Winter Husks

I could really use a little sunshine.

Sunday Snowshoe

The big winter storm just missed mid-Michigan, but we still received a respectable 6 inches of snow.  Today was my first opportunity to get out and enjoy it - with Zeby, of course!  I strapped on my snowshoes and away we went.

We saw ducks congregating in a small pool of open water.  And Zeby wanted to figure out how to get closer to them.

My favorite trail in the area is part of a flood plain for the Red Cedar River. This section obviously flooded and froze recently - the highwater marks were left as frozen ledges around tree trunks hovering over the ground.

Nothing better than wool for a cold snowshoe.

Pattern: Brioche Hood Hat by Valdis Vrang, a free pattern on Ravelry

Yarn: Happy Fuzzy Yarn BFL worsted in the color Shadow. Purchased at the 2011 Ann Arbor Fiber Expo.

Needles: US 8

Mods: I lengthened my ties to about 14 inches. I worked out a system to make sure I did my short rows correctly. I inserted a stitch marker at the point where the short row wedges would end, and inserted a locking stitch marker where the short row wedges began.  Every time I worked one short row I would move my locking stitch marker one pair of stitches closer to the other stitch marker. When they met, I knew I had finished my wedge. This will make more sense to you if you are actually knitting the thing.

This is my Use it Or Lose it Project 02 - working from my stash!

Zeby hunted voles on our way back. 

 I relish these quiet moments in the woods. I love winter, especially if there is snow.

Handspun backlog

backlog

When we were up at the log cabin I kept thinking about my wheel, and how I wish I had brought it with us.  When I got home and wanted to spin I realized that all my bobbins were full of singles.  So I spent an evening spinning, plying, skeining, and finishing.

And then spinning again.

Pagewood Farms Merino Tencel, unnamed colorway.

And now I have six empty 2 oz bobbins and two empty 4 oz bobbins. Now we just need to go up to the cabin again.

Greta the Second

Soon to be traveling to a nephew in Virginia! This project was part of the Use It or Lose It challenge on the Stash and Burn boards on Ravelry. The challenge: knit with old stash yarn, and commit to knitting 13 projects in 2013. If you can't knit the yarn, then it is time to find a new home for it.

My Artyarns Ultramerino came into my stash when I spent a few days in Burbank, California with a group of knitters and crocheters.  It may have been 2004? 2005? Regardless, old stash!

Pattern: Greta the Captivating Cat by Rebecca Danger

Yarn: Artyarns Supermerino 1.25 skeins, in color 113, brown.

Needles: US 5

Notions: two vintage buttons and a little bit of DMC embroidery floss, polyfill.

I knit the body on the way up to the cabin, knit the arms, tail and ears while at the cabin, and sewed on her face and put her together once I was home again.

Inspector 13 approved

Snowshoeing in the Great White North

Hiawatha National Forest, New Year's snowshoeing

The cobbler's children...

... or in this case, my husband, rarely gets handknit gifts. I did make him a lovely Botanic Hat, but it is too itchy for him, and so he wears it off his forehead - not a great way to keep a guy warm.  So, I was determined to make him a warm hat with something much softer. Much MUCH softer.

Last year (2011) at NY Sheep & Wool I purchased a ball of Briar Rose 100% cashmere - a dk weight and about 200 yards. Dyed in dark greens, browns, and a little bit of dark mustard, I thought it would be perfect for my dark-eyed, dark-haired husband.

I started the hat in September? October? And knit the brim on size 7s, until it was abandoned in a panic over getting class samples knit.  Upon reflection I realized I really should go down a needle. And what if I made it too short? My husband has a large head.  Time passed, and the little project remained in its bag until Christmas Eve. When I had an epiphany.  I took it out of the bag, ripped it out, cast-on again, and away I went.

So, yes. I did give P a hat that was still on the needles. Being a knitter's husband, he took it all in stride, and handed it back to me so I could continue to work on it.

I love buying a luxury skein now-and-again, especially if the project intended will use up almost every precious inch of yarn, and so I designed the hat as I went.  It is knit top-down, in 1x1 ribbing, a little tedious, yes, but quite attractive, very stretchy, and it looks tidy. Plus, it works beautifully with my favorite finishing technique - the tubular bind-off.

I put the hat on him around lunch time, and he hasn't taken it off yet.  No complaints of itchiness one bit. Problem solved!

And my leftovers?

Approximately 19 inches of yarn. That is a good use of luxury yarn!  

Now I hope to write it up into a pattern, and because it is knit top-down, it can be knit with just about any gauge - one continues to increase until the proper number of stitches are obtained and then knit for length.

I am so happy I managed to crank this out for him.  He is a worthy knitting recipient.

Lima i-cord scarf

I would never consider myself a "designer" by any stretch of the imagination - I don't try to make my living out of my little creative endeavors. But I love to get an idea, mull it over, play with colors and work out the details.

The Lima i-cord scarf has been banging around in my brain since June, and I am glad I finally committed it to paper. My prototype was made up of (discontinued) alpaca blends I had in my stash. It is always frustrating to design in a yarn that is no longer available, but it can be really useful for working out ideas....

... such as the length of a scarf.... how to make stitches line up when you *really* should have been paying attention a bit better.... and the little fiddly bits.

Pattern: Lima i-cord scarf prototype

Yarn: Pink: Alpaca Fiber Exchange Baby Alpaca merino, in pink babe. Light blue: The Fibre Company Babe in spearmint. Teal: The Fibre Company Khroma WW in Aegean.

Needles: US 9 (5.5 mm) dpns and 32-inch circular, and a size US 2 32-inch needle.

But when it is time to knit the sample it is time to find a yarn that will hopefully be on the market for a few years, and if you are REALLY lucky, they won't discontinue one of the colors on you.

Pattern: Rowan Lima i-cord scarf

Yarn: Rowan Lima (84% alpaca, 8% merino, 8% nylon. 109 yards/50 g) in Argentina (dark grey), Ecuador (pink), and Andes (light grey). 1 skein of each.

Needles: US 9 (5.5 mm) dpns and 32-inch circular, and a size US 2 32-inch needle

Super luxurious in worsted weight alpaca - this yarn is seriously soft and the chain construction allows you to knit air into your project, making it very warm and extra squishy.  

It took me one week to knit two scarves and write the pattern.  Not bad, if you don't factor in the four months it was an elusive, amorphous idea.

I am so glad that this scarf is now a corporeal knitted object.  It is living at Woven Art, and you can pick up the pattern for free if you buy the yarn. But if you have your own yarn, or just want the pattern...

... it is available for $5.

... the only thing is, I think it spawned another idea.