Waiting For Rain - Shawl 2

I usually don't write 2 blog posts a day but this is special. I finished my second Waiting for Rain shawl. As previously posted I started this one in hemp. I used Allhemp3 from Hemp for Knitting in charcoal and foggy. This shawl is so lightweight and beautiful to wear. Perfect for Virginia. Here are some pictures. Check out my Ravelry project page here. Pattern can be found here.

Go local - support local - Part 1

I'm on a mission to be more supportive of the local business. Even though I enjoy the variety of the larger yarn companies in color, material and different weights and the affordable prices, it's very important to me to see what I can do locally. In this case for me that means finding local yarn manufacturers.

Through our local Facebook yard sale site I came across Holly Hill Alpaca's. Who would have guessed that there is an alpaca farm 5 minutes from my house?

We visited the farm and nuzzled some alpacas and talked to the owner. My daughters had so much fun with the alpacas.

I bought a couple of their DK yarn. The yarn is so soft. It comes in natural tones, white and different brown shades. If you're interested in Holly Hill Alpaca's check out their Website or Facebook page.

As you know I can never leave white yarn white and want to dye it in pretty colors, but this one is going to stay white! I think I'm going to make a lovely triangular shawl of it. So stay tuned for a new upcoming design.

It's all about hemp

While I'm cruising on Facebook this memory pops up of showing a picture of my husband wearing the hemp sweater I knitted for him 7 years ago. The sweater still fits and is one of his favorite sweaters.The pattern is Luvtröja Måns by Katarina Brieditis. Link to my Ravelry project page.



I'm excited because Virginia has passed a bill for Virginia farmers to grow hemp. I hope farmers will start soon and there will be Virginia grown Hemp yarn available for knitting.

Why am I so excited about Hemp? It's not that you can smoke it. Hemp is the most misunderstood fiber The industrial hemp variety grows stalky with few leaves and flowers and contains less than 0.3% THC. Weed that you smoke contains between 3-20% THC. So you have to smoke a heaping lot and still won't get high. Information from knitting pattern book No Sheep for You by Amy R. Singer

But why do I like hemp so much?

• the fiber is very durable
• it gets softer with every wash
• when you leave it in the washing machine, it doesn't get moldy - yes it is machine washable and you can tumble dry it!
• it always bounces back into shape.
• it's 100% natural
• great for people with wool allergies
• and most of all it's an all season fiber

Yesterday I went stash diving and found some leftover Hemp for Knitting Allhemp3 in foggy and charcoal and decided to cast on another Waiting for Rain shawl. This pattern is the sweetest distraction and a vacation from your current WIP's (Work in progress). I call it Waiting for Hemp because I'm hoping to have some local grown Hemp yarn to knit with soon!

Link to my Waiting For Hemp



Other Hemp projects I have completed:

Manly Maze by Celeste Culpepper from the book No sheep for you
knitted in Allhemp6 by Hemp for Knitting



Hat: Emma's Star by Jennifer Chase-Rappaport
Blouse: Counterpane Blouse by Mercedes Tarasovich
Knitted in Allhemp3, color brick

 

Intoxicating by Kristi Porter from the book No Sheep for you
Knitted in Allhemp3, foggy, charcoal, brick

Waiting for Rain Shawl

I could not resist to join the Waiting for Rain KAL. The shawl looked so intriguing. I had the yarn and my current WIP just had to wait. I wanted join the KAL (knitalong). This was my first KAL and wow did I pick one. By the time I started over 250 knitters had already joined. But it was so much fun seeing the other projects and color choices. Some knitters modified their shawl with beads or added a different bind off. I loved knitting the lace between the garter section. Softsweater has designed a unique technique using short rows with lace which makes short rows incredible easy and seamless. No bumps or holes anywhere.




I loved the pattern so much I came up with a headband version. The headband pattern works as listed below. Please note that you need to purchase the original Waiting For Rain knitting pattern from Softsweater to be able to knit the headband.

Headband directions:

Cast on 110 stitches with US 2 (2.75 mm) knitting needles.
Work 4 rows in garter st.
Next row: K23, work row 1 of lace chart over 61 sts, continue with row 2-24 of lace chart. Row 25: Work row 25 in pattern and knit to last 10 sts. Bind off 2 sts, k3, bind off 2 sts, k3. Next row: k3, using backloop cast on 2 sts, k3, using backloop cast on 2 sts, knit to end of row. Work 2 rows in garter st.
Bind off loosely. Wash & block with pins.
Sew in 2 buttons & weave in ends.
Wear & enjoy.

Don't forget, the Waiting For Rain KAL closes on March 15, 2016! So there's still time to join and maybe win a prize. My shawl took about 1 week of knitting.

3 Cashmere Color Cashmere Shawl

I was so excited that I was part of the test knit for Joji Locatelli's new knitting pattern 3 Color Cashmere Shawl. This is a variation of her 3 color cashmere cowl pattern.

For my shawl I used Knit Picks Hawthorne kettle dyed (color Compass & Turkish Delight) and speckled (Graffiti) yarn. I added to my picot bind off pink glass beads.

Usually I prefer colors like gray, black and blue but for this cold and trist winter I chose some bright colors.

The knit is so much fun. The stitches are increasing quickly and sometimes the rows seem endless but because of the pattern and section changes it keeps it interesting andI wanted to finish quickly and move on to the next section.

Link to Joji's pattern: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/3-color-cashmere-shawl

Link to my  shawl project page: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/andreacraig/3-color-cashmere-shawl

Link to Knit Picks website to purchase the beautiful Hawthorne yarn: http://www.knitpicks.com/yarns/Hawthorne_Fingering_Kettle_Dye_Yarn__D5420271.html

#3colorcashmerecowl #knitpicks #knitpickshawthorne

Wrap yourself in bubbles

This is the time when I don't feel like wearing a heavy sweater and it gets often chilly and I need to wrap myself in something. I designed with this in mind my new bubble wrap a versatile wrap that can be worn in different weights. Depending on where you live and what your preference is you can knit it in any yarn weight from lace to bulky. Make it a scarf or a shawl. The pattern comes with suggestions to convert it to any width. I added some suggestions to create removable buttons and how to pin them and wear it different ways.

My pattern Bubble Wrap can be found on Ravelry and is 25% off during the month of February. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bubble-wrap-4

They gray shawl is knitted in Willow Yarns Saffron, DK weight, color Mithril.

I am using for this shawl Knit Picks Shimmer, lace weight (70% merino, 30% silk) in color Shallows.

My project page can be found here.

Knitting Poncholina and playing with colors

One of my BMX friends asked me to knit her a Poncholina and incorporate her team logo. The colors are red, yellow and black. Instead of dyeing the yarn firsy I knitted the Poncholina in white and black and dyed the finished logo. My Ravelry project page can be found here.

How do you do that?

1. I soaked the garment in lukewarm water and 1 cup of distilled vinegar for 30 min. 
2. I prepared the color while my garment was soaking. I mixed 3 single packages of yellow koolaid (lemonade) and 2 cups of hot water.
3. I squeezed excess water from garment and lay it on a flat surface. I put som plastic bags under it.
4.  I painted the yellow area by hand on both sides until I had the right color. I let it set for a few minutes.
5. Then I prepared the red color in a crockpot. 5 packages of red koolaid (punch) and a small crockpot half filled with water.
6. I folded the poncholina in half and dipped the hood and bottom part until I got almost to the yellow area. I raised it and just left the top of the hood and the bottom in for a little longer to get the ombre effect (lighter to darker red)
7. I held it until the water in the crockpot got lighter and I had reached the desired color.
8. I set my oven on warm and lay the poncholina on a baking sheet and warmed it in the oven for the colors to set for about 20 minutes.
9. I washed the poncholina in a large bowl with a little dawn dish detergent and a half cup of distilled vinegar.
10. I rinsed until water was clear.
11. I squeezed the excess water out and lay it flat on a towel to dry.

I am very pleased with the outcome and hope my friend likes it.