Thursdays are for Knitting: A Christmas Goodie

Wheee! Guess what came in the mail yesterday!

I normally feel strongly about opening mail addressed to other people. And this package was addressed to the Elder Son. But it was suspiciously squishy -- and I was pretty sure the customs form read "Yarn," although it was in Russian!

So I opened it. 

And just look what was inside!

Elder Son ordered this yarn before Christmas-- but after all, it came all the way from Russia! I wonder what my postal carrier thought of this squishy envelop? Probably knew it was yarn, it's not like this is the first squishy envelop I've ever received!

Now to decide, what to make with it?  I've decided on a lacy shawl, and Jen Lucas Designs are some of my favorites.

Maybe Beddington? Several of my Texas friends at Inskein Yarns knit this one, and they all turned out gorgeous!

But here's another, Milton, designed especially for small-skein yarn kits.

Aacckk! You KNOW I have trouble making decisions! Which do you think?


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Thursdays are for Knitting: Hats for Sailors Send-off

My knitting goal for 2015 was to knit 52 Hats for Sailors.

So what exactly is "Hats for Sailors?"

The Hat for Sailors' mission is to provide deployed Sailors of the US Navy and the Coast Guard with handmade 100% washable wool hats made by loving volunteers from around the world. These beautiful hats are delivered in time for the December holidays, a bit of warm love and thanks to those who unselfishly take time away from their families to serve our Country.

Each year we select one or more ships to receive the hats we've knit that year. In 2014, we knit more than 500 hats! 

Well, I did it!

On Monday, I mailed 55 hats (52 knit by me and 3 by friend CJ) to Sandra to forward to the ship selected to receive hats this year.

I printed a little label on business card stock to attach to each hat. It reads:

Thank you  for your service to our country.

You are remembered and appreciated

by someone in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Here are close-ups of the last few hats I made:

This one is modeled by my friend who just returned from a six-month deployment to Afghanistan. Yes, I knit a hat for her, too!

And just in case you're thinking I've used up all my yarn knitting all those hats -- here is the haul I collected on the "Best Little Yarn Crawl in Texas" last month:

If you're a knitter or crocheter, I hope you'll consider making a hat for a Sailor. Go here for the details. If you're on Ravelry, my user name is AuntMarti. You can read the pattern and yarn info on my project page.

Fair winds and following seas, Sailors!




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Thursdays (and Summers) Are For Knitting

A month or so ago, I cast on a pile of Hats for Sailors to knit during summer travels. They're not all finished, but a few are!

Here are some photos of the finished hats. You can read the details on my Ravelry project page, username AuntMarti. And if you're a knitter or crocheter, we'd love to have you join us to knit a hat for a sailor!


First is "Barley," knit with Ewe Ewe worsted. This yarn just did NOT want to be knitted -- I unsuccessfully started three projects before finally finishing a hat!

This yummy orange marmalade colored yarn is from Inskein Yarn in San Antonio, hand dyed by Jennifer Caswell (the Discriminatin Knittah). I hope Jennifer dyes some more superwash merino, because I loved knitting "Willow Hat" with this yarn.

My best field trip while in Texas was to Comfort, and The Tinsmith's Wife. The June Hats for Sailors KAL is "Rib-a-Roni," and I used Black Trillium Fibres Pebble Worsted. Even the DH commented how pretty is this yarn!

Ten or so years ago, the boys and I took a "college visit" trip to the Pacific Northwest. One of the best places we visited was the Hudson's Bay Co. store in Victoria. I made up this pattern to celebrate the colors of the iconic HBC blanket.

Holiday Yarns is one of those yarns I couldn't find anywhere in Colorado. So I ordered this Wooly Ewe Worsted to knit "Rhubarb Helix" from Wisconsin -- then I found the yarn nearby at Colorful Yarns!

Thus far, I've knit 30 of 52 Hats for Sailors that is my goal for this year. As much as I love making quilts, knitting hats is a lot more portable for travel!

Not much quilting going on this summer -- I'm mostly sewing sleeveless tops to wear when I return to Texas next month. 

From the desk of your

Thursdays are for Knitting (or starting!)

Summer travel plans are underway.  Hats for Sailors are the perfect knitting to take along!

I don't know about you, but the only part of knitting hats I really need to pay attention to is the cast-on. After that, it's mostly mindless. So I cast on multiple hats and put each in a project bag with the pattern and a second size of needles, if needed.

I do have a few finished hats to share. First, the non-HFS hats.

This one is a "Big Chunky Comfy Hat," a free pattern on Ravelry. The yarn is Sheep Shop Yarn Company Sheep 2 that I picked up years ago at Knit Knack in Arvada, Colorado. This is a super-speedy knit, perfect for a last-minute gift.

Next is the Skeppa hat, pattern by Sarah Jo Burch Designs and also available on Ravelry. The yarn is Elsbeth Lavold's Silky Wool. 

I'm up to 25 Hats for Sailors, almost halfway to my goal! All three of these were made using the April HFS knit-along pattern, "Cobblestones" by Susie Gourlay. It's also free on Ravelry. The yarn is Cascade 220 Superwash paints and Superwash solid. 

Now for the Works in Progress!

HFS #26 is "Barley," from tincanknits. The yarn is ewe ewe Wooly Worsted, color Aquamarine, which I confess has given me fits. Ever have a yarn that just doesn't like you? This is the third or fourth project started with this yarn, prior attempts just haven't worked out. So far, the Barley hat is coming along fine!

HFS #27 is made from a 100% wool sock yarn (thelabelismissing) and the Runner's Watchcap pattern from Chiagu. I'm 99.9% sure this is a machine-washable yarn, but if I can't find the label to be sure, it will go in the "someone will need a hat" bin. 

HFS #28 is the yet-to-be-cast-on Round and Round hat by Jennifer Vancalar. I searched and searched for Holiday Yarns, ordered it online, then found it all over in Texas! The pattern requires two colors, a solid and a space-dyed yarn. I have three skeins so I'll probably make two hats from this pattern. 

HFS #29 deserves a post all on its own! This yarn from The Tinsmith's Wife in Comfort, TX, is yummy! It's High Wire 3-ply, hand-dyed by Yarn Carnival in Austin. This colorway is "Big Bad Wolf," and myohmy, it's a good thing I didn't find it before I bought the yarn for my Featherweight Cardigan! I might decide to make a second cardi using this yummy yarn! BTW, The Tinsmith's Wife is absolutely worth going out of your way to visit! (The pattern is Spralini by Jane Tanner, free on Ravelry and the May HFS KAL.)

My "home" LYS in San Antonio is Inskein Yarns. Shannon and all the knitters at the Tuesday morning knitting group went out of their way to make me feel at home. HFS #30 is being knit with a 100% superwash merino hand-dyed by Jennifer Caswell. The colorway is "Pooh Bear" and the pattern I'm using is "Willow Hat" by Melissa LeBarre (pattern on Ravelry). 

#31 is a yarn that's been in the stash for quite some time. The yarn is Gobelin from Biscotte & Cie, colorway Poisson Tang. I'm using a favorite pattern, "Striped Beanie" by Donny Guercio (another free pattern on Ravelry).

HFS #32 is another yarn from The Tinsmith's Wife. This is Pebble Worsted from Black Trillium Fibers, colorway "10th Doctor" (because who can resist David Tennant?) I using the Rib-A-Roni pattern by Jane Tanner (another freebie on Ravelry).

I can't remember where I bought this Manos del Uruguay yarn, "Clara," for HFS #33. The pattern is Violet Waffles by Halldora J, free (of course!) on Ravelry.  This photo doesn't do justice to the gorgeous blue shades of the "Black Forest" colorway. Oh! I bet I bought it at Table Rock Llamas, intending to knit the Black Forest Fire charity infinity scarf!

Cast-on HFS #34 is my own creation, based on this Hudson's Bay Co. bag I bought in Victoria, BC 10 years ago. I'm using five colors of Cascade 220 Superwash to mimic the stripes of the iconic Hudson's Bay Blanket.

That should keep me busy for a month or so!

From the desk of your

Thursdays are for Knitting (and yarn!)

I'm not sure why, but I have this absolute conviction that I won't be able to find any good wool yarn in Texas! Many people have assured me that is not so, but it hasn't stopped me from buying every new washable wool I find.

The Projects

Before I share my stash enhancement (read: anxiety treatment), let me show off a few finished projects made by dear friends.

First, Friend Emily is studying in Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. Situated north of mainland Europe, it is about midway between continental Norway and the North Pole.

Yeah. Cold. The warmest day on the Weather Underground's forecast is Monday, forecast to be just above freezing.

Clever Emily is a knitter, and she knit this hat:

Here is her story:

Maniacal knitting kicked in yesterday and I design and made myself a new hat. It is in the same pattern as these Svalbard sweaters seen/sold on the island. I can't imagine they are traditional though, at least to the island, so I don't know the significance. However, I still like my hat. I'm considering making a full sweater, but I think I might have the same problem as I do with my Icelandic lopi sweater: too warm to wear anywhere but the arctic!

Love your design, Em! And I bet the double yarn makes it a good weight for the "spring" in Svalbard!

Another clever girl is my niece, Lyra. She is a soon-to-be graduate of Franklin Olin College of Engineering in Massachusetts. And a knitter! 

She made these knitted veggies for me for Christmas. Aren't they fun?

Because I'm ahead on my Hats for Sailors knitting, I made this pretty blue hat out of not-machine-washable yarn. For which I've lost the label. But I seem to remember knitting a cowl from the same yarn. The Pattern is Noro Kureyon One-Ball Wavy Gravy Hat from Iconoclastknit. (whew)

The Yarn

I fell in love with mini skeins of Lorajean's Knitted Wit yarn at Fancy Tiger last winter. I nagged and nagged her via etsy, and she now has the Spring Rainbow colorway in stock. Plus a fun colorway in the same shades as the carpeting in the Portland airport!

My friend and long-arm quilter, Cornelia, found a fun nail polish called "Unicorn Farts." I couldn't find the nail polish, but I did find this yarn of the same name. I made her a drawstring bag to take on an upcoming trip. The only fabric I could find that had a unicorn is "My Little Pony." Close enough?

I made another drawstring bag and knitting kit for my friend Holly, who is deploying to Afghanistan next week with the US Air Force. I'll be acting as "Deployment Mom" for her daughter while Holly is away. The Dishcloth Diva autographed a book to include!

This new colorway of Liberty Wool is called "October." My birth month! So I had to get it, right? And I love the sweater on the cover of the new Liberty Wool book. Both from Ewe and Me here in Colorado Springs.

This kit from Loop is supposed to be for fingerless mitts. But I'm planning to make Hats for Sailors, I just loved the colors!

I've seen so many versions of Hannah Fettig's Featherweight Cardigan on Ravelry lately. And when I saw this gorgeous shade at Ewe Count in Cheyenne, well . . . you know what happened! This yarn really more aqua than it appears in the photo. It's so hard to get true colors with indoor photography.

On my way to Cheyenne last month, I stopped off in Mitchell, NE at the Brown Sheep wool mill (hey, it's sort of on the way!) I scored a huge bag of yarn "seconds" for only $60. To the Brown Sheep people, "seconds" means the color doesn't quite match their color cards. The yarn is perfect!

And of course, the Loopy Ewe is right on my way home! Both of these are new-to-me yarns,  and the colors, oh my!

Do you think I'll have enough yarn to keep my happy for six months in Texas?


From the desk of your

Thursdays are for Knitting

One of my goals for 2015 is to knit 52 Hats for Sailors. This is the 9th week of the year, and here is the 20th hat I've knit so far:

The pattern is "Dean Street Hat," by Nina Machlin Dayton. The yarn is Regina Louise Superwash Merino DK Charcoal. This was a fun  knit, comprising "fake cables" and ribbing. You can see the details of the knitted stitches better on the Ravelry page, here.

A Facebook meme this week joked that no knitter has too many project bags. Too true! Here are two additions to my collection.  First, the Thirty One bag "Cinch-Top Bin" in Tweethearts. Big enough to hold a complete sweater and yarn. I got mine from my consultant, Jennifer Morales.

I can't wait to start using this one -- it was personally tie-dyed by my friend Amy. The colors are really much prettier than my indoor photo. Orange and pink, my favorites!

Of course, I added a little yarn to the stash this week also. This is Holiday Yarns' Wooly Ewe Worsted in the "Captain Jack" colorway -- a nod to the DH's Mini Cooper. It's 100% Superwash Merino, so it will make an excellent "Hats for Sailors" knit. I'm thinking Kyle's Hat by Tami Claybaugh.

These two DK weight superwash merino yarns are for Round and Round by Jennifer Vancalcar for Holiday Yarns. The colors are "Tortoiseshell Kitty" and "Chocolate Stout."

The yarns are dyed-to-order, so there is a short wait. But they're worth it!

Tomorrow is Jelly Roll Party at Ruth's Stitchery -- 

come back to see what we'll be making!

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