A Warm Breeze

It has been quite awhile since I've blogged. This morning I have been sitting out on our deck listening to a book about creativity and knitting on one of my latest projects ( of which there are many). It suddenly became apparent to me that I have not blogged in over a year and that I missed it. What happened along the way?  I have continued to knit everyday but my desire to photograph & write about my craft just went away. Today,  my inspiration returned like a warm breeze.

 I knit everyday and I always have more than one project going. Here are a few items that have come off the needles in the past few months. A shawl, two sweaters, two triangular scarves, and a yummy linen cowl.

Since my last post I have become a Grandmother for the third time. It is so much fun to knit for wee ones. Right now I'm half way finished with a warm blanket for the little guy to use this fall in his stroller. I cast on last week and hope to finish by next week.

A real bonus for my knitting craft is the opening of a new yarn store in our town. We have Sit & Knits every Tuesday. Great creative community.

Today as I was looking in my knitting basket I came across my little green sketch book that I started in July 2013. My dear sister-in-law, Jane, suggested to me to carry a sketch book  & when something sparked my creativity  to just make a quick sketch.  Here is my first entry-

Jane passed away in 2014.  She was an artist in so many ways and my little green sketch book is a reminder to keep my creativity fresh. Jane is the person who encouraged me to use my camera to see life around me . So today the sketch book is out, the camera is ready. I'm so happy that I took the time this morning to let that warm breeze of inspiration flow thru me.

Again & Again

This has been a wonderful winter but enough already. As I look out the window this morning I have a feeling that I've seen this scene before-snow (again)! Winter is a wonderful time to cuddle up by the fire and  knit while listening to a good audible book. But enough already. Even the deer are getting tired this.

Something tells me we should be seeing signs of Spring around here soon. I was just looking over my yarn stash, and the various projects I am working on and I quickly saw a pattern. I have been knitting the same  stockinette stitich again & again. It must be time for a change.

I'm working on a lace weight merino wool cardigan for myself-all stockinette stitch. Great for watching TV (especially during March Madness) but it doesn't do much for the creative side of my brain.
And then there is that second sock waiting patiently to be knit.

 The interesting thing about knitting socks is that once you knit one-yup, it is time to knit the same thing AGAIN.

Since my last post I have finished a few projects. A few baby cardigans for some special little ones.

And I did manage to get out of the knit a row, purl a row pattern for a bit. I am in need of another pair of good warm wool mittens (lost my favorites a month ago). Found this pattern from my favorite designer at Knitspot called Fat Tire Mittens. I must admit is does have a little more going on then the plain stockinette stitch.

So Spring bring it on.....ready for some sunshine, thoughts of the garden, and new projects. I've got my journal started with my projects listed and I made the journey yesterday to get some new yarn for  these projects.

Happy Spring.....I'll be knitting....again & again.

A Chest of Wool

This wonderful winter weather has me thinking of all of the wonderful projects I might knit. For some reason I've been thinking about knitting myself a sweater. This got me thinking about all of the sweaters I have knit in the past and there have been a lot of them over the years. I decided to open the cedar chest to see what woolies are still there.

The navy blue in the upper right was a wool gansey I made for my husband, the pink sweater I knit for my daughter (over 30 years ago), the green pullover I knit for my son when he went to college, and the light grey pullover I knit for my husband when we first got married in 1972. I made myself a cardigan in that same pattern but eventually wore it out.

The bottom shelf holds my navy snowflake Icelandic sweater made from Lopi wool. The navy & grey patterned vest I made for myself many years ago (an early attempt at color work). My favorite of all of these sweaters is the green one-a plain simple Brooks Brother pullover pattern, made for my husband. Over the years I think I have made over 6 of them for him and he wore them every day to work. He still wears this one and it is over 20 years old!

Knitting is a part of me and looking back on some of my finished projects I realize that knitting is a part of my family too.

So I think it is time to replenish the chest of woolies with some new sweaters. But first I need to finish up this hat-Woodcutter's Toque, designed by Anne Hanson.

And then there is my leather bucket filled with projects.

Just looked out the window and it is snowing-perfect for cuddling up in the chair and knitting.

Finishing & Starting

Welcome 2015! It has been awhile since we here at Needle and Hand have checked in with you. It was a busy fall that had us traveling to visit family. The Holidays filled us with great joy and surrounded us with lots of handmade goodies & warm wool.

This year we decided to draw names in our family and I drew my daughter's name. I immediately knew that I wanted to knit her a sweater made with Brooklyn Tweed's Shelter wool.

I was excited to get the sweater on the needles, given I only had three weeks to start it & finish it. Well, here it is "Trillium" from Brooklyn Tweed's Wool People. As you can see we haven't decided on buttons yet (those are markers used as place holders).

The perfect cozy winter sweater.

Other projects that were started & finished for the Holiday season were several pair of socks. I think my total count for the Holiday was four pair. Here are three of them plus a cozy hat designed by Anne Hanson.

We all love our handknit socks so there are always a few pair on needles around here. Another wooly project that seems to always be on needles are handwarmers or mittens. These soft pair made their way to Northern California.

Cowls are another quick knit that I find interesting to make, plus they provide that extra bit of warmth when needed. I made two of these "Botanical Cowls".

And here are my favorite "Chicken Coop Cowls" designed by Anne Hanson. They made the perfect gift for our dear friends, who just happen to raise chickens!

I've spent alot of time with my knitting the past few months and now I have the perfect leather bucket to keep my projects in. My creative son-in-law designed and made this for me for Christmas. Every stitch made by hand-no machine work here.

Now that my Holiday knitting is finished I'm working on starting several new projects. This little ear flap hat is on its' way to a Williams College alum, who just had a baby boy.

And this project is a wooly baby blanket for another friend. Big chunky wool-so much fun to knit with.

That's it for now. Waiting for a nice snowstorm so I can use my new snowshoes.
Happy 2015.

Wool takes front & center

That time of year is here when wool begins to take front & center in our daily life. In other words, I knit a lot more when the weather gets cooler. The past month had me traveling to California and during my trip I managed to visit several local yarn stores and purchased some lovely yarn. My needles have been clicking away and I have finished three items since my return. A headband, a triangle scarf, and a cowl-and I have already worn all three.

Earlier in September I was knitting on a piece that had purl stitches and while husking some yummy corn on the cob I was struck by the similarity of the kernels and my purl stitches.

Fall is here, the air is cooler and that means it's time for the New York Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY. This year we ventured to the festival with our daughter & our son in law and took in the creative spirit that this festival has. As one wanders around the festival there is a quiet calm  and everyone is sporting wool. I always feel like I have found "my people" when I am there. My find for this year was a beautiful hand woven blanket made by Peggy Hart of Bedfellows Blankets. Peggy lives in Shelburne Falls & creates her blankets by gathering fleece from local farms, custom spinning it & then uses antique woolen mill technology to weave her creations. A perfect blanket to cuddle up in as the colder weather approaches.

As the days get shorter the creative spirit gets stronger here at Needle & Hand. There's always enough light to knit no matter where you are.

A Pattern Phase

Seems I'm going through a pattern phase these days. It has been a relaxing, creative summer with time to focus on the patterns in my work.  There are days I look around and BAM there is a pattern that speaks to me.
I am not one to have only one project in the works-for me it is the more the merrier.  I'm making real progress on my cashmere shawlette-this is a cable & lace pattern with simple garter stitich, designed by Anne Hanson. Can't wait to wrap myself in this baby on chilly days.

I'm also working on another project with a simple pattern. This is a black baby alpaca scarf. A gift for a very special person, who happens to be very tall therefore lots of knitting, but the pattern keeps my interest.

The other day I was working in the kitchen and picked up one of my favorite pot holders-a gift from my daughter. It is a handwoven piece that she bought from one of the weavers in her weaving guild when she was living in California. Love this pattern-kind of reminds me of the black alpaca scarf.

One of my favorite knitting stitches is the stockinette stitch-knit one row/purl one row. I've made many  hand knit sweaters with that stitch. I'm close to finishing a project with that stitch using some beautiful yarn from the Hudson Valley.

This past week I had "patterns" on my mind and noticed that my stockinette stitch pattern was lurking in several places:

Our ceramic lamp-

And the old tractor tire at our CSA-

Patterns can really get into your head-especially if you're a knitter. Last week we were in the Adirondacks and went on a canoe ride -and yes, I had patterns on my mind. My favorite was the pattern made by the long grassy weeds in the river that we canoed over.

I checked out the definition of "pattern" in the dictionary and I like this one:" a style of marking of natural or chance origin".

As I sit here looking out at the patterns of nature in our woods, I chuckle at the pile of patterned fabric on the wooden table-waiting to be created with. Oh what project should I start now????

Reaching Out

Hard to believe it is the middle of July but with the summer sunshine comes growth in the "Hot Tub Garden". Things are really "reaching out" on these sunny days.

We're growing some tomatoes, green peppers, cukes and herbs. We have a mama doe and her triplets hanging around the house so we're really happy to have our garden up on the deck.

I'm working on a project that has perked my interest in sheep breeds and fleece. I've always wanted to raise sheep but never quite got there-just like I always wanted to own my own knitting shop. As the years go by and I gain a bit of wisdom, I realize that what I really enjoy is the fiber & the process of knitting. I'm knitting with some NY State local yarn and am finding The Field Guide to Fleece (published by Storey Publishing)  to be very helpful.

Found myself to be very productive last week. I ventured to a great little yarn & fabric store and purchased some nice cotton to try my hand at making a project bag . My dear friend & I have been sharing handmade gifts for many years. I usually knit something but this year I decided to "reach out" and try my hand at a sewing project.  I gathered my sewing tools and got organized before I started my project.

I quickly realized that I need to work on more exact measurements if I want to bring quality into my sewing projects. The house seemed rather quiet for me to work so I decided a little jazz might help my creative energies.

Once I had the measurements figured out I started to make progress with my project. Yesterday I presented my friend with her birthday gift....my very first Project Bag.  And she loved it!!!

As I look back on the week it really was a week of reaching out and trying new projects, learning something new about fiber that I have cherished my entire life , and watching those tomato plants reach for the sun.