Episode 04 - Fall is here

Welcome back! Thanks for visiting and letting me chat at you today. Grab your favorite drink, and come sit a spell.

Works In Progress

Vanilla socks on two circs

Needles: U.S. 1 (2.5 mm)

Yarn: Knitpicks Felici

Colorway: The Countess

 

Needles: U.S. 5 (3.75 mm)

Yarn: Lion Brand Mandala

Colorway:  Gnome
Started Sept. 21, 2018

 

Finished Object
I have an FO!

Lake shore scarf by Mara Jessup. Pattern available on the Knit Picks website.

Needles U.S. 3 (3.25 mm)

Yarn: Knitpicks Stroll fingering weight hand painted.

Colorway: Great Lakes
Started: Aug. 25, 2018
Completed: Sept. 30, 2018

 

I placed an order to Knit Picks and chat about the purchases and the patterns I've got picked out for them.  Next on the to do list includes the Lia pullover pattern, and the Mosey legwarmers pattern.

Spinning

No spinning this week. 

From the coop

I give an update on Mama Brahma and the babies. I think Mama is ready to call it quits on motherhood.

I chat a little bit about the roosters and *finally* share the size difference in the eggs from the older girls and the ones who are just starting to lay.

From the hutch 

I introduce this sweet little girl.  My son is fairly confident she's a girl.  Say hello to Shadow.

Barefoot in the kitchen

I tried two new recipes this week.  One was a bit of a zonker. The other was a winner!

Creamy chicken soup. I didn't follow the recipe exactly.  We also added a cream of mushroom or cream of chicken to the soup and it added that little extra something.  No flour since we try to keep carbs to a minimum.  You could use a little bit of guar gum for thickening. The soup smelled divine as it was cooking. 

The zonker was the recipe for roasted Brussel spouts.  This was also my first time cooking Brussel sprouts. I didn't roast with the Parmesan, but added it after the fact.  I don't think anyone was keen on Parmesan on the sprouts. 

The tried and true recipe for chili is at the Top Secret Recipes website. 

Book chat

Book - I'm still plugging away with Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner.  I'm on page 280-something of 341.

Audiobook -  Ender in Exile became available from the library. I am on part six of 12.

Kindle book - Cat Trick (A Magical Cats Mystery, book 4).  I haven't touched it yet.

Next on the list is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. 

Nature notes

I chat about the fall colors, the desire to start fall clean up but it's raining, and the photos I took this week.

 

From the homestead

Carrots still need to be pulled out of the garden. 

Gardening plans for 2019

Hunting update

Coffee talk

I chat about the Oulu Corn Maze.

My happiness this week

Soup. It's so comforting during the cooler days. There are endless varieties of soup and many ways to make it.

Wendyknits summer mystery shawlette

In May Wendyknits.net announced a a summer mystery shawlette KAL. Since it was a shawlette I knew I would be able to keep up. I did! I am so proud of myself.

It started May 15, 2011 and I finished June 3, 2011. One day after the final clue was released. Something came up the day of the last clue so I wasn't able to pounce as soon as the last clue was released.

Knit with US Size 7 needles

Yarn is from Forbiddenwoolery.etsy.com

Sock yarn. I misplaced the ballband so I can't say the colorway just yet.

It blocked out to 62 inches, tip to tip, and 23.5 inches from top to bottom.

I am quite pleased with the pattern and the finished product. It started out a bit rough but smoothed out as soon as I got past that first row.

Pi Shawl revealed

I finished my Pi Shawl. I'm almost embarrassed to say that it's been done for a couple weeks and I am now getting around to blogging about it.


I started it back in August 2010. It's the Wendyknits Shetland Pi Shawl.


I plugged along on this for quite some time. I would go in fits and starts of knitting on it like a mad woman and then putting it away.


Then January I decided to dedicate all my knitting to get it done. I am still in awe of myself. I finally got it done!

I look back at the time I've spent knitting this and I am proud to say that it was time well-spent. Though towards the end when the rows were almost 600 stitches long I had many moments of doubt that I would *ever* get it done. I kept saying "one repeat at a time"

Progress ~ Wendyknits Pi Shawl

Since the first of the first of the year I have been knitting on just my Pi Shawl. I feel I'm so close to being done. I'm on clue 4 and I have two repeats left out of 6.

In other news life is starting to settle back down to normal after the Christmas holidays. I miss the short work weeks that happens at the end of December. The cold is settling in. We are getting temps in the negatives consistently. The worsted weight socks I have feel super comfy during these temps. I love my regular hand knit socks but there is nothing quite like those thicker socks.

This week I also received my first stitchinary. Barbara Walker's first treasury. I am so glad I got it. I'm hopeful that by the end of the year I will have the second and third one. I have not read good reviews about the fourth one. Bummer.

DH and I are already starting to make plans for when we can start staying out at the Happy Place again this spring. He's planning a bigger solar panel set up. I will have a bigger garden and DS will have a trampoline and a basketball hoop out there. (The trampoline is still a secret.)

So yeah I guess we have spring fever already.

Christmas knitting is done!

Wow.

I didn't finish by the end of November like I wanted. I was having second mitt syndrome and decided I *had* to work on the 3 a.m. cable hat, and my vanilla sock was suddenly very interesting to me.

But I finished! This past Monday I cast off and weaved in the ends of my second fingerless mitt that I am making for my nephew.

Pattern is my own design. Knit using Kathmandu DK yarn, color 408. This yarn is super soft. It's Merino woo, silk and cashmere. I did have a bit of a struggle knitting it with wooden DPNs though. I used DH as a model to get the sizing. One person at my work really likes the pattern and wants it. It's in my head right now screaming to be let out.


These are a pair of my vanilla socks that I made for my SIL. I couldn't get the color quite right. It's a really pretty deep turquise color. Knit using Berroco Vintage yarn.



Susie's reading mitts. Made for a coworker. I *heart* these mitts. I'm going to make a pair for myself.

Look at that adorable picot edging. Adorable!

And what would the gift giving season be without a pair of fetching mitts? This is another pattern I enjoy and have made several pairs of them. None for myself -- yet! I made this pair for my other coworker. Blue is her favorite color. Knit using -- what else -- Berocco Vintage yarn.

No I have two projects on the needles. My vanilla socks and the Wendyknits Pi Shawl.

The sock I'm working on here and there. The shawl ... I am *not* going to get this shawl done by the end of the month. I have transitioned to clue 4 and I have almost 600 stitches per round. It takes me quite a while just to do a all-knit row. But I have a lot of energy and focus on these two projects right now. So I'm going with it until I burn out again. I am breaking the shawl up into bite size pieces so it's not so overwhelming.

I will post updated photos of these two projects soon.

Gillyweed is all done

This weekend I set the twist on my gillyweed. The yardage ... 403 yards approx. Wow! Did not do a WPI on this either. As I was putting it on the niddy noddy I was impressed that I did thick and thin.

I may not touch my wheel until after Christmas. I really want to focus on the few things I have left on the needles.

I finished the fingerless mitts I was working on yesterday. This weekend I also cast on a 3 a.m. hat for my son. I really do enjoy this pattern. This is my second time with it.

Okay, ... so what's currently on the needles:

Wendyknits pi shawl

Socks of doom (vanilla socks)

3 a.m. cable hat

Second fingerless mitt for my nephew.

What needs to be done by the first is that fingerless mitt. I suppose I could try and push for the hat to be done by the first. It's pretty cold out now. Not that my son is lacking for hats but he loves the hats I make him.

I have really been enjoying the four day weekend. We haven't done too much outside of the house. I have gotten some projects around the house taken care of. I'm now hitting that time of year when I am really itching to clear out and clean. Unfortunately by the time I feel like doing it and have the time and energy it's time to get ready to go back to work.

Busines trip

It feels weird to say this, but I had a business trip last week. It was my first trip that I had to stay overnight somewhere for my work. The weeks going up to it I was a slight mess. The night before and the morning of I was so anxious that I had could barely stand still.

First time being away from my son since he was born. I know, that probably sounds slightly pathetic but I am not a traveling gal. I like sleeping in my own bed each night and the fridge is always stocked with foods I like.

Anywho, it ended up being a good trip despite some hold ups. I came back home with a lot of notes and a lot of things to think about. I was pretty glad to have gone and even happier to be back home.

I didn't do any driving on this trip so my hands were free to do some knitting. On the way there I was working on some Dashing mitts for a Christmas gift. I like the pattern but I got confused when I got to the twisting cable bits. So I ripped it back and started over again with a different version of cabling. I messed up a cable so I ripped it all again and rolled the yarn into the ball and put it away. I ended up pulling out the Pi Shawl that was a mystery KAL with Wendyknits.net.
First I had to remember where I was since I had put it away. It's been a few months since I've touched it. I'm in the third clue and starting repeat 10. I call it four row purgatory. I have got a renewed interest in it now. The repeats take me a while though. Then I seen in the next clue the repeats need to be done nine times. Oy! Just got to take it one repeat at a time.

I'm not sure if I'm going to try the dashing mitts again though. The yarn has some silk content in it and I have only bamboo needles. Very sticky combo. Unless I try for a magic loop technique so I can use my metal Options needles I think I will search for a new pattern.


I've got the shawl on a 16-inch circular. Can't recall what size needle, but it's the recommended size from the pattern. The picture doesn't quite do it justice. The yarn is KP bare yarn that I dyed. The yarn was originally bought for a mystery KAL. The one that people threw a fit over at the end because it had a Bible verse on the last clue of the pattern. ... Uh yeah, some people just look for stuff to Bi&^h about, I think. It was a lovely verse to go along with the pattern. Granted, I didn't finish it, but it was a nice project when you seen it all put together.

Anywho, that was a slight diversion. I have seen the Pi shawl finished and it is lovely.

Waltzing scarf

Me and a bunch of my online buddies did a KAL/swap and used the Waltzing scarf. It's a fabulous scarf pattern.


This was my first time using Malabrigo yarn. It was divine to work with. I don't remember what the colorway was called. But it was mostly blues and some purple bits. And so soft. So very soft.

I believe I did 35 repeats. By the time it was blocked out it was at least six feet long. Blocking was a bit interesting because I couldn't find any T-pins. I may need to invest in some blocking wires. I did do a couple modifications. One purl between the repeats instead of three.

The people I showed it to loved it. It was hard letting it go but I did ship it out this past Tuesday. My swappee got it yesterday. She loves it! Which makes me really happy.

The knitting doldrums

So the last several weeks I haven't had it in my to knit or spin. I did both but my heart was not in it. For a long time my two projects was the Adamas shawl and the vanilla sock. The vanilla sock is hardly anything to get excited about and when I made the mistakes on the Adamas shawl and had to frog I felt all my enthusiasm deflate.

Combined with the other stuff that is going on my life I decided to just set everything aside and decompress.

Well, it worked, I think. I've been enjoying all the stuff that we have been doing at our land. The garden is doing great. I took photos but they came out all blurry. But I have actual veggies growing. We've got peas, beans, little baby cukes and one tiny little tomato so far. DH and DS have been out hunting raspberries the last week or so. We thought we'd have to bring raspberry canes in and to our happy surprise there are raspberry canes all over the place. So the plan is to get some blueberry bushes and strawberry plants for next year.

So after decompressing I've felt pretty great the last few weeks. I gradually moved back into spinning and it's been great. Tour de Fleece has really helped with this.


The fiber is Gillyweed from theforbiddenwoolery on etsy. So far I've split it into thirds and I'm still working on the first third of the braid. I've been spinning at least 20 minutes most nights. It's been pretty great.

And I've started working on a shawl out of some acryllic yarn. The Simple, Yet Effective shawl.


This pattern has been exactly what I needed to give my knitting mojo a boost. It's mindless but not too mindless. I've been working on it since middle of last week.

When this shawl is done I think it may be an office shawl. ... Not completely decided yet. After this I suppose I should start thinking about any Christmas knitting that I may do this year.

Playing catch up

Or as one of my friends would say, a state of the knitting.

Well, that fiber that I got at at the beginning of the month was spun up into 2 singles.



159 yards of yumminess. I got it from forbiddenwoolery. Not enough to do a pair of socks like I had hoped. I didn't figure the WPI for it either. I think I can make a cowl with the amount of yardage I have.


While we are on the topic of spinning. I have something to share:


This is about 28 yards of what I would call lace weight shetland yarn. Last year another SIL gave me a couple fleeces from one of her friends who has a few sheep. I took a bunch off of the fleece and processed it. Then spun it up on my wheel. No plans for it whatsoever but I sure felt a sense of accomplishment with it. Next year I think I'm going to get a drum carder.

I've also been working on the Adamas shawl in a KAL with my BBs.

Yarn is Knit Picks laceweight that I dyed myself.


A close up. Don't you love the varigation?

I'm also working on a couple of gift knits so I don't want to post about them yet.

I also have a sock on the needles. Just about ready to turn the heel on it.

I'm using this pair to figure out my very own vanilla sock pattern. First time I have taken the time to count the rows on the leg and the heel flap. But it has made things easier. I'm knitting the sock in a 2 x 2 rib. It's gonna be so snug! I'm debating on continue the ribbing through the foot.

I also knit a pair of worsted weight socks for my SIL for her bday. A pair of lovely purple socks in Berocco yarn. Alas, I forgot to take photos of them. But trust me, they were very nice :-).

Well, I guess that's about it for now. When I put it all down it sure seems like a lot has gone on the last month, but I feel like I haven't accomplished much.

Off to a shaky start

My Olympics project that is. I swear, I can over analyze a thing to death. I did a crochet provisional cast on directly onto the needle. Then I didn't know what to do after that. So I think I sat there for quite a while. Then I "got it" and I have three rows of Ice Queen done. Then I quit for the night.

The opening ceremonies were beautiful. I loved how they integrated the First Nations into the program. I was surprised at the time when it was all done. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't stay up that late normally.

Olympics knitting project

So the BBs decided to have a Olympic KAL/CAL. I'm majorly excited about it. I stopped the the LYS today and got yarn to make the Ice Queen from knitty.com. I have beads, though I'm not sure if they will go with the pattern. I may be making another trip to the LYS.

I think this is the yarn. It's from Skacel knitting.com.

We have so much fun in the bunker. It's a great group of ladies and gentleman. Stuff going on all the time. This is the first time I will be able to participate in a KAL there. I was going to do the Febuary Lady sweater KAL, but I didn't have the right yarn.

Float stole: The final chapter

I did end up frogging the stole :-( I felt just terrible about it.

But I did take up the suggestion to work on smaller lace patterns. I ordered some US 4 16-inch circular needles and US 8 16-inch circular needles from knitpicks because there was just no way I was going to try and do lace on DPNs. I have some patterns in mind


http://www.elann.com/ShowFreePattern.asp?Id=299024

http://www.carylldesigns.com/wavy_feathers_wimple.htm

http://bingeknitter.blogspot.com/2008/11/clmence.html

Haven't decided yet. Think they are all nice though.