Just Lovely

I love that scarf! It shows off all the different colors and the little sparkle. Those big needles are wonderful, right? Listen to your big Sis, she knows!

This past week was hard on me. The cars decided to have issues and both needed to be serviced to the tune of a small fortune. The dearest hubby took my car to work once his went into the shop. (It was the alternator in his car, went on a two year old car!)

Though I finally have my car back without the rattle that was driving me insane while driving it (or was it the kids screaming in the back seat to stop looking out each other's windows that was driving me insane?), I don't want to drive anywhere now. It is too cold! I should be prepared for this. It happens every winter. Yet every winter, I forget how cold 5 degrees actually is. I think it's like labor. You forget how that is, too.

So, while trapped in the house for the week, I decided to go through my stash and see what I could do for fun projects. May I present to you the little yarn balls I had left after completing projects turned into preemie hats...  I plan to donate them to a NICU when I get a few more done. I did each hat in about an hour watching the last taped episodes of Dollhouse, Fringe, and Vampire Diaries.

Aren't they cute? They stretch out pretty well to fit a preemie 3 -5 pound baby head. I bet you can recognize some of the yarn I used from previous projects, too.

I finished Cheryl's fingerless gloves this month, too. Remember the problem of not having enough yarn to do the thumbs? I found some soft wool yarn in green to complete them. Though it was not total color coordination, it was a perfect match for Cheryl who happily put them on and said they were wonderful.

 

I also made a pair of socks for Dad, who has a birthday tomorrow.  These were done in a nice thick wool to keep his toesies warm. The picture does not do the yarn any justice. It is a 4 ply of varying blues and a gold. Just lovely. A quick confession... I started these earlier than just this past week. A girl's got to find time to sleep, you know!

I made some more youth hats. That green yarn on the left hat is what I knit Cheryl's thumbs with. I found some blue merino and silk blend single ply to knit the stripe with that I spun up for a project last year (knit a pair of fingerless gloves for sister-in-law).

In my spare time this past week, I also did my very first lace pattern hat. Because I'm left handed, and most patterns are written with the assumption you will be knitting right handed, I had to read like I did back when I was learning Hebrew. I bet Mom and Dad will be very happy to know that those years of being in the after

school program have finally paid off!                                                                                                      

                                                                                                                                                                                             

So, maybe I should be glad it was cold these last few days and I was car-less for many of them. Once I did get the car back, I took the kids to the Y to go swimming.

I brought my yarn.

I'm going to take a break with knitting this week. There's a service project someone coordinated looking for people to make dolls to take down to Haiti mid-March. I'd like to have a few done for that - put some feelers out this morning within my local home school group to see if anyone wants to come over one afternoon and make a few with me. I know, I said I wasn't going to make any more dolls. I just feel like I need to do something for those children down there. I can't even imagine what they are experiencing. Hopefully, a doll will bring them some measure of comfort.

Thinking warm thoughts for you, Baby Sis! 

Big Sis 

Just in time for the big freeze.....

First of all, apologies for the recent lack of posts. My internet has been somewhat tempermental as of late and I finally got myself dressed and out of the house on my day off (yesterday) and got it fixed.

So, here's what I've been working on!! See, I haven't been THAT lazy these few weeks.....The LOVELY yarn I blogged about last time has become a scarf. I started out on size 15 needles which did not yield the results I was looking for. I wanted something loose, almost lacy. S, in her infinite knitting wisdom, suggested I try her size giant needles (34?35?). It went by super fast and came out just the way I'd imagined it. And, as I said above, just in time for the sub-zero temperatures the Garden State (ha ha) seems to be experiencing.

 

This picture attempts to give a better glimpse of the scarf...

There is definitely something to be said for using large knitting needles. This scarf took me maybe one day (well, two because I didn't knit continuously all day) --- perfect length project for moi!

Next up? Socks, I think (although I'm afraid to start them on my own), or maybe I'll order more of this stuff and do another quickie!

Finished Socks!!

The good news was I finished the pair of socks I was working on. I actually finished them on Friday night so that they could be presented to Cheryl on Saturday when she came over. The bad news was she was sick with the flu. So, I gave them to her husband to give to her.

 Don't they look fab???

 He mentioned Cheryl loved the fingerless gloves I made for my oldest  for his birthday (she saw me working on them) so I cheerfully told him I would be delighted to make her a pair. I was really sad she was so sick. This has been a terrible winter for her and I really wanted to cheer her up. I went about making them on Saturday afternoon. I doubled the yarn for added warmth and this is the end result from Sunday night...

I can't believe I don't have enough to finish the thumbs. That is all the yarn I have left! I scoured my Mommy brain trying to remember where I found this hand painted wool yarn and traced it back to a purchase I made on eBay last year. It was imported from China! So, I have to decide if I will give her a different thumb than rest of the mitt or if I will go through the wait of ordering some and getting it delivered through international mail. When you come up on Friday, we'll run through the stash and decide what steps I should take. I trust you implicitly. No pressure, though!

I've been trying to card and spin up the rest of the Leicester so you can tell me how impressed you are with my use of free time. I know, I know... what free time these days? These children make my brain hurt with the start of cabin fever. Three more months to go! I had to peel them off the ceiling at one point this afternoon. At least knitting is legal and a great way to de-stress. 

I can't wait to see you... four more days! Thinking warm fiber thoughts for you!

The Big Sis

The last post reminds me of the day I got my ears pierced. The first one looked great once it was done, but boy did it hurt. It hurt enough to make me seriously consider not getting the second one done and walk around as one-ear-pierced- five-year-old. Like socks, though, it just worked out better as a pair.

For the past three days, my internet has been functioning on a self-pleasing basis. Self-pleasing because it is the only one deriving pleasure from the times it chooses to work poperly. Yes, I am trying to fix it, but expect minimal posts until further notice.

This week's knitting frustration: tension, on two levels. Number one, I am tense (you would be too if you had a boss who demanded work before 6am). Number two, my knitting is taught. The former is the root cause of my knitting problems. Since knitting is mainly a reflection of how I move my hands, if my hands are as tense as those of a ninth grader about to give a five minute speech in front of 25 people on why the U.S. should halt drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ah, freshman year English class), my knitting comes out -- there is no other word for it -- crappy. If knitting could look constipated, that's how mine would look. It's very evident when I'm going through periods of relaxation because the yarn flows nicely and is loose and you can actually SEE the stitches. It was interesting to look at my scarf and note the changes in tension that are already visible. Knitting could be the equivalent of an emotional map for me. Now, being the perfectionist that I am, I want to undo the tense parts of my knitting, but I'm not particularly good at that, so it will have to stay. Size 15 needles, though! If I can't knit loosely with size 15 needles, I need a new job.....

The Truth Will Set You Free

Dear Baby Sister,

As your big sister, I think it's only the right thing to do to write to you about a terrible syndrome affecting what could be thousands of knitters. It's called Second Sock Syndrome and it happens when you complete one sock out of a pair of socks and just can't seem to get the second one started. This is what happened to me last year. I'm not sure how I fell off the wagon, but sadly, this gorgeous pair of socks almost wasn't to be.  I am determined to get the last half of this second sock done this week. You can see the progress I've made in just a few days.

I'm thinking this year might be the right year to learn how to knit a pair of socks at the same time on circular needles. You up for taking a class with me??

This week I've also completed another hat. I'm not sure who will be the recipient of such a labor of love. I can tell you the yarn was a gift to me during the holidays and was hand dyed. The movement of the colors through the hat is just beautiful and was a real treat to watch unfold.

I was up at Mom's house last night and just want to tell you she gave ME the 2.2 kilo skein of coral alpaca she's been saving for years. When you come up next week, we can go through my patterns to find the perfect project for such an amazing yarn. It is incredibly soft. I've got to stop petting it.

 

Hopefully I'll have this second sock done to show you next time I post. Tomorrow is the Big Boy's birthday and I can't wait to give him those fingerless gloves.

As always,

Your Big Sister playing in fiber 

Finished!

I have been working on an alpaca scarf for the past 300 years (real time: 4 months) and it is finally done! I finished it right before New Year's, actually, and, technically, it still needs to be blocked, but it is mine and it's done and it's my first scarf. I feel immense satisfaction when I look at it. Pictures to be posted soon, promise.

Now that I've finished that, I am working on another scarf. I am knitting with, no exaggeration, the most beautiful yarn that I have ever seen. When I went to the NY Sheep and Wool festival in October, I spotted this yarn from across the tent and through hundreds of people. Literally. The yarn is from Feederbrook Farm in Maryland. It is a combination of wool, silk, and alpaca (my favorite, in case you couldn't guess) and is delicately handspun. I had to have it when I saw it. Well, that's not quite true. I resisted it for half an hour and then went back to the booth. At any rate, I'm psyched to finally knit with it, and I have to say that knitting with yarn you love makes the experience even more fun. I'm not normally a fan of the basic garter stitch because it reminds me vaguely of sausage links, but at S's (big sis) suggestion, I am knitting this scarf that way. So far, so good. The pic above does not do the yarn justice and as soon as I get some good light I will upload a new one. Enjoy!

Sometimes Your Best Work Happens at 11:00pm

I finished that quick hat I started the other day. It was knit with Rio de Plata in a  festive handspun of red, pink, and white. I can't give the colors in this photo the justice they deserve. It looks way better in real life. The pattern is an adapted one of an adapted one a friend of mine came up with several years ago when I decided to needed to knit again. I was busy making dolls for a WAHM group and was looking at some of the gorgeous hand dyed yarn that was being created and just drooling. I know what the husband was thinking and I am happy to admit he took it very well when I completely immersed myself in yet another hobby.

Tonight, after the little ones were in bed (still chatting away as they are BEST of friends when it's time to go to sleep and they share a room), I took the Border  Leicester that I carded the other day and started spinning it. What a joy that was to spin up! I have a bobbin full of a gorgeous blend of natural colors. Wait until you see how thin I got it! Drafting it was so easy and it lent itself to be spun thin. I think I finally have found my first skein of sock yarn. Can you guess what I'll be doing more of tomorrow instead of cleaning? I can't wait to show you the rest of it!

Your Big Sister, as always, immersed in Fiber

And now from the little sis...

Up until a year ago, I was certain that the family "craft gene" had skipped over me. I've always been drawn to music -- knitting with needles and yarn seemed downright complicated. My mother, an expert crafter in her own right, happily gave me "Old Trusty" (her classic Singer sewing machine) when I moved out, probably in the hope that interest and circumstance would finally bring to light any artistic creativity buried within me. On the other hand, my big sister clearly inherited my mother's talent and patience for detailed artistic forms. Most days, she can be found within three feet of a knitting needle, pincushion, or spinning wheel. (Our middle sister inherited a penchant for a different kind of spinning.) I don't know how it happened, but over the past year, I've learned to knit, spin, and felt. Of course, when I have a question or tangle myself up in a giant yarn mess, Mom and Sis are only a phone call away. I'm not ready to enter any contests, but perhaps I got the artsy gene after all!

Here's to 2010 -- may it be a year filled with happiness, health, and, of course, fiber!

--B

First Post by the Big Sister

Fiber? It's not just for dinner. Or lunch... or snack. I could keep it next to me all day. I usually do. I can be found working on several projects at once. Tonight I finished a pair of handwarmers for my oldest son ( a birthday present as he is turning 12 in a few days). I am also currently knitting a hat and socks. My clothesline is drying about a pound of freshly washed blue faced Leicester that I am carding into batts to spin into yarn. Last night my sister and I spun up four ounces of gorgeous alpaca into some sweet yarn as we welcomed in 2010.

The pattern is from piece-by-piece.net and designed by Kathy North titled Men's Fingerless Mitts.
The yarn is from Cherry Tree Hill and is in the colorway "Totemic".

Your Big Sister in Fiber