I *tink* I Made an Error

I didn't just make one error. I made two. In the same row! So that was a fun way to start my Sunday... Oh well! That will teach me to keep reading the pattern. Always the same mistake! This is the beginning of my Slipstravaganza shawl, the 2020 Stephen West MKAL pattern. It looks like so many people have already finished, and I'm still working on section 1, released one month ago... I'm just busy tinking back, haha! 

Anyway, I thought this knit would be a fun knit to celebrate 10 years of alpaca farming. I'm using farm yarns and a special guest yarn made of yak (gray color) that I procured from a local yarn shop. We've had alpacas here since November 3, 2010. I'll be posting more about the anniversary this week. 

Last month I read Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance. It had come up on several teacher pages that I follow, and so it piqued my curiosity. It provided a lot of insight into growing up in rural Appalachian America. Lots of food for thought. Check out the other knitting and reading projects at Ginny's yarn-along page. 

Yarn Along - Slouch Potato

It's been a while. Turns out teaching school is hard this year, and it takes considerably more time than in the past. But teaching is going well, in spite of being at a new school and dealing with all the pandemic restrictions and accommodations. And I did take some time away to knit a hat recently!

I adore the knitting patterns of Anne Hanson. She has a weekly weekend pattern deal, and two weeks ago her Slouch Potato hat really spoke to me. It calls for DK yarn, which I have a lot of in our Shady Grove Alpaca farm stash.

My size 3 needle is made of brass. The oils on my hands must interact with the brass, because the patterned part on bottom turned light blue. It's only slightly visible in the photo above. Fortunately, most of it washed out.

Pattern: Slouch Potato by Anne Hanson

Yarn: Shady Grove Alpacas Suri DK in Moonstar, Size 3 & 6 needles

Started: September 27, 2020

Finished: October 3, 2020

Of course I needed to pose with the lovely lady who supplied the fiber. Moonstar is pretty skittish, so there was a long haul of walking around the pen making ineffective noises to get her attention! 

In this final picture, you will notice a new alpaca in the background. I hope to finally blog about him tomorrow.

As for books, I managed to read two books by Fredrik Backman: My Grandmother Asked me to Tell You Sorry and A Man Named Ove. Both feature very quirky main characters, possibly on the autism spectrum, who have hearts of gold. They were lovely to relax to. 

Check out the other Yarn Along projects and reading lists on Ginny's page. Till soon!

Pumpkin Patch

Happy Fall (maybe early winter?), friends! My social media feed was recently filled with pictures of families at pumpkin farms and picking apples in orchards on beautifully sunny days with perfectly colorful maple trees in the background! A celebration of color and festiveness! I was particularly taken by the display at Trader Joe's a few weeks ago. Shortly after, someone posted a photo of a knit pumpkin, and I simply HAD to knit one too.

My amazing friend Carol had a birthday in mid-October, and just decorated her house for Fall beforehand. I knew she would get a kick out of a knit pumpkin. I knit her a pig a few years ago as a Christmas tree ornament, but it's out year-round, so I thought she might want something special for her birthday season as well. It was so adorable that I made a second one for myself.

Carol was delighted, and I kept knitting... I will make a few more to complete our Thanksgiving decorations this year. I have some yellow yarn that I could mix with the green to recreate a Delicata squash, my new favorite squash to eat. 

The pattern I used is Knit Pumpkin by Katrina McNerney. My Ravelry notes are HERE.

For reading this month, I am listening to "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell, and recently finished a dark but worthwhile novel, The Nickel Boys, by Colson Whitehead. It was based on real events, and my take-away is that we have a long road to travel to overcome racism.vI am adding this post to Ginny's monthly Yarn Along HERE. I have already been so inspired by others' projects and book choices; its worth a look! Till next time, enjoy the fall weather and frostiness. 

Summer Yarn-Along

As per usual for 2019, the calendar is a few weeks ahead of where I expect it should be. Thus, I am over a week late for the July Yarn-Along at Ginny's. No worries, the projects and reading lists there are fabulous, and I can still sneak my link into the mix. 

Last weekend I took a road trip with my mother to Canada to see a dear high school friend get married. We had an unexpected delay in the form of four hours of waiting on the highway while construction got cleared. So I took the opportunity to work a little on my Amiga cardigan. I am sure to run out of yarn, so I found a delightful yak blend yarn to match my discontinued yarn at a new-to-me local yarn store: Copper Centaur Studios.  The bonus was serendipitously reconnecting with someone from my undergraduate life, who is one of the owners. How cool is that?

Reading is via audio book today. I just finished The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. Whoa! Tear jerker all the way through. It was so good, though. Next up is Der Schimmelreiter by Theodor Storm that I picked up in a used book store in Canada. Looking forward to some delightful 19th century north-German Romantic writing. Join all the other crafters and readers at Ginny's (link in first paragraph).

Till soon, I hope. Keep enjoying summer!

Hats... because it's April

Happy Yarn-Along Day! It's April, and basically Spring, but I have been on a tear to knit hats! I think it started with the airplane knitting on the way to a conference. I got a great start on this Wurm hat, and promptly ran out of yarn on the way home. I finally re-ordered some from The Whippletree in Woodstock, VT, because of course the skein was a souvenir. I am eagerly waiting for more!

Last Saturday, after a whole day of rain, we suddenly got two inches of snow that came down fast and furiously. It stuck beautifully, and did nothing if not inspire another hat! I've been using the Lopi spun alpaca from our lovely Dark Star. 

Coincidentally, we had to make a run for hay on Sunday and got this very appropriate U-Haul with which to carry it home! Who knew that prehistoric camels came into Canada to possibly be our alpaca's ancestors?!

I recently already knit an Elizabeth Zimmermann Spiral hat in Dark Star Lopi yarn, but it was too small for an adult. I used the instructions on Pg 96 of The Opinionated Knitter. My cast-on was not very loose, and honestly needed a few more stitches. It turned out pretty well, though the Suri alpaca yarn still loves to drape, in spite of its thickness. More Ravelry notes HERE.

 

So I set to work on a second hat that would be more comfortable on me. This time I used the instructions for the 5-spiral hat on pg. 94 of The Opinionated Knitter. It feels a little bit big, but I am excited that I could possibly add a tight beanie underneath to insulate it more for windy days. More Ravelry notes HERE.

 And here is the second hat on the model head! Just a TAD looser and larger!

Since it's also my Spring Break, I've been doing a fair amount of hiking and walking. I am obsessed with the Knobstone Trail, and was able to hike another section with a friend last Friday. I love the starkness of the bare trees contrasted with small spring flowers starting to emerge!

My neighbors set their Brahmin bulls out on the pasture while I was out on a walk yesterday. Magnificent animals!

 Hope you are all enjoying springtime. Check out all the other knits and reads at Ginny's Yarn Along HERE!

Yarn Along: Finishing Up!

I’ve been looking at my Ravelry account and noting a few long-time projects that really should be finished by now. After pulling out this sample knit that I am calling “Neck Toaster,” I realized that I only needed a few more rows until completion. It was finished less than an hour later... Since my blogger account is refusing to upload photos today, here is the Ravelry link: https://www.ravelry.com/projects/elisabethsknits/necktoaster
The yarn is from our farm, Shady Grove Alpacas, and is Lopi spun with 10% tencil added in. It took 5.7 ounces of yarn from a skein that weighed just over 6 ounces. Our lovely first cria, Dark Star, was kept in full fleece for 21 months, yielding 12 POUNDS of 11 inch long locks that had to be spun Lopi-style. It is a ridiculously rich and heavy fabric! Here is a link to Dark Star’s first shearing day: http://greedyforwool.blogspot.com/2013/05/fuzzy-oh-was-he.html?m=0
Yarn Along day at Ginny’s was yesterday, and I definitely recommend viewing some additional fun craftiness on other blogger’s pages here: https://www.gsheller.com/2019/02/yarn-along-february-2.html
Till next time!

Happy Hat & Yarn Along

Happy New Year, friends! Yesterday I had to drop my nephew off at the airport and took just one piece of entertainment: a fresh ball of yarn and knitting needles. He was flying as an unaccompanied minor, which requires the responsible party to wait until the plane is in the air before leaving the airport. Sure enough, the plane was delayed by several hours, allowing me to get most of the hat finished!

• Pattern: Wurm, with some modifications (due to winging the pattern!)
  
• Yarn: A Wing and a Prayer Farm “Thelma and Louise” DK
• Needles: Size 4 & 6
• Start date: January 1
• Finish date: January 2
• Ravelry notes here: https://www.ravelry.com/projects/elisabethsknits/wurm

I love how springy the hat is, making it super warm and insulated. It was my first time knitting with a mohair blend, and I really liked the feel! I hope it doesn’t pill to much because the yarn was already pilling coming off the skein... We’ll see how it holds up.

I got a few biographies and the novel “Dictator” for Christmas. I had to laugh, as my mom had written the tag from both her and my dad (who passed away in 2017 and loved talking about politics). Looking forward to reading a good thriller of Ancient Rome before passing it back to my youngest brother, who originally gifted it to my dad!  The circle of stories...

Please join all the lovely folks at Ginny’s Yarn Along to get your next pattern and book ideas: https://www.gsheller.com/2019/01/yarn-along-january.html

Amiga!

I finally cast on the Amiga pattern after many years of waffling. The raglan style pattern is gratifying and mindless, and I seem to have chosen the right size for my gauge with weird yarn. My current fear is running out of this discontinued yarn, but hopefully I'll be able to find something compatible. It's knitting up nicely, though surprisingly slowly as the cotton/linen yarn is very slippery on my metal needles. All fingers crossed for success!



My current read is Sophie's Choice by William Styron. The meandering writing style is a commitment, and the subject matter is not bright, but I am enjoying the book nonetheless. Now that school is almost going to start again, it might be a while before I finish this one...

It's one day past Yarn Along Day at Ginny's, but still worth linking up and having a look! Do enjoy everyone's craftiness. Till next time!

Special Snowflakes

Hello, Yarn-Along Friends!

I've been spending most of the month finishing my second Snowflake Sweater, which was, ahem, supposed to be an early Christmas present. We had a family gathering at Thanksgiving, and I was hoping to gift my two nieces their sweaters then. Oh well, no matching cousins this time around.

This was my first Snowflake Sweater, made for a 15 month old in size 1-2 years. I love that the Cascade Yarn Sunseeker has a metallic thread in it to make the sweaters sparkly! Perfect for showing the glittery quality of snow.

The youngest lady got her sweater in time for Christmas, and her mom sent me an adorable video of her wearing it while playing her new toy xylophone. Too cute!

The second sweater is for an 8 year old girl, but she is tall for her age, so I just decided to make the 9-10 size and use all three skeins of yarn. It's in the mail to her, and I'm looking forward to seeing how big the fit actually is. And yes, I did wash and block it after I took this sweater. I get so excited when knits are finally finished that I immediately take pictures so I don't also have to wait for the sweater to dry...

This is a super fun knit. I really enjoyed thinking hard on the lace for a while, and then having some mindless TV knitting available once the yoke was complete.

Next project: I am making another Watermelon Baby Cardigan for a friends who are expecting a baby any minute. Good thing this is a fast knit! As I am knitting all the purl rows in the yoke, I am once again considering making a little dress to avoid the aggravation of purling. I'll be sending the sweater with my favorite picture book, Mole Music, and some matching watermelon bloomers. Stay tuned for that cute post next!

Finally, check out what everyone is knitting and reading at Ginny's Yarn Along this month!

Yarn Along is BACK!

I am so excited that Ginny decided to bring back the Yarn Along! I was not a frequent participant, but I often got great ideas for patterns, yarn choices, and books from all the other lovely folks linking up to her posts. Do go and see what everyone is up to!

My read today is the guidebook for the Knobstone Trail in southern Indiana. I had big plans to backpack it last summer, but alas, other events took precedence. This summer I have some friends to go with, so accountability for showing up is real! Can't wait!

My knitting consists of finishing up some Christmas knitting (*sigh*). The pattern is Snowflake by Tin Can Knits and very fun. I love the mindless knitting that happens after the lace is finished.  

Happy New Year to all! Stay cozy!

Knitting in Peru

I was so fortunate to make a return trip to Peru this month. Peru is a country where knitters sit on every street corner, though they are reticent to have photos taken. The highlands are filled with shepherds and their animals. Here is a posed view of the last rest day in the Cordillera Hyuahuash. I was actually sitting facing the mountains to see them myself.

Thanks to my two beautiful nieces for modeling the fruits of my labor: a second Fortnight hat by Jared Flood. The yarn is worsted weight by our late alpaca, Cassidy. (Thanks to all for expressing condolences after my previous post.)

The second hat: Squish Me by Anne Hanson in DK weight yarn from our alpaca, Moonstar.

Soft hats inspire sisterly love! (Click pics to en-bigger and see whole landscape view. For some reason blogger is not cooperating with the showing of sideways views...)

And lots of silly fun!

Joining the Yarn Along at Ginny's today: http://www.gsheller.com/2016/07/yarn-along-290.html

More posts on Peru coming soon. Stay tuned!

Foundation Herd Shawl

I finally finished my Color Affection Shawl this past weekend! The yarn is Shady Grove Alpacas in fingering weight, color ways Bella, Moonstar, and Greta. These three animals were the first alpacas we bought when we started farming, thus foundation herd shawl.

Fresh off the needles! As you can see by the pucker on the right edge where all the increases are, I should have made more adjustments to make it looser. Do check the advice of other knitters on Ravelry if you plan on making this one. Fortunately most of the tension lessened significantly during blocking.

Blocking... I stretched it quite a bit, which gave it a more sheer texture and longer length. It also evened out some of the stitches a little bit.

More blocking... As usual, the washing and blocking made this yarn so light and fluffy! The drape of the fabric is really wonderful, and it feels airy yet very warming.

A few "candids" - not the best photo shoot. The light was fading, the Farmer was tired and not in the mood to deal with evening mosquitoes, so it is a bit hurried. 

One of the alpacas in the herd is peering at the photo shoot from the barn.

Quite a few friends have expressed "surprise" that we ended up dying our fiber when they saw the yarn. Across the front you see Greta (black), Moonstar (white), and Bella (medium brown). They personally brought us the colors I got to work with, and it is awesome that no dying is necessary! In the back is Cassidy with my brother #2 and his wife. 

Stay tuned for a new project using Cassidy's yarn, coming soon! 

Joining the Yarn Along at Ginny's today.

Yarn Along - Color Affection

It's been a while since I joined the Yarn Along at Ginny's: http://www.gsheller.com/2016/06/yarn-along-282.html 

Today I have a tiny bit of down time, so here goes.

I started this Color Affection shawl using Shady Grove Alpaca fingering weight yarn in late March, and those rows just keep getting longer and longer. And longer. I'm trying to make a push for the finish before I start another smaller project. I haven't settled into a new book yet. I did finish Outlander on CD last week, which I enjoyed, but did not love.

In the mean time, the garden is flourishing. We enjoyed the first broccoli of the season for dinner tonight.

A visit to my parents' house I got to see my favorite rose hedge burst into bloom over the last few days. 

Till next week. Maybe the shawl will be finished...