Wild Citrus Scarf

Yay, I finally got this scarf photographed and listed!

I made it with scraps of yarn left behind after other projects.  Definitely happy with how it turned out!

Here are some more pictures:

Belated Christmas Scarf

Once again this year, I didn't have a Christmas gift for Katherine (the choir director/my boss at church) ready in time.  So I offered to knit something, whatever she would like.

After some thought, she said she would like a scarf.  She only had one scarf in vivid pink, but her two winter hats were blue and teal, so she never matched.  So she would like a scarf to match her hats.

I chose some Simply Soft yarn by Caron from JoAnn Fabrics (again), because I always seem to go yarn shopping at awkward times when my LYS is closed, and I wanted something soft, machine-washable, with high yardage, and in a very particular colorway.

I felt very clever as I designed this scarf.  One of Katherine's hats has a repeating 6-stitch cable pattern, and the other hat (which I knit for her last year) has a mock cable pattern.  So I incorporated both in this scarf.

I had procrastinated on weaving in the damn ends, though, and only on Sunday morning, when I planned to bring along the scarf to give to Katherine, did I remember!  Luckily, I had a couple moments to spare, so zip, zip, in went the ends, out came the camera, I wrapped up the present in tissue paper and yarn, and ran out the door.

 

Katherine seemed to like it. :)   Happy ending.

Baby Sweater for Amy

Two weeks ago, I learned that there would be a baby shower for a postdoc in the lab. This would be the first baby shower I had ever attended! I had to knit something! Amy wouldn't reveal the baby's sex, though, so I asked if she had a color preference. She said they were decorating the nursery in green, white, and brown.


After researching yarn requirements for baby sweaters on Ravelry, I visited the nearest JoAnn fabrics for some Lion Brand WoolEase yarn. 80% acrylic = soft & washable; 20% wool = warm, for a February baby. I decided to use the architecture from Daisy by Stephanie Pearl McPhee, adding in some gender-neutral color elements.


I've never really dealt with babies much myself, but I've heard other knitters talk about them. So I knew:
• Babies make a huge mess --> sweater must be machine washable.
• Babies squirm --> sweater must be a cardigan, not a pullover, to facilitate dressing and undressing.
• Babies grow wicked quick --> sweater should be a size up, to make sure the baby doesn't outgrow it in a week.


Of course I had delusions of grandeur, planning a complete set with sweater, hat, booties, and mittens. Ha. With only a week to knit, I ended up blocking the sweater the night before the shower with help from our space heater, and sewing on the buttons just before leaving for the party. I suppose I could still complete the set, since the baby isn't due until February...

latest spinning: BFL

Here's my latest spinning:


It's BFL from High Bid Farm, which isn't all that far away from me, that I got at the latest Finger Lakes Fiber Festival. I'm spinning it on a Turkish drop spindle (also shown) that I also got at said Fiber Fest. It's my first Turkish drop spindle, and I love it dearly, because I detest the tedious process of winding yarn off of spindles. I love the immediate ball function on this spindle. My plan is to make a 2-ply yarn, and knit a scarf of some sort. I have 4 oz of this fiber, so that should be enough.

Inspired

I just watched this video -- one of the Handmade Portraits on Etsy. It wasn't at all what I expected to find, but I found it much more powerful than my expectations. Some people thought it was creepy, but I thought it was fantastic! -- beautiful, imaginative, and captivating.



It makes me think about my own story in a different way.