Category: Knitting

Yarnalong: Knitting, Spinning and Reading, 3/9/16

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My goodness has it been busy…

My twelve year old daughter is in a Aladdin musical, which opens on Thursday, so her world had been super busy and mine also, but for other reasons. I work from home and my workload has increased. Which means, that it has not left me time to do too much, but I have taken time almost daily to spin… and a few of those days I knitted also.

I’m finally going to finish this Chevron scarf. It’s almost finished and I’m ashamed to say it’s been hibernating for a little over two years.

Knitting Chevron scarf and Hiya Hiya needles_3

Yes… let me hang my head in shame. I adore bright colors and the above color combination makes me smile. Which is another reason why I don’t know why I fell behind like this. It took me a while to figure out the variegated color combinations that I loved.

Merino wool and silk
Merino wool and silk

Last week, I’d ordered this merino and silk combed top roving from BeesyBee Fibers and this one of my purchases. I love their fiber, the customer sevice is excellent and so I will be purchasing from them again.

Isn’t it gorgeous? I’m a new spinner and have never spun with silk before, initially I was going to wait until I was a bit more confident but… I gave in to temptation and spun a tiny amount of the roving.

Merino wool and silk_2 03.06.14

I was thrilled that I had no issues spinning this incredibly soft fiber and before I knew it, I was taking my handspun wool off my Woolee Winder,

Merino wool and silk_5 03.06.14

wrapping it around my Niddy Noddy

Newly spun yarn
Newly spun yarn

and turning it into a skein! I finished my handspun yarn, which I wrote about here.

Handspun yarn_1 3.8.16
Handspun yarn turned into a center pull yarn hank

I used my Boye electric ball winder and turned the skein into a center pull yarn hank. Isn’t it cute?

Knitting handspun yarn_1 3.8.16

Yesterday marked a first… I actually knit with some of my handspun yarn. I only knit a few rows, but I can’t tell you the feeling I received knitting with yarn that I created. No, it’s not perfect, but it’s my own handspun yarn. Handspun yarn is my favorite yarn to knit or weave with.

Books_1 3.9.16

What I’m reading?

1.  The MacArthur Study Bible

I read my Bible daily and I love this study bible. This year, I made a commitment to reread the Bible. It will be my fourth time. Currently I’m in Joshua and have just finished reading chapter 7. I don’t count this towards my daily devotions, but even still I’m really enjoying rereading my favorite book. I try to spend as much time reading Gods word as possible

The rest of the books are recommendations from those who participate in the yarn along. Thank you all so much!

2.  Pride and Prejudice – Illustrated Version by Jane Austen

3.  Seduction of the Heart by Tim LaHaye and Ed Hinson

4. Every Bitter Thing is Sweet by Sara Hagerty

 

I’m linking too, Ginny’s yarnalong, Wake up Wednesday and Stitch Along Wednesday.

 

 

 

 

Update: Knitted wool blanket

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I thought I would have been much further along with my knitted wool blankets; however, that’s not the case. Yesterday, I DID manage to knit on one of my blankets for a few hours.

Knitted blanket.2.23.16
Knitted blanket in progress

Thus far, I’ve knitted about 18″, and have plenty more to knit.

In other news…

I’ll be taking a private spinning class. Initially, the class was set for tomorrow; however, the store owner emailed me and asked could it be moved to Thursday. Sure, no problem. Outside of treadling, I haven’t touched my spinning wheel too much. I guess I’m fearful of learning bad habits that might be difficult to break.

Work in Progress: Knitted wool blanket

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My long term knitting projects are knitted blankets. I love wool blankets. They are incredibly warm. I’m guessing this knitted blanket will take at least a 100 hours to make.

Here’s one of my knitted blanket projects.

Work in progress: Wool knit blanket
Work in progress: Wool knit blanket

It’s my simple blanket. I didn’t use a pattern; however, it’s something easy that I came up with on my own. I know there are similar ones out there. The yarn used is a superwash wool. I’m trying to knit on it daily. The other blanket I’m knitting looks complicated; however, it really isn’t. I’ll be sure to post that knit blanket in progress soon.

Today, we have snow, so this is the perfect project to curl up with by our woodstove!

 

No sewing, but lots of knitting

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A few weekends ago, my daughter, BF and I went to Delaware to visit the BFs parents and celebrate his birthday.

BFs knitted hat
BFs knitted hat

One of the gifts I gave him was this knitted hat that he’s wearing above. Last evening, he took the above selfie and sent it to me. He looks exactly like his mom in this picture.

Knitted hat
Knitted hat in progress

Initially, I was knitting it for some unknown person, but while visiting him I saw this look of longing in his eyes that seemed to say, “I really like that!” I decided I would knit it for him, but of course I didn’t tell him that. I wanted him surprised. He was so thrilled to receive that hat and he told me he was wishing he had a similar hat, because he loved the colors, but he was too polite to say anything. I didn’t use a pattern.

He told me that he’s been wearing it daily. He also said that the cold does not penetrate his hat. Of course it won’t! I used my size 2 Hiya Hiya knitting needles and the wool weight is worsted. Cold air doesn’t penetrate my knitted hats designed for cold weather! I’ve made my father several, which he adores. He loves to be outside in the cold. I’ve also made hats for my daughter and myself. We love being outdoors also. A few random loved ones have been gifted with some of my knitted hats also.

 

 

Last Minute Knitted Gifts.11.18.15
Last Minute Knitted Gifts

 

Currently, I’m knitting him a matching knitted scarf.  He does know about this knitting project and is really excited. The pattern can be found in the book, Last Minute Knitted Gifts. The pattern is  titled, Men’s Cashmere Scarf. I’m using merino wool. Guess what? You don’t need the book to make this scarf. It’s a ribbed scarf and so the pattern is very simple; Row 1 knit, Row 2 k1, p1, Continue this pattern until you reach the desired length.

Last Minute Knitted Gifts.knitted scarf.11.18.15

I’ve decided to make this scarf 6′ in length. I would say I’m at the half way mark and so I still have several hours ahead of me.

Knitted Scarf and Bella_1 11.18.15
Bella checking to see if I have any dropped stitches!

With my busy work schedule, I’m finding it hard to squeeze in some knitting time.

Knitted Scarf and Bella_3 11.18.15
Knitted Scarf in progress. I’m at the halfway mark.

Usually, I find myself knitting at bedtime, right after my devotions. As much as I enjoy sewing, I do find myself knitting a lot more and that’s because it’s portable. With my daughters active schedule, I love bringing along a project that I can work on as I observe from the sidelines. Knitting is the perfect craft that keeps your hands busy as you watch your children participate in a variety of activities. How much time have I put into this scarf? Oh… at least 30 hours. I wanted to have it complete by this weekend. That’s when I’ll see him; however, I’m unsure if that will happen. It depends on my schedule. We’ll see…

 

In other news…

Christmas is quickly approaching and while we don’t get into a lot of the craziness. I do tend to get things for my loved ones. This year, my BF and I have decided to do things differently. We can’t purchase anything. We must be creative. I already have a few ideas of what I will do for him. Luckily, I have plenty of fabric, yarn and beads in my stash. I do believe I’ll post some of his projects here since he never remembers my crafting website address. He does stop by my other site. I am really curious on what he will do. He’s not overly crafty, but I know he’ll surprise me with something really thoughtful. He’s a thoughtful and romantic man. I’m the female version so we are a perfect match.