Freshly Spun Angora Yarn

I started plying this yarn last night and finished it up this morning. It is so scrumptious, 85%angora/15%merino wool. I bought it at the fiber festival I attended in the summer.

I have no idea how many yards are here yet. I still need to treat the yarn and and then hang it to dry overnight.

I do have a project in mind, but we'll see how much I get first. I have a little bit of roving left from this batch, I also know where I got it as well so I could always buy some more.
It was a fun yarn to spin up because there are a multitude of colour variations within the roving. They ranged from all manner of blues to lavenders, white, and even some green and turquoise. I liked to spin it outdoors because then all the true colours were visible. The pictures don't do it justice. This is a gorgeous yarn!
Too bad my spinning skills aren't more up to par...

Quilted Teddy Bears

I was going back through older photos today looking for projects I have done in the past. This little quilt was one I made for a friend, back at the beginning of 2008

This quilt was a lot of fun because there was a lot of hand stitching on it. I quilted circles and did the blanket stitch around the little bears. I like the little bears, they are so cute!

I used only scraps. I was just thinking today that I need to make one of these for myself now. Currently I have another little quilt in progress, I'll have to post that as well.

I really enjoy quilting by hand, it is so relaxing, beautiful, and very rewarding.

Mossy Mitts

Mossy Mitts

Started: September 26,2009

Finished: September 27,2009

This is the perfect weather for knitting fall accessories! Today it was raining and very cold, and I won't elaborate on what I went through to get these photos.

These are the "Wave Hand Warmers" found in One Skein Wonders:101 Shop Favorites.

I have wanted to try this pattern for a long time now, and I am so glad I did.

I used the leftover yarn from the mossy wimple to make these mitts.

They are soft, warm and simply luxurious!

I'll have to make myself some. These are for Mother, to go with her wimple.
I did alter the design a little bit. If anyone is interested in making them I can give you the notes for how I changed them. Basically I made them longer beyond the thumb hole, and also went down a needle size so they fit better around the palm. Oh, I only did five pattern repeats for the arm, instead of the eight that the pattern called for.

P.S. I did make two of these! But my right hand is kind of tied up holding the camera!

Mossy Moebius Wimple

Mossy Moebius Wimple

Started: September 24, 2009

Finished: September 25, 2009

Isn't this the loveliest wimple ever! Well, I have seen quite a few wimples and cowls that I like. I think almost all of them are lovely. But this one here was a Moebius wimple, and quite the project!

The cast on for this particular wimple is very confusing at first. I originally found the free pattern on Ravelry under the name Cashmere Moebious Cowl. I copied it out, settled down with my needles, and then read in the fine print that I needed to know how to do the moebius cast on which was found in Cat Bordhi's book, "A Treasury of Magical Knitting".

Naturally I do not own that book, nor have I ever heard of it! So I ordered the book from the library. When it came in I spent a good half hour trying to make heads or tails of the crazy cast on technique. But when it finally made sense I found that it was the fastest cast on I have ever done in my life!

The pattern itself was actually quite easy, just a simple lace pattern. I was quite surprised how fast it went. I cast on Thursday evening and bound off Friday evening. Granted I have been sick so I have had a little more time for knitting than usual. But still, it is a very quick knit.

The yarn I used is suri alpaca, and very soft.

Altogether it was a delightful project and I can't wait to make another one. The wimple is actually for my Mother so I shall have to make one for myself in the near future. I love the colour of this one but regretably it has been discontinued.

Oh, this pattern can be found at www.catbordhi.com

And....What Is It??

No, it is not a wide scarf. Nor is it a panel for an afghan. In fact, this is the beginnings of my shrug! I know, it looks a little odd here, but it will be lovely when it is finished.

As you can see from the pictures I am about out of yarn. I went yesterday, and then today for the rest of the yarn, but the store is running low at the moment. They should be getting in an order sometime this week though.

I probably need a short break from "the shrug" anyways, as it grew from nothing to 25" in less then 24 hours! I went to keep an elderly lady company Monday night while her family was gone.
I didn't really have any simple projects to take along and work on while we were chatting so I decided just to start a new one. Bad idea I suppose, especially after my resolution to find and finish all WIP. Oh well, there is always tomorrow, or the next day.
At the moment I am going to go quilt for a while!

Knitting At The Shore

We have been to the beach several times recently, and I always make sure to take along some knitting. You never know when a spare moment will be available.

This blue bit of knitting here is a shawl that Mother is making.

And I am making the same shawl only with different yarn. I thought our yarn colors were very apropos to the setting.

The lengths I go to for pictures for the blog......
This picture was scary to take. I was afraid my yarn was going to plunge into the water any moment. But it didn't.

This is my shawl a week later. We were back at the beach so I thought it was only fitting to take another picture.

All that sand is a scary thing when it comes to knitting. But thankfully a brisk shake normally does the trick, and all the sand falls out.

My Latest Bit Of Sewing

Well now, here I am with some pics! I whipped up this lovely little bag for a surprise birthday party this past week. I probably could have made it in a few hours, but as I was with relations there were other things going on, so I worked on it here and there.

But isn't it just beautiful? I love to look at it. I can see I shall have to make myself one of these. I can't remember the pattern name off the top of my head, but if anyone wants to know just leave a comment and I'll get back with you.

The pattern uses 28 - 5X5" squares, I bought a packet of the pre-cut ones from the quilt shop.

This is my first attempt at taking blog worthy self portraits with the timer on my new camera. I must say it was a trial at first. I was pressed for time since the birthday party was starting in 15min. and I was nowhere near ready. Plus I suddenly remembered that I needed to take pictures of the Anne bag for my blog! So I grabbed my camera and raced outside, shooting of a whole slew of pictures within a few minutes, hoping at least a few would turn out. Thankfully, a few did. (I had one shot where all I got was the woods and railing of the porch.)

I didn't have any buttons with me, but I was meeting up with my family at the party so I called and asked Mother to bring some along. These ones here are Mother-of-pearl buttons.

I sewed them on while sitting in the car and then it was done! I really liked making this pattern, I expect to make many more in the future!

Sorry...No Pictures

Yes, I am at a computer. But the computer does not happen to have access to my pictures so at the present you must content yourself with words. I suppose I will have to try and be semi-interesting , or else you will all fall asleep before you finish reading this.
Hopefully this weekend I will be able to blog in proper style and you can see what I have been working on lately.
However, I can not show everything I have been working on. All close relatives of mine have a tendency to pounce upon my blog like sharks whenever I post something new. So consequently I can not put up any pictures of gifts I may be making. Expect either a barrage of posts, or one really long one, come January. It gives you something to look forward to, right?
Speaking of gifts, today I was debating on whether or not to sit down and sew, or go to the yarn shop. Which do you think won out?
Yup, the yarn shop.
I grabbed a list which included, potential projects, the yarn and needles they require, weights etc, and off I went. I happily browsed the shop for about an hour. But I ended up getting rather in a dizzy state by all my options. This one was too soft, that one too scratchy, too shiny, too....odd. I finally quit looking at yarn, scrapped my idea paper momentarily, and went to look at the pattern books.
Thankfully the kind ladies at the yarn shop know me on a first name basis. Otherwise I might have been sent to....well, you know. One of those places for those not in complete control of their mental faculties.
I finally made a selection, based on a careful process of elimination which involved standing with three colorways of the same yarn in my hand for a good 8 minutes, putting one down, picking it up again, putting it back down....I felt quite silly. Common sense won out and I picked the color I knew the recipient would like, not the color I liked best. The recipient and I have different tastes in some things.
Hmm...what other knitting news do I have? Not much. I have been working on another shawl, now that the Peace Shawl is finished. I do so love new projects. But I have too many projects floating around, I need to stop starting new ones and finish some of my WIP and UFO's. The UFO's are the scary ones. I ran across one the other day when I was getting ready to leave for the week. I took one hasty glance and quick stuffed it back where I found it. Not because I don't want to work on it, but more because I felt guilty for not having finished it already.

Note to self: Find, sort and make a list of all UFO's and WIP's.

Well that is about it for now. Cheerio!

Raindrops On Roses......

The Completed Peace Shawl

Hurrah! I am finally finished with the Peace shawl! Actually I have been done for a few weeks. I never mentioned it, but my gauge was way of so I ended up tearing out the shawl (when it was already a third done) and starting all over.However I did take my own sweet time knitting the 2nd time. Mainly because I was repeating two rows for most of the later part of the shawl, and that got old real fast. I ran into a few snags along the way. For the most part it was just because I had forgot to mark what row I was on, and so I ended up doing the wrong row.

Here is is all laid out and ready to be blocked. To be sure, I have never blocked anything this size before! I was rather nervous as to how it would turn out. I pinned it out, laid a wet sheet over it, and then went to the beach and happily forgot about it until the next morning. Thankfully it blocked beautifully, and I was thrilled with the finished results.

The shawl was a gift from my family to Grandma, as a comfort shawl. It has been a little over three months since Grandpa passed away. I was hoping to get it done sooner, but it just didn't work out that way.

Grandma loved her shawl. She was quite thrilled with it and wore it to Sunday morning church. Doesn't she look elegant?