Pebble Beach

Hi friends!

I have another finished object to share with you. It's Pebble Beach, and I love it. 

Pattern: Pebble Beach Shawlette by Helen Stewart
Yarn: Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in color Euphorbia and Knit Picks Stroll Tonal in Inkwell
Needle: US 7, 40" circular
Modifications: I knew I would run out of yarn so I decided to use a contrast color for the edge. I ended up repeating the last four rows once more to have just enough purple in the shawl :)

I greatly enjoyed knitting this shawl. I had read someone's comment that it's potato chip knitting, and I was like, what? no way! It's lace! But it really did become intuitive and, I don't want to say mindless or simple, but very relaxing. The lace rows were the rows to pay attention to, but they're followed by three rows of stockinette or garter stitch.

A month or so ago, I came across Helen Stewart's podcast through another podcast. In one show she discusses her Pebble Beach Shawlette, and Unwind Brighton, and it made me so interested in the pattern. Then I kept seeing friends on Instagram who had been to Unwind Brighton and received the shawl pattern, knitting their Pebble Beaches and, well, you know how enabling goes!

Helen's podcast is called Curious Handmade and if you haven't had a listen yet, consider trying it. I really enjoy her podcast!

Mine turned out fairly long. I didn't measure it but my wingspan is 64 inches, plus there's at least five inches extra on each side (the pattern measurements are 55 inches diameter). I did go up one needle size than the pattern calls for because the Hazel Knits Artisan Sock fabric just seemed too dense on US 6.

I am glad for a little extra length! It will wrap a few extra times under my jacket this fall :)

I hope you are all having a sunny but cool Sunday! Thanks for reading! x

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(p.s. I connected my Blogger account to Google+ recently, but for some reason it left me unable to reply to certain comments. I disconnected from Google+ in the hopes that I can again reply directly to comments left here. We'll see! If I didn't reply to your comment in the last two posts it was because of this, but I did read your comments and greatly appreciate them!!) x

Echo Flower shawl

 

FOFOFO -- what the Santa of knitting says when you finish something

Hi friends! This has been an excellent week for turning WIPs into FOs! It feels incredibly awesome to have finished these projects. My unfinished object shelf was becoming a little stuffed!

The first FO is my dad's socks! I will post a photo and offer more details after I've given them to him and taken some photos.

The second FO is Echo Lace:

Pattern: Echo Lace by Jenny Johnson Johnen
Yarn: Zitron Filigran in the color light gray
Needles: US 6
Modifications: The pattern calls for 440-880 yards, I used 535 yards. The shawlette version calls for eight repeats and the shawl version calls for thirteen, but I was worried about running out of yarn so I knit ten repeats.

It was my first lace project in lace weight yarn and I think the most challenging aspect was that it commanded my full attention when knitting. I'm more likely to knit something with a simple enough pattern that I can also read or watch tv. Not with this pattern. There were a few times I had an extra (or one less) stitch in a row, and I'd just incorporate it in. I was scared the most that I'd drop a stitch and not be able to work it back up. Thankfully that never happened.

This pattern has nupps, 2into9, and 3into9, which was my first experience with all of them. They weren't too hard but they did take a few tries to get right and get the hang of them. There is an awesome YouTube video that shows how to use a crochet hook to work the nupps instead of your knitting needle that helped me immensely. I did try to work them with my knitting needle, and I made a few, but generally the crochet hook nupps looked neater.

All in all, I love this shawl! It was a difficult project for me, but I am eager to knit one in heavier weight yarn!  

My third FO is another pair of socks.

Pattern: Sunday Swing by Kristel Nyberg
Yarn: Juno Fibre Arts Buffy in the color Lilac Pool
Needles: US 0
Modifications: none

They make pair 15/20. 

This pattern has been in my queue ever since I saw Andi's pair. Not much else to say, I love these socks!

modified Eye of the Partridge heel

The pattern is simple and easy to memorize. It's comprised of yarn overs and knit two together, and for that reason, it's also a good pattern to help you read your knitting.


yeah! finished objects! My dad's socks and Echo Lace were both projects I needed to finish before leaving for vacation, so I'm very relieved I made it. And now I can 100% focus on trip planning, eek! It's mainly going to be a hiking and camping adventure through Washington, Oregon, and into the Redwoods. I am wholly looking forward to new sights, new people, breweries, yarn souvenirs, and spending it all with Scott. We're not leaving for awhile, but you will definitely see all of the photos :)

Happy weekend and thanks so much for visiting me!! x

Turkey precious and handspun

Hello there! Is it hot everywhere else too? :) We're coping by waking up early enough to work on chores while it's still cool in the morning. We have fans running in two windows to help pull in cooler air (we are a/c-less). I have all but unplugged the oven ;) how do you guys keep cool?

It's Tour de Fleece right now! I am not participating as heavily this year due to several knits that must be finished soon. However, I did finish spinning this:

It's half Norma and half mystery fiber; both from Sheep on a Spring. I looove the colors!! I always love the colors that Dag uses to dye, very vibrant and cheerful.

It's two ply and about 180 yards of sport weight. The yarn contains merino, alpaca, and "everything imaginable from angora to yak" (reads the fiber tag). I don't have plans for this skein yet! I would really like to knit a lot of Christmas gifts from handspun yarn!

There are a lot of Tour de Fleece tags on Instagram if anyone is interested in seeing what others are spinning, or looking for spinning inspiration. Among the tags I've seen are:

• #tdfleece2014 
• #tdf 
• #tdf2014 
• #tourdefleece

This past week I placed my first order to Jimmy Beans Wool, and I am so freaking pleased! The yarn is gorgeous:

I ordered five Unicorn Tails to add to Mrs. Weasley's blanket and a skein of Lorna's Laces in color Edgewater for a long overdue pair of socks for Scott :) the last pair I was knitting for him I ended up frogging halfway through...so it's been over two years since he's received a new pair, yikes.

Everyone talks about how quickly they ship - I ordered on Sunday and had my yarn on Thursday! Of course I Instagrammed my purchase, and JBW reached out and commented. Instantly I loved them.

I can't help but compare JBW to Knit Picks because they are the only two large yarn online companies I've purchased from. While it's likely I'll order from Knit Picks in the future, their shortcomings are glaringly apparent when stacked next to JBW. Anyway.

Madelinetosh Unicorn Tails !!

my first skein of Lorna's Laces ♥

I went back and forth on how I wanted to knit his socks. I've been dying to knit a vanilla sock one at a time just to keep in my purse. But I realized I might run out of yarn and was truly worried I might lose my steam after the first sock. I decided on toe up TAAT and I think it's the right decision. I'd like to make them as long as possible.

I looooooove the colors so much. If these fit me, I would have a hard time parting with them :)

I've named them Turkey Precious and here's the story the best as I can retell it.

Scott and I had been cracking up over the above video for weeks. Anytime one of us said "potato" in daily life we'd rap the song. So one time we were waiting for the bus to school and had been laughing about po-ta-toes. Then I said something about having turkey for dinner, and Scott honestly said, "What's turkey?" with 100% innocence. We still joke about "what's turkey, precious?" :)

(if that was a horrible story I apologize!!! sometimes it's hard to explain inside jokes!) 

Anyway! His socks are coming along very well. I love working with Lorna's Lace and will definitely purchase more. Uh yeah, I want a pair for myself too.

Berny wishing for winter

Enjoy your weekend and thanks for visiting me!! x

Hiking and Mrs. Weasley

Hi friends! I wanted to share a few photos from our hike this weekend, and some new photos of Mrs. Weasley's blanket!

We drove down the Bitterroot on Sunday morning and hiked Bear Creek. It's an easy hike that follows alongside the creek.

 

We hiked it once before a few years ago. During that time, it started pouring as soon as we reached the falls. We wouldn't have been worried but we each had a camera (I can't remember if we had brought rain jackets). So we sped down the trail to the car, about 1.5 miles, taking cover under large pines every once in awhile. At one point I skinned my knee on a tree that had fallen over the path and by the time we were back at the trail head, we were soaked!

Thankfully, it was nothing but sunshine when we hiked this past weekend :)

I took a photo with my camera's self-timer and it worked great except I didn't see that little plant in front of the lens. Photo bombed!

And now, progress on Mrs. Weasley's blanket:

Today I seamed two quadrants together. I had to YouTube how to seam (!!) and I found a superb video:




It really did make an invisible seam, which is important for me because my seaming yarn was a different color.

My invisible seam!!!:

I love love love this blanket ♥

Whoop whoop! socks

Socks! This pair felt especially super when I finished sewing in the ends; not only are they for a friend, but they are my thirteenth pair! I have reached my sock goal this year :) since I foresee more sock knitting, I'm increasing my goal to twenty pairs. That might be a little ambitious, especially with holiday knitting starting soon, but I'm going to try!

The yarn is hand dyed and I am so happy with how it knit up.

I hope everyone has been enjoying their weekend :) We have been indulging in the Dead White and Blue marathon, eek! (the Walking Dead) I never ever liked zombies until I started this show. I still don't like them, but I can't stop watching.

Oh one last thing! If you are interested, I am co-hosting a KAL with Jessie from Big Heart in a Small Town - we will be knitting Clinquant shawl by Lisa Mutch. The KAL starts on August 1 and ends on September 23... there is plenty of time to find yarn! If you visit the Ravelry thread for this, you will also find a 50% off coupon code for the pattern! We would love to have you knit along with us :)

Enjoy your weekend!! x