Fibery Goodness from WI

I finally had two minutes to sit down and photograph the fiber acquisitions I procured while on vacation in Wisconsin this month.

My first stop was at the Sievers School of Fiber Arts on Washington Island. While they carried mostly brands of yarn which were familiar to me, I wanted to go there when we visited the island because I was interested in the fact that they host spinning classes (among other things!!) and had heard that some of the locally handspun yarns were for sale. (I knew I didn't have the type of budget that would support buying a wheel or anything.)

As it turns out, they also had a wonderful supply of a variety of fibers ready to be spun! I came home with these:



This is some gorgeous 90% mohair, 10% wool roving which feels like it will provide a luxury spinning/spindling experience!! I believe it will be enough when spun up and plied to at least make a pair of mittens or a hat. This will be the ultimage souvenir!

My other stop was at Spin in Sturgeon Bay (conveniently located right next door to DC Coffee on Madison Street--another great stop!!). We were on our way out of Door County and headed home, but boy am I glad I went in!!

Here's a peek at my bag:

Can you guess what's inside?

First is a sock yarn that is new to me.


It's called Unisono and is made in Germany. I believe there is aloe in it and the content is 100% new wool, superwash. The 100g hank has 300m in it.

I love this yarn because it will forever remind me of the cherries and Sunset Splash wine we enjoyed in Door County! (Now I just need to find a sock pattern that has a cherry motif!)

My second find was a new type of sock yarn from one of my favorite yarns, Regia. This is their "Hand-dye Effect" yarn and has a unique, "crimped" type of plying.



I guess I was in a warm mood that day because this colorway jumped off the shelf at me. It's a very generous 420 m, 100 g ball. I can't wait to see how it looks knit up!

Finally, la piece de resistance: a yarn I have read about many times but never had the pleasure to see in person until I crossed the threshhold at Spin.



It's Claudia Handpainted Silk!



This is the Desert Dusk colorway in lace weight. There are 1100 yards in the hank and should make a truly gorgeous shawl!

I did stop in at another delightful shop in Fish Creek, Red Sock Yarns. Unfortunately I was under attack by the mother of all migraines and had to exit the store hastily. When I get back to Door County, I intend to return to Red Sock Yarns and spend some time shopping...and perhaps even knitting!

Happy Knitting!

p.s. I found out that my name is listed among the exhibitors for the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon! I entered 3 photos and I'm not sure what may have made it through. Last year only 1 in 3 entries was exhibited, so I feel fortunate to have something hanging!

Mitten Monday

Well, after a weekend of knitting fury, I am making progress on more mittens for Christmas.

Here is the completed pair which are my own chart/design. They turned out well I think! (Although there are some minor differences I can't account for since I knit them exactly the same way....but hopefully whoever receives them won't notice!!)

Queen of Hearts




This is a detail section from a pair I completed a few weeks ago, but haven't shown. I have a receipient for this pair. It was done using one of the charts from Lizbeth Upitis' book of Latvian Mittens, however I changed out the cuff to corrugated ribbing, which may be my favorite part of this pair.



Finally, this is the pair I've begun this afternoon. I'm using one of Lizbeth's charts for this pair as well, again switching out to a corrugated rib cuff. The friend this is intended for loves this color combination of the blue/brown and who can blame her? I think they're going to look terrific when done!!



That's the news from my knitting nest . . . how are your projects coming along?

Happy Knitting!

Progress

Well, I haven't completely fallen off the planet. I have been subjected to the earth's spinning of late. (Another week of off-and-on-again dizziness, nausea, etc.)

I have, however, managed to make a bit of progress on the knitting front. Here's the first of the Heart Mitts I designed myself completed.






I must say I've learned a bit about shaping and patterns in the decrease area at the top. This pattern cuts it precariously close. I'm working on another pattern based on Frank Lloyd Wright's designs which I will have to rethink the top area in the decrease section. In the mean time I have cast on Heart Mitt #2 so that I'll have a feasible pair to give at Christmas.

I've also cast on a lovely little piece of lace work which will be a gift as well. This is only my second piece of actual lace work. (The first was the shawl I made which resides with my grandmother.)(Why do I keep giving these pieces away?!?) Here's a sneak peak of the work in progress (obviously not blocked yet...)



I'm using fingering weight yarn with the colorway "Tidepool Heather" and US #9 needles. Guage isn't critical for this project. I think I'm going to like the end result.

It's been a busy week for me with work projects and the magazine deadline looming large. Also another big advertising project is coming in, so I need to schedule lots of interviews for next week. All in all, it's good to stay busy.

Here's hoping everyone has a good weekend!

Happy Knitting!

My First Chart

I printed off some knitter's graph paper and have been playing around with some charting for a mitten pattern of my own design.

This will be the back of the hand:



I plan to do the palm in alternating vertical rows of color. Right now I can't decide if I want to do black mittens with the pattern in red . . .

OR

red mittens with the pattern in white......

What do you think??

Here's the pattern for the wrist area:



I will likely use the Latvian 2-color cast on and do a fringed edge with a braided band above it before beginning the wrist pattern. If I don't think the wrist is long enough, I can add another braid before starting the main heart pattern.

Not sure who the receipient will be. It will be fun to see how it looks knit up. I may find I have to adjust the chart. We'll see. It's kind of cool though!