2012 - Week One - Let's Do This2012 - Week One - Let's Do This I'm starting off 2012 with a positive surge of energy and eagerness because I know this is going to be a great year!  This year, although I don't set new year's goals or resolutions, I am looking forward...

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Week Fifty - GiftsWeek Fifty - Gifts This week's post is all about gifts.  First I'll start with the gift of an amazing husband who cares for me way more than I could ever deserve.  This past week, my laptop that I use for doing my job...

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Week Fourty Nine - Lessons LearnedWeek Fourty Nine - Lessons Learned One of the things I have learned about blogging over the past years, is that the very thing that you most want to write about generally keeps you from writing. That thing is called life. When I get busy,...

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Week Thirty - Rabbits Reborn and Sharing the Game of SoccerWeek Thirty - Rabbits Reborn and Sharing the Game of... This week has been a long one.  Scott has been in Africa all week and does not get back until Wednesday.  Although I have missed him greatly, I have been able to accomplish much with the quiet house...

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Week Twenty Nine - Missions and MittensWeek Twenty Nine - Missions and Mittens Scott left for Uganda yesterday on his first mission trip, ever.  He will be gone for 10 days and is part of an all male (testosterone rich) group of coaches and active guys.  He was excited, nervous,...

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Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!! We have a winner for the Nautical Knitter Contest!

Category : Fiber Arts, Patterns

Lucky commenter number 21 is the winner! First, let me thank everyone who commented and put my link on their blogs.  I really appreciate it!  I am so excited to share with you all what is in the bags and especially what I will be knitting next!  Our winner is Diana (Foxi) from Germany.  To see what was in the bags and what she won, check out the video:

Here is the list of bags you see in the video and their contents.

Bag #1 – Pattern – Sunflower Designs “Iris“; Yarn – Xie Bamboo Fiber #469

Bag #2 – Pattern – Knitpicks “Rona“; Yarn Knitpicks “Dye your own lace weight” that I dyed in blueberries

Bag #3 – Pattern – Sunflower Designs “Hydrangea“; Yarn – Xie Bamboo Fiber #492

Bag #5 – Pattern – “DaVinci Shawl“; Yarn – Yarn Place “Touch” (this yarn is so soft!!)

The winning bag was #4 – Pattern – Knitting Delight – “Way of Life Stole“; Yarn – Knitpicks “Alpaca Cloud” Moss colorway

If you would like to knit along with me on the winning project, you can find the instructions here.  It is a yahoo group and you have to join to get the pattern parts.  Leave me a comment if you want to knit along with me.  If you don’t, that is ok, just stay tuned to watch my progress.  Catch ya later, I’m off to cast on!!  Whee!!!

A Contest!!! What should I knit next? You decide…

Category : Fiber Arts

I am having trouble deciding which of these 5 projects to start next.  So, I thought I would let you guys decide.  Vote in the poll on the left and post a link on your blog to mine, so others will vote too.  Leave me a comment on this post telling me that you did both of these things and I will pick a winner from those who follow these simple steps.  Easy, huh?

Pick One

The prize will probably be some sort of yarny goodness.  I haven’t decided yet.  I can’t tell you what projects are in what bags, I have already forgotten…  But which ever one gets the most votes I will start next.  All are lace of one kind or another and none are my own design.  That is all I can offer.  Stay tuned for the results…

What would you do with a quart of VERY (found in the back of the refrigerator) left over blueberries?

Category : Fiber Arts

Put them in a pot of boiling water and dye some yarn!  That is exactly what I did and now I have 1600 yards of lace weight yarn in an amazing lavender color that is just waiting to be knitted up into something special.  This was such a totally cool thing to do that I have now found a new passion, Natural Fiber Dying.  Awesome!

Blueberry Yarn

Stats:

Knitpicks dye your own – 2 skeins Lace weight

1 quart semi frozen, definitely inedible blueberries from the back of the fridge

Soup pot, 1 gallon water (+or-), and 2 Cups vinegar

Bring water and berries to boil.  Cook for 1 hour.  Mash and strain out the blueberries.

Soak yarn in additional water and vinegar mixture, then place yarn and water/vinegar in soup pot with blueberry water.

"Cook" another hour or until water is clear and yarn has soaked up all the color desired.

Gently rinse yarn until the water runs clear and hang to dry.

*Do not stir the yarn too much while cooking.  It will felt!

Enjoy.

Guinevere Has Dyed

Category : Fiber Arts, Patterns

Technically, she has been dyed. Originally, I knit this stole in Dye Your Own Lace Weight Yarn from Knitpicks. I wore it in the natural color for a while and decided that the color was too beige for my skin tone. So, since my son is getting married in 10 days and the colors in the wedding are cream and chocolate, I decided to dye it a chocolate brown. The hardest part of this entire process was lowering it into the dye pot. Here are the results.

Before:

Guinevere as knitted.

After:

IMG_0093dyepot

IMG_0094guineveredyed

Secret of the Stole III KAL Officially Opens for Members

Category : Fiber Arts, Patterns

Secret of the Stole III KAL

This is the day I have been working toward. All this lace knitting that I have not been able to share with you is finally complete and will be revealed within the next two months. The Secret of the Stole III KAL group is now open for new members and now the work really begins. I really love this part though, because it keeps me very busy and invariably learning new things.

If you would like to join the group click on the image and sign up. See you there…