown away by the gorgeous green grass we found in a wetter Wyoming.

I found a pattern I loved--and it was called the antelope hat--another perfect choice, as we had seen plenty on our tour!  And now it's done--and I'm ready for winter!

Behind on the Blog: knitting catch-up

I have definitely fallen behind on the blog--and I need to catch up!  This is my journal and scrapbook--and I need to keep it going.  That, and my dad complains.

I've knit a few cowls:

Stonehenge Neck Warmer in Malabrigo Roanoke for Mr. Cool's birthday

Zuzu's Petals in Stitch Nation Bamboo Ewe in teal for Sista Cool's half-birthday and ovarian cancer awareness month

The Denver Cowl in Textiles a Manos La Perfecta for me.

And I've knit one of the world's cutest baby hats, in my opinion:

Baby Viking hat in Cascade 220.

I have lots more projects close to the finish--including more cowls.  

The Texture of Knitting

Just for fun, while I work on getting good photos of my finished objects, a close-up view of some of my favorite recent pieces.

Everything's Coming Up Mitts

As I packed away my woollies for summer, I tried to evaluate what I needed for the next onslaught of cool weather.  I decided I needed more mitts and cowls.  The mitts mission is almost accomplished!

This fabulous yarn is dyed to stripe in the colors of the London Underground lines. A dear and generous member of my knitting posse gifted it, and I used our trip to South Dakota to whip up some mitts.  I love them!

With all the colors, these will go with everything!  My other new pair of mitts features my favorite grey, so they will go with lots of outfits too!

I love the movie A River Runs Through It, so I couldn't resist these mitts!  I love the river cable, and this yarn is soft and sturdy.

As soon as the temperature dips, my hands will be delightfully warm!

Loopy Ewe Spring Fling Day Two: Shopping & Learning

I signed the giant sock blocker, traveled to a yarn store in a limo, and learned a ton of new techniques!

Knitting Retreat: Loopy Ewe Spring Fling, Day One

Shirley Temples, desserts and knitting, awesome name badges, goodie bags, YARN!

The Ruffle That Finally Ended

I finally finished the last shawl of the four in Martina Behm's Hitchhiker Collection. The ruffle may have taken a very long time, but in the gorgeous Creatively Dyed yarn I bought at Estes last year, I didn't mind!

I love Martina's patterns because they are so wearable.

The first pictures are of my new Lintilla, and then I followed with shots from the whole collection: the two Hitchhikers, the Trillian, and the Magrethea. Technically, I still need a Magrethea, and if Sarah had a Lintilla and a Trillian she would have the whole set. Hmmm.

12/12 in 2012: Last shawl of the year

Squeezed this one in under the gun!

This fabulous shawl is knit in a self-striping yarn: Canon Hand Dyes "I See These Witches Are Afraid of Swords"; and was knit modularly from the great pattern Lokken in the Knitscene Accessories 2012.

I loved knitting and wearing shawls this year. I don't know that I will knit 13 this year, but I know I will always have a shawl on the needles!

Commission Mitts

People always ask me if I sell my knitting. The answer is typically no--things take me too long, the yarn costs more than people would pay, regardless of my wage, and I like making stuff for myself and my friends and family.

A few weeks ago, though, a friend asked for something that just happened to be a great pattern and yarn to knit. So, here are a pair of fingerless knits--my first bit of commissioned knitting!

Should I Feel Bad About Selfish Knitting?

I know the stores have started thinking about Christmas, as lights, crafts, and decorations are already in the aisles. Many knitters I know have probably already started thinking about Christmas gifts as well. I have a pretty big stack of things I am planning to knit, whether or not it is actually realistic goal.
I do want to shower the people I love with knitting, but last week I grew disgruntled with all of my gift projects. I wanted to knit something for myself! After all, I am the person who most understands what goes into my knitting.
I wear the stuff I make, I have chosen colors and styles I particularly like, and this time I felt I had a need. All of my hats are warm and woolly, but it hasn't been warm and woolly season here yet. And my hair has reached an awkward stage of growing it out. I needed a light, comfortable hat to wear even when the temperature was in the 60s. So I made myself a hat.
I finished it in less than a week! I am wearing it right now, and enjoying it a lot. So should I feel bad about selfish knitting? Should I just buckle down to the Christmas knitting, or should I allow myself a few more selfish knits this season?

Fall Travels, Stop One: Brown Sheep Yarn Company

Just outside Scottsbluff, NE, you can find the factory for Brown Sheep Yarn, a local, homegrown, Made in America yarn company. Mr. Cool's hat for the winter is made of their lovely yarn. We didn't get on the tour this time, but I did find some great factory seconds yarn at $13/pound!

Knitting Update: Quick Scarf & Dying Yarn

 Even when it's hot,  I love knitting.  I am in the midst of some longer projects, and needed some quick gratification.  Enter two skeins of Noro Silk Garden and a "recipe" for a pattern called the Potato Chip Scarf.

 Simple short rows on a small amount of stitches yield a fun and addictive knit--I finished this one in two days, and I look forward to cooler weather to wear it in!

 I also stumbled into some natural colored 100% wool yarn, and decided to try my hand at dying.  With my intrepid helper, we have attempted both solar dying and immersion dying--using simple food coloring.

It is fun, and has yielded some pretty cool yarn.  It's a bit more pastel than I would like, so I'm feeling tempted toward using dyes made more for wool.  I have one skein left, and Lincoln is leaning toward blue.  We may try handpainting it!

Estes Park Wool Market 2012

 A lovely escape to the mountains with my favorite travelling buddy--Lincoln!  He was able to feed peanuts to goats . . .

 compare his profile to a lamb's . . . .

 make weird faces at little sleeping goats . . .

and help mama acquire some sheepy goodies!

12/12 in 2012: In By a Toe

This is my last skein of yarn from the lovely Shakespeare Yarn Club I did for my birthday. The three skeins were all based on "Much Ado About Nothing," and this skein is named for the main characters, Beatrice and Benedick. Actually, the name of the colourway is A Skirmish of Wit, which comes from a Leonato line regarding their constant interplay. It is a lovely stripey, with navy standing for Benedick, and a rich burgundy red for Beatrice. (The colors are pretty accurate in this picture.)

As part of my goal to knit 12 shawls and 12 socks in 2012, this one just squeaked in, and it's not even quite whole. I'm planning to do afterthought heels (see that line?), so I will hopefully finish this one and its mate next month. I am loving this yarn and how it knits up. Stripey socks forever!

12/12 in 2012: Souvenir Shawl

This, you might recall (but probably not), is a lovely skein of Plain & Fancy yarn in the colorway Turquoise, that I picked up at the Taos Wool Festival. I used a lovely pattern called Arroyo for it, as they all seemed to meld together in the perfect souvenir--Arroyo, Turquoise, Taos.

This is the shawl just after I cast-off, unblocked. Shawls do amazing things when blocked properly.

This is the lace after blocking--all lovely and open, and a bit pointy.

I love that even though there is a true riot of colors in the yarn, the overall feeling is of Turquoise.

I struggled getting pictures of this one, as it is so long and lovely, but this gives you an idea. You have to see it in person to get an idea of its drape and softness.

The 12/12 in 2012 Project: I have acquired a relatively small yarn stash, but a stash nonetheless. My goal for 2012 is to knit a shawl and a sock each month. Arroyo is this month's shawl, and I'm well on my way with my sock of the month. Not every shawl do I necessarily need to keep (nor every sock, I guess), so if you see anything that you like, let me know! You may receive the shawl, or one like it, for Christmas.