Feeling Stabby?

Some time ago, before heading off to a sheep & wool festival, I promised my sister that I would not take up a new hobby. The new hobby she had in mind was spinning. I think she was envisioning a living room already spilling yarn and fabric off of shelves would then be stuffed to the ceiling with fleeces and batts, a spinning wheel in front of the couch. And I have not taken up spinning despite the huge temptation.

While at Rhinebeck several years ago Purlewe and I happened into the Woolen Whimsies booth. The owner was sitting in a chair and vigorously stabbing an implement into a piece of fabric stretched on a frame. I have a huge affection for all tiny tedious needlework. I was fascinated. She asked if I would like to try it and I bit. They had great starter kits for sale, but I was feeling a little strapped for cash. I took their info, thinking that this would be a great Christmas present and passed it on to my mother. Christmas came and there was no kit, disappointed.

Fast forward to the next fall, I bought the kit for my mother to give to me. I even feigned surprise when I unwrapped it.



Wrong side

So, this is obviously not spinning; I have honored my promise. This is Russian punch needle embroidery.  The supplies are embroidery threads of which I already own an obscene amount, a smallish frame and the needle tool...all taking up very little space. Punch needle embroidery looks like miniature rug hooking.

Right side

Turns out stabbing the needle repeatedly into the fabric is completely therapeutic and LEGAL! The tool is dangerous looking and fortunately there has not yet been a craft related injury intentional or unintentional.

I love how this turned out. Bet this technique would make for some really cute Christmas ornaments. Anyone have a source for primitive Christmas designs? I think all my job rejection rage and angst should be channeled into craft. I could end up with a heap of cute!



Finished embroidery

The Towering Inferno

After a patch of knitting where all of my projects were on US 3s or smaller I really needed something that would be at a bigger gauge. All my needs were met with this sweater. I was unnaturally attracted to this yarn, in fact a little obsessed. My typical color choices are blues and greens, not OMG red/orange. This is my friend Sherry's color and part of me expects her to leap out from behind a tree, tackle me to the ground and run off with my sweater (oranges and vivid reds have that effect on her.)

This yummy yarn is Maxima from Manos de Uruguay in you guessed it, Fire. What a pleasure this is to knit with. Soft and warm, without being heavy, it has great drape knit at a slightly larger gauge. I knit the body on US 9s and the cowl on 10s. The pattern is Idlewood by Cecily Glowick McDonald. This is a breeze to knit and it was really nice to have a good basic sweater that let this yarn shine. I love the huge, over-the-top cowl...something I have not sported in a few decades.

This sweater is just the mood elevater I needed for the end of winter. It makes me ridiculously happy, in fact.

I am planning on knitting this again, maybe in another unusual yarn for me. Did I hear someone mention tweed?

What I Learned from Neiman

Neiman by Ann Weaver

Reynolds Whiskey in Light Grey (031) and Raspberry (131)

1. I kind of like crunchy yarn.

2. Grey is a much more complicated color than one might think.

3. I swatched, but did not wash and block the swatch. Next time I swatch for a sweater, I will. My sweater grew a bit in length. Fortunately tunics are coming back. And if I had washed and blocked my swatch, I would have been knitting on US 1s...cray cray. The sweater would have been scrapped before it began.

4. Short rows are not just for heels. Short rows at the neck line saved this from being Flashdance Fair Isle. Love this design, but really wish that designers would keep in mind that just because a girl is big doesn't mean that she has linebacker shoulders or a melon head. My boobs may be bodacious, but my neckline doesn't need to be bigger than anyone else's.

5. Ceiling fans and Shamwows really speed up drying time when blocking. And when the cat wads up your sweater to make a nest, the sweater is dry enough to wear.

6. Finally, I really wish that I had purchased lots of Whiskey while it was more widely available. Think I will be haunting the destashes on Ravelry. It is really too bad that Reynolds is no longer in business.

Kitty Litter

Last year, I made one of my kitties for my sister to give as a baby shower present. Kitty was of course a huge success. Another friend of the mother-to-be contacted me and asked if I could make a bunch for her as presents for an upcoming babyboom.

I, as a matter of course, procrastinated. And the last few months have been really lacking in any artistic mojo. I almost procrastinated my way out of the thrifted wool sweaters that are my main component.

I use the felted sweaters as the upper body of my kitties. Thrift shopping for cool wool sweaters is really getting hard. Everything is nasty acrylic and ramie, bleh. And I have a hard time, when I find a nice wool sweater, justifying felting something in perfect shape that someone could wear out of the store. I did manage to find some that were interesting and fortunately made nice soft felt.

Ajax was pretty interested in all the bits and pieces on the sewing table. Nothing got carried away.

When I first developed the pattern, no real practical thought was given to construction. This has been a real source of frustration with every single one I have made. Finally, while watching a nature program on giant octopuses, this odd solution presented itself...really odd...no, truly odd.

So, here are my wee babies, turned right side out, stuffed with fluff and tarted up. I love that they all are different and unique.

And for the most part made of recycled materials.

Happy Earth Day!

Snow Day

Today was the second largest snow storm in Philadelphia's recorded history. We got over 2 feet of the fluffy white stuff.

I love my city in the snow. Everything is so quiet, only the sound of people laughing in the streets and the scrape of shovels on the walks.

Rittenhouse Square is magical in the snow. The square was packed with squealing children learning the rules of snowball warfare and dogs bouncing and frolicking in the new snow. I wish I could experience that pure joy rather then just watching and appreciating it.

When I came home from my walk through the streets, I saw the unbelievable. There was a raptor hanging out in the ginko tree in front of the house. Wish I could have gotten a better shot of him, but the damn batteries in my camera were dying and he flew off just as I returned with fresh ones.

Ajax has been chattering away all day. He is very concerned about all this white stuff on the deck. The drift against the door is so deep that the poor thing has to stand on his hind legs to see out the door.

Blue Skies

This the shawl that I knit for my church's Harvest Festival Silent Auction. I am happy to say that the church raised $13,500 for Steppingstone Scholars. Steppingstone Scholars is a Philadelphia based organization that helps under-privileged children prepare for college.


The pattern is the Lavellette Shawl, which I first saw when my friend Andrea did a test knit (RAV link) for the pattern. It was an easy lace pattern and made a very elegant piece. I used one skein of Tess' Superwash Merino Lace Weight. I think of the color as being Virgin Mary Blue, but my Catholic friends have corrected this Presbyterian girl. Oh well.


Most importantly, I chose it from my stash because it reminded me of Nan Somerville, the force of nature that started the Harvest Festival and ran it for 30 plus years. Nan passed away this past year and left a huge hole in our congregation. Her daughter, Margaret, stepped into the breach and did a brilliant job organizing this year's festival. This blue was one of Nan's favorite colors and I know she would have approved. And then asked me, "So what are you going to make for next year?"

More Picots, Please

When I first became aware of the Landscape pattern I only knew it as a huge shawl, not a scarf. As a shawl, I had zero interest in the pattern...endless stockinette, endless seed and moss stitch... ick. Then Marissa the Marvelous started knitting the scarf version. She was using lots of Koigu millends, some of which I had enabled the purchasing. I'm a good friend like that.

We were having coffee one afternoon and she was knitting away on it. I had never done picots before and was a little fascinated by them.

The pattern calls for picots on every other row. Marissa, who thinks that more embellishment is always better, was putting them on every row. I too became a little obsessed.

She kindly and trustingly let me wear her scarf one afternoon. I loved it. She pried it out of my hands before we parted company. And I began planning my own.

I dug into my cache of millends and selected a bunch to mix together. I started knitting, randomly switching yarn and using a Russian join for the transitions. Love that Russian join!!

Mine also had to have a bazillion picots. Knitting them is so much fun! Particularly in Koigu, because you are always looking to see what color they are going to be. This is one time where surprise in knitting is a wonderful thing.

I love my little scarf...so jaunty...so insouciant! My friend, Suzanne, thought it was pretty cool, so I made on for her too. I cannot wait for her birthday! This time I upped the needle size a smidge and hers has better drape.

You would think that after all these picots that I would be done. You would be wrong...Bring'em on! I have been eyeballing the Boneyard Shawl's (Rav Link) picot edged version for some beautiful alpaca lace weight that I scored at Rhinebeck. Now I just need to be disciplined enough to get my Christmas knitting done before I cast on. I'll let you know how that goes...

A First Time....

...some good, some questionable, some weird.

Many, many thanks to my dear friend Anj, who invited me to drive up to Rhinebeck with her and stay with her delightful Aunt Judy and Uncle Wynn at Herron Farm. I got to pet the llamas, feed the alpacas, check out the chickens and threaten to make soup from the rooster who woke me up every half hour both mornings. Who knew that roosters come with a doze function?

The weather report for the weekend was grim and it looked like the Nor'easter was targeting Rhinebeck. Amazingly the rain skirted the festival...not a drop landed. The sky was overcast, but the lack of sunshine meant it was cool enough for all of us to show off our hand knits!

Not all of the hand knits were equal. Dude, I hope your friends don't see my blog. How could you let her do that to you? Guess we know who wears the pants in that family.

I spent a lot more time with the animals then I ever have at MDS&W. There were tons of cute sheep, goats, alpacas and llamas. I got in some serious heavy petting...met a new boy friend, Buster Brown. I was too busy petting him to take his picture.


A couple of us made out with this llama, Biscotti Chips. She was pretty promiscuous and doling out kisses to everyone. I think Judy was trying to figure out how to get this cutie into her car. First time I have ever had llama kisses or seen one so affectionate and approachable...to everyone.

I fondled a lot of yarn, but bought very little, just enough to not feel deprived and not too much, so no feelings of guilt. I try very hard not to mix guilt and yarn.

Now, on to the downright weird. Have you ever seen an egg that didn't have a shell?

It was a little old by the time I got to see it. It was shriveling up and drying out. The membrane felt like really fine grit sandpaper.

They have had other egg anomalies at the farm. One of the eggs had three yolks. Does that mean it has triple the cholesterol?

I am already looking forward to returning to Rhinebeck!

Scraptacular

Pattern: James Dean Hat (Ravelry link) - designed by Lisa R. Myers

Yarn: Noro Kureyon ( one gallon ziplock bag full of scraps leftover from the huge Hexagon Blanket....yup, a lot of spit-splicing in these babies! God knows how many colorways are in the mix.)

Needles: US7 24" circulars

I whipped these hats up in a few days for donation to charity. It was the perfect use for my ziplock of scraps...some only slightly longer than a yard. As I said above there was a lot of spit involved. When I was all finished I had about a yard left over.

This is a great pattern, and my first time knitting it in the intended gage. I have knit tons of these using Koigu and giving them away as baby gifts. Those are always a hit.

Its a fast knit, but not entirely mindless. The skills needed for the project are a provisional cast-on, short rows and a 51 stitch Kitchnered finish. The good news is that you jump into the kitchner groove at about 7 stiches and cruise from there.

A huge thanks to my oh-so-fabulous models that I met in Rittenhouse Square. BTW, they lovvvvved my hats!

Intro

The girls who knit, know that I haunt the window at Rittenhouse Pet Supply. They use their window for kitty adoptions and I love me some kittehs. When I was working and having a horrible day, I would stop by and hold a kitten. Purring kittens make all evils go away.

There have been many close calls, when I thought yes this is the one I want to add to my family. And many times that I talked myself out of it...wrong sex...bad timing...whatever. Then I saw this little man in the window. Adopted yet? No- Check! I asked, boy or girl, with my fingers crossed. Little boy- Check! And the second I picked him up he started purring loudly. He was totally at ease and content to hang out in my arms, staring up at me. I was smitten.

The night I brought him home, he went to knitting circle first and met his knitting aunties. He got passed around the room and everyone got a chance to hold him. Everyone approved my choice.

Coincidently my mother and I both hit on the same name, Ajax. Think hero of the Iliad, not the cleanser. Its hard finding a good boy name...pull out Bullfinch's Mythology and give it a try.

Here he is checking out my fathers mustache for leftover dinner morsels. Mmmmm....is that mushroom soup? Maybe a little au poivre sauce? Delish!

Ajax was the only boy left in his litter when they were in foster care. They would all curl up in a kitty pile to sleep and he was missing his sisters. Artemis is not the snuggling type, but he has high hopes for Toscabelle. This is Ajax in the middle of a yawn and roll--his goal is spooning with Toscabelle. On his next roll she bopped him on the head with a mighty hiss and sent him running.

She still will not snuggle with him- poor lad. But they do have a fabulous time chasing each other around the apartment. Its pretty funny. Now that he is completely at home he has also found the voice that no one heard at the pet store. He talks more than Artemis and Tosca combined...nonstop. Its such a funny little voice for a kitty with so much swagger.


I love my little man!

Hexagon Finale

Once upon a time a talented designer, Megan Rogers, got the Noro bug and knit a hexagon blanket. I was mauled by the bug...badly. My hexagon fascination grew by leaps and bounds. There was no stopping me.

I knit through mountains of Noro and thought I was only going to make this blanket the size of a couch throw. It was wonderfully warm knitting it this fall with Toscabelle often nested in its folds.

Well, the blanket was a Christmas present for my parents. It was not quite finished on Christmas morning, but almost. This beast, even when I thought it was throw size was too big to block in my home, so I knew it would be unblocked under the tree. Washing this blanket was a huge challenge...several trips through the bathtub with Soak and a spin cycle in Mom's front loader.

Blocking was a family affair-- mom, Muffy and I stretching and pinning, EB supervising. It grew and it grew. The finished product was big enough for a twin-size bed.

Here's EB happily snoozing under his new blanket! Snug as a bug...

I don't think I will ever invest the time and huge amounts of dough into making one for myself, but my fixation with hexagons continues. Now that a crochet hook has been put back in my hands, I have visions of small crocheted Koigu hexagons wrapping my neck.

And for those who love Meg's designs...check out her two new patterns in the Spring Twist Collective.

Hearts and Flowers

Happy Valentines Day, everyone! Valentines Day is traditionally not my favorite day, probably because I am without a sweetie...le sigh.


I have however finished my Hedgerow socks. Yeah, it took me almost a year to finish these. I cannot tell you why. Love the color--just look at this yumminess. It is Socks That Rock light weight in "Bleeding Hearts". I will confess to being a bit disappointed that after very little pooling on the ankles that it did start doing way funky things once I turned the heel. Next confession is that I managed to screw up a simple four row repeat, but at least I was consistent through the whole pair and they still look great. The socks are comfy and warm. I am now looking forward to knitting up more of my STR stash. Next time I will go down in needle size just a smidge...Addi's vs anything else in 1s. And I will go toe-up, I have short feet, only size seven and the cuffs weren't particulary long, but I finished with only about a yard to spare. It was a nail biter!

Well, no sweetie in sight, but these beauties arrived yesterday...

Tosca was very appreciative.

And no, I did not mug a delivery guy on the street.

Thanks, Daddy!