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.

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.

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.

Alpaca from Western PA

This winter I found myself with some free time in Bedford, PA. Previously, all I knew of Bedford was that they had a Sheetz conveniently located at the place where the PA Turnpike and I-99 met.

I found my way to downtown Bedford and discovered it’s not just a stop along the highway but a really quaint colonial town with tons of beautiful houses and great little downtown area.  (A few weekends later I revisited Bedford, this time with friends and we had a great time at the Omni Bedford Springs.)

I took a walk around town, stopping in a coffee shop, an antique mall, and an alpaca store?

Backstage Alpaca Shop sells a variety of goods made from alpaca. Near the back of the store, I discovered beautiful yarn made by 84 Alpacas Fiber Mill.

It’s so beautiful and soft. The only problem is that I don’t know the yardage (I guess I’ll figure that out for sure when I wind it but the lady at the store guessed it was about 200 yards) and I don’t know the weight. I can try to figure out the wraps per inch to be sure. I even emailed someone at the mill with a picture but I never heard back.

Either way, I love having this yarn in my stash and can’t wait to use it. All mystery aside, I think I’ll be able to use it to make sev[en]circle or another pattern that seems to work in a variety of yarns.

New Yarn!

I haven’t bought any yarn since May when I got the yarn for my Sunday Market Shawl while I was in Vermont.

I have been coveting Misti Alpaca Hand Paint Super Chunky since I saw it in yarn store in North Carolina. It feels great and the colors are so vibrant. But I didn’t need it and with 55 yards in a skein, I knew I’d want to get two to make sure that I wasn’t limited in my pattern choices.

Then I saw it on sale on WEBS so I had to get it.  And it arrived last Thursday. In the rush of the weekend, I actually held off on opening it until Friday night! That’s restraint.

It’s soft and beautiful and I can’t wait to find a pattern for it. This color is called Red Rover.

And since I was already paying for shipping, I got another skein of Ella Rae Lace Merino because it was also on sale and I can’t wait to knit my other skein, so I figured I’d be just as excited for this one in orange, yellow and denim!

Finished: Cable Necklace

I finished my cable necklace which was a brief departure from the projects I was already working on. The pattern is clear and I am pretty pleased with the result.

The only thing I didn’t do was crochet a chain to make the loop. I tried but I just did not like the results and ended up adding a piece of yarn that I cut off from weaving in my ends and making a little braid.

I looked in my button stash (all except for two are the extras from clothing) to find the perfect button to finish it off.

I narrowed down my selection.

I ended up going with the brown one which I bought at my LYS.

I’m excited to wear this necklace but I suspect that I won’t like wool on my neck until it’s a little cooler. I don’t want to rush summer, so I’ll be patient.