Dale of Norway - Park City

IT IS DONE!!!! One year of knitting, five months of procrastination, and two months of finishing and it's finally done!I searched the net and every book I had to read up on steeking. I did the crocheted steek...and backed it up with machine stitching around the steek before I cut.
My stress level was pretty high at this point.
That wasn't so bad. I am SO glad I machine stitched because with the two colours of yarn, the crochet edge was wanting to pull away from the sweater leaving unraveling edges. Always machine stitch!!
I added my daughter's name and the year to the collar to, hopefully, prevent someone from accidentally acquiring it.
The finished placket. The pattern had a zipper and we liked the clasps much better.
I finished the inside with grosgrain ribbon.
The back. So I have been there and done that. I don't feel the need to do another. I really like sweaters that are done when you finish knitting and nothing to put together!! Amen!

The End!

Christmas

Look whose hanging around the tree. It's Shelly her new BF Herman, a felted pig. Shelly is rather obvious on a blue tree. Herman, on the other hand, is an undercover pig.
Yes, another Christmas and the traditions are being carried on. Mugg-dolf replaced moi, Jan-doff, as the delivery system of the presents. Here she is in her new sweater...
which just happens to match the sweater I made for Alaska....
and then made a winter knitting bag from the same yarn. We are a matched set!
This is the good side of buying yarn by the bag......

Common Ground Country Fair

The Common Ground Country Fair is put on by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. That's a mouthful, eh? It's all about sustainable living. Bruce wanted info on solar energy and I knew some wool vendors would be there, but I didn't expect all I found!

The first fiber booth I went into was French Hill Farm where I found these unusual and marvelous spindles by Tom Forrester. I know this is not such a good shot but I had to have some evidence of how neat they are.
Then there was yarn.
The Tyler Farm booth.
Rachel picked out this skein of yarn for a winter scarf from the Oasis Farm Fiber Mill.
They have wonderful balls of fiber to spin...
as well as the spun yarn. I'm saving their address. I might need some more later. :-)
I thought this farm had a very clever name.
Then there was more yarn.
I found the Enchanted Knoll Farm.

These are her 2 oz. batts. Marvelous blends.
Rachel picked out this luscious colour made from wool, silk, recycled sari silk, bamboo, and sparkles. It reminded her of verdigris copper. I'm definitely saving this link, too!
This is the Farm Witch herself. Super nice woman!! It turned out that we both recognized each other's name from the Ravelry.
This entire tent is made from felted wool. You can see that it is still in progress.
Rachel checking out the scarves at Midsummer Nights Meadow Farm.
It was time for lunch and we found someone with a Roast Beef Sundae! We had to have one.
Real girls need meat! We couldn't decide so we got one of each a split - a steak burger/fries (homemade) and the roast beef sundae.
We had never tasted such GOOD meat! Delicious...and organic, too!
While we were eating lunch, a lobster rickshaw went by. Only in Maine!
The rest of the day will have to wait until tomorrow....

Romney Ridge Farm

What a bonus to drive along Route 1 and find a sign for "yarn". I knew I found the right place when I saw this sign. Yes, that's a pony. The sheep was behind me.Who knew a tiny building could hold so much fibrous deliciousness.
I found this lovely yarn for Rachel's crab.
Then I found these marvelous buttons to go with a cardigan made from my friend Martha's wool...a lovely natural beige. No picture of the wool but here are the buttons!
Do we look happy? Yes, I think so. Even Michelle got in on the picture.
Life is good!

She's done!

This is Michelle. She has all her legs and a mouth. It's a smirky one, but a mouth no less. She's helping me pack for Maine. We are leaving tomorrow after we pack the car. We are taking three days to make the trip. The older we get, the longer it takes. One day it will take us a week, I'm sure.

I can not wait to see the adventures that Michelle has on this trip! :-)

The Great Escape

She's so excited she's almost finished that she is trying to get out of my knitting bag. She doesn't have all her legs yet...or even a mouth to call for help!So, here she sits accusingly (you can tell by the look in her eyes and her pouty mouth - if she had one) waiting for me to finish her.

It's the little things in life...

What a cute crab! My friend Peggy got me interested in this pattern from Knitty.com. When I took a close look at it and remembered that the TV show "The Deadliest Catch" is one of my daughter's and fiance`s favorite show, I knew I had to make it. I would toss it in my Christmas box. It would be a little surprise for the house.

I started knitting. I fell in love. I can not part with THIS one. Isn't she cute staring out from her pot? Yes, it's a she.
The poor little legless thing! I have done four legs. Four more to go and I can attach them. The timing is perfect. I will have her finished before I go to Maine. We will have our picture taken together all over Maine. Then she will come back with me and have a place of honor on my fishing net in the den.

I can always make another to send north...and my first may need a companion. Such a fun knit! Thank you, Amber Allison, for such a great pattern!

Now, to find her perfect name...

And The Knitting Begins.....

I started spinning for the Seascape Shawl the first of the year. Four months later and I have started the actual shawl.

Little did I know I could actually spin TOO thin. I ended up replying my plied yarn with another ply. For you spinners, I plied again in "s". The colours came out a little more muted and darker but I think I like it better.

You can see how much thinner this two-ply is versus the three-ply above. It's just nice to know that when you screw up, you can fix it...one way or another.

The Acorn Bag

This is my Acorn Bag. The bag itself is not my pattern. It's the Fulled Lopi Tote from Hello Yarn. I LOVE this bag pattern. When everyone was making the Buttonhole Bag, this is the bag I was making. The bottom is perfect, in my opinion. I knit the bag, added an acorn knitted from Nicki Epstein's "Knitted Embellishments" and needle felted the leaf from wool roving I hand dyed. Yes, I can do it all when the lights go out.

The trick of needle felting is perspective. I didn't like my leaf when I was done so it started prying it off from the outside edges. That little bit of lifting gave it the 3D look I wanted to achieve. I grew rather fond of this bag but we were having a spinning demonstration at a local event and I put it up for sale. Of course, it sold. Perhaps, now is the time to make another.

Got 100 gms?

This is a super simple project for that extra ball of yarn we end up with after knitting a sweater. Remember, the yardage is more important than the grams/ounces. Think of this hat as a blank canvas with which to create a stunning/outrageous/gorgeous chapeau. The hat at the top is modified with a simple felted I-cord band. I think the addition of the right feather would be nice...while the hat at the bottom became a pumpkin head. The leaf is from Nickie Epstein's Knitted Embellishments. A hat like this screams, "needle felt on me!" I'll save this idea for the next post. :-)

WoolTales Felted Hat

US 10 - 16" circular needle and/or double points
230 yards of feltable worsted weight wool or mohair

With a SINGLE strand of yarn, CO 100 sts -
Join and knit 65 rows.

Next row: *K8, k2tog* repeat around.
Knit 2 rows.

Next row: *K7, k2tog* repeat around.
Knit 2 rows.

Next row: *K6, k2tog* repeat around.
Knit 2 rows.

Continue these three rows (changing to DPs when needed) knitting one less in the decrease row until 30 sts remain. Knit the next two rows.

Last row: K2tog around. Pull thread through remaining sts and finish off.

Felt to desired size.

If this is your first felting attempt, measure you head and add about 1". That is the size you will look for. Trying on a wet hat is not fun. Throw the hat in a zippered pillow case protector or tie it up in an old pillow case and throw in with the regular wash. A 100% mohair hat will felt fast...usually one load. An all wool hat will generally take about three loads...but not all wools felt equally! Check the hat often. Take the hat out and spread flat and measure. This is the outside measurement and will be slightly more than the inside measurement. If I want an inside circumference of 23", I felt until I get a measurement of 12" across the flat hat.

Let’s say you over-felted. Soak in a little hair conditioner and stretch the hat out on pot or bowl with the circumference you want.

After you get the size you want, shape and dry out of the sun, usually 1-2 days.

Have you made a slight mistake in a stitch while knitting? Don't worry, it usually becomes invisible after the felting process. If it doesn't, it can become the starting point for decorating your hat. This shouldn't be stressful. Go with the flow.

Copyright 2003 by Janis Garwood a.k.a. WoolTales. All rights reserved.

Do you have 100?

Yards of wool, yarn, string, that is. Then you can knit these in the smaller size. I wrote this pattern ages ago on the way to visit my daughter in Maine...in December. I was knitting a pair of mittens and realized I couldn't finish the second if I closed up the tip to the first. The fingerless mitten was born. I thought I was SO clever. Then I started seeing them everywhere...especially more recently. The very first pair did not look quite so polished as the final version. The fingerless mittens above were done in 2003 using hand spun Spinderella Thrums. http://www.spinderellas.com/thrums.html

Feel free to tweak and add a stitch pattern or cable. Add a kid mohair to the cuff. There is no right or wrong. I'll post a picture of the first pair when I dig them out in the fall. Live in a colder climate? Wear them over your gloves. Then you can make many coordinating pairs. Enjoy!

WoolTales Fingerless Mittens

Materials: size 5 US double points, 110 yards worsted weight wool

Sizes: Medium - women’s, (Large - men’s)

Abbreviations:
K = knit
P = purl
st = stitch
sts = stitches
Rnd = round
CO = cast on
BO = bind off
inc = increase

Cuff: CO 40 (44) sts. Join work and K2, P2 for 3” (20 rounds)
Knit even for three (3) rounds.

Thumb: Rnd 1: K3, place marker, inc 1 in next st, K1, inc 1 in next st, place marker, K to end (5 sts between markers). These are the thumb sts.

Rnd 2: Knit around.

Rnd 3: K3, inc 1 in st. after the marker, K3, inc 1 in st before marker, K to end. (7 sts between markers)

Rnd 4: Knit around

Continue in this manner until there are 15 (17) sts between markers.
Knit 1 round.

Next row: K3(k1, p1 between markers), knit to end. Repeat this row 2 (3) more times.


Thumb Finish: K3, BO sts between markers while working rib pattern, knit to end.

Hand: Next row: K3, CO 3 sts, knit to end.

Knit 2 (3) rounds even.

Work K2, P2 for 10 rounds.

BO working in rib pattern.

Weave in ends.

The best news of all, the mitten will fit either hand...so make another mitten now.


Copyright 2000 - Janis Garwood, WoolTales