Bento

Many months ago, I came across one skein of this beautiful yarn, called Sock Hop, hand dyed by Dalis Davidson, owner and operator of Dancing Leaf Farm in Maryland. The colorway, I believe, is "Briar Patch." The day was cold and gray, and the yarn was soft, warm, and bright...it was love at first sight.

One-of-a-kind skeins -- even when the yardage is good -- can sometimes be a tough sell. For 20 minutes or so I squeezed and caressed the yarn, and went over my budget in my mind, to see what I could do without...food? gasoline? heat? (Not really.) Finally (surprise!) I caved in and bought the jewel-like skein, brought it home, and pondered its destiny.

Craving a basic, mindless pattern for movie watching and traveling, I opened up a Japanese stitch dictionary, and chose a semi-lacy design that wouldn't overpower, or be overpowered by, the yarn's bright, randomly changing colors. And what do you know...a silky little scarf gradually unfurled on my needles.


One of those projects you can carry around in your purse for spontaneous knitting opportunities, Bento is never mind-numbing. In fact, I am doing my own test knitting on this one (though slowly). After all, this skein called out to me, Siren-like. And, after a couple of months, I still find the shifting colors, like sunlight through stained glass, infinitely pleasing.

I am also enjoying this stitch pattern, which marries a few rows of stockinette and a rhythmic scattering of purl rows. The texture and tones of the yarn are front and center, while the occasional yarn-over row satisfies my desire for something a bit more complex than garter stitch.

Bento is a pattern for those single, wonderful skeins you come across now and then. A simple design, but effective, I think. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do.

Bento

Flitt Mitts: Feels like spring!

Flitt Mitts by Kristi Johnson

I mentioned these mitts in yesterday's post, but just had to show you how CUTE they are. Love 'em, especially those sweet little bees buzzing around the easy-to-embroider spring flowers.

Designed by Kristi Johnson, the gloves use two colors (Concord Grape and Juniper Berry) of Honey Worsted (100% superwash Merino) from Shalimar Yarns.

A bit of simple embellishment takes these mitts from nice to super-special. In fact, this pattern just might be THE answer to those last few chilly weeks of winter. And you'll love this part: The "Flitt Mitts" pattern is free! Just hop (or buzz?) on over to Ravelry.com to download it.

While you're there, check out Shalimar's gorgeous colors and browse the company's patterns. Who knows? You just might find yourself humming Spring is Busting Out All Over as you queue up a new project (or two, or three...).

Flitt Mitts: Feels like spring!

Thank you! (and sneak peeks)

The "Mom Socks"

Early last autumn, I began to lose my "knitting mojo" as some have called it. Truthfully, that phrase kind of annoys me. It does, however, describe with more than a little accuracy how I felt. Designing began to feel like a chore, and maintaining my blog was even more difficult.

As the year drew to an end, I realized that I'd hardly been knitting or crocheting or spinning... Sure, we've been going through some tough times around my house, but enough to totally shut down? Well, maybe.

Brandywine Shawl (yarn: Shalimar Yarns Zoe Sock in Blue Raspberry)

But then something wonderful happened... My friend Kristi -- purveyor of Shalimar Yarns and designer of one of the cutest pair of mitts ever (Flitt Mitts) -- invited me to give some drop spindle demonstrations at the Indie Artist Celebration hosted by Eleganza Yarns. Surrounded by lovely, friendly fiber arts people -- knitters and crocheters alike -- I suddenly felt all warm and fuzzy, like I'd come home again.

I'll write more about the actual event in coming days. For now, I just want to take a moment to thank those of you who stopped by the table I was babysitting to say hello, those of you who told me you enjoy my designs, and those of you who read -- and comment on -- my blog.

Bento (A new pattern, available soon!)

Thank you, thank you. Your support and encouragement reminded me that I'm more than just a daughter, sister, friend, or wife. I am (among other things) a fiber artist -- knitter, crocheter, spinner, designer. And I count myself lucky to be part of this generous and talented community.

Thank you! (and sneak peeks)

A Winter's Tale

It's been a cold winter. Both inside and out. We have been wrapped in the alluring yet ominous blanket of hard, glistening ice and snow for too long. I feel shattered, and hope the sadness my husband and I feel -- each in our own way, for our own reasons -- will ease as spring melts the snow and ice.

Maybe it's best, given my degree in English literature and poetry, to let an expert express what I cannot...

Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind...
-- William Wordsworth

In the coming weeks and months, I have some traveling to do. But I haven't forgotten that people actually read my blog now and then, and I am ever so grateful for that. So I will check in when I can, and hope to be able to write more once I'm settled again.

Until then, I hope you find peace and joy in creating things with your hands, and that the warm weather comes soon, blossoms and all.

A Winter's Tale

Not Just Another Weather Story

When I first met my husband, Chris, I was working as a journalist at a daily newspaper in Pennsylvania. Hired as the paper's "Cops Reporter" (a job I adored), I also spent many long, crime-less nights writing obits, police briefs, and weather stories.

Now, the obits I didn't mind. I saw each one as an opportunity to honor the life of a person who had died and, in most cases, wouldn't appear in the paper again. Yes, that sounds Pollyanna-ish, but honestly, if you don't find a way to care about the obits, you'll go crazy typing them up -- name, date, cause of death, job, survived by...etc. -- every single night.

The police briefs? Well, those were always amusing, particularly when the guys in city hall got to know me and began saving me the good ones (don't ask). And, needless to say, I was ecstatic when I got to sink my teeth into the meat and potatoes of my job -- murder and mayhem and such.

But those weather stories...Ugh! They were endless and painful. I mean, really. How many damn "Blizzard of 200#" stories can you write??? And each occasion was the MOST, the WORST...Get the idea? Never just a plain old 8-inch snowfall; never just a four-inch story about one of the region's myriad stormettes.

Well, in honor of what feels like, in retrospect, a gazillion weather stories, I am NOT going to talk about the weather. Per se.

What I will say is this: Chris still works at a newspaper (in Washington, DC) and was kind enough to go into the office with plans to stay overnight as needed so his staff wouldn't have to brave the roads. And stay he did -- two nights in a downtown hotel.

Did I miss him? Of course! The nights WERE silent around here...and I was snowed in, to boot. But I was glad that he and his colleagues/friends had each other for company. Sounds like they managed to squeeze in some fun, too.

Sunday night, 12/20, Metro finally started running again, and I was able to drive to an outlying stop and bring him home for some R&R. Better yet, we didn't have any more snow (or ice, or rain...), so we could spend Christmas together (a peaceful, quiet one).

One of my all-time favorite quotations comes from Julian of Norwich: All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.

Stay safe and enjoy the holidays.

I'll be back soon.

Not Just Another Weather Story

Tea, anyone?

Cheery Cherry Tea Cozy on 8-cup teapot

Oh, teapot cozies, how I love them! Quick to knit as a hat, but with ample opportunities for delightful camp- and quirkiness.

This is my favorite yet: The Cheery Cherry Tea Cozy (Ravelry link). Plump little cherries burst forth against their background of robin's egg blue, edged with chocolate brown. And the grassy green of the leaves is echoed by the vine-like, I-cord, drawstring closure. What fun!


I was inspired to design this little cozy almost two years ago, when we moved into our current home -- a little cottage in Western Maryland. The three big windows in the kitchen let in the afternoon sun, and provide excellent squirrel watching opportunities for the kitties (see top photo).

The pale aqua on the walls just cried out for bright red (my favorite kitchen color). And I've always loved cherry motifs. It was only a matter of time before these ideas took physical form -- and a matter of, well, more time before I charted and test knit the pattern.

The Cheery Cherry Tea Cozy is a quick knit -- you don't have to work the chart on the back. In fact, you could skip the intarsia altogether, and embroider the cherries, stems, and leaves in duplicate stitch. How you approach the colorwork is up to you. Remember, knitting is fun, right?

Cheery Cherry Tea Cozy on 4-cup teapot

I'll be finalizing this pattern over the weekend, and will post it for sale on Ravelry in the next few days. You can purchase it directly from me (knitsix@gmail.com).

Just in time for that piping-hot, freshly brewed cup of relaxation we often crave during the holiday season. Or perhaps for gift-giving, for a very special person -- the kind you'd drink tea with while chatting about this and that.

Meanwhile, happy knitting and baking and shopping and merry-making and, well, you know...

Tea, anyone?

Cheery Cherry Tea Cozy (a new pattern & preliminary photos)

Finally! A tea cozy cute enough to display on your tea pot year-round...

Cheery Cherry Tea Cozy, drying after a very light fulling

My favorite kitchen designs come from Scandinavia, which often feature ruby red, snowy white, and robin's egg blue. I also happen to like cherries -- always have.

So when we moved into our cottage with its pale aqua-blue walls, there was only one thing to do: Hunt down yards of retro cherry fabric, a perfect-red throw rug, a bunch of yarn (of course!) and get creative.

The result (well, one of them), you see before you... A lovely tea cozy with a draw-string top, juicy intarsia cherries, and chocolate-brown trim. Makes me hungry just thinking about it!

Another view of Cheery Cherry Tea Cozy, sans tripod

Cheery Cherry comes in two sizes to fit classic tea pots. The sample above was made with Ella Rae Classic Wool in light blue and dark brown, a few yards of red and green from my stash, and US#7/4.5 mm circular needles.

The intarsia pattern is straightforward, and you have the choice of knitting cherries on both sides, or only on the front. You could also work the cherry chart on one side and a stranded or embroidered pattern on the other. The options are limited only by your imagination.

Want some Cheery Cherries of your own? The pattern will be available for purchase and immediate download on Ravelry no later than Wednesday, 2 December.

Just in time for last-minute holiday gift knitting (yes, it's that quick and easy).

Meanwhile, to my US (and expat) readers, and to everyone else who celebrates tomorrow's holiday: I wish you and yours a safe and happy Thanksgiving Day. May it include some quiet time for relaxing with your knitting, crochet, or other artistic endeavor. Enjoy!


(BTW: Sorry for the poor photo quality...I can't find my tripod, and my camera is having issues dealing with reds. I'll post some better photos when the cozy is dry and I can put it on my tea pot.)

Cheery Cherry Tea Cozy (a new pattern & preliminary photos)

Knitting is Fun...Right?

I meet many knitters--usually, though not limited to, advanced beginners--who become frantic about real or imagined mistakes. They rush up, breathless and anxious, saying they "don't know how to fix it," they "don't know how to 'go back'," or even that they "think it's ruined" ("it" being their projects).

More often than not, the real problem knitters face is their agitation, which prevents them from really seeing what's going on and how best to address it. Honestly. Once a knitter progresses past the ultra-beginner stage, he or she possesses the power to diagnose and fix 90 percent (or more) of mistakes.

Prescriptions for fixing an error include:

• Un-knitting one stitch at a time (AKA: "tinking"--tink is knit spelled backwards)
• Ripping back many rows (AKA: "frogging"--because "rip it" sounds like a frog: ribbit, ribbit...), then putting the stitches back on the needles without twisting them
• Looking for suggestions and knit-fixes on the Internet
  
• Finishing the project and then go back with yarn and tapestry needle to close a hole or gap
• Learning to "be Zen" about mistakes, to renounce perfectionism and live with small errors
  

My very first--and imperfect--wheel-spun skein (circa 2006-07)

Whatever the fix, it's important to slow down. Take a deep breath. And another and another, until you calm down. Maybe put your project down for a day or two and come back to it.

Do what you need to do to alleviate anxiety. For only then will you be able to: (a) really see the alleged "problem" and (b) identify how you want to fix it (or not).

And that's my tip -- one of the best I have to offer: Relax. Breathe. Knitting is fun!

Knitting is Fun...Right?