Can’t put it down.

October 4, 20191 Comment

As I mentioned when last we spoke, I cast on a new shawl. I have honestly not thought about much else since. Well, that’s not completely true. I’ve though about a lot of things, but I haven’t knit much else.

Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of joining a friend for the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival. We had, quite honestly, the best time. It was a great festival, lots of variety and lovely vendors and wasn’t too crowded. The lunch lines were it bit much in the hot sun, but the brisket was worth it. We topped the day off with an iced coffee before heading home. I picked up a beautiful fair-trade basket, several projects worth of yarn, and the cutest sheep mug I’ve ever seen.

As you will see, the cats are big fans of the basket. All of the yarn is from dyers I hadn’t ever heard of, which is very exciting. I’ll talk about each yarn as I knit it. I got home from the festival and settled in for our d&d game and got right back to my shawl. That honeycomb cable stitch is addictive.

I usually try my best to knit cables without a cable needle when it’s a 1×1 or 2×2 cross like this. I learned the trick when I knit my Zweig pullover. I still feel like my cables on that are a bit sloppy, so I’ve tried other methods since. I have finally found the trick! It’s the method used in the Beeswax hat pattern and is outlined on this website. I promise this will have you flying through 1×1 cables!

One of my purchases at the festival was yarn for a DK weight t-shirt. One of the first booths we stopped at had a gorgeous sample knit up and at the end of the day, I still couldn’t stop thinking about it. On Sunday I took my only break from the shawl to date, and swatched for the sweater.

I had thought that I would cast it on this week, but nothing has been able to tear me away from the shawl. I only have a few rows and the bind-off left and I am finishing it tonight! The border is 2×2 cables which slow me down a bit, but with I’m still plowing ahead with no cable needle. The contrast between the body and the border cables is spot on though, I just can’t stop squishing it.

Another obligatory cat+basket picture, every time I get it out, they are all over it!

Once this baby is off the needles, I am committed to at least starting one holiday gift. I also want to get that sweater on the needles and maybe cast on a new cowl… My hands have been busy with only one thing, but mind has been wandering to a million other makes! Perhaps a bit of startitis is warranted this weekend.

Happy making!

Birthday socks and other pretties.

August 9, 20182 Comments

As must happen every year, my birthday has passed. It was a good one though, and I’ve got some lovely yarny goodness to show for it.

First up, I finished my birthday socks last night.

This yarn is Tilting Planet Apollo Sock–an amaszingly squishy 75/25 base–in the Cosmic Cake colorway. These are my eighth pair in my light box of socks, and my fifteenth box o sox pair overall. I don’t have very much more to say about them, but they’re beautiful so let’s look at them a bit.

Cosi’s toes are cuter, but the socks don’t fit on him. In other birthday news, I received a few wooly gifts in the mail this week. One from Kevin and one from me. The gift I gave myself was a complete surprise, I had ordered the Hey Sister Yarn Co. August club colorways. I had no idea what would be arriving in the mail, other than one “color” and one “neutral” club colorway. Boy, was I pleasantly thrilled to open up these pretties!

The neutral club color (left) is Taupe Frost and the color club color (right) is Lucid. They are both so pretty and I love how well they go together. I see a two color shawl in my future. As for what Kevin treated me to… he really treated me to a birthday afternoon of yarn shopping from the shop of my choice. I chose Quince & Co. and I’m glad I did.

I’m in love with this color palette! In this mix are a hat, cowl, mittens, and a cardigan! Ever since I knit my Windswept, I’ve been itching to make a sweater out of Chickadee, Quince’s sport base. Well, Kevin helped me choose the color and it’s happening! I wound up a skein as soon as I got off work and got right to swatching.

I’m planning to knit Empire, a cardigan by Gudren Johnston. I’m trying to resist the urge to cast it on tonight. Luckily, my Sunset Highway is doing a pretty good job of keeping me occupied. I’m nearing the end of the first contrast color.

That’s it for me, this year’s birthday is tucked away with those pretty pink socks. I’ll bring it out next year and we’ll see how things look with another year on them.

Happy making!

Birthday.

August 2, 2018August 3, 20186 Comments

Today is my birthday. Oddly enough, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten more into my birthday. I used to not set much stock in my own birthday, but now I think I’ve learned the value in taking a day for yourself and letting it be special.

Kevin treated me to chocolate this morning with my coffee and I started the day by casting on my birthday socks.

I finished the ribbing before it was time to get Joshua out the door:

This yarn is Tilting Planet in the Cosmic Cake colorway. I’ve been saving it for about a year for my birthday socks, and I just love it. The yarn is dreamy and squishy and the pastel pink and lavendar wtih hot pink and neon orange pops just slays.

For my birthday, Kevin graced me with a gift card to Quince & Co. I’ve been mooning on about their yarn since I knit my Windwept in Chickadee. That yarn is amazing. Thanks to sweet boyfriend, I’ll be knitting up a cardigan in it as soon as possible.

In even more happy day news, my Zweig is dry! I finally got to try it on with two sleeves and everything!

Pardon the house, it’s raining so no pretty outside pictures today. I am so pleased with the fit of this sweater! I love how it is relaxed but not oversized, just perfect.

I didn’t really modify this sweater at all, except to knit the body 1″ shorter than called for. That seems to be fairly standard for me, and I think it worked well here.

This is Zweig, by Caitlin Hunter of Boyland Knitworks. I used Skein Yarn Top Draw Sock in the Japanese Slipper for the main color, and Nice & Knit Sock in Old Bay. The Old Bay was a special colorway that the Nice & Knit ladies dyed up for MDSW trunk show at The Knot House this year. Both of these yarns are luxurious and soft, they make a lovely, cozy sweater. I was skeptical of my color pairing abilities, but I think these worked perfectly.

All in all, I’m incredibly pleased with this sweater. It is definitely my favorite sweater, and one of my favorite knits ever. I sort of wish my birthday was in October or something so that I could wear it out. But August is always nice and humid, so no sweater wearing for me.

We’re headed out tonight for some sushi and a low key family evening. It’s been a great day to just relax and enjoy time with Kevin and Joshua, and take the time to indulge in some lovely knitting. Nothing crazy, just special.

Happy {birthday} making!

Four sweaters behind me, four thousand more to go.

July 31, 2018July 31, 20182 Comments

I’ll just come right out and say it. I love knitting sweaters. I don’t know where they’ve been all my life. I think that I want to have a sweater on my needles at all times. There are so many beautiful patterns out there! At the beginning of the year, I had knit zero sweaters. I’m now up to four. Four! Yes, that means that I finished a sweater.

Zweig is almost dry and then we’ll be ready for some pictures and I’ll call it done. I knit the whole second sleeve on Saturday and Sunday, it just seemed to fly. Since I can’t seem to stop myself, on Sunday morning–before finishing the sleeve–I swatched for the next sweater. It’s nice and warm here in Maryland, so the swatch was dry by the time the Zweig was taking a bath. I immediately wound up my yarn and cast on a new sweater.

This is my third (yes, there was a first and second) attempt at the Sunset Highway by Caitlin Hunter of Boyland Knitworks. The yarn is all from Peepaloo Fields on her simple sock base, the 75/25 merino nylon. Left to right, Hush, Delicate, Blue Bird, and Tide. I’m so excited about this one I can’t stand it. I really love the deep teal and how it’s working with the paler blue.

I could be farther into the yoke of the sweater, but last night I got a bit distracted. I’ve been planning to knit Void by Melanie Berg for quite a while and something just came over me last night. I cast it on and knit two repeats before bed. I woke up this morning and knit another half repeat before Joshua came and made me get up to go to work.

I feel an addiction coming on strong. This yarn is the absolute perfect pink and so round and bouncy it is heaven flowing through your fingers. The yarn is MadelineTosh Longrider DK in the Scout colorway. I believe this base is discontinued, I purchased the yarn on a ravelry destash. The Longrider DK is a fairly heavy DK which works well since this pattern calls for worsted. This yarn has tried to be a cardigan and a pullover but I think it is perfect for this shawl. The stitch definition on those little cables is divine!

In other news, I’m starting to feel the sewing bug coming on. In particular, I’ve been thinking about sewing up some camis to go underneath all of these sweaters. I’ve also got a bit of an outfit in mind for the fall. I purchased this yarn first, then found the fabric and I think they are a match made in heaven. I’m going to sew a Hollyburn Skirt and knit a Mount Pleasant top to go with it.

Cloud 9 Sweet Nothings poplin and Woolberry Fiber Co. in “Hayride”

And finally, I’ve wound up the yarn for my August socks. I’m over the moon about my soon to be birthday cast on! I’ve been saving this pretty pink skein of Tilting Planet for a year, just waiting. The colorway is Cosmic Cake. Perfect. The other pair will, of course, be rainbow socks. I’m digging this murky, speckly rainbow.

I think that’s it. I’m taking the day off for my birthday on Thursday and I think I will just veg out and knit on my birthday socks. As one does.

Happy making!

On the receiving end.

July 3, 20182 Comments

I posted a while back about Fibreshare, an international fiber artists swap. I joined because I felt I could use an extra dose of joy in my life–and let me tell you, I found joy in spades! I had such a great time preparing the package that I sent, so much fun curating a box of goodness to make another knitter smile.

My partner was lovely from the start. She sent me a few emails, following up with questions that she had. And then one horrid Monday evening, I came home to the sweetest postcard. Just a note to say hi.

So sweet and thoughtful. Fast forward a few weeks and I check the mail and another sweet note had found it’s way down the east coast to me.

And then yesterday afternoon, a package arrived. I opened it up to find a letter propped on top of everything.

Underneath the note and the pretty pink paper–don’t worry, about five minutes after the above picture, I spilled water all over both note and paper–was a big project bag, filled to the brim with goodies.

The bag itself, handmade my my partner is big and pink and grey and lined with elephants! My zwieg might have to move into this bag sooner rather than later. Inside, was a plethora of parcels–all wrapped in fabric or handmade bags.

I don’t know what it is, but I loved all the C’s on the tags. See all those cute bags? Once I unwrapped everything, I was left with this stack of precious little sacks–all of them sewed by my partner!

I unwrapped it all, reading along in her note about each item she had selected. I really can’t believe how well she got me! I absolutely adore everything, no question.

The yarn is so me, it’s even more me than I think I ever could pick out! In the questionnaire, I wrote that I love soft colors and my ravelry profile it says my favorite colors are grey, pink, and mint. Well, my partner went there in spades. She sent me some lovely yarn from Chelsea Luxe, the house yarn of her LYS, Chelsea Yarns.

Chelsea Luxe Chunky in Chocolate Chip Mint

Chelsea Luxe Merino Single in Pink Peony

Sweet Sparrow Yarns Sandpiper in Snowberry

Chelsea Luxe Merino Single in Pink Peony

Chelsea Luxe Chunky in Chocolate Chip Mint

In a feat of unparalleled mind-reading, she gifted me a skien of Sweet Sparrow Yarns, a local to my partner dyer that I’ve been obsessing over lately. Her colors are everything, and this skein of Snowberry is no exception. My partner also graced me with a touch of luxury in the form of some handspun angora. It is the softest thing I’ve ever touched.

Sweet Sparrow Yarns Sandpiper in Snowberry

Cozy Rabbit Farm Handspun Hand Dyed Angora

But what blows my mind is that she sent me two mini skein sets–one that speaks to my bright color loving soul and one that hits right at my current unspoken obsession with golds and browns. How did she know?

Gypsy Soul Fibres

Knitty and Color

Among all of the bits and bobs of preciousness that she sent my way, there was an alpaca magnet (already beloved by everyone and named Tim), handmade stitch markers, buttons, salt water taffy, coffee, and this beautiful little painting:

I just cannot. I can’t wait to get a frame, I love it. Last but certainly not least, was one final little hand made item from my partner. I’m still in awe of this piece. She cross stitched me some rainbow socks! There were tears.

All in all, I’m incredibly touched by the thoughtfulness of this package. I truly love each and every thing, and it is all so special.

Fibreshare was a wonderful experience. I got to know some amazing kntiters, and got to share in the giving and receiving of the squishy goodness we all love so much. I would highly recommend giving this swap a try, the people are wonderful and the whole community is lovely. I definitely plan on signing up for the next round and really look forward to it. For now, I’m just going to knit on next pair of rainbow socks and enjoy some of my new treats.

Happy making {friends and socks}!

Sharing is caring.

June 13, 20183 Comments

About a month ago, I signed up for the most recent round of Fibreshare. If you are unfamiliar, it’s an international swap for fiber-y crafters. Weaving, spinning, crocheting, and you guessed it… knitting. Sign ups opened up back in May after a particularly stressful week and I decided I could use a little extra joy in my life.

Once we received our partner details, I was off to the races. My partner is a fan of bright colors, stripey sock knitting, and chocolate. A woman after my own heart, in many ways. I had two skeins of yarn in my stash that seemed to fit the bill perfectly, and then I started scouring the internet for the perfect extras. In the end, I also wound up asking Kemper of Junkyarn to help me pick out a skein of her yarn for my partner. She picked the brightly speckled “Leslie” colorway. Perfect.

After finding the yarn, the extras, the chocolate, the final touch was sewing up a special project bag. The Weebrawbag by Laura Zuckerkuss seemed the perfect thing for a fellow sock knitter. Big enough for a sock project but small enough to take anywhere, it even has pockets for notions! The hardest part was finding fabric. Once I saw this socks on a clothesline pattern, though, I knew. I also knew that I wanted one too, and if I didn’t make them in tandem, I’d never get around to it. And so, I made two.

Arne’t they adorable? They are pretty tiny, so I gave my partner’s bag a test run with a skein of yarn:

Plenty of room! I really enjoyed this project and the finished object is just lovely. The only modification I made was to use fusible fleece instead of the interfacing called for–solely because I purchased the wrong interfacing. If I made this again, I might make the channels wider, they’re a bit tight. Once the bag was complete, I assembled the package.

I wrapped everything up–tied with yarn, of course–and shipped it out. I’m pleased to report that my partner was happy. All in all, it was incredibly fun to put together a package for another knitter. I don’t really get to put together crafty gifts for others often, and I really enjoyed it.

All in all, I had so much fun putting the package together–including the cute bags. And I get to keep one!

Happy making!

Go with it.

June 6, 20182 Comments

I’ve sat down to write this post a dozen times over the last few days. I’m feeling a bit scatterbrained with my making and can’t really seem to synthesize all that’s happening into anything coherent. Let’s come at this from a different angle. The current state of affairs, in pictures:

It’s done!

Joshua assures me that our latest breakfast bar is the best so far. Jammy Baked Oatmeal from Food in Jars.

I don’t eat the cupcakes, but I bake the cupcakes. Recipe from The Kitchn.

For about 30 seconds, this was the only project on my needles. I managed to brioche the brioche.

June rainbow socks are on the move. I think I knit the cuff too long. Le sigh.

I went to The Knot House for a Junkyarn trunk show. This dude stepped right into my awkward selfie and then I was too excited once inside to take any more pictures.

Junkyarn haul. (l-r) Lady Murasaki (mohair), Rosemary, Brigitte, and Amalthea. Not pictured, I might have picked up a little something for my FibreShare partner, too.

That yarn never even saw the stash before I wound it up. Also – cilantro flowers are pretty.

I only just cast it on, but I really couldn’t resist casting it on. Audra Wrap by Ambah O’Brian.

With the Madewell blocking, I finally got back to my swatching plans. And then I swatched something else, too.

Tomatoes!

Swapped destash yarn for sock cranking and received this–nearly 8 feet long–sock snake back this week. Afterthought everything, here we come.

It’s time to make pesto, again.

I finished the secret make, but can’t show that–so here is a gratuitous mohair floof shot.

The Beekeeper Socks have been frogged and the Cyril Socks cast on.

I’m casting on some more colorwork as soon as I can get to it, wish me luck.

Sweater swatches!

Happy making!

My favorite holiday – part two.

May 6, 20183 Comments

Yesterday, I indulged in a deliciously decadent day of all things sheepy and wooly. The kids and I spent the day at the Maryland Sheep & Festival, having a blast.

To kick things off, I overslept a bit. We managed to get out the door pretty quickly, but the kids were definitely not sunshine ready when we left.

That picture cracks me up. We headed over to the festival and it only took us about 15 minutes to get over there, but once we did, whew! The traffic was pretty terrible. I took us nearly an hour to drive the mile from the interstate to the fairgrounds. Most of that time was spent stopped so I put a row or two on my sock while we waited.

Once we got there, though, it was so much fun! We walked around and did a bit of shopping for a while, but then we took a nice tour through all the sheep barns.

We always try to find sheep who like to be petted, they’re so precious and wooly!

That guy was amazingly soft and loved getting all the attention! Not to be outdone by the sheep, the angora bunnies were in full-on adorable mode and Joshua even got to hold a baby. I nearly fainted from all the cute.

We walked through the open air barns, when we came across the booth for Sarafina Fiber Art. Truly amazing. There was a humongous felted giraffe:

And a possum with a scarf:

After all of that, it was lunch time. We visited the scouts and settled in on the grass for a picnic.

We tooled around a bit more, there were a few vendors I wanted to go back to. Once I was finished with my yarn shopping, the kids were ready for a snack. Go figure, they love some festival food.

With that, we made our way to the car. We always stop on the way out at the farmer’s market, and this year was no exception. We picked up some cheese to take home and I was thrilled to see a local coffee roaster selling iced coffee. It was really delicious, so I went back for a pound of beans. Can’t wait to dig in to that.

We made it back to the car just as the rain started to come on. It’s been a quiet afternoon, I’ve been organizing yarn and queuing up all the projects I have planned.

I am excited that I know exactly what each skein of yarn is going to be. I tried to remember two things, my color scheme and my word of the year–intentional. Those two thoughts helped me think about how the yarn I was looking at could become items that would fit into my wardrobe.

In case you’re curious, I knit about this much while waiting around for various things this weekend:

I really like this month’s rainbow! I am dying to cast on something new, all of those pretty yarns are just whispering at me from the craft room. At the same time, I want to get a few things finished up. Either way, I’m ready to knit.

Happy making!

I’ll talk about the yarn as I use it, but if you have any questions feel free to leave a comment or get in touch with the contact form. I am always happy to chat!

My favorite holiday – part one.

May 5, 2018Leave a comment

If knitting had a holiday, it would be a sheep & wool festival. Full of community, excitement, sheep, and the tools of our trade. For me, it’s the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival–which just so happens to be this weekend. I’ve had a fantastic weekend so far, some me time, some time with the kids, and some major yarn time.

Thursday night I got to thinking that I might have some line-standing time, and it would be nice to have a little sock tube on some 9″ circs for knitting-while-standing ease. I went ahead and cast on my May rainbow socks and knit a whole repeat for the cuff. I usually run out of patience to do that, but I’m pleased with the result.

Things finally kicked off Friday after work. I headed straight to Needles Up, a pop-up shop in Columbia. It was a really lovely event. Never packed, the crowd control made it a nice experience. The event was very nicely curated with yarn, fiber, bags, sock soap, and charms. I sampled a bit of it all.

Well, everything except the fiber. I’m so excited about this bag, it’s from Fat Squirrel Fibers and is sweater sized. I thought it was high time my sweaters got their own bag, usually they just have a cubby at my desk.

Though it was over ninety degrees out, it was chilly inside, so I was able to rock my Half Moon Oracle for the first time. I even got to meet several podcasters and makers that I’ve been following for a long time. Everyone was so sweet! All in all, Needles Up was a blast.

From there, I headed straight to Frederick for a pop-up shop at The Knot House. I had a nice time walking around Frederick before I got in line–I was second!

It was a bit of a madhouse in the Knot House. It was just choc full of gorgeous yarn and knitters ogling it. I got the chance to show Carol, of Swift Yarns, my Half Moon Oracle that I knit out of her yarn. She snapped a fun picture of me putting it on.

After that, things became a bit of a blur. I had lovely chats with Sandra, of Duck Duck Wool, and Claire, of Autumn and Indigo, and with several knitters while we waited in line. Luckily, the line wasn’t a quarter as long as last year.

All in all, it was a great day. I made it home just in time for Kevin’s amazing burgers and a quiet night of planning our day over at Maryland Sheep & Wool. Stay tuned for a recap of all the fun we had over there, and happy wooly holiday!

I’ll talk about the yarn as I use it, but if you have any questions feel free to leave a comment or get in touch with the contact form. I am always happy to chat!

Plants, plans, and progress.

May 1, 2018May 1, 2018Leave a comment

I may have started every single blog post in April with some comment about how ready I am for spring to really be here. Well, it’s here, friends. Today is the last day of April, and I think we’re really there.

First of all, I finally planted my wee container garden. It was a gorgeous, sunny afternoon and my little brother is in town for the evening, so we headed out to the local produce stand and greenhouse to purchase my plants.

We rearranged the back deck and got it all done. I love it! I have 8 different herbs, a jalapeño, and a tomato. Among the herbs are 10 basil plants… I think Noah was a little aghast at the sheer volume of basil, but we like our basil around here. I have visions of pesto and marinara dancing in my head.

Another key spring component is imminent–the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. It kicks off this weekend. Feel free to look back at my festival experience from last year, but suffice it to say this is practically a holiday in my house. I’m planning to go to two pop-up shops on Friday, Needles Up and The Knot House, and then take the kids for an all out festival day on Saturday.

I’ve been daydreaming about all of the yarn I’ll squish and what is going to follow me home. I don’t want to come out with single skeins or yarn that I don’t know quite what to do with, though. And so, I’ve been planning. Checking out patterns, scheming on sweaters, dreaming up shawls. I made myself a pretty little information sheet, with yardages on a few key patterns and other things I want to look for.

Now, I do not plan on buying yarn for all of this. But I find that when I’m staring at a wall of beautiful yarn, I get overwhelmed if I don’t have any patterns in my mind. And so, the cheat sheet was born. I’m really interested to see how this sheet will compare to the haul by the end of the weekend.

Somehow, thinking of all of these potential projects has gotten me in the mood for doing some major knitting on my other projects. I want them to be pretty far along before the any post festival startitis sets in. I’ve gotten down to the gusset on the next pair of socks:

This yarn is by Casual Fashion Queen in the Minty Fresh Graffiti colorway. I am digging this colorway and the yarn is that perfect 80/20 squishiness that I adore.

In sweater news, I am now past the waist shaping on my Madewell. I tried it on a few days ago and I’m absolutely in love.

I really need to reclaim the yarn from my abandoned Boho Blush. I want to use up all the bits and bobs on the body of the sweater and use the last skein for the sleeves and collar.

My true obsession, however, is my Windswept. I love it so much. I realize that it doesn’t look very different from the last time I showed it, but we’re getting there. It’s honestly been difficult to want to knit anything else, I love it so.

I’m really happy that the container garden is planted, because frankly, all I want to do is knit and think about knitting. Although, I’ve already been out to check the garden about a half dozen times. Hooray for spring!