hamadryad knits

apple valley yarn company

2008-05-13T16:46:00.000-07:00

i am at a new job! i love it so much! apple valley yarn company. back with the old crew from lily lane knits. it is such a blessing, the shop in bay city was not a perfect fit.

adam and i are looking at houses to buy. we just looked at a total fixer upper. the upstairs has minimal electric wired to it. a ceiling light or two and two plugs!

upside - i could have a couple of sheep or goats!

current projects:

tomten for taso, socks for taso, socks for abe, socks for my mom, socks for adam, sweater for me, sweater for a lil girl, hopefully that's it!

for the yarn shop, i am working on a baby sweater, the lace ripple scarf, and soon a rug from brown sheeps burly spun.

i am going to start a mochimochi land pattern and a little turtle knits fulled crown for taso's third birthday.

i booked a real live musician for taso's birthday. he is nutso over music. this is a fairly local children's environmental-type folky guy, Joe Reilly. check him out at spiritboy.org

check me out on ravelry "hamadryadmomma"

Boo Bear Buns

2008-03-19T19:46:00.000-07:00

Hey knitters, I just entered a contest over at Boo Bear Buns in honor of the new fabrics they are debuting. slingsandsacks.blogspot.com

and it's February...

2008-02-02T17:01:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago I started my new job... at A Piece of Ewe. A local yarn store. This is my second job at a yarn store. So far, it is going pretty well, even the childcare fell right into place.
Lots of fun yarns and people to talk to about knitting. It feels so productive to help people with their knitting all day. It feels good to diagnose their issue and help them through it.

I am just about finished with a Wonderful Wallaby for Taso. I am using Nashua Creative Focus Worsted. It is a single-ply blend of 75% wool and 25% alpaca. I wouldn't pick it for a sweater again, but it will be fine this once. Abe actually has a sweater knit from the same yarn from my mother-in-law. There are a lot of rough and pokey guard hairs from the alpaca, takes away from how soft the yarn should be. This yarn seems to be more suited to fulling projects. I have seen Fiber Trends clogs and a fulled purse knit from the yarn and those look great!

I am stalled on a sweater for Abe because I am not enjoying the way the variegated Schaefer is working up.

I cleaned out my yarn closet to take pictures for my Stash on ravelry.com and found 5+ projects that are now in a bag waiting to be frogged. A skirt, the lace was fun to knit, but I have lost a ton of weight since I started it. A fulled CD box that I lost interest in. I don't even remember what else is in there now! Oh, a Pi shawl that I lost track of where I was and I want to use the yarn for a hat anyway.

2008-01-09T21:07:00.001-08:00

the pilot cap from the previous post sold! finished another in bartlett's farm yarn last night and have one just about done (if i could just put on a podcast and start knitting!)
hopefully tomorrow i will be able to take some pictures, update the etsy, the blog, and maybe organize my hard drive as i prepare to welcome a new laptop!
the boys are doing great. taso is growing tall and his sentences longer. abe is crawling and pulling himself up on everything.
besides things for the shop, i am currently working on a knitting pure and simple tunic for abe and a tomten for taso.
i would really enjoy starting a pair of socks for adam soon, although in the time it may take me to knit him a pair of socks (size 13/14!!!) i could easily knit myself two. i have a gift cert. for a LYS, hoping some sock yarn for him pops out at me.
i am going to try to put an etsy mini on my blog now.

2007-12-01T20:18:00.000-08:00

Just finished and blocked this merino LTK Pilot Cap. It is a trade for one of Adam's holiday-times gifts.

It is the infant size, but certainly won't fit Abe at almost 8 months. He, along with Taso and Adam, are hard to fit into the standard hat sizes, though. They all have large brains.
Taso said I should embroider something on it, but I think this hat is done.

Chullo

2007-11-23T22:09:00.000-08:00

I finished a patterned chullo (pattern: EZs fast cap) . I needed merino to knit it late Tuesday evening, so I picked up some Paton's at Meijer's and went to work.
Finished, lanolized, and ready to be handed over to it's owner tomorow afternoon.
Also included, my Abe and I relaxing on the sofa.

Knit List

2007-10-13T17:17:00.000-07:00

Knit list

Not a to-do list, more of a “what have you done” list…

Bold the things you have ever knit
Italics the ones you plan to do sometime
Leave the rest

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fibre yarn
Domino Knitting (modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffiti knitting
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publish a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dyeing with plant colours
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies…)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items)
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Knitting art
Knitting two socks on two circulars simultaneously
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Entrelac
Long Tail CO
Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with self patterning/self striping/variegating yarn
Stuffed Toys
Baby items
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mits/armwarmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

Sneak Peak of the Pinwheel Sweater

2007-10-04T11:55:00.000-07:00

Ronda wants a surprise, but she showed me my pants so I have to post something! Here is the pinwheel sweater, knit from Blackberry Ridge wool, all ready to go!

Knitting Around the Bon-Fire : Rule 1

2007-10-04T11:29:00.000-07:00

No matter how long you have been knitting, it is impossible to count to 25 in the dark.
Especially if you are drinking hoppy ale.
This is especially true if you only have to do said count one time and it will effect the entire outcome of the object.

Addendum to Rule 1:

Waiting to work on the object until SnB at the bar is not a wise choice. You will not notice that the count is off until the next day when you realize you are now ready for another drink because you have to frog the "quick-knit" hat.

You may or may not notice that one side is significantly wider than the other. The sooner I rip it all back, the sooner Abe has his new hat.

EZ Bonnet for Violet

2007-10-04T11:24:00.001-07:00

A quick birthday gift for a friend who just turned one. Pattern can be found in Opinionated Knitter. Quick and fun knit. Both of my boys modeled it, but neither seemed to catch the simplistic beauty of the hat. The back has a really nice swirl and the shaping lines on the side are cute. I crocheted a border around the entire hat as I added the ties and it really made it look finished and clean.

The sock that wasn't mean to be...

2007-09-26T00:16:00.000-07:00

Needed something quick to knit at a family reunion last weekend... Grabbed a ball of Debbie Bliss merino/cotton blend measured my ankle, went with the ball band gauge and cast on. Too big for me! Will they fit Adam? Yes, but then after I am into the foot part, neither of us are so sure. The eyelets were a bit feminine and the top of the sock was a bit stretchy even for his leg.
Thus, rip... Maybe a hat next go 'round?

A new hat for Abe!

2007-09-25T23:43:00.000-07:00

Started this early afternoon today and finished it just a bit ago. The shaping doesn't fit his head the way I would like, but it is a hat and a warm one at that!
My handspun Corriedale (kool-aid dyed, Pam's handspun llama, our handspun plied together, and some green Tibet recycled silk and wool.

This hat began life as Spiral Rib Hat found in the Baby Hats section of knittingpatterncentral.com. After the ribbing, I started the spiral rib and didn't like the stitch pattern with the two-tone yarn. I frogged and then knit straight stockinette for 5 1/2". Checked out Susan B. Anthony's book o' hats for some inspiration on a gnome-like cap. I did whatever came out of the needles to the end of the hat and finished off with a short Idiot cord.

For the brim, I just chained on two and crocheted back and forth, sometimes skipping sts to produce a brim. Single crocheted around the entire rim of hat twice.

Viola'!

Hmmm...

2007-09-17T07:56:00.000-07:00

Well, the roving was either not wrapped tight enough or just wasn't meant to be. I think Adam and I got a little crazy instead of focusing on wrapping it well. Either way, we took it all off the teepee and will take the roving to the big felting machine at Twisted Warp and Skeins and make an awesome colorful piece of felt and wrap that around the teepee.
It will be fun to cut out a window or two!

teepee!

2007-09-15T22:38:00.000-07:00

Adam and I have been musing up a teepee for some weeks now and tada! Here it is...

I can not wait until Taso wakes up!

Socks done!

2007-09-04T22:55:00.000-07:00

I finished my plain jane socks. I used the Campfire socks pattern from Cider Moon, but omitted the pattern and just knit stockinette around. I have been drooling over their fibers lately. I'll post some pictures of the finished socks soon.
I have been working on a pinwheel sweater for a trade for some hand sewn winter short pants. Pretty excited about that. I went into the pattern thinking it would be a super quick knit, but simple does not always equate quick. I am doing the garter border, two or so more inches to go, and am getting bored! After that there is the billion stitch I-cord trim and the sleeves. It is going to be a great sweater, but wow, I already have over 10 hours into the thing! A little worried that I might run out of yarn, but I say I have enough, so that is that!
I started to work on the Cider Moon socks this evening at knitting circle and finished them up this evening as I had grabbed my knitting bag, but forgotten the Pinwheel sweater in the van.
Irie's hat is all packed up and ready to be shipped tomorrow. I hope it fits and that she loves it! Taso loves it and I have enough of that chunky hand spun merino left to knit one for him.
Wow, I have so many things that I want to do, things I need to knit, and with two very small children, where does the time go?
Well, the Abe-ster needs some momma milk. I'll leave you with a picture of Abe's very first swing ride.

A hat for Irie.

2007-08-30T07:30:00.000-07:00

I bought a pair of handsewn pants and a pair of shorts from this momma. Also see her eBay store.
Well, the pants and shorts never arrived! After much waiting and multiple trips to the post office for both of us, she was kind enough to make me another pair of pants. So awesome of her! I decided to knit her daughter a hat as a thank-you.
Here is Taso modeling Elizabeth Zimmermann's Spiral or Snail hat knit in my own handspun merino top.

My very own socks!

2007-08-30T07:17:00.000-07:00

I have knit a few pairs of socks before, but never for me. Some for Taso, a store sample, a pair for my grandma, and a couple of pairs of pedicure socks last christmas.
Finally, a pair for me! The yarn is Nancy by Schaefer Yarns(love their yarn SO much!) and was kindly donated to me for no reason other than she could barely look at, by Pam at Twisted Warp and Skeins. She and another woman had tried knitting and weaving with it and they both just seemed to despise it. The colors were so pretty I took her up immediately when she told me to take the huge cake of yarn home! I started socks that night! With a fiber content of 95% merino and 5% nylon, the yarn just said socks. The nylon is actually a runner thread twisted around the merino, I think that will help keep the socks strong. Kind of like holding nylon with your yarn while knitting the heel, maybe?
The second sock is just about done, a few more inches on the foot and then the toe. I am planning to try some toe-up socks next. Let me know if you have any great patterns for toe-up socks! I would like something a bit prettier, not just a boring stocking stitch!
This is not the best picture, but you sure do get a great view of my unshaven legs!

Alpaca/Corriedale Yarn

2007-08-01T14:32:00.002-07:00

Yummy handspun yarn. I love my Louet Victoria!

This will soon be a pair of cozy winter pants for Abe. I will knit it up using the Perfection Pants pattern from Wooly Wonder. It is a great pattern for pants where you just plug in your gauge and the babies measurements and then it spits out a pattern to guide you.

Roving and Yarn!

2007-08-01T14:28:00.001-07:00

Alpaca/Tussah Silk roving. It has an incredible softness, strength, and weight to it. I am spinning it lace weight and plan to start knitting a Pi shawl very soon.

After I washed the hanks, I hung it to dry in the bathroom. I had a bit too much twist and thought maybe I could hang some ketchup to straighten it out. Then I started worrying that would cause a kink in the bottom of the yarn. After Adam snapped this photo, I took the ketchup back to the pantry.

This is what I finished at the Tuesday Circle at Twisted Warp and Skeins last night. 325 glorious yards all spun on one bobbin!

Wooly Wonder Shorties w/ Cable

2007-08-01T14:19:00.001-07:00

WonderShorts
Bartlett's Fisherman Wool knit on #9 needles. 4 stitch basic cable with purl border. Applied I-cord trim.

Super cute :)

Too funny...

2007-07-27T19:35:00.000-07:00

I just knit a pair of EZ longies from Knitter's Almanac. I used some pretty green tweedy fine merino.

The funny thing is that they fit my 3 month old & my 2 year old!

Pictures of both soon.

ashley

2007-07-25T19:36:00.000-07:00

You know, this blogger picture thing annoys me. Abe is hungry so I can not mess with it any longer. Maybe it shows up okay on your computer, but not on mine! The words just do not line up with the pictures. Well, I hope you can figure out what is what!

New Pics of the little Men .A proper update soon!

2007-07-25T19:07:00.000-07:00

Abe and Pops taken just a few minutes ago! Abe is just over three months now.

and some knitting! I finished this sweater for Abe awhile ago, but have yet to post the specs on it. Just a simple Knitting Pure and Simple sweater.

Taso likes to help Abe learn to roll.

Abe in hand-knits by Grandma Bonnie.

Taso being a beach a bum at Lake Huron.

Abe and Taso snoozing in the backyard.

Hockey Tu-ton on the "toitet"
(Taso likes to call himself Hockey Tu-ton and wear Adam's hockey helmet, for days at a time.)

editing blogs.

2007-06-01T12:21:00.001-07:00

you know, i have the hardest time getting the pictures and text where i want them and i am not even trying to do anythine fantastic, just lined up with the text under or above the proper picture!
i have been messing with the previous post for ten minutes + and it still isn't looking right. oh well, at least there are new picture for whoever is looking at this!

outdoor knitting

2007-06-01T12:07:00.001-07:00

Taso did this.

and wouldn't let me take him out.
So I went in and grabbed a blanket for his head

and this.

The start of a Punk Knitters soaker out of Manos del Uraguay. It is
now finished and Abe is wearing it all the time. I'll put a picture of that up soon.

PP longies

2007-06-01T12:01:00.000-07:00

I posted these longies a bit ago. Had to share Abe the smilin' man. Pretty sure this kid is an old soul. Doing things I haven't seen a one month old do! Returning smiles, sticking his tongue out when you do, and I even had him laughing last night! In this picture he was about a month old, he will be 7 weeks this coming Monday.

booga boys!

2007-06-01T11:56:00.000-07:00

more sleepy cuddlies...

meow.

2007-06-01T11:54:00.000-07:00

sleepy cuddlies.

soaker sack

2007-06-01T11:46:00.000-07:00

Points for using all oddballs on this soaker sack! From top to bottom :

Brown handspun alpaca by Pam
Green Kool-Aid dyed recycled from a thrift store sweater wool.
Red Bartletts wool.
Yellow Bartletts wool.
Red Bartletts wool.
Blue Peace Fleece.
Orange Kool-Aid dyed recycled from a thrift store sweater wool.
Blue Peace Fleece.
My handspun llama.
Food coloring and Kool-Aid dyed recycled from a thrift store sweater wool.
Same orange, same red as above.
Coffee dyed recycled yada yada yada.
Lisa's handspun llama.

Well, it is lovely, but proving to be a bit heavy for the warm weather we are now having!

PP shorties

2007-06-01T11:45:00.000-07:00

Abe in his Manos del Uraguay Picky Pants shorties. Not that you can see much of the shorties...

Taso likes his sink.

2007-06-01T11:43:00.000-07:00

Here he is hanging out in his new favorite place to sit... the kitchen sink of his play-kitchen.

PROUD!

2007-05-14T20:09:00.000-07:00

Hey Lisa! No matter how much nit-picking I give you, I AM PROUD OF YOU! You knit a sweater! :)

just a few cute pics of my boys

2007-05-11T14:18:00.000-07:00

abe in BR

2007-05-11T14:12:00.000-07:00

abe in his briar rose "sonoma" WW longies. they must have been riding down, i see some hip!

Awww!

2007-05-07T20:36:00.000-07:00

I had to run down the road to my dad's real quick. I fed Abe so he would be okay while I was gone and came home to find this!

I love my boys :)

Introducing... ABE WESTERVELT

2007-05-07T12:53:00.000-07:00

Here he is :)

(wearing Picky Pants w/Curly Purly waistband knit in Manos del Uruguay yarn)

Just hanging out while I cleaned the bathroom before the knitters come over for SnB!

A little about the birth...

It went so well! Abe was born into my hands just an hour and forty-five minutes after waking me up to let me know he was ready to be born! I am still having a problem wrapping my brain around that one! An hour and forty-five minutes?! Taso took 13+ hours! They say the second kid comes fast, but seriously?? It was much more intense than my first labor. I am thinking that I probably slept through some of the beginning rushes. No time to fill the pool up, bounce on the birth ball, or even think about finding the birthing stool!
Taso woke up just before I started to push Abe out. As I was kneeling on the floor, leaning against the bed, he and Adam stood behind me and watched Abe be born. Taso pointed at Abe's emerging head and said, "Ow, Ow, Ow."
We decided to do a Lotus Birth, so for three days (that's how long it took for the cord to detach itself naturally, leaving a nice lil belly button) we carried Abe and his placenta around. Taso still asks about the "ladenta."

This is the afternoon after he was born, Abe was born at 4:45am. He weighed 9#7oz and was about 22 7/8" long! Big boy!
You can see the umbilical cord running from Abe to the placenta (it is all wrapped up in cloth diapers) on my leg. This was before we had named Abe, my mom brought over a name book for me to look through. We named him the morning after his placenta detached.
Abe is wearing a hat that Haley knit for him. I am glad I put it on right away, he is so big and it does not fit anymore!

Taso is getting used to us wearing Abe around a lot. We wanted him to join in the fun so we had Carolynn sew him his very own pouch to wear Lalo in!

This one is funny because both boys look a bit nervous!

FO - Gnome Hat and Stripey Slippers

2007-04-11T17:15:00.000-07:00

Gnome hat (no pattern) and LTK Stripey Slippers knit in Noro Kochoran. I love, love, love that yarn! I need to enlist Adam to help with pictures from now on. He saw me taking this one and insisted the gnomes jump in!

Baby Gifts!!!

2007-04-11T17:06:00.000-07:00

My friends are too good to me! Below is a Punk Knitters Soaker from Lisa knit from her own handspun merino! It was a little big, so I bravely (I was so scared I would ruin it) felted it in my front loader. It came out perfect and still so soft. I will dye it once the baby gets here. I might add cuffs, but am going to wait to see the chunk factor of the babies thighs first!

Next, two pairs of lovely socks from Sally who I work (I am not going to give in to saying I no longer work at Lily Lane Knits!) with at Lily Lane Knits. Can not wait to put these on the baby! I put them in a lanolin soak and they are super soft now. These served as inspiration for the two pairs of socks I whipped up for Taso last week.

Here is a super cute Mason Dixon Baby Kimono and matching booties from Crystal. If the baby isn't a girl, she says she will knit me a more boyish one, but that means I have to give this one up and I don't know if I am comfortable with that! It is too cute!

Last, but not least, is an awesome baby set from my friend's Chantella and Haley. Chantella (who just started knitting a couple months ago!!!) did the sweater and her daughter, Haley, made the matching hat and socks. Knit from the soy/wool blend from Patons. The colorway is super nice and the yarn is very soft!

WIP - EZs Tomten Jacket

2007-04-11T17:03:00.000-07:00

Tomten jacket from Elizabeth Zimmerman's "An Opinionated Knitter" knit in Mother Nature's Yarns hemp/wool blend. I love this yarn! It is so good to work with that I am even going to (someday) knit Adam (large, tall man I call my husband, see previous entries for him sporting the Babywearer poncho) a sweater out of it. This jacket is the smallest size and will probably fit the baby for quite some time. When this one is done, I am going to start one for Taso in the next size up from the same yarn.

FO - Taso Socks!

2007-04-11T16:59:00.000-07:00

Rainbow colorway socks knit in Schaefer Laurel Mercerized Pima Cotton. This is leftover yarn from the KPS cardigan way back in the blog. Taso really likes them and I really like him wearing hand-knit socks. Makes me feel good! Just a random online sock pattern.

Superwash Merino socks from the same pattern I used with the Laurel socks, but on these I ribbed the top of the sock all the way down. I really like how these fit Taso's feet. I can't remember the name of the yarn, but it is something that Lily Lane Knits carries.

FO - Organic Cotton Baby Washcloths

2007-04-11T16:55:00.000-07:00

Twisted Warp and Skeins just got in some of the new Lion Brand Organic Cotton yarn and of course I had to try it! It is super soft and okay to work with, but does split easy. The softness makes up for the splitting, though! I didn't want to buy enough to make a whole garment and Taso and the new one need new washcloths anyway! With two washcloths done, it looks like I will be able to make five total from four hanks.

WIP - LTK Picky Pants Capris in Bartletts

2007-04-11T16:52:00.000-07:00

Small Picky Pants from Little Turtle Knits in Bartletts with handspun llama trim. These are currently bagged and shelved with only one leg and the crotch graft to go. I figured I could wait until I find out if this kid is a boy or girl before finishing them.

FO - Mason Dixon Knitting ABSORBA!

2007-04-11T16:49:00.000-07:00

This bathmat seemed to take me forever to knit. Mostly because I just did not want to knit it. If you ever need a knitting work-out and really want to feel the burn, pick up the Absorba that you are knitting with five strands of dishcloth cotton on size 15s! I am happy to say that it is done! This picture shows its size after having been washed and dried once. It really did not shrink too much, not as much as the dishcloths do. I am so happy it is done!!!

Almost FO - Jen Wrap Soaker

2007-04-11T16:47:00.000-07:00

Chamomile tea-dyed Jen Wrap Soaker. Needs buttons and I might overdye it with kool-aid once I know if the baby is a boy or girl. Knit with pencil roving from Twisted Warp and Skeins.

FO - XS Wonderpants w/ Manos del Uruguay

2007-04-11T16:43:00.000-07:00

XS Wooly Wonderpants knit with Manos in Caribe. Merino trim.

FO - Tiny Birds Longies in Bartletts

2007-04-11T09:35:00.000-07:00

Well, the pants are finished after being bagged and shelved for who knows how long. One small issue, they were supposed to be for a six month old! Instead Taso has a new pair of long shorts. They must have been hanging down a bit in the picture because they are just a bit shorter. The pattern is Tiny Birds Longies, the yarn is Bartletts from Lily Lane Knits, and I put a "No Strings Attached" waistband on them.

New Hat for Taso.

2007-03-19T23:39:00.000-07:00

You can not see the colors too well in this picture, but it is a really nice kettle-dyed yarn from Manos del Uruguay. This yarn is so good to work with.

FO - Knitting Pure and Simple Children's Tunic

2007-03-17T14:33:00.000-07:00

Finished yesterday. Taso's face is all red because we had just gotten back into the house from trying to fly a kite in 30mph winds! Brrrrr!

FO - Felted Ball

2007-03-17T14:20:00.000-07:00

I took a huge ball roving and hand-felted it for awhile in the sink, then I threw it into the washer for a cycle. It came out a nice size, but needed some needle-felting to finish it up. I borrowed a 6 needle felting tool from TWS , tossed a bag of small colored roving chunks at Adam and told him to get to work! He had fun. We are definitely buying one of those tools sometime. We only have single felting needles right now.

I love this picture.

2007-03-14T21:58:00.000-07:00

I love this picture so much. I wanted it to headline the blog until I update again.

FO - Lisa, I made a dishcloth!

2007-03-13T10:25:00.000-07:00

Started this after SnB last night and finished this morning.
My count was messed up on one row, but it's a dishcloth, big deal!!!!!

FO - Lalo!

2007-03-13T10:23:00.000-07:00

Boy doll from Knitted Toys. Knit with dishcloth cotton, handspun alpaca hat, and stuffed with wool. Taso named him Lalo.

WIP - Tunic

2007-03-13T10:21:00.000-07:00

Knitting Pure and Simple Tunic for Taso. It looks huge and it is a bit big, but not as massive as the picture makes it look. Knit with Southwest Trading Companies Karoake. 50%wool/50%soy silk. The yarn is super soft. Just the sleeves to go!

FO - Picky Pants longies and shorties

2007-03-13T10:16:00.000-07:00

Picky Pants from LTK. Knit with Blackberry Ridge Kaleidoscope yarn in Sierra Madre. This yarn is amazing! I love it! I put an enclosed elastic waistband on each pair.

FO - Briar Rose Sleepy Soaker Sack

2007-03-13T10:12:00.000-07:00

Sleepy Soaker Sack with Curly Purly Waistband. Knit with Briar Rose Sonoma.

FO - Briar Rose Wonder Pants

2007-03-13T10:08:00.000-07:00

XS WonderPants knit with Briar Rose Sonoma.

WIP - Handspun Wonderpants

2007-03-13T10:03:00.000-07:00

Spinning merino as I go for these pants. Turning out really soft and nice. These will be for the new babe to wear next fall. I plan to tea or coffee dye them. Only bummer is that I couldn't buy enough white roving at one time for the entire pair of pants. I went back when more roving came into the shop and now my pants are two different whites. The top is super angel baby white and the legs are more like antique white. Get over it, right? I hope the dyeing process will even things out.

WIP - Absorba

2007-03-13T10:02:00.000-07:00

Still not finished! Slow progress on this, but I love the way it is coming along. Knit with 5 strands of dishcloth cotton.

FO - Cabled Sweater

2007-03-13T09:57:00.000-07:00

Taso looks so great in this sweater, I will have to take a picture of him wearing it. Knit with Extra Superwash Merino.

Food Coloring Dyed Roving

2007-03-13T09:50:00.000-07:00

Food-coloring dyed roving for another hexagon rug. This one will be blue and green. It's going to be a pond and grass for Taso's barn animals. I will attach it to the first one (see earlier post) that I made and then make one more for a total of 3 hexagons. Pattern from a Rafter 4 book.
I have one blue section of the rug completed. I forgot to take a picture of that, so I will post it later!

FO - Pack-Pack

2007-03-13T09:46:00.000-07:00

I had a lot more to say about this Pack-Pack, but Blogger ate my post. Knit with a double-strand of Lite Lopi. The Pack-Pack didn't turn out quite the way I wanted it, but the gnome I needle-felted on looks great!
See earlier post for pre-felted Pack-Pack.

FO - Giving Pixie Hat

2007-03-13T09:37:00.001-07:00

A really silly picture of Taso modeling his finished Giving Pixie Hat. I love this hat, but it doesn't fit his head right. The back is just kind of funky. He still wears it, though! Knit with Noro Kochoran, which I absolutely adore!

Fo - Fiber Trends Felt Cap

2007-03-10T07:09:00.000-08:00

Birthday present for Grandpa. He really likes it! Knit with Brown Sheep Company Lamb's Pride and Nature Spun. I probably won't use this wool again, even though it is wonderful to knit with and felts awesome. Check this out. Mothproof.

FO - Perfection Pants with my own Handspun!

2007-02-28T12:13:00.000-08:00

These pants were spun with mostly wool sliver (very, very lanolin rich wool) or wool in the grease. The white and black stripes are alpaca and llama blends. You can see some of the yarn that went into these pants a few posts down. It was really fun to make these pants! Taso loves them. It was really cool when I was just about done knitting and I knew that I had to spin one more bobbin full to finish the pants.

Semi FO - Hexagon Roving Rug

2007-02-24T16:48:00.000-08:00

I say semi-finished because I plan to add at least two more hexagons to form a bigger rug. One will be in the same natural colored roving as the one Taso is happily sitting on and the other will be mostly green with 2 of the 6 triangles blue. The green will be grass for his animals and the blue will be their pond! It is so soft and wonderful! Thank you, Laura, for gifting me with so much roving. Taso really likes his rug and I think I will go start on the green one right this minute!

FO - WonderPants

2007-02-12T04:31:00.000-08:00

These are the pants I was working on for a friend who sent me all the wool yarn she recieved from FreeCycle. They turned out really cute! I used Paa-tons (lisa!) craperino for the waistband and cuffs.

A-MAIZing yarn for sale.

2007-02-11T11:35:00.000-08:00

Four balls. 2 unopened - $8ppd each. 2 - barely used with all knitted yarn frogged and wrapped back onto the ball - $7ppd each. Or $28ppd for all four!

Pilot Cap for sale.

2007-02-11T09:45:00.000-08:00

Bear not included. He makes the hat look a little funny as bear heads are shaped a tad different than baby heads. Size Infant. $19ppd. The yarn is thick and thin 100% hand-dyed wool Magallanes
from Araucania Yarns.

Soon to be... ABSORBA the GREAT!

2007-01-18T08:01:00.000-08:00

Boring yarn picture, but I need to get longer circs before casting this rug on. Super excited to have a cushy new bath-rug for the new house we will be renting as of February.

WIP - Wonderpants

2007-01-18T07:59:00.000-08:00

These are for a friend who sent me a big box of yarn she recieved from FreeCycle. I am making the pants in a size Small/Medium for her newborn daughter, Violet. See post below for pattern link. A few more crotch decreases and onto the legs!

WIP - LTK Pack-Pack

2007-01-18T07:56:00.000-08:00

So excited about this one. All that is left are the straps and the hang-loop. Of course, it needs to be felted also. Not sure exactly what I am going to do, but I see needle-felting in this bag's future. Maybe a gnome! This bag is for Taso and is going to be just his size. Pack-Pack from Little Turtle Knits. I am knitting with Lite Lopi purchased at Lily Lane Knits.

WIP - Tiny Birds Longies

2007-01-18T07:54:00.000-08:00

Tiny Birds Longies for the new baby! Knit from Bartletts Fisherman Wool. See post below for yarn links. With this pattern, you knit two identical halves and then seam them up! I love mattress stitch! It makes these pants look almost seamless.

WIP - Giving Pixie

2007-01-18T07:52:00.000-08:00

Same hat. Same yarn. Bigger size! See post below for pattern link.

WIP - Dreamswatch

2007-01-18T07:40:00.000-08:00

Dream Swatch. Knit from Debbie Bliss Pure Silk. Yarn from Lily Lane Knits.
I am only knitting till the yarn runs out. I can not wait to adorn my head with this scarf!
It is going to look so pretty after I block it.

Handspun!

2007-01-18T07:37:00.000-08:00

Trying for a chunky weight yarn to make Taso some really special longies out of. The base fiber is wool sliver (roving that still has a ton of lanolin in it) and I am adding in alpaca and llama here and there. These four hanks have been steamed and they came out of the steamer basket incredibly soft! I can not wait to start knitting with this yarn! All roving from Twisted Warp and Skeins.

Newborn Soaker

2007-01-18T07:32:00.000-08:00

Newborn (TINY) soaker knit from Theresa of LTK's pattern on the wool_soaker_group at YahooGroups. I had no idea it was going to turn out so small. The yarn is Magallanes thick and thin hand-dyed wool that I bought at Lily Lane Knits.

WonderPants

2007-01-18T07:27:00.000-08:00

XS Wonder Pants. Knit with Bartletts Fisherman yarn from Lily Lane Knits.

Knitting Pure and Simple Baby Cardigan

2007-01-18T07:21:00.000-08:00

Beautiful cardigan from KP&S. The only seam is on the hood. I knit the smallest size on the pattern. I used Schaefer's Laurel mercerized cotton in the Judy Garland colorway. I bought the yarn at Twisted Warp and Skeins.
I can not wait to put this on the new baby!

Giving Pixie

2007-01-18T07:12:00.000-08:00

Giving Pixie hat from Little Turtle Knits. Knit with Noro Kochoran (50% wool, 20% silk, 30% angora) from Lily Lane Knits. It is so soft and the colors are beautiful!

Too bad it turned out too small for the intended wearer! Oh, well, off to the save for new babies bin...

Birthday Socks.

2007-01-18T05:56:00.000-08:00

Socks knit out of Numei Jubilee. Last minute gift for my Grandma's birthday earlier this month. Very quick-knit. I had a lot more to say, but my son had turned the computer off and I lost the post.

WIP

2006-12-30T20:36:00.000-08:00

I am working on an XS pair of WonderPants from Wooly Wonder in Bartletts. So far they have a light brown waistband and the body is red. With the light brown I also put an intarsia "W"(for our last name) on the butt. I think I need to add more light brown intarsia things because I might run short on red. I will do the cuffs in light brown, but those will only be about an inch long. The pattern estimates 6oz of yarn needed. I only have 4 oz of red! I thought about stripes, but think that might look a little silly just on the legs. I have seen it done, though, and it isn't too bad. Thinking maybe just a couple basic shapes. I don't know! Stripes would be easier! I sort of wish that I would have done cables from the waistband down the sides of the legs with the brown, but now that I am just about to split for the legs, I think it is too late.

Finished a Giving Pixie hat from Little Turtle Knits around Thanksgiving, will post a pic soon! The hat is so cute! I used incredibly delicious yarn. Noro Kochoran, 50% wool, 20% silk and 30% angora. I think I am going to get some to make myself a hat next time I'm at the shop. I love this pattern and it knit up in a day!

Just about finished with the simple baby cardigan from Knitting Pure and Simple. About 5 inches of an arm and 4 ties left. I am using awesome yarn on this one. It is for the new baby. I made the smallest size and it looks like it should fit 0-6 months! The yarn is from Schaefer's Laurel line. Mercerized Pima Cotton in the Judy Garland colorway. I try to stay away from yarn that has been processed too much, but Dale from Twisted Warp and Skeins and I read about mercerization and it really didn't bug me. Basically mercerization is a simple process where the cotton yarn is held at a certain tension and soaked in a 20-23% caustic acid (lye) solution for ten minutes. Then it is burnished, I think that is the right term, basically all the fuzzies are burned off the yarn leaving it super smooth. The mercerization helps the yarn to hold dye better. One look at the Schaefer mercerized cotton and you won't doubt that! This stuff is bright and beautiful.
I still have to finish the Knucks for my step-dad. I am almost done with one and I just don't want to work on them! We are having a late Christmas, on the fourth, with my mom and him so I got a break from Christmas knitting. I started baby knitting and now I don't want to switch back. I am already doing a plain ribbed cuff on his knucks unlike the neat chevron one that I did on my little brother's pair (see post below for picture.) I am tempted to skip out on the "Hunt, Fish" embroidery, but we will see what happens when I actually get them done. I have until Thursday. It is a great pattern, but dammit it's boring and I want to knit stuff for the new baby even if those patterns aren't super intriguing either!
I think that is all that is on and off the needles for now. Pictures soon!

2006-12-30T20:32:00.000-08:00

Adam was very proud of the first turkey that he ever cooked, so I thought I would put it up here!
The turkey was a free-range organically fed and raised turkey from Grahams in Mount Pleasant, MI. We bought the turkey fresh a couple days before Thanksgiving, but decided to stick it in the freezer and wait till Christmas. After the brining, Adam rubbed the turkey with butter and freshly ground pepper and stuck it on the charcoal grill with lots of yummy smoking chips. We also stuck a baking dish full of vegetable stock in with the coals to steam and baste the bird with. This was absolutely the best turkey that I have ever had in my life!

LTK Pilot Cap.

2006-12-30T20:27:00.000-08:00

Thick and Thin Magallanes yarn from Lily Lane Knits.
I am making a matching pair of Stripey Slippers from Little Turtle Knits to go with the hat. I initially made the hat for Taso, but it came out too small so it should fit the baby next winter.

Fiber Trends Felted Clogs

2006-12-30T20:22:00.001-08:00

Here they are completely finished. See post below for unfelted version.
Grandpa absolutely loved them! He opened them and thought they were great. Somehow one started to get passed around and he looks at me and says, "Hey, you made two right?! Where is the other one?" I got it back to him, he put them on and had yet to take them off for even a split-second when Adam, Taso, and I left a few hours later!

Shedir!

2006-12-30T20:10:00.000-08:00

This is the hat from Knitty that my sister picked out for her Christmas present. Taso likes to model her hats.

Comments?

2006-12-12T18:30:00.000-08:00

Hey! Is anybody out there? If you stop by, leave me a comment. I want to see some footprints.

More X-mas FO's

2006-12-10T09:22:00.000-08:00

Cigar! These are for my brother-in-law. My sister-in-law said they would be great for hunting as well as outside smoking.

A dog leash for my brother-in-law. He is taking care of our dog now and I wanted to give him a special gift. Crappy picture, but you get the idea. It turned out really nice!

Evan, my brother-in-law, requested a hemp necklace for christmas this year. Beads from Purple Sage. The hemp projects were nice because they didn't take longer than two-three hours combined. I have some nice blisters on my fingers from weaving it, though. It has been quite a long time since I have worked with hemp.

Stitch Markers

2006-12-03T06:43:00.000-08:00

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I knit my sister-in-law a pair of Pedicure Socks for xmas. Scroll down to see. I made a few stitch markers to attach to the outside of her package. She is a new knitter, doesn't have a lot of faith in herself, so I thought these personalized markers would help! She loves horses and has been in and won many competitions. The bottle says "Wine" on it. I bought the beads at a wonderful bead store called Purple Sage. It was my first time in there and it was terrific! They had an area for small children to play and the owner and her husband were very friendly. We found out that the husband makes silver rings and Adam and I are going to have him make us some wedding rings! Pretty excited about that.

Knucks

2006-12-03T06:38:00.000-08:00

Here are the Knucks I knit for my 8 year old brother for xmas. I think he will love them. I am making the same ones for his dad (my mom is re-married) and they are going to dig them so much! They are both huge sportsman, so it hit me to embroider them with "Hunt" & "Fish." I used Peace Fleece for the Knucks and plain old cotton embroidery thread (4 strands) for the words.

!!!

2006-12-02T11:27:00.000-08:00

On another note, I am now the proud owner of a first production of Louet Victoria spinning wheel! One of a hundred! More on that later.

Blanche hat for little sister

2006-12-02T11:17:00.000-08:00

Here is Taso modeling Blanche, a hat that I made out of handspun alpaca for my sister's birthday. Pam at Twisted Warp and Skeins in Merrill spun it for me a couple months ago when I was working on Adam's Swell hat. See below for a picture.
As soon as I find a stockpot, I will be dyeing Blanche black. I have a nice stockpot, but I can not use it with acid dyes. Any one have an old stockpot? I figured I would find one at a thrift store, but I have been to multiple stores multiple times with no luck.

Felted Rose Pin

2006-12-02T11:03:00.000-08:00

Felted Rose Pin for my grandma. I started off with a pattern from Nicky Epsteins "Knitted Flowers", but the yarn I used was too thick. I was determined to not have to knit such a plain old piece again out of sheer desire to not want to snap my needles in half! I went online looking for pictures of other knitted roses and saw one on the Plethora of Petals pattern on Knitty. I ended up cutting my felted (glad I decided to try felting it to make it work before I gave up!) piece and then using yarn to gather the bottom, rather than just rolling it up. Basically before I cut half of it off and used the yarn to gather, it was pretty much a cinnamon roll! So, having the rose looking decent, I went ahead and knit the leaf Nicky called for in her pattern. She suggested doing two leaves, sew them together and make 2. I opted to knit one leaf double-stranded! I used Bartletts for the flower and Lite Lopi for the leaf. Now I just need to pick up a pin back and sew it on. I do think it turned out alright!

Wine Cozy

2006-12-02T10:59:00.000-08:00

Wine Cozy from Knitty.Knit with a double-strand of Lite Lopi in various colors. Yay stash-yarn reduction! This was harsh to knit as the pattern called for #4 needles. I was a little worried when I first tried it on the wine bottle. I think I should have used #5 needles, but never bothered to check my gauge! After wetting and blocking it, I have to say it looks alright. The seam shows a bit more than I would like and the rim around the base doesn't quite stick out from under the bottle as much as it should, but oh well. This was my first time doing stripes. It is crucial to just let go and not try to form a pattern, I think. Thank you, Lisa, for helping me figure out how to block it to get that extra bit of stretch I needed! I am busy trying to figure out what is approx. the size of the wine bottle that I could stick in there while it dried and she pipes up, "How about you just wrap the wine bottle in a plastic bag and stick it in?" DUH! I had been worried about the labels on the bottle being ruined from the water. Lisa is so smart. Oh, one other thing. I set the wine cozy on top of a prefold diaper to dry because it was the closet thing in reach (of course it was clean!) that diaper sucked all the moisture out of the cozy! It was seriously amazing! The whole diaper was damp even though the cozy only touched a small circle of the diaper. I changed the diaper when I noticed it was wet and stuck a new one under it. It was dry in less than 12 hours! Awesome!

Fiber Trends Felted Clogs

2006-12-02T09:43:00.000-08:00

Fiber Trends Felted Clogs. Knit with a double-strand of Lite Lopi. Mens size Medium.

Too big for Taso!

After felting and embellishment. My first time needle-felting. I love it and can not wait to do more! The leather bottoms will be here soon, after sewing those on, these kicks are finished!

Christmas FO's

2006-11-20T19:13:00.000-08:00

1. Pocketbook slippers and hummingbird dishcloth from "Garden Dishcloths to Knit"for my grandmother. Both knit from Cream and Sugar (or whatever it is called) cotton yarn. The slippers seem true to the real color, but the dishcloth came out looking a lot darker, it is actually a light blue.
2. Extra Superwash Merino Panta for my momma!
3. Hand-dyed thick and thin Panta for me. Really pretty yarn, can not remember the name of it and it is so much better in person.
4. Pedicure socks. Patons craperino.
5. Felted Bowl. Patons.
6. Felted Bowl. Regular Lopi.

Store Sample Baby Sock

2006-11-20T19:09:00.000-08:00

Knit from Interlace Sock Yarn as a sample for Lily Lane Knits.
Colors of the yarn were okay, but not a big fan of the feel of the yarn. It is superwash merino, but felt like acrylic.

Mostly WIP, some FO

2006-11-02T09:23:00.000-08:00

I finished 2 1/2 pairs of mittens. I was making a pair for Taso and the first one came out too big, so I set that aside to do the second one later and promptly lost it. The second pair came out too small, but I finished the pair and will donate it to the mitten knit-in at www.twistedwarp.com. The third pair came out just right! No pictures right now, camera is downstairs...
I started a pair of pocketbook slippers for my grandma for x-mas, I will also be making her some felted slippers, hopefully! I used dishcloth cotton for them so she can wear them year-round.
I started a pair of Jaywalker socks from magknits.com for my mom for x-mas. First project on size 1 needles and second project with sock yarn. These seem like they are going to take forever! Everytime I start to knit on them, I finish one round and then I have to go do something else! Maybe I will work on them Friday at the knit-in at Lily Lane. lilylaneknits.com
I have only one sock left to finish of the pedicure socks. I am making a pair for my MIL and SIL. SIL's are done, just the one left from MIL. The pattern said that I could make two pairs of pedicure socks from two skeins, but they forgot to mention that in order to do this, you must switch the ribbing color on one pair. I am going to have to buy more patons merino. Not a huge fan of patons. Oh well!
I am going to start a pair or two of legwarmers for Taso soon. I know I have yarn I could use, but I want something really fun! Keeping my eyes out.
Waiting for yarn and a cable needle to start on a cabled hat for my lil sister's birthday. First cable project!
I think that is all for now. I really want to make something for the new baby, but have to get christmas things out of the way first. I will be making two pairs of the Cigar gloves from knitty.com for my two BILs, also.

Little Turtle Knits Pilot Cap

2006-10-27T18:49:00.000-07:00

Here it is. It is a bit big, but works alright. I used leftover handspun alpaca from Adam's Swell hat. That yarn is so buttery-soft!

The Great Everlasting Wonder Pumpkin Soaker

2006-10-22T08:11:00.000-07:00

A couple quick shots. I am going to attempt for better pictures later. It is too early in the morning for Taso to stay still for long!
This is the yarn that I recycled and dyed from an old sweater. See post below.

Babywearer

2006-10-06T13:15:00.000-07:00

This is a poncho that I knit awhile back and finally got around to taking pictures of.
It is knit from a hemp/wool yarn that I love!