More of Everything

Hello Dear Friends!

Thank you so much for the very kind welcome back! It feels good to be in blogland again. I need to spend some time with my bloglovin account and add some blogs back into it (I had cleared it all out a while ago.) I still miss google reader.

The new year had me wanting to get the list of knitting wip's whittled down. I've managed to get two crossed off.

I finished my Colorado shawl, knit with some rustic 2-ply Colorado homespun purchased at the Taos Wool Festival many moons ago. The yarn and pattern felt like they were meant for each other. And the pattern...so simple and lovely and clever! Wendy doesn't recommend blocking the finished shawl, but I felt like my yarn could use it and I was right. It bloomed beautifully, and while it's still very "rustic" feeling, it isn't quite as scratchy.

 

Colorado shawl

pattern: Colorado Spring by Wendy D. Johnson

yarn: 2-ply Colorado Homespun

 

 

 I finished my Christmas socks a wee bit after the holidays. I have easily knit a couple hundred pair of socks, but I still get a little giddy with a newly finished pair.

 

Roman Holiday socks

pattern: Blueberry Waffle by Sandy Turner

yarn: Regia

 

And...I actually crossed a few stitches! I cleaned out my drawers (2!) of cross stitch wip's and came across this one that only had a few stripes left to do. Hopefully I'll get it sewn into a little pillow to add to my patriotic basket this year :)

 

 

flag motif

pattern: Summer Patches by Plain & Fancy Collection

fabric: 28ct "staci-dyed" linen

fibers: WDW brick and whiskey, GAST uniform blue, coffee dyed DMC

 



As I said, I cleaned out my cross stitch wip's: tossing some projects, reclaiming linen from others and organizing what remained. I pulled out a couple that I hope to work on here and there, fingers crossed :)
 

So what do I mean by "more of everything"? I hope to knit more stash yarn, do more cross stitch and embroidery, read more, and continue to do more cleaning and organizing. And just appreciating everything a little bit more :)

Thanks for stopping by my neck of the woods. Sending you all a little Colorado Sunshine!

 

A New Year and a Return

Hello My Dear Friends, is there anyone out there?  I never meant to stop blogging, it just sort of happened.  And then as more time passed, it became harder to get back into it.  I became a lurker again, lol.  But I've felt the blogging urge coming back to me in recent months, and well, here I am.  It's a new year and it feels like the right time to dust off my little space and start anew.

Hoping the New Year is full of peace and happiness and wishing the same for you!

Fall Neckwear

Hello Dear Friends!  Thank you all so much for your warm comments, they really put the fun in blogging :)  I may have mentioned before that fall weather says "knit new scarves".  At least it does to me.  Or at least, that's the knitty excuse I use.

I am totally in love with this one, it was such a fun knit.  It's long and cozy and the color is rich and jewel-toned...and I adore the pattern and how it makes scallops along the edges and the ends are scallop-y points!  All without being too frilly or fancy.

Candle Flame Scarf

by Chauntel Andreasen

freebie found here

needles:  sz 8

yarn:  Lamb's Pride Superwash Worsted

color:  Northern Lights

2 skeins:  200yds/100g each

81" x 7.5" after blocking

And I love this one too, even though it was a total bore to knit.  It's wide enough to be a wrap, but also light enough to be thrown around the neck like a big fluffy scarf.  I tried several patterns, but none worked with the yarn~~either the pattern was lost in all the colors or the colors pooled horribly.  So I finally cast on 50 stitches and knit the whole thing in garter stitch...which magically caused these beautiful stripes. 

Garter Shawl

cast on 50 stitches and just knit 'til you can't take it anymore

needles:  sz 9

yarn:  Brooks Farm 100% Kid Mohair

1 skein:  500yds

83" x 15" after blocking

Well my friends, that's all from me today.  I hope that you are experiencing some lovely fall weather in your neck of the woods.  As always, sending you all a little Colorado Sunshine!

Knitting Frenzy

Still knitting...A Lot.
The goal of making a substantial dent in my yarn stash is fueling my knitting frenzy.
And Ravelry is to blame too.
Case in point:  this wrap.
I never wanted to make it.
Until I saw a finished one on Rav.
Oh yeah.
Ravelry is just a synonym for Enable.

Turns out this wrap is fabulous.

Nice mindless knitting (perfect for summertime and watching baseball.)

I can see myself wearing it...A Lot

(unlike some of the knitting, though wonderful and I'm pleased with, I just don't wear it much.

Surely, you can relate?!)

I wanted this to be wider than the pattern

and to also have a deeper ruffle.

You can find all the details here.

 

I had a sudden deep, fierce desire for cozy, over-the-knee socks to wear with my boots and short skirts this coming fall/winter.

(Thank you again Ravelry.)

Nothing like deciding this as we are now reaching 90deg temps.

You can find the cliff notes over here...

Did you catch that?

I'm trying to get you hooked on Rav too?

Still Not Blogging Enough

I've definitely been blogging more this past month, but I still have several finishes to catch up on (which is so much better than having to find something to blog about!)

First up, my new favorite shawl.  I think each new finish is my favorite...at least 'til the next one's done!  But I really, really love the way this turned out.  Love the way it hangs and drapes.  Love how squishy and cozy it is.  Love the color too. 

Mara by Madelinetosh

pattern found here

needles:  size 8

yarn:  Country by Caron, Ocean Spray

3 skeins:  85g/185yds each

I really wanted to keep the other Sunday Market Shawls, but I had two skeins of this sweet yellow in my stash to make one for myself.  For some reason, even though I've never really been drawn to yellow, I am wanting to knit lots of yellow things. 

Sunday Market Shawl by Vanessa Carter

pattern found here

needles:  size 10

yarn:  Country by Caron, Soft Sunshine

2 skeins:  85g/185yds each

And here's a cowl I knit several months back.  Love the color and I think I'll wear it quite a bit during the colder months.....but I found this an unusually tedious knit, so it's much narrower than the pattern because I just wanted to be done with it. 

Twisted Rib Neckwarmer by Michelle

pattern found here

needles:  size 7

yarn:  Rowan Felted Tweed, color #SH146

1 skein:  50g/191yds

And the second best thing about having 3 great finishes.....they were all from stash yarn!!!  Thanks for stopping by and for all your lovely comments!!!  Have a great one!

Stuff

Hello Dear Friends.  As we can see, I'm lacking for a clever title (as usual.)  I'm stating the obvious...I have stuff to share.

The other gift shawls arrived in time for a couple of special birthdays and I'm happy to say that both recipients were surprised and pleased :)

These two shawls have now arrived at their respective homes.  Gifts that were "just because".  No special reason except that they are both treasured friends (who happen to share my love for red!)

Ventura Wrap by Rebecca Hill

freebie found here

needles:  sz 11

yarn:  Country by Caron, Claret

1.5 skeins each

And I know I'm a few days late, but the winner of the Leafy Washcloths is~~Barbara at Mainely Stitching!  Congrats Barbara (email coming) and thank you everyone for visiting!

It's Friday...Have a Great One!!!

2nd Time Around

I've knit another Andrea.

Do you remember the first one?

And how much I love it?

I love this one even more...

I went up a needle size so it would be a little bigger and a little more drapey.

It turned out exactly the way I'd hoped.

I love it when that happens!!!

Andrea's Shawl by

Kirsten Kapur/Through the Loops

Pattern found here

size: S

yarn:  Patons Classic Wool in Plum Heather

and Cascade 220 Heathers

needles:  size 8

finished size:  47"W x 23 1/2"H

Hmmm.

I think I need a large one now.

To really wrap around myself.

Would that be too excessive?

Or obsessive?

To knit a third Andrea???

Monday Finishes

I've seen lots and lots of these Brass and Steam Kerchiefs on Ravelry.  And every time I do, I know I need to make one.  And now I have...from stash yarn too!

The Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief by Orange Flower

freebie found here (Rav link)

needles:  sz 9, 24in circular

yarn:  Country by Caron, Deep Taupe

2 skeins:  185yds/85g each

modifications: I had two skeins of this so decided to go ahead and make it a little bigger. Added one more stockinette section and one more garter/eyelet section, but was worried that I didn’t have enough to do the final garter section so bound off…just 8g left :)

And I finished these socks...sort of a matched but mismatched deal.  It's a good thing they weren't meant as a gift!  And I've been watching these tutorials on darning (part 1 and part 2) and patching socks (part 1 and part 2)...and gosh, it looks so simple!  I kinda wish I had some socks in need of both to try out the techniques, lol!!!  Just a note, the clarity is kinda poor in these tutes, but it's enough to get the idea :)

64st basic stockinette socks

size:  women's sm/med

needles:  2.25mm dpn's

yarn:  Luxury Sock by Loops and Threads, Ocean

2 skeins:  229yds/50g each

(I talk here about the dyelot issue.)

And that, my friends, wraps everything up for me today!  Thanks for stopping by my neck of the woods, wishing you a Happy Monday!!!

Sunday, Sunday

A couple of gift shawls that will soon be heading out.

Airy and casual enough to throw around one's shoulders for a light layer.

Or bunched and wrapped around the neck for a snuggly warm scarf.

I love the freshness of the colors :)

Sunday Market Shawl

by Vanessa Carter, freebie found here

yarn:  Country by Caron

color:  spruce and foliage

2 skeins each color:  185yds/85g ea

needles:  size 10

modifications:  cast on 36 stitches.

Knit until there is only enough yarn to bind off.

size after stockinette, before dropping YO's:  49 1/2" x 12 1/2"

finished size after blocking:  63" x 19"

ETA:  I've had quite a few questions about the directions for the shawl,

and I admit that I had to read it through a few times when I started it.

So to clarify:  I cast on 36 stitches.

The next row I did *K2, YO* all the way across.

The rest of the shawl is knit in stockinette (knit right side rows, purl wrong side rows.)

The last right side row of the shawl: *K2, drop a stitch* all the way across.

You are now dropping the original YO's from the first row.

These will unravel to create the mesh rows down the length of the shawl.

Bind off.

The shawl will increase quite a bit in length and width after you drop the YO's.

I hope this helps :)

While knitting away on these, all I could think of was...

"To market, to market to buy a fat pig;

Home again, home again jiggety jig"!

I'm in love!

With this shawl!

Or shawlette.

The knitting was addictive.

And it's an absolute joy to wear!

I can see endless color combinations.

The small size takes so little yarn that it's perfect for using up those odds and ends and stray skeins in your stash!

So versatile and gorgeous!

Dress it up or down.

You've gotta knit this :)

Andrea's Shawl by

Kirsten Kapur/Through the Loops

knitpicks IDP download

size: S

yarn:  leftover Cascade 220 (I'm pretty sure, but the labels were missing)

~used approx 116g grey and 30g natural~

needles:  size 7 32" circular (sz 7 straights for edging)

*note*  there are a couple typos/errors in the written border directions,

the charted border directions are error-free

The winner of the snowman chart is Sadie!  Thank you everyone for your enthusiastic comments on my ornaments...they sure add to my motivation!

Happy Monday Everyone!

Two to give and One to keep

I really think a simple ribbon is all the wrapping a small handknit gift needs.  It lets the focus be on the Handknit :)  A couple of gifts off the handmade list for two very special friends whose birthdays are at the end of the month...

For Shelley:  a long, squishy scarf in greens and blues...

For Kathy:  a soft, drapey plum-colored cowl (sorry it looks more grape in the pic, but it really is plum)...

And for me:  the softest cloud of a shawl, that can be worn bunched and wrapped as a big, cozy scarf...

Or as an airy shawl...

Because I knit these all a while ago, I got careless and threw away the yarn labels and put the needles away (there's already enough clutter with current and wanna-be wip's that I hate to leave stuff lying around from the finished ones.)

But the patterns are all freebies, so here ya go:

Zig Zag Scarf

Ridged Lace Cowl

Stolen Moments Wrap

Happy Knitting and Gifting!!!

Pleased!

Good Saturday Morning Folks! No rest for the wicked today. Oldest has 3 softball games today and 3 other mothers and I are feeding ALL the teams. The out-of-towners are coming from about 3 hours away.

So, moving quickly on. I've finished my grey shawl. I love it. It's cozy and warm. I can imagine wrapping myself in it while enjoying my knitting and coffee on the couch in front of the tv on chilly winter evenings :) I don't know why these photos look so washed out and if I was at all a bit tech-y I would've photo-shopped them. The color is more accurate here. I must quickly add, that even though this was a really simple lace pattern, I've unknit and reknit this darn thing so many times I really should have two to show for my effort (argh!) and the fact that it is done pleases me to no end :)

Spring Lace Shawl by

Lion Brand Yarn, freebie found here
yarn: Wool-Ease, color Oxford Grey

needles: size 19 (with 4 strands yarn held throughout)

Have you noticed my list of stash-busting knitty finishes in the sidebar? That also pleases me to no end :)

Thanks for stopping by my neck of the woods! Sending you all a little Colorado Sunshine!!!

Happy Fall!

Good Morning faithful readers! We're in the midst of some very wet and chilly fall weather...perfect for making and wearing handknits. I will readily admit I'm not ready for snow and hope it stays in the high country :)

As I was knitting the edging for the green sweater, I thought it might look pretty cool as a scarf. So Sunday, while watching football with Hubby, I whipped up this soft, warm and oh-so-cozy chocolate-y brown addition to my winter wardrobe...

Edging pattern from the Cottage Lace Cardigan

Interweave Knits Weekend special issue mag

Yarn: Cashmere by Bernat, color Earth (2 strands held throughout)

Needles: size 15

I've started another big-needle knit. Gosh, how I LOVE how FAST they progress!!! This is a freebie pattern from Lion Brand Yarns. Spring Lace Shawl and theirs is done up in green. I love green (at least pretty much any shade except lime or kelly!) But I'm knitting mine in a heathered gray wool blend so that I can wear it more (because I'm bound and determined to become a woman who can pull off a chic shawl look instead of looking like a granny, lol!)


Well, my Lovelies, my coffee and knitting are calling me. So while the washer and dryer do their thing, I'll be clicking and sipping away. A perfect way to spend a dreary day!!!