Almost Frogged.

Procrastination is the perfect tool for bringing new life into old, tossed aside projects. This particular adventure involved a scarf I finished well over 3 years ago. The original pattern was for the multi-layered scarf from Alterknits. The basic scarf/shawl is a tube knit with kidsilk haze, and finished by sliding a piece of silk fabric up the middle of the tube (giving you the "layers"). I love the idea, but once it was finished I never wore it. Here's the tube, sans silk:: I pulled it out a couple of weeks ago and was determined to either take it apart and use the yarn for something else, or make it wearable...

So, with just a little bit of playing, I realized that the tube made a fantastic cowl! Even though the knitting itself is thin and without any shaping, the tube's so long that when you scrunch it together you get a cowl with a lot of structure.

So, a cowl it is! And when I want to control how it falls across my shoulders, my trusty nail* works really well:

*You may remember that I used the nail trick before for my pinwheel sweater.

Preparing for the move back to the country.... or spilling the family secrets.

C likes to joke about my growing up in an "Appalachian hollow" which, isn't really a joke. We were in the Appalachians, and there was a hollow. What else? My mom owns, and makes use of the L.L. Bean Game Cookbook. There was once a dinner involving squirrel {no joke}, there were snakes in the basement, there was an outhouse {until it burned down}, .... what am I forgetting?
Anyway, once I heard about 'possum* yarn, I knew that eventually I would have to own some, particularly as we prepare for a move back into the Appalachians. There are a couple of possum blend yarns out there, I used Supreme Possum Merino {a 50% wool, 10% silk, and 40% possum blend}. I can't recommend this yarn enough! It's so soft, has a lovely halo, and is just all around awesome {more on that below}.

I didn't know of any Boston shops carrying it, so I ordered mine at Handknitting.com

I used about a skein and a half for this project. It's the the Little Arrowhead Shawl ~ a free pattern from Interweave Knits. It's in the "Sweet Somethings" document at the bottom of this page. I made a slightly bigger shawl than the pattern suggests {it's an easy pattern to just keep repeating until you're satisfied}.

Now, back to the possums. The Common Bushtail Possum is native to Australia, but invasive to New Zealand. As with many invasive species, it was originally transported to New Zealand as a resource ~ for food and pelts. Most invasive species that cause ecological damage don't have predators in their new home and many native plant and animal species are defenseless against the predation of the alien species. In New Zealand the possums feed on both the native vegetation and bird populations. They also transmit bovine TB throughout the cattle populations, causing an economic hardship to the communities. SO ~ when you buy possum yarn, you're helping, in a small way, to remove possums from New Zealand... Of course, that means your purchase also requires the killing of possums, but that's what the L.L. Bean Game Cookbook's for, right!?

*I always felt like it was very "country" to say possum, but saying "o"possum. It appears that if you're referring to the North American varieties, then opossum it is, but if you're referring to Australian relatives, possum's the word.

Retaliation

**ETA: I just finished this post and noticed another Schu trying to survive the cold.

Holy cold. I'm retaliating the only way I know how::

It's a mobius cowl! Wrapped around my neck twice. So comfy I wore it to sleep last night.

This was made with some Malabrigo scraps {the white/light blue rows} and Misti Alpaca Baby Me Boo {the blue variegated rows}; it's a cozy combination of alpaca, wool, and bamboo!

The pattern's from A Treasury of Magical Knitting ~ the Sage Rhythm wrap without the fringe.


If it gets too warm around my neck, I can unwrap it and wear it like this::
This is the first mobius cowl I knit for Nik a couple of years ago ~ that time a blizzard struck and we were trapped in the house, knitting without electricity for four days... it looks like there's a correlation between extreme winter weather and mobius knitting!

Monday Soundtrack

I love this song, and it's great for kick-starting a busy week. Here's to hoping this week is as productive and balanced as last. Some of my crafty projects from last week are after the video. enjoy*


I'm so happy with this scarf::

It's the mustard scarf{ravelry link} by Jane Richmond. The pattern itself fulfills a general idea that I've been trying to find - a short scarf or cowl that's bulky but airy. If that makes sense...I have an idea for another version that I want to try out and then I think it's time to be done with knitting for myself {ETA: as soon as I finish up those knee socks and add a pompom to my new winter hat!} and on to knitting for gift giving!

And what thrills me just as much as the pattern is the yarn I used. This is some Nature Wool that I bought a couple of years ago at Article Pract. It's a variegated combination of shades of green and greenish yellow. I bought three skeins and then they sat in my knitting basket "looking ugly". So I thought that I'd use one skein for this project and then dye it after I was finished knitting, but as soon as I put it around my neck, my affection for this color returned. So experimenting with dying will have to wait for another day.

And, the Christmas crafting has fully begun! I'm working on some new edible and drinkable treats. This is the first phase of limoncello making, letting the zest soak in the vodka::

And after one night, the vodka had already turned a brilliant yellow!::

Keep. Meaning. to. Blog

I do, I keep meaning to give some updates, share some pictures, yada yada, but the week just passed by. I know I keep complaining about this, but it is winter, it's cold, and it's usually dark, so there aren't many times when I'm able to take pictures, and what's a post without pictures? It's all about the pictures (for me).

That said, Posie's post this week about how she takes pictures (with her Canon Powershot I'm guessing) was an inspiring kick in the ass. She talked about taking pictures with her camera set on the A (or AV) setting for aperture control. I have that setting, and I've never used it! I always go for the manual or automatic settings, but not for long ~ one goal for the new year is to read the camera manual and start experimenting. It's never too late to start a goal for the new year, I mean, when does it really start? Sometimes it feels like the year really starts with spring, sometimes it starts with the start of the school year, but it really feels odd to me that the new year starts in the middle of winter when everything's hibernating.

On with the knitting progress::

I'm made some progress on the Buttony sweater. This shot probably gives you a better sense of what's going on. The body and sleaves are knit from my camel yarn, and the leaf panel down the front is from the kathmandu aran. What do you think?


This second project is in transition. It's a brioche scarf pattern from Loop (free with the yarn purchase). I bought the blue and red malabrigo for the scarf, but I ended up not liking the dramatic contrast between the two colors (Nik, you were right), so this weekend I picked up a light grey and I"m going to reknit the scarf with the blue and grey. Then I might turn the red into a hat...

{Both of those pictures were taken in the AV setting}

That's all for now! The day is young, and warm, so maybe I'll take some pictures for a mid-week post*

The Last of the Holiday Goodies

The last of the gifts have been opened, so I can share them with you! This was such a fun and diverse crafting season ~ cookbooks were made, there was plenty of knitting, and some very successful sewing. Here we go::

Toe-up Jaywalkers for Nik::
Yarn ~ Regia Crazy Color
Needles ~ size 2 addi turbos

Uni-color Pinwheel for Soph::
Yarn ~ Knit Picks CotLin (about 2.5 balls)
Needles ~ 4mm

Cotlin is a GREAT baby yarn! Soft, light, and machine washable. There is some shrinkage when washed the first time, but not much. Doing a couple sample swatches, I noticed that Cotlin shows a cable really well, so I might use it for a more detailed cable project next.

A Mobius Scarf birthday gift for Nik::
**I have to thank Calder for being a great photographer ~ these were taken while we waited out the storm/blizzard in Tahoe. Lots of snow and little electricity make for loads of fun and game playing!

Pattern ~ Sage Rhythm Wrap from A Treasury of Magical Knitting by Cat Bordhi
Yarn ~ Blue Sky Suri Merino (just over 2 skeins)
Needles ~ Size 10

I love, love, love this project! I liked being about to wrap the scarf twice around my neck. I also like the change of not having long scarf ends hanging down. And this yarn is so soft around the neck. Although, I could see it being a little bit hairy and getting in your mouth nose, but all in all, not too bad.

And here's Nik modeling her knits::

And the last of the season's sewing::
A couple more pairs of pj pants for C. This second round of pants is improved by the suggestions I received after giving the first pair on Christmas (elastic in the waist, reinforcing some seams, etc).

I'm so excited about the sewing and know I'll do quite a bit more this year, because for Christmas I received Bend-the-rules Sewing and Sew What! Skirts !! I'm one happy camper. While knitting is great, sewing provides such instant gratification... and I've gotten over my fear of sewing through my fingers. sewfingerphobia.

I got to spend a few days at home, where the cats napped and the babies sat in pots.



Luckily we rescued her before she became fish stew.

A propper post, pictures and all!

Before another week gets underway, I thought I'd share some proof the "doing" that's been going on behind the scenes here. Here's a short sampling of the Christmas gifts under way::

These two hats look amazing together. The deep red with the ice blue are perfect compliments, especially with a background of snow!
Red Hat Details ~
Yarn:: Plymouth Yarn, Baby Alpaca Grande, one full skein
Pattern:: 3x3 ribbing all the way, decreasing around the top in a way to keep the ribs
Size:: should fit any adult head because it's super stretchy
Needle size:: US 9

Blue Hat Details ~
Yarn:: Rowan Calmer
Pattern:: Shedir from Knitty '04
Size:: baby/childish

Then we have some manly jaywalkers::
Details ~
Yarn:: Knit Picks Swish Superwash in Squirrel Heather
Pattern:: Toe-up Jaywalkers, with my own short-row heel
Size:: men's 8.5
Needle size:: US 3

And a last minute scarf::
Details ~
Yarn:: Knit Picks Palette in Marine Heather
Pattern:: Liesel
Needle size:: US 7

And finally, some beautiful winterfoliage from our front yard::

Have a great week, and I should be back soon with some more Christmas goodies!!

As promised.

Some pictures from the weekend ~ a mix of life and finished knits! The fall weather provided rain and fog in Boston and Berkeley, but once we got to Tahoe, all was sunny!


Of course the weekend was filled with good food, including this apple & fig crisp. yum. Just take your basic apple crisp recipe and add some quartered figs. You can't go wrong. Serve it with some vanilla ice cream garnished with pomegranate seeds.
Here are some finished knits ~ I've shown you these before, but here are some pictures of foliage and sarcelle in use and the pinwheel sweater in better light and with the ends woven in.


Now, this week will be busy with research. Much research for school, and some for Rhinebeck! I have to make a little list of projects I want to knit and the yarn requirements... fun fun.

Sarcelle

Between back to school meetings, nestifying my room, and research, I found time to finish Sarcelle!

Project Details ~
Pattern:: Sarcelle from one of the ladies at Knitters Anon
Needles:: 3 mm Addi Turbos
Yarn:: Malabrigo lace weight in the Glazed Carrot Colorway (2 skeins)
Modifications:: To make a skinnier version, I worked two increase sections (for 5 repeats of the pattern across each row). As for length, I kept working until I was about to run out of yarn! It gave me a scarf which is 5'5'' long.


Now all I need is some cool, apple picking weather and Sarcelle keeping my neck cozy. It'll be the perfect compliment to the Tilted Duster in the current IK. I have the yarn, the pattern, and the needles, but I think this project will wait until after I finish a couple of baby pinwheel sweaters for some new kids on the block.

We spent the weekend in Conway, NH. Swimming in the river and soaking in the final heat of summer. Since I couldn't go away without some knitting, I picked up some balls of wool and made two bowls ~ I'll post the details after they're felted.

On my needles~~

There's a lot of knitting happening behind the scenes of WinterFoliage!

My ongoing project is Sarcelle. I'm about halfway done with the item and the second half is going much slower than the first because I've distracted myself with a few other projects! Luckily, I'm not doing a full size Sarcelle ~ I've kept the pattern skinny and plan on using it as a scarf. So instead of expanding to the full 7 repeats of the pattern, I'm only repeating 5 times.

Here's Sarcelle next to my Clapotis (folded in half length-wise), so that I could get a sense of how much more I had to go.Yarn note ~ I LoVe the Malbrigo yarn, and with 400some yards per skein, it's only going to take two skeins for the whole project!!

Before our trip to Yosemite, I wanted to make a quick hat in case the nights were chilly. So I dug into my stash for some cozy yarn. Details: This hat is made of a white alpaca yarn and a greenish wool held together. It's just a basic top-up hat. About 84stitches (I should recount) on size 7 needles. I did a one by two rib on the bottom and then just stockinette stitch for the rest of the hat. For the decrease I did knit two together on every other row in 5 sections. I think the hat could use a design... maybe something embroidered on the side?

Once the hat was finished I was so pleased with the quick project that I decided to use up some of the cotton I had for the Lion Washcloth from this Season's Knitty. This was so much fun!! Seriously, if you're at all tempted to make the lion go for it and don't worry about the loops!
I was so excited by how much fun it is to knit loops that I started to think about other animal washrags. So I stopped by Article Pract and picked up some organic creamy cotton and I'm going to try to make a lamb version.

Finally, I have a huge stash of black alpaca (and some skinny blue stuff) that was gifted to me, so I decided to make a sweater. The pattern? I can thank Elizabeth Zimmerman. I'll give more details as the sweater progresses.
I ordered the Knitting Workshop book a few weeks ago and already I've learned so much! I'm using her formula to make either the shirt-yoke or hybrid sweater (I'll decide once I get to the top!)

Other lessons from Ms. Zimmerman?
-center-pull balls let your yarn loosen up and make for nicer, more predictable knitting
-how to avoid a pointy hat? increase your decreases near the top! duh - so simple why didn't i try it??
-how to make a sweater? just go for it!

I'm a full, lighter waving Zimmerman fan. I can't wait to place another order for more EZ books.

End Note ~ some of mother nature's knitting ~

Some pics from last week.

Before I show more recent pics, here's another shot of Shedir. This one doesn't have the special effects, so you can see the real hat!

As I mentioned, we spent the past week in LA and in a calm, cozy lake house. We were in LA for the 4th and attended a big picnic full of food and games.

I'm pleased to announce that C and I were the CHAMPIONS in the three legged race! We won't brag too much, but we'll just mention that we left our competitors in the dust. Unfortunately, I did not fair as well in the watermelon eating contest:


While at the lake, we did a bit of birthday partying, wind sailing, lake swimming, and book reading.

Back in Berkeley, sunflowers are blooming and I finally had a chance to stop by the Berkeley Farmers Market! My trip to the market was perfect ~ I bought bags of fresh peaches and plums, along with some other veggies and fun stuff:





In other west coast / Berkeley news, how cool is this little glass bottle of apple juice?? I don't think we have this on the east coast.

All the while, I've been working on a new version of Sarcelle with some wool from Article Prac.