boogaj

Making Things

I've decided to make 2016 about making stuff and being creative. Last year was, well, not the greatest for me. We had some big changes in our lives and working through it, finding a new normal, was tough, but rewarding. 

Now I'm coming out the other side (fingers crossed) and I'm ready to get back to all the things I love -- learning, making, creating. 

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen my drawings from Lisa Congdon's daily drawing challenge. It hasn't even been two weeks and I'm already feeling more confident in my drawing abilities. The practice of drawing daily is almost like meditation and I hope to keep it going after January, and the challenge, have ended.

Maddie & I finally made some of these tied fleece blankets over the weekend. After a mild and damp start to the winter, we are starting to get some seriously cold weather, making these a timely timely crafting project. While cutting the strips in the edge of the blankets, Maddie & I spent a few hours together chatting, making this a nice mother/daughter bonding project. In case you were wondering, this is my blanket. Maddie's chose a MY Little Pony fleece for hers.

I even finished up a knitting project this January! Here - finally - is Drachenfels. 

I even blocked it. Maybe 2016 is my year.

Back to Writing?

Inspired by Claudia, I've decided to dust off this old blog and commit to writing on a regular basis. We'll see how this goes.

I started this blog way back in 2002 when Maddie was nearly 2 years old and I was finally finding a little free time for knitting and crafting again after the craziness of the whole baby thing. Over the years it morphed into a lot of things and I started a lot of side projects on the internet (including Black Sheep Bags, my podcast, the Pincushion Challenge, The Chocolate Blog, and many more.) 

At this point, I think I need to land in one place and write about whatever I'm obsessed with at the moment. (And I often become obsessed with things -- it's my nature.) 

If you still visit my website -- Hi! Glad you stuck around. I hope to get re-acquainted with you again!

(Oh, the photo? That's a pile of my dish scrubbies. Free pattern at Ravelry and on the blog.)

Socks

I actually knit something -- a simple pair of toe-up socks. I even updated Ravelry with the info!

Quick Mitts

I knit up these little mitts in almost no time at all.  Maddie chose this crazy yarn -- Liberty Wool in Sugar Spun -- which as you can see has some weird color changes.  This set of mitts was knit all from one ball of the yarn.  More on these over at Ravelry.

Spectra Finally

It has taken me well over a year to find some good yarn for this project, but on a recent trip to Knitche with Theresa, I finally found it!

To see all the details, check out Autumnal Spectra on Ravelry.

Christmas Lights Gauntlets

Finished the Elegant Gauntlets I was making with Sophie's Toes Christmas Lights.  Very fun knit and beautiful yarn.  My camera is blowing out the red, so I'm having a difficult time getting an accurate photo.  I have to say, this colorway really did remind me of Christmastime!

Now I'm contemplating my next project.  I'm thinking of pulling out the wheel and doing some spinning.  We'll see what the week brings.

Color!

I love Sophie's Toes yarns and was happy to be able to pick up a couple of crazy colorful skeins last weekend at the Vogue Knitting Live event in Chicago.  One of these is already quickly becoming a new project -- photos soon, I hope!

This beautiful merino roving from Jill Draper Makes Stuff also came home with me.  I picked up the spindle again a couple of weeks ago, but I think this will get me to dust off the spinning wheel.  

And another finish...

Herbivore is blocked and I love it!  The shaping really makes this a functional piece.  It sits over the shoulder and is more well behaved than a simple triangular shawl.  

You can see what I'm talking about in this photo.  Those bent sections really do make a huge difference.  

This was my first Stephen West knit and I'm very happy with it.  So much so, that I imagine I will be making another of his designs very soon.  In fact, I already have his Spectra in my Ravelry queue, so I imagine that might be my next shawl.

More on this project at Ravelry.

A little holiday knitting

I knit up this quick and easy pumpkin dishcloth yesterday.  More details at Ravelry!

Unblocked

I finished Herbivore over a year ago as far as I can remember.  So why has it been sitting unblocked in my office all this time?  I have no idea.  Today I finally soaked it...

... and the yarn really bled.  Yikes!  When I rinsed it, it was a bit better, but I'm still a bit shocked since I used some fancy shmancy Malabrigo sock yarn.  I suppose that's a risk you take to get that beautiful variegation.

Finished photos soon?  I hope so.  And you can see more details on this project at Ravelry.

Knitting Weather!

Project created September 2009.  Yes, sadly that's what it says on Ravelry for this sad little sock.  I'm sure I have projectes that I started, and failed to complete, that are older than this... but it's just socks?!?!  3 years?  Really?  

I've been feeling the urge to knit more and more lately, so hopefully I'll mix in some of these old projects with some new things.  Now if I can just find some fun new patterns to try.

Time flies...

I've been so busy with Summer that I completely forgot to post for about a month.  So what have I been doing?  Watering the garden -- a lot.  We're in the middle of a drought here, and while we never water the lawn, I do try to keep the veggies from wilting. (Heh!  I call it a lawn but it is primarily what some might call weeds.  But heck, the weeds are greener than everyone elses grass!)

I also went berry picking again -- raspberries this time -- and made some raspberry jam and raspberry sauce which was excellent on ice cream!

We also went to my mother-in-law's for the annual family picnic and had a great time playing bocce ball and ladder ball.

I had an awesome garage sale find -- an Epiphone Les Paul guitar!!  So now I'm learning to play, which is fun and a little intimidating (especially since Maddie, who is only 11 is already a very good guitar player).

And of course there was the 4th of July which we celebrated yesterday with some good food, fireworks and a visit to my Mom's place on the river for an afternoon boat ride.

I've also been reading, but I need to do an entire post to get all that logged.  And I'm looking for a new knitting project -- something fun and easy with a enough going to to keep my interest.  Any thoughts fellow knitters?  I'm thinking of doing the Stephen West mystery shawl kal, but don't have suitable yarn in the stash.  Perhaps it's time to enhance the stash.

Scrubbies & The Grand

So, Norma got me hooked on The Grand, which I've been watching on Netflix (think Downton Abbey, but with sex, betrayal, murder and more).  Since I can't possibly sit and watch without doing something, I've been knitting up a pile of new dish scrubbies.  Good thing because I have a bunch that need to be retired.  

If you want to make some, just check out the Super Simple Dish Scrubbie page ot Ravelry or take a look at my dish scrubbie blog post.

Wool Sock Weather

I just finished knitting a pair of wool socks for Maddie, using Wendy's Toe-Up Sock pattern.  You know the one, right?  It was easy to follow and makes a nice fitting sock, plus the toe and heel are pretty much the same, so it's easy to remember what you're doing.

Next time I'll make the toe a tiny bit more pointy -- maybe one more wrap stitch on each side.  You can see they are a bit squared off here.

The yarn I used was Regia 6 fadig in the colorway 5265.  I purchased this yarn at the (very) local yarn store that shut down a few months ago.  It was run out of the basement of a local woman's home only a few blocks from where I live, right in the middle of a old neighborhood.  Sadly, she got lung cancer and moved out to the west coast to be with her son during treatment -- she has since passed away.  So, it is a bit sad to be knitting with this yarn.

Next up was a Super Simple Dish Scrubbie because my old ones are getting pretty faded.  And now I'm projectless, but itching to start something.  Time to pull out the stash!

Doin' Stuff

I do not like summer.  The heat leaves me pretty miserable and somewhat lethargic, so it seems that I get so much less done during those long hot months.  Now that it's cooling down, I'm getting back to the things I love -- baking, cooking, knitting, sewing and such things.

While watching Heroes on my iPad (I'm late to Netflix, but so digging it!), I finished my orange Herbivore.  Well, I should say that I finished the knitting.  This project desperately needs to be blocked and I don't have blocking wires.  Can anyone recommend some good, inexpensive ones?

I also started socks for Maddie (who loves handknit socks -- yeah!) using Wendy's generic toe-up pattern from her first ever knitting book -- Wendy Knits: My Never-Ending Adventures in Yarn which I have owned for ages. In fact, my copy is an arc.  I can't believe I hadn't tried it before -- her description of the short row toe was very easy to follow.  

Which brings me to another Wendy Knits book:

Wendy Knits Lace: Essential Techniques and Patterns for Irresistible Everyday Lace, which I have had sitting on my desk for a few weeks, right next to my computer because I have wanted to post a review.  Let me say that this book is all fancy-like with charts and illustrations and lots of pretty photos of great lace projects.  I especially like the Stacy Shawl and I think that if I get brave, I might attempt the Vortex Spiral Shawl.  There are also hats, mittens and gloves that would be nice smaller projects.

I leave you for now with a photo of Spike, my big orange fella -- sleeping in a bankers box.  As you can see, it's a tight fit. 

Really Difficult to Photograph

Herbivore is so difficult to photograph.  First of all, the cloudy day is making it impossible for me to get the color right in any photograph -- especially orange.  And then we have the bunch-up-ed-ness of this quickly growing thing on my little circular needle. 

Despite it's lack of photogenics, this is a great little project.  The pattern is very easy to remember and I can literally set it down and pick it up without any thought about where I'm at in the pattern.

And I'm doing well on my goal of keeping things neat and tidy on Ravelry.  In fact, you can view the details of my Herbivore project over there.

Orange-y Goodness

I bought some yarn for the first time in a long time -- it's orange.  How could I resist?  I know I'm late to the party, as this is my first skein of Malabrigo, so I'm wondering what to knit with this orange-y goodness.  I'm thinking perhaps Herbivore from Stephen West.  Any opinion on his patterns?  Looks like his patterns are pretty well received over at Ravelry. 

This yarn is sock weight and I've got about 440 yards, but I don't want to knit socks.  All suggestions welcome!

(I'm kind of excited to cast on -- yeah!)

Dish Scrubbie Knitting Pattern

It was a relaxing weekend -- one that lasted three days, which is always a bonus.  We watched movies, I knit and Monday we went on our annual holiday shopping trip.  Since it was ridiculously cold, we opted for and indoor mall instead of shopping downtown Chicago, but it was still a great day.  Pete and I bought each other iPhones for Christmas, which brings us out of the dark ages of cheap cell phones.  (We always opted for the freebies that the cell phone companies give you up to this point.)

More on the knitting...  If you need some dish scrubbies, I have a generic pattern that I've been using for a while now and I don't think I've shared the "pattern" here.  (I use the term pattern loosely, since these are crazy simple.)

 

Super Simple Dish Scrubbie

by BoogaJ of Black Sheep Bags

What you need:

Lily Sugar 'n Cream Cotton Yarn -- each ball will make several scrubbies

Nylon Tulle -- nothing too fine, you want the cheap stuff from the craft store

US 10 Knitting Needles

What you do:

Cut the tulle into strips.  The wider the strip, the more difficult it may be to knit, but the more scrubbie your scrubbie will be.  I like to cut strips about 1 in. wide.  If you have a rotary cutter, use that with a ruler.  If not, fold the tulle in half and in half again several times until you can snip off a row with one snip.  (This will make more sense once you try it.)  You will get *many* strips out of a yard of tulle.

Cast on 16 stitches with the cotton yarn.

Knit each row using the cotton and tulle held together.  I like to fold or twist the tulle around the cotton strand so the cotton is encased. Just tie on a new strip of tulle when you get to the end of the one you are using.

When the piece looks nearly square (about 30 rows or so), bind off using only the cotton yarn.  Weave in the ends of the cotton yarn and snip off any tulle bits that are sticking out.

That's it!  You can make tons of these very quickly and with very little yarn. 

Here's the Ravelry link for the Super Simple Dish Scrubbie!

 

Fun Knit Cowl

I needed a break from the endless navy blue stockinette in the round that is the Dale of Norway sweater, so I dragged out the stash and found some comfy yarn that was from an unsuccessful project that I frogged years ago.  I went on Ravelry.  I love Ravelry! -- so easy to use up the stash with all that info and all those projects to browse.

I chose the Burberry Inspired Cowl Neck Scarf and knit it up in just a few days.  As I suspected, there were a lot of cuts in the wound up ball from that frogged project (gloves, perhaps?) so I had lots more ends to weave in than seemed possible for such a small project. The Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran is super soft and non-itchy though, so that makes it totally worth the trouble. 

Here's a really terrible mirror photo of me wearing the cowl, but you get the idea.  Fun little project that has me wanting to do some more cable projects.

Time for the boring part.

I've finished the colorwork band on the bottom of Besseggen and I'm into the long stretch of navy blue which goes on for quite some time.  I'll post more photos of this sweater when I hit the band of colorwork around the chest.

In other news, I'm itching to start another project of some sort.  Perhaps weaving, quilting or even *gasp* more knitting.  Any fun knitting patterns out there I should know about?

Mastering Color Knitting

Recently I was sent a review copy of Melissa Leapman's Mastering Color Knitting and I can honestly say that no other knitting books that I've seen lately have made me want to swatch more than this book. It is filled with charts, tips and even projects that make you want to take out all the colorful yarn you can find and knit.

Being the crazy on again, off again knitter that I have become, this book actually inspired me to pull out the yarn I bought way back in 2004 for a Dale of Norway sweater for Pete.

Believe it or not, I've almost finished the bottom band!  For those interested in details, this is Besseggen from book #121.  And thank goodness for Mastering Color Knitting because I forgot how to catch my floats and of course this book tells you how to do that and a whole lot more.

October Mystery Cloth

If you are knitting this and haven't finished, look away!

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What a fun little knit!  This made a generous sized cloth and took only a couple of hours to complete.  I can definitely recommend the patterns from KrisKnits.  She has all kind of different motifs available for sale and for free too!

Mystery Knit

I haven't done a whole lot of knitting lately, but I've been itching to start a project.  So when I saw the new October Mystery Cloth was up at KrisKnits, I pulled out my needles and some cheap-o Sugar n' Cream and got started.  I'm only about 1/3 of the way in to this project, and I have no idea what it is yet, but it sure is fun! 

And if you love chocolate, my busy chocolate review season has started.  The samples are starting to roll in and I'll be posting lots of reviews over at the Chocolate Blog.  Oh, and I have a new post over at Going Gluten-Free too!

TTV & Wisp FAIL

This weekend we played around a bit with TTV photography.  (More over at Pete's blog.)  For those of you who have never heard of TTV, or through the viewfinder, basically you use a newer camera to take a photo through the viewfinder of an older camera.  We have both a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye -- which I used for this photo -- and a Mamiya C33 Professional.  Fun and cheaper than finding or re-rolling film for the old cameras.

And here we have a failure.  I love the pattern -- Wisp -- I love the yarn -- Koigu -- I hate the color of said yarn.  I was hoping that once I started knitting, it would look muted, but sophisticated, but after seeing it in the harsh light of day, it screams baby blanket to me.  While I do have two matching skeins of Koigu in a different colorway, I'm pretty sure I won't like it knitted up into a scarf either as it is a yellow/purple combo.  Ah well, time to tink and find another project.  What are you knitting?

Better the Second Time Around

The second toe-up sock was so much easier than the first!  After ripping and re-knitting various sections of the first sock a number of times, I was almost afraid to start the second.  However, since I had already decided upon the toe, heel and bind-off, the second sock was a breeze.

After having knit all my previous socks using a dutch heel, I was worried about the fit on a short row heel, but Maddie thought they were comfortable, and they look as if they fit nicely. 

Heck, I may become a toe-up sock knitter yet!

First Toe-Up Sock

Well, I finally finished a toe-up sock and I'm still not completely sold.  I used the magic cast on for the toe and that went fairly well, although I seem to remember tearing it out at least twice.  Then there was the heel.  That was ripped out twice -- I finally ended up using the easy short row heel from here.  Then there was the bind-off.  I couldn't make up my mind for over a week, then today I just googled "stretchy cast off" and chose one of the first ones I saw, which ended up being Jeny's surprisingly stretchy  bind off.

Glad to have the first one completed, and the fact that I have some notes helps since I'll have to duplicate this Frankenstein sock.

Perhaps I'll cast on for sock number 2 tomorrow, or perhaps not.  We shall see.

Turn a Square Hat

A guy hat.  Grey on grey with a bit of brown thrown in -- this might work.

It's not easy to find a hat pattern for a guy in my opinion, but when I saw Jared Flood's Turn a Square, I knew I found something Pete would wear.  For all the details, check out my Ravelry page.

Pumpkin Ridge Scarf

I guess I would have to call this my Olympic knitting project as 90% of it has been knit while watching the Olympics.  I have noticed there is a lot of lull to the games, and I have plenty of time between the moments of action to get in a few rows here and there.

Neither of these photos shows off the color of this beautiful yarn -- Rowan's Kidsilk Haze in shade 596, Marmalade.  It has a nice pumpkin-y warmth in person and thus the name -- the Pumpkin Ridge Scarf.  The yarn has so much personality on it's own that I decided on a simple k2p2 ribbing rather than some fancy lace pattern.  Besides, when it comes to clothing, my style is very simple (although colorful) and I figured this scarf would get more use than something fancy and lacy.  If you have a couple of spare balls of Kidsilk Haze laying about, I highly recommend that you make one for yourself:

Pumpkin Ridge Scarf

2 skeins Rowan Kidsilk Haze

Size 6US Knitting Needles

Cast on 56 stitches.

For every row, k2p2 to end.

Bind off (using a tubular bind-off if you are feeling fancy).

Cute Cloths

I just purchased the Dessert Cloths pattern from Kris Knits. Maybe everyone already knows about her, but I just discovered her a few weeks ago, so I thought I'd share. She also has KAL's, and while I haven't done one yet, they do look fun. Maddie loves handknit washcloths, and now I should be able to keep her well stocked with all these fun patterns.

Lots more at her Ravelry page.

Maddie's Fingerless Mitts

This past weekend I went a bit crazy with the knitting and finally finished up Maddie's fingerless mittens. 

 

Super easy, quick and pretty much mindless knitting, these were an easy finish and Maddie seems to like them.  More info at Ravelry.

I also started and finished another project which I need to steam block and photograph.  More on that tomorrow.

For Maddie

In keeping with the brainless knitting theme, I made this washcloth for Maddie yesterday.  She spied this Christmasy yarn at one of those big discount chains (while I was there looking for a magnifier due to my whimpy eyesight) and demanded (not really, she asked politely, but demanded sounds more exciting) that I knit her a washcloth.

Boring, perhaps, but yesterday was a bad day pain-wise and it took my mind off things a bit.

So there you have it.  A washcloth.  (More at Ravelry.)

Baktus Done -- TV Guilty Pleasure Revealed

Maddie was kind enough to model Baktus for me, and I have to say, it looks quite cozy on her, doesn't it?  I love how you can put the point in front, wrap the ends around and tie it up all snug.

This was a quick and fun knit -- largely plain old stockinette with a tiny bit of shaping.  I completed it in a marathon knitting session last week while I was watching old episodes of Lost at hulu.  Stupidly, perhaps, I believed that I could watch all the existing episodes again before the season premier, but there are over 100 episodes and I started with less than a month in which to complete the task.  Let's just say that I'm not through season one yet. 

And while we are on the subject of TV, I have to reveal my pathetic TV secret -- I love watching The Bachelor.  Really it's more like a family sport (although we have to hide Maddie's eyes at certain points).  But we love having a running commentary about the craziness of the "characters" involved and the over the top dramas that unfold really get us going!  Guilty pleasure for sure.  Do you watch it?  (Or admit to watching it?)

Baktus

Sometimes you want a simple, yet functional knit -- especially during the holidays when you are already crazy busy.  This was my goal when I went searching through Ravelry a while back, and what I discovered was Baktus by Strikkelise.  This is a ridiculously easy knit and she has provided a free pattern for which you can use virtually any yarn at all. Really.

I purchased one skein of Siren Song by Fiber Optic Yarns last time Theresa and I were out at The Fold just before the holidays and I'm loving it. Since I have one skein, I weighed it before I started, and as I get closer to what I think is the halfway point, I keep weighing it every few pattern repeats.  I think I'm about ready to start the decreases, so I feel like I'm home free. 

I can't wait to have this snugly and functional scarf/kerchief/shawlette finished since it is frigid here in the Chicagoland area and supposed to get even colder.  I've posted this project over at Ravelry too.

Fingerless Mittens

I do still knit -- in fact, I just finished knitting a pair of fingerless mittens!  I used Sophie's Toes Sock Yarn in the colorway Pumpkin Spice.  It is a lovely yarn that was a joy to knit with.  I think this is a fun little project that would be great for holiday gift giving, so I have written up the pattern and am offering it over at Ravelry for only $1.

Something New, Orange and Bumpy

I unearthed some funky, orange yarn from Habu while tidying up the new den.  This is A-48, Color 2 and is 100% silk.  The texture is wild and there is really no reason to use any kind of stitch pattern here, so instead I cast on 30 stitches and started knitting on the bias.  (Rows 1-3:  Knit, Row 4:  Kfb, knit to last 2 stitches, K2tog)

There are places where the yarn is almost as fine as a thread, and others were it is quite thick, so I actually find myself counting on most rows to make sure I haven't lost any stitches, thus it isn't the mindless, knit by feel, project that is best suited to TV watching, but I'm enjoying it nonetheless. 

And hey, it's orange!  It'll match my car, and that's pretty cool.

Noro Stripey Scarf

Finished weaving in the ends on the Noro Stripey Scarf just momentos ago.  One more project complete!  More info at Ravelry.

One Pair Down

Update on WIP's -- the Regia socks were finished last night.  I also finished the first of the watermelon socks for Maddie and added some length to the stripey Noro scarf.  More details at Ravelry.

Today's WIP

Today I discovered some socks (or rather 1/2 of one sock + a ball of yarn) that I started quite some time ago.  This project lost momentum when I got to the heel, tried it on and decided it was too small despite being 64 stitches around.  Today I had Maddie try it on and she loved it, so now I'm renewing this project for her. 

Also posted over at Ravelry.

Finishing Stuff

I've made a vow.  I'm going to get stuff finished and clear out the many WIP's I have.  In order to keep myself honest, I'm posting things here as I come across them and all knitting WIP's will be uploaded to Ravelry too. 

Addi Click!

Have you seen the new Addi Click needles? Wow!!

Finished Knitting the Orange Bumpy Scarf

I finished knitting the Orange Bumpy Scarf -- first blogged here.  At first I thought I would block it since it looked like it might end up a little short, but I've tried it on and at this length it can wrap around my neck leaving enough length to be tucked firmly into a jacket.  Since I would hate to lose the bumpy texture created by those drop stitches, I've decided to leave well enough alone.

Very satisfying to go from idea, to hand spun yarn, to finished handknit. 

Orange Bumpy Scarf

As I mentioned, the current issue of Spin-Off really got me in the mood to spin -- and more specifically to spin yarn to knit up into the Morning Surf scarf. 

Seeing as how this is shockingly orange (it's okay -- that's my favorite color) the name just wasn't working for me, so I have christened it the "Orange Bumpy Scarf". 

For those of you thinking about making this scarf -- my yarn was about 11wpi if I remember correctly and I am using a US 8 circular needle and cast on 36 stitches to start.  The pattern is something like 12 rows long, but super easy to remember and the drop stitches are not only fun, they really show off the handspun yarn.  It's a great pattern for even slightly irregular yarn (mine gets a little thick and thin in places).

I'm having so much fun spinning that I just purchased some luscious fiber from Spunky Eclectic and spun up a bunch of it yesterday.  More info and photos soon!

A Wonky Little Piece of Knitting

Okay, admittedly it doesn't look like much but I'm quite satisfied with this little piece of knitting.  I've had a plan to make some scrubbies for a while and even purchased a cute little Japanese craft book with some patterns, but it all came to nothing because I couldn't figure out what yarn to use.  Cotton such as Sugar 'n Cream seemed the obvious choice, but there is no real scrubbing power there.  So when I saw the scrubbie tutorial at Berlin's Whimsy, I knew it was time to get knitting. 

While at Hobby Lobby yesterday buying adhesive for patterns, I decided to walk over to the fabric section and pick up some tulle -- so cheap at $1 a yard -- which led to picking up some Sugar 'n Cream to match.  The scrubbie pictured above is Maddie's combo -- pink tulle and a lavender ice yarn. 

The tulle was easy to cut into strips with a long ruler and rotary cutter -- I think my strips were about 3/4" wide.  Knitting the yarn and tulle together was a bit tricky because the edges of the cut tulle are easily snagged on the cotton yarn.  It was also easy to knit too tightly -- thus the wonky little scrubbie.  And casting off was difficult -- I did it way too tightly -- as everything wanted to snag but it's a scrubbie, so who really cares?   It was quick and satisfying and ended in a usable item, so I'm happy!  I think I'll use the tulle/cotton combo to make some cuter scrubbies -- maybe it's time to pull out that Japanese craft book.

Knitting New Scarves

I was in the library a few weeks ago and I came across a knitting book I hadn't seen or heard of before.  It is called Knitting New Scarves and it was written by Lynne Barr.  When I picked it up to page through it, I figured I'd see the same old rehash of the usual scarves, but I was really quite surprised and shocked by what I saw here.  Instead of knitting in the traditional way, Barr presents some interesting new techniques that push the boundary of knitting.  I brought the book home for a closer look and was further inspired after having time to really check these techniques out.

First of all, many of the scarves aren't knit using two needles and more than often are three dimensional as a result.  Variety and unusual forms are the norm in this book and some of the scarves look like they would be a lot of fun to make.

I especially like the technique section at the back of the book that illustrates the steps involved in many of the projects.  This is definitely a well illustrated book with many photos to help you work your way through these scarves. 

I haven't started any scarves from the book yet, but I think I'll be playing with some of the techniques and perhaps tweaking them for use in my own designs.  It's a pleasure to see something really new in knitting after all these years.  Take a look at these scarves and find a little inspiration of your own!

Tiny Mitten!

I saw some tiny mittens on someone's blog (so sorry, I can't remember whose!) and followed the link to this pattern.  They looked so cute and goodness knows I have lots of extra bits of sock yarn around!  So I cast on last night while watching the Survivor China finale and had this little cutie finished before the show ended.  Wouldn't it be cute on a holiday gift tag or card?   Super easy too -- since it isn't going to be worn or handled much, I just tucked all the ends up into the mitten instead of weaving anything in.

Other than knitting tiny mittens, I've been making cookies with my mom & sisters and reading voraciously.  I'm loving The Golden Compass and I'm really glad I bought the whole set so I can continue reading this trilogy during the holiday!

Maddie's Annual Winter Mittens

Every year I make Maddie a pair of handknit mittens.  Her favorite so far were these knit back in 2003. (OMG -- how long have I been blogging?!  And isn't she the cutest little thing!  When did she grow up so much?)

Other years we've had varying success (complaints that the yarn was too scratchy or not the right color), so this year when we made an unplanned stop in Geneva, IL and found a parking spot *right in front* of Wool & Co., I decided it was time to start this year's mittens.  I let Maddie walk around the shop and decide on the yarn that she wanted and the girl has good taste.  She picked out a ball of Nashua Creative Focus Worsted -- 75% wool/25% Alpaca -- in a lovely, saturated teal blue aptly named Brilliant Blue. 

I've never knit with this particular yarn before and was a bit worried since it is just a single ply yarn, but after knitting about an inch of K1, P1 ribbing for the cuff, I was impressed.  This yarn has lovely memory -- making the ribbing nice and tight -- and is very soft.

I took the easy route (maybe I'm learning) and pulled out Ann Budd's The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns.  I just love this book for simple items like mittens.   I knit a wee swatch and found my spot in the table for mittens and I was off.  Sizing for 6-8 yr old girls was spot on and I had mitten #1 knit in no time.  If you have some holiday knitting to do for a girl or boy, I highly recommend mittens -- quick easy and fun to knit!

Chevron Scarf

I've been seeing lots of Chevron Scarves from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts -- and I started to have a craving.  You know the one. . . the air is getting cooler at night and one's thoughts turn to knitting. . .

So.  I ordered up the book from the library (we have a great library catalog system that allows you to order books from all different libraries -- and it's quick too!)  and dragged out my bin of Koigu.  Yes, I have a bin.  It's a small-ish bin, but a bin nonetheless.  I had a bit of a Koigu obsession for a while about 3 or 4 years ago and purchased a skein or two at nearly every yarn shop I visited that stocked it!

I'll show you two color combos and you tell me which one you think would work best. 

Combo #1


Combo #2

Okay, so what do you think?  Combo #1 or Combo #2?  I'll tell you what I thought -- Combo #1 hands down!  In fact, that's what I chose and I started knitting away.  After about 2 inches I thought it was going to be a problem, but I figured I just needed to knit a bit more. . . so I did.  And it got worse.  Muddy pools on one side and bold striped sections on the other -- how weird is that?

So on to combo #2.  While it doesn't give the the bold contrast that I see in some of the scarves I have been admiring online, I do love the effect:

It's simple and quick and I'm feeling the return of my knitting mojo!  Here are some more links concerning Chevron Scarves:

• Chevron Scarf Flickr group
• Chevron Scarf KAL
• Last-Minute Knitted Gifts

Dale of Norway

So Dale of Norway *finally* got a new website.  (They may have had it for a while now -- I got so sick of checking the old site only to find it hopelessly outdated that I hadn't done it in ages.)  And while the US / English version is still under construction, the Norwegian version is up and running and looking pretty nice!  I was diggin' the new "Cafe" booklet that I have pictured above.  Just look under "Kolleksjon" at the top to get to the currrent booklets  and then click, click, click on the photos to get into the good stuff. 

I also like this more fitted yet traditional looking ski sweater:

Now I just have to finish my current Dale of Norway sweater -- that would be Ingeborg which I have been working on for several years.  And I also need to start and finish Pete's Dale of Norway sweater -- I don't even remember the name of his!  (I've said it before and I'll say it again -- I am not a sweater knitter.  But Dale of Norway makes me want to aspire to be one!)

A new knitter!

I am very proud to announce that there is a new knitter in my household!  This week Maddie learned to knit!  She's been asking to learn for quite a while and has even had her own knitting needles (the cute Lion Brand ones with the kitty faces on the ends) for a couple years, but I didn't want her to try too early and get frustrated.  Now that she's 6, I decided that it was time.

Since I knit in a kind of strange way, I used the book Kids Learn to Knit to get her started.  It has a lot of cute easy projects that got her interested (although she was already eager to learn, so that wasn't much of a concern in my case).  The cast on taught is the backward loop method -- which was easy for Maddie, who just turned 6, to master.  The only problem is that this cast on makes the first row on knitting very difficult, so I stepped in and knit that row so that there was no frustration.  After that she was off!  There are plenty of pictures and easy to read directions (she read them all herself, so they are simple enough for child to read).  I'm very happy with the book so far, and we both can't wait to get to the projects!

So far she has knit a couple rows -- one row takes pretty about as much concentration as she can muster in one sitting  :)  But she always seems very proud after she is finished and yesterday she came and asked me if we could knit, so I'm taking that as a good sign!

Oh yeah -- Maddie's been doing more than just knitting. I just updated her homeschooling blog too!

Great Knitting Video