Garter Love!

I just finished a new shawl!

It's the Multnomah shawl:



Stats:
Pattern: Multnomah by Kate Flagg
Yarn: fingering weight Louet base dyed by Sarah and I!
Needles: Size US 6
Mods: none

This is a awesome mindless knit - especially the garter stitch part because there's absolutely no purling! You don't really have to look at what you're doing until you reach the feather and fan section.






This was such a quick and easy knit - I may have to knit another one!

Handspun makes it better

Long overdo knitting update! I haven't been knitting much but I have finished a few things lately. I think almost everything I've been knitting lately has been with handspun. Will I ever be able to knit with regular yarn again!?


Most recently I knit this hat:



Stats:
Pattern: Wurm by katushika
Yarn: Handspun dyed by Woolgatherings
Needles: Size 4 and 6 US
Mods: Knit 2 purl rows and 7 knit rows instead of 5 and 4 and only knit 6 repeats.


I also finished this shawl:




Stats:
Pattern: Annis by Suzanna IC
Yarn: My hand-dyed handspun yarn
Needles: Size 9 and 10 US
Mods: none

Earlier this year I knit these socks:






Stats:
Pattern: Plain socks
Yarn: Fat Cat hand spun
Needles: Size 2 US


The one non hand spun item I finished are these Trekking socks:




Stats:
Pattern: plain socks
Yarn: Trekking
Needles: Size 2 US


I'm thinking about designing a shawl for this contest. I guess I have to get spinning in order to be ready in time!

Simon's 1st birthday

My nephew Simon turned 1 year old on Saturday! I can't believe how time flies! I knit him a birthday vest:



Stats:
Pattern: Merino 5 Baby - Toddler Vest by Crystal Palace Yarns
Yarn: Interlacements Dyers Choice - worsted weight
Needles: size 8
Mods: I only did 5 rows of ribbing on the neck and arms instead of 10.

I like the buttons on the shoulder for easy on/off on a wiggly toddler too!



I ended up buying a complete outfit with a second vest - so I could put my vest on the outfit instead. I think it looks cute!





Simon had a fun birthday party too - here is eating his birthday cake.



Happy birthday Simon!

Olympic knitting done!

I finally finished knitting my Olympic sweater! I wove in the ends on Saturday and didn't get a chance to take pictures until today. i love how it came out.

There's nothing like a handspun sweater!



Stats:
Pattern: Sweetgum Duncan by Meghan McFarlane
Yarn: My own Handspun from the following dyers:
-Pigeonroof Studios
-Dragonfly fibers
-Wool Gatherings
-Fat Cat
-Yarn Wench
-Hello Yarn
-Rhinebeck Mystery fiber
Needles: Size 9 US
Mods: I didn't knit the bottom ribbing the same way - instead I did about 4 inches




I especially love the neck of this sweater...



It was so much fun knitting with my own handspun and blending the colors. I'm thrilled with how it came out and can't wait to spin more!!!

Garter Yoke Photoshoot

Finished since November! I finally got around to blocking this sweater and having a photoshoot.




Pattern: #22 Garter Yoke Cardigan from Knit 1 Winter 2008
Yarn: my own handspun - top portion is Dragonfly fibers and bottom is from Serendipity Farms.
Needles: Size 9
Alterations: I made the yoke much more rounded than the pattern called for - I cast on fewer stitches and increased evenly around the yoke to create a round neck instead of a square neck.







I had quite a hard time finding the right buttons for this cardigan. I had an idea in my head of what I wanted - or what I thought I wanted. I was looking for a natural wood button. But when I got to Joann's (the only place I know that has a wide variety of buttons!) I was so dissapointed! Most of the buttons I liked only had around 4 available. I needed 9! I kept on looking around and happened on these amazing leather buttons. I held my breath as I counted how many there were - Yes!! There were just enough. I love their deep brown color against the yoke.




I love my first handspun sweater and will hopefully have another one after my Olympic knitting!

A rose by any other name....

I knit a scarf for my friend Tara because she is awesome and gave me 4 skeins of Araucania Limari "just because" she saw it and thought of me :)



Pattern: Just Enough Ruffles by Laura Chau
Yarn: Araucania Limari
Needles: Size 11
Mods: I only cast on 150 stitches since I'm using a bulkier yarn than called for, I did 14 wraps, and knit half as many plain rows after increase.

I love how you can wear this as you would any scarf OR wrap it around a few more times and it's a lovely neckwarmer.



But perhaps my favorite way to show it off is all curled up like a rose:



I gave it to Tara last night at dinner and she didn't even want to uncurl it! She said she loved her rose! I had to force to her uncurl it and try it on. hehe

I took these pics using my new remote for my camera! I'm so excited that I can take pics of my finished objects now without having to ask anyone for help!

A Slouchy hat for me!

I needed a quick knit and this hat was just the thing.




Stats:
Pattern: Gwen Slouch by Lauren Nell Roy
Yarn: Ella Rae Bamboo Silk in Cyan
Needles: Sizes US 7 and 9
Mods: I cast on 84 stitches and then increased to 126 (14 pattern repeats total instead of 13).

I enjoyed knitting this hat - the pattern was easy to memorize and fun to knit.

The yarn was a bit slippery but SO worth it - the finished hat is soft and luxurious.

Mittens mittens mittens!

I am so in love with these mittens! I was inspired to knit a pair after seeing these gorgeous mitts that were knit with handspun. I thought to myself - I have tons of handspun and I never seem to know what to make with just a single skein. Here is my solution!



Pattern: Classic Mittens - a simple free vintage knitting pattern on Ravelry here and online here
Yarn: Handspun dyed by Hello Yarn in the Turkey Attack colorway.
Needles: Size 8 DPNs
Mods: I just used the pattern as a guide and adjusted the fit as needed. That's the beauty of mittens - you can try them on as you go!

Here's the yarn before knitting it up:



Love these colors - they will go with my entire wardrobe.

I actually knit these in about 5 hours total - I just couldn't put them down!

A new hat!

Everyone needs a new hat when the weather turns cold. I bought a skein of Madeline Tosh worsted weight yarn at Webs and after living with it for a while I decided it wanted to be a hat! It's a lovely orangey red shade and the color looks awesome with this pattern.




Pattern: Ballard Slouch hat by Felicia Lo
Yarn: Madeline Tosh worsted
Needles: Size 7 - 16 inch circ

I didn't do the extra repeat for "extra slouchiness" and I think if someone wanted a slouchy beret style hat they should do the extra repeat. I like how mine came out, but it's not as slouchy as I would have liked.








Everytime I go outside to take pictures - my dogs try to get in on the action... so here they are! Hurley and Bailey!

Orange you glad I knit more socks?

I have yet another pair of socks to show you! These were finsihed in August but for some reason I never took a picture of them!

They are my Fireball socks knit with C*eye*ber Fiber yarn dyed by my friend Erin.



It's just a basic sock but I tried something new... an afterthought heel.




I didn't have any DPNs with me when I was knitting this - I was at the National Stitch and Pitch game - so instead I knit two rows on one side with scrap yarn, and kept on knitting! After finishing the toe, I went back and picked up the stitches on the scrap yarn and knit a second toe. I actually reall love how the heel came out and I may have to make more socks this way!

I have been experimenting with differnet sock heels lately. I forgot to mention that on the plain socks I knit from Rhinebeck I made a garter stitch heel:



A couple people have asked if this is a short row heel. It's not - it's actually just a heel flap that I knit in garter stich and then turned and picked up as normal. I love how squishy and flexible it is.

Happy Friday everyone!

Mystery Socks Done!

A day late... but still rock'n...
I finished the toe on November 1st - so I missed Socktober by one day - but I still love my Mystery Socks:

Looks like Hurley likes them too :)



Stats:
Pattern: Mystery Socks09 by Kristin Kapur of Through the Loops fame
Yarn: Socks that Rock in Beryl
Needles: Size 2 DPNs
Alterations: I only did 4 instead of 5 repeats on the leg.

I really enjoyed knitting these socks and looked forward to the new clue each week. I actually knit both socks at the same time so that I wouldn't be left with Second sock syndrome - for which I am very famous. I may have to do this for all my socks!



I knit quite a bit on these during the Rhinebeck roadtrips. The pattern was easy to memorize and they had just enough variety to keep up the interest. If you didn't knit these yet - I highly recommend them!

Happy Halloween!

It figures it's the very last day of October before I even get one pair of socks finished for Socktober!! I started three pairs but only finished one.

I do love them though! Sarah, Jolene and I each bought a skein of Socks that Rock at Rhinebeck. We all cast on and knit plain socks with our skeins.









And because it's Halloween, here's a creepy spooky spider for you!




I took this shot in Ellicot City where I had coffee this morning and a brief photo shoot. It may be one of the last last days with the Autumn leaves. They were really falling today and it was beautiful to be in the middle of of it all.





I got some great shots that I think will work up nicely in HDR. I took an amazing HDR photography class last weekend. I will post pictures soon of some of the things I learned.



Happy Halloween!

Long overdue Shetland Triangle Photoshoot

I don't know what took me so long to get my act together to actually block this shawl and take pictures. But I finally did!!

I finished this shawl back in March and set it aside to be blocked and promptly forgot about it for months! Not sure why...




Stats:
Pattern: Shetland Triangle by Evelyn A. Clark from Wrap Style
Yarn: I used about 400 yards of fingering weight handspun made from Corriedale roving I bought at Sheep Shack at Mountain View Farms booth at Rhinebeck last year.
Needles: Size 9
Alterations: None

I love how the yarn makes the stitches and pattern really stand out! I knit this shawl incredible fast too - I just couldn't put it down. It's a bit small to wear as a shawl, but I think I'll wear it as a neck warmer in the winter.












In other news - last weekend I threw my parents a surprise party for their 40th anniversary! I'd been on pins and needles for months trying not to say anything that may give it away. It turns out someone told my Dad - I was so mad!!! But he was awesome and kept it a secret from my mom. So she was definitely surprised! I was afraid I was going to give her a heart attack! When we walked in and everyone yelled "surprise!" her heart was beating so hard I could see it in her neck!

There was also a second surprise - my brother and his wife had flown in from Minnesota - so that was awesome too! That was actually a surprise for them both. I'm so glad I was able to (almost) pull it off. It was a lovely day!