Christmas Socks

I pulled off these socks with just hours to spare before the stockings were filled - a new pair of socks for my husband for Christmas.  Seems to be a tradition for me to knit him a pair each holiday.  These are particularly special, as we picked up this yarn when we were on vacation together in Oregon a couple summers ago.  I have since learned that Foothills Yarn and Fiber in Hood River, OR has closed, but this yarn will live on here in Wisconsin!

I did make a small mistake when casting on the first sock and forgot to put on a 1x1 rib at the top of the leg.  Fortunately I caught my mistake early and was able to frog a bit and knit up.  The cast off edge turned into the Italian bind-off and while not a complete match is good enough for my husband.

WI Sheep and Wool Festival: through kid eyes

This year I took my oldest daughters with me to the WI Sheep and Wool Festival in Jefferson, WI. 

One of my twins loves dogs and as I suspected she loved watching the herding trials. 

My other oldest has lots of interests and is game for most any experience so she found delight in the sheep shearing, lambing, yarn, food - you name it and she was cool with it.

We had a nice time looking through the vendor barns, having lunch and taking in the sights.  I may have just found my very own festival-going companions for the next few years (smile).

In only came home with a few yarns - I already cast on the two from Sun Valley Fibers for Daybreak
- but I also picked up some beautiful earrings from Jennie the Potter and a shawl pin.  Overall it was a great day and am looking forward to next year.

FO: Husband Socks

I finally made a pair of socks for my husband.  He is pretty traditional when it comes to socks - black cotton for work and white athletic for around the house.  I got him two pair of SmartWool socks for the holidays last year and he loved them; I sensed my opportunity to get him into a pair of hand knit socks was close.

 

Earlier this year I picked up a sale-priced sock yarn sampler from Knit Picks.  I love the colors that came in this now-discontinued pack (it was called 'Earth') and the socks I have knit with their yarn over the years have held up really well.  My husband chose the dark brown wool/nylon and I set out looking for a plain sock pattern.  Something with just enough character (for his taste, but for me to enjoy knitting too).  They turned out smidge big, maybe a quarter-inch all around, but in my experience Knit Picks wool/nylon sock yarn will shrink a bit after washing and drying.

 

I happened upon the Globe Trotter sock pattern on ravelry.  I really like the pattern - I think the seed stitch rib makes for a sophisticated yet casual looking sock.  The designer also has a matching 'Around the World' sock pattern.  Wouldn't it be fun to knit up a pair of each for an engagement/wedding/anniversary gift for an adventuresome couple?

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

Breaking the rules

"We're on vacation. It's a souvenir."
"I've been soooo good so far."
"All profits go to llama rescue efforts."
"I'm supporting small-scale, local businesses."

These were at least four of my thoughts when I was standing in front of the cash register.

In January I set a goal for myself: no new yarn purchases for 12 months. I should have seen my own downfall on the horizon after trading and selling for new yarns in March.

Rationalize it any-number-of-ways-to-Sunday, I fell off the wagon and bought myself some yarn.

We were out west on vacation last month and made a quick stop at a Flagstaff yarn store that carried locally-raised, hand-spun llama and llama/wool blend yarns from Azimuth Ranch. I picked up one skein (I didn't completely lose my senses) of this amazing local llama down/wool blend. Not sure what this yarn is destined to be, but I've added it to the stash and will enjoy looking at it for awhile.

In admitting my transgression I am reminded of this quote, "There is much to be said for failure. It is much more interesting than success."

The needles pointed west

I'll be back in this space again soon.

I've been knitting, but I also went here.

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.

London, England

Our trip was wonderful in so many ways. Here are a few pictures. See me sporting my mitts at Tower Bridge? I'm not trying to hide my face, it's just the only picture we have of me wearing them.

But, as it relates to my knitting the trip wasn't so eventful. I didn't make any progress on any projects at all, even though I managed to take along my needles and some sock yarn. This trip wasn't about my craft, and it wasn't about passing the time. It was about taking in all that another city had to offer, and spending some quality child-free time with my husband. In fact, I didn't even have the urge to knit; not even on the airplane.

While we were in London we did manage to squeeze in a trip to Liberty - a true delight. My sister-in-law gave me a surprise early birthday present, a lovely canvas tote from the store (the picture is a detail of the bag). I also picked up two skeins of Rowan yarn. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the wall of Rowan yarns. If I'm lucky my LYS will have a few different Rowan yarns in a few different colors at any given time, but I had never seen anything like this: an entire wall dedicated to Rowan yarn, in every color imaginable. I also experienced a few of the lovely liberty fabrics, but I held back on those.

I would also be a fool not to mention the INCREDIBLE textile and tapestry exhibits at the V&A. My mind was completely blown away. If you ever have the chance to spend a moment (or a year) there I highly recommend it.

All in all it was a lovely trip. I'm glad to be home, but I'm so much the better for having gotten away for awhile. School starts up again this week (my last class, ever) and I am planning to defend my dissertation proposal by March. It is going to be a busy spring.