Knitting Dragonflies

It is getting hot and muggy outside. I’ve been working in the yard a lot and enjoying spring. Now it is heating up and I’m doing more knitting inside. Going through some of my stash I found some  hand dyed yarn (my own, I’ll link here the blog post about it). I’ve been trying to knit my stash down so the search for a pattern started. After spending quite a bit of time on Ravelry and Pinterest looking at.options, and finding lots of patterns I would like to make. I started a sweater then frogged it and finally settled on this simple over sized pattern. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mammas-hjemmestrikkede-genser-skappelgenseren Written by Dorthe Skappel it is the Mammas hjemmestrikkede genser. It is a super easy garter stitch oversized sweater. Taking a look at all of the knitters that had completed it (almost 900 when I looked at it) I saw that it flattered a wide selection of body shapes and ages. From toddlers and up. I feel in love and cast on. It went so well I dec

It was the middle of summer, that time when the humidity is high and the temps are triple digits. Sultry outside and yet walking indoors your are greeted by the icy blast of chilly air that initially feels great, but quickly chills you. I started looking for a simple, fast wrap, but I wanted something a little edgy with some interest. But not too hard. I like the long  triangle shape of this wrap, easy to secure around my shoulders and keep my hands free while looking stylish. Added texture adds interest without being too difficult of a knit, and makes this wrap fast to complete. Pattern is Arqulein Shawl by Peggy Maxheim ( free pattern link ) I like how variable this pattern is, if you browse through the completed ones on Ravelry, it is amazing how different this pattern can look. Vary the yarn and color and size of this, and it can result in a small neck wrap or a larger body covering shawl. I had some various colors of my own hand dyed from peach solid to a darker papaya

I started this sweater in the fall of 2012. I’m sure some of you have projects like this. Not disliked enough to frog,  but can’t get going enough to finish them. I got this sweater out repeatedly and counted and looked and deduced where I was in the pattern & usually knit another inch or so and then it went back to sleep in my bag. I finally decided to finish it or frog it. I gave myself permission to finish it and it was ok if it wasn’t perfect or even fit me. Sometimes I just need to jump in and create, I tend to be a perfectionist and that can leave me to think way too much and stop the creative process. This is a top down knitted sweater, I love knitting in one piece in the round, this is only the 2nd sweater I’ve knitted from the top down. I’ve done numerous bottom up in the round sweaters and didn’t think I would like top down. Well I love it. It is so easy to try on as you go and keep an eye on the fit. I modified this pattern quite a bit in the years. There is some w

Working on the shawl pattern arlequin shawl (free pattern). Love the pattern. I started with 3 skeins, 100% wool yarn & hand dyed them. I decided it needs two more.  I'm not sure if these all go together. The one on the far left is not what I had in mind, it got muddy while dyeing, now I'm undecided.  I'm working in each skein with several rows of colors to make the transition/ gradient look effect.  Any suggestions? I'm trying to decide if I need to try to dye another skein up. Thanks for any thoughts!

Makes me think of a Beatles song! *grin*, it would be nice to be on a blanket with my knitting here, and a bottle of wine or a beer! I got a collection of hand dyed yarn out, and am trying to decide if I can knit it in a way that the top is lighter graduating into a darker blend on the bottom. I’m thinking of making the bottom design darker blue. More on this later…..Swatching now.. Happy Knitting!!

I’ve been amazed at blending and creating colors from just the basic three colors. It started as yarn dyeing, and took me to watercolors, which helped me understand color on a whole different level. I haven't painted in a bit. But I have been playing with yarn dyeing….. The inspiration, a photo from a spice market in Morocco! The spices, the colorful clothing, and the sky! I discovered if I do my yarn dyeing in multiple steps, laying the colors in one at a time, (wash, add another color, wash repeat as many times as you desire) that the colors come out cleaner! I’m loving the results. The above set is Morocco spice, especially dyed for someone! It is best to think of the color wheel and lay in your lightest colors first, do some planning. Think of what color the overlapping colors will make. Red is the strongest, so I always add that one last. Want to warm it up? Put the entire skein in a weak color bath of a warm color, red, orange, or yellow. Cool the color, try a weak

While going through my stash in my stash busting mode, I came across my first hand dyed, hand spun. Three bulky bright orange skeins of merino yarn (12 oz). It is still in there despite my many attempts to incorporate this yarn into, well, anything. I was reading Claudia’s blog; The Knitting Blog by Mr. Puffy the Dog ,  and she had an idea to make a shawl for visitors in her home. Our house is always on the chilly side, and I thought that was a excellent idea. Adding a bright wrap for visitors would be a welcome item indeed! Before dye                                       After dye post, see post here I finally decided that a big pop of color in the Baktus scarf would be pretty, whether under a coat, or over a summer top to keep the chill off, a super bright touch of orange would be perfect. I choose the Lacy Baktus version from  Strikkelise on Flickr . This was a quick and fun project. I forgot how wonderful it is to knit with hand spun yarn. Since the yarn is bulky,

I saw this pattern in Knitty Spring 2009 and fell in love with it! The simplicity and style. { rav link }. I had some beige 100% wool yarn and decided to use that instead of the cotton it calls for. And then something happened….. see this post , I wanted color, bold beautiful living color! OK, I had the pattern and the yarn, now ready to cast on! I knitted my gauge swatch , like a good girl should. Ready to go now. Studying the pattern  I kept thinking, it looks a little boxy, I’ll add a little shape to it, maybe some decreasing around the waist…..and I do so wish it was knitted  “ in the round ” sweater. My first sweater attempts were comical, several looked like they were made for Quasimodo , my next phase consisted of neck problems, I couldn’t get my head into the neck or the neck was x rated. I was apparently knitting for an entire sideshow. Then I discovered Elizabeth Zimmerman !  Amazingly, I could knit sweaters to fit, and I loved it! Like a good mystery, you have