Introducing: the Ladybug!

November 29, 2012remilyknits 2 Comments

The other day at the yarn shop, I received my check for two patterns that will be in the Spring 2013 Classic Elite Collection. I jumped up and down and danced around the shop, clutching the check to my chest. This was my spinning wheel money!

I have quite enjoyed spinning yarn on the drop spindle. The rhythm of drawing out roving is meditative and satisfying. However, holding the spindle up in the air is tiring, and it is frustrating to have to stop spinning when the strand is as tall as me. I also ran into trouble as I filled the spindle with finely-spun yarn — the strand began to break under the weight of the already-spun fiber. Plying was also a chore, to say the least. It took me a week to spin through four ounces of roving, and (trust me) I was spinning all the time.

In short, I was quite certain a spinning wheel was in my future. I did my research, and settled on a Ladybug (by Schacht). I ordered the wheel, the attached Lazy-Kate kit, and the high-speed whorl with two high-speed bobbins. I bought the wheel from The Woolery, in part because they offered free shipping. Also, I used their website extensively to help me decide which wheel would be right for me. They also give you a choice of either a $25 gift card for a future purchase, or a “Beginner’s Kit” with a niddy-noddy and a bag of practice wool. I decided the niddy-noddy and practice wool would be more immediately useful, and placed my order!

(We shall not mention the week of stalking the UPS.com website.)

Here’s my box, complete with glowing-eyed canine guardians:

I love first peek into a box — almost regardless of what’s inside:

I took out the box of goodies and got my first good look at the wheel, then carefully pulled out the treadles and body:

Very important: find the ladybug! (Every Ladybug wheel has it’s own little ladybug, in a place unique to that wheel.)

Here’s all the stuff … time to IKEA this wheel!

Treadles, check!

Flyer, check!

Lazy Kate, check!

I also took some nicer natural-light photos today:

Cast On Monday: Cabled Ornament

November 26, 2012November 26, 2012remilyknits Leave a comment

I’m making a cabled ornament in pretty red Princess as a hostess gift for the Christmas party I’m going to next month.

Cast-On Monday: Inspira for me!

November 19, 2012February 5, 2013remilyknits 3 Comments

I worked two of the three-day anniversary sale at the Hub Mills shop, and spent a good deal of time looking across the room at a gorgeous Inspira Cowl worked up in two shades of Liberty Wool Print. Guess what I took home? Four balls in two colorways of Liberty Wool. I decided this was a great time to start a new project. We shall not discuss the impending design projects that may or may not be picked up and then become Imminently Due to the Magazine/Yarn Company.

FO Friday: Goodale Firewood

November 16, 2012November 16, 2012remilyknits 3 Comments

And then a miracle occurred … I finished a sweater, for me! Of course it’s only just barely a sweater, with no sleeves, an open front, and a cropped length. But, still, a sweater!

Project: Goodale Firewood

Pattern: Goodale

Designer: Cecily Glowik MacDonald

Available: $5 on Ravelry

Yarn: Tosh Pashmina in Firewood

Oh my goodness, have you ever touched Tosh Pashmina? mmmmhmmmmm. It’s just that good. My size (45.25″) used just a smidge over two skeins — so not quite as insane as making a whole sweater out of this heavenly, but oh-so-dear, substance. Goodale was designed for Tosh Pashmina, and it worked up beautifully in this simple-but-elegant pattern.

I don’t usually make things with raglan shaping, because that shape hangs funny on me. But, I figured the open front and lack of sleeves would be forgiving, and I was (happily) correct. I absolutely love the clever little pockets, created by folding the fronts back and tacking them in place. The whole front has an i-cord edge, so there’s very little finishing to be done. (Even so, I stalled out for a bit with only the neck edge and sleeve ribbing left to go!)

I wore this cardi to the Fiber Fest with a shawl pin at the neck, but I went ahead and put on buttons that night — I love the little i-cord closure. I was tempted to make the cardi a bit longer … but I think I would have ruined the proportions. As it is, I’m glad to have 90% of a skein of Tosh Pashmina to play with.

Did I mention the adorable pockets?

I remain in awe of Madelinetosh’s gorgeous colorways.

uiu

New Pattern Release: Heartsick

November 15, 2012November 15, 2012remilyknits 3 Comments

Introducing my latest pattern: Heartsick!

Pattern: Heartsick

Designer: Rachel Henry (that’s me!)

Available: $6 as a single pattern/ $10 as part of the Lovelorn Collection

Yarn: BMFA Socks That Rock Lightweight or any fingering-weight yarn — uses about 300 yards

Design/Skills Needed:

This crescent shawlette begins with a narrow lace border. The heart motif is set off by a looped edge and an open-work net pattern. Stitches picked up from the border form the body of the shawlette, which is worked with short rows and finished with a decorative row of eyelets. The pattern uses basic increases and decreases, plus a 3-in-1 increase, k3tog, and s2kp.

Heartsick is designed with colorful yarn in mind. Variable stitch count in the border and the short rows in the body both help fight pooling. The strong pattern shines through tonal and moderately variegated colorways.

Heartsick is part of the Lovelorn collection. Each of three shawlettes in the collection can be made with a single skein of fingering-weight yarn. Look for “Crushed” (top-down, heart-shaped, lace and nupps) and “Broken” (top-down, half-circle, texture and lace).

Cast-on Monday: Handspun Fried Chicken Mittens

November 12, 2012February 5, 2013remilyknits 2 Comments

Last week I turned this …

… into this:

I love the visible improvement from hank to hank — the last batch really is a lot like real yarn 🙂 .

I’m using my very first handsoun to make some Fried Chicken Mittens, which have superior fit in the thumb gusset. They may turn out to be finger less, if I run out of yarn. I’m using the lumpiest yarn for the cuff so the hand will be smoother.

FO Friday: Cranberry Wensleydale

November 9, 2012November 9, 2012remilyknits 4 Comments

Allow me to present, Miss Cranberry Wensleydale, of the Cheddar Wensleydales!

Project: Cranberry Wensleydale

Pattern: Wensleydale

Designer: Heather Ordover

Available: a mere $1.50 on Ravelry

Yarn: leftover Tosh Light in Alizarin

Materials: itty bitty safety eyes

I haven’t made a little knit toy just for fun in a long time, but that’s exactly what this was! Someone suggested I should stuff it with catnip. They would be mistaken.

Heather Ordover’s pattern is straight-forward. After the nose is complete, there is no shaping until the bum. I opted for the “knit separately, then sew on” version of the ears, and I ended up sewing them on upside down (I think), but they looked cuter that way, at least to me. I also bought and used safety eyes for the first time. They are SO much better than flat sewn eyes — they look right the first time, and don’t have to be redone a hundred times because the first 99 made the animal look demented.

Also? Cranberry Wensleydale is the best cheese.

Fiber Festival of New England (2012)

November 7, 2012November 7, 2012remilyknits 6 Comments

A few weeks ago, one of my knitting friends suggested we check out the big Fiber Festival at the Big E Fairgrounds in Springfield, MA. Everyone thought it looked interesting! We ended up with five people in two carpools go on Sunday (the second and final day of the fair).

Now is the time that I admit I have never been to ANY fiber/stitching/knitting cons of any kind. I know.

Now that you are over the shock of it all, I want to say how happy I was to smell sheep when I walked in the building! The whole front half of the Mallory complex was devoted to vendors with animals, so we got to meet and greet alpaca, sheep of many flavors, angora bunnies, and even a fainting goat.

I got to cuddle with a friendly and fluffy angora bunny!

I think my favorite stand was Long Island Livestock Company. I’m sorry to say that their website is a little bare (“under construction”), but I can report that everyone I met at their stand (including the spotty mama llama below) was lovely, helpful, and educational. They were one of the first stalls I visited, so I made a note … they are the ONLY stand I managed to return to. Their roving was memorably luscious!

These two are now mine! 🙂

The show had a large variety of items related to fiber without actually being roving or yarn — for example, check out these awesome hats!

But, in the end, we mostly bought yarn and fiber. Here are a few glamour shots of a five-person haul from a fiber fest:

I personally succumbed to the siren call of drop spindling. Sigh. It turns out it is SUPER ADDICTIVE. Help. All this is mine. There is only one skein of yarn in there! Shout out the A Hundred Ravens (who also dyed the teal braid). I absolutely loved ALL her color choices. I also had the pleasure of meeting the Knittink girl. I discovered her yarns at Gather Here, and I was delighted to buy the bright red-orange roving from her. I know the name of the llama who contributed fleece to the pink-white bag, and I picked up the purple-green “mill ends” bag of roving to practice on. (I do so love purple!) I’ve already spun and plied about half the bag. Did I mention how addictive this is?

Cast-On Monday: Frau Holle Mystery and Another Heartsick Shawl

November 5, 2012November 5, 2012remilyknits 2 Comments

As I neared the end of several projects this week …. cast-on-itis hit with a vengeance!

Not satisfied with running my (very first) KAL (ever), I joined the Frau Holle Mystery KAL. It’s not too late to join the KAL — the first clue is mostly stockinette. Laceweight! Beads! I couldn’t resist. I’m using some stash laceweight from ages ago, and beads I bought for another project. Yay for repurposing?

I managed to channel some of the cast-on-itis into a Christmas gift project. I don’t want to say too much, on the off chance the giftee reads this blog. Suffice to say Heartsick and another “Rare Gems” skein seemed a match made in heaven:

FO Friday: Greta in Sanibel

November 2, 2012November 2, 2012remilyknits 1 Comment

In the spirit of “share everything, even the not-so-awesome ones,” I give you my Greta Headband in Sanibel:

Project: Greta in Sanibel

Pattern: Greta Headband

Designer: Nikki Wagner

Available: Interweave Knits, Summer 2012

Yarn: CEY Sanibel in #1395

See how pretty Sanibel is? It’s a woven yarn, with stretches of shiny/dark mixed in with the main color.

It makes pretty fabric!

Alas, I don’t love the FO. The headband works, but doesn’t suit my head. I guess I can live with this, since most hats look good on me. (I have a friend who can’t wear most hats — how sad!)

Remily Knits

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