Extravayarnza

This spring I knit several Double Knit scarves as gifts, you can find them here & here.
Tis the Christmas season & inspired by a scarf I saw in the latest Magknits I pulled out my graph paper once again. I knew from experience that soft yarns don't work for shadow knitting, but they do work in double knitting. Plus I know someone who totally deserves one more hand knit gift & would wear a piano scarf.
One Octave in I had a pleasant surprise...

When I was fingering scales on the scarf I noticed that it's fairly close the size of a real piano keyboard. I can just barely catch an octave on the corners of the keys. That's a real bonus.

It's official, I'm totally obsessed with knitting, yarn, and sheep. I've been working on my final project for my painting class. It's a series of 3 paintings that all go together. Mine is an abstract (to the point of graphic) look at knitting.

Painting One is pretty much finished~

Painting 2 is close to done~

(Painting 3 isn't ready for a debut just yet...)

Trent & my new plant were both being very corporative this morning so I have a bit of eyecandy to show off.

My pretty Succulent is slowly blooming. 8 days under my care & she isn't dead yet. This is looking up!

To reward those of you who have read to this point... I got lots of comments and emails on the last post after scout mentioned the socks being famous. She's filming an episode of Knitty Gritty next week & my socks are going along as an example of her yarn all knit up. I know I'll be excited to see the episode & I'll let you know when it airs (it will be a while, they film these things quite far in advance). For any of you living under a rock, Stephanie is over there now filming an episode! This is going to be an exciting group of episodes.

Today is the Winter Solstice. The day when night is at it's longest and light begins to once again win the battle. I can sure tell you it's not winning today, but slowly it will return.
On this short gray winter's day it seems like a good time to look at a few year end projects & give a bit of an overlook of 2006...
My last bit of Christmas Knitting is officially finished; knit, ends tucked in, blocked, and even has my tag sewn in.

This spring I came up with a basic Double-knit scarf pattern. It features a 'color in your own pattern' chart & when it's released I'm planning to include sample charts for the 4 scarves I have/will knit from it. The 4th and final Double-knit scarf is now sketched out & will be the most complex of them all. I'm planning on using 3 or 4 colors (2 at a time) in a water garden design.
This scarf was knit in Alpaca with a Twist, Baby Alpaca, 2 balls each of white & black.
This particular scarf would be a great first double-knit scarf. There is very little switching of colors in one row. Only 2 of the 3 black key rows require you to switch the main color once in the row. The pattern is also really easy to memorize! Especially if you're familiar with the order of keys on a piano.
I'm also working away at my very own pair of Thrummed Socks...
It's Socks in a Box~

I'm using my own hand-dyed Superfine Merino Roving & Art Yarns UltraMerino 4.
The box is from Namaste Needles. They come with a big candle, but my circular needle & all my sock stuff fit in it much better (plus the candle can't be used while in the box)...

Okay, and if you'd like to see my answers to the Year in Review Meme just click for the extended post.

I hope you all enjoyed your holiday. I know that my time spent with family & loved ones was absolutely lovely. (most of my family was smashed on wine by 2pm... add that to Grandparents who filter what they say less and less as they get older & it makes a very interesting Christmas dinner).

I managed to get quite a bit of knitting done. My favored project for the family gathering is my Steam scarf out of Kid Silk Haze. She's about a foot long now. Considering the number of stitches wide it is & the itty bitty needles I think this is commendable progress. (The real accomplishment was not making any mistakes knitting after enjoying 2 glasses of wine)

I also finished up the first of my Thrummed Socks. I love the way the hand dyed thrums turned out on the inside.

Now to wait until the new year when I teach the class to knit the second one. Sigh...

To tide me over I'm knocking another one of those long awaited second socks off my list. The second of my Diamonds Forever socks (one of my first sock designs). Technically I've knit 2 of these, but the first one was in pink & gray cotton/wool the one I'm knitting a partner for is a brown marled Jawoll.

Doesn't look like much yet, I know... but hopefully in a few days it might look a bit like this sock~

Pretty soon I'll have no more of the dreaded heel flap & gusset socks to knit. I hate how those fit my foot, and I don't particularly enjoy knitting them... It does suit this sock pretty well though doesn't it?

It's been darn cold here lately. Nothing like double digit below zero temps to drive you to curling up on the couch with your knitting (and iPod...). I spent the last few days doing pretty much that with the Mid Michigan Knitters Guild (minus the couch & iPod). We all headed off to the Kellogg Biological Station for our annual knitting retreat (wonderful location for a retreat, just be sure to get good directions...ie not Google maps). I was very honored this year by being asked to teach one of the classes.
The class the first afternoon was on Shadow Knitting. It's an interesting technique that by knitting with only 1 color per row & just using knits/purls you can create nifty hidden images. Looking straight on a piece it just looks like lots of stripes...

But when you look at an angle the hidden pattern is revealed!

You can find lots of free patterns for this type of knitting my searching Shadow or Illusion knitting. Plus Vivian Hoxbro wrote an excellent book on the subject.

Then the second morning I taught Mobius knitting. We all started a basic scarf. Someone shoot me next time I agree to teach 25 knitters a new cast-on (just kidding, I think it actually went well). Everyone was smiling by the end of the class, so I count it as successful. I know I love the yarn my mobius is being knit out of. It's Easy Soft from Gedifra (kid mohair & cashmere!)

I used the yarn doubled on size 9 needles. I literally used up every last inch of the white & beige and will come close to using up all the black by the time the attached i-cord is complete. (I'm doing a 3 stitch i-cord, which I figured would use 3 rounds worth of yarn. So, I stopped 4 rounds from what I was able to do with the first 2 balls.) I love this scarf. It reminds me of all the fugley things in my 80's knitting books. Specifically a purl ridge, bat wing (dolmen sleeve), mohair jacket in shades of blue, green, and purple (from the book Wild Knitting). I'm totally going to wear this all the time!

At the retreat I also finished my Rose wristwarmers~

& got most of my second knee high sock knit (STR Heavy weight in Mist).

I also got brave enough to weigh the first one to see if I left enough yarn for #2. The first sock weighed 3.5oz on the nose, luckily that exactly half a skein. *let out deep breath*
I also discovered a project that missed blogging. The first of my Friday Harbor Socks! I finished this at Knit Michigan last weekend. Unfortunately the big push for finishing came when I needed the needle to use for my class sample. So, since that sock is still on the needles I haven't started sock #2 for this pair yet...

So, what do you do when life gets a bit...ummm... what's a good word.... complicated, messy, confusing? I pick up some worry bead knitting. You know the type; simple, brainless, just something to keep your hands moving & feel the yarns flow through your fingers.

Luckily a friend of mine just designed the perfect project for me to knit, Kristi's Comfort Wrap. Yards upon yards of garter stitch, ending with a either a wrap or a lap blanket to curl up in for the rest of the winter.

I had chosen the yarn a month or so ago...

center: Creative Focus Worsted (Alpaca/Wool)
outside arch from left to right: Taos, Whisper, Silk Garden, Blue Moon Kid Mo, Alpaca Silk DK, Impression

The Creative Focus is used through out the shawl & the other yarns are swapped out each row.(I think that photo seals my title as a yarn snob, no cheap or even stash yarn to be seen) In the end the fabric looks very random & mixed (especially since I choose striping & multi yarns)...

Knitting this is so calming. I'm really looking forward to the end result too. I had the original Kristi Wrap in my store for a few days before it was sent on to Kristi & boy did I love wearing it. I have enough of the contrasting yarns to make the blanket if I wish, luckily the pattern allows you to play it by ear.
2 days in & I'm more than half way to a shawl. All I want to do is burrow into it & hibernate for a few months.

FO Calorimetry!

Pattern: Calorimetry (from Knitty)
Yarn: Totally Yummy Cashmere 5 from Art Yarns color 138
I actually have a decent amount of the yarn left from the skein. I think I can get a wrist warmer from the left overs.
Needle: Size 4 CPY circular

I've been eying this skein of yarn for at least 3 months. I needed a project to knit with one skein that would yield maximum cashmere to skin contact. Calorimetry fitted the bill perfectly! Plus I figured out that when it's cold enough that I want to wear a hat instead you can pull it down over your face to keep your nose warm.
Only complaint... it knit up too fast! I want to knit with this yarn forever.

I tried to get a shot of Robin showing Calorimetry off for Kristi, but he didn't want to cooperate...

I'm so addicted to this Chevron Scarf. I already know I need to knit another one with sock STR light weight when the next shipment comes in. The way it's mixing the Claudia Hand Painted is just so stunning.

I'm using Blue Fields & Toasted Almond. I'm quite intrigued in how the Toasted Almond is turning pink when it's knit up with the Blue Fields when it's very much tan & cream in the skein. I wanted a pretty pastel spring scarf & that's exactly what I'm getting.

Not only am I getting a spring scarf. My brother & I went flower shopping and found some really lovely gifts for mum & dad.

For mom we picked some big beautiful Columbines


Then we found a plant my Dad had requested as an early father's day gift. It's a very cool native MI plant called a Jack in the Pulpit. It's similar to a pitcher plant in that the sides are coated in a sticky sweet substance that attracts then traps bugs.

Then I was informed that I get a gift this Mother's Day (from Robin). I suppose being the mom of a pup counts... so I found this little lovely at the green house.

My mum also got a Tree Peonie, a Lupine, and another cool native MI plant for Mother's Day, I'll add pics of those to my Flickr flower page as they bloom (it's so cool to have a licenced dealer in protected plants as a friend).

Has anyone else out there been drawn into Blood Ties (on Lifetime)?
Gosh, I just watched the season finally. Can I just say that Henry is the sexiest thing on tv!
I guess once a goth, always a goth... I just don't know how I'm going to go through the week without my Henry fix. I hope season 2 starts sooner rather than later.

So, I started a new diversion. I'm half way through the second chart (of 3) on my spiderweb shawl. I'm finding myself knitting a full ball a day on this & have knit 5 balls in the last week. At this pace the shawl will easily be finished in 2 weeks for TNNA.

Okay, back to the diversion. Since you all know I'm anything but a monogamous knitter, I've started an Agrosy scarf!

Mine's being knit with Noro Cashmere Island. It has 30% cashmere in it so the scarf is buttery soft. I'll be so excited to wear this in the fall.

I've got a little sewing project on my hands right now. The store bought bandannas are way to big for Robin & I really wanted some different prints than I could find, so I've decided to sew him up some nice reversible bandannas.
Doesn't he look so cute!


Plus I have several other prints to sew up...plus a few knitting themed fabrics on the way!

Here's the deal though. To buy enough fabric to sew up one, I have to get enough to actually make 4. Robin doesn't need 4 of each print.
If I sew up the extras & put them on etsy is anyone interested? They fit a small to medium dog (neck size up to around 12") and all edges are completely finished off. I find these have long enough tails to tie in a square knot on Robin & the tails are short enough he's not chewing on them very much.

I am already half way through my Argosy scarf in the Noro Cashmere Island. I love how soft it is & this pattern really shows off self striping yarns to their full potential.

For those of you following our drama with Robin's obedience class, class 3 of 8 was tonight. I still don't like the guy & it's very obviously that Robin doesn't either. When he came over to push Robin back into a down Robin just freaked out. However as long as he doesn't ever touch my dog again I think we'll make it through.
Robin just isn't comfortable going into a submissive position when that particular teacher is near by. His downs are solid out of class, but he gets all skiddish and uncomfortable when he's there.

However I'm noticing he's taking a liking to the Shepard pup in class. I'm cool with that. I think I may be taking a shine to the Shepard's owner... puppy's are the best icebreakers.

I'm leaving it off today with a photo of Robin from our pre-class walk this afternoon. He's really starting to look like an adult Sheltie! Plus I just think he looks so happy in this shot~

The weather has been absolutely perfect the last few days. Partially cloudy, mid 70's, basically perfect. The rain was much needed, but the sunshine is appreciated too. I particularly love watching the sunset after a plane or two has touched down at the airport. There are some really nice upsides to living under the landing path of a relatively small airport.

I've been knitting a lot this week. I couldn't find batteries for my camera, so I just haven't been blogging about it. Mostly I'm working on the border of Pegasus (for those of you awaiting Pegasus I got far enough to give my corrections to Sharon, so the pattern should be arriving soon!).
When Pegasus frustrates me or I don't have enough attention to knit on her (happens a lot actually, she needs my full attention) I am knitting swatches up of all the new Fall yarns.

I'm aiming for 8"x8", but I'm not being too picky about size since they're just swatches! These are turning out to be very fun to knit. Plus it means I get to knit with every new yarn. Very cool!
I have finished another since I took that picture this afternoon, & have another almost done and two more started!

In fact in addition to all that I've got my scarf for the red scarf project half finished.

And I decoupaged!

That's my new correctly sized topper for my ball winder station.

Robin also celebrated a birthday of sorts... He turned 9 months old! Isn't he a handsome lad?

Now I've been asked a few times how I get my puppy to sit still enough for a photo (plus get him to look in the direction I ask him to). The key is in the reward....

Does Robin want a carrot?

That looks like a mighty fine carrot...

Tisk, Tisk, Tisk... Robin Leave It!

Okay, take the carrot~

And faster than a speeding camera the carrot is gone. Robin loves his veggies!
See you in September

So, I'm not dead... Life just had to take over for a while. Life is still sucking up most of my time/energy, but I think balance is soon to be restored. (big breath of relief)...

Should I start with the big news? It's not official yet (still waiting for papers to be signed & the loan approval from the bank...), but I'm in the process of purchasing a building for the shop!!!
We'll be just around the corner from our current location, right near Emil's Italian Restaurant, Magdalena's Tea House, Gone Wired Cafe, and lots of other really cute shops.
This move will triple our floor space, give us more storage than we'll ever possibly need, and hopefully make finding us & parking a whole lot easier.
I will feel a whole lot more at ease with the whole thing once we get the official word from the bank (we have a "I don't foresee any issues", but until we get officially approved I can't be completely comfortable).

What else?... Oh, I redesigned my shops website! It looks a whole lot like my website, but with a different header picture.

We also had heath issues, big birthdays (21st birthday of my little brother), visitors from both coasts & Europe, plus a couple of big parties (Knitterpalooza!) and well over a dozen romps in the new dog park.

In between all that I've been knitting. Knitting a lot actually... maybe more than I've ever finished in a month before. Be prepared, from here on out this is a very photo heavy post. I've got a whole lot to cover!

First off, all those swatches... In total the pile of swatches grew to 30. I will continue to knit up more of them until every yarn in the shop has a swatch, but I feel good that the new yarns are covered & I can lay off those for a while.

I taught a Baby Surprise Jacket class last month & knit up another ultra cute sweater. This one is knit in Nashua Vignette. I used 5 balls total, 3 colors, switching colors when the ball ran out, and ended up with a 12-18 month sized sweater. (btw, this yarn is super stretchy when knit up ).
The colors are pretty far off, but I had to just give in and edit these at work without Photoshop...just picture it with a less saturated red/purple.


Most recently I finished up a couple of lace scarves I started back in June or July.
First up is my Agrosy in Noro Cashmere Island. I used 2 skeins & can I just say this yarn is super super yummy!

The second scarf is my Beaded Silk Lace Stole (from the book Lacy Little Knits). This used 1 skein Art Yarns Beaded Silk & 1 skein of Silk Rhapsody. I think this was a good balance to dilute the amount of beads & make this scarf one I could wear every day.
I knit till I was almost out of Beaded Silk & my stole blocked out to 13x48 inches.

Since I've been gone I also knit one of those fabulous Hemlock Ring Blankets!
Mine is in Nashua Creative Focus Worsted (Alpaca & Wool Single Ply). I ended up using 4 skeins and size 9 needles. I knit to row 101 & my finished size is 4 1/2 feet across.
I think this might be one of my all time favorite projects I've knit. In fact I've ordered a couple of books of Danish knit doily patterns to convert into blankets as well. I just want every couch & chair I own to be neatly draped with one of these.

I also knit on a variety of socks, including knitting up one of these cute little Rowan Slippers from Cat's new book~

Finally I'm almost done with a rather large project, a Wrap Me Up Stole from Knitting at Knoon.
I only have 3 more blocks and the edging to knit (plus lots of ends to weave in). My only issue with this project is that every single skein of Silk Garden had a knot in it, exactly one knot, in every one of 11 skeins. Grrrr....
I've knit several other projects with silk garden in the past and rarely encountered a knot before, I suppose this batch was just um... special...
I'll detail this more when I finish the project.
But it is lovely isn't it?

One last note.. I haven't forgotten about the blogiversary contest, I just need a few more days to regroup..

There are some points in life when you have to grow up a whole bunch all at once. I fear I've hit one of those points head on & seem unable to let go. Most of whats going on in life now is stuff that's too personal for the blog. I think that's a big part of why blogging has been so umm.. sparse... rare... nonexistent... lately. That and the fact that the big computer at home experienced SMEF (Spontaneous Massive Existence Failure, bonus points to those of you who know what this is a reference to...) and our switch to a new phone company at work was a little rocky leaving me with out internet access anywhere for a few weeks.

I've also been entrenched in the process of purchasing a building for the shop to move to this winter. The commercial loan process is a scary thing and very slow moving. I feel a little at a loss in the whole thing, but am still confident that we will emerge triumphant in the end.

Actually I need to be successful in the whole loan thing because I will be living above the shop & lets just say my current living arrangements will be no longer viable sometime in the next year.

A member of my immediate family is also getting married & moving half way across the country. I'm extremely happy for this (and no it's not me), but it's a little scary too.

This is really just the tip of the iceberg, but I hope you'll all understand my lack of blogging lately. I can't say when more regular blogging will happen again, but I'll keep doing the best I can. Currently I'm going to be aiming for once a week and we'll see how that goes. I have however been keeping up my ravelry account, so you can always see what I'm up to there. I also am hosting a group for my shop (Friends of Rae's Yarn Boutique), so if you live in the area & have managed to get a Ravelry account please join us there.

A lack of blogging however has not meant a lack of knitting. In fact when I get stressed out knitting happens in great abundance. Lets try to catch up...

Scarves
I finished up a cute little scarf that we have the kit for at the shop right now. It's a Shetland lambswool and cashmere blend & a very quick knit.
The scarf itself is ascot like & softens up a whole bunch when washed in Eucalan.

I also am working away on my Ravelry scarf exchange scarf. I had a bunch of false starts on this project and have finally found something that I know will work. The scarf is done in double knitting with Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran & will have a Diamond motif at each end. I'm a bit further than the photo (since I took these photos last week you'll hear that a bunch today).

Socks
I've finished 4 pairs of socks in the last couple of weeks. The first 2 pair though were super quick knits (each pair taking between 4 & 6 hours!).
These are knit in Nashua Snowbird and are so warm. I'll be pretty much living in these this winter. I liked how these came out so much that I wrote up the pattern & it's available free with purchase of the yarn here at the shop. Pretty much everyone on my holiday gift list will probably be getting a pair of these this winter.


I also finished a couple of pairs of fingering weight socks.
This pair is simply my basic sock pattern knit in STR waterlily.

I also finished up my test for my redesign of my Slinky sock pattern. That was my first published design and I really hated a few things I did in it. I love the new version so much more. This photo is from last week, I still need to wait for the weather to cooperate for a real photo shoot for these, and to get the pattern rewritten. (oh, and the yarn for these is JoJoLand Melody)

I'm currently just about done with the first of the "summer of love" socks from the last installment of the STR club. The new kit should arrive sometime this week, so I'm attempting to catch up a bit.

Sweaters
I also knit 2 sweaters in about 3 weeks. (like a said... a little stressed out lately = lots of knitting).
The first is a long hoodie cardigan out of Mirasol Miski.

This sweater was knit in the round with seamless set-in sleeves then steeked down the front. The baby Llama is super soft and warm. I know this sweater will get lots of wear this winter.

I also knit a Bohus like sweater (much bigger gauge than a real bohus). This is the Lite Lopi pullover from the Best of Interweave Knits.



I'm rather enamored with this sweater. It of course has been in the 70's since I finished it, but I'm really looking forward to wearing it. It fits pretty well (maybe a little oversized) and I just love the lime green hems. I also altered the colorwork a little at the top to bring it back to the reds & purple rather than more orange at the neck.

I'm also sadly overdue posting this questionnaire up for the No More Humdrum Mitten Swap. Sorry Pal!

1. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn?
I learned to knit from my Grandma the one time she came to visit us. I was in 4th grade and she taught me during my brother's swimming classes.
2. Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
Advanced
3. What are your favorite colors? Any you dislike?
Depending on the combination I can like almost any color. I don't like things to be too neon or electric. I prefer Fall tones, especially greens and purples.
4. Do you like Latvian type patterns? If so, what are your favorite patterns?
I do like them, but I don't know them well enough to point to any specific pattern.
5. Do you desire mittens for yourself, your "special someone else" or your child?
I totally desire mittens for myself. I did a mitten swap last winter and the mittens were awful and had to be donated to charity, I'd really like a nice pair of mittens to wear this winter though. It gets cold here!
6. What other things do you enjoy knitting?
Everything?! I can like just about every type of project, just depends on my mood. Socks are always a good bet though.
7. What sort of needles do you enjoy working with? (straights vs circs, bamboo vs aluminum)
bamboo circs
8. What’s one project you’ve not yet tried but are dying to make?
I'm a big impulse knitter, so I don't yearn over any particular project for long, either I knit it or I forget about it I suppose. I've recently been finding my eyes wandering toward Clapotis and oddly enough knit pillow covers. Thicker socks have also been finding their way onto my needles lately.
9. What’s one yarn you’ve not yet tried but are dying to work with?
I always am drooling over sock yarn from lots of the indie dyers out there.
10. What other hobbies do you have? Do you spin? Sew? Garden? Cook?
Spin, Sew, pastel painting...
11. Besides yarn, do you collect anything?
books, I love books! I think my next obsession with books is going to be Disc World series, or maybe to finish up the Harry Potter thing (only have books 1 & 2). I will often read a novel in a night if the mood catches me right.
12. What kind of goodies do you enjoy? Sweets? Salty? Anything you hate or are allergic to?
I'm allergic to almonds. I am addicted to chocolate. Usually white or milk chocolate, but dark chocolate mint holds a dear place in my heart.

and because it's not mentioned earlier and I hope you'll take this into account. I'm severely allergic to acrylic yarn. Even 20% acrylic will make me break out in hives.

13. Do you have any kids? Pets?
No kids, but I have a kitty, Trent, and a Sheltie, Robin.
14. What is your favorite part of Winter?
Snow, the fresh fluffy white kind, not the brown slushy type we usually have.
15. What is your least favorite part of Winter?
Brown slushy snow and wet feet

Bet you didn't think I'd be back...

To be honest I didn't have internet access until a few weeks ago. The phone company(s) made the move a right disaster. It really boils down to I strongly can not recommend Cavalier. Just my 2 cents.

Anyways both the shop & myself are all settled in at our new location. Basically every aspect of my life changed in December and January. I suppose a quick overview is in order to get everyone caught up.
~My mum got married & moved out of state.
~I purchased a lovely building in a great neighborhood and moved both the yarn shop and myself into it.
~I'm now also the landlord of 2 apartments and got to jump into that mess feet first with a nightmare tenant who after his eviction left the apartment a disaster.
~I was offered the opportunity to wholesale my alphabet stitch markers and am now in 14 stores in 6 different states.

I've given talks, presentations, interviews, and designed an entire block of the month afghan.

I think the afghan has been the highlight of my knitting since I was last on here. I don't have a photo handy of the whole afghan, but here's a few of the squares:

I've also knit up a super cute baby set for the shop. It's a Knitting at Knoon pattern (Wee-One Welcome Set) and knit in Lynn H's Cushy Color Sport.

The other highlight of my winter crafting is actually a crochet project. This is done in Queen Ann's Lace in Noro's new yarn, Taiyo.

I've got lots more to tell, but I plan on updating this blog a whole lot quicker now.

Before I go I should give a quick update on the fur balls!
Trent has settled in to apartment life quite well. I think he likes having a more limited range. Plus he has a super cool jungle gym thing on top of a shelving unit.

Robin is now 16 months old! I can hardly even believe it. He got his big boy coat all in this winter. Despite how he looks, it's all fluff. He got a bath today and trust me, he's skinny as a rail.

(no that photo isn't from today... that was about a month ago)

Wait who's that!?
That is Toshiko the Australian Shepherd. It's a long story, but she's now living with Robin and I. She's a super sweet girl and they get along great.