The Scarf Story

I love scarves! A lot! In winter I wear one every day and sometimes in summer too!

But, would you believe it, so far I haven't knit a single one for myself. Ever! Sure, I made a short one for my son to match his hat and mittens, but I shied away from 'the big size'. I just assumed it would take forever and I'd run out of yarn (I'm notorious for that, by the way, just ask Pam at Never Enough Yarn).

So, last summer we spent a week on Chappaquiddick with my sister-in-law and her family and, naturally, we had to check out the local yarn store. I immediately saw a scarf on display there that I liked.

And I picked out the yarn: Angel, by Debbie Bliss and Cascade Yarns Jewel in Charcoal.

I didn't get to start it till Fall, though, and when I looked at the two yarns together I changed my mind and bought a different worsted weight yarn at the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival in September. It was perfect! On a side note, this is a wonderful festival to check out if you are in the area! There is lots to see and learn for kids as well!

I already blogged about the scarf's progress in my last post, so I won't go into detail again. It took me longer than I thought but it turned out wonderful! See for yourself!

Meanwhile my dear friend's birthday came up in March and I wanted to surprise her with a cowl. She just discovered them last winter and choosing yarn was easy. I knit her the honeycomb cowl in Madelintosh SteamAge. What great yarn to work with! I loved every stitch, so much that I looked forward to working on it and of course I finished it all too soon! Needless to say my friend loved it! And the credit for those two photos goes to her as well:

I liked this pattern so much that I have another cowl on my needles currently. So, stay tuned for more scarves... The next winter is coming! ;)

The biggest and the smallest needles

I do have a big variety of needle sizes because you need different needle sizes for different yarn weights.

The smallest size is usually used to knit lace and socks.

For quick projects with thick yarn the bigger the needle the better (and faster).

I have never been a fan of really big needles, but I found a pattern for a really nice scarf so I decided to do it. I've been working on it occassinally for the last 6 months and it is far from being finished. Why is that? For one, I had a few other projects, gifts and special orders to work on and second, because the main yarn is lace weight and should be knit with the smallest needles, however the scarf gets is loopy texture by using really big needles which in turn makes knitting it rather challenging.

Take a look!

The loopy and luscious scarf found on knitty.com

A little doll dress knit out of sock yarn

Side by side of the biggest and smallest needles I own.

There are bigger needles acailable, I just don't own them.

Knitter's block

I haven't blogged in a while because I've been suffering from knitter's block. It's like writer's block. You just can't seem to make anything....

So I spent a good deal of my time indulging in another favorite pastime of mine: reading. I LOVE to read! I always have and I hope our son will pick up on it! He already loves going to the library on a regular basis and also 'reading' books by himself. Now he's starting to read in kindergarten and it is so exciting to follow his progress.

He does like it when I knit for him and he keeps requesting certain things. I made him a set of matching hat, mittens and scarf last fall. Then he kept asking for socks, which I made him of the matching yarn and since then he keeps asking for a sweater... Unfortunately I don't have enough of the yarn left to make an entire sweater, but he will get one....

Take a look:

Winter Knits

This winter season the most popular item seems to be the fingerless mittens or gloves.
I've knit up several pair of both and it is a lot of fun to experiment with different color combinations and yarns.

Here are a few pictures;

Baby Gifts #2

It is time to show some more baby gifts I have been working on over the summer.

Hats and socks are always great, because they knit up fast and easy.

However, I like to try new things from time to time.

So I finally made a diaper cover (or bloomers) with a matching hat. It was a lot of fun knitting and didn't take as long.

Next I knit a cute striped dress from a pattern I found online.

And lastly a favorite of mine: a seamless baby kimono following a pattern found here: http://thecompletefabrication.blogspot.com/2007/11/seamless-baby-kimono.html

It is one of my favorites because it doesn't have seams. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but I am not a fan of sewing things by hand....

Going to the fair...

This past week our charming little town hosted the Clarke County Fair. It was great fun and I know my son loved all the rides!

I decided to enter a few of my handmade items again, mainly for fun and so I was all the more surprised to see 3 blue ribbons!! That's the highest one you can get, apart from 'Best of Show' which might take me a few more years.... ;)

Here are some pictures of the items I entered and the ribbons I received. Enjoy:

Pink and white striped toddler size dress

Tag blanket machine sewn, one side cotton, one side fleece

Candy stripe infant girl beret

Fleece hat and scarf, toddler size, machine sewn

Tunic, machine sewn

Baby girl sweater knit with very soft yarn

Wrist warmers in rainbow pattern

Infant rainbow socks- didn't get a ribbon

Baby gifts

As of late I have been very busy making baby gifts. And not only knitting, but also sewing.
It's been quite an experience because I got to use a few colors I don't usually use (read pink and purple). Those are not my favorite colors and it felt weird buying them. But I found a few cute designs...

See for yourself!!

Ribbon Tag Blanket for a baby girl

Ribbon Tag Blanket for a little boy

Here are a few pictures of the process of making a tag blanket.

The finished blankets- I love how I can combine different fabrics and then see how they come together

Of course we needed to make one for 'Baby', the 5-year old's doll.... He chose the fabric and ribbons