January 2008 knitting goals

Here are some knitting goals for January of 2008:

1. Finish 1 unfinished item. (Maybe socks)
2. Buy no yarn.
3. Make myself a hat.
4. Make Hailey knucks.
5. Finish Caroline's knucks.
6. Knit a mile by February 19th. (1760 yards!) I'd like to spin some of those yards, too.

All but number 6 are very doable goals. The mile might be a bit of a stretch, but it is a challenge off of Ravelry and I thought it could be fun to say I knit a mile in 7 weeks. We'll see how that one goes!

Fabric Stash put to use!

I am pleased with this latest project. It is made from fabric picked up at SCRAP and, with a few modifications, following the directions for the pouch in "Last Minute Fabric Gifts". It took me about 2 hours, start to finish. I really like how it turned out and may make a few more for gifts.

Hexagon Shawl

I almost forgot...I couldn't post this until after Christmas, but I finally finished the hexagon shawl! This one is my own design based on the hexagon shape directions in Unexpected Knitting by Debbie New. It is not as labor intensive as it looks, as I cast each hexagon onto the previously knit one rather than sewing them all together later. I used random balls of mohair and mohair blends that I had lying around and added the lavendar as my sole purchase to tie the other colors together. I crocheted a border at the end and wound up using about 7 balls of yarn, I think. It got shipped off to a friend as a prayer shawl after knitting on it and praying for her throughout the year.

Here I am!

After a busy December, here I am with a couple more things. First, some details on "My So Called Scarf". I found many versions online and pulled out 2-100 gram balls of multi-colored Mondial la lana merino plus 247. It is 52% merino and 48% acrylic, therefore washable. I don't know where I got this and to tell the truth, I thought it looked pretty hideous on the ball (I should've taken a "before" picture of it). It was a quick knit on size 11 needles. The yarn is a worsted weight, but the stitch pattern requires the use of the large needles. This stitch pattern worked wonders for this yarn and I really like this scarf. It is undesignated so far, but is sure to find a home!
The crochet hook was hand carved for me as a Christmas gift by Noah (age 12). It is beautifully smooth and quite a nice gift in my estimation. He has a lot of patience for this kind of work and I'm pretty proud of him!

One last item...

I found this picture of a tote bag I also made for the sale. All in all, the sale was successful. I wouldn't do it for a living, but it was fun for every-so-often making a little pocket change doing something I like with a friend. I sold most of my things. I only have a few eye pillows and stitch markers left. It was funny to see what went first. It wasn't always the things that I thought were the best. I did enjoy seeing people walk away with things that one of us had made. Maybe I'll start a little earlier next year....

The Knitterly Crafts

So, I am posting so many times, as blogger seems to only want to do so many pictures at once....I have made knitting stitch holders with beads and some rings from SCRAP. Eight of these have already been purchased by friends. I've enjoyed making them while I watch movies. I also found in my stash of things this knitting needle holder that I started a few years ago and for some reason never completed. Here it is now, as well as two pairs of handwarmers of my design. (There are actually two of each, but I can only photograph one of my own hands if I'm taking the photo!) The yarn is from the weaving guild in N.M. so I am not sure what it is, but it looks like wool from Harrisville to me.
Spent the day yesterday with my friend Chris, visiting Michaels and wandering around Menlo Park. I came with the yarn I had been missing for the monkey blanket from the Happy Hooker. Otherwise, I was pretty good about not bringing more crafting gear home. I have much to use up.
I did use two balls of yarn for handwarmers and gave some yarn to my friend Chris for some of her holiday crocheting. I need to rearrange my yarn now--There is space in the cupboard and I can move some from the basket into the cupboard. I think my next yarn destash goal is to empty the basket!

More creations....

Here is a smattering of my other creations...
First, in the recesses of my supplies, I found onesies. I made little appliqued patches for them from my fabric and some heat-n-bond. They were quick little things and fun to make. I think my favorite is the mushroom or the pink with the Holly Hobby.
Second is a crocheted flower that I put on a pin. I guess I made it quite a while ago and I found it in a drawer, set aside to be a gift.
Lastly, I made a swarm of eye pillows. I have wanted to make these for some time and even created a pattern a couple of years ago. The pillows themselves are made of cotton, but have various washable covers in case they get dirty. The filler is organic buckwheat and lavendar. They can be warmed or cooled and placed over the eyes for relief of headaches, sore, tired eyes, or sinus discomfort. I like how they turned out. Again, everything but the filler was from things I already had. That feels good!

Crayon holders

These also were fun to make. I had three sets of 24 count crayons, so made these holders, as well.

Potholders

Here are some potholders made for my holiday giving and craft sale, which happens tomorrow. I had fun using up things I already had on hand. The backs of two sets are even made from an old pair of jeans! I think my favorite set is the the one with the Japanese fabric in it. These were so quick--I think the thing that took the longest was sifting through my fabric for good combinations!

Reporting on New Yarn from New Mexico

Every year, we travel to New Mexico for the Emergent Gathering. While there, I usually make my way to the Espanola Valley Fiber Arts Cooperative. This is a center that tries to keep local fiber arts traditions alive. They offer classes and loom rentals. It's just about the coolest place! Every year, my visit coincides with their annual sale. People donate yarn (and fabric, this year) to sell to raise money for the place. The yarn was $4 a pound this visit (at times it has been $1 per pound). I tried to be moderate by picking things up for friends as well. This is what I wound up with. Though I do intend to give some of the lace weight to some knitting friends for Christmas. Overall, I think I did fairly well in limiting my purchases. Last year Mark brought me an entire trash bag full! I again apologize for the off color on the lace weight yarn and on the blue Harrisville yarn. My camera batteries are going. Look soon for some more finished objects!

Updating my list of unfinished objects....

1. Cashmere scarf (2 balls of yarn)
2. Denim blue baby sweater from Last Minute Knitted gifts (3 balls of yarn)--COMPLETED
3. Lady Eleanor (10 balls)--COMPLETED
4. Ripple Baby Blanket (4 balls)--COMPLETED
5. Finish the knitting club scarves (these aren't actually my stash)--COMPLETED
6. Hailey's pirate doll (? as to balls of yarn)--COMPLETED
7. Hexagon shawl (10 balls?)
8. a pair of socks
9. Griffindor Hats--COMPLETED
10. TBA

I actually have only three things left on the needles! Wahoo! I may slow down a bit on this as I need to do some gift knitting. However, progress has been made!

The Blue Baby Sweater...

After many years of languishin in the bottom of the knitting basket, looking for more Reynolds Gypsy, and general inertia, I would like to present the Blue Baby Sweater. The pattern is from Weekend Knitting and I used 3 (?) balls of Reynolds Gypsy. It will go into the drawer of presents that await owners. Check another thing off my list of stash projects!

My little green character....

I needed a birthday gift for a two year old friend this weekend. I would prefer not to shop these days, but to use what I have to create gifts. I had Isaiah draw a picture of a creature that served as inspiration for this fellow. He's an alien, roughly. I used outgrown sweaters of the kids' that had been felted down and leftover quilt batting for the stuffing. An exercise in recycling! He was lots of fun to make up as I went along. He's actually version 2 because my first try didn't really work. Hope his two year old care giver enjoys him.

Finished objects...

So, pardon these photos. My camera isn't doing its best today...
The first picture is of a quilt that Hailey made for a friend. I thought that she did a beautiful job! She sewed and designed it herself with just a little help from me.
Next, you will see that Lady Eleanor is done. She was a breeze to finish as the Noro Silk Garden is so fun to work with. I became addicted to seeing what color would come next and what other color it might end up being next to. This was a fun project and ended up using 9 1/2 balls of Noro Silk Garden. It is so lovely that I want to figure out a use for the other 1/2 ball!

13 balls down and Lady Eleanor coming soon....

So, I found a home for some yarn that I couldn't imagine using myself--not bad yarn (cotton, linen and viscose) but not my color so much. I gave it to Kayla, who is a prolific young crafter that I know. A mutually beneficial re-organizing of resources--she needed yarn and I have more than I actually need : ). More soon on Lady Eleanor!

I am truly a farmgirl!

I spent the afternoon connecting with my farm girl self. I started with canning six pints of applesauce. Hailey was glad that there was a warm bowlful that didn't make another pint. I've been reading "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver and have been reflecting on growing up with most of my food (vegetables, anyway) being grown in my yard. My mother had a cold room made in the basement lined with shelves (she still does). Every August and September, we would can applesauce, green beans, tomatoes, beet pickles, cucumber pickles, carrots, peaches and pears and those jars would be dated and lined up along the shelves. Corn, peas, strawberries and pie apples would be frozen in the deep freezer along with any meat. Potatoes and onions were stored in sacks in the cold room. There was even an extra refrigerator to store the jam my mom had sealed with parrafin wax. So, my small batch of applesauce today makes me feel frugal and I'll line it up on the top shelf of my cupboard with my blackberry jam and this winter we'll have a taste of early September!
The other three pictures are a fleece I am processing. First you see the raw and dirty fleece. I then wash it in the tub and rinse it. Finally, it is laid out to dry on the deck. It will eventually either be felted or spun as I attempt to learn to make a decent yarn with a drop spindle. I have to say that it has been a very refreshing, grounding day for me!

Blackberry Jam

Nothing more satisfying to me than picking berries and squirreling them away for winter in the form of jam. I picked these berries on Bernal Hill (just a hike up the hill from our house) and Isaiah and I made and canned 9 jars of jam. One was given as a birthday gift to a friend before this picture was taken. I forget how quick and easy jam making is. I love the look of the jars all lined up on the counter.

Here is an update of my project list now:

1. Cashmere scarf (2 balls of yarn)
2. Denim blue baby sweater from Last Minute Knitted gifts (3 balls of yarn)
3. Lady Eleanor (10 balls)
4. Ripple Baby Blanket (4 balls)--COMPLETED
5. Finish the knitting club scarves (these aren't actually my stash)--COMPLETED
6. Hailey's pirate doll (? as to balls of yarn)--COMPLETED
7. Hexagon shawl (10 balls?)
8. a pair of socks
9. Griffindor Hats--COMPLETED
10. TBA

That makes four done and six left to go. I wonder what is next!

DRUM ROLL, PLEASE!

Introducing Fitzwilliam Crochet (a.k.a. Dread Pirate Sam from Interweave Crochet)....
...a very late birthday present for Hailey. Fortunately, she likes him and I guess he was worth the wait. He will definitely be one of a kind, though! I haven't done much crocheting and I think that I bit off a little more than I wanted to chew with this one! I do like how he turned out, though. He was made using Caron Simply Soft and DMC floss. One more thing to cross off that works in progress list!

What I've been knitting....

Forgive me, for I have not posted in ages! I have transferred ownership of about 16 balls of yarn to some young friends of mine who are amazing knitters and needed some "stash"! It was fun to put together a box of yarn and patterns for them and ship it off...

I am working on the Pirate Doll and nearly done. Hopefully I will have pictures for you within a couple of days. Look for them. Disappointing thing is that I don't think I can subtract from my stash when it is finished because I don't think I ever accounted for that yarn in the first place. I think I'll have to double check that in my earlier posts.

Harry Potter hats

In honor of the 5th movie of Harry Potter and, more importantly, of the release of Book 7, I knit two Gryffindor beanies and the beret for charity. I had added burgundy Cascade 220 to my stash for these, but used it up in its entirety, along with 2 balls of gold from my stash. These were a quick, fun diversion from my list of items to finish.

Charity Knitting

So, here are a few things I've knit this summer for various charities. The Gryffindor beret is for Warm Woolies and the afghan squares will go to Rebuilding Greensburg. They used a total of 120 g. of yarn towards the yarn diet along challenge.

Knitting lately....

This is a baby sweater I did the finishing work on last night in order to give it to a friend of mine who just had a baby girl. It had been in my gift stash for quite some time, but I think this was the right baby to gift it to.

Updated list

1. Cashmere scarf (2 balls of yarn)
2. Denim blue baby sweater from Last Minute Knitted gifts (3 balls of yarn)
3. Lady Eleanor (10 balls)
4. Ripple Baby Blanket (4 balls)--COMPLETED
5. Finish the knitting club scarves (these aren't actually my stash)--COMPLETED
6. Hailey's pirate doll (? as to balls of yarn)
7. Hexagon shawl (10 balls?)
8. a pair of socks
9. Griffindor Hats--COMPLETED
10. TBA

So, one project down. Nine to go....

One project down....

So, 414 grams (4 balls of yarn) of Bernat Softee Chunky used for a baby blanket that I plan to send to Warm Woolies along with some extra needles and a bit of yarn as well. It feels good to get things out of the house and my craft room will improve as a result as well. The blanket was inspired by one I saw hanging in my local yarn shop, but I decided to use my stitch dictionary and math skills to create my own version of it. I am pretty pleased with the results.

Temptation!

So, there is a new baby sweater kit that I am dying to knit. As many of you know, I have no actual need of more yarn! This is such a beautiful kit, though. So, how about this...I will knit 10 projects from my stash (many of them already in progress) and then I may buy the Tulip Baby Sweater kit. (if you google it, you'll see why I want it!) Reasonable enough, right? Here's my list of projects to finish:

1. Cashmere scarf (2 balls of yarn)
2. Denim blue baby sweater from Last Minute Knitted gifts (3 balls of yarn)
3. Lady Eleanor (10 balls)
4. Ripple Baby Blanket (4 balls)
5. Finish the knitting club scarves (these aren't actually my stash)
6. Hailey's pirate doll (? as to balls of yarn)
7. Hexagon shawl (10 balls?)
8. a pair of socks
9. TBA
10. TBA

So, that would be at least 30 some balls of yarn that I'd be down? Sounds good? I do need to buy four balls of yarn to finish Lady Eleanor. They are on order. I wonder if I could finish 2 projects in June. I'll go for the baby blanket and the knitting club scarves....Wish me luck.

Introducing...The Addictive Lady Eleanor

Yes, this is new yarn. A gift from my Girl Scout Troop--Noro Silk Garden #86. I'll actually need 4 more balls at some point (probably sooner than later). I've wanted to make this for about 2 years and a very generous gift certificate made 6 of the 10 balls needed possible. I started this weekend and knit 2 1/2 balls in the space of a day and a half. Much easier than she looks, but simply gorgeous. I am having so much fun with it! The pattern is from Scarf Style.

Summer charity knitting has begun!

The Yarn DAL group is having a contest this summer to use the most grams of yarn on charity knitting. I am using it as incentive to bust some more stash. Here is my first item. Fourteen grams of yarn used for a preemie hat. We'll see what I make next.

My prize yarn...

Remember the fun fur hats? This is the yarn from the sweater kit I won--Oceania by Little Wool Co.. I think the colors are gorgeous. The sweater pattern is not quite my style, so I'm on the hunt for a good pattern to show this stuff off. Any ideas? I don't think it counts against my stash reducing efforts as it was a gift!

My craft room!

This is my long-awaited work room. It shares functions as an office space/craft studio/homeschool supply room for me. Isn't my husband wonderful to do this for me? The pictures are hard to take as the room is very narrow. I am still figuring out the best way to store things. We plan to put some open shelving up over the counter as well, but that may not happen for a month or so. We need to remodel the bathroom first. I'll post pictures as I get things organized and put in there!

Down three balls of chenille!

My friend, Maria, has been knitting lots of washcloths, so I passed the chenille on to her. She was happy to get it at such a bargain price and I was happy to ease my conscience a wee bit on my yarn overspending!

The confession continues....

So, there were four more balls of yarn from the St. Helena spree to explain. The first is the Autumn colored Rio de Plata. This is simply because I have another ball and felt it wasn't quite enough to use for something. I'd had a hard time finding this again in the right color, so I snatched it up. Perfectly understandable--right? (No sale on this one) The next was simply gorgeous and it was in the $4 bin. I have worked with this once before and it is gorgeous to handle. Then comes the pink Merino Frappe, also $3. I have been eyeing this for a year or more. I have a cape pattern that takes two balls and my yarn store carries it in this color, so eventually I'll get another ball to make that cape. And last, the aqua cotton Linie 12 Clip, just because the color was lovely for $3.*sigh* Major weak moment, I guess!
On the more encouraging front--a finished object! A purse made from Crystal Palace Deco Ribbon. It took two balls and you can get the pattern free online. I decided to line it and embellish it with this vintage fabric I found in the free bin at SCRAP a while back. I'm pretty pleased with the results. Now, to find it the proper home...