Elemental Stitches

A Knit Hat and a Cowl

What a day!  I spent 6 hours chasing one of our falcons all over a desert butte.  Basically a mini mountain in the middle of the desert with awesome rocks.  We had to call off the search when it got dark.  My hubbie is getting up at 430am to climb the butte and track him before daybreak.  I am hoping he will be able to walk at all tomorrow.  He climbed that mountain 5 times almost to the top looking for his bird.  That is dedication.

Before we went out training I had Tom take a few photos of me and my knitted goods. 

While watching Gladiator the other night I started the Star Crossed Slouchy Beret. 

Needle - US 10½ and US 9 / 6.5 mm

Yarn - Red Heart Ltd. Eco-Ways

How much? - Less then 1 skeins = 186.0 yards (170.1m)

Colorway - Storm

I LOVE this hat!  I knit it slightly smaller then the pattern called for.  I was supposed to use a 10 circular for the brim and an 11 for the rest, but I didn't have those.  Instead I used a 9 and a 10.5.  That's close enough.  It came out great anyway.  Too bad this one is a gift.  I have another ball of this color left, so I think I am going to make one for myself.  Part of my dream to have a 100% handmade beautiful wardrobe. 

Here is another step closer to my handmade wardrobe.  I designed a Foliage Cowl to match my Foliage hat.

Needle - US 10½ / 6.5 mm

Yarn - Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky

How much? - 1 skeins = 137.0 yards (125.3m)

Colorway - Cape Cod - Varigated

I have never worn a cowl before, but they are cute and my neck gets cold a lot.  My hair is usually up in a clip or a ponytail and the wind bites at the back of my neck. 

Not sure what I am making next but I have to get a move on.  Time is getting short and my crafty gift list is still pretty long. 

If you want to keep track of my knitting you can check out my ravelry page.  I really like ravelry!  You should check it out if you haven't yet. 

Back in a couple days with more craftiness.

Holiday Patterns - Part 3

The Tree Family

Snowflake

Reindeer

Elf Stitchettes

And the ever wonderful Yahoo search for

Christmas Coloring Pages

Hanukkah Coloring Pages

Kwanzaa Coloring Pages

Winter Coloring Pages

Holiday Patterns - Part 2

More holiday cheer!

Row 1:  1. Vintage Christmas Embroidery Transfer, 2. Vintage Christmas Embroidery Transfers, 3. Vintage Christmas Embroidery Transfers,

Row 2:  4. xmas-sample-4, 5. Untitled, 6. Untitled,

Row 3:  7. www.flickr.com/photos/29038065@N04/4001544506/, 8. workbasket1, 9. holiday designs 2 

Holiday Patterns - Part 1

There are so many holiday patterns on the internet that I had to break this series into parts.  Look for more pattern links over the next week.

Row 1:  1. ornaments, 2. Christmas is too damn close!!, 3. Snow City, 4. shepherd boy, 5. drums,

Row 2:  6. peace, 7. Snowman Family, 8. Snowman, 9. free snowman or should I say lady.., 10. Snowman,

Row 3:  11. Snowman, 12. candy canes, 13. Snowman, 14. Retro Christmas Tree!, 15. Christmas Elves!,

Row 4:  16. Santa, 17. Santa, 18. Santa, 19. Vintage Christmas Embroidery Transfer, 20. Vintage Christmas Embroidery Transfer

Thankful

I am thankful for

:a warm bed at night

:the turkey

:my healthy family

:new opportunities

:wishes fulfilled 

:friends across the globe

:the creative spirit

:for this amazing red

:for Betty Crocker

:homemade pumpkin pie

:six course meals with a bottle of good red wine

:Mom's New York Cherry Cheesecake

:Laughter and Love

I hope your Thanksgiving was blessed with many happy moments.

A Cold and a Sale

I am sick, but on the way to recovery.  Just wanted to stop in and let you know I will be out for another day.

I havent wanted to do much other then read a great book The Witch of Cologne and work on editing my photos.  I just finished the book and it was so good.  Its about the Inquisition, Jewish and Catholic rivalries in Cologne, forbidden love, the Black Death, politics between Church and State.  Ahh, dramatic historical romances have always been my favorite.  Have any to recommend?  I haven't had the time to read fiction in a long time and I need to catch up over the holidays!

Also, I am having a sale in my etsy shop until the end of November.  If you buy 3 prints you get 1 free.   For my beloved blog readers I will give you a 5 pack of postcards free with any purchase.  Just mention this post in the buyer comments section of your sale or send me a convo.

I got around to editing some recent photo shoots while I was sick.
Here are a couple of my favorites.

The top one is in my etsy shop already.  The second one will be up by tonight.

Hope you weekend was something special.

Blast From the Past

I promised my mom I would help her clean out her house and organize it before I move to San Jose.  We went through my sister's bedroom the other day and I came across this.

This was my very first suitcase!  I loved this suitcase!  I remember pretending I was going to England or France and I would pack up all my best clothes for the trip.  We only got as far as New Jersey though.  I haven't seen this bag for a very very long time.  It was up in the closet, stashed away and forgotten about. 

But not anymore!  Its in fabulous condition and it is once again my favorite suitcase.   I cant wait to take it to England or France one day.

Spinning and Spinning, Round and Round

The last couple of days I have been wanting a break from knitting and embroidery so I brought out my spindle and finished up my very first skein of spun yarn. 

I made a common mistake and over twisted my yarn.  No worries however, I discovered through some research that you can correct some of the over twisting by hanging a weight on the yarn as it dries.  It worked pretty well.  There are still some over twisted parts that I can probably straighten when I roll the yarn into a ball for knitting.

Spinning is therapeutic.  If you haven't tried it you should.  For me its the repetitive motion of the spindle and the movements of your hands as they smooth the twist down the roving. Have you ever seen Mists of Avalon?  I love the movie and recommend it whole heatedly.  There is a part in the movie where Igraine, King Arthur's mother, is spinning on a spinning wheel and it's repetitive motion puts her into a trance.  Then she sees a vision of her future.  I can see where they got that idea from.  I get totally meditative when I spin.

This beautiful purple is the roving I bought in Solvang, Ca in September.  I am in love with the colors.  I cant wait to see what they fabric will look like knitted. 

What do you think I should make with my new yarns?  I haven't quite gotten my tension even yet so we will call this thick and thin yarn that I would average out to bulky weight.  I havent measured it yet, but I am guessing I will have at least 100 yards.  Maybe a hat?  You all know how I love to knit hats!

Fun places to see

-Needle Book - An inspiring craft blog with beautifully spun yarns

-Maine Woods Yarn and Fiber - Where I bought my first spindle and roving

-Megan and Abby - Youtube Spinning tutorial Goddesses

Turning Toward Winter

The temperature dropped to 28 degrees F last night.  I noticed my photos from my photo project have begun to take on a colder winter feeling rather then the bright golden hues of Autumn.  Here are some of my favorites from this week's photowalk.  A couple of these made it into my photo shop as signed 5x7 prints.  Please stop by and order your Christmas gifts before the rush!

Farewell Autumn, I look forward to seeing your beauty in San Jose next year! 

Working on the Gift List

I am quickly checking things off my Christmas gift list this year.  I finished three more hats this week.  This purple owl hat was supposed to be a gift for someone but I ran out of yarn and when I ordered more the color was way too different to use.  I am almost positive that I ordered the right color, so it must be the dye lot.  The experience taught me how much dye lots can vary in color.  I was so surprised to see the difference.

(EDIT - I have been thinking that I must have ordered the wrong yarn.  There is no way that dye lots can be that different can they?)

The hat turned out cute anyway.  Its not going to fit the adult it was made for, but it does fit Brae so she gets another hat.

Yes, it was warm enough today for tank tops; I wore one too.

The hat I am wearing is a Christmas gift for a very special person.  Its hard to find hat patterns for men.  I needed something interesting, but subtle and I found nothing perfect on ravelry so I decided to write my own pattern.  I love the crown.

I also finished another Foliage hat from Knitty.

This one I am keeping.  I also have plans for something pretty to match.  I will tell you more about that project later.  

Have a wonderful week!