Hat Progress and Cozy Madness

The hat is coming along nicely. I am very pleased with how my yarn is knitting up. I didn't try to make this a variegated gray, but it looks really great - if I do say so myself. Also I can't get over how soft this merino super wash is! I purchased it this weekend at my lys (local yarn shop).

I'm very excited that I can say I have a "lys". This is rather a new development, sort of. Kim had booth at local antique store for awhile, but now she has a window space is a shop she is sharing with a local scrap booking business. So the amazing selection of yarn has grown and is even more tempting than before. Anyhow, I just thought I'd give a little shout out since my hat yarn is made with lucious fiber from her shop. Oh and you can find her online here.

In Etsy news French Press Cozies still seem to be of great interest so I knit up this B.O.B. inspired cozy. I'm planning to stitch on some wood buttons this evening. The cables and ribbing aren't exactly like the sweater, but I did use the same yarn. Even so, I might have to call this one "Bob's Sweater". Maybe it will prompt someone to name their french press Bob. We'll see.

Onto my hat knitting! Have a great day!

The Yarn has Arrived!

My snuggly, chunky yarn for the B.O.B. sweater has arrived. This evening I plan to borrow the correct size needles from a friend and cast on.

I must admit that though I am excited at the prospect of B.O.B. another sweater caught my eye last night and it calls for the same yarn!

The pattern is by Jane Richmond and it is called Sedum (ravelry link). I'm pretty determined not to cave though, maybe I'll just have to make another sweater sooner than later.

I'm excited to get started on this project, but this weekend is going to be pretty full, actually everything is pretty full until next Friday. Still, it is chunky yarn and when I want to get something done I make time for it.



Okay I'm going to try to finish my socks this afternoon so I can focus on my sweater! Wish me luck!

Just for fun here are a couple of my most recent finished objects...

B.O.B. is Finished!

It is finished and SO snuggly! Seriously, if you keep your house chilly than this is the sweater for you. Or if you don't like coats this could take the place on some days. It has been super warm and sunny (by that I mean in the 40's) this past week, but it is supposed to get quite cold this weekend. I'm actually looking forward to it!

If you want to catch up a bit here are my previous posts about B.O.B. and here is the blogger with a link to the pattern. And lastly, my Ravelry project page.

I had a hard time choosing buttons. They all seem to be so expensive, even online. So I decided I would just pay more for buttons I really liked. I believe I spent about $12 on the buttons at a local quilting shop, but I think they look perfect for the sweater so I can't complain too much. In the end I followed through on one of my life goals - supporting local business.

The wind was a bit blustery for the photos so the button band was blown under the sweater a little but you can still get an idea from the photos. Knitting the button band with the sweater was one of my modifications, which worked well for the most part. I say "for the most part" because I ended up with nine buttons instead of eight so it is a little tall on my neck.

I also lengthened the sleeves from seventeen inches to nineteen and half. In my opinion if a sweater is snuggly than it must have long, long sleeves. To ensure they were long enough I did what I belive is called a provisional cast on - using the same cast on from these short row socks.


I believe that is the short version of all my modifications.

I cast on for another pair of socks yesterday. I'm not exactly sure why, but I did. I also have another sweater tempting me, my only hesitation is it would be similar to this one I just completed. So who knows what's to come! But I will show you some finished socks soon!

The Button on Blanket - B.O.B.

I'm sewing on buttons right now, but this is where I was last night about mid-night. I figured I should at least post this before I finish! A truly AWFUL photo, angle, face and all but there ya have it! The complete bob soon to come!

The Latest in the Shop

It's Tuesday and yesterday I wanted to post about my box bag and and Balsamic Red Pepper Jelly, but my photos turned out bleh so it will have to wait. Note to self: always best to wait for daylight before photographing anything (I have a feeling I have noted this before).

So for today I will share with you my latest Esty listing: simply navy. I am getting tired of knitting with navy yarn so this was my effort to use up some of what I have. Don't get me wrong, I very much like navy. The problem is my last two and half projects have been with navy (B.O.B., hat, and a glove) so it is time to move on.I knit this hat with my personal hand spun yarn. I dyed this yarn a bright navy that has some personality. This hat is lighter weight so it is perfect for those chilly spring mornings.

When knitting this hat I did some subtle mock cabling for the ribbing and then straight stockinette for the remainder of the hat. This detail give the hat a bit of simple femininity.

On a bit of a side topic I am in need of your advice. When I first began on Etsy it was very taboo to model hats. Many people said that they would never buy a hat that was being modeled because it had then been on someone else's head. Personally that wouldn't bother me so my question to you is this... would you prefer to see my hats modeled? Or would that deter you from purchasing one of them? I'm just wondering if things have changed or if I should still avoid modeling.

FO: Sedum Sweater

As I typing about this finished sweater I realized I had accidentally kept it a secret. It was kept a secret because I never remembered to get any photos of it. So now, the great unveiling! Tah dah!

Sedum by Jane Richmond. Knit with Cascade Ecological Wool, I thought the color was "coffee" but now I don't know for sure (I'll get back to you on that), on size 10US needles.

It is a very simple knit. I enjoyed doing the seed stitch, it kept me attentive. I did make a it a little larger around the bust than the original pattern, but I'm not sure I would have needed to (now that all is said and done).

Let me just say this wool is amazing! So so light and soft and a bargin! Also I like that it doesn't look extremely bulky. I mean I really love bob, but he is bulky.

It took me awhile to find buttons for this cutie. Well, actually it took me many locations. There weren't any I liked here in town (not really a shock), and I also looked in three or four shops on our trip up to Estes Park but no luck. I did find a shop on Etsy that is fabulous, but then we went to Shuttles, Spindles, & Skeins Inc. and finally I found some! I still feel they could be a bit larger, but I am definately not unhappy with them.

I'm planning to cast on another one of these for my friend, Julia, but I need to get to my local yarn shop and see if they have some more brown. I'll probably get started knitting this weekend!

Year in Review: Projects

I may be a little late for the "Year in Review" blog train, but I'm hopping aboard the caboose. This past year there have been some significant changes in my world. I published my first patterns, I registered my business with the US government, I moved to a new town, and started a new job. That seems like a short list for a whole year, but those are the most significant changes, there, of course, have been many others.

Below I have made a mosaic of some of my favorite projects from 2009. They are in no particular order and I just realized they don't include all of my favorite spinning projects, or my fabulous wheel, but another time I suppose. Below the photos are the Ravelry links for each project.


1. Poppy Doll, 2. Convertible Mitts, 3. Saturday Sweater. 4. Barn Raising Blanket, 5. Sunglasses Sock Case, 6. Cozy Leg Warmers, 7. B.O.B. Sweater, 8. Linen Shetland Shopper, 9. Wedding Wraps, 10. Alpaca Socks, 11. French Press Slippers, 12. Slouch Hat, 13. Wedding Cardi, 14. Second Chance Hat, 15. Sedum Cardigan

The Weekend

It was a busy one, but really great.

Saturday was spent car knitting, being a model for bridesmaids dresses, and shopping with friends in civilization.

Sunday was spent doing some more car knitting, skiing, being generally exhausted, and movie knitting.

With all those bits of knitting I am nearly 14 inches into B.O.B. and am about ready to knit the sleeves! Pictures to come, but for today you get to see the mountains.

The Return

Hello everyone I have finally re-entered the blogging world! Well, I wanted to return sooner, but I kept forgetting to take photos of yarn and finished objects so I put it off and well... I still don't have photos of fibery things but we can still do a little catching up.

Since I was tagged by Pfeiffer Photos while I was journeying around I'll use my seven random things to tell you about the last couple weeks.

1. Though it is more expensive than driving I do enjoy traveling by train.

It is so wonderful to be able to bring all the luggage you can possibly carry without having to pay extra. I'm a bit thrifty so I like that I can bring as much of my own food as I want. I like that I can snuggle with hubby while trying to sleep (gotta admit the train car was little on the freezing side). And the people watching can be pretty good too.
2. In general I don't think of myself as a materialistic person, but WOW did I enjoy shopping while I was back in the mid-west.

As I am sure I have mentioned now and then - there is NOTHING where I live. Wal-mart. Payless. Maurices. Local Sporting Goods Store. So I had to remember to blink when I walked into Target and saw all the cute clothing and clearance end caps! I just enjoy getting together with a girfriend and meadering around - and that my friends is just what I did.

3. I found that I still really enjoy color work patterns, and I only enjoy socks if I like the pattern I'm doing.

Hence, my mittens are done and lovely, but I'm trying to finish up the legs on my socks. I REALLY needed my mittens when I was traveling so that was bit of motivation, but also I found color work interesting and fast moving. If you remember I did the Tiffany pattern.
Now for my socks, they were a little doomed from the beginning because I taught myself how to do short row toes. I think I could like short row toes, but I would need to learn how to pick up my stitches more correctly (it was somewhat correct). The main problem is I just never really got the hang of the pattern I'm using though it is lovely - so I keep trucking. That all about travel knitting.

4. I bought some yarn on our way to the train station - thank you Edla's. (photos later)

5. On our trip we saw rain, sleet, snow, wind, fog, thunderstorms, and even had a tornado warning. Seriously, what the heck!

6. Since I'm knitting my socks in a bit of a funk I decided to knit another sweater before winter is over - meet B.O.B.

Mine will be navy and I am very excited! Yarn should arrive next weeks sometime!

7. After returning home a cold took over my face, but I am glad to say that I can now breath and have reclaimed my head.