Knitting Sunshine: August 2006

Falling Leaves

The Falling Leaves socks are finally done (yes, these are the socks I started while in Ireland). There was something so serene about finished up the second sock.. maybe it was because this pair is now tied to so many wonderful and beautiful memories of a place far away?! I hope so...

Kali was very impressed with the socks too. She spent about 10 minutes sniffing every last detail...

Pattern: Falling Leaves pattern from Knitty.com
Yarn: Sunshine Yarns in Shamrock
Measurements: Made to fit a women's 8.5
Started: May 20, 2006
Finished: August 29, 2006
Other Details: The pattern got really boring after a while, but it is really beautiful! I love how my yarn knit up and thought that this colorway was so perfect for the pattern and the trip to Ireland :)

Bad And Good Me

I know that I am turning into a bad blogger. I've come to the realization that I have less time now overall, but cummon, when I can pump out finished objects faster than I can blog?! Uck, owell.

This last week has been totally crazy. My aunt and cousin are leaving for Italy for the year and we've been having parties, dinners, etc with family and friends before they leave. We are going to miss them so much.. but hey, its a great excuse to go visit, right?! As a going away present for my aunt, I frantically finished up the last 60 or so rows on the Creatures of the Reef Shawl. And the results?! Well, it came out amazing and she loves it! My only problem was that I forgot to take pictures of it before I gave it to her. We took a few the next morning at their house which you can see below!

Some pictures of my Aunt modeling the shawl..

Pattern: Creatures of the Reef Shawl from Fiddlesticks Knitting
Yarn: Jaggerspun Zephyr Wool-Silk in Blueberry
Measurements: I blocked it to 72" tip to tip and 36" long
Started: June 23, 2006
Finished: August 24, 2006
Other Details: This was one of my favorite projects to knit! Almost every row was different so it kept me modivated. I think I'll be ordering another shawl project from Fiddlesticks Knitting soon!

Yarn, Yarn, Everywhere!

Yesterday was a big day over at Sunshine Yarns and I somehow managed to go through about 100 skeins of yarn! Sunshine Yarns has been also doing great at A Good Yarn, in Brookline Village, the only store that I currently supply. A big thank you goes out to all my supporters... the customers, my wonderful knitty friends and to all my other friends and family that have been there for me through it all :)

Now, enough of the sappy stuff, I have lots of packaging up to do today! This is my poor dining room table as we speak. This is about half of what needs to go out today, the other half is still hiding in bags or waiting to be reskeined :)

Oh, and for those of you who asked about my new skeinwinder, here are a few more tidbits for you. Up until last week, I've been using a Niddy Noddy, so this is my first real tabletop skeinwinder. Crazy huh?! Secondly, I am not sure why this skeinwinder is so fabulous since I haven't used any others. It moves smooth and quick and I have no complains, so that is really all I can say. its also much cheaper than other models, and hey, if you can get the same thing for much cheaper, why the hell not?! :)

My New Love

I never thought I would tell a skeinwinder, "I love you", but I have been all week long! I dyed about 150 skeins earlier this week and I have been loving life ever since! This Wil Taylor skeinwinder allows me to reskein about 20-30 skeins an hour. Translation: hours and hours and hours of time saved each week! I had to wait about 2 months for my order to come, but it was worth the wait! A big thank you goes out to Julia for recommending this model to me :)

And look, another FO! I knit up this baby blanket in less than a week out of Rowan Soft Baby.. Let me tell you, its soft! Unfortunately, this FO is not staying with me... its off to the store today to be a model. Bye, bye, blankie!

Pattern: Corner to Corner Blanket from Knit Baby Blankets!
Yarn: Rowan Soft Baby #008
Measurements: Makes about a 30" square (mine was 32 from corner to corner)
Started: August 11, 2006
Finished: August 17, 2006
Other Details: I used just about 4 balls for this blanket, which is a rather low cost project (around $28). Downside... its not superwash and eaily felts.

I Love Turbulence

Finally I can post some pictures! Here it is... the Turbulence U-Neck Pullover from Knitting Nature by Norah Gaughan. I'm not totally thrilled with the pictures, but they will have to do!

Pattern: Turbulence U-Neck Pullover from Knitting Nature by Norah Gaughan
Yarn: Berroco Softwist #9416
Measurements: I made the 36"(the "petite")size
Started: July 21, 2006
Finished: August 8, 2006
Other Details: I LOVED this pattern and would knit it again! There is no waist shaping, but don't let it fool you! Knit this to your size or smaller and all is well. I added an inch to the body length since I knew my chest would take up extra room (I knit to 13"), and also added a half inch or so to the sleeve length. Everything else stayed the same! I used 8.5 skeins for those that are wondering :)

Sweetest Thing

Look at this cute little thing basking in the sunlight?! I felt like knitting something quick and fun and out popped the yarn/pattern for this little Cashmere Cable and Seed Hat (which is a free store pattern at A Good Yarn with the purchase of yarn). The yarn was a dream to knit with, which is why I'll be buying more at some point soon! You can never have enough baby hats lying around because they can always find a home at some point..

Pattern: Cashmere Cable and Seed Hat
Yarn: 1 skein Cape Cod Fibers Cashmere 6 Ply
Measurements: Made to fit an average baby to toddler
Started: August 7, 2006
Finished: August 9, 2006
Other Details: Cutest thing EVER! Will be making more of these in the near future!

Block Party

The Turbulence U-Neck Pullover is done! I'm blocking it one more time since the stitches I picked up along the neck back are curling out a bit. But, I am thrilled. Its beautiful and it fits perfectly! You'll have to wait until either tomorrow or Friday to see pictures of it on :)