As I mentioned prior to this, I am doing some sample knitting for dyeabolical yarns. I managed to finish the Vittorio Shawlette already! This is a testament to how fun the pattern is paired with beautifully dyed yarn. I gave this only a quick steam block so I could show it off.
You may remember when I created these art batts and spun them into singles awhile back. I knew immediately that I’d need to make them into a cowl for my mom for christmas. First of all, the yarn was irresistible, I wanted to work with it immediately. Secondly, the darker yarn, even with all the random bits in it, seemed to me to be something my mom could pair with a nice shirt and really get some use out of. And it was Christmas knitting time and I had not yet chosen anything to knit for her.
So I chose the Sallah Cowl pattern. I liked the look of the waffley rib, and because it uses two differently sized needles, it becomes a wonderfully squishy fabric. I completed this quite awhile ago, but did not want to post it due to needing to wait until my mom opened the gift.
I love this one. It turned out bright and yet still muted. If it did not have alpaca in it, I’d have been tempted to keep it!
I don’t typically knit for my father. I once knit him a pair of socks, but they were commandeered by my mom, I don’t think he really wore them. Last year though, I did knit him an ear warmer to wear while riding bike. As someone who doesn’t like riding bike with a hat on even in the cold myself, it doesn’t surprise me that he actually got some use out of it.
But, this year, since I was forced to knit most christmas gifts, I chose something very special. I’d been spinning on my jacob fleece batts for ages, and on looking for a scarf to knit for my dad, I got this great idea of knitting a horizontal gradient scarf. Using my jacob fleece yarn, I’d be staying with natural colors straight from the fleece and making something extremely unique.
I ended up having to spin far more than I expected, but I adore the resulting scarf. It is really very special. And I am considering a matching hat in the future.
I had trouble parting with this one as well, but the fact that I remembered that sheep keep growing fleece from year to year and I could always buy another jacob fleece and process it did help let this one out of my hands. I hope that my father is able to get some use out of it. Meanwhile, I was forced to start my own horizontal gradient scarf out of handspun. It is commercially dyed handspun, but similar effect.
So, you know how I said I was going to do some sample knitting? I’ve gotten on that in a big way. I managed to knit half the vittorio shawlette in Eye of the Newt colorway in record time. It is nice to have a little extra time for it!
I’ve knit this shawl before, and I forget how wonderfully quick it knits up. A very pleasant knitting experience. It is rhythmic and comfortable, not fussy, but also not boring.
I hope to start on the next shawl tonight, might as well knit two at once!
I’ve been asked to do some more sample knitting for Dyeabolical yarns. I am quite excited, as this was a joy to do 2 yrs ago when I took on two projects. This year I’ll be making two shawls in the next two moths. And the yarn has arrived!
Pretty Pretty! The one with purple is Flower Shop Inferno and the other is Eye of the Newt. I can’t wait to see how these knit up!
It has been a long while since I’ve knit any sort of SERIOUS lace. I get easily burned out on it lately, and just don’t feel like I have the time or energy to devote to it anymore. But this holiday season I decided to participate in the advent scarf knit along. While I haven’t managed to keep up exactly, seeing as I am only on clue 9, I have been enjoying it immensely.
I hope to have a bit more time to devote to this in the near future!
I’ve got a finished object post. Again. I finished the scarf that I knit to match the hat and gloves from my Autumn Lake loop bump handspun.
My full set is complete, a lovely gift to myself.
We also had a little time with my friend Marja, who was able to give Bug her very first Christmas gift this year. I got a photo of the joy on that little girl’s face, and figured I’d post that as well. There’s nothing like Christmas with a child around.
I knit the gloves, showed them off, then knit a hat and showed that off. But the thing is, I knit those because I’d started a scarf out of my handspun, realized that I had enough yarn for a full set, and decided to knit the gloves and hat before I finished the scarf. That way I could use the remainder of the yarn for the scarf, wasting as little handspun as possible.
I am working on the second to last color on this scarf, so it should be done relatively soon. It is soft and gentle and the colors are bright. They tie in the gloves and hat well, as without the scarf they only vaguely match. I am looking forward to having my full set shortly!
All Christmas knitting and gift wrapping truly is done now, as I secretly finished Bug’s doll dress last evening. It was a bit of a race to the finish. I’d been knitting on the dress at work, but ran out of time. Once I brought it home, I knew I’d have to knit on it secretly. So, I woke up at 5:15 a.m. on Saturday morning and finished the knitting of the dress by 7 when Bug came downstairs. I soaked it in a bucket under my bed.
I then spent all morning trying to get that kid to take a shower, JUST so that I could block the dress in secret. By the time I finally won the shower argument, I’d forgotten about the dress. Toward the end of her shower, I was furiously pinning out the dress on a blocking board and shoving the entire board back under the bed. It was tense, but I got it done.
Last evening I sent Bug to bed, and began to seam the dress. I’d secretly taken Julie from her room before she went to sleep so I could try the dress on her and snap a photo. Unfortunately, as I was dressing the doll, I hear Bug coming downstairs. I am afraid I had to drop Julie rather unceremoniously behind the couch and throw a blanket over her in order to keep her hidden.
Thankfully, nothing actually went wrong with the knitting or the sizing of the dress, and it is now complete, wrapped, and placed in the stocking appropriately. It is good to at least have one hand knit for Miss Bug this Christmas.
Once done with my Loop Autumn Lake gloves, I moved right on to a hat to match. The pattern is called Violet Waffles, and I thought that the waffle stitch mimicked the ringwood stitch well enough to match fabric wise, as well as having matching handspun yarn.
The hat knit up nice and quickly and I love how there are three distinct colors, one fading into the next. So pretty!
Next up is a scarf knit from the remainder of this handspun. I’ve been working on it, but it still has a ways go to. And I am getting bored and eager to knit something else entirely.
I made a pair of ringwood gloves out of handspun quite awhile back for my mom. Ever since then I’ve been craving a pair of my own. They are just such a lovely pair for handspun yarn, so when I decided to use my Loop Autumn Lake yarn for a hat/scarf/glove set, ringwood gloves fit into my plan perfectly.
The best part of these is that they knit up nice and quickly! A great pattern and a great quick knit. My yarn has a fair bit of sparkle to it, and so the buttons compliment that. However, the sparkle is tough to see on this picture.
I can’t wait to show off the rest of the set! I am working on the hat right now, and am hoping to have the entire set complete before the end of the year.
I used to say that knitting for pets was silly and a waste of time. This was, of course, just my own opinion, due in part to the fact that I do not own pets.
I grew up with cats, and had extremely limited contact with dogs. If you do not grow up with dogs, dogs are rather distressing animals. They are often jumpy and enthusiastic and needy and it is tough to deal with doggy nature when it isn’t something you’ve had the opportunity to get comfortable with. I’ve met dogs I liked well enough, and have found interesting. These are generally dogs who are well behaved but still have personality. However, I still don’t have a desire to own a dog, and little desire to interact with the dogs that I like well enough.
Except I met the sweetest dog ever. He’s an old boy, at 16, and he’s gentle and not the least bit needy or jumpy. He’s well behaved, and has a ton of personality. And he loves me too. Being an older dog, as soon as the weather gets really cold, he limps. What’s a knitter to do when her newest little buddy is cold? Yep, that’s right, I knit the dog some booties.
And oh my goodness, he loved those booties. He pranced around the house ears up, tail wagging, huge doggy smile on his face. So cute. Made me laugh SO HARD. And then his owner took him on a walk. Upon their return, dog comes in the house, head down, ears down, tail down, heads straight to a corner and sulks. Then dog’s owner comes in, head down, pout on his face. Apparently they managed to lose 3 out of 4 booties on their first try. They were SO disappointed. And really, it’s all my fault. I didn’t tie the booties very tightly because I was worried he’d hate me for them, or that it would hurt.
The dog booties will be searched for today, and if not found, I’ll make some more. They took no time at all really, and who can resist that cute happy doggy face?
Suzy Sells Sea Shells 