Chunky Winter Scarf

Hey Everyone!

This evening I finished up a chunky winter scarf I have been working on for a little while. 

I had used Lion Brand Yarn Wool Ease Thick and Quick yarn in Crimson. It turned out really pretty. 

I am not a super huge fan of chunky scarves on me, but I am wanting to move someplace that gets cold in the winter so I am just adding to my stash of winter accessories.   

Knitting A Lot

Hey Everyone!

I have been making progress on my projects this weekend. 

Yesterday the power was out for 8 hours, so besides going and getting food, about all I could do was knit and listen to music. I also spent most of this afternoon knitting as well.

  I am working on getting a chunky, thick scarf knit up at the moment. It is currently (as of writing this post), 68 inches long. I am almost done with the second skein of yarn and have one more skein to use to finish it up. At this point it really doesn’t get cold enough where I live, to really use it. I am looking to find a new job and move somewhere where I would use it, and all my other hand knit winter woolen goods on a regular basis. 

I spent most of the weekend working on knitting my Knit for Kids sweater for World Vision. I got the body of the sweater done. I knit the back and front together, using a stitch marker in the middle the. Knit the sleeves separately. I am to the point where I can cast on the sleeves on the front. I have the hard and longest part of this sweater done. This particular sweater is a size 8. I am using red heart super saver yarn in fall colors.  

 Knitting, yarn and all that goes along with the craft is something I am passionate about. I love it. I am totally intrigued by the whole process from raising and caring for the sheep, goats, alpacas and other animals raised for their wool, to the sheering, or fiber collection as it is shed from the animal. The whole process of cleaning it, carding it, and spinning it to be sold to people like me who knit it up into cute winter wear. It all fascinates me, and if I ever had the opportunity I would love to be more involved in the process, rather than just the consumer. 

The Giveaway Has Begun!

Hey Everyone!

I am running a yarn giveaway over on my Facebook Page this week, it runs through May 8th. If you are interested in winning 2 skeins of Lion Brand Fishermen’s Wool, one in the Ivory, and the other in Nature Brown, then you will need to head over to the blogs Facebook Page, like the page, share the pinned post, and answer the questions I asked in that post.

The winner will be announced Sunday May 10th.

Good luck to all who participate.

Lion Brand Yarn Alpine Wool

Hey Everyone!

Welcome to my yarn review series. I know I have done at least one in the past. Let’s just jump right in.

I recently purchased a skein of Lion Brand Yarn Alpine Wool in Chili, at my local Joann fabric and craft super store to try. I decided to make a hat out of it. I am maybe 1/3 of the way done with my hat and at least 1/2 way through the skein. Needless to say, I will be making a trip to Joann’s to get another skein. 

Pros: 

It’s a bulky yarn, most skeins (that are simply dyed) are 100% wool. It is soft for wool. 

Cons:

It’s more loosely spun, so I had pulled apart the strand in knitting off the first row all three times I cast on the project. Fortunately the last time I was close enough to the end of the row and had enough left as a tail to cast on  and work the yarn to get the remaining stitches I needed. You only get about 93 yards in a skein so you need at least 2 skeins to make an adult size hat. 

I am glad I tried this yarn and am looking forward to being able to wear it for winters to come when it does get cold enough outside to wear it. 

Once I complete this project I will not be purchasing any more of this yarn for my own use. Between the issues I had with casting on and knitting off the first row as well as the cost to make just one hat is not worth it for future projects in my mind. 

Upcoming Giveaway

Hey All!

I am going to be starting a giveaway on my Facebook page, beginning May 1st. I am going to be giving away 2 skeins of Lion Brand Fishermen’s wool. If you are interested, head over to The Knitters Notes Facebook page, and like the page for more details as the become available.

Feel free to look around the Facebook Page, share it, and make sure you like the page before May 1st. 

Knitting More Baby Blankets.

Hey Everyone!

Yesterday I spent a fair amount of the day, when I wasn’t cooking, working on one of the baby blankets I am working on for one of my cousins. I am working on the blue one. I am making them two. This is their first baby, and they are not finding out the gender until the baby is born. I am making both of the blankets out of Lion Brand Pound of Love yarn. The one I am currently working on is in Turquoise.

I love being able to sit at my computer and work on my knitting projects while I am watching youtube videos or shows on Hulu. I didn’t get to do that during very many evenings this week, as my computer was having issues. Now that my computer is fixed, I am able to sit here again, and working on my projects while watching tv shows and youtube videos. This afternoon I have been working on getting caught up on the shows I watch on Hulu while working on this blanket, and it has been a very relaxing Sunday afternoon.

As of writing this post, I am about 1/3 of the way done with this blanket. I am planning on getting some more knit up on it this evening before going back to work for the week. These baby blankets are an amazing winter project to work on. I love having nice warm projects to work on while it is pouring down rain outside my window.

The cousin I am making these blankets for, is one of my Canadian cousins, who I grew up with pretty much. The last time I saw him, was a little over a year ago, when my family and I had gone up to Canada for his younger brother’s wedding. It was there that I got to meet his Fiance (now wife), while we were all there at his parents house.

Friday Night Knit Night

Hey Everyone!

This evening I spent inside working on my current series of knitting projects. Spending the evening watching shows or listening to music while working on projects is a relaxing way to unwind and calm down. Knitting is my creative outlet. It is also one of the things that challenges me, calms me, gets me excited, and one of the things I love doing with my time and my life.

It all goes back to the summer I was 10, and bored out of my mind by the end of June, and was ready for school to start again, with another month to go. I had asked my grandma to teach me to knit, and I have stuck with it ever since. Now I am glad that I did. I love the feel of yarn, and getting lost in the yarn section of the craft store, or spending hours in a yarn store dreaming up the projects I could make if I had the money for the yarn.

I love knitting, It is one of those things that is always on my mind, and dream about. Yes I do get out and go do things, and do take breaks from it, but even then I am thinking about it, or yarn. I am still trying to figure out a way to get paid to do what I love without having to own my own business.

I have three projects going at the moment, I have my mom’s Christmas gift that I am working on, I have a wrap that I am working on for myself, and I have infant leggings for a friend of mine who has twins, and wants leg warmers small enough for her little guys.

For my wrap I am using lion brand fishermen’s wool in oatmeal, and it is super soft. I am loving it. As some of you already know, Fishermen’s Wool is my favorite yarn for projects for myself. A lot of what I have made in the past few years has been made of Fishermen’s Wool. I got started using it about 2 or 3 years ago, I had been wanting to try it for a while before that, but I had been waiting until I had the money to buy my first skein. It was well worth the wait, and worth the money. Once I had made my first hat and scarf from it, I was hooked, and bought subsequent skeins, and have made many more projects with it. Beings that it still retains it natural Lanolin it is softer than other wool. It also washes and wears better than regular wool. The Lanolin is a natural water repellent which is helpful in the part of the country I live in, where most of the winter is gray and damp.

Seed Stitch Poncho

Saturday was a busy knitting day for me. I had pushed through and finished the Seed Stitch (British Moss Stitch) Poncho that I have been working on for a couple of months now. For this project I used Lion Brand Fishermen’s Wool Yarn in Oak Tweed. I have to admit I had my doubts about how it was going to turn out, and if it was going to work the way I wanted it to, but in the end it turned out perfectly and beautifully. I knit it in two pieces and then hand linked the two pieces together.

I made this poncho for myself, and it will be nice to have once the weather starts really cooling off, and I want something a bit nicer than a jacket or coat, but that will still keep me warm. Especially with the weather we have around here, it is generally overcast, gray, and wet a lot of the time once the rainy season starts (usually in September or October and lasts until May or June). The fact that the Fishermen’s Wool retains its natural Lanolin, that helps repel and shed the rain. I love that is a mix of two of the different natural colors in the Fishermen’s Wool line.

Figuring out how to link it was the biggest challenge. I had done a little research during the knitting process, so I just went for it, and I love how it turned out. I was also a bit concerned that the neck hole would be too small, but was happy to find out that it is just the perfect size. This is a lesson in just going for something, trying something new, and not being afraid to try, because it will likely turnout just fine. I know I am overly critical of my own work, as are most people about their own work.

I will also be washing it. This kind of a project doesn’t really need to be blocked, since it fits well, and the pattern was free handed and something that I had come up with specifically for this project. I just want to get any chemical’s that the yarn may have been treated with or added to make it easier to knit with. I also like the idea of getting some of the sheepy smell (I like the sheep smell, but it can be overwhelming at times) out before I wear it. I use a lanolin enriched wool wash for all the wool garments I knit, and then lay them flat to air dry.

Christmas is Coming!

Christmas is about 3.5 months away, which means that it is time to start thinking about the Christmas gifts I will be knitting for people. One of which will take me a while to work on. I am starting my friends Christmas gift. I picked up the yarn today at the craft store, and her gift will be simple enough for me to knit up. Right now my local Joann Fabric and Craft Superstore is starting a round of coupons, most of which are good next week (which will be nice so I can finish getting the yarn I need for Christmas gifts), as well as having sales on their fall decorations so going yarn, craft and decoration shopping is hard for me to say no to, even if it is more or less window shopping. I picked up a couple little wooden pumpkin decorations since they were half off so I got both for the price of one, then one of the yarns I bought was on sale, and the other yarn I bought I was able to use the 40% off one full price item coupon for, which was a good buy on my favorite brand of yarn. I did not pay full price for anything today at Joann. I was super happy about that. 

I am also working on finishing the poncho I started awhile back. I am working on the second piece of it. It has been slow going the last few weeks with having so much going on. I am really wanting to get it done before the weather really starts turning. I want to make use of it this fall and winter. 

The poncho I am working on, as well as my friend’s Christmas gift are being made of 100% wool. I used to not like working with, and wearing wool. I used to think it was too hard to care for, wash and such. Then I decided to give it a try, and I fell in love with using it for personal projects. After working at a knitting studio for 5.5 months where we worked with a lot of cashmere and cashmere blends I learned about washing techniques as well as wool was and shampoos. I have also taken to storing my knit wears in plastic buckets with lids, and putting cedar blocks in with my wool garments. Wool has gone from being my least favorite fiber to work with to being my favorite for using for myself. I am excited for fall and winter to get here so I can pull out all the hats and scarves I have knit up, and be able to wear them again. 

 

Favorite Yarns

Hey Everyone!

I know I did a vlog on this, but I much prefer writing to communicate my thoughts than to orally communicating them.

I have to say that my all time favorite yarn is Todd and Duncan’s Arran yarns. This yarn is Todd and Duncan’s 6 ply 100% cashmere yarn, and it is so nice to work with. When I was able to work with it, I was able to knit with it single ply (aka I only needed one cone at a time) the single 6 ply strand is about as thick as Bernat Baby Sport 3 ply yarns, but it is way softer and you can break the yarn with your fingers. I like Todd and Duncan yarns in general because they were easy to work with, they were amazing quality, and they are made in Scotland (If you don’t know me, I am a huge fan of Scotland and anything Scottish).

Now that I make my own hats and scarves for winter, I love using Lion Brand Fishermen’s Wool. I have a couple of scarves and a few hats made out of it, and I love them, they are warm and cozy. It makes the best cold weather wear for the part of the country I live in, where we get plenty of rain throughout the winter months. Fishermen’s Wool still has its natural lanolin oil in it, it helps protect the wool and make it more water resistant. I live in an area where we have a fairly long rainy season, so having water resistant wool wear will come in even more useful. I also love the fact that it is 100% undyed wool. Being familiar with natural fibers and color bleed, I am a fan of undyed yarn that is its natural color. I am not a fan of the idea that the colors may possibly bleed if gotten wet, and the likelihood that they would get wet at some point because of where I live is pretty much at a 100% chance.

For making Hats and Sweaters for children in need my favorite two yarns are Red Heart Super Saver yarns and Caron one pound skeins of yarn. while red heart is still a bit less expensive for more yarn (you can get anywhere from 15 to 21 ounces for less than the cost of the one pound skein of yarn). I love the color variety that red heart has. While red heart skeins are smaller, and you need 2 or 3 skeins to make a sweater, that also kind of makes it nice with the color variety that they have so that you can mix and match colors and put different colors together to make a sweater for less than the cost of the one pound skein (all of my cost comparisons are based on where I normally purchase yarn). What I do like about the Caron yarns are they are thicker and softer than the red heart yarns, and because the skeins are one pound I don’t have as many ends to tuck in before sewing up the seams of the sweater, and that it is a good reason to make a knit pattern in the front to the sweaters to differentiate the back from the front of the sweater. I always use 100% acrylic yarn for the projects I knit for kids, mainly because it is machine washable and dryable. It is sturdier yarn for the wear that kids will put it through.

For baby blankets I love Bernat Sport Baby Yarn. It is three ply 100% acrylic yarn, which means that it is baby weight,  so not as “sturdy” as the four ply, so it is good for baby blankets, and it also makes good hats. It is also machine washable and dryable which is important with babies, as they spit up, their diapers can leak, and they can have poop explosions among other things so having blankets that you can just put in the washer and dryer and have it come out a clean version of the way it went in (without shrinking and such) is a good thing.

Thanks for reading this post!