Yarn Along

Thank you all for your lovely comments on this little dress last week! 

It took me a little time to figure out the next pattern to knit, but I settled on some bunnies, using this chart I found on Ravelry.

In reading news, The Elder has been re-reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret, and since it was out, I picked it up too.

What a beautiful book. So intricately written, and the illustrations are magnificent.

What's on your needles today? 

Joining Ginny, Nicole and Christina.

Yarn Along

Today is the first time in a while that I have both been at my computer on Wednesday morning, and had something fun to share.
So, here is what I have been yarning lately

I have been able to make some progress on the little sweater for The Youngest in the past few weeks.
I haven't decided yet whether to go all the way to dress length, or just keep it simple.
What's on your needles today?
Joining Ginny (p.s., Ginny has a new wee bairn at her house, he's pretty sweet)

KCCO and Yarn Along

With Nicole, and Ginny respectively.
I have been doing a lot of knitting this past week, though you wouldn't necessarily know it if you looked at the red sweater.
It's currently in a state of having to be ripped back a few rows.
This is the second time I have done a bonehead thing on my Grettir.
I'm in the waist decrease section and after the first decrease I increased and then didn't realize it for 7 rows or so.
Then after I got that straightened out, I halved the number of rows between decreases and didn't realize it for 12 rows, and so now I have to rip back and try again.
It's nice that I am messing up now, though, since when I get into the patterned yoke it will be much more annoying to pull out multiple colors, so hopefully I have gotten it all out of my system.

While I was at the Fair this weekend I got some nice progress made on that little impromptu sweater for The Youngest.
I may have to refine the shoulder decreases, and I will probably pick up for ribbing on the bottom when I have the rest of it finished, but it's coming along.
I will probably spend most of my knitting time working on Grettir, but I think I can set a deadline of early fall for myself.

I haven't been able to do much non-Aran-related reading lately, but I did read a chapter of Zealot the other day. It's quite interesting.

What's new on your work table?

Crafting

I have been very busy with lots of crafting lately.

The fall classes at The Yarnery are coming up and I have been working on models and practicing techniques for a few weeks.
There is a scarf for a kids weaving class, the red sweater is Grettir, which is the subject of a class on patterned yoke knitting, the little needle-felted purple person is a fairy in the works.
I have seen patterns for doll embellishments using silk flowers, and I have an idea to make wings from those petals. I haven't figured it out completely, but it's fun to putter.
In addition I have been asked to make a presentation about Aran knitting at the Irish Fair next weekend, so I have a swatch working for that.
I have been reading lots and lots about Aran knitting, both online and in books, I have a stack of knitting books about cabling and Aran history that I have been poring over.
My favorite is Aran Knitting by Alice Starmore.

She starts the book (which is full of sweater patterns and cable charts) with almost a dissertation on the history of Aran knitting. It's fascinating!
I also started reading Zealot.

Can I say it's mostly because I developed a little crush on Reza Aslan?
I'm not far into it, but I love the idea of delving into the historical context of the New Testament.
What are you creating lately?
I am joining up with Nicole this morning, you should head over there too and see all the crafty goodness!
Joining with Ginny too!

Yarn Along

It's Wednesday, so that means it's time to Yarn Along with Ginny.
I've been absent for a little while, it's been a wild few weeks of lots of work and a little play in there too.

I have reached my limit on boring stockinette on my Gnarled Oak sweater. One sleeve is finished, and I have the other one on the needles, but it's on hold right now so I can make a model for the yarn store where I work. 

This is the Chevron Baby Blanket from Espace Tricot, and I am knitting with Blue Sky Alpaca Worsted Cotton. It's dreamy.

A Dance With Dragons is still my go-to book when I have a moment here or there, but I am not making too much progress.

         

What's on your needles today?
Head on over to Ginny's to see more knitting and books.

Yarn Along

Time to Yarn Along with Ginny.
I'm quite excited to say that I have made a little progress on the yoke of a sweater that's been on the needles for a long, LONG time.
I started it 3 years ago, and just haven't had the right recipe for the yoke.
I've started it 3 times, with 3 different patterns. I thought about designing it myself, and was too busy to sit down and do it.
Then, last week I spotted a darling sweater on Ravelry with a sweet patterned yoke. I thought I had better just jump in or I would never get it finished.

It's taken a little fudging to get my already established pattern to gel with the chart from the Drops cardi, but I think I have it in the right place now.
So, a few minutes stolen here and there and I should be able to make some headway this week!
I haven't had much time to devote to A Dance with Dragons lately, but I have read Blueberries for Sal about 10 times in the past few days. It's a good thing that book never gets old.

What's on your needles lately?

Yarn Along

It's Wednesday, and that means it's time to Yarn Along with Ginny!
The Younger requested a hat that looks like a cat. We went to the Yarnery and he chose his own yarn, and now I am about 2/3 of the way through. It came out just a bit short, so I'll add some ear flaps after I get the cat ears done on the top.
Also, this week, I did a little revision on the hair of this dolly. To make her hair I crocheted a circle of mohair and attached it to her head. It came out a little renaissance looking -

so I gave her some buns and softened the lines around her face.

In reading news, I finished up Bossypants, it was (unsurprisingly) hilarious.
I was laughing so hard at one point I had to put down the book and take a break.
Now I'm back into A Dance with Dragons.
It's the last book in the series for now, and I don't want to finish it too quickly, but I really want to know what's going to happen to all of my favorite characters!
Joining Ginny this morning, head over there to see more knitting fun and great book suggestions.

Yarn Along

Yarn Along day! I have missed joining in with the great folks out here.

I have been knitting a sweater from Coastal Knits - The Rocky Coast Cardigan. (you can see it there on the cover) the yarn is Peruvia from Berocco, and I am enjoying the knit. Coastal Knits is really fun to read as well. The authors, Hannah Fettig and Alana Dakos write lovely essays about their neighborhoods and favorite places along their coasts.

My daughter and I are reading The Black Stallion for our Mother/Daughter book club. I was a big fan of the movie when I was young, but I haven't seen it for many years. The book is really exciting! Lots of action, the characters are well-formed, the story is interesting. I would totally recommend it.
Happy Yarn Along, and Happy New Year!

What I Made in 2012

Well, here it is December 31st, time for the retrospective of the year.

This post will be dedicated to things that I made in 2012. 

I was feeling a little unproductive, so it's nice to see that I did actually finish something this year. Unfortunately, as I look at this mosaic I also see some things that I did not finish (the granny square afghan), or finished and took out (the blue vest with the lace yoke), or finished and then it broke (the Hello Kitty backpack), or finished and then never learned to use properly (the spinning wheel).
Even with all of those less-than-successful items on the list, the most successful was the sweet Youngest up there in row 2 in the right-most photo. I can safely blame any unproductive time on the hours upon hours of baby-worship that went on this year.
What great things happened to and for you in 2012?

Yarn Along

Today's Yarn Along is more of a Thread Along since sewing has been foremost on my plate lately.
We're celebrating Halloween today, as many of you are as well, and I had a little last minute sewing to buzz through this morning.
The Younger has a costume that he saw at Menards a month or so ago, a faceless ghoul, which I would be happy to let him wear to school today but, unfortunately, there are no scary or violent costumes at school.
So, instead, he'll go as a dragon this afternoon and change for trick-or-treating tonight.
We didn't have a dragon costume, per se, but we did have a stegosaurus costume that my Mom made for my brother many years ago.
The Younger has worn it a few times, and it's adorable.

 So, rather than re-invent the wheel, or dragon, I made some wings this morning.

 I found possibly the last wire hanger in the house and stuck it through the wings to give them a little structure,

 In an update from last week's Keep Calm and Craft On, I finished my shoes.
They fit o.k., they're fine for inside stuff, I wore them for ECFE where I spent the whole time on the floor and they worked great for that.

 As far as knitting goes, I finished up one leg on the doll that I started two weeks ago, and the red is the beginning of her dress.

 Gratuitous cuteness of the Youngest and the Elder all dressed up for Halloween.

Be safe and eat lots of candy, All!

Yarn Along

Yarn Along day!
I re-knit the first slipper for the Elder and ran out of yarn a third of the way into the second, since I had used up so much yarn in my first try.
Since I was in a knitterly place I started on a shop model for the yarn store - a doll from Knitted Dolls by Arne & Carlos.
The dolls in this book are really cool; the construction, the design aesthetic, their names, the whole book is fun from start to finish.

I'm reading The Mysterious Island right now. I had always wanted to try a novel by Jules Verne, though I had heard that his writing was pretty dense, and when I saw this was one of the free books on the Kindle I thought this might be the time to read one.
It's been a fun read so far. The story is about a group of civil war-era prisoners of war who escape the Confederates in Richmond in a balloon and are caught up in a hurricane and land on a mysterious island, though I haven't seen what makes the island so mysterious yet I think it may be dinosaurs...
This here happened right after I took the first photo -

The Youngest is working on her mobility lately, and the knitting was too tempting for her to hang out with her appropriate toys.

What's on your needles today?

Craft On and Yarn Along

Keeping Calm and Crafting On today with Nicole.

As well as Yarn-ing Along with Ginny.

Thank you all for your supportive comments last week.

I love the way it feels like hanging out, chatting with neighbors, here. 

Even if you're all around the country and the world.

I haven't finished up with the dolly's hair, I had one idea, and then I had a completely different idea, which would involve some extra work but might be more effective in the long run. Still percolating on that one...

This week I am doing a little weaving. 

We had a weaving meeting at the Yarnery the other day, and it was suggested that we need more woven models up in the store.

I jumped at the chance to bring out the loom. 

Even though I did weave a blanket for The Youngest before she was born, it's been quite some time since I used the rigid heddle loom.

 It's nice and compact, and even with a sniffly baby needing most of my time and attention, I have been making some good progress.
It looks a little wonky right now, but I'm sure it'll shake out in the blocking.
I'm still not reading anything, unless you count night-time with the kids where we're cookin' along with The Goblet of Fire.
To help out with our efforts to scale back the spending, we're no longer eating out, and so I have also been spending a lot of quality time with my favorite new-ish cookbook Time for Dinner.

What's on the scene in your crafty world today?

Baby in Progress

If I have ever needed a time to Keep Calm and Craft On it's now.
It's been a little stressful here at the fifthlampdown house the last few weeks, mainly money woes which, as I have stated often, are for the birds.
Nothing that we can't weather, but unpleasant nonetheless.
Craft Therapy is here for me through it all, which is pretty good.
I made some good progress on the felted dolly for The Youngest, and I was able to felt and stuff it yesterday and today.
I have some interesting hair plans, which I hope come to fruition, and I will share as they develop.

As I said in my Yarn Along post last week, this pattern is really fun and if you've made socks or a hat in your life you can (and should) make this doll.

Yarning Along as well, and I have to say that I haven't read a word all week, if you don't count blogs.
I have, instead, been fascinated by this whirlwind of developing baby goodness.

What's on your needles today?

Yarn Along

Yarning along today, it's been a little while.
Today I have been finalizing my lesson plans for my classes at Choir School which starts tomorrow.
There's not much that's more fun than going through my library of music books to choose songs to sing with my little friends.
I also started reading In the Lake of the Woods for my book club. I am not very far into it, but the writing is engaging so far.

I have been knitting away at the dolly for The Youngest.
If you've ever made a hat and socks this doll is for you. The rear end is exactly like turning a heel on a sock, and the foot actually is a sock.
At this point the doll is the same size as The Youngest, so it should be a nice size for hugging after it has been felted.
What's on your needles today?

Yarn Along

Yarn Along time!
I started reading A Little Princess this week with the Elder.
She had a terrible Monday. She caught some kind of stomach virus and was quite green and weak all evening.
While she nestled in on the couch with her bowl we watched The Secret Garden together (what a movie) and when I asked if she would like to hear the book she asked if we could start with A Little Princess instead (also a beautiful movie).
We got through 3 chapters while she was in the bath, and we did another today.
The knitting is a doll for the Youngest.
It will probably be a Christmas present.
It's a Waldorf-style felted doll that I saw on Ravelry and fell in love with.
Head over to Ginny's and see what's on everyone's needles.

Keep Calm and Craft On/ Yarn Along

Joining Nicole and Ginny today.
Last weekend a friend of mine got married.
It was a second marriage for both of them, and since they would be combining their two established households choosing a present to get them was a little challenging. Who needs one more crystal vase?
So instead, I made them a milk jug cover.

It began as a circle of linen (hence the wrinkles), I used an 8" round cake pan for a template.
Then I did a single crochet around the edge with crochet cotton, folding the edge of the linen under as I went.
Next, I went around with a couple more rounds of crochet, and then beaded each point so that the cover would have some weight and won't be blown away if they decide to use this outside.

I finished up with a monogram of the happy couple's initials.
I wasn't actually able to finish this up by the wedding (she sheepishly admits) but it'll be on its way to the newlyweds tomorrow.
I am reading a new book, The End of Illness by David Agus.
It's full of great information, but the writing is pretty dry, and occasionally feels like a corporate seminar.
Dr. Agus is an oncologist, and though he keeps saying that the book is not about cancer, it's been mostly about cancer so far.
I read this amazing article today about a possible new treatment for cancer without chemotherapy.
Awe-inspiring times we live in.

What are you crafting today?

Yarn Along

Joining Ginny, though I think I may be cheating a little...
I haven't been doing that much knitting, but I did do a little hand-sewing tonight.
The Youngest is growing like a little smiley, chubby weed, and she has grown out of a bunch of her clothes.
I was a little sad when she grew out of her latest sleeper, so I decided to convert it into a little dolly so we could hang on to it.
This little star baby is inspired by a pattern in Nature Babies.
I like to use baby socks for doll heads.
They come in great colors, and I always seem to have a big pile of single socks when I finish folding the laundry.

I started reading a new book this week too.
My parents gave me Animal, Vegetable, Miracle for my birthday.
It's a great read so far.
What's on your needles tonight?

Building and Yarn Along

Hello Yarn-Along-ers and Craft-On-ers,
I haven't done too much knitting this week, I have been too excited about the prospect of building my own Spinning Wheel!
This spinning wheel has been on my radar for a long time, years maybe, and I spent last summer picking up pieces that I thought would work to assemble my own. I may someday still go ahead with that plan, I love the look of a Charka and it would be pretty portable.
However, since I saw the $7.00 Spinning Wheel last week I decided to have a go at that one.
On Sunday we went to the hardware store and bought wood and a bunch of little metal pieces, and a fun new tool. Once we got home, I did a bunch of cuts with my miter saw to get the pieces that I will need.
This afternoon I spent some time on the front lawn with the Elder and the Younger, the Youngest was taking a lovely nap, and we sanded the rough edges on the many little pieces needed for the spinning wheel.

 (we used the cradle as a tote to bring the pieces up from the work bench to the lawn)

After a little bit of sanding, the kids decided that it would be more fun to just build castles with the pieces, and we added a few other things, like some empty cigar boxes.

 (The Younger thought this one looked like a robot.)

(This is the Elder's attempt at the tallest castle she could build. I love the negative space diamonds.)

Super fun, and now we're one step closer to having a spinning wheel! A little regular work to do first, but hopefully this week we can begin assembly.
Happy Yarn Along and Keep Calm Craft On swept me up today too!
What's on your creative plate today?

Yarn Along (completely inappropriate to the weather edition)

Yarning  Along with Ginny.
I finished the body of my Ariana Shell tonight, and now all that's left is a little ribbing at the armholes and the neckline.
The weather, as I mentioned in the title, is not at all conducive to trying on or modeling a wool sweater, sleeveless though it is, today's high was 98 or so and they predict 105 degrees tomorrow. It felt a little silly to be working on it in this weather, but I was teaching a class this evening and I always like to bring along my knitting so I can demonstrate techniques.

I am still reading How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm, and it's still really interesting.
I don't know if I love the writing, unfortunately.
The author refers to her husband babysitting her daughter, as though it's not just that he's parenting just like her...
She also refers to some practices of folks around the world as amusing, which doesn't seem the most objective adjective to use.
Picky things, I'm enjoying the information so much that I am trying to ignore these little things, but they creep up on me and annoy.
What are you reading today?
I think it'll be time for a new book for me soon.

Yarn Along

I have been clicking along on the Ariana Shell. Only about an inch to go in the body.
These 14 inches of stockinette feel like they've taken forever, but it's a nice project to bring wherever I happen to be (park, backyard, on a walk) and just knit, knit, knit without thinking.
I have been flipping through Anne of Ingleside this week.
It's an episodic story line, so I can just pick it up anytime and jump right in.
What's in your reading list this week?

Head on over to Ginny's to see more great reads and cozy knits.