Monster Mish Mash

It’s almost Halloween! I was going to title this “Mish Mash” but “Monster Mish Mash” seemed more timely. Probably it’s because we watched the movie Young Frankenstein recently, which was fun.

Well, well, well … what have I knit or spun lately …

I finished the little cranberry red sweater:

It’s darker red than pictured. This was a quick little knit, that would have been quicker but for some reason I took a few days off from knitting at all, which was okay.

Also I finished the green socks:

They’ve also been worn and washed and are now drying somewhere. They are very comfy.

 I had two skeins of dark purple Rowan Kidsilk Aura (it’s like an Aran weight of regular Kidsilk Haze that Rowan had for a while; they’ve long since discontinued it.) I decided to make some kid’s mittens with it:

They are so soft and fuzzy, like a petite purple duckling! I kinda wish I had made adult sized fingerless mittens out of the yarn now. But, I am sure they will be appreciated.

The colorful wool that I was spinning turned into this 100g beautiful skein:

It’s gorgeous and I can’t wait to knit with it! The little bit of white that you see there is plied with what I had left on the bobbin. I have these little bits of yarn that didn’t get plied because I never have two bobbins run out at exactly the same moment, and I have started to ply them together. That way I use up all the yarn, and I have some novelty yarn to tie my skeins with when I am skeining off. Win win! Also you never know when you will be seized with the idea of knitting a miniature artistic chicken, so there’s that.

 I still haven’t been knitting much. I’ve started a pair of socks from two skeins of Bartlett yarn in colors Denim and Medium Green Heather:

The green is a little too bright and the denim is more gray than blue in this picture. My iPhone sucks at colors, considering how smart it is. ::sigh:: 

This pair of socks is actually almost done but I don’t have a picture. I hope to finish it tonight!

I am using the last skein of Aunt Mildred’s mohair to knit a simple watch cap:
 
Maybe I’ll finish it tonight or tomorrow.
It will match a simple garter stitch scarf that I already made:

Together they will make a nice Christmas present with some meaning behind it.

About a week ago I started spinning some hand dyed merino that I think I got from a giveaway at the Maritime Fiber Festival (apologies Sharon, if I got the name wrong) or possibly at the Spa Fiber Thingy. I don’t think I would have purchased the fiber, as it wasn’t really my colors. I remembered the fiber as being just brown merino but it’s not; it’s a beautiful combination of grays and browns leaning into chestnut, with a little bit of blue:

All I know for certain is that it is 100g of merino fiber dyed by Sarah Owen, because that’s what the tag said. It certainly spun up beautiful:

I just plied it together making a sport to DK 2ply yarn. You can see the rosy colored yarn at the bottom of the bobbin that is my “waste” yarn:

It’s really beautiful! Just goes to show that I should buy something different from the colors I usually do. This merino will make a magnificent soft and gorgeous merino hat that I have in mind for someone for Christmas. 

It has been getting cold here and the weather makes me think I need more sweaters, so I think I’ll knit myself a couple sweaters next.There are two in particular that have really been calling my name and that are soft and cozy… but that will be for next time. Take care and happy knitting!

The Leaves They Are A-Changing . . .

Autumn is here. Mums are the current flower of the day. 

These beautiful flowers were a gift from Barb and Mark! Thank you!

Plants are in from the cold, and candles are lit most days now.

We anticipate a higher cost of heating fuel, so wearing knitted things at all times will help. I like to keep candles where I can see them, because lit candles always make me feel warmer.

Add a cup of coffee and some knitting and I am quite happy.

This pattern is Yankee Knitter #37, Top Down Roll Raglan for Kids, and I am knitting it with Lion Brand Feels Like Butta, an acrylic Aran weight yarn that feels like chenille but is a lot easier to knit with and is machine washable and dryable, which I am sure his mother will like. I’m knitting a size 2 for my great grand nephew who will turn 1 in January. I’m not sure that is what to call him; he is my niece’s grandson. Sheesh. Now I feel really old.

As usual, I am not knitting it in the order that the pattern says. I knit down to the underarm and put the sleeves on waste yarn, but then rather than knitting the rest of the body, I instead knit on the collar, which is supposed to be the last thing knit.

Then I knit one sleeve and am currently knitting the other sleeve. Why? Because I have learned from past experiences knitting top down sweaters that it is way easier to knit the collar and sleeves without having the bulk of the body in the way every time you have to turn your work. After the sleeves are knit I can breeze down the body and then BAM! Sweater’s done, make the baby warm. 

I am still knitting my green socks.

I had the heel flap almost entirely knit last night but I discovered to my chagrin that I had somehow made it a stitch too wide, so I had to pull it all out and start my heel flap over again. Now it’s about half an inch long. But, two more evenings and it’ll be done. 

In spinning news … after finishing spinning allllll that black wool, I started spinning much more colorful wool:

That’s about 4 ounces of some wool I dyed before I had a stroke, and I’m finally getting around to spinning it.


It’s lovely. And surprisingly, it’s kind of in the autumnal spirit. I’ll try to spin it in a two ply fingering weight and maybe I’ll get some socks out of it. Yay!