Happy Halloween

Here's what can be done with one ball of Jamieson's Shetland Chunky yarn!

(I must have some spider DNA in me somewhere as this web has actually stayed up for a week.....even through a storm and the sprinklers......)!

Hat full of Love!

Ten Years of marriage .........to show my love I made a Koolhaas Hat for a cool-ass man!

And just for fun I thought I'd share this photo of the early days!

Ta Da!

Remember this....well it evolved,.....quickly at first ...but then it decided it was way too hot for chunky alpaca and stubbornly refused to be finished until we had some proper fall weather
But hey here it is.......Maya's Pacific Poncho (an adaptation of Kat Coyle's Poncho Vest from Knitscene- we resized for an 8year old and worked garter stitch instead of stockinette).

It all came about after a visit to the ocean and Maya's discovery of eucalyptus seed pods (hence the Pacific title).

I'd say Maya knit about 90% of this herself (I only slipped in the odd row here and there when she wasn't looking then realized my knitting was way tighter than hers and it would actually be too noticeable if I knit too many rows).....she even performed a three needle bind off (under supervision of course)!

Maya is now imagining something of her own design......even after the gentle reminders and prods I gave to keep going with this she appears to still be keen! Phew!

The seed pods worked well as buttons (we drilled a hole through the side) but they sure do smell!
I'd say this was a great project to pick for a younger knitter interested in a wearable garment without overwhelming them.

What's been going on!

Well......I've been reuniting myself with the pattern notes I made for the Little Black Dress which had to be formatted by........today.......done!
My head is swimming with the math and I've sent it off with a merry wave! Thought I'd share this shot of our cat not being particularly helpful in the process (that's my dress he's making a bed of). He does have this annoying tendency to want to sit on my lap when I'm knitting....needless to say I'm not very cat friendly at those moments!
All other knitting is swatching and sketching for the Knitscene submissions deadline.....think I have some fairly decent ideas...fingers crossed (not when knitting of course)!

The other big event (and I know it has zilch to do with knitting but a lot to do with being a proud mama) is that my youngest learned to ride a bike.....it's a magic 3 day learning bike that worked with his sister before him!

.......and some fall foliage from Lake Tahoe where we took our first family bike ride as independent riders!

Organic Shetland Wool Preview

So I haven't given much of an update on my Shetland trip...it really was mostly about spending time with the family...however one of the fiber related highlights was getting to see a new product that will be making itself known to the yarn world before too long.....Native Organic Shetland Wool.

A group of crofters have collaborated to produce the fleeces which are then spun on Orkney (there isn't a mill in Shetland that can process them organically). There has only been one round of fleeces processed so far. Samples of the wool (and in some cases the fleece) were given to a selection of Shetland fiber artists to try some design work on. What you see below are some of the results. These really are incredible pieces of work and it was a privilege to see and handle them in person!These products will be used to help promote the yarn at fiber shows.
The yarn is not yet available to buy but I was fortunate enough to leave with a few cones!......I have some ideas up my sleeve for these gorgeous natural colours.

While at home my siblings and I looked at a lot of old photos for laughs and I was very happy to come across these two of my mum's Shetland Trader knitwear store (guess it must have been pretty chilly in there)!
(Right back to frying my brain with writing up the Little Black Dress pattern....thanks for all the lovely comments people have left...keeps me going when all that math gets too much)!

Little Black Dress News

(my sister modeling the dress in Shetland-despite the blue sky it was a wee bit chilly for this attire)!

So I can officially let you in on a wee bit of news re The Little Black Dress. Knitonthenet a UK based online knitting publication contacted me wanting to know if I'd like to publish the pattern with them! Of course I said yes! This is all thanks to Ruby who very kindly alerted them about the dress and told them to take a peek at my blog (she has designs with them also). It will be published in November which thankfully gives me time to properly write it up!

(BTW my sister REALLY liked the dress and it looked so good on her that I almost gave it up but in the end I couldn't part with it. She is getting my latest creation which I'm currently still working on)