#81 of 365 - Heaven Is Spring Green

Here is a full view of the 198 Yards of Heaven in the lovely Spring Green handspun I received as part of the Saint Patrick's Day swamp. I used every inch of the yarn I received and 9 inches of my own handspun to finish the cast off. I could have tinked back a row and cast off earlier, but I wanted to used ALL of this yarn and I had a handspun of my own in the approximate green.

#62 0f 365 - and Another One Done Redux

This post is about a number of things.

Among them are Deborah's finished Skully Blanky for
one of her grandsons. Kewl blanky and
very kewl granny that made it. If you look closely you will see the illusion skull and crossbones she borrowed from Ysolda Teague.





I also found the heavier weight yarn to make the kilt hose for my Da to wear with his kilt. He plans to wear the kilt and hose for the DD's wedding next fall. They will likely look something similar to these. I will do the foot part in a fingering weight and the cabled part in a sport weight to make them really comfy and so the cables stand out. I was ecstatic to find two blacks that matched in two different weights and that are both washable. Woot!

This shawl is done! but for the blocking that is. With all the yarns (5 different ones), including a cotton chenille, the drying process for this will take at least two days, so you'll have to wait for the finished picture. Again, this is a 198 Yards of Heaven. This one done on big needles and I made some changes to the last lace section, because I could, LOL.

#61 of 365 - and Another One Done

I started and finished 198 Yards of Heaven. So called as the pattern is suppose to use less than 200 yards of yarn. I knit this one with the remainder of the yarn from the Yvaine Meets Ishbel that I finished the day before yesterday.

I had only about 5 feet of yarn left after casting off, it was that close...

Here's the obligatory photo of a part of me, pinning out a point in the lace.

I have already cast on for another one, this time on big needles with 5 strands of yarn held together. The yarns are the VERY last of the stash I had from my Mum's Needlework Shop. They are comprised of a silk and wool, a cotton chenille, a cotton with a metallic wrap and a slubby mohair. The only change I will make to the pattern is on the edging lace motif. I will stocking stitch the points instead of doing them, as the pattern states, in garter stitch.

#60 of 365 - Another One Done

Finished up Yvaine Meets Ishbel yesterday. I used the shaping from Ishbel which is a 3 garter stitch edge with a yarn over (YO) then pattern to the center, then a YO, stitch, YO, then pattern again to edge and repeat the first 4 stitches. I used the Yvaine pattern for the idea of the garter stitch sections.



I also used, believe it or no, MATH. Each section was done with Fibonacci Sequencing. The stocking stitch section added by twice and the garter sections added by twice as well. As in 1, 1+1=2, 1+2=3, 2+3=5, etc.


This was made for the DD's wedding. I will likely need the warmth of it, since the wedding is in October, in the UK, on the Channel... I am wearing Citrine Yellow silk with brown accessories, so this is perfect to go with. Erin gave me the yarn in my stocking for Christmas, so I used up stash as well. I am making this shawlette with the remainder of the yarn as it requires slightly under 200 yards and that's about what I have left of the yarn after making the big shawl.

#50 of 365 - Then and Now

I got this far yesterday. Along the way, I discovered that my stitch count was way off. So I FROGGED IT (rip it, rip it)! Sigh! I also thought I should, maybe, be using a bigger needle size as well. This is the pattern from Knitty.It is called Citron.

I am doing it as an orange slice as oppose to a lime slice which is the colour of the original shawlette. I am, therefore, calling this one, Orange Zest. Again, my thanks to Rebecca for de-stashing the oranges I will be using to make this little shawlette.

Now, I am at this point on the bigger needles and I like the way that is working out. I have just gotten to the section that was giving me fits yesterday, we shall see what we shall see. More shall be revealed, as I am so fond of saying...

#47a of 365 - New Works, What A Concept

Here are the latest in the New Works Department. I rather think that you have had enough of the Thoughts for awhile. Although you are still going to get some thoughts.


This is my Feather and Fan Shawl in a single ply of handspun. Technically, it's a shawlette and I rather think that I will wear it as a neck scarf more than any other way. Yes, it is pretty in pink! What you get see is what you get when you help someone else de-stash their yarns and then use them. It is an experimental shawl anyway, to see what happens when you knit a single ply of yarn for a lace type shawl. I have an idea in mind for some of my own handspun, so this was a process knit... Process knitting is basically for the pleasure of knitting and learning something new.




This is Jenna's Mini-Multnomah. It's done in handspun as well, Although it's a two- ply with very short yardage. It took every inch there was of the one skein of pink and the two skeins of multi-coloured. The cool part is it is going to be exactly the perfect size for Our Wee Jenna. Multnomah is a free pattern from Ravelry.

#44 of 365 - Olympic Knitting

Here I am, home at last, sitting with Big Blue on my lap and knitting on my Ravelympic and/or Yarn Harlot's 2010 Knitting Olympics project. It is a Feather and Fan Comfort Shawl being knitted in a single ply of unknown hand dyed handspun, that our friend, Rachel de-stashed last weekend. I probably don't have enough to make the full sized shawl so I will knit til it runs out. More shall be revealed as they say. The Olympic Challenge for me was to learn a new stitch, which is the Feather and Fan. I think that it will become like New York Beauty quilt blocks, something I return to just for the pleasure of it.

The gist of the Olympic knitting efforts on Ravelry is to put together at team and project or challenge and start it during opening ceremonies and have it completed when the torch is doused in 16 days. Knitters, crocheters and spinners all have many different projects going on. Stephanie McPhee, the Yarn Harlot 2010 Olympic Knitting is an individual project or challenge.

#40 of 365 - Big Purple or Otherwise Known as the Moonlit Birch

It's done and it's big. It's light-weight, warm and fuzzy and I love it a lot. I like the Birch pattern from Rowan well enough that I think I will do it to gauge in another yarn as a Super Secret Surprise for Someone... The pattern is available for free over on Ravelry, just search for Birch by Sharon Miller. This one was knit from the top down which I hadn't done on a BIG shawl before, so it was about the process more than anything. When I have someone to take a proper picture, I will show you just how big it really is...

#27 of 365 - The Misty Moors

I love yarn, if that isn't already obvious to you, my dear readers. I chose this yarn because the name was so evocative and it has every colour that I love all in one strand.

I found this great sock yarn from . It's a colourway called Misty Moor (scroll down for the colourway). I was going to make Cheryl Oberle's Highland Triangle Shawl (scroll down to the Folk Shawls book) from it, but even with 800 plus yards, it's not enough. So instead, I am going to make Ysolda Teague's Ishbel with it. It is one of the shawls going towards my 10 Shawls in 2010.

Since I own shirts in every colour in the yarn and since the Ishbel won't use both skeins, I will make a pair of socks with the remainder. Then I will have a set, either to wear together or apart depending on how chilly it is. I will likely use this pattern Zokni, since I liked it so well when I knitted them up for Erin.

Another Hat that I Wear - #12 of 365

I am pretty well known for the fact that I wear hats. If I don't have one on, frequently people who have known me for years don't recognize me. I look for hats everywhere and have bought them everywhere from Nordstrom's and the ARC. The blue bowler in my Blogger Profile is from Nordy's and this brown one is the latest addition to my collection, which I found at the ARC.


I am still knitting away on the Shawls for 10 Shawls in 2010.

However, I frogged the original #2 (the Lacy Prairie from Cheryl Oberle's Folk Shawls in LBY Fisherman's Wool) and started it anew. I also started a cotton lace stole from a leaflet I got at Michael's. I did, as is fairly usual, amend the pattern to add an extra repeat so the stole is a bit wider. It's being knitted from Sugar and Cream Confectionary in the Plum Pudding colourway. It's a worsted weight yarn but done in the lace pattern, it will make it loose and light-weight. The lace pattern is an eight row repeat on fairly large needles, so it's a pretty mindless knit.

I also took delivery of two skeins of Cherry Tree Hill Misty Moor sock yarn yesterday for one of the 10. Though, I keep changing my mind about which shawl it's going to be. More shall be revealed.

Dipping the 1st Shawl of 10 in 2010 - #8 of 365

As many of you are aware, I belong to a social network for fiber fanatics called Ravelry. It is a major enabler in my fiber habit and passion. There is a group for ever one, everything and every interest, sometime more that one. I joined the 10 Shawls in 2010 group and cast on my first shawl on New Year's Day. Here is the finished shawl.

I wanted a working shawl, as it were. As you can see, I can cross the front tails and tie them to the back so that the tails are out of my way when spinning or doing some such other activity.

















For instance, I could have been wearing my new shawl whilst I was dipping the candied orange peel and pretzels in chocolate this morning...

On the Rocks Redux - #5 of 365

Here is the photo that I was wanting to get when I asked Rebecca to meet Erin, Guy, Da and myself at Garden of the Gods. We had so many cameras going, I wasn't sure who had it. Erin's guy, Guy posted it yesterday on Facebook. So here tis.



Off to the library, jeans buying and Sherlock Holmes. More shall be revealed. Still knitting away on Shawl #1 of 10 Shawls in 2010.

On the Rocks - #4 of 365

This is really going to be a quickie. Spent the whole afternoon at Traffic Court with the kiddo.

This is Rebecca and me at Garden of the Gods here in Colorado Springs. This photograph is of me and Rebecca as we were getting ready to take our shawl "batwing" photo. It is "the" Rebecca from whom I am borrowing the idea of 365 in 365...

I finished the Tangerine Dream Scarf based on Ysolda Teague's Damson. I need to block it but will wait til daylight and slightly warmer temperatures. I am currently working on the Patons Classic shawl of my own design but which is loosely based on Damson now, which is for 10 in 2010.

2nd Post of MMX - 10 Shawls in 2010

I generally don't post twice in one day but I just had to share what my awesome girl, Sheila did for our blogs. She created a coded gadget so that anyone can click through to the group on Ravelry where we are doing the 10 in 2010. It's so kewl, I can't begin to express my appreciation!

New Years Day - Welcome to MMX

I am borrowing a page from Rebecca who posts a photo everyday and posting a picture for this day... Casting on for the first of my Ravelry Group 10 shawls in 2010 on this day as well.








and from Rabbie Burns, the great Scottish Poet:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne ?

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my jo, for auld lang syne, we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet, for auld lang syne.
And surely ye’ll be your pint-stowp !
and surely I’ll be mine !
And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
CHORUS
We twa hae run about the braes,
and pu’d the gowans fine ;
But we’ve wander’d mony a weary foot,
sin auld lang syne.
CHORUS
We twa hae paidl’d i' the burn,
frae morning sun till dine ;
But seas between us braid hae roar’d
sin auld lang syne.
CHORUS
And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere !
and gie's a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll tak a right gude-willy waught,
for auld lang syne.
CHORUS

oh, and by the way: Thanks Donnely for reminding me of this.

I will open the back door to let the old year out, and the front door to let the New Year in, give your first visitor of the new year a twist of salt to season life, a piece of bread to stay hunger, a glass of water to stave thirst, and a coin to fend off poverty. A hug to show human warmth, a handshake to show you hold no grudge, and a genuine smile and candle to light up their darkness.