Knitting Zeal

Still a knitting blog

On my needles now is a beautiful project I started last summer.  It was interrupted by knitting a Weasley sweater for my son and a few other projects, but I'm back at work on this beautiful shawl. The Joker and the Thief, pattern by Melanie Berg, is a fun project to knit so far. I picked up the yarn as a souvenir from last summer's Florida vacation where I discovered an amazing yarn shop in Sarasota.  (A Good Yarn!  Check it out if you are visiting Sarasota.  Super friendly staff and a great group of ladies knitting there!) There was a sample knit of this pattern and I fell in love with it.  They didn't have the yarn in stock that the sample used, but it was July and really hot and humid so I decided to try a non-wool yarn instead with the hope of using the shawl in the less chilly months.  Here is the Cobasi colors I picked out with some help from the yarn shop staff.  

The orange-poppy color was picked out by one of the shop ladies as she thought it added a nice pop of color to the group.  After I got home and started to learn the pattern, I realized I needed one more color to make the gradients of the pattern work so I added a lavender color to the mix.  

 

 This has been a fun project to knit.  I've wanted to knit a striped pattern for a while and the sample in the shop convinced me that this was the pattern.  The yarn is unlike my normal merino wool that I am used to using.  The CoBaSi is a cotton/bamboo/silk blend.  It is very lightweight and feels almost summery to me.  It is a bit annoying to knit, as it splits often, but the final product looks nice. 

I decided to name this project "Beach Umbrella Stripes" because its colors remind me of all the colorful beach umbrellas I saw on the Siesta Key Beaches.  Of course it's winter at the moment and I took advantage of the snow outside to photograph my progress.  At least the snow helps the colors show up true to life!

I hope to finish this project in time for spring in a few weeks!  I'm not sure how this type of yarn will block, but however it turns out I think I'll love it!

I've neglected my little blog for a long time.  Hopefully I will be able to find the time to get it back to where it started....as a knitting blog!  

Sparkly Caesious for spring!

Winter needs to be over soon!  We have lucked out and have not had much snow this season, but I'm so tired of being cold all the time!  Overnight we had lots of ice, causing schools to be delayed today, again, for the second time this week.  The forecast is calling for another night and day of snow tomorrow, and if it snows as much as they are saying, I have a feeling it will be a snow day for the school kids again.  However, spring is around the corner!  

Winter has kept me busy with lots of knitting and reading time.  I found an amazing pattern on Ravelry that was only available in book form, so I decided to purchase the book.  I haven't purchased a knitting book in years!  Curls is the book, by Hunter Hammersen.  It was so nice to read through the 14 different patterns.  She introduces a technique of knitting a shawl/wrap in a different way, and the end result is a shawl that curls around itself.  The patterns are amazing!  The one that drove me to purchase the book was the cover pattern, Filemot.  I have not cast on for that pattern though, because it seemed a bit complicated for learning a new technique (knitting from charts only.)  I have the yarn ready for it though, and will be casting on soon!

The first pattern I knit is called Casesious.  It is probably the easiest pattern in the book, but I decided that since I do not normally knit from charts, it was a good way to learn an new technique.  I chose a yarn I purchased while on vacation last summer at Carodan Farms yarn shop in Chincoteague, Virginia.  If you are in that area, definitely check out the yarn shop.  They have their own line of yarns inspired by the colors of the island.  I'm a bit obsessed with their yarns...the colors are just amazing! So the yarn I used is called Sunset at Tom's Cove and is from the Chincoteague Colors Starry Skies Collection.  It is a blend of merino, silk, nylon and metallic fibers.  The metallic fiber is a tiny streak of silver twisted into the yarn that is subtle (and hard to photograph!)  Because the pattern I used was fairly simple, I thought using the blinged-up yarn added some dazzle to the shawl/scarf.  I love how it turned out and can't wait to knit the next pattern from the book.

I found it very easy to adapt to using a chart for knitting instead of the written out pattern.  In the e-version of the pattern book, the author includes links to the patterns written as Stitch Maps, a different way of looking at the pattern.  I don't quite get using a stitch map for knitting, but I like being able to look at how the knitting will progress in that format.  It's like looking at a street map. Within that link is also a link to the written out pattern, so if I get stuck on figuring out a chart, I can check with the written pattern too!  If you enjoy knitting shawls, Curls is the book for you!

Summer shawl knitting...an update

I spent the summer knitting four shawls of various patterns to give as gifts.  I dubbed it my "summer of unselfish knitting" since I usually only knit for me.  It was fun!  I tried three new patterns and liked each one for different qualities.  I also stash-busted, using up yarn I owned already, with the exception of the last shawl that was knit out of yarn bought on Chincoteague Island.  

TGV: this pattern is from a collection of shawl patterns named after various trains.  The collection of four patterns is called Trainspotting for Stitchnerds, which is an awesome title!  I knit this pattern twice, in two different colors and yarns, to give to my friends celebrating their 50th birthday this past weekend.  This pattern was the easiest to knit and was very portable.  I knit much of each of them at Phillies games and at the beach.  

Ponies on Parade: was a basic pattern that gave me lots of trouble!  I had to rip out this project at least three times.  It was frustrating!  Once I got it, though, it was a fast shawl to knit and simple.  I used a specially dyed yarn from a yarn company that is now retired, so the yarn is essentially one of a kind.  I believe it was called snapdragons and was dyed for a sock kit I bought at least ten years ago.  Schaffer yarns are really beautiful.  It's a shame that they are no longer around.  This was knit for my sister in law's birthday!

Ishbel: This pattern was the most fun to knit of the three.  The lace pattern kept it interesting and I decided to add beads to the last section to add some sparkle.  This yarn was amazing.  Chincoteague Colors from Carodan Farms in Conch Beauty.  I love how this one turned out!  It was knit for a birthday gift for my dear friend who introduced me to Chincoteague, and fine yarn!

Next up on my needles is a Wallaby sweater for my son and soon another shawl, probably a Boo Knits pattern.  

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Sheep and Wool, in Maryland

Last month a group of friends and I traveled south to Howard County, Maryland to spend the day with sheep and yarn.  It was a perfect weather day and we all had a blast.  We met some amazing women who were selling their fiber related wares.  I found some beautiful beads at one vendor and later found the perfect yarn to go with them from a dyer who was a delight to chat with about her fiber passion.  We all purchased the most amazing gradient dyed yarn kits from Fiber Optic Yarn.  (The color ways were amazing.  The one I really wanted was sold out, but I ventured out of my comfort zone and went with a crimson to onyx kit!)  I also picked up a challenging pattern kit from Just Our Yarns.  It is a beaded wrap kit using tencel lace weight yarn.  It's going to be a tough project! We heard lots of baaing and cooed at the baby sheep.  We ogled the entries in the knitting competitions too.  It was a great day!

 

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Winter knitting: Ravellenics

I am unofficially participating in the Ravellenics over on Ravelry.  My knitting group is challenging ourselves individually, but we haven't formed an official team.  This is Baktus, a simple triangle shaped shawl/scarf.  I am using Crazy Zauberball in a the fun colorway called Blasser Schimmer, which  means pale shimmer in German.  In researching ways to knit this up using this yarn, I found a recommendation to divide the yarn ball in half by weight, then knit every two rows with alternate strands, giving this cool striped effect.  So far I love how the colorway is knitting up.  It's an easy, no think pattern.  The only thing I'm not loving is that the yarn isn't very soft.  I'm hoping a soak in some wool wash will help soften it up a bit.  This is the first time I'm knitting with Crazy Zauberball and it is fun to see what color is next, since there are no color repeats.  

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Morticia, a knitted and beaded lace shawl

Morticia, a knitted and beaded lace shawl

Back in September of 2013, one of my dear knitting friends convinced me to join her in a mystery knit along (MKAL.) The project was a lace and beaded shawl from one of her favorite knitting pattern designers, Boo-Knits.  I had knit exactly two shawls prior to this MKAL and one had been lightly beaded.  I had no idea what I agreed to do!

The goal of the mystery knit along was to knit a portion of the pattern each week as it was revealed during the month of October.  By Halloween I was to have a lovely beaded lace shawl completed.  HA!  By the end of October I had most of clue two complete.  Then I pinched a nerve in my shoulder that set off my carpal tunnel in my left had and wrist.  I had to stop knitting for over a week.  When it started feeling better, I decided to catch up on some winter knitting, like knitting a hat for me and a scarf for my son.   By the end of December, I decided to try working on the shawl again.  It took anothe three weeks or so, but I finally finished it.  It is HUGE!  I have no idea where or when I'll use it, but it is pretty.  I used Madeline Tosh lace yarn for this.  (MadTosh)

 

It takes up half of my dining room table!  The bind off was the worst part...a picot bind off of approximately 1500 stitches.  It took me about five nights of working on it for at least two hours to finish.  But, it's done and blocked and turned out better than imagined.  Details on my Ravelry page.

Hexipuff

See that little hexagon of yarn? That is the first of many hexipuffs that I'll be knitting for the next two years or so. In assessing the quantity of beautiful sock yarns that I've stashed (hoarded) I realized that I'll never have time to use all of them. I also have some sock yarn leftovers that needed a purpose.

I discovered the beekeeper's quilt a few months ago when another knitter from our group started working on it. The idea of using all of that beautiful yarn up kept pestering me to want to try knitting it. Since I already have the yarn it is not an expensive project. So, for my birthday I bought the pattern and went to work.

When I finish it the quilt will be wonderful. I imagine it will be great to use in the winter when I'm really old! It might take me that long to finish!

Crafting a pompom wreath, an easy Valentine's day project

My addiction to Pinterst has led me to be more crafty lately, which is really a good thing.  I have neglected my crafty side for too long.  I saw a variety of different wreaths on Pinterest and came up with an idea to make a pompom wreath.  Eventually I found one very similar, in different colors, on Pinterest too.  I used to make wreaths all the time, and even sold some for a while at local craft shows.  That was at least 18 years ago.  More recently I made Christmas wreaths.  I have not made any Valentine's decorations lately, so this project was overdue!

See, I have a love for the pompom.  There isn't much use for them in daily life, especially when you are an adult.  I'm not sure why I love making them so much, but as far back as I can remember, I always enjoyed wrapping yarn and snipping, snipping, snipping the ends until I had the perfect pompom ball.  

So, after deciding my color theme for my wreath, I dug through my yarn stash and added a skein of very inexpensive yarn from the craft store.  Then I dug out my Clover pompom makers....they are a great little tool for making various sized pompoms.  It took about a week or so on and off in my spare time at night to make all of the pompoms.  Sharp scissors are really important!  I ended up with around 40 pompoms in various sizes and colors.  I also had lots of yarn dust everywhere from all that snipping and shaping.

 

Starting to assemble the wreath

 

Using a styrofoam wreath form, I wrapped it with a single strand of red yarn until the entire wreath was covered.  I tucked the end in, although I suppose it could have been glued too.  At first I thought I would pin the pompoms on the wreath, but then decided to hot glue them instead.  It was quick and easy to do and it turned out great. Before gluing, I decided on placement of the largest pompoms, then added more and more going from largest to smallest, filling in the gaps with the smallest ones.  

 

Once all the pompoms I had made had been attached, mainly to just the front surface of the wreath form, I hung the wreath and decided it needed more pompoms.  Seeing it on the door at a different angle helped me see the gaps where I needed to add more.  It cost under $10 to make and looks great!  My son has requested that I make him one for his room in rainbow colors.  Time to search the yarn stash again!  

Valentine's Day Pompom Wreath!

 

knitted bunny

I thinking about knitting a bunny, or more than one, for spring.  I found the Jess Hutchinson pattern online and may do that one, or I may knit the bunny in Last minute knitted gifts.  I need to dig through my stash of yarn, instead of buying the cashmere or angora I would like to use!  This will be this afternoon's task while my monkey naps!