A Sweet Reminder

Today I attended an intercollegiate horse show (as a spectator) to meet up with some old college friends competing in the show’s Alumni division. It brought back so many good memories, and being around all those horses made me feel so wistful for the sport I no longer have time for. I’d been riding horses since I was 11 years old, and used to compete locally and in the intercollegiate shows as an undergrad and alumnus, and went on to train horses professionally for a few years until I “figured out what I wanted to do with my life.” Since then, I’d taken several breaks from riding, and haven’t been on a horse since before I became pregnant with Nathan (more than two years ago).

It was fun catching up with my old friends and coach and watching the horses and riders do their respective things, but I left feeling sad. Riding is in my blood. I want to get back into competitive horseback riding, and I want to compete in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association again! But I don’t have the time, energy or money to invest in becoming a serious competitor—that is, without shortchanging my son and my family. (For those non-riders out there, it’s a serious time commitment—3-4 hours a day, several days a week to just touch on becoming a contender.) And even if I did have the time, energy and resources, I’d have to put it all on hold when we have our next child. So it’s not even worth starting.

My sweet reminder came in the form of Nathan’s sleepy reflection in my rear-view mirror. I chose this life with children for a reason, and it’s a life that I love and that fulfills me. I would not be happy if I chose not to have children in favor of free time and the ability to do what I want, virtually whenever I want. I longed to start a family for so many years, so I usually feel lame and guilty when I so desperately want things I can no longer have, at least while my family is young. I feel selfish for even wanting to ride right now.

When I “figured out what I wanted to do with my life,” that included raising a family, and it was the #1 thing on the list. Maybe I can get back into horseback riding when our children are in school, even if I should be working every minute they’re not at home. Yes, I’ll be a fair amount older, but competitive horseback riding is a sport that can be done at any age. Some of our nation’s top competitors are in their 50s. So maybe someday I will reach my goal as stated in my eighth grade yearbook, to become an Olympic equestrian. Time will tell!

Interchangeable Seasonal Wreath - Winter

I was late in making my Interchangeable Seasonal Wreath for winter because nearly two feet of snow covered all my fun decorating materials. The idea behind my Interchangeable Seasonal Wreath is to use the same wreath all year round, but decorate it differently for each season. This means attaching your decorations, which can be found in nature, handmade or purchased, in a temporary fashion so the wreath can be reused again and again.

I like this idea because I don't need find space to store four (or more!) different wreaths, and I can toss most of the decorations out the back door when I'm done with them.  (The biodegradable ones found in nature, that is.)

Here is how I decorated my Interchangeable Seasonal Wreath for winter.

I gathered some new pinecones, evergreen sprigs that came down in all our heavy snow, freshly cut bittersweet and my naked willow branch wreath...

...and used 28-gauge florist's wire to attach the pinecones, evergreen sprigs and bittersweet to the wreath.  Beforehand, I created a little bird's next from a willow tree branch with the help of a glue gun and secured it to the wreath with the wire. 

Then I set to work on the nest's occupant... This was probably the most fun part. 

With some blue roving (striated with lime green, purple and strands of silver—this will be quite the free-spirited bird!) and help from Little Felted Animals by Marie-Noelle Horvath, I created my approximation of an Eastern Bluebird.

Here she is, a little more than half-way through:

The finished product, looking through the lace out the window:

Here is my finished winter wreath:

Even though winter is almost over, I'm glad I followed through on my winter Seasonal Interchangeable Wreath. It's a great way to celebrate the seasons, we still have a whole month of winter left and I'm going to reuse the bird and her nest in spring. She'll be "laying" some eggs very soon!

{this moment}

{this moment} is a Friday ritual.  A single photo -- no words -- capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by SouleMama.

In gratitude this week for:

• A happy toddler who can get over a cold in just 12 hours
• Awesome partners at work who pull through in time and do amazing work
• Spring-like weather and sunsets – spring seems so close!

I Forgot to Mention…

I accidentally left out some important information from yesterday’s Yarn Along. The mittens are indeed Spilly Jane’s Cupcake Mittens—good eye, Steph!

The other little thing in my Yarn Along photo is the beginnings of an Easter egg, a pattern I’ve created myself. Here’s the almost-finished product:

I really like how it’s life-sized. It’s knit in fingering weight yarn on size 2 needles. The egg can be made at a bigger gauge, but it’ll become bigger than a real egg. I’ll post the free pattern next week, so check back soon!

Finally, the green swatch is Knit Picks Simply Cotton Sport in Green Tea Heather for Nathan’s spring sweater, which will also be an original design. I added this originally left-out tidbit about halfway through the day, and wonder why no one asked, “Hey, what’s that swatch about?” because the irrelevant photo was just hanging there.

I can’t wait to start designing this simple cardigan (the cotton knits up so nicely!), but I’m making myself wait until I’ve finished the Cupcake Mittens and fleshed out my March socks, an original design that I started charting and writing out last night.

Happy Knitting,

Kelly

Yarn Along

Knitting along with Ginny of small things, here’s what I’m working on this week:

Don’t be fooled by the glowy afternoon sunshine—it’s still frigid outside!

The mittens are so fun to knit, but I know the finishing will be torture—80 ends to weave in per mitten. I knew it’d be like this, but I still wanted to knit them anyway. I was enticed by the pastel colors and the edibility of the design. I really do love cupcakes. Plus, I’ll have leftover fingering weight yarn in nice colors to use for my Easter eggs, more little sweaters and who knows what else.

I also have Nathan’s spring sweater on my mind. I knitted up a swatch in Knit Picks Simply Cotton Sport in Green Tea Heather and I can’t stop looking at it. I love the color more and more (can you tell I love spring?), even if the fabric lost some of its softness and elasticity after dunking and drying. I can’t wait to start designing this simple cardigan, but I’m making myself wait until I’ve finished the mittens and fleshed out my March socks, also an original design that I already started charting. So much to knit, so little time!

I’m still enjoying EZ’s the Opinionated Knitter—find out why on SouleMama, we seem to love her for the exact same reasons—and started reading Oprah’s biography. The unauthorized one. I don’t like her or dislike her; I’m in it for the story (read: good dirt), and I know it’s gonna be a good one. Did you know her name was supposed to be Orpah (the p and r are switched), a biblical name, but someone spelled it wrong on the birth certificate?

Good knitting,

Kelly

Making a Willow Branch Wreath

I started making willow branch wreaths this past fall when a willow tree came down in a storm, and found that I really enjoy making them and decorating with them. Before I run out of branches, I thought I’d write a post on how I make them—it all began with my idea for an Interchangeable Seasonal Wreath.

Willow branches are uniquely suited to wreath-making because of their flexibility and structure. Each branch has a thicker end that branches off into several thinner branches. When you start making your wreath with the thicker end, the finer end with all the little branches really fills out the wreath nicely. It’s really neat to see it take shape.

Materials:

Fresh willow branches (still green from a live or recently felled tree)

Pruning shears

First, cut your fresh willow branches, allowing them to be as long as possible. The ones pictured here are much shorter than I usually use because deer have been decimating the fallen tree all winter long. Longer branches will help you make a larger wreath; although you can make a smaller wreath with long branches, you can’t make a larger wreath with short ones. The branches must still be green to have the flexibility for shaping.

You may need to pre-bend the thicker end of the branch to encourage a nicer, more rounded shape:

To begin, take one branch and form a circle, starting with the thicker end of the branch. Wrap the thinner end of the branch (the end with all the little branches hanging off the main branch) around the thicker end of the branch; continue wrapping around and around until you run out of branch.

Here is where finesse comes in: You’ll get a feel for the shape and size wreath this branch “wants” to become. Don’t try to force a smaller circle than what the branch is capable of, or it’ll end up snapping. If you don’t get it right on the first try or accidentally break your branch, keep on trying!

Here is what you end up with after the first branch:

Take a second branch and lay it to the right of the starting place of the first branch, entering the wreath from the back (see photo below). Now wind this branch around the wreath following the same direction as the first branch—if you wound your first branch in a clockwise (outside to inside) fashion, do so for all subsequent branches. You'll find that your second and subsequent branches help to secure the first branches in place. Be strategic as you add more branches to give your wreath a nice shape and evenness.

Add a third branch the same way and repeat the winding process. Repeat as any times as you like to get the size wreath you want. I usually only need three or four branches to get the shape and thickness I’m after.

Here’s what my wreath looked like after four branches:

 Tuck in the ends of the branches where possible, and snip the ends of the ones that don’t.

I made two small wreaths with the pile of branches shown, with a small amount of broken branches left over. The cut branches had been sitting around for a few days, so they were starting to get brittle. Same-day wreath making really is best.

Soon I’ll assemble my Interchangeable Seasonal Wreath for winter. Two feet of snow covered up all the nature finds I needed, but now that it’s melted I’m good to go.

February Socks and Knitting Lessons Learned

I finished my February self-imposed-sock-club socks 12 days early (how do you like that, Yarn Harlot?! just kidding), and just in time for my mom’s visit yesterday. She is the socks’ recipient, which is why they haven’t shown up on this blog until today.

  

I really enjoyed looking at the changing tones of the colorway as the yarn slipped through my hands (it’s Knit Picks’ Stroll Tonal in Deep Waters—the photos don’t do it justice), and the pattern is adapted from Lace and Cable Socks in Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy Johnson. I love the lace and cable pattern, but don’t really like making socks from the toe up, so I slapped the pattern onto my own cuff-down recipe with a short-row heel.

I learned a few new things while I knitted these socks, so I thought I’d share them here:

1. Count lace panels, if the stitch pattern is short enough to do so. I thought counting the remaining stitches after I worked the lace section would help me ensure that I didn’t screw up the lace on that row, but later learned that this strategy doesn’t work if you miss a yarn over. And after that I learned that tinking lace two rows at a time really sucks.
2. If inordinate amounts of cat hair keep showing up on your knitting and the cat isn’t lying on your ball of yarn or even in the same room with you, check your shirt. That’s probably where it’s coming from.
3. Before tightening up the stitches on your grafted toe, stick your hand in the sock to be sure you didn’t miss anything. I realized that I missed a step after tightening up my grafted stitches and had the tedious task of ungrafting them, sorting things out and regrafting. It wasn’t too bad, really, but a mistake I don’t want to make again.

Oh, and I almost forgot—the winner of my Sneaky Snake Scarf pattern giveaway is Rosina. I hope you enjoy it, and please send a photo of your finished object!

Happy Knitting,

Kelly

Yarn Along

 The snake scarf is finished!  I called it the Sneaky Snake Scarf pattern, and it’s available on Ravelry. I LOVE how he came out, and I think Nathan does, too. His next favorite animal to imitate is the elephant, so I wonder if I have to make one of those now, too?

I’m knitting Encompass by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee and am leafing through (trying to savor it, rather than pour over it all at once) The Opinionated Knitter, a collection of Elizabeth Zimmerman’s newsletters from 1958 – 1968. I LOVE it. I just got the book today, so I haven’t even scratched the surface on what she has to offer. I can’t wait to spend more time with it and see what inspirations come my way. Each newsletter starts out, “Dear Knitter”—I can’t articulate why, but I think that’s so great. 

Also in the box that came today is fingering weight wool yarn for spillyjane knits’ Cupcake Mittens, wool sock yarn for April’s socks (even though March’s socks haven’t been cast on yet) and sport weight cotton yarn for Nathan’s spring sweater.

This was the first time I bought yarn without a specific pattern in mind (a.k.a., I haven’t designed it yet), and it was a little scary. But I feel more assured now that the yarn’s arrived. Called Green Tea Heather, this springy green is so refreshing to look at after the monotonous, muted tones of winter. I can’t wait to get started on it, even though I want to finish a few other things first. Maybe I’ll just knit a swatch for now.

Elizabeth signed her newsletters with a few different endings, and I really liked this one.

Good Knitting,

Kelly

Sneaky Snake Scarf Pattern

My Sneaky Snake Scarf Pattern is now live on Ravelry!  It came out way cuter than I expected, and is really quite easy to make. And I also found that it doubles as a toy for my little one, who recently learned how to make the sound a snake makes.

 The pattern takes advantage of the natural roll of stockinette fabric, giving the snake a rather realistic, sneaky look (and feel!). Patterned after the docile ribbon snake, its vertical stripes are an easy introduction to colorwork and don’t leave you with lots of ends to weave in, the way horizontal stripes do. Read more about how I designed him here.

Since my Camilla mitten giveaway never really panned out, I’ll make the Sneaky Snake Scarf Pattern my giveaway. Leave a comment to enter the giveaway, and I’ll use a random number generator to select the winner. Entries close at noon on Wednesday, February 16.

I'd like to thank my model, his handler and the warm weather and sunshine for their cooeration in today's photo session.

Taking Care of Mama Monday

In the spirit of Twig and Toadstool’s Taking Care of Mama Monday series, I’m sharing what I cast on for myself over the weekend: Encompass, by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. It’s an endless scarf that you can wear like a cowl. I'm knitting it in bare Knit Picks' Wool of the Andes Bulky.

I really like the varied stitch pattern. It has a nice texture, isn’t boring to knit, but doesn’t require a ton of concentration, either. And I was wishing I’d already had it done when I was waiting in line in the blustery wind to use the ATM on Saturday. I can’t wait to finish it.

What have you done for yourself lately?

How Music Brings us Together

My husband and I have always been the type to sing whatever songs are stuck in our heads, any time, any place. I think I’m constantly humming something, even though I don’t usually realize I’m doing it. We like to be silly and make up words to the melodies, and often have the radio on while we’re working in the kitchen. But I only realized how much fun we were having at this when our son started reacting (delightfully, I should add) to our music.

My husband takes out his guitar much more often now and lets Nathan pluck the strings and twirl the knobs while he plays. And we’ve recently rediscovered the music cable channels and now listen to them every night before Nathan’s bedtime. This new evening ritual is so much more fun than it sounds. We get to enjoy a little bit of every genre of music imaginable (thanks to my husband’s quick trigger finger and short attention span), and we get to see what songs and genres Nathan dances to. His taste in music sometimes surprises us and often makes us laugh. And seeing him dance and smile and clap his hands when he likes a song is such a bonus to this upbeat, carefree and quality time spent together.

Music is bringing us together in a way I’d never thought about before, and it’s been really fun. A few months ago I thought about creating a little music corner for musical instruments (toy and otherwise, when we acquire them), and now it’s a must.

I look forward to sharing my musical tastes with Nathan as he gets older and seeing what types of music he gravitates toward. Will he have the eclectic a little-bit-of-everything tastes of his parents? Will he share my husband’s love of punk rock and rock and roll and mine of metal and traditional ska? It’ll be particularly awesome to see how he likes the music I listened to when I was pregnant with him—he still likes Metallica, so I guess that’s a good sign.  I listened to them a lot when I was driving my long commute to work with him growing in my belly.

{this moment}

{this moment} is a Friday ritual.  A single photo -- no words -- capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by SouleMama.



~~~~~~~

In gratitude this week for:

• family and music time in the evenings
• sunny days (finally!)
• inspiration for a new pair of knitted socks
• the long weekend ahead

Yarn Along

Inspired by Ginny of small things.

There’s good news and bad news. The bad news first: The Camilla mittens are turning out to be child-sized because my gauge is way off. I don’t know how it happened—my swatch was spot on—but apparently I don’t get the joy of knitting anything on needles smaller than size 2. I was getting 11 sts/in on size 1 needles instead of 9 sts/in, which I probably would have gotten on size 2s. Sigh. So they won’t be my upcoming giveaway, unless a majority of you have tiny, girl-sized hands.  No?  I didn’t think so.  I’ll just have to think of something else to give away.

The good news is that my Snake Scarf is turning out rather awesomely. I gave a better sssssssneak peek yesterday.

I forgot to get my books in the shot this week. I’m reading an assortment of Yarn Harlot books, magazines and the Eleventh Plague by John Marr and John Baldwin.

I hope to have the snake done by next week's Yarn Along!  We'll see.

A Ssssssssneak Peek

Here’s a sneak peek at what I’m currently designing—a snake scarf!  Sssssssssss!  Nathan just learned how to make the noise a snake makes, so knitting this has been fun.  He comes over to my knitting, picks up the snake by the tail and waves it around and goes Ssssss ssssss!

I originally wanted to make a black and red snake scarf to go with his black and red winter coat, but I didn’t have enough yarn of either color (plus, some black and red snakes are poisonous!) so I dug into my stash to see what color snake scarf I can knit up. And I did an image search for Pennsylvania snakes and came up with the ribbon snake, which is a docile snake common in the eastern half of the U.S., is not poisonous and is even kept as a pet. Perfect!

I’m knitting it in Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool. This yarn is surprisingly soft for the price (you get 8 ounces for about $10) and it isn’t scratchy at all. Just right for little ones or big ones—just about any reptile-lover in your life.

The pattern takes advantage of the natural roll of stockinette fabric, and he’s coming out quite realistic-looking. I’ll have to give him a really cute head and face to make up for his a-little-too-realistic-looking body. His vertical stripes are an easy introduction to colorwork (for those of you who say you’re too intimidated to try it!) and don’t leave you with lots of ends to weave in, the way horizontal stripes do.

A Word on How I Design

When I design a knitting pattern, I design it as if I’m going to knit it myself (and I do). When I see some patterns, like the ones with hundreds of ends to weave in or too many colors in one row, I ask myself, who’d want to knit that? And I wonder if the designers actually knit their own patterns before publishing them, or if they even knit.

I strive to write my patterns so they’re easy for advanced beginner knitters to decipher, yet interesting enough to get the attention of more advanced knitters. I also call for yarn that’s easy to find and not super expensive. Ever pick up an issue of Vogue Knits and wonder, Who can afford to spend $1,000 on cashmere yarn to knit a bulky sweater?! Frankly, if I had that kind of money to spend on one article of clothing, I’d want the sweater to be already made up, thank you, and it wouldn’t be bulky.

Or, ever hunt around for the specialty yarn called for in a pattern and can’t find it? Or you find it and it’s only sold by some obscure online shop you’ve never heard of and have to pay shipping charges? Even though yarn can be substituted, I call for yarn that found in craft stores, most local yarn shops or in the Knit Picks or Patternworks catalogs.

I’ll post Snakey (or whatever his name ends up being) as soon as he’s finished. Happy knitting, my friends!

Little Sweaters

I love these little sweater ornaments so much I can hardly stand it! I was so excited to hang them on my winter sticks that I didn’t even bother blocking them, which they do need. They’re the first things to catch my eye when I come out of my bedroom in the morning; together they’re a bright, cheery addition to my family room, and my favorite winter decorations.

I have a fourth little sweater in the works, but got sidetracked by some other projects lately and put it down. I’ll take the sweaters down when winter is over, and will decorate our little tabletop Christmas tree with them next year. Hopefully I’ll continue to knit more throughout the year so I have a bunch more to hang on my winter sticks next winter after the Christmas decorations come down. No one said these ornaments are meant for Christmas only! They’re just so cute.
 

I knitted them from Knit Picks Let it Snow ornament collection, and made the little hangers from heavy gauge aluminum florist’s wire (it’s very soft and flexible). They were so easy to make, and way nicer to look at than simply forming a loop with yarn.
 

I’m still decorating for winter (and trying very hard not to think about spring), so stay tuned for more!

{this moment}

{this moment} is a Friday ritual.  A single photo -- no words -- capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by SouleMama.

~~~~~~~

In gratitude this week for:

• Grilled-cheese Mondays 
• Ice-melt products that won't kill our grass and bushes (too late, I'm afraid!)
• Knitting warm things while babies sleep
• Time alone in the bath