It’s finally raffle time! I’ve put together a great bunch of yarns both from my own stash and generously donated from others to raffle off to raise money for my efforts with Team in Training. TNT is the Leukemia and Lymphoma society’s big fundraising source. As a member, I will be raising money to fight help the fight against blood cancers and hopefully help cure cancer! I need to raise a minimum of $3,200. Please, please donate to my cause.

As I prepare to run the Nike Women’s Half Marathon (yes, 13.1 miles!), I’m still in desperate need of donations! That’s where you can help! Go to my donations page and make a donation. Make sure to add a personal message to me (in the “Add Comment and Edit Donation Privacy” portion on the lower part of the donation page) that your donation is for the yarn raffle. Donation via this method does require a credit or debit card. If this presents a problem for you, but you are still interested in donating, please, please, please send me a PM – I will be happy to accommodate you.  The raffle will close on September 30th and I will draw the winners on October 1st!

Raffle ticket prices are as follows:

$5 = 1 ticket

$20 = 5 tickets

$50 = 15 tickets

Here are the amazing prizes:

DellaQ Circular Needle Case

Femme Fatale Fibers Lilith Sport "Mad as a Hatter"

Julie Spins MCN 355 "Rean's Bean"

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted Multi "Gold Hill"

Madelinetosh Eyre "Laurel" (Double Skein)

Madelinetosh Tosh Sock "Hollyhock"

Pakucho Organic Cotton "Chocolate" (7 skeins)

The Plucky Knitter Cashmere Fingering "Country Girl" (2 skeins)

The Sanguine Gryphon Bugga "Luna Moth"

The Sanguine Gryphon Bugga "Blue Morpho"

Sundara Aran Silky Merino "Midnight Meadows" (2 skeins)

Sundara Sock "Cactus Flower"

Sundara Sock "Juniper over Sage"

Wollmeise 100% Merino Superwash "Dornröschen"

Wollmeise 100% Merino Superwash "Femme Fatale" (Spring Fling 2010)

Yarntini Variegated Sock "True Love"

In addition, I would like to thank those who donated some of the lovely yarn above: Deb, Catrina, and Amy. Thank you all so much! You are the ones who made this raffle all possible!

Glen Arbor Goodness

Well, last night I CO and now it looks like this:

Hipster Wannabe

Title:  Tree Hugger (rav link)

Pattern: Felicity by Wanett Clyde (rav link)

The yarn: The Plucky Knitter MCN Worsted in “Glen Arbor”

I did make a few modifications from the original pattern, mostly because of the nature of this yarn, which has a lot of structure and stands up on its own when knit.  I didn’t want to make the hat too long because I thought it would just want to stick straight out from the top of my head.  I also have a bigger head, so I knew I wanted to CO a larger number of stitches.  Here’s what I did:

CO 90 sts with US size 7 needles.  Knit for 3 1/2 inches, then switch to US size 8 needles.  Knit another 2 inches.  Complete the increase rows as written in the pattern from the 90 st point.  Increase to 130 sts.  Knit 10 rows.  Decrease according to the pattern and you’re done!

I’m gonna wear this thing everywhere!

Here’s what I got:

Buttons

These buttons are from Briar Rose Fibers.  Along with buttons they had other ceramic adornments like pins, and lots of great yarn.  The colors were all a little dark for me for this time of year, but I know where to go come fall!

"Knitted" Earrings

These earrings are definitely among my favorites ever!  I foresee a lot of wearing them in the future.  They are from Jennie the Potter and she’s got tons of other cute knitting related pottery (and some non-knitting related pottery) in her etsy shop.  I’d personally love one of the cute sheepy mugs!

And of course – the Plucky yarns I picked up.

MCN Worsted "Glen Arbor"

Merino Angora Cashmere Sport "Boudoir Betty"

I think I’m going to use the MCN Worsted to make a Felicity hat (rav link)  and I’m taking suggestions on what to do with the Merino Angora Sport.  These two are my first skeins in that base, and let me tell you, it is super soft stuff – like fill up the bath tub with hanks and hanks of it and climb in naked kinda soft.  Whatever I end up making with it, I’m sure it will be a well loved FO.

Peonies - My very favorite!

It looks as though spring is finally springing here in Madison.  The sun was out all day and, even though I was running errands and cleaning, I thouroghly enjoyed it!  While I was driving around, I was listening to a new CD by Kina Grannis called Stairwells.  I came across her cover of The Fray’s Never Say Never about seven months ago and was shocked and awed!  Though Never Say Never is my favorite of her covers, she’s got some other really amazing covers and lots of great original songs.  The last song on her recently released album is entitled Mr. Sun and I found it particularly appropriate for the wonderful weather here today!

Mr. Sun by Kina Grannis

The springtime brings out

The brightest green in things

And tiny sprouts push the soil from their way

Mr. Sun, please don’t go away

‘Cause the winter saddened all the flowers

And the oceans turned to grey

And the sky cried down for days and days

Mr. Sun, please don’t go away

The birds and bees all sing happy things

As they fly into the sky

And lonely trees will grow families in their leaves

Mr. Sun, stay here won’t you please

‘Cause the winter saddened all the flowers

And the oceans turned to grey

And the sky cried down for days and days

Mr. Sun, please don’t go away

Project #1:

Colors!

Title: Summer Greens to Winter Greys (rav link)

Pattern: Dipped Infinity by Laura Chau

Yarn: The Plucky Knitter Merino Cashmere Nylon Fingering in “Shrieking Eel,” “Gatsby,” “Far Far Away,” “Punkin’,” “Science and History,” “Tracy Lord Haven,” “Brick & Mortar,” “Fire Swamp,” and “Thinker”

All snuggled up

I was able to finish up one cowl – a Dipped Infinity in a variety of Plucky MCN

fingering.  I’m totally in love with it.  It’s so colorful.  There were a lot of ends to weave in, though!  Anyway, it earned me two “medals” – one in the “Scarf Super-G” and another in “Nordic Colorwork Combined.”

Project #2:

Title: Clover and Mint (rav link)

Pattern: Ballard Slouch from Sweet Georgia Yarns

Yarn: The Plucky Knitter Silk Merino Aran in “Burst of Mint”

This was a really quick knit!  I couldn’t believe how quickly it went.  This picture is unblocked.  I think knitting lace is fun because blocking it is like performing magic – it becomes a whole new item!  The band on this hat is a bit big, and if I knit it again I would probably CO fewer stitches and do more increases to get to required number of stitches for the main part of the pattern.  I would also knit the band wider, as it got pretty narrow with blocking.  This project earned me “medals” in “Lace Luge,” “Hat Halfpipe,” and “Single Skein Speed Skate.”

Slouch

Projects #3, 4 & 5:

My final projects are three blanket squares for a fellow team member’s Haiti blanket.  All three were made with Plucky MCN Worsted scraps that I had left over from two unblogged projects.  These were really rewarding to knit and took very little time to complete.  It always feels good to do a good thing – plus they each earned me a medal in “Charity Curling!”  Here are photos of two of the squares (the third one is wet blocking):

Love for Haiti Square(d)

Sunshine for Haiti

As for the blog, I’m going to make more of an effort – if Amy has the time with a job and a baby, I’m thinking I can find the time!  For now, I’m going to try to update on Sundays, so check back!

ETA:  I forgot this one earlier!

Project #6:

I unwound a previously knit hat to reclaim the yarn.  The yarn is Pluck Aran Cashmere in “Watermelon” and I’m hoping to use it in an oversized cabled cowl.  This earned me an “Aerial Unwind” medal!

Title: Maeby, Lady (rav link)

The Pattern: Maeby by Liz Abinante (rav link)

The Yarn: The Plucky Knitter Merino Wool Haindpainted Fingering in “Hello, Lady” (3/4 of the skein/330 yards)

I really enjoyed this pattern, which is probably most evident by the fact that I finished both socks within a two week period.  I simply couldn’t get enough while knitting them!  I will definitely try more of Liz’s patterns in the future.  She’s got a sock pattern that she thought up while watching “Bones,” one of my favorite TV shows, that are really calling me.  The only modification I made to the pattern was to substitute a short row heel for the traditional one.  I just prefer the look of the short row heel, probably because it most resembles regular socks. 

Right now I’m working on about a dozen other projects.  I’ve got some finishing touches to add to a chemo cap I’ve made for my Aunt Jane who’s bravely fighting multiple myeloma and just finished a stem cell transplant.  Then, I’ve got some socks for myself and a whole bunch of baby knits for my future niece to finish.  I’d like to have some of the baby knits done by July 3rd for my sister’s baby shower, but we’ll see how much knitting time I can fit in before then.  I’ve not been doing as much knitting this month as last, though I don’t really know why, it’s not for lack of trying that’s for sure!

(Finally!) Spring Beret

The details:

The Pattern: Spring Beret by Natalie Larson (rav link)

The Yarn: The Plucky Knitter Single Ply Merino Worsted in “Spoonful of Blue” (about 3/4 of the skein)

This pattern was pretty easy to follow and memorize after a bit of working it.   I L-O-V-E-D the yarn and am now trying to figure out what to do with the leftovers – any ideas?  The yarn is pretty variegated from a grayish blue to a true bright blue – the camera didn’t do a great job of capturing it.  I definitely recommend this pattern.  Mine did require a lot of blocking to get this slouchy, but luckily I had the perfect plate to do it!

Another view...

First Round - Too Green

The problem was, I added too much dye.  The yarn soaked it up right away.  I drained it while there was still some dye in the water and rinsed it in the sink.  I started again, this time with a blue solution.  

Second Round - Added the Blue

I didn’t do any stirring this time around as I was going for something more variegated.  After fifteen minutes, I hadn’t seen much change in the water color – the yarn didn’t seem to be soaking up any more color – so I poured a little more vinegar on top and then squeezed a few drops of straight blue food coloring on top and let it sit another five minutes.

Then drained, rinsed, and washed with Soak and hung it to dry.

Getting the Vinegar Smell Out

It was dry by morning and, after class this afternoon, I re-skeined it.  Though the color wasn’t what I was originally aiming for, I’m pleased with it.  I’ve totally learned from the experience, and that’s what counts.  Not sure what I’ll make with it just yet, but I’ll keep you posted.

The Finished Product!

Other than the dyeing project, I’ve got some projects on the needles.

Socks? Seriously?

The first is a pair of plain toe-up socks in Sknitches Syncopation in “Seriously?”  I LOVE this yarn, and am finding the knitting process entertaining!

Next is a cardigan for my future niece or nephew in Badger red and white.  The pattern is the “Offset Wraplan” by Sara Morris (Ravelry link) but I’ve altered it so that it it isn’t offset.  I’m using Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, one of my favorite yarns to work with because it makes such a nice finished product.  All that’s left to knit are arms and button bands.  I might even have a cute little Bucky Badger patch to iron on later!

U-Rah Rah Wisconsin! Varsity Cardigan

Happy crafting!

I’ve got grand dreams of turning it into a Whisper Cardigan from Interweave Knits Spring 2009.

Whisper Cardigan

 I’m giddy I’m so excited!  I’ve been eyeing finished projects on Ravelry and think they are so beautiful.

I should also mention that I just couldn’t help myself and bought this Merino Cashmere Nylon Handpainted Fingering in “Raspberry Bubble” as well.  Of course, I didn’t need it at all, but, if you know me, you know I simply can’t resist pink of any sort!

I’ve been considering moving come January (if all the other aspects of my life work themselves out by then) and I sense that I’ll need to destash much of what I don’t use by then….Eek!  I guess that means I’ll have to be knitting up a storm this summer.

I’m Erin.  I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin.  My first attempt at knitting was in high school as a 4-H project, but my other 4-H project, raising lambs for the county fair, got in the way and with a lack of a knitting teacher, I didn’t get much of a start into the craft.  It wasn’t until my first year of college that my sister came home for Christmas with a load of hand knit scarves for our family that I became interested again.  I begged her to teach me and we went to a LYS and bought some yarn and a copy of Stitch n’ Bitch.  I still remember my first project – the Coney Island scarf.  It wasn’t anything special, but I was proud of it.  It didn’t take long for me to become totally addicted to the craft.

Since then, my addiction to fiber has admittedly gotten a little out of control.  It seems my stash grows ten times faster than I can complete projects.  I’ve recently become totally addicted to indie dyers like Sundara, The Plucky Knitter, and Mama Blue, from whom I’ve purchased massive amounts of sock yarn despite the fact that I’ve never actually finished a pair of socks! 

Last week, I purchased a small loom – a Kromski Fiddle.  After a long night trying to warp it for the first time and making countless mistakes before I got it right, I started my first weaving project.  I’m not sure how it will turn out, especially the length after my warping issues, but I’m hopeful that it will be functional.

I’ll leave you with a picture of my favorite thing other than yarn, my dog Diamond, a girl’s best friend.

All smiles after graduating from puppy class!

I promise a knitting related post soon!