New Year, New Knitting

So long 2011, helloooo 2012! 

In a nod to the 'out with the old, in with the new' way of thinking at New Year, I decided that I would empty out my WIP basket and finish up a few things, then reward myself by  starting something new, so I spread everything out and wove in ends, added trims and blocked like mad. It was somewhat tedious, but rewarding to see some of 2011 projects complete and wearable.

I haven't been able to share as much of my knitting progress from the latter half of 2011 as I'd have liked to because much of it was for publication. Some things, like my new Bosc hat and scarf, have been revealed, but the others are for publication in print for 2012 and are still top secret. 

One of the secret projects was developed in this yarn from Royal Fibers Spinnery, a heathered dark charcoal gray, aran-weight pure alpaca yarn I purchased from the close-out bin of their booth at the Taos Wool Festival last year. The yarn is extremely soft and surprisingly lustrous, with the exquisite drape of pure alpaca. 

Although the pattern will appear in a very different yarn for publication, the open nature of the main stitch pattern is easily worked in a variety of yarns. Can't wait to show you more when the pattern is released!

Another pattern for print publication was also developed in alpaca yarn, shown here in a dusty purple color, although the official version is, again, knit in a different color.

I've been playing around with these fun little doodads for a project,

and these handmade beads, a few of which were purchased from a glass artist exhibiting at Rhinebeck (sorry about the crummy photo, trying to take fast photos under artificial light is not a great idea).

In the 'in with the new' knitting category, I just finished a shawlette design prototype, wrote up the basic pattern outline and am now knitting it up in another yarn, incorporating some new ideas I had. And I've cast on for a cable cardigan - a hoodie? - in some stashed Berroco's Ultra Alpaca (see photo at top of post). 

The Ultra Alpaca was some of the only yarn I had enough quantity of on hand for a large project, so it will not surprise you to discover that it is... gray, lol. I do also have plans to knit purples, some gorgeous cobalt blue, a little red, lovely creamy white, a bit of green, perhaps more gold?, definitely more gray, eye-popping orange, a touch of pink, and a few other of my favorite colors this year.

I'll be able to show many more photos of WIPs and FOs as the year progresses.

And finally, to help celebrate a fresh new year of knitting, I will be holding another free pattern and yarn giveaway contest, so check back for details on that in an upcoming post.

Happy knitting and Happy New Year everyone!

New Knitting Pattern - Lesia Loop

After much positive feedback and interest from blog readers and Ravelry members, I'm happy to announce the publication of my latest pattern, Lesia Loop.

The light, soft Brushed Suri yarn from Frog Tree creates a lovely halo similar to that of mohair and the resulting scarf is equally light and soft with a lot of drape.  

Although Brushed Suri is listed as a fingering weight yarn, the fiber halo allows it to be knit up in a variety of gauges, depending on your needle size. I think another fantastic yarn choice for this pattern would be a mohair or mohair blend.

I love the simple, beautiful stitch pattern that looks pretty from both sides, 

allowing this wrap to be worn in a variety of ways, including doubled as a cowl, 

buttoned along one side through the eyelets in the stitch,

or given a half-twist, Moebius-style, and re-buttoned as a shoulder wrap as shown in the photo at the top of this post.  

The pattern stitch is presented in both charted and written form, and the design's garter stitch selvages, button and buttonhole bands lend a clean, modern look. Lightweight shell buttons add a little shine and don't weigh the piece down.

I named this pattern in honor of a very sweet friend I made while traveling in the Ukraine some years ago.  Lesia is a name meaning "of noble kind."  What a beautiful thought.

Some of you may recall this design from earlier posts, and I wasn't certain I would actually publish this as a pattern since I already published a chunky-weight version,  Lingonberry Loop, in December.  

But after many folks said they prefer to just purchase a pattern that gives exact details rather than modify it to suit their preferred yarn, I decided to go ahead with it. Thanks everyone for your enthusiasm and great input!

I currently have two introductory promotions running for this pattern, both through the end of March.

For all Ravelry members, when you purchase the Lingonberry Loop pattern, you will receive the Lesia Loop pattern for just $1 when you add them both to your Ravelry shopping cart.   Anyone who has previously purchased the Lingonberry Loop will also be eligible to receive the special price.

But...  I also want to offer a little something extra special to my blog readers.  After trying unsuccessfully to navigate the murky waters of adding multiple promotions to my Ravelry Pro account for this pattern, I've decided to offer you a free copy of Lesia Loop with the purchase of any of my other Ravelry patterns.

If you purchase any of my patterns through Ravelry, just drop me a Ravelry PM or post a comment to me here in the blog, and I will send the free pattern to your Ravelry library.  I apologize to anyone who tried to use the faulty promotion link previously posted here!

Thanks again everyone, and peace, blessings and happy knitting to you!

Living in Scarfland

I've been in a frenzy of scarf knitting lately, what with Christmas and work on my Lingonberry Loop (LL) pattern, not to mention my Thanksgiving scarf (still a WIP). I love scarves as a fashion accent, as an on-the-go project, and as a warm winter layer.  It's amazing how wearing one around our chilly house warms me up.

I pretty much always have one or two on the needles and over the years I've made plenty, some better than others, LOL.  

 

 

 

This week I finally bound off an aran-weight LL in Berroco Peruvia, and also sewed very light shell buttons on the very first version, knit in fingering weight Frog Tree Brushed Suri alpaca.

This yarn has a gorgeous halo that looks a little like mohair, but has more drape/ less spring, and a matte finish with less luster.  In the hand it is very soft, but reminds me more of wool than mohair.

 

I'd forgotten how much I loved knitting this, since I designed it in August 2010, and now I can't wait to wear it.  

When finalizing the pattern, I actually had two versions written up, one for fingering and one for chunky, both of which I liked.  

The deciding factor at the time was to go with chunky since it is much faster to knit, very warm for deep winter, and also more trend-current.  But boy do I love the light weight one!  

It's shorter and wider than the published version, allowing it to be worn many ways, but perhaps not a width that would be comfortable in a much heavier yarn.  It might feel too much like a blanket.  But then, just look at some of the ginormous (as my niece likes to say) scarves and cowls out there right now and who knows?

I like how the lacy pattern stitch is equally beautiful on both sides so you can wear it as a moebius with a half-twist before buttoning (as shown in top photo above), and how it allows buttons to go through along the sides for a shawl/ wrap style.

I'm considering publishing a second version of the LL pattern in the lighter weight.  Or will people adapt and modify the current one and it would be a waste of time?  Hmmm....

The grey one is still lacking buttons, so I'll save the FO shots for later.  Lots to think about.  

Gathering Wool

This week has been a very fiber-y one for me. I recently finished knitting some projects that are being written into patterns for release soon, took a few days to finish spinning and plying some yarn projects, and attended a fiber festival.  

I've only been spinning for a couple of years now, and don't spend nearly enough time at it as I'd like, but I can see progress.  

The 4 oz. skein of yarn shown above was spun with an attempt at a woolen-style, slightly thick-thin 2-ply, which is mostly what I ended up with. A few areas are somewhat overspun, and a few are underspun, but overall it's fairly balanced. It knits up at about 17 stitches per four inches in stockinette.

The wool was from a ball of .79 cents-per-ounce generic breed roving I purchased in natural white, and dyed with Wilton's cake icing dyes.  

I found this handy icing guide on the Wilton website, but I have to warn you - the color of the icing dye before setting it with heat is frequently different from how the yarn color turns out!  

This batch was dyed using pale sky blues, green and purple.  Using this way to dye your yarn requires a relaxed attitude and enjoyment of serendipity! 

Ravelry groups are helpful in finding information on this technique which is essentially acid dyeing using vinegar as the mordant, in the same manner as dyeing with a drink mix such as Kool Aid.  Check out this group, and this group for ideas and helpful links.  Knitty.com also has a helpful page on using drink mixes to dye yarn here.

Last weekend was the Wool Gathering fiber festival in Yellow Springs, Ohio.  

Held every year at Young's Jersey Dairy, this annual event has grown and improved over the years to become an exceptionally nice, excellent quality small show with a true heartland 'country' feel.  I think this giant cow sign is so retro-Americana cool.

For city-dwelling fiber lovers like me, it makes for a fun drive through scenic farmland to an attractive dairy ranch compound boasting several restaurants on-site, a sports pavilion, picnic areas, tractor rides and games for children, animals of all sorts, spinning, knitting,  and weaving demonstrations, and duck-herding border collies. 

And Young's serves wonderful ice cream, gelato, and cheese made fresh in their dairies.

This year's event was even larger than last  year's with another large tent full of vendors added and many more individual vendors in the areas between the tents. 

My only complaint about the show is that the tents are striped yellow and white, which makes it difficult to discern colors in fiber. Shoppers end up taking skeins of yarn over to tent openings to try to evaluate the color. Vendors in their own small tents outside were much better off in terms of ability to show off their merchandise.  

Of course the gorgeous fiber and yarn was everywhere, like this from Knitting Notions.

But there were also spinning wheels, looms, ceramics, glass, mosaics, framed art, jewelry, shawl pins, body products and other fun things to peruse. 

This vendor made the most exquisite jewelry in petit point wool worked in bargello and quilt designs set in tiny sterling silver frames.  

 

We enjoyed the peaceful drive, the gorgeous September weather (sunny and dry in the high 70's). Of course we enjoyed the animals too - sheep, goats, alpacas, and bunnies galore. 

I am in love with this darling little Angora baby bunny.  I wonder how my dog would feel about a new friend to play with....

This will be a crazy week for me as I prepare to head to New Mexico and to attend some really cool festivals and more.  I will definitely take many photos and notes to post so you can 'go-along' with me on the trip, but between now and then I have a ton of stuff to get ready.  I'll try to post at least one more time before I am off.  

Holiday Wrap Up

 

I've been knitting away this week on a new pullover, my cardi shrug and several versions of another lace project, to be unveiled soon.  

But I did promise to share a little about some of the yarn shops I visited last week over the Labor Day holiday, so here they are.

On Saturday, we stopped in Avon, Ohio, at Birds of a Feather, a combination knitting and quilting shop. This is a relatively new location for the store, as they went from a renovated barn to a renovated bank building.  

The staff was very friendly and they had an interesting mix of yarn.  I did not make any serious purchase, but did find several yarn odds and ends for 50 cents each, in the sale room at the back of the store.

This is the view upon entering the store.

After heading out of town, we drove by a giant alpaca farm, where hundreds of alpacas and babies were frolicking and stampeding, or grazing peacefully in their fields.  Sorry for a not-so-great photo, this was taken from a moving car!

On Sunday, we drove to Marblehead, Ohio, home of the historic Marblehead lighthouse.   

We spent a while just enjoying the sunshine and walking around giant rock ledges.  That's me in the tan outfit, wearing one of my knitted projects.

 

Our dog also enjoyed exploring the rocks.  

 

Lastly, we stopped at Just For Ewe yarn shop, tucked away in a wooded cul-de-sac off of a busy main thoroughfare.

 Owner Christi Soski offers free, introductory knitting and crochet classes - a great way to build a customer base - and she also loves spinning.

Christi is just as helpful and nice as can be, and she organizes her fiber by color rather than weight, making for a very bold impression upon entering the store. 

One of the buildings in the small 'village' of Just for Ewe shops is the "Yarn Barn"

 with these signs on the front,

and it's enclosure for animals including at times, alpacas, llamas, sheep, goats, chickens, ducks and a friendly miniature Australian Shepherd dog named Cody. 

This fella' has horns so large it's a wonder he can hold his head up.

The rest of the weekend was spent visiting with relatives, cooking dinner or hanging around my MIL's home, catching up on my knitting projects, some of which I showed in my last post. 

I won't be getting any knitting in tonight because we are heading over to a spin-in, but that's just as fun!  I'm also thrilled to be heading to a couple of fabulous fiber festivals this month, the first of which is this weekend.  I'll be taking you there in my post next week!

 

FO's - Misti and Mohair Lace Projects

 

Last weekend, Labor Day weekend, we went on a road trip to my MIL's home on the shores of Lake Erie, Ohio's Great Lake.  We spent the weekend zipping around the area, or just hanging around the house.  It's nice to get away from the regular routine once in a while.

On Monday morning, we got up around dawn and walked out to the beach for some spectacular sunrise photos.  

It's so peaceful in the early morning when no one is around yet, and even the gulls are quiet.

 

The lake was glassy smooth and calm and we walked along with our tea and coffee, enjoying the serenity and yet contemplating our soon return to the hectic, work-a-day world.

Some of the best parts about the trip were I got to visit two yarn shops (which I'll share in my next post) and I was able to finish more knitting projects!  Some of the FO's are blocking but I did manage to get a few photos.

The photo at the top of the post is a lace cowl in Feza Iplik Kid Mohair blend yarn. This yarn is typically mohair-sticky, but makes a pretty and soft lace cowl for a bargain price.  It may not be as luscious as my favorite mohair/ silk blends, but it makes a beautiful project.  I knitted this piece on US 7/ 4.5 mm needles to keep it light and airy. 

I also finally took a few photos of my shawlette in Misti Alpaca Hand Paint Lace.  I loved the colors, which remind me of spring wildflowers - phlox, cranesbill, violets, spring beauties, and dogwoods.  I wanted to keep it fairly simple since the yarn was so colorful, and started with a garter stitch tab and worked down from the neck in a wide triangle silhouette.  

I intended to stay simple with just garter stitch, but the exquisitely soft alpaca begged to be made into something feminine, so after the garter section, I added some simple lace and a small ruffle. I love the silky softness and pretty colors over a plain camisole top for summer and cooler, early fall evenings.  

The yarn, while lovely, is a delicate weight and maddeningly slippery, so wood or bamboo needles are highly recommended!  I knitted this on US 6/ 4mm Knitpicks Harmony circular wood needles, which have a nicely pointed tip, great for lace or tiny yarn.

I have much more to share, but I will save that for next time...