Fiber Arts Friday: Minty Mitts

I've been wanting to make a new pair of Fingerless Mitts for a while.

My Tibetan Mastiff Mitts are really too big to wear while working on the computer and the Alpaca ones that said Tibetan Mastiff remodeled a long(!) time ago hadn't been speaking to me.  These both used the same pattern, and I wanted something more fitted.

I had seen a sample of Possum yarn at one of our LYS's a long while back and neglected to purchase a few skeins then.  They did not carry it for long, so I had been looking, unsuccessfully, ever since.

So last fall (October 2022), when a friend came for a visit from Australia, she brought this gorgeous Possum-blend yarn along.

I asked her to choose 2 skeins of which ever color she liked in the weight I preferred.  Sometimes it's fun to use things that others choose for you... it helps to mix things up a bit.

This yarn has a subtle blue color, dyed over a brown-ish base.  It has character and I was anxious to start working with it.  So I swatched right away, but then did the responsible thing and set it aside because I was trying very hard to reduce my number of WIPs.

After contemplating patterns for a while, I settled on this one called, Hidden Gusset.... Crazy, I've been on a Twisted Rib run recently... (Baker's Hat, Twisted Rib Stocking Cap, and a yet to be discussed here, design idea)

The colorway is called Peppermint, thus why I am calling these my Minty Mitts.  :-)

The Brushtail Possum does not shed nor is it shorn.  They were originally exported from Australia to New Zealand for the Fur Trade, and then became invasive in New Zealand.  So the use of their fur is part of a control program for an invasive+destructive species.

Possum is a hollow fiber, like alpaca, so it is valued for both its softness and warmth.

I finally cast on at the end March 2023, as our Temporary Housing Stay/Remodel was coming to a close...

This yarn is a blend of merino, nylon, possum, and alpaca and has excellent stitch definition.

Merino is a breed of sheep.  Sheep are sheared annually, as are alpaca.  These haircuts are performed manually, do not injure the animal, and are required as part of responsible husbandry.

Nylon is a petroleum product.  The extraction and manufacture are generally not good for the environment nor is the finished product biodegradable.

Wools such as Merino, Alpaca, and Possum biodegrade and add to the health of our soil and air.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Multiple Projects Again

At the end of March, while our Remodel and Temporary Housing were coming to a close, I had worked down to one project (the red one), but decided to cast on two others... in one day. lol.

The red one is a long term, simple, project and was starting to need mental breaks.... It is ready to be the travel project, which was the goal.

So I cast on a pair of socks and a pair of fingerless mitts that had been in the queue for a while.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Yarn Fest 2023, part 2

Yarn Fest 2023 was a couple of weeks ago.

The Steeking class was my first-ever class at Yarn Fest... and the results are two cut tubes and a half-finished zipper bag. :-)

The profound part of the class for me was realizing that the entire thing won't fall apart once you start snipping.

In the photo below, the right side has been secured by needle felting and the left side has not been secured... this was quite a revelation!

There were about 10 people in the class, this is a pile of our partially finished bags.

Since I took a class, I was granted access to the market.  I don't like that the market has an admission fee... especially since it's smaller than the others I've been too... and generally doesn't have my preferred, undyed, single breed, fibers.... but I do think it's important to support local yarn and fiber events whenever I can.

In this case, they had two events going on at the same time, in the same place... Yarn Fest and Stitch Fest, which was focused on Quilting.

I don't understand why, but there was more aisle space given to the quilting side of the ballroom.  Which means that the yarn side was crowded and difficult to pass.

That being said, the Quilt Exhibit was interesting.  I especially liked this one...

For the Yarn Fest portion, there was a lot of sock yarn... and by a lot, I mean almost everything was sock yarn.  Which was fine, since that's what I decided my focus would be.  ;-)

In the lobby was a community scarf, to which I added a few rows of stockinette.  It's been a long while since I used straight needles. lol.

The one thing I was really looking for were Sock Blockers, but did not see any... as in none.  It seems they were everywhere a few years ago.  hmph.

I found a quiet space and a few minutes to work on my Sandbank prior to class starting.

AND... I finally achieved the life goal of wearing a pair of me-made, handknit socks to a Fiber Festival.  Brown Socks for the Win!

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Save Our Sheep Sweater, part 18

Since last time I have Kitchener'd the armpits closed and sewed on the buttons,... and, on the night before we got our home back after the major remodel, this is Complete!

AND now that it is complete, I think it is important to capture how large an achievement this is:

• This sweater is 100% Hand-spun by me from Rare-Breed, American Wool.  Some of which was grown very close to my home.
• Each of these yarns are their natural color.  Nothing is dyed.
• I began spinning the yarn used in this sweater in April 2019. 
• I started thinking seriously about this sweater in early-January 2022.
• Cast-on in late-February 2022.
• Final Bind-off and Finishing happened in late March 2023.

With four urgent projects (Wavy Scarf, Black Hat, Baker's Hat, Twisted Rib Stocking Cap), a little bit of time-out for one hot summer, finishing out the other WIPs (Summer Cardi, New Normal Socks, Clown Fish Socks, Very Berry Socks, Brown Socks) and Two Tours de Fleece interfering with knitting progress over the last year, I'm very pleased with this sweater.

Especially when considering at early February last year, I was just restarting regular knitting after moving our farm and getting our former home ready for sale...  so I would say that this last year has been quite productive.

So my Save our Sheep Sweater has been 4 years in the making.  :-)

There are several mistakes and I could have made the button holes 2 stitches instead of 3.  The final result is rustic and I love it!  This is my first, fully-hand-spun, sweater and I love it!  I expect it will get lots of wearing for years to come.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Save Our Sheep Sweater, part 17

Well, I thought I might get this project completed under the 1 year of knitting mark, which happened toward the end of February... but I avoided weaving in the ends and re-doing the Button Band Bind-off for two long.

Finally on a few cool days in mid-March, I decided it was time to get them finished.... and both were not terrible.

Weaving in ends is tedious and took a few sessions, as expected.  Redoing the Button Band went much easier than I expected.

I replaced the "standard" bind-off with the Simple Stretchy Bind-off as described in this video.

Pulling out the Bind-off was surprisingly easy...

With the new Button Band Bind-off and much less bunched-up looking...

Remaining now are sewing on buttons and Kitchenering the Armpits closed.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!!

Home Improvements, Temporary Housing

While our Kitchen/Laundry/Floor remodel was going on, we rented a small house in town.

We were fortunate to find a small, furnished home, with a full kitchen, laundry, and internet, that was very close to our home.

It was a sweet little place with a lot of charm that had been recently updated and the owners were very nice to work with.  

It was clear that it was an old house, but I didn't realize how old until a very snowy day, and I noticed this mark in the sidewalk.

Then I discovered this article about the builder.  Apparently he was quite a scoundrel, though I suspect we would use a different word today.  Anyway, it was fun to find some history on our temporary home.

The neighborhood we stayed in was quiet.  Surprising to me since the houses are so close together.  We could hear the neighbor sometimes working in his shop or chatting with another neighbor... but it was never to the point of being able to understand what they were saying.  Also we could hear the train sometimes and a few barking dogs.

There are a lot(!) of squirrels in town and they are all very-well-fed.  One would site on the fence and watch me thru the window while I was working.  lol.

There are murals in the alley and the neighbors we met were quite friendly.

Jazz Band Mural

Abstract Mural

Toy Fire Hydrant with a note saying it's for Dogs Only

Honestly it was a very cheerful neighborhood and we would definitely stay there again.

Fiber Arts Friday: Modified Sandbank

According to Ravelry, I first saw this pattern in June 2017, nearly 6 years ago.

In the most recent December (2022) an image of this project kept popping into my head.  So I had started looking for it in my queue and list of favorites.  It took a while to find because the image I had was of my intended version, not the published version. lol.

Then, a couple of weeks later, on NYEE, I saw a note from the publisher of Knitty Magazine that said Shibui Knits was discontinuing their yarn brand.  So I went straight to their website, looked around and happened to find the exact color and weight that I had in mind for this project.

It's a Merino+Silk blend, with 40% being Silk.  So the result should have lovely drape.

So I bought the pattern, printed it out, promptly made the notes of the modifications I wanted to make, and ordered the yarn.... and THAT is how easily my actual queue/active project list gets too long.  This project had been percolating in the background for nearly 6 years and then came together in about 10 minutes on New Year's Eve Eve 2022.

The yarn arrived as our remodel was starting.  So I set it aside in the tiny office of our temporary housing, thinking I would get started within a few weeks.

In early-February, I decided to wind the first ball and swatch the project.... but since my winding tools were packed away, I improvised with my knees...

Gauge is not important for this wrap, so my swatch is just a few rows to ensure I was getting the fabric I wanted...

I am using the same US0 needles as the Clown Fish Socks and I ordered a couple of longer ones for the later stages and set everything aside again.

After finishing what is hopefully my last urgent project for a while, completing my Yarn Fest Homework, and winding down on my Save Our Sheep Sweater, I finally cast on in mid-March 2023.

Since I want a generous scarf/wrap when complete, and am using US0... or 30% smaller than the prescribed US3 needle, I thought I would aim to cast on 30% more stitches than the pattern called for, but ultimately just pulled out a length of yarn and cast on until I ran out of tail, using Judy's Magic Cast on, which is essentially, my preferred Long Tail Cast on, but using two needles.

I ended up casting on 422 stitches while watching the Live Broadcast of the Flyball Competition at Crufts.

It doesn't look like much on these tiny needles.  lol.

Over the rest of the weekend, I set up for the end increases and knit a couple of rounds, using my 16-inch circulars... I'm definitely going to need the longer needles sooner than I expected.

This project is being worked from the center-out, which I think this will be an interesting effect.

I have a long way to go, so you'll likely see a lot of it here over the next several months.  ;-)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!