Knitnspinner

Finished Tomten

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 01:06:00 +0000

I did finish the Tomten jacket and gave it to my little niece at our Thanksgiving celebration.
I'm only working on the socks now-no other knitting 'til they are done.

Thankful

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:46:00 +0000

I'm thankful for so many things. My Savior, the hope of heaven, a dear family, and good friends. Happy Thanksgiving!

Tomten time

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:03:00 +0000

Molly's yarn arrived and I am knitting away. Starting to get a weird feeling about the amount I ordered-this first skein is almost gone. Hmmm...

Breaktime's over!

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:09:00 +0000

I've started some new things, and am enjoying working on them in this nice fall weather we are having!
There's my cardigan knit from one strand of Knitpicks Shadow and one of Cloud. This is the Midnight colorway and I am so in love with this yarn combo that I may never buy another ever again. The emerging fabric is fabulous. This pattern is my own that I am making up as I go with the help of BW's Knitting From the Top. Just a simple shallow V-necked cardi with a nice lace panel down the sleeves. I'm steeking the front because the thought of all that purling is scarier than the thought of cutting my knitting. Those are Harmony circs in 0 for those who care.
I've also knit a few squares for a sock yarn blanket. Since crochet and I are old friends, despite my replacing it with knitting, I intend to join the squares with crochet in some sort of unifying solid color once I have enough. Who knows when that will be...
Hmmm...what else...
I had to add some length to Jacob's Wallaby from last year. Note to self-always make children's cabled sweaters longer than you think they should be. Snipping that st and picking up and reknitting was nothing but grafting that staghorn cable back together was Not Easy and four tries later, I finally had to say "good enough". I wish I could have made it totally invisible! But he's four and wanted his sweater back, so I had to stop obsessing. Besides the yarn for his little sister's sweater is in the mail on it's way here! Can't wait!
Oh! And the Helgi mittens are finally done. I procrastinated way too long over that last thumb. But now they are in my brown coat pockets where they belong.
I'm still playing a lot of piano. In fact, I've started lessons again-after 15 years! I've played around with music for the last 30 years, and I think I'm finally mature enough to really learn this. So, I found a wonderful teacher who is putting me through the wringer and I am loving it. DD and I are hurrying to see who can get to the piano first when there's a free moment. :~)

School is in session

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:43:00 +0000

And there's been no knitting. None. Spinning either. I had some great projects going that I had yet to blog about, but now-it seems rather pointless to post pictures of what I'm NOT working on.
We are having a great year in school so far though, and I'm really glad about that :~) I consider myself very blessed to have this great opportunity to teach my children! My youngest is learning to read this fall and it is so exciting to see him work his way through the lessons!
C is in her second year of piano lessons and I decided to teach my boys the basics myself. The actual result of this worthy ambition is that I am practicing piano a lot myself. I think that's where my knitting time has gone...

Knit From Your Shelf begins

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:45:00 +0000

Since the sweater left the needles last Wednesday, I've knit and frogged a Helgi Mitten from Folk Knitting in Estonia. My first foray into serious two color knitting revealed these obvious gauge problems while I "found my rhythm". I swallowed hard and pulled it back to the thumb line and went up a needle size. However, I was so demoralized that I set it aside and knit up a pair of toddler sized CIC socks instead out of the leftover Paton's Classic.
They were really fast and soothed my outraged feelings immensely. I confess to casting on a larger pair this morning-no cables this time-just a simple 3 to 1 rib. Likely I'll use navy scraps for the heels and toes. I had to make myself stop after 5 inches worth or the mitten may never have seen the light of day again.

At long last

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 23:46:00 +0000

my Celtic Dreams sweater is done.

Ouch!

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:44:00 +0000

All this knitting on CD has left my right hand a little...unhappy. I'm taking frequent breaks and combing up some Merino to make up the third ply in the Polwarth blend yarn(gotta stretch that some since I have less than a pound) I had great hopes of finishing this project up before the month was out, but the hand problem may interfere. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
The good news is that I reviewed my Knit From Your Shelf list and it's shorter than I thought. I forgot about having knit a Moccasin Sock (yes, one-it was not my favorite. I intend to try it again in the future though since the notion of a refootable sock is very appealing) and a Moebius scarf. So, that takes care of Knitter's Almanac and Knitting Around. Leaving only-um, five books. That's one per month. These projects better be small!

Spinning

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:13:00 +0000

I've been doing a good bit of spinning lately. I unearthed some ancient fibers and am really enjoying them! The first is some Polwarth that I had blended with a bit of kid mohair and some angora. I keep a smallish amount of fiber near the wheel in a wine carrier that I bought at A C Moore. Let me assure you-this is lovely fiber! The wool is from Nancy Ortmann's flock-I've purchased their Targhee and Cormo as well. Fabulous! The blending was done by Wooly Knob and they did a superb job. I'm already on the third bobbin.
The next batch-you knew I'd have two batches going, right?-is this lovely gray Corriedale from Dan-Vir farm(sorry neither if these shepherds have web pages-email me for contact info) this is from a fleece I purchased back in '05. Since I bought more from them at SAFF since then, I figured it was time to get going on this one. Spinning another three ply with this fiber-just like the one above. That's what I like to knit-so that's what I spin!

And then here's a little update on Celtic Dreams. Almost to the cuff on that sleeve!!!

Sissy

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:23:00 +0000

Now isn't she just the cutest?

Sleeves and kitchen stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:24:00 +0000

I have knit my CD pullover down to the "skirt" section, and am putting that on hold while I work up the sleeves. I've picked up the sts and I'm ready to go! The top of the sleeve is worked flat for a bit and then joined-looking forward to seeing that come together!
I am also knitting up a mitered dishtowel from the Mason Dixon book that I borrowed from the library. I plan to finish it up today and promptly hang it on my handy little towel hook right next to the kitchen sink.
We got a new puppy for my daughter's birthday. A six wk old American Eskimo. Dh took the camera to work today so I'll have to post a picture later. She is a real cutie!

Favorite skirt!

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:28:00 +0000

I've forgotten just where I first heard this skirt pattern praised(one of those "week in dresses" records?) but I do remember the girl saying that "this pattern can do no wrong". Since it was a simple 2 hr skirt with a variation for a bias version, I started looking for one for sale. An internet store had one, so I promptly bought it and wasted no time in sewing two up with some floral rayon prints I had stashed away. For the first time, I can agree with the pattern envelope. It really is a 2 hr skirt!
Here's a photo of my navy floral(this is view B) If you are looking for a good simple skirt-try to find this one! McCalls 2029!

The last denim skirt that I made has a bit of a grease stain from a cooking spill, so I bought this apron fabric the other day to sew up some aprons for C and me. I have some plain pink cotton for contrast-that will likely be C's skirt section. We're working on her mastering my apple pie recipe, then she wants to move on to biscuits :~)

He is risen!

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 20:35:00 +0000

Did the grass sing?
Did the earth rejoice to feel You again?
Over and over like a trumpet underground,
Did the earth seem to pound
"He is risen!"
Over and over in a never ending round,
"He is risen!
Alleluia! Alleluia!

Spring!

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:35:00 +0000

The weather is super nice today-spring is my favorite time of year! We've had some good rain and now the sun is out and all my little plants are poking up their heads to greet the world. I moved my peonies to the side of the house, which will make dh happy. Now he won't have to watch out for them while he's mowing. I'm transplanting the pepper seedlings this afternoon into larger containers-they are ready for more space but I want to be sure we don't lose them in that one last frost that often shows up around Easter. Everything else in the sunbox is looking great! And my alpine strawberries are blooming!

I've picked the Celtic Dreams pullover back up and have almost finished a repeat, which is 24 rounds. I want to do one more repeat before picking up those sleeve stitches.
We are taking our spring break next week-I'll be refinishing a bed and chest of drawers for C's room. I'll post pics before I begin. These pieces have been waiting in the garage for quite some time-but now that nice weather is here-I can get that good ventilation that such projects require!

And here's the finished denim skirt. Simplicity 5524. Good pattern! I'm thinking of making one next winter in a black pinwhale corduroy.

Study

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:16:00 +0000

About a month ago, I finished up a study on modesty. Nothing formal, just me looking carefully at some passages of Scripture. I began in the garden in Gen 3. Isn't it interesting that the first thing that Adam and Eve did after disobeying God was to attempt to cover themselves? The very first thing! There's no record of their first being angry with each other, angry at the serpent, or even afraid of God finding out. Now those emotions likely were there, but I find it intriguing that what is recorded in the text is that they immediately tried to cover themselves. That flies in the face of what the world says about the purpose of clothing. Fashion, hierarchy, the desire to seduce, protection from the elements-all that is secondary. We wear clothes because of sin and the shame that that brings.
So, what did they make? The ESV translates this word loincloths. And what was Adam's reaction when God came to talk with him as before? He hid himself because he was n*ked. Even Adam knew, when the moment of truth came, that he was exposed and vulnerable. God confirms this awareness of shame and provides Adam and Eve with something that was even more of a covering. The word garments refers to a tunic or coat and is the same word that is used later to describe the Hebrew priest's outer robe.
Now, having said that, I do not think that God gave a divine dress code here. I do believe that the principle of modesty was instituted here and I do infer that modesty may very well mean wearing more than we naturally wish to. Obviously we have deep spiritual things going on in the garden at the Fall. And our focus should be on the spiritual, without question. The sobering picture of human attempts to cover up sin by our own works and God's amazing provision is not lost to me. The fact that there is a wonderful spiritual significance to this event does not mean that there is nothing that we can learn from the physical aspects of it.
The NT word that mirrors this awareness of shame is translated discreet, or chaste, or shamefacedness. The idea is-one who shrinks from crossing over the line of decency and feminine modesty. We have lost this concept as a nation. I looked past the woman replacing my watch battery at Wal-Mart yesterday and saw the shirts on the racks in the Women's section. I honestly thought they had rearranged the store, until I saw the sign. Those little Tees might fit my eight year old.
I am blessed with a husband who helps me understand what modesty looks like. It is not easy to find modest clothing, but it can be done. Elementary sewing skills are also helpful if you have them :~) I bought $20 worth of fabric and have sewn a skirt for both myself and C and a pair of play shorts for T. I've seen similar skirts on the Internet for $40, so it pays to learn to sew a few things. Besides, I find it very rewarding. Much of my day is spent on tasks that will soon need to be done again-dishes, cooking, washing clothes-it's great to look at a finished project! :~)
Warm weather is right around the corner-let's enjoy it without being squeezed into the world's mold!

Lately

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:29:00 +0000

I've not touched my knitting. I've crocheted a bit-started a small blanket out of handspun, but not much really. I did finish sewing a dress for myself that had been lying in a bag for months :~) I also cut out some things to sew up in the next few weeks. All in all, not much to show, craft-wise, for the last couple of months.
I've been doing a good bit of Bible study-one on modesty, and one on a difficult passage in the NT and that has taken up a good bit of my afternoons. God has worked some changes in my heart through them and I've been blessed as a result.
More on this next time.

Distracted

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:57:00 +0000

I got distracted this week by the cold temps. My initial plan was to focus on Celtic Dreams and really push for serious progress just to get past the mid-way point. But then I opened my sock drawer and saw two pair of fuzzy house socks and two pair of summer anklets. (Don't worry, I did find two more suitable options in line for the washing machine) Apparently, all my socks wear out at once! I knew I'd been tossing some lately, but now that I know the true state of things I am doing some sock knitting. This first pair are just toe-up plain ones in Fisherman's Wool. After these, I have one more worsted weight pair to go and then I'll get more practical.

I did get a couple inches of pullover in though, as you can see. Those central panels are coming together!

Fraternal twins

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 21:24:00 +0000

Something went wrong with the Moccasin sock, so I knit the second one my regular way. Garter stitch heel, wedge toe. I'd like to get the Knitting Around video from the library and see where I might have gone wrong. But I'm counting it done anyway!

Added

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 21:49:00 +0000

the Moccasin socks from Knitting Around to my current projects. J told me the other night that his feet were so cold the night before that he had to wrap them in an extra blanket to get to sleep. Poor child has serious circulation issues. Plain ol' cotton just ain't cuttin' it. Now C kicks off every blanket I put on her-even if it's just the sheet and she is sound asleep! Weird. I'm knitting these out of the leftover Lisa Souza merino/angora. With a strand of black fingering weight at the top and sole.
I am still knitting Celtic Dreams-I'm about 2-3 inches past the underarm. So, maybe an updated photo next time when there's more to see.

I got another seed order in today-just a few packets from Victory Seed. They carry Garden Sorrel which I've been wanting for a year or so. I also got some okra, rutabaga, and radish seed from them. Most of this year's new seed comes from Seed Savers Exchange. Here's the lineup from them so far:
Lacinato and Red Russian Kale
Lettuce Mix
Lazy Housewife Pole Bean(who could resist?)
Chris Cross Watermelon
Buran and Golden Treasure pepper
Marina di Chiogga and Pennsylvania Dutch Crookneck Squash
Speckled Roman, Green Sausage, and Gold Medal Tomato

I do intend to put in one more order in the spring for eggplant, flowers, and another squash/tomato/pepper variety. I have expanded the garden from last year and now have three raised beds. Two 4X14's and one 4X12 officially in vegetables, and then I'll still have the flower borders that have room for a few stray bush vegetables like the green sausage tomatoes or zucchini. I love to do all my garden planning in the winter! This year I'm paying more attention to the companion planting rules. The pumpkins didn't do well last year-found out that they dislike being near potatoes. So, I'm hoping for a better harvest this next season.

Knit From Your Shelf 2009?

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 20:31:00 +0000

I am seriously thinking of taking on this challenge from Carolyn. I looked through my shelf to see just what kind of stack I would have to work through. It kind of scared me a little. I am not a fast knitter. I'm not even halfway through Celtic Dreams. We will still have school here. I'm slated to teach three classes at co-op this semester. Fourth grade Sunday School at church, too. And I have a big garden planned. That's March through October here in my zone. Plus, I will still have my normal responsibilities of feeding the family and insuring that we have some clean clothes and surfaces here at the house. So, why am I so drawn to this challenge? The six unused books on my knitting shelf have been clamoring for the last month for me to commit.
Here are the titles in order of purchase date...
Knitter's Almanac(I know!!!)
Folk Socks
Folk Knitting in Estonia
Meg Swansen's Knitting
Knitting Around
Aran Sweater Design
Patterns for Guernseys, Jerseys and Arans

They are all very worthwhile titles with lovely things to choose from inside.

A few more

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 19:33:00 +0000

things that I didn't mention (way back when this post started)... I'm spinning some Coopworth-dyed and natural. Very fast spin!

And then I never posted about my Marialis Shawl! I finished it in August, and couldn't be more pleased with it. I'm so glad that I stuck with it and focused on getting it done. A year in the works is long enough! Where the picture is that I know I took...don't know. I think the camera ate it.

And I also finished up my Morning Glory pullover. I decided on hems rather than ribbing. Had a moment of panic when I realized that I was short of yarn. EZ talks about shading in a different dye lot when you run out of the first batch of yarn. So I knit a couple of rows of the original yarn and then a couple of rows of a coordinating handspun for the remainder of the body and sleeves. The main yarn was a ply of Ashland Bay colonial in heathered purple and royal blue tones, and one ply of a royal blue Finn that I had purchased way back when from a long forgotten SAFF vendor. Some of the Finn I had kept back and spun as a solid color two ply. So I alternated those two yarns and I think the finished sweater is just fine. And I'm sure glad that I had that extra Finn!

What I've been doing

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 15:17:00 +0000

lately...
My Mr Greenjeans cardi in Lion Wool Majestic Mountain colorway. This sweater took something like eight days to knit. I think the combination of variegated colors and worsted weight yarn did something to me. Great pattern and I would not be surprised if I knit it again!

Before that I cast on a BSJ for my new niece, but after knitting a while I noticed that I had ordered the Wrong Yarn! Merino Style instead of Swish DK. So I had to frog. No hand washables for non-knitters, friends. Especially for a baby. I've had four. It's just not worth it. Better and kinder to just change your plans.

So, instead I cast on an overdue sweater for the little niece's big brother. And here it is! A wonderful Wallaby with mods, of course. How could I not put a cable up the middle and then around that nifty hood? That's what I thought! This is knit with KnitPicks Swish DK which I liked entirely too much.

Now that that is done I have cast on the long awaited Celtic Dreams pullover for me. Not much to see here. Just the saddles and some of the upper back so far. But I love love love the cables. They are wonderful.

And that's it for me today!

The bitter truth

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 22:13:00 +0000

is that I didn't meet my Tour de Fleece goal of spinning 20 minutes a day. I let the time crunch of getting those socks finished push that morning spinning time out for a day or two. However-on the other days I spun more than 20 minutes, so the end result is that I have more finished yarn than I would have if I had been a strict adherent to my original goal. So all is not lost.

For instance, let's see what's left in the ziploc big bag...

Now see. I wouldn't have finished this! And it's been sitting in that closet for years, folks. What kept me from it, I don't know-it spun up quickly and was a nice change from my super fine Corriedale project. (Still underway and coming along nicely once again thanks to the Tour)

Here's the lineup of finished yarn. And, no-I have no plans for this. So, now it will languish in the closet as yarn for a while!

Still spinning

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:32:00 +0000

on-not a lot of noticeable progress. So, I'll show you the socks instead! They are ready to head out the door today. What a relief! Knitting for others is very enjoyable, but-the pressure! Now I can knit on my shawl for a little while. I had made some mistakes in the pattern somehow and fixing it took some time. Notice that I did not say that I had frogged it and reknit. I took the cheater's way out, I confess, and "fixed" it. Put in gobs of stitch markers and then made things right in each repeat. Hopefully it won't be too visible in the finished item! Now whether I will stick with this project until it is completed remains to be seen. I'd sure like to have it this fall when the weather cools, but other UFO's are beginning to call as well.

A new fiber

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:49:00 +0000

Here's the Romney lineup.

And now that I'm short a bobbin, I needed to pick the gray Corriedale back up. Apparently, all the lanolin did not wash out so I am heating a few locks in the microwave in order to comb and spin them. Of course it is spinning finer due to the grease factor, which I am glad of at this point. Let's hope it stays that way!
I've been knitting a good bit in order to finish the socks. They should be done sometime tomorrow. Plus, I've picked my Faroe shawl back up. Those pics will have to wait until my next post!