Let it Snow!

Look at that beautiful sight! I have been waiting for snowfall all winter long and finally... snow.

I left work early yesterday to miss all the crazy traffic during my long commute home. My entire drive along the foothills was beautiful. To see everything covered in a blanket of white snow was such a lovely site.

If we end up with a lot more snow, I'll be outside making snow angels.

Shawls Galore!

This week is off to a great start. Two projects came off the needles this weekend and they're both blocked and ready to be worn! The big project that came off first was the Highland Triangle Shawl by Cheryl Oberle.

This shawl has been a joy to knit and the yarn as well. Knitting lace is at the top of my "favorite things to knit" list. I love Cheryl's designs and since I had the opportunity to take a class with her for the second time, I jumped at the chance. Every time I take one of her classes I learn something new.

The yarn is Blue Faced Leister. I had purchased this a while back with every intention of using for a shawl, but as most of us who "stash" our yarn, we never really know what it's intended for. It just has to be taken home to join all the other skeins that are patiently waiting to be made into something beautiful. Purple is one of my favorite colors, so it was definitely coming home with me. I love the variation in the color and it does not take away from the lace patterns.

My other completed project is Seychelles. This is a project that is part of the Dream in Color group. Every month there is a new yarn and corresponding project. Due to my lack of knitting time, I wanted a quick project so I could have the feeling of completing a project. I always manage to find a very large project to work on that takes a very long time to complete. This shawlette was knit on US 10 and US 11 needles and flew by so quickly. The pattern was easy to memorize and after sitting in front of the tv watching reruns of Farscape for a day, I was soon done.

This one was a little difficult to block, so I ended up having a lesson in steam blocking so I could get this one to look just right. It's times like these that I'm thankful for owning an iron! That probably sounds horrible, but I'm not a big fan of ironing clothes. I like to press fabric (this was my job for my mom when she was quilting) and I now like to steam my finished objects.

I have to thank to June Hemmons Hiatt for writing her resourceful book, The Principles of Knitting, and the wonderful section on blocking. I don't know if this would have turned out as lovely as it did!

So, now that I have two projects off the needles, it is time to start a couple more! Oh, the fun! I can't wait! I already know what I'm starting on... the yarn has been wound into those pretty little yarn cakes. I just have to knit up my gauge swatches and I'll be off!


What's on your needles?

Some Knitting Time

Work has kept me so busy. Life in general has been very busy and I haven't had any time to knit. I always have a project with me wherever I go, but I still haven't had any time to knit. For my own sanity, I took a few days off from work before the Thanksgiving holiday so I could have some time to myself and do what I love the most. Knit.

I finished a cowl for a friend of mine who was in town this weekend. This was a quick knit that I found the stitch pattern for in one of my stitch dictionaries. I love the ripples. The yarn is Madeline Tosh, which is so yummy! It's wonderful to knit with, feels amazing, and blocks beautifully!

I also managed to make some headway on an entrelac scarf that I've been working on for my niece. It's made out of the Noro Kureyon yarn using three different color schemes. I love how the yarn transitions throughout the scarf. It has all the bright colors she loves! It will make a great treat for her come Christmas time. Although, as the weather gets cooler, she may even receive it sooner.

Happy Knitting!

One down... many more to go!

It's finally finished!

I started the Juneberry Shawl from Brooklyn Tweed many months ago. It was such a quick knit and I was almost done... and then I realized I was going to run out of yarn. When I went shopping for this project, I had bought enough yarn and I was going to have some leftover. That all changed of course. There was maybe 8 inches left on the border and my little yarn ball was not going to get me very far.

To check and see if my eyes were deceiving me, I used a trick that Cheryl Oberle had told me about during one of her classes that I took. It involves some math and a yarn scale, and it helped me figure out if I really did, or didn't, have enough yarn for the rest of the border. You can read about it here on her blog.

After weighing the yarn ball and a little math, I came to realize that I really was going to need more yarn. I ordered three skeins from Webs and as soon as it arrived, I started back up on my shawl. Since the dye lot was similar, but not the same, I alternated every two rows with the new and the original yarn.

And here is the result!

Trick or Yarn!

Happy Halloween! This has always been one of my favorite "holidays." I love dressing up and decorating the house with the spider webs and skeleton bones, bats, anything that is scary!

Tonight, my husband tells me that I made it home just in time. I'm thinking to myself, in time for what? Dinner wasn't quite ready and we didn't have any plans. Well, he says, I was ready to turn on the porch light so the little kids would come knocking on our door for Halloween. I looked at him strangely and wondered what in the world he was talking about. Even with the porch light on, nobody has ever stopped by on Halloween. We have never had any little trick or treaters knocking on our door for candy. With a very serious face, he tells me that he was going to start handing my yarn out as goodies to the kids. There's plenty of yarn up here, he tells me, and when he ran out with what was upstairs, he was going to raid the yarn downstairs next.


My jaw did not hit the floor. I clenched my teeth. I know he was kidding, but the thought of anyone handing out my yarn was not a pleasant thought. I am sure any knitter, crocheter, or yarn stasher/hoarder/collector would not give up there yarn to anyone, let alone hand it out on Halloween instead of candy!

And while that funny joke of my husband's was rather scary on this All Hallows' Eve, I cannot help but wonder if I can go somewhere where they will give out yarn like candy on a special day of the year, just to see me dressed up in my knitted goods...