using blocking wires

I’m joining up with Ginny on her “yarn along“. I love to knit and love to read – but since I haven’t figured out how to do both at the same time – I also love Audible.  I think I’m relistening to the “Wheel of Time” series.

I received a set of  “blocking wires”, these are actually 308L 1/16″ welding rods.  And my brother, Aaron owns a welding company, Eagle Welding Service, Inc, and he gave me a tube of these (there are about 20 in the tube).

This shawl was knit by my Mother, and I do a lot of her blocking.  This was the first time I’ve used them.

It was a bit fiddly to work with these, but I’m liking how it’s turning out.

Over all it took about 1/2 hour to block this shawl out using the blocking wires which is pretty close to the time it would take just using pins.

Mom, I hope you like how this one turns out!

Have a great week ~ So what are you knitting / crocheting / spinning / reading / listening to?

Check out some others at the ~  Yarn Along & WIP Wednesday with tami’s amis

knitting mojo is back

I’m joining up with Ginny on her “yarn along“. I love to knit and love to read – but since I haven’t figured out how to do both at the same time – I also love Audible. I’ve been listening to Zero Day by David Baldacci.

It’s been a while since I’ve been here, I had kinda lost my knitting mojo for a while, but I think it’s back with a vengeance.  I started this scarf  on Sunday and it is almost 2/3  of the way completed.

It’s an easy pattern, you start with four stitches, knit in garter stitch increasing one stitch every fourth row until you’ve used half your yarn, and then decease every fourth row until you are back to 4 stitches.

I changed it up a little by alternating yarn and adding an eyelet row every eighth row. I’m using a couple skeins I had in my stash of Deborah Norville Serenity Garden yarn, it’s 100% microfiber. The colorways I had are Hibiscus and Gems.

Thanks for visiting and I’m glad to be back…

Have a great week ~ So what are you knitting / crocheting / spinning / reading / listening to?

Check out some others at the ~  Yarn Along & WIP Wednesday with tami’s amis

knitting toys

I’m joining up with Ginny on her “yarn along“. I love to knit and love to read – but since I haven’t figured out how to do both at the same time – I also love Audible. I’ve been listening to a few Tom Clancy books.

In and around finishing the “Idaho” shawl, I’ve been knitting some toys to share with some little kids at a local Waldorf  School.

(juggling ball set, bunnies, snakes, cats and a little turtle)

Have a great week ~ So what are you knitting / crocheting / spinning / reading / listening to?

Check out some others at the ~  Yarn Along & WIP Wednesday with tami’s amis

an Idaho-bound shawl

I’m joining up with Ginny on her “yarn along“. I love to knit and love to read – but since I haven’t figured out how to do both at the same time – I also love Audible. I’ve been re-reading A Time to Dance by Karen Kingsbury.

It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve linked up. I haven’t been knitting as much as usual because I’m helping my sister with a quilt project. But when I do take time to knit I’ve mainly been working on a shawl that I’m knitting at the request of a friend. They live up in Idaho, so she wants it snuggly warm. I’m knitting the Sunny Days Ahead shawl from the Knit Prayer Shawls book by Leisure Arts.

I’m using Caron Simply Soft in a nice warm brown, I want this to be an easy care shawl. I have made a couple modifications to the pattern. The original pattern has a “three” petal flower at the top, and I changed it to a “five” petal flower. I wanted is to be more than a half circle, it’s probably a little more that a 3/4 circle. I also added a 5 stitch garter border to each side, I don’t have much luck in getting a smooth border when I have to knit it on after the fact.

It is about 15″ deep now and she is wanting it to be around 28-30″ deep, so I have some knitting to do!

Have a great week ~ So what are you knitting / crocheting / spinning / reading / listening to?

Check out some others at the ~  Yarn Along & WIP Wednesday with tami’s amis

another homespun-hand knit annis

I thought I would pop in here with a quick post about another finished project. I’ts finally really finished – I blocked it!

I finished knitting this scarf/shawlette probably in October or November of last year, because I remember wearing it a Thanksgiving.

I’ve actually worn it a few times, curled edges and all. I really like long crescent shape.

It’s one of my favorite patterns, I think I’ve made three of these with a few modifications. It is Annis by Susanne IC.

I knit it from some of my homespun yarn – I think this was Frabjous Fiber.

sharing with In the Studio-Sneek Peek Friday, Creative Friday, Fibers on Friday,  F O Friday, Show Your Stuff

zenaura blocked

I finally finished this one up last week and got it blocked out this week. It had been in time out for a few months, because I had gotten side-tracked by a few other projects. It didn’t take long to finish it up, once I got started on it again.

Pattern ~ Zenaura by Åsa Tricosa

Yarn ~ Breathless by Shalimar ~ merino, cashmere, silk

Modifications ~ I did the stockinette sections a little wider than listed

I’m really happy with how it turned out and I love this yarn, the shading and the softness.

sharing with In the Studio-Sneek Peek Friday, Creative Friday, Fiber Arts Friday, F O Friday, Show Your Stuff

visiting Grandma & cobble gets ripped back a way…

I’m joining up with Ginny on her “yarn along“. I love to knit and love to read – but since I haven’t figured out how to do both at the same time – I also love Audible. I’ve been listening to the Earth Children series, I’m on The Mammoth Hunters. I’ve read and listened to these in the past, but I am enjoying them again.

I was visiting my Grandma Crain this last weekend, and thought I would show you that I came by my love of fiber crafts naturally. Here’s a picture of my 99 year old Grandma as she sorts through some little balls of yarn, deciding which ones she wants to use together for some granny squares.

She put the balls she had sorted for each square into little (re-used and re-used) ziplock bags. She pulled together yarn for  five or six squares that she will work on next. She is finishing the last strip of squares for a small baby afghan.

As long as I can remember, if Grandma was sitting down, she was working on something ~ embroidery, crocheting, or quilting. I’m thankful for the heritage and skills that have been passed down to me.

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I had had taken along a couple WIPs that have been hibernating for a while. I guess that it is kinda good that I have all my stash packed for moving and it’s easier to get to my WIPs, I’ve actually gotten one WIP finished.

I pulled out Cobble to work on and as I was reading back through the pattern to find my place, I realized I had made a mistake. Cobble is a triangular shawl and the cable crosses should mirror each other on each side of the back center. Well, I was doing the cross the same way on both sides.

All the crossed stitches on the left side should be reversed. I showed it to my Grandma, she said no one would notice – but I would and it would always bother me. So it got ripped back to the first cross.

And now I’m starting from there again…

So what are you knitting / crocheting / spinning / reading / listening to?

Check out some others at the ~  Yarn Along & WIP Wednesday with tami’s amis

munchkin friends

I’ve made a few of these (it’s hard to make just one) for some little friends.

pattern by Heather ~ yarn misc sock yarn ends

sharing with In the Studio-Sneek Peek Friday, Creative Friday, Fiber Arts Friday, Fibers on Friday,  F O Friday, Friday Fiber Arts, Show Your Stuff

rainbow “dreadlock” scarf

I’m joining up with Ginny on her “yarn along“. I love to knit and love to read – but since I haven’t figured out how to do both at the same time – I also love Audible. I just finished listening to Lee Child’s – Jack Reacher books, I really enjoyed them. And I am just beginning to re-listen to the Clan of the Cave Bear series by Jean Auel.

I don’t have much I can take a picture of, most of my projects are packed up, because I’m moving next week.

But I can show you what I am working on right now, it is another sev(en) circle scarf by Kirsten Johnstone.

I’m using Mini Mochi in a rainbow colorway and I will probably only do 5 circles instead of 7.

The other modification I am doing is some short row rounds on the circles to minimize the extra fabric at the back neck of the scarf. I’m liking how it is turning out.

Have a great week ~ So what are you knitting / crocheting / spinning / reading / listening to?

Check out some others at the ~  Yarn Along & WIP Wednesday with tami’s amis

where do you hide your stash?

I thought I would show you where I keep hide my stash. I have couple Longaberger baskets like you see here full of yarn. The blue bins are full of yarn or WIPs. My puppy, Buddy likes to be in the middle of whatever I’m doing. Most things I make have a few white dog hairs in them.

The brown tub is about 1/2 full of my homespun yarn (remember, most of it is for sale in my etsy shop).

Some of my knitting & spinning library…

My spinning fiber cupboard, I need to get spinning.

Here’s how I store my knitting needles, I have two zip close 3 ring binders and a bunch of zip close pockets. I use 1 pocket per size to keep my circulars, double-pointed and straights (if they fit). I have to admit that I have a basket that they get tossed in when I’m not using them, and occasionally I take the time to size them and put them all away.

And I have this tub out in my shed for the rest of my yarn ~ phew I better get knitting. Due to life circumstances, I probably won’t be buying much until next year, but thankfully I don’t think I will run out…  he he he

sharing with In the Studio-Sneek Peek Friday, Creative Friday, Fiber Arts Friday, Fibers on Friday,  F O Friday, Friday Fiber Arts, Show Your Stuff