October Activities

I'm afraid I don't have much in the way of exciting new projects to report. I've been working on a few small things, I did a custom dye for a customer on a merino/mohair blend

and am still finishing up seaming "Savannah". When that's done I can get a good picture of it, I think it'll be a beautiful sweater. I've finished up a pair of longies as well but the camera was missing.

All in all it has been a pretty busy month trying to finish up some odds and ends as well as preparing for a trip to the grand 'ol state of Texas. My husband is training in San Angelo and we drove down last weekend to visit him.

A gracious friend is letting us stay with her this week near Dallas and we'll head back over to visit him again next weekend before making the 1,200+ mile journey home.

On another note, I just started in October stocking at Made By Military Wives on HyenaCart. All vendors are obviously military wives. We stock on the 1st and 15th of the month, so be sure to check it out.

Child's Tunic Sweater

Here's one I've been working on for *ages*. I don't know why I didn't get my act together a month ago and just finish it, but here it is, at long last.

It's the Cottage Creations "Tunic Sweater for the Family". It was a pretty easy knit and I'm very happy with the way it turned out, except I'm not convinced it's *actually* a size 8... it just looks too small. But, I have small children and have never really held a child's 8 sweater in my hands and looked at it, so I'm sure I know nothing. I remeasured it all and it seems like it is right, so we'll see if it really fits the recipient or not.

The yarn on the other hand... gorgeous! I think it's Perfect Pear's Ardara in "Grotto". I wasn't wild about it on the skein but absolutely LOVE it knit up. It's soft, and really beautiful. I was hesitant to use a variegated yarn like this because sometimes the variegation is too drastic and takes away from the garment. This yarn is very colorful, several shades of green, blue, and purple, but the colors are subtle and while there are a few dark spots that stand out, overall it blends very nicely. The dark green adds a splash (just a splash, mind you) of interest, but not enough to take away from the overall continuity of the sweater. Plus it didn't pool. :) I despise pooling in almost every case. All in all, *beautiful* yarn selection. Too bad it's for someone else, huh? Did I mention I really hope the sweater fits?

Website Update and New Congo!

Sorry for another boring post, I have to take some pictures of the sweater I just finished and the longies I'm working on. BUT, I have exciting news... I updated my website! It's still being worked on, tweaked here and there, and I plan on adding sidebar navigation but I just have to figure it out first. I'm doing it myself and all the coding can get overwhelming. But it has pictures and is looking okay, if you ask me!

Also I have joined a new congo on HyenaCart, Made By Military Wives. We stock the 1st and 15th, so my first stocking is tomorrow! Come and check it out, there are lots of talented ladies on there!

Happy Birthday Serenity Tree!

October 6 is our anniversary stocking over at Serenity Tree. I can't believe it has been a year already, but it has. We have lots of things planned, there *may* be some FFS lotteries (not sure yet), and we're having a couple collaborations, a mama one and a baby one - most stores are pitching in. It should be fun! So stop over October 6!

A Noggin's "Habitat"

This is my latest finished object, a hat.

I saw an alchemy request on Etsy for a man who wanted a very soft knit hat that was clearly not commercially produced, but also was sophisticated enough he could walk down Wall Street in it and not remove his hat in shame. Jared Flood's "Habitat" fit that profile.

Initially it was to be knit in a navy blue cashmere, but after a quick e-mail to The Tweed himself, we concluded that cashmere might not have enough stitch definition to pull off the cables well. Instead the customer decided on a Blue Sky Alpacas merino/alpaca blend. The yarn is very plied and has good stitch definition as you can see. Plus, it's super soft.

Want a Herd?

Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm has an essay giveaway going on right now, it's incredible. If I didn't live in the city I'd be pleading with her to be the winner. Details can be found here. Basically, by September 16 send them an essay on why you'd like to win a small herd of angora goats and she will pick a winner. How cool is that?! Here's an excerpt from her blog:

"Here’s how it works: Anyone interested in entering this giveaway will need to send me an essay telling me why you’d like to have a small herd of Angora goats. Your essay can contain photos, video, whatever, but mostly I want to hear why you’d like to be a shepherd. Have you always wanted sheep or goats of your own? Do you yearn to set up your spinning wheel in the pasture amongst the goats? Tell me all about it."

I'm totally jealous and want them for myself but I can't have them. So, I'm passing the word on to those of you who might.

Congratulations, Jill!

My friend Jill is pregnant and due in about 4 weeks. I went to a baby shower for her last night, which was absolutely fabulous. I saw old friends I haven't talked to in years, and got to just "be" for awhile.

Jill has asked me to attend her son's birth, which has me tickled pink (providing I can get care for my own kiddos during that time). It'll actually be the first birth besides my own kids' that I've attended. I wanted to make her something kind of special and fun, and I was in a bit of a pinch as I didn't buy the yarn for it until last Friday. So here you go, Baby Yoda:

I knit this out of Sublime's Cashmere Merino Silk Aran, it took about 2.5 balls. The yarn is soft, but kind of splitty. I didn't think the pattern was fabulously written, but it *is* a free pattern. Instead of knitting the back, front, and sleeve panels separately and then seaming them together I knit it from the bottom up with the fronts and back together, split for the arms, grafted the shoulder seams, and then picked up sts for the sleeves and worked down. I'm *very* glad I did it that way, as seaming is not my friend.

I suppose I had better get used to the idea though, as I have an adult sweater on the needles for a customer and I decided I should probably knit it as written, though I'm questioning that decision. Either way, here's my Baby Yoda in Artichoke Green, just waiting for a baby to be put into it.