I did go to NH Sheep and Wool and it was even more fabulous than I could have anticipated. We got there mid-morning and didn't leave until the vendors were closing up! I'll post pictures of the haul soon. For now, here are some llamas, alpacas and goats to entertain you:







Besides gardening, family events, and Sheep and Wool, my time has been taken up by this little guy:




I adopted Ollie from a shelter a couple of months ago but I was too busy trying to keep him out of my yarn stash (my dad woke up one morning to find a trail of tangled yarn leading down the hallway) and trying to keep the peace between Ollie and our other cat to remember to post about him.


There is still lots of knitting going on; in fact I blame the spurts of knitting (along with the aforementioned cat adventures and other activities) for the lack of blogging, if that makes any sense. The gardening and beautiful weather in particular have pulled me away from the blog.


I do have one half of a pair of mittens to show you:




Next weekend I will be at the Granite State Knit-In at Loon Mountain, taking classes and hanging out knitting with some awesome peeps ;) Every year there is a contest and the entries (if the person chooses) are given to charity. This is my entry: Yankee Knitter Designs "Pattern Mittens" in the heart motif, size child's medium (6-8 years). I love Yankee Knitter Designs for their classic, vintage and homespun looks, and I've wanted to knit this pattern for awhile. This project has the added advantage of busting some of my stash; I just grabbed a couple of skeins of what I think is Lion Brand Wool-Ease, because I wanted them to be washable. Stash-busting for a good cause--nothing feels better!

Oh Baby

There has been lots of knitting, but specific projects keep stalling. Which makes me feel lame because I love to finish things and there are so many things I want to make. The Lucy wrap is stalled because I had to order another skein of yarn. This is annoying because it was a kit and I used a larger size needle than the pattern recommended (after first knitting the entire thing on needles slightly smaller than recommended and it came out too short), and it is still several inches too short to be a stole or wrap. Whatever. I ordered the yarn and I am now moving on.



I was also working on the Narragansett Bay Scarf from A Fine Fleece, and after knitting to the recommended length last Sunday I decided that I wanted it longer. I decided I would knit the matching cap first and then use all of the leftover yarn on the remainder of the scarf. I started the cap today and hope to finish it this week, along with the scarf.


I have also been knitting these:




And this:





The top picture is of two baby blankets I knit for premature babies at a local hospital as part of a program for the library I work at. The deadline was this past Friday, and it was so inspiring to see all of the beautiful blankets knit and crocheted by members of the community. We are starting a fiber arts group at the library, so contact me if you are interested.


The baby sweater is for my mom's friend, and the pattern is Super-Natural Stripes by Fawn Pea. I was really excited to find this pattern, because it's worsted weight and interesting without being too technical or demanding. It may become my new go-to baby sweater. I knit most of it at the Manchester Monarchs hockey game on Friday night, and I finished up the sleeves while watching The Goonies yesterday morning. Very quick and very easy--just make sure you read the directions all the way through first (which I did not).


I have started the Spiral Cowl, but it is at the very beginning. I also have to actually work on the second Bird in Hand mitten because it is not knitting itself (although that wouldn't be much fun for me, now would it?). Progress is somewhat hindered by trying to spend some of these beautiful early spring days outside, but it's worth it.

Still Here

Barely. Between the summer semester (which is almost over) and my car dying this week (I will miss you, Betty), and busy weekends (including a trip to northern NH for the holiday weekend) there's been a lot going on.


Here's the only finished knitting I currently have to show you:

My (late) May/June charity project. Just a garter stitch rectangle pet blanket for a local animal shelter (pattern in Knitting for Peace, but you could just knit an animal-sized rectangle) in some acrylic left over from my beginning knitting/briefly-unemployed-desperate-for-yarn days.



Last weekend I was looking forward to a mostly free, craft-filled weekend, along with some room-cleaning. I was pumped to finish a project and get going on some Christmas/birthday presents. Until I tried on the project Friday night and discovered it was too small and that I didn't even do a gauge swatch because I forgot. I nearly lost my craft mojo for the weekend. (Although at least I had a chance to lay in the hammock and read, and clean up my room.)


Luckily, I got it back on Sunday:

(I apologize for the blurry pictures. I've apparently lost the ability to hold a camera steady).


All-Day Tote from Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing (Love. This. Book.)


Fabric: Dark stretch denim and white cotton with turquoise stars and dots, both from the remnant table at Martin's House of Cloth (not sure about the amounts, since the fabric has been cut out since last September, but I don't think it's more than a yard each).



A peek at the lining and one of the pockets:

I am very happy with this bag. It's survived the commute to Boston all week, and there's a great front pocket that holds a book perfectly. It just seems strange to me that I had an easy time making this bag, and yet I had knitting issues all weekend. Usually it's the opposite.


I've been working on some other things, but since I'm trying to do Christmas in July again, and I've shown some family members the blog, I won't be able to post most of them for awhile. But, since school is ending soon, I'm hoping for some more crafting time. Yeah, right.




In other news, I'm currently obsessed with the book Knitalong. This book has also helped me get my craft mojo back. It's everything I like my knitting books to be: great stories; excellent, unique patterns; beautiful photography; and just generally inspiring. I realize that this is kind of a tall order, and that there are different books with different purposes, but I'm always thrilled when I find one can pull me out of a knitting slump.

March/April Charity Project

So far I'm keeping good on my promise to complete a charity project every two months, even if this one was a little bit of a copout. I was planning to knit blankets for animals in shelters waiting to be adopted (the patterns are in Knitting for Peace, but they're just garter stitch rectangles), thinking it was a great reading-while-knitting project, especially reading-deathly-boring-articles-for-school-and-the-only-way-to-stay-awake-is-to-knit-while-reading project, only they tend to take longer than I thought and I am about halfway through the first one. It was also the last week of April.


Desperate times call for premature baby knits. It doesn't get any smaller than this, folks:


Preemie Baby Jester Hats from Knitting for Peace
Yarn: The greenish-blue is Sirdar Snuggly DK, the pink and brown are Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino Aran. All neglible amounts of sport/fingering machine-washable yarn from the stash. This is great for cleaning out your leftovers.
Needles: US Size 5 aluminum dpns
Modifications: At the end I turned the hats inside out and did a three-needle bind-off instead of grafting the right side with Kitchener stitch.


These were so quick and easy (I did one in the half-dark of the Calvin Theater at the Harlot event). I also managed to get three done in a week without bringing them to school or work, which is impressive. I'm looking through Knitting for Peace for ideas for May/June but I'm not committing myself to any one project yet.

Holy FOs Batman

Ladies and gentlemen, the finished commissioned Clessidra stockings:

(which look much better on a human leg, but I didn't want to stretch them out). The purchaser called me "a knitting rockstar superstar" and I was told the recipient hasn't stopped smiling, so I'm happy.

Clessidra from Knitty Spring '07

Yarn: Knit Picks Risata Sock Yarn, four balls grass

Source: Knit Picks

Needles: Addi Turbo US size 1 24" circular needles

Modifications: Knit on two circular needles instead of dpns

Above and below are pictures of chemo caps that I made in January and February. One of my knitting goals this year is to knit for a new charity every two months. November/December was afghans for Afghans, and these will go to a local hospital for women who have lost their hair during chemotherapy. I think March and April will be the pet blankets from Knitting for Peace, since so many puppies and kittens come into shelters in the spring.

The hats above were knit with Plymouth Baby Alpaca Brush, which is one of the softest yarns I've ever used. The green lace hat is a combination of two patterns: Kim's Basic Hats in Last Minute Knitted Gifts and the Lacy Eyelet Chemo Cap in Knitting for Peace. The striped hat is the Basic Roll Brim Hat of Kim's Basic Hats. The hats below are made with Berocco Chinchilla, which is also very soft, and the patterns were free with the purchase of the yarn from Patternworks. It was great to clean out the stash and make nice things for people at the same time.

As a treat for finishing the Clessidra socks, and also as an antidote to all the snow and cold, I ordered some Vesper Sock Yarn from Knitterly Things and received the pin above in my package, along with the coolest sock yarn I've ever bought:

If this doesn't scream spring and ward off the winter blues then I don't know what does.

Good Things

I sent these off yesterday to afghans for Afghans:

The green vest is made of Brown Sheep's Nature Spun Worsted, and the pattern is the Child's Vest from Knitting for Peace. There are also two pairs of socks, a child's and an adult's, knit from locally raised and spun worsted weight wool. The pattern is Classic Socks from the Yankee Knitter.

This is an excellent organization and a very worthy cause. Their current campaign is for newborns (please click on the link above for details). It's nearly the season of thankfulness and giving, and it always makes me so grateful for everything I have that I want to give to others. I'm even considering a new take on donating to charities as gifts for others: knitting something for charity, taking a picture, and donating it to an organization in the name of someone I would otherwise buy a gift for. Then I could tuck the picture of the item into a card telling them that I made this donation in their name. If you are interested in charity knitting, check out Knitting for Peace. It's an amazing book full of information and patterns.

Finished:

Thrum Mittens Kit from Fleece Artist

Yarn: Fleece Artist Blue Face Aran and Merino Sliver roving

Needles: Brittany Birch US size 4 DPNs

Pattern: on the label!

Modifications: None

I have gotten more done, but it will have to wait (a birthday present for a friend!) Check out my tutorial (the previous entry) for making your own suede slipper soles for felted slippers! They make great presents!

What a Feeling

I apologize for the sideways picture. I was uploading these just before I left for work and didn't have time to rotate it (actually, I didn't have time to figure out how to save the rotated picture in stupid Windows Vista). I knit these hats for an auction to raise money for my aunt's church. One skein each of Lion Brand Thick'n'Quick in lime green and light blue. The pattern is Elf Hats from Handknit Holidays, the earflap version (I would like to warn you that the earflap version is not nearly as pointy as the other one. It's not very clear from the pictures in the book; I like how they came out but I was expecting them to be pointier). The green one is size 2-4 years, the blue one is child's large/adult small.
I feel compelled to share with you my interesting improvisation (partly because I giggled at myself while doing it and kind of wished there was another knitter around to laugh at me). I didn't have size 15 DPNs (the closest was 11) so when the stitches were too tight around the circular needle I would knit off a few stitches on a size 15 straight and transfer them back to the circular needle. Kind of tricky and not recommended, but each hat only took me one hour (maybe another half hour for the pom poms and braids) and the yarn was very thick so it worked out.



Also completed:

Super Easy Legwarmers from Last Minute Knitted Gifts (the inspiration behind the Purl Bee)
Yarn: 1.75 balls Cascade 220 in a denim blue (I cut it really close and scrounged the remainder of the yarn from the first legwarmer and what was left from the dog sweater for the second legwarmer), 1 ball Doceur et Soie in light blue and 1 ball Madil Kid Seta in light blue (those last two are the same type of yarn; I used one for each legwarmer. There is a very slight color difference but it's not really noticeable knit up with the Cascade 220. I have the first printing of LMKG and there are some mistakes, such as recommending one ball each of Cascade 220 and Madil Kid Seta)

Source: Patternworks and The Woolery

Needles: Addi Turbo 12" circular US Size 8

Modifications: None
Legwarmers are great. This was reinforced when my mom and I watched Flashdance on Friday.

There has been more knitting going on, lots more. Unfortunately I was also added to Ravelry this week and I have three big assignments coming up (although Ravelry took preference) and this is all I have completed. I am on the second clue for the Secret of the Stole, which is pretty good considering the third one only came out this past week. I spent Friday afternoon with the lovely ladies at the Yarn and Fiber Company, and managed to get through a large chunk. I also realized I made a (large) mistake which I refuse to rip out and I am now claiming is a design alteration. A skein of Dream in Color Smooshy sock yarn in Beach Fog followed me home from the store.

I'm going to try my hand at designing a pair of socks. I have a skein of Spirit Trail sock yarn that looks like fall (November, since the colors are gorgeous but muted) and none of the patterns I've looked at seem to fit.

Lastly, Susan and I are getting together this week to knit and buy yarn! Woot!