An Update on Fisherwoman Socks

Several years ago I made a pair of socks for my friend, Jean, who is a fisherwoman and a talented potter. The picture at the bottom is the original pair. At the time I just added the Fish Scale Lace pattern to my standard sock. I kept thinking that it needed a little something else but didn’t come across anything that suited my fancy. I’ve looked at stitch pattens many times over the years since with the sock in mind but never found just the right thing until this past week.  Now I present to you the complete Fisherwoman Sock pictured on top in Whimsical Colors silky merino light in Silver Fox.  It is knit from the top down on two circular needles and combines Little Scales Stitch with Fish Scale Lace to make a hearty but feminine sock for girls who like to fish, girls who like fish, and girls who like cool hand knit socks. The pattern will be available soon in my Ravelry store. It's on Libby's to do list. She proofreads all of my patterns and I have to say she is so good at it and makes such great suggestions that she is worth waiting for. 

A Birthday Prezzie!

While visiting my mother-in-law, Jean, recently, she gifted me with some sleeping beauty turquoise jewelry. The color of the stone was captivating to me. I also love the name of it which is based on the name of the mine in Globe, Arizona, where the rare color of turquoise is mined, Sleeping Beauty Mine.

Julie at Island Wools dyed this merino silk blend for me and I think the color is perfect. Her line of hand painted yarns, Whimsical Colors, is dyed at the shop in Friday Harbor, WA. I find her colors delicious and hard to resist.

I named my new pattern, Sleeping Beauty Cowl, after the beautiful turquoise. It is available in my Ravelry store as of today. It's my 60th birthday this month and I'm feeling festive! My pattern is available to download for free until my birthday on the 22nd and then I will give myself a prezzie by putting the price of $5.00 in effect. So have a Bday prezzie on me and go download yourself a copy for free before it's too late.

I'm Designing for Cartoon Characters :)

Meet George Jetson, his boy Elroy, daughter Judy, Jane, his wife. That’s right I couldn’t get the Jetsons theme song out of my head. It was one of my favorite cartoon shows when I was a kid and out of nowhere the song popped into my brain and it WOULD NOT leave. So I decided to use it. I was in the middle of knitting some fingerless mitts for a local Christmas fundraiser and one thing led to another. The blue mitts are the ones I designed for Judy Jetson. I think they're kind of hip and futuristic looking. I thought Jane would like something a bit more chic but I still wanted a clean modern look. The red and purple mitts in the lower pic are just what Jane would like... don't you think? Believe it or not I've got a Wilma design going too. I know you know the Wilma I'm talking about.

Jean's Matching Mitts

Mittens in Tahki Donegal Tweed

Mitts in Plymouth Yarns Boku

I'm excited to say that my new pattern, Jean's Matching Mitts, is now available on Ravelry. Thanks to the smart ladies who helped me by test knitting the pattern. It is a fun quick knit. There are enough knitty tricks to keep it interesting and they are small enough to be gratifying. In 5 to 7 hours in can have a pair ready to wear.

Coming Soon...

Leftover Mitts

The pattern for Leftover Mitts is coming soon. Libby is test knitting the mitts for me and I have a few finishing touches on the pattern. I want to get the sizing right for a small/medium and I will add some tops for those who want to knit mittens instead of mitts. Almost done... 

Four Blue Ribbons!

I had a great time at the San Juan County Fair again this year :) I had five entries at the Wool Shed and ended up with 4 blue ribbons and 1 red ribbon. The red ribbon was for some woolen handspun that I almost didn't enter because it was my first attempt at woolen spun and I wasn't completely happy with my result. I did better than I thought I would so I ended up being happy I entered it. In the foreground of this picture are the mitts I designed to go with Jean's Irish Hat. The pattern is being test knit by my friend Libby and will be available on Raverly soon.

Libby got a best in class at the county fair  for her lovely blue crocheted sweater.

I am happy for Libby but I have to admit that I want a best in class ribbon too... there is always next year ;)  

Sidetracked

First I got sidetracked with spinning. I had been working with this fiber on my spindles 

and finally finished all the singles. Then I plied it on my spinning wheel and was pleasantly 

surprised by how much I like the end product. I combined it with some tobacco colored cotton 

you see in the bottom left corner of this picture and then I got sidetracked with weaving :)

I'm calling this The Saturn Scarf. It's for my husband, Paul, who is an amateur astronomer. 

The layers of color are reminiscent of the banding on Saturn. I'm so happy with the way 

it came out and it was a fun project from start to finish. Fortunately, Paul really likes it too :)

And of course I've been sidetracked by my garden too...

Now I really need to get back to my knitting. I have one hat to finish for Julie 

down at Island Wools and then I am going to get a few more patterns 

written up to add to my Ravelry Store and website.