Ishbel 1 and Ishbel 2

I love Ysolda's pattern "Ishbel" and have started a second one. NOT because I finished the first, but rather because I cannot knit lace while distracted. We are on vacation at our condo in Pinehurst, NC. The TV cable wasn't working so for 2 days all my husband has done is chat. Now, I'm not complaining because he works away from home so I don't see him often. These few days have been nice but I really want to finish Ishbel. He is golfing right now so as soon as I complete this posting, I'm off to Ishbel-land.

My two Ishbels are very different from each other. The first one is being knitted from gorgeous hand-dyed multi-colored merino I purchased at Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival last May. I am determined to complete the shawlette so I can wear it to MDSW on May 1. I bought the yarn from one of my favorite places -- "Ellen's Half-Pint Yarns" which is located in the main building at MDSW. I want to wear it to show Ellen.

I started the second Ishbel because the first section is stockinette with yo increases so I can manage that even during conversation. I visited "Bella Filati" yarn shop in Southern Pines, NC yesterday and used my gift certificate from my husband. One of the items I bought was a skein of hand-painted fingering weight yarn from Heritage Paints in shades of blue. Holly offered to wind it into a cake for me so I of course said yes. Having it wound was the final push I needed to start Ishbel number 2.

This lace shawlette pattern is fun to knit and an easy lace project. And there are options...I love options! The center stockinette section can be one of two sizes and the number of lace repeats can also be varied. Ishbel 1 uses the smaller stockinette section and the larger number of lace repeats. I think Ishbel 2 will be knitted in the same manner. Not too big but large enough to wear over a suit jacket or a nice sweater for a fun look.

I'm also doing some knitting for the Golden Retriever Rescue sales table. Will save that for the next post.

Going home tomorrow to snowy and cold Central PA. Spring is just around the corner...I am sure of it...

Snow Day Knitting

The lighting is very different for these two photos but it is the same project. Central PA is getting slammed with more snow, high winds, and general nasty weather. My office was closed today....thankfully.

Being home gave me time to catch up on uncompleted household work and get in some knitting time. More of the latter and none of the former to come as soon as I finish this post.

This cowl is the same design as I knit for myself last month -- from the Winter issue of Spin-off magazine. I love it. An very easy to remember simple but lovely 4-row repeat. I am making this one for my good friend, Celeste. Her coat is olive green and I think this mix of colors will be perfect. I got her approval on the colorway before I began the project. She is a redhead so needs to be extra careful about her color choices.

I am using Mountain Colors yarn in the "Tamarack" colorway which is a variagated soft yarn in colors of purple, teal, dark olive, gold, rustish-deep pink, and brown. A lovely combination. I am hoping that with today's knitting and the long Presidents' Day holiday weekend I will be able to complete the project. Time will tell.

Two Finished Projects

I finished another pair of socks! Alert the media. They are comfy and warm. The yarn is Limbo Mexiko in shades of rustish-burgundy (yes Roberta there IS a hint of orange! LOL), browns, grey/black and a bit of off white. Love them. Sport weight (in my opinion) and knit on a pair of size 3 needles. Immediately cast on another pair which you will see in a week or so.

Also finished the Kyle's hat aka The Hat From H***. Knitted in bulky weight gorgeous alpaca. Soft and slippery! to knit. This hat looks a bit odd but when I tried it on the look is perfect. This is the second version of Kyle's hat because the first one seemed to be too large. I think this one will fit him perfectly. I think that is why I hate this hat...I had to knit it twice. Kyle is a co-worker and good friend who lives in Erie. For those of you who don't know Erie, PA it is along Lake Erie and gets many, many feet of snow each year. Right now they have over 3 feet. Kyle wanted a warm, knitted hat that he can wear with his nice black top coat. The only ones he found were not warm, were made of "plastic" (quoting Kyle...I am guessing acrylic yarn) and looked like he belonged on the ski slope. I hope he likes this one. It goes into tomorrow's mail.

Currently I am working on my first Ishbel shawlette which I will wear as a scarf. Being knitted from fingering weight yarn I bought at last year's Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival from Ellen's Half-Pint Farm which is located in Vermont. I've sworn off buying yarn this year but might have to break down and get something from her. Love her stuff! Photos soon.

I love the Ishbel so much I went to the stash...wow that organizing is fabulous for finding things...and pulled out 2 skeins of Schaeffer Anne in the "Stadium Blanket" colorway...red, grey, gold...yummy! I'm going to make a large Ishbel and enter it into this year's county fair. The pattern is wonderful and goes rather quickly. Well worth the effort, I think.

Yarn Organizing

Spent a lot of this weekend organizing my sock and shawl yarns...much more of the former than the latter. Now at least I am familiar with the colors and brands of sock yarn I have on hand. There are at least 200 skeins of yarn. Fortunately, some I can use a small shawls/scarves, neckwarmers, fingerless mitts and other fun items.

Also came across my bag of leftover sock yarn. Immediately decided that I need to start knitting a leftover sock yarn afghan for my bed. Found the pattern in the Mason & Dixon knitting book and will probably begin the first square this week. Will blog a photo when I have some progress.

Also decided I REALLY am going on a sock yarn diet! Tough to do with Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival a mere 3 months and a handful of days away but this is necessary. And I cannot imagine finding any yarn that is not in a colorway I already own. Just can't fathom it.

I do make gifts for people so I will go stash diving. Am planning to sell some on Ravelry whenever I get the time. Also am going to donate some skeins to groups that do charity knitting...a major win-win.

Am to the toe decreases on a second sock so off to complete it. Photo when finished.

Neckwarmer Finished

Don't need to say much about this little cutie. A Feather & Fan neckwarmer made from one skein of Lorna's Laces worsted weight yarn. Pattern is in the most recent issue of Spin-Off. Easy to knit and makes perfect knitting while riding in a car. Temps dropped again this evening so I think it will get its first wearing tomorrow. Love those colors. Will look wonderful with my new raspberry colored coat.

New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year!

I, like many others, engage in New Year's resolutions each and every year. This year I decided to be reasonable and have 12 resolutions that I consider attainable:
1. Pay off all my credit cards and close the accounts.
2. Save money.
3. Let the problems of work stay there when I leave each day.
4. Either finish or frog unfinished knitting projects.
5. Organize my yarn stash and knitting books.
6. Organize my house and give things I can't use to the needy.
7. Learn something new in knitting even if it is basic such as a new cast-on.
8. Knit more.
9. Knit from stash as much as possible.
10. Cook more, eat out less.
11. Be more patient with others.
12. Get a Golden Retriever puppy.

So far, so good. Oh I know it is mid-month but usually by now I would have broken at least half of my resolutions. All remain on schedule. The puppy depends on whether or not the breeding was successful. Hopefully will have that information later in the month. If it was, then I wait to see if there is a little Golden male for me.

One Finished Project and Another in Progress

Finished are the superwash wool house socks for my friend Celeste. She will be celebrating a birthdya in the middle of January and amazingly enough the gift is done! I used Lonesome Stone superwash wool I purchased at Mad About Ewes in Lewisburg. A nice bright combination of colors. The pattern is a simple tube sock but it will keep her warm.

Started is a nice neckwarmer for myself. Using yummy worsted weight Lorna's Laces and a fun Feather and Fan pattern. I like the design -- size 6 needles to start so the cowl lays nicely on ones shoulders -- at least that is the designer's plan -- and then size 4 needles on the rest of the garment. Will continue with more photos. Took this one early today and have made a lot of progress since this morning.

However, the neckwarmer has been put aside for some sock knitting. A pair I started a while ago. I miss knitting socks so decided to work on a pair in sport weight yarn. A photo in a few days.

Yarn Shopping in New Jersey: Part Two

Mericash handpainted on the left and Merisock handpainted on the right. Don't you just love the colors?

The day before going to Princeton decided to visit a yarn shop that is less than 5 miles from my home of my brother and sister-in-law. The shop KnitKnack is located in Maplewood, NJ. There are lovely glass windows for colorful displays and completed garments.

Once inside the shop I was stunned. Let me quickly say, very pleasantly stunned. KnitKnack is a small one-room yarn shop whose owner has used every square inch of space to the max! The built-in cubby spaces for yarn were neatly organized and filled with fibers of all sorts -- many of which I had only read about and never seen. This was a knitter's dream shop!

Regretfully I neglected to get the owner's name, but she is such a nice person and a very talented knitter. She is quite helpful, but not pushy. A rare combination in retail. I also enjoyed the three other ladies who were there knitting away on a variety of projects. Those lucky knitters and others were lucky this weekend when designer Jared Flood (aka Brooklyn Tweed) was at the shop for 2 days signing his new book and also giving classes.

I have Jared and his wonderful website to thank. His listing of classes was where I found the information on KnitKnack.

I purchased a lovely little silk project bag, two skeins of yarn, and an Addi Turbo lace circular needle. The yarn is Mericash and Merisock. Both are for me. The Mericash will be knitted into one of Ann Budd's neckwarmers that I am cranking out repeatedly for friends. The other of course will be socks or perhaps a small shawl that I would use as a large scarf.

Time will tell.

Yarn Shopping in New Jersey: Part One

Pagewood Yarns for a pair of socks and a small shawl
Koigu yarn for the drop stitch shawl

Part One: Since I visited two stores in NJ this weekend, I will do a post on each visit. Today's is about the shop in Princeton.

Spent a really nice Thanksgiving weekend in New Jersey visiting with family and friends. A tradition started about 6 years ago is the annual Saturday-after-Thanksgiving trek to Princeton for lunch, shopping, people watching, and looking at the gorgeous greenery/white lights/red ribbons that decorate the shops and downtown. There were no carolers on the corner this year, but we have seen/heard them in years goneby. This year there were four beautifully decorated horse-drawn buggies parading through town.

Since my really good friend Roberta moved from Central PA to the South almost 2 years ago we have added a wonderful element to the Princeton trip. Roberta travels to the central NJ town from either her brother's or sister's homes in PA/NYC and we spend the afternoon together. This year a large amount of time was spent in the Pins and Needles yarn shop.

We decided to do a two-person "knitalong" and chose a "Drop Stitch Wrap" complete with a ruffled edge. Absolutely adorable. However, we just can't leave well enough alone...we made a slight variation to the pattern by shortening the length. The wrap is knitted lengthwise, on size 3 or 4 needles, from Koigu. But, it is designed to be 90-inches long. Since Roberta and I are neither one over 5-feet tall, a 90-inch wrap is unnecessary. We opted for a 60-inch length which means less yarn needed to be purchased and it won't take as long to knit...a win-win!

I also purchased two skeins of Pagewood Farms sock yarn. Love the stuff. One will be used for socks and the other will most likely be knitted into "Ishbel" which is designed by Ysolda, a young and very talented Swedish knitwear designer. At this point I cannot decide which skein will be used for which project. Will see how the spirit moves me when I get that far.

To be continued....

Patches 8/2/98-11/20/09

My sweet cuddlebug is gone. The constipation proved too much and her body could no longer work the way it should. She tried so hard at the vet office but it just didn't happen. Surgery would have been a very temporary "fix" and she again would have been in pain. I didn't want a colon rupture when I was away working. Patches would have been in so much pain. I would have never forgiven myself. Rest in peace my love. You are now with your Golden brothers. I will love you all always.

Christmas Ornaments

I decided to use some leftover sock yarn to knit Christmas ornaments. Boy are they ever cute! ... if I do say so myself. The patterns are from Kalamazoo Knits and I bought them last fall at Stitches East in Baltimore.

I have two done and as soon as I finish this post will start a third from blue and white sock yarn...Penn State ya know. The patterns are easy and knit up quickly. I bought a box of 8 ornaments at Wal-Mart for $6 so they are inexpensive to make. Would be nice gifts.

I am now searching for a metal tree to hang them from for Christmas. Better start internet surfing.

This is October??

Today's post will again be basically photos. Mother Nature played a cruel joke on this part of Central PA today....first heavy rain which turned into snow...on October 15! The major problem is that the trees are still laided with their leaves and this heavy, wet snow is causing many branches to come down. Here are some photos from my yard. This nasty weather is not to stop until tomorrow. I hope the trees don't fall on the house or cars.