Hand Knitting Blog & Knitting Patterns
To say I’m thrilled is an understatement! Way back in February I was making swatches for this hat.
I’ve been living life lately instead of documenting it – but stay tuned and I’ll share my process – how I came up with this design, called on Ravelry #07 Fair Isle Hat.
Here’s a hint: I swatched!!!
I feel so lucky I was able to teach at Squam again this year. It was every wonderful thing that had I remembered and looked forward to. Relaxing and stimulating at the same time. It’s a time to hang out with colleagues I often get to see only in passing at other events. There’s a buzzing energy from many many makers. I made new friends – teachers, vendors and students alike! Squam is really what you make it, what you want it to be and what you need it to be at the moment. During the opening ceremony Elizabeth, the vital force behind Squam, encouraged us to honor our “yes” – do what we really want to do, and if that means lounging on the dock all day and skipping class fine, no worries.
Squam takes place at Deephaven Rockywood Camps on beautiful pristine Squam Lake in New Hampshire. Tempting as the dock is, and we had PERFECT weather, I love to teach and was eager to get to class each day. You can see the beautiful work my students produced.
I tailored the class so participants could assemble a “Squam Edition” mitt, with motifs of flora and fauna found around the idyllic setting, but charmingly everyone wanted to make the tried and true “class mitt”. I love that!
The cabin I shared with other fiber friends was rustic and wonderful. I come from a long line of “rusticators” who believe when you go away from the city you should stay in a shack with no electricity. We did have electricity and running water hot and cold, but the cabin was old New England Camp style. There were cut out silhouettes of fish that had been caught over the years with length, weight, bait used and the date. 1933 was the earliest I spotted.
At night we had a fire, roasted marshmallows and made smores!
Even cloudy mornings were lovely!
It was wonderful being in the woods again. I felt well enough to hike Rattlesnake Mt. with Gudrun Johnston …though not at my regular speed and I needed a nap afterward!
I worked on a “secret not so secret” Plöulopi sweater and a new pair of my Maritime Mitts for the KAL going on now.
First Prize revealed today!!!!
Congratulations Sue (aka breadwoman on Ravelry) ! You posted the first Finished Object! You get to choose any one of my pattern’s offered for sale in my Ravelry shop.
Join the Maritime Knit KAL! June 1- August 1.
Going forward every Wednesday through July 27 we’ll draw one lucky winner from those of you who sign up. Winners will get their choice of a pattern from my Ravelry shop for free.
A grand prize – my book Fair Isle Style – will be awarded by random drawing from the FO posted by August 1st, the final day of the KAL.
Sign-ups are ongoing, to sign up and find out all the deets go to the Maritime Mitts KAL: Info Only thread in my Ravelry group.
I’ll have some silly surprise prizes too so stay in touch!
Mitts Ahoy!
Let the Maritime Mitts KAL begin!
Check out the Maritime Mitts thread in my Ravelry group. My friend Janet and I will be hosting the event.
• KAL ends on August 1, 2016.
• To join, you will need to purchase the Maritime Mitts pattern, create a project page, and tag your project with maritimemittskal (so that all of the KAL projects appear on one gallery page).
• There will be a WIP thread (for in-progress photos, questions, and general good times) and an FO thread (photos of finished Maritime Mitts only, please; no chatter).
• There will be a prize awarded each week AND a Grand Prize at the conclusion of the KAL!
• To be eligible, you must post on the WIP thread and tag your project maritimemittskal; for the Grand Prize, post your completed mitts on the FO thread by August 1.
• Please share your Maritime Mitts on other social media such as Instagram, using the hashtag #maritimemittskal
Feel free to use the photo above as a placeholder on your project page
• If you live in the Chicago area, we will be having a Knitche Marimetimemitts in-store KAL. Please join us!
• The KAL overlaps with my traveling schedule at certain points, so Janet will be holding down the fort; her Ravelry name is jbwb. She’s a wonder and will be able to answer any of your questions when I’m not available.
OK!!!! Cast On!!!
Hello everybody! I’ve been feeling a little better lately. I’ve even begun to knit again. I’m trying to catch up on knitting obligations, but then – impulse strikes and out of the blue I knit myself fingerless mitts.
If you follow me on instagram you know I went to the beach a few days ago while my darling dog Leelee was in town. Although it was warm and sunny, the breeze made it cool enough for me to wish for a pair of mitts. I guess that’s what happened.
In a perfect world I want a really stellar photo. It’s raining today, I don’t have a car and to go to the nearest beach is a soggy proposition. I wanted a nice yachty, salty, beachy image. But I decided I wouldn’t let that stop me and I published Maritime Mitts to Ravelry anyway. Mitts Ahoy!
Another thought … my friend Janet and I were discussing KALs and how it would be nice to have a summer one and she mentioned mitts as a perfect project.
• quick to knit
• easy to carry along
• stash-buster
• interesting to knit
• perfect for gift giving
• some folks even need them in the summer – I certainly do!
So why not? Are any of you game? Edited to say – YES! We’re doing a Maritime Mitt KAL! #maritimemittsKAL Begin June 1, details in my Ravelry group.
This is me last summer at Giant’s Stairs on Bailey Island. Shortly after this picture was taken I went in! One of the best swims I’ve ever had…but after leaving the water I needed mitts!
Maritime Mitts deets:
Finished Size About 7½ inches in circumference and 6¾ inches tall.
For larger or smaller mitts, change your needle size accordingly.
Yarn Quince & Co. Lark 100% Wool 134yds [123m/50g]; MC – Pea Coat (Navy), CC – Egret (White), 1 skein each. Requires around 109 yds [100m] MC and 55 yds [50m] CC.
Needles Double pointed needles; US 3 (3.25mm) for ribbing and stripes ,US 4 (3.5mm) for colorwork section. Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain the correct gauge.
Instructions are written for using dpns in the round, magic loop method is also fine if that is your preferred method for working in the round.
For help with using the waste yarn in the Thumb Placement, see my tutorial Waste Yarn What Yarn? For help with the Thumbs, see my tutorial All Thumbs.
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/wildflowers-cap
You may have already heard the news, one of my favorite people in the world, Carrie Bostick Hoge, has started a new bi-annual magazine for knitters and makers called Making. In her own words, she describes the impulse for her new endeavor:
“The act of making helps to connect us to the past, knowing that many craft skills were practiced daily out of necessity. We also connect to our present, as we stop to slow down and enjoy the work at hand, leaving behind the stress of our busy days. And, possibly at the heart of our creations, is the future. As the sweater we knit or the blanket we quilt becomes an heirloom for our family to use, enjoy, and pass down to the next generation. Circling back and tying us to the past. All these connections are equally important and help to bring meaning and value to the beauty and utility we make.”
Making future heirlooms, but really who cares if the result is perfect, we’re actually making future memories! Live your making in the moment.
I’m so lucky to have been able to contribute to the first issue, Flora. I made the Wildflowers Cap seen above. The spring comes late in Maine, and the first flowers are little blue ones. I chose a traditional stylized Scandinavian floral motif, one of my favorites. I love how it looks so modern, yet the beauty of the yarn brings the feeling of something you’ve always had in the closet…The yarn is Fancy Tiger Craft’s Heirloom Romney …
There’s a great selection of knitting patterns in the magazine all beautifully photographed by Carrie. I love how she paired my hat with her own Branches and Buds, a yoked pullover.
But besides knitting there’s quilting, sewing, crochet, cross stitch, block printing, needle felting and even flower crown making! We all need a flower crown sometimes!
All of these things take time, and we need to take the time. Even if we just look at the pretty pictures, it’s nice to take the time for ourselves. It makes us more able to take time with others if we’ve relaxed with just our self. This is a lesson I had to learn the hard way!
You can buy individual copies through the new Making website, hurry before they sell out! I heard the first batch will ship very very soon!
FLORA, the Spring issue, includes knit designs by Carrie Bostick Hoge, Susan B. Anderson, Hannah Fettig, Mary Jane Mucklestone, Melissa LaBarre, Cecily Glowik MacDonald, and Dawn Catanzaro.
Other contributions from Kristine Vejar, Carolyn Friedlander, Anna Graham, Alicia Paulson, Cal Patch, Kim Hamlin, Eliza Jane Curtis, Hillary Lang, Beatrice Perron Dahlen, Lori Ann Graham, Nicole Dupuis, David Iovino, and Trey Hughes.
A stellar crew!!!!
Thank you to everyone who helped me get well! All your kind wishes really helped my recovery. I’m much much better. I can actually read! I can walk without having to take a nap right afterwards, or sleep the entire next day.
I’m really sorry about having to cancel so many events. I’m still very nervous about having a re-lapse, so I have to take it very easy. If I get too tired, or worn out I’ll have to look at my schedule and see if I am up to all my obligations. I know now, it is better to bow out if I’m feeling ill. I think that was the shocker for me, I didn’t really feel ill, until I was totally sick. I hope I’ve learned to notice the warning signs.
I’m going to try and blog a little so you know I’m not dead. Today is a celebration of boots! These were taken a couple of years ago at the annual sheep round-up and shearing on Nash Island Maine. The sheep are the ones that grow the fleece for Nash Island Light by Starcroft Fiber Mill, the yarn I used for my lace up pullover Nash Island.
In action!
