head games!

                                                    Head games, in the first degree 
                                                    Head games, yeah, always you and me 
                                                    Head games, why do you do it baby? 
                                                    Head games

well, not the type of head games that foreigner sang about! more along the line of hats, and the desire for a good warm one when fall weather puts a chill in the air!

here are a few:

at the end of september, i took a class in felted hats at Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival (offf). our wonderful instructor, carin engen, led us through the process from beginning to end and this was the end product from that experience! kewl, eh? i think so!

after class, i picked up some merino fiber while shopping in the vendor areas and repeated the process about a week later just to see if i could do it my self and, voila, i think i've got another winner!!

i may have shared this little number in an earlier post but in case i didn't i'll run it by you again. i picked up this roving at the black sheep gathering in late june in eugene, oregon. it is from blarney yarn in the colorway "sour apple II". i used my drop spindle to spin it during the 'tour de fleece' in july. the pattern is "urchin" by ysolda teague. the pattern is at knitty.com. 

 this hat is from the purl soho website and is called the "thank you hat". i had just enough malabrigo rios, leftover from a shawl i knit earlier this summer, to complete it! whew!

this hat pattern is "wurm" a freebee on ravelry that has been on my hit list for a long time! the yarn is twisted from blue moon fiber arts in the colorway: sea scum, sea scum run. this yarn has tried to have a life in several other projects but this, at long last, is where it finally has found a home!

when this pattern, designed by franklin habit, showed up in the deep fall issue of knitty, i knew it needed to hit my needles and sooner than later so here 'tis! it is called 'uhlan' and will be perfect to keep my hubby's head warm as he marches through the brush chasing bambi! (run, bambi, run!)

think i'll take a break from hats for a moment and pound out a few cowls and such! i've got some new yarn from miss babs that really wants to get needled!

oh, by the way, 10/22/2012 - finished! 'nuff said! go beavs!

socktober rocks!

 this is it! the month for socks and i've got a great pair on my needles! well, actually only one since i have miraculously finished the first one this early in the month. my problem now is getting back on the horse to finish the second one, the so-called second sock syndrome!! the orange and black colorway of this yarn is not in honor of halloween but in tribute to my beloved beavers!! the yarn is ebullient by Frog Creek Fibers in the colorway: Go Beavs!. this sock is a combo affair with the leg in the 'tidal wave' pattern; the heel in cat bordhi's 'sweet tomato heel', and the toe is finished in a 'star toe' pattern. this is the first time i've tried the 'sweet tomato heel' and i'm anxious to see how it 'feels' when i wear the socks. it wasn't a terribly difficult heel to knit but it did seem to take longer than other heels.

remember that sweet little hat pattern that i posted several weeks ago? well, here it is on it's rightful owner - trew henry cross! we welcomed 'hank' to our world on monday, october 15 at 12:33 pm. isn't he a cutie? and isn't he handsome in his hat? judging by the smile on his face,  i think he likes it!

it took 'hank' awhile to decide that it was o.k. to come out and play so with time on my hands, i knit this hat for him! i used leftovers in rowan felted tweed yarn, a wonderful wool yarn.  i did a basic fair-isle checkerboard alternating colors in the body and topped it off with a pompom! i hope it will keep 'hank' warm during the cold winter months ahead!

the long and short of it...

is...i'm late! nuthin' new for me as it seems to be my usual mode of operende! time just seems to slip, slide away.

anyhoo, speaking of long and short, here are my socks from the past three months.

july:
pattern: bmfa - "summer of love lace socks" designed by jc briar.
yarn: regia bamboo - 45% bamboo, 40% wool, 15% polyamid

a soft and comfy (thanks to the bamboo) pair of anklets with a fold down top - perfect for a chilly summer morning or evening! these little cuties were knit from the top down starting with the lace border.

 august:
"a manly sock" - a plain vanilla, top-down number with a knit2,purl2 rib. 
a subtle, nondescript sock, perfect for a guy that isn't into anything flashy but wants a sock that feels good on his feet - these are 'the bomb'!
the yarn for these has been in my stash for way too many years! it is brown sheep 'wildfoote' luxury sock yarn (75% washable wool/25% nylon) in the colorway: tom cat. perfect for cattin' around!!

september:
a plain vanilla toe-up sock that just goes up and up and up! i used my favorite gusset heel that i can now knit from memory - thank you very much!! 
i'm really getting tired of small wads of left-over yarn from socks with normal leg heights of six inches, so i threw caution to the wind and decided to knit the entire skein to see what i'd end up with. and...there you have it!! almost knee high but not by the 4th of july!
one small caveat...skeins sometimes don't have exactly the same yardage! surprise! surprise! fortunately, by chance i picked the smaller skein for my first sock instead of vice versa as i had about 5 yards of yarn left over once my second sock matched the end of sock one! i wouldn't have been a happy camper had things gone the other way!
yarn: marks & kattens clown; 45% bomull (cotton), 40% superwash ull (wool), 15% nylon

so...what to do with those extra sock leftovers? well, knit a hat, of course, and make it a small one!!

here's another one for a new baby knit out of fingering weight leftovers from a sock i knit earlier this year. 
this is how i did it:
cast on 90 stitches on size one (2.50mm) needles, place marker and join to knit in the round.
purl 4 rounds, knit 3 rounds; repeat and then purl 4 more rounds. change to stockinette stitch (which is actually just knitting when you are working in the round! a kewl deal!) and knit all rounds until piece measures 3 1/2 to 4 inches from beginning.
begin the top of the hat as follows:
knit 13 stitches, k2tog, pm; repeat 5 times to end of row.
knit 1 round.
next row: knit to 2 stitches before marker, k2tog, slip marker; repeat to end of round.
knit 1 round. 
repeat these two rows until there are 3 stitches. with these 3 stiches knit i-cord for approx. 3 inches (enough length to tie a knot in end), cut a yarn tail approx. 6 inches. thread yarn on a yarn needle and pass through stitches and pull tightly. thread yarn down through i-cord for a couple inches. tie i-cord in an overhand knot.

voila! a toasty cover for a new little head! oh, happy day!

testing, 1, 2, test, test!

hey there, i'm back!! aren't you surprised to see a post, again? wow, two days in a row - now that's some kind of miracle!! don't hold your breath on it happnin' again 'cause your odds are just not that great!!

anyhoo, i digress, as is usually the case!!

i want to share another welcome hat that i knit yesterday to double check my pattern in case you might be interested in whipping one out! it appears to me to be "all systems go" so have at it! it's a fast and easy knit that uses a small amount of yarn - i can't give you a yardage amount at this point because that would involve math which is not my strong suit but i'll ponder that situation and get back to you, or not!

now, you, too, can greet a new little bambino to your world with a warm little topper!! life is good, don't ya think?

once again, i used blue moon fiber arts socks that rock lightweight in the colorway: garden daze - leftover from a pair of socks. i find bmfa str lightweight to be just a tad thicker than most fingering weight yarn which makes it perfect for adding stability to this pattern and creating a little more substantial hat.

knit on and have a happy day!

welcome hat for sweet baby bubba!

my nephew and godson, toby, and his beautiful wife, jocelyn, are about to become parents for the first time in mid-october! yippee! the perfect excuse to knit a tiny hat for the little guy and bust a little stash at the same time - win - win - win!!

here's how i did it:

supplies: needles: size 2 (3.00mm), double-pointed

yarn: blue moon fiber arts, socks that rock, lightweight - colorway: wavelength

gauge: 28 sts/36 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch

abbreviations:
pm: place marker
ssk: slip one stitch; then slip the next. insert the left needle into the front loops of the slipped stitches and knit them together from this position (through the back loops)
k2tog: knit two together

pattern: cast on 88 stitches and divide among 3 needles (needle #1 and #2 - 30 stitches, needle #3 28 stitches).

join to knit in the round, place marker, and knit 6 rounds in stockinette stitch (knit all rounds).

change to k2,p2 rib pattern and knit 4 rounds.

change to stockinette stitch and knit until piece measures 3 1/2 inches from cast-on edge.

crown of hat:

round 1: *knit 17 stitches, ssk, knit 1, k2tog; repeat from * to end of round. (80 stitches)

round 2: knit.

round 3: remove marker, knit 1 stitch, pm, *knit 15 stitches, ssk, knit 1, k2tog; repeat from * to end of round. (72 stitches)

round 4: knit.

round 5: remove marker, knit 1 stitch, pm, *knit 13 stitches, ssk, knit 1, k2tog; repeat from * to end of round. (64 stitches)

round 6: knit.

round 7: remove marker, knit 1 stitch, pm, *knit 11 stitches, ssk, knit 1, k2tog; repeat from * to end of round. (56 stitches)

round 8: knit.

round 9: remove marker, knit 1 stitch, pm, *knit 9 stitches, ;ssk, knit 1, k2tog; repeat from * to end of round. (48 stitches)

round 10: knit.

round 11: remove marker, knit 1 stitch, pm, *knit 7 stitches, ssk, knit 1, k2tog; repeat from * to end of round. (40 stitches)

round 12: knit.

round 13:  remove marker, knit 1 stitch, pm, *knit 5 stitches, ssk, knit 1, k2tog; repeat from * to end of round. (32 stitches)

round 14: knit.

round 15:  remove marker, knit 1 stitch, pm, *knit 3 stitches, ssk, knit 1, k2tog; repeat from * to end of round. (24 stitches)

round 16: knit.

round 17: remove marker, knit 1 stitch, pm, *knit 1 stitch, ssk, knit 1, k2tog; repeat from * to end of round. (16 stitches)

round 18: knit.

round 19: ssk, knit 1, k2tog, knit 3, ssk, knit 1, k2tog, knit 3. (12 stitches)

round 20: knit.

cut yarn leaving a 12 inch tail. thread yarn on yarn needle and pass through remaining 12 stitches on needle, twice. pull yarn tight and pass through to wrong side and secure by weaving in yarn end. weave in other yarn end. 

tada, a beautiful newborn baby hat!

tsk, tsk, tsk!!

look at the date - friday, july 13 and i am finally getting to my june post!! my, oh my, i am tardy! please accept my apologies!


and, you might ask, why is this? well, in all honesty, it was the sock's fault!! they just didn't reach completion until july 11th after missing several self-imposed deadlines and a number of rounds of procrastination!  plus, i also snuck in a couple of other projects along with the black sheep gathering in eugene so i can't totally lay the blame on them. actually i think i am probably suffering from a tad bit of burnout with this pattern and type of sock as this is the fourth pair this year!! so, i'll be changing things up next month and making a pair for me rather than for the gift box.

once again, the pattern is wendy johnson's toe-up, gusset heel. this pair have ribbing all the way from the toe to the top. the yarn is another self striping number by on line yarn - 75% superwash wool and 25% polyamid, whatever that is!

fortunately for you, you can't see my studio because you would see that i am up to my eyeballs in yarn and patterns and fiber and fabric and lots of other crap but i guess that is what it is like for creative people, or so they say - sometimes i have visions of  'the hoarders' tv program invading my mind but i try to quickly banish that thought for my own sanity's sake! i had planned on knitting my june shawl with any number of patterns i already possess when this little number popped up in my email box from knitcircus.

the shawlette pattern is 'balm to the soul' by jaala spiro. it called for a dk or worsted weight yarn and required 250 yards so i thought i had it made in the shade with the skein of malabrigo rios (worsted weight) in the colorway 'piedras' i had in my stash. everything went swimmingly until i ran out of yarn in the middle of the final lace chart - argh! i was forced to make a trip to a lys (it was really tough!) to score another skein. the skein was the same color way but it had more blue and green than my original skein but what's a gal to do? i had to punt. since i now had plenty of yarn, i added another go round of the lace chart which the dk version called for and ended up with a larger shawl which was fine by me.

i am very pleased with the results considering my dilemma but the darker colors seem to be fine at the lower edge and it works. the sweetest part was how quickly this knit up - this truly was a weekend knit - start to finish.

here is the skirt that i mentioned i was knitting last month. it has a drawstring waist and an eight inch border of razor lace. the yarn is pima silk in the toffee colorway from frog tree yarns that has been hanging in my stash for a number of years - glad i could use it up!

i also completed this sweater - 'adrift' by carol feller, aka stolenstitches.com. it was exactly the perfect late spring, early summer wrap i was looking for - top down with fronts that drape oh, so nicely, knit in one piece in stockinette stitch. it is knit from yarn that i repurposed from a sweater i picked up at goodwill - light and airy, perfect for those not too hot days that frequent our weather patterns in the great northwest!


off the needles is another lightweight summer sweater that i haven't photographed yet but it was perfect for an evening at our family reunion in early july.


as mentioned earlier, i did attend the black sheep gathering in eugene in late june and took a class in mawatas. what is a mawata? i'll tell you all about it in my next post!! gotta go now as i have yarn to spin - the tour de fleece is in full swing right now and i've got to get my daily spin in!! ta,ta!

ooooops, i did it again!

YES!

and YES! i did it again!

it's a miracle - i am still on task!

and the sun rose in the east today!

(except in the pacific northwest where we awoke to cloud cover) 

another pair of toe-up socks a la wendy d. johnson's book, socks from the toe up. i am terribly smitten with this gusset heel - exceedingly simple but beautiful! i've knit it enough times that i've almost got it committed to memory - yippee! i knit the leg in a k2, p2 rib.  the yarn is ON line supersocke 100 and i used knit picks size 1.5 dpn's. a good pair of utility socks if i do say so myself!

i found the yarn for this shawl at powell's books, of all places! go figure! i was roaming through the craft area, checking out knitting books, when i encountered a display of malabrigo yarn at the end of the aisle. quite a lovely display, really - one that certainly caught my eye (really, when has any yarn not caught my eye). i was forced to pick up a skein of malabrigo lace in the colorway glazed carrots, a color i've lusted after for a long time and at only $9 a skein of 470 yards of baby merino wool, a wonderful bargain for such a luscious hand - a whole lotta bang for a buck! the pattern is emily shawl, designed by mandy moore from the winter/spring 2010 issue of knitscene magazine. it is composed of the fir cone lace pattern, is a quick knit and is unusual in the fact that it is knit from side to side instead of from top to bottom or bottom to top. the beautiful part of this yarn is that it yields a light and soft product that works well as a quick wrap around the neck under a jacket on cooler days or as a lightweight cover up during warmer weather. in our neck of the woods that makes the shawl wearable year round, except for perhaps one or two days when the temp moves above 85 degrees!

i've also got several other projects on the needles including a skirt and a sweater that i will thrill you with pictures of next month - oh, lucky you!

before i go, let me remind you of this monumental upcoming event:

Worldwide Knit in Public Day

June 9, 2012

check out the info at: www.wwkipday.com. 

keep your eyes peeled, you just might see some wild and crazy people 

with pointy sticks hanging out in public! 

you've been warned!