Monthly Archives: February 2009

Beach souvenir, and a Lantern Moon event

Posted on February 25, 2009 | 19 comments

I bought two skeins of Mirasol Hacho at Coastal Yarns in Cannon Beach, Oregon last year during Crafty Moms Weekend. It’s been sitting in my tiny stash, waiting to become socks. I love dk weight socks; they knit up so quickly.

When I first started swatching, I tried some lacy patterns, but the lace got lost in the variegated yarn. I thought about my entrelac socks like the ones Anna test knit for me with some Hacho last year (same yarn expedition).

But I wanted something different. This yarn definitely needs some stockinette to have an opportunity to sing. Here’s what I finally settled on:

I love the way this is knitting up. The ripples remind me of waves at the beach. Very fitting for a yarn from the coast!

I’m having a lot of fun making this up as I go, and I’m planning to write up the pattern when I’m done.

In local news, Lantern Moon is having an event at their warehouse next Thursday, March 5, 6:30 pm. There will be an opportunity to view January’s TNNA fashion show, local yarn shops showing what’s new and hot in the stores, Leigh Radford signing copies of her new book, AlterKNITS Felts, and refreshments. It’s also an opportunity to purchase Lantern Moon products at 20% off retail prices. Reservations are required; RSVP to diana@lanternmoon.com to let them know you’re coming. It’s no secret that I’m a big Lantern Moon fan; I’ll be there!

19 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged Knit, lantern moon, Mirasol Hacho, socks

Ebony and Ivory…

Posted on February 22, 2009 | 16 comments

I just finished my Arctic Blast Mitts, and I love them. They’re like little clouds. Sweet!

The only mod I made was unintentional; I was supposed to end with 5 rounds of ribbing, and I ended with two. Didn’t read closely, duh! But they’re the perfect length on my small hands; 5 rounds would have made them too long. I meant to do that; yeah, that’s the ticket…

This is the first time I’ve used a sewn bind off. It was easy, and it’s nice and stretchy. And I loved the arrowhead lace pattern on this so much that I started my blue Marisol Hacho socks in the same pattern. But the lace is completely lost in the variegation, so it’s back to the drawing board on those.

Arctic Blast Mitts, pattern by Star Athena, exclusively for Twisted‘s Single Skein Club
Malabrigo Silky Merino, 1 skein (50 grams), with a decent amount left over
Lantern Moon 6-inch Ebony Sox Stix, size 3

I love these needles; they’re the perfect length for the way I hold the my needles. And they’re more blunt than pointy, which fits my “scoop” rather than “poke” method of knitting.

Lovely!

16 Comments

Posted in Knit

Tagged arctic blast mitts, fingerless mitts, Knit, lantern moon sox stix, malabrigo, single skein club, twisted

August Meteor Shower (of knitting)

Posted on February 20, 2009 | 10 comments

The luminous stars of the knitting world are landing here in Portland in August. Check out the teacher list for Sock Summit. It is truly amazing. (Click on the names for bios, or check out the Yarn Harlot’s posted list.)

I’ll be there! I guess I’m a sock knitter after all.

10 Comments

Posted in Knit

Tagged Knit, sock, sock summit

We be chillin’…

Posted on February 18, 2009 | 15 comments

Here’s what’s on the needles these days…

No, it’s not a fancy beer cozy. That’s just the model. It’s really an Arctic Blast Mitt. These were designed by Star Athena, and are part of the first package from Twisted‘s Single Skein Club. DH bought me membership in the club for Christmas. Every other month I’ll get a skein of a fabulous luxury yarn, an exclusive pattern for that yarn, and goodies! This month’s goodies include a tote bag and a pen.

I finally had a chance to cast on last Sunday, riding in the car while the Teen drove us down to Eugene to visit CollegeMan. (CollegeMan just turned 21, so I can’t think of him as CollegeBoy any more.) The yarn is Malabrigo Silky Wool, a single ply yarn that is lovely to work with. The stitch pattern is Arrowhead Lace, which is easily memorized because 3 of the 5 rounds are “rest” rounds; only two rounds have yarn overs and decreases.

I think these will be lovely. I’ll have to take them back from the beer. Beer doesn’t get much respect in this household, anyway; I bought this beer specifically to make beer bread! I made some last night.

Beer Bread

3 cups self rising flour
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 12 ounce can/bottle of beer

(If you don’t have self rising flour, add 4 1/2 tsp baking powder and 3/4 tsp salt to 3 cups regular all purpose flour. This is what usually happens at our house.)

Mix ingredients; pour into greased pan. Cover with a dish towel and let rise in warm, non-drafty place for 30 minutes. Bake for 70 minutes in preheated 350 degree oven. Remove from pan and cool on rack until just warm. Slice and enjoy with butter and jam.

If you try to cut it when it’s still hot, the crust will break off from the bread. Ask me how I know. I had to leave for a meeting last night, so we ate this in a hurry, which is why the crust broke, and why there is no picture of the bread!

15 Comments

Posted in Knit, recipe

Tagged arctic blast mitts, beer bread, Knit

Keep your eyes on the prize…

Posted on February 16, 2009 | 4 comments

Because you have another chance to win! I received an email from Cristi (Turtlegirl76). Sometimes a comment is just a comment; she didn’t mean to enter the contest. She’s not a dpn knitter (but she does make a lot of socks), and would like me to redraw for the sox stix. I offered her the yarn and cake, but she graciously declined because she thinks it should all go together.

So another trip to the random number generator, and the number is 22, or the 22nd comment. Marie, you’re the new winner! And as a new sock knitter, I hope you enjoy these goodies.

In other news, I finished my fourth Athena yesterday. It looks just like the last one:

Except it has 9 blocks around instead of 8. But no new picture; you know what it looks like!

4 Comments

Posted in Blogging, Knit

Tagged entrelac, sox stix

Drum roll for the winner please…

Posted on February 16, 2009 | 9 comments

And the winner of the drawing for the Lantern Moon Sox Stix is…

Turtlegirl76! I’ve added a couple things to the prize package, too. The yarn is fingering weight, hand dyed by Knitted Wit. I love the colors of this yarn, but when I started to knit with it, I realized that I’m just not a skinny yarn knitter. All my socks are sport or DK, or even worsted! Also included is a cute cake keychain, also from Lantern Moon. Have fun, Cristi! Please send me your snail mail addy, and I will send your package out this week.

Edit: It turns out that Cristi’s not a dpn knitter! See the next post for the new winner…after checking out the blogs mentioned below.

And I’m a winner, too! This week, I’ve been nominated by two bloggers, Jeanne Knits and Knitting Siamese, for a Kreativ Blogger Award. Thanks, Jeanne and Courtney!

Here are the rules:

1. Copy the award to your site.
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award.
3. Nominate 7 other bloggers.
4. Link to those on your blog.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominated.

And here are the blogs that I think you should check out:

Emilee Knits: Emilee is working her way through the Barbara Walker treasuries, doing a swatch a week. I’m enjoying seein the swatches, and Emilee’s commentary on the stitch patterns.

Earthtones Girl: Denise is a fantastic knitter, and a big fan of Elizabeth Zimmermann. You can see it in her projects. A woman after my own heart!

Princess Pea: Anna lives in the UK, and knits exquisite things. Tea cosies, Jared Flood’s druid mitts, anything! Her photography is lovely.

Turtlegirl76: Cristi (yes, the same Cristi who won the Sox Stix!) is an amazing knitter; I love seeing her projects. And her cats, Ripple and Calvin!

Smariek Knits: Marie loves cables. Me, too. Her scarves and mitts are in many Ravelry queues, and she’s just finished her first socks.

We Do Not Have a Knitting Problem aka IrishGirlieKnits: Carrie is a big fan of BMFA, and I can see why. I love looking at her projects.

What Katy Did: Katy is a local blogger, and I found out last month that we have a mutual friend in real life. Small world. Check out Katy’s Kiki Mariko.

Enjoy!

9 Comments

Posted in Blogging, Knit

Tagged lantern moon, sox stix

Hacho Leyburns

Posted on February 14, 2009 | 15 comments

Attention! We interrupt this parade of projects from Crafty Mom Weekend to bring you this special announcement. The Mirasol Hacho Leyburn socks are done!

In a comment to my previous Leyburn post, Krista suggested that I embrace the pooling, and try to make the second one pool the same way as the first. Unfortunately, I didn’t note where I had started in the color sequence on the first one. If you look at the ribbing at the top, you can see that didn’t start with the same color.

But somehow, I have a band of red at the top of both insteps. Like the strap of a Mary Jane shoe! Let’s pretend I planned this, okay? Too funny.

I really enjoyed working with this yarn. Thanks again to Elizabeth!

15 Comments

Posted in Knit

Tagged Knit, leyburn sock, marisol hacho

Athena, for me this time. Really.

Posted on February 12, 2009 | 3 comments

My third project at Crafty Mom Weekend was another Athena neckwarmer. This is the fourth; the first three were gifted and sampled away. How do I know that this one is going to be mine, for sure?

I made a mistake on the edge of the first rectangle of a tier, and didn’t realize it until I was all the way around. (We were watching a movie…) There were a couple loose hang-y strands staring at me. I couldn’t face ripping the entire tier back, so I fudged it. I picked up the stitches for the next rectangle one stitch inside the edge, instead of on the edge. It hardly shows from the front; you’d have to know where to look. I’d hate to give a defective(!) knit as a gift, so this one *must* be mine, right? I’ll be happy to finally have my own!

It’s not done yet; I had one more project that was begging to be worked on. More in the next post…

3 Comments

Posted in Knit

Tagged Athena, cowl, entrelac, Knit, neckwarmer

Leyburns, encore

Posted on February 11, 2009 | 23 comments

The next thing I did at Crafty Mom weekend: I gave away my Socks that Rock Eggplanted Leyburns. They were just a bit too big for me, but they were perfect for Carole! And after she gave me the fabulously fun needle felting supplies, how could I not give her something wonderful?

But how could I go through life without my own Leyburns?

I can’t. I’m using the Marisol Hacho that I won in Elizabeth’s blogoversary contest. The colorway is Peacock. I wasn’t sure I’d like this colorway in a “normal” pattern because of the red and green together, but I was pretty sure I’d like it with the Leyburn’s slip stitch pattern. And I do.

Like the Eggplanted Leyburns, these are knit from the cuff down. These are on 48 stitches; the last ones were on 54. This is a much snugger fit. Perfect! I used the same twisted edge as the last ones, except I knit 6 rows of garter instead of 4 before twisting. I like the oomphier rolled edge.

The only thing I didn’t love is how the red pooled at the top of the ankle while I was decreasing my gusset stitches. (The bottom of the gusset pooled blue and green, which looks great.) I know this is a function of my round heel (flap and gusset), but I like the fit of this heel better than the short row heel I used last time. I’ll live with it; it’s a sock! One down, one to go.

Oh, I made my first Leyburns with Lantern Moon Sox Stix, ebony size 2, 5 inches long. These were nice to work with, but just a bit too short for the way I hold my needles. I rest the far end of the needle against the pinky side of my hand, and these were poking me there. As a research project, I bought some 6 inch long Sox Stix, and I like them much better! I’m pleased that there’s a choice offered. I don’t mind knitting on my old 7 inch birch needles, but this keeps me from having to slide stitches as far to the working end of the needle. And I love working with ebony. The 6 inch needles will be my go-to needles for socks, since most of my socks are on dk or sport weight.

Would you like to try the 5 inch Sox Stix? Leave a comment on this post, and I’ll have a drawing for them on Monday, February 16. Good luck!

23 Comments

Posted in Knit

Tagged Knit, leyburn sock, socks

Crafty Mom Weekend 6.0

Posted on February 10, 2009 | 8 comments

The 6th annual Crafty Mom Weekend on the Oregon Coast is now history. Twelve moms, big beach house, lots of fiber and paper crafting, food, and chocolate. Perfect!

We had 2 great sunsets, Friday, and Sunday.

And a gorgeous Saturday in-between.

And on Monday morning, it snowed!

That was magical. I’d never been at the beach for snow before. It made driving home a bit more exciting, but it was so beautiful.

I started three new projects, and worked on an ancient one. And had more that I didn’t get to! I don’t have a single finished object to show you, though. My first project was to knit up some bulky black wool to make a small bag as a background for needle felting. The bag isn’t sewn up, but here’s the needle felting.

This was really easy and fun! Carole gave me needle felting supplies for Christmas, and this was the first time I tried it. It was pretty quick, and I like the way it looks.

More on the other projects later in the week. I’m playing catch up with real life!

8 Comments

Posted in Knit, travel

Tagged beach snow, Knit, needle felting