Knitting In The New Year

Greetings! I have been in Georgia spending Christmas with my parents and I finally got all my electronics worked out so I can upload some photos. Please forgive me for the poor quality of these pictures, they were all taken with my iPod.

I have been knitting like a fiend over the last couple of months, mostly making hats and playing with cable patterns, and I also made up a few... er... face warmers...

I saw a pattern online and I could not help myself.

The great thing about these knit beards is that they actually keep your face REALLY warm!

 I figure they would be great for boating or bike riding in the winter.

Of course I made some hats for the Craft Fair and forgot to take any pictures. I had someone snap a photo of this one on it's new owner.

I made a woolly hat for David before we left and he complained that it was "too itchy! Make it fuzzier!" So this one is made out of really soft and silky wool that comes down over his ears to keep them warm. I finished it while we were sitting on a plane on the way here.

Another hat I just finished is modeled after a viking helmet.

Also good for boating, and charging into battle.

The brim folds up and there is a neck guard in the back.

Grrr!! Go forth and conquer!!

This helmet pattern is available on Ravelry.com and was written by Debra Belletete. It also includes instructions for making horns that attach to the hat. A pity my photos are not better so you can see the detail of the cabling around the crown.

I found several really beautiful patterns while I was looking for Viking, Aran, and Celtic knits. Everything from braided blankets to lacy cowls to this sweater with a dragon made from an i-cord.

Now all I have to do is combine the helmet and beard and then I will be ready to chop my firewood in style and possibly scare small children.

Blessings to everyone in blog world, I hope you all had a fabulous holiday and may the new year bring you rejuvenation and joy!

Warm and Woolly Knits

I finally finished my Fair Isle mittens. Tragically, I ran out of this lovely, hairy maroon yarn right in the middle of the project. I added the inverted Fair Isle strip at the top of the mittens and had literally one inch of yarn leftover when it was time to add the thumbs. So, the thumbs are in white with a little bit of some sparkly red yarn - the closest color I had to hairy maroon.

I was bummed that I had to alter my pattern, but while I knit the thumbs I decided to infuse them with good luck. These are now hitch-hiking mittens. A little magic sparkle for that perfect ride.  At the very least they will keep my hands cozy against a cold steering wheel because I am usually the driver.

I wrote out the pattern for these mittens and I am happy to share it. Please comment if you are interested!

I have also perfected my pattern for thick and woolly slippers. After making them too floppy, too small, and too large, I finally got it down. My next pair is going to be even better...

They are all knit with fat needles and several strands of yarn, so the slippers hold their shape.

I plan to make a bunch of these slippers. If you want some, let me know!

One more woolly wonder I must share with you is my Cowichan Sweater.

These sweaters are thickly knit and were traditionally made by First Nations people on Vancouver Island, who combined European Fair-Isle knitting techniques with Coast Salish spinning and materials. They are heavy, warm, and so perfect for this coastal weather.

The detail is hard to see in this photo, it was getting dark.

Trust me that the knitting on this garment is flawless. 

There are two pockets in the front and the seam work is invisible.

I wish I could meet the person who made this beautiful sweater. 

This yoga posture is called, "Extended Hand to Big Toe Pose". Kind of unimaginative, don't you think? In sanskrit it is, "Utthita Hasta Padangustasana." Kind of a mouthful.

I was always bad about posing for photos. Now, in lieu of a fake smile, my leg flies into the air.

I am working towards holding my foot with both hands, behind my head, while balancing on the other foot in a pose called Natarajasana. You can bet I will post a photo here when I've got it.

Stay tuned to the blog for that and some batik quilting progress.

I leave you with a picture of the fog rolling into our valley tonight.

Knits n Goats

I made some socks based on a pattern out of the book Stitch n' Bitch.

It was for knee socks, but I started at the end of the calf decreases.

They knit up quickly and the pattern was easy to understand. This is a great book! It also has the pattern for a doggie sweater that can be modified to fit any size dog.

This is Boscoe enjoying his wooly sweater. He has short hair and does not like to be cold.

The sweater is made of two knit pieces, the back and the "front" (his belly) that are then sewn together, with openings left for the legs. The collar is knit in the round, connecting the two pieces.

Stewie, however, has so much hair that I have to cut it every 6 months or so. I have been saving it and I want to spin it into yarn someday, probably mixed with some wool.

Stu can run with the goats now and gives them respect. They give him a wide berth and will butt heads with him if he gets in too close. Having gotten in the way of a goat's head a couple times myself, I can tell you that it is like being punched with an anvil.

Barney is being studded out right now. He got to ride the ferry and will hopefully return to the herd at some point! The girls bleated for him when he left.

This is Barney getting a hug from Firefly. I think that Firefly is carrying kids from another billy goat.

All of the other gals are having Barney's babies. I am looking forward to meeting the kids! Barney has really thick, soft fur. I considered breeding my girls with an angora goat to get more spinning material but I want to be able to sell the kids as bred to be successful milking goats.

I'm leaning towards the notion of dis-budding the kids, which means to stop their horns from growing as soon as they start to show. I think goat horns are really beautiful and none of my goats have EVER hurt me with their horns, or my tiny little child that likes to roam with them. They are gentle. I got in the way of Bessie Mae during feeding time and that is why I collided with her head.

However, I am planning on selling some kids to keep a small herd and some people prefer goats without horns. 4-H won't accept a horned goat at all. So I'm thinking about getting the right equipment and doing some home veterinary.

In other news, it is not snowy these days, but rainy.

With some dry spells.

Thanks for reading!