I Won A Contest!

Remember when I went on the Greater Boston Yarn Crawl and I received a pack of mini-skeins from Island Yarn Company?  This pack:

Led to these ornaments:

Which led me to winning this skein of Pagoda Yarn in the Twilight colorway from Island Yarn Company!

550 yards of super wash merino/bamboo blend - oh, the possibilities.  If you haven't checked out the Island Yarn Company, do so - they have lovely fibers in amazing colorways.

I've Been Busy

A few weeks ago I saw a piece in the local paper about The Wayland Depot.  It's an old train station depot which sells local handcrafts.  They accept items for commission.  So I looked through my collection of handknits which had no home/recipient and went on Monday to see if they would accept my hand knits.

When I got there I only had 4-5 items including my Vardon Vest, a few shawlettes and one mini Christmas ornament.  When I wished aloud for a computer, one of the staff pulled out her husband's iPad and I taught them the glories of Ravelry.  When I showed them my Christmas Wreath, they fell in love with all my ornaments and asked for more.

So, I have been knitting up these mini-sweaters.  Next some stockings and more of the snowmen.  I don't expect to make lots of money doing this but it is fun to have a place for these to go.

Today's Housekeeping/Cleaning Tip

Pick your knitting up off the floor before you start vacuuming!

One Week Wonder

When my godsister asked for a sweater for her daughter, she also asked for one for her son.  This pattern is a free one called Mystery Sweater and I had a bit of adapting to do to get it to his size (around an 8).  I used Knit Picks Brava Bulky which was surprisingly soft for an acrylic yarn.   The second photo is truer to the color.

I call this a One Week Wonder as I started it on October 1st and finished it on October 7th.  This speed was helped not only by the bulky wool but also by a lot of car time this weekend...we went to NJ and back which gave me 10 hours of knitting time.  I'm off to the post office tomorrow!

More Mini Ornaments

When I received my package of mini skeins from Island Yarn Company, there was a contest for those who wanted to knit up their mini skeins and post them in their Ravelry group.  So mini skein to me meant mini-ornament...a sweater using their wild Combo Fibers and a mini hat.  I had some fun and maybe just maybe I'll win a prize??

WIP Wednesday

I've got a lot on the needles right now - at least it's a lot for me.

A while back I started the Cotton Reel Mittens which I'm making with Aslan Trends Santa Fe.  I'm almost done with the first mitten and have seemed to stall as I'm afraid I'll get second mitten syndrome.  I like how these are looking and am thinking of gifting them to my cousin who has been so helpful in our move here.

I'm also inventing some legwarmers for the same child who requested a sweater.  You can see she's in 1st grade with the pink and purple theme working.  Simple cast on of 52 stitches, 2x2 ribbing for an inch, increase 2 stitches every 2 inches, then I'll end with 2x2 ribbing.  One almost done and one to go.

I also cast on a blanket for some of the Ecological Wool I received for my birthday.  This is monotonous but easy to put down and pick up later...in between knitting.  It is a free Cascade pattern.

And now I've cast on another sweater for my godsister's son.  It's called Mystery Sweater and we're using Knit Picks Brava Bulky in a lovely heathered gray.  No photos yet but soon enough.

Now you're caught up on my WIPs.

A Sweater and A Half

My godsister has requested some handknits for her kids which I am always willing to do as she pays for the yarn and I get to knit.  We chose the Libby sweater for her daughter.  She ordered Knit Picks Wool of the Andes as they have the best heathered colorways and she doesn't mind handwashing.  We chose Haze Heather as the main color and Icicle and Amethyst Heathers for the contrast color.

The pattern is written in a size 10 and her daughter is not a size 10.  She gave me measurements from one of her favorite sweaters and I got halfway up the front and realized it was too big. So, I ripped it out, adjusted my numbers and started again.  So for one sweater I've knit a sweater and a half.

Hopefully the next photo of this will be with her daughter's smiling face.