Happy Mother's Day!

I always look forward to Mother's Day, not because I am a mother of 4 wonderful grown children, but because it has become tradition that I spend the day with my mother.  Just the two of us... we go around to the stores and shop for our annual flowers and garden plants, stop off for lunch if we feel like it and the bring all our wonderful finds back to her house and place the flowers around the house.

It truly is a fun day  and one that I will treasure forever.  Mom turns 83 this year and she still looks as much like a movie star to me now as she did when she was 16.

I also like Mother's Day because I usually spend the quiet morning hours in my studio with all my yarns and fibers, a cup of coffee and my computer, just leisurley browsing around and planning my next projects or finishing up my current projects, without feeling guilty that I'm not doing laundry or cleaning. 

Today, I was able to finish my latest shawl (or wrap, or stole.. which ever you prefer) and I am just thrilled as how this turned out.

It is knit with a 50/50 wool/silk and it is just as light as a feather.  The scalloped edges have tiny beads knit in so there is a bit of a weight to keep it from flying away.  I love the basil green color and the rolling leafy design.  I am calling this one Traveling Vines and it is available in my etsy shop.

I'm also working on cleaning up a new (to me) old spinning wheel.  After doing some research, I've learned that this wheel came from Canada and is linked back to the Albion  Hills Farm School. From some forum discussions I've learned that Edna Blackburn  was a master spinner and taught spinning through out her life.  I've actually gotten the address of her grandson and will be corresponding with him this week to find out more!  Here are some photos of how the wheel looked when I received it:

Yesterday, I spent some time cleaning it up and browsing around for some new maidens as these must not have been the original.  I can't wait to get this in working order.. because, as you know, one wheel is just not enough! I will post some before and after photos after it is restored... more to come...

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there and I hope you have a wonderful day.

A Spash of Color

This week I dug out some roving that I purchased last year and finally spun it up into delicious yarn.  I usually strive to have consistant thickness, but this time I let the roving speak and become what ever it wanted to become.  I ended up with 268 yards of fun, bright orange creamsicle, thick and thin yarn.  I don't know what type of wool this is, but I am guessing some mohair and some costswold based on the crimp.  But who cares?  It came out lovely and the color just makes me smile! 

I also knit up a couple of baby girl hats in sweet lavender and pink. I think there is something telling me that my son and his girlfriend will have a girl this time.. or perhaps just wishful thinking. We found out this week that a new baby will be joining our family sometime in December or January and I am really looking forward to this new baby! Keep your fingers crossed for a girl.. but boy oh boy.. boys can be fun too!

I am working through my original patterns... Remaking the items so I can retake photos, so I started with my hooded scarf. I absolutely love working this scarf and I think I finally got a half way decent photo this time. Remember... I am in upstate NewYork where the wind and snow can get the better of anyone. This is the perfect hood and scarf for our type of weather. 

This Weeks Finished Projects

I think a combination of spring-like weather and going to a fiber festival at Beaver Lake has inspired me to be more productive this week.

Last weekend I went to a small fiber show at Beaver Lake and not only bought some new roving, knitting needles and a beautiful handmade yarn winder, I also won 8 oz of lovely roving with the raffle.  I don't usually win anything so I was very surpised and happy!

I came right home and finished plying the mint green handspun that I had started months ago that was left in the corner feeling very neglected. With that yarn drying, I put the beautiful black cherry romney that I purchased on the wheel and just kept on spinning!  I love the draft on this stuff and it spun very smoothly.   The results, including my neglected mint green wool, totals 615 yards of handspun goodness!



I don't know if it is spring or that I am surrounded by people having babies lately that I was inspired to come up with a new design for felted baby booties.  I tried them out initially with my grandson, Gavin, and they passed the test!  He loves them and wears them often.  And so, I will debuting these cuties in my etsy shop later this week.  The first pair is in a nice royal blue and fits 6-9 month babies. I'm calling this pair, Little Boy Blue...

And finally, I knit this sweet baby hat on Friday night.  The pattern is in 60 More Quick Baby Knits from Cascade Yarns and is a new technique for me.  The bubbles are made by undoing stitches and picking them back up again.  I found it to be fun and easy to make and results in a great textured design.

I'm off to spin some lovely tangerine wool and make some more baby booties ~  Until next week, keep your needles clicking ♥

Fine Lace

My very first fine lace project was exciting and frustrating all at the same time.  

I love bulky knits and many of my projects include using 2 strands of yarn together to bulk them up even more.  But I also love, admire and drool over fine lace.

I have just started knitting lace with fingering weight yarn for a little over a year, so I just became comfortable working with fingering weight yarn.  So naturally the next step is to work with an even finer yarn. I kept eyeing the cobweb yarn at my local yarn shop, but something in the back of my mind kept telling my I wasn't quite ready for that yet. 

After my dear friend April gave me a ball of Yarn Place Gentle in an absolutely gorgous cranberry red, I couldn't stop thinking about what I would knit with this wonderful yarn.  I finally decided to try a wrap pattern in Victorian Lace Today, which would also by my very first project with knitting on the edge. 

I faced my inner fears and cast on the center panel that seemed to go rather smoothly. Although, I did need to pay very close attention to ensure I grabbed the actual stitch on the needle rather than the loop below. (I later realized that the wooden needles were just too blunt to grab that tiny stitch and I have since moved on to super pointy Addi Turbo Lace needles)

My problems really came in to play when I started knitting the edging. I ended up modifying the edging pattern after several (about 50) false starts. I even heard myself say that I would never do this again during certain trying moments, but I was determined to master the process.

I did complete my project and love, love, love the lighter than air feel of this shawl. There is a couple battle scars along the edge but I do feel quite accomplished that I got it done.

And even though I had stated several times that I wouldn't ever do this again, I have already cast on my next wrap in a lovely green wool/silk.  This one is in lace weight yarn, which believe it or not feels like bulky after working with the cobweb weight.

I will definately do another in cobweb as the end result is so stunning.

April First 2012 Personal Knitting

I've spent quite a few hours completing some personal projects this past month and have neglected my etsy shop quite a bit lately.  However, I still feel that I have been productive as I have these great things to show for all my efforts!

This sweet hoodie is going out in the mail tomorrow to Vermont for my oldest grandson, Warren.  He turns 6 this May and loves the outdoors.  Even though summer is just around the corner, it can still be cool in the evenings for those times he is out catching lighting bugs and frogs!

Our nephew and his wife are having their first little on the June and they are naming her Ava.  What a lovely name! I made this  sock and bib set for the mom-to-be as she loves sunflowers.  And how cute will they be on a sweet little babe! The are also going in the mail tomorrow headed for Pennsylvania...

And this cute little felted bunny basket is fresh out of the washer for my littlest grandson, Gavin, who will be 2 years old in June.  Such a cute little bunny for cute little guy.  Just the right size for a treat or two on Easter morning. 

I'm still working on a lovely scarlet red lace shawl. I'm not sure if I will put that one in my shop or gift it to someone special this Christmas, but I can say this... it will be my masterpiece this year!

Hoping you are all keeping your needles clicking!

Lace Weight Yarn

I've been putting off working with lace weight yarn as frankly, I was a bit afraid of it.  It is so fine and thread-like, that I could see myself breaking it or getting into knots.  I don't think there was any real substance to this fear, just something in the back of my mind telling me that this would be beyond my skill level.

So, I bit the bullet and found a shawl pattern with an easy repetitive design so I could concentrate on working the yarn rather than the stitches themselves. After I did a few repeats, I had to laugh at myself for having anxiety about working with lace weight yarn, as there really is no difference at all!

Was it FDR that said there is nothing to fear, but fear itself? He was right in this particular case.
I can't believe that I put this off for so long!

So, here is my very first shawl knit with wool/silk blend lace weight yarn.
It is light as a feather and drapes so very beautifully.



This is the first of many more to come, I am sure.  Now, the problem is choosing the pattern....

Have you worked with lace weight yarns?  Please leave a comment to talk about your experiences.

Anna ~ My First Shawl Design

With all the shawls I've been knitting lately, I decided to design a pattern of my own and I am very happy with the end result.

I had a vision of the basic design and set out to start knitting in fingering weight yarn and added some bead work on the edging. What took place was pretty much a mess, but I figured out better bead placement from the first try. So I frogged that one and cast on again. The second try was better, but not really what I had in mind, so again, it was ripped out.

I put it aside for a few days, but the pattern was still in my head. So I picked up some heavy worsted yarn and started knitting along. Once I got going, it just started taking shape and turned out perfect!

The pattern is available for purchase on Ravelry, Craftsy and Etsy.  I would consider it a medium level project is it includes both cables and lace, but once the repeated pattern is knit a couple times, it is very easy to catch on and get the rhythym of the design. 

I named this desgin Anna, after my mother who taught me to knit many, many years ago....