Test Knit

I just received a package containing a test knit that I did for designer, Donna Druchunas. The pattern is Monedero from her book, "Ethnic Knitting Discovery: The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, and The Andes". She said that the photo shoot is over and included a copy of the book in the package for me.

I must say that this was a little challenging, simply because I had to change the way I knit. This pattern is from the Andean knitting section of the book. They tension the yarn around their neck and then purl from the inside, working in the round. It seemed almost backwards, but as you work along, it becomes a much smoother transition when changing colors in stranded work.

The book is set up in a workbook style and encourages you to learn to work without a line by line pattern. Instead it sets up guidelines and charts, so that you may knit more intuitively. The only thing I would like changed in the book is that it does not have photos, but is illustrated by drawings. Perhaps, having it spiral bound would be helpful too, but I think that of all craft books.

So here is a picture of the drawstring purse, Monedero, made in Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport.This is a picture of the Monedero with my Mom. Thanks for posing, Mom!

DIY Saves Money

Since I haven't accomplished much of anything with my knitting, crocheting, or spinning to share with you yet, I would like to direct you to the blog of a genius, in my opinion. This amazing person has made their own wool combs for only $15.00! I am very impressed.

Beth Skwarecki's Science & Miscellanea blog will tell you how, with very detailed parts list and instructions. There is even a link to tell you how to use them after you make them. If I had any wood working skills and tools of my own, I would start making these immediately. Especially, since I have wool comb envy in a very bad way. (hint, hint)

I will try to produce something of my own for my next blog post, but no promises.

Wallet Cards

A fellow Raverler and TKGA member, polycrafty, has developed a wonderful tool for knitters and other crafters who need to keep peoples measurements on hand for projects. It lists the most common measurements needed for a garment or accessory and it is business card sized so you can conveniently keep it with you in your wallet so that you know what you need while out shopping for a new project. Simply fill in the blanks with a person's measurements.

She has set it up in pdf format and is offering it for free on her blog, Unravelling Argyle. You can find a button at the top of her blog that will direct you to the pdf for the wallet cards or just click this direct link.

Bonus: She has also made up a Knitter's Sock Guide that is able to be folded up to business card size, and is also available in pdf format. You will find it available on that same page. It provides those little reminders for the heel turning, gusset, toe decreases, Kitchener stitch that we sometimes need a little help with.

I hope that you find these tools as helpful as I have. Also, I asked her permission to pass this information on to you, so please make sure to give her proper credit for a fantastic idea and for doing the work for us if you pass it on too.

Tour de Fleece

TourdeFleece, originally uploaded by starathena.

I am going to spin in the Tour de Fleece! This will be my first year of this challenge and I am very excited. I will be spinning for Team Plurk.

If you want more information about the Tour de Fleece, please check out the blog, Keep On Knitting In The Free World and the Ravelry group, Tour de Fleece.

If you are a spinner, come join in the fun!

I love BFL!

I have been spinning the June SAL fiber from CJ Kopec Creations and I love it! It is BFL, and I have never worked with that fiber before. It is the softest fiber I have ever felt and it seems to almost spin itself. I must admit that I am pretty darn proud of my finished yarn and I really look forward to knitting with it.

My sister saw it as a single in progress and proclaimed that she really liked it. Since then she has hinted that something made from it would be a great birthday present for her. I have sent her pics of the finished yarn and told her to decide what she would like to have made from it.

Here again is a picture of the fiber that started this spinning project.Then the single as it was being spun.
Here it is, Navajo plied, 275 yards of a heavy-fingering/sport weight yarnI am really looking forward to knitting with this yarn. I am learning so much from participating in this SAL. Just seeing how other spinners work with the exact same fiber and come up with such varied and interesting treatments, is expanding the way I see a fibers possibilities when I look at it. I highly recommend that you participate in a SAL, if you have the opportunity to. The one that I am in, CJ Kopec Creations Ravelry group, starts anew each month, so you can join in the fun too!

Love getting the mail!

Saturday was a very good mail day. Three packages were delivered to our apartment on Saturday! One was from Wonderbook and contained 10 books on baseball. HUH? Okay, that package was for Ray.

The second package is this beautiful and incredibly soft fiber from CJ Kopec Creations for her June SAL. It is BFL! This is so soft that I just wanted to pet it like a new born kitten. I let it caress my face and I started to put a bowl of milk down for it before I came back to my senses and realized that it isn't a pet. I am still trying to decide how I want to spin it.
The third package I knew exactly what I was going to do with it. I had ordered from Knit Picks the Comfy worsted weight in the Peony colorway so that I could knit the Hey Teach! sweater that is in Knitty Summer 2oo8. I love that sweater and the Knitting Purls group on Ravelry is running a Sweater KAL and a Summer Hotties KAL that this will qualify for. Plus, there are a few others in the KAL knitting the same sweater so if I need help they will be there for me and visa versa. I was so excited that I let the yarn jump on my needles as quickly as possible. I actually swatched! Gasp! It only took 2 swatches to get gauge and I am using a size 9 circular for this (the pattern calls for an 8). Here is my start, yesterday morning. This is the first time I have ever used Knit Picks Comfy yarn and I must say that I love it. It has a wonderful hand feel for a cotton blend and is draping wonderfully for me. It is truely a pleasure to knit with. This was my progress as a of 2 am this morning on the back of the sweater. Insomnia can be a knitters best friend.I am off to start the lace work on the bodice back. Wish me luck as I have never successfully made a sweater that required seaming or lace work, but I have my KAL mates to help if I get stuck.

A WIP and a UFO

Woohoo! I completed 2 projects today. The first one is a pair of self striping socks that I started for the Ravelympics back in August of 2008 but never finished. They have made appearances a few times in my knitting bag when I thought I would be waiting for appointments and at family gatherings, but they are boring. The pattern is Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's Sock Recipe (Ravelry Link) and the yarn is Paton's Kroy Sock in the Jacquards Tutti-Fruitti colorway. Endless miles of stockinette stitch, yawn. Now they are done, and I have proof. Ta Da!Magic loop was used, but I hadn't learned how to do 2 at a time back then. Silly me!The next project was just started on May 31st in anticipation of doing a lot of waiting at a medical appointment yesterday. I was correct in my assumption. I almost finished both mitts while there. So it was simple to finish them up today. The pattern is Lacy Fingerless Gloves (Raveled) by Christie Pruitt. They are crocheted in Red Heart Sport in the Aqua colorway and will go with a cowl I knit last winter. (Yes, the arm is a little pinkish. I got too much sun at a weekend BBQ.)I inserted some paper so that it would be easier to see the stitches. As always, I wish I was better at taking the pictures. The true color is somewhere between these 2 pictures.Finally, I received a wonderful little surprise in the mail from a fellow raveler in the RAK group (Random Acts of Kindness). I don't know if she would want to be identified, so I won't. She sent me a Ziploc with assorted buttons in it! I love it. I have already picked out some special buttons from the gift to use in future projects. Thank you for such a lovely and thoughtful gift!!!