Wildflower Wool Knits

Work In Progress Wednesday

2012-02-08T19:52:00.001-05:00

I have finally decided (I think!) on the perfect pattern for this super soft Optim wool. The wool is hand dyed and hand spun by A Yarn Above. Not just any old project will do for this wool. It is wonderful to knit with; I know because this ball has already started out to be a couple of other projects and I wasn't happy with either of them and they got pulled out. So this is the official restart!

The Perfect Use

2012-02-07T05:51:00.001-05:00

Thanks so much for all of your comments on Facebook, Twitter and the blog about fingerless mitts.

There are some die hard fingerless mitten wearers out there but mostly people have mixed feelings about them.

Most people suggested that indeed a full mitten was more useful when it was cold. (I have to agree). Others suggested that they were a fashion accessory and would be best knit out of a light weight yarn instead of wool. There was some confussion around the name fingerless mitts. Mitts don't have fingers and if these are fingerless shouldn't they be called fingerless gloves? Others left comments about wearing them indoors at home or at the office. Now this I can relate to. If I had to pick one word to describe living in an old farm house "drafty" comes to mind.

Maybe having warm hands will improve my game!

Left Over Wool

2012-01-31T20:58:00.000-05:00

After you have knit a headband and you have 60 grams of wool left over, what should you use it for......

Yup, mitts and in this case the fingerless kind because I didn't have enough wool to make full mittens.

Wool - leftover Classic Wool that I hand dyed
Pattern - Wildflower Wool's Button Stitch mitten pattern with some obvious modifications for the lack of fingers!

Now, for those of you who know me you will know how I feel about these. I don't really see the point of them. If it is cold and snowy and you want to be warm, in my way of thinking, you want a full mitt. Trust me, every knitter I know has tried to convince me of the advantages of this style of mitt and I'm still not buying it. I must say though that I did have fun knitting them and I would make them again (to give away).

Since I now have my very own pair of fingerless mitts, I am going to give it an honest try to see if I can be converted. I am not making any promises. Stay tuned.

Another Finished Project!

2012-01-28T15:22:00.000-05:00

I feel like I am on a roll with another finished project!

Pattern - Calorimetry from knitty.com (winter 2006)
Yarn - Patons Classic Wool hand dyed by me

This is another really, really fast knit. From gauge swatch to casting off took my less than a day. I had been wanting to knit this headband for a long time, I am so glad that I finally did!

This is knit using short rows that create small holes along both ends of your knitting with every short row turn. Normally you would wrap and turn to prevent the holes, but in this case you really can't see them in the ribbing pattern and these holes make your headband adjustable since it is closed with a button. Pretty smart thinking.

This pattern is going in the keep pile. I will be making more of these for sure!

Finished!!

2012-01-26T07:17:00.000-05:00

Finally, a long overdue birthday gift is finished!! (No, not my Dad's socks)

I really don't know why I had such a problem with second mitten sydrome with this pattern since they knit up so fast, but I did. But that doesn't matter any more becuase they are finished (insert a little happy dance here!) and this is one ufo off my list.

Pattern - Fetching (pattern available from Knitty - summer '06)
Yarn - Sublime, a 50/50 silk, viscose blend
Modifications - added extra length to the cuff and an extra cable round at the fingers

Yarn Harlot Night

2012-01-21T20:14:00.000-05:00

After months of waiting, the Yarn Harlot was here!

What better way for a group of knitters to spend an evening than meeting at a restaraunt (we knitted while we waited for our food)and then going to the book signing for the Yarn Harlot's new book.

We knitted while we waited for the talk to begin. (Most of us are wearing the hat we knit from the Yarn Harlot's pattern An Unoriginal Hat)

We knitted while we listened to the Yarn Harlot talk.

Then we all did a little shopping for yarn, bought her new book and had her sign it.

This is one of the Knitting Goddesses chatting to the Yarn Harlot as she got her book signed.

Some of us had decided to do some shopping in the yarn shop before the talk began and we were lucky enough to have a chance to talk to the Yarn Harlot herself before she headed over to the church to get ready for her talk. When you follow someone's blog and enjoy their books, it is pretty exciting to actually get to meet and talk to them in person!

Thanks to the Yarn Harlot and the Knitting Goddesses for a fun night out!

An Unoriginal Hat

2012-01-19T07:50:00.000-05:00

The vest project is on hold right now. It is progressing well after a few knits and reknits of the front and bottom edgings but I am at the point of having to pull back a few more rows and reshape the front again for a better fit. It won't take too much to finish it off and really I should just finish it but....

I have moved on to a new project. This is the beginning of the Yarn Harlot's An Unoriginal Hat pattern. It is a free pattern on her blog. If you are looking for a quick, easy hat pattern, give this one a try.

The Yarn Harlot will be in London tomorrow night for a book signing and we are all just a little excited to see her!! There is a group of us going from the Knitting Goddesses and we are all knitting ourselves one of the Yarn Harlot's hat to wear.

It is going to be such a fun night!

Top Down Vest

2012-01-15T13:50:00.001-05:00

Well, this vest only needs the front band knit and this project should be finished.

Only one problem, I am not happy how deep the V neck is and how narrow the front pieces are. So, it is back to the designing drawing board for me to see how I can fix this.

I have the football game on, a good supply of chocolate and 1 1/2 balls of yarn to play with. Wish me luck :)

New Socks!

2012-01-07T17:48:00.001-05:00

Here is one more Christmas gift that I received....hand knit socks. I love the pattern, the colour and they fit perfectly!

I am not completely sure if I have them on the right way. Apparently there is a left and right but I have already forgotten if the eyelets are to curve in or out. I think they look fine either way so I am not too worried about it.

Thanks Amanda!!

Work-in-Progress Wednesday

2012-01-04T22:14:00.000-05:00

It is a new year and I have a new project started!

A vest knit from the top down using super chunky wool and size 9mm needles. I am loving how fast this knits up!

I am going with a group of knitters from the Knitting Goddesses Guild to see the Yarn Harlot on January 20. Every year when the Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival rolls around the blogs are filled with knitters working on their Rhinebeck Sweaters to wear to the show. This got me to thinking that maybe I needed something new to wear to the book signing. This vest - a Yarn Harlot Vest seems like the perfect choice. Not this one though. This is the first knit through of one of my own designs and this one has a few kinks in it that I will change on the next one I knit.

Countdown to see the Yarn Harlot (and knit a Yarn Harlot Vest) - 16 days.

I am off to start swatching!

Christmas Knitting Gifts

2012-01-03T23:19:00.000-05:00

Christmas was such a fun time this year. Along with all of the family time and great food there were of course the gifts. These are some of the knitting related gifts that I received.

Four new knitting books that I have been reading since Christmas morning.
A gorgeous frilly scarf knit for me by my sister in law. I have been wearing it this week. It matches my coat perfectly!
A cross stitched picture of a sheep knitting a sweater. It is actually a Christmas card but I am going to frame it.
A beautiful Christmas ball knit by one of the Knitting Goddessess. It has been hanging in the livingroom safely out of reach of the cat.
A silver moebius braclet. I love knitting moebius cowls and shawls; now I have a bracelet to match my knitting. I have been wearing it everyday and I love it!

I am such a lucky knitter. Thanks everyone!!

My Christmas Scarf

2012-01-03T22:07:00.000-05:00

I received one ball of yarn for Christmas this year from my wonderful sister in law. I was so excited that I pulled out my needles and cast on for a scarf right then! (Yes, I had extra needles with me!)

I don't remember the name of the yarn and the ball band was lost in all the wrapping paper and is long gone. I do know that she found this beautiful ball of eyelash type yarn at a yarn shop in Arizona while they were on vacation last month (yarn shopping while on vacation - I am so proud of you!!!)and that there was only 25 grams.

Using an 8mm needle I cast on 10 sts and knit in garter stitch until the ball was finished.

The length is just perfect to wrap it around twice. I love it!!

Yarn Swap!

2011-12-24T08:20:00.000-05:00

Wednesday was a good night, it was the Knitting Goddesses knitting guild meeting and we had our Christmas party and yarn swap.

There was lots of yummy food...

and we swapped yarn! Anyone that had any yarn or patterns that they no longer needed brought it in, and spread it out and we traded around knitting stuff. It was lots of fun!

It was too small....

2011-12-19T06:14:00.000-05:00

I am seriously behind now.

According to my Calculations....

2011-12-18T09:03:00.000-05:00

As as of Sunday morning, this is where I am at with the first sleeve of this never ending sweater - 7 1/2". I have 14" left to knit (total length of 21 1/2").

I timed myself knitting one row - 4 mins. Since I am increasing every 6th row and the sleeve will be getting bigger and for easier figuring, lets increase the time to 5 mins per row.

So every repeat of the 6 row increase will take me 30 mins.
I have to increase 10 more times which will take me 300 mins or 5 hours.

Then I am to continue knitting until sleeve is 21 1/2" long.

My row gauge is 7 rows to the inch.

So, if I go back and count the number of rows I will have already knit while doing the increasing - 60 rows divided by 7 is 8.5"

Plus the 7.5" that I already have knit will be 16" minus the total length of 21.5" will leave me with 5.5" to knit.

5.5" x row gauge of 7 turns out to be 38 more rows to knit.
38 rows to knit at 5 mins per row gives me another 190 mins or 3 1/4 hours of knitting time.

So to recap, I have 5 hours of increasing and 3 1/4 hours of straight knitting to total 8 and a bit hours of wonderful knitting time ahead of me today.

I still have 14 hours left in the day. Subtract the bit of house cleaning (less than an hour), a shopping trip into London (husband is driving so there will be some added knitting time) and a family Christmas this afternoon (I can knit through this) I think I can do this.

It Is Snowing!

2011-12-17T08:29:00.001-05:00

I can't believe that I am excited about snow. But it does help to make it feel like Christmas having the snow falling and the Christmas music on while decorating the Christmas tree!

These are some of the Christmas balls I have been knitting. One of these years the Christmas Tree will be decorated with all knitted decorations but that is a few years away yet.

I can see Daisy and I are going to have to have a serious talk about leaving the decorations on the tree!

Next Project

2011-12-16T07:48:00.001-05:00

Still knitting away on this sweater....it is getting there but very sllowly. I need to start something that I can get finished so I am moving on to the next project. This is going to be a hat.

How is everyone's Christmas knitting coming along? Is anyone else way behind like I am?

Family Christmas

2011-12-13T06:55:00.000-05:00

We had our first family Christmas on Sunday.

It was great to see some family members that we don't see very often and have a chance to spend the day together and of course there was food! Everyone always brings the most amazing dishes that it is impossible not to try a little of everything! Between and the food and visiting the knitters found time to pull out our needles!

My SIL was working on one of those frilly scarves, my Aunt was knitting a Baby Surprise sweater for her new grandbaby out of an alpaca blend wool (beautiful!!) and I was knitting a head band that was intended to be a sample for a learn to knit class in January for a group of young girls but I was using my Niece as my model to check my sizing and she liked it so much that I let her have it and she wore it for the rest of the day!

Two Needle Socks

2011-12-05T22:09:00.001-05:00

The closer it gets to Christmas the more and more I modify the gifts I still need to knit. This is why these socks are so great; they are simple and quick!

The pattern calls for worsted weight yarn. I am using sock yarn doubled on 4.5mm needles. The sock is knit sideways. You cast on enough sts for the leg and foot, knit in garter st, divide sts for an afterthought heel, continue knitting the leg, knit the foot, knit the heel, knit the ribbing and last but not least knit the toe, fold in half, seam and you have a finished sock! I was able to finish one sock after a full day of knitting. Pretty good for a sock!

Optim Wool

2011-11-30T19:03:00.001-05:00

I have the house to myself tonight. After thinking about all the knitting projects I have on the needles right now I picked two to work on tonight (socks and a sweater). Then I got the mail!

For the last two weeks I have been waiting for this skein of handspun Optim merino wool to arrive from A Yarn Above and now it is here! The colours of the skein are much brighter than the picture shows but I just couldn't wait until tomorrow when there would be better lighting to show it to you. It is so soft! I know I need to stick with my planned projects for tonight (Christmas is getting closer every day) so maybe I will just wind it into a ball, sit it on the coffee table in front of me and daydream about what I will knit with it as I knit away on my sweater and socks.

Progress!

2011-11-28T21:27:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was a great day! It was Sunday so I was able to spend the day knitting the lace table runner and watching football.

I made good progress. I managed to knit 8" of the lace pattern and then I skipped ahead, found another set of needles and a new ball of yarn and knit the boarder that will be grafted to the live sts of the runner. Once I had the boarder knit I couldn't resist trying out the grafting method for garter stitch so I attached a short section and it worked great! There is no seam and it lies nice and flat.

Now to back track and pull out the grafting and continue with the lace pattern for another 10 inches or until I run out of yarn or Christmas arrives; which ever comes first. Here is hoping the grafting unknits as easily as it knit!

Hats

2011-11-26T14:54:00.001-05:00

It has been a slow knitting week here but over the last couple of days I have been able to finish a couple of hats.

Yarn - Classic Wool
Pattern - Wildflower Wool Top Down Hat pattern
Needles - 4.5mm using the Magic Loop

Craft Sale

2011-11-20T23:59:00.000-05:00

Sundays here are usually wool dyeing days but not today. Today I packed up a lot of wool and learn to knit kits and headed for a local craft show. What a fun day! There was a lot of interest in knitting lessons and our knitting guild. It was a great way to promote knitting in our community and I am looking forward to going back again next year!

From the Dye Pot

2011-11-15T08:14:00.001-05:00

Sundays at Wildflower Wool are wool dyeing days. I can always count on it to be a fun filled day!

It is Christmas knitting time!

2011-11-10T11:45:00.000-05:00

Christmas is getting closer. The malls are putting up their Christmas decorations, Christmas commercials are on tv and our Santa Claus parade is this weekend so it just seems fitting that my newest project is a Christmas table runner knit in red sparkley yarn.

One More Beach Day

2011-11-02T22:05:00.001-04:00

It was a beautiful Fall day here today. I couldn't resist heading to the beach for one last afternoon of knitting before the snow arrives. I took the sweater with me to knit and have it up past the arm shaping. It is knitting up quickly!

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Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T22:37:00.000-04:00

The last few days I have been knitting pumpkins, ghosts and a spider. They were a lot of fun to knit and made great halloween decorations. Now it is back to Christmas knitting!!

Hope everyone had a fun Halloween and had lots of treats!

Wool or Acrylic???

2011-10-30T19:31:00.000-04:00

I sorted through some more totes yesterday and found a bag of knitting that had been given to me a while ago. Inside there was a piece of a sweater already knit and enough yarn to finish the rest of the sweater.

I decided not to save this sweater for a couple of reasons. There wasn't a pattern with the yarn and it has pink in it. Pink isn't my colour.

When I saw this project in the bag, my first thought was I hope this is wool. As I sorted the skeins out and rewound some of the pink, it was fairly soft so I started to think maybe it was just acrylic. But, the yarn was in skeins which, in my experience, usually is wool.

An experiment was in order. I took a ball of the wool from this sweater project and a ball of acrylic from my stash and decided to do the burn test. If you have heard about this you will know that wool will burn only while the flame is against the wool and acrylic will continue to burn even when the flame is removed.

The acrylic from my stash caught fire and burned like crazy, melted the yarn into drops of liquid that hardened onto the sink and had to be scraped off. On the other hand, the yarn from the sweater turned out to be wool and took longer to catch on fire and once the flame was taken away it burned for a couple of seconds and went out. It certainly didn't have a flame anywhere near what the acrylic did and it didn't turn into liquid goo, but it smelt really, really bad.

Now I had all of these skeins of wonderful wool (the pink can be over dyed) to add to my stash but, what to do with the one knitted piece. Throw it out? Unravel it and save the wool? Nope.

I decided to felt it

and cut it up

into coasters. This worked great. Once the piece was felted it cut easily, there was no unraveling and I ended up with something that I can use.

To the knitter who had high hopes for this sweater once upon a time, I promise the rest of the wool won't end up as coasters. It will be knit into something wonderful.

A Little Of This, A Little of That

2011-10-28T09:33:00.001-04:00

Everyday this week it seems that I have worked on a different project.

Monday was mitts. I finished the green pair and knit the thumb on the blue one.
Tuesday was a dishcloth day.
Wedensday was a sweater knitting day. It was also the day that I forced myself to recheck my gauge to confirm my fear that yes my gauge had changed since knitting my gauge swatch and this sweater is going to be too small. So this gives me 2 options. Continue on and find someone smaller to give it to or modify/add a "design" feature, an extra panel with cables on each side of the sweater and change it from a mans sweater to a ladies sweater and switch from a pullover to a cardigan. Right now I am going to keep knitting up to the arm shaping and hopefully by then I will decided on a game plan.
Thursday I decided to knit a hat.
Today is all about Halloween knitting!

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A Yarn Story

2011-10-23T23:03:00.001-04:00

I did some more stash organization over the weekend and this is what I found - 13 skeins of bulky wool.

I am not even sure where this wool came from. It must have been given to me from someone who was cleaning out their own yarn stash and I was more than willing to add it to mine :)

Want to take a guess how old this wool is? The receipt was in the bag with the wool. It was bought at Madelines Wool Shop in London (I don't remember this shop; does anyone else?) on October 31 (I think it is pretty cool that I found this yarn within a week of its original purchase date) back in 1984. I wonder if the woman who originally bought this wool or the yarn shop owner ever thought that it would take 27 years before this yarn was actually knit into a sweater. Oh, and the price of the yarn, $2.38 per 100g skein.
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The Binge Hat

2011-10-18T13:15:00.000-04:00

I was doing some more stash organization yesterday and look what I found tucked away in the bottom of a bag.

This is the beginning of a fair isle hat that I started a couple of years ago. The ball bands weren't in the bag so I am not sure what wool I am using but it is wool - really nice wool. I knit a round on it last night. It was so much fun to knit. I wonder why I didn't finish it the first time. The pattern is availble free on Ravelry if anyone else wants to knit along with me.

A Found Work In Progress

2011-10-16T19:58:00.001-04:00

The weekend has been filled with lots of knitting time and it started Friday morning with our knitting group at the Perc.

Most of my time the last couple of days was spent making mitts. No one in this house will have any excuses for cold hands this winter!

When I needed a break from the mitts, I worked on sewing in ends on these afghan squares. These squares were found packed away in a box. I knit them at least ten years ago. At some point they will be put together and a boarder knit to make it into a lap blanket. Hopefully it won't take another ten years to finish!

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Time for Mittens!

2011-10-13T14:22:00.000-04:00

Now that Fall is here I have decided that it is mitten knitting time!

I was inspired by a skein of wool that Chris hand dyed at the Knitting Goddess's yarn dyeing workshop back in the summer. This is my attempt to recreate her bright and colourful skein. I am always amazed at how differently the skein looks once it is wound into a ball and again how it looks once it is knit.

I love these bright colours but a few people think they are a bit on the wild/bright side. I guess the first pair of mitts will end up being for me!
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Thanksgiving Weekend

2011-10-09T20:41:00.001-04:00

This has been a great long weekend. The weather has been amazing and I have had lots of knitting time.

Not wanting to miss out on these last warm days I spent an afternoon at the beach. It was perfect. It was quiet except for the sound of the water and the seagulls, the sun was warm and I walked bare foot on the beach and the Fall colours were gorgeous.

I finished another moebius cowl and I am trying to finish the Hitchhicker scarf tonight. (I have a new skein of wool waiting to start a pair of mitts.)
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Thank You Sock Knitters!!

2011-10-06T00:50:00.000-04:00

I have finally gotten around to sorting out the socks that we displayed at the Western Fair.

We had 44 pairs of socks on loan from knitter's in knitting groups from London and Aylmer. There were socks knit in all sizes and colours. Some were knit toe up, cuff down, diagonally and sideways. There were socks knit with after thought heels, short row heels and heel flaps. There were cable patterns and lace patterns. The yarns varied from cotton to self striping yarn to hand dyed wool. Over 300 people voted for their favourite sock. The top socks are pictured together. From left to right are First place - Chris's orange/yellow socks
Second place - Liz's lace sock
Third place - Rebecca's diagonal ribbed sock
Fourth place - Wanda's purple socks

Congratulations to Chris for knitting the winning socks! Thanks to everyone else for letting me borrow your socks. Everyone who stopped at the booth enjoyed looking at all of your hard work and all the socks got lots of wonderful comments. Great knitting everyone!
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A Finished Cowl

2011-10-02T12:36:00.001-04:00

I finished the first cowl last night!

As usual, it ended up a bit larger than I was hoping for but I am still happy with it. I was aiming for a nice snug fit around the neck but instead I ended up with a lovely looser fitting cowl that can be pulled up over the head to cover your ears on those cold days which is a nice option to have too.

I am starting the next cowl in a few minutes. This time I will try to be more accurate with my gauge calculations and see what I end up with.
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Welcome October!

2011-10-01T12:53:00.001-04:00

September was a crazy month. I spent most of the month not feeling well, making trips to the ER, having surgery and recovering. I am finally feeling a lot better and have the energy to knit again!

I started a moebius cowl last night using my new Knit Picks needles, some of my own hand dyed wool in a nice bright yellow and added some pink beads for fun. I love the magic of moebius knitting!

Happy knitting!!
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Naalbinding

2011-09-17T12:28:00.001-04:00

Look at this new dvd I was given. "Knit the same way the Vikings did 1000 years ago". It comes with the needle, instructions and patterns. Has anyone done this before? I am looking forward to giving this a try!!
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Sit and Knit

2011-09-12T09:44:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was our first annual Sit and Knit at the Western Fair!

I am really happy with how the afternoon went. We knit purple baby hats for charity, had a sock knitting demonstration, gave away some lovely hand dyed sock yarn and just had a great time knitting and chatting with other knitters!

Thanks to everyone who came out for the afternoon and to those of you who me put this all together!

I already have some new ideas for next year!
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Western Fair

2011-09-08T18:17:00.000-04:00

It is time for the fair! Our knitting booth is all set up and ready to go for tomorrow morning. I am looking forward to meeting new knitters!
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Finished

2011-09-05T22:44:00.000-04:00

Holidays are finished for another summer and my new shrug is also finished. Pretty good timing considering how cool it was here today.

The shrug is knit out of Patons Classic Wool. It was a quick, simple knit and it fits nice. This is the second one I have knit. I made this one a bit larger than the first one. I will knit this again. Maybe out of hemp next time.
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Holiday Knitting Days 2 and 3

2011-09-01T06:59:00.000-04:00

A quick swatch, an attempt at jewellery making and endless miles of garter stÍtch knitting is what I have been working on for the last couple of days. One ball of Classic Wool has knit 16" and I need 39". Looks like I have a few more days worth of knitting ahead of me. It is a good thing I like garter st!

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Holiday Knitting Day 1

2011-08-30T08:53:00.000-04:00

I am on holidays this week and have big plans for getting lots of knitting done. I thought for sure there would have been lots of knitting time yesterday as most of the day was filled with doctors appointments and as we all know, that usually means lots of waiting time. Not yesterday. In the end I didn't pick up my needles until everyone arrived for our last official sock class of the summer and by then I didn't feel up to starting my second cabled sock so I cast on another baby hat. Gotta love baby knitting; quick, simple and it makes you feel like you actually accomplished something.
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The Week For More Yarn!

2011-08-27T13:37:00.000-04:00

After the trip to Listowel for the Spinrite tent sale last week you would think that a knitter would have enough yarn right? Well, I guess only a non-knitter would think that. Knitter's know the truth; you can never have too much in your stash.
Thanks to one of the Knitting Goddesses who brought me a present from The Needle Emporium. Two balls of Panda Silk. A bamboo/ merino/silk blend; it is beautiful!! Now to find a special pattern for it - socks or a shawl??

Thanks to Knitty_Kat for all of the yarn she destashed! I came away with 2 huge bags full of yarn that will be great for the Knitting Goddesses's charity hat, mitten and baby knitting projects. I also brought home some dark green Rowan wool and some brown wool to add to my own stash. I couldn't resist. My house is FULL of yarn. I am a happy knitter :)

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Fw: Listowel

2011-08-22T23:13:00.001-04:00

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-----Original Message-----
From: wildflowerwool@xplornet.com
Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 00:38:49
To: <wildflowerwool.knits@blogspot.com>
Reply-To: wildflowerwool@xplornet.com
Subject: Listowel

I went to Listowel last week to the Spinrite Tent Sale. It isn't a surprise that I bought a lot of yarn. Every year I can't seem to leave with less than 2 garbage bags. The difference this year is that I already have plans for most of it. Christmas knitting. I started a Hitchhiker scarf today with one of the new balls of sock yarn. Let the Christmas knitting begin!
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Yarn Dyeing

2011-08-18T23:58:00.000-04:00

Other than knitting socks, dyeing wool has been something I have been doing a lot of this summer. Here are some of the skeins. I am happy with most of them, some of them not so much, but it is always fun to see what you will end up with!

Yarn Dyeing Afternoon

2011-08-15T22:24:00.000-04:00

Some of the Knitting Goddesses got together yesterday afternoon to dye wool. What a great time we had! After 4 hours, over 20 colours of dye and 40 balls of wool these are some of the skeins we dyed.

Thanks to everyone who braved my basement and made this such a fun day!!
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Cabled Socks

2011-08-13T08:45:00.000-04:00

Here is the start of the newest socks.

Again they are knit flat but this pair will be seamed up the back, not the side. I dyed fushia pink and black sock yarn to use for these socks and they have a two coloured cable on either side of the leg. So far it is fun to knit but you do have to spend time moving the balls of yarn around to keep tangles at a minimum. Nothing has ended up in a big tangled mess; so far so good!
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Finished!

2011-08-07T11:42:00.000-04:00

Yay! Another finished pair of socks. These certainly don't take the place of your traditional socks but they are fun to knit, they work up very fast and give you a good fitting, thick, warm sock. I will be wearing these this winter for sure and I have plans to make more for gifts.

Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

New Sock

2011-08-01T12:23:00.000-04:00

This is the newest sock. Yes, another sideways sock and no it isn't the mate to the one I finished last night. That one was a bit too small so this one is a bigger size.

I am using a ball of hand dyed wool and it it pooling and striping. It is going to be an interesting sock!
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

Sideways Garter Stitch Sock

2011-07-31T21:27:00.000-04:00

Here is my latest sock. A sideways, garter stitch sock knit on straight needles with an afterthough heel using a worsted weight wool.

This picture shows the division for the afterthought heel and the seperate sections for the foot and the leg.

Starting to knit the heel.

Stitches have been picked up and the ribbing knit at the cuff.

Stitches have been picked up and a star toe knit.

A finished sock with a seam up the side.

A Finished Skew Sock

2011-07-25T13:52:00.000-04:00

This has been an interesting sock to knit. It has certainly kept me on my toes!

This picture shows what the sock looks like after the heel is magically kitchener stitched together. The leg is ready to be knit but the stitches are not an even height so the entire leg is knit with short rows.

Here it is finished. I changed the pattern a bit for the ribbing. Instead of changing to a smaller needle I just decreased 10% of the sts and carried on. It is a bit long for me but otherwise it fits fine. Now to start the right sock.

Vest Progress

2011-07-22T22:40:00.000-04:00

I should have finished the Skew sock tonight but instead I worked on the vest. Our house feels like a sauna. So we went out to the movies tonight for a break from the heat. Skew is not a project for a dark theatre but the garter stitch vest is a perfect movie watching knitting project. I was able to get a good start on one of the front pieces. Knitting 23" on only 28sts should knit up fairly fast.

I am going to try to finish the sock yet tonight before bed. There are only a few more short rows to knit on the leg and then a bit of ribbing and it will be finished. I am finding that the short rows do need to be paid attention to to keep track of when things are turned and when they are not. By tomorrow there should be some pictures of the finished sock to show you.

Skew Sock

2011-07-20T07:35:00.000-04:00

For you Skew Sock knitters, here are some pictures of my sock in progress through the various stages.

Friday Knitting Group

2011-07-15T17:03:00.000-04:00

Our Friday morning knitting group has started meeting again but in a new spot. The Perc in Aylmer is our new meeting place from 9:30-11:30.

My sock is at a spot where I need to concentrate on the increases and decreases so it wasn't a good project to take with me this morning. So, that left me with no other choice than to start a new vest. It is as simple as they get. Garter stitch, knit all in one piece and no shaping. This is just what I was looking for - miles of mindless garter stitch. Perfect for chatting and knitting.

Here we are eating, drinking, knitting and chatting. It was a great way to start the day.

WIP Wednesday

2011-07-13T16:47:00.000-04:00

This is what I have been working on today; Skew from Knitty's Winter '09 issue.

For an afternoon of knitting it doesn't look like much. I added the flower in the picture so it would look a little more exciting! I hate to admit that it took me four tries to get round 1 to work out so that there were no extra sts, no missing sts and I wasn't knitting with the cast on tail. It was when I realized I was knitting with the tail that I took a break, ate some chocolate, restarted and finally got it right.

This sock is knit diagonally. According to the pattern I have knit the big toe and have now moved onto the mid toe with increasing only on one side of the sock. It is interesting knitting; when I don't mess it up. I am excited to see how this is going to knit up. I will show you how it looks again tomorrow.

Happy knitting!

Sock Progress

2011-07-11T00:03:00.000-04:00

Today was a good knitting day. I managed to knit 8" on the second moccasin sock. The picture below shows where I started knitting from this morning - where the sts are on holders. I began by shaping the instep and then working the ribbing straight until I reached the toe.

The next step is shaping the toe.

More Moccassin Socks

2011-07-09T21:36:00.000-04:00

The leg of the second sock is knit. I am now ready to decrease for the instep. More pictures tomorrow.

We had a great day knitting yesterday. We sat under the pavillion and had a yummy lunch, I worked on my Master Knitters swatches, we took a short walk while eating our ice cream,and last but not least took a picture of the bottom of the moccasin sock. I knit this one a bit longer than I should have so there is a bit of excess at the toes. I am going to knit the second one shorter and compare the fit.

2011-07-08T08:15:00.000-04:00

Since a few of you were curious as to how the moccasin sock looks on, here it is. Not too bad huh? I wasn't able to get a shot of the bottom of the foot all by myself. Asking my son to take a picture of me wearing my sock was out of the question because he is a teeenager so naturally he is still in bed (even though we should have left the house 10 mins ago).

I have a lunch/knitting date this afternoon at the beach with a knitting friend and I am sure she will be more than willing to take pictures of my sock. Stay tuned...

One Finished Moccasin Sock

2011-07-07T20:09:00.000-04:00

One of the moccassin socks is finished and I have started the second one. No Second Sock Syndrome here. I am excited about knitting the mate. On this next sock I am going to make a couple of changes to make the fit a bit better but overall this is a fun knit!

Happy Holiday Weekend!!

2011-07-02T12:35:00.000-04:00

After over a week without a computer it feels great to be able to blog again!

It is the beginning of July, summer vacations are about to start and it is a long weekend! Yesterday was a beautiful day and a great way to start off the weekend. I spent the morning sitting outside admiring my flowers, listening to the birds and knitting. If only every day could start out so relaxing.

Happy knitting and enjoy your weekend!!

WIP Wednesday

2011-06-22T22:34:00.000-04:00

The new project that I started on the weekend at the movie theater is coming along nicely. I have just finished the second ball. I am knitting a shrug based on this pattern from December 2010's Knit'n Style.

Movie Theater Knitting

2011-06-19T10:07:00.000-04:00

We are heading out soon to go for a Father's Day brunch and then to go see a movie this afternoon. When it was suggested that we go see a movie the first thing I though of was what am I going to knit. The Noro sweater is finished!! I am almost at the toe on the moccasin sock - not enough knitting and involves measuring - not always the best thing to do in the dark. I am shaping the arm holes on the sweater - counting rows involved there and the other sock is on dpns - not movie theater friendly needles. So this leaves me with no other choice.

I have to start something new!

Knit In Public Day

2011-06-18T18:43:00.000-04:00

Some of the Knitting Goddesses met at the pavilion in Port Bruce today. We set up our lawn chairs, got out our knitting and snacks and spent the afternoon knitting. I worked on my moccasin sock for the afternoon and I am well into the decreasing for the instep. Still loving this sock!

Thanks for a fun afternoon ladies!!

Four Projects

2011-06-16T20:51:00.000-04:00

I have four projects on the needles again. How does this happen??

1) Dad's socks - I don't think they will ever get finished even though I only have the toe to finish on sock #1
2) Summer tank - making good progress on this one
3) Moccasin sock - the leg is knit and I am ready to decrease for the top of the foot. Even though it just looks like a square piece of ribbing it will become a sock. Soon.
4) Noro sweater - this is what I am working on tonight. The yarn is called Taiyo and it is a silk/cotton/wool/nylon blend. It is very nice to knit with and I love the colours.

Knitting Around

2011-06-13T07:01:00.000-04:00

Last night before everyone arrived home I enjoyed the last of my quiet time by working away on my sweater and watching the Knitting Around dvd by Elizabeth Zimmermann and Meg Swansen.

It was a nice surprise to be able to borrow this dvd from a fellow knitter and I would highly recommend it. It is definitely going on my list of things to buy for myself. There are lots of interesting tips as these two amazing knitters work their way through EZ designs and you almost feel like you are sitting in the room knitting along with them. After watching Meg Swansen knit (her fingers fly!) I am seriously thinking about giving continental knitting a try again.

Beach Day

2011-06-10T18:47:00.000-04:00

This is how I like to spend my time at the beach. Knitting.

Just me and my sock enjoying the sunshine...

and the peace and quiet.

I may go back again tomorrow and work on my sweater.

Moccasin Sock

2011-06-09T06:48:00.000-04:00

Look at what I started last night! It is Elizabeth Zimmermann's Moccasin Sock.

I know I have just barely started this sock but I am so excited about it. When you look at what I have knit it could very well be ribbing on a sleeve. That would not be exciting at all and I would probably be having a hard time knitting the 2" that I would need.

But, that is not the case with this sock. I find myself wanting to knit k2,p2 ribbing for the whole sock. Maybe it is because this will be my first ribbed sock. Maybe it is because this is the first sock I have knit flat on two needles. Or maybe is it because the way it is made is so different from the other socks I have knit.

Whatever it is, I hope it lasts until both socks are finished!

Sigh.....

2011-06-06T07:13:00.000-04:00

Apparently when I explained to my family that I wanted Sunday to be a day for myself, a day where I was going to knit, relax and have some peace and quiet. A day where I was not cooking, cleaning or leaving the house was interpreted like this.

Husband - Did I forget to tell you that I made us a 1:00 appointment in town with the accountant?

Son - I can do whatever I want, get myself grounded so that Mom has to watch me every moment of the day to make sure I am not doing anything that was taken away from me as a result of being grounded.

Me - Apparently the next time I want some peace and quiet I have to leave home.

This is what I did manage to knit.

Knitting Marathon

2011-06-05T09:14:00.000-04:00

Today is a knitting day. All day. This is where I am on the summer tank. Yup, not too far. I am hoping to be at the arm hole shaping tonight. Gotta go knit.

New Sweater Project

2011-06-02T18:16:00.000-04:00

We decided during our knitting class Monday night that we would do a sweater class for the month of June. So....that means I need a pattern to teach....for Monday night.

I have the yarn and the stitch pattern picked out. The needle size is the last thing to finalize. Hopefully, I'll be casting on for the actual sweater and writing the pattern tonight.

This Morning

2011-05-31T06:58:00.000-04:00

I think this is how every morning should start out.

It is warm and sunny.

Hanging newly dyed wool out to dry.

And having the new kittens greet you at the door :)

The Answer Is...

2011-05-30T22:51:00.000-04:00

Thanks to everyone who left their guess in the comments yesterday. As you can see, it is a slipper. Not a bikini bottom like my husband guessed!

Unfortunately, I don't like it. It is a cute idea, both of the ends fold over the longer middle strip and you sew the toe together (it is three layers thick) and then you sew both side seams. Once is is all together you (or at least I did) end up with a very funny looking heel.

I am not even going to finish the second one. I am moving onto a sweater project.

Any Guesses??

2011-05-29T09:13:00.000-04:00

This is what I am knitting right now.

The pattern says I only have a couple more rows to knit. I am not sure it is going to be big enough.

Yesterday Morning

2011-05-28T14:02:00.000-04:00

See what I used yesterday? Yup, it is the last of my bags all finished.

I got up early yesterday, got dressed, came downstairs and decided that I had some time to knit before going to work. This bag was sitting on the table finished but just needed the ends wove in. This was going to be a lunch bag so I thought I would finish it up and pack my lunch in it. It had knit up bigger than I was expecting it would but I was ok with that; big lunch bag means lots of snacks and I didn't see a problem with that! Somehow though, as I was weaving in those ends I started thinking of it as a purse. I found a couple of buttons that I liked and that decided it. My lunch bag was now going to be a summer purse. (The buttons didn't get put on until today though, I was running out of time.) I went back upstairs, changed into something that matched my new purse and went to work.

More Dyeing Going On

2011-05-24T23:42:00.000-04:00

The project I have been knitting today is a gift so I can't show you any pictures of it just yet.

So, I thought I would show you the latest dyed yarn instead.

Easy Peasy Slippers

2011-05-23T09:48:00.000-04:00

In between gardening, this is what I have been knitting this weekend.

Pattern - easy peasy slippers, knitscene 2010
Yarn - chunky weight acrylic or wool
Pattern Correction - when you repeat row 1, you have to increase the number of k sts by one on each row so your yo's line up.
Opinion - Once you realize the mistake in the pattern these are a really fast, fun knit. There is no shaping so they do knit up to be loose fitting.

Now it is back to gardening before it decides to rain.

Dyeing

2011-05-20T06:57:00.001-04:00

Exciting things are happening at Wildflower Wool! I am in the process of setting up a new workshop/classroom. This has left me with almost no time to knit this week but I did manage to make some time to dye a few skeins of sock yarn.

One More Bag

2011-05-16T06:20:00.000-04:00

Ta da, a finished bag!

Yarn - Handicraft cotton held double, 8 50g balls
Needle - 6mm 24" circular
Pattern - Wildflower Wool design

The last bag on the needles is almost ready to being knitting the handles!

Another Bag

2011-05-10T19:03:00.000-04:00

Knitting wise, this week has already been more productive than last week. The sock is progressing nicely on my new Knit Picks dpn needles. I managed to get a good part of the foot done today. What a difference the needles make!

This is the newest bag I am knitting. This one is a smaller size and is being knit entirely in an easy slip st pattern which is making it nice and sturdy. Now I just have to decide if I will knit the handles in the slip st pattern as well or go with my trusty icord. I thnk I am leaning towards a slip stitch handle.

Birthday Week

2011-05-09T07:09:00.000-04:00

My birthday seems to have spread over the better part of the week. Maybe that is why it has been a slow knitting week. All the visiting and cake eating filled my knitting time but I am not complaining. I have a great time!

Both the Knit Picks DPN set and the Knitted Gifts book were gifts. There was another really cool gift that I will show you once I start experimenting with it. I have new hope for these socks now that I have switched from the bamboo needles to the metal needles. I am LOVING these needles and I am hoping this sock will fly off the needles now! The book is amazing too. It has some really fun projects in it. There is everything from socks to a lace vest and mitts, hat, scarf, felted pot holders and baby toys. Now I just have to decide what I should knit. I am thinking about the vest...

Just Needs.....

2011-05-04T06:43:00.000-04:00

The last couple of nights have been filled with knitting time.

The lace bag now just needs handles. I am really liking this pattern (which is a good thing since I designed it!) I may just have to knit another one for me. I have reluctantly decided this one will be a gift.

The Girly Shawl just needs it's boarder. I played around with a couple last night but haven't found one I liked.

The sock just needs a foot. The heel is turned so now it is just clear sailing down to the toe.

The new mitten just needs to be restarted. It is knit from the top down and it looks too pointy so I am going to start again and cast on more sts for a more rounded look.

New Projects

2011-05-01T14:51:00.000-04:00

Since the last post was about finished projects. I thought that this one should be about the new ones I have started this weekend.

This is the bottom of a new large cotton bag. The bag itself will be knit in a simple lace pattern.

This is the top of a lined mitten knit out of sock yarn.

And this is the bottom of a med sized cotton bag. This bag is going to be knit using slip st pattern...I think.

FO Friday

2011-04-29T17:10:00.000-04:00

Finally, I have finished some projects!

Last night I finished the handles on my knitted bag. I am really happy with how it turned out. It is approx 11" high (not counting the handles) and 39" around. Since I was using up part balls I don't know how many yards of yarn it took but it weighs 300 grams.

This is the blocked scalloped shawl that I finished earlier in the week.

Soon there will be an updated picture of the Girly shawl. It is almost finished!! I love knitting this shawl and I think I could just keep knitting it forever but I do want to wear it and I have other projects waiting to be cast on so I have given myself a cast off deadline of Sunday night. Until then I am going to keep knitting away on it to make it as big as I can before I add the boarder.

Welcome a New Knitter!

2011-04-25T21:22:00.000-04:00

Over the last couple of weeks, Amy and I have been getting together so I could give her a refresher on the knitting basics.

She has been practicing the long tail cast on, knitting, purling, k2tog, the bar increase and casting off. She has done an amazing job and is already thinking about moving on from dishcloths to scarves and slippers.

Here she is casting on for another dishcloth (and proudly displaying her finished projects)!

I gave her a brief introduction to knitting blogs and Ravelry where we were searching for slipper patterns. Oh, what fun awaits her; knitting hats, mitts, turning her first sock heel, knitting sweaters, lace knitting, entrelac....

But, before all of that, I have a fun garter stitch slipper pattern for her next project.

Something New

2011-04-23T15:44:00.000-04:00

The idea of knitting Easter bunnies was short lived. The pattern is really cute and I was excited about knitting them until I started. I was part way through one and decided I wasn't enjoying it so much so I stopped. This is what I decided to work on instead.

One of the knitters at our knitting group in London gave me a challenge to knit a bag without a pattern. Here is what I have knit so far. I am making it up as I knit, changing colours whenever I feel like it and I am having so much fun doing it! I may add in some yarn overs and slip stitches for fun. We will see...

What to Knit....A Shawl or Easter Bunnies....

2011-04-17T15:58:00.000-04:00

Since finishing my cape I have been knitting the Girly Shawl.

I am getting very close to finishing the first ball. I put half the sts on another needle today to see how it is looking for size. It would do as a small shawlette but I am wanting this to be bigger so I am going to keep knitting away at it and knit part of the second ball then add a ruffle boarder to it.

But for now, I am tired of shawl knitting. I think I will move onto knitting Easter Bunnies and Easter Eggs.

This is a free pattern from Rebecca Danger. It is quick, simple and the bunnies are so cute. Sounds just perfect for tonight's TV watching/knitting project.

A Finished Cape!

2011-04-16T14:18:00.000-04:00

Finally, here is the finished cape! The pattern is Not-A-Poncho City Cape from Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard. It is a top down knit and I used Patons Soy Wool held doubled. The colour is Natural Crimson. The only thing I changed was the collar. I tried the collar 3 different ways and after the last try last night I pulled it out, crocheted an edge around the neck and called it finished. I wore it today and it is warm and it fits great.

Now that I have something finished, it is giving me hope for my other projects. It is a cold, windy, rainy day here today so that makes it a perfect day for knitting with a tiny bit of house cleaning thrown in when I need to take a break (I am not counting on too many breaks though)

Progress

2011-04-13T06:50:00.000-04:00

Well, the weekend didn't produce any finished projects; but I am getting closer on the scalloped shawl.

Projects, Projects, Projects

2011-04-09T10:31:00.000-04:00

There are currently 6 of them. Sigh. I can't seem to get any of them finished but I can sure cast new ones on without a problem!

The projects are: The Girly Shawl, Dad's socks, the top down cape, the no name shawl with the scalloped boarder, the mystery KAL, and the newest project is a bag that I was challenged to make out of odd ball yarns without a pattern. Apparently when it comes to buying yarn and starting new projects I have very little will power to say no! :) They are all in various stages of progress; the cape is the closest to being finished and others are half way (or close) and some have just been cast on.

Hopefully, this weekend will produce at least one finished project.

Restart

2011-04-07T06:16:00.002-04:00

This is my new yarn for the Nelkin Designs mystery KAL. While in Toronto yarn shopping Sunday I bought this yarn and I love it. It is the hand dyed sock yarn by Viola. I have only knit my gauge swatch but it knits up wonderfully!

I am working on Clue #1 which is to string on over 500 beads and cast on. As of last night I had 300 beads on....over half way! Tonight I will finish adding the beads and try out the lace cast on the pattern suggests we use.

Clue #2 is out now as well and from everyone's comments this pattern sounds a bit challenging. Lace knitting and I have not always been best friends so this should be interesting!

Toronto Road Trip

2011-04-06T01:09:00.000-04:00

Sunday was a great day! I spent the day with 7 other Knitting Goddesses on a road trip to 5 knitting stores in Toronto.

This is in Americo Origininal.

This is what I brought home. The pink Noro came from Knitomatic, The green/yellow Noro came from Lettuce Knit, the green and brown Cotton Fleece (cotton and wool) was from The Knit Cafe, The varigated grey is Misty Alpaca (cotton and silk)from Knitomatic, The orange is Viola (hand dyed superwash sock yarn - this is my new mystery project yarn) from The Purple Purl, and the grey lace weight (llama) was from Americo Original.

This is some of our group in The Knit Cafe...

....and Knitomatic.....

....Lettuce Knit....

....and here is the whole group in The Purple Purl.

The only downside to the whole day was when it began snowing on the way home. After spending the day not even wearing our coats it was a bit of a shock to come out of the restaurant to find it snowing very heavily. It made for a long drive home but at least we would have been prepared if we had of got stuck on the 401 in a traffic jam due to an accident; we would have all had lots of yarn to pass the time!

Tidy Mind, Tidy Stitches

2011-03-31T06:38:00.000-04:00

How do I organize my yarn stash? Well, here it is.

I have to say that it looks way more organized than it usually does; there is actually a walkway between the totes right now. I went through my stash a few months ago and got rid of a lot of acrylic that I would never use and reboxed and labelled what was left.

Still, I did manage to find a few bags stuck here and there with more wool in them.

But most of my yarn is in totes or boxes labelled by wool, cotton, acrylic, hemp, sock yarn and dishcloth cotton.

This is one of the wool totes. This one has some Noro, some of my own hand dyed wool, Fleece Artist, and some alpaca.

Skill + 1UP

2011-03-30T16:06:00.000-04:00

For this post we were to think of a skill in our knitting that is new for us.

Usually every January I decide what my knitting goals will be for the new year. This year I didn't to that. Instead, myself and three other members of the Knitting Goddesses Knitting Guild enrolled in the Master Knitter's Program. I am working my way through Level 1 - slowly but surely!

I am finding it very interesting to take a step back from all the choices we knitters have - two handed fair isle knitting, mosaic knitting, entrelac knitting, knitting socks from the toe up and sweaters from the top down - and going back to the very beginning - garter st, stockinette st and ribbing. The course forces you to look at your knitting with a very critical eye as you knit the swatches that will be submitted for evaluation and to pull out your reference books to research techniques and answer the written part of the program.

There are 3 levels and my goal is to finish them all.

A Tale of Two Yarns

2011-03-28T23:52:00.000-04:00

Today is the first day in the Knit and Crochet Blog Week. For today's topic we were to choose two yarns we have used, have in our stash or yearn after and capture what it is we love or loath about them.

But first, a quick cape update. There is only about 3-4" left to knit on the body then on to the front bands and then the collar. As you can see, the stripe pattern is not so striped on the front panels but I have an idea how to fix that at the end.

As for my two yarn choices, I immediately thought of Paton's Kroy and Noro.

I have often said that if I could only buy one yarn it would be Kroy. A couple of summers ago, I made it my mission to buy Kroy in all of the colours that it came in. That could be one of the reasons my sock stash is so large! I love knitting with it, it is washable and it wears extremely well. Most of my socks have been knit with it.

I love Noro for the wonderful colours! I have used it to knit a bag and an entrelac scarf. This yarn is on my shopping list for this weekends yarn shopping trip.

I am such a lucky knitter. This yarn bowl was a wonderful surprise gift tonight. Thanks you so very much!!!

Mystery KAL

2011-03-26T09:09:00.000-04:00

I know the last thing I need right now is to start another project but I couldn't help myself.

Over at nelkindesigns there is a mystery knitalong starting April 1st. I picked out my yarn and beads last night. The yarn is from my stash; On Your Toes sock yarn. The colour is Green Print. The first clue arrives on Friday. It is all very exciting! Now I need to get knitting and finish at least one of my current wips before next weekend.

Back On Track

2011-03-21T05:49:00.000-04:00

I am still working on three projects - the cape, the girly shawl and this sock.

Most of my knitting time this past week was spent on the shawl. It is fun to knit and was always the project I pulled out first. The rows are getting longer and longer but that doesn't bother me at all. I could knit this all day long. In fact, I am thinking about using a second ball to make it even bigger.

I am at the point on the cape where I have to cast off sts for the arm openings. This means having to join new balls of yarn on the other side of the openings. So it looks to me like I will have 6 balls of yarn on the go at once since I am knitting with the yarn doubled. This seems like this could be a yarn tangling nighmare and have been avoiding it. But no longer. I am going to tackle this before heading to work this morning.

My sock. I am soooo much happier with this sock now that I have transferred it back onto dpns. That tiny round needle seems to have been the cause of the slow progress. The leg is finished and the heel flap started. I feel like I am finally making some sock progress!

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

2011-03-17T22:57:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the Knitting Goddesses Knitting Guild meeting. It was lots of fun as always when you are in a room full of knitters!

One of the Goddesses was working on a fair isle Christmas stocking for her son. She had the stocking knit (it is amazing!) and the pattern called for an afterthought heel. Like any of us who are facing cutting their knitting for the first time, she was looking for some support. I had decided that this would be a great "How To" for all the guild members so anyone who wanted to give it a try used a small sample to pick up the stitches, cut and pick up the new live sts.

The rest of the evening was spent knitting, chatting and making plans for a knitting road trip.

Today I managed to fit in some knitting time on my girly shawl.

Tomorrow the kids and I are heading to Toronto for the day. With some luck and bribery, I am hoping to stop into Romni Wools for a quick look around.

Cape Progress

2011-03-14T08:58:00.000-04:00

After a quiet Sunday of knitting, this is how the cape looks. I have just one more increase row to knit then it is straight knitting until I reach the arm opening. I am liking this pattern; quick and easy!

One Project Finished

2011-03-12T21:15:00.000-05:00

I have had four projects on the needles this week; the zig zag scarf, Dad's socks, the girly shawl, and the top down cape.

At the beginning of the week I was liking the variety and knitting on what ever project I felt like at the time. Now, I feel like I have been knitting all week and getting no where. The leg is almost knit on the first sock, the girly shawl is getting larger so knitting each row takes some time and it doesn't seem to be getting any bigger at all. I haven't even picked up the cape since Tuesday night; BUT the scarf is finished!

Pattern - my design
Yarn - 1 ball of Knit Picks Bare Swish dyed with Wilton's dyes
Needle - 5mm

I decided to knit the whole ball and join the cast on and cast off edges together and wear it doubled. I am really happy how it turned out. Now on to the cape...