FO Friday - The Secrets Revealed!

I can now post about some projects that were a secret until yesterday!

I made a Sockhead Hat for me about a year or so ago (it has a fun story...you can read about that HERE and HERE).  My hubby loved it so much that I made one for him earlier this year.  And, my daughter loved it so much that I made one for her and gave it to her for Christmas yesterday.  

I need to get some pics of her wearing it but here are some I took before I wrapped it up...

My friend at Inner Yarn Zen dyed this yarn and it was love at first sight.  It turned out that it was love at first sight for my daughter too.  I quickly decided to use it to knit a hat for her.

It's interesting how the color spiraled up the hat.  Then, when I started to decrease for the top, the spiral reversed.  Pretty cool!

This is a free pattern on Ravelry and we all love how it fits and feels.  It calls for sock yarn which turns out to be perfect for a hat.  It's warm but not thick.  The wide band at the bottom allows to double it up for extra warmth and style or to wear it as a single layer if it's not quite so cold.  We also love that it fits nice without being too snug.  That makes it extra comfy and nice to wear.  The slouchy part is cute too.  For my hubby, I gave his hat just a touch of slouch.

I love the creamy white and the little bits of Fall color in the stripes.

I made a dream catcher for my daughter too.  I used a metal ring that I had and some left over yarn.  I think it could use a little something extra but haven't figured out exactly what or how I want to go about it though.  Probably some beads and feathers.  But, it's kind of cute the way it is too.

It's leftover Pagewood Farm yarn in the "Army Girl" colorway.  I absolutely love the colors in this yarn.  I originally used it to crochet a lace shawl.

I used a doily pattern and just crocheted part of the center.  I like the little picots.  They're kind of like little flower buds.

My daughter hung it up right away and it matches her room!

I'm happy to announce that she loved both gifts!  And, I did a little de-stashing too! ;-)

Fiber Fiesta

The annual Fiber Fiesta held in the northern San Diego County city of Vista was held last weekend.  It's a small fiber festival but one of the very few we have in Southern California.  I've been to it several times by myself but this year was extra special because my daughter went with me.  That made it a LOT more fun!  

We had a blast wandering through the weaving barn.  It's filled with looms and lots of them have projects on them.  This one was especially exciting.  Not only are the colors gorgeous...

...and the weaving is beautiful... 

...but, it's also a big dobby loom.  My dream loom!  I got to work on one of these years ago and I've wanted one ever since.  The pins on the wood bars create the pattern in the fabric and a new bar is advanced for each throw of weft thread/yarn.  It's fun and magical!  I love this kind of loom!

The barn is filled with looms...large ones, small ones, newer ones and very old ones.  We saw someone weaving on one from the 1800's.  I believe this one was from the 1930's.  I thought the handle on the beater bar was interesting.  I'd never seen that before.

One of the weavers told us about this old Jacquard loom the museum has inherited.  They're very excited about it and working hard to get it up and running.  It'll be the logo for their museum.  It's so tall that it almost reaches the rafters of the barn!  I couldn't get a picture of the whole thing as it was surrounded by other looms and things.  This is part of the top...

I peeked between some things to get a picture of the many threads running through it...

These red strips have holes punched in them and as they feed through the loom they control the pattern that will be created in the fabric...

The very long loop of those strips runs from the floor to the top of the loom and up into that part that's almost up to the rafters and then back down again...

Here's another picture of that top part from the other side...

Fascinating!

There was a table near one of the doorways/openings to the barn with some very nice ladies who were excited to show us how to do Kumihimo.  They had a basket filled with little kits with yarn already measured out and ready to share.  We were excited to learn.  Kumihimo is Japanese braiding and it's very easy and fun.  We caught on quickly and finished up our braided cords later that day and started some new ones.  I'll try to get some pictures of our cords for another post.

There were vendors/booths outside selling hand dyed yarn, tools, handmade clothing, etc.  We had a lot of fun shopping and could have come home with SO much stuff if the budget allowed.  We couldn't afford all the wonderful things we fell in love with but we still managed to spend a little too much on yarn.  So much for the yarn diet!

I got two beautiful skeins of yarn from my favorite dyer, Inner Yarn Zen.  I love this one!  The color is "Carmel Pumpkin Spice".  Just wait til I get started on a project so I can show the cool effect that's created with how she dyed it!  Yarn love!

There's just something about this one that literally makes my heart flutter when I look at it!  It's gorgeous!  Of course, all of these yarns are much more beautiful in person!

Newton's Yarn Country was there with their amazing yarn bargains.  I couldn't resist this time!  They sell huge skeins of yarn for six for $20.  Amazing!  I bought this cotton to make a kitchen towel.  Unfortunately, I read the tag wrong when I got it and I might not have enough.  I'm planning to play around with it today and see what I can figure out.

We got three skeins of this super soft cotton.  They said it works great for towels and just keeps getting softer and softer as it's used and washed.  I'm planning to use the red and cream for weaving kitchen towels.  My daughter is going to use the brown to knit a cowl or scarf.  

We got several other colors but they didn't photograph well to accurately show the colors.

The Fiber Fiesta is held at the Antique Gas and Steam Engine Museum and it's always fun to walk around to see these magnificent old machines.  In fact, I think their annual show is this next weekend.  They actually start some of these up and drive them around at the show.  Amazing!

This might sound weird but I think this one is pretty!

There was a gem and rock show going on last weekend too.  And, the museum has classes throughout the year for various things including weaving and blacksmithing.  It's a little far away but I'm thinking of joining.  It's a wonderful place with lots of nice people and I love how it's preserving history.

Kitty Yarn

I have a friend that's a very talented yarn dyer.

She recently came up with a new colorway that she calls, "Soft Kitty".

It was love at first sight for me because it's not only beautiful but it's also the same 

colors as my dear kitty, Penelope.  Could there be a more perfect than that?!

I gasped when I saw it!  Without any thought, I immediately ordered two skeins.

I had no idea yet what I'd make with it but I had to have it!  I call the color, "Penelope".

Here's a picture of my dear Penelope to compare colors.
My daughter took this photo.  I think Penelope likes having her photo taken!

And, just one more because she's so darn cute.

My yarn dyer friend is not only talented but she's super sweet and thoughtful too.

 Over this last weekend, she worked hard to dye the two skeins for me so I could take it on my trip.  She thought it would be like taking Penelope with me.  Isn't that sweet?! It just blows me away to have someone do something so thoughtful for me like that!  And, yes, it went in my bag immediately.  There's no way I'd leave this at home!  Thanks, M!  You're a gem!

If you haven't already visited her Etsy shop you should head over and take a look.

She creates some of the most beautifully colored yarns I've seen.  She has some kits with patterns created especially with and for her yarn.  And, she's big in the whole mini skein craze.  She sells beautiful collections of minis.  Her beautiful Inner Yarn Zen yarns can be found HERE on Facebook and HERE on Etsy.  And, if you see one of her beautiful yarns on Facebook and can't find it in the shop, be sure to message her.  It just might be a color she can repeat and create just for you!

Finley is Finished!

I finished another Sockhead Hat!  It's a free pattern on Ravelry and the second one I've made.

I love it!  It's comfortable, easy, looks great on, and it's a great pattern for multi-colored sock yarn.

You can see my first one HERE and HERE.  

This one is made from yarn that was dyed by a friend of mine at Inner Yarn Zen.  This colorway is called, "Finley".  I love the browns and blues (more turquoise in person).  Hubby loved the colors too and was excited when I started knitting a hat for him with it.  It was fun to watch the turquoise spiral up as I knitted it.  Then, it started to pool in these really cool shapes.  It's looks a little like tie-dye.

This pattern has a wide four inch band of ribbing that folds over nicely.

It works great to keep ears warm.  The sock yarn makes the hat comfortable and not bulky.

I used a size two, circular needle and a set of double points to knit it.

The pattern creates a slouchy hat.  I made this one a little less slouchy for hubby.

When it's on him, it doesn't have much slouch.  He's at work right now though.

So, I used my handy dandy glass head for a model.

I weighed the hat and the leftover yarn and I was excited to see that the hat took exactly half.

That means I have plenty to make another hat for me or something else in these pretty colors.

Claudia Cowl

Remember the yarn I got at the Christmas party exchange with my knit group?

I did finish the cowl I started on New Years.  And, I did get around to blocking it.

Finally found some time to photograph it to show you.

Here it is....ta da....

It's inspired by the Claudia Scarf that I made last Fall.

I chained 105 and crocheted a similar pattern in the round.

When I felt it was about half as long as I'd like (15 rows), I started crocheting with the other end of the skein from my base row, going the opposite direction.  That way, it has points on both ends.

I also weighed it before I started and checked periodically to be sure I'd have an equal amount for the other side.  I tried crocheting a fancy edge but I think it looks better without it.

I washed it and blocked it.  It's so small compared to the shawls I've made so blocking was easy!

The finished size is 10" wide (tube) by about 12 1/2" long.  It's perfect!  I love it!

This Inner Yarn Zen yarn is super soft and I absolutely love the blues in it.

I haven't had a chance to wear it yet.  Weather seems to be a lot more like Summer than Winter.

The weather forecasters are hopeful that a change is coming and that we might even get rain.

I'm doubtful though.  We haven't even had a whole inch of rain yet this season.  We're about 

seven inches short of normal for this time.  We're keeping our fingers crossed!

At the very least, temps are expected to drop and I might be able to wear my new cowl this weekend.

Yarning into the New Year

A lot of people like to go out for New Years Eve.  I used to.  And, I might again someday.

But, I love spending the evening at home, away from all the craziness.

We like to make an extra yummy and fun dinner and just relax.

We usually have the TV on and watch movies and stuff.  This year I had another monster

sinus headache (I've had way too many of those lately because of the extra dry weather).

So, we never turned the TV on.  But, I eventually felt good enough to 

play with some yarn.  Remember this yarn that I got at a gift exchange?...

Turns out that it's even prettier when it's worked up than it was in the skein.

I love it!  I only have about 300+- yards.  So, after researching patterns on Ravelry and 

playing around with some different ideas, I've landed on making a cowl with it.

There should be plenty of yarn for that.

I spent time on it yesterday morning too.  Such a great way to start the new year!

I'm about half way done with it.  I expect to have it finished very soon.

I'll be sure to post pictures of the finished cowl.

How did you spend your New Years Eve?

Finished Scarf and New Yarn

I finished my Claudia Scarf.  And, I finished it just in time.

The evenings have gotten chilly and it came in very handy last night

at our weekly stitch gathering as we sat outside.

I know it will probably look a lot prettier blocked but I love it so much already!

I snapped these pictures with my phone and posted them on Instagram.

I love playing with the different effects.  The actual color of the scarf is more like the one above.

This pattern was super easy.  It's the same row over and over.

It's great for social stitching because it's hard to make a mistake.

I used three skeins/786 yards of JoAnn Sensations Bamboo & Ewe 

yarn in the Beige colorway and a size H crochet hook.

I haven't measured but it's at least six feet long.

I've had this pattern in my Ravelry queue for a few years.

It feels great to have finally made it.  I love it!

I'm on a yarn diet but it doesn't seem to be going very well.

I seem to keep acquiring yarn.  At least it's not a lot and I did just finish a project.

My latest acquisition is this gorgeous brown and turquoise yarn I brought home from 

stitch night.  It was dyed by a very talented member of the group.

She has an Etsy shop...Inner Yarn Zen.  I love that name!

She's constantly taking my breath away with her color combinations.

They're always rich and gorgeous!  This skein will probably become a lacy shawl or scarf.

I LOVE the colors!

I spotted this one in a yarn shop months ago and couldn't get it out of my mind.

I finally went for it.  It's going to become a hat.  It'll go great with some of my 

new hiking clothes.  It's Berroco Vintage Colors. The colorway is 5222. 

Why don't they give them names?  That's so much more fun than a number!