A surprise Sock

Even though there is only one sock in this picture I did knit them both. My daughter is painting her bedroom and she is storing all her stuff in my yarn room so I can't find the other one at the moment but its in there. This pair of socks is for a swap partner but I'm not going to tell you who in chase you are a partner of mine. I will tell you that the yarn is Reynolds Whiskey and the pattern comes from Interweave Holiday special. They were so much fun to knit I really like the lace/cable pattern I'm thinking of putting it on a cuff of a sweater some time in the future. Also the toe was really fun. Once you get the foot to the point you want to start the decreasing what I did was on all four needles I knit 1 purl 1, knit to the last two stitches on the needle and purled them together. On the next round I just knit. On the third round I knit 2 sts, purl 1, knit to last 2 sts and p2tog. I repeated in the same manor until I had 8 stitches left and the closed up the hole with a darning needle. It kind of looks like a flower on the toe and it does fit nicely.

Spinning at the fair

During the fair I had the great fun of doing a couple of spinning demos. I have so much fun doing this because is so neat to educate people about spinning. I am always asked why I would waist so much time spinning when I could buy it cheaper at Walmart. Yes its sad there are so many out there who are so uneducated in the fibers. My answer is always the same. "It may be cheaper to buy yarn at Walmart but if you add in the cost of seeing a psychologist, or alcohol, spinning wool is much cheaper, plus I do end up with some to show for all my money instead of a huge bill or a handover." below are the skiens I spun while at the fair. The pink are thrums that I bought at a show a few months back. I added some glitter when I plyed them together for a bit more glitz. The green was some alpaca/wool I bought at a local fiber store. I ended up with enough of the green to make the cabled socks that are in the current issue of Interweave Knits, which of course is my plan.

Its 101 degree out side it must be fall

Yes its 101 here in Boise on the 3rd of September. Well I can't believe its September already. August just seemed to fly by, but it usually does with all the things we have to do for fair and then getting everyone ready for school. So we are all finished with fair. It went really well and we all had lots of fun. But I do have to tell you that I'm glad its over. As I talked about before I did enter a few things and did pretty well, OK I did really well. I won the Needle Arts sweepstakes award. I have already started on plans to win both the Needle arts and the grand Sweepstakes award next year. I will have to step up my knitting and crocheting to win however. I will also have to add some needle work too. I'm thinking of doing some needlepoint, cross stitch, candlewicking and maybe even design a couple of things. My plan is to work on something each month for the next year to show at the fair next August. So please keep checking back on my progress. I do have a funny story for all you tatters out there. I made the rounds last week to all the fabric stores in the area to look for candlewicking supplies. For those who don't know what that is, its a type of embroidery where you make designs with french Knots or colonial knots. Anyway I bought some muslin at ones store and the clerk asked me what I was going to do with just a half yard. I told her I was going to do some candlewicking. She said "Wow that's more of a dying art then tatting."

A day at the fair

So today our local fair started. I'm not really sure what you would call it. Its not really a county fair and its not a total state fair. The title is the Western Idaho fair, so I guess I would have to say its more of a regional fair. There are entries from several county in the area. Well years ago when I first moved to Boise I started to enter crocheted items because at the time Super yarnmart would award 5,10 and 15 dollar gift certificates to the winners. So that was my way of adding to my stash. By the way don't you just miss that store? Well now days the local knitting guild will give out special prizes but for the most part the fair pays the premium money. So for the past few years I have entered a few things, mostly knitting but some times other things like tatting, crochet and even some hand sewn mini bears. For the past 20 or so years I have been wanting to win the Sweepstakes award. There are two one for just needle arts and the other is called the Grand Sweepstakes, the way you win these is by gathering the most points from the wining items that you entered. Well this year I just ran out of time to get enough items to enter or so I thought. Today as my husband and I were looking to see how I did I couldn't find any of my stuff. Well it turns out that I did win the Needle Arts Sweepstakes. So in a week I will get to bring home a really cool plague. I was so floored. I would have won the Grand Sweepstakes if I had entered items in 5 or more categories, I only entered in 3. The neat thing was I was just really wanting to win first with my Journey shawl, which I did by the way along with three of the sweaters, some yarn,and a couple of other things that are shown in the picture below . OK so I'm done bragging about my big win. I will say one more thing I think I will get started right away and try for the Grand Sweepstakes next year.

Life is a Journey what road are you on

Life is a journey. Some days you are riding on a smooth freeway and other days you are on what some would call a trail; but if you look closer, it's a trail that is covered with rocks to trip you as you go along. Well, for the last couple of years, I seem to be stepping on lots of rocks. I sometimes think I'm Charlie Brown( "...All I got was a rock.") At the beginning of the summer, a friend of mine started a blog called a Journey to a Shawl. The idea was to spend the summer spinning and then knitting a shawl. Well, I just loved the idea, but I took mine a bit further. My journey took me to a different path. This year I turned 40 and in a couple of days I will celebrate my 20th anniversary. As I began to think about this shawl, I also thought about my life. Somewhere along the way I seemed to have lost my joy. A couple of years ago I had a couple of friends hurt me pretty badly, but they didn't just stop at causing me pain, but they made sure others were involved and in the end it really hurt me and my family. Well, I got to thinking back in June that I really had had enough. So my journey started with some time of reflection on what was causing my pain, self doubt and just general feelings of gloom. I have spent lots and lots of time reading the Bible, praying and also reading a very life changing books called "Get out of that Pit" by Beth Moore. By the way, I highly recommend the book. Now I'm not all put together (not sure if I every will be) but like a journey, you haven't arrived until you are done. So I'm still working on a lot of the areas in my life that need help, but I am getting there. So as I was working several areas in my life, I worked on this shawl. I first set some goals. Now I have not reached them all, but I do feel that I'm at a place to do so. My goals that I set, in no particular order, were: 1. find my joy again. 2. have fun with the girls. 3. grow in Christ. 4. find a place of service. 5. loose 40 pounds, and finally 6. spin and knit the shawl. Like I have said, I haven't reached all of them, but I think I am ready. First, I think my joy is coming back. This summer my two youngest daughters painted their room, we had such fun with that. My oldest is planning a girls weekend soon to paint hers. Third, if you spend any time reading the Bible you will get closer to Christ, so I did. Now for the hardest one. I learned this summer in all of this heat that we have been having, I just can't loose weight. My plan is to get going in earnest in September when the girls are back in school, so I can work out with out passing out from the heat. Now for the shawl, I first had to choose a fiber that would suit the project. I chose a three tone purple with bits of olive green. The color was a very important part of the shawl I chose purple because when you feel like a failure in life you need to remember that if you are in Christ then you are part of royalty. What a better color than purple to remind myself that I am of value and that God loves me. Once you get that not only in your heart but in your head too, your joy will come back. After I chose the fiber, I had to choose the pattern so that I could figure out how much yarn I needed. I chose Sivia Harding's Diamond Fantasy. I first saw this pattern on Cat Bordi. She wears the scarf version just about everyday. She called it her comfort blanket, so I knew this was the pattern for me. I started to spin for the shawl, the pattern calls for sport weight at about 750 yards. Well after about a month of spinning (had to stop when it was really hot), I ended up with 695 yards. Not having enough I decided to knit until I ran out. I ended up knitting 8 repeats instead of 10. When I blocked out it ended up being 37 inches long anyway, so I'm happy. I have knit and spun many many projects, but I have say this ones really holds my heart. The spinning isn't perfect, there are thin spots and thick spots, but life isn't perfect either, so I think this shawl is a true reflection of life and all its trails that we take. Some are smooth and others are full of rocks, but really the journey is beautiful. By the way, the yellow dots in the picture are pins not beads. Enjoy your journey; stop and look at the view once in a while and you just might find it's beautiful too!

Monkey Sock -why not swap

OK so as you all know I am on a sock kick this summer. One pattern I have really wanted to try but just haven't gotten to yet is Cookie A.'s Monkey sock from Knitty.com. Well I came across a monkey swap blog and I just had to sign up. Not only will I get to make up this pattern but I will make it for someone else and someone will be making me a pair, sooooooooo I can't wait to get started. If this sounds like fun to you why not check out the the blog.http://monkey-sock-swap.blogspot.com but hurry sign up end on the 31st of August.
Below are my answers to my monkey questionnaire.
Monkey Sock Swap THREE Questionnaire
The basics:
Do you consider yourself a beginning sock knitter, an intermediate, or have you been doing this so long you could probably knit a pair in your sleep? In my sleep
The measurements:
Shoe Size: Foot circumference: 8 inches
Foot length: 9 inches ( I wear a size 6 1/2 to 7 shoe)
Yarn Preferences:What colors do you love? green, purple, most jewel tones
Do you prefer solids or variegated? both
Do you prefer wool, cotton or acrylic yarn? wool ( hate acrylic)
What colors would you never wear? orange
What are your favorite brands of yarn? online, Koigu, JaWoll
Are there any new brands you would like to try? Cherry Tree Hill, and Socks that rock
Cookie A. Patterns: Which of her patterns have you already knit? Twinkle toes
Which pattern(s) would you like to knit and don’t already own? Twisted flower
Other pertinent information:
Would you be willing to have an international Monkey Pal or do you prefer one in the US? US
Do you have any allergies? walnuts
Will your knitting be exposed to smoke or animals? dogs
Are you on Ravelry yet? If you don’t mind having new friends, what is your Ravelry name? not yet but I'm on the list

Off and running on my next project a shawl

My next big project has really been one that I have been working for a most of the summer. I first spun the yarn. It seemed to take me forever. The main reason was the heat. It has been so hot that I haven't been able to spin as much as I would like. The yarn came out at about a sport weight and I have 695 yards. You can't really see it very well but the purple yarn has three shades of purple and then some olive green. I got started on the knitting last night. The pattern is called Diamond Fantasy and is designed by Sivia Harding you can purchase a copy at http://www.siviaharding.com

The pattern called for you to do ten repeats for a shawl. I don't quite have enough so I'm hoping for 8 or 9, but we will see.

NOT ANOTHER PAIR OF SOCKS!

Yes the sock kick is still going. I this make 7 pairs this summer. Which is huge for me considering I usually only make one or two pair a year normally. These aer my second pair of knee highs in as many weeks. I do have to say they were fun to knit. I chose these because of the fair isle heel. The pattern came from Interweave Sock! a Spin off special publication. I use Silky wool and some odds and ends from my stash. These were knit with size 3 dps. I know its kind of hard to see but the colors are light denim blue, green, red, white and dark blue. I couldn't get a closer shot and still show the total sock. I do plan to wear these this winter with a long denim skirt that I have and my berks. I wouldn't want to hide the heel in a regular shoe after going through all that work. By the way my next project is a shawl. I think I will give socks a rest for a day or so.

What's better then Chocolate and Fiber?

So at some point in a persons life the question will come up..
What is better than Chocolate and Fiber? The answer is I fiber and Chocolate swap. Today I received my goodie box from Dee. Oh what a box. I received three different fibers The white is from a giant angora, the pink is alpaca and the grey is mohair. There is enough to spin for socks, but I think I will wait until is gets a bit cooler. Also in the box was some stitch holders, yarn threaders, and mini sock blocker and least but not least some really and I mean really good chocolates. Thanks so much Dee what a fun swap.

felting oh what fun

I really enjoy felting but it has been a long time sense I have made something to felt. Last weekend I taught a class on needle felting and I thought I would knit up and then needle felt the sheep on this bag. The pattern comes from Fiber Trends. When I felt, or I should say the correct term is fulling. When you knit a object and then wash it to make it smaller its called fulling. When you use roving or wool bats and wash it to shrink it its called felting. Anyway when I knit a bag, hat or any other item that I want to full I love to use Renyolds Lopi or Lope lite. It is the very best for felting. So the blue is lopi and the sheep is made from some roving that I have in my stash. I really love this bag mostly because of the pockets. There are two on the sides and then two on the front and back. This bag fits just perfect between the seats in my car so that I can have knitting with me while I wait at lights or in traffic.

And the socks keep coming

It has been so hot here in Idaho this month. We had only 2 days in the month of July that were below 90 degrees. Most days have been in the upper 90's and 100's. So I have spent a lot of time in the house trying to stay cool. Of course if you are knitting crazy like I am I have still been knitting. So here are a few of the things I have been working on. The first pair of socks are made with Hempothy and the pattern was a free one from Nancy Bush's web site. The other pair have a bit of a funny story to them. You see I have the issue when it comes to things matching. Well its more of an obsession. I just have to have everything match. So every Saturday when I walk into work I am asked to show my socks because they always match my outfit of the day. Well I chose then self striping yarn because I thought the colors were really neat. As I was knitting them I got a bit disappointed with how they were turning out. The yarn looked better in the ball then as socks. Well every month or so in the summer I take a couple of minutes and check on my wool sweaters to make sure there are no little critters having lunch. Well as I was looking through them I found a turtle neck sweater that I have and forgot about. Well they are a total match with the socks I have been working on. Yippee I can't wait to wear them this winter.

Still on a sock kick- two more pair

Well I know I have said before that I'm not a big sock knitter. Well I think my opinion has changed some what, well Ok its changed a lot. Think there are three factors in my change of mind. First, I have a complete set of Rosewood dps from Reynolds, they are the 5 1/2 inch size and I have to say I just love working with them. I have sizes 0 -5. I have a set of Lantern moon too but the Reynolds are so much better so if you are looking for a great set of needles for socks you might want to check them out.

Secondly socks are so portable. I have been able to pack my socks around where ever I go. The pattern is so easy to memorize that I don't need to carry a pattern so that also helps.

Third. Its so hot here in Idaho this summer so far that it has been great to knit on something that I don't have to have sitting on my lap.

So now I will talk a bit about these socks. The first pair I knit for a Harry Potter socks swap. I have to say they were so much fun to knit. What I did was look through my stash and choose the colors for the Ravenclaw house,( my partners favorite colors). In these socks there is wool, cotton, angora, mohair, silk and even some eyelash for texture. My partner just loved them and even more importantly they fit perfectly.

My second pair is my first attempt at knitting with self striping yarns. I knit them on size 1 needles so I could see if the needles would bend. If you have ever knit with size 1 bamboo you know they well bend way out of shape. Well the rosewoods didn't. I have to say that the fabric is rather firm too. I think its at 8 sts to the inch. I chose a fall color way as I am hopeful that cooler temps will be coming soon. Well one can dream. So now what am I working on. Another pair of socks of course. But I will talk about that later.

So why did I start to knit

Ok so I have been asked " why I started to knit", well I have been crocheting for about 20 years. I taught myself to crochet on a car trip from Oregon to Idaho,which is a 10 hour trip. I decided to learn to crochet as a way of making gifts for family that would be less expensive. Well after crocheting for years I began to find more knitting patterns that I liked than crochet ones. Plus if you have ever crocheted a sweater then you know how heavy they are. By the way knitting takes about 30 % less yarn then crochet. So I decided to take a class through a community ed. program. Our first project were these little slippers. Well I made one and totally hated it so I never did finish the other one. So instead I made this little romper for my then 3 month old daughter, She is now just about 9. I take this romper to my beginning knitting classes to show what not to do. There are twisted stitches, the seams are terrible and it was for a size 6 month old and my daughter wore it until she was 4. Oh the lessons in knitting.

Sock it to me swap -questions

What are your foot measurements? (Please give shoe size, length and circumference.) shoe size 6 ½ - 7, 9 inches long, circ. 8 1/2
How long have you been knitting? How would you rate your experience? (Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced.) I have been knitting for about 9 years. I would say I am more on the advanced side of knitting
What is your favorite color? Greens, purples, blues. Most jewel tones are fine with me.
Your least favorite color? Even though I live in Boise Idaho home of the Boise State Broncos I really don’t like the color orange.
Do you have a favorite fiber? I love natural fibers What type. Wool, alpaca, angora, etc
Do you have any allergies to certain fibers? No but I really hate acrylic does that count . LOL
Do you have an Amazon, or other type of, wishlist? (If so, provide the link.) http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/ref=sv_wl_4/002-8810084-5843251
What techniques, if any, would you like to learn? Well I’m not sure I really do enjoy all types of knitting, from lace to fair isle to all parts in between.
Do you have a sweet tooth? Yes What are your favorite snacks? I love dark chocolate, but I mostly only eat low sugar or sugar free types
What is your family situation? (Children, Husband, Pets...etc.) I will be married for 20 years on Aug 15, we have three daughters 16,13,and 9 of course they all knit.
Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Metal, plastic or wood? I have an allergy to metal so I only use plastic ( the old grey Susan Bates nylon ones are my all time favorites but really hard to find these days)if I can’t find a good nylon needle then I will use bamboo. I only use circulars for knitting anything but socks. For socks I am a traditionalist I know how to do and have taught the magic loop, and 2 circulars, but I would rather knit socks with dps.
Besides socks, what are your favorite items to knit? I love to knit Top down sweaters, I usually knit 3 or 4 a year. I also love to knit lace shawls
Is there a pattern, (sock or otherwise), that you are dying to try? The rogue sweater. I have looked at the pattern on line but have yet to buy and try it.
Do you like to read? What are you reading currently? Yes I’m a huge reader. Right now I’m waiting for Harry Potter book 7, then I have a Debbie Macomber series to read next. But I really love to read a good mystery.
Do you collect music? (On an iPod or MP3 player.) No I don’t have one yet.
What kind of music do you listen to? Oh boy I really like all kinds of music ( of course I don’t consider Rap music) but I would say my favorite is classical guitar.
Is there anything you collect? Sheep, Paddington bear
What are your hobbies, aside from knitting? I hand spin and crochet and tat
Are you participating in any other swaps or knit alongs? Not at the moment
Do you have a favorite scent? lavender
When is your birthday? (You don't have to add the year if you don't want to, LOL.)April 26

One among thousands

Yes I am one among thousands that began work on the mystery stole 3 project this last week. When I signed up for this , which was the second day that it was sign ups were beginning, who knew that so many people all over the world would join in. Right now there are over 3 thousand people working on this same stole. It took me a couple of weeks to decided on what color to use. Melanie suggested that either black or white would be best, but that this stole would not be a good idea for a bride. Well having no clue as to what this stole will look like I played it safe and when with Knit Picks lace weight blank. This yarn is designed to be dyed but I decided to keep it the natural cream. This stole as and added bonus. Beads. You think it was hard to pick what color yarn to use. The beads were a nightmare. I when to the bead store down the street three times to look at beads. When I did buy the beads I still came home with three different colors, I just couldn't make up my mind. That my friends is why I'm not a beader. Any way after several swatches it took my daughter to say "yes mom those are the right ones" for me to choose an antique cream seed bead.

Now as for the knitting the pattern can be found at a yahoo group called mysterystole3. Each Friday there will be posted a part of the pattern to work on. Be warned that the email list is huge so huge that I had to go to special notices because I just couldn't keep up with all the email. Anyway I have so far found that Melanie ( the designer) has done a wonderful job with the pattern, I have not had any problems following along with the chart. I can't wait for Friday to see what comes next.

Socks in one Day

Have you ever tried to knit a pair of socks in one day? Well today I did. I finished too! Now for the confession. This are baby socks. The cast on was only 32 stitches on size 2 needles. If you have not had the chance to see or buy ( which I highly recommend you do) Sensational Knitted socks by Charlene Schurch this is where the pattern came from. Its the sample sock towards the front of the book. Like I said it only has a 32 stitch cast on so they come out at about the right size for a baby. The yarn is new to the shop I work at and I wanted to try it out to see how the color change worked out. The yarn is elle Mexican Wave, the color way is black swing. Now if you have read my blog for any amount of time you know I'm a total yarn snob. I HATE acrylic yarn. I have been known to tell my knitting students that when it comes to picking yarn buy the best you can afford, but keep in mind that when you use acyclic its made from plastic so its kind of like putting a plastic bag on and wearing that around town. Anyway this acrylic is not so bad. Its very soft and it doesn't have that plastic feel to it. As you can see there is a subtle color change in the yarn.

Christmas in July

Yes its already July I can hardly believe that the year is half over already. Well when July comes around thoughts of Christmas come to mind. Now I would be totally lying if I said in July I start working on Christmas gifts and then get them all done with plenty of time to spare. I do think about Christmas gifts durning the month of July but I usually don't do much about it until November or even December. Well this year is a bit different. You see I have had these Christmas buttons for about 6 years. Most of my yarn stash its as old as these buttons are. The picture does show the snowman all that well, but there is a reindeer, Christmas tree, and present and then a snowman. This is the first project that I have ever knit that I did the sweater around the buttons. I am well known to wear a cardigan for a couple of years before I finally decided on the right buttons. So this time I thought I would do things a bit backwards. I had the buttons before I started the sweater. Of course I used a top down cardigan from Knittingpureandsimple.com . The yarn is a wool/angora blend from Berrocco called pleasure. This yarn is no longer being made so it would be really hard to find. This yarn was also a recycle. I had made a sweater from this year a few years back when I was much much larger, so I knew I would have plenty for this one. The color in the picture is not the same in real life its more of a dark red instead of a bright one.I think it will be great to wear over a cute Christmas mock turtle neck .

Socks!

Now I'm not a huge sock knitter per-say but once in a while I get in the mood to knit socks. Well I'm right in the middle of that feeling. So these are the first pair in this sock knitting mood. The yarn is Mountain Colors Mountain goat. I decided to try the toe up sock pattern that Cookie A. did on a episode of Knitty Gritty. You can find this pattern and many others at diynet.com. I usually don't like toe up socks because of the fit, but this pattern worked up rather fast and it also fits really nicely.

Back on Blossom Street Shawl

Well I was able to finish up my take on Alix's shawl from the new book Back on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber. This is the third one of these that I have made. One will be going to a mother for Christmas. I'm not tell which one as she will just have to wait. If you have not read this series of books, they are just a fun read. I was talking with a gal that reads all the time and she reads serious things. Well as a mother of two teen daughters and another one that thinks she is. I find it really fun to end my day reading some light hearted fiction. How about you. I really don't enjoy romance as a rule, I ready mostly mysteries, but I have found that some of Debbie's books are not so much romance but more about friendships. What is your favorite type of book to read and who are your favorite authors?
Now for the stats on the shawl. It about 32 inches long and 60 inches wide as its widest. I used Lorna's Laces lace weight mohair. I'm not sure the color way as its been in a ball for years. I'm sure it was dyed by Lorna herself, that's how long I have had the yarn in waiting in my stash.

Its just about time for Harry

Well its just about July and that means its just about time for Harry Potter. For those who are not into the whole Harry Potter thing, in July the 5th movies comes out and the 7th and final book. So in the spirit of things I have knit a couple of things from the new book Charmed Knits. Now if you really hate the idea of the Whole Harry Potter thing because of religious convictions, that's fine with me. We as a family really talked and prayed about and fell that its just fiction and if you look you can see some Christian lessons with in its pages. Anyway even if you don't like the idea of it all you might still want to check out the book Charmed Knits. There are several things that can be done in other colors so that they wouldn't look like they came from the book. There are a couple of sweaters that I really like and I might end up making at some point. I also love the cabled hat and mitten set.