Knitty Gritty Thoughts

Handspun Tiny Leaves Cardi

So what would be a vacation without travel knitting? Once I've decided to go that's one of the first things I think about. I always plow through my stash looking for a yarn I love and a nice, soothing mindless project.

In this case I unearthed some of my favorite handspun ever. This is BFL in colorway the foundation from the sweet georgia fiber club.

It started off as a eternity scarf but something wasn't quite right - it just wasn't showing off the yarn. So I ripped and ended up starting a Tiny Tea Leaves Cardi

Perfect!

I knit my way through California, the Grand Canyon.....

Sedona....

Montezuma's Castle...

And before I knew it, it was done!

I even made tiny matching buttons myself - black sheep, white sheep

Washed and blocked it...and now we're all set!

More details on ravelry if you're interested.

Happy spinning and knitting! :)

Starting to go crazy :: Holiday Style

It's official -- I feel like I'm starting to lose my mind.

I was so proud of myself this year - I had finished all of my Christmas shopping early, before Thanksgiving and was feeling so proud of myself.  Nevermind I forgot I was planning on doing a mostly hand-made Christmas and most of those hand-mades haven't even been started!

So of course, I had to start something new -
a little handspun hat for me using the Madtosh Slouch Pattern. 
Such a fun knit!
Hanging out with is my favorite bag of all time. 
A gorgeous Freda leather bag hand-crafted by my friend Joanna
and purchased from her awesome etsy shop. 
Get thee over there to drool at all the amazing designs! :)

I feel like the list keeps going on and on.  I'd love to -

Make a stocking for Abby's 1st Christmas - (plans are in mind for colorwork/reindeer design using some more Shelter yarn I purchased.  Something like her dad's stocking but rework the gauge for the yarn and make it bigger.  Too much thought process involved, argh!)

Knit Advent Calendar - (this one is a biggie.  I have 5 stockings done.  If I can just do 1 stocking a day I can make it.  Nevermind I barely have 1 hour a day to knit.  Let alone sew.)

Knit a hat for Hubby - (I knit him a hat every year.  Here's one of the previous year's version.  Now if I can just sit down and do it!  He has a big head!)

Make a bender for Hubby's stocking - (He's been bugging me for years about this bender doll.  I have no idea how to amigurumi or even how to spell it but I need to figure it out prior to Dec 24th!)

Make a toy ball for Abby - (I saw these super cute balls on etsy and found the tutorial here.  I can't wait to make a minkee material ball for her.  She loves watching me toss things in the air.)

Sew zip pouches for Mom and Grandma - (I got a start on these here.  Now to finish.)

Figure out handmade goodies to put in advent calendar - (Any ideas??)

Re-do the lining of Hubby's stocking so it's more stretchy - (Right now it won't fit anything!)

Sew all the wrapping paper using my leftover fabric and using the Japanese art of Furoshiki(!)  - Wrapping gifts with fabric.  You can get the idea of what it is over here.  And here's a neat link to the Japanese Ministries image of How-To's)

I'd also like to make potholders.  Oh yea and make some more fabric balls. 

Make heat pads filled with flax seed for Hubby's Dad

Knit a handspun hat for MIL.

I'm enjoying my new super fabulous fabric weights from this etsy shop. 
Ruth is super talented!

And the list goes on and on!  I'm crazy, I will never get this all done.  And in the meantime, I really need to sew Abby some more diapers and make a few bibs - she's 6 months so we're starting on solids!

In the garden:: A pillow project

You may have remembered this little handspun granny square... Lightning finally struck and I knew what it wanted to be- a pillow!

I used a 1/2yd of Kaffe fabric for the background and backing.  Using my sewing machine and the walking foot I sewed the square into place first, then I constructed the rest of the pillow.  This made the crocheted part sewn twice, to create a more sturdy pillow that wouldn't fall apart.

I'm calling this pillow "In the Garden" because the handspun looks like roses or tulips (the colorway is a Spunky club colorway called Tulips) and the green background with various shades looks like flowers.

Each step of this pillow creation was taken with care - It was handspun from hand-dyed fiber, hand crocheted and then sewn.  It's a great way to use up small bits of fiber (this project took 4 ounces and approx 270 yards).  The handspun creates a extra soft, lofty surface on the pillow that just makes you want to put your head down on it.

I'm thrilled with the way it turned out, and I'm planning another pillow project like this now!

Time is flying

Geeze - time is flying by.  Since I last checked in, so much progress has been made on the house.  Every hour I haven't been working, I've been spending painting, spackling, installing new light fixtures and planning projects.  It's been completely exhausting but rewarding work.  The house looks completely different.  Shiny new walls with white glossy trim have just freshed everything up.  It feels so clean and airy, much better than before.  I have bits and pieces of rooms completed but just as soon as I manage to finish 1 room, I'll take photos to share.

In the meantime, there's been some knitting...

Handspun merino/silk in the colorway Kelp from tactile fiber arts knitted into a lacy baktus.  I love love love this pattern - words cannot convey how delightful knitting this has been.

And some sewing....

A lovely tanglewood bag from posie gets cosy.  Maybe I'll manage to finish it in the next year or so at the rate I'm going ;)

A Fo a Day - Handspun Cowl

A FO a day keeps the winter doldrums away right?  That's what I keep telling myself at any rate.  So I figured I would share with you a FO a day this week so I can get caught up on my projects and also it will work perfectly for me to transition to a new month as well as my new project planning I'm putting into place for myself (more on that later).

Anyhow  - this particular FO I don't believe I blogged about as a WIP either...I talked a bit about the yarn, which started as batts from Erica as a gift when I was in Germany and spun into the most scrumptious yarn!  I had to let it marinate for awhile to find the perfect project for it, but it finally came to me - a cowl!  Last minute knitted gifts has a cute one in it if you need a pattern but I just winged it.  This particular yarn is a dk weight and based on my goal neck circumference and gauge I cast on about 110 stitches on US 4 needles and knit around and around until I ran out of yarn.  Easy peasy, right?

I didn't plan any of the color changes when I was spinning,
but somehow it just turned out that way.  Pretty and what a great use of handspun - <4oz!

It's the perfect little neckwarmer to chase the dreary winter days away. =) Ravelry details here... Tomorrow - a hat!