Mystery Mitts - Knitting

I started a Mystery Mitts knitting on Ravelry -which is a knitting/crochet community 
It is called "Grand Right & Left"  - you can type that in the search box when you go to the Ravelry page.

I sort of lost my knitting mojo in the sense that I was extremely ill for 2.5 weeks.  I had the flu so bad that I thought I was going to die - it was just awful - I have not had the flu in over 20 years and never got the flu shot.  My immune system is pretty strong. Well, I don't know what happened but this thing kicked my butt - big time.

Anyway, having said that - being sick really takes away your desire for anything and I am a very active / busy person and love getting up early in the morning and planning / starting my day.  All those thoughts and desires go out the window when one is sick - 

Now I am back on track - even though I was sick for 2.5 weeks , it still took another week for me to feel close to 100%  - close - When April appeared - I think I hit 100%   I love Spring and all the anticipation and excitement that comes with it, nice weather, green trees, flowers peeking - all so good!

Feeling better has put me in the mood to start all the things!  
I have a new quilt I want to start (granny square quilt), a few embroidery patterns lined up , a few cross stitch items started from the Frosted Pumpkin - 
I am working on the Woodland Sampler - a chart comes out a month -
Just purchased the Spring Sampler - which I will not start until I get through April of the Frosted Pumpkin - hmmmm - this may take a while :)

Today - back to where this blog all began up above haha - I worked on Clue 1 of the Mystery Mitts - I have tons of yarn , tons, but did not have what I needed for this project .  Off the the LYS , to purchase Cascade 220 sport which I purchased in three colorways. One is teal ( which is what I am working with ) , one is a fushia pink , and the other a green heather.   Had to change the fact that I don't own any sport weight yarn.  
Also purchased the size 4 dpn - I only had them in metal and for me they are cumbersome to work with. These Knitters Pride Dreamz - are 5" and a joy to work with.   

Now for what you have been waiting for:  the photo:  My Supplies

Clue 1 Done:  Lots of texture - easy to follow and so much fun!  I really like how these are turning out!

This is worked from the cuff up and you are only seeing half of the pattern - the other half is on the other side of the needles  - If I did this magic loop you could probably see more of the pattern - but it is quite nice!

The photo shows the color to be blue -

it is actually a teal color - 

Thanks for stopping by and updates are to follow - look out for the Frosted Pumpkin Cross stitch updates!!!

Episode 3 - Cable Love!!!

Hope this works!!!  Sorry about all the background noise - ;(

Episode 2 - Craziness!!!!

Craziness!!

Show Notes:

Finished Objects:  Felted Clogs by fiber trends - second pair done!

WIPS:  1) Afterthought heel socks - Tutorial Afterthought Heel- click on tutorials link - awesome!

2) Rocky Coast Cardigan - on Ravelry

3) Multnomah Shawl - Multnomah

In the Horizons:

1) Daybreak Shawl - Stephen West - Shawl

Spinning- Fibers purchased from Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival in October 2012

Book Review:  Mostly Mittens -color work

KAL - All things Owl!  Get your Owls on!!! Post pictures - :)  Please -

Knitting Podcast Episode 1 - All Things Owl!

Welcome!  So glad you are here. I am hoping to upload a video twice a month regarding all needlework happenings.  Specifically - my addiction - knitting, spinning and all things yarn and fibery.
You can find me on Ravelry as ButterflyKnitter (podcast group, and Butterflyjones07

Enjoy!

Show Notes:

Finished Objects:  2 hats - Real Men Wear Beanies - free pattern on Ravelry
                               Fiber Trends Felted Clogs - one pair felted, one pair unfelted
                               Snow Cowl - free pattern found on Ravelry

WIPS:                     2 - socks - after thought heel socks -
                             
In the Horizons:     1 -Evanstar Shawl - pay for pattern on Ravelry
                               2 - Daybreak shawl by Stephen West - pay for pattern on Ravelry
                               3 - Color Work Mittens -

Listen in to see how you can join in for our Ravelry Knit all Things Owl thread - and prize drawing!
Thank you!

Knitting, Spinning and Kitten....

I am back, yes it has been a while - I have been spending time cleaning and sprucing up the outside and the inside of our home.  The inside to me is a constant process because I love to paint!  I cannot paint a picture for the life of me or even draw - not even a stick figure - but I can paint walls till no tomorrow and I love it.  I have been in my home for 10 years and have painted the whole house over 3 times already and some already their 4th time - and still painting.  Love the fresh smell and new color - I love color and I love a new look - maybe too much  !  Good thing hubby doesn't mind - he comes home and never knows what color a room will be.  Works for me.
Another thing that has been keeping me busy is this little guy:

This is Junior - He is 8 weeks old now - it all started when my daughter went to the APF (animal protective foundation) and picked up a gorgeous kitten - his name is Jasper - and he is adorable - playful and full of personality - I just love him.  I was jealous and two weeks later had to come home with my little one - of course he was 6 weeks old when he came home with us - neutered and has his shots - but boy was he tiny.  I could hold him in the palm of my hand.  He was so quiet and not playful at all.  Then two weeks went by and now he is into all his toys and playing and just loves to cuddle - I think that is his favorite thing to do.  He purrs forever and ever.  Sweet little boy.
Here is a picture of my daughters kitten - he is now 4 months old - I really think he is a Bengal tiger mix cat - the vet thinks so as well.

Is he not gorgeous!  Here he is 3 months old.

Okay so now on to some fibery goodness:  I have been spinning some coopworth fiber that I purchased last year.  It is a pound of fiber .  I split the batch in half and dyed in two different dye baths.  One with more black in it and the other a little lighter - , black, yellow and a purplish color - then I put each batch in a separate bag- carded them with my hand carders (doing this as I go)  and spun a ply of each batch and then plied them together.
Here is the photo of the before and after dye process:

The top photo shows the original Coopworth off the sheep and the bottom shows the darker of the dye baths.  This is 8 oz in this bowl.

Here is the fiber all spun up and plied.  The Larger skein has 160 yards, and the smaller skein is 75 yards , it is between a sport weight and dk weight yarn

I was unsure how the yellow would do in this skein but I actually like the way it turned out.!  Now to keep on spinning and plying.  I have a way to go!  

Yesterday our family spent the day in Saratoga NY just walking around and looking at all the little shops .

One of the indoor mini malls has a new soap shop with hand made soaps.  Just opened two weeks ago.  What a nice surprise - someday I will make my own but for now this is what I purchased at McGillycuddy's

So on the left is Complexion Oatmeal, the middle is Lavender Vanilla Oatmeal

on the right is Tea Tree Dermal.  

All good for the skin. Cannot wait to try these.  

The large Celtic round soap is Rosemary Mint made with Schoharie County Milk Soap.  Smells divine!

Next up went to Common Threads - yarn shop in Saratoga.  I have not been to the shop in a long time.  I went straight to the section where the sock yarn is and found this:

Malabrigo

I just adore this yarn , I have to say it is one of my favorites to work with.  I have a pair of socks on the needle right now from a previous skein I purchased that is a darker green colorway .  So soft and cushy.

I plan to make something very pretty with this yarn.  A shawl or something - this really needs to be shown off - I love making socks but I think this deserves a better showing! I love green and the golden rod color and all the orange (which is brighter in person) and all the different shadings of color makes this a fantastic colorway! 

Wish I could take a better photo of this .  I tried several times and this was the best I could get.  It has 440 yards and if my shawl is larger then I will add a yarn to it that I had spun myself for the edging that should compliment this yarn nicely.

Happy Feet and then not so happy ..

As mentioned in the previous post - I finished two out of the four pairs of socks that were in different stages of knitting.
The first pair - are "Plain Vanilla Socks" - originally I used size 2.5 circular needles so that I could try making them on one circular needles and see how I liked them and how quick they were compared to dpn's (double pointed needles) which happen to be my favorite.  I don't know what it is but I love dpn's.
As I finished the socks on the circular - my gauge was off  - sock was huge - casted on 64 stitches and knitting in plain stockinette stitch - created a wide - fabric
It took me a year but I finally ripped the whole thing out as I really love the yarn.  I picked up my 2.25 dpn and casted on 64 stitches, ended up decreases down the foot to 60 stitches which was a much better fit for me.  I tend to think I have fat feet - maybe I really do not.  I do have a size 8 foot though  - but I like a snug sock.
So without further ado:

Plain Vanilla Socks - using Regia - Kaffe Fassett - design line

Here you can see the heel - I picked up two extra stitches to prevent holes and it worked - I really like how there are no holes in the side - great technique - these are pre-blocking.
I have since blocked these and they are so cushy - really love this yarn.














Next up are the socks I made with yarn I won in a give away - it was hand dyed and 100% wool - not washable and no nylon but I wanted to make the infamous "Monkey" socks - this journey started like 2 or more years ago - but I picked them up and finished them

I made sure I worked on these with attention - came out perfect - but as I did soak them in the Eucalan wash and let them air dry - I did throw these two pairs in the dryer to fluff and finish drying - Big Mistake!!! These Monkeys felted - I was so upset with myself - I usually knit socks that can be washed - with sock yarn - but I thought I would remember these would felt - guess what - I didn't remember - I was so annoyed - so now these will fit someone with a size 6 or 6.5 shoe size - ugh
I guess I will have to make more Monkeys.....
till then.
have a sweet , wonderful weekend and enjoy the time with your family and friends.  Time is so precious!
Enjoy every moment.

So Proud....

I have been super busy the past month or so..
and this is why:

My daughter was in our local newspaper - she graduated friday 5/13/11 from Ellis School of Nursing in Schenectady, NY - her hat is being adjusted by her best friend / also her maid of honor in her wedding back in December.  I am so proud of her as she has had a tough time getting through this last rotation of nursing school - but she did it and I am so so so proud of her.
She has an interview this morning at Albany Medical Center  - Albany , NY  for the pediatric unit.  Her wish is to end up in the nicu  .
She will take her boards in July.  I am one proud mama - can you tell.

I have been knitting - really - I have - :) - I decided to take on smaller projects through all this - so I went back and found four pair of socks in all different stages of the knit process - I finished one pair and am on the toe of the second sock of the second pair - make sense?  ?  ha
I will share those with you tomorrow
Please , just share in my joy for now
Thank you so much for your patience and for listening !