The Little Red Hen

Swallowtail Shawl

After finishing the Ishbel shawl I still had a large ball of the lace weight alpaca left. I pulled out the Fall 2006 issue of Interweave Knits to knit the Swallowtail Shawl designed by Evelyn Clark.

 

The first part of the shawl knit up very quickly. Then, I got to those nupps in the edge lace pattern. They just about had me pulling my hair out. 

Purl. Five. Together.  What a crazy idea - especially since two of the five were yarn overs.

I think it was worth the effort once completed. Don't you think?

Shawl knitting is addictive.

Blue Skies

We are having a beautiful day here today! The sky is as blue as the photo above. I am trying to soak in the sun while still fitting in a little project time.

I found a few of these small knit bags that needed some straps so I'm working a little on those.

I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

The Magic of Lace

I really enjoy the magical last step of a fine knitted lace project. The project transforms from what appears to be a tangled pile of yarn to a gossamer web of lace.

 

Here it is, my finished Ishbel.

 

I knit it with Angel Face from Briar Rose Fibers. It is 100% alpaca and is super warm.

The shape of this mini shawl allows it to be worn in a variety of ways. I know I'll be knitting it again with some other yarns.

 

(Thanks to D for pausing to take this photo during the barn clean out and floor repair project. You can see that he was not overly concerned with the background of the photo.)

Progress Report

I've been busy this week - really.
Do you want to see proof?

The Ishbel - one more row before the bind off! Then blocking. 

 

The Animal Crackers quilt - partly quilted.

Now, it is back to the grindstone. I have the last batch of applesauce for the season on the stove!

I have a few more pumpkins to cook but I'll do those on chilly days to help heat up the kitchen. (We haven't had our corn delivered for heating the house yet.)

B has planted garlic and rye. After we harvest the carrots and beets and store them in the cellar the gardens should be just about ready for the winter rest. Whew.

Lacy Rib Socks

I've finished another sock! These are adapted from Evelyn Skae's Lacy Rib Baby Socks pattern.  Adele chose Bare by Knit Picks for the socks. It is a very soft Merino wool and silk blend. (70% wool, 30%silk)

I'll be taking a little break from the sock knitting to work on some other projects the next month or two.

I actually started a mini shawl - the infamous Ishbel - and found that I am very used to knitting in the round. Knitting rows in two directions took some getting used to. I am trying it in lace weight alpaca from Briar Rose Fibers. 

There are also a few secret sewing/knitting/crafting projects in the works with a deadline in a couple of months...I think you probably understand that.  

I  have a couple of shows coming up and would like to get some quilts finished for those.

How are your fall projects going?

Out of Focus

Some days this is how I feel in the fall - blurry and out of focus - only able to concentrate on one small thing at a time.

I have a lot of things I want to do and projects to work on. But when the darker days of fall arrive it is hard to keep the momentum.  I move slower. When the cloudy overcast days start to pile up I just want to snuggle under a quilt on the couch and read a book while sipping cocoa or tea. 

I keep plugging along at a slower pace. One stitch at a time, making progress while I adjust to the shorter days. 

John Moores Crew Socks

You would think I could have whipped out a crew sock pretty quickly. I have done it in just a few hours before. Well, not so this time. I have been working on this sock since back in July. I guess the problem was that I was NOT working on this sock since back in July. The end of summer brings so much to do with the garden and harvest that there just is not time to sit and knit. We work outside until it is dark most nights which can be quite late in the summer. It is getting dark at about 8:00 now so I have been squeaking in a little knit time before going to bed. Ah, fall.

So, here they are, the next in the "Two Make a Pair" series. These are A's. She has been very patient waiting for them. I think she has taken to finishing some of her own pairs in the mean time. Sorry, dear.

I do like the colors in this yarn. Very pretty. And the stripes matched up perfectly!

These crew socks were knit using Sox by Berroco in color 1425.

75% Superwash wool, 25% Nylon.

Matching Socks on a Beautiful Blue Sky Day

For our latest pair of socks in the two make a pair project we used some yarn I spun in the early spring. We whipped up a pair of crew socks to show off the color in the yarn. There was enough of the yarn left that I knit a pair for P too! Now we have matching socks. The roving I used is an interlacements superwash merino.
 
The sky was such a pretty blue we felt we had to capture that in our photos too! But we got a little itchy, and the sun was in our eyes so we had to be quick.

Monkey Socks

I am quite happy with the finished Monkey Socks. I think they turned out great. It is a pretty easy pattern to knit. The pattern we used is Monkey by Cookie A.

The yarn A chose is Heart and Sole by Red Heart.  I tried to match the stripes but it was not clear until I had knit a fair amount of my sock that the two skeins of yarn were wound in opposite directions. If I had knit my sock starting with the outer end of the skein the stripes would have worked out. 

Otherwise, they were a fun pattern to knit.  I finished knitting my sock this morning and had the pair photographed and in the mail to Adele by noon. I have already started my next sock.

It is a sickness.   You probably already know that. 

It is a good feeling to know I am writing to an audience who understands. You do understand don't you?

Two Make a Pair WIP

two socks

not quite a pair.