Thankful it's the weekend....

It seems that each day of last week, I got more tired each day. Probably a combination of time change, grey snowy days and more time outside in the fresh air. Whatever the cause, it means that I don't get as much knitting time. So this morning, I got an extra hour to sleep and I have spent most of the day knitting and taking small breaks to do the household jobs that needed doing.

I was able to finish a pair of socks. Plain ribbed socks of hand-dyed superwash wool/nylon. Three 100 yd skeins were required to knit an 8" pair of socks. These will fit a woman's size 7 or 8 foot.
I'm working on reducing the stash I have here (in order to buy new, of course). I purchased a skein of  50%/50% mohair/wool from Tracy Asselstine at Old Apple Ridge Angoras during the Christmas sale in Tamworth. She's hand-dyed it in a blends of teals, greys & black. This yarn is her millspun from her own sheep & goats. I bought this yarn with the intention of knitting a one-skein shawlette to have on my table in my Farmer's Market Booth. I like buying hand-dyed & handpainted yarns from other fibre artists; each of us are unique in our colourways, and this allows for creative variety.

I've started the 

Multnomah - a design by Kate Ray (available through Ravelry.) This is a garter stitch shawlette that has a beautiful fan & feather border.

Tomorrow we're meeting up with our daughter and son-in-law and his family and we are all headed to Wheeler's Pancake House & sugar bush at McDonald's Corners. We'll have a wagon ride, tour the museum and enjoy a nice breakfast that will include sweet maple syrup.
It's been a productive day. Keep knitting! :)

A lazy day....

...tired still from the time change and tired from the grey weather. :) I'm ready for spring!
Didn't do much on Sunday ~ picked up a few groceries and worked on my knitting. I'm working on a Kathy Zimmerman pattern. Another cabled & textured sweater and it's for me! I'm using some millspun for this ~ it's about a worsted weight and is from the Columbia (I think) flock that my friend, Stefania first started with.
She later switched to her beloved Icelandics and they were the breed that she had always, right to the end. You can read more about her here, if you wish. http://www.icelandicsheep.com/Filly.html Stef was a beautiful person and I miss her still. :)

I've used up the first skein so far. This is the back of the cardigan and I really am pleased with how it's turning out.
Took a break and started a pair of socks to have as samples of my hand-dyed sock yarn. I've got a sale coming up at the end of the month and am hoping to have a couple of items knit by then. I'll be at the Verona Lion's Hall for the Frontenac Farmer's Market Easter Sale. If you are in the area, please come out and support your local vendors.
I'm using the superwashwool/nylon blend for these socks. I'm trying a new twist on my yarn sales. I've re-skeined these after dyeing, as usual, but into 100yd skeins. They are about 25g each. And they'll sell for $5/skein. These socks will also be an experiment in how many skeins needed for a pair. I'm thinkin that I will only need 3 skeins for this size. Therefore one only needs purchase 3 skeins. Plus having smaller skeins is perfect for colourwork projects. Buying 400yd skeins of 4 or 5 colours is an expense that many can't afford. We'll see how it goes.

Today was the first day back to school for the kidlets. They all moaned & groaned about having to go back, but I think once they are among their friends, they'll all be happy again. Me, I'm glad to have my routine with the littles. Today was a road trip to the Pet Store in Sydenham. Bill & his wife, Kerri are so nice and I'm able to buy my chicken feed there. Today the little guys were able to play with Nell, a Border Collie that works in the shop on a regular basis. Fetch is her job and she insists that you play!

Littles are sleeping and it's time to get some knitting done! Enjoy the day.

A great day...

.....finished up the sweater for our granddaughter. Always a nice feeling of accomplishment.
Then, a flying visit from a friend from school -we've recently re-connected, thanks to Facebook, but hadn't seen each other in 30 years! Oh wow -I wish we'd had more hours! She looks fabulous! We talked liked we'd never been apart all these years and I'm looking forward to many more visits and to meeting her hubby. And one of the best things? She's an addicted knitter too!
Then a birthday gathering for our granddaughter Reese. She was thrilled with her gifts but her favourite was the card from cousins, Steve, Julie & Lezlie. A spinning musical Minnie when you opened up the card. :)
Turns out all the kidlets are away this evening, so Papa Bear and I had a quiet dinner out at a local restaurant. If you read the Kingston Whig, you can read about Martha's Place in today's issue. Yummm....
Now we're home. Lounging in front of the TV with a cup of tea -me with my knitting and Papa with the remote.
This project is for me! A cardigan knit with yarn from a friend no longer with us. Will be thinking of Stefania while knitting this.
From the Winter 2012 issue of Interweave Knits.

Will post a picture of progress in the morning.

Enjoy the evening & keep knitting!

Sweater for our granddaughter....

I used one of the patterns out of "Forever Favorites", a book from Patons. Knit with 2 ply wool from Cottage Craft in St. Andrews in N.B. Even though it requires sewing up, I enjoy knitting the fisherman type sweaters in pieces. And tomorrow I can send it home to her, just in time for wear this spring.

Keep knitting!

A sure sign of spring....

Red - Winged blackbirds! Look forward to that call every year!

Enjoy!

Great weekend!.....

Though busy, it was a wonderful weekend!
   Papa Bear spent Thursday and Friday getting the maple trees here on the farm tapped. Maple syrup season is underway! Mmmmm.... Our first boil started on Sat afternoon and a couple of hundred gallons of sap will be converted to sweet flavorful syrup. Hoping it's a good season and that we are able to make lots! We use maple syrup as a sweetener for many things, including Papa Bear's coffee every morning. :)

   I've also started a couple of new projects. The first is a sweater for a wee girl that just turned two. Her party is this upcoming weekend and I'd like to have it done for that. It's a pattern from the Patons book "Forever Favorites". I'm using up some stash on this. Cottage Craft 2 ply wool. This is very similar to Briggs & Little's Regal and knits to the same gauge. The small size of the sweater (compared to an adult-sized) means that it's knitting up very quickly. I've finished the back and am on the armhole shaping of the front. It'll be a good thing to wear on these spring-like days when a coat is just too much.

   The second is another pair of mittens. I ordered one of the Spillyjane kits from KnitPicks. These are fun, fun patterns! I'm doing the Isadora in autumn colours. The wool is Palette from KnitPicks and is very similar to J&S shetland jumper weight, though a wee bit softer. Not sure who they will be for - perhaps me!

   The temperatures have also started their climb into warmth. The snow is quickly melting but there is still some frost in the ground making it impossible for the water to drain away. As a result, there is mud. Lots & lots of mud! So much so, that we needed to close off  half of our driveway until it dries. Trying to use it means that someone would likely get stuck!

   One of the best parts of this weekend happened on Saturday. I was invited to join the shearing at the Turner Farm! I've had the privilege of purchasing fleece from here for the past few years but had never attended the day. What an absolutely wonderful time. Seeing friends, old & new, helping skirt the fleece as it came directly off the sheep and then spending an hour or so in the cozy farm kitchen, eating, drinking coffee and chatting non-stop with fellow-minded fibre "freaks"!  lol  We all came away with fleece, some with one, some of us with two and some with many more. My friend Teira from over at South Frontenac Fibres had the forethought to take pictures. Check out her page to see. :)
   All in all, a very good weekend!

This week is the March Break and we'll have kidlets & munchkins galore! The weather looks promising to spend much of our time outside. Just need to keep them away from the mud!  Yikes!
Enjoy the day & keep knitting.

New project by request...

...finished the hat for my Dad. This was knit to match the scarf he'd picked up earlier in the winter. I posted a picture on Facebook for him to see and he's quite pleased with it. As are quite a few other people. I've had a lot of compliments. A nice pat on the back. Always nice to have your work appreciated. :)

 
  Now, I've started the next requested item. Our daughter and son-in-law are expecting their first in mid-April. She has asked that I knit a cocoon for baby Adelyn. She's planning on pictures of new baby in this. What's a grandma to do? Of course, I'll knit it. I'm using a chunky yarn ~ it's an acrylic/superwash wool blend. I've had to fudge the pattern a bit as it was written for a bulky yarn at 2.5 sts/inch and this yarn knits a nice fabric at 3.5 sts/inch. It's an Eileen Casey design and knits up fast. Should have it for the new momma-to-be in the next couple of days.

Off to knit and watch the Brier for a bit before bed!

Going, going, gone....

...and the hat walked out the door. On the head of Raven as she left for school. She loves it! And it matches her coat. What could I say. :)

Finished the pair of mittens for our nephew. Christmas knitting 2012 is officially over! Lol! These were knit of Cascades 220 wool in black and black/blue twist. I used the Striped Mittens pattern from Robin Hansen's "Favorite Mittens". Size ML. They knit up quickly and the pattern seemed to make more sense this time. Some of the wording in these patterns can leave you scratching your head. But if you persevere and "think for yourself" as Elizabeth Zimmermann would say, success can be yours. I love these patterns! Warm stranded mittens of worsted weight wool and a very traditional look to them if done in traditional colours. Or one can choose wild colours and go funky!

The close-up shows them much more blue than they are. I used black in the dominant hand and the black/blue twist peeks out from the rows of black stripes.
   Today I'll start a hat for my Dad. He bought a scarf earlier this winter and asked if I could knit a hat to match. I matched as best as possible the colours with Palette yarn from KnitPicks. I'm using the basic hat pattern from Ann Budd's book of Knitting Patterns and will plug in the colour patterns from the scarf. Should be fun!

It's sunny and mild here today. 3C and the snow is melting. It's wet & muddy outside and I wish we could get to spring without the mess. Ah well. Soon enough it will be dry & warm and we'll be outside more enjoying the freedom from snowsuits & boots.

Enjoy the day & keep knitting!