Knitting with different colors

As some of you know I have been doing the KAL (knit-a-long) at Knit Purl Hunter . Well, the month of February was called Disappearing Act. I was so excited when I say that it was going to be knitting with two colors at the same time!! I had been eyeing (and even bought the pattern) this beautiful blanket and this very cute hat! But I had no idea how to go about knitting either one. So when Michelle's KAL taught the beginnings of color work I was thrilled! I now feel confident that I will be able to knit both the hat and the blanket (someday)

So here are the socks I made for this KAL. They not only introduced me to color work, but also a heel that I had never even heard of! It is call an Afterthought Heel and it is done after the sock is finished. It looks MUCH harder than it really is. In the picture you can see my finished sock and the other sock with out the heel done.

See that purple yarn? Well, that is where the heel goes. Basically you insert your knitting needles into the row above and below that yarn and then pull the yarn out. Michelle at Knit Purl Hunter has incredibly good videos that goes through each step.

Going to finish the second sock this week! (hopefully)

198 yards of Heaven

198 yards of Heaven
That's the name of this shawl I just completed last night.
I joined a group on Ravelry  called Dozen Shawls in 20dozen. It is a great group! Each month in this year they are doing a shawl. In January they picked an advanced pattern and a beginner pattern. I choose the beginner pattern since it was only my second shawl.
I made it with Cascade 220 Superwash. The color is Lake Chelan Heather.
I enjoyed knitting this shawl, but I do wish I had used bigger needles. I tend to knit tight and even though I did 3 1/2 repeats of the pattern when it called for 2 1/2 repeats it is still rather small. More of a shawlette.


And I am still amazed at what happens when you block it! It really transforms the whole shawl!
Here is a picture of it before I blocked it. It measured 28 inches across the top.

And here is the same shawl after a warm bath and towel dry. I have aggressively blocked it with T pins as instructed in the pattern. It now measures 49 inches across the top!! Amazing!!

This month (February) there are 4 different shawls to chose from at the Ravelry dozen shawls in 20dozen . I have picked another beginner one called Garden View. I will be casting on tonight!


Not sure I will be able to get 12 shawls done in 12 months, but I am sure going to try!
How wants to join me? All the patterns are free and there is an incredible amount of help on the Ravelry site.

Christmas?

Ok, so it is past Christmas, but I thought I would share a couple of knitting projects I made for gifts this year.

This is the Triplicity Shawlette using the yarn Simplicity by HiKoo. I used the color Red Hat Purple because this was a gift for my mom and she loves going to her Red Hat events! This is my first shawl ever and it was soooo easy! I couldn't believe it! Loved making this shawlette! This photo was taken before I blocked it and I forgot to take one after. WOW! What a difference blocking makes!!

This is the Repeat Performance socks I made for a dear friend of mine that believed wool sock were all itchy.  She was pleasantly surprised when she went to wear them and they were so soft! The yarn is Royal by Austermann. Love their sock yarn!

Both of these projects I made during the mystery KAL (knit-a-long) that Michelle Hunter put on at her site Knit Purl Hunter.  She has wonderful instructions and great videos to back them up. If you are interested in knitting these you can go here to check them out. All here patterns that she has used for her KALs are free!! She also has some other patterns that look fun.

I also made a pair of simple slippers for my dad using some of my 'home grown' shetland wool that I cleaned and spun myself. It was the first knitted project I have done with something I spun! I forgot to get a photo before I gave them to my dad!! He loves them and says they are soooo warm!! And soft!! I was tickled pink!

Well, go water ready to go wash some fleece. Have a wonderful evening!

Goals

I had the best intentions of getting this year started with a *bang*.  Getting blog posts out, getting fleeces washed and sold, and getting started on a website.

Well, here it is January 23 and this is the first post I have done on the blog. So I will take this opportunity to put some goals down for everyone to see. So maybe that will help me stay motivated!

• Get at least two blog posts out a week (hopefully more)
• Get a website online 
• Get all registrations and transfers for the sheep and goats done
• Get all fleeces washed before shearing begins again (better hurry on that one!)
• Spin at least twice a week
• Get parts needed for Union Loom
• Finish a knitted project every month.
• Work on a set up for the Farmers Market
• Seed pastures
• Clean up corner lot (full of dead locust trees.... fun)

Well, that's a good start! We'll see how it goes!


Here is a beautiful shot from last year. Thought I had one from a couple of nights ago, but must have been to fast with the 'delete' button!

Have a wonderful evening!!

Abby's fall fleece

I think Abby has the best fleece on the farm. She is a red Angora goat. The luster of it is just amazing. When I was washing it yesterday I thought maybe this fleece would not have that luster like last year's. But once it dried, WOW!! It just glows!