Enthralled with Hitchhiker

I am supposed to be finishing the lovely gray alpaca sweater with the big twist in the front. May I just say, in way of excuses, that 38" of plain stockinette can get tedious? There I did say it. I have over 30" of it, though. I was hoping to buckle down and finish it while traveling this weekend, but we may not get to do that. It's hard, though...

...And the reason it's so hard is I am enjoying knitting the Hitchhiker shawlette or scarf I could not resist casting on for. WAY too much. Once I started it, I could not stop. Here it is started.

 It is amazing how many different shades of blue are in this one ball of Zauberball Crazy sock yarn. I have done 30 points on the Hitchhiker, and nothing's repeated yet. Such fun yarn. I don't have a great photo of it, but here is is, posing next to Scrunchy, making it clear that he has exactly one eye now, thank you very much.

Scrunchy complements the white stripe in the Hitchhiker very well.

It's getting pretty long--and it looks to me like there's enough of the yarn left to get twelve more points out of it. In any case, I think it will end up plenty long enough to drape jauntily around my neck.

I want to make about five of these. Beginning knitter? Don't let that stop you--it's pretty darned easy! And everyone who looks at it get a glazed and jealous expression on their faces. Men and women. What a great gift this would be!

However, I'm keeping this. Since I have LOST a bunch of my shawls in the Great Wildfire Scare of 2011, I need some warmth. (I know my shawls are in this house somewhere--just can't find where I put the shopping back full of hand knit and hand spun goodness.)

I must get back to the knitting. I would vow to not work on this blue beauty until the Drape Front sweater is done, but I can't. I do vow to try my best to finish it this weekend.

Instruction Reading & Checking Out the Alpacas

I learned a lesson, or was reminded of a lesson, yesterday. I was all happy to be finished knitting the drape front sweater, and thinking about blocking it. But I laid it out, and twisted the front, and thought to myself, my, how awkward this is. Then I looked at the pattern again. Well, would you look at that? The body width of the back is 19", while the body width of the FRONT is 28". No wonder I'd ended up with almost two full skeins of the yarn left over! What a doofus I am! The pattern is so simple; I just knit the front to match the back and didn't actually read the instructions. Yes, those very instructions would have made it clear that I needed to keep a-going on that endless stockinette section until it was much longer!

I have undone the second sleeve and am back to knitting plain ole stockinette for another long bit.

Lesson learned: READ THE INSTRUCTIONS.

And Now for Fun

I enjoyed some of that stockinette knitting in the car today, as my knitting friend and I, along with her two young daughters, made the trek out to Old Oaks Ranch to see how the alpacas are doing, and what kind of stuff they have in stock. If you've been reading this blog a really long time, you might recall that I went there with Lee in 2009. Three years later they still have most of the same alpacas. There have been changes there, but everyone is still very friendly, and we had some good conversations.  We took the paid tour, just the four of us. We got to watch two of the boys get shorn. Here is one in progress.

Sorry about the fence, but you can see all the people holding down an alpaca while a very strong woman shears him.

And here is one fellow just after being shorn and spitting in a guy's face. He seems quite pleased with himself.

Look at me! I spit in the face of the guy on the far right!

The girls had a complete blast. They got to pet and feed the females, who had all been shorn earlier in the morning. The alpacas were nervous, but settled down pretty well. So nice to see some of the same ladies as last time!

Getting ready to feed the Big Mama, Mariposa. The little boy is the grandson of the owners, and he was really "helpful" in the tour. The lady is the daughter-in-law of the owners. The is demonstrating proper alpaca handling technique.

I do love looking at and petting alpacas. However, the folks at Old Oaks did remind me that they would prefer to be by themselves, and are only happy in groups of three or more. That can run one up into big bucks!

Luckily, llamas are a different story. Their llama had also just been shorn, and I found him especially fetching, since he was spotted in the same way as my donkey, Oscar, America's Cutest Donkey. They also had a fine donkey, and the girls got to feed her carrots, vaguely successfully.

I admit these are also cute animals.

The donkey and llama serve as guard animals and keep coyotes away from the alpacas and chickens. They also have a big guard dog, who was very friendly (unlike the previous guard dog they had). He is also a Great Pyrenees, so huge and fluffy! The girls want a pet dog, so they began to lobby for one of those, but it will not be happening.

The last stop was at the hen house. I wish I had taken photos of it. They really did a cute job on it, and it was quite the palace, for a chicken abode. Each child got one egg, so that is good (the little boy family member broke his--he was quite enthusiastic).

After the tour, the folks in the family patiently went through a fiber demo with the girls, who really seemed to enjoy it. That gave me time to look at the yarn and other merchandise. I ended up getting this Auracania Huasco yarn, a fingering weight merino. I hope I can make a second Hitchhiker shawl from this. Of course, that would also require me making the first one.  I hope to start one today. And if the shawl only takes one skein, I will make socks.

Araucania Huasco

The lady at Old Oaks send us off to the Leaning Pear restaurant in Wimberley, which was a great place to eat, featuring locally sourced ingredients and interesting flavors. We even managed to have adult conversation during the meal. All in all, it was a fun day, and now I can do more stockinette knitting.

Hope your Easter, Passover or other significant holiday went or goes well! Happiest of greetings from this UU, who will attend the flower communion tomorrow.

Crocheted Bike Bag

This weekend I got a new bicycle. It's the kind for just riding on the local streets and trails, but I am very happy with Bluebell.

My new bike and non-matching water bottle

It weighs a LOT more than my road bike did, though it claims to be aluminum.

The first thing I noticed about it was that I have no way to carry my cell phone when I am riding it, thanks to giving away all my fancy cycling shirts a while back. I usually ride in exercise pants rather than jeans, so I have no pockets.

But I know how to crochet! So, on Sunday when my devoted spouse was planting things in the front yard, I sat down with good ole Lily Sugar and Cream yarn and crocheted myself this little bag to hold my cell phone and maybe a chap stick. I need to take the phone because I track my progress with one of those free GPS exercise apps.

Bicycle Bag with Cute Buttons

I could have just made a big rectangle, but I like the way single crochet looks in the round better than back and forth. So, I did a little trick and ended up with a no-seam crochet bag. I made the button holes vertical rather than horizontal, so that the buttons would stay better when the bag is on the bike. I think it looks fun and practical. I could have used hemp cord, but it hurts my hands. And the same bag could be made weatherproof by using strips cut from plastic shopping bags. If I shopped at Wal-Mart I could get blue ones to match the bike.

(I also knitted a good amount on the alpaca sweater. I am on the home stretch.)

How to Make a Bike Bag

If, for some reason, you are dying to make one of these, here's how:

Body of Bag

Use sturdy cotton yarn and a crochet hook that will crochet the yarn tightly. I used an F.

Chain enough to be a little longer than your phone, no more than an inch longer.

Single crochet into the second stitch from your hook and sc across. Count how many stitches you have.

Sc into the side of the last stitch.

Sc into the BOTTOM of the row you just did. Make sure you crochet the same number of stitches (it's easy to skip a few, which I did the first time).

Sc into the side of your previous turning chain, then sc across your first row.

Continue to sc in every stitch around and around that first row. After a few rows you will see a pouch shape developing.

Keep going until your bag is about an inch longer than whatever you want to put in it.

Straps

My straps are 4 stitches in from each side, and 6 stitches wide. Each row will be ch2, sc5, turn. When the strap is a good length in your estimation (long enough to go over your handlebars with some slack), make the button holes.

Do 4 rows of just three stitches. Break yarn. Start where you left off and do 4 rows of 3 stitches. Go across and connect the two thin sections to return to 6-stitch rows, and crochet a few more rows. Repeat on the other side of the bag.

Buttons

Get nice big buttons and sew them on securely. I took my bag to the fabric store to be sure I got the right size buttons. You don't want to have your phone fall to the ground and get ridden over by your bike.

Yarning Around

Oh hello, it's me, your sometime blogger, back again after just a little break this time. I have been thinking about knitting a lot, and even doing some!

I was hoping to totally finish that twist front alpaca sweater this weekend, and was knitting along in the RV when I looked into the knitting bag.  Guess what I didn't see? Another ball of yarn, that's what. Yep, I had brought most of my life essentials other than that final skein of yarn I'll need to finish (actually, I may well go into the fourth skein...who knows. So, I had to stop when I was at this attractive stage of the front of the sweater:

A partial front of a sweater.

I think this is one of those project that will be very pretty once blocked and sewed together, and not a moment sooner.So, I will continue to enjoy how lovely the alpaca fiber feels and not worry about it. I have fetched the next skein of yarn and will get moving after I blog! Ooh, note that I switched to some Lantern Moon wood needles. They are very pleasant to work with, as they should be at $30 (yow).

So, since I ran out of alpaca, I picked up my poor neglected fall colors shawl and got quite a bit of it done. This is one of those projects that it's hard to gauge progress on. I know I put at least 3 or 4 inches on it, but it still looks small. Of course, the fact that the stitch pattern is that interesting double garter stitch that sort of bunches up doesn't help much. That will make it a warm one, though. So, here's how it looks now:

Two-ball fall shawl progress.

It's blending very nicely. No one who looks at it believes I am knitting with two colorways, thanks to how each has the same brown in it. I am thinking of making a brown border on the bottom, since I have a skein of brown from the same dyer.

Now that I look at it harder, yeah, I can see I made some progress. I will quit whining.

I Went to a Store or Two or Three

I alluded last time to some fun knitting thing I was going to do soon. Well, that fun thing was that a friend and I took a day off work last week and indulgently went to visit every yarn store in Austin (other than Yarnbow, since I am not sure it's still there). We were comparing and contrasting.

I think it surprised my friend (a new friend, not one of my usual knitting friends or my old knitting friends who would know better) that everywhere I went someone knew me. I really enjoyed getting to talk to Stacy at the Knitting Nest, whom I hadn't seen in quite some time (since I quit going to yarn shops to browse!). We enjoyed the way the decor is all thematic, and were impressed by the larger space they have now. It must be very pleasant to take a class there. And it's always fun to trek down to way south Austin for something other than Volvo repair (son bought a Volvo way down south, which he has already blown the engine on, but it's OK because I made friends that way). I  bought a tape measure and a book there. Turns out I already have the book, too, so it may go to the shopping friend.

I digressed again. Next we headed up to Hill Country Weavers, where I actually HAVE been lately or I would not be working on that gray sweater! Suzanne was helpful and chatty but not too chatty (so we could shop) and was glad I am enjoying that naturally dyed alpaca so much. I saw the other colors, too--dyed with beets, onion and cochineal, which made two different colors, I guess with different mordants.

I bought two books, one is the book about Judy's Magic Cast On, which has some fun projects in it. It has to be cool to know you invented a new knitting technique, so my circular hat is off to Judy Becker! The other book I got is Modular Knits, by Iris Schreier, which also has some good ideas, plus some complex stuff to really dig into at some point.

The only yarns I bought are these two:

Another ball of Alchemy Haiku, and a Zauberball

I really want to make another Paintbrush Lace cowl, this time in just the Alchemy Haiku yarn. The colorway I got will look great with black or blue, I think. My fingers are itching to start, just to touch that yarn some more. I also got a ball of, yes, sock yarn. But but...I want it to be a shawl. This Hitchhiker one, to be exact. There was a sample in a slightly different colorway at Hill Country Weavers, and it looked so perfect with jeans. Look at me, planning projects again. I am so proud.

After checking out with our groaning weight of purchases, then eating a fun lunch right across from Hill Country, we checked out a couple of fabric stores that are typically "Austin." Stitch Lab is the one I'd send you locals off to, if you aren't already cool enough to have been there. It is incredibly trendy, modern (or postmodern) and updated it almost hurts. But there is fun fabric and all the classes look very entertaining. The teacher leading a class of little girls was really charming and very much in control without dampening their enthusiasm. I got a catalog for Beccano and Leigh.

The other shop is also very, very trendy, but in a more elegant way. It is called Common Thread. It had the kind of good quality fabric for sewing clothing that you can't get in the usual places. Nice natural fiber knits, and some gorgeous cottons you could actually see yourself wearing. I came close to wanting to sew something...and we also visited an upholstery shop just for fun...

Then we finally hit Gauge, where I hadn't been in the longest time. I was very glad to see they had nice, new yarns in good quantities. The selection still isn't huge, but it is well edited, and I know I can go there if I suddenly need more Entrelac stitch markers. Whew. I did know someone there from the olden days, but I didn't know her well and she was grafting something--you can't disturb that. The owners had all left right as we walked in, so there was an interesting man holding down the fort and dealing with customers.

All in all it was fun to do a mini yarn crawl, though I'd still like to get back to Paige and Yarnorama sometime. I know my friend would love to see the spinning stuff that all my beloved old knitting friends are now so addicted to!

And speaking of new knitting friends, I am still enjoying the little yarn group at work. There are just a few of us, but we do keep showing up! It's a very relaxing atmosphere, and I do appreciate that now that my whole life has calmed down and I can relax a bit.

(Remember, if you want to know what I am DOING all the time, visit the Ursula Lumbers blog, starring our bulky old RV, Ursula! There you can see me interact with horses, donkeys and cattle, and see a lot of pictures of farm and ranch land...someday there may well be sheep or alpaca on the ranch!)

Scarf and Such

Mostly I have been knitting along on the drape front sweater, and I have actually finished the front of it. Lovely? Not really lovely at all before blocking!

Some stockinette knitting

People say that photo looks like a uterus, or a thong. Well, it's a sweater back. I am moving along on the front.

I just finished the simple 1x1 ribbed scarf I have been working on. I sure enjoyed watching the colors change on it. I ended up using almost all of the yarn, but thought it would be too long if I did the last two colors of the self striping yarn, so I stopped. Here is is sitting in my office next to my Wrap Me Up wrap, which lives there for any chills in the air (more likely during summer than winter in climate controlled offices).

Hanging around in my office

I think the colors came out really nice. It's just nice, simple fun to knit along with one semi-solid and one self-striping strand. For your records, this is Knitwhits/Freia Handpaints - Freia Semi Solid Sport in Red Oxide and Knitwhits/Freia Handpaints - Freia Ombré Worsted in Metal Earth and Purpleheart. The yarn is single ply and really soft wool. I am sure it would felt just great, so I will be careful with it.

I just got a new coat, and it won't go with the scarf at all (it is very red and would clash with the orange). But, I will wear this anyway--it will look great with my Levi's jacket.

Let's see...I think I will get back to working on the shawl I had been working on earlier, and finish that lovely alpaca sweater. I need to finish something. I am just glad I lost some weight so all my knitted stuff fits again.

I'm doing a fun fiber activity later in the week, so perhaps I will report on that. In the meantime, it's back to my lovely life, where my kids are both off for spring break, and my spouse and I are traveling around to agricultural sites in the newly repaired RV (ranch in Cameron last weekend, farm in Yorktown next weekend--how did I get so rural?).

Oooh Boy, These Are Some Nice Mitts

I’m sad to see the end of project to make the Susie’s Reading Mitts out of the lovely wool/cashmere yarn. It sure feels good to have that beauty running through your fingers. Lucky me, though, I now get to enjoy the beauty on my hands and arms!

Yay for outdoor photography and the good camera. This is realistic.

In the non-cropped version of this photo, which I am NOT sharing, the sun makes a nice pattern out of my cheek wrinkles that looks like those wavy patterns sand dunes have. That’s Suna living up to her name, I think. This is a really nice intermediate project where you can learn how to make a picot edging and a thumb gusset. I did see on Ravelry where one knitter posted the technique she uses to make a thumb gusset with no holes around the join, if you are interested. The lace part is a very, very, easy way to start with lace—it looks much more complex than it is. It’s ideal for any luxury yarn you may have, since it doesn’t take much yardage and shows off the beauty of your yarn in the big stretch of stockinette.

I have another whole skein plus some leftover of from the first skein. Maybe I have enough to do the gloves I originally set out to do!

Well, so, I finished that, and I did work a bit on the striped scarf. I got to a section where the semi-solid and the stripe were rather similar, but even that is a nice, mottled effect. Ha, I was thinking how much I wished I had a photo of this when I realized I actually had brought the project with me. So, see what I mean?

See on the right how it is rather blendy?

You can also see that I am about finished with the first skeins of yarn. And as I figured, it really isn’t long enough, so I’m glad I got the additional skeins. This is another lovely yarn to work with, so I am happy to make the scarf long. Turning to less lovely yarn, I was asked by my coworker, Mike, to make him some slippers like his dear departed (rather grumpy) grandmother used to make for him every year. He even showed me a photo of them. So, off I went to Ravelry, and sure enough I found some that look a lot like the grandmotherly ones. These are made using two strands held together, so they go very quickly. I made a sample using some yarn I had bought at Michael’s for no real reason. At least it’s wool (Paton’s Wool Ease I think) but it’s more sturdy and long-wearing than soft and lovely. Here’s what I made (and these DO look better on a foot):

A bootie

I went down to a size 9 needle and the gauge turned out a bit tight. Plus I made the small size, so I got one that would be excellent for a ten-year-old child, I think. But the exercise told me that I need to do the decreases differently from the instructions—they don’t look really pretty to me.

And it reminded me how little I actually enjoy knitting with two strands on large needles. One of my size 9 Knitpicks wooden needle is loose where the wood joins the metal, so I need to glue it back in (and one of my clear plastic 9s is missing!). But, for the next one I try, I am using size 10 needles and making the medium adult size. I think that will fit me. On this one I am making the stockinette portion solid, and using the variegated yarn just in the sole and cuff. Those will be for me. Mike’s going to go out and get Red Heart in his favorite colors, then I will make him a pair of large adult ones. I think that will work. I’ll have him try mine to see if they fit, though. These work up so fast that at least the torture of using acrylic on large needles won’t last long.

I am amusing myself a bit now that I am back to knitting. Once more there are larger and larger piles of yarn around the place where I sit to use the computer or watch TV. I need to edit out some of those “yarns in waiting” so it all doe all doesn't take up so much space. No photo of that is forthcoming.

Groovy Knitting Groove

I guess I am back in my knitting groove at last. I now would rather be working on one of my projects than reading or playing a relaxing game. Whew. And because of that, I actually made something in a reasonable amount of time!

I finished the Paintbrush Lace Cowl on Thursday or Friday, and blocked it Saturday. I rinsed it in human hair conditioner, which had the double advantage of softening the Silken Straw yarn and making the whole thing smell good. The cowl feels marvelous, which is good since it goes right against my extra sensitive neck. Here’s a picture of it before blocking:

Pre-blocked cowl

And here it is afterward. Isn’t that a nice pattern? I can imagine it in a mohair lace yarn being a very fine rectangular wrap. The pattern is so pleasant to knit that it would be a nice relaxing project.

The colors look funky, but at least you can see the pattern.

When I wear it it’s quite attractive, but you sure can’t see the pattern! I have no idea how I am supposed to arrange it on me. Oh well, it’s a fashion statement. Now I have to go find brown clothing to wear with it. I sure did enjoy that project, though. I am glad Jody suggested it.

Dressed rather warmly for the weather. And no, I did not knit the sweater. I get asked that a lot.

Now I am working with the multi-colored yarn I’d intended to use to make gloves. Instead I am making a nicer, more sophisticated set of fingerless mitts than the previous ones. The pattern is called Susie’s Reading Mitts, so it must be for me. It’s going quite well. I love doing a picot edging, and I like the simple lace enhancements. Mostly, though, I sure to like the yarn and the tweedy effect it makes. The little bit o’ cashmere in the yarn makes me purr (internally) with pleasure. And the tweediness is so subtle.

Susie's Reading Mitts. Colors are more warm in real life.

I also like having a thumb gusset and a bit of a thumb. That will keep me a lot warmer, I predict. I do like mitts, so that I can use my phone at a moment’s notice.

That reminds me, I am going over to a woman I know from the UU church to help her make a mitten with thumbs that come off so her child can text in the frigid north of Illinois. When I lived there (1980-1996 if you are keeping track), I didn’t want to take off my Thinsulate gloves for anything. I knitted a lot of sweaters at that time, but wore store-bought gloves mostly. I have been promised wine, so I am not sure how well I will do with figuring out patterns, but we’ll see…

Oh yes, to complete my report on my current projects, I should report on the scarf I am working on during choral rehearsals and such. I think it’s really pretty. When I got halfway through the colors on the self-striping yarn, I realized that I’d end up with a sort of short scarf. So, off I went with my very patient younger son to the yarn shop, intending to get another skein of each color of Knitshit’sFreia. But, sadly, they were out of the Metal Earth colorway. One of the other ones looks pretty good with the reddish main color as well, so I just got another color. I am not sure if I will use all of the additional skeins—I might end up with a much-too-long scarf! Here’s it’s progress:

Easy scarf that looks good.

While I happened to be at Hill Country Weavers, I decided to pick up enough worsted weight yarn to (gasp) make a garment. I was really taken with a pattern in the latest Vogue Knitting, #12 Drape Front Sweater. It’s very simple and mostly stockinette rectangles, but the front has a half twist in it, which looks really nice in a drapey yarn.

I ended up getting something close to what the pattern calls for, an alpaca from Misti Alpaca called Best of Nature Worsted. It is gray (the color is called Rockies) but just slightly mottled. It is dyed with “natural ingredients,” apparently blue corn. I hope the promise of an interesting garment will keep me working on this and that the subtle variations help keep me interested. I am really looking forward to at least making a swatch of this stuff, but those cashmere-blend mitts are holding my interest!

Thanks to all of you still reading, and thanks to those of you posting your knitting stuff on Facebook, too. I enjoy hearing from you, however I hear from you!

Why Yes, I Have Been Knitting! And Planning!

I am getting a bit more back into my old knitting rhythm, though I am also still playing word games online, too. I can't help it...I love word games. I find it interesting that I win most Words with Friends games and lose most Scrabble games online. I can't figure out why I am good at one and not the other, but I still enjoy the mental challenge...but I also have been knitting.

When I am sitting in Unitarian meetings and various choir rehearsals (mark your calendars for February 19 if you are local! Texas Choral Consort will present Out of Israel, a fun presentation including lice, flies and other plagues), I have been working on the K1P1 scarf. It's looking really nice and the color changes are very lovely. I will give you a picture next time. Gotta save something for the future.

When I am not doing something that requires a lot of other thought, I am working on the absolutely beautiful Paintbrush Lace Cowl pattern that I got the yarn for when I was shopping with Jody. Two different Alchemy yarns--Silken Straw and Haiku. I sure am enjoying the feel of that silk and mohair gliding through my fingers, and I am also really enjoying the pattern. It is easy to follow but makes a cool effect. It has lace and cables, but neither are overly difficult. Just a pleasant thing to knit. I am beginning to wish I had more yarn. I probably only have enough to do 4 pattern repeats (though the pattern calls for 5). Here's how it looks now, with Scrunchy the Pug inspecting it:

Scrunchy sez, "This is intruding on my space."

I have been thinking about how nice the mohair scarf I got for Yule feels. Maybe I will make a scarf or stole out of one of the skeins of alpaca lace yarn I have, using the Paintbrush lace pattern. That would feel soooo good. And it would also not be so hard I would get discouraged again.I think that will be a nice thing to work on while doing the other, simpler projects I have in mind (gloves, mittens, etc.).

I realized I didn't post the earlier photo I took of the project, showing the two yarns involved.

Paintbrush Lace Cowl, pattern, and a bit of a view of the yarns that are knit together in my version

I found out today that the most elderly student I ever had in my knitting classes had passed away. She was a lovely woman with so many stories, and a kind listening ear. She was also very, very funny. It was so hard for her to knit, since her hands shook, but she kept at it, and always had questions and wanted to learn more. One of the nicest things about teaching was meeting so many interesting people and hearing their stories.

That ending brings me to a new beginning. I asked if it was OK, and sort of got permission to start a knitting group where I am working now. I hope to get to know some of the people there better, and satisfy my urge to teach people to knit or crochet. We'll see if it goes over well or not--I think about 8 people expressed interest, which is great! Of course, I didn't ask permission correctly, even though I tried to. Oh well, I made it over 4 months before getting into trouble over anything at the new job, which is considerably better than my record at the last "real" job I had. But wait, I am not looking backward anymore. I am living in the present! Right now! And right now I want to enjoy some more zen knitting...you all go knit or read or enjoy the moment in some way that has meaning for you now, OK?

Knitting Inspirations

Not only did I actually go to a genuine LYS the Friday before New Year's, but I also got some other new yarn in the past week, one as a gift. I have been trying to knit from my very copious stash this past year or so, since I have been in the throes of my "knitting identity crisis," but like the ones I mentioned yesterday, these "spoke" to me (or showed up!).

I have been wondering if I'd ever get to write this blog post, though--ever had one of those days when technology hates you? Well, all of my various technologies for getting photos onto blog posts broke this morning, and I got a bit frustrated. Finally I found a cable, dealt with some issues on the phone and the computer, and was able to copy all my recent photos onto my computer. WHEW! Still not sure why I can't upload photos to Facebook today, but I will live. I can at least blog now!

First I wanted to show you this very interesting yarn that I found when Jody and I were shopping. I know it looks like a bit of a mess, but I saw it knitted up and woven (that was lovely!) and I really liked the tweedy effect it made. The yarn is called Mericash Thousand Colors and it is from Punta Yarns in Uruguay. Of course, it is no longer being made, sigh. It's a merino cashmere blend with 3 strands that each change colors. My plans for this are to knit it tightly and make myself a pair of warm gloves. I LOVE my very old cashmere fingerless gloves, so I predict I will like these.

Mericash Thousand Colors

And look, I found PhotoShop so I could crop pictures.

Next is yarn I ordered from the blog's old friend Ray Whiting at Knitivity. I was really intrigued by both of these. The one on top I am totally in love with. The colors are so subtle and muted. I realize I am on a real tear with hand coverings, but I really, really want to make another pair of mitts in this. I have a simple pattern with cute edgings in mind. I may have enough left over to make a matching hat and/or headband, too. The bottom skein reminds me of blue and white china, even though it has pale orange or cream color in it. It will probably be socks, if I ever get back to those. I am suddenly getting holes in my socks, some newer ones. No moth signs, but it makes me hesitant to make more.

Sock Yarn from Knitivity

And next is yarn I received as a Yule gift from my friend Diana, who went to Ireland and thought of me when she saw this yarn there. As you can see, it's a boucle yarn, in a lovely reddish purple-y color. It feels oh so soft. I wish I knew what the yardage was, because there is a pattern in Vogue Knitting this month for a very simple sweater with a twisted front that would look cool in this knitted very loosely--it would be more of an overlay than a sweater. I may have to get one of those things that measures how much yarn you have! I think this is a goodly amount, since it is thin yarn and tightly wound. it's surely enough to make a very simple shawl that would showcase the yarn.

Lovely Irish Mohair

Diana also sent me a really lovely mohair scarf or wrap that was hand knit in County Clare near the Burren, one of my favorite spots on earth. I love the very simple pattern used.On larger needles, this could be done in the boucle.

Scarf I got as a gift.

So, these are all the things that are inspiring my knitting these days. Now I need to write one more blog post and I can knit! It is SO nice to finally have a relaxing weekend.

Mismatched Mitts

My friend Mary in North Carolina works in a very cold office in a UU church. She asked if I could make her a pair of mitts after she saw the pair I made Leigh for Christmas. She said it could be wild colors, since UUs love her tie dye. So, I found the balls of Poems yarn I had been trying to make a vest out of (it was coming out way to small BEFORE I gained my recent pounds). Since this yarn changes colors, I figured I better not use cables, so I made the trusty pattern linked right here in this blog. The first one came out quite nice, as this blurry photo taken in the RV shows.

First Mitt

As I made the second one, I realized it was going to bear very little resemblance to the first one, in color. I seriously considered making another mitt from a second ball of yarn, but then I asked people on Facebook, and they began to say not to worry--mismatched is cool now.

I asked Mary, and her daughter seconded that opinion. So, here's the second one.

Second Mitt

They came out quite warm, though I think they'd have been warmer if I put in a gusset. Maybe next time I make this pattern I will  do that.

I sent the finished ones off to her a couple of days ago. I sure hope she likes the sophisticated mismatched effect!

Both mitts, in focus, and a view of the wine fridge

I decided I liked the self striping stuff again, so I got two balls of yarn at Hill Country Weavers when my old knitting friend Jody came to visit, one a semi-solid and one really nice stripes in the colors of rocks. This yarn is from Knitwhits, called Freia sport. I love it--single ply, hand-dyed wool.

I started one of those easy K1P1 scarves with this yarn, since I need something very easy to knit during 6 weeks of choral rehearsals coming up. So far it is red and gray, but the gray will be changing!

Very simple scarf in very  nice yarn

It was really fun to go shopping with Jody again. She is quite the enabler. She was intent on getting Jared Flood yarn, while I wandered around trying to not buy stuff. However, when I saw this one ball of yarn, it just had to go home with me. It looks like it is liquid metal--a very cool roving surrounded by a mesh. I believe the shade I got is silver with red mesh, but it looks purple. This stuff is absolutely amazing. It weighs practically nothing. It's Sublime Yarns Lustrous Extra Fine Merino Wool DK and wow, it is most unique.

I had just gotten the Vampire Knits book by Kathy Pendry on my Kindle and remembered there were cabled mitts in there. I wanted a pair after making Leigh's. In between the vampire trivia and famous vampire quizzes (quite the snooze for me), there are some rather nice patterns. My only complaint about these "pulse warmers" is not in the actual product, but that there are no charts for the cable pattern. It would have been easier to knit fast with a chart. Also, it was knitted flat. Ick.I did a fine job mattress stitching the first one together, but I sure would rather make them in the round.

Here are a couple of photos of the yarn and the finished first mitt. Still working on the second one.

Yarn and project. You can't see how slinky and shiny this stuff is

This is a little overly flashed, but you can see it looks a little metallic. 

The yarn looks somewhat between these two images.I have some yarn and another knitted item I did not make to show you, so I will try to blog again tomorrow. Oh sure, two posts in two days???

I actually made something!

I have been totally free of knitting mojo. Too many unpleasant things have been cropping into my head when I knit. So I took a pretty big break. I did carry knitting around wherever I went, though. Every so often I would knit a few rows on the shawl using two complementary sock yarn colors, and think how nice it would be to wear it. Then I would stop again.

Shawl made from two complementary sock yarns, each knitted from the opposite side.

At some point in the fall, Leigh asked for a pair of leg warmers. So, I found what looked to be an easy enough pattern, Waterlily Leg Warmers. To make sure the pattern would work, I got some inexpensive worsted weight yarn, two skeins of Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool. Well, I have now made four projects with that yarn and I STILL have half a skein left. I need to move on!

Here are the leg warmers as I was working on them. I am in the RV somewhere, because I recognize that upholstery! Oh yeah, in case I haven't mentioned it, we have an RV, of all things, Ursula, and I blog about that a lot. Feel free to visit Ursula Lumbers!

Leg Warmer on me!

Here are the completed leg warmers. I realize this picture is not very pretty, but I have not gotten a photo of them on her.

Obviously I should have cropped this.

So, when I finished this, I still had a lot of yarn. So I decided to surprise Leigh with hand warmers to match the leg warmers. I would knit them really hard whenever we were going to the ranch or farm, then forget about them at home, because Words with Friends is too enticing.

Just before Christmas, I managed to finish the last couple of rounds.  What I did was cut the number of stitches by a third, and only put in one cable pattern (there are three on the leg warmers). I knit back and forth to create the thumb holes. I should have started back and forthing on an odd row, because I ended up having to do the cables on a purl row. Well, I can fix that next time. It was easy to just improvise a pattern based on the leg warmers, though. They came out quite cute and made a nice Christmas gift!

Happy with hand warmers.

I single crocheted an edging around the thumb openings, too.

Tuba Boy (Kynan) looked at all the yarn and had left and mentioned that he did not have a warm hat. I knew I could make one pretty quickly, so I went to find a really simple ribbed pattern. Sure enough, I found the extremely popular Hat Fit for a Boyfriend. It also made a hat fit for a son! It came out rather short when I made it following the instructions--the original was made for a fellow with no hair, and my kids, they have hair. Once I made it longer, it looked great! I finished it on Christmas Eve as the kids were serenading Lee's dad with the blues.

A warm head means warm musical tone.

Lee's dad is not doing real well, health-wise. It was a hard Christmas, with my dad gone and Lee's dad so sick. But he is holding on...has a new tractor and cows about to calve. He has to hang on for them! He remarked more than once how warm Kynan's hat looked. I asked if he would like one and he said, "Oh yes, I would." So I started knitting fast and furious. There's nothing like a request from the father-in-law to get back your knitting mojo! By the time Christmas dinner was done, the second hat was finished!

Looking very modern in his beanie.

This will help him in the biting wind out on the farm. Lee's dad is a warm weather person--he thrives in heat. Long-time readers will remember I made him socks a few years ago.

Speaking of socks. I keep making holes in mine. Makes me sad. Either I have a moth or they are showing their age. Makes me not want to knit more socks, too.

I was asked by a friend to make her some hand warmers, so maybe I will have another post for the new year. Things ARE better for me, in many ways. Just need to work on knitting happiness.

Moving on to Something New

I could not get myself motivated to knit much on the little blanket, so no photo of it. I spend a lot of my time this week thinking of knitting, reading about knitting and mostly not knitting.

But tonight I am going to start knitting a two-color shawl with these two yarns:

Two sock yarns, which won't rotate for me. Blogger keeps "helpfully" changing the orientation.

I think the two colors will go together fairly well, since they both have brown in common. We'll see. I am using some pattern "suggestions" I got from Ray at Knitivity. These are two of his blog special yarns, the top one from a year ago, and the bottom from March.

I'll get to work on it and let you know how it's coming along later in the week. I predict it will either look cool or awful. In any case, it will mostly go with brown stuff.