31 August 2012

rip-it

Since we didn't really get a chance to purge before moving, we've been doing it little by little. Even my stash and UFOs are falling under the stark gaze of reality. The first victim was a blue sweater, sans sleeves. I knit it while I sat with my mother in the hospital, and I kept making the same mistake over and over and then pulling it out again and again. After she died, I put it away. It was a lovely pattern, but I knew I would never in a million years finish it.

Next up: a partially finished Eco Wool sweater for #1 Son that is now too small for both him and his little brother, The Bear.

Though I don't have a use for the blue yarn - yet - I do have something in mind for this one. So while I was ripping, I was planning it out with some other odds and ends of Eco Wool in stash.

btw, here's a blast from the past: a picture of the boys when they were little and I put them in Mr. Romi's giant Eco Wool hoodie for an idea of scale.

I had leftovers and started out to make matching sweaters for them, but I made felted slippers instead. (It was a little faster). All this has left me with nice pile of Eco Wool.

Three colors. I need to augment a little. :)

29 August 2012

carson has landed

...and pretty much on schedule, as well. You have no idea how happy I am about that; I have my amazing and incredible test knitters to thank! Introducing Carson.

What do you think?

Carson the shawl is named for the Carson Valley and Carson River near my new home in Northern Nevada (and those places were named for Kit Carson).

It's a stunning area, and this shawl is just perfect for a nice walk in the chill autumn air.

I love how cozy it is.

I know I will get a ton of wear from it this fall and winter.

The Dream in Color yarn is so squishy and well, Smooshy!

It holds the warmth around my neck so perfectly.

And the colors are luminous.

I wish you could all see and touch it in person!

But alas.


You will need to knit one for yourself!

And Jimmy Beans, my partner in crime, wants to help enable you out. They have kits available in the same yarn I have used above, but also in other stunning combinations. Plus the first 50 people who buy a kit will get a gift of beaded stitch markers from Knitter's Pride - cool, eh?

Now that I've shown you Carson, stay tuned for a little extra fun I've been having with the pattern!

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27 August 2012

monday's musing

"If you are going through hell, keep going." - Winston Churchill

I love this quote so much. I am always telling the boys that everything is cyclical. If you don't like it now, it is sure to change. But I like the above quote oh so much better. Do you have a favorite quote that reminds you to think positive thoughts?

26 August 2012

a little ketchup

I've been posting some of these pics on my Twitter stream, but I have a round up for you today! I know I have been absent again, but I am slowly coming back to life, and therefore more blog posts will be forthcoming. Thank you for bearing with me!

I've been working on the first shawl in my Y3 small shawl subscription, but this had to happen as I was catching up with other sekrit things, so I didn't blog much. I'm happy to say that one sekrit thing has come out - for my club

and another is on its way in early September (I think you all will love this one!).

And so here are a few pics to catch you up on the first shawl from my new series! I started out green

 and added a gorgeous rich golden-orange.

I worked and worked on it, (particularly happy to have it while being stuck on the highway for six hours after a mudslide cut us off from home), and it got bigger and bigger. I added an understated edging.

And then it was time to block.

I studied it from all angles.

I pinned out each point.

And after it was pinned out, I moved it outside, where it dried in under 2 minutes in the high desert sun.

I wore it while I was weaving in ends (Mr. Romi likes the AC higher than I do) and I love it. It's big and cushy and soft and it wraps around my neck in the nicest way. The yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy Sock and it's available from my partner in crime, Jimmy Beans Wool. The wonderful Kristen has put together some other great color combinations as well.

There will be more, but right now I am back to work on catch-up!

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20 August 2012

monday's musing

"All generalizations are false, including this one." - Mark Twain

I love this quote! Sometimes when I listen to generalizations, I almost give up on doing something I really want to do. Then I have to keep reminding myself: I can make it different from the generalization. :)

Do you do that too?

13 August 2012

monday's musing

"Love many, trust few, do wrong to none" - Yau-Man Chan

07 August 2012

crafting cables

I have a little bit of a switch-up for you today! Carol Feller is giving a class on cables at Craftsy and I've asked her to come by and tell you a bit about her knitting/designing history!

Her class on Craftsy can be found here, and without any further preamble, here she is to let you know some history! Thank you Carol. :)


"Working as a knitwear designer means that people keep asking me when and how I learned to knit.  To be quite honest, I have no clear memory of actually learning!  I know that when I was 7 in primary school we must have learned to sew and knit, because I remember sewing on buttons on a small quilted pin cushion and knitting some fingerless gloves.  I actually found those gloves (one of them still on the needles!) in my parent’s attic a few years ago, but I could not really remember knitting them.

"What I do remember more clearly is creating clothes for myself and my dolls a few years later.  My friend and I used to spend hours and hours drawing outfits in a notebook, and then my cousin showed me how to knit and sew them for my dolls.  Then when I was perhaps 10 or 11, I have a very strong memory of knitting a red and white vest for myself in cotton yarn.  I remember feeling total amazement at how quickly it could be knit and my pride at wearing it for a school tour (day trip)!  (I have a very fuzzy photo of the day so I’m sure that this is one memory that wasn’t just my imagination.)

"Even though both sides of my family have quite a crafty history, it’s really a story about necessity as much as creativity.  They simply lived in a time where you had to knit your own jumper (sweater) if you wanted one to wear in the winter.

"My mother’s mother was an amazing knitter and really enjoyed creating something new every year.  My mother says that when she returned to school every September the nuns would turn her around to examine her jumper to see what was created this year!  My own mother doesn’t enjoy knitting; she always found it too slow.  However, when we were small she sewed everything, which usually meant that my sister and I were always in matching outfits (much to my disgust!).  In recent years she has stopped sewing; my last memory of her sewing was for the dress I wore after my wedding.   I wanted a simple silk shift, and we couldn’t find one anywhere, so she picked up a pattern and sewed one for me.  I think that having a parent that is able to do that has a strong influence on you; if you can’t find exactly what you want then you just go and create it for yourself.  It takes away the hours of futile searching for the perfect clothing item when you can just imagine it and then make it happen.

"On the other side of my family they were much more practical.  My father’s mother worked full time as a teacher and had five children so time was scarce.  She also had to knit everyone’s winter wear, but my father remembers her using a knitting machine to do so. When they were grown, my father’s sister actually went on to run a knitwear company and yarn shop.  She imported chenille and cotton yarn into Ireland which at the time was very unique (acrylic has a firm hold in the 80s!).   Initially she had a factory producing knitwear, and the later she opened a yarn shop in downtown Dublin. 

"After my early childhood I confess I stopped crafting for many years.  Then, in my late teens I spent a year in an art foundation course where we did a little of everything, but it was textiles that I most enjoyed and excelled in.  After that year I found I missed doing academic work and so I left the art college to study engineering.  To be honest, neither of these was really satisfying by itself.  It was after the birth of my fourth son that I came back to knitting,  and I couldn’t believe how quickly it all came flooding back once I started.  From there, it was a very short jump into designing (which keeps both the artist and engineer inside satisfied) and I can honestly say I’ve never been happier in my life.  I’m one of the luckiest people in the world to be able to work every day with something they love so much!"


06 August 2012

monday's musing

"They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself." - Andy Warhol

This quote makes me think of my grandmother so much. She was fiery and passionate, but she was raised a Southern belle and it was strong in her heart and soul. Part of her wanted so badly to believe that it was up to an individual to affect change, but most of her believed that a lady shouldn't be too forward. She was so unhappy, yet she waited for someone - or something - to take the initiative and change her life because she didn't believe she could do it herself. She sat and wished the phone would ring with good news, or that the mail would come telling her she had won a Publisher's Clearinghouse prize. And every day she would dream and say "some day." But she never looked inside - the most important place of all.

So - everyone? Go out there and make it yours!