Prize winners 2020

To the uninitiated eye, these look like ordinary masked women... but in reality, they are knitters/crocheters extraordinaire(s)!  We decided to NOT wait for the San Juan County Fair 2021 and host our own event.

Enjoying the 90º F backyard, awaiting the tallying of votes, patiently, we resisted the urge to just award EVERY entry a first prize.

A Table full of lovely items...and a line of more lovely items.  Lots of hands on here! Click to enlarge.

Not room on the line for all!

Everyone had something that was either 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, and we all took home various white elephant gifts.  And feasted on Apple Pancakes and other treats, AND we took home produce from Jenny's and Callie's gardens. WIN-WIN-WIN!!

Muttering overheard (above):  "This is impossible to judge."

And the WINNERS are:  TWO BEST OF SHOW...  It was a tie!

Kay with Baby Sweater and granddaughter Jenn with a stunning silk shawl!

For closer looks at my articles, you'll have to go to Ravelry Here.

Knitting to stay sane

Starting something, when I had many others on needles, is the thing to do, just to make oneself happy...  Most of all, I need to have socks on needles in case I have to go out.  But who's going out these days?  Not me.  So I started socks with this beautiful yarn only to discover that it was SOOOO beautiful that I couldn't stand the thought of wearing it on my feet!

Using my book of  Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders I found this pattern called Celeste Shawl.  The photos in the book really didn't do it justice, and I was fully prepared to get to a point where it would be disappointing and I would rip it out.

But it didn't disappoint, and with blocking to bring out a pointed edge, I LOVE IT!  And the color!!!

 Yarn: Rockshelter Sock by Meadowcroft Dyeworks.  100% merino. YUM!
And speaking of YUM...

I'm learning about sourdough bread making.  This is definitely my best attempt at making the "big hole" type of "rustic" sourdough.  A friend shared her starter, and recipe, and with the help of the Internet I've been making bread 2-3 times a week.  

Plus, the need for face masks... I've made 4 so far, for ourselves.  I've been tempted to make them in great numbers like my friends have, to give to the many who are requesting them, yet, when I get done with 2 (at a time) I'm not as eager to continue.

Stay safe!

Traveling stitches

Naming techniques of knit stitches was discussed last weekend...Bavarian, twisted and traveling stitches can all mean similar things yet here's the ultimate traveler! Traveled hundreds of miles today and thousands more coming up... what a riot of colors! Certainly not a subtle craft when I pull it out of the bag.

At the Riga airport, I lost my points....SAD FACE!  And I was very grumpy, too.  Security said no knitting needles under 5 mm.  THAT'S US 8!  Huge!  Because I was traveling with knitters, of course, I had needles.  My tiny (indeed dangerous) 1.25mm and 1.5mm dpns were taken away which were actually in a project...(pulling them out took a deep breath and sigh) and the points were cut off, leaving the cable in this sock.  I didn't point out that my traveling companion (in another security line) had the same.

This was taken AFTER my friend offered her extra 1.5mm.

Some thoughts:  Maybe it wouldn't look so lethal if they had been separated.  In fact, the dpns were all nested together.  The Circular needle wasn't noticed in the first scan, but I offered them up for inspection before the second scan.  

Slippers 2.0

My son-in-law has loved his slippers for 8 years, and they have been repaired more and more frequently...  Time for a new pair of "Felted Clogs".

It’s that time again.

Two days have gone by, I finished another project, and now it's time to take a deep breath, and cut the steeks.

Some Things I Do ...

I wanted to say I have an alter-ego, which can be sinister, but really it means I live two lives.

I have a home, a great man, and activities which can be defined as hobbies and work.  Then I have this other life which happens 4,000 miles away from home, where I am a live-in grandma, cook and errand runner.  My hobbies follow me to my second life, and I feel loved in both lives. 

Rather than driving everywhere, I use public transportation.

Rather than having meals discussed and prepared for me, I fill the refrigerator with my desires for my family.  This is how the refrigerator looks when I arrive... I fill it.

Rather than sitting in my backyard, I get invited to picnics in the park and discover geocaches on my own.

Rather than listening to the occasional dog barking, and the sound of hammering on the roof of a new house, I listen to children playing, and music blaring from next door.

I get to celebrate with a nation of people who are strictly traditional, wear red, white and blue, and hope it never ends!

Rather than depend on sunshine and hanging clothes out to dry, I cross my fingers and hope that I'll be able to go outside without rain gear and boots.

Rather than fretting about my monstrous stash of yarn, I get to reward myself with new yarn and ideas.

Which can get a little out of hand...  Here's the makings of 3 pairs of socks and a sweater.  What you don't see is the yarn for another 2 sweaters, one which quickly was started and finished so I didn't have to embarrass myself (my own guilty conscience) when packing for home.

Rauma 2

I thought I was back at WEBS!  The warehouse was daunting, and of course, it's off limits to the public. (Did anyone notice I found the apostrophe key?  It says "greater than/less than" and I hit it my mistake!)

The view from their new office windows.

Japanese knitting machines that can produce complete products.

Mr. "Rauma", inherited from his grandfather, showing a Marius sweater.

A little later, getting the feel...starting our felted bag project.

Knitting spring

Post concert:

Putting in 3 hours a day of practice time on location, 20 minutes away, took a toll on knitting and weaving at home.  A few days ago, I sat at my loom and apologized for my neglect.  It happily tightened up, and grew 10"... still not sure what it will be when it grows up and leaves home.

This "first sock" took 3 weeks to crank out.  Stricken is the pattern by Cookie A from Knit, Sock, Love. Using a Trysil Garn, purchased at a little variety store in Bergen which is wool and nylon blend with almost no twist (no plies).  It's a bit fuzzy, but perfect for hiding my "forgetful" rows.

My NEED FOR BEADS... Always look to Laura Nelkin.  From her Just One More collection, I used a variation of her bead placement to make this little thing.  It's going to be cozy around the neck.  (Note to self: Get those ends woven in for May in Norway.)

Saw this fetching pattern in a pattern email...spontaneous purchase, and grabbed my Kauni from the stash.  Just wait! I'm purposely NOT giving clues.

Took 5 tries to get the drift of the brioche section!  I just couldn't make it come out right...because the pattern left out wyif in instructions.  Bad!  Luckily I remembered an Interweave Knits magazine with lovely brioche feature...so, yes, Lisa, Dianna and Kay, those magazines from Winter 2010 have a use.  Also, I had a look at some YouTube clips, but they didn't do the trick.  Three cheers for: yfsl1yo and sl1yof!  Brilliant stitch guide on page 90.

I'm back in gear!

Pattern request

C bought the pattern and requested it for JJ, and as I was working on it, I made many decisions that incurred ripping back, and punts.  The green design was all wrong, and redone. I didn't have enough raspberry color to use only that, so I blended it with "pumpkin".  

It's now nearing the finishing part, in a size that is way too big for my 8 year old.  Probably 10-12 years size.  I started it in December, and I think I have a few years to finish it.

The stripe down the front is for the button band opening.  This is called a Steek, and will be cut open to make a cardigan.  

Wool weather?

One sure way to bring on colder, winter weather... mention in a blog that it's too warm to wear wool!  So, here it goes... lately, I've been slowly knitting away on two UFO's in wool.  And I've been wondering when I would wear them... Every day we go from nighttime freezing temps to daytime 20º+ C.  

Here's my proud moment of finishing Boardwalk Vest in a colorway that I created last summer.

I've admired Pattie's Boardwalk, and then I admired the same pattern a year ago when my path crossed another woman in the Shetland Islands.  Now here's mine!  

As with all hand-dyed yarns, there are subtle differences, if not blatant, in-your-face differences... two skeins used for the body, then the third one, which was the fraternal sister of the other two, was used just as I came to the interesting mitered front detail. It worked out... I can see that the colors got a bit more bold from whatever, but I accept that.

I love it, but I couldn't model it for long---too warm!

Pattern: Boardwalk by Heidi Kirrmaier from Wool People Vol. 3

Yarn: Bare Paragon by Knit Picks, Sport,
50% Merino, 25% Bombyx, 25% Alpaca
246 yards / 100 grams

Then there's this:  Maple No. 2,  for me.  

It may get finished today, if I would just put my feet up and sew in the sleeves...

At 5,400 ft altitude. we call it High Desert...

My daughter proudly wearing her "Maple No. 1", and then finding the model at a yarn shop at a "knitting festival", Bergen, Norway.  SHOCKING!!

Pattern: Maple by Marie Wallin from Rowan 50
Yarn:  Felted Tweed DK by RowanDK
50% Merino, 25% Rayon, 25% Alpaca
191 yards / 50 grams

Finished and never ending

Here is a pullover I knitted a few years ago for my granddaughter who was 4 years old.  I admit that I loved that pattern more than she did, and she has plenty of sweaters to choose from, AND she doesn't seem to get bigger, just longer...  (It also has a history which I shared 4 years ago.  Click the link above.)

So, on my last visit, I saw this one languishing in a drawer and decided that she would NEVER wear it because it's too short for her, both in body length and sleeves. I'm so thrifty... can't part with anything, it seems, so I.... yep, bought more yarn!!  Isn't that the solution to many problems?  (Mr. T., just go buy some yarn...)

Of course, I didn't have the sweater with me, but thanks to Ravelry I knew the brand and weight, just not the exact colors.  I bought 3 colors to match, and none of them did... hence, the contrasting bands.

My aptitude for ripping out, and adding and kitchener'ing back together has soared to new heights and lengths!  Now it's ready for an 8 year old who may or may not reject a repurposed sweater into a tunic.  Fingers crossed!

Meanwhile, back home, I haven't been attending Knit Nites like I used to.  Semi-retirement for a musician seems to backfire, BUT I finally convinced some of the group to double up and instead of meeting every two weeks, we've added a NOON date on the off weeks.  WORKS for ME!

Never ending... The Dr. Who scarf, which is really long.  How long?  Maybe Callie can tell us...because here it isn't finished, but now it is, and even has knotted fringe on both ends.  She says she quit when she ran out of purple... nice!

It's a beauty, and some lucky young man is going to love it!

A busy summer

Busy with the important job of knitting!  Even though the temps are high, I somehow manage to sit with wool in my lap... and this thing just knits itself.

Can you imagine these colors?  Not me!  I rely on Rowan, Rowan yarns, models knitted up, irresistible... 

I've resisted for many years, but not this time.  

My favorite shop is Norwegian Spirit, located in the train station of Bergen, Norway.  At first I thought it was a souvenir shop (think tourists) because they had a fair amount of Dale of Norway sweaters hanging on a rack out front, but they have a great inventory of Garnstudio yarns and Rowan, and many others.  But it's the Rowan models that take your breath away... and I finally went all in. 

In May, I bought the pattern and yarn for this cardigan.  (Not without the angst of seeing three other patterns that vied for my attention.)  

The colors are nothing I could have imagined, and fair isle... each section begs to be completed just to see what surprise it has to offer!

Upon completion of the body, I realized that it would fit me! YAY!  But I wanted to gift this to my daughter, so I began a second body in her size... Norwegian knitwear is needed year round.  Mine can wait until... winter.