Juneau’s climate is tailor-made for handknits.  The temperature is pretty consistent, and while we were there, it didn’t rise above 60 degrees.  You need warm and dry feet – make socks.  You need to cover your neck and chest – make a scarf.  You need to keep your head warm an dry – make a hat.  Easy enough.  You do have to factor in the whole wetness factor – because it rains approximately 150 inches a year (it’s a rainforest) but you just choose your fiber accordingly.

I did just that – and came away with two winning accessories that served me well during my time there.

Yvaine Shawl
Pattern: Yvaine – free pattern from Femiknisty
Yarn: The March Hare fingering weight, colorway “Driftwood”
Needles: Size US 8 circulars
Ravelry Notebook Page

I did start it here, but I finished it there – so I am counting it as an Alaskan knit   The pattern was simple and very fun.  I really enjoyed the triangular shawl knit process and watching it grow.  Yvaine had some textural elements too, so it varied a bit.  The yarn really made it sparkle, in my opinion.  Loved this variegation the first minute I saw it at MDSW last year.

While in Alaska, I also whipped up a quickie hat.  I needed some warmth, and I also wanted a little variety from the one other hat that I had brought with me.  So… the Misty Juneau hat was born!  I brought this Spirit Trail Minerva along with me (a purchase from MDSW a few years back) and I made this beanie hat in two days.  And surprise!  the day I finished it – was a misty Juneau day!

I improvised the pattern – very simple beanie design with a wide ribbed brim.  Then, I did reverse stockinette the whole way because I liked the way it looked.  Here’s the Ravelry Notebook Page.  The yarn has a more violet tint than the photos show, with these small streaks of gray in it.  I doubled the yarn, and used a 16-inch size 8 circular needle.  Tried it on as I went along and bound off when it was long enough.

On the plane ride back to Maryland, I made a lot of progress on an improvised “design” using the basic triangular shawl shape.  It should be finished soon, and I will be sharing the pattern.

We had an amazing time in Alaska, and it was hard to leave!  I do hope to have another chance to make it back to Alaska to see more of the state – it’s a very special place!  I am still uploading photos on Flickr and will be in the upcoming days, so if you would like to see my Alaska set of photos (well, what I have so far!) you can see them here!

Last month, I shared some of my photos from my “Year in Photos” (YIP) project.  Today is Day 44 of the year, and I am still on track!  I am happy that I have been able to stick with it this long – more than 12% of the way through!

This week, I decided to do something new and fun – I declared it my “Week of Old Knits” and dug around for knits that were at least 1.5 years old.  Re-photograph and review how they are wearing and what the yarn looks like after the time has passed.  It’s been a fun project so far, and something I think that more people should do.  What happens a few years later?  How are they holding up?  Are they ever worn?

I would love to see and hear more about your own knits – we spend time on them when we knit and purl – so tell the rest of their story too!  It’s only fair, right?

Street Smart Hoodie

Finished: December 2007
Yarn Review: Doesn’t look a day older. This yarn, Cottage Craft wool, is one of those lovely rustic wools that will just keep ticking.  It was a joy to work with back then, and I would use it again in a minute.  Perfect for cables, textured pieces, and for colorwork.  I bought it at Stitches East in 2006 from the producers, and since then, they have made a nice website where you can see and shop for their wools and patterns online.
Wear Review: Until last winter, this knit didn’t get much wear… it was so pretty, but just sat in the closet. Last December, I pulled it down and wore it a lot over the winter. With the cold temperatures right back in Maryland now, I have already worn it several times this fall. No pilling, no stretching – it looks brand new.
Verdict: Love love. Would knit it all over again. This garment makes me want more hoodies in my wardrobe!

Twiggy Bobble Hat

Finished: January 2008
Yarn Review: Lovely natural alpaca from Kraemer Yarns; however, like most alpacas I have worked with, this yarn stretches.  It lacks the elasticity factor of wool, but it is almost forgivable because of the lovely halo!  It’s a tad scratchy right against the skin of my forehead.  It is very warm and toasty though, so perfect for the cold days of winter.
Wear Review: For a hat this lack of elasticity is fine, but a sweater in this yarn would be an issue… it would sag too much and just not fit.  The hat just gets some more slouch.  The pattern’s bobbles have not worn as well over time, and many of them get inverted and look more like dimples.  It’s not unattractive, it’s just the way it is.  If I had the real inclination, I would go back and stitch up the back of the bobbles… or if I ever made this again, I would do so after knitting each one – one or two stitches would do the trick.
Verdict: It gets a lot of wear because of the warmth. Plus, I love the chocolate brown and the general fit of it. A few things I would do differently next time, but still a nice knit.

Koigu Indigo Anklets

Finished: January 2006
Yarn Review: Koigu is still a hot topic and a well-loved yarn. The colors and the saturation was what drew me to this yarn in the first place, and they haven’t faded a bit since I made them. They have pilled with wear, and the bottom sole is kind of “felted”, but there are no thin spots or areas where a hole might form. The yarn has eased quite a bit, and they are a little baggy on the top of the foot.
Wear Review: These get a lot of wear – as around the house socks or slip on with tennis shoes socks. Considering this, they have held up well.
Verdict: Great color saturation and color fastness, decent socks. I don’t think I would make any more Koigu socks, but I would be happy to use the yarn for something like a shawl or scarf – something that wouldn’t be so likely to pill and lose shape.

I have completed 5 Days in the *Week of Old Knits* series along with reviews (although the ones written here are much more comprehensive than what is on Flickr) and I am planning another sweater and another pair of socks to finish out the week.  Stay tuned…

We’ve had a string of good days around here… a beautiful addition to the family in Baby V (Mom is on her way to California right now to meet her new grandbaby!) and then I also got good news from work yesterday.  After many months of doing the work, I got promoted to a new manager position.  Still lots of records and archives and papers and boxes, but with a shiny new title!

It was a call for a happy celebration.  Vegan style.

Pumpkin pie with a pistachio/graham crust, whipped cream, maple coulis and pomegranate seeds… ooh, the delight!  All thanks to the local vegan eatery, Great Sage!  Oh, you know I love to bake and cook, but I also enjoy when others bake and cook for me

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In my last post, I mentioned the box of goodies that I sent off to California for Mimi and for Baby V.   I included the Komb blanket, the cardigans, a little hat, and some various things I picked up for lil’ niece.  Realizing that I was not able to finish Mimi’s cardigan by V’s birth, I whipped up a quick hat for my sister.  Spreading the handknit love to the mommy as well as the baby!  … and since Mimi is way over there, and I am way over here, you get me modeling the hat… hopefully I will have photos of her wearing it soon. 

Pattern:  Root Vegetable from Knit One, Embellish Too [book] by Cosy
Yarn: Handspun Merino/Angora blend from MDSW ’09,
Needles: Size US 9

I embellished the hat with about 15 small turquoise buttons.  They are randomly placed around the hat – it turned out quite cute!  Mimi told me she really liked it, and I hope it keeps her nice and warm. 

Ready for Socktoberfest tomorrow?  Nearly 1100 people are in the group on Ravelry!

When we started to put together this year’s Project Spectrum sequences, I was hoping to keep the elements as one of the themes.  I truly enjoyed this aspect last year, and I especially like the integration this year with the other aspects of season and materials along with the cardinal direction.  Project Spectrum is truly multi-dimensional this year!

The ~AIR~ element, the element that we are focusing on now as a part of Project Spectrum EAST, seemed like the perfect time to explore a new color combination.  For a few months, I have really been enjoying the subtlety and juxtaposition of the colors gray and yellow. 

For me, gray evokes visions of clouds or shadows.  In contrast, yellow is about brightness and luminescence.  It seems like such a deep concept to use these two colors when creating something – or you can simply just enjoy the way the colors look together:  whatever level you chose to take it to!

Gray + Yellow = Grellow!

I knit this hat, the fabulously fitting free Felicity pattern (thanks Nettie!) exclusively while watching my team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, make their way to the Stanley Cup Finals.  You could even say the “grellow” is a little homage to them – a lighter, more feminine version – of the standard black and gold.  The series is still on, and they rallied for a nice win last night.  The hat was part of the Stanley Stashbusting knitalong that I organized on Ravelry’s Puck This group  again this year.  We just knit knit knit down the stash during the playoffs till the Cup is lifted over the heads of the players.  This hat pretty much has hockey knit into every stitch; for it was cast on and started the night that I received *the kiss* at the Penguins/Capitals game .  (Funny aside:  I am still getting comments and messages about this night on Flickr and through email and through some of the various hockey forums!  It truly was a memorable night!)

The hat used The Fibre Company Knightsbridge, an alpaca wool blend with beautiful color flecks.  It is a light worsted yarn, so I adjusted the needle size in the pattern down to size US 5s for a tighter fabric.  The yellow buttons are from my grandmother’s button tin – vintage, mismatched, and beautiful yellow.  I pretty much just dropped them on the hat and just sewed them on where they landed!  Such a simple embellishment, but it gives the hat a really hip feel. 

My Project Spectrum projects thus far (with the exception of the natural baby blanket) have focused primarily on photography and gardening – with the beautiful flowers blooming outside, I felt that it was a perfect way to celebrate the *Spring* and the -Wood- aspect of PS East, and to take copious amounts of outdoor photos both in my garden, my parent’s flower garden, and on some of the trails we have taken recently…

Many many thanks for your responses to my last post regarding Lyme disease.  Thank you for sending your thoughts and well-wishes, and thank you for relating your stories as well.  It is encouraging to know that more people are aware of this disease than in the past, of course, there is so much more that can be done.

There is a very nice sense of accomplishment that comes when you can reach into the yarn stash, find a skein that has taken up residence for sometime, and a few days later, you have a fun finished knit…

The Ravelry Stanley Cup Stashbusting knitalong is just the right excuse for me to do this and to make some quick little knits that can be used right away.

A springy pastel headband that is just perfect for yoga asana practice – I am calling it my Baddha Band.  Baddha is Sanskrit for “bound”, so it seemed like an appropriate name for something to hold my hair back when I am doing  inverted yoga poses!   I used the Calorimetry pattern and a yarn that has been in the stash so long that it is now discontinued:  Noro Sakura.  It is a nylon blend with little thread/ribbon pieces at various spots.  If I remember properly, I picked this yarn up at a swap, but it may have been a clearance bin find too… I have another skein in a deep orange with some purple highlights… maybe for a different Project Spectrum month!  The yarn itself looks very much like the friendship bracelets that I used to make in elementary school to trade with my friends and sisters.  I added the pink synthetic flower for fun and in celebration of the beautiful spring weather.  Someone noted that the yarn colors reminded them of a blooming cherry blossom tree – and the good folks at Noro must have thought the same thing because “Sakura”, the name of the yarn, means cherry blossom in Japanese!

It’s quite girly with the bright colors, but I think it will be a nice little headband to make me smile during yoga practice!

When Larissa made this little shawl back in January (Rav link), it caught my eye.  I do not knit a lot of lace, and this was just my speed – yos and dropped stitches – and I could barely believe it when I saw the low yardage needed to make it…perfect for a lone skein of cashmere/silk blend that has lived in the stash for a few years waiting for a special project:

It is the Storm Cloud Shawlette pattern from Hanna at ever green knits.  Such a beautifully simple and meditative pattern to knit.  Especially with a special yarn.  I used a hank of Alchemy Monarch in “Teal Tide” colorway, it was a gift from Cathi awhile back… just one of those lovely skeins that sits and waits for a special project.  Only 156 yards and now I have this great little neck piece!  I used size 11 needles for it, but I could have gone even bigger for more drape and size.  I do lovely looking at the project pages on Ravelry and seeing how people have made this pattern in different yarns and gauges.  Love the creativity.

Both projects fit into the theme for the NORTH direction of Project Spectrum, specifically with the green focus.  With only a few days remaining in this phase (before we focus on the EAST direction!) my mind is already thinking about new projects, but I could easily have green all year… it is such an amazing color!