A Bag of Thanks

We've finished another year of preschool. This time Irene and Henry were the students. Again we had the fantastic Mrs. Wagner for a teacher. Over the past two years she has become such a blessing and friend. I wanted to give her an end of the year gift that was handmade. I used the pattern Little Black Clutch by Janelle Wood from Ravelry and two balls of Patons Classic Wool in aran. I cast on 80 stitches but instead of making the clutch version I continued until I was almost out of yarn then made the pocket.

I felted the bag and after it dried I added the sparkle apple button. Overall, I think it is a cute knit. Of course, I see problems will the construction of the bag...the pocket is not straight. It was made with love and I am hoping it is taken that way.

I also decided to be an "Angel" for another swap on Ravelry. This swap took place long before I had joined the group but when I read that the woman had been waiting over six months for her packaged I knew I had to help. I didn't really follow the rules for that swap. I decided that since she had waited so long she could have what she wanted. She lives in the UK and likes Caron Simply Soft yarn which is not as easy to get as it is here. I bought six skeins of it in two colors that she wanted. I also included a Hello Kitty coin purse since she collects Hello Kitty stuff. Then I added in a bar of handmade soap that was made in my town and postcards showing my town. I also put in two packets of coffee. One was Mackinac Island Fudge flavored and the other was an "up north" flavor but I can't remember what it was. Of course, I keep forgetting to take pictures of the swap packages. I need to do that with the next one!

I did include a knitted item. This is the Rollercoaster Triangle pattern from Ravelry. The pictures are not very good but it is knit in six rows of stockinette stitch and six rows of reverse stockinette stitch. There are some increases and decreases in there as well. I did not block this when I finished. I decided it was pretty cool looking as it was. The yarn used was Zitron Trekking (XXL) which is 75% wool and 25% nylon. It was a little rough and I'm sure it would have softened up after a bath.

I am currently working on an adorable sundress for my friend's daughter's first birthday. I need to finish it up quick because the summer swap has started in the A Swap in Time group. Plus I have a lace scarf to make for another swap. I need to get knitting!

A long time...

It has been a long time since I've written. Unfortunately, my computer got a nasty virus from one of the knitting blogs that I read. It ate my computer. A new hard drive was needed. Not good and I have been afraid to read any blogs since then. I can't afford to replace my computer and I can't stand to be without it!
I have done some knitting. A week before Easter I decided Gavin had to have his cardigan made so that all three kids could wear them on Easter. It was a mad week of knitting squished into the everyday craziness, but I got it done! The pattern is the Seed Stitch Cardigan from Lion Brand Yarn and is knit with Lion Brand Cotton-Ease.

Easter Sunday morning. Gavin had not been feeling well for the few days before Easter so we stayed in town. It is hard to get the three of them to sit still.

My cool kids wearing their matching sunglasses inside. It was an interesting breakfast. Irene managed to dump her entire plate of food on the floor.

Finally Gavin has a cardigan! He looks good in it too ;-)

I recently got some yarn from Webs. Lots of very soft and nice cotton. I am making some lacy scarves as thank you gifts. At first, I wasn't happy with Webs. This order took a week to get here. Then I managed to tangle the sage colored yarn into such a mess that I finally had to give it up. I ordered the same sage yarn but added two balls of Rowan wool cotton to the order. That order was here in two days.

I just got some more yarn from them for two dresses I plan to make. One will be for Irene and the other for my friend's little girl. I don't have the correct needle sizes to start them and the store in town didn't have them either. I am going a little nuts without knitting!

Recently I participated in a dishcloth swap. I sent these two dishcloths to Germany. The bright blue one is a lighthouse and the yellow is a sun. I thought it was appropriate since I live in a town with a beautiful lighthouse.

These dishcloths were the ones I received from a woman in Arkansas. I love them!

I also tried knitting Yvaine by Liz...shoot. I can't remember her last name. I can feel it just out of my reach, bumping around in my head. If you are on Ravelry, she is the one that designed Traveling Woman and Saroyan. For this pattern I used sock yarn I had sitting around. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough and it is no where near the size it is suppose to be. I'm thinking of frogging it.

I decided to help out in a swap that I hadn't participated in and made an "angel" package for a woman that never received her swap package from her partner. It had been over six months and no one had been willing to do it. I knitted a pattern from her favorites and added some U.S. yarn that she likes. Plus, I added some extras from my town. I just shipped it out so no pictures to add until she gets it. The package is making its way to the UK.

I've got some yarn store stories to share as well. I will save those for the next post as well as the fabulous Michigan made yarn that I was lucky to get.

Until then, Happy Knitting!

Spring Has Sprung!

I received my parcel from my secret partner in the Spring Has Sprung swap on Ravelry. The best part was finding out that my secret partner just happened to be the woman I had as a swap partner in a different swap at Christmas. I love how that worked out! She said it was her turn to spoil me and she did!

The hat is knit with the wonderful Malabrigo :) and is do darn soft. There are two balls of a fabulous purple yarn (that I can't remember the name of...can you read it in the picture?) that I can't wait to knit into something special. The gum is a superb smelling mint chocolate chip that the kids are going nuts over. I've had to hide it. Post-it notes...does she know how many little notes I have written on envelopes all over this house? Finally, there is a Barnes and Noble gift card. I have yet to use it but I have a book list that is at least a mile long so it will be put to use soon!

I have loved this swap! If the mod/creator decides to do another I will sign up in a second. I am in another swap that starts in May and delivers a lace scarf in June. I recently got yarn for that and will share in another post.

The gorgeous blue scarf in these two pictures is from a woman I have never met before but has decided to give me comfort in the form of knitting. Back in December or January I was having a very sad day. I realized that never again would my mom knit something for me. From now on any knitted item would be made by me. I was on Ravelry and went into the Random Acts of Kindness group. In this group each month you have a chance to post whatever it is that you want and people can give that to you (if they want to and are able to) with no strings attached. My wish was for someone to knit me something, anything. This scarf was actually the third knitted gift I received and as I write this I've realized that I've never written about the other two. What an ungrateful person I am! I did send each person a thank you but I never wrote a blog post about it. Geez!

The first Random Acts of Kindness gift I received was a very pretty and warm scarf knit out of yarn made partially from soy beans. It is so soft and is in earth toned in color. The second gift I received was a pair of socks knit by a great woman. They are a fun green with flecks of yellow. I've worn them so many times and they have kept my feet so warm during this winter. I will be sure to get pictures of both of these other gifts on here.

The woman that knitted this blue scarf has also given me comfort in messages on Ravelry. Sometimes it is the acts of complete strangers that give us such comfort!

And in a side note...in this picture you can totally see how much my hair has grown in since my husband shaved my head. It is spike-y and fun ;-)

Spring Has Sprung

I love Ravelry and the more time I spend on it the more I find. Patterns, yarns, people. Love it! I've joined a few swaps on there as well. The latest one was Spring Has Sprung. It was a secret swap so we'd know who we were sending to but we didn't know who was sending to us. We were to knit a one skein item that reminded us of spring and include a gift of some kind that cost $10. We could add more if we wanted.

My first assigned partner was a young woman from Virginia. And she was a Hokie. Yes, she was a Virginia Tech student/alum. When I read this I about fell over laughing. My sis-in-law is a Hokie and thinks there is no town that is or ever will be as great as Blacksburg. I love her but geez. So it was funny to me to get a Hokie. I figured I would have a great little story and way to connect with her when I sent her package. She had pink, blue, purple as her favorite colors. I came across the Noro Kureyon Sock yarn. Beautiful color changes! I found one that included the colors she liked. I even got a ball in colors I like and I got both balls on sale so I paid for two what one would have cost. I started a pattern and didn't get too far before I hated it. Started over on a new pattern. I liked it but not with this yarn. Finally decided to give Storm Cloud a try. This pattern is perfect for spring and summer and can be knit with any kind of yarn. I can't wait to make one for me. For those of you on Ravelry just search for Storm Cloud in the pattern section.

Another great thing about this pattern is that it disguises the unevenness of certain yarns. The Noro gets you with the color changes but then shocks you with it's roughness and unevenness. The roughness starts to smooth out the more you work with it but the unevenness! Ugh! Some sections were so thick that it would totally change the look of your knitting. Other parts were so thin that I feared they'd snap if I wrapped it around my needle. I was lucky with this yarn, I didn't come across any knots. I've read reviews of the yarn where there has been 5 knots and the new piece wouldn't even match the color section. I will knit with this yarn one more time since I have the ball for me but I don't think I'd buy it again.

The shipping date for the swap is April 9th but we could ship as soon as we were ready. Then last week I got a message from the swap moderator. My Hokie had flaked out and had not checked in with the swap nor had she responded to any messages. I was asked to let the moderator know when I was ready to ship because she may have someone new for me. I was ready to ship on Monday so I was given someone new. I was concerned though, the Storm Cloud shawlette was knit in colors specific to my first partner. I might have time to knit another before the deadline but I wasn't sure. Thankfully, my new partner, while somewhat older then my first, listed her favorite colors as pink and purple. Still, I sent out my package with trepidation. I wanted her to like it and to be able to use it! Today I got a message from her. My package arrived and she loved the shawlette! I had also included a "Knit Happy" water bottle that has an insert that you can freeze and a small glass that has the name of my town with our lighthouse etched on it and a key chain of Michigan lighthouses.

I am excitedly waiting to see who my partner is and what she has made for me. Even with my first person flaking out I really enjoyed this swap. Everyone was respectful and I would totally join another swap held by this moderator. I've signed up for a Victorian lace scarf swap that starts soon. Sign ups are still open! We all get partnered up and knit the same (easy) lace scarf. I recommend it!

Yes, Another Hat.

Yup, another hat. This one is knit using the lovely Malabrigo worsted weight yarn. I love the yarn and have all kinds of projects I'd love to knit using it. The pattern is what I call my Big Button Hat (although the button isn't that big!). The pattern starts off on straight needles. You knit the seed stitch section on the straights then join on a circular needle.

I've been knitting a lot but it has been for a springtime swap that I'm participating in on Ravelry.com. I started three different patterns before I found one I liked. Finally sent my package out yesterday. As soon as my partner gets it I will post pictures and information about it here. Of course, I forgot to take pictures of the extra goodies that I included. I'm just glad to have remembered to take pictures of the knitted item!

More to come!

That's Gap-tastic!

I have some finished projects to share with you. On my head is another hat. This is the Early Morning Beret. My hat doesn't really look like a beret because I wanted a slightly less slouchy hat that wouldn't get caught on my winter jacket. I used a brushed baby alpaca yarn from Plymouth Yarn.

I've also finished the Gap-tastic cowl. This called for Lion Brand Yarn Wool-ease chunky. The yarn was almost impossible to find! I looked in multiple stores in several towns. Finally found some at JoAnn's. Three colors only and this earthy green is the only color I liked. It is a big cowl and a warm one too.

Another hat! This one is Etta. It is supposed to be a lot more slouchy but I have not yet blocked it. It is made with Red Heart Soft. Yes, Red Heart again. Can I defend myself by telling you I am currently working on a hat with the fabulous Malabrigo?

I won a contest! Peacefully Knitting in Arizona had a book giveaway on her blog and I was lucky enough to win. Fiber Gathering by Joanne Seiff features lovely sections on Fiber Festivals across the country. There is even one in Michigan! The book also includes patterns. I was thrilled and surprised to have won.

I entered a swap on Ravelry. It is the Spring has Sprung swap. We each got assigned a person and we are to make a one skein item plus we are to include a $10 gift has a spring theme/idea. It is a secret swap so I will share all the details later.

That pretty much rounds out all the knitting news. I have a sleeping child pinning down one arm so typing is difficult. So tell me, what are you working on?

Tip of the Hat

I have been on a hat knitting kick the last week. It could have something to do with the fact that I shaved my head. What?! Yes, last weekend my husband buzzed my hair. It is not totally gone but it is darn close. One unfortunate side affect is that my head is cold! I live in Michigan and it's snowing. Brrr! This hat is the Slouchy Copy Cat Hat. I loved this pattern. It gives the look of cables without actually doing them. I used Red Heart Soft yarn. Now don't groan! Hear me out on this, I didn't have a lot of money to be purchasing yarn and I could not find any colors that were jumping out at me. I felt the swatch they had knitted up of this yarn and was surprised by how soft it actually was. Plus, I liked the color which is Vanilla Swirl.

I just want to add that it is really hard to get pictures of yourself!

This next hat is also knit in Red Heart Soft. This pattern is the Striped and Slouchy Hat. I worked as fast as possible on this one. It is a favorite of mine. The funny thing is that on the day I started this hat I received my packaged from the Secret Cupid Swap. Inside the box was this hat, made for my by my secret cupid, in black and grey. I was thrilled to get it!

The color of this hat is light grey. I really like this hat and I have gotten a lot of compliments on it :-)

This is the hat made for me by my secret cupid. I truly enjoyed this particular swap. I got a thoughtful person who checked out my profile and blogs. The extra gifts were things that summed me up. Big coffee/tea cup, tea, yarn, little gifts for the kids and a handmade necklace and stitch markers. I recommend checking out Ravelry for all the patterns, groups, swaps, and helpful, great people!