More of Painted Cowl

Well, I'm a goose.

A Snowman Misses His Hat

Somewhere, a snowman is sorely missing his hat. His head must be so cold.

Before

More Hats!

More hats! I'm still working on my Orange You Glad pattern, or, as I've decided to call it instead, Diminuendo. Both of these hats came out very well, with two different takes on the crown. Now I just have to decide which is more fitting!

Painted Cowl

I haven't shared any WIPs before this, so hopefully this one shall be well received. It's going very well, except for the fact that it tries my patience!

More Ends

I had to say goodbye to my first knitting group, so spent my last official night in chatting and sharing some projects. We've got two Bandana Cowls, When Cow and Owl Sing, and two Raucous Ruffle Scarves, all sewn up and ready to washed, dried, and shipped. Success! Progress! 

Eugene

This was an experiment. Named Eugene.

Some Spinning

How I do love spinning. Here are some trinkets to take a look at, all experimental, for me, in a way. 

The yarn on the bobbin is the start of a more complicated skein. It's almost every ounce I have of some really nice, and soft, brown wool. It's probably a light worsted or a DK. It's not entirely consistent in thickness throughout, but I'm happy with it. I also enjoy loading the bobbin right up, now that I know how to play with the wheel's tension when need be.

The other two were fun. Very fun. Their thickness is a little lighter, but I wouldn't call them fingering. These are some of my first little spinning jewels.

Manos Cowl

I've posted about this one before.  Multiple times, actually. Last time it didn't fit over anyone's head and I'd only woven in one of the ends, the cast on side.

Now, I've undone part of the bind off, redone it, and sewn in the last end. And guess what! Now it fits. I am so incredibly happy.

Full Sink

A knitting friend has been telling me about the joys of dishcloths. She even generously allowed me a look at her pattern book. I was enthralled and dived in, partaking of her patterns, and those available online, and loosing track of which was which. 

Orange You Glad Hat

First, Happy Thanksgiving! And now...

Knock knock.

Who's there?

Orange.

Orange who?

Orange you glad you have a hat?

Of course you are!

So. I've been hammering away at a pattern, inspired by the cable in his black cabled hat. I loved the cable used in this pattern, and wanted to saturate a hat with it.

First Baby Garment!

I have completed my first baby garment! Huzzah! Twenty tails and all!

A friend recently had a baby, so I whipped this do dad, the Gilet Aourell (available as a free .pdf through ravelry), together in the hopes that she would like it.

Old Welsh Harp Music

I came across information about a piece of harp music, The Whirling of the Spinning Wheel, or, Troead y droell. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find a recording of it online, so have not been able to listen to it.

World Cat classifies the song as folk music from Wales. The initial search I did classified it as an old welsh harp song. At All Music, I found a CD that claims include the piece, Haydn: Scottish and Welsh Songs. Amazon does have listings for the CD, though the prices vary, and there are at least three volumes. Which volume the song is on is a mystery to me.

This mini-quest to find Troead y droell has filled my mind with thoughts of my grandmother, who passed on a few years ago. She is the source of my Welsh blood and the source of my fascination with Irish and Welsh mythology and lore.

I'd like to think that she would have liked the piece, even though I haven't heard it yet (the quest isn't finished!). Even better, I found a score for violin, cello, and harp, so if my violin skills improve, and I can find musicians to play with me, perhaps, eventually (if I even like the music), I can bring the music to life myself!

I've also been thinking how it would be to spin to music. My spinning skills are rather rudimentary, but I do a good enough job for me. I don't usually spin to music, though. I find that I start treadling to the beat of the music, instead of the speed necessary for my yarn.

On that note, let me leave a song I came across while searching for Troead y droell, Sad Marguerite at the Spinning Wheel. It's sad and beautiful, and yes, I do plan to try spinning to it.

Enjoy!

Loose Ends

Waiting for the needle

I am not a fan of weaving in ends. Incidentally, that means I usually end up with a stock pile of projects that need to be finished off all at once. After a recent knitting spree, the result of which is pictured below, I did just that. And let me tell you, was the finished pile of finished projects satisfying!

Below, pictured left to right, the before, the after, and the leftovers.

Bandanas are Cool

Before I became overwhelmed, I was endeavoring to make one of these for every member of my (quite large) family. Now that I've realized I don't have the time to complete such a task, and that I think I've gotten the Bandana Cowl out of my head, here are some experiments.