Baby's Colorplay hoodie by Lion Brand

This looks amazingly easy and cute.  I downloaded the pattern from Lion Brand and filed it in drop box in folder labelled Babies and Children.













This version is worked on Size 9 needles and takes 3 balls of Lion Brand Amazing.  The two above are Pink Sands and Aurora Colorways.

Finished iPad mini cover

Yea!  I finished another project!  No doubt about the fact that I have totally earned the right to buy yarn and etc at the Fiber Festival in September!  Mitzi invited me to ride with her to Kanawha City to pick up the yarn that she bought from Sarah.  So I took along my iPad Mini case that I knitted quite a while ago.  However, I invented the pattern and it didn't turn out exactly how I had imagined.  I was challenged about how to close the bag when the iPad mini was in it.  I hoped to find some buttons or some pretty closures at the shop.  The minute we walked in, Mitzi suggested just using a shawl pin such a the one Sarah had put on something in the front hall.  PERFECT!  So this project is also finished:

One more summer project

I rewarded myself last night.  I had finished two on-going projects.  I am still working on the Mermaid tail project that is coming along quite well.  But I need to try it on one of the twins to see when I should start decreasing.....10 inches from desired length.  So I started something new!  I can't help but think about the discussion that Frank and I had last year during the reunion weekend about the fact that both of us are easily distracted by the shiney and new!

The new project was inspired by a shawl that I tried on at the Kanawha City Knitting store.  I found it to be flattering to me .....well at least in my mind.  Was it because it was grey or was it the actual shawl?  It was a Berroco sample made from Artisan yarn from Berroco.  However the grey was not available or I might have bought it right then.

I would have liked to have bought local, but the crazy fact was that Webbs advertised two very pretty colors that have been discontinued at half price.  Neither are the grey, but both are very pretty.  So I bought them on-line.







I am knitting on size 7 needles.  The pattern is ceonothus.  It is designed by Amy Christoffers from Booklet #363 from Berroco.  I bought the pattern.  I have filed it in shawls in drop box.

The two colors that I bought are a brown color and a variegated color way that is beige and light brown.  The yarn is made in Peru which makes me happy.  I'll post the photo of the shawl when I finish.

Some yarns that I like

The weather has been nasty in Huntington for more than a week.  I may have to plan to impose on Sarah next year to spend a few weeks in Vermont in August.  Or perhaps a condo somewhere that overlooks the ocean.  But I find myself spending more time than usual on the computer looking at yarns and dreaming.....outside is off limits for most of the daytime hours.

Some yarns that I liked tonight were featured by Webbs.  They are imported from Peru which, of course, is of interest to me.  I think that the above yarn might be a lot of fun.  There was no sale price for it tonight.

Using Variegated and Gradient yarn

Often the variegated yarn that looked so amazing in the skein looks much less interesting when knit.  I was googling around trying to find a variegated or self striping linen that I thought might look good in a shawl that is of interest to me.  The shawl is found in a book that I bought digitally (stored in dropbox) called Free Spirit Shawls.  

I am looking for one more summer project before I start the fall knitting.

I am updating this post in September 2016 and have found some yarn that I bought for the above shawl from Webbs.  It is Noro Taiyo Sock Yarn in neutral colors of grey, white, brown and green.  I am going to take this yarn and pattern with me to Boston this week in case I finish the projects I have going or find that I need a small needle pattern and yarn when my arm and shoulder get tired.

Instead I found the following which is a site that shows some ideas for using variegated yarns in unusual ways:

http://www.knitting-and.com/knitting/tips/variegated.html

Here is an example of one of the ways to use a variegated yarn that proved disappointing when used in straight knit and purl:





Mandy Bee says on her blog:  http://www.mandybee.com/tag/knitting-with-variegated-yarn/

That what I want is gradient yarn rather than variegated yarn.  She suggests some ways to use the variegated yarns that we have bought and been disappointed in results such as:

Using drop stitch pattern:




and using linen stitch such as the below found in a Church mouse creation:



Still looking for the right linen, I found a very pretty yarn that is on sale on the Webb's site called Santorini.  Here is a sample knit with this yarn



This would make a WONDERFUL sweater for warm/cool weather.  However, this yarn is not linen.  It is a cotton/viscous (spelling?) blend.  I found the sample on:

http://really533.rssing.com/chan-6282279/all_p44.html

Feb 2018 Dar wore a shawl to a knitting retreat that I particularly like:




The pattern is Loops by Casapinka and the yarns are both fingering yarn and she thinks she knitted it on size 6 needles.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/loop-6

Casapinka has a lot of other shawls that are worth seeing as well.


Just found another yarn that is very pretty.  It is on Revelry:  Seashore Kerchief by Churchmouse Yarns and Teas.  It uses size 7 needles, and Classic Elite Yarns Bella Lino.  The picture below is Colorway 8504

I am adding one more idea in late winter 2021.   It is a small shawl knitted by Caroline.  The pattern is Tilting at Windmills by 

Jamie McCanless

Below is Caroline's version:

Feels Like Home Shawl (above)

Noro Cowl

I also finished another Cowl today at the Wild Ramp.  This one is made up of a Noro Yarn.  I am not sure that I still have the name of the yarn.  
I'll look to see if I can find the label and add it here if I can find it.

Linen Cowl

Today is Tuesday, so I knitted at the Wild Ramp.  My goal today was to finish two projects that only really needed to have loose ends sewn in.  One of the projects is the linen cowl that I started at least two years ago.  Sarah and I bought yarn at a yarn store in Burlington, Vermont on our first trip to find an apartment for her.  I believe the yarn to be Kestrel by Quince and Company.  The pattern is one that I bought at the store in Burlington.  I have saved it digitally in my dropbox.





I named the pattern Vermont linen Cowl.




I found the tag later....It is indeed Kestrel:





December 2017, Dar brought a finished infinity scarf made from the above pattern.  However, she had knit it in a wonderful wool yarn.  It is beautiful.  She was trying to decide which of the things that she had made recently she was going to take to her sister-in-law who was in the terrible wreck,


The other project that I finished was a cowl from some Noro yarn.  I have misplaced the label and other information about this cowl shown below: