It’s been a hot minute, I know. I’ve been knitting and sewing along, but have neglected this corner of the internet. Jumping back in, though, I’ve started the Snow and Ashes Mystery Knit-Along (Ravelry link). Clue 1 dropped this Sunday, and I’ve already finished it. (And I only had to start it three separate times! /facepalm) I wish I could say that this would be indicative of how my progress with this project will go, but I don’t really hold out hope for that. But for now, success!
I make no secret that summer is my least favorite season. Doubly so right now, when the central air in our home is broken, the air conditioning in my ancient minivan is broken and I’m quarantining at home thanks to COVID-19. My world has rather suddenly contracted into a 10′ x 14′ room: my home office. Fortunately (?), I’m an introvert, so I’m not quite as completely mad as I might be otherwise, but I do miss the world, if not the people in it.
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About two months ago, I signed up for my first mystery knit-a-long (MKAL): the Beyond the Wall MKAL (Ravelry link). I honestly didn’t know what I was getting into; I’m so used to being able to check my progress against provided photographs that I found that the hardest part of the whole thing. Continue reading
This mont
h’s Big Beanie Bag project was a cowl in four yarns: Berroco Maya, Juniper Moon Farm Moonshine, Plymouth Mushishi, and HiKoo Kenzie. The pattern was a simple one, which was perfect given that the stripes were only each three rows thick.
I finished the mitts from the May 2015 Jimmy Beans Wool Big Beanie Bag today – wove in the ends and gave them to my middle son, who put them on right away!
I need serious practice with color work. How do people stand all of this weaving in ends? How do they disguise the joins?
Although Raphael is happy with them, even if I’m not sure I am…
I switched my subscription from Jimmy Beans Wool’s Beanie Bag to their Big Beanie Bag – a difference of $15 (Bb is $10 monthly, Bbb is $25) but a huge jump in contents.
This month’s Big Beanie Bag included four 48-yard balls of Rowan Softyak DK, a chainette yarn composed of cotton, nylon, and yak down. I adore this yarn and can’t say enough great things about it! I often find wool scratchy, and yak down is just delicious without any scratchiness at all. The Big Beanie Bag also included a printed pattern for striped fingerless mitts, three Bar Maids samples (Lo-Lo Cuticle Intensive, Lo-Lo Lip Balm, and Lo-Lo Body Bar), and a trial packet of Heel foot cream from the makers of Soak wash – all in a big drawstring bag perfect for toting around a small project.
I chose the Neutrals color palette and the colors are great. They read bluer in the photo than they really are – three grays and a brown. I’m really pleased!
And now, back to the second mitt.
This weekend has been a fun one. Yesterday I took the family to Sheep and Wool Day at Springton Manor Farm, and what a treat! I had been to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival a few years ago, and while it is considered the sine qua non of sheep-and-wool events, I actually found it too crowded and chaotic. It was also quite large and sprawling, a difficult scale for me to navigate with a husband and three sons in tow – and just too much driving for a family day trip. So even though we’ve gone before, and even though that sort of thing should be my bag, baby, MDSW is just not. The Springton Manor Farm day, though – what a pleasant difference! There were plenty of things to see and do, all kinds of fiber arts and livestock and all of the things that make my heart happy, but on a smaller, more intimate and enjoyable, scale.
One thing I learned at the event yesterday was how to spin yarn using a drop spindle! I’ve had a drop spindle for about two years now but never really figured out how to use it. After a quick visit with the Lancaster Spinners and Weavers Guild yesterday, though, I’m on my way to fiber fabulousness. Here’s my first yarn:
Much chunkier than I like to knit with, but I don’t think it’s too bad for a first attempt.
I did my usual baking today – substituting in stollen for bread since I’d just baked our weekly family bread on Friday. I was going to take it easy with baking today, but the Mr. requested stollen (his favorite baked treat) and I couldn’t say no:
I make sourdough stollen using this recipe. I’ve been big into fermented/live foods and have been getting a kick out of using sourdough in almost everything baked. I use it in my weekly pizza dough, too!
It’s here! It’s here! My Jimmy Beans Wool beanie bag is here! This month’s includes a finger puppet contest sponsored by Crystal Palace Yarns. Looks like I’ve got some work to do! The yarns in this month’s bag are all from Crystal Palace – clockwise from the top, I’ve got Allegro Lace in 3035 Merlot; Panda Silk in 3001 Pearl Blue; Sausalito in 8451 Harvest (not gonna lie, this guy is my favorite – I have a weakness for multiple colors plied together); Allegro Aran in 9080 Navy (really seems more like a royal blue to me); and the super squishy-soft Mochi Plus in 631 Yosemite. I’ve also got a single-use packet of Soak in Lacey and a knitting ruler, which is an extremely handy doodad I didn’t have before. I love how useful the notions in these kits have been; not to mention how fun it’s been to sample the yarns each month. I’ve been a subscriber since the first month and this really is one of my favorite subscriptions out there.
Marie Makes Stuff 
