Winter, Winter, Winter

Here I am, editing the baby bootie pattern, and I looked out the window to see... more snow. Really. The last of the snow has just melted off the back yard (though it's admittedly still clinging to spots in the north-facing front yard) and here we are, back to square one.

We are not amused. If it snows again next week, I can make t-shirts which will read: "I SURVIVED THE NINE MONTH WINTER." Yes, we often get a dump of snow in May, but we don't usually have snow cover from October through April. I'm going to end the weather rant now, and simply note that I noticed some tulips and daffodils beginning to sprout by the back door. It's exciting, because this is a new house for us, and since there was already snow cover when we moved in (see above) I don't know what surprises may sprout.

So, as one might imagine, I am still knitting and designing wintery sorts of things. I noticed the local supply of hats was getting low, so I dove into the stash and came out with some Berroco "Blackstone Tweed" and Mirasol "Tika". Then I flipped through my stitch dictionaries until I found a nice wave pattern. I had to tweak it slightly to make it work how I wanted.

(Berroco Ultra Alpaca.)

I think the greatest thing about this stitch pattern is that the beginning and end of round are virtually invisible. That means there is no jog or fancy slip stitches needed to avoid a jog.

This hat was done bottom-up, with a doubled hem for extra warmth. Oddly enough, The Mirasol Tika is labeled DK weight, but as I knit it, I would not peg it at anything less than a worsted.



This one was done top down, and the hem turned out to be a problem. The yarn is much softer than it looks, and pulls apart if you so much as look at it funny. Making a sewn bind off was out of the question. I ended up doing a blend of the k2tog and regular cast off.



I settled on the bottom up design, with the doubled brim. I had a hat making blitz, hoping that I could write a pattern that would work. It is available for download on Ravelry. This one is a $3, although I'll still offer some free patterns in the future. This pattern has detailed instructions for making the doubled brim, along with clear photos. It has instructions for an alternate rolled brim. The pattern is also perfect for someone new to stranded knitting, as there is only one color needed for the crown of the hat.



This one was made out of Garnstudio DROPS Nepal. It is a little bulkier yarn than the other three, but knit to the correct tension, it keeps out the wind even better.

You can use the link below, or go to the pattern page on Ravelry to get more details.

Only Begotten Knitter

It started with Ian pestering me: "When can I learn to spin on the wheel? When? Can we do it now?"



I pulled out some pencil roving from Custom Woolen Mills, and after he had spun up some singles, we set the twist and wound it into a ball. Ian started knitting.



He knit until bedtime, and I said, "Time to put it away," and he replied,
"Just one more row? Please?"



At which point I broke out in an evil cackle (which freaked everyone out, even the dog), knowing above all that he has now become... my only begotten knitter.

That's Too Small

We have a big book from the library about science on our table, and Benny was flipping through it this morning. He came to the section on human biology, flipping past the detailed diagram of a neuron and axon (which he thought was a squid and expressed relief that it was only a picture)and on to the human reproductive page. There was a lifelike, detailed picture of a mature fetus in the womb.

He was interested in the umbilical cord. "Is that the baby's toy?" he asked. I explained that it brings food and oxygen to help the baby grow. (And I was thinking, no, sweetheart, the baby's toy is Mommy's bladder.) Then I pointed out the cervix and birth canal, explaining that they expand to fit around the baby's head when he is ready to be born.

"What?" he said. "The baby can't come out of there. It's too small."

Tell me about it, kid.

Spinning...

Well, since classes began on Sept. 7, I haven't had much time for anything but reading, a little (and I mean a really tiny little bit) of knitting, and some spinning.

I was very motivated to finish this:



I did most of the plying at last Saturday's "Spin In" at Make one. When all was said and done I had 118 grams and 740 yards of silk. No wonder it took me nearly all summer to finish.

Next I got started on this, which seemed to take no time at all. I began on Sunday and finished plying today.




190 grams, 260 yards, spun woolen. I worked on my long draw, which I found soothing but it's pretty uneven. Oh darn, I'll have to practice some more.

You see that pretty shiny rainbow stuff combed into the black top? This is proof that my inner child is alive and well, and pretty pleased overall with my fiber love. I know several children who would love to have this but I intend to adorn my own head with it. I'll probably knit it first. My inner child isn't THAT loud.

The weather has been miserable and rainy for what feels like forever but I think actually started around the long weekend, which is now a couple of weeks of cold, wet weariness. They days are starting to blur together now, so I can't remember exactly which day it happened, but I got home amid a chilly drizzle and found a fat, long-awaited and squishy package waiting for me from Spunky Eclectic. Guess what was inside?

Sunshine! In 4 oz batts! The picture really doesn't do it justice. I was not really certain about getting orange at first, since it's not my favorite colour, but I'm so glad I went for something outside my usual purple zone.

There were also four ounces of some soft, sleek, Merino/Yak:


This is definitely better than ice cream:

and I think it will come in handy around exam time... so soothing, soft and therapeutic to touch. They sell it by the ounce, so if this spins up as beautifully as I think it will, I can get some more... and more...

I finished up the Octesian shawl.


Sometime in the near future, I'll chart out the pattern and get it test knit. However, all non-college projects are on the back burner, so no promises about getting it done before Christmas.

However, this gives me time to figure out whether I want to tweak the patten a little, maybe add more arrow lace and make the border deeper? What do you think?

Waterton

First of all, let me say that I did wash and soak my owls sweater, which made a huge difference. It's still prickly and not what I would have chosen for next to the skin wear, but not unwearable.


The puppy likes it too.

The fit is, like I said, almost perfect. I would have liked a turtleneck but rejected the idea when I realized how itchy it was.



I think I've decided not to add owl eyes.
The boys would both like to have an owl sweater of their own, so it looks like I'll be knitting more of these which will be great.

This weekend marked our 12th anniversary so we headed out to Waterton National Park, which is in southern Alberta across the US border from Glacier National Park.


Our first stop was the Prince of Wales hotel:




It's a "vintage" place and Ian was delighted with it. He really wanted to ride the antiquated elevator, which requires an operator, but as we were not staying there he didn't get to try it.

Our hotel had a bunch of chalet-style buildings which looked more interesting from the outside than they were on the inside. Each room was named after an animal or bird. Guess what ours was? "Great Horned Owl", of course.

We headed out to explore and ended up on the beach. I spent time honing my rock-skipping skills, and told the boys not to go in the water.



I do wonder why I said that, as they then had a great time getting soaked.





Benny found some flowers to give me. Someone had picked them and thrown them in the water, and Benny "rescued" them.



I suppose someone picked them and then was told it's illegal to pick flowers in a National Park. I made sure Benny understood he couldn't get me any more.

The next morning we went to the Zum Cafe for breakfast.





Ian was pretty excited about all the license plates and desperately wanted one to take home. Hot chocolate was the only treat in the offing, though.





We wandered down the main street and found some pretty things.





We spent some more time at the beach, and this time only one boy was really interested in getting wet.



"It's just the same temperature as the Elbow River," he said. Yes, I know. It couldn't be much colder than a glacier-fed stream, otherwise it'd be frozen.

Ian built a little lake.



We had a good time and I only wish we could have stayed a little longer and done more.



Ian began school this week, but hopefully we'll get out somewhere for another weekend before winter locks in.

A Hooting Good Time

For my birthday on the first, I thought I'd set aside any startitis guilt and cast on something simple and chunky to balance out all the lace. I thought I'd just start a sleeve as a gauge swatch, and a couple of hours later my ball of yarn was gone and I had a sleeve. This was such a novelty that I was entirely compelled to knit a second sleeve the next day. In fact it went so fast that this is the only picture of the work in progress that I have.

The dog is our newest family addition, and despite the fact she's only been around for a couple of months she know that chewing yarn or mouthing fiber means instant death. (Ok, it means she can't sit on my lap which for her seems to be just as bad.) So we cuddle in with knitting and she snuggles while I spin, even though silk turns out to be her favorite flavor. (shudder).

I have, however, discovered that the training is not yet complete:

(Why my Chia-Goo needles? Why not the cheap, splintery Wal-Mart ones?)

At any rate, my sweater was getting along so well I was sure there would be serious repercussions as the Universe was clearly out of balance. However, I washed the sleeve and blocked it, and it came out just right. The measurements and gauge came together like something out of a story book, and the chart gave me no grief. I added a few rows before the owls since some people had mentioned that they needed more armpit space, got through the owls, and decided to try it on to see if it was all coming together right.

It fit perfectly and I knew I didn't need to change a thing. Except, well. Except it itches.

This is a totally gorgeous sweater. I love it and it fits me perfectly. And I can hardly stand to have it on.

Ravelry project link

I'm going to try a Eucalan wash, and a hair conditioner wash, and any other wash anyone might think would help. But really, even if nothing helps, I'll be brave. I'll buy a long-sleeved undershirt and wear this sweater on the coldest, most miserable nights of winter, and hope that the Universe is satisfied by providing me with a lovely warm sweater that I can't wear and won't sabotage my next project...

I'm heading out to find some buttons for the owl eyes, and once those are on and the sweater doesn't make me want to rip off my own skin, I'll have some pictures of it on me. It's really stunning.

Knitting and Spinning

It has been forever and a day since I blogged properly, and believe me it was a busy year and a bit. I chose knitting over blogging when I had any time. I'd love to share what I've been up to.

In the middle of July, I took a great shawl design class from Miriam Felton, and knit through about half of this in the class:

I pondered a name for a while, wanting to reference the octagonal shape and the diamonds, and while listening to Narnia with the kids, and the name Octesian struck me as fitting. Now I am working on a laceweight version which is taking forever and a day, but when it is done I will have a pattern and will have someone test-knit it.

I used the lovely Zephyr laceweight, 50% merino, 50% silk. It knits up like a dream and is super soft.

Last fall I added to my personal arsenal of serenity and learned to spin; and this spring I bought a wheel (a Schacht Ladybug) and have been spinning all sorts of fun things since. My present project is some delicious tussah silk:

Despite it's luscious allure I'm finding it difficult to stick with this. It's taking forever since I'm spinning it very fine, and I intend to ply it.

On a final note, I have begun a project which is nothing but sheer folly and the creation of a UFO, but I can't seem to help myself. I enjoy knitting garter stitch so much, that I have begun this, the Blanket of Doom.

With Patons Kroy, on 3mm needles. I think I need a lobotomy. According to my calculations, I'll need 64 - 50g balls of this yarn to finish an afghan. I think in the end I'll make a baby blanket and call it a day. I do love the color changes in this yarn and to be honest I love this pattern, as simple as it is. Here is the link to the pattern on Ravelry, if you would like to make your own Blanket of Doom.