Eleven Stitches

Something(s) Simple

I've got to say that a lot of my knitting has been simple recently.  I'm tired at the end of the day, and I just want something soothing to do with my hands.  Using yarn with delicious texture and colors makes the knitting even more soothing!

I felt compelled to cast on with the Creatively Dyed yarn that I got at Rhinebeck this year.  My travel companions wound up their Creatively Dyed yarn while we were still in Red Hook, and they both got started on garter stitch projects right away. I did wait a couple of days before gave in to the call of the yarn, and I was inspired to make a simple garter stitch sock.

 

I haven't knit socks in garter before, and I was surprised at the stretch I got in it.  I took out 6 stitches from my usual stockinette number to get this sock to fit correctly.

Of all the socks I knit last year, my simple Malabrigo socks have been the ones I want to wear when I'm feeling tired or I've had a bad day.  They're so soft, and they kind of drape around my foot. I had been thinking that I needed to have more socks like those when I got to see some Madeline Tosh sock yarn in person.  The rich brown color and the luxuriously soft yarn (with a nice sheen) won me over so quickly. 

I started out with a knit/purl pattern, but that seemed too busy.  I ripped it out and went to a plain stockinette with a double-garter cuff. It feels like a comfort sock to me.

I liked it so much that I started on the second one right away!

Marilinda

This is the first pair of socks I've finished in a long time, and the first pair of interesting (non-stockinette) socks I've finished this year.

 

Pattern: Marilinda, by Cookie A.
Yarn: Shelridge Farm Soft Touch Sock in Marigold
Needles: US 1 DPNs

I'm not sure if it was all the people getting ready for Socktober or just the coming of the cooler weather, but I was suddenly itching to start some socks about a month ago. And I thought I'd finish up a pair so I could actually wear them!

I got this yarn at Rhinebeck in 2008.  At the time, I was obsessed with this color.  Since then I've knit a sweater in this color, sewn a dress in this color, and I've bought a jacket, tank top, and handbag in this color.  I think I'm pretty much satisfied, but if you see any (comfortable) shoes in this color, please do let me know.

The socks were fun to knit, and I could knit without the chart after a couple of repeats.  I like the little seam of stitches that go down the back of the sock, and the charted heels are also a nice touch.

In case you're worried that there are now not enough single socks at my house, I hope this sets your mind to rest. I don't think I'll ever run out of single socks!

Back

I'm back home after my trip to Rhinebeck, and I'm hoping that I'm also back to my blog. My real life has been really busy, and my online life has suffered! I want to be able to blog more regularly, and I will try to stop back here more often.

Last weekend, Jody, Christy, and I traveled to Rhinebeck, New York for the New York Sheep and Wool Festival.  We left Thursday evening, and had a lazy Friday before the festival.  The cabin was cute, we ate good food, we knitted, and I took no pictures.

I had a great time at the festival this year. This was my fourth time, so I was prepared for all the wool and I was able to make some reasoned decisions about what I want to get. And it's always fun to see so many knitters in person!

For the first time ever, I went back to the festival on Sunday morning.  The weather wasn't as good: cold, windy, and rainy. It was nice to be able to look at the booths without fighting through a crowd, and I picked up the two things that had been nagging at me Saturday evening.

My biggest regret was standing in line for an hour (!) to get some artichokes.  They are good, but an hour was a little much. Next time I'll get a burger.

I also took no pictures during the festival, because I forgot I owned a camera :)

This is what I picked up this year.  It's not as much in the years past, and this makes me happy.

 

Clockwise, from top left:

• March Hare sock yarn in Glacier.  Ann has been raving about this yarn, and I decided to give it a try.
• Awesome ceramic buttons from the pottery lady near the front entrance.  I heart them.
• A pound of soap from GotSoap.com  I've bought soap from them every year.
• Some sport weight cormo from Foxhill Farms, to make some legwarmers.
• A slinky skein of wool, bamboo and silk from Maple Creek Farm. I love my drapey pink sweater so much that I want to make a similar one, and I think this yarn work for that.
• Two skeins of cream and two of brown from Green Mountain Spinnery, to make the Shocking! skirt.  The accent color is still undecided.
• Sock yarn from Creatively Dyed. I've actually already cast on a sock with this yarn.

Rhinebeck is a great motivator to finish up some old projects, and I've got something to show you!  I"ll be back soon.

Brand New Bag

Let me show you my new handbag, which I think is my favorite handbag ever.

 

Pattern: Upsized Buttercup Bag, by Made by Rae
Fabric: Scrap bundle from A Stitch in Dye, similar to this one for sale, and brown corduroy with a blue background, from JoAnn Fabrics a few years ago
Modifications: I lengthened the bag by about 2 inches, I added a zipper to the top and inside pocket, and I added a front pocket

This pattern was easy to use, and I love the bag that I have!  I've made (and used) enough handbags to know exactly what I want now.  In addition to an attractive bag with nice fabrics, I want a front pocket for my cell phone, an inside pocket, and a way to find my keys easily.  For the keys, I added these.

 

Two ribbons (or bias binding, to be exact) attached to mini-carabiners, and sewn on the inside of my bag close to the opening. I clip in my keys, and they're easy to find when I need them!

I couldn't find my fusible interfacing, so I fused some canvas to the lining to give the bag a little support. The lining is a pink and orange batik that's been in my stash for awhile.

 

The fabrics from A Stitch in Dye are just as beautiful in person as they are in her photos.  I think this bag was a great way to showcase them! Her book is on my wishlist, and I'm looking forward to its release date.

 

Oh, I love this bag!

So Many Buttons

This Saturday was the annual Garden State Sheep Breeders Festival.  David came with me again this year, and we had a nice time.  We found the pocket beagle puppies in the first barn.  They were only six weeks old.

 

There were also some "guard llamas" for sale.

 

But I have to admit that I was there for the buttons.  Last year, we found a wonderful vintage button vendor, and David bought all the buttons for his sweater there.  This year, David wore his sweater, and I had on my Owls sweater, so the button lady warmed up to us immediately.  In fact, she said that she mentioned David (and his railroad buttons) in a lecture she gave recently.

I spent probably an hour looking through her wares.  This is one of the three tables she had at her booth.

 

I got a lot of buttons.  Every time I needed buttons this past year I thought about the button lady and wished that I could choose something from her collection.  So I thought I'd buy up this time around, and I'm hoping I'll have the right buttons for my projects this year.

One thing I especially like about this vendor is her button samplers. I bought one set from her last year. These are buttons that are all different, but are similar in size and shape and go together well.  This was the inspiration for the buttons I used on my Owls cardigan.  I bought a few more samplers this year.

I also got two cards of buttons.  The button lady said that she bought them from a 92-year-old woman, who had put together and decorated all the cards herself.  There were probably 40 cards in the box, and I'm guessing there were a lot more in the collection.

 

 

Looking closely at these cards, I can see a lot of hand made details, including the initials in the corner. It warms my heart to see how she cared for these buttons. I hope I'll find a really nice way to use these buttons soon!

Finally, David pointed out that this was a fiber festival, so I felt like I needed to get some yarn.  This is the merino superwash sock yarn from Stranded in Oz, and I had a nice chat with the dyer before I picked up this skein.

 

I've actually been doing a good job working through my handpainted yarn, and I thought I could use a little more.  I'm thinking about quickly turning these into a pair of Heel-Hat Socks. Doesn't that look like a fun pair of socks to knit?

New WIPs

Oh, I had a busy week.  I worked long hours, and even the past two Saturdays!  But I think my classroom is ready for children (the new ones start on Wednesday), and I'm quite satisfied with that.  I haven't been doing much else, but I have gotten in a few rows on my new project every evening.

 

This is Dulce de Leche, in about the same color as the original sweater!  I feel like I don't have very much done, but I'm going to be increasing after the waist soon, which is reasonably far along. I have a feeling this will be a favorite sweater when I finish this!

I also started a new pair of socks, Leyburns,  to knit while I was in Amsterdam.  I made a fair amount of progress while I was there (and on the plane back), but I haven't really worked on them since.

 

David bought this yarn for me while he was in Duluth this summer.  He went to Yarn Harbor on his way to the airport to fly back home.  He got there about 15 minutes before it opened, and asked if he could come in early to get some yarn for his wife before he flew home! They were very nice to him :)

The socks are pooling, but David likes it when yarn pools, so it's fine with me.

 

They're also fun to knit!

Things From Holland

I made a few purchases while in Holland that I thought you might like to see.  First of all this painting, because it is beautiful.

 

We bought it from the artist herself, who had her wares spread out on the sidewalk. I love buying art this way.

There was also a fabric market in Amsterdam on Monday mornings.  (I might have squealed when I first read about this.) I dragged David along with me.  I picked up what I thought was four expensive fat quarters, but it turns out that they're each a half meter of fabric.

 

Two have traditional Holland motifs, and two I just like.

I also bought enough knit fabric to make a dress.  There was a vendor selling a lot of printed knits, and David picked out this particular pattern.  I can't show the fabric to you though, because I already made a dress out of it!

 

Pattern: Simplicity 3775, View D
Time to Sew: Today!
Modifications:  I made my sleeves in the same manner that Amanda suggested when she made this dress.  I didn't bother with a bottom hem.  I also had to re-draft the front bodice piece because it seems that I have lost it.  I must have been pretty close because I didn't have any problems at all putting this dress together.

I didn't start out the day expecting to finish a dress, but that's how the day went.  It's a nice way to end my summer vacation.  Teacher work week starts tomorrow.

I really love this dress.  The fabric feels so nice (I wish I had bought more), and the print is fun and casual.  The dress is comfortable, and it has just the casual feeling I was hoping for when I started.

I'm expecting to be working a lot this week as I get my classroom ready for the new school year, so I might not be back on the blog for the next couple of days.  I'll check in when I can.

Featherweight in Amsterdam

We had a great time in Amsterdam.

 

This was such an easy place to visit!  There was a lot to see and do, but it was a manageable amount, not overwhelming.  Everyone there spoke English.  And when we got tired (or footsore), we could just stop at a place along the nearest canal and get some food and a beer.

I don't have any photos of two of my favorite destinations, the Anne Frank House and the Van Gogh Museum, because cameras were not permitted.  The Van Gogh museum had a lot of really recognizable paintings, and many others as well.  There was one still life painting of some flowers in a vase, and right next to it was the actual vase. I thought that was especially interesting to see.  The Anne Frank House was very moving.  We got to tour inside the apartment where she stayed in hiding. Amazing.

We went to Leiden for the day, and we rented bikes there to visit Maria Montessori's grave in a town about 9K away.  I had a lot of ideas for the pictures I would take along the way of the countryside and of us riding our bikes.  But in actuality, it was raining on our way up there and the trip took longer than we thought, so I only had a few minutes at the cemetery before we had to turn back.

 

I was glad I was able to visit.  I wish I had brought flowers.

I'm pretty certain that there are more bicycles than cars in Amsterdam. There are dedicated bike lanes on all of the streets, and WATCH OUT before you cross them! 

 

Amsterdam also had a lot of cats.  This one, whom our bartender called Vodka, came in and had a seat at the counter.

 

Another cat (I didn't catch her name) jumped up on my lap when I sat down on a bench.  She didn't even mind that I handed my camera to David to take a picture.

 

I finished knitting my Featherweight cardigan right before our trip.  It's so lightweight that it was easy to keep in my bag just in case I got chilly.

 

Pattern: Featherweight Cardigan by Hannah Fettig
Yarn: JaggerSpun Zephyr
Needles: US 5s
Modifications: I knitted the collar and edgings in garter stitch instead of ribbing, mainly because I was tired of purling.

 

David and I realized on the last night that we didn't get any pictures of us together. We took this one on the way to the train station.

 

It was a great trip, and I'm glad to be back home.

Happy Day, Happy Dress

I came home today and realized I had been running errands all afternoon and I didn't feel tired.  I think that perhaps the last lingering effects of the swine flu have been finally melting away. Just in time for our imminent trip to Amsterdam!  (Oh, didn't I tell you about that?  We're leaving this weekend for a 5 day trip.) The reclaimed energy along with a new haircut, a finished exam, and a new lip gloss make me a happy girl.  So I thought I'd show you this happy dress.

 

Pattern: Butterick 5315, View C, but shorter and without the sash

The only modification I made was to put in a pocket on the non-zipper side. I love the Peter Pan collar on this dress.

 

The fabric is from JoAnn's and it's a true purple.  I think purple fabrics are a little difficult to find, so I was excited to find this one.  And I thought it was a great fit for the retro-styled pattern. 

It's a little difficult to see, but I made my own bias binding to line the neck out of some bright green fabric.  I also used bright green buttons down the front!

 

The only problem I have with this dress is that the sleeves restrict my arm movements a little bit.  I might try view B's sleeves next time.  It looks like they have more gathers in them, which should allow for a freer movement.

It's quite likely I'll make this pattern again.  It's a yay in my book.

Mini Quilt Tuesday

I'm a little late for mini-quilt Monday, but these -alongs are supposed to be low stress.  First of all, I have some micro-mini quilts.

 

They measure 2 inches by 3 inches!  One of my assignments for teacher training is to come up with three small objects to represent each of the 26 sounds in the alphabet.  "q" objects are a little harder to come by, so I'm making enough to trade with all of my classmates.  They're fun to make, and I was using just tiny snippets of fabric. I used fusible webbing to stick the snippets onto a 2x3 "backing" piece, and then quilted across the layers and satin stitched the edges.

Here's a slightly bigger mini-quilt.

 

I wanted to play with putting orange, pink, and turquoise together.  I like it!  I think I might like this more without the white breaking up the color, because I just love riots of color.  But this quilt is still quite good at making me smile.

And finally, here's a non-mini quilt-in-progress.

 

I finally laid out all of my hexagons a few weeks ago.  I like the way this came together!  I'm currently attaching column 3 to column 4, and it's a little slow going.   I'm enjoying the process, however, and some day I'll have a pretty quilt to show for it.