Knit One Quilt Too

Travel Knitting

Do you have this problem too?  You're packing for a trip and the "what to bring to do" question takes longer than planning for anything else.  For me it always starts with knitting.  Other crafts are just not portable enough for me.  Then I go through the probably two dozen WIP's I could bring.  There are always a few that stand out and this time there were three. Unfortunately, Rogue has gone onto the back burner lately due to needing my full attention on the charts.  I hope to get back to it when I have more time at home (that is after Christmas presents are done).

This time Argosy took first place.  It's been months since I picked it up and I needed to figure out where I was.  This took a while because there was a mistake in the last couple of rows.  Once I figured that out the knitting went quickly.  I'm probably about 1/2 way through the center portion.  I love this wrap!  It will be fantastic with most of what I wear and the Silk Garden is such a treat to knit with.  Noro in general is just so beautiful that it really keeps my interest up.

The other one I worked on is the Hand Maiden Vest.  It's getting bigger, but mostly just looks like this.  I think this way of alternating two yarns would be lovely in a scarf.

Lastly, is this new project which took me by surprise with how much I love knitting it.  This one deserves a whole post to itself, so check back tomorrow for that!

Sock Season

We took a little camping trip over the weekend.  It was beautiful in Silver Falls State Park and we managed to do a hike and a bike ride and a lot of really nice relaxing by the campfire.  I finished one sock that's been hanging around for a while.  I barely got started on it's mate.  Up above I'm doing the sewn cast off.

This is Socks that Rock lightweight, colorway Cockamamie, and a basic toe up sock pattern from Wendy.  Let's hope it doesn't stay single for too long!

I've got more to show you from last week, but I go in for a treatment today and don't know when I'll be up to making the next post.  Luckily, after this one I'm halfway done!  I got a lovely comment from my friend, Jill, about the socks she made, so if you were interested in their construction check out her comment here (scroll down to the bottom).  By the way, it's almost Socktoberfest season.  After losing my sock mojo (and, really, knitting mojo too) for a while I have a hankering for finishing up some socks. 

Camp Cockamamie- No whales, but plenty of fun!

Camp Cockamamie continues...  Please excuse the long absence.  I took the kids to a homeschooling conference last weekend and when we got back there was so much to do to recover from all the traveling.  We are home for a while now and I am feeling much better, so without further ado...

On the second day of camp we had a whale watch scheduled.  I had told the Sockateers that we weren't going, but at the last minute we dragged the kids out of bed, threw some snacks in a bag and drove down to the dock.  Luckily, there was room for us.  We had a good time and the day started with beautiful weather.  Chloe got started knitting right away, unfortunately, the only whale seen was this little cutie on the left side of the photo.

We saw lots of Bald Eagles, though we didn't get a good picture of them.  The biggest highlight was this rock covered with Stellar's Sea Lions.  We got close enough to hear the bellowing, roaring and growling.

I did some knitting too.  I bought this Mystic Sea pattern (named after the whale watching boat) and the yarn especially made for it called Lunasea.  It's really beautiful and I like the pattern which was created by Cass.  I didn't get much further than that though because we spent a lot of time with binoculars looking at birds and trying to find whales.   

Lots of the other knitters were actually making progress with their knitting.  Here's Stephanie in the gorgeous Bohus sweater, Cass and Tammy in the center.

One of the other highlights of the tour was Cat's every-so-often comments about the islands.  She's hilarious and has lots of crazy anecdotes. 

The day continued with an underwater knitting contest (no photos allowed!) and a concert by Orcas Island historian and musician, Christopher Peacock.  This was a really lovely addition to the program and it was a treat to meet Christopher as Mark has been a fan of his for a very long time.  We had a tour of the music room and the library and theater in the balcony above.

The last day started bright and early with a class with Stephanie.  She taught us how to knit a pair of socks with only our yarn and needles, no pattern needed. 

After lunch we had our final class which was all about community knitting.  We learned how to make a blanket with 4 knitters knitting at once.  How cool is that?  I ended up bringing our tribe's blanket home to finish with knitting friends here.  That way, we can deliver it to the children's hospital during Chloe's next trip to Portland to see her doctors.

That afternoon there were two more contests that were tons of fun.  First there was the paired up, one handed knitting.  This was hilarious to see.  Look at the concentration on the faces of the participants!

And, here are the winners!  Man, could they knit fast.  You can see them in the third photo above, having a blast!

Lastly, Stephanie and Cat had a knit-off!  What a riot! 

Yoga pose...

 

Friday evening we had a delicious seafood buffet and then they kicked us out of the dining room and sent us back to the conference hall for our final evening's entertainment.  First off, the Dixie Chicks sang our camp song. 

Then there was a fashion show.  The loveliest must have been Nathania in this incredible shawl (though it really looks as if it's worn by a ghost).  Sorry about that, Nathania really does look like a runway model!

And finally, here's Chloe, who joined the group for this last event and even took a trip down the runway to show off her knitted animals.  I just love this shot!   

Our trip to Orcas Island ended perfectly with a Saturday morning walk around town again.  It was sunny and just beautiful.  It really was a wonderful week and a treat to meet so many lovely people.  Next up, some of the projects from the past few weeks!   

Camp Cockamamie- BAWK!

Continuing with Post #2 about Camp Cockamamie...  After dinner we had the Chicken contest.  A few weeks before camp we were sent a package containing various yarns and told to make a chicken.  We had no idea what for except that they would be judged.  Luckily, I took a photo of mine at home.  I was hoping for a funky chicken award, but you should have seen how elaborate most of these chickens were!  It was so amazing to see the creativity and talent that went into making them!  Here's mine with a little chickie under her wing.  I didn't enter the little one in the contest, so she's still here with me.  The bigger one has gone on to another family, though I forgot to get a photo or the name of the recipient.

While folks were drifting in for the Chicken Antics, Stephanie made a point to rearrange the sock circle and to get it all in perfect color order.  Don't mess with it! 

This gorgeous chicken  was the centerpiece for the event and is just amazing.  This one was made by Chappy.

Many prizes were given out for various categories and you'll see them soon, but first Cat and Stephanie had a whole skit about their chicken which was made at the last minute with an egg that they felted around a cabbage in the washing machine (imagine the smell of that combination of cabbage and wet wool!).  Then, of course, there was the matter of how to get the cabbage out!  There was much discussion of the cloaca (where the egg comes out).  By the way, the correct pronunciation is clo-ay-ca (not clo-ah-ca).  That MS in Avian Science will not be wasted!  The egg was filled with lots of little chickies.

The judging was done in secret and then we were told we would be playing a game where we might not get our chicken back.  This was a left-right story.  I decided to stay in the game, but the ones with the really incredible chickens decided to keep them out of the game.  I don't blame them!  Look at these beauties and notice the incredible variety.

This is Frieda and her mama chicken with a story.

Lou and her Wallace and Gromit style chicken.  I love that chicken face!

This is Chappy who made the incredible centerpiece above.  In addition to that one, she made this little cutie for the game and this is the one I got to bring home.  I just love the little felted chicks!  Thanks, Chappy!

Next up, whale watching (except there were no whales).  It was still a fun time- stay tuned!

Camp Cockamamie Begins

Sorry for the long delay in posting.  As it turned out, internet access was only available in the mansion and the conference center and we were kept so busy it turned out there was precious little time for blogging.  In addition, I woke up Saturday morning with a scratchy throat, by the time we were back on the mainland in the afternoon I had a fever which made me pretty miserable all the way to Portland where we spent the night.  We got home yesterday afternoon and I spent the rest of the day curled up on the couch, knitting only when the fever abated.  I feel a bit better today, but the coughing is getting worse.  On top of that, Mark is gone this week and the kids and I have another trip on Thursday!  This April is one of the busiest in a very long time.

Without further ado, here's post #1 of this incredible sock camp where I met some amazing people and some some incredibly gorgeous knitwear.  It started with a dessert reception in the mansion Tuesday night.  At the reception we received our goodies bags which contained the items in the photo above, plus a chicken chucker (went straight to Ryan) and some very odd gum.  This colorway is called Cockamamie and I just love it! 

The next morning, the shop opened and was just about cleaned out in a matter of hours.  You should have seen the yarn piles in some people's arms!  My take home yarn was rather less than most, but I did get some heavy weight STR to try (I love it!), got a couple of mill ends, some lightweight and medium weight STR and Stephanie's new book (Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off).  I also got a couple of new sock patterns.

Campers were divided into four different tribes.  Mine was called the Dixie Chicks and we started right off with a session with Cat Bordhi.  Having just seen her and learned her new techniques, I got started rather quickly.  Cat is a real crack-up and kept the ladies entertained the whole time.  Here she is explaining how to do Judy's Magic Cast On for toe up socks.

Once again, we gave human knitting a try.

After a (very quick) lunch we had our second session with Tina (dyer extrordinaire for Blue Moon).  We learned all about color and dyeing techniques.

In this class we played with pastel chalks and then knit a swatch using various colors and textures of yarn.  We also talked about this amazing colorwheel of socks.

The Chicken contest requires a whole post, so look for that coming up.  I need to rest!

Most Magical Weekend

What a weekend!  The Magical Moebius Festival was even more fun this time around.  Cat Bordhi was amazing as always.  Her new sock designs are going to knock your socks off!  Unfortunately for you, unless you were at the festival you won't be able to see the new designs until New Pathways for Sock Knitters comes out in June or July.  We were sworn to secrecy, so I can't tell you or I'd have to kill you!  Therefore, the photos in this post are cleverly designed to distract from that sock knitting business and get straight to the people, colors and moebiusness that made the festival so fun.

First of all, Cat and Nancy Parsons (who puts on the festival) had a little dance where in they tried to show how stitches are created.  This left the rest of us in stitches.

Secondly, we had over 2 dozen amazing women to knit and share stories with.  Notice the windows there that were overlooking the Pacific in all its glory.

Thirdly, the yarn available for purchase was amazing.  Nancy brought a huge stash of Fleece Artist and Hand Maiden yarns.  If you are interested in purchasing some of this luscious yarn check out her online shop, Colorsong Yarn.  Michelle brought a whole bunch of different stuff from her shop (Fiber Nooks and Crannys) in Corvallis.

During the moebius part of the weekend I was working on my first moebius sling bag.  This pattern is in Cats' Second Treasury of Magical Knitting.  It was felted yesterday and I love it.  I had one full skein of the green Manos, but the rest is all odd balls of Manos that I had leftover from other projects.

I just realized that I have a finished object that I never even mentioned starting.  This is tilting blocks scarf made with Fleece Artist Sea Silk that I picked up in Portland last November.  I finished it just in time for the festival so I had to make a beach trek to get a portrait.

While I was down there I did a little tide pooling.  There were these beautiful green anemones everywhere and then I noticed the sea stars which were everywhere the closer you got to the ocean.

 

We had two surprise attendees to the festival- none other than the Mason-Dixon Knitting chicks, Ann and Kay.  They were kind enough to give a presentation on Saturday night and also signed books.  I knew they were coming ahead of time and so had brought my copy.  I was also thrilled to be sitting with Kay when we did the moebius and I helped her with the cast on!  She was a quick study, so just a few pointers were about all she needed.  Ann and Kay are really as funny in real life as they are on their blog, so it was a treat to talk to them.

They showed us some of the items from the book as well as this lovely new blanket made by their friend Ann Breuchner, who also attended the festival.  This Ann is the one who made the gorgeous Flying Geese blanket in the Mason-Dixon book.  She was also a treat to meet because she has so many incredible ideas.  I absolutely love this blanket and was inspired to start my own.

   

My start on a free form knitted quilt:

Here's Nancy, Cat and Leslie.

Here's Ashle in her beautiful poncho that she made with a cut up t-shirt and some gorgeous yarn.  Look closely to see the dangly bits of green t-shirt.

We learned a great new provisional cast on created by Judy (who attended the festival) it's on Knitty and is well worth learning.  It's called Judy's Magic Cast On.  I started my toe up sock with this cast on.  I'm up to the heel on this one, but I can't show you yet because it's made with Cat's sockitecture.

 

On Saturday morning we had a good rainstorm and the waves were huge.  In the afternoon the sun came out and it was beautiful, though still chilly.  I took a little walk before dinner where I saw this Vietnam Memorial.  It's set up so that on April 30, which was the day the war ended, the spire will cast a shadow on the granite wall behind it.  I'm still not sure of the significance of the egrets, but I thought they were cool.

I can't read the whole quote, but it starts, "Light is an appointment we must keep when we are all quiet..."

In the same park was this monument to the whales who pass by on their annual migration.

I also like this statue in the park.

On Saturday evening we said our goodbyes to Ann, Kay and Ann who had to leave for home early Sunday morning.

Cat, Nancy, Ann, Kay, Ann

me and Cat

Ann, Ann, me and Kay

Nancy, Ashle and me

me, Nancy, Dahlia and Cat

How many knitters can you fit inside a moebius?

It was a glorious weekend full of fun and friendship.  I hope some of you will consider it in the future!

Bin O' Yarn Revisited

Well, we're home after a 3343 mile road trip!  And that doesn't include the driving around the cities.  I thought it would be good to see how I did with my bin o' yarn even though I know it's going to be pitiful.  Here's what I came home with.  Please ignore the big bag.  That's the super-secret project that will have to wait a while yet to be revealed.

Meanwhile, what's inside?  First off,  the projects that got no attention what-so-ever.  Charlotte's Web and Branching Out.  I'm sorry I didn't have time for them because I do love their rhythm. 

Next, the socks which I intended to finish at least one!  I made a bit of progress on the Mountain Colors Bearfoot socks at the conference, but the others got only one or two extra rows.  I think the "pool" socks look just about that same as they did that day at the pool in the first few days of the trip.  Luckily, I'm doing Socktoberfest with Lolly and have plans to work on these during the month.

I bought some other yarn on the trip that I may not have mentioned.  On the right is the Wool of the Woods Cameo that I got in Winslow, AZ.  It doesn't look like much here, but it is so beautiful and incredibly soft!  The rest is the baby cotton I got for washcloths and soap sacks.  I'm not even done with one, but I'm hoping to get to that this week.

Lastly is Hana's sweater.  This project has had a lot of progress this week, so it doesn't really count as knitting on the road.  Her birthday is next week, so I'm going to finish this before I work on the other projects.  This is Lorna's Laces Shepherd worsted in the Tuscany colorway (I think).  I wasn't really sure about these colors in the ball, but I had 4 skeins and knew that the resulting sweater would be soft, warm and most important-washable.  Now that I've been working with it I really love the colors.  They are much warmer in real life.  This is the Child's Placket Neck Pullover from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts.  There are so many problems with the published pattern you have to print it out online.

Now, here are my sewing room companions.  Lana is on the left, she came from La Lana Wools in Taos, NM.  The other one is my childhood companion and has never had a name.  I'll check with Chloe to see if she has any ideas.  They look nice together, don't they?

One last photo of this new Manos I picked up the other day.  This is for a moebius basket that I'll be making soon.  It's a gift for someone who shall remain nameless for now.  Pretty colors for a fall day!

Oooh, la, La Lana

I finally got my trip to La Lana Wools today.  I've been thinking about coming here ever since I first heard of their lovely yarns.  I had the shop to myself for the most part with the kids playing outside in the little courtyard.  It was incredible to see the creativity in that shop.  I'm so glad I finally made it to Taos!  The only disappointment is that I can't stay in Taos until the Wool Festival in October.  Now, that would be something!

The plant-dyed fibers are exquisite!  There are lots of different fiber contents to choose from, so it was hard for me to decide. 

I had intended to get some of the Forever Random blends, but they are only available in 100% Romney wool, or wool and mohair blends.  They seemed a bit scratchy to me, so I hemmed and hawed and finally chose something quite different.  Below you can see the Phat Silk (fine on left and phat on right).  I chose the fine, which is 50% wool and 50% silk.  The colors are amazing. 

Here is what I chose.  I didn't have any particular project in mind, but I think these would make lovely lace or entrelac scarves.  The green just called my name and I had to have it even though there was only one skein.  I'm not sure what I'll do with it, any suggestions?  Each of these skeins is approximately 142 yds.

I didn't stop there, though.  This ball of roving was in a clearance bin, probably because it's chemically dyed, but the colors are so pretty I couldn't pass it up.  The scarf pattern was free (due to my incredibly expensive yarn purchase) and I also got a brochure explaining the dyes and fibers they use.

Lastly, I got a new friend.  Meet Lana, my new Chiapas sheep.  She will join my llama I already have gracing my studio.  The llama I got as a very small child from a family friend who picked it up in South America.  I guess if Lana has a name, the other one should too.  I'll show of picture of him when I get home.

This morning was also a milestone for me.  I have wanted to visit Taos Pueblo for 20 years and we finally did it today.  The pueblo has been lived in continuously for 1000 years and still looks much the same.  It is a humbling place to visit and I got some wonderful photos.  I'll post a couple here, but more will be on my other blog.

The past 2 weeks in New Mexico have been an incredible treat for me and I'm so happy we had a chance to do this.  Tomorrow we start the long drive home to Bend.  We'll be stopping in Colorado, Salt Lake City and Boise.  I'm not sure when the next post will be, but I'll be back!

Little Things

The Live & Learn conference started a couple of days ago.  It's an intense time with activities going on all day and into the night.  We all are having fun and meeting new unschoolers which is a great thing.  In the spare moments when I'm listening to a talk I've been knitting little things.  Some I have no plans for, but to try to sell them.  If they don't sell these will be little gifties for someone!

Mini stocking ornament and two little pull string pouches.

I've also been working on a pair of socks.  These are from Mountain Colors Bearfoot- colorway Red-tailed Hawk.  How could I resist?

Finally a few FO's

I finally got time for a photo shoot today at the pool.  Now that the Trekking socks are done I can say a big thank you to Margene and Norma for hosting the Trek Along! 

I learned several things about myself while knitting these socks.  First off, I think I better stick to two socks at a time on two circulars because I had a terrible time keeping tension even and an even harder time matching the numbers of rows.  Secondly, I really prefer toe up sock patterns (too bad I've got two other pairs on the needles that are top down).  Lastly, I think the Trekking yarns are absolutely gorgeous, but these socks will likely be too itchy for me to wear, unless it gets really cold (even then I don't know- I'm very sensitive to scratchy wools).  So without further ado, I give you Trekking # 68 on the feet:

When we were in San Diego I had some time to visit a couple of yarn shops in Encinitas- Common Threads and The Black Sheep.  I went looking specifically for the Fiber Trends soap sack and washcloth pattern, Bathtime Blossoms.  I got the pattern and 4 balls of various baby cottons to make them for hostess gifts.  I'm way late with these, but they will be mailed off in the next few weeks.  This is the first soap sack, it will get a twisted cord for a tie.

Lastly, I finished two more felted stockings (they will be felted on Wednesday if I get my act together).  This is the first, but I made a second later this evening.  These are such a quick knit.  As I mentioned before, I plan to try to sell some of these during the Live & Learn Conference here in Albuquerque.  The conference starts Thursday.  This is Noro Kureyon, colorway #126. 

Now that I'm using my unschooling blog as more of the travel journal, this one hasn't had the travel photos.  So, I leave you with a photo that represents the beauty of today.  This is the San Felipe de Neri Church in Old Town Albuquerque.