Here's something you never see on my blog

Scarves. *snerk*

Here is the Sari Silk Scarf knit from the recycled silk yarn I picked up at the Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival. Note to anyone using this yarn: when you are blocking it (yes, I gave it a cool, handwash bath), you will need to open all windows and extinguish all open flame, 'cause dang! The fiber smells as if it is magically spun from pure gasoline. Once the scarf is dry, there are no worries (and I didn't detect petrol fumes when I knitted it, just some not-unpleasant funky organic scents). Truly, I love this scarf - the way the colors surprised me as I knitted it and the way it drapes.

Scarf details: Wool Peddler Kathmandu Unrefined on #7 Inox straights. It's about 5' long, 3 3/4" wide.

Pattern (over 20 stitches)

Row 1: K3, YO, K2tog, K12, K2tog, YO, K3

Row 2: K3, Purl 14 (including the YOs), K3

Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until desired length. The K3 on each side helps the curling issue (and the blocking takes care of the rest of it). I tapered the ends by decreasing/increasing the K2togethers at the appropriate ends.

And here's a little glimpse of Red Scarf #1 (ayep, the wonky one is frogged back to the diamonds). This one is knit with some leftover Koigu and the red alpaca cone that will not die

Start your needles!

Here we go!

My entry will be from 2 skeins of Jawoll Superwash Cotton in my favorite pattern on #2 Brittanys (as modeled by Senor El Cinco).

Yes - the 2 skeins are 2 different colors - I scored each of them for a dollar!

Right now, my thought is to knit alternating bands, which

may look funky-cool with the pattern's vertical ribbing.

Stay tuned for the verdict.

A bag and a view

First a bag winging its way to CIC - yarn and knitted goodies accumulated from my stash and various other knitting f(r)iends. Not pictured are two large Ziploc bags of toiletries, etc also included in the box. If you love shopping the samples section of your local drugstore, I encourage you to check out the CIC site for needed items and MAIL THEM.

Here's a pic of my knitting spot for Purl. Really - it's my spot. I just let the cats think it's theirs. I'm doing a pretty good job, if I do say so myself.

Of Grandparents and Squares

Here are my squares for the Grandmother Purl project. I started knitting with the idea I would do 2. But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to knit one for each of my grandparents. So that's what I did. Sadly, I was never able to knit for 3 of my 4 grandparents, but I'm thinking these squares will honor someone else's.

From left to right: (all squares were knit with yarn from my stash. I think my grandparents would have appreciated the frugality of it all!)

Block 1: In memory of my grandfather William Cryder (who died when I was 5 months old). This square is Jawoll washable sock yarn in a green/yellow/red colorway (the ball band has long since disappeared) knit together with black Peruvian alpaca in a fingering weight. I love how the square looks like stained glass. I threw in some vertical twisted ribs to add some texture to the plain garter stitch.

Block 2: In memory of my grandfather Charles "Shep" Shetler. This square is a basketweave stitch done in Berella Country Garden D.K. machine washable 100% Merino, in a soft sage green. The yarn made me think of how Pop-pop loved to garden, especially irises.

Block 3: In memory of my grandmother Lula "Sister" Shetler. This square is pink/lilac/taupe variegated wool sock yarn from Dorchester Farms knit with Froehlich Wolle washable sock yarn in taupe. I did an open dropstitch pattern in keeping with Grammie's love of crochet. (If I had really planned this out, I would have figured out how to do a chevron pattern.)

Block 4: In honor of my grandmother Irene Nell Holcomb Cryder. This is the first block I knitted for the project. It's a trinity stitch square combining 2 strands of Baby Ull; one in periwinkle, the other a sky blue. I used the trinity stitch to honor the fact she has been a spiritual mentor for me and the colors are her favorite.

Thanks Kristy and company for taking on this project! I hope we have enough squares to give to all the residents.

Don't make Soba angry.

Just do it!

Third time's a charm?

The swing coat is frogged. The more I knitted, the more I realized I really didn't need a chunky-weight, bumpy garment on this chunky-weight, bumpy body. So I riffled through the "maybe-one-day-I'll-knit-this" binder and came across a pattern ripped from a Woman's Day magazine circa February 1996. It's a reverse stockinette rib turtleneck. Hmmm...I like the 1 x 3 rib and I'm a turtleneck girl through and through. I decided to tweak the pattern a tad by not reversing the stockinette, doing a mock turtleneck, bracelet-length sleeves, and a faux-button placket up one side seam.

So I merrily frogged the swing coat and cast on for the turtleneck. Hmmm again. Clearly I was still suffering the aftereffects of a long work week, because I cast on the 2 x 2 rib hem and then moved into the 1 x 3 ribbed body.

Houston, we have a problem.

Ayep, there be some weird ribbing issues here. And friends? I continued knitting. Clearly, I live in the Land of Delusion, on the banks of Denial. This morning, armed with a cup of coffee and a full night's sleep, is Frog Fest #2. I'll be casting back on in 1 x 3 ribbing, hoping it's the charm.

Wonky and Wild on the West Coast of New England

I ended up going to the VT Sheep and Wool Festival. I wasn't gonna - crappy weather along with morning and evening plans on Saturday seemed like the excuse I was looking for. Right. Uh-huh.

This is some recycled silk yarn purchased from The Wool Peddler. I have knitted with recycled yarn before, but I really like this all-silk version. You can't tell from the wonky photo, but it's shiny, soft, and making a perfect little 'tossed-on chic' scarf for moi. I also purchased some funky yellow-green handspun/dyed wool (sorta the same color as the background of the lower left quilt block above) from a little NH farm with no website.

IMHO, the Sheep and Wool Fest wasn't nearly as much fun as last year (and it has nothing to do with the fact it wasn't the same weekend as KYarns Tent Sale.) The location at the Fairgrounds had moved and the exhibits/vendors were in two different buildings instead of under one roof. Many of us trotted down one path only to be redirected and backtracked by fair personnel (note to the powers that be: signs are our friends). It didn't seem there were as many vendors (no Dorchester Farms this year...wah!) and far more roving than a non-spinner needs to see. But as I said, this is just my humble opinion.

In other knitting news: a finished pic of the Dangerous Serengeti Wrap (it's folded in half here), appropriated by Miss Cashew who is fighting the good fight with another bladder stone (we believe she is winning this one thanks to a special diet).

Here's the start of the Top Down Swing Coat. I'm trying to ignore the sneaky suspicion that I may not have enough yarn.
And to confirm my total lack of self-control in the WIP department, here's a pic of Red Scarf #1, utilizing the OCD squares. This is a case where the object is definitely wonky, not the photograph - I just need to decide how much wonk I'm willing to deal with.

Fun and Trouble

First, the fun. Here are the scarves for Burlington's October Breast Cancer retreat. The scarf on the left is double-stranded antique pink (it's really not the coral-y color you see here) alpaca in a feather and fan lace pattern done on #7 Addis. The simple drop stitch scarf on the right is Berroco Suede in Chickadee Pink done on #13 Brittanys.

And the trouble as you can probably guess from the sneaky little calico foot is Miss Isabelle hiding under the stool, swiping at anything that passes by. Senor El Cinco is not that impressed.