February 25, 2015

Creativity in the Pot...

The other day my daughter was actually game for going down for a nap in the afternoon. Which lately  has been few and far in between. She's decided that most days she doesn't need an afternoon nap. So I took full advantage of her napping time. I pulled out my dye pot and dyes and went into creativity mode :-)

Here's a few of my dye experiments I did yesterday:


I was so happy with the results :-) I've uploaded them into the Etsy Store!!

I would have to say that I had a hard time picking a favourite. The top of my list is Aquanite. I just couldn't get the photos to show how much this skein glows with aqua! 

Happy Knitting :-)

February 23, 2015

Becoming Something Loved...

Remember that beautiful scarf I weaved? It went to live with my good friend Marlene :-) We had our sometimes weekly coffee and she was admiring it. I could tell she absolutely loved it. So I told her to have it as a gift. Now usually Marlene feigns that she couldn't possibly (insert excuse here) ect, ect...... but this time she pretty much grabbed that scarf and ran out. All joking aside she was the happiest I've ever seen her. I asked her to send me a photo of her wearing it so I could post it on the blog and she sent me no less than 6 pictures ;-)


I think it's safe to say she loves the scarf. She sent me a text a few days later and said that she was wearing her scarf EVERYWHERE! I'm just happy it's loved :-)

Also as a side note; I've created a Facebook Group for Prairie Knitting Yarns and a Ravelry Group if anyone wants to check them out. I'll be updating them as I dye more yarn and make more stitch markers. I also will be posting photos of the shawl I'm designing on there as I go. If anyone wants to see what some of the colorways look like knit up definatly check it out. I've shared a couple projects I've knit so far. So you can see what Day Lily and Spring has Sprung looks like :-)

I also have a giveaway on Instagram!! I'm giving away a set of stitch markers. The winner can choose whatever set they would like from my Etsy store :-) 


Contest closes February 28 at Midnight so be sure to get your entry in by visiting my Instagram post and Follow, Like, Share :-)

Here are a couple teaser shots :-)






Happy Knitting :-)


February 18, 2015

Taste of the Rainbow...

It's funny that I was so gun hoe to cast on this project in October then it sat for 4 months. It's not that I didn't love the project. On the contrary, everytime I went into my spare room I would stare at it longingly and wish I could get going on it again. I would make excuses that other projects were more pressing. 

Then I started seeing weaving projects popping up on my Instagram feed and my Twitter feed. It was like the Fiber God's were pushing me to work on my Taste of the Rainbow scarf again :-) So I decided to take my loom out of the spare room and get weaving on it again. It didn't take me long to become "obsessed" with finishing it. 

 
My loom became a permanent fixture in my living room for the day and a half that it took me to finish it :-) I decided to keep weaving in my rainbow sequence until I ran out of warp.

Now, being that this is my first project I've done on my own as a newbie weaver I may have been a little gun hoe about winding the warp! When it came time to cut the scarf off the loom I unwound the scarf for like forever. It was like a crazy sick joke that this scarf kept winding off the beam. Finally there was the end and I cut it off too. 

Then I looked at it and started laughing histarically. 



This bad boy measures 11.5 feet long!! Newbie mistake I guess ;-) 



It looks fabulous!! 

I'm already planning my next weaving project on my rigid heddle :-)

Happy Knitting :-)

February 11, 2015

Trying my hand at Designing...

I've always dreamed about designing knitting patterns. I've gotten to the point that when searching for patterns I'm finding patterns that are close enough to what I need, then I end up modifying them to get the end result that I want. I never thought that I could design anything, but after chatting with my friend Marlene a while back she told me, "that with all the modifications I made to Etching that designing my own patterns should be a walk in the park". Which really resonated with me! 

I had to finish up my Baba's sweater before I attempted anything. But the whole time I was eyeing up this skein!



It was my inspiration to get cracking and finish my Baba's sweater :-) Now that Baba's sweater is casted off, washed, blocked and delivered I couldn't wait to wind up this skein of Spring Has Sprung on Wild Rose Sock :-)



I just could resist pairing it with a skein of Swan Island Pure Blends Fingering in Oatmeal  Not to mention while I was in The Crafty Lady I picked up some glass beads to match. I'm not sure if I'll use them or where I'll use them in the pattern but that's part of the fun :-) If I feel there needs to be a little sparkle I'll add them. 

I think the only prerequisite I have is that this pattern be friendly for variegated yarn :-) Other than that the sky is the limit!

Happy Knitting :-)

February 03, 2015

Baba's Cardigan...

I've been working on this sweater, it seems like forever. I would knit on it exclusively for a long time, then I would put it back in its project bag and let it marinate for a while. Most of the problems I had were the sleeves. Since the original pattern had short sleeves I needed to figure out a decrease that worked. Not to mention that I had to modify the sweater a bit to fit my Baba :-) In the end I knit the sleeves 3 times to get the decrease portion right. My Baba has larger upper arms and tiny for arms so I had to work some double decreases and decreases. What I ended up doing was:

Knit 2" from underarm cast on.
*K1, Sl1,K2tog,PSSO, knit to 4 st left in round, Sl1,K2,PSSO, K1.
Knit 5 rounds.
K1, K2tog, knit to 3 at left in round, K2tog, K1.
Knit 5 rounds.*
I repeated the above instructions 4 times then switched to the latter decrease round every 5 rows until I reached 72st.

The sleeves ended up perfect! I borrowed one of her favourite sweaters to compare it to my sweater and the sleeves came out perfect and the sweater ended up almost perfect. I had to knit an extra inch on the length the night before I gave it to her. Then it was spot on :-)


Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash Sport in Charcoal

I love the shawl collar I added on :-) It adds an extra coziness to the sweater.



A close up of the button band details :-)



The cabling detail up the side.



I couldn't be happier how the whole sweater came out. I put it in the washer and dryer and the yarn fluffed right out and made the sweater super soft. It was still slightly damp when I gave it over to my baba. So I laid it out and gave it a gentle tug and positioned it how I wanted it to dry. 

She loved it :-) I loved it!

Happy Knitting :-)


February 02, 2015

Shawl Giveaway WINNER!!!

And the winner of this beautiful shawl is:



CAUGHTTHEKNITTINGBUG ON Instagram :-) I know she'll love it!!

Thanks to everyone for entering and thanks to everyone for the likes on Instagram :-) I know not everyone is a pink lover ;-) but I know this shawl is going to a loving home!!

Happy Knitting :-)