ink n paper, hooks and needles

About a month ago, I saw a post for a summer knitting bag and yarn combo from  Knitters Brewing Company  and  Prairie Bag Works .  I fell in love with the print on the knitting bag and the yarn looked bright and fun, so I went for it! The bag is roomier than I expected and I love it!  It's well made, too. It came with a double-pointed needle holder and a beaded stitch marker. (Mine is different than the ones pictured.) And, of course, there was yarn! About the same time, I bought the April 2019 issue of Simply Knitting that came with a supplement called Super Socks. I picked a pattern called Bubble-icious that had stripes across the top where the bubble texture is, but I thought they would work with this yarn.  And I think they did!

I finally took the plunge and started a sweater. As a fat person, I find it hard to take on the challenge of making fitted clothes, like a sweater. (Yes, I call myself fat - it's just a description, like short or blue-eyed.) Sweaters seem like they are hard to fit and a lot of work. Plus, it's really hard to find plus sized patterns that I like. Last winter, I finally found a pattern. A raglan-style cardigan knit in cotton called the Branching Lace Sweater by Sian Brown Knitwear Design in the August 2018 issue of Simply Knitting. I decided to give it a go. But I don't like knitting with cotton, so I needed a different yarn. I had a stash of 22 skeins of Knit Picks Andean Silk that I purchased more than ten years ago. It was past time that I used the yarn but I was still hesitant. It took an epiphany about relative cost to get me to use it. I realized I was hesitant because I was afraid I would mess up the project and ruin my beautiful, soft, silky Jade yarn.

Arya's birthday is in November, although we're not sure exactly which day.  In honor of her 2nd birthday, I decided to make her another sweater.   Alex and I looked through Ravelry and loved the Dogosaurus Rex pattern by Paton's.  Unfortunately, it's from an out-of-print book by Paton's, "Another Dog's Life."  Fortunately, I found it from a seller in Canada.  (Yay!)  It was a bit expensive considering that I only wanted one of the patterns, but what a cute pattern! I made it a bit too big, but it's still really cute on her!

It's 3 am and I just finished knitting the Cruzado Cowl.  I'm not sure why I stay up really late like this.  I'm going to be so tired tomorrow.  But. The cowl is done.  (Well almost done.  I still have to weave in two ends.)

I finally finished the Brickless shawlette on October 15th and it's time to block it! As I was working on this pattern, I was concerned about the effect of the different tensions of the different stitch patterns (netting, ribbing, and garter).  The netting tried to be open and the garter on the one side helped but the ribbing on the other side pulled in and caused the netting to pucker up.  I didn't like it, but felt pretty certain that a good wet block would clear it up.  I didn't want to use individual pins along the edge like I have in the past, so I purchased a blocking wire set.   I used them for the first time last night to lay out this shawlette for blocking.  It was more difficult than I expected to weave the wires along the edges and not as quick as I had hoped.  Still, I think it was quicker than just using T-pins.  I mis-judged the size, or rather the length, of this shawlette.  I should not have blocked it on my bedroom floor.  We couldn't clos

I was packing for a five day trip to Elko, Nevada to attend my nephew's wedding and realized that I didn't have a project on my needles that would travel well.  I looked through my Ravely queue and my pile of stuff I'd like to work on that hasn't been queued and decided to make Brickless using the beautiful Salem colorway hand dyed by Abstract Fiber in Portland, Oregon.  I can't work on anything in a moving car that is going to require me to look at the work very frequently because I get motion sick very easily.  I was packing hurriedly but a brief look at the pattern for Brickless made me think I could manage it while riding in a car but it would be interesting enough that I would want to work on it in the motel, too.  I grabbed the needles, pattern, and yarn and put them in my travel bag. I drove the entire day and then we visited with family that night, but I really wanted to get the shawlette started so I could work on it the next day.  I was tired and

It seems that fall has arrived in Oregon.  I'm always amused by the way our weather changes around here.  We have some beautiful, hot sunny days, then three days later, it's dark, windy and pouring rain.  I'm not complaining, by August I'm usually looking for the cooler days to appear.  I love the Pacific Northwest, quirky weather and all. Hopefully, the fall weather is inspiring you to pick up needles, hooks or looms and work with some yarn.  If so, please come to the next Jefferson Knit Crochet meeting this Saturday from 10 am to 11:30 am.  We meet the third Saturday of every month at Jefferson Baptist Church on Highway 99E in Jefferson, Oregon (click  here  for a map).  We're open to all skill levels and have supplies available to share if you're new to the hobby and aren't sure what you need. In case you can't join us but are in the mood for some inspiring fall designs, here are a few free patterns for you to try. Knitted  Natural Leaf Wrap  th

I finished Mom's scarf and got it in the mail to her.  I'm a little late with the update so she's received it already and she loves it.  It's knit with Kollage Yarns Luscious that came in a kit with a pattern called Cannon Beach. I'm not sure you can tell by the picture but the yarn is truly a beautiful color. I was a little worried about the end result because the yarn didn't feel very soft to the touch when it was in the skein.  It turned out that worrying was a waste of energy (and, really, when isn't worry a waste of energy).  It came out soft, silky and with a lovely drape. You can see the project on  Ravelry  if you'd like to know more about the yarn or the pattern.