All About Knitting

No scrapbooking here... haven't done a single page this year, but not to worry because I've got a couple of weekend crops coming up and I plan on starting and completing an entire album during those crops. My niece #2 is expecting her life album for her graduation in June and she will get it.

Now on to other news......
I finished my Kilkenny Shawl made from Shepherd's Wool made right here in Michigan. It has become a favorite item to wear, so soft and worn.



On my Knitting site, Ravelry, a competition of sorts was held during the run of the Olympics and interestingly was called the 'Ravelympics'. Thousands of knitters formed into teams and individuals on those teams entered events and projects were started, finished and sometimes frogged during the Vancouver games. The team I joined was Team Sasquatch and I entered both the Lace Luge and the Scarf Super-G because I was knitting a lace scarf, my first. The yarn was Qiviut (from the musk-ox), from Canada, appropriate for the location of the Olympics this year. I chose a project that would challenge me and it certainly did, but I finished on time.





Those who finished were awarded medals... here's mine from the Lace Luge.



Projects on the needles... working on the knitted hat the the USA athletes wore during the opening ceremonies.. it's red, white and blue, with moose/reindeer on them. Not that I'll ever wear it... I don't wear hats, but I just had to make it. It's done in three colors and I've never done a colorwork piece before. It's on the back burner a the moment as I ran out of blue yarn and had to order another skein.

Also starting to work on a pair of socks for niece #2 in 'Dream in Color Smooshy' in blue.

That's it for this update, hope to have more next time.

Knitting for me!

Now that the holidays are over with, comes the time when I can knit for me. Of course, other items are thrown in the mix for good measure, but mostly its for me.

Well, first of all, the red sweater... I finally finished it last month and I love it. It only took me a year to complete, but I didn't work on it the whole time. It went into hiatus for a while, a sleeve need to be re-knit and then it took me a while to get around to blocking it. But now it's done and it has been worn several times since.




Now I'm working on a wrap as a 'knit-along' with others from my knitting group. The pattern is called the Kilkenny Cabled Shawl, and it seems that everyone is using a different type of yarn. I've chosen a granite color in a Michigan made yarn called, Stonehedge Fiber Mill Shepherd's Wool. The pattern is from a book called 'Folk Shawls' by Cheryl Oberle. It works up quickly and the cable is easy to memorize. I'm about at the half way point and already looking for shawl pins in silver to wear with it.

HO HO HOME......




It's good to be home, it's good to have Christmas at home surrounded by family. It was short, only lasted a day and half, but we made every minute count. Making plans for next year which will be over the top.

I knitted for Christmas, of course I did, Hats and scarves for the nieces and socks for a friend. The socks aren't done yet, well one is and the other is in the process. The nieces loved their handmade gifts, and I know they would welcome anything I made them. As a matter of fact, they've already picked out yarn from my stash for socks.





Christmas wouldn't be the same without some handcrafted cards... here are a few that went out to family and friends for 2009.




HO HO HOME......

Knit...Knit...Knit...Knit...

That's what I did this weekend... 4 days of knitting. The retreat was put on by Trish, the organizer of a group I belong to. The 'Fiber in the Forest' was held at a retreat house on the northside of Lake Macatawa here in Holland. About 20 or so women from across the country attended. We didn't just knit of course, we talked, laughed, ate, did some spinning and some took a side trip to a sheep farm, and an alapaca farm. And then was the yarn crawl on Saturday where we all probably spent more than we should of, me included.

I did finish the mystery socks and even wore them on Saturday, and got many many rows done on the pink cabled scarf. I can't wait until the next fiber retreat.

In two weeks, scrapbooking gets its turn at a weekend crop.

Busy Busy

yeah, maybe not so much. Apparently not busy enough to produce enough to blog about. I have been scrapping and I have been knitting, I just haven't been taking pictures of things..

in Scrapbooking.....

I did finish 'Adam's Visit'. What started out as pages within the 2005 album, turned out to be an album in and of itself. Adam is my cousin's son who we brought from Hungary to visit during the summer of 2005. Besides doing things locally, Adam and I flew out to California to visit my sister and her girls and we did all the California things from going to Hollywood, and Disneyland to learning to surf. Then only after days of returning home, we drove out to Washington D.C. to visit Alex and toured our nation's Capitol. Tons of pictures were taken during the summer and it was hard to keep them to a single album. Here are a few....







in Knitting...

I did finish my Swing Coat and am needing to block it and then assemble it. It's my first blocking job and I'm a bit nervous about it. I don't want to overdo it and then it won't fit. I'm planning on steam blocking it... pinning it down to the right size and then running a steamer over it. Maybe I'll attempt it on Thursday.

Continuing on the V-neck sweater using a lovely Noro Silk/Mohair/Wool yarn in a lively purple and blue coloration. Front and back are complete and started yesterday on the sleeves. I'll be wearing this next week already. I don't plan on blocking this one.



New Projects.... have started the Christmas gift knitting.. not naming what or who, just posting a picture of what I have so far. It involves three rows of cabling, the cable stitch I borrowed from another published pattern, and changed it to make my own design.




and then... working on my first 'Mystery knit'. The designer posts one set of directions each week and without a picture or diagram, you knit and see what happens. These are socks with Knit Picks Gloss sock yarn in the color 'pumpkin'. How appropriate is that for a Socktober challenge. So far I have the first cuff done, the second sock being wokred on and the next set of directions for the leg will be posted in 2 days.

Socks, Spinning, Scrapbooking ....

It's been a busy few weeks creatively speaking at least. The latest knitting project done are a pair of socks for Alex.. I just guessed at size and color, but when he tried them on when he got home Wednesday night they fit perfectly.. he likes the navy color, and he's been wearing them since. Yeah me!




I've been getting some practice in on the the new wheel as well and have a bobbin of BFL. Of course being a new spinner and this my first EVAH homespun, it's a bit lumpy and bumpy and can be anywhere from lace to chunky. I put in a new bobbin, but haven't gotten the tension down and now I have to wait until I have full use of my right arm. Torn rotator cuff according to the doctor.... yes that's another story.. Spinning and trapeze work have to wait.



I've gone to a couple of crops, one being a weekend (3 days) long, and the other with my cropping cronies and I did get a lot accomplished. The cruise album is done and I got caught up on several 'missing' pages from other albums... some title pages, some to fill in spots and some that I had just forgotten about all together. I did manage to get over 40 pages done in the last couple of weeks. That's freekin' awesome for me and here is proof positive:

Dancing the Mazurka

The Mazurka is a Polish type dance where the dancers whirl very quickly, similar to the Hungarian Csardas. It's because of this that the Polish makers of my spinning wheel named it that... the Mazurka, because the wheel spins fast and is supposed to look like dancers. I don't know about that but it does go fast.

I have a spinning wheel, the Kromski Mazurka. I've wanted one for a little while having been mesmerized by the wheels of my fellow knitters. I did my research, I found the wheel that I wanted and went about looking for the right one. I considered buying new, looked online and planned on trying them out at the Fiber Fest in August. I wanted a wheel that not only was the right size, had a single treadle and had the look and feel of an old wheel... something that an ancestor might have used in the old country.

It happened so quickly. The ad was posted on Ravelry, it came with all the accessories and more and I could tell that it was well taken care of and loved and besides... it was at a great price. That morning the wheel became mine. It came in from Boston this week and it's previous owner Dave, had it so well wrapped and labeled, you'd a thought it was Christmas. Well it really was for me. I can't wait to actually start spinning... My friend Trish (Bams on Ravelry) will start to give me lessons next week, but in the meantime, I'm practicing my treadling and getting a feel for how it works.

Many people name their wheels, much like naming their cars or boats, determining whether it's female or male.. I'm not sure I will, but there have been fleeting moments when speaking about it when I refer to it as her.

Here she is..........