Sleeping by the lake

I'm back from a weekend of knitting wonder dear readers!  I spent two restful nights at Chantry Breezes B&B in South Hampton with my Monday night knitters.  A small crew of us drove up on Friday night and did a little knitting, and some chatting, and some shopping.  I hammered out the second cupcake mitten, and now those 2.25mm needles are free for a delicious pair of socks for little ol' me.

 The view of my room as you come in the door.  I got the suite, which is clearly intended for a family of 4.  I enjoyed spreading my junk around and using this front room with twin beds as my personal dressing area.

 My room, the big-girl master bedroom.  So cozy, I really love the decorating style of the whole place

 Margot's cottage, located behind the main house, and Margot, pictured above (the cruise director of our little weekend away).  I loved it, every inch of it's tiny, cozy cuteness. 

 Clawfoot tub, what's up!

 View of the cottage from the bedroom tucked in the back corner

 The living room in the main house, I adore the purple accent furniture and the cool blue walls.  Very French-French, non?

 

 

 The beach was right THERE, right at the end of the road. 

 

 This is Chantry Breezes, our home away from home for the weekend.  The covered porch on the second floor is where we had breakfast each morning.  And by breakfast, I mean REAL breakfast - this was not just a bag of Wonderbread and a toaster set out for you.  On the first day we had fresh fruit salad and white chocolate blueberry scones with lavender, and then two kinds of frittata with bacon.  Day two was just as good, fruit salad and pumpkin spice muffins first, then oatmeal pancakes and peameal bacon.  Yum! 

 The fruits of my labour, they are done!  The top mitten is carefully hiding all of the ends sticking out from the mess of ends I have to weave in from all that colour work.  That will be a good job for a quiet night at home when I'm feeling patient.

I'm already planning for my next few projects, I just placed an order for a massive amount of yarn from KnitPicks for a sweater for fuzzyhead.  I ordered 22 50gram balls of Wool of the Andes worsted weight in "Camel Heather" for this sweater:

This is #17 Man's Cable Cardigan (link to a 360 view video) from Vogue Knitting Winter 2009/2010.  I copied the pattern from Fruwho's copy of the magazine, and I'm so excited to start swatching!  I was inspired last year by Sandi Wiseheart at my very first Knitters' Guild meeting about how non-threatening it can be to make a sweater that actually fits (and diligent swatching is key).  Fuzzyhead will be my test subject, but I figure if I can nail down the process with him, then I can try my hand at making something for me with a nicer yarn.  


Also, because I have no self control, I bought a Namaste Zuma bag at the same time from KnitPicks.  I got mine in peacock blue, and it will be my winter purse and all-around awesome stylish knitting bag.  Squee!  I love getting things in the mail!

Onward,

vrock

Queenie wave

It's essentially fall, dear readers, in case you were confused by the sharp ups and downs in temperature this week, and that means knitting is afoot.  Get ready for the updates:

First of all, the KW Knitters Fair was this weekend, in all it's woolly glory.  My camera was in my bag, but I was so busy being an awesome volunteer at the Fair, that I forgot to get any pictures.  I was on the fair planning committee this year (my attempt to be more involved with the Knitters Guild), and my task on fair day was to quietly sit behind the administration table (knitting, obviously) and help vendors with whatever they needed.  I received regular shopping and bathroom breaks, and I cataloged my purchases the next day.  These are the things I loved enough this year to bring home with me:

 A knitting bag from ZigZag Stitches, the boxy variety.  I've had my eye on one of these every year that I've gone to the fair, and this time I ran there first, right when the fair opened to get my pick of the litter.  Not super crazy about the liner fabric, but I adore the old-timey fabric on the outside.  It has already been put to use holding my current pair of yoga socks on the needles.
 

  More roving, to satisfy my insatiable spinning lust.  I bought two bags of the same variety of roving last year from Gemini Fibres, and I really liked how it turned out.  I spun and knitted a whole project with the roving from last year's fair, and I figured one more 100g bag would let me do a little more with the final product.   I bought three bags of this in "Pomegranate".

A pretty new drop spindle, also from Gemini Fibres.  My original drop spindle is clunky and makes me look like a newb - this one is pretty and delicate and worthy of my love.  I've been spinning mostly on my wheel lately, but this little beauty might bring me back to portable spinning.

  Allow me to introduce you to my new love, Viola Fibers.  I loved this booth at the fair, it was facing me from where I spent most of the day at the admin table, and it was easily the nicest looking booth there.  Her yarns are delicious.  So delicious even, I bought three of them, and blew most of my budget there.  Totally worth it.  This yarn is a fingering weight in "bruised plum", destined to become a lovely pair of fingerless mitts/gloves.

 This is sock weight yarn from Viola in "sea storm" for a lovely pair of socks for me.

 

My find of the day from Viola, a lace weight yarn in "wild rose".  This one will be a shawl for older sister thing, because she likes pink things but needs grown-up colours to match her almost-thirty-year-old self.

I want to take some/all of these yarns with me on my upcoming knitting retreat, where I'll be in South Hampton with my Monday night knitters for a few days away to knit and do nothing.  I will also be taking along my other current projects, including the cupcake mittens seen in my last post (I started the second mitten, and I weaved in the spaghetti mess inside the first mitten), and my current yoga socks project.  

Speaking of yoga socks, I finished another pair:

That makes two pairs now in my inventory of yoga socks to sell at the studio.  Just this week I received a message from someone on Ravelry about selling a pair of socks.  I've thought about opening an Etsy shop a few times, but I'm not 100% sold on it.  Etsy charges you 20 cents for every item you post, and if it doesn't sell in 4 months, you can re-post it for another 20 cents, or just let it expire.  I don't know how well my socks would sell, and if by some chance everyone and their chicken wanted a pair, I could never keep up with production.  It takes me about two weeks to make a pair - that's me picking up the needles 4 or 5 times a week while watching TV after work and the occasional all-day Saturday knit-a-thon.  Etsy also takes a cut of your sale when you do sell something, and PayPal gets their chunk since you need them to arrange for payment from strangers.  For the nice gal in Florida who contacted me through Ravelry, I'm sure we can work out some arrangement with a money order, but I'm wondering if there are other interested people out there who need a way to access my stuff.  Help me readers, you're my only hope.  Tell me what to do!

Onward,

vrock

You’re turning violet, Violet!

It’s August.  It’s hot outside.  And I’ve been knitting.
First up, my adventures in stranded colourwork.  I bought a whole bunch of cheapie KnitPicks Palette yarn earlier this year, in order to make my cupcake mittens.  By MY cupcake mittens, I mean these adorable little things that SpillyJane designed, which I just had to make.  I was originally thinking about making a go at the pattern without buying it, but it seemed messy and tricky, and I decided to support a designer while also getting myself a set of guidelines that are tested and proven.  I’m a pretty good little mitten-maker, but I didn’t want to chance it.
These are the colours I bought, not exactly the ones that the pattern suggests, but pretty damn close:

I used Palette DK yarn in (from top, clockwise): cotton candy, bison, cream, custard, bark, serrano, and mist as the main colour.

Voila!  One left mitten, made in just under a week.  I really think my colourwork has improved since my first attempt at stranded knitting in 2008 with the Let it Snow mittens from Vogue Knitting.  While I love them dearly, I didn’t have the knack of my tension yet, and there are puckered spots that just won’t quit.  So far, my cupcake mittens are looking good!

But as I’m sure we all know, stranded colourwork where the colour changes every two rows will mean mountains of spaghetti to weave in later.  Ugh.  I haven’t even thought about tackling this yet, I’m waiting until they’re both completely done.

Why hello pretty little slippers!  These are my new wearin’-around-the-house slippers, since Fuzzyhead doesn’t think that Birks are appropriate for indoor wearing.  I made them up in one evening, and felted them in the machine (top loaders are still good for something, thanks landlord Corey!).  I bought a slipper bottom patch kit from KnitPicks forever ago and now the bottoms won’t wear through like my last slippers.  Even with super thick felted material, you’d be amazed at the damage your feet will do to a pair of slippers – the pair I made last summer only lasted until Christmas.
Remember that adorable owl sweater for an August baby?  Baby was born yesterday, but looks way too tiny for that sweater, what a disappointment.  I think I’ll have to wait until winter to get a baby-in-sweater shot.  But here’s a baby to tide you over:

I also whipped off another pair of slippers, these ones are for Slim Jim for Christmas, shhh!  Don’t tell her I put them on my feet to model them either.

Do you remember this dear readers?  My very own handspun, the most I’ve ever done?  Refresh your memories, and then prepare to be amazed!

I made a whole garment!  It’s a shrug, your basic rectangle turned into a circle deal, with a pretty ostrich plume lace pattern.  Love it, and totally worthy of the handspun.  I have yet to wear it, as you may have noticed, it’s not sweater weather yet.  I’m jonesin’ for fall.

And my last knitting update, my newest on-the-go project started this morning – another pair of yoga socks.  These ones come from the yarn that was generously donated by Fruwho.  I hope someone will love them and want them and give me money for them.  I like that part most of all.

I decided on a flower lace pattern to go with the cheery colour.  My yoga sock process has been refined to keep it simple and quick, I only do the pattern on the front of the sock, and I do the back in simple stockinette.  If I stick with it, I can made a pair in a about two weeks.
In my personal world, Fuzzyhead and I have put together a blog about our adventures in trying to buy a house.  Shameless promotion, go check it out!
That’s all I got lovies.
Onward,
vrock

Sunday afternoon matinee

Dearest blog readers, here come some updates:
Garden News:
First and foremost, I have a garden, that’s news in itself.  My last post show updates from my little weensy garden space, and now I present to you the progress report:

The back of the yard garden, which has exploded with zucchini and radishes.  The giant patch of overgrown green you’re looking at is the most successful batch of plants.  To the left, if you squint real hard, you might be able to make out the carrots and the single green bean vine that’s clinging desperately to the fence.  The lettuce was a dead end, I never saw a single plant.  They have since been dug up and replaced with a more formal spot for my exploding tomato plants.  I didn’t have the heart to choose which ones got to live and die, so I let them all live, and now I have 5 tomato plants.  Only 4 actually fit in this teensy patch of garden…

….the other one gets to live it up bachelor style in his own plant pot on the porch, next to the saucy downtown herbs.  The tomato cages are courtesy of Momma Vrock, who let a giant tree fall on them, so they are mangled and twisted and look like they belong in a Tim Burton inspired garden for twisted and mangled things.  I bent them back into shape as best I could.

The shady corner garden to pretty plants that we don’t plan to eat.  They’ve all grown bigger, and I really should have weeded before taking this picture.  Please don’t assume I’m a horrible garden mother, I do eventually get around to pulling out the offensive plants.

Keep your pants on readers, now we’re getting to the knitting news:

Remember the humble beginnings of my Laminaria shawl?

 

Ummmmmmm, it’s DONE!

It was a long road to get there, as you may recall…

(imagine sappy recap music, tenderly playing as we stroll through my blog montage of how this glorious shawl came to be)

Waaaaa-bam!

I also just bought a shawl pin yesterday, a sassy little wooden number that won’t weigh down my delicate lace.


Also, I may or may not have finished a baby sweater.  No big.
Ms. Bear is modeling here, showing off the finger details of the owl cables.

The completed little package, with my personal care instructions card.  I had 500 of them made (vistaprint.com, love it!), and I left the spaces blank to write in the washing and drying instructions for all of my handknit things.  I also included my personal “handknit with love by vrock” stamp on the back.

The finished and wrapped package, ready to ship to Virginia for Fuzzyhead’s cousin’s baby, arriving in August.

And late last night and this morning, I started and finished a pair of felted slippers.  These are French Press Slippers, from Fresh Press Knits, and I love them.  I’ve loved them since I first saw them on Ravelry, and I only very recently got together the gumption to actually purchase the pattern and make them myself.

Here they are drying on my porch.  I used two strands of grey and one strand of black for the three-strands-held-together-extra-thick soles.  This was partly because I didn’t think I had enough grey yarn, and partly because I liked the idea as a design feature.  This is my tester pair of these slippers so I can mass produce them for Christmas presents this year.  So far Slim Jim and Hamster are getting a pair, and considering these took me a grand total of 3 hours to make, I might just make them for everyone I know.  We’ll see.

The flaps for the slippers, drying on my clothsline.  I wonder what my neighbours must think of the knitting-related things I hang on the cloths line.

Also, I’m into paper crafts now.  To accompany the owl baby sweater to Fuzzyhead’s cousin, I made this little card:

We just need to sign it, and then the whole kitten caboodle can be sent off.  I was waiting for more than a week to zip to the fabric store to get buttons to sew on to the card. 

This is my collection of card making stuff.  I bought a card organizer recently, and that sparked my obsession with making my own cards instead of paying way too much for them from Chapters.  My collection of embroidery floss from my childhood days of making friendship bracelets really came in handy for the stitching details on the cards.  Oooooo, I’m so crafty!

And finally, I will leave you with images from my Canada Day celebration on Friday:

Actually, just cupcake pictures.  The fireworks, puppydogs, and ice cream party was in full swing, and I make ice cream cone cupcakes so we could avoid the giant line-up at DQ.

Onward,

vrock