Works in Progress Wednesday, a brief hiccup in my 4KCBW posting

Drizzle, by MSkiKnits, Forest Greener- Worsted

Drizzle, pattern by Mel of SingleHandedKnits
Yarn: Forest Greener, worsted on size 5 needles
This is Mel's second hat pattern and it is fun to knit and more fun to wear. The brim is knit loosely, so as not to leave any marks on your forehead. There are three sizes, fitted, slouchy, and super slouchy. This hat is going to be slouchy.

I vowed not to cast on another thing until I finished something, but there is something soothing about knitting a hat, and after this week of sadness and tension, soothing was what the doctor ordered. Most of the week I found myself unable to focus or get anything done correctly. I finally decided to cast on when I found some leftovers of this hand-dyed yarn. I do love my first Drizzle, why not have two?

Zilver, by Lisa Mutch, Knitting Fever- Whispers

 Zilver, by Lisa Mutch of Northbound Knitting
Yarn: Knitting Fever, Whispers in size 7 needles.
I picked this yarn up on the final day of Windsor Button's closing sale. I am not sure how this is going to look until I get it blocked; right now it is so scrunched on the circular needle that it is hard to tell if I will like it. The pastel colors are not my cuppa tea, but it can always go into the "Gift" box.

Mel of SinglehandedKnits tipped me off to this pattern almost a year ago and I have to say it is a fun and semi mindless knit. You don't have to focus too hard, but it isn't Stockinette Zombifying either. To do it justice, this shawl really deserves to made again, in Madelinetosh or a good sock yarn.

Guernsey, by Jared Flood in Cascade Eco+

Guernsey, by Jared Flood
Yarn: Cascade Eco+ on size 8 needles
I cast this on a while back, inspired late one Friday after hearing from Julie that it was a fun knit and AmyBeth of FatSquirrelSpeaks was making one, so I jumped on that bandwagon. It is charted and I need to either maximize it on the iPad or sit in good light with reading glasses. Up until this week I had only 12 inches done, but I did over twenty inches one afternoon while watching reruns of favorite movies Moonstruck, You've Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle. The movies are more like company, I find I put them on when no one is home and I need to have someone to talk to. (Ok that sounds truly weird, sorry).

Gratitude KAL, in Araucania Huasco and IndigoDragonfly Baldersquatch

Daybreak

Daybreak by Stephen West

Yarns: Aracaunia Huasco and Indigodragonfly Bleats Shoots and Leaves on size 4 needle

This is one of those more expensive yarns I mentioned earlier in the week. I think the Araucania cost 24.00 and initially, I hesitated. Now, it just might be elbowing Madelinetosh out of the way to be my go-to "nice" yarn. I love the twist and the colors are like knitting with Noro, it keeps you enthralled as you watch the shift of color through your fingers. It is an easy enough pattern, but with the distractions of the week, I made a few booboos and had to tink back to fix them. 

This shawl is an entry in the Gratitude KAL that AmyBeth, of FatSquirrelSpeaks podcast, is sponsoring over on her Forum board. This is the second year for this knitting event, which involves choosing a wearable item to knit for yourself, and as you knit, you should knit reflectively and think of the many things you are grateful for. As AmyBeth says, you acknowledge the good things in your life as you make the item and it should bring you consolation in low times when you wear it in the future.

I have a few stories of Gratitude, yes with a capital G, but I am saving them for when I cast this off, stay tuned.

(The hiccup in my 4KCBW blog posting is that I can't figure out how to upload Day 3's info-graphic. I waited and waited for help from the site, but got too tired, and annoyed, so I had this in the can and am sharing some of the things currently keeping me busy. Hopefully, I will have 4KCBWDays 3 and 4 up tomorrow).

If you want to see other WIP Wednesday posts, go to Tami's Amis and have a look.

Knit and Crochet Blog Week, Day 2

Imported from http://beneficialbugs.org/bugs/Bumblebee/bumble_bee.htm

Mascot Project: The House Of Bee
Bees are busy in their daily forays in and out of the flowers of the field and garden. They drink nectar, carry pollen, and pollinate the flowers. I am like the bee, in that I try my best to knit daily and when I miss a day, I feel out of synch. I do have at least 4 or 5 projects on the needles at one time, so I will flit back and forth, working on an easy knit when I am visiting with someone or doing the more complicated patterns when I am alone. As far as cross pollinating goes, I do  my best to evangelize newbies into the craft. I try to spread my enthusiasm and interest to anyone who hovers near me.

As I reread that paragraph, I got stuck on what to tell you next and then it dawned on me.....

A tip of the nectar stored in my stash...

Like the bees in the field, I gather fiber instead of nectar, especially recently. I rarely shop with a pattern in mind. I usually step into a yarn shop and become attracted to colors like pumpkin and butternut, eggplant or crimson. I don't buy sweater quantity often so I have numerous skeins of delightful color and texture.   My stash has grown so much in the past six weeks and I totally blame my LYS! Totally. My stash is over flowing because the shop has gone out of business. My stash is like the hive that needs to be harvested, the racks of honeycomb dripping with honey, that is what my storage looks like.

As for a Bee House project, I got a number of images but none that exemplify my as a Bee type knitter. Here is something that I feel sweet over, something I am anxious to cast on a begin knitting, even though the weather won't call for this type of accessory for some time. Stargazing Cowl in Highland Handmades Black Ash Worsted. Don't you love the tonal colors? (BTW, if you want to buy some of her gorgeous hand-dyed yarns or batts, it is important to note that she usually does shop updates on Saturday, the good stuff goes fast, so be there hovering over what you want to put in your shopping cart).

Highland Handmades, Black Ash Worsted

Reverse side of Stargazing Cowl

This cowl is pretty on both sides, but the reverse makes me think of the pattern seen inside the beehive wooden slats. The pattern and yarn are both created by Heather Kinne/Boutrosbabe of the podcast TheFiberistaFiles. I listen faithfully each week, and enjoy the slice of her life that she shares, from her knitting, spinning and dyeing, to her fitness regime and the 5K she is training for. It isn't just about yarn, I feel like it is a sit down and Skype with a friend.

Knit and Crochet Blog Week, Day 1

 

 Eskimimi, of Eskimimi Makes, is a blogger, knitter, spinner, pattern designer and jack of all trades. She has been sponsoring this week-long blog event for the past four years. I participate for a number of reasons. 

1. I love getting a writing/thinking challenge, it stretches me in ways I don't come up with by myself. 
2. I  enjoy seeing what all of the participants write about and have found a number of new blogs to follow each year. 
3. The third reason is a bit self-serving.... I always hope to gain more followers, and the exposure of Eskimimi's Blog Week helps so much. If you like what you see here, click the button on the right to become a follower, by joining you get an email anytime I do a new post. 

I hope you will indulge my KCBW posts for the next seven days. The challenges will push me to try new media and approaches of showing information, so there may be a learning curve, but I hope to improve the format and content of the blog through the research I will do. (I may add an additional bit of more typical blog info at the end of some of the daily challenges, so scroll down if the prompts aren't interesting to you.  Hopefully I will do my normal WIP Wednesday and FO Friday).

If you are interested in following bloggers during this week, enter the following search term in your Google bar for quick navigation.

KCBW Day 1Topic: To Which House Do You Belong?

Today's assignment is to choose one of four houses that best match your knitting philosophy and practice. 

The four houses include:

• House of Bee-  Bees are busy and industrious, but can flit from one interesting project to the next as bright shiny things that capture their interests.
• House of Manatee- Manatees are gentle, calm and cuddly. Relaxed and unflashy, they represent the comfort and soft side of knitting and crochet.
• House of Monkey- Intelligent and with a fun loving side, Monkeys like to be challenged with every project presenting them something new and interesting.
• House of Peacocks- Peacocks take something good and make it brilliant. Buttons and embellishments and a bit of sparkle proves that perfection lies in the details- like a Peacock's tail.

My knitting and stash enhancement style falls into the House of Bee, if you have ever been with me while shopping for yarn, or at Knit Night, or even just in conversation... you'll note that I have more than a touch of Knitter's ADD. I do flit from one thing to another. I have the bad habit of hijacking the conversation topic back to yarn and knitting. I constantly check the Ravelry Top Twenty Patterns and consequently, my Ravelry Queue is over 100 items long, I have over 1450 patterns in my Ravelry Favorites. (Yes, that number is correct.... I need to get in there a neaten up and delete some of the old ones that are no longer qualifying as favorite).  In defense of such prodigious collecting of patterns, I now have that mid-life memory loss issue. If it is in my Favorites or my Queue, at least I have narrowed down the places I have to look to find what I want.

I have been writing a lot about my stash lately. It is embarrassing, even to me standing alone in my room with no witnesses, to see how grand the pile has grown. What with Windsor Button closing and my visit to Saco River DyeHouse and Yarns, I have had a hard time saying no to a good deal. If you ever observe me in shopping mode, I tend to look first for the colors that make me happy, saturated jewel tones, slow transitional dyes and yarn that just feels good to hold and later, knit. I am a bumbling bee, flitting from here to there, but in my busy-ness... I do get a lot done. My stores of honey/completed projects is something I am proud of.

Side Topic.  also known as me, rambling....
Are you still there? Do you have a minute for a story? It is a good one... I'll try to be quick.
I have been trying hard to list my stash on Ravelry, so at least I know what I have and how much. I also thought I should de-stash some of the skeins that have been malingering. I listed four or five types and waited. Actually, I forgot I had them listed for sale.... memory loss again. I got a note from a fellow Raveler, Marli. I had some yarn in stash and she wanted it. So I messaged back and we did an exchange, here is what I sent....

Crystal Palace Squiggle

Crystal Palace Squiggle

And here is what I got in return....

Kerry Woolen Mills Aran, 350 yards. From Ireland!!!!!

I was so very excited to pass along the novelty yarn that was a fail in my project attempts, and in turn I got Wool from Ireland! My father's family is still living in County Claire and County Kerry, so I was touched to add that fiber to stash.

Are you curious what Marli needed the Squiggle for? I was, I messaged and asked, and she sent me a photo of the market bags that she makes. She plans an Esty shop, I will give a heads up when she opens it.  I now realize I have tempted you with seeing a photo and it won't appear. Here is the description, put your imagination cap on.... ready? It is a sturdy basket with handle, about 12 inches tall, knit in a black yarn that has been felted, and the Squiggle is knit into a band at the top edge of the bag. So very pretty. I thought it would make a cute Easter Basket too.

I got some more Squiggle and will trade for more of the Kerry Woolen Mills Aran....this is what I am sending...

Four skeins of Squiggle for more basket enhancement.

So, in closing, why do I bother to share this with you? Maybe it will encourage you to put some of your yarn up for sale or swap on Ravelry. It is easy, go to your yarn stash page, select edit, then go to the Stash Tab, click the drop down menu, select Will Trade or Sell. Maybe this little story will be an example of the friendships made on Ravelry when you open yourself up to the possibilities.

Will Work for Yarn

Yarn Porn

I have been in an altered state of mind this week, shock, sadness, wonderment at humans who could so viciously attack innocent bystanders.... for what purpose? And then, the middle of the week, I had temporary agoraphobia, I was reluctant to venture intown for fear of being involved in some upcoming episode of more mayhem.

But venture I did. Earlier in the week I had offered my help to Susan, owner of the shop, in doing inventory and bagging the yarns at Windsor Button. Such gargantuan piles of work to do and she had limited staffing, so I showed up Thursday and worked from 9:30 to 5:30. Counting, tagging and logging inventory.  Earlier on in the sale, I volunteered to help customers and replenish stock, out of respect and admiration to someone whose business was terminating unexpectedly. Susan offered yarn as pay at that time and I added quite a number of Madelinetosh skeins to my stash, who could say no to that? Obviously not me. Working during the start of the sale allowed me to meet and hear from the many crafters who have been shopping at Windsor for many, many years. I felt lucky to hear their stories and to help them add a skein or two to their stashes. Working at the end, well to tell the truth, I was hoping for closure of the attachment I have to this place.

Here is a view of what fiber-y goodness I earned on Thursday.

Sheepfeet, Sheep Shop Yarn Company

Sheepfeet in the Lilac colorway. This is 100% Merino wool with 218 yards to a 100 gram ball, I got two, so that means I have 436 yards to play with. I love the combination of shades which make me think more of pansies than lilacs. I plan to find a shawl pattern and will look for a complimentary shade of yarn in either the dark reddish brown or purple tones.

Mountain Colors, Bearfoot

Bearfoot from Mountain Colors, 60% Superwash, 25% mohair, 15% nylon, in the colorway Rich Red. This 100 gram skein has 350 yards of fingering weight yarn. (I know my friend Julie is probably yelling "Now you have to take up knitting socks!" because she doesn't understand how I haven't fallen into that rabbit hole yet). It is so soft and squishy that I really would rather wrap it around my neck. Wish there had been more skeins left, it would have made a nice sweater.

Cascade 220 Heathers

I wish Cascade gave their yarns names instead of numbers. I might call this Hershey, chocolate, you know? This hue is a blending of chocolate brown and a reddish brown. I got two skeins and have no ideas yet for what this will become.

Mountain Colors, Merino Ribbon

Mountain Colors, Merino Ribbon, Alpine colorway. The 100 gram skein has 245 yards of 80% Super Fine Merino wool and 20% nylon, I got two skeins. I am thinking of making a scarf or cowl knit in a welted style, the stitches will show of the beauty of the yarn in this way.

These two skeins are real prizes and need to become something I will remember the Windsor Button Shop whenever I wear it.  Susan and her store brought me up from a knitter who was making fun fur scarves back in the 1999/2000 years, then I graduated to whatever I could score with my half-off coupon at A. C. Moore.  Then, I happened into the shop and was slowly transformed. Now, I look first at the higher end yarns. I know, I know, crazy right?  I have learned so much about matching yarn to pattern, about making a leap of faith with inspirations and attempts at ideas. Susan was a ready advisor and I always felt so encouraged by her attentions. I do believe that is the thing I will be missing the most.

Noro, Silver Thaw

Silver Thaw, is an aran weight yarn comprised of 50% wool, 25% angora, 25% nylon. It is very soft for Noro and have two skeins totaling 440 yards. As for what it will become....well, research is needed. Not sure if it will be one or two projects....

So, I could go on and on about how the reality of life here in Boston shifted last week. I could tell you, implore you, to pray for the victims and the sad souls who played a role in this savagery, but that stuff may already be a part of your daily practice. I know it is for me.

I have so many things I want to share with you and promise to get back to posting regularly in the upcoming week.  For now, peace, love and hope, I send those graces out to each of you. And go out and soak up some sun, I think Spring is finally here to stay.

Pray for the victims and the many who were affected today in Boston.

Beautiful sunset in a shocked city, imported from twitter https://twitter.com/BostonTweet/status/323936736260530177/photo/1

I want to thank so many of you who have reached out to me over Ravelry, Twitter and Facebook. My girls and I are fine, though we are thoroughly horrified and incredibly sad. The location of the finish line is not near where we live and none of us went to watch the race. My heart breaks for those who were directly or indirectly affected. God bless all of the first responders. Please say a prayer or a chain of them for the city and the visitors of Boston. Please pray that the people responsible will be found and prosecuted.