BFL handspun

100g, Blue Faced Leicester handpainted roving received as a Christmas gift. Mmm, silky and soft.

Spun into a fingering weight 3ply.

Checkstand Bags

I did some sewing a while back but wanted to give the finished product a little test run before I made any comment on the pattern/process. These lined, cloth, grocery store checkstand bags have been used for several grocery trips now and I am happy to give them my official stamp of approval.

They are made by first deconstructing one of the store's regular, plastic, checkstand bags to get a pattern. How could you possibly get a better fit hey? The cashiers don't complain about these ones falling off their bagging stands like they do the store's own, reusable, nonwoven cloth bags. The baggers quite like them and I've had some nice comments about them.

Best of all these bags are completely washable. The cashiers in my community are occasionally overheard complaining about customers who come in with bags covered in dog hair or smelling of cat pee. Ewwww! I don't blame them. In the customer's defence though, the first time you wash those "nonwoven cloth bags" they get all limp and fall apart.

I've been looking for a better solution for quite some time now. Thanks to a discussion on a message board on Ravelry I found this tutorial: Singlet Style Shopping Bag.


When the shopping is done you can fold them neatly back into their self pocket, pop them into the trunk of your car, and they are there ready when you need them again.

Perfect.

I made 6 of them for about $12 using material found at a thrift store. If you want to give it a try look for sturdy but light weight fabric so that your bags don't end up too bulky. And be sure that it is fabric that won't need ironing! Just sayin'.

Aeolian Shawl Debut

Pattern: Aeolian Shawl by Elizabeth Freeman

Yarn: Alpaca with a Twist Fino purchased at Chilliwack Wool and Craft Shop.

The yarn was originally more of a blue-violet colour like grape drink, but I overdyed it with red and a small touch of black to get this colourway which I call "Black Cherry".

It's a little smaller than I expected, but I love it worn more as a shoulder shawl anyway.

Aeolian Blocking

The Aeolian Shawl is nearing completion. After a pinning session that took several hours it only has to dry overnight and have the ends sewn in.


I found this shawl to be particularly difficult to block nicely. With all those lower edge points and the curved top edge it was a bit tricky figuring out how to tackle it. The numerous nupps added an extra element to fuss over too.

Olympic Torch

I went out and did my patriotic bit this afternoon. I stood outside the recreational centre (mustn't call the building by it's real name and offend the corporate sponsors) all decked out in red and white and awaiting the arrival of the Olympic torch in my hometown. . . . it's that bright bit in the centre of the first picture.

This is about as close as I'm going to be able to come to attending anything Olympic. Tickets for the Olympic events are priced so high that the people who are actually paying for the Olympics (that would be your average TAXpayers), can't easily afford to go. Even if I was handed free tickets the cost of transportation to get to and from the events would probably still make attendance difficult and costly.


Still despite my feelings about the overpriced Olympic ceremonies and the cost of hosting the games, I still wanted to come out and show my support for the athletes. Go Canada!

You can just see the Olympic flame in this picture too. It's the bright bit to the left on the stage. No really. . . . . click on the pictures to enlarge them and then. . . .squint.

Falling In Love Again

I don't remember why this project was put aside in the first place, maybe I lacked the necessary concentration during a very stressful time of my life, but it's back in my active project pile now and I'm falling in love with it all over again!

It had been so long since I worked on it that I had no idea where I was in the pattern and had to reread everything and study the charts for quite some time before I found my place and was able to continue again.

Mythical 3ply

Handpainted BFL roving by Freckle Face Fibers in the "Mythical" colourway, spun into a 3ply of about fingering weight, perhaps a bit finer. Should be enough yardage in the 40z/114g to knit a pair of socks.

String of Purls

Shelby must have heard me the other day when, in frustration over my lousy self photography results, I threatened to start taking pictures with the finished projects posed with the dog instead.

Tonight when she saw me finish these socks she came running to "help" with the photo shoot. Such a nice fur-girl.

The almost random arrangement of purl stitches was an idea I picked up from an article in the February 2010 issue of Knit 'N Style. It's a fun way to deal with handpainted yarn. You purl only the stitches that come up in your chosen colour. In this case I purled any time I found the turqouise ready to knit the next stitch, and also when a turquoise stitch presented itself on the needle. In this particular yarn it resulted in long strings of raised purl stitches spiralling around the sock. . . . . hence the name, "String of Purls Socks".

Try it! Just plug the idea into any basic sock pattern you like to use and pick any hand painted yarn that features one colour that stands out from the rest.

The yarn was a gift from my daughter and her family. I've lost the ball band now, but I do remember the colourway is "Dragonfly" which she chose because I love dragonflies.

Another Destroyed Cowl

Gaa! Out of eleventeenmillion photos these three were the best I could do. It's time to start posing finished items with the DOG!

This is another "Destroyed Cowl" knit up on the Brother KH-400 Convertible Home Knitter.

Other than grafting the two ends together which requires care, precision, and lots of time, this was a quick and easy project.

It is being submitted for the guild's art show which will be on display March 2 to April 8, 2010 at Chilliwack City Hall, 8550 Young Road. No guarantee it will make it into the show as it has to be accepted by the committee, but I'll be submitting it for their approval.

Destroyed Cowl

In preparation for a demonstration on blocking that I did for the Chilliwack Spinners and Weavers Guild last night, I whipped this up on my Brother KH-400 Convertible Home Knitter.

The pattern, "Destroyed Cowl", by Martha Merzig, is actually written for hand knitting, but it is a simple concept easily translated to machine knitting.

My own little added touch was to put tiny, matching beads in the edging.


The yarn is a merino/silk blend that I handspun on a spindle to a laceweight, and then knit doubled.

The cowl will likely be displayed at the Chilliwack Spinners & Weavers Guild's exhibition and sale, "Hats Off to Chilliwack" running from March 2 to April 8, 2010 at Chilliwack City Hall, 8550 Young Road.

Tiny Dancer

A third pair of socks for Kaylen knit with the sock yarn remnants from my stash. These ones are probably the best fitting.

These are knit from my favourite combination of a wide, toe-up start added to Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer's "Basic Toe-to-Cuff" sock pattern done in stockinette and finished with Jenny Staiman's "Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off".


And a little video clip of the socks in action!

Sunshine Socks

Another pair of socks knit for Kaylen out my sock yarn remnants.

This pair is a bit loose but I think she'll grow into them.

They are a hybrid of my own favourite, wide, toe-up start added to Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer's "Basic Toe-to-Cuff" sock pattern with a lace pattern found in "Sensational Knitted Socks" by Charlene Schurch, and Jenny Staiman's "Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off".

Big and Little

The matching socks fit, and were well received. Success!

Again, Only Smaller

On New Years Day, immediately after finishing my own socks, I cast on again. Same yarn, same sock pattern, same pattern changes, only this time much smaller.

These are little mini-me socks for my granddaughter, Kaylen.

I hope that now, while she is still under three years of age, she will think it's a wonderful thing to be "just like Grandma".

Linking the Years

These socks were worked on in both the old year and the new year. I started them some time in 2009 and worked on them sporadically, usually at meetings or in waiting rooms. I finished them on January 1, 2010.

I don't usually wear a lot of light pink, and I'm not usually a lacy kind of gal either, but these somehow please me more than I thought they would.

They are done toe-up using Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer's "Basic Toe-to-Cuff Sock" pattern except that I did my own favourite wide, rounded toe, and added a lace pattern to the cuff.

The lace is "ridged feather" from page 73 of "Sensational Knitted Socks". The yarn is a nameless, handpainted sock yarn I acquired when my daughter did some destashing. Thanks Kris!

Edited to add: Kris says that it's "Cosmic Fibers" sock yarn in the "Chamber of Secrets" colourway".

It's My Turn

I reached quite a milestone birthday today, it's the Big 5-0. My husband's family has quite a fun and unique way of marking the event. I think I'm the fourth person to get this mug passed on to them on their 50th birthday. It won't be staying with me long, as my brother-in-law's milestone birthday is coming up this March. Watch out Mike, it's coming your way!

My little granddaughter Kaylen had a "sleepover" last night, so I started my big day off right, waking up nose to nose with a smiling toddler.

She and Grandpa baked and decorated a lovely cake for my birthday. Can a day get any better than this?

MhEaRpRpYy CbHiRrItShTdMaAyS!!

That title? It's Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday blended together, kind of like my gift!

That's one of the advantages to having a birthday that is really close to Christmas. Sometimes if you are willing to blend the two celebrations together you can convince a loved one to splurge on a single more-awesome-than-you-otherwise-would-get present.

This is my most recent knitting "tool", a comfy swivel/glider/recliner and matching ottoman in leather that matches our other living room furniture. My old cloth covered one was getting rather worn and tattered looking. I can't bear to part with it either, it has served me well and is still comfortable, but it now resides in the less public family room.

Altered Hat

Back in the fall of 2004 I made a felted, brimmed hat. When it was first made I was very pleased with it, but over time the brim began to droop. The crown of the hat was still in great shape so a few days ago I made the decision to do radical surgery on it. I hacked the brim off, knit a separate brim from handspun kid mohair, and then sewed the new brim on.

I'm pleased with the result. It makes a very warm, perfectly fitting hat.

This may become one of my submissions for a guild art show to be held this coming March.

Snowflake Portrait 2009

My favourite Christmas ornaments are the ones that hold portraits of our children when they were little and now similar ones of our grandchildren.

This is the addition for Christmas 2009. Two and half year old Kaylen and her 8 month old sister Kenzie.

The free crochet pattern for this snowflake/portrait ornament can be found here.

Vest Project Revisited

Way back in May I started on a vest using Kauni 8/2 Effektgarn in stranded colourwork. I wasn't happy with the method I was using to add the burgundy coloured stitch. Inattention was causing a lot of mistakes.

I made the decision to rip back to the ribbing and start over with a simpler check pattern. It will be so much easier to use duplicate stitch and put in that burgundy fleck AFTER the vest is complete and blocked.

Work is now progressing much quicker but there have still been a couple of minor frogging episodes. There is something about nearly mindless knitting that gets me every time! I must zone out and allow my hands to continue on without the active participation of my brain. Like a classroom full of unruly teenage students, turns out my hands need supervision.