All Spun Up

So I may have made negative progress on my Taos sweater this weekend, but I did finish spinning all my yarn for my sheep heid hat! I'm not 100% in love with the dark brown color, mostly because it and the black are the only dyed fibers and I feel like it sticks out like a sore thumb.

That said, I have a huge knitting backlog of projects to get through, so I probably won't get to knitting the hat itself for a while, so there's nothing to stop me from spinning up something else if I come across something I like.

Spilt Milk & Cookies

I may have been named one of Knitscene's "8 Designers to Watch in 2012," but it doesn't mean that I'm not capable of a spectacular knitting fail every now and again.

[See that shameless little plug I did there? Wasn't sure how to work that in. ;)]

Take for example exhibit A up there. I've always prided myself on even gauge, but both of those socks up there are same yarn, same pattern, and yes, the same needles. Unlike my pal Aimee, my tools aren't to blame it was all me. It's like an inch shorter at the foot and the cuff.

Le sigh...

I plan to knit a third sock and see which one it matches up to (fortunately I have enough yarn), but I needed a little break first (especially since I suffered that sock defeat and a Superbowl loss on the same evening).

[SOCK UPDATE ADDENDUM: I recounted the rows on both socks and it seems that my ability to count and not gauge was the issue. On sock one I did a cable feature every 7th row and on sock two I did it every 6th - shorting myself by several rows]

For something completely different, I started this muted Taos cardigan. The official color name is "blue note," but I have dubbed it Cookie Monster blue. I started it last night at knitting and since it not secret knitting, I'll be sharing my progress as I go along (and check one solid-colored cardigan off my knit-a-lution).

Done and done!

After several weeks of joking, last week I gave a co-worker/friend a list of all the little things on my to-do list that I've been ignoring for far too long and gave her full permission to bug me about them. The list contains things like sew the belt loops back on my lady grey coat (done!), order harp strings (done!), and fix tiny rust spot on car (not done!).

In this spirit, here are two things I finished recently.

About a year later than I intended to, I finally made curtains for the built-in bookcase in my living room. The clearance home dec fabric I bought ended up being a bit stiffer than I thought it'd be, but it still looks miles better than being able to see the miscellaneous stuff on the shelves!

And I handed off a sample for a new design on Monday. I don't know when it'll come out (probably fall), but I really like the way this one turned out and I can't wait to show you the whole thing!

Some other things I hope to finish soon:

• a pair of socks for Mr. Cleaver,
• spinning my Sheep Heid yarn, and
• shipping out some submission swatches!

A Few Notes on Cup-pies

At a friend's request, here are a few tips on making cup-pies.

• I'm generally able to get 10 cup-pies out of one regular pie's worth of crust and filling.
• For the bottom crust I cut a 4-inch circle, and used a 3-inch biscuit cutter for the top.
• The thicker the bottom crust, the easier it will be to pop them out of the cupcake tin.
• There's no need to grease or line the cupcake tins at all.
• I probably overfilled these a bit as they leaked a bit during cooking, so a little under the tin rim is probably best.
• Don't forget to vent the top!
• For extra flair, I brushed the tops with milk and then sprinkled them with a bit of granulated sugar.
• I cook them at 350-375°F for 30 minutes, or until the filling bubbles. For this batch then broiled the tops for about a minute to get them golden brown.

Happy National Pie Day!

In America, the National Pie Council (what, your country doesn't have one of those?) declared January 23rd National Pie Day. Being as we for some strange reason don't get this as a day off, I had to do my celebrating yesterday in my now-traditional fashion, with a pie-luck!

I made a batch of cherry cup-pies and a chocolate/raspberry pie that I neglected to photograph.

(Note to all bakers out there, when making a recipe for the first time, read the whole recipes before the morning you attempt to make it. I neglected to do this and caught myself running out of time when I realized that my raspberry pie took FOUR HOURS to make due to refrigerating time for the different parts.)

I think I need to make cup-pies more often, they're adorable and take only a tiny bit more work than a regular pie.

As usual we had a range of savory, sweet, and tart pies.  A pie-luck requires at least three rounds to the table and generous amounts of tupperware for the leftovers.

We also got in a fair amount of knitting and Aimee, Chris, and Maggie split up several balls of Jamieson and Smith yarn for our sheep heid knit-a-long. (I'm spinning mine).

So for those interested, here's a run-down of the pies (if I forgot any my apologies!):

• Savory
  • Red Lentil & root vegetable pot pie
  • Goat cheese and leek egg pie/quiche
  • Pizza Pie
• Fruit-Based
  • Apple Cranberry
  • Cranberry Pear Shortbread
  • Cranberry Sage
  • Cherry Cup-pies
  • Chocolate Raspberry
  • Apricot Cheese
• Cream
  • Chocolate Satin
  • Butterfinger

With all the leftovers I ended up with - I'll be celebrating pie all week!!

Introducing: Bob & Wave Cowl

In September I stopped in PurlDiva and treated myself to two skeins of Misty Alpaca Chunky.

I'm not a big yarn horder, I typically only buy for specific projects, so I had admired and passed on this yarn on a couple different occasions. But on this particular day it had been a long week, and Misty Alpaca feels like soft cuddly air and Purl Diva had it stocked in one of my favorite colors, so how could I resist??

As soon as I had a break from all that November knitting, I turned that yarn into this Bob & Wave cowl. The color reminded me of 1950s Cadillacs, so I wanted do do something with a retro feel and nothing feels more like retro knitting to me than bobbles.

Though it's a small and relatively quick project, there are a lot of fun details. The cowl features an i-cord cast on and bind off. I-cord also appears as the button loops and faux i-cord is created by rows of purl stitches that are pleated horizontally to make the texture really pop. Carefully placed increases and decreases create the scalloped waving background for the bobbles and the fabric manipulation makes for a denser and warmer cowl.

The project uses two skeins of Misti Alpaca or 175 yds of cozy chunky yarn and measures 22”/ 56 cm long, 9”/23cm high.

The pattern is available for purchase for $4.00 USD

or you can queue it up on Ravelry.

To find out about new pattern releases and special offers, sign up for the Ms. Cleaver Mailing List.

More Christmas Makings

Here's a few more things I either made in secret (ornaments) or at the last minute (wreath):

Did you do any Christmas making?

2011 in Review

We became homeowners on Dec 31 of 2010, and a lot of this year was learning the in and outs of being homeowners. We removed what didn't want and started building in what we did. We peeled wallpaper and painted walls.

Shoveled snow and learned the importance of roof-rakes.  (Hint: don't pile that much snow that close to your house)

Perennials were planted in the spring and bulbs were planted in the fall. Lawns were moved and leaves raked. Floors were swept and appliances replaced. And at some point along the way it stopped being their house and started being ours.

Starting the day after we moved in, we filled our home with friends: Pie Day, poker games, dinners and documentaries. The highlight was inviting over all our friends for a summer time barbecue and concert.

And we saw a little doggy online and decided to invite him to stay for the long-haul.

During Lent I wore skirts for 47 days and visited Washington D.C. for the first time.

In sewing, I got my own studio space and made a thing or two.

Fiber-wise, I learned how to dye and needlefelt.

I bought a loom and made a total of one scarf.

I also did a fair amount of spinning, but haven't quite met my knitolution of knitting anything with handspun yet.

Knitwise, this has been a huge year for me. I've released three patterns with Quince & Co., one with Twist Collective, and six on my own. I started a mailing list.

It's amazing to me how much has happened in one year, and how quickly that year has gone. There's snow on the ground outside now and it's a few days to Christmas. It's been a helluva year in the best way possible.

Merry Christmas everyone, and a Happy New Year!

A Stocking for Steiny and Other Makings

I was trying to not to be one of the those crazy pet parents who gets their pets Christmas parents (which seems to be a largely American thing - yes?), but I gave in and not only got Steinbeck a gift, I sewed him a stocking.

In my defense, it only took me the baking time of about 2 dozen cookies to get the whole thing done from conception to completion and it's totally cute. The fabric was leftovers from my Valentine's skirt and a wreath I'm still trying to finish up.

In addition to the aforementioned cookies, Ive made my annual batches of dark chocolate mint fudge and peanut brittle.

The goodies are baked, the house decorated, the packets shipped, and the gifts (mostly) wrapped, with three days left, I think I'm good to go!.

Second Annual Ornament Swap

I think by now it's well established that I spend my Tuesday nights (and regularly weekends) in the company of a bunch of creative and talented knitters (not to mention funny and kind).

This past Sunday we held our second-annual holiday party and ornament swap at Aimee and Eric's charming home.

I love the ornament swap because 1) I only have to make one thing for it,

2) these ladies know how to throw an amazing potluck

and mostly 3) everyone's ornaments are different and wonderful. I've managed to pull Lynn's ornaments for the past two years and they have places of honor in home, but I'd be equally happy to have taken any of these home.

As for me, I needlefelted this holiday beaver, complete with stylin' holly accessory. I'm pretty proud of the little dude.

And I may have made a few more ornaments since then, but you'll have to wait a bit longer to see those. :)