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!

Spring Things

It seems that spring has finally arrived here in New Hampshire. The yard sales and flea markets have opened (I scored some vintage patterns and a beautiful wooden needlework lap hoop yesterday) and when I'm not hunting down deals or working on my garden I'm working on spring garments.


This is the Madison Scarf from Blueprint Crochet. I love this book, and this is actually my second project from it. I have also made the earring and necklace motifs but I haven't sprayed them with stiffener or assembled them yet. It took a little bit for me to understand this pattern, but having the charted crochet designs are a huge help for a beginner like myself.



Madison Scarf by Robyn Chachula from Blueprint Crochet
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton, one skein lavender (color is truer in the photo above)
Source: The Elegant Ewe
Hook: US Size K
Modifications: I did one less repeat than instructed because I would have run out of yarn otherwise; however, my scarf looks just as long as the one in the book and is the perfect length for me.



Look! Some socks!



Classic Socks from The Yankee Knitter
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Custom Hand-Dyes for The Purl Bee, two skeins mint
Source: Purl
Needles: US Size 1, two 24" circular needles
Modifications: None. I just adjusted this plain sock pattern to the whim of the moment (well, only with the first sock. The second one I tried to match ;)





More socks! My sock-knitting mojo is back!



Pomatomus Socks by Cookie A., from Knitty Winter 2005
Yarn: Ball and Skein Hand-Dyed Sock Yarn, 1 skein "Sargasso Sea"
Source: Ball and Skein booth at the 2008 New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival
Needles: US Size 1 and 2 bamboo dpns
Modifications: I used US Size 1 dpns for the foot to make them last longer.

I love how the colors and the dye job work so well with this pattern! This was one skein of sock yarn that I had a plan for when I bought it (which is not the norm for me). I'm trying to use up yarn that I've bought at the NH Sheep and Wool Festival in previous years, since it is happening next weekend!!! I'm very excited, in case you couldn't tell. I will be wearing these socks next Saturday and enjoying all sorts of woolly goodness.





And a little bit of leftover winter...


I also finally finished my Bird in Hand Mittens. I bought the pattern last August at the Fiber Revival and although I started them in early January they weren't finished until a few weeks ago, and just the other day I sat down to finish the bird embroidery and weave in the ends. I'm still not thrilled with my embroidery so I might take another stab at it next winter.



Bird in Hand Mittens by Kate Gilbert
Yarn: Locally spun wool, one skein cream; The Elegant Ewe Custom Spun, one skein scarlet
Source: Creative Natives in Colebrook for the local wool; The Elegant Ewe for their custom spun
Needles: US Size 3, two 24" circular needles, and US Size 3 dpns
Modifications: I used two circular needles for most of the mitten instead of the recommended dpns, and that made my colorwork more even on the back of the mitten, which has large spaces of all one color.



Overall I love them and I'm very pleased with how they came out. I am also very pleased that I can put them away for several months!

I hope to see some of you at the NH Sheep and Wool Festival next weekend! It's so much fun and a great way to support local farmers and artists, some of whom don't go to any other fiber festivals! I'll be there on Saturday--pm me on Ravelry for more specific information!

Making a stand

A couple of weeks ago I wrote in an e-mail to a friend that I was really happy that spring was finally here, and that it came right before I cracked.



Needless to say, I spoke too soon, as the past week and half have been filled with snow, icy blasting winds, and rain that is just above freezing--so when it hits you it feels like water but it is so cold it chills you instantly. I'm not taking it anymore. Last night I wore my Mary Janes with leggings and no socks. This morning I refused to put flannel sheets on my bed. I put the t-shirt sheets on instead, which is smart because they are warm when it's cold and cool when it's hot (and makes a stand without making me cold, like the no-socks act did last night). And I made the Rochefort Chapeau from the Purl Bee:



I don't know what it is about the Purl Bee, but I am powerless to stop myself from making just about everything on their site. Maybe it's the way they perfectly capture my aesthetic or the stories and inspirations behind the projects. Joelle Hoverson, author of Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, is the brain behind Purl and the Purl Bee. Whenever I have knitting stress or am feeling uninspired, I look at that book and I feel better.



I saw the Rochefort Chapeau when it was first posted and thought, "Oh, that's cute, but I don't really need to make it." Ha. It worked its way into my head until I couldn't stop thinking about it and was mentally pawing through my stash to find the yarn. The great thing is that the Purl Bee has helped me bust so much of my stash. As much as I would have liked to use the Blue Sky Alpaca and Silk that Whitney used, I knit mine with one skein of Plymouth Wildflower DK in navy blue and one skein Patons Grace in white. It will be a great spring hat, if spring ever decides to come.





In case it doesn't, I have yet another pair of mittens to wear.

Tweedy Mittens from the Stitch'n Bitch 2007 calendar (designed by Missa of kpixie, my favorite online yarn store)
Yarn: Reynolds Whiskey, one ball each of light blue and orange
Source: The Elegant Ewe
Needles: Brittany Birch US size 7 dpns
Modifications: I knit with two strands held together, since I couldn't find the yarns called for in the pattern and no other worsted weight yarns had the right shades of blue and orange that I was looking for. I did a gauge swatch to make sure, and if you have this pattern, you might want to mark down that the gauge is supposed to be five stitches to the inch. It was accidentally left off the pattern and I found the gauge posted on Craftster by Debbie Stoller, but it is hard to find in the threads.




Another Purl Bee (and specifically Whit's Knits; so is the Rochefort Chapeau) inspiration:


The Granny Chic Crocheted Hat
Yarn: Less than one ball of Manos del Uruguay kettle-dyed wool
Hook: Clover US size I crochet hook
Modifications: None.


I still need to block it but so far I love it. It will be a good transition hat between winter and my Rochefort chapeau. Part of the reason I love the Purl Bee so much is because most of their patterns are for small items that travel well. When I'm commuting to school I need something small that travels well and that I can pick up and put down quickly when I knit during class breaks.



What is this new yarn, you ask?

A couple of weeks ago I went to a concert in Northampton, MA. What else is Northampton, MA? Webs, of course! I was really good, considering they have an entire warehouse that is open to the public. This is Kangaroo Dyer Silk and Alpaca Laceweight. I bought Evelyn Clark's Estonian Wrap pattern to go with it, but I realized this yarn will make a perfect Icarus. Since I've been doing some serious stash-busting lately, I think it's allowed. Also, when I go back to Webs in a couple of weeks to see the Yarn Harlot, I am going to buy a little more yarn. Carefully planned, all with projects in mind, and with a very definite spending limit.

Fairer Fair Isle

I forgot to show you the results of the Fair Isle class I took a couple of weeks ago at The Elegant Ewe:


The wrong side of my colorwork has never looked like this before!

And the front has never looked so good either. The class was definitely worth my while. Since I learn most of my knitting and crafting skills from books, I'm sometimes reluctant to take classes (also because that means less money for yarn and other craft supplies). I really enjoy the hands-on experience though, and if something isn't clicking then I know it's time to seek out someone who can help me. On The Elegant Ewe site there is a list of classes and there is another Fair Isle class in March. If you have colorwork issues at all I highly recommend taking it.

These are the Subway Mittens from the Winter 2007 Interweave Knits. This was my favorite kind of project for so many reasons. I love that they were designed for the Boston subway system (which I use to get to graduate school) and that I actually got to knit something from a current issue of Knits (although the Spring 2008 issue arrived the day after I finished these). Even though I will only be using them as subway mittens for one more winter, I think they look cute with the pocket and other small things could be put in there (like cash for buying hot cocoa when ice skating). I also love that they used up some stash yarn that previously had no project attached to it, and it is a nice local handspun (or Bartlett mill-spun--I don't remember) sheepy-smelling wool in a tweedy blue and brown that will go with both of my winter jackets. They were portable, which is the only reason I got them done so quickly. They were this week's commute-and-in-between-classes project (that may not happen next week, since the project is toe-up socks on size 1 needles...)

Pattern: Subway Mittens from the Winter 2007 issue of Interweave Knits

Yarn: Locally raised handspun or Bartlett mill-spun

Source: Stash! (originally from a vendor at the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival)

Needles: Susan Bates US size 5 dpns, Brittany Birch US size 7 dpns

Modifications: None

As for other projects, I'm still plugging away on the Secret of the Stole II (beautiful pattern but not much to show right now) and the afghans, plus I've started a project that someone is buying from me. I'm also trying to come up with ideas for birthday and Christmas presents. That new issue of Interweave Knits is awfully distracting, though...

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!