What I Did on My Summer Vacation, Part II: New Stitches

October 10, 2015January 30, 2017 | Annie

Hi folks,

I am having a really difficult time concentrating this week. I think I am suffering from vacation hangover. After Mike and I got back from our trip to Arkansas, I did some laundry then headed out again on a trip with a couple of girlfriends. We spent a few days in the Smoky Mountains and it was wonderful—the leaves were just beginning to change there, and the rainy weather made the waterfalls we saw really beautiful.

I have seen so much great artwork and crafts over the past couple of weeks and I feel very inspired. There is so much that I want to make and do and try that I am having a hard time focusing and saying, “I am doing this today.” I am also covered in mosquito bites and hives from spending time outside planting mums since I have been home, and all of the itching I am doing might be contributing to my distracted feelings, too.

One of the things I have managed to accomplish since returning home is labeling all of the stitch samples I made while I was in Arkansas. I’ve been skipping around in The Big Book of Crochet Stitches for a while now, but I’ve decided to try to conquer all of these stitches in a bit more organized fashion.

I took my book and a pound of Caron yarn with me and started at the end of the “Easy Stitches” section. After spending days wandering around in parks and shops, I spent the evenings trying out stitches. I skipped a couple that didn’t make sense to me right away (I’ll come back to those later).

I used all of my green Caron yarn on the trip. I did a few more between my two trips, but I switched to a white Caron Simply Soft yarn that I had at home for those.

I also did some of the stitches in the “Bobbles” section of the book.

So, there you have it. I have many, many, many more stitches to work on in this book, but I find the learning exciting, and I like having those physical samples to refer to when thinking about new projects—it works better for me than just seeing a picture in a book

Until next time,
Annie

New Piece: Roy G. Biv Cowl

October 6, 2015January 30, 2017 | Annie

Hi folks,

There really is a “Part II” to the What I Did on My Summer Vacation post, but I need to take some photos before I can finish that up and the batteries in my camera died. I was going to buy some today, but I got distracted by the big display of crazy pumpkins at the grocery store, and forgot I needed to make the battery purchase. Crazy pumpkins can do that to you.

I the meantime, I’ve added a new piece to the shop, one that I managed to get pictures of before the demise of the camera batteries. This is the Roy G. Biv Cowl:

If you have looked through the pieces I have available on the site, you might recognize the yarn in this cowl. It is the same yarn I used for my Rainbow Infinity Scarf. The scarf is a crocheted piece, but this Roy G. Biv Cowl is loom knit.

I love rainbows, both naturally occurring and human-made. I have a Pinterest board dedicated them. When I worked at Wal-Mart, I arranged the clothes on hangers in Roy G. Biv order (I would rotate which color I started with so there wasn’t a sea of red shirts when you entered the ladies’ department). The clothes in my closet are in rainbow order, too. If I have a chance to do something in a rainbow color scheme, I am a pretty happy girl. This cowl makes me very happy!

See more photos and purchase in my Etsy shop.

Until next time,
Annie

On the Hook: Gray Chevron Scarf

October 2, 2015January 30, 2017 | Annie

Hi folks,

This scarf has been in my unfinished pile for a while.

I think it is pretty. I like the pattern and color, and yarn is a soft acrylic that feels really nice. It’s those color changes that make me pick this one last when I am grabbing pieces to work on. It isn’t so much that the colors change, it’s that all the ends of those colors need to be sewn into the piece.

You might notice that there are a lot of un-sewn-in ends on this one. It isn’t one of my favorite things to do. I would much rather create actual crochet stitches, so I usually get in a groove and keep making those stitches, and the ends to be sewn in just keep adding up.

I stopped adding new length to this one until I get the existing ends sewn in, thinking I could then adopt the practice of sewing them in as I go. Instead, this scarf just moves to the bottom of the pile as I find new yarns and stitch patterns I want to try. I’m hoping that by posting this piece here, it will serve as another form of motivation.

I really do like this one. If I didn’t, I would just rip it out and use the yarn for something else (This yarn was going to be used for a Fair Isle piece, but I found it to be a tedious process. I may give that another go someday). I need to refine my making process when it comes to pieces with a lot of color changes so it goes more smoothly for me.

Until next time,
Annie

What I Did on My Summer Vacation, Part I: Yarn Acquisition

September 29, 2015January 30, 2017 | Annie

Hi folks,

Mike and I took a trip to northwestern Arkansas last week. Since our trip straddled the fall equinox, this was technically a summer and fall vacation, but whatever it was, it was lovely. We stayed on Beaver Lake and had a great view of the water, some very active hummingbirds, and some squirrelly squirrels. We spent time in Eureka Springs, visited a couple of state parks, saw the Crystal Bridges Museum (amazing), and spent a day at Silver Dollar City. We came home with many fine treasures, and I came home with a fair amount of yarn.

In Eureka Springs, we visited the Shoppes at Fleece ‘N Flax, a place I found online before our trip. They have supplies for all sorts of fiber arts here—rug hooking, weaving, spinning, and, of course, knitting and crochet. I found some really great stuff here, and Vicki at the shop showed me some of the things she had been working on, including a crocheted rug that I believe she said was made from a very old doily pattern, but she used very bulky yarn and a very large hook to make it rug sized. Awesome.

My treasures from the shop are pictured below!

This super colorful Berroco Boboli Lace is called Strawberry Jam. We also came home with about a 10 year supply of jellies and jams, so this was an appropriate choice. The color name wasn’t printed on the label, just a number, so I only discovered the name when I went to the Berroco website.

This is another one that is full of color: Cascade Yarns Tangier in Amazon. This one is a Silk/Cotton/Rayon/Acrylic blend and felt really nice in the little knitted sample the shop had on display.

Next is Delicious Yarns Parfait in Jellybean. Delicious Yarns is out of California and their yarn lines are beautiful and clever. You should visit their site. This yarn is going to be fun to play with.

This one is by Tempted Handpainted Yarns & Fibers from Oklahoma. It is called Box of Crayons.

And finally, this guy. I can just drop this skein over my head as is and it is a pretty fabulous necklace, but I know I am going to want to play with it a bit more than that. This is Ozark Opulent II from Ozark Handspun. The coloway is called Lilies.

We ended our trip by stopping at Silver Dollar City on the way home. I love Silver Dollar City. We lived in Springfield, Mo when I was a child, and made many trips to Branson and Silver Dollar City. I will forever associate the scent of cedar mulch with Silver Dollar City, and that is a pretty nice association to have when I am spreading bag after bag after bag of mulch in our flower beds. I think this little section of the year is the best time to go to Silver Dollar City because they have the National Harvest Festival going on, and there are all sorts of artists and crafters at the park selling and demonstrating. I picked up this completely awesome yarn bowl from one of those artists, Nancy Fairbanks of Fairbanks Pottery Studio.

I mean, come on. How perfect is he? I love him so much!

I also found some yarn at Silver Dollar City. These are from Canfield Creations Yarn Patch, a store operated by Cindy Canfield of canfieldcreations. Check out this monster:

That is Plymouth Yarn Company Oskar in Earth and it is a bulky beauty. This one reminds me of trees, which is probably why it called to me after having spent so much time in parks and forests the week before. It is also a fall-ish yarn, as is the other yarn I purchased at the Yarn Patch. This handspun yarn by Kathleen D. Brewer of North Cadron Handcrafts reminds me of Thanksgiving.

And there you have it. A cornucopia of yarn from our summer/fall adventure.

Until next time,
Annie

On the Loom: Blue and Gray Cowl

September 28, 2015January 30, 2017 | Annie

Hi folks,

I have a loom knitting piece in progress to share with you today!

In my head, this is going to be a kind of funky cowl when it is done. What you see in the photo is just the very beginning. I’m working this from the bottom up. The bottom is knit loosely and is split so it will lay a little better. I’m tightening up the stitch now and joining the piece together. Then I’ll knit on it for a while and split the piece again so the cowl has a sort of fold down collar. That’s the plan anyway—with any luck it will all work out like I am seeing it in my head.

Until next time,
Annie

On the Hook: Don’t Overthink It Scarf

Don't Overthink It Scarf | Webster Fiber Arts

September 25, 2015January 30, 2017 | Annie

Hi folks,

Oh my goodness, this yarn is fantastic.

Look at those colors! Sometimes you don’t need intricate stitches to make something really lovely. I felt that was the case with this piece that I am calling “Don’t Overthink It.” I’m using simple single crochet stitches for the whole thing, and I love the result!

Until next time,
Annie

On the Hook: A Bulky Colorful Scarf

Bulky Colorful Scarf | Webster Fiber Arts

September 23, 2015January 30, 2017 | Annie

Hi folks,

Another scarf I’ve started is the vividly colored one pictured below.

By now you may have figured out that I don’t believe in that whole “finish one project before starting another” thing. I do eventually finish things, or I wouldn’t have anything to put in the shop.

I’m about halfway through this scarf. The yarn is thick and a little shiny, so you can really see the details of those half double crochet stitches. This one will be cozy when it is finished!

Until next time,
Annie

10/13/15 UPDATE: This piece is complete! See the finished scarf in my Etsy shop.

On the Hook: A Holly Jolly Cowl

September 22, 2015January 30, 2017 | Annie

Hi folks,

I’ve started work on a Christmassy piece.

I didn’t head to Jo-Ann to get supplies for a holiday cowl, but that green yarn was on clearance. I thought it was a beautiful color that would be perfect for Christmas (the fact that Jo-Ann has those wonderful cinnamon-scented pinecones all over the place might have helped put me in the mood).

I seem to be in a bobble phase right now, as I am making a lot of them. This bulky yarn really makes those bobbles pop. Tee hee!

Until next time,
Annie

On the Hook: Cherry Cola Scarf

September 21, 2015January 30, 2017 | Annie

Hi folks,

This is some yarn that I dyed recently. I was aiming for a something a bit greener in those brown areas, but I am really happy with the way it turned out. As I was winding it into a ball, I thought, “Oh, this looks like a cherry Icee. And this part looks like the cola flavor,” so “Cherry Cola” became the name of the yarn.

At this point, I’m working this in a bubbly bobble pattern, because Cherry Cokes have fizz.

Until next time,
Annie