First Snow

On Tuesday, we got the first snowstorm of the new year. Here on The Shore we only received about 1 1/2 inches, but it caused school and many other business closures. I was scheduled for Sip 'n' Stitch at the local cafe, but outside it looked dismal and cold. Telling myself that most likely, no one would come out on such a gray, icky day, I snuggled deeper under the covers to decide whether I should give it a try. When Dear Hubby called the office to take a vacation day and got up to walk the dogs, I pulled the blankets up closer around my ears to further ponder the matter. When he appeared in the doorway with a tray of warm oatmeal and tea, I figured that the Universe had made my decision.

Later that morning, I got a call from one of the local knitters. Not only had all of the the regulars (sans moi) managed to appear, but one who would normally have been at her school job and someone new, as well. All I could do was blame it on the oatmeal.

Oh, Baby!

For some reason, I've never really gotten into knitting baby things. Maybe it's because I no longer have any babies in my life--mine are all grown up and off living lives of their own, which, thankfully, do not yet include babies. However, a few friends and younger relatives have recently had little baby girls and I decided to try my hand at tiny knitted things.

I found Baby Shrug, by Debbie Bliss, on Ravelry and bought some washable cotton called Cottontots (Bernat) in sunshine yellow to try it out. I loved the bright color but I didn't think that the thick 'n' thin nature of the yarn was suited for such a small scale project. The pattern is written for Aran weight and my gauge was dead-on but I prefer to knit stockinette stitch in a smaller gauge so, when I try this one again, I'll probably choose a worsted or DK weight yarn and knit up a few sizes.

Another issue I had was, as always, seaming. Why is this such a stumbling block? I've successfully sewn wedding gowns, baby clothes, draperies, slipcovers, and even bathing suits; I can embroider, hand quilt, and do needlepoint but I can't sew up the sides of a sweater without it looking like it's the first time I've ever held a sewing needle! So, I did my usual botch job and it looks wretched, so I'm going to tear out the stitches and try it again, using directions from Knitty. Wish me luck. I'm determined to learn how to do this right!!!

December Stash Busting

December was a great stash bustin' month for me. The first thing I did was to go through and pull out any yarns that I couldn't see myself using in the future. I culled out all of the specialty yarns that I had collected for scarves, felted bags and that Color Box sweater that I never finished. All of the single skeins purchased for projects that I couldn't even remember went in the pile, as well as all of the half skeins from finished projects. I threw it all in a bag and took it to the Tuesday Sip 'n' Stitch. By the time we were ready to adjourn, everyone had adopted at least one orphan skein. When I came back home and considered the stash, it was like a burden was lifted. What was left was only wool that I could really see myself using.

Then, I decided to knit Paul the sweater vest that I had planned a long time ago. I'd originally purchased some Cestari worsted (from Churchville, VA) for the project and I hoped that he'd forgotten it so that I could surprise him. Amazingly, given all of the thousands of patterns on the Web and on Ravely, I couldn't find the right one, so I used a freebie and made modifications. Using one of the vests that he already had, I cast on and knitted in the round. For weeks, I worked, sometimes as we watched TV together in the evenings. I even took it to a Christmastime open house at one of the local airports and he didn't seem to catch on that I was knitting a gift. Finally, about a week before Christmas, I finished and was blocking the garment. Ten minutes after I finished, he came home early. Whew--almost busted!

The photo shows Jack "hiding" the vest from Dad. He's such a helpful dog, although I didn't really appreciate his customizing my size 9 double-points. Apparently, he thought they should be shorter.

After Christmas, I decided to try something I'd never done--mittens. Using some Lamb's Pride Worsted from my stash, I used the Basic Cabled Mittens pattern on Ravelry and worked up a great pair in just a few days. I love the bright kiwi color and they came out
very well, but, even after several attempts to rip out and shorten them, they are still too long for my small hands. Hopefully, I can find someone in the family who can use them. I think I'll try again using a smaller cable.

If It's Tuesday, We Must Be Knitting

One of the best things I did last year was to start a weekly knitting group at one of the local cafes.
At first, it was just me, knitting away, but I knew it was just a matter of time before others would join me and they did. Most weeks, we can fit around a table, but other times, the crowd overflows. Most of the faces are familiar, regulars from the monthly meetings of the Wild Woolly Women, but new ones keep popping up.

Marianne, the owner of the cafe, has been extremely supportive of our group. She is not a knitter--and we keep threatening to pin her down to teach her--but she owns a herd ofalpacas and sells her yarn in the shop.

Last month, a young mother with her three homeschooled youngsters started coming. Her children are only eight, six and four years of age, but they sit for an hour and work on their own projects. We love watching the progress they make from week to week, but I sense them watching ours, as well. The oldest, a girl, has fine rosewood needles that she received as a birthday gift and she looks so sweet as she knits along on her scarf. The oldest boy works with a pair of needles that he made himself from dowel rods. The points are nicely carved, not too sharp, and the ends are acorn caps. The youngest hasn't really shown an interest in knitting and he usually draws marvelous, colorful pictures. One our members is a retired school teacher and she loves to help them with their projects.

A Smalltown Christmas

Here are a few holiday scenes from the lovely little town where we live.

October Girl Wears February Lady

My February Lady is finished and here's a photo of Julie modelling it for me. This has been one of the best projects I've ever done and I wouldn't have made it at all if Marnie, from Frivolous Fibers hadn't had the sample in her shop. She used a cotton blend from Blue Heron and, although it was drop-dead gorgeous, I wasn't in the mood for another cotton project. When she showed me the Dream in Color Classy, it was all over. I was totally in love. I'd heard so much about DIC but had never seen it. I've never seen tonal colorways that were so lively. This one is called, Happy Forest, and it's really quite a bright green but the tones of blue in it keep it from looking like a four leaf clover.

The pattern was also a joy to work with.

Alpaca Lace

Recently, the girls from Stash and Burn reviewed "A Fine Fleece" by Lisa Lloyd and spoke very highly of the patterns, so when I was in one of the big bookstores, I decided to check it out. They were right. The patterns are of a traditional nature--lots of squarish sweaters with Aran type stitch details--and there were only one or two that I couldn't see myself making and wearing. I don't usually buy knitting books but I decided that this one was a good candidate for my library. Here's a photo of the lace scarf I just finished (but haven't blocked) from the book. It's made from the cream colored Suri that I purchased from the alpaca farm.