Another Sweater

I guess you could say I'm on a finishing kick!

Here's the Rift sweater. Off my needles last night. It was blocked in pieces and then I seamed it up.

Ravelry project page: Rift for Rick

This is a Brooklyn Tweed pattern for men by Jared Flood.

Knitted with 7 skeins of Beaverslide Dry Goods Merino/Mohair 90/10 blend

Woodsmoke Heather color way

It turned out a little bigger than I had hoped.

Although this was a fairly straightforward knit, it did have some new elements that I had never done. I always like to learn something new and this sweater was the perfect project.

And it's been fun knitting this along with Joan! She's almost done too.

More photos to come. I need to do a photo shoot for some of my new knits.

Lots to share with you all.

Happy Knitting!

Yarn Along

A day late, but hey...best I can do.

I finished knitting my "daydream" shawl last night.

The actual pattern name is: 

Stories from Snoqualmie Valley 

It was a pleasure to knit.

Knitted with Cascade Pure Alpaca in an off-white color.

Hoping to get some pictures of the whole shawl sometime this weekend.

I have a book coming to me called, A Little Life. I heard it's a tear jerker but an amazing book that's worth the read. It's long and I think I'm in the mood for a nice long book. My knitting projects are all wrapping up right now and it's a good idea to give my body a knitting break. My shoulder and elbow aren't thrilled with all my knitting these days.

Happy knitting!

 Joining in with Ginny for the weekly yarn along.

Snow Days

Well, they were right. We got snow. Lots of it. Thankful for my dad and his tractor and snowblower. If it wasn't for him and Nick, we would all still be stuck in our houses and animals would be stuck in barns.Chase was the only kid in my house that wanted to play in the snow. 

Again, looks like I only have one kid! Glad Wade and Grant invited us over for some snow fun!

Overall, everything went well for us. We never lost power.

There was flooding in Manasquan (according to the news).

Here are some photos from my phone over the course of the two days....

I spent all day Saturday knitting, cooking and watching How to Get Away With Murder.

I binged watched 10 episodes of the first season. Yes, 10! That's a lot of tv. And I couldn't get enough of it!!!!!!!! Wow!!!  Also got a ton of knitting done on my "Daydream Shawl" aka 

Stories from Snoqualmie Valley - MKAL by Annie Rowden

I finished up the edge and moved on to the garter stitch short rows. I love it.

Hope you faired well in the storm!

SNOW is on it's way!

Forecast:

Snow, wind, blizzard conditions, power outages expected.

And knitting, cooking, wine, animal protection and warm alpaca gear.

I will be knitting furiously on my "Daydream Shawl" 

aka Stories from Snoqualmie Valley - MKAL 

I am cruising right along and hit the half way point of the lace border. I have enjoyed working on this so much. It's a nice change from sweaters and never ending sleeves. Why do sleeves take me FOREVER???? Hoping to also finish up the second sleeve of my husband's Rift Sweater. Just need the cap and then to rip the other one back and redo the cap. Made it way too long first time around. oops.

Stay warm and safe to everyone in the path of this storm. Looks like it's going to be intense.

It's freaking me out a bit that they are comparing it to Sandy. Don't know how we would deal with no heat or electricity in January.

Good luck and stay warm!

Sheep & Wool Drawing

For the past few years I have entered artwork into fiber festival cover art competitions. It's a fun creative outlet for me and I always enjoy coming up with something. I've been close with a few, winning runner up but never the grand-prize winner. Maybe I should get Steve Harvey to judge next time. I just heard from the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival that I didn't win. 

Oh well... there's always next year!

This was my submission. It's a pencil drawing of a mama and her little lamb.

Congratulations to the winner. I can't wait to see it.

And I can't wait for our annual sister Maryland Sheep & Wool trip in May!

Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday to a 2 year old Chase. Not much has changed 2 years later.

Daydream Knit

Knit a row. Mark it done. Knit a row. Mark it done. Repeat. 

I forgot how much I love knitting a chart. Every row completed feels good. 

You see instant progress and I just want to keep on knitting.

This is the edge of the beautiful shawl. I'm knitting it with Cascade Alpaca on size US 7 needles.

Following the pattern for 

Stories from Snoqualmie Valley - MKAL

I am calling it my Daydream Shawl.

I look forward to seeing this blocked. The cables and lace work will be stunning I think!

A few of us are knitting this as part of an Arrow Acres Knit-a-long. Just a casual knitting project that we can share with one another. Here's the link to our Ravelry group thread if you want to join in!

No official start day or end....knit as you wish without a time constraint!

That super cute bag was a gift from my sister, Andee. She got it at one of our LYS, Chelsea Yarn.

It fits perfectly.

Joining in with Ginny at Small Things for the weekly yarn along.

New podcast

Hi friends!

Do you listen to podcasts? I do and I love them. I must admit that my sister, Andee listened to podcasts long before me and I thought she was nuts. Sorry Andee. I was SOOOOOO wrong!

Podcasts are a wonderful way to learn, be entertained, and it feels like having an adult conversation when you're surrounded by kids, housework or regular work! I really enjoy listening to a variety of podcasts. 

SOOOO I was super excited to see that our very own Laura Gesin has a new podcast!!!

I met Laura first online and then she signed up for a fair isle class with me last summer.

She lives right here in Wall and is a technology teacher at Communications High School.

She also has a jacob sheep farm in the area! Laura is smart, funny, witty and all around awesome.

Laura tells us that she had a podcast years ago and then Sandy hit us and derailed her recording. She just started up again and released a brand new podcast last night.

So hop on over to her site and take a listen!

Link: Knit Read Pray Podcast

And while we are on the subject of podcasts, I am always looking for new ones.

So if you are a podcast fan, list your favorites in the comment section.

For a quick list of my other favorites besides Laura's (of course)...

The Fat Squirrel Speaks (video....sooooo funny)

Knitmore Girls (audio mom and daughter team)

Susan B Anderson (video)

Woolful (Ashley interviews fiber folk)

Serial (season 1... the case of Adnan Syed)

This American Life (various topics and interviews)

A Slob Comes Clean (a new one for me. For people that hate to clean!)

Modern Farm Girls (2 woman that left the corporate world to farm their own land)

Never Not Knitting

The Knit Wits (this husband wife duo are very funny. They haven't recorded in over a year but the old ones are worth listening to)

Congrats again to Laura for rejoining the podcast world!

"My" Knitters

 After a busy holiday season in the coop, "my" knitters gathered together to hang out, knit together, catch up and have some knitting fun. I call them "my" knitters...because they are :) I care about everyone so much and it makes me incredibly happy to see them hard at work on a craft I love. 

I have had the pleasure over the past year and a half to teach many people how to knit as well as learn more and further their knitting. Everyone around this table has taken this journey with me.

And they brought me goodies....they are THE BEST!

 

p.s. a lot of the photos were taken by Chase.

Just a quick note on these two photos of Purple Debbie. Chase took 99 photos of her. Yes, 99. I counted. She didn't want me to post any....hah. Here's 2. I love this lady.

 

 

 And here are the goodies they brought. Seriously...how awesome are they?

 Handmade beeswax candles by Seashore Sharon

A knitting murder mystery book!!!! Honey and tea from Purple Debbie.

 

 And you'll notice that yummy wine from Joella. I enjoyed it!!!

So thankful for my people that make me happy and love to knit.

You guys are the best.