Just Keep Knitting...

Self portraits of works in progress can be tricky!



I put the body on some waste yarn and decided to try on my Featherweight Cardigan. Slowly but surely it will get done.

The armholes to bottom measures at 10 inches which is where the pattern has you do a 1x1 rib. I'm thinking I'll chug out another inch or so before doing the rib. I'm also thinking about going down a needle size for the rib to draw it in a bit.

Knit & Crochet Blog Week: Day 7

What a Yarn

There’s one love that we all share: yarn. Blog about a particular yarn you have used in the past or own in your stash, or perhaps one that you covet from afar. If it is a yarn you have used you could show the project that you used it for, perhaps writing a mini ‘review’. Perhaps, instead, you pine for the feel of the almost mythical qiviut? You could explore and research the raw material and manufacturing process if you were feeling investigative.

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Shelridge Farms. Love it. I was introduced to this yarn back in 2007 at Stitches Midwest when I purchased some sock yarn. I picked out a variegated brown colorway. Choosing this color was to get me out of my typical colors that I would normally pick. Those socks are my favorite and they're brown.

So after discovering this love I then choose to go back and pick up some DK weight at the next Stitches event for a cardigan to see how deep my love could go. I picked up enough for the Celtic Icon which is in the Inspired Cable Knits book. I blog about it here. This sweater is one of my all time go-to sweaters.

Last year Shelridge did not have a booth at Stitches and I was very disappointed. I'm hoping they'll be there this year but I can only hope.


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Knit & Crochet Blog Week: Day 6

Revisit a past F/O

Bring the fortune and life of a past finished project up to the present. Document the current state and use of an object you have knitted or crocheted, whether it is the hat your sister wears to school almost every day, or a pair of socks you wore until they were full of hole. Or maybe that jumper that your did just didn’t like that much…

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What warms my heart the most is seeing my family wear my handknits without me begging. Normally I'd be instructing them to stand still while I take pictures. It's those moments that I get a glimpse of socks on Miss Mac's feet, or watching my son E pull on a woolly winter hat.

These moments also remind me of why I knit. It then got me thinking about all the stuff I've made and what I haven't blogged about or items that pre-date Ravelry. That right there is an odd concept, isn't it. What would we do without Ravelry.




I want to introduce you to "The Blanket". This project goes WAY back. So far back that this blanket is made of acrylic. Yep, this dates back before I was aware of Yarn Stores. Like, stores that specialize in JUST YARN. Who-Knew??

The Blanket was my first attempt at cables. In my dreams I pictured my entire family wearing cream colored Aran sweaters while sitting by the fire and eating smores. I just knew I had to learn to make cables...and so I did. Granted the swatch became a scarf and then it became blanket. Its got the characteristics of a beginner project as I notice all the things I would do differently now.

Finding this in a bag off to the side (I was trying to organize my craft room) was a real treat and reminder of why I knit. No longer lost and forgotten, I vow to give it a proper killing*, so it will now be a fine addition to the family.



*The reference to killing involves machine washing and drying of the acrylic to remove any sizing.



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Knit & Crochet Blog Week: Day 5

Location, Location, Location

Where do you like to indulge in your craft? Is your favourite arm chair your little knitting cubby area, or do you prefer to ‘knit in public’? Do you like to crochet in the great outdoors, perhaps, or knit in the bath, or at the pub?

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I feel inspired by Dr. Seuss...

I would knit in a house.
I would knit with a mouse.
I would knit with a fox.
I would knit in a box.
I would knit here or there.
I would knit anywhere.



Most of the time it's train knitting as I commute via Metra into Chicago. This gives me 45 min each way to indulge in fiber.



If the planets align for my lunch break to meet with a beautiful day then I go to the park to knit for a bit.

At home I really wish to have a chair to call my own, but a spot on the couch does quite well. I also bring my knitting in the car and knit while my husband drives... or knit at the park while the kids play... or in the dentist chair waiting for the doc.

I think by exposing the public to fiber, we are waking them up to Our World. This isn't some behind closed doors kind of lifestyle. Be proud, be true and hold those hooks and needles high!



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Knit & Crochet Blog Week: Day 4

A New Skill

Is there a skill related to your hobby that you hope to learn one day? maybe you’re a crocheter who’d also like to knit? Maybe you’d like to learn to knit continental, knit backwards, try cables or attempt stranded colourwork.

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Steeking. That would be the next big challenge for me. Ever since I took the steeking class at Stitches Midwest I've been secretly wanting to cut my knitting. The class was more educational and lecture based which was interesting. At the end the teacher, Nancy Bush who was amazing, let us take some scissors to knitted fabric. Hooked-I tell ya!

I would also love to learn to crochet and to read crochet patterns. I can do some very simple stitches, but ultimately pumping out a few afghans would be kinda nice. Heck, knitting blankets Takes. For. Ever. Ask me how I know!!


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