Happy Holidays, Yo

I Love Crazy Aunt Purl

The first knitting blog I read every day is Crazy Aunt Purl, and really, to be truthful, its hardly a knitting blog at all.  In fact, a good friend of mine, who hasn’t a clue about knitting, reads it regularly and loves it too. So there you go.

Anyway, I love, love, love her latest post about the little baby shoes she made for her co-worker. Aren’t they just adorable, with the ladybug buttons and the lovely packaging. And she conquered the kitchener stitch! Yay Laurie. Lucky, lucky co-worker!

The photos are so pretty, and the fact that she didn’t block them yet packed them up so prettily anyway just makes me smile. I wish Laurie lived near me so we could be friends and go to the same knitting group.

Maybe I will dye up some crazy aunt purl yarn, but I’m undecided on what the color it should be….maybe wine colored…with cat hair???

What do you think?

Prayer Shawl Ministry

Finally, here are some photos from the Prayer Shawl workshop Cheryl and I attended last month.

Not knowing much about the Prayer Shawl ministry, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

First, I was blown away by the the number of knitters and crocheters who attended. The third photo above shows the large church hall before we got started. By the time the workshop was underway, almost every table was full with close to 120 knitters and crocheters wanting to learn more about how to create and maintain a prayer shawl ministry of their own. A group of women sitting with me and Cheryl had traveled all the way from Maryland. (!)

Second, I was surprised learn how many prayer shawls are made to celebrate life, not just ease suffering and pain. New moms, new babies, and new brides are all recipients of these lovely hand made shawls. What a wonderful gift for happy times.

So what is it that makes prayer shawl knitting different from the knitting we all do every day. Very simply, these shawls are knit very mindfully with positive intentions and blessings for the intended recipient.

To some extent we all start out knitting mindfully when we begin a new project. When I begin a new project, I think about the person I’m knitting for, what colors he or she might like, what type of fiber would work best, and how I can hopefully make them feel warm and cozy with a gift of socks, scarf, hat, or sweater. But, in the normal course of life, I get distracted while I knit. Maybe I’m watching television, or the phone rings. Maybe Papelbon is giving up another save. Or I’m thinking about my job and the big project that is due on Monday. Or I’m making my grocery list in my head, or worrying about that big credit card bill that is coming this month. Whatever it is, we all get distracted.

That is where the The Prayer Shawl ministry is so wonderful. Being part of group like this, you all can stay focused on the true purpose of the knitting, even if it is only for a short time. What a great way to still our minds, focus on the needs of others, all while creating a thing of beauty.

Vine Lace Scarf II Scarf Pattern

Cheryl wrote up this simple little pattern, great for using up 50 grams (192 yards) of sock weight yarn.

Needles: Size 6 US

Note, you will knit first 3 and last 3 sts on every row.

Cast on 33 sts and Knit 4 rows

Begin pattern:

Row 1 and 3: Knit 3, P to last 3, K3

Row 2: K3 [yo, K2, ssk, K2tog, K2, yo, K1] repeat to last 3, K3

Row 4: K3 {Kk1, yo, K2, ssk, K2tog, K2, yo,] repeat to last 3, K3

End: Knit 4 rows

Follow this simple little pattern with one skein of sock yarn and you will have a lovely little accessory to show off your favorite sock weight yarn.

Enjoy!

Isn’t it Obvious?

A day or two back,  a visitor to the shop asked if a skein of sock yarn would be enough to knit a hat.

I quickly did a search on Ravelry and found 53 free knitted hat patterns that would be suitable for 430 yards of fingering weight yarn. So happily, the answer was “yes” and I had the facts to prove it. Problem solved.

But that got me thinking, what other things could you knit from sock yarn, other than socks? I talked with Cheryl about this question and asked her if we should update our shop descriptions to say that folks would have enough yardage for a hat, mittens, etc.

Me: Do you think we should also say you’d have enough to  make a pair of mittens?

Cheryl: Oh yes, definitely

Me: Are you sure about that?   I mean, I know there are plenty of hat patterns, but I didn’t specifically look for mitten patterns. I should go and do that…

Cheryl: Well, um, think about it. One skein is more than enough for a pair of adult socks…[long pause]… Don’t you think you could fit two socks on your hands?

Me: [laughing hysterically]

So sometimes the obvious answer is right in front of you. If you are wondering if one skein of sock yarn will be enough to make a pair of mittens, the answer is a resounding YES.

Happy Knitting!

No Dyeing, But Still Busy

We haven’t done any dyeing lately, but it has been busy behind the scenes here at Bristol County Dyeworks and we wanted to share a little of what’s been happening in our knitting and yarn dyeing world.

A few weeks ago, Cheryl and I enjoyed a lovely Sunday at the Slater Mill Labor and Ethnic Festival. We spent the afternoon representing the Slater Mill Knit and Crochet Guild at their exhibit table, selling raffle tickets for the Guild’s upcoming Aran Afghan raffle. The weather was beautiful, the visitors at the festival were all so friendly, we sold a bunch of raffle tickets,  and best of all we were able to spend most of the day knitting and talking about knitting with lots of friendly folks. And we saw the Ladies of the Rolling Pin. It really doesn’t get much better than that! Check them out on YouTube.

Cheryl’s been busy prepping for next week’s Prayer Shawl workshop at her church. Janet Bristow and Victoria Cole-Galo, co-founders of the Prayer Shawl Ministry will present. I know a little about the ministry from articles I’ve read and some co-workers who have participated in their own local groups, but I am looking forward to learning more and meeting some new and talented knitters and crocheters .

Cheryl and I also belong to another local knitting group, the North Needlers, and we met last week to decide on our 2009 charity knit/crochet project. We are a group of about 20 or so fiber artists, some knitters, some crocheters, all of varying expertise and ages. We meet twice a month to share our latest projects and discuss techniques and yarns.  Occasionally we have a guest speaker. What I enjoy most is learning what everyone else is working on, and all the encouragement and support that comes from our little group.

After a little discussion, we decided to work on two charity projects for the 2009 holiday season. First, we will be knitting helmet liners for the troops.  Here is a link to one suggested pattern, more info on the helmet liner project and other charity fiber projects for combat troops is available at Citizen Sam.

Our second charity project is focused a little closer to home. We will be knitting squares for lap robes to be donated to a local senior nursing and rehabilitation center.  If you are on Ravelry, there are over 400 free patterns available for knitting or crocheting afghan squares.

So, all in all, it has been a very busy, though non-dyeing time for us. Next we are looking forward to getting our hands back into the dyepots and cooking up some new colors weekend.

Until then, Happy Knitting!

Charity Knitting at Slater Mill

The Slater Mill Knitting Guild has been working on a charity project this summer, members are  knitting squares from Knitters Great American Aran Afghan.  The goal is to raffle the completed quilt, with proceeds going to a local charity and back to the guild to support future events.

This has been a fun project. I especially enjoy cables, and my particular square was a real treat. Each cable section was knitted individually, meaning I never had to work on more than 15 sts at a time. Which means no chart confusion and no ripping out.

Cheryl’s square is so cool, with cables representing strands of DNA. She’s a bit of a scientist at heart, so this is just perfect.

Playing with Flickr

It is raining (thanks to Hurricane Danny), so I’ve been playing with adding all our yarn photos to flickr. Time flies when you are having fun, I’ve been doing this all morning!

Knitting Patterns at Never Not Knitting

Things have been in a little bit of a lull at the shop and in the studio. Summer finally arrived in full force, bringing bright sunshine, high temperatures and sticky soupy humidity. The hot weather just makes everything happen a bit slower.

Cheryl and I will be planning another day of dyeing very soon, but in the meantime, please take a peek at some of the knitting patterns available at Never Not Knitting. I came across this site while hanging out on Twitter – there are so many talented knitters out there tweeting! So cool.

I love this beret, Rose Red. And the photos are all so beautiful.

Enjoy. Stay cool. Happy Knitting.