Stash Surprise

Do you ever come across something in your stash that you didn't even know you had? This week I was going through my stash for a certain fingering weight yarn, and came across this lovely Madelinetosh merino light. It wasn't listed on my Ravelry Stash, and quite honestly, I don't even remember buying it.

I usually remember where I have bought almost all my yarn. It has memory to me of the places I have travelled and the yarn stores that I have explored in different cities.

I am not sure what I will use this for yet, but I certainly was excited to find this mystery yarn hidden in my stash.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Wooly Weekend

This weekend I went to Maryland Sheep And Wool. I have wanted to attend for years now, but now that we have moved to Maryland I just have no excuse not to attend! So on Saturday morning, G and I got in the car and headed over. I left M with the hubby, and I have to say I was glad I didn't have the double stroller because some of the barns were pretty crowded. I didn't take many pictures, but here is one of me wearing G and enjoying the nice day. He wasn't so into the yarn, but did like the sheep, so we alternated yarn barns with sheep barns to keep everyone happy.

 

I was surprised that I actually kept myself in check and didn't buy crazy amounts of yarn. I have so much unused yarn as it is, that it really had to be special for me to pick it up. G tried to convince me that I should pick up spinning. He grabbed some beautiful roving off the shelves. But I told him I just don't have time for any more hobbies right now. Someday, I hope to pick up spinning, but right now is just not the time in my life.

 

But I did pick up 6 skeins of this lovely yarn (Shepherd's Wool in color Denim) that will likely become a sweater in the future.

And a sock yarn that was too yummy to pass up (Studio Sock by Neighborhood Fiber company)

 

 

Overall, it was a great festival, and I will definitely attend again. I might leave the house a little earlier though. At 8:40 am the line from the highway to the Fairgrounds of cars was pretty incredible. But knitters are such nice people that everyone just waited their turn.

 

And G loved the sheep so much he brought 1 home with him.

 

 

When we got home, a pleasant surprise. The yarn I won from Brenda Dayne arrived in the mail. A really pretty Regia Extra Twist Merino to make her Tintern Abbey Socks! So all in all I had a fiber kind of weekend!

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

In the Zone and Even Seasoned Knitters Make Mistakes

I am officially in baby knitting zone. Here is a new project I started. The pattern is Pembroke and it is a vest I am knitting in Knit Picks Comfy. I love the deep blue color and Comfy is so soft!

I think little boys in vests have an irresistible preppy adorable look and therefore it is only fitting that I should make a vest for my son.

I cast on this project after I realized I couldn't begin a Fruit Cap I was planning to match one I already knit for baby girl. I ordered the color yarn I wanted from Webs, but when it arrived I realized instead of Tahki Cotton Classic, I ordered Tahki Cotton Classic Lite which is actually a sport weight and not the DK weight of the contrasting yarn I already had in my stash. Doh! Rookie mistake, but new yarn is now ordered and while I await its arrival I needed a new project, and cast on the vest.

Here is the infamous yarn.  It will go in my stash for another project down the road.

Stash Enhancement

I just received some new yarn stash from Knit Picks that was so pretty, I had to share.

 

The first (above) is some Comfy Worsted in a colorway called Planetarium.  I plan to use this for a vest for a new arrival coming soon.

Next is Shadow, a lace weight yarn with a beautiful Autumn feel. 

More posts to follow.  I have had some time on my hands to knit lately, so you may see a little bit more posting on here (as opposed to none).

When the cat's away....

Saturday was a lovely day. Hubby had to go to work, so I planned out a wonderful day for myself while he was away. In the morning I went running in Fairmount Park with the Philly Runners and went to the coffee shop with the group after my 8.5 miles and had a cup of hot cocoa and caught up with some friends.

Then I spent the afternoon at my favorite yarn shop Slip Knot working at the large back table on my Mary Jane baby socks. And of course, I no sooner made the resolution to shop from my stash than I found this:



Artful Yarns Cliche
A cotton/linen/acrylic blend in this stunning green.
And, what? It's on sale!? Seven skeins later and I had made my first yarn purchase of the year.

I even had a project picked out for it before I even left the store:
Lotus Blossom Tank by Sahron Shoji
From the Best of Interweave Knits Book

I will probably knit it with some modifications as laid out by Lickety Knit to increase the length of the tank and make the bust shaping more flattering.

Of course this is more of a summer/spring project, so this will not ruin my resolution to finish what is already on my needles.

My husband stared in disbelief when I came home with my spoils and just said, "But, we have so much yarn already." Exactly.

A leap of frog and a lot of unfinished business.

Here is a recent finished project of mine. This frog hat was knit for a coworker's child so that she could match dad's outfit for Philadelphia's Mummer Parade.

Pattern: Frog Hat (Free Cascade Yarns Pattern)
Yarn:
Filatura Di Crosa Baby Zarella 1 ball each in colorway 1 & 15, plus some scrap worsted weight black yarn
Needle Size: Size 8 for Cast-on and Size 6 for body of the hat
Size: 6 months





Next are two projects that probably you probably won't see for awhile, as I am trying to finish a secret gift project, and have many other projects on the needles that need to be finished.

This one is a pair of Mary Janes from pattern 18305 in Dale of Norway Baby Designs/ Dalegarn #183 knit with what else but Baby Ull

Next is the Smock Coat from Debbie Bliss' Simply Baby Book knit with Knit Picks Shine Sport.

Since it is the beginning of the new year and I had set a few goals for myself last year, I decided to revisit those goals and see how I did and make some new knitting goals for 2009.
In 2008 I kept my knitting goals simple due to my crazy school schedule. They were:

1. Try fair isle - I already have some yarn and all the tools I need.
2. Finish at least 1 sweater
3. Delve further into lace knitting : I plan to try the flower basket shawl, and have yarn to do at least 1 more shawl (maybe a Niebling)

Well I did try fair isle with my snowflake socks, and actually had some success. Unfortunately these socks remain unfinished, but as I will discuss later in the post I have a plan for my unfinished business.

I did finish 1 sweater with my FLS, but I also have an unfinished Bell Sleeved Jacket to complete. I just couldn't resist the bandwagon for the FLS!

As far as the lace knitting goes, I finished my Branching out Scarf and started a Flower Basket Shawl, but alas this project too remains in the unfinished category. I have delved into some worsted weight lace, such as FLS, and my current secret gift project as well. As for Niebling, well.....I purchased a Niebling pattern (Lyra) while I could get my hot little hands on it at a reasonable price. Maybe someday I will knit it.

Okay, so I tried out a lot of my resolutions, but have had a little trouble with follow through.

My knitting resolutions for 2009? Well number 1 is no surprise, but here they are:

1. Finish my unfinished business. I have many projects on the needles that I need to finish before I get swept up in all that new project fever. In order of how I will do this
a) Secret Gift Project (70% complete)
b) Snowflake Socks (65% complete)
c) Bell Sleeved Jacket (65% complete)
d) Flower Basket Shawl (20% complete)
e) Baby Mary Janes (10% complete)
f) Smock Jacket (10% complete)

Of course, I always like to have about 3 projects on my needles at all times anyway, so there may be some overlap. Usually I have 1 lace project, 1 sweater or bigger project and 1 small project like socks that is very portable on my needles at all times to fit different knitting situations.

2. Socks. I have developed a habit of collecting skeins of sock yarn. Everywhere we go, I find the local yarn store and find a skein that reminds me of the place we visited or that has a simply beautiful dye job. I need to get in the habit of using these skeins to make even more beautiful socks to keep my feet warm.

3. Knit my man a sweater. Gasp! I have been married for over a year, and have not knit my husband anything except a hat. Although my husband is generally not into sweaters, I did find a pattern that appeals to him in the Best of Interweave Knits book called Cambridge Jacket by Ann Budd. I think it is about time to knit my man a sweater. (And maybe some Dashing mitts as well).

4. Shop from my stash. I have a lot of yarn. Probably not as much as some of you, but even so. I currently have enough yarn for 3 sweaters in addition to the yarn to finish the sweater on my needles. I also have enough yarn to knit about 9 pairs of socks, and 3 shawls. I also have a lot of skeins that would be great for smaller projects.

5. Try Mobius knitting. I have had my eye on the Cat Bordhi Mobius Cowl for awhile, and already have a skein of variegated yarn picked out for it.

6. Try Entrelac knitting. I may start with a pair of socks, but I also have the Forest Path Stole in the back of my mind.

7. Knit more, now that I have the time.

There are a lot of other things I want to accomplish, but for now this seems like a reasonable list of goals. I look forward to a year of knitting in 2009.

Back to my usual

So it is official! I passed my nurse practitioner boards last week, and am now getting back to my usual knitting, reading, running self after a bit of a hiatus. Here are a few of the yarns I picked up at Stitches East last month.

I was particularly impressed with WEBS selection and will most likely order from them in the future. Other highlights included a bin of discounted free-for-all yarns and some very interesting stitch markers. There was less than adequate spinning materials, which may have been a blessing. I might have walked out with a wheel had there been any there.

More knitting and yarn postings to come. I am glad to be back.

It's Electric!

So last week, I ventured for the first time into hand dying. And I used, what else, but Kool-Aid! I decided that I would show you a bit about the steps of dying with Kool-Aid, complete with pictures. And dying with Kool-Aid is not that messy. The only thing beside my yarn that got dyed were my finger tips!

I followed the instructions found at Knit Picks and also consulted a tutorial on Eunny Jang's website for additional tips and tricks.

1. The first step is to purchase a plain undyed yarn. I chose Knit Picks Bare Fingering Superwash/Nylon Blend. If you prefer, you can chose Eunny's route and pick a pale color and over-dye only in certain areas. The only trick is it must be an Animal Fiber.

2. The next step is to split the yarn into thirds and mark each section with scrap yarn. This creates three different areas for various colors. If you want to get really technical and create exact strips, consult Eunny's tutorial, she tells you exactly how to accomplish this.

3. Next, wash the yarn with wool soap and lukewarm water. I particularly love Friendly Products Sweater Soap. I got mine at Slip Knot but I am sure you can find it elsewhere if you don't live near Newtown Square, PA. The lavendar scent is divine.

Rinse to get the soap out.

4. Prepare your solutions. I used Mason/Glass Jars and 2 packets of Kool-Aid for each jar mixed with plain old tap water. The next time I do this I will probably use 4 packets per jar, to get a little more color absorption to the center of the yarn. The two pick colors ended up being a little to similar, so I put a few extra orange packets into one of the pinks in the middle of dying to give it a nicer color.

5. Next, put the yarn in the jars and the jars in a large pot filled with water. Now, turn up the heat. You want the water almost boiling. Once that happened I turned off the heat and covered the pot for about 30 minutes. Make sure to stir frequently throughout the heating process. Additionally, you can avoid too much white gaps between the sections of yarn by moving intermediate sections between the two colors periodically to create a "transition". Warning: your yarn will smell delicious, please try to resist the urge to gobble it up in the middle of dying.


6. Let the yarn cool in the pot uncovered.

7. Wash your yarn again and rinse several times.


8. Hang to dry. My bathroom door provided the perfect spot.


9. Cut the temporary scrap yarn and twist into a skein. Take photos of your hand-dyed creation and scheme up a project for your yarn. Name your color creation. I call mine It's Electric.



I think a pair of Fruit Loop Socks would be perfect for this yarn. I have one more Bare skein at home, and finally found some blue and green Kool-Aid Packets at my grocery store, so look for more Kool-Aid creations in the future.

I never stop buying yarn.....

Here is a peek at a few of my recent yarn purchases. There is more listed in my ravelry stash for those who are interested.


First is some Cascade Ecological Wool I picked up at Saybrook Yarn on a recent trip to CT over Labor Day. I plan on using the two skeins for a blanket. Which one? The Hemlock Ring blanket seen over at brooklyntweed.

Next is some Cascade Heritage Hand Painted Sock Yarn. I could not resist the deep greens when I saw this at Saybrook Yarn.

I also ordered some Knit Picks yarn for some commisioned work I will be doing this fall. This first one is Comfy in Seafoam. This will become the Baby Shrug from Debbie Bliss' Simply Baby.

Next is some Shine Sport in Fedora. Fedora is a deep brown that reminds me of dark chocolate. Mmmmm, delicious. This will become the Smock Coat from Debbie Bliss' Simply Baby.

In other news, I have one sleeve left on FLS. Going to the Media Knitters Group tonight, so I should make some progress there. Maybe I should stop shopping and start knitting!

Lancaster Goodies

Today was our first wedding anniversary and to celebrate, hubby and I went to a Bed and Breakfast in Lancaster called the King's Cottage for the weekend. It was just the getaway we needed. Of course, there was no getting out of the area without stopping at a yarn store. These hand-dyed goodies are from Labadie Looms in Bird-In-Hand, PA. This was a wonderful shop with a selection of weaving and spinning supplies and yarn, much of which the owner dyes herself.


This is approximately 425 yards of Hand-dyed Merino Superwash. It seems like fingering weight to me.

This is approximately 400 yards of a Hand-dyed Silk Blend. It seems like a Sport weight to me. It also happens to be our wedding colors, lavenders and greens.

Walking through this store made me want to start spinning as she had lots of colorful rovings and stunning wheels on display. A drop spindle may be headed my direction if the stars are in alignment.

Isn't She Lovely?

Isn't she lovely? Meet my newest knitting tools.... a swift and ball winder.

They showed up in the mail today to greet me after an especially tough day at work. Of course I had to try it out right away and show you all. I purchased them from Joanne Fabrics on a ridiculous sale with a coupon. I just couldn't pass them up!

Yarn Photography (and a sneak peak)

So the days when I have schoolwork to do are the days that I always come up with some crafty project that must be worked on immediately lest the idea leave me forever.

Yesterday, I ordered a brand new lens for my camera. A Nikkon 50mm f 1.8 lens. It hasn't even arrived, and I am already getting excited about using it. It should be great for portraits, low light photography and you guessed it....yarn and knitting photography.

In anticipation of the lens arrival, I was researching tricks for photographing yarn and came across a tutorial for creating a light box. Basically this is box that disperses light to create a softer picture with less harse shadows. You can buy these (for a lot of $$$), but I decided that by making my own the worst that happened was to waste a perfectly good Cardboard box. And perhaps the opportunity to stop using my ugly carpet as a backdrop!

These photos are a few of my first test shots. I need to pick up some poster board to make the box more useful, as right now it is two pieces of paper taped together which does have a seam that is visible with larger objects. In addition, I also will make a reflector of tin foil and a leftover box piece to help get rid of more shadows. Also, the box I made is pretty small, so I might be making a larger one in the near future. It takes all of 20 minutes to make.

I really need to get photoshop, but for now, a little editing in Picasa, and here they are.

You might notice that one of the photos shows a WIP, my Jaywalker socks I am about to turn the heel on the second sock, and with a little train knitting time tommorrow, they should be finished soon!

Once I get my new lens, I will post some more photos to show it off.

This past weekend my husband and I went to Connecticut to hang out with my family and take advantage of some free massages that were part of the package we got by having out wedding at a Resort and Spa near my parents house...

On Saturday we did some yarn shopping. We went over the the new Connecticut Yarn and Wool Company store. They carry mostly Farmhouse Yarns, which are very pretty, but also a little bright to make a whole sweater or large project from.

From there we went over to Yarns Down Under where mom found a pattern and some Cascade Tweed to make herself a lovely seed stitch sweater in a dark/olive green. I picked up the last skein in the same color to hopefully make my husband a pair of Dashing fingerless gloves. I showed some surprising restraint, spending less than $10.....perhaps the fact that we will be house hunting this weekend has convinced me I am in need of a yarn diet....


I also sneaked in a bit of knitting time while I was up there. I made significant progress on Branching Out and also worked on my Jaywalker Socks.

Being the beginning of the year, I suppose I should verbalize my knitting resolutions/goals for the year:

1. Try fair isle - I already have some yarn and all the tools I need.

2. Finish at least 1 sweater

3. Delve further into lace knitting : I plan to try the flower basket shawl, and have yarn to do at least 1 more shawl (maybe a Niebling)

I can think of a lot of other goals, but because I am in school right now I will leave it at this for now.....

Lace Obsessed

Some recent lace yarn I obtained at Rosie's Yarn Cellar today. Misti Alpaca....so soft, and doesn't break the bank either.


I also ordered the flower basket shawl along with some other patterns for future projects from Fiber Trends today.

I have recently become obsessed with Lace. Show me your most recent project, you may ask? Well that is the problem. I have no time to knit.

I have an exam this Wednesday and am hoping to finish my super secret project for my new niece after that is done. I also have one more sock to do to match my previously posted red Harlot sock.

In the meantime I discovered the most beautiful shawl I have ever seen here:

http://lacefreak.blogspot.com/2007/10/herbert-nieblings-lyra-who-is-that.html


Unfortunately, the pattern is not readily available, but can be obtained by purchasing an old Anna Magazine off E-bay for an arm and a leg. It is by Herbert Nieblings, my new favorite person, if one can be so dearly attached to a dead shawl/doily designer whose shawls I have never knit, but fawned over through Ravelry and blogs.

I was seriously considering asking a friend of my husbands, who travels to Germany occasionally to go into every knitting store he could find in Germany and ask them for all of Nieblings patterns so that I might personally translate them, just so I could have them.....until that is, my husband told me I was not allowed for fear of said friends masculinity if he dared enter a knitting store. Ah why can't more men understand this obsession?

I think Niebling patterns may need a surgeon generals warning: Knitting this shawl may be addictive.

Instead I may try Frosted Ferns, a free-pattern. For a yahoo group dedicated to him that includes a chart and notes on the Frosted Ferns Pattern go here.

Irresistible Alpaca

DSC_1231, originally uploaded by suntheim.

I purchased 4 skeins of Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande at Saybrook Yarn's new shop (across the street from their old shop) when I was up in CT. The new shop is much bigger and brighter, and the Alpaca was on a significant sale. I may make a shrug or a lacy shawl, but I am not sure yet. So soft and a great deep green.