Eastside Stitchers Regular Wednesday

Hello:
We are having a heat wave (that means almost 80 F - 26 C).  I don't want it to pour, but my plants need some rain!

Great night as usual at Crossroads for the regular Eastside Stitchers meet up. 

The evening started with one of our new Stitchers lighting up the table with her smile.

Her mom, GwenS, was knitting a Citron, not sure of the yarn, but I would guess Malabrigo.

That is her watermelon smoothie from Boba Express. It's almost the same gorgeous pink as the shawl yarn.

JulieMustKnit was also starting a new project.  First I need to show you the hat Julie brought for Show and Tell.

It's Fuller Farm by Kate Gagnon Osborn.  Julie used yarn she bought on the 2014 South Sound LYS Crawl at the beginning of the month.  This yarn was from Firwood Farm Alpacas, and is simply gorgeous.  This is the 2nd project that Julie has finished with yarn she bought on the South Sound Crawl.

We discussed our schedule for the North Sound LYS Crawl which is this coming weekend.  I will try to post a list of the shops I hope to hit each of the days tomorrow.  If you are doing any part of the crawl, look for me.  I will be taking photos and asking questions.

Julie was beginning a project with more yarn from the crawl.  This was the Mountain Colors yarn from Canvas Works in Olympia.  The pattern was the free pattern from the shop and is Yellowstone Mitts.

CathieC is making owl mitts!

She was inspired by the owl mitts I received in the SavvyGirls Swapetition last December.  She is altering the pattern a bit to make the breast of the bird with seed stitches.  This really makes it look like feathers.

BlueBerryMary has started a pair of socks.

But, look!  She is adding 2 new techniques:  Magic Loop and 2-at-a-time.  She picked up the ideas really quickly, and is well on her way.

Readnitdream brought her beautiful Echo Flower Shawl in Malabrigo Lace.  This yarn just glows.  it's hard to see how beautiful the shawl is right now, but just wait until it is blocked.

Tara1682 left her knitting on the table to go get something to eat, and I just had to check out her beautiful Juno Regina Shawl.

Wajio was starting a Summer Flies.

Puzan was knitting something round that goes on your neck.

The beautiful yarn is Crystal Palace Yarns Mini Mochi in Equinox.  The pattern is Mira's Cowl. by Mira Cole.

Jittery Knitter was working on ... Something.  I have no idea what this is going to be or what the yarn is.

I believe it will be a shawl...

Ok, You know how bad I am as a reporter.

Tomorrow, I will hit Serial Knitters and Acorn Yarn is the early afternoon between jobs to get the 2014 North Puget Sound Yarn Crawl off to a good start.  I can't wait to see what the patterns from these shops are.

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with yarny friends.

Stuck on You

Hello:

I have a file folder on my computer named "Sunrise and Sunsets"  where I tend to put any photo taken from my deck of the lake, mountain, hills and skies.  This morning, the photo really was a sunrise.  We have had some really weird weather for Spring in the Pacific Northwest, and by that I mean...Sunshine.  We don't have curtains or a shade on the french doors to our bedroom which opens out on the deck and faces East.  When there are no clouds, I wake up with the sun.  I woke up at 5 this morning, and had to try to get a shot of the reddish haze over the Cascades.  There weren't enough clouds to have a real red sunrise, but the sky just glowed a bit.  It was a beautiful way to wake up.

One of the things I like most about the Harry Potter Knitting/Crochet House Cup is that I have learned to finish as I go.  Since I am making snowflakes for my OWL this term, I need to keep up on stiffening them. 

Tonight I took the snowflakes I have hooked so far and blocked them.

First I made some 6 pointed templates, put those on my blocking mats (children's play mats) and covered them with some plastic wrap.

Then, I made a mixture of 1/2 white glue and 1/2 water.
I soaked each snowflake, wrung them out, and pinned them to the mat.

I have no idea how long it will take for the snowflakes to harden.  I need to keep up on this, and make sure I stiffen whatever I make every week.

The next thing I need to do is steam and fill the Christmas Balls.  Well, Ball.  So far I have only finished 1.  I thought they would take about 2 hours or so each, and well, the first one took about 6 hours...  I hope I get faster.

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with sticky hands.

The Thing About These Socks... (Ironically)

Hello:

The thing about the Round 4 Socks for Sock Madness is that they are just so fiddly.

The pattern is Shakertown Fences by Lorain Pettit.  You start with the cable section knitting flat,

join the cable in the round, and pick up stitches to knit up the leg.  Fiddly. but I do like the cable.

The leg pattern is a simple k4 p4 ribbing, but you alternate colors, so that is fairly fiddly, too. And, although I knit the legs with size 2 (2.75 mm) needles rather than my usual size 0 (2 mm), they just did not grow!  I felt like I was knitting forever.

Then you have to bind off the tops in a special way, which is supposed to make the tops look like fence posts, but took forever. Super fiddly. I started binding off last night, but just got too tired.

I had to work today, but luckily, I had a 45 min lunch break, so I was able to get the fence posts all bound off.  I finished the heel flaps and one of the turns tonight, so will try to post a photo tomorrow. 

I brought a second pair of socks to the school where I was subbing today, because I knew I would need a break from these after binding off.

I am working on a pair of socks for the Doc.  I usually try to make him 2 pair every year, but this year I haven't made him any.  I bought that gorgeous YOTH Sock yarn (Little Brother) at the Eastside Knitters Guild Meeting, and knew I had to use it for Doc's socks.

I worked out a pattern when I was making my brother some socks this winter, but for his socks I used worsted weight yarn so they would be really warm.  I'm taking that pattern, and rewriting it for sock yarn.

I love love love these socks.  The yarn is lovely and amazingly soft.  Although I am using a size 0 needle (I like my sock fabric dense and I am a loose knitter), they are moving right along.  I am almost to the heel flaps, and that is saying something because the Doc like 8 in. legs.

I worked on these in between the four French classes that I taught today.  Kids are so funny.  The first thing I do in a class is call roll.  Of course, most of the kids say, "Here," but there are always a few kids who have to say something different.

Today, one boy answered, "Swag."

What?? I stopped and asked him to repeat it.  "Swag."  Yes, I had heard it correctly.

Another student explained, "He is a hipster, and that is the cool way to say, 'here.'"

Kids.  I had to ask if he was saying it ironically.  Crickets.  No one seemed to get that joke so I went on with the roll.  Now that one student had gotten some notice for saying, "Swag," two more students, also wanting to be hip, I guess, answered with "Swag."

I told the first boy, "I guess you can't use that word any more since it has now become popular."

Crickets again.  No one got my ironic humor.

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with unironic socks.

 

Snowflake Sunday

Hello:

First, I am a WINNER! in the 2014 South Sound Yarn Crawl. 

I got an email from Fibers Etc. in Tacoma Friday night telling me that I had won a drawing.  This is the amazing tiny store that is packed floor to ceiling with the most beautiful art yarns.

The prize was a bag of four skeins of Classic Elite Yarns Mountaintop Canyon.  This is a naturally colored yarn in Sport Weight.  It is a 85% pima cotton/ 15% alpaca blend.  It is super soft and super light.  The prize included a shawl pattern, but I'm not sure I will knit it.  I plan to check the yarn out on Ravelry and see what other patterns have been knit in this yarn.  The store owner told me that if I don't like the undyed color, this yarn will take dye beautifully, so that is always an option, but I kind of like the light beige, and might just keep it natural.

Snowflakes

For my 2014 Spring OWL Project for HPKCHC, I am making 30 Christmas Ornaments.  15 will be Knit Balls and 15 will be Crocheted Snowflakes.  While hooking the first few snowflakes this week, I decided to try a snowflake design of my own.  It looks a bit more like a flower, but I thought I would put up the pattern anyway.

Snowflake 2014.04.05  
May the Fourth Be With You

Thread: Size 10
Hook: 2.25 mm

Magic Loop

Round 1:

ch 1, 12 sc in loop, ss in first sc

Round 2:

ch4 (counts as first dc and ch), dc ch1 in each sc around, ss in top of ch3 (12 dc, 12 ch 1 spaces)

Round 3:

ch 5 (counts as first *dc and ch2), dc in next dc, ch 12 ss in 12th ch from hook, * around, ss in 3rd ch of original ch 5. (12 dc, 6 ch12 loops, 6 ch2 spaces)

Round 4:

ch1 *sc in dc, skip ch2 sp, sc in dc, 8 dc in ch12 space, ch3 ss in 3rd ch from hook (picot made), 

3 dc in same ch 12 space, make next dc across the ch12 space between the 5th and 6th dc on the other side of the ch12 space, 

4 dc in the rest (the bottom) of the ch 12 space* around ss in first sc made. (96 dc, 12 sc, 6 picots)

I haven't blocked it yet, but I will soak it in a solution that is 50% white glue and 50% water, then pin it out on my blocking mat that is covered with plastic wrap.

I hope to have a photo of it blocked soon.

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with May Snow.

2014 South Sound Yarn Crawl, Part 3

 

Hello:

This morning I managed to make it to Fiber Friday at Crossroads for about 45 minutes.  I had a substitute teacher job that started at 11:15, so I got to hang out for a bit the the Friday Group.  I forgot my camera, but I saw Pam2. CathieC. and Connie. 

I wanted to finish up the reports about the 2014 South Sound Yarn Crawl last weekend. 

The 7th stop on the Crawl was at

Yorkshire Yarns

6122 Motor Ave SW

Lakewood, WA 98499

253.589.9276

 

 This shop is another wonderful local yarn shop.  They have the most wonderful selection of local sports teams' colors.

Their free featured pattern was a 12th man hat.

When I asked one of the regulars who happened to be there what she likes most about the shop she said, "The Malabrigo."

On the weekend of the Crawl, they had a Jorstad Creek trunk show.

This is another truly local yarn.  The wool comes from the Pacific Northwest, and the company is based in Jorstad Creek, which is a small town in Washington.  The trunk show had wonderful samples knit up.  It didn't hurt that the yarn is gorgeous.

The shop has two nice side rooms full of yarn.  It carries both a great selection of regular everyday project yarns, like Cascade,

But also, enough of the special stuff to be a great local one stop shop.

Fibers Etc.

705 Court C #301

Tacoma, WA 98402

253.531.3257

I visited this shop when I was down at the Madrona Fiber Festival last February.  You simply have to see this shop to believe it.

This shop is very small.  There are artist studios that share the floor, but the actual yarn shop is very small.  It is packed floor to ceiling with amazing yarns.

As I said before, each shop was a reflection of the owner.  The owner of Fibers Etc. is a weaver.  She weaves art pieces.  I don't know how to describe the shop other than to say, the yarn fills the shop and you have to walk sideways to get through to some of the little nooks and crannies.  There are walls of "regular" yarns like Malabrigo (ha ha as though Malabrigo is regular yarn),

but there are also the most amazing art yarns.

The staff is helpful and friendly.  If you can't find your special yarn in Fibers Etc., you can't find it!

Firwood Farm Alpacas

8002 48th St. E

Fife, WA 98424

253.926.2582

One of the fun things about visiting this shop is that you can feed the alpacas!  Unfortunately, it was raining on Saturday, so the Alpacas were mostly hiding in their barn.

The yarns were mostly from the farm's own alpacas

or just alpaca in fiber content.

They also had a selection of fiber from their alpacas for sale.

The chickens were not afraid of the rain, and came over to say hi.

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with a great selection of yarn shops.