WIPs Galore

Well, well, well. Apparently I have a problem with casting on for more projects before finishing any of them! I have a sweater, sock, and cowl on the needles right now and finally took some pictures today.

First up, the sweater:

Pattern: Blair by Thayer Preece from Twist Collective

Yarn: Madelinetosh DK in Lapis

The sweater will have a 2 inch button band and larger collar that folds over (so while it looks a little small, it should be perfect once the button band is on). 

Now, I was planning on following the pattern exactly.  However, I somehow skipped over the increases that were supposed to happen on just the front and ended up with the same number of stitches as one size smaller than I was knitting. But...it ended up working out just fine. The neckline is a deeper V than is written in the pattern, and I actually think I like it better...so it's all good. 

Next up...handspun cowl:

Pattern: Simple Seed Stitch Cowl by Pongue Ette

Yarn: My handspun!

The ribbing on the cowl will be more flat after it's not all scrunched up on the needles! It makes a good mindless knitting project.

And last, but not least....the sock:

Pattern: Clandestine by Cookie A. from Knit.Sock.Love

Yarn: Wollmeise 80/20 Twin

This is my first time knitting with Wollmesie, and I'm really enjoying it so far. It isn't as soft as other yarn I've knit with, but it feels very sturdy and will make great socks. I've also heard that it softens up quite a bit after washing. 

I think these socks are going to look awesome when they're done. Cookie's sock patterns are gorgeous, but are certainly going to take me longer to knit than the plain-ish socks I've done so far this year!

I also have a couple more skeins of handspun (are you sick of seeing handspun yarn yet?!)...

BFL/Silk dyed by Two if by Hand in colorway Secret Dawn 

Spun for a custom order for a lovely customer in Alaska!

Organic Merino dyed by Two if by Hand in colorway Antique Ram

Spun up for the etsy shop

In other news, we got quite a bit of snow last week. Okay, we only got about 4 inches, but that was quite a bit for around here! The local trails are at a higher elevation, and there were about 8 inches up there when I walked with Valerie and the dogs.

Gorgeous view of town from the top of Dimple Hill

Sailor waiting patiently for a liver treat. Yes. Liver. Homemade liver treats.

Sailor and Diamond running up the trail.

And then there were the blackberry bushes that I had to drag Sailor away from. We've been picking blackberry thorns out of his fur all week!

Well, I think that's it for now! 

Love,

Liz :)

Project Bags and Some Custom Spinning

I've been doing a bit more sewing to get some of the new quilted project bags up into the shop. I also wanted to send a quilted project bag to my swap partner, and packages needed to be sent out this week. So, yesterday I finished up 3 bags I had been working on, and put 2 of them in the shop and sent one to my swap partner.

The Princess and the Pea is my absolute favorite of the three bags I made:

Made with Heather Ross' original Far, Far Away fabric line on double gauze 

back of bag 

lining of the bag is quilting cotton

I put this bag up in the shop last night, and it was snatched up by someone fairly quickly. And then I got a message from someone else asking if I could make another one....I pieced together the outside today and had just enough fabric. 

Next up is a bag made from Heather Ross' Far, Far Away 2 line:

Why, yes...I am obsessed with Heather Ross fabrics.

This is the bag that's on it's way to my swap partner!

Then, for those who aren't up for all the whimsy:

This one is up for sale in the etsy shop. 

Close up of the lining

I've also been really busy working on custom spinning orders since we got back into town.

775 yards of gorgeously soft merino in sport-weight. 

Spun from roving dyed by FLUFF Fibers in colorway Greyscale.

I wish you could reach through the screen and squish those skeins. I've spun quite a bit of merino from various dyers, but this was by far the softest most lofty merino I've come across. The resulting yarn is soooo airy and light. 

250 yards of Merino/Angora (80/20) spun at a dk weight. 

Dyed by JulieSpins in colorway "Lipstick in the Snow"

The angora gave this skein a lovely, fuzzy halo and I think it's going to look awesome knit up! 

On the knitting front, I've been plugging away at a pair of Cookie A. socks, or sock rather. I'm still on the leg of the first sock. But they are going to be AWESOME when they're done. I swear. I'll try and remember to take a picture of the sock-in-progress tomorrow. 

In other news, we're expecting a SNOW STORM. A whole 2-4 inches. I've been hearing about the impending snowstorm all week on the news. Granted, many other parts of Oregon are expecting a couple of feet....but 2-4 inches on the valley floor is a huge deal. Not to mention the "Record Low Temperatures" which will be in the 20s. I'm not sure I'll ever get used to the NW making such a huge deal about temps below 30 degrees and snowfall beyond an inch! 

I'll be sure to update you about the record temperatures and crazy, debilitating snowfall! 

Love,

liz :)