Winter Whispers

Winter is not whispering today.  Last night it was 57 degrees F and today with the high winds it feels like 16 degrees F.  One good thing is that I can wear my  new sweater.  I saw a photo of it pop up on Ravelry and it was instantly in love with the cardigan.  Designed by Paulina Popiolek for Loop London, Winter Whispers is the perfect pattern for the light blue (Classic Elite) Skye Tweed yarn I've had in the stash for years.  Even better, it was easy to knit and fits exactly the way I like my sweaters to fit.  Sadly, the yarn was discontinued long ago, but I have three+ skeins left for another project.

Skye Tweed yarn and the perfect pattern

Joining the body and sleeves

Blocking makes everything better

Note how the project looks before blocking.  the fabric appears dense and the stockinette stitch edges are curling.  I didn't get a photo of the cable detail appearing condensed.  I filled the washer's tub with cold water and a bit wool wash, immersed the sweater (after weaving in the ends) and let it soak for about 20 minutes.  The lid of the washer was up so the agitation would not work.  Using the wool wash is great, because you don't have to rinse out any soap.  I set the washer to spin, which removed most of the water, gave the sweater a shake, and then smoothed and pinned the sweater while using the schematic as a guide for the measurements.  It dried overnight and all I needed to add were the buttons.

Cable detail on the yoke

Natural shell buttons are a lovely touch

The wall o' wool

I finished carding the four pounds of Jacob wool Jim got me from The Kerry Woolen Mill in Ireland.  Mikey, Jim's colleague from Ireland,  brought it over when he came over on a business trip.  I have two more pounds of wool from him!  The wool came as roving of sorts, but I wanted to loosen the fibers and make it manageable to spin so I sent it through my Wild Carder to make small batts.  Test spinning, plying and knitting swatches from each color will reveal how the wool looks as fabric and the goal is to use some of it for slippers and filled mittens.  

A nice surprise prize from Spinzilla was a $25.00 gift certificate from Akerworks, based out of Tennessee.  I used it for a portable Trillium spindle in neon green.  The spindles can be found under Hand Crafts on their website.

The black piece attached to the tag fits over the hook and protects it from bending.
The shaft is carbon fiber, which is very lightweight.

Between spinning and teaching there has been some knitting of WIPs and UFOs.  I resurrected the Round Dance hat on Halloween night.  The skeletons remind me of the first Disney Silly Symphony, The Skeleton Dance from 1929.

The Lopi cardigan is getting a band makeover.  I was never really happy with the bands and will re-do the bottom, fronts and neckband/collar as I did on the Shwook hat band.  

Next is the first project from the Seven Skeins Club.  I passed on the slippers in favor of Cohal, a slip-stitch cowl.  It was an easy knit, instant gratification!

Cochal (Scottish Gaelic word for hood)

We have enjoyed a beautiful and unseasonably warm Autumn.  The small burning bush in front is pretty.

...and finally, Jim was at the Minnesota Wild (hockey) game last week and got a selfie stick.  I like the photo.

Caught up!

I finally finished Greta!  The cardigan came out very nicely and it is now hanging at the shop by the Rowan yarns.  I picked out some small buttons and sewed them on before class last night.

Greta on display.

Yoke detail

The other project is the Beaded Beret.  I used a skein of Richard Devries yarn in the colorway Twyla Brae.  The clear beads look like raindrops.  I like the pattern so much I think it needs to be a class!

I love this hat!

This is a perfect first beaded project.

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts is celebrating 100 years this year.  Three masterpieces will be on display throughout the year.  The first is Vermeer's Woman in Blue Reading a Letter, which I saw many years ago in  Amsterdam.

I took this while sitting at the cafe way across the room.  

Fixing a cable

A zig instead of zag on a cable on the back of Tulgey Wood, my Custom Fit sweater (Acorn Trail, by Amy Herzog)...darn!  Rather than frog and rework four full rows there is a better way to fix the pesky cable.  I worked to the section with the cable section, and undid four rows of the cable.  Notice that I kept the two purl stitches intact and fixed only the cable.  I did not think to take photos until after I undid the cable, hence no photo of the mistake.  It was a bit awkward to take photos with my phone.  

The four rows of yarn lined up.  The correction will be started from the bottom strand to the top strand.  It is easier for me to fix on the right side of the knitting.   

Corrected cable on the right side.

Knitting on the right side with the next to last strand.

Purling with the last strand.

Back on track!

WIP Monday

I figure if I post this it will get finished.  Tangled (my name for it because of the yarn--the pattern is Kasuri Chanchanko) is finally back on the needles and in the last stages of finishing.  Once I finish the last seven rows of the inner font band/collar of the vest the armholes will be easy.

To the right of the red section is the purl ridge for turning.  I have to get the curled edge under control before I sew the band to the inside.

Greta is coming along.  The sleeves are ready and I cast on the 231 stitches for the body.  The K1 P1 rib is slow going with size US 2 needles.  I have three more rows of ribbing before I can go up to the size US 3 needles and work the stockinette stitch body.

Sleeves and the endless 1 by 1 rib on size 2's!  The yarn, Rowan Finest, is a dream to work with and the sweater will be gorgeous when it is finished.

Yesterday I cast on for the Timber Mittens.  Plymouth Homestead is a lovely wool yarn.  I chose gray, dark green, and light green for the sample.  The loop stitch is fun to work and when the mitten is finished it will get a haircut.  Buff mittens were worn by loggers and teamsters in the Adirondacks, Canada, and New England.

I took the mitten to knitting group today and now the mitten is ready for the thumb.    I think these would be great as sheep mittens!

"It's that igneous intrusion of dacite porphyry...it's that molar in the sky that just won't let you be."

I finished Dacite and it now greets you when you come into the shop.  This pattern by Carol Feller was a joy to knit.  It was a well-planned and well-written pattern.  The cardigan shape is simple, but subtle shaping with short rows in the collar, small darts in the back, garter and stockinette stitching throughout, come together beautifully in this classic cardigan.

Dacite knitted in Kenzie by HiKoo

As you must know by now our family has a love of Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico.  It is the BSA's largest national High Adventure Base covering 137,000 acres in the Sangre de Cristo range of the Rocky Mountains.  The high mountains and rugged terrain range in elevation from 6,500 to 12,441 feet.  The iconic mountain is called the Tooth of Time, which is an igneous intrusion of dacite porphyry formed in the Tertiary period of the Cenozoic era around 12 to 20 million years ago.  Now I think it is pretty cool that this design is named Dacite--even the color (Pavlova) I chose is fitting!

Our son was a Philmont Ranger for two summers.  (Although this photo was taken in Colorado.  The Rangers would hike and climb on their days off.)

RMSC was the location of Philmont Leadership Challenge in September 2012.  The new location for NAYLE--National Advanced Youth Leadership Experience, and PLC--Philmont Leadership Challenge is Rayado Leadership Mesa, in the foothills view of Urraca Mesa and Crater Peak. 

The Tooth of Time as seen from Rocky Mountain Scout Camp.

As a PLC participant I was in the Urraca Patrol, because
I like the fact that the Urraca Mesa is said to be haunted.

Look for Urraca on the left and you will see the shape of a skull, which is visible from the air. 

Philmont is a working ranch and has a herd of Bison.  We were fortunate to see the herd grazing near the side of the road.  They are massive creatures.  Did you know that Bison down
is a luxury spinning fiber.  I had a friend give me just a bit to spin--very nice!

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Back to Ireland

I can see a bit of the patio and roof shingles!  There is a break in winter's grip today.  The sun is shining and I see water drops from the deck.  The snow is still deep, but I am sure with the mild temperature today and in the coming days that will change.  There is a squirrel outside  the door and he is searching for his long-buried acorns he stashed away in the fall.  He was smart to hide them in the rocks under the deck.

Jim and I recently took a trip back to Ireland.  Although it was windy and rainy, seeing the green landscape and wild surf was nice for a change.  Minnesota received six more inches of snow while we were gone.  From Dublin we drove to Kilkenny, Killarney, Limerick, and then back to Dublin.  On the way we visited Jim's colleagues, we were able to meet Margie and Mr. Margie, and then Angelika (our German daughter).  It was a delightful trip made even better by visiting friends!

Posing with Elwood and Jake in Chicago before we leave for Ireland.

This was before we found out the Renault Clio had GPS.  Our first stop was Kilkenny.

Rock of Cashel was an impressive sight on top of the hill.

O{]:^)

The carved and painted faces greeted us inside.

The crows were flying all around and took roost in the openings.
Part of the castle is under renovation, but there was still quite a bit to see.

I took the photo as close as I could to where the rope to the bell came through.
Quite a bit of water was dripping.

Cormac's Chapel

The library--I love the colors of the stone, wood, and metal.

We did not eat here, but the name is funny.

Walking up to the castle.  There were hurricane-force winds along with flooding
the week before.  So many trees were down everywhere we went.  Part of the park
pathway was blocked by workers clearing out the damaged trees.

Kilkenny castle.  It was beautiful inside, no photos allowed.
The long gallery was very impressive featuring the wood ceiling.

Kilkenny town.

It never ceases to amaze me the age of some of the establishments!
If those walls could talk...

We picked up clementines and bananas here and then found a
bakery for coffee and fresh scones for breakfast.  I reverted back
to tea during the trip.  Delicious!

Jim got a kick out of this place.

I will post more photos soon.  Back to knitting...I am just about finished with Dacite.  I made progress to the garter stitch on the sleeve since the photo was taken.

Almost there!  HiKoo Kenzie is amazingly soft yarn and has springiness that shows off the stitches beautifully.  I will be happy to see the finished piece when it is blocked.