1 oz, 20 yards, Undyed, uncarded, straight from the ...  er...  dog. 

My older brother and his wife have a Newfoundland named Joy (she's a pure-bred show dog - that's her with my sister-in-law).  For a while now I've been joking that they should save me the hair when they groom her so I could try spinning it.  I was home for a visit this past weekend and was presented with a bag of, well, Joy... 
 
I spun it dirty and navajo plied (impatience, thy name is Subloke/Lori) just to see what it would be like.  It spun pretty easily, once I got the hang of it.  The "staple" length varied from very long to very short and there was a mix of top and undercoat hairs.  I don't know that I would wear anything made from it (it's pretty hairy even after spinning) but I might spin up the rest and make a bag for my sister-in-law (I have another 4 or 5 oz).  It's pretty soft and smells like shampoo, rather than dog, (although it did smell like wet dog when wet). 

I really liked the look of the Icarus Shawl in IWK Summer 2006, but decided that a wide scarf/stole would be more in order for a gift for my friend.  I played with the charts and came up with this:


Yarn:  Araucania Ranco Multi


It's about 70 inches long and 18 inches wide.  I love how it turned out, other than having a dropped stitch that I didn't notice until it was blocking (the first time around).

I've had this idea in my head for a while, so a couple of weekends ago I just sat down and did it. 



I used a checked suiting material bought from the remnants bin (from my stash) for the outer and 2 cotton tea towels for the lining.  The rings for the handles come from a set of curtain rings.


There are 2 patch pockets and a divider with a zippered pocket inside.  I just kind of winged-it for the divider, but I'm pretty happy with the result. 

I started this back in May (wish I could say this is my oldest WIP....  it's not). 



Pattern:  Hela Short Cardigan free from Istex
Yarn: Alafoss Lopi

This was my first experience with steeking, which turned out to be as terrifying yet exhilarating and ultimately simple as I thought it would be.  (Except when one of the threads of the machine stitches broke, but that's another story)  My gauge on the colorwork section turned out a little tighter than the rest, I should have gone up a needle size, but it should work itself out with wear. 

I knit this up a couple of weekends ago.  Absolutely love it... 



Pattern:  Back-To-School U-Neck Vest from Fitted Knits
Yarn:  Elann Peruvian Highland Wool from stash.
Mods:  I lengthened the body, started the U lower, didn't do the edging on the arms and only did a few rounds of stocking stitch for the neck

Finally finished...


Pattern: Dollar and a Half Cardigan by Veronik Avery, Interweave Knits Spring 2007
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton Ease in Taupe
Mods: My yarn choice was a heavier weight than that called for in the pattern, so I used US 7s (pattern called for 5s I believe). I knit the numbers for a size smaller than what I needed to make up for the difference in gauge, which is a fairly lazy math-free way to do a re-sizing...

A bit more on the blog.

Way back in June, I saw Baigneuse's Decepticon hat and showed it to The Boy.  He, being a Transformers geek fan was very excited about it and wanted one.  Many hours of figuring out charts/gauge later, I started on his toque.  I decided to knit it stranded, to avoid intarsia and seaming. 


Front (or back)


Back (or front)

And, to hide all the strands, I made it reversible.
The inside:


You know how sometimes when you make something for someone their response is less enthusiastic than you hoped?  You know how that makes you feel like you spent all that time and it maybe wasn't worth it? 

Now, picture the complete and total opposite reaction.  I wish I had gotten his response on video.  He actually jumped up and down when he saw it.  Then he realized it had both Autobot and Decepticon icons and was even more excited.  THEN he realized it was reversible....  Makes me want to make him more stuff...  aww... 

**I sat down today and wrote out the pattern.  I'm trying out a file hosting site, and have the pdf up there.  Please beware:  This pattern has NOT been test knit.  I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.  As usual, please use this pattern only for your own personal (i.e. not for sale) use. 

Transformers Toque Pattern (pdf file)

Let the insanity begin/continue.

Pattern: Border from "Scarf with the striped border" from Victorian Lace Today and the center portion from "Large Rectangle with center diamond pattern" from VLT.
Yarn: Jaeger Trinity (40% Silk, 35% Cotton, 25% Polyamide) in Hibiscus

I made this for my mom to use as a wrap or a lap blanket or a scarf.  It's just wide enough to wrap around her shoulders as a stole, but narrow and light weight enough to use as a scarf.  I guess that's a success!

Pattern: Beaded Cami from Black Dog Designs. 
Yarn:  Patons Grace in Azure
Mods: I knit it in the round, grafted top to bottom, made wider straps and did not include beads

I really like it, even though I finished it just as the summer was wrapping up...  Oh well... 

I FINALLY finished my niece's quilt!  At first I wasn't going to back it, but my seams were a little wonky and my sister really wanted a heavier blanket for winter, so in the end I backed it with a fleece blanket. 




I machine quilted straight lines since I had hand stitched ALL of the circles...  ugh.  I'm really happy with how it came out, especially since it took so long (well, since I wasn't working on it very steadily...)