Feather and Fan Scarf

 Hope the new year is off to a great start for everyone.  January has just flown by for me.  I am trying to organize and consolidate all the stuff in my life.  It is a challenge, to say the least.
I have been knitting away on my stash, working on baby things for my future niece.
Just before Christmas I finished this lovely Feather and Fan Shawl.  A dear friend was telling me that his wife had received some lovely hand spun wool from a friend, and although she loved it, she wasn't a knitter.  I eagerly volunteered to knit up something for her.  He relayed the offer to his wife and we chatted about patterns and decided on a scarf.  I played with a couple of stitch patterns and decided on a feather and fan combo.

The yarn is a merino/angora blend and was a joy to stitch with.  My favorite part of the project was blocking it.  The pattern opened up beautifully.  My friend loved the scarf, she tested it in Colorado over the holidays.  I wrote up the simple pattern and put it up as a freebie here in my Ravelry store.  Enjoy!

Cherry Lane Cowl by Felicia Lo

 Finished this pretty little cowl the other day.  I really like it.  It's just the right size, not too loose, not too tight.  It's the Cherry Lane Cowl by Felicia Lo, knitted with Quince & Co. Tern.  It's a fingering weight yarn that is a blend of wool and silk so the color is soft and muted.  Knits and blocks like a dream.  The pattern is fun to knit, it's a 12 row lace repeat with no cables so it goes fairly quickly.  I've already cast on another cowl in a soft raspberry for a Christmas gift and may try to get a couple more done in time for gifting.

I hope to get some more knitting done this afternoon, but first I need to do a little holiday baking.  I've found so many good recipes online that I can't wait to try.  Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happily knitting away on Christmas gifts!  Have a wonderful holiday weekend!

Charlevoix Cowl

My latest knit design, the Charlevoix Cowl.

Modeled by my oh so serious daughter, Di.

Pattern is available on my Ravelry page.

I'm baaack!!!

 Hello everyone!  As you can see I am finally posting again.  I didn't mean to disappear for so long.  One morning I went to pull up my blog and it refused to allow me to sign in.  Tried everything that I could think of over the course of a few days, then gave up in frustration.  I popped in the other day to see if anything had changed and, voila!, I was able to sign in again.

My time away has been well spent.  I have really gotten the knitting bug and have been knitting up a storm.  I learned to knit in my college days.  I have fond memories of going up north to my boyfriends home on winter weekends and spending Saturday mornings running errands with his father while he worked at the ski resort.  We always stopped at 7/11 for Big Gulps and then his dad would drop me off at my favorite yarn store while he went and did his errands.  Upon picking me up, he always asked if I found what I needed and we spent the afternoon on opposite ends of the family room, him reading and dozing in a chair and me playing with my new yarn purchases.

Now that I have begun knitting again, I have much to show you.  I'll be posting pics in the next few days.  I've been challenging myself with new stitches and new yarns and have even designed a few patterns which I have posted on My Ravelry page.  This hat is one of my latest designs.  It is made using a DK weight yarn from Stonehedge Fibers, a fiber farm in northern Michigan that is over 157 years old.  They spin the leftover fibers from their regular line to create one-of-a-kind skeins of Crazy Wool.  It takes just a skein and you end up with a stylish hat that is uniquely yours.  The yarn is super soft and it's a treat to watch the colors emerge as you knit.  I am hooked on this yarn and am designing a couple of other knitty things out of it as well.

I'm off to pick up Di from school.  If you were wondering, the kids are doing well, Colt's a senior and Di is a junior, and they are both so involved with activities.  Our house is usually full of teenagers playing guitars, singing and eating everything in sight.  It's lots of fun and I will miss it when they are off to college.  Thanks for stopping by.

A little finishing..

I finished a few pillows the other day and took a couple of quick pics.  I really like the way they came out.  Finishing is such fussy sewing but the result is so worth the fussing.  This is a Birds of a Feather canvas.  I used contrasting florals for the border and a bright coral dot for the back.

The second pillow is the Workbasket barn pillow.  I backed it with a brown velvety fabric.  Loved stitching this one, so many little details.

The third finish is a counted canvas piece.  I used the same brown fabric for this one.  The button in the middle is made of polymer clay and is really intricate.

And, last but not least, a little needlepoint belt buckle.  Quick, fun to stitch, and easy to finish.  This one is for a class that I'll be teaching locally. 
That's it for accomplishments that I have photographed lately.  I've knitted and sewn a few things that I'll post soon.  Have a great week and thanks for stopping by.

A Little Knitting....

I've been doing a little knitting lately.  Oddly, I get the urge to knit hats in the heat of summer.  This one, modelled by my Didi, is knit in a lovely silk wool blend.  I added the stripe using a scrap of banana fiber to give it a little style. 

Little did I know how important the "slouch" is in hats for teens.  I have made several and they have been tested by Di and several of my sons friends (skater boys and musicians) and the amount of slouch that a hat has is super important to the overall look of the hat.  Too much or too little slouch and the hat will never be worn.  This hat has just the right amount of slouch, so several more will be made for back to school.  An all stripey one will be next.

 

This hat is stitched in Madeline Tosh Sport Yarn and it has the softest feel to it.  A little less slouch in this one, but still in the acceptable range, I'm told. 

 

I've been playing around with a variety of hat patterns with mixed results, and finally just decided to create my own.  Hats are pretty simple and knit up so quickly that they make great practice pieces.  I did have one fail, though.  I made up a simple baby hat, loved it, so I knit it up in a much lighter yarn, using the same size needles.  The finer yarn made the hat much smaller and I now have a little hat that is just the right size for an American Girl doll.  Live and learn.......