The Gifts of my Hands

Looking through pictures on my cell phone, I realized it's been long and long since I've posted. That thought along with my rule about gifts (they don't get used...or put away...until they've been acknowledged) got me to sit down and start organizing my thoughts. So, here we are again. For the first time in almost a year, this is most of what I've completed. And know that when I blog, it becomes a thank you note. Posting lets me be grateful to family and friends who share in the gifts of my hands. 

As dark as this wool is, you can see the beautiful cabling on the sweater if you zoom in and squint.

I made this, because I needed something to knit and it's pink. And, the buttons. It's always the buttons. 

This sweater is doubly unusual for me. First, I made the same sweater for Mom a couple of years ago with a different yarn. I rarely repeat a pattern. Second, this is a Henley. I don't think I've ever made a sweater that's not for wearing over a top but to be worn as one.

I'm very much enjoying the challenge and learning involved with doing colorwork. Besides, look at this sweater. Isn't it adorable?! It's for my niece's firstborn. (Note, I wrote firstborn and not newborn. If it is used this year, it'll be with the sleeves rolled wayyy up...and maybe a belt. Hopefully, next winter it'll fit perfectly.)

The baby can wear this, too. But it's for Daddy, a Bulldogs fan.

Socks are like bunnies. They multiply. 

They're always a quick carry with project, so I keep them in my purse.

This pair is for one of my grands.

Salmon have a very special meaning to our friend and her family. The pattern was an "it takes a village" moment. Three of my artist friends helped me design, draw and edit it. I did the weaving using my drawloom.

After almost four years, the huge bag of raw cotton I was gifted is down to what you see here. Call me Dory. 🎶"Just keep spinning. Just keep spinning."

I've also been spinning this fiber in between phone calls at work. I think I started it last year. I finally completed it during our recent road trip. Once we got home, I plied it. Boy does it ever feel good to put the stamp of completion on a project!

THE END (he he!)

Prolific

Boy! When I look at all these pictures, do I look prolific! Of course, if I'd posted more recently than a year ago, the number of projects I've completed wouldn't look nearly as impressive.

I'll start with our road trips, showing some of the high spots:

Up in Ashland, Oregon is Web-sters. I shop there frequently enough, both online and in person, that I think it should count as one of my LYS (local yarn stores). And, yes, I made some purchases while I was in there.


We found this brand-new place just outside of Ferndale, California.

And what an unexpected treat! A flier in a store window brought it to our attention, so we made a stop. There were livestock, fleeces, fiber, tools and so many vendors!

One of my many purchases was this hand carved, support spindle.

As to my projects, in the car, I switch off between spinning and knitting.

Isn't it fascinating to see the changes from fiber...

...to yarn? I'm undecided whether or not I will ply this or leave it as singles.

There's no before picture. Think of it this way. Tear a piece of paper in half. Then, tear each half in half. Keep going until the strips seem about right. That's what you see here.       
If I'd spun it the way it was, I'd probably have a yarn with long sections of blue, then long ones of yellow, etc. Doing it this way, the color of the finished yarn changes sooner.

And here's the end result.

This wool is from blue faced Leicester sheep. I don't remember ever spinning with it before. The gray and white colors are undyed.

Look how different the finished, two-ply product looks.

Now, on to weaving. In all this time, there've just been the following two projects.

For the first, I wove two separate, identical prayer shawls. Then, I sewed them together with a temporary seam down the long edge to make them wide enough to become... 

...the chuppah for my niece and new nephew. 

                                                           

After that, with stash busting in mind, I chose some cotton colors that I thought would look good together.

To me, this looks like an ocean or the iris of someone's eye.

Then, using up more yarn for the weft, I made lots of dish towels. Depending on how they're folded, some are different on both sides, others are the same.

Like here, this is side one and...

side two (There's a story. Ask me later.)

The ones in the left column are the same front and back. The ones on the right column, I folded askew, so that I could show the back sides with different but related patterns.

It was a fun project, but I'm happy to have it in my rearview mirror.

Intermission: Here are a couple of quick crochet patterns.

Reginald the Scottish Terrier

 and Matthew the Leghorn Cockerel.

And now, knitting. Socks. I think there are always socks.

This was the first time I've ever made socks with colorwork, two pieces of yarn at the same time. The pattern is Rhubarb and Custard Socks.

These are actually from the same ball of yarn. Do you see that the ankle of the left sock is the same color as the toe of the right? There is another pair of socks just like these if I want to match.

These socks are made with what's called "self-striping" yarn.

This pair uses yarn from the same yarn company. I made them last year and have been wearing them ever since. But I've decided I don't like knee socks. So, I cut off the top on both and re-knit the cuff. A friend of mine is going to use the original cuffs to make premie hats.

Finally, there are the sweaters.

 The Dala Sweater,

the Braidy Loop Cardigan,

the Mere Sweater

...and matching coats for the grands.

Don't run away and hide! I know it was a lot. I'm done for now.

....until next time!

Taking some time

 Some projects take some time.

Last year in April, the arch was barely covered. What a difference that year has made!

I'm still spinning my huge supply of home grown cotton. It's taking some time, but I'm enjoying it.

I've taken this knitting project out of time-out. Following a chart, each square in the grid has a bead threaded onto the silk. I'd gotten frustrated with some errors that were showing up and set it aside. With enough time apart, years, I made some repairs. Now, I'm back at it. Each and every stitch on the needle, when knitted, has a glass bead slipped through.   

I've been weaving some baby blankets. Weaving projects don't always go smoothly either. Do you see the error in the pattern? It's at the bottom of the last flower repeat. It was too obvious to me. At the top of the picture, you can see where I started cutting out the weft.

  By the time I'd stopped, about four inches and two hours later, it was error free and I had this pile of yarn to toss. 

I found a pattern on Pinterest (no designer named, I searched). On the original, the lower left quadrant of the picture didn't feel balanced to me.  The redesign took me three days.

Look what happens when I take my time! Here are four new baby blankets woven with my drawloom.

A flower in the flower garden.

This design was drawn by the dog's owner, who's also the baby daddy.