Missy B

Another BSJ

I keep thinking that I don't have anything new to share with the blog when in fact I haven't shared this sweater I made recently.  The pattern is the Baby Surprise Jacket (as if you didn't know!) and the yarn I used is the Opal Hundertwasser 6-ply in color #625.  This yarn is a heavyweight sock yarn that I knit on size 6 needles and the colors are inspired by paintings by the artist Friedenricht Hundertwasse which I think is a very cool concept for designing colorways.  I even have enough yarn left over to make a pair of booties.  I started the sweater with a provisional cast on because I am going to lengthen the sleeves with the remaining yarn after I finish the booties.  I have two friends that are having babies in December that live on the east coast and I gotta figure out what I'm going to do for the other baby and soon!

Wrinkly Ishbel

I recently finished this shawl although I haven't blocked it or woven in the ends.  Those of you who are knitters are very familiar with this pattern.  It is 'Ishbel' by Ysolda Teague and has been a very popular pattern.  I found it to be a very easy, enjoyable pattern that creates a really nice sized shawl (this is the large size).   The yarn is a linen/silk blend from Tactile.  Maybe I'll get it blocked today and then get some shots of it on so you can get an idea of the size.

A Clutch of Cowls?

When I saw this article in Spindlicity I knew I wanted to spin some camel and make one of these cowls but tryig to limit myself to just two ounces.  I quickly spun long draw 2ozs of baby camel during one of Joaquin's naps and plied it into a two yarn during another nap.   The knitting wasn't accomplished quite so quickly but not because the pattern is hard but because that's how things are with a baby. 

I only did three repeats of the main patten since I knew I would have yarn to make it longer.  Even still I ended up spinning up a little more when it became apparent that I was going to run out of yarn while I was working on the edging.  I weighed the cowl after I finished and it only weighed 68 grams so i was only 12 grams off.

The fit on this cowl is very loose and floppy on me.  The fact that it is 100% camel gives it beautiful drape but not much body.  I think if I were to make this again I would either take out two repeats of vine lace to make it a closer fitting cowl or make it longer like it in the pattern.  Regardless, I think this pattern is very pretty and was a fun spin & knit project.

  The cowl was knit as a sample for the Tactile booth using one 2 ounce skein of 50/50 Yak/Cormo wool.  The pattern is Crofter's Cowl (Rav Link) but I lengthened it by adding a repeat on either side.  This cowl is a lot closer fit than the camel cowl above and stands up a lot more.  The pattern is quick and easy but if you don't like to Kitchner then I wouldn't pick this pattern since you knit the two halves separately then Kitchner then together.

Okay, maybe two cowls does not a clutch make but I liked the alteration! 
 

Turn Baby Turn!

   First of all, thank you for all the lovely notes and advice left in the comments!  They mean a lot to me.  On the baby turning front, I have a call in to the chiropractor, the acupuncturist and have been spending time on my hands and knees multiple times a day.  Yes, I've managed to do it in bed without waking up my husband, much to my surprise.  No, I haven't resorted to doing it in public, yet.
  Also, happy solstice and Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate!  I always thought that mother nature was brilliant to have the days start getting longer early in winter.  For me, it makes the cold weather and overcast days way more tolerable knowing the days are getting longer. 
  As for the promised pictures of baby knits, here are a few.  I still need to take more pictures but we have been having rain off and on for the past few days.  Today is clear so we will see if I can find a dry spot to take a few pictures.  The first sweater is Baby Mine worked in Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino.  This is the newborn size.  I have a feeling that my child will fit in this for all of about a week or two before growing out of it.  That's all right though since it was a lot of fun to knit.  Since taking this photo I've added buttons (wooden apples) but still haven't blocked it.  This is an ongoing theme in my handknitting life.  When will the blocking fairy visit me?
    Then I went on to make Baby Yours, also in Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, in the 6 month size.  This was another fun knit since all the pieces are different (execpt the two sleeves obviously).  I've misplaced the buttons for this sweater but I have high hopes in finding them while we are rearranging and cleaning our house in preparation for the new arrival.  You will note that this sweater is also unblocked.  Surprise, surprise.
  Last up for this instalment a pair of Baby Bell Bottoms in sport weight superwash merino yarn from Tactile.  I made these in the 24 month size since I had two skeins of this color way.  I modified the pattern and knit it all in the round.  I would like to make another pair of these in a smaller size since I think they are so cute.
  I've put baby knitting on hold while I work on a few things for the holidays.  I'm more than a little behind considering it's already the 22nd but it wouldn't be the first time I've given half finished items for Christmas.
  I've got a busy day ahead so I must be off!

 

Sleeping Lady Resort

  The reason I had to leave GGFI early was to fly back to Seattle (twice in one month!) in order to go out to Eastern Washington to celebrate my step-father's step-monther's 85th birthday.  We spent a long weekend at the Sleeping Lady resort.  They have their own organic garden and use what they harvest in their kitchen.  The picture at left is standing in the garden looking back at the Cascade mountains.  It's amazing how much drier it is even though it is only about two hours outside of Seattle.  I guess the mountain range keeps the clouds from heading East.
  The resort is right outside the town of Leavenworth.  Called, "Your Bavarian getaway" on the website it reminded me more of Disneyland than a German village.  It does have a yarn shop however!  Wooly Bully yarns is a small store but they do have quite a selection of yarns and patterns.
  I'm knitting the 'Russian Lace Scarf to Knit' from the May/June 08 Piecework magazine in the Jade Sapphire Mongolian Cashmere 2-ply yarn that is called for in the pattern for the birthday girl.  I started it too late to be able to finish it on time but I've got about 1/3 finished.  This is a fairly straight forward lace pattern but it's taken me a while to get into a rhythm.  The yarn is super soft and easy to work with.  Now that the Tactile website is up I have to focus on getting this done.
  Overall the trip to Eastern Washington was lovely.  I got to meet some of my step-father's family members who I've never met before, which is always nice and the location was lovely.  Thank you Barbara and Happy Birthday again!

GGFI

  Towards the end of last month I was luck enough to join Morgaine and a whole host of other wonderful people for the first ever Golden Gate Fiber Institute.  It was held at beautiful Point Bonita YMCA Camp.  The picture at left was the view, once the fog burned off, from the area where I had class in the morning.  Unfortunately, due to prior commitments, I couldn't stay the whole time.  So, on Thursday afternoon Maia came and took my place for the rest of the week.  I'm thankful for the flexibility of the teachers to allow us to switch mid-week.
  Speaking of teachers, what a wonderful collection of teachers.  I took a natural dyeing class from Darlene Hayes of Hand Jive Knits in
the morning and a knitting class on shawl knitting techniques from the town of Haapsalu, Estonia from Nancy Bush in the afternoon.  Both classes were great.  A lot of people asked me why I was taking a natural dye class if it's what I do all the time.  Darlene uses whole dyestuffs while we use extracts.  Also, I've only had two natural dyeing teachers.  It was great to learn Darlene's tips and tricks.  Unfortunately I don't have any thing to show for the class since all the yarn is at Maia's house.
  As for Nancy's class, it was a look at shawl techniques that are specific to the city of Haapsalu in Estonia.  Apparently Haapsalu became know for its mud baths and the Russian upper class would visit to take the waters.  The women of Haapsalu saw the Orenburg shawls worn by the women from Russia and said, "We can do that!"  They would knit all winter and then sit at the port or train station knitting and selling shawls from their basket that sat at their feet.  Thus the shawls were not part of the traditional folk costume but they developed specific patterns and techniques unique to their work.
  The sample above features the lily-of-the-valley pattern as the center motif.  The nupps (rhymes with loops) are made with 5, 7, and 9 stitches starting from the bottom.  The edge is picked up and knitted on afterwards.  This is a more modern method than the traditional method of knitting the edging separately and then sewing it on.  I have the pieces for the sewn on sample almost finished.
  The other cool thing about Nancy's class is that we got to see the samples from her upcoming book Knitted Lace of Estonia.  If the samples are anything to go by the book is going to be wonderful.
  The sign up for the next GGFI in January will be open soon.  It is a great event that I highly recommend if you can swing it.  Wonderful teachers, beautiful location, and great food.  What more could you ask for?

P.S.  Check out the wonderful hats Julia made in her class!

Holiday Knitting

  I know a lot of people eschew holiday knitting because it seems like a recipe for disaster but I can't help myself.  I love knitting for friends and family so I through caution to the wind and jump in.  This year I've been so busy with the new business I got a very late start.  On my list was a vest for my dad, a sweater for my mom, and a sweater for my step-dad. 
  I decided, with the help of my mom, on Cobblestone for my step-dad using Rowan's discontinued Magpie in a grey they call 'Tranquil.'  This was the only one I was able to finish by Christmas day.  I didn't weave in the ends or block the sweater by Christmas Day because I wanted to have my step-father try it on before it was a pain to have undo if needed.  Thankfully, that won't be necessary since it fits him well.  Its been hard to get a good picture of this sweater.  I'll try again after I block it. (Yes, I still haven't blocked it!)
  My dad requested a chartreuse vest with orange trim which I just managed to finish Monday morning after pulling a unintentional semi-all-nighter.  I accidentally stayed up until 5:30am finishing this vest.  I didn't start doing the head bob until about 5am.  I had no idea what time it was until I got up to go to bed.  Again, I didn't weave in the ends or block it before having my dad try it on.  It fits, looks great, and he's thrilled with it.  Nope, it's not blocked either.
  For my mom I am working on Arianne (mom, don't click!) for my mom but I am only up to just under the armholes.  This sweater has the greatest potential for not fitting since I am using the Elsebeth Lavold's Cotton Patine that my mom picked out and rather than knitting the yarn to the gauge of the pattern I am knitting it tighter since it is cotton and will grow.  No picture since my mom hasn't seen the sweater yet.
  All in all, I'm pleased with my holiday knitting since so far two out of three have been successful.  It doesn't bug me that I didn't get them all done by Christmas.  Now I just have to be sure that I don't dawdle on really getting them done!   

Busy, as usual!

I think I just need to accept that this is how my blog life is always going to be: a flurry of activity then silence. I don't seem to be able to do it any other way. Perhaps it's not ideal but it's better than nothing. Anyway, as the title says, I've been busy (as usual!). This is me right before we started unloding at California Wool & Fiber Festival. Hard to believe that was just over a week ago. We borrowed my dad's Westfalia and crammed it full of wool and then used it to camp out behind the fairground for the weekend. We could have fit one or two things more in there but not much. The good news is that we did come back with less than we arrived with. Honestly when I saw all the things we were going to try and put in the van I had my doubts as to if it was going to all fit but fit it did!

Overall it was a great weekend. We were next to Jeane who is the owner of Elemental Affects and Morgaine of Carolina Homespun was next to her so we had a great time chatting and covering for each other while we were teaching classes.

Here is one side of our booth. Overall I think that we sold more fiber than yarn which is great. It reflects the increase in interest in spinning that I think we are all seeing. While at the fair I taught 3 classes total. Two of the classes were drop spindle classes and one was a color spinning class on the wheel. I had a total of 8 students and half of them were kids. It was very heartwarming to see kids getting into spinning and they were doing a great job. Between the classes, being a vendor, the setting up and breaking down, and the camping we were very tired by the time that we finally pulled out of Booneville and headed home. So tired infact that I came down with the cold that is going around once I got home! It's starting to go away now but boy did it feel like my nose was stuck on perma-drip there for a few days.

I was really good while I was at the festival and didn't buy much but this fleece had to come home with me. It is the reserve grand champion fleece from the wool show. It's from Merry Meadows Farm and it's a 3" Cormo fleece that was coated. It's just a dream! It's only about three pounds so it is not a huge undertaking either. I'm leaving soon for SOAR and then from there I will head to NY for Rheinbeck so I would like to get it washed before I go. I'm not sure if that's going to happen but a girl's gotta have goals, no?

My desktop computer still isn't up and running so I am using flickr to resize my photos so I will try and get caught up here in between getting ready to out of town for more than two weeks!

Is Zimmermania Contagious?

If so, I've got it bad!  I've come down with a major case of garter stitch-itis.
   Pictured at left is a Baby Surprise Jacket in Mondial Kinder, a Gull Wing Lace Cardigan, the start of another Baby Surprise Jacket in Colinette's Jitterbug and they are all sitting on a baby blanket as mentioned in leaflet #9.  The owner of my LYS and I are talking about doing a class on the BSJ and maybe the Gull Wing Lace Cardigan so I thought I would knit up some samples just to try out a few yarns. 
  The blanket I started in order to use a skein of EcoWool that I had from fixing a small hole in the cabled cardigan my step-dad brought back from their trip to Ireland.  I'm using it doubled and I've had to buy a second skein.  It's a great project for mindless knitting and it produces a very cushy blanket.

  I'm having a great time exploring the EZ's amazing patterns.  I've always enjoyed her books but haven't had the chance to knit many of her patterns.  Thank goodness I have rectified that major oversight!

Getting Back on Track!

Or, Look Ma I'm Blogging!

  Goodness! I had no intention of taking such a long break from blogging.  One of my friends from college (Hi Kate!) actually asked another friend if I had gotten pregnant and that's why I've been gone so long.  But no, that's not what happened (though it's probably not too far off in the future).  I'll summarize and just hit the highlights. 
  Basically after my grandmother passed away things at work only got worse.  I've never particularly been thrilled with my work.  They hired me promising one thing and then in the almost two years I worked there what the promised was never manifested.  Plus the situation with and between my bosses was difficult and I'll just leave it at that.  So about a month ago I quit my job.  Now I am working with my husband and father to bring their existing businesses together to create a business that provides garden design, installation, and maintenance in one place.  I've been busy working on getting the structure of business up and running.  I haven't regretted my decision to leave my job once since I left.  I feel way better.  Phew!

   Just because I am not going to an office every day hasn't meant more time to craft.  Lambtown happened recently where we were vendors so in addition everything else going on I had to get ready for that.  We had a great shown and I met a lot of great people. 

  A couple of fun things have happened in the crafty side of my life.  In the most recent IK if you look at the ad on the inside cover page you will see a green bag covered in bobbles.  The ad is for Grayson E accessories and patterns.  Well, I knit that bag and wrote the pattern.  The woman who is the creative force behind Grayson E is a friend of the owner of Muse (the yarn store where I work) and put her in contact with me.  I was given a sketch and a swatch and we talked about dimensions.  From that I knit the sample pictured in the ad and wrote the pattern.  Pretty cool, no?  From that same issue I'm knitting the 'Tangled Yoke Cardigan' the ribbing of which is pictured above.  I'm using the called for yarn, Felted Tweed.  So far, so good.

  Another fun thing I'm doing is helping out the owner of Crystal Palace Yarns with translating her patterns from the Japanese diagram style to the written out style that we tend to use here in the States and sizing them in multiple sizes.  So if you ever look at the free sweater patterns you might see my name down there at the bottom on a few of them.  I went to her warehouse in Richmond and was taken on a tour.  Wow.  I don't think I have ever been in the presence of so much yarn.  She gave me a few random balls to play with so I am knitting them into a bag that I will felt.  So far I've used Fjord and Merino Stripes held together.  My plan is to taper the top and then after it is felted put a zipper on it so I can use it to hold a knitting project.  This is knitting up quickly but I am trying to stay focused on the cardigan so I don't lose steam.

  So in addition to merging my husband and father's business, maintaining my existing fiber business, and working once or twice a week at Muse I'm also doing all this pattern translating and editing (I'm also looking at pattern for the woman behind the Ann Norling patterns!).  I'm busy but happy so I consider myself very lucky.  Thank you for your patience with me after all this time!

Happy now Maia?