Baa-ble Hat

Each holiday season we spend time with my husbands family during the days following Christmas.  This year I started a hat kit that I purchased at the WI Sheep and Wool Festival.  My nieces watched me cast on for the project and challenged me to knit it on one day.  And I almost made it!  I didn't in a million years think that I would knit as much as I did so I didn't bring my double-points along with me.  The last bit of the top of the hat had to wait, but I got about 90% finished in one day.  Yeah for some selfish holiday knitting time!

I left the babble off the hat for now.  I've never been very good at making pom-poms so thought I would leave this one be for now.  Pretty cute, huh?

New Yarns

This winter I got to a few more yarns to add to my basket!

 

This gray skein came from my husband as a Christmas gift.  There are times when he travels across our state for work, and this skein came from a short stop during one of those times.  He happened across a small knitting shop and purchased me 390 sport weight yds. of the most lovely of natural, undyed gray yarn.  I dont' know what makes me smile more: dreaming of what to make with this yarn, or the thought of him browsing through skeins of wool in a yarn shop?!














This cream yarn (again, undyed) is from a friend-of-a-friend.  She used to raise sheep and had all their fleece processed into yarn.  Now she lives in our city and no longer has her sheep, and she is in the process of selling off her remaining yarn.  When my friend pointed to the clear garbage bag full of skeins in her corner I was giddy - I picked out three skeins, one to gift and two to keep.  I think I have approximately 500 yds. to work with.

 

Lastly, I picked out three skeins of Peace Fleece from my LYS with gift certificate from my uncle.  I have always been curious about this yarn company - ever since I saw some of their yarn knit up by a friend for a February Lady Sweater.  I have three skeins in Kamchatka Sea Moss, an amazing blue-green heather colorway.  I have already cast on for a wallaby for my youngest.

I think I have enough to keep me inspired for the rest of our winter!

FO: Red Fiona

I finished this sweet tunic the day before Thanksgiving - and actually sewed on the back button while in the car, on the way to the hike we took on Thanksgiving day.

This top could not be nicer: the fit, patterning and style are just about perfect for a little girl.  But the pattern is all written (no charts), and there's no schematic either.  So the pattern is a bear to follow, but once you settle into the groove it begins to make sense.

Also the sizing is off in my opinion.  The size I knit is labeled in the pattern as 3-6 mos.  Granted I was likely a bit off with my gauge, but not by much.  And while my youngest daughter is on the small side for a 20 mos. old, she isn't THAT small.  So if you endeavor to knit up this pattern go by measurements, not age range.

 

The yarn, which I've mentioned before, is a fantastic locally sourced alpaca/nylon blend.  It took just about 600 yards to knit this up, which seems like quite a bit of yarn, but the great thing about tunics is that they can be worn for a long time.  These photos are also pre-blocking, and given that it's an alpaca hand knit, it will grow quite a bit once we give it a washing.

 

The beauty and ease of construction for this top is something that I admire and I'm thinking I may just have to knit another, in a larger size - maybe size it up to an adult?

 

ps.  Don't mind the crazy wardrobe on my youngest - she gets the leftovers from the other three with regards to clothes/sizing and any hopes for matching outfits have sadly been lost.

Handspun

First Harvest: Backyard, Colorway: Sugar Maple

 

Lovely fabric.  And that color!  Check out the story behind this yarn here.

 

I'm working it into the honey cowl, medium size.  Should be just long enough to wrap twice around my neck, and cozy enough to keep me warm this winter.

WIP's and Local Yarns

 

Three of my current WIP's: a vest, mittens and shawl. 

 

The vest is the 18 mos. sized Milo - one of my truly favorite baby/toddler knits.  There are so many ways to customize it - I went back and forth on whether to include a stranded color pattern (elephants! flowers! polka dots!) but in the end decided on a simple cable.  I hope to have this one off the needles, on on daughter #4, by tonight.

 

The mittens are a work of art - Wintergreen by Kate Gilbert.  I am making a few modifications to the pattern, however.  Adding a thumb gusset on the side and I'm not twisting the leaf stitches.  I don't think it matters much with such contrasting colors (and makes the knitting go just a hair faster).  They are a labor of love and probably won't be complete for some time.  They are a concentration project - one that I need space and quiet to work on.  It is the second mitten pattern of Kate's that I've knit and I am pleased, yet again, with the intricate design details (first project here).

 

Last is another Simple Yet Effective Shawl, knit up with my own hand dyed yarn.  I have to confess that I had this shawl in mind when I dyed the yarn so I am excited to see it knit up.  I am happy with the colors/striping and hope that it will find just the right recipient this holiday season.

 

Note: the colors in the photo are not very true - it has been gray and rainy these past few days.  Perfect for knitting, but sucky for indoor photography.  That vest, while pink, is more a peachy-pink.  And the base color for those mittens is actually a deep purple.  The shawl colors you can see better in this post about yarn dying.

 

And speaking of WIP's, I just cast-on for a hat last night and owing to the bulky weight of the yarn, am already half-way done.  I am in love with it and will find it hard to part with.  But I know a lucky girl that will get this for a holiday gift (pictured next to it is the yarn to make a matching one for her sister!).  This is a superwash wool, hand-dyed by Liz Avery at The Sow's Ear. 

 

 

Lastly, I am REALLY, REALLY excited because this morning I placed an order for truly local yarn: Finewool Yarn by Five Green Acres.  Mary Jo stewarded this wool from pasture to skein, and has lived the entire process from shearing to cleaning to dying to spinning.  Her First Harvest: Backyard skeins have amazing colorways such as Sugar Maple, Blue Jay and the like.   Check out the yarn for yourself - it has an amazing story.  And Mary Jo?  She's an amazing woman. 

Amish Quilt Auction

my bidder number

This past Saturday there was an Amish Quilt Auction in southern Wisconsin, near the communities of Brodhead and Albany.  We are lucky to have relatives that live down that way and we spent part of our weekend at the auction with friends and family.

one of ten racks of quilts and quilt tops for auction

There were hundreds and hundreds of quilts: finished quilts, King-size quilts, antique quilts, pieced quilt tops, baby quilts and everything in between.  And that was just under the quilt tent.  There was another tent devoted to Amish furniture and other goods, as well as a farm equipment auction, food, cold drinks and a horse that made ice cream (by pulling on the hand crank).

under the quilt tent

We had a fantastic time - there were a couple professional auctioneers that kept things lively - and I came home with two quilts. One is a double-wedding ring quilt in very bright colors, and the other is red polka-dots on a tan background. These are bright and modern looking quilts; they are not a good representation of the traditional designs, historic quilts, antique quilts and solid colors that dominated the auction. But they are in keeping with my personal aesthetic. 

double wedding ring quilt, queen size

All the quilts went for good prices and I hope will provide for the kids of the Clearview school, and all the members of local Amish communities, in the coming year.

red ball quilt, full size

And if you are interested to attend in the future you are in luck.  It is an annual event.

detail of double wedding ring quilt

WIP's



new local yarns

I recently made two yarn purchases for myself. 

The teal is a locally spun and dyed fingering weight from Blackberry Ridge (photos from my tour of the mill are under the photos link on the left).  It is a wool/silk blend in the most stunning deep teal imaginable.

The green, a gorgeous merino/cashmere/nylon blend from Sun Valley Fibers, is purely a stash acquisition - but a smart one.  I got 1600 yards to be certain I have enough for a cardigan or sweater, once I find the right pattern.

Getting those new yarns spurred me to cast on a project for myself.  I picked out current, by Cecily Glowik MacDonald.  A lovely fitted cardi, with great trim and button details.  In a lightweight wool/silk I trust it will be a good lightweight sweater when paired with a long sleeve t-shirt.




current

My other work-in-progress is the aforementioned Versa.  The tunic is coming along nicely, but I am letting it sit while I really get into my cardigan.  I hope to finish it up by the end of the month.  The yarns for this top are all from the stash.  The blue worsted wool is left over from knitting up the tiny tea leaves for my 4yo last summer.

versa tunic (from the stash)

After finishing up these two projects it might be time to re-visit my stash and figure out what to keep, what to use up, and what to give away.  It has been well over a year since my stash challenge ended and while I feel I have a good handle on my current and recent yarn purchases, I still have a lot of left over yarn that is not being put to use.  And as my tastes and preferences for knitting evolve, I feel myself pulling farther away from projects that would suit the sitting yarns; the ones that I haven't picked up in a couple years.

I recently had a friend give me some fabric 'scraps'.  But let me say that these are not scraps (at least not to my mind), but lovely pieces of left over fabric from her collection.  And I am happy to have them as inspriation for myself and my future sewing.  And this gesture showed me that while it's admirable to use all that you have, sometimes letting it go to another creative person can be even better.  

A Craigslist-tacular Spring Break

new-to-me yarn swift

It was spring break around here last week.  We were busy going here-and-there, visiting family and friends, making holiday decorations, and enjoying eachothers' company. For a few days, the older girls attended a visual arts mini-camp, and the younger set was tasked with helping me do deep spring cleaning. 

In a marathon of craigs-listing baby items (yes, our family is now complete) I realized that I could/should take a moment and craft a 'wanted' post for something I've been hoping to purchase for some time: a yarn swift. 

And wouldn't you believe it! The craigslist faeries were watching out for me.  In less than 24 hours from my post, a woman e-mailed me with one for sale.  A large Glimakra umbrella swift, that to her eye had hardly been used (she was selling it for a friend).  Well just my luck.  The seller even delivered.

The rest of that afternoon was spent taking turns pulling yarn from the swift and winding it into balls.  It sure is a step up from me sitting solo on the couch unwinding skeins by hand.  I've still got an active want ad for a ball winder.  We'll see if one turns up in the near future.  Until then I've got three willing helpers, and one delightful babe full of yarn mischief to wind with.

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Next week I'll be guest blogging over at a happy stitch.  Melissa is hosting a series on sewing/crafting spaces and I'll share my thoughts on the 'essentials' for making crafting happen while herding a family of six.  Come on over for a tour.

Make Do and Mend Collective: to market, to market...



Make Do and Mend Collective
Photo by Ellencreates.com

Three local friends and I recently formed an art/craft collective.  We are the Make Do and Mend Collective (more to come about this adventure in the months ahead!) and we had our first sale this past weekend at a local elementary school.  Ten percent of our profits went to support the Parent-Teacher Organization and we were among local craftspeople of all ages.  There were even quite a few students selling their art and craft projects.

I am particularly excited about this new adventure for me.  I've never sold any of my knitting or sewing before and being part of this collective has removed one of the biggest hurdles for me: inventory. 

Knitting takes a lot of time.  A. lot. of. time.  Some of us can move more quickly than others - I'm not a particularly fast knitter - but its all relative (It may take one person 40 hours to knit a sweater, but another person 45 hours).  So I have always been bogged down by the notion that I needed inventory to start selling items.  And the fact that I now belong to a group, whose work is along side mine in a display, means that I am able to offer single items.  I don't have to worry about having two or more of each item in a variety of sizes. 



For the first market I hand knit eleven raglan sleeve ornaments.  I also designed and sewed 39 re-usable, reversible coffee sleeves and seven sets of reverse applique felt coasters.  And I set out some choice knit items that I had in my collection that had never made it on to my kids, nor were given as gifts.  And I can add to this inventory over time, at my own pace, with items that I enjoy knitting and that might even sell.  I am a knitter - more than a sewist - and will focus mostly on creating knit pieces for the collective.  But you may also find the occasional color pencil roll, coffee sleeve, super-hero cape, or tote bag from me.  That's the beauty of the collective.



market wares



In reference to my earlier post about knitting items to sell, I still know that I am not a retail knitter.  I won't ever be able to crank out multiple hats, or sweaters.  But I can make unique, one-of-a-kind items and accept custom commissions.  I also know that I won't make back what the items are "worth" in terms of hours spent knitting.  But I will be able to make enough to cover the cost of my yarns, and entrance fees for shows, and maybe a bit extra to support other local artists.  And I will be putting beautiful, hand knit items out into the world, and some pieces that will be passed from one household, one family, one generation, to another.  I love that thought.

I haven't received notice of which items sold at our first market - but I did sell a hat and an ornament while I was briefly at the show.  What a rush that was! 

So, I head into new waters, buoyed by the strength of  friends that enjoy a good swim now and again.  And I hope that in return they feel my enthusiasm and happiness coming back at them, one wave (or slowly made stitch) at a time.

hand knit sweater ornaments

On a Whim

One of my older daughters and I were bumming around town today. On a whim we stopped into the Glitter Workshop, a local business that features beautiful art/crafts from local folks. And there was a hand stamped jewelry workshop in session. I poked my head back into the classroom and was instantly taken with the idea of making something. It was fate.

Mindy Kuen, the woman running the workshop, had some amazing custom pieces set out as examples; they were inspirational. Combine that with my intermittent ogling of Lisa Leonard designs and I had a pretty clear idea of where I wanted my piece to go.

Mindy set out materials for key chains, pendants or bracelets, walked each of us through the process, provided many pointers and hints, and allowed all of us access to her stamp collections. Very cool. You can also find her blog here.

I am so happy with how this piece turned out. There is nothing like the satisfaction of making something yourself, stretching yourself in new directions - stamping is a decidedly non-fiber art form - and experiencing something new with someone you love. True, my daughter did spend most of her time in the awesome art/play room at the store, but still.

I hope that all of you find yourselves in unexpected places, and able to take advantage of unanticipated joys this weekend too. (Hmmm...can you tell that the sentimental phase of this pregnancy is taking hold?)

Stash enhancement w/o a yarn budget

So, I'm three (almost four!) months into my personal stash challenge and I found two opportunities to get some new yarn without spending any new money.

First, I sold a skein of discontinued Rowan yarn on ravelry and was able to put that money towards a new skien of locally spun and handpainted yarn. I found 340 yds. of this lovely blue 3-ply light worsted weight yarn at a local lambing event. I can't wait to match it to a fun project.



Second, I had an opportunity to do some trading with a fellow knitter. I picked out three yarns from my stash that I thought she would enjoy and she picked out out a couple skeins for me along with a request that if I need something in the future to be sure to ask her. One skein was a great all-purpose washable cotton in a bright, light blue. The other is this lovely grey cotton/wool tweed sock yarn with flecks of peach and blue. Not sure if I'll actually use it for socks - it would make a great baby vest, sweater or hat - but I'm happy to have it in my collection. She had even knit up a gauge swatch so I could see how the fabric will look.



Lastly, here's a photo of one of the baby lambs we saw during our morning at the farm. It's spring around these parts!

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Lastly, thanks to all for your kind words and thoughts. As the blanket grows I'm starting to feel better. The sun it out today and it's going to be summer-like warm this week. Monday morning is looking pretty good from here.

Holiday Gift Monday: These are for me!

This lovely stack of books were given to me by various family members for the holidays. I'm enjoying lots of time with each of them over my morning coffee.

I had gotten the Sara Foster cookbook and the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving from the library this past fall and loved them. I'm so happy to have them as part of my own library. The other three books are new to me, but they are astounding. I can't wait to give some of the Eco Crafts a try and the knitting book is a lovely reference with some great patterns and designs. The gardening book, The Earth Knows My Name, is an incredible essay on gardening and immigration.

We are coming to the end of the holiday gift series, only one more handmade gift to share next week. I definately cut back on my handmade/homemade gifts this year, and, I admit I was less stressed in the end. This year, in many ways, our home was literally a gift; hosting our whole family under one roof for two special nights.

In addition to what I crafted, I also purchased one gift on etsy (a holiday Sesame Street themed polar fleece blanket), gave one gift of fabric from the local fabric shop (two yards of Amy Butler) and gave away lots and lots of homemade yum (cherry jam, biscotti and homemade apple pie filling). And, as an alternative to homemade, I tried my best to purchase store-bought gifts locally. With only four gifts (2 books and 2 gift cards) coming from big box stores I definately fulfilled my 3/50 goal for December.

ps. Happy 33rd Birthday to me!

FO's, WIP's and holiday knitting

I promised her it would be done by Thanksgiving. And by golly it was washed, folded and waiting at her chair on Thanksgiving morning. (Never mind that I put in a few late nights the week leading up to that morning...) I couldn't get her sister to wear her wallaby for the photo, but maybe I will snap one of the two of them wearing their sweaters in the future. At this point I'm just glad they wear them at all.

I'm not sure how, but the purple one turned out about a full size larger than the first one I made. I think that once I followed the directions on the first one, and had a sense of how it all went together, I got liberal (lazy?) with measuring on this one. I know at one point the booklet was open to the adult directions, so I'm certain that's an adult-sized hood, but those sleeves and hem are too long for her this year. Room to grow is my motto for this one.


















I also couldn't wait to dig into that new yarn from my mom. I've been itching for a new hat that would match both my winter coats - one is red and is used for outdoor activities: shoveling, ice skating, snow angels, etc. and the other is black and is for going to the coffee shop, meetings on campus and other activities that don't require me getting down on the ground. I've got a few hats that look nice with one or the other coat, but this is the first that I think will look great with either. The pattern is felicity - instant gratification hat with a bit of hip tossed in. [I only know that its hip because: 1) the pattern says so, and 2) when I picked up the twins at the daycare coop last week wearing it our 20-something childcare student swooned over it.]













In other news I broke two of the dpn's that I'm using for my striped socks, so those are on hold until I can wrangle the rest of the sock onto three needles, or I purchase another set. This is frustrating because this set purposefully comes with a spare needle (6 needles total), but after the first one broke, the spare did too. And both needles broke within 24 hours of each other?! They are made of birch, and I'm wondering if it has anything to do with the fluctuations in the humidity in the house now that the heat is kicking in?

When you are knitter a temporary stop in one project means more time to devote to another neglected project and I've really made some progress on a project I started last winter. I'm planning to felt tonight. With any luck it will be done and on the wall before my in-laws arrive for the holiday visit.

I've also decided to pare down my holiday knitting this year. I'm only going to knit one item, a zip-front vest for my brother-in-law. This year it's quality, not quantity, that's dominating my personal handmade holiday quest. I haven't started the project, but in preparation I plan to do the swatch and practice the Italian cast-on today. Here's the yarn I'll be using - a lovely worsted gray, direct from the Blackberry Ridge Woolen Mill.

A day away in Wisconsin

This past weekend my husband and I had an incredible day away; away from home and the kids. We started with lunch in New Glarus, then drove along scenic Highway 39 to Mineral Point. After visiting some galleries, we grabbed a quick nap at the beach at Gov. Dodge State Park and then ended the evening with a wonderful play - Hay Fever by Noel Coward - in Spring Green, at American Players Theatre. These three towns are incredible places to visit for people who love history and the arts.

After walking through numerous galleries in Mineral Point we visited Set in Stone, which is a bookstore, wine shop, coffee house and yarn store all rolled into one. The shopkeeper I spoke with showed me a lot of local yarn choices, both those that were spun locally (with local wool, alpaca etc.) but also those dyed locally. She also had a great selection of fairly traded yarns from around the globe.

The jar of buttons is from an antique store in New Glarus. As a new sewer I don't yet have a button stash. I've got a handful in little individual ziploc baggies, from new clothes I've purchased, but I don't have a monster-sized cookie tin filled with them, like I remember my Grandmother had. This jar is the beginning of my button stash.

Keeping in the spirit of promoting my local community, I'd also like to share this project with you: the 3/50 Project. It's probably clear from this post, but exploring, purchasing, creating, and investing locally is something that I'm pretty interested in.