Maryland Sheep and Wool

Well, I missed blogging about my trip to Rhinebeck in the fall (I know! I was there!) so I told myself I was not going to miss sharing my trip to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.

This was my first time attending this particular show and, as I did in Rhinebeck, I had family in tow. What I learned in Rhinebeck was that when visiting a festival such as this, the key was to arrive early, stay for several hours, distract toddler with sheep and dogs, eat, then head back to the hotel by nap time. This worked great in New York but unfortunately herding dogs don't have the same lure to a toddler as the agility dog demos did. 

Anyway, we drove in Friday night, had a great dinner in Frederick, then drove the remaining 40 minutes to our hotel in Lithicum which is south of Baltimore. We hit the wool festival by 9:30am and stayed until about 1. That was enough time for me to wander around, make a few purchases, and then spend a lot of time looking at sheep ("me want one, mama!"). Saturday night we had intended to attend an Orioles game, but the Orioles moved their series with the Tampa Bay Rays to Florida. So we opted to head to Annapolis Saturday night. Much fish was eaten, and it was over all a great day. 

Let me make a confession, as in Rhinebeck, I really didn't buy very much. My entire weekend yarn related purchases were under $75! In Rhinebeck I did snag a Jennie the Potter yarn bowl but what I really wanted was a mug and they were sold out by the time I got to the booth. 

For D, I purchased a really fun book that takes the reader from sheep to sweater. I love that the child in the story is helping the mother all the way along, and in the end is starting the cycle all over again. He also got a little stuffed sheep dog which we've named Dreyfuss. Please don't ask how we come up with these names. 

For me, I found a lovely pair of sterling silver wire earnings from Rajkovich Designs. They are little yarn balls and oh, so light! I normally wear studs because I don't like feeling the weight of my earrings but I can't feel these at all when I'm wearing them.

I also made a stop at the Knot House pop up shop and got a gorgeous skein of Magpie Fibers in Rhinestone Cowboy. Perfect for a new pair of socks. I also got a roll of masking tape from YOTH. Ve was there that weekend and unfortunately I missed meeting her. 

On our way out of Maryland we stopped at TOP Children's Museum in New Market (about 10 minutes east of Frederick) to let D run a little and burn off some energy. It was a fun little museum, with a reasonable ticket price. We met some friends there who live in Virginia. They have two boys, one a year older than D and one a year younger, and we hadn't seen them since before they had kids! It was great catching up and seeing our little ones play together. 

Overall a fast and furious weekend, but totally worth it. I love introducing D to the world of fiber and all the things I love about being a knitter. 

BabyDROPS Hat

I finished the little hat I was working on for D a few weeks ago. I made a few mods since I was using a heavier weight yarn called for (these are listed on my Ravelry project page, linked at the end). I keep trying to get a pic of him wearing it but he doesn't ever really want to. Call it being 2, or maybe it does really itch, but he's just not into it these days. 

Either way, this little hat has already been on adventures. The first day he wore his new hat to the babysitter's happened to be a day my husband picked him up. The hat was misplaced somehow and when it was time to go home it couldn't be found. My husband told me that they sent it home with another kid. The sitter told me it was just hidden and that my husband told her "my wife will be really mad if that hat is lost." I probably wouldn't have been "really mad", maybe only just annoyed. Hats and gloves get lost all the time around these parts. When they're worn every day it's bound to happen.  But I still think it's funny he is becoming protective of the handknits I make!

After knitting D that hat, I am getting the itch to cast on for a hat of my own. It'll probably be something simple, maybe using the Knitbot pattern I used recently. I'll be using this gorgeous skein of cormo wool I purchased from the Wooful Mercantile. It is amazingly soft and I can't wait to start knitting with it!

Pattern: BabyDROPS b14-2 (FREE pattern)

Yarn: Red Barn Yarn Powder River

Needles: US 5

Began: January 31

Completed: February 2

Ravelry Link

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Bags and Beginnings

This weekend I cast on for my new project using Dream in Color Smooshy. I'm loving the vibrancy of that blue!

Even better, I've finally had a chance to use the new bag gifted to me by friend and sample knitter Lee. Lee has been one of the fabulous sample knitters that have been working tirelessly for me over the last several months. She runs the shop Wooly Bags on Etsy. I'm so very impressed with her bag. It's fully lined with no exterior seams, and the double sided drawstring? I was so excited that she would think to share this little treasure with me! 

And these woodland creatures are just so stinking cute! I've been wanting to use it but when you knit sweaters, it's pretty hard to fit half a sweater and the yarn in a project bag. So right now, while I'm still at the beginning of this, I will use this bag as much as possible. 

I gave myself about an hour to knit yesterday then it was back to the computer. But give me a few more days and the computer work will be done (for now) and I'll be back to work on knitting something fun! 

Red Barn Yarn

Last year I got the opportunity to work with some new to me yarn, Powder River Yarn, hand dyed by Red Barn Yarn. 

This yarn has quite the story in that it is spun by Mountain Meadow Wools and is a blend of 63% Mountain Merino, 25% American alpaca, and 12% Rambouillet. This wooly blend creates a marled look when left in its natural state and takes color in a very interesting way when dyed. 

After using Mountain Meadow yarn last winter for a hat for D, I started reading more about the company and their efforts to create an American wool that focuses on sustainability.

Despite my eagerness to use this yarn, school started and at that point my schedule has a mind of its own. So finally a few weeks ago I took the time to wind up this yarn. I was initially a little annoyed as I found 2 breaks in the yarn while winding (they weren't knotted however). After I was done winding all the yarn I weighed the skeins. I've had a couple bad experiences with getting skeins from various companies that have breaks and then end up weighing less than listed on the ball band! Annoying. Despite the breaks in the yarn, this skein weighed 20 grams more than listed on the ball band. Major points! Also, the largest skein weighed over the 100 grams listed on the ball band so even though there were a couple of breaks, I still got a full skein.

After finding a hat pattern that I thought would work well for the yarn, I took the time to swatch (and for a hat! I know!). On size 6 needles I got a gauge of about 5 sts per inch. Also, because I'm annoying like that, I washed my swatch. I am pleased to say that this yarn did not bleed at all! Not even a tint in the water! 

I'm getting close to finishing this little gem and can't wait to share with you the final results. In the meantime, I would suggest checking out Red Barn Yarns. Beside the Powder River Yarn, they have a large selection of yarn bases and weights to choose from and you can order directly from their site. You can also sign up for their newsletter here or check out Mountain Meadow Wools here.

Bijou Basin Ranch Giveaway

I recently received two skeins of amazing yarn from Bijou Basin Ranch. I mean like, squealing and jumping when I pulled the yarn out of the package. So amazing!

In case you don't know about Bijou Basin Ranch, they are a family owned yak ranch located in Colorado. They sell high quality yak and yak blend yarns dyed by the people at Lorna's Laces. 

So after receiving these yarns I did what any knitter would do: I immediately started planning what I would knit with one of these lovely skeins, then I took them to my knitting group for everyone to drool over.

Today I cast on with Bijou Basin Ranch Himalayan Trail in the color Dinna Fash. This yarn is a 75/25 blend of yak and merino and is working up like a dream. The color is bright and intense, it reminds me of a peacock! I decided to make a hat for a friend, since we live in what can quickly become a very cold climate I'm hoping the yak fiber will provide some extra warmth and the merino will help the hat retain its shape.

The second skein I received is Lhasa Wilderness, a 75/25 yak and bamboo blend. I am seriously stunned at how silky this yarn is! The yarn is feather soft and the bamboo adds a really gentle sheen that makes this yarn so luxurious. I almost started knitting with this skein but thought you guys might appreciate it more. This gorgeous green color is called Lallybroch.

If you're an Outlander fan, you might be noticing a trend with the color names. Bijou Basin Ranch is doing a Countdown to Outlander celebration where for the next few weeks a select color family from their Outlandish colored yarns will be on sale for 15% off. This is a great time to pick up a few skeins of pure luxury. This week the purples are on sale. The Outlandish colors come in both the Himalayan Trail and Lhasa Wilderness. You can keep up to date with their sales by signing up for their newsletter on their website, or by following them on Twitter or Instagram.

In case I haven't used the word amazing enough in this post, the amazing people at Bijou Basin Ranch sent me two skeins so I could share with you! All you have to do to win this lovely skein of Lhasa Wilderness is leave a comment below telling me what you might make with this beautiful skein of yarn. Please be sure to leave your Rav name or email so I can contact you if you win! 

Share this on twitter and tag me @andrea_knits then come back here and leave a second comment letting me know you've done so for another entry. 

I will draw a name next week on Monday the 21st so hurry up! 

Seeing Summer

Summer is in full swing over here and so is the knitting. Being home all day has made me feel like I have to knit, knit, knit to make up for the time I don't get to during the school year. 

Just this week I cast on for a new design using Sunshine Yarns Ultraluxe Light, and ultra-luxe it is. This yarn is a merino, cashmere, and silk blend (75/15/10). I am amazed at just how silky and soft this yarn feels. While it is single spun, it is not as fuzzy as some singles can get. I cannot wait to see how the design I am working on turns out! I should mention, if you're ever curious to see what I'm working on I often post pics on Instagram @andrea_knits (it's either knitting or my kiddo, really).

If you've been thinking about summer tops to knit, I posted on the Craftsy blog this week and shared some of their fun summer top kits.

I have a really awesome giveaway for you tomorrow so keep an eye out! 

Yarn Acquisition

Because it isn't stashing when it has a purpose, right?

 

 I recently added a few new skeins to my collection that I have been meaning to and even needed to get. They are Noro Silk Garden Sock (color #308) and they will become --hopefully--eventually-- a second Sunny Spread blanket for my new neice, Drew.

 

Back when both my sister in law and I were pregnant, she had admired D's own Mini Sunny Spread. I told her if that was the blanket she liked, then that was the one I would make. Well, we all know how life gets in the way and the beginning of my year has been super busy but my goal is to make some time for this (over the summer at the latest) and get this to my niece before she's having babies of her own!

 

I've also received some to die for Dream in Color Wisp (color Tart), a 50/50 Merino and silk lace yarn. The sheen on this is incredible. It is a two ply yarn and while not as puffy as a single ply lace (think Mal Lace), it is definintely not as thin as other lace weight yarns.

 

 

This is already in the process of being turned into my newest design project that will be for adults! I am so entirely thrilled about this design! I took it over to my photographer, Marianne, today who will also be modeling this piece for me. I had been trying it on as I was knitting (top down!) but it never looked right on me since the sample is in her size (and my pre-baby size). Anyway, she tried it on and it fits her beautifully. I am thrilled beyond words! It will be out very soon (and keep an eye out since there will be a sale coming up very soon as well).



Great Lakes Fiber Festival

As I stated earlier today, it takes a true fiber lover to be able to rub wool on their face when it's over 85 degrees. My knitting group spent several hours this morning/afternoon at the Great Lakes Fiber Festival in Wooster, Ohio. I didn't have any grand plans to buy yarn but did come away with a few goodies. 

I picked up a skein of tweedy handspun from Hilltop Heritage Farm. It's 300 yards of DK weight, 70% wool and 30% mohair. It has a nice sabley look to it and I think this may become the knitted dog I referred to a couple of posts ago. I also picked up two mini-skeins of yarn in two colors I'm still low on (green and orange) from Ursula's Alcove. At a dollar each, I couldn't resist. A couple of darning needles completed my day's purchases. I know somewhere in this house there are at least half a dozen darning needles all in hiding. Now that I need one, I can't find any. Considering I just used one on Thursday, this is pretty irritating. In my mind I keep singing that Paula Cole song only changing the lyrics to "Where have all the darning needles gone?" I need to graft my I-cord edge together and the needles will come in handy. I feel like I showed a lot of restraint today and while I saw some pretties there, I came away with things I know I'll definitely use. Did anyone else happen to head over there today as well?

Stash Enhancement

No trip to California is complete without some yarn shopping. I'm sure that doesn't surprise you.  My plan was to pick up some yarn for my friend Amy as a thank you/Christmas gift. I went into each store with only her in mind but somehow a couple of skeins found their way into my suitcase.

My goal was to specifically find some worsted weight Anzula yarn (she's a dyer from Fresno, just in case you didn't know).  When I go out of town I like to buy things I can't get in Akron and this had been my plan since the beginning of December. The first yarn store I went to only carried Azula yarns in fingering weight. For me that's fine, but Amy has enough fingering weight yarn for a small army (or at least to make enough socks to warm a small army). I had promised I would look for worsted or dk weight for her. 

So instead I bought this skein of Dreamy (75/15/10 Merino, Cashmere, Silk) in the color Country Green for me. 

I bought this skein of Squishy (75/15/10 Merino, Cashmere, Nylon) in Paprika just in case I didn't get the chance to go to another yarn store before I left. I figured it was really pretty and Amy would still like it, even if it was fingering.

Of course I did make it to another yarn store where in addition to the amazing red MCN worsted weight Anzula (sorry, I didn't get any pictures of it) for Amy, I also bought two skeins of Madelinetosh Merino DK in Betty Drapers Blues. You know, one for her, one for me. I really want to start working on some socks with the new yarn but have made myself a schedule to try to stick to for the month of January. I do have a few finished items to share with you but it's been pretty cold outside so I haven't been able to take pictures yet. I'll try tomorrow, although it is my first day back at school. Does it make me greedy hoping for a snow day tomorrow?

Still Going

You know me, can't stop knitting just because I finished something. Yesterday I started and finished a new cowl for the upcoming winter. Oh yes, started and finished. At least knitting. I need to buy buttons and sew them on. Either way, it's at a wearable point now and laying to dry so it's done. The only thing missing is some pictures. The worst part of a Midwestern fall is the dreary days when there is no where near enough sunlight to get a decent photo. So instead I'll entice you with the yarn it's knitted in.

That is Misti Alpaca Chunky (I think, either that or maybe Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande).  I've said it before and I'll say it again, I think baby alpacas are my favorite kind of alpaca. And I have not just one ball of this, but seven! What makes it even better (if that's possible) is I bought this from a friend in my knitting group for ten dollars! This kind of awesome score makes knitting with this yarn even that more enjoyable.

Autumn Yarns

It seems to me that I've been in some kind of autumnal craze. I've already shared with you my love of all things pumpkin, but lately all my yarn purchases are reminiscent of a brisk fall day.

  

My most recent purchase was a gorgeous skein of The Plucky Knitter's merino/cashmere/nylon fingering weight yarn in a blazingly autumn color called Trusty Rusty. I generally have a "thing" about ordering yarn online; I like to touch and fondle the yarn before I buy. But I've heard such crazy wonderful things about The Plucky Knitter and just happened to be home during an update and have the cash in my PayPal account. Somehow this yarn jumped into my online basket and made its way over to my house. When it arrived I was stunned by its glow and sheen and am now buying into the hype.

 

The second is Barking Dog Yarns Achilles which is an 80/20 merino/nylon blend. This indie dyer is located in my hometown of Fresno. The colorway is oh-so-golden and called, what else? California (you know I couldn't pass that one up).

I'm hoping to make some very special socks for myself out of these yarns but I can't bear to wind them just yet. Are you in some sort of fall color craze too, or is it just me?

Organik

My initial plans yesterday consisted of frogging my Audrey and reskeining the yarn. However, those plans were thwarted by this:

Notice something missing?

Oh yeah, that would be the handle.

I've been following the Rocky Coast Cardigan knit-a-long in the Coastal Knits Group on Ravelry and finally decided to wind some yarn and swatch. Mid-yarn winding, snap, and the handle was off. I had a "what the?!" type of moment and called Knit Picks customer service. My new winder will be on its way tomorrow morning. Crisis averted. This of course means that I haven't frogged Audrey yet because I don't care to do that without the winder. 

In the meantime, I swatched for a couple projects and eventually cast on for the Rocky Coast Cardigan. This is going to be an open front, cabled cardigan knit out of The Fibre Company's Organik yarn in Magma.

At this point, I've knit through two skeins the Organik (pattern calls for nine) and it is working up beautifully. Once this project is done I don't know if I'll be able to sing the praises of the Organik enough! Not only is it soft, it has a really lovely sheen that kind of makes the whole thing glow. Over on the KAL forum, a lot of knitters were concerned that because this is a single spun yarn there would be a fair amount of pilling (oh, the dreaded pilling!). The designer, Hannah Fettig, recently posted on her blog information about the yarn and why this luxury yarn is also a workhorse. I was definitely sold but in case you haven't had the chance to see this yarn in real life (I know my LYS doesn't carry this) I thought I would offer you a quick comparison between the Organik and some Malabrigo Worsted.

I think it's easy to immediately see that these too are not as alike as one might initially think. Although the Organik is very light and full, you can tell that it holds together better than the Malabrigo.  I also gave both yarns a few twists in the opposite direction and the Mal unspun pretty quickly while the Organik sprung back into place.

Don't get me wrong, I love Malabrigo with the best of them but if you're considering the Organik for your sweater, it will be well worth it and I bet it will last for quite some time.

I've already divided the sleeves for my sweater and am working my way down the back. This is a cable heavy pattern (although an easy cable) and being able to cable without the cable needle makes things go much more quickly. I'm sure I'm not the only person doing this but I thought, for those out there who are interested and unsure how to go about it, tomorrow I'll post a little tutorial on how I cable without the needle.

Socks from Stash

Despite the fact that I've completed my four pairs of socks this year, there are several things that have me itching to cast on another pair. Let's start with the cooler temps (duh). Somehow, hand knit socks  just keep your feet warmer. Maybe it's the love knit into every stitch? Perhaps. This month is also Socktober. Oh, you've never heard about Socktober? Kind of like Blogtober, it's a month of sock celebration! And finally, I found a skein of sport weight yarn in some really exciting fall colors that has been lingering in the back of my stash closet for some time.

I purchased this skein back in 2009 around the same time I started knitting. I was more of an impulse buyer then, picking up skeins that just sort of caught my fancy but never with any real purpose. It was also mislabled as a 1150 yard skein of fingering weight. I think you can tell that it's not but of course, being the novice knitter I was, I read the label, had an "ooh, pretty!" moment, and made my purchase.

The company is Honeypot Yarns and I really can't find much information on them. From what I've seen on Ravelry, I believe this is their sport weight Washable Wool (250 yard skeins).  I've never heard of this dyer (before or since) and am interested to see if anyone else has. 

I really love the orange and purple tones together. Something about this color variation makes me think of falling leaves and autumn sunsets. I can't wait to cast on but I'm so close to finishing my Audrey in Unst that I'm going to plow away on that first. Wish me luck!

Just Stuff

Just thought I'd give you a quick update on what's going on around here. This past week has been super busy with work stuff and I still have my sample knit on the needles, so there isn't anything finished quite yet. I am almost done, however, and I can guarantee you this is going to be another fabulous and comfy knit from Hannah.

 

This was also a great week for mail because I won a great new crochet book by Linda Permann on Robyn Chachula's blog, Crochet by Faye. When I got my package I found that Robyn had included a skein of Spud & Chloe Outer in the color Sandbox! I love Spud & Chloe so I'll have to brainstorm something fun for this skein.

 

I also received a wonderful birthday package from my online friend and blogger, Zina at His Glory Hand Knits. In it was a great skein of fingering weight yarn she had hand dyed herself as well as a little project notebook and some really darling stitch markers. I felt very spoiled!

 

To top it all off, guess what I found this morning?

Free to a Good Home

Because I sure don't know what to do with them.

Email me if interested.

Breezy Cardigan

I know a lot of you have been fawning over this picture of Hannah Fettig's lattest design, Breezy Cardigan. Well, it's available now and you know what that means...

I can finally share my sample knit with you! 

The Breezy Cardigan has to be my favorite design of hers yet. The length is great for both the sleeves and body. I knit this on 3.5mm (#4) needles to get gauge and was suprised by how quickly the body came together. I think it's because of the stockinette that you can just knit away and then all of a sudden look down and have four inches complete. 

The hardest part for me was the sleeves. I know I get a different gauge in the round than flat so I always change needle size but I was still having a problem getting the correct gauge. I finally got gauge but then started having trouble with ladders! I had to restart the first sleeve several times but eventually got going with magic loop. I think I knit one sleeve on the way to California in March, and the other on the return flight to Ohio. After fighting with and finishing the sleeves, the ribbing was no sweat.   

Assuming that I find time to knit something else for myself this summer it's definitely going to be a second Breezy Cardigan.  I have already picked out the yarn, too. I may have mentioned that I start tossing the phrase "it's my birthday!" around when it gets within a week of the actual day. So in order to celebrate last week, I bought myself a skein of Wool Candy Souffle, a 70/20/10 alpaca, silk, cashmere blend. The sheen on this is unbelievable. 

Hello, gorgeous.

Tidy Mind, Tidy Stitches

2KCBWDAY3

 I've been a little afraid of today's post. The topic for today is to share how you organize your yarn and I'm not what most would call organized. I am to some extent, but not as much as I would like. Yes, I have all my yarn listed on Ravelry, but I like lists. And that's about where it ends. 

So I'm going to just do it. I just went ahead, walked upstairs and took a few quick (yet surprisingly painful pictures) of where my yarn is stored (and I threw up a quick thank goodness that I had put all my yarn away before I went on my trip last week).

My main yarn storage space is in the closet of my guest bedroom (I urge all guests to not hang anything up, or even open the closet for that matter). It is stored in bags and boxes next to an old (unused) vacuum and my wedding dress (as well as other various boxes from when I moved in 4 years ago, but those are out of sight). The doors to this closet generally stay open and the bedroom itself is used only a few times a year.

Now let's break it down:

In this blue storage box you can see much of my acrylic stash. This is mostly unused and from over a year ago. I also have extra small project bags in here. Hmm, now I feel like going and organizing it. Oh! And that's my niddy noddy made out of PVC pipe in the background.

 

These are some of my yarn bags. You can get a glimpse of the yarn for my Essential Cardigan (when I finally get back around to working on it), the yarn for the Audrey in Unst cardigan (when I get around to actually starting it), some Fibre Company Organik, and three bags full (I know!) of Classic Elite Fresco in an burnt orange type shade. 

 

And finally, the enormous vacuum sealable bag which basically holds the rest of my yarn stash. I would say most of what I acquired in my first year of knitting is in there, after that, well, I've shown you the overflow.

This is the little basket, in the guest bedroom as well, where I keep the leftover bits of yarn. I mean really? Does anyone throw away yarn if you still have a gram or more left? I don't. I think it may be an obsessive compulsive sort of thing. 

 

My final yarn storage space is in this wicker laundry basket I bought at Michael's years ago for $5. This basket is in the dining room in the corner next to where I like to sit at work at the table. Lately, this bag has been holding any new yarn arrivals that come into the house. I also have all my mini-skeins down here. I brought them down from upstairs one day to kind of sort through them and they haven't made it back up yet. There's also a couple projects in this basket, the beginnings of the Essential Cardigan and the School Sock, I think.

See, now aren't you proud of how honest I was? I do care for my yarn. I keep most in their plastic bags or move them in with another yarn to share its bag.  I would love to have all my yarn organized in neat bins or on a shelf in a brightly lit room but let's call a spade a spade. That's just not how I roll.