Finished Baby Bear

It’s hard to post a lot when most of the things you are working on are going to be presents.  Not that everyone I know looks at this blog, but sometimes you just don’t want to ruin the surprise.

When I first bought this High Society Sock Yarn, I wasn’t quite sure what I would do with it.  It is very bright and colorful which always appeals to me but besides making socks (I haven’t finished the first pair that I started over two years ago) it wasn’t clear what I’d actually wear in such bright colors.

But then I realized it would make a great stuffed animal for my newest nephew and I found Susan B. Anderson‘s Baby Bear in her book Itty-Bitty Toys.

For my bear I mostly followed the instructions except that I increased the needle size to a US 5 and I waited until the end to put together all the parts.

The other thing I didn’t do was put a face on this bear.  I started with a nose and besides not liking covering his cute little yellow nose, I decided I didn’t like how my poor hand stitching made for a sort of scary face.

Knitting a whole project on DPNs is not my most favorite (see sock comment above) and you can see in some spots that the knitting could be a little bit nicer. But mostly I just love how he looks like a rainbow.

The pattern was so easy to follow and all of his parts look so great.  I especially love his cute little tail that took maybe five minutes to knit up.

Overall, I am very pleased with how he turned out.  I hope that he becomes a cherished toy that my nephew drags all around the house and snuggles with at night.

Lehigh Valley Yarn Stores

This past week I was traveling around the Lehigh Valley area in Pennsylvania and got to visit two different yarn stores.

First I went to The Knitter’s Edge in Bethlehem.

This was a really big store and it was so crowded with people knitting together and buying yarn and other supplies. The selection was amazing and I can see why it was so busy.  The staff was also very helpful.  I was excited to find they were having a sale on Noro and bought myself some Taiyo Sock and Kureyon.

My next visit was to the shop at the Kraemer Yarns factory in Nazareth.

I’ve bought and used Kraemer yarns for other projects and knew it was made in this town in Pennsylvania and on a whim I googled to see if they had a store since I was going to be there.  Their store isn’t huge but it is packed with their yarns.  I ended up getting some of their Perfection Worsted with the plan to crochet it into a granny square blanket.

Yarn from Charleston and Savannah

On our trip a couple weeks ago, I made sure that there were some local yarn store visits as a part of our plans.

In Charleston, we stopped at Knit. While I shopped around, Mike sat down and spent some time with the Schnauzers that were in the store.

They had a huge selection of yarns and everything was organized by weight.  Usually I try to buy something local to commemorate the visit but they didn’t have that much in the store while we were there. I looked at some of the store samples and decided to buy something completely out of the ordinary for me.

Alp Exquisite is a novelty yarn made with 30% cotton, 30% polyamid, 14% merino, 10% cashmere, 6% baby alpaca, and 5% kid mohair.

The pattern that came with the yarn is for a cowl that changes stitches every time the yarn changes.  I thought this would be pretty to wear for Christmas and decided to get it.  Knitting with it is kind of weird.  I’m not so sure I’ll be getting any more yarn like this any time soon, but I am loving the results.  If today goes as planned, I should have it finished tonight.

In Savannah we went to The Frayed Knot.

This store was much smaller than the one in Charleston but I loved it.  The people working inside were really friendly and pointed us to yarns from The Copper Corgi Fiber Studio made in Savannah.  Mike selected this colorway of a worsted weight yarn called Bloody ‘ell and has requested fingerless gloves.

River Knits in Lafayette, Indiana

Last week I was away for work and one day I had free time when I was near Purdue University and decided to see if there were any local yarn stores. I discovered River Knits in downtown Lafayette, Indiana.

They had a really great selection of yarns perfectly organized by weight.  The girl working in the store was really friendly.  They didn’t have anything locally spun or dyed when I was there but I did find one thing I’d been looking for and one splurge.

I’ve been wanting to make another Dolores Park Cowl for a friend but wanted to knit it in the Malabrigo Chunky that the pattern recommends. However, I haven’t found it in any stores and it has mostly been sold out on my go to online yarn store, WEBS (of course now there seems to be more available but buying yarn in person is so much more fun!). But they had such a nice selection of Malabrigo and I found this skein for the cowl.

They tried to wind it at the store but it wasn’t behaving so I’ll untangle and wind it when I start my project. I might knit this up this weekend just to get in a quick fun project, but at this point it isn’t even cowl weather anymore.

I also got this Kraemer Yarns Fountain Hill Brushed Mohair.

I’ve never bought anything fuzzy before so I was excited to get something different. Fortunately, this guy behaved as it was being wound. At 560 skinny yards, it would have been a pain to do with my method. I have no idea what this will become but it’s a nice addition to my stash.

I’m glad I had some time to check out this yarn store.  It had a great selection and friendly staff.

 

Keeping people’s ears warm

My friend Marla has always been an admirer of my knitting and first requested a hat well over a year maybe even much longer.

A couple weeks ago when I was in Lancaster, I picked up two skeins of Noro Bonbori.

I was specifically planning to knit an earflap hat for Marla.  This is the fourth hat I’ve made in this pattern and it’s so simple and has a great result.

I’m loving the unseasonable weather we’ve been having but I hope that she gets some use out of this hat this winter.  I’ll send it out this week!

Lancaster Yarn Stores

This past week I was in Lancaster for work.  When I found myself with some free time, I googled yarn stores and I found two great shops.

The first shop I visited was Kitnit Fine Yarns. Their website said they had Malabrigo and I thought I would buy a skein of their Chunky to try another Dolores Park Cowl in the yarn the pattern called for.  Of course I made this decision in the time it took me to drive there.

When I got there, I talked with the shop owner and she said they didn’t have any Malabrigo Chunky and they might have some other Malabrigo but it would be in their sale selection.

Their sale selection was awesome and I found some great yarns. I got some Noro for a hat for a friend that I’ll show off once it’s finished. But I also got the one skein of Malabrigo Sock in their sale selection in the Ravelry Red colorway.

I also got a skein of Louisa Harding Millais that I think will make a cute hat for a baby.

I also got a chance to visit Lancaster Yarn Shop. It’s in Intercourse which is just outside of the city of Lancaster and it’s exactly what you think of when you imagine Amish Country. It was a beautiful day so I saw so many horse and buggies, tons of laundry drying on lines and animals out on the surrounding farms.

This shop is possibly the cutest shop I’ve been in. I just loved the space, the way the yarn is organized and the pretty displays. And the owner was so friendly and nice to talk with.

I chatted with the shop owner while I browsed and she pointed me to the display of local yarns. There were about three different brands with different weights and all of them were beautiful and soft and it was difficult to choose just one. Ultimately, sparkle won out (who am I buying my second skein of yarn with sparkle?) and I chose a yarn by Crabapple Yarns.

I’m so happy with my new stash additions!

Yarn Garden in Carlisle, PA

Last week when I was traveling, I had some time to kill before an appointment. I quickly googled yarn stores and discovered the Yarn Garden in Carlisle, PA.

The parking meter in front of the store has been yarn bombed. In fact, there were a few others along the street too.

I loved this yarn shop so much. They had so many great yarns and the way they were displayed was perfect. It was bright and welcoming inside the shop.

A really fun coincidence is that the owner is the aunt of one of the women in the group I knit with!  I knew she had an aunt that owned a store but I wasn’t confident that this was it so I didn’t ask. But we chatted a little as I checked out and sure enough, it was her.

I bought a little more yarn than I probably needed to but I just really liked it here and saw a lot of stuff that was new to me.  To be fair, some of it was on sale.

I got this skein of High Society Sock Yarn. The colorway is called Childhood and it appeals the part of me that loves all things rainbow. Also, the woman who dyes this yarn lives in Harrisburg so it’s nice to try something almost local.

I also got two skeins of Sheep 3 Yarn. Sheep Shop Yarn is no longer in business so all their yarn is discontinued which is a shame because I can tell I’m going to love this yarn. It has a nice shine to it and it’s very soft to the touch. I’m always so quick to buy a fingering weight yarn on the fly but I want to start diversifying my stash and this sport weight yarn is a perfect addition.

I also got a skein of fingering weight Kraemer Yarns Sterling Silk and Silver. This is a Pennsylvania yarn made in Nazareth.

I don’t normally buy anything like this but there is actual silver spun into the yarn and it has a slight sparkle to it that is so interesting. Here you can see it up close.

I was so excited with my finds and I can’t wait to find the perfect patterns for these yarns. I wish I had more time to knit so I can keep getting great yarns.

Rosie’s Yarn Cellar

I had some free time before a meeting the other day and found myself walking around Center City Philadelphia. I love Philadelphia.  I know I have a bias because I grew up there and have a lot of great memories of doing things all over the area but it just makes me so happy when I am there.  I just like the buildings and the row homes and the streets.

After walking around for a bit, I googled to see if there were any yarn shops nearby and I discovered Rosie’s Yarn Cellar near Rittenhouse Square.

The store was so cute and the people that worked there were so friendly.  The store just had a great vibe.  I could be in big trouble if I lived in the area because it was just so inviting.

I decided to buy one skein of yarn and looked around for a bit before settling on Schoppel-Wolle Pur.

This is a bulky yarn, 100% wool and has about 164 yards in the skein. I think I might use it to make a cowl.  It would definitely be warm.  And the colors are so great, very neutral with pops of pinks.

New Yarn and New Yarn Store

Today I found myself with some free time so I googled yarn store and discovered A Garden Of Yarn was nearby.

I looked around for a bit and discovered a sale table. The woman who was working was very friendly and just as I walked over, she brought over new yarn she was marking down to make room for their fall stock.

Araucania Ruca Multy is made from sugar cane!  The fiber alone made me want it but after I touched it, I was sold.  (Plus it was marked down 50% so I could get two for the price of one!)  The woman at that store said that a lot of people knit baby projects from it but that it’s so drapey and soft it could make a great scarf.

A quick perusal of the Ravelry Project page for this yarn shows that there are many great uses for this yarn.  I’m happy to get to add it to my stash.

Yarn from Alaska

Last year, at this time we were in Alaska!

While we were in Skagway, we went to Changing Threads so I could get some yarn. I ended up with two skeins of sock yarn from Rabbit Ridge.

In November I took a great toe up sock class at Stitch Your Art Out.  And I started two pairs of socks that have been sitting for a bit.  The first pair is with the Fire skein.

The pattern is really easy to follow and it was great having the help of the instructor and my classmates. I feel confident that I can continue on my own.  And, they knit up pretty quickly (for me).

The only reason that I haven’t finished either pair of socks is that I got too eager and started a few other projects at the same time. I think that once it gets cool again, there will be more of an incentive to actually finish them. Until then, they are a work in progress.

I doubt the skein of Camo will become socks. But it will be a bit before I get to it.