Resolutions

Wow, it's been a month since I posted. I think about writing every day, but then time just whizzes by and the day is over with no blog post having been written.

I have noticed several knitting blogs whose writers are making knitting resolutions . I am not much for making resolutions, as I'm pretty sure I'm not going to keep them, but have decided to take stock of what is on my needles and make a plan with some nebulous deadlines.

I found two bags with abandoned projects in my Fibber McGee yarn closet when I went looking for yarn for another sweater I started this week.

The sweater is Rosemary's Middle Sweater from Green Mountain Spinnery made with Cascade 220 that I bought years ago. I have started and ripped out at least three sweaters using this yarn. I think it may be because the color of the yarn is outside my color comfort zone. It's an easy pattern, and I only have the sleeves and collar left to do. I think I stopped knitting it because I thought I wouldn't have enough yarn and I knew it would be hard to match. I'm going to be optimistic that there is enough yarn and knit fast, because somehow knitting fast makes it seem more likely that there will be enough yarn. I know that makes no logical sense, but so far it has worked. The actual color of the sweater is more the color in the tote bag above.

These are a few of about 60 granny squares completed for an afghan I abandoned at least a year ago. I guess I was just fickle and moved on to another project, although I know I will love the afghan when it is completed. There is a lot of blocking, sewing together and weaving in of ends in my future. I chose random block patterns from the book 200 Crochet Blocks, and much of the yarn is either Harrisville Shetland or Elisabeth Lavold Silky Wool. Both yarns had the color palette I was looking for and the tweedy texture that I wanted for this project.

The sweater that I started this week is a Knitting Pure and Simple Neckdown Cardigan for Women pattern. I am very fond of Knitting Pure and Simple patterns. They are well written and easy to follow. The yarn I am using was bought for another sweater that was abandoned last year. It is Peace Fleece worsted, one of my all time favorite yarns, both because of the merino mohair blended yarn and the idea behind the company. Their mission statement is that they are a yarn company committed to helping historic enemies cooperate and prosper through trade. They offer yarn made from a blend of Russian, Romanian, American, Israeli and Palestinian wools.

I hope to have all three projects completed by the end of February. Perhaps making this commitment in such a public forum will make me actually stick to the deadline.

I also have several pairs of socks using my Moonlight and Laughter yarn going at all times. I don't really count socks as part of my UFO's because as soon as I finish a pair I cast on for another pair, almost always with my handdyed yarn. Right now I'm working on a pair using my merino, cashmere, nylon blend and I'm loving working with the yarn. The colorway is called "Twilight Time" and is a beautiful blending of blues and lavenders, all the shades one might see as night is falling.

I'm also making a commitment to knit more with my handspun yarn. I tend to spin and not use the yarn, and my collection is becoming quite large and unruly. I thought I had it all contained in one closet, but when I was in the yarn closet searching for the sweater yarn mentioned above I discovered a whole bin of handspun I had forgotten about. Oops! Maybe it's time to start thinking about adding some handspun to the shop.

Here is a picture of my supervisors Seamus and Gerard. They were helping me fill some orders, making sure I didn't make any mistakes. Right now Gerard is supervising the writing of this post while lying on my arms, making it practically impossible to type, but he is very warm. I appreciate the warmth on this cold January day.

Happy Summer!

Happy Summer, a few days late!

I have been remiss in not writing a fuller report on my Bohus Stickning class at Harrisville Designs. I learned a lot about the history of Bohus Stickning and we saw some beautiful examples of the sweaters that were knit and sold, many to rich American tourists. The class was taught by Susanna Hansson, and if you click on the link to her site there is a much better explanation of the Bohus movement than I could give. There are also some wonderful photos of some of the sweaters, better than the photos I took. I enjoyed knitting the cuff, didn't mind the

000 needles, and loved the yarn. It is wool and angora and very, very soft with pretty colors. the class made me realize that I do not want to knit a sweater, perhaps a scarf and hat kit is in my future.

I did a small etsy update today. "Blue on Blue" on Mulberry Silk Brick, which as I have mentioned before, is one of the softest fibers I have ever felt. I do believe it is even softer than cashmere.

This is "Blue on Blue" on Milk Fiber.

This is a colorway called "Summer Fruits" painted onto Superwash Bluefaced Leicester. This fiber is a dream to spin, absolutely no pre-drafting required, and it spins up into a soft and lofty fiber.

This is "Summertime" on Merino Tencel fiber, which is also wonderful to spin, and the colors really reminded me of summer in the garden.

Tonight is a beautiful night. I think it is the first night this season that I can leave the windows open and not wake up freezing in the morning. It is making me very happy. Now we just have to have the pool people come to open the pool so we can enjoy it on these warm days. It seems that there were holes in the pool cover, and as we were putting water into the pool, it was being pumped out of the cover at the same time. I can't wait to see the water bill next month.

On Monday Conor and I went to Cranberry Lake for the first time this year, and it was beautiful there also. We couldn't stay because there was no water. The pump had a crack in it and had to be replaced. My sister and her family were there for three days with no running water. I think they are very brave. I would have turned around and come home.

Jane reminded me that we didn't have a hot water heater at camp until I was in college, and when I washed dishes by heating water on the stove, and almost burning my finger rinsing dishes, it all came back to me. We also had very large tea kettles in which we heated water when we wanted to take a bath. I was also reminded that one can bathe in about two inches of water when absolutely necessary. We will be going back to spend the night on Friday now that we have both hot and cold running water again. My brother-in-law is very talented when it comes to fixing things, although he did have to call in a plumber at the end. So we will be on our way to Cranberry Lake after the Farmer's Market on Friday.

So think of me Friday night, with my knitting and a nice glass of red wine, sitting on the porch enjoying a view like this.

Home Again

I'm home from Harrisville, exhausted and happy to be here. It was a fun class and I spent a lot of time knitting on tiny (000) needles. Here is what I accomplished.

What was accomplished was one wrist warmer, about 16 rows of one pattern and 3 rows of another pattern. The Bohus yarn is some of the softest I have ever felt. It is wool and angora and has a beautiful halo when knit. I also learned a lot about the Bohus Stickning knitting tradition, met some fun and interesting women, did a little bit of shopping and ate some great food.

Here is a close-up of the wrist warmer. It is a small portion of one of the Bohus patterns made with real Bohus yarn from Sweden.

Despite the fact that I consumed massive quantities of caffeine on my way home, I can't seem to keep my eyes open, so I will return with a more extensive report tomorrow.

Another Harrisville Class

I signed up for another class at Harrisville Designs today. My friend Judy brought it to my attention when we were discussing going to Lynne's class. The new class is called Bohus Stickning and the teacher is Susana Hanssen. It should be fun, and it will be nice to visit Harrisville at the beginning of the summer as well as at the end.

Today Suzanne and Trina came over to knit. Suzanne brought two new sock books that she received for Christmas, and I can feel another book purchase coming on. The book I am feeling the need to buy is Knitting Socks With Handpainted Yarns by Carol Sulcoski. I can't wait to get the book and knit a pattern using one of my hand painted yarns, perhaps Leaves of Grass.


My knitting group has decided to knit at least one pair of socks and a scarf each month, and that way we will have 24 gifts knit by the end of the year. It should really cut down on Christmas knitting anxiety. For the more adventurous of us, we will also be doing a sweater every two months. Since I have only knit one adult sized sweater, and it took me three years to finish it, that is a rather lofty goal for me, but I am going to try it. The other knitting goal I have for 2009 is to knit something with a steek. I am already feeling anxiety about it, but feel I must face my knitting fears and try it. I love Elizabeth Zimmerman's advice on cutting steeks in Knitting Without Tears to "Cut on basting, then lie down in a darkened room for 15 minutes to recover. You will never fear to cut again. (But always be sure to cut in the right place.)" Sounds like good advice to me.

Knitting Without Tears is the first knitting book I bought and I always recommend it when asked what is a good beginning knitting book. Elizabeth's message that there is no wrong way to knit, as long as you end up with a finished project and are happy knitting, is a wonderful knitting philosophy.

Here's a little eye candy to say good-bye for today. This is some of the first yarn and fiber I dyed. The colors are bright and cheerful and make me smile. I hope they do the same for you.