Cookie A. Mystery Socks

Cookie A. Mystery Socks
Originally uploaded by pfeifferini
I just finished my first mystery socks! I am in a group on Ravelry called Sock Knitters Anonymous, and the May 2010 mystery/challenge was this pattern. The pattern was given to us in weekly "clues", so we only had a part of the sock each week.

The yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy in the color Ruby River. It is lovely to knit and gets even softer once washed. The designer is Cookie A., well known for her beautiful, complex sock patterns.

Scarves for Bears

Mickey, Patty & Malcolm
Originally uploaded by pfeifferini
It's been a long time since I made my little mohair bears. I had a few left over from the last time I made them (2003) and when the owner of our new fabric shop asked me to bring in a few things to sell, I brought them down. The first set sold within a few hours. I quickly got to work making more. These three are part of the new batch of bears.

I used to tie pretty ribbons around their necks to give them a bit of personality, but I've learned to knit and now they all get little scarves made from my leftover sock yarn.

I've been a one-woman bear factory for the last couple of weeks, working on my new bear design. I'll post a photo of the new bears in a day or two.

Kathy & Wavy's quilt

Kathy & Wavy's quilt
Originally uploaded by pfeifferini
I know. Let's just not talk about how long it's been, okay? Moving on...

So, way back in June, my little sister Kathy married Wavy. They asked for a quilt, which I was happy to make. I went stash diving and came up with a beautiful copper batik with lines of turquoise, light green, purple (my favorite), and tan running through it. I chose a pattern from Karla Alexander's New Cuts for New Quilts book; it's the cover quilt, in fact. I pulled lots of fabric from my stash and even bought some at the quilt shop. Then I procrastinated.

Well, to be fair, I did have the Small Quilt Auction coming up the weekend before Kathy's wedding. I am in charge of this event, so I had to do stuff for it. But still, the fabric languished for a month or two before I got started. Once I started though, it went very well and the quilt turned out beautifully. I made the quilt larger than the size in the book, and even made pillowcases to match.

I hand-delivered the quilt to Kathy & Wavy when I went to the wedding. They loved it, and I even got to sleep under it one night. It was very nice.

Small Quilt Auction

Today, La Plata Quilters Guild had its 10th Annual Small Quilt Benefit Auction. We raised over $13,000.00 with 126 quilts! We had a gorgeous day (as usual, I forgot my hat and my poor head got sunburned). I've been in charge of this event for nine years now, and I am always amazed at the quality of quilts donated by our guild members and others.


Some quilts are truly wonderful, and bring in lots of money for our beneficiaries, and other quilts are a bit more humble, but find a loving home. It's a really wonderful event. I have a few photos here, and more on my flickr page.

Also, check out our guild's website - there's lots of information about the auction and the rest of the guild's activities there.

Startitis

John and I are remodeling the kitchen and living in chaos. Since we started, I have cast on six new projects and learned to crochet! Luckily, I am a dedicated knitter, and I have acutally finished two of the scarves. Above, you see one of two Chevron Scarves (rav link) cast on just as we started the remodel. I helped a couple of friends start this project, and of course, I had to start one too. This scarf is made of Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Mediumweight sock yarn in the Backstabber and Fire on the Mountain colorways. This yarn really is ideal for the scarf - it's soft and smooth with lots of color changes.

The other is made from just one ball of yarn with lots of yardage. It is Noelle's Noodles in the colorway Colliohe; 560 yards in the ball. I went up a needle size because this yarn is a bit thicker than the Socks That Rock, and was able to break up the color pooling with this needle size change. I like this yarn too, it's a bit fuzzy and the color changes are really lovely.

The Etsy Shop is Up!

At long last, I put the owls up for sale on etsy. Check them out here!

Koolhaas Hats

Although John keeps insisting he has plenty of hats now, I made another one for him. This is Koolhaas by Jared Flood (rav link). I made this hat from Rowan Cotton Wool in the color Moonstone. The yarn is slightly thinner than that called for in the pattern, so I cast on an additional 16 stitches for two extra pattern repeats.

After finishing John's hat, I went stash diving and came up with some Rowan Cotton Jeans in the color Hemp. So, I decided I needed a Koolhaas for myself. Of course, I like a turn-up ribbing on all of my hats, so my ribbing is 3.5 inches. I love the color of this yarn, but it's pretty easy to split with your needles.

I've also finished the Horcrux socks by Susan Lawrence (2nd in my Harry Potter Sock Series) and I love them! The yarn is Regia Cotton Color and they are soft and comfy.

Finally, after 53 attempts, I got a photo of my other cat, Louis the shy one, doing her best impression of a lima bean with feet.

Don't be fooled by her docile appearance; she is watching every move of the needles, biding her time (shiny Addi turbos are her favorite)!

Oh - the Cuteness!

I have a sister who just had a baby, and another sister who's due at the end of May. They are having their combined baby shower this weekend, and I finished my gifts in time (yay me!). Of course, I was so excited I ran down to the post office with everything, then realized that I had forgotten to take photos. Luckily, my car was pretty clean, so I spread out the ensembles on the hood and took these photos before I sealed the box. I created quite a stir at our local post office, trying to find the right angle so the glare of the sun would not blind us all. People do love to look at cute baby things.

This set is for my brand new nephew, Mac.

And this set will be for my little niece, whenever she arrives.

The sweaters are the One-Piece Baby Kimono by Christine Shiffman (rav link) from Mason-Dixon Knitting (fabulous book). The hats are the from the pattern I use to make newborn hats to donate to our local hospital. It's a pretty simple pattern - if you need it, just let me know. The little socks were made from the leftover sweater yarn. The yarn is Cascade Cotton Rich DK - very soft in the finished product, but hard on the hands when knitting.

Have You Seen My Hairy Monkeys?

So I made these socks, Monkey by Cookie A. in December and somehow they weren't posted to the blog. I'm not sure how this happened because you all know how I love to show the handmade socks!

The gorgeous yarn is Bearfoot by Mountain Colors. It has some mohair in it, making my socks a little fuzzy. That's why my Monkeys are hairy. I bought this yarn in Bozeman, Montana - it was my souvenir yarn for that vacation. I wish I could remember the name of the shop I visited - it was really nice.

This pattern is terribly popular on the web (8190 projects in Ravelry) and is an easy, fast knit. The finished socks are really cozy!

I can definitely see myself doing another pair of these in the future...

Lots of Little Knits

I've been knitting a LOT - but not taking photos (sorry!). So here's a few things I've finished lately:

This is Bridget by Woolly Wormhead (Ravelry link). It's a lovely chunky alpaca yarn and this hat is warm and very jaunty. I love the feel of the pom poms as they bounce on my head!

I made these Socks of Kindness (Ravelry Link) from Sophie's Toes by Emily Parson. For some reason, I had trouble with this pattern - mostly with counting to eight over and over. I had to go back a lot to fix my errors. Sigh. I love the socks though, now that they're finished.

Next, I tackled Hermione's Cable & Eyelet Hat in some no-ball-band cashmere yarn. I made the ribbing longer so I could turn up the brim, but otherwise followed the pattern faithfully. I really like this hat, so much so that I had to make mittens to go with it:

These are the Cozy Cabled Mittens by My Life's Work. I've never made a plaited cable like this, and I love the way they look and fit. They're perfect.

Ella Kitzgerald Sez Happy New Year!

Not really. She just wants you to give her some catnip. She had some on Christmas and wonders why she does not have it everyday. (Louis is shy, but I'll try to get a photo of her soon.)

John went to work on the snow, and finally made paths around the house. The wind was so strong this weekend that it blew the door of his bike barn open, so he had to clear the steps to get the door closed again.

Today was a glorious, sunny day, but cold. The snow just sparkles and crunches under our feet when we walk outside. It's lovely.

Happy New year!

Merry Christmas!

John and I had a quiet Christmas at home. We had some snow...

(This is a photo of John's bike barn in back of our house.)

We had cocoa this morning and opened our presents - thanks everyone! Despite the passes being closed for several days in the last week, we received nearly everything on time. I'm sure the rest will arrive tomorrow.

Our Christmas trees were lit all day, just because they are so pretty...

The cats enjoyed playing with the empty boxes and discarded bows. And John wanted to make sure you saw his decorated Wheel.

So Merry Christmas to all of you - we miss you all!

It's cold! I'm knitting!

We have snow - just a couple of inches, but enough to make me want to settle in with a warm knitting project on my lap. I've cast on for a great many things, but managed to actually finish some stuff.

These are a pair of socks for my future brother-in-law, Wavy (don't tell him!). His birthday is on New Year's Eve and always gets kind of lost in the shuffle. So, I'm treating him to an early birthday present and will give the socks to him when we visit for Thanksgiving. I really like the way they turned out.

The pattern is Thuja, a free pattern from Knitty. I used Colinette Jitterbug in the Mardi Gras colorway, and used a bit over one skein. I know Wavy will love the rainbow colors.

I also finished my first pair of gloves!!!!

These are made from my last skein of yummy Malabrigo, and the pattern is from One Skein by Leigh Radford. It's a nice pattern and they fit like, well, gloves.

Finally, I have finished my Clapotis!!!! This is another free pattern from Knitty. Apparently, I spend a lot of time there. The Clapotis is one of those "cool kid" patterns that swept the knitting community a while back (I'm way behind the trend).

This is a wide scarf or small stole and I wore it to the Best of the Southwest Fiber Fest this past weekend. The yarn is Artyarns Regal Silk (100% Silk) and has a very slight variegation. It's lovely and soft.

So that's what I've been up to. I am working on secret gift knitting for a couple of people who read my blog, so no pictures of those will be available until Christmas. But, have no fear, I am also knitting a hat for myself - nearly instant gratification - and will post that soon.

October Catch Up

I've been super busy this month with the quilt show, a road/shopping trip and a retreat, but I have managed to finish a few items.


My regular group of friends had a log cabin challenge this year. Everyone was to make a quilt using log cabin blocks for at least half of the blocks. And we were to try something that was challenging for us - a new color scheme, quilting style, etc. The quilts were all beautiful, and we had them in the quilt show. Here's mine (sorry for the colors - the light at the quilt show was not great):




And a detail (the colors are better here):




The owls I made to sell at the show were really fun - I followed Moonstitches Tutowlrial and made owls in both wool and cotton fabric. I did have a few left over, so I'll be launching an Etsy shop soon so they can find new homes. Stay tuned...




I also finished some knitting. This is my Shifting Sands Scarf, pattern by Grumperina. I used her knitting Cables without a Cable Needle Tutorial to make this scarf, as there are 8 cables on every right side row. I did not count the number of rows, but let's just say there are a LOT!



I used super soft Malabrigo to knit this scarf and am really happy with the result. I have one more skein of this yarn, and have cast on some gloves to wear with my scarf (fingers- yikes!).


Finally, I finished some socks. These are the Swirly-O socks (Ravelry link) from The Knitter's Book of Yarn by Clara Parkes. It's a great book - full of useful information and lovely projects. I am not crazy about the toe because it seems a little long to me - I would have liked the pretty eyelet pattern to continue to within an inch of the tip of my toe. But the socks are super warm and cozy. I'm wearing them right now!




These socks were made with DK weight yarn from Crazy Monkey - I think she calls this yarn Gorilla Toes, in the color Wisteria. Gorgeous and soft!

More Quilts!

I've finished quite a few projects in the last week or so. Let's go up to the guest bedroom to look at two new quilts:

This is the super-sized queen double nine patch I pieced last year. It was going to be for sale at our quilt show next month, but I like it too much to part with it. Louis likes it too - she's often napping right in the center of the bed in a tiny little ball (Louis is a cat, and I moved her for this photo). Here's a close-up so you can see the beautiful quilting done by my friend Vickie:

This is the second red & white quilt for the guest bedroom. It's a pattern by Buggy Barn, from their book Certifiably Crazy. I like several patterns from this book.

I forgot to take the sheet off the chair in the corner - sorry. We cover it because the cats love to sleep in/on that chair and get it all hairy. Rather than having to constantly vacuum the chair, we cover it and then wash the sheet often.

This quilt was also quilted by Vickie.

I've finished some knitting too, but still have to take the pictures. I've been working on little wool and cotton owls, yes - owls, to sell at our quilt show. They are all done except for the eyes. I must do some button shopping so I can finish them. More information will follow...

Burnt Timber Trail and a Flurry of Finishes

On August 27, Marcia, Kim, Robin and I hiked the Burnt Timber Trail, accessible by driving past Lemon Reservoir and up a bit. The trail was a steady, long climb through Pine and Aspen trees. It was a good hike, lower in elevation than Highland Mary Lakes, but very nice.


At the top, there was a large cluster of Aspen trees that had lots of carvings in them. The earliest date we found was 1949. I like the eye carved into the tree on the right.



Over the long holiday weekend, we tried to go camping, but it just started POURING on Saturday afternoon and did not let up all night, so we packed up the car Sunday morning and headed home. It's just not that fun to hang out in a tent for more than 16 hours. It rained all day Sunday, so it was a good weekend for finishing stuff. I put the binding on this gigantic quilt:

This is the infamous nine patch I made from all of my batiks as of July 1, 2007, which is when I started the quilt. I cut a 6" square from every batik I owned, then cut the squares into 2" strips, then joined the strips into little strip sets and cut them up again to sew into nine patches. There are 580 different fabrics in this 108" square quilt, and it brightens up our bedroom nicely. Here's a little close-up shot:

Then I finished these cute socks last week. They are the Coquette pattern from 2-at-a-time Socks by Melissa Morgan-Oakes. The yarn is Tofutsies and feels very nice and light against my feet. My friend, Jeannette, gave me the yarn after she decided she didn't want to knit socks on US size 1 needles (thanks Jeannette!). I didn't mind - they went really fast.

That's not my leg, by the way. I bought a "foot model" on eBay so I could take pictures of the socks without contorting my body at odd angles to get photos of my feet!

Highland Mary Lakes Trail

On August 20, Marcia, Linda, Connie, Robin, Celia and I hiked up the Highland Mary Lakes Trail. The trailhead is 9 miles north of Silverton on a mostly smooth dirt road, with one stream crossing before the parking area.


The trail is steep steep steep! It was mostly dry and rocky, with just one boggy area near the top. We followed Cunningham Creek all the way up, and we passed many cascades and waterfalls.

This is Marcia and Robin leaving our lunch spot at Lake #3.

And here's Linda, Robin, Celia, and Marcia in front of Lake #2 on our way down.


The wildflowers were really past their prime, but there was a lot of color still along the trail. Unfortunately, it rained a bit on our way down, so I did not take many photos. Just as we got back into the car, the downpour really started. What a great hike!