Tiny Purls

Grape Jelly

One morning in January I woke up and wanted to knit some lace.  

It happens sometimes.

So I dug into my endless stash of yarn and came up with something that I purchased at a LYS in Belfast, ME over the Christmas holiday.  This is the final product.

It's mighty purple and super soft.  

I don't really wear purple nor do I wear shawls. Hmmmmm, maybe at some point someone will find it wrapped up with a bow.

Pattern: Damask by Kitman Figueroa
Yarn:  Malabrigo Yarn Sock (100% merino wool)
Colorway:  204 Velvet Grapes
Needles:  US #6 and #10
Size: medium (23" deep x 49" wide)

 Thank goodness the pattern had stitch counts at the end of each row because I lost my way a few times due to multitasking while knitting (i.e. conversations with the hubby, tv viewing, eating, etc.)

 

Final Knitting of 2010

I finished this sweet, little, tweedy sweater for Little A just before the end of 2010.  

I love it.  It's different and it's tweed and it's interesting and it's super soft and it was fun to knit.  

Of course it doesn't actually fit Alex yet.  It should fit him next fall or maybe later this spring if he keeps growing like a weed.

Pattern: Langstroth by Elizabeth Green Musselman
Yarn: Knit Picks City Tweed HW
Colorway: Marsh
Needles: US #5 & #7
Size: 26" Chest
Modifications: None 

The designer included this interesting note:

I am a historian of science, so I name some of my designs for scientific figures from the past. In 1853, Rev. Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth published The Hive and the Honey Bee, which for the first time described many of the beekeeping techniques that are still used today. Langstroth invented the concept of “bee space,” which means leaving about 1 cm (the size of a bee) between each frame in a hive box. This encourages bees to build honeycombs only on the removable frames, instead of on the hive box itself. This made it possible for beekeepers to handle the frames and extract honey as they had never been able to do before. 

 

Not so Santastic...

Last year, Little A thought that Santa was kinda fun.  A bit odd, but not so bad.  He was more interested in chewing on his hand.

This year, he was NOT a fan.

We'll see what happens in 2011!

In Our House, We Heart Goldfish

I like goldfish.  Alex likes goldfish.  Ben likes goldfish.  Camden likes goldfish.

We all like goldfish.  

Not the real, slimy, live-in-water type, but rather the Pepperidge Farms variety.  So when I saw this pattern I knew that I had to make a pair for Little A to wear this winter. 

Pattern:  Goldfish Mittens by Amy Christoffers (Rav link)
Yarn:  Dale of Norway/Dalegarn Falk (%100 Wool)
Colorways:  2427 Gold/Goldenrod and 3418 Burnt Orange
Needles:  US# 3 dpns

Modifications:
I used Mabelknit's (a fellow Raveler) mods for the tail/cuff:

Cast on 40. 
Purl 1 round. 
Chevron round: 
(SSK, K6, Kf+b, K1, Kf+b, K7, K2tog) x2. 
Repeat the chevron round a total of 8 times.

This was a quick and easy project.  The pattern and chart were written in a slightly weird way, but nothing too hard to figure out.  I added a long braided cord that can be run through his jacket so that Little A won't lose them during his adventures.

I think I need to sign off now and have a snack. 

 

'Tis the Season

I'm always amazing at how quickly the holidays come each year.  But I'm not complaining.

I'm a BIG fan of December.

This year I did some holiday knitting to get me into the Christmas spirit.  Good friends of our requested a set of traditional, old-fashioned, Christmas stockings (including one for their beloved dog).  I was happy to oblige them and found a great, classic pattern.

My goal was for them to have the stockings in hand by Thanksgiving and after a few furious nights and nap times of knitting, I got them in the mail a week prior to the holiday.

These stockings are generous in size.  Which is necessary so Santa can fill them with goodies on Christmas Eve.

Pattern:  Christmas Snowflakes Stocking by Laura Gebhardt
Yarn:  Cascade Yarns 220 Wool (100% Peruvian Highland Wool)
Colorways:  9404 Ruby, 8893 Hunter Green, and 8505 White
Needles:  US# 7 (16" circulars and dpns)
Lining:  Miscellaneous cotton holiday prints from JoAnn Fabrics

Modifications:
I added the name section at the top of each stocking.  My friend couldn't decided if she wanted Mom and Dad at or their first names.  So my solution was to put Mom and Dad on one side and then their first names on the reverse side.  For their son and dog's stockings, the same name is on both side.  That was they can hang them one way or the other depending on their mood.

For their dog's stocking, I reversed the color pattern and instead of the pattern at the top of the stocking, I substituted white dog bones.  I also shortened the stocking by a few inches.

Merry December!

 

It Was Quite Grand

Last week my little family of three traveled far and away to the "Grand Canyon State."  My cousin's wedding was in Phoenix and we decided to turn the event into a weeklong trip to Arizona.  After their beautiful wedding and reception, we drove for four hours through the desert and a bit of snow to the Grand Canyon.

And it was breathtaking.

And completely surreal.

I will never forget our time there.  It was cold, but clear and sunny.  

We did a bit of hiking along the south rim.  And this park is "unsanitized."  Yes, there are railings or rock walls along the major view points, but along most of the rim there is nothing separating you from the edge.  

And I loved it.

 Our little boy was dying to get down on the ground and run around.  Pshaw - like that was going to happen.  He was firmly placed on Ben's shoulders or in our arms the whole time.   

We were fortunate to get a dinner reservation one night at the El Tovar Hotel's dining room.  The El Tovar is located just 20 feet from the rim and our table was located right at a window with a great view of the setting sun over the canyon.  And although we had to take turns distracting Little A by walking around the lobby and climbing the main staircase, it was a memorable night.

We were bundled up, but very happy. 

(Coming up later...our days in Sedona.)

Socktoberfest 2010

This year for Socktoberfest I decided to take part in the Through the Loops Mystery Sock Knit-A-Long (KAL). You may remember that  Socktoberfest is a month-long celebration of socks.  Last year I worked on these. 

Starting on October 1 Kristen Kapur, the Through the Loops designer, posted one clue each week for a total of 5 weeks. Participation in the KAL was free and is her way of saying ‘thank you’ for supporting her knitting designs all year. 

Pattern: TTL Mystery Sock 2010 by Kristen Kapur
Yarn: ShiBuiKnits Sock (100% superwash merino wool).  I picked this yarn up - an impulse buy - at the 2007 Stitches East convention in Baltimore.
Colorway:  1601 Dragonfly
Needles: US# 1 1/2
Size: Medium 

This was the first mystery KAL that I have participated in and it was fun each week to work on a project and not know where it was going.  (It was also fun to cheat and sneak a look at other participant's photo's).  I had to rip these back a few times due to stupid lack of focus mistakes, but I managed to stay somewhat on schedule during October.  

This yarn is really, really smushy and I enjoyed knitting with it.  The color saturation is amazing. I was a bit unsettled by the wide stripes that appeared and the random pooling on the underside of the sock, but it's not the end of the world.  

I'll wear these. :D

May The Force Be With You

Long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....  Herh herh herh.

Alex's second Halloween, today was.  And of candy we went through tons.  Hmmmmmm.

Of individually packed Candy Corn 4 lbs.  
Of Milky Ways 3 lbs.  
Of Junior Mints 1 bag.  
Of Swedish Fish 2 lbs.  
Of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups 1/2 bag.  Yeesssssss.

Eaten a few Reese's and Candy Corn packages prior to Halloween, we might have.  Perhaps. Hmmmmmmm.

This costume this year our little munchkin wore:

Genius, the yoda ears hat is.  Yes, hmmm.

Pattern: Felted Baby Yoda Hat by Sunshyne Leland (Ravelry link)
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool
Colorway: 240 Leaf Green
Needles: US 10 1/2

After knitting, this hat by hand I felted.  To stiffen the ears I coated them with an Elmer's glue/water mixture and then threaded a fine gauge wire through the edges so, mold them a bit, could I.  Hmmmmmm.

Their first trick or treating Ben and Alex enjoyed.  Yeesssssss.

And I know that Ben and I Alex will enjoy the candy he came home with.
With you my friends may the force be. 

(Yoda speak provided by The Yoda-Speak Generator) 

 

A Harvey for My Honey

Last night I finished a manly little pullover sweater for Alex.  I won't fit him for probably another year, but it's done and ready to hang in his closet.  I can picture him running around in this while outside on a sunny, but crisp fall day. 

Back in May I was in St. Louis for a friend's wedding.  My mom and I had some time to kill, so we stopped to pay a visit to the Kirkwood Knittery (we also spent a good hour shopping here, but that's another story.  Love me some preppy, monogrammed household items.)  At the time, the Kirkwood Knittery had a Mirasol trunk show going on and one of the displayed items was the sample sweater for the "Harvey."  I fell in love and bought both the yarn and the pattern booklet on the spot.  

I also purchased, ahem, lots of some other yarn and had to sit on my suitcase to zipper it shut.

The yarn is really soft and has great, deep color saturation (must hand wash separately!!!).  It's thin and then thick, so made the cables in this pattern take on a really interesting texture.

Pattern: Harvey by Jane Ellison (The Mirasol Collection, Book 5)
Yarn: Mirasol Yarn Hap'i (100% Tanguis cotton)
Colorway: 1107 Dark Blue
Needles: U.S. #6 and #8 (Knit Picks Options)
Buttons:  White with navy etched sailboats from JoAnn Fabrics

This is what I like about Mirasol Yarn:

"The philosophy behind the Mirasol Project is very simple, the Mirasol Project supports local communities in Peru through the sales of the Mirasol Yarn Collection.

Peru’s heritage and culture of textile artistry is rich and ancient. The Mirasol Yarn Collection includes yarn made from the animals tended by these communities for generations in the Peruvian highlands. Without them we would not have this beautiful yarn.

A portion of every purchase goes directly to the funding of a centre in the remote area of Munani in the region of Puno."

 

The "Wall of Yarn"

By request, I give you (insert drumroll here) the...

WALL OF YARN

in all its gloriousness.

This is actually the beginning of the stairs to our finished attic (the stairs start directly to the left of the wall of yarn).  When the door is closed, it looks like a second closet in our guest room. 

Every one of those bins is stuffed full of yarn and what the photo doesn't show you is the two big bins on the top shelf that are full of bulkier yarns.  According to Ravelry, I currently have 251 types/colors stashed. 

The middle section has a drop down door that functions as a small work space and inside that cabinet I keep all my notions (ball winder, needles, etc.).

The wall needs some organization and labeling.  I'm waiting for a cold, dreary winter day to do that project.

Here are more detailed photos of the bins:

Sock and fingering weight yarns

Some sport weight and worsted

Some Noro, Regia, and Baby Ull

Bins containing kitchen cotton, other cottons, Malabrigo, worsted wools and some felting wool yarn for a Christmas poinsettia wreath that I planned on making five years ago.

I keep all my scraps in an antique egg basket.  
It helps keep the cats out...sometimes...