Reflections

Like Stephanie, I am going to jump on the bandwagon and reflect on the past year as I have only a few hours left before the New Year strikes. As I look back, I realize that I have taken some major strides in knitting in addition to the rest of my life.

Top 5 for 2005

1. New Technique: My favorite new knitting technique is being able to knit socks. I love them and there is just something so satisfying and comfortable about wearing a pair that was hand-made. Overall though, I have to say that dyeing is what I am the most proud of. I didn't start dyeing until July and think that it is a wonderful art that every knitter should try.

2. Favorite Finished Object: My favorite finished object is the Wave Skirt. I love it and wear it tons. In terms of something I have gifted, it would have to be the Birthday Bouquet I sent to my mom. I love the fact that you can make almost real looking flowers out of two sticks and string :)

3. Favorite Knit Along: I haven't done many KAL's, but I would have to say that the Hourglass KAL was great since it was my first sweater.

4. Favorite Shop: I love A Good Yarn in Brookline Village and Black Sheep Knitting in Needham, MA. Between the two, you can find almost any yarn your heart desires!

5. Favorite Tool: My niddy noddy. There is nothing like being able to make a perfect skein out of some newly dyed yarn.


Resolutions for 2006

1. More For Me: More garments for myself! I find that I knit way too much for others which leads to more simple projects. I would like to do at least five or six sweaters and lots of socks :)

2. Fair Isle: I haven't really done any fair isle and would love to do a nice sweater and/or some nice socks.

3. Spread More Color: Each time I dye, I learn so much more about color and technique. I hope to continue to expand Sunshine Yarns while still having fun with it all!

4. Baby Knits: I've never knit any baby sweaters and think that it is time to start building up some stock for future babies. I guess it's better to do it this way than to wait until the last minute!

5. Crochet: I don't really care for the "look" of crochet, but think that it has its purpose. So, I am going to try one simple crochet project this year.. maybe a nice bag?!

So, what are your goals for 2006, and what are you most proud of from 2005?

Sunshine Yarns

A quickie post for tonight... since its getting late and I am exhausted! I dyed about 30 skeins of yarn last night and just posted some at the store.

Here you can see some drying on the outside of the tub/shower.



And here are a few colorways after they were re-skeined...



My new favorite colorway is the Neapolitan colorway with light pinks and chocolate browns.. Yummy! And, since I love the crafty stuff, I decided to make some knitting magnets and post those up there too. So, stop by and check them out!



I hope everyone out there in blogland is having a wonderful holiday season! I know that I have been super busy traveling the last few weeks, but will try to talk about my most recent knits soon! Hugs to all!

3 For 1

Voila! Here are three recently finished FO's that I have been meaning to post.. but my recent travels got in the way!

For those who are interested: I had a great trip home to Colorado, and as usual, didn't want to leave. It was so nice to see my family and old friends, the mountains, the slopes, dry air.. Ahh, someday I'll move back :) The funniest part of our trip was actually the skiing we did on Tuesday at Loveland (which is a great secret slope to those of you who go skiing there. Its right on the Continental Divide atop the Eisenhower Tunnel and is almost always empty even during peak ski season. Its not the most luxurious place, but its quiet, has great trails, beautiful scenery, and great conditions. For example, we skiing in 2-3 feet of powder on Tuesday.

And back to knitting... Here is the Wavy Bag that I made for my mom. She really loved it, especially the colors. I used a basic chevron stitch pattern, starting from the top, with a three needle bind off on the bottom. I sewed on a twisted cord strap before I felted it, so that the strap would blend in to the bag. Success! It came out as planned! If anyone is interested in the pattern, let me know, and I'll post it here :)

Here are some pre-felted, pre-Colorado trip pictures:



And here it is after gifting and after felting:




Pattern: My own pattern
Yarn: Noro Kureyon in unknown color
Measurements: About 23" around and 18" high before felting, and 19" around and 12" high post felting.
Started: November 29, 2005
Finished: December 12, 2005
Other Details: I knit this on Clover 16"/US 9 needles using a basic chevron stitch pattern and a three needle bind-off. It is fun playing with your own pattern since it adds a nice element of surprise at the end.

And now for the Crusoe Socks! I had only knit one sock before we left for Colorado, which left me with lots of knitting to do on the trip. But, I got it done just in time to put these bad-boys all wrapped up IN the felted Wavy Bag to give to my mom. They ended up fitting her perfectly! Phew! For those of who were interested in the pattern, it really is wrong in terms of how many stitches to cast on. I have only seen one person who has managed to slide by with 48 stitches, and those were some tiny, narrow, feet! For a women's US9 with high arches, I cast on 64 sts and did a 2.5" heel flap. I also cut down the length total to 8.5 rather than 9 since more stitches=more decreasing to do. If you have any questions about all of this, feel free to email me :)

Here are some single sock pictures that I took before the trip:




And now, the twins!




Pattern: Crusoe Socks from Knitty.com
Yarn: Koigu KPPPM in color #527
Measurements: Made to fit a women's US size 9
Started: November 27, 2005
Finished: December 20, 2005
Other Details: I knit this on Inox US size 2 needles (2.5mm, so inbetween a US1 and US2) using the Magic Loop Method. I did a 2x2 rib rather than the roll top since I didn't like that. The 2x2 rib works nicely with the stranded stitch pattern. I cast on 64 sts rather than the 48 as stated in the pattern. I lengthened the heel flap to 2.5 inches and changed the foot length to 8.5 inches before the toe decreases.

And the third project?! A beautiful scarf for my cousin Rachel using Misti Alpaca Chunky Yarn and their free pattern online. I loved working with this yarn! Its one of my new favorites and I am so happy my store carries it! My cousin loved it and if I get my hands on some pictures of her wearing it, I'll post those later! I also gave her the Rowan Chunky Scarf I made last month and a pair of the wrist warmers :)



Pattern: Misti Alpaca Chunky Diagonal Rib Knit Scarf
Yarn: Misti Alpaca Chunky in color #1013
Measurements: About 6.5" wide and 67" long
Started: November 22, 2005
Finished: December 21, 2005
Other Details: I knit this on US10.5 rather than US11's since it came out to loose on 11's. I added a nice fringe and voila!

Take Me Home Country Road...

I miss home. Every time I come back to Colorado, I just flat out don't want to leave! I forgot to mention last week that I was going to be coming out here. Scott and I flew out last Thursday night and are heading back to Boston to do Christmas with his family on Wednesday. So, a short trip.. but a nice one so far since I've had a chance to catch up with many old friends :)

Here is what I came home to: a house with a nice little dusting of snow...



And even though it was gray on Sunday, there were a few nice photo ops. Ahh, my mountains..



And even though I miss my kitties terribly, I got a chance to see my girl Bradie! She is getting old, but she is doing well. How cute is this Aussie dog?!



Don't fret, of course I am still knitting! Remember that Midwest Moonlight Scarf and those wrist warmers?! Here they are being wrapped up as a holiday gift to one of my best friends, Jyoti. She really dug it all.. which of course makes me feel like a successful knitter :) I also gave my friend Mia the Ruffles Scarf and my friend Andrea the Manos Scarf which I just finished knitting today. It all went over well and each gift will get lots of use this winter.



Here are a few pictures of the Manos Scarf that I took earlier today. I love this yo pattern with the Manos texture. All I did was cast on 18 sts and do, k1, yo, k2tog the entire way!




Pattern: My own simple pattern.. CO 18 sts (or a multiple of 3) and k1, yo, k2tog the entire way!
Yarn: Manos.. one of my favorites!
Measurements: About 55" long and 4.5" wide.
Started: December 12, 2005
Finished: December 19, 2005
Other Details: I knit this on size US 8 needles to make the stitches a bit tighter and to prevent stretching over time. I love how this pattern looks with Manos yarn and highly recommend giving something so simple a try!

There Are Wizards In My Tub

Yesterday I was on some official Hogwarts business! I finally decided to go nuts and dye up some variegated skeins for each of the four houses. And what do you get?! A shower that looks like this:



And which is my favorite colorway? I have to say.. its Slytherin. I just love how the colors came out! These would just be the most perfect grumpy day socks :) All of these are going to posted either tonight or tomorrow at Sunshine Yarns so stop by and see if there are any you like. Remember, these are all variegated skeins.

And, yes, more knitting. I knit up this little bag yesterday to put the Go With the Flow socks in to create a nice little giftie. You can never make enough of these.. This is my third one!



Pattern: Soft Drawstring Pouch from Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpaca Silk in Natural
Measurements: About 7" tall and 6" wide (the small size)
Started: December 12, 2005
Finished: December 12, 2005
Other Details: Love the yarn! I have used it many times before, and just can't get enough. The only part of the pattern I changed was the drawstring. I knit it using with US 4 dpn's rather than US 6 dpn's.. only because I couldn't find my size 6's!

Sneak Peak

Knitted gifts have been popping up left and right here this week. Finally, some of the more major knits are being completed. There is no way I am going to finish everything I had planning on knitting, but thats okay.. I am not going to stress! So, without giving away too much, here are a few pictures of some almost finished projects :)

This one just needs a major bath in some hot water. Isn't Kureyon gorgeous?!



And then there is this... I hope they fit the recipient!

Celebrating Sunshine

My mom is great. Period. Even though she is back home in Colorado, she has managed to be so supportive these last few months during some harder times. Most of you know, I left my FT job and went to PT, and in the meantime started up Sunshine Yarns and started working at the store. Now, I have to admit, I didn't expect my family to take this decision lightly, since I do have a Master's degree and six years of school under my belt so far. However, my family and especially my mom, encouraged me to follow my heart and do what I though would make me happy. That is how I ended up where I am now. What lies ahead next year is still up in the air, but I am sure it will all work itself out in the end.

With that said, look what came in the mail last Friday!! My mom recently got back into quilting and made this beautiful wall hanging that celebrates Knitting Sunshine and Sunshine yarns. Look at all the suns! And, of course Kali and Soma were intrigued by new smells... They just couldn't stay off of it while I was trying to take pictures!





So, thank you mom. I truely appreciate this and am so excited it has to do with Knitting Sunshine and Sunshine Yarns.

Sunshine Yarns Gallery

Anna's Tiger socks knit out of the Tiger colorway



Lisa's watermelon socks knit using the striping watermelon sock yarn. Look how she matched up those stripes!



Don't think that the fingering weight sock yarns are limited to socks. Donna knit a nice pair of mittens in the striping watermelon sock yarn as well!



Alison sent me this picture of her Gryffindor self-striping socks almost complete! There are lots of these socks floating around blogland, so keep a look out!



Look at these beauties! Jasmin knit a simple lace pattern using the Harvest colorway.



Kathy knit up these lacey socks using the Sweet Dreams colorway for her secret sock exchange pal. Her pal Chrissy loved them!



Tiffany just finished up the first Jaywalker sock using the Love colorway. I can't wait to see the mate!



Amanda knit these "Roller Derby Convertible Mittens" for a friend in the watermelon colorway.. aren't they just so cool?!



Alex tried the Elfine pattern with the Rock Creek colorway. I think they turned out beautiful!



Alison is doing a great job knitting up her socks fast! Here is a pair of her Gryffindor's and a nice springy pair of Neapolitans.



Liz finished up her socks in the Sweet Dreams colorway. She even made up her own pattern!! Nice job Liz :)




Chrissy is clearly doing a great job on her socks! You can see her Fiji socks (top) and Winter Berry Jaywalkers (bottom). What beautiful closeups!



Sharon just finished up her first Rock Creek sock.. what a great pattern Sharon!




Thea is one of my good knitbuddies and was also one of my first customers! She knit up these self-striping Iris socks for the Knitting Olympics! Looks like you earned gold Thea :)




Suzie finished up her Costa Rica socks and is back for some more colorways! Here is the backside of this rainbowy goodness!



Erin was one of my first customers and she just sent a picture of the Deep Ocean striping colorway!



And, yes, more Gryffindor socks! How fabulous are these?! Rachel did a wonderful job and is going to be started some Ravenclaw socks at some point soon.



Deb just finished up her variegated Slytherin socks! She did such a nice job :)



Stephanie was another one of my first customers! She just finished knitting up these self-striping Fiji socks in a beautiful Chevron pattern.



Lynette knit up these lovely Violets socks with an intricate eyelet pattern. Beautiful!



Fellow Knitsmith Colleen, knit up these lovely Dusk socks for her sockpal! I think she'll love them!



Another great Knitsmith, Norah, knit these Love socks for her sockpal as well! The socks are wonderful, but the flowers in the picture just make it even better :)



Rosemary just finished up these wonderful Gryffindor socks! I heard that she names all of her socks after someone from the Harry Potter movies... what are these called?! (She informed me that they are called Oliver)!!



Patty knit some worsted weight socks using the Violets colorway. These came out perfect Patty!



Jaya knit up some fabulous socks using the Carribean Sky colorway.



Beth knit up these socks out of the Campfire colorway for the Six-Sock Yahoo group! These are lovely Beth!




Sheri not only knit a pair of adult socks out of the Watermelon Patch colorway, but she also knit a pair of baby socks with the leftovers... they are both beautiful!



Minh just finished up some Jaywalker socks using the Strawberry Banana colorway. These are so fun!



Brenda knit a beautiful pair of socks using the Tidepool colorway :)



Brenda also knit a pair of wrist warmers out of the Cotton Candy colorway. How creative :)



Ruth also knit some socks out of the Watermelon striping colorway. Thanks for the fab picture Ruth!



Rosemary finished another Sunshine Yarns pair of socks out of the Starry Night colorway. Great job Rosemary!




Lynette knit another pair of socks using the Love colorway. How cute are these?! They even have eyelet hearts!



Emily knit up a pair of socks using the Harvest colorway and the Haystacks pattern. They go really well together Emily!