Monthly Archives: September 2012

pinterest and other musings

Posted on September 26, 2012 by | Comments Off on pinterest and other musings
So after reflecting on things for about 5 seconds, I’ve decided to once again write the occasional blog post here… only chances are good that most of them will be pinterest related and not knitting/crochet/fiber arts.  Why?  Because the knitting et al stuff is already posted on Ravelry and no one likes reading the same damn thing […]

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pinterest and other musings

Posted on September 26, 2012 by | Comments Off on pinterest and other musings
So after reflecting on things for about 5 seconds, I’ve decided to once again write the occasional blog post here… only chances are good that most of them will be pinterest related and not knitting/crochet/fiber arts.  Why?  Because the knitting et al stuff is already posted on Ravelry and no one likes reading the same damn thing […]

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New Feature: Yarned by You! – Chadwick Gallery

Posted on September 26, 2012 by | Comments Off on New Feature: Yarned by You! – Chadwick Gallery

Hi everyone!

Lauria here. You might know me as one of the moderators on the JMF Ravelry Group. You might know me as the test knitting coordinator for Juniper Moon Farm’s Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter 2012 yarn lines. You might know me as the cover girl for the Sabine Booklet:

You might not know me from Adam!

But you’re about to, because I cajoled Susan into letting me do a series of blog posts because I’m constantly looking at and favorite-ing projects on Ravelry made with Juniper Moon Farm Yarn. There are so many gorgeous projects, they just have to be shared! So every Wednesday I’m going to post some of my favorite projects found on Ravelry. (All names listed are Ravelry names and the photos will take you to their Ravelry page.)

As the weather is starting to get cool in New England, I thought it would be the perfect time to take a look at Chadwick. In case you missed it, Chadwick is 60% Merino / 40% Baby Alpaca and 202 yards come in a center pull ball. It’s deliciously soft, airy, and unbelievably warm – perfect for fall knitting and crocheting to wear well into winter.

First up, these Sluggy Bonnets (designed for Chadwick by Tanis Gray and available for free right here!) were knit by jdunsmore

They’re done in the same colors as the original (Swimming Pool, Clear Skies, Clean Sheets), but using one of the contrasting colors as the master color in each hat. You can knit three hats out of three balls by doing this!

Another Sluggy Bonnet, this time done by yarncakes:

I adore these colors (Hannah, Mississippi Mud, Clean Sheets) together, don’t you?

Sheeri made this great Fair Isle V-Neck Sweater (also designed by Tanis Gray specifically for Chadwick) in Clear Skies and Dawn:

I love the added torso length on this sweater, and when I get around to making mine, I’ll be sure to do the same.

This Spiderweb Capelet, knit by subpolka in Hannah, really makes her red hair POP:

Such a pretty openwork pattern and I adore the pom poms! From subpolka: “I ADORE this yarn! Animal fibers typically make my skin crawl, but the Chadwick is sooooooo soft and snuggly.” I would be so sad if animal fibers made my skin crawl! I’m glad that subpolka has at least this yarn to turn to.

This Rocky Coast Cardigan,  looks like the perfect thing for mere to be able to layer as the weather changes.

I love the textured stitches and open front. Knit in Mercury, it definitely evokes a rocky coastal sea!

I’m a sucker for a pun, and knitting Mystic Pullover in colorway Swimming Pool and calling the project Swimming Poolover? smelanie88 is clearly my kind of girl!

Check out her project page to see the great side-seam pockets!

Last up this is gorgeous colorwork scarf called Min Ulla knit in Indian Paintbrush and Clean Sheets by MargaretNuovo:

It reminds me of what Susan affectionately calls The $300 Scarf if you were to knit it in two colors instead of all the colors that Chadwick is available in.

Didn’t these women do amazing jobs? There are so many great Chadwick projects on Ravelry, it was really difficult to narrow it down! In fact, you haven’t seen the last of Chadwick, yet!

What are your favorite Chadwick yarnings? Share your projects (or projects you admire!) in the comments below!

You can find Chadwick and the rest of the Juniper Moon Farm Yarns in a LYS near you by clicking here then clicking “find a store,” inputting your zip code and selecting Juniper Moon Farm as the yarn brand.

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Working On: Socks for Jay

Posted on September 26, 2012 by | Comments Off on Working On: Socks for Jay

I’m having so much fun with these.

Back in early July, my friend Maggie came to visit and casually let it slip that she’d just visited our friend Jay, and that the socks I’d knit him had seen better days (actually, verbatim: “So, I’m supposed to mention to you in a sort of an offhand way that they’re super worn-out, and that maybe you could just make another pair, if you have the time.”).

With that in the back of my mind, I went down to my old-but-new-again LYS last week, in search of something suitable. Lorna’s makes a spot-on Carolina Blue, it turns out (and exclusively for Yarns Etc!), but businesslike, it’s not.

I went with a yarn I’d never used before– Online Supersocke Silk in a granite-like gunmetal grey color. Online, a German yarn company (Ganze Banderole auf Deutsch? Absolutely.), is distributed by JMF’s distributor, so that extra familiarity made it all the nicer. The silk content– 20%– really made the slipped stitches shine, and gives (I think) an attractive look of precision & exactitude to the whole thing. You can tell that these don’t have any mistakes in them.

The pattern, aside from the skyp stitch, is a pretty uncomplicated one, but it’s very popular (also, it’s free! Thank you, Adrienne!). The herringbone running down the center of the ribs is really unusual, but looks especially great, I think, with this yarn.

I’m flying through these, so, soon!


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Apple Strudel

Posted on September 26, 2012 by | Comments Off on Apple Strudel

apple strudel apple strudel

I don’t think I’ve ever made apple strudel before but this turned out really well.

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How to eat better for less money

Posted on September 26, 2012 by | Comments Off on How to eat better for less money
Here's a terrific guide that reminds me of my own Eating Organic on a Food Stamp Budget project from 2007. It's called Good Food on a Tight Budget and it aims to give you the resources you need to eat healthily - and well - while keeping your food costs down. There are tools for meal planning, shopping guides, cost guides, recipes, and more.

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How to eat better for less money

Posted on September 26, 2012 by | Comments Off on How to eat better for less money
Here's a terrific guide that reminds me of my own Eating Organic on a Food Stamp Budget project from 2007. It's called Good Food on a Tight Budget and it aims to give you the resources you need to eat healthily - and well - while keeping your food costs down. There are tools for meal planning, shopping guides, cost guides, recipes, and more.

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Fiery

Posted on September 26, 2012 by | Comments Off on Fiery

I am finding that there’s something oddly addictive about burning brush and building up a big bonfire. I think it speaks to something primal in our collective subconscious.  Something about our beginnings as a species and our first experience with flame.

Then there’s the layers embedded in our own individual memories; nostalgia for campfires and parties in the summer, or huddling around a big fire in the colder months, maybe with a mug of hot cider.

It’s cozy and wild at the same time.   At night after a long day of working at clearing the land it’s been mesmerizing watching the flames and the sparks dancing up into the sky. (it also makes me happy to think that this means progress, that we are closer to our animals coming home).

With the air beginning to chill the smell of the woodsmoke is the perfect thing to make it feel like fall.

The Harvest Moon is September 29th this year.  I can think of no better place to enjoy it than right by this big, beautiful fire.


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Pumpkin-mania …

Posted on September 25, 2012 by | Comments Off on Pumpkin-mania …

My creation


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Project Organization: The Stash (Design Yarn)

Posted on September 25, 2012 by | Comments Off on Project Organization: The Stash (Design Yarn)

As noted in the previous organization post, I have one big major division:  yarns for designing vs yarns for personal use.  There’s a bit of overlap when it comes to Shetland yarns — I have a lot in my personal stash but do consider those as both personal and designing.  For this post, I’ll address just design yarn.

Most of my design yarn is for specific projects.  I’m totally thrilled to be given yarn out of the blue — who wouldn’t be! — but I feel very strongly that if I’m given yarn by a yarn company, it’s for professional use only.  If I can’t use it in a design, or at the very least for swatching, I’ll use it for giveaways or similar things that will promote the company.

I like having my design yarn visible and accessible.  For the longest time I had it in a large basket at the base of the sectional sofa.  I also had some in a leather tote next to the basket.  Then, as I acquired more, some went into the tall bookcase, along with personal yarn.

I wasn’t really happy with this:  yarn in three (at least) different places, mingling of design & personal yarn, and yarn not really accessible without dumping out the tote or basket.  Plus, the basket and tote contents were vulnerable to the cats, Rigel, and the occasional wine spill (WineAway is a great product, by the way, and works on yak yarn (sorry, Carl!)).

So, I’d been on the lookout for a solution.

Just a few weeks ago, on a walk on the Strand with Dave and Rigel, I noticed a garage sale sign that also said — oh thrills! — ANTIQUES.  We stopped in on our way back, after turning around at the Pier.

And I found this (well, here it is in my dining room):

Isn’t that the neatest piece?  It’s oak with oak veneer, and poplar dove-tailed drawers.  It has rolling fronts, like a rolltop desk, but the center one doesn’t really work so well. We estimate it’s from the 19-teens.

We spent about 3 hours removing the bottom panel (damaged), sanding the edges, and cleaning it (including each of the 27 drawers).  It’d been kept in the owner’s very clean, cement-floored, totally finished garage, but nearly 100 yrs of existence means a build up of dirt and grime.  I still need to take some denatured alcohol to it, but as you can see, it’s now in use.

I keep my needle cases and miscellaneous supplies in the upper left three drawers, and beads in the lower left and lower center drawers, but all the rest is design yarn.  I’ve grouped the yarn for the next book in some of the center drawers.

I love it. I can see bits of color and yarn, which makes me happy.  It’s easy to glance & see what’s where.  The shallow drawers mean that the yarn is layered only 1 skein deep, so if I open a drawer, I can see it all without digging.

The scale of the case fits our dining room better than the bookcase I had there before (that bookcase is now in our bedroom), so that’s a happy bonus.

Next post:  Personal yarn!

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