Color! Stranded Checkerboard Tube Scarf

This has been the winter of stranded knitting!  

The checkerboard scarf was a fun exercise in color.

The scarf is knitting in Paton's Classic Wool (worsted) on size 10 circular needles, 48 stitches around.

The finished scarf measures 69 inches long and 6 1/4 inches wide.

My husband cut some flooring to insert inside the scarf for blocking.

Scarf ends were sewn closed after blocking.

Colorful Long Ruffle Shawls

Ann Linderhjelm's Long Ruffle Shawl from her Ullcentrum blog and shared on Ravelry is one of my favorite "on the go" projects.  It's an easy knit, drapes nicely, and let's the yarn do the talking in a lovely scarf or shawl.

This winter I've been knitting the shawl with sock yarn on US size 13 needles.  Below are some examples with Noro Silk Garden sock yarn.  One skein makes a shawl.

;

  I also knit a ruffle shawl in Cascade Heritage Paints sock yarn- this yarn has lots of "life" (springiness) to it- nice to work with.

Speaking of spring, it could show up any time.  This past week is usually the one when I see the first robin of the year, but none appeared in our below zero temps.

Stranded Knit Tube Scarf

Call it Stranded Knitting.

Call it Fair Isle.

Whatever.  This month I've been immersed in that 2-color knitting technique, and I've loved it: so much fun to choose color and pattern.  

This latest project was inspired by several stranded-knit tube scarves on Ravelry.  I used colors in my worsted weight wool stash, and embarked on a search for knit chart ideas online and at our library.  

Invested in a wonderful book, 200 Fair Isle Motifs:  A Knitters Directory
by Mary Jane Mucklestone.

 Here's the finished scarf. 

The checked and striped ends provide options for "which side up".

I knit the scarf on 16-inch circular needles, US size 9.  
Cast on 60 stitches and away you go!

Betty's Knit Cup Cozies: Shamrock, Heart, and Flower

Cup cozies are a nice little project for playing with color and pattern.  This week I published another pattern for cup cozies in my Etsy shop.  The pattern includes three charts:  shamrocks, hearts, and flowers.  The stranded knit section could easily be adapted for any chart multiples of 4, 5, 8, or 10.

These shamrock cozies are just in time for St. Patrick's Day:

Using the same pattern, but in different colorways, gives quite a different feel:

I think it's time to move on to another project!

Betty's Knit Cup Cozies: Houndstooth and Checkerboard

I'm thoroughly enjoying a weekday holiday at home, photographing finishing projects and updating the Etsy shop.  I published and posted the pattern for these cute cup cozies:

The double-thick middle section is great for keeping hot or cold beverages insulated and fingers protected.

I've been using up bits of Paton's Classic Merino, and some of my homespun.

 Now if only I could stop knitting them!

Colorful Crochet Headbands

I've been stitching away, getting ready for this weekend's Winterfest in Aberdeen.  It looks to be nice weather, and we've gotten great publicity in the local paper and radio.  I'm hoping for good sales!

A friend mentioned at some headbands with flowers might be good to include in the booth this year, and the idea took off!

One of my favorite crochet headband patterns is the Valentine Romance Headband by Tina Rodriguez of Rosedew Creations.  The pattern is free on Tina's blog, and also on Ravelry.  

The flower pattern I used is the Seven-Petal Traditional Rose from Suzann Thompson's Crochet Bouquet.

And the yarn:  I used up much of my stash of Nashua Handknits Julia yarn for the headbands.  

This lovely wool/alpaca/mohair yarn, from the Studio of Kristin Nicholas, was sadly discontinued by Westminster Fibers last year.  The good news is that it's now distributed by Classic Elite Yarns as Color by Kristen.

I so enjoy working with Kristin's color palette.

It was fun to select buttons to add a bit of whimsy to the headbands.

It's amazing how a passing suggestion from a friend can feed the imagination!

2012 North Dakota Handspinners' Conference

I thoroughly enjoyed the past two days in Jamestown, North Dakota, at the ND Handspinners' Conference.  Sponsored by the North Dakota Lamb and Wool Producers, and led by sisters Julie and Jeanne, this was a second-to-none event.  We were welcomed, gifted, fed; and had opportunities to learn, share, experiment and shop.  

The conference theme was, "It's about Color".  Everyone participated in the activity of dying wool roving, spinning it, and naming their finished skeins/colorways.

There was much creativity and variety in colorways:

I've always wanted to spin an "art yarn", and this was the opportunity.  Friday night I crocheted a few simple flowers to incorporate in my yarn.  I named it "Fairy Garden":

Julie and Jeannie must have spent hours and hours organizing and preparing for the event.  Our welcome bags included handmade gifts:

On Friday night Julie and Karin led a demonstration on different kinds of wool and skirting fleeces.  They brought a many, many  raw fleeces for us to see and feel, and shared informative flyers and photos on the sheep breeds.  We learned how to skirt a variety of fleeces.  Here's Karin at the skirting table:

I was thrilled with my door prize of natural colored Icelandic wool from Karin's Windy Hill Fiber Company:

Vendors provided fleeces, ready-to-spin fibers, books, and tools to nurture our spinning passion.

Life gets busy, and my spinning wheel often sits unused for months in a row.  I'm grateful for this opportunity to focus on spinning, and visit and learn with fun, warm-hearted artists.