Peaceful Knitter

Well, it happened again.  I went out of town and this whole blogging thing really slipped my mind.  Of course, I didn’t take my laptop to Tennessee, assuming our cabin in the mountains would not have any sort of Internet connection.  Knitters, was I wrong!  Not only did this place have wireless, it had a hot tub, a flat-screen television in every bedroom, and super comfy beds.  This was not exactly what I had pictured when we decided to join in on a family reunion in the Great Smoky Mountains!

At sunrise

I took a new knitting project along with me, hoping to have a break through and get excited about knitting again.  To do this, I turned to an old friend, Ishbel.  Though I had made the pattern before, it turned out a little small and I wanted to try again in a bigger size.

Time spent away from TV and the Internet left me with plenty of moments with the kids, or knitting on the porch in a rocking chair enjoying the Sha-Kon-O-Hey of the smoky blues.  I was able to finish the stockinette portion of Ishbel and was feeling pretty excited about it.

Then I got home and back onto Ravelry and well…let’s just say I got distracted.  Add the bible of fall knitting, Interweave Knits, into the mix and I am in a conundrum.  What to knit?  I feel uninspired by socks for the moment, something I didn’t think I’d say just a few months ago.  The overwhelming urge to knit anything for baby hasn’t hit yet, though I keep looking at patterns and my stash… That leaves me thinking maybe I should knit myself a cardigan for fall/winter, something that buttons at the top and drapes open a la Juliet, Shalom, or Liesl.  Any suggestions?

And just for fun:

Giant pickle at Dollywood…who could resist?

Have a great weekend, y’all!

It’s that time again, folks…Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin’ Sock Club time, that is!

After 3 shipments, I have felt mixed emotions over the idea of the sock club.  There have been highs: the first shipment was a perfect harmony of yarn, pattern, and challenges.  There have been lows: the next two shipments were both partial misses. Shipment 2 was a great pattern but I was underwhelmed with the yarn, and shipment 3 had great yarn, but much too dark for the season and the pattern.

As for this month’s shipment, I am still undecided.  We’ve only known each other an hour or two, and first impressions can be a bit off sometimes.  I’ll let you decide for yourselves, after a buffer photo, of course.

Shoshone Falls, Idaho

After receiving a dark mauve/purple yarn in the last shipment, I wasn’t sure if I could count on summery colors this time.  Fortunately, they are as hot and bright as summer.

• Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock lightweight in Garden Daze

With colors ranging from neon yellow, celery green and fuchsia to a more sober forest green and violet red this has all the heat of a July afternoon.  And in case you can’t quite picture how all those seemingly disparate colors will knit up, there’s the mini skein and pattern photo to ponder.

So far I am loving this yarn and feel just so so about the pattern.  The best thing about it for me at this point in time is that it’s a relatively straightforward anklet.  That means I might actually finish them in a reasonable amount of time.  There’s an interesting cast on and some funky cables at the cuff to keep things fresh.  But then I feel sort of “Bleh” when I look at it.  Perhaps this yarn might be better suited for some funky Monkey socks, or a pair of Leyburns?  What do you think?

This is the first is a series I’m going to call Oh Baby! for all the baby knitting I’ve been doing of late.  It seems like I’ve got a friend having a baby every month for the next 5 months or so, which means many mini knits.

The first is for a little girl due in July.  As much as I think I want to fight gender specific colors when picking out baby gifts, this yarn was just too good to ignore.  It’s been in my stash for a bit, and seemed like the perfect colorway for a baby girl born in the heat of summer.

Pattern: Baby Stuff, free Ravelry download

Yarn: Shibui Knits sock yarn in color 4201, approximately 160 yards

Needles: US size 2 double points

Mods: Made an i-cord topper with the last 4 stitches.  Because babies need funny things sticking up off the tops of their hats.

This is a quick and fun set to make.  The mitts were especially fast, and I hope they come in handy (hehe) for the little one.  The whole thing took about 1/2 a skein, so a great use of leftover bits of sock yarn.

So, one baby gift down, 3 or 4 more to go.  And then there’s this:

My Peaceful baby is due on New Year’s Day.  I feel like one lucky knitter to be having a winter baby!  Bring on the wee hats, sweaters, and booties!  Any suggestions for great gender-neutral knitting patterns?

My mailbox has been bustling with wonderful boxes full of goodies.  One is something I won on a blog giveaway, the other a gift from a friend halfway around the world.  I tell, you there’s nothing like receiving a box of special treats; I plan on sending out some care packages in the very near future to pass on this great feeling.

First, I was the lucky winner of a blog giveaway last month at Knitting Siamese. There were great things in the package, the highlight of which was a skein of Malabrigo sock yarn in Abril.

I also love the project bag, which of course features a slinking Siamese cat…

These lovelies arrived the day before I left town, so I didn’t get much time to fully appreciate them.  Rest assured, time was spent yesterday petting the Malabrigo and finding an appropriate new knitting project for that bag.

And when I returned from my vacation, I was delighted to find a stamp-covered package all the way from Hekiknits in Australia!  She and I have been friends through a mutual group on Ravelry, and have really supported each other through some ups and downs.  I feel very fortunate to have a pen pal like her, especially now that she’s sending me yarn and chocolate!

I love tasting treats from other countries.  Apparently there’s a method of eating one of these cookies called the “Tim Tam Slam” that I need to try out immediately!  What are some goodies from America that I can send her way?

Now that we’re back home, things are settling in to a nice summer routine.  So far this has included some knitting, yard work, Sweetie making dinner, and general sorting out of the household affairs.  Good, normal life stuff that is making me feel very content.  Especially around dinner time when a plate of food magically appears in front of me!  How is your summer shaping up?