quincy

I love this hat so much it almost makes up for the fact that our fall weather didn't last very long this year before cold wintery temperatures kicked in. At least I can wear wool every day! I knit this hat from the pattern book "Made in Brooklyn" by Jared Flood. I almost never buy pattern books, but this one has about 4 patterns that I seriously want to knit (or maybe I just want to wear) right this very second. And because they are designed by Jared Flood, I really couldn't resist buying this book - his designs are so elegant and usually involve very little seaming, which is the kind of knitting I love.

This is the Quincy hat, which I knit in Classic Elite Ariosa. It is a super soft blend of merino and cashmere and is pretty bulky, so it knits up really fast. The hat pattern is amazing. You basically just knit a long garter stitch band, twist it, sew the ends together, and then pick up stitches for the top of the hat. Super easy, but brilliant...and I love wearing it. Oh yeah...and did you notice the lack of handknits on my poor cold baby? That is being remedied...stay tuned!

peat

Here is my latest handspun yarn. It was spun from (yet another) Pigeonroof Studios roving, in color "peat." It's 80% merino, 20% tussah silk. I have to admit that I started spinning this about a year ago and then got wrapped up in teaching and taking care of Levi, and it got ignored. Well, with all this goat frenzy as well as wanting something to enter in the Vermont Sheep & Wool Festival, I finished the spinning over the past few days.

It is navajo plied, which is a method of getting a 3-ply yarn from a single strand of singles yarn, and I did this to preserve each individual color of the roving. So, instead of ending up with all the colors plied and blended together (resulting in a tweedy yarn), I got a yarn that will give a more stripey effect when I knit with it. I'm really happy with how it turned out and now have 3 skeins of yarn to enter in next week's wool festival!

Speaking of the goat frenzy, it seems that there are at least 3 other people, if not more, with way more votes than me. That's okay, we'll be patient until the day when we finally have some fiber animals of our own. I am grateful to all my family and friends who solicited votes for me. I'm especially grateful to my siblings, who got involved in this quite passionately. I didn't know that they understood my passions and interests as well as they apparently do...and I feel very lucky to have such supportive people in my life!

angora goats

Please vote for my essay in the amazing goat giveaway from Hudson Valley Fiber Farms. This would be a dream come true for all of us! All you have to do is click on the star below my essay and your vote will be counted for me. There are almost 50 entries, but it's worth a shot! The winner will be announced on October 2nd.

ocean

Part of the fun of watching Levi grow up is seeing his reaction to new things. If his interests as a 7-month old were any indication of what he would grow to love, this baby would be a botanist. Every grass spike and flower we show him is met with such interest...pursed lips, outstretched hand, close inspection.

But water is a different story. We've tried to acquaint Levi with water in the form of bathtubs, lakes, and most recently the ocean, and he's never really loved it. He now tolerates baths, but only with me, and only for a short while. We couldn't wait to show him the ocean...and on a recent trip to visit family in Newport we stopped to dip his little toes in. To say the least, he was not immediately thrilled with it...but I think he'll come around eventually!

alders and acorns

When Adam showed me this beautiful bowl that he turned out of red alder wood, the first words out of my mouth were "I love it. Is it for me?" He laughed and told me that I could have any bowl I want. This one is just so simple and beautiful. I love the little foot it rests on and the colors in the wood. And it is the perfect size for me to fill with little treasures...

So I finally made my felt acorns! It might seem like felt acorns would be better suited for an oak bowl, but I've never been a huge fan of oak...so alder will have to do!

6 months

I can't believe that my sweet baby boy is 6 months old today. The older I get, the faster time seems to go, and it seems inconceivable that a half-a-year has passed since Levi was born. I already miss little things he used to do, but then every day there is something new to love. Happy half-birthday, dear Levi.

may mittens

Elizabeth Zimmerman says that you should always knit mittens in May. If you knit them in the winter-time, you are rushed because you want to wear them so badly, and you might end up with imperfect mittens. In May, you take your time so they always end up just right. I have to say that I totally agree with this advice - while knitting these mitered mittens (from The Knitter's Almanac by Elizabeth Zimmerman), I ripped out an entire mitten just because I wasn't happy with the way the colors played out. Would I have done that in January? Hmmm...

I used Noro Silk Garden color 255, and Kathryn Ivy's thumb gusset modifications. The yarn is one that I never ever would have chosen if I saw it in person. I ordered it online and was disappointed with it when I received it. Luckily, I love these mittens, so the yarn ended up not being a huge mistake. I did, however, only use partial skeins so I could avoid the colors in the yarn that I really hated. I do love the turquoise and rust colored stripes, and how they work with all the shades of green.

I just love this pattern, and think the yarn was a perfect match for it. The only bad thing about making mittens in May is that now I have to wait so many months and months before I can wear them!