October 2013

Whew, what a month!  The shop closing sale is in full swing and I am exhausted.  We have been very busy and it has been emotionally draining  as well.  Before I go any further, let me stop and say Thank You!  I have received emails, hand written notes and in person visits, expressing how sad you are that Spin A Yarn is closing.  You’ve made me feel loved and appreciated and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for that.  I wish it could be different and we could keep going, I hate to disappoint so many people, but when a business ceases to be a business, a decision has to be made.  As you know it was a difficult and sad decision for me, but I didn’t feel like there was another choice.  I am so grateful that for the past 20 years I have been able to do what I love and share it with others who love it as well.  How many people get tot say that about their lives?  I am truly blessed and filled with gratitude for that gift and I thank you.

As always, I continue to knit…

As promised the double knit reversible vest is finished.  Though a little time consuming to make, it was fun and interesting to make.  I love a challenge.  I am pleased with the results.  It should be nice and warm too!

 

 

 

I am still working on the pink cotton sweater that was started last month.  I have made progress, but got distracted and put it aside for a while.  This WILL be finished before I start something new.

 

 

 

And the distraction: I was looking through the patterns for a customer and came across this sweater and thought; “hmmm… I like that…”  You know what that means.  I pulled the pattern and looked at yarn.  I knit the sweater and have worn it twice since I finished.  Guess I like it 🙂 (Just to prove I wore it, a rare glimpse of me in a picture).

 

Last spring I put aside  a ribbon yarn and beads to make a beaded necklace to go with a sweater I made.  The colors matched amazingly well.  It has been sitting in my bag since spring.  I planned to wear the sweater on a Saturday, so Thursday I got started on the necklace and wore it on Saturday.

 

I guess that’s about it.  The top down sweater is still in the bag, something is bothering me about it (I am designing it) and I keep putting it off. So it will probably wait until I work out whatever the problem is in my head and then on the needles.

My head is spinning with knitting projects and ideas.  As you can image, with the shop closing I have taken a little yarn home with me.  Now I have so many projects I want to knit, I don’t know where to start.  I’ll keep you posted….

I’ll keep posting to this and if you want to continue reading; “follow” Nancy’s Knitting – just click the  ”Follow” button under the “Recent Posts”.

Until next month, Happy Knitting, Nancy

September/October 2013

This is going to be a hard one…

I have very sad news to share.  Spin A Yarn, my shop, my love, my soul, is closing.  Unfortunately we do not have enough business to remain open.  I am losing my best friend.  For 20 years I have been excited to come to work and be surrounded by the things and people that I love.  I will be very sad to see it end.  I am so grateful the for the gifts it has given me.  Friends I would have never met otherwise and a creative outlet for my love of knitting and color.  Hopefully Spin A Yarn was something positive in the lives of those who shopped here, because you touched my life and gave me a wonderful gift; 20 years of doing something I love – I Thank you.

I am not sure what is next for me.  I am calling this a shop closing, not going out of business.  Sadly we do not have enough business to keep the shop open, but I am not ready to shut the door (figuratively) on the business. So we will see what the future brings.  I will continue to knit and design and so Nancy’s Knitting will continue.  If you want to continue reading about my knitting journey, “follow” this blog and you will receive an email whenever it is updated.

So on to my knitting…

It’s been a busy month, but I am not sure I have a lot of finished projects to show for it.  I did finish the Adult Surprise Sweater.  It is knit with Katia’s Azteca.  I love it and can’t wait for the cool weather to wear it.  It is really cute on.

 

The other thing I finished, I can’t talk about.  It is a Christmas gift and it gave me quite a few headaches.  But as they say, the 3rd time’s a charm.   I’ll revisit this after the holidays so you can get a chuckle out of all the mistakes I made along the way.

I also made a couple of new Cowls.  One was a pretty new yarn called Glitzy.  This needed some thing light and airy so I did a diagonal lace pattern.  This is a free pattern on Ravelry.

Then I wanted to do an Entrelac Cowl.  This is a fun way to learn Entrelac and I think it turned out pretty.  This pattern is also available on Ravelry (for a small fee)

 

Well, I may not have finished  a lot but, I have a lot started….  The double knit vest is making progress.  Up to the armhole and starting up the first front.  This gets put aside a lot because it’s not great social knitting.  This WILL be done soon!

 

 

Two more projects just started.  A top down A line sweater and a bottom up summer top.  See what I mean, just started.  There are also balls of yarn and patterns in my bag.  It appears I am having some trouble concentrating on one thing.

 

This all makes me very sad, I have enjoyed sharing my love of knitting with you.  It breaks my heart to close the shop, but since business has fallen off so much, I just don’t see another choice.  I hope you continue to “follow” Nancy’s Knitting – just click the  “Follow” button under the “Recent Posts”.

So, until next month… Happy Knitting, Nancy

August 2013

August brought the end to a few projects and the start to a few more.

First the finished… I had started the Hobhouse Scarf/Wrap from Berroco’s newest booklet and it’s done! It is knit with Berroco’s new Boboli Lace and Ultra Alpaca Fine.  It is a lot easier to knit than it looks and I think it is spectacular! My only change (you know there had to be one) was that they had you knit half of it in the stripe pattern and half in plain stockinette stitch.  No plain knitting for me!

I had also started the Medialion Sweater out of the Vogue Knitting magazine.  Also done.  I knit this with Taiyo Sock yarn.  You crochet the medallions together, so no sewing.

I was also inspired to design a sweater.  I wanted something with drapey side panels and some lace. Off to the drawing board.  I always turn to Barbara Walker’s Stitch Treasuries for stitch inspiration.  There I found the Rose Trellis pattern.  I decided to make that the side panels and take part of that pattern and repeat it up the front of the sweater. I used Rowan’s Felted Tweed because it is DK weight and has alpaca in it so I thought it would give me the drape I was looking for.  I am happy with the results.  The pattern is available at the shop or on Ravelry.

That’s it for finished, but I’ve got 2 more (3 actually, but shhhh… it’s a Christmas gift, I’ll have to share later) started.  Both are being knit with new yarns at the shop.

The first is a new yarn from Tahki, Kismet.  It is an Alpaca/Nylon blend that is as light as air.  It is a vest that is “double knit” making it reversible.  The picture on the left is what it will look like when it is done (different colors, of course).  I will say this project has had a little swearing associated with it so far.  It has taken me a couple of tries (some ripping) and some experimenting to get the right “system” for double knitting.  I finally have the hang of it and things are going much smoother now.

Since I needed a break from the doubling knitting, I started an adult Surprise Jacket with another new yarn.  this one is from Katia, Azteca.  It is a pretty stripey yarn in a wool and acrylic blend. I think it will make a cute cropped jacket for fall.  I work on this when I need a little break from the double knitting.

That’s it for August.  I am not sure what will come next.  We’ll see where the spirit moves me in September….. Until then, Happy Knitting, Nancy

June/July 2013

Time to breathe a little. I am covering a month and a half here, because the beginning of July was a little busy with the marriage (the paperwork) ceremony.  We hosted 18 people (our wonderful new family) for the July 4th weekend, so I was a little busy.  I got all my knitting done on time and started (and finished) a few projects.

Enough of this you say?  Let’s see her in the dress….   She was beautiful (not that I am biased or anything).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think it was a success!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also finished their gift in time.  A queen sized cabled afghan.  It occurred to me 2 days before the even, I have left over yarn – pillows would be great!!  But common sense prevailed and I decided not to cast on and try to get them done, they will come at a later date.  Remember the big wedding is next (2014) September, so I will have plenty of opportunities for an extra gift.

 

I was able to finish and start a few other projects.  The Striped Cotton Sweater from the Vogue Knitting magazine is done. It is knit with Plymouth’s new cotton – Cleo.  they did it in black and white in the magazine, also very cute.

 

 

 

 

Last month I showed you the very beginning of a shawl, done – It is a Chevron Shawl.  I chose to use the chevron shaping to take advantage of the pretty color changes in the yarn, KFI’s Painted Desert.

 

 

We had a beautiful new yarn come in that is an Angora Merino blend.  It was just yelling at me to become a cowl, so that is what it is.  A Lace Cowl (a free pattern)  Just one skein, so cozy…

 

 

Before I started anything new, I finished up a UFO that has been hanging around in my bag for a while.   It is a basic cardigan, with the ruffle yarn used as a trim.  I think I will enjoy this in the fall.  The sweater is Plymouth’s DK Merino Superwash and the ruffle is Criculo’s Tecido Trico.

 

 

 

 

And 2 new started projects.  New magazines and new booklets, my down fall. First from Berroco, a new yarn Boboli Lace.  They are showing it, along with Ultra Alpaca Fine in a wrap.  This is what it will look like and the other is my start.  I like the colors and the idea, I was intrigued, so… you know what happened next.

 

And the new Vogue Knitting magazine had a pretty modular sweater.  I am making it with a few minor alterations.  First, I am going to add one more layer of motifs, cropped doesn’t work for me, so I’ll make it longer and I am using Noro’s Taiyo Sock yarn, so there will be color changes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I guess that’s it.  We’ll see what kind of trouble the rest of the month and August get me into.

Until then, Happy Knitting, Nancy

May 2013

May was a busy knitting month, with a few twists and turns along the way.

I guess I’ll start with what you are all dying to know.  The dress is done!
(For those who don’t know the story yet – my daughter is  engaged, to a wonderful young man in the army.  He will probably be deployed in November.  So they are going to get married, very small, just family (the Paperwork) this summer and have a wedding (the Party) next summer.  I get to make the dress for the marriage ceremony this summer. For those who do know the story, sorry for repeating)
It took a couple of fittings and a few rips, to make it longer, but it’s done and fits!  I ended up hemming it with attached Icord.  It mimics the straps and gives the bottom a little weight. I also used the eyelet diamond motif on the very bottom and put a bead in the center of each diamond.  I think it helps to pull it all together.  I still need to give it a final blocking and for those of you who are following along, I promise to post a few pictures next month of the “Paperwork”.
I know a few of you “voted” for a jacket, but I was afraid to do it without asking, she voted “no”.  I guess her’s is the vote that counts (sorry).

I got to make a jacket after all – for me.  My daughter said this is casual and I could wear anything I want, I wanted capri’s and a cute top.  My friend said no, I needed a dress.  So, I got a dress.  But is is sleeveless and I don’t do that.  Sadly that ship has sailed, so I knit a little jacket to wear with the dress out of Berroco’s Captiva.  Maybe you’ll even see me in one of those pictures (maybe!).

As long as we are on the subject of Weddings… Given the circumstances, I was torn about what to so about a Wedding gift.  I wasn’t sure I wanted to give them “The Gift” at this ceremony since we’ll be doing the Wedding next year and they will be apart until then, so I thought something smaller.  My daughter had “pinned” a knitted cabled blanket that she liked and I bought the yarn thinking it would make a nice shower gift.  So, since the yarn was sitting here staring at me I wondered, can I get a cabled queen size blanket done by July 5?  I still don’t know the answer to that, but I am about halfway there.  The problem is, it has reached critical mass and is no longer a portable project and I can’t knit it when I am with her.  I’ll let you know if I make it in time.

Also in the knitting bag, the striped cotton sweater is still around.  I am almost ready to break for the armholes.  Maybe I’ll get this done in time for fall, even though it is a summer sweater.  This project seems to slip it’s place in line a lot.

For something to work on in between, I also started a shawl with KFI’s Painted Desert. It is a very pretty fingering weight yarn that shades.  This just got started this weekend, so it has a ways to go.

This month’s Knit Along is baby booties, so I slipped one of these in the other day, as well.  (you notice I said 1, :)) Cute!

I am not sure where June will take me – hopefully finishing the blanket and maybe the striped sweater… but I do seem to get distracted easily, so, who knows….

Until next month, Happy Knitting, Nancy

April 2013

Well… I didn’t exactly get done what I said I would, but…

I did finish the black lace dolmen sleeve cardigan.  Yesterday, as a matter of fact.  It was a lot of knitting.  Fingering weight yarn, dolmen sleeves… ok, no more excuses.  it is a pretty sweater and will be an easy sweater to “throw on”.

And the reasons I didn’t get any further on the blue and green striped cotton sweater are…..

I made a vest.  Super easy.  A rectangle with armholes.  I thought this might make a fun Knit Along down the road.  I used Ultra Alpaca Light and Noro’s Kiara. The vest easy easy to wear and you can wear it in a couple of different ways.

I also did another Ravelry Scarf.  The 28 Row Scarf.  Very pretty and easy.  They called for a chunky yarn, but I used worsted weight (Noro’s Yuzen).  It’s really a cute scarf.  Another Knit Along??

And then there is THE DRESS.  The Dress for the “Paperwork” (you’ve heard the story – my daughter is  engaged, to a wonderful young man in the army.  He will probably be deployed in November.  So they are going to get married, very small, just family (the Paperwork) this summer and have a wedding (the Party) next summer.  I get to make the dress for the marriage ceremony this summer. And here it is so far…  It will be to the floor.  I did a provisional cast on above the waist and am knitting down, so that after the ceremony I can take out the bind off and shorten it to a more practical length for her.  You can’t see it but there is a single row of crystal beads a the neck line.  I still have to make the I-cord shoulder straps and of course, finish the length.  Do you think I should make a little jacket??

So, that’s it for April.  You can guess what I’ll be knitting in May.  And a few other things I’m sure. Until next month, Happy Knitting, Nancy

March 2013

March was a busy knitting month.  Some finished, some started, some still not done…

The fingering weight, A line tunic is done and the pattern is written.  I know a tunic in fingering weight is daunting, but the results are so worth it.  I am wearing it right now as I am writing this and it is so comfortable that I’d happily wear it every day (but you’d really start to wonder about me if I wore the same thing every day).

 

 

Then, the bag of yarn I showed you for two months, is done and cute! It is knit with Berroco’s Floret, a cotton acrylic blend that is very soft and drapey. Even my daughter liked the sweater, though I am not sure I am going to knit another one for her soon.  (She has too many other things on my to do list).

 

I designed and knit a little girls dress using KFI’s Tecido Trico, a fabric ruffle yarn.  It is adorable and would make any toddler look like a rock star.  The pattern is available at the shop or on Ravelry.

 

 

One of the requests on my daughter’s list was a market bag she saw  on my Pinterest.  Her birthday was a couple of days ago, so I knit the bag and filled it with her presents. It is a free pattern from Knitty and is very well written.  I used Berroco Comfort and it turned out great!

 

 

I thought we’d try a Knit Along at the shop.  This is not a class, but a hosted “work on the project together” gathering.  Looking through Ravelry I found the Wingspan Shawl which is very popular, so I knit a sample of it for the Knit Along with Noro’s Kureyon Sock.  Any sock yarn can be used with very different and pretty effects.  Join us and “knit along”!

 

Two sweaters are in the works.  Both from the most recent issue of Vogue Knitting. Their version on the right, but I am only doing one color, black.  I think it will be a great sweater to “throw on” with everything!

 

 

And Stripes! (sorry my picture flipped, not sure how to turn it right), As you can see I am not doing black and white, mine will be blue and green. I am using the yarn the pattern calls for; Plymouth’s new DK weight cotton, Cleo.

 

That’s almost it.  I swatched a square for an idea that is swirling around in my head.  A sweater.  The squares are knit from the outside in, so they can be joined by picking up from the last one so you don’t have to sew it together.  We’ll see what comes of this….

 

Next month will bring finishing the 2 sweaters and some design work.  My daughter, who will be getting “married” this summer, (wedding will come next summer after his deployment) is letting me knit the dress for the small “marriage” ceremony. But (there is always a but), the knitted dress she found on etsy is just a dress for sale, not a pattern.  So, to the drawing board.  I’ll keep you posted.

Until next month, Happy Knitting, Nancy

February 2013

February was mostly dedicated to a fingering weight sweater that I had hoped to finish and did not.  I am coming down the home stretch, but not there yet.  As you can see from the picture, one sleeve is almost done and the neck and other sleeve are next.  This weekend?  Hopefully.  In my defense it is an A-line tunic knit on fingering weight yarn.  I will be writing the pattern for this.  I actually have made it before and it is super comfortable and cute to wear with leggings.

 

There were a few other small things finished this month.  The crocheted scarf  is done and ready for class. (we have 4 for the class so far).  The scarf was crocheted with Noro’s Retro.  It has pretty subtle shading.

  

I also finished the Baby Surprise Sweater.  As always, it turns out cute.  I have enough yarn left from the ball to make a baby hat to match.  Soon!?!

 

And the knitting guild project this month was fingerless gloves. So, I used that as my excuse to make a pair.  I made a Slouch Hat from KFI’s Indulgence 6ply and it is a huge ball of yarn (you can get 2 hats out of it) and I was thinking it would be nice to make a pair of fingerless gloves to match.  Well the yarn has been setting on my desk for it since I made the hat and this gave me the excuse to do it.  So now we have a matched set!

 

 

And my fun project.  I had an empty wall that needed some art.  On Pinterest I had seen someone take knitting and stretch it over a canvas.  Cool idea, I can do that!  So I gathered some scraps of Noro Silk Garden.  I cast on 100 sts and I used short rows and changed the texture (st st, garter, seed st, etc) when the yarn changed color.  I am very happy with it and what an inexpensive way to to decorate!

 

 

Last month I showed you a bag of yarn and pattern that was to become a sweater.  Unfortunately, it still looks like this.  As soon as the sleeves are done on the tunic…  I hate to say this but the new spring magazines are here and I am intrigued by a few things, so who knows what will happen next…

 

Until next month, Happy Knitting, Nancy