by Kat | Dec 8, 2017 | General
The knitting marches on, albeit slowly. However, today I am going to share a bit of a preview about my 2018 Stitching Project, which will begin on December 21 and I am taking a bit of license from Vivaldi and borrowing his Four Seasons. There will be four much larger stitching projects; Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn. And, while they will still be free-hand stitching – no drawing out of my design, the season of stitches will all be the same motif, but will change color as the season does.
I have also been wondering how handspun yarn would work to use for stitching, so I have been playing with some fiber to create some “crayons” to stitch with. I will test this out before hand to see how I like it. I am not the best at spinning super fine yarns, so I am not sure that this will work as I am envisioning it. But, I am going to do some experimenting swatching and see what it looks like over the weekend and I will share my results back here on Monday.
Now, how about some links???
That is all I have for this week, have a great weekend – stay warm! I will see you back here on Monday!
by Kat | Nov 24, 2017 | General
I have to say, I really love long weekends that begin on Wednesday night and are filled with good food and even better company! This is that sort of weekend and while we will head out to participate in the rush of shopping, it won’t be the focus of the day.
Here is your reality check for the weekend though… there are only 30 days until Christmas so if you have any gift knitting to do that you have not started yet…stop reading this and go cast on! There might be a project or two in the links that will work in the time you have left, just sayin’…
There are some awesome sales going on in the fiber world, though.
Perhaps a couple of grab bags from Amy at Spunky Eclectic… she has one with yarn like this grab bag for instance, or she has some awesome grab bags for hand spinners like this, or this, or even this! And, her sale does not end there! She has spinning wheels on sale, and weaving looms like this awesome Schacht Flip rigid heddle or this Wolf Pup.
Also, don’t forget that Beth Smith has a giveaway going on for a free kit for her Spin & Weave Along!
Now, how about some links (or perhaps more links is more correct!)
Mary pointed Humulus out to me on Instagram the other day… Yeah, I love it!
I don’t know about you, but stranded knitting just seems to go faster than “regular” knitting. So, perhaps you can get these mittens done in time for Christmas and maybe these mitts too!
I have yet to jump on the Brioche bandwagon, but this hat might be the thing that makes me jump!
Duo Chrome… a sweater for Big people and Little people! And, you could knit this with the helical striping technique!
This sweater, love it!
Noux… so many good sweaters!
And, finally, I will do the tiniest bit of self-promotion, so please forgive me but I have a bit of a Black Friday Sale going on in my Lipsburgh Facebook Group. I have the product in stock and I’d be happy to help you pick the perfect LipSense™ color. I would love you to join me there!
Have a great weekend… AND, this is the last weekend of NaBloPoMo, so I will see you back here tomorrow!
by Kat | Nov 17, 2017 | General
Okay, seriously…not everyone in my house is happy it is Friday. I should probably be more sedate in my enthusiasm for the week’s end since Steve was selected to serve on jury today of all days. Now, if you live in Pittsburgh you already know what the problem is, for those that don’t its Light Up Night here. Which is apparently utter chaos if you work (or serve on a jury) downtown.
However, I am so freaking glad it is Friday especially that while my to-do list still has things on it, most of the big things are not!
First up, as I previously shared, I went to the Pittsburgh Indie Knit and Spin last weekend. While there were so many lovely vendors, most of the things offered were all “the same” (as in the same fiber, just dyed slightly differently) however, I did find one vendor who is doing some really amazing fiber blends. I would have fallen hard off my fiber diet, but I had the voice of reason with me. He is really good at saying no to things. LOL But, I wanted to share Hipstrings with you all today. Even if you are not a spinner, she has an amazing mill spun yarn that is really incredible. The dark brown fiber is Coal, which is a blend of Finn, Shetland, Black Welsh, and Tussah Silk. The feel of this fiber is just incredible, and I can’t wait to spin it! The other fiber is Wild Geese, a Shetland, BFL, Manx Loaghtan, and Flax. I know! Crazy! Anyways, a little bird told me that she has open studio hours monthly, so I see a trip to visit in my future!
AND!!! I finished Rusty yesterday while catching up with Outlander. All it needs are the final ends woven in and a nice soak and blocking. FYI, Steve thinks the sleeves are too short, and he may be right, but I will see what a bit of blocking does. But, even unblocked – I seriously love this sweater! And here are my mods: I knit the sweater as written until I got to the colorwork. I then added 3 stitches to make the colorwork pattern work out evenly. I did crochet steeks and then picked up stitches and knit on button bands rather than the crochet ones the pattern called for. I knit 6 repeats of the ribbing pattern and then bound off. After a conversation with Mary, I did YO K2tog button holes (I did 10 of them which worked best for me). Now all I need to do is find some buttons, but I think I am going to use my Nana’s button collection. I might be able to find 10 matching buttons, but if not, I know there are for sure 10 white buttons. Full beauty shots next week!
Oh, and the links this week were plentiful and sooo good!
This hat…but really, if you have never knit with Elsa’s yarn, this is the project you must do! Really!! I promise it is so divine and your head will thank you!
Svetlana has been busy again… this time a hat and a scarf!
Or perhaps the Ricochet mitts and hat are more your style!
Brooklyn Tweed’s Holiday Collection! OOOOO!
Peace Knitting… yes, please.
Just no!!
This collection, especially this. (And, this little peek into photography with Gale is not bad either!)
Did you see that Amy King has some lovely shawl pins and these mugs?
And, finally, Beth Smith has some very interesting things brewing and then this too!
That is all I have for this week! Have an awesome Friday and I will see you back here tomorrow!
by Kat | Nov 10, 2017 | General
If you recall, I had a good long discussion of this sweater with Mary in which we spent a bit of time doing some knitty maths to determine how to place the pattern on the sweater (since the stitch count did not match the stranded knitting chart). And, so I counted back from my “center back stitch” and began, only to discover I cannot read a chart! So, I carefully un-knit the stitches and recounted and started again. Apparently, twice was not enough so I had to unknitting a second time and start again. Hopefully the solution for wonky math skills + number of sweater stitches + chart stitch count is adding in 3 stitches to make the pattern and my button band pick up work. Sometimes, I really think that overthinking is my major problem in life. Add to that, my ethereal Plutolopi yarn did not stand up to the challenge of being un-knit twice! But, I think I am back on track and forging ahead with the yoke! Hopefully, this solution will be much better!
Now, how about some links?
If you are in the Pittsburgh area, tomorrow is Indie Knit and Spin
This week’s controversy seems to be revolving around the images of this sweater. Personally, I love the images – and the sweater is not bad either.
I am not sure whether this is insane knitting or knitting for the insane.
The texture of this wrap is so appealing!
More Advent Knitting!
Join Hands supports a very worthy cause!
Renovations by Amy King is lovely, as is her dye sense. Want to test knit something for Amy… she has a test knit going with Let’s Do This!
Andrea Mowry has a special that ends tonight with Hoarfrost, The Weekender, and Tincture.
For the directionally challenged…. (like me, lol)
Fox Isle Socks
Palmistry now in fingering, dk, and worsted weight!
There are rumors that Beth Smith will be hosting a Spin/Weave Along in January! You can sign up for more information here!
That is all I have for you this week, but…it’s NaBloPoMo so I will see you all back here tomorrow!
by Kat | Nov 3, 2017 | General
There was some knitting time this week, but it was brief. I love how that works, some weeks I manage to organize my day and give myself quality knitting time… this was not one of those weeks. Perhaps it was because I did not have any list at all to start out this week! It kind of felt like I was behind the eight ball and never got out of its way!
Note to self, do your darned list this weekend, would you?
I did get some done on sleeve one of Rusty! I am through the increases and that means no more row counting! Yay! But, note to self, do your darned list this weekend, would you? However, Gale blogged and it has been percolating in my brain…AND, I have a cake of Jill Draper Makes Stuff Rifton!! This might be the perfect thing to take to knit night! And, as you can see – that yarn stays in my new color theme – Rust! This poor Rifton has been hanging out in my stash for a LONG time because I have been stuck on what to knit with it. Not that there are not lots of projects knit with it, but nothing has spoken to me until this! I think it might even be a “no swatching required” kind of project too!
Speaking of Gale, she asked a question about knitting with Plötulopi or Unspun Icelandic – specifically: “I want to hear more about how you like (or don’t like) working with the Pluto lopi. Aside from the inability to rip out and reuse-how is it to carry around for knitting on the go? Is it a stay at home yarn?” Great questions, Gale. First up, I confess to being very skeptical upon seeing these “plates or wheels” The yarn is not yarn, but rather it seems very ethereal and wispy. I was concerned how would I cast this fragile roving onto a needle to even attempt to knit with it. However, I was pleasantly surprised that not only could I cast on, but I did the German Twisted Cast on in hopes that my edge would be sturdier. The yarn creates an incredibly lofty fabric that is insanely sturdy! So, in a word, I love working with it! Now, as to the portability of it… I tried to take it to knit night but found that it was just too fragile to be in a knitting bag (even a slippery knitting bag). I will not travel with it in the future. The wheels are happiest sitting next to you as you knit. And, for those interested, Meg Swanson has a lovely video about the yarn in the link above which I found incredibly helpful!
Now, how about some very good links for your Friday??
Library lovers (and librarians) will adore this and perhaps if you have a librarian on your gift list this year this would come in handy! (And, really… shouldn’t we all have a librarian on our gift list??)
These are not new but slipper weather has arrived (Free patterns in worsted and DK weight yarns…you’re welcome)
Bindrune oh my. More Lopi Love!
Fade comes to knee socks
Jelly Rolls, Big and Little
I love these mitts
And, these in toddler size are too cute!
Svetlana does mittens!!
Make your own stripes? I love this idea!
I somehow missed Christina Campbell’s Knit-along and walk-along. It started on November 1, but it is not too late for you to grab Camino de Paz and cast on and walk on!
And, finally Ambah Obrien’s ADVENTurous Wrap in a stripey version that uses 13 different colors (stash buster anyone?) OR for those with a super-charged stash perhaps you want to try the fade version which uses 25 different colors.
That is all I have for today, BUT!!!! I will see you back here tomorrow!! Have a good Friday everyone!
