Warning: Actual Knitting Content Ahead

Can you believe the last finished object I have is Celtic Dreams from back in March? Eek. My only active knitting since then has been unbloggable - a baby blanket for my brother and his wife, who are expecting #2 in early September. Happily, I finished the blankie and it has arrived with them as of today, so I can now share it with you.


The pattern is the Baby Ripple Blanket (Ravelry link) by Rebecca Hatcher, and I used Dream in Color Classy in HappyForest and Lagoon (colors most accurate in the closeup shot). It is a great easy, but elegant looking pattern, which is good, because the knitting side of my brain was a little atrophied, this helped warm it back up. All the details Raveled here if you're interested. My only mods were to knit in 2 colors, and I did an applied I-cord edging all around it, as it seemed a little unfinished without it. You can see it a little better in the below photo.



Now that my knitting brain is slowly returning (I'm sure impending fall weather has something to do with that) I have begun swatching for my next project. My first attempt missed gauge, but 2nd attempt is soaking now, and the initial signs are good that I'm on target. Tune in later for results!

Fiber Fun this Weekend!

I want to post a reminder to all New Englanders that the 2nd Annual Fiber Revival is this Saturday from 9am to 5pm at Spencer Peirce Little Farm in Newbury Mass.

I know for a fact there are still a few open spots in classes, so if you were waiting to see how the weather would pan out (looking good!), go and get thee to the website and pick one. Or pick none and come hang out and shop and knit and spin.

See you there!

If Anyone Else Wants to Play

These are in the shop right now. I decided on 2oz bundles to ease mixing and matching.

Gradient Experiment Complete

My gradient dyed roving experiment is complete.

To recap:

• dyed a small (2oz ish) roving from dark to light in the same color.

• split roving lengthwise
• spun each half on its own bobbin
• chain plied each bobbin, resulting in
• 2 balls of 3ply sport weight yarn each going from dark to light

• knit one sock (due to small amt of yarn) in 4 row stripes starting one ball from the dark end, and the other from the light.

This was really fun, and the process has my mind whirling with all the other things you could try with a roving dyed like this:

• Knit one sock continuously from dark to light and knit its mate to match or to be its reverse
• Certain shawl patterns would look lovely knit out in one full sweep of the gradient
• Use two different color gradient rovings to create more funky striping possibilities for socks or other projects
• Use the gradient in a fair isle type pattern against a solid, or against itself going in the opposite direction like my test sock

I don't know why I'm obsessed with this right now, but the possibilities are practically endless. I plan to dye up some more of these in 4oz batches and maybe a few 2oz-ers for mixing and matching colors and putting them up in the shop to see how they do.

You Do Good Work

Thank you all for your well wishes, everyone always says this, but it truly does wonders just knowing others are pulling for you. Your good vibes appear to have worked, as Dad's procedure went swimmingly, and he had but one blockage, where they placed a single stent. Prognosis is excellent, and if all goes to plan he will be home tomorrow.

So thank you from the bottom of MY heart, I will be back soon with results from my gradient dyeing experiment and maybe even some (gasp!) knitting. Todays hospital time afforded me more uninterrupted knitting time than I've had in ages.