Relaxing time knitting

…A linen shawl using Louet euroflax in willow and chocolate. This yarn is so luscious. I’m doing it all in stockinette…very simple and shows off the yarn nicely.

Weaving – attempt to use my Stash

In attempt to reduce the clutter in our closets, I’m giving weaving a try. Hand-woven fabric (even my beginner piece) shows off beautiful fiber. I’m using Noro Silk Garden, a Japanese silk and wool yarn. It’s self- striping and it is not lending itself well to weaving. But it’s still beautiful yarn and it’s my first ever piece.

Amazing Dolls by Linda Danielson

A wonderful friend and artist, Linda Danielson makes dolls of objects she finds. She lives in Sooke outside of Victoria on Vancouver Island . They are whimsical, brilliant works of art.

We met her one night at the Sooke Harbour House Restaurant. Our friends told us about this fabulous place where the food is fresh and the gardens are full of herbs and edible flowers. She was our server, one of the true professionals left in the world of dining out. I’m not sure how we found out that she made these wonderful dolls, but I was lucky enough to acquire one of them.

The girl that I have has a moon face. I call her Luna and I think I got her name from Linda. Luna holds a sea urchin and that connects her to the ocean. She’s been with me for many years and she connects me to the moon and ocean and I love that.

Linda recently sent me a photo of Woodpecker Dreams of Dragons. Wow! He is amazing…just stunning.

http://sookeclothdolls.com/pages/original_paperclay/original_paperclay_thmbs.html

Jellyfish in the Kokua Market Yarnstorming

Jellyfish in the Kokua Market Yarnstorming, a photo by mk.carroll on Flickr.

Check this out. I love knitters!

Knit for Japan | Knitting charity to support victims of the Tohoku earthquake in Japan. – 東日本大震災の被災者のための編み物慈善

 

 

Knit for Japan | Knitting charity to support victims of the Tohoku earthquake in Japan. – 東日本大震災の被災者のための編み物慈善.

Just packed up a box of thick wool Peace Fleece to go to Japan. They need help and it’s gonna get cold soon. I wish I knew how to knit a hat…maybe my next project.

Three-Button Shawl

Here's a three-button shawl I knitted. I only put one button on it and did it in a silk/wool yarn. Love, love, love this yarn.

Photo by Ginger Ikenberry

Chenille Shawl

I have gotten a little carried away by knitting.  It’s kind of the way I do everything – overboard.  Kris made me promise not to knit on the job this week – I’m in Kona doing a photo shoot at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel.

This shawl was finished in Volcano on our trip after Christmas with the monkeys.  I’ve always called our dogs the monkeys.  Mocha was the designated model for it.  It’s knit with two yarns held together.  I used Crystal Palace in tan and I can’t recall the name of the fuzzy yarn – it’s purple and beige.  It’s soft and cozy and so easy.  It’s all garter stitch.  I believe I cast on 40 stitches.

 

Scarf for skiing

I loved working with the Plymouth Tweed so much that it was my choice to make another version of the scarf for a special person.

Here’s the pattern: 

                     
                     
                     

Cast on 40

Row 1 & 3:  K4, P4, Repeat to end of row

Row 2:  P4, K4, Repeat to end of row

Row 4:  Knit
Repeat until desired length

                   

Shawl made from Noro Silk Garden

I finally finished a shawl I made from Noro Silk Garden. It’s a beautiful wool and silk blend.  Here’s a link to the free pattern:  http://knittinggeek.com/howto/shawlworkshop.htm.  I loved working with the yarn so much that it just kept growing and growing.  I lost track of how many skeins I used.  It was so interesting watching the yarn unfold as I knitted.

Here’s a photo of Haku modeling the shawl:

Here’s a photo of Mocha using it:

Brown scarf

I made a scarf for my teacher.  He lives in Northern California off the grid so I imagine it gets mighty cold.  When we were in Volcano I ran out of yarn on the project I brought so I went to the yarn store in Hilo to start another project.  I’ll have to go back there to get the name of the yarn and color.  At that time, I had no idea I was going to blog about knitting.  Blogging serves as a personal record.  So here I can record the project with instructions.

Knitting is so relaxing for me…better than anything I’ve tried.  It keeps my hands busy and my mind relatively quiet.  I bought a book called Mindful Knitting and love how it parallels knitting with mindfulness.  It’s something I can practice while knitting.

Here’s the scarf:

I used the twin rib stitch.  Since I’m just knitting rectangular things (like scarfs, blankets, and washcloths), I can use stitches from a basic book and just knit away. 

Cast on 36 (Must be a multiple of 6)

Row 1:  Knit 3, purl 3 Repeat to end

Row 2:  Knit 1, purl 1; Repeat to end

Repeat 1 and 2 for until desired length.