As introduced here in my last post, I have started a new larger project that I’ve called “I Put A Hex On You” (you have to name projects on Ravelry, and this one is appropriate…..). A certain someone sent me a link to a pattern she found that inspired her. Unfortunately, “certain someone” doesn’t know how to crochet–yet. She’s signed up for my class that starts on Saturday, May 1st @ 1 p.m. (and meets again on the 8th), so she will learn, soon enough. In the mean time, her inspiration has caused an epidemic in these parts…seriously! I know of at least five people that have either purchased yarn for or started one of these projects.

The very next day, I came to the shop with the intention of starting one out of Cascade Sierra, a lovely blend of pima cotton and merino wool, and wanted the help of Helen to figure out colors. It will serve as a shop model, so I wanted bright, cheery colors (plus it’s spring–bring on the color!), and we made a nice assortment of about a dozen hanks of Sierra. Then Helen went back to the Superwash 220, and she went bezerk

and found these twelve shades. I got going immediately

and whipped out two motifs on Thursday evening. It grew some more on Friday

and even more by Sunday afternoon

I haven’t worked on it since (my crochet hook went AWOL on Monday and I’m not 100% sure what size it was….I think I have a replacement here at the house, however). But trust me, it’s one of those projects that I can’t stop working on, much like eating potato chips or knitting entrelac! OOOH OOOH!! Just one more! just one more!!!

It will also be the topic for a crochet-along, starting at the shop sometime after the first of May. The FREE GROUP will meet monthly, most likely on Sunday afternoons. Details to follow, or keep tabs on developments via our Ravelry group.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed checking out the blog for the woman who wrote the tutorial on the hexagons. She appears to be a very prolific (and colourful) crocheter, and I really enjoyed her works. There’s not much in the way of crocheted things at ThreadBear, and I’ve always wanted to change that (I did learn to crochet first, and later added knitting; crochet around 4 or 5, knitting about a year later). Each yields a totally different product, but each has its place and is appropriate for different things.

I’ve been dyeing quite a bit of yarn of late, most of it chronicled over here. I really enjoy the creative outlet and the process, but more than that, I love the feedback/reactions to the hanks when folks see them and just HAVE to have one (or more) of my skeins. THANK YOU for the hearty reception!

I have been knitting……there has been a shawl

a baby cardigan

socks for Bill (he chose the yarn when he was here visiting me the first week of March; a second skein of sock yarn awaits at home, along with a pattern for a cardigan that will look amazing on him, given his build….boyfriend sweater curse be damned!)

and an Omega Wrap

all worked on and/or completed in recent weeks. Omega and the shawl are done, but Bill’s socks languish in my bag (there’s always something that MUST be done, versus me wanting those to be done), and the Spring Baby Cardigan just got knocked out on Sunday (thanks to Marcia for setting the sleeves and finishing the shoulders). I blocked it that evening and it’s drying at the shop right now, hopefully done by tomorrow for the newsletter.

So I’ve gotten stuff done, but not as much as in previous months. I enjoy the time I spend at the gym and the results are definitely motivating. Something had to be done about my weight and my lifestyle, and I took the first steps (literally) last fall with walking and eating right, and now this next chapter makes sense. I want to be around for a long time, and this is definitely going to help!

I’m completely entranced by this

and yes, it’s CROCHETED! I’ve been knitting, too, and I’m cutting this short tonight to get back to a baby sweater that I **WILL** finish this evening so I can block it tomorrow at the shop.

And to answer Lindy’s question–Roxy is Sabrina’s little mini chihuahua, and she’s adorable. You can typically find her at the shop on Tuesdays, as that’s Sam’s short day at the shop and Roxy comes along for the ride. I have photos (older ones) that I should share….next time!

Be well, and thanks for not giving up on me! More regular posting will be a priority from here forward, as I’ve finally settled into a routine after adding in more days at the shop as well as working out 5-6 times a week (again, go see more, if so inclined, over at my personal blog)

Sunday morning was spent catching up with me, as I popped on “CBS Sunday Morning” and started knitting on a great hat design found in the Winter ‘09 issue of Knitty.com called ’shroom. Using super-bulky yarn and bigger needles, I knew it would work up quickly. Ribbed band–about 60 minutes. Hat crown–maybe 2-3 hours (with fooling around at the shop). Finished in no time

and made with a single hank of Cascade Magnum (just $18, as the pattern is a freebie!). Great fun…great hat!

One thing I also did on Sunday morning was to clean out and organize my knitting bag (aka my purse). I was shocked that all of this

was in my knitting bag. Sadly, it all went right back in there, organized and semi-sorted. That’s a lot of crap! But I never know what I’ll want to knit on (despite there being three different sock projects–maybe that’s excessive!), so I carry all of it with me everywhere.

Today was a productive day at ThreadBear, as it was slow due to the inclement weather. We finally wrapped up this project,

which was to re-hank the last of the yarns that I dyed on Thursday of last week. They’re all named and ready for sale at the shop and will be on display here on Tuesday (2/23) as soon as I get back from my morning walk. I was flattered to find out how many sold over the weekend, which means I’m hitting the right color combos for folks (I feel like I’m doing a good bit of really BRIGHT stuff of late–echoing my HAPPY mood of late). So, if you’re interested in seeing how they came out and what’s left, do drop by on Tuesday, in the shop or online.

That’s about it for today……more soon. I’m going to get back to work on my new project!

And low and behold, this year I took on some gift knitting. Yeah, I’m a bright one…..

My good friends Joe and Gordy (saviours in my personal life….trust me on that one) asked about a scarf for Joe’s brother’s girlfriend, and I thought maybe we could get him connected with someone to make it for him. They came by the shop last Saturday (the 12th) and found a skein of hand-dyed foofie yarn (Great Adirondack POOF or FLUFF, I forget which) that was perfect. I cast on and whipped up a scarf in no time

Even Marcia helped with a few rows, cuz she loves “the boys” as well (and knows how important they’ve been in my transition this fall). So, gift knitting #1 out of the way. (UPDATE–I just heard that they exchanged gifts and “brother’s girlfriend” LOVED LOVED the scarf….awesome!)

Enter #2–a special project for a special person that I decided I just MUST MUST MUST finish in time for holiday gifting. Progress as of Tuesday evening

That’s something I started in November 2008, worked up about 12″, and promptly put back in a bag and buried it under crap in my office. I found it about two weeks ago, decided the intended recipient MUST have it for this Christmas, and got busy ASAP on it, almost non-stop. And here it is, as of Thursday about 10 p.m.

That’s nearly EIGHT FEET of finished fabric! There’s drama, however……..I had darned in all of the ends and was inspecting things, making sure it looked right, so I could wrap it up and mail it off on Friday morning (so it would arrive Monday or Tuesday at the home of the intended recipient). I found a loop on the back side that I thought was a poorly-hidden end, so I started tugging on it. The yarn is a woven merino ribbon and quite lovely. I pulled and pulled and pulled before I realized that the fabric was “condensing” and that it wasn’t an end, but a loose stitch that I was yanking on. I gave it one more tug and SNAP–the yarn broke and the entire “condensed” section unraveled for about 6″ of horizontal space, clear over to and including the edge.

I said a couple fairly nasty words. And I called Marcia for help.

She and I talked of putting it back on the needles, and possibly grafting the pieces back together. I did investigate that and thought it might work, briefly. But closer inspection revealed major damage (edge raveling, lace pattern kaput, etc.).

I said a few more nasty words.

And began to unpick the bind off edge, as the damage was about two feet down from the finish.

I unraveled yards and yards (and hours and hours) of knitting into two piles–one larger one and one smaller one. And I got the project back on the needles, figured out where I was in the repeat, and commenced forward progress. I wouldn’t go to sleep until the larger pile was gone, so I turned in at 2 a.m. that morning. And got up at 8 a.m. to finish, which I did at about 11 a.m. Yes, I power knitted about 1/4 of the project in the span of about five hours. I was booking on the project. It got wrapped and posted and should arrive tomorrow (Monday) or Tuesday. But there’s other drama, too.

Saturday of last week I went home from the shop and put my knitting bag in the back seat, but when I got home to work on the stole, I pulled out the piece and found a stub where about 2/3 of a skein of yarn should be. I chalked it up to having fallen out of my bag and figured it was strewn down Waverly Road (northbound) and gone. Imagine my surprise when I pulled into my usual parking spot and there was the skein of yarn, iced over and unharmed, in the parking lot (we had sleet and freezing rain that night). The project, while imbued with love, healing thoughts, and good vibes for the intended wearer/recipient, was not without its own issues. But it’s done, it will suit her perfectly (she loves wraps and loves neutral colors) and I hope it’s received with the love and well wishes that it was sent with.

Speaking of silly things we do in a holiday gift-knitting rush, one of my staffers at the shop was making a beautiful family heirloom stocking for a new grand-nephew……finished the personalizing, held it up, and showed me this………

The child’s name is FORREST. I asked her to run spell check.

She said a naughty word or two.

It turned out fine, two hours later (she’s not a fan of duplicate stitch)

and it will be well loved by the family for years and years.

Remind me again why we knit for the holidays, especially when they’re under a week away???

And remind me why I’m about to log off and cast on for a gift for my mother yet tonight? And why I’d like to knock out a pair of socks for a special someone after that? And also remind me why none of you, my gentle readers, have called the folks from the looney ward on me?

Probably because I dye pretty yarn

and you know that it takes a mental case to make pretty artsy-fartsy things. Yeah, that’s it……off to go cast on (we don’t need no stinking gauge swatches!)

First off, there’s a ground swell of interest in these parts to start a group that meets monthly to work on the squares used in the “Barn Raising Afghan” from the book Knitalong. Since I’ve been dyeing mini-skanks (aka “Rob’s Penny Candy”) for awhile now to support the mitered square blankie folks, it was suggested that I might do some larger maxi-skanks (now knows as “Rob’s Candy Bars”) for the Barn Raising project. Who am I to turn down such a request?

They’re $3 each and terribly fun to create–maybe even more fun than the minis, but shhhhhh don’t tell anyone I said that! We’ll have bunches more as soon as we can get them wound and dyed up. Promise! But those are available for adoption right now (minus the four that sold Sunday evening……).

I did get some knitting done last evening, but not on what I expected to work on. As mentioned yesterday, Huron is coming along well

and I’m three rows into the colorwork portion of the yoke

which has been FUN to work on (and I plan on working on it again later tonight, after closing up the shop and running my month-end reports….bleck!). I really like stranded colorwork, so I’m probably going to ZOOOOOM through this part of the sweater (plus it’s getting increasingly smaller and smaller, as you approach the neck).

Speaking of zooming right along, I went upstairs last night (after the movie–we watched “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” on DVD……that’s one damn long movie! interesting, but long!) and read a bunch of blogs, surfed the web, and caught up on several things that really picqued my curiousity last night (two REALLY caught my brain and got it moving……in two decidedly different directions–more on that later). While reading, I like to have a simple, brainless project to work on, so back-and-forth garter stitch seemed like just the ticket. Enter Amherst,

a great project I’ve worked on very sporadically for a couple months now. Well, last night, while reading up a storm well into the night, I was able to knit from the armhole bind offs to the top of the neck–back complete!

worked in Zitron Fundus (discussed in an entry in June). I really like this project and can’t wait to see it come together in the near future, but for right now, Huron and Amherst are competing for the same needle size….so it’s either one or the other, but not both at the same time!

Another project is on deck for me, so all I’ll show you for now is the yarn

and wait for the pattern to arrive tomorrow, so I can get started ASAP.

I had another project added to my queue last week when Matt’s mom was here visiting. I have NO idea when I’ll start on it, but here’s the yarn

and I’ll start it sometime in LATE September–she lives in Georgia and doesn’t need a warm jacket right now. Thank goodness she’s patient!

Back with more tomorrow…..PROMISE!

While I didn’t knit for a full 48 hours in the middle of the week (that’s rare–I typically take time every morning to knit a little bit, even 30 minutes, and again right before bed while browsing the web a little bit, it just didn’t happen this Tuesday/Wednesday), I have made a little bit of progress on the Moderne Log Cabin Baby Blanket project

Not only have I included all four colors into the project, I’m now finished with color A with the addition of the two thin strips on the far edges (far left and upper edges). I blame Anyssa for my addiction to this project, but I can also trace some interest in making one to The Yarn Harlot, as she’s knitting one as well (tho I think she’s working on a full-sized version, versus my smaller baby version). No matter, I’m glad to be making it, as it’s simple, meditative knitting that’s been perfect for the fragmented time I’ve had of late.

Last week was all about sock knitting for me, as I finished three different single socks (models for the shop, so they’ll be loners permanently). One was started for awhile now (and shown here)

in the form of the Best Foot Forward yarn by Nashua, developed by Kristin Nicholas. Great yarn for certain, and it should be in the US after the middle of July. At just $15 a skein, it’s a great value for a beautiful finished sock. This one’s gonna be VERY popular! Next on the finished sock list would be made with Aslan Trends Santa Fe

a great sock yarn with a nice twist, made with 85% superwash merino and 15% nylon, kettle dyed, and 50g skeins (retailing for about $6 each). Check out the color options here. Again, it’s going to take some patience, as it won’t be in the US until after the Independence Day holiday next weekend (it’s due in port/customs around the 6th).

In more pleasant news, there’s a third completed model sock that’s made with yarn you can actually find at the shop TODAY (Friday, the 26th)

in the form of Alchemy Yarns new sock-weight yarn called Juniper. At 232 yards per 50g skein, this 100% superfine merino is superwash that’s then lovingly hand-dyed by the good folks at Alchemy (Gina’s color sense is amazing). I don’t remember what we ordered, but there’s around 20 shades landing this afternoon. YUM! Can’t wait for more….but I have to, for about four more hours (UPS typically lands around 2 p.m.).

And yes, you see the Juniper sock resting on part of the 36 new hanks of Rob’s Hand Dyed and Black Dog sock yarns that will be revealed in a couple days (a dozen have sold so far, most while still damp and unwound, in person over the past two days). All are out for sale at the shop right now, so if you’re local (or local-ish), come on by and browse!

On the topic of finished projects (especially those that have languished for over a year), I did FINALLY pick up and knit the neckline and sleeve edgings over the weekend. Matt blocked it for me

Made with Blue Sky Dyed Cotton and their pattern called “Fitted Tank”. It takes just three or four hanks of their great yarn, so it’s a reasonably-priced garment that’s a quick knit (US 9 needles and 450-600 yards of ultra-soft cotton). Thanks goes out to Betsy for serving as my model.

With all of this off my needles, it’s time to swatch for something else…….mwahahahaha. This is in sight

and I’m about 90% sure what pattern I’ll be using. Swatching commenses this evening………and casting on shortly after that!

that’s a new 100% baby alpaca yarn from Cascade that will be added to the shelves this fall. I’m not sure what these two shades will grow up to become, so they’re on the back burner for now. Other yarns in small amounts have come in as well, but what really has my attention is this little jewel

that’s Lordana Boucle from Gedifra, a merino wool boucle that works up quickly at three stitches per inch into amazing fabric

that I whipped up yesterday morning, while visiting with another sales rep (I wonder….what will this grow up to become some day?

that fantastic jacket has been on my mind for over a year, when I first encountered the pattern online. We didn’t carry Gedifra products at the time, but we do now (and are planning on carrying more in future seasons). For now, I get to make this great model with a fantastically-soft yarn. YUM!

Check back in the next day or two to see what I’ve actually cast on and started…….I can’t wait to share! (oh, and I dyed more yarn…check it out over at the New Arrivals blog on the main ThreadBear site). I also tried my hand at dyeing a little bit of spinning fiber (a bit of a special request for a regular reader here)

and it should be arriving today………..hopefully it will be well received as well. As I don’t spin, I can’t judge too well on how it turned out.

Off to go make Crock Pot Spaghetti–it’s what I’m bringing tonight for our weekly Memory Keeper (mitered square) blanket potluck, knit in, and swap. I don’t have a ton of time to cook today, so the crock pot is perfect! It’s been awhile since I made it, so we’ll see if I still have the touch!

Claudie is a design from Black Purl, a midwestern pattern source that’s headed up by someone who owns a yarn shop in Wisconsin. I like her patterns a good bit, and the designs are pretty much great for “every woman” (or every child) and are typically shown in rather widely-distributed yarns (she does alot with Cascade and Classic Elite, two companies we stock DEEP and WIDE). My version is on the right side of the photo, as I’m doing the lace panel (versus cable) and the cap sleeve (versus long version). Check out progress, as of yesterday

Check out the lace–I think it’s pretty!

I’ve finished the first front and am well into the second, so that means my mind is wandering towards new projects, and the siren song of wool is really wailing in my head. I have two other summer-fiber projects in mind (one only needs sleeves on it to be finished; the other isn’t even conceptualized yet, as swatching with the yarn showed it was WRONG for what I had in mind). So, what wooly goodness has my eye?

This cabled cardigan from “Mother Daughter Knits” by Sally Melville and her daughter Caddy, shown in Classic Elite Classic One Fifty, a lightweight fine merino that’s delish to work with. But I’m not far along the path with that project……others have me dreaming and swatching

The Lettuce Coat from “Custom Knits” is shown in Malabrigo Worsted, and our first delivery showed up on Thursday……so swatching has commenced

but my version will be in Bergamota, a SHARP red that leans to the orange side. I got gauge for the upper part, but I have yet to try for the bottom part (two stitch patterns, two different needle sizes). There’s been other swatching, too!

Tang is also from “Custom Knits” and is also shown in Malabrigo Worsted, and I’ve decided to work up a shop model using something from their Seleccion Privada (Private Selection), in the colourway they call “L”

I will probably cast on for one or both of those tonight–I’m a bad person…no wll power.

And yes, there’s even more tempting me

But I haven’t started that swatching yet–so I’ll show you THAT project and THAT swatch next time, along with something else I swatched this afternoon, for a different project altogether. It’s really fun stuff, with a weird name, but I’m not sure it’s good for a garter stitch project (and what I had in mind is all garter).

So there……I really DO swatch, and I enjoy getting to know new yarns and new stitches. ALOT!

I’ve done a little bit of dyeing recently, in the form of a new batch of mini-skanks (25yds each, always unique)

These are perfect for you blankie knitters our there, as there’s enough in each mini-skank to make two “regular” squares and one side square. And for just $1, they’re a great way to add a pop of color to your project without having to purchase an entire 50g or 100g skein. The jar is once again PACKED, so come by, dump it out on one of the tall tables, and dig in! Or we’re glad to mail some to you if you’re up for having us select some for you (either random or with some color direction).

I also made a few new additions to the table of pretty……..

in the form of 490-yard, 4-ounce hanks of sock-weight yarn. I’ve been showcasing my colourways over at the New Arrivals blog, a link over at the main ThreadBear website. There’s probably 30 hanks available at the shop, and hopefully Matt will get a page made soon that showcases all that are in stock.