little fox, little fox

My oh my, these mittens have been a long time in coming. If you're not a knitter, well, sorry, this is a knitting post. Over on Birch Hollow Cottage I've (finally) released my Little Fox Mittens pattern. While the pattern was a lot of work to get polished and perfected, the knitting itself is easy, fast and fun. I hope some of my knitters friends give them a try!

lapful of wool

It's fall here. Honestly fall. Last night we lit the woodstove for the first time in ages. Really lit it. Not just, for a few hours lit it, but lit it for the night, loading as much wood in as we can to keep it going for the night. This morning the air in the village smelled like woodsmoke and cold. By afternoon it will be warm enough for short sleeved shirts again but right now it's scarves and socks and the fire.

The leaves are turning fast. Up close they still look green but if you look over the hills at a distance you can see they have a yellow and red wash to them. This weekend is the harvest dinner. Apple cider and squash casseroles and mismatched tablecloths and the sun setting behind the mountains. Last year we didn't bring sweaters with us. It was so cold, but too much fun to leave. This year the car will be full of extra sweaters and socks and boots and coats and jugs to bring home extra apple cider in.

Evelyn's sweater, her Christmas sweater, is underway. I love knitting sweaters for her because they fly off the needles. Fast knitting, but still substantial knitting. This year she is getting owlet. I've been wanting to knit it for so long, I kind of want to knit one for myself, in fact. Maybe if I ever get all my alpaca spun up... But not till after Christmas, too much knitting to do for others until then.

Last night was my favorite kind of night. Fire, music, a book - not sure if it's a good book yet or not, but still - and knitting in my lap to keep me warm.

better late than never

This sweater is from two winters ago, knit up here and there after bedtime in order to surprise her when it was done by Christmas. The previous sweater I'd planned for her hadn't gotten finished in time so I was determined to finish this one. And I did. And she didn't like it.

It was far too big. The pattern had been translated from french and I think the sizing was wrong. The sweater I knit was meant to be a 4 T but even now, at six, it's still a little big. But what she didn't like, I later realized, was that it didn't close. I had thought she'd like a sweater that had one quick button at the top and could hang loose when she played. When I made her sweater this winter I made sure to let her pick out the pattern and she was very clear that she didn't want one that was "open".

This weekend I fished the sweater out of one of my yarn baskets and realized that it was at last (close) to the right size. But it was still open. Still not right.

I have a dread of zippers. I hate putting them into sewing and I've only done one other sweater - Will's - that had one, and that was only marginally successful. But it seemed worth a try. So off to the fabric store we went, in search of a separating zipper that was the right color and length (not that easy, the one we found was really too small, but the next up was too long, ah well) and in it went.

And wouldn't you know it, she loves it now. Only a year and a half late, but still. It's not perfect, but for a sweater that wasn't meant to have a zipper I think it turned out alright. And perfectly pink, just right for my pink and flower and layered skirt loving girl.

and now eleanor

She's really the reason I started this project, this little knitting pattern design business. Of course I love to come up with knitting patterns in general. I'm a maky-maky kind of girl after all. I like to make things, because it makes me happy. So I'm loving thing project (how could I not love to sit around thinking up and knitting things from my head?). But it all started with the doll.

When the original Eliza doll was published, I was thrilled. It was exciting having something I made appear in a magazine. Even thought I've done quite a bit of freelance work for all sorts of publications, both in print and online, I still get a little thrill when I see my name at the top of some article I've written or photograph I've published. And Eliza was a double-whammy, both an article that I wrote and a pattern I created, all in one.

But I've been frustrated, almost from the start, at how hard it was for knitters to get access to Eliza. After all, I made her up so that people could knit her. Which brings us to Eleanor.

Eleanor looks very similar to Eliza, they wear the same size clothes, the same kind of hair and felted body, but the pattern is different. Better, I think. She's knit in the round the way you would knit a raglan bottom up sweater (something I didn't know about when I knit Eliza). She's also stuffed densely with wool batting instead of the more complicated way I did it the first time around. And she has feet (yay for short rows!). But at heart she's still what Eliza was. Something for my girl to cuddle and love that I could make for her. And, as I said, making things makes me happy.

She's up on Ravelry and can also be found at my new, very beautiful - thanks to my oh so talented husband - website, Birch Hollow Cottage. We've got a blog over there and a facebook page and a pinterest account and it's all feeling pretty exciting and new around here. Please hop over and check us out, troll around, and let me know what you think. There are even a few little secret links on there too, if you can find them :)

new

For the past few weeks, Will and I have been working away on a little project together. Admittedly, Will and I are pretty much ALWAYS working on some kind of project or another. But this time it has nothing to do with renovating or gardening or chicken coop building other than the fact that it's sucked up most of the time we would have been working on those things. This time, it's a knitting project.

No, I haven't convinced my husband to come over to the yarn-side. I've enlisted his help in producing some knitting patterns that are, I hope, a little more than just your ordinary pattern. I've put patterns out in the world before, the Eliza kerfuffle being the most obvious. But I've been thinking for a while about putting knitting patterns out in a more regular, and more professional way, pushed along a lot by the requests I still get for Eliza, which I've been unable to give (but give me a week and that will change) So we've been working on the first, and a few more that are alllllmost done, and a website as well that is also almost (but not quite) done to try and turn that idea into something real. Part imagination, and part based on our little corner of Vermont, we've come up with a virtual cottage in the woods where all that knitting and some of Will's amazing talents as an artist, can come together. Birch Hollow Cottage (It makes me want to plant more birches every time I say it, because, you know, we don't have enough trees around here).

So I've been busy knitting and ripping out and re-knitting and taking copious notes and Will has been photographing and illustrating and website building. Yesterday the first pattern, Beech Leaves on the Trail, went live on Ravelry for Birch Hollow Cottage which, with a little luck and some knitting love from the Ravelers, will be a proper little knitting design company before long with all those patterns floating around in this head of mine. Including the new Eliza (who is named Eleanor, by the way) Coming soon (really really soon!)

birch leaves

As much as I love to knit (and knit, and knit) I've never been much of a scarf knitter, which is odd because I am a dedicated scarf wearer. Picking out a scarf for the day goes right along with picking out a shirt or pants. The thing with scarves is that they take soooooo loooooonnnnggg. And they tend to be boring. Back and forth, back and forth. The last time I knit a scarf was back in college when I taught myself to knit and I've been avoiding them ever since, sticking with cowls when I want something scarf-like.

And then I was at our local yarn shop last week and came across a lone ball of fluffy gold bulky yarn that I couldn't resist. After months of winter white, I must be starting to crave color. It reminded me of the birch leaves this fall that covered the trail down to the cabin. I know it's supposed to be the maple trees that everyone loves in the fall, but the yellow birch leaves were, I think, even prettier.

I'm on a little bit of a cable kick lately. I'd forgotten how much I love cables, they add a little excitement to otherwise mindless knitting. So I've been playing (and ordering more of the yarn) with  cables and swirls and big bulky yarn to come up with a scarf that reminds me as much of the shape those leaves as the color of them. It's working up quickly - the yarn is so nice and thick that it would be hard for it not to, I suppose - it may just have changed my mind about knitting scarves. Finn likes it too, she trails me when I'm working on it and rolls up in the finished end of it. I don't really blame her, I kind of want to curl up in it's smooshiness too.

What about you, what are you working on?

socks for him

After lots of worsted weight and bulk knitting leading up to Christmas, I'm on a sock yarn binge at the moment. My Beekeepers quilt is bumping along, thanks, in part to the lovely ladies of my knitting group, who keep bringing me teeny little balls of leftover sock yarn, just right for making a hexi-puff or two. I have gorgeous yarn from Wisdom Poems to make a pair of fingerless gloves from this pattern. I've lost my favorite pair and am missing the added layer of warmth under my gloves these days (-10 this morning! Yikes!). And I've been drooling over that pattern for a while. Not quite sure how it will go together, but we'll see.

And for Will, instead of a sweater, which is just, well, not in the cards at the moment, a pair of socks are on the way. This pattern, in fact. Although the faux cable didn't look right with the yarn, so I've substituted a real cable instead. The yarn is Malabrego Sock, so nice and smooshy and soft.

It's little knitting, which is nice. Knitting that doesn't take up my bag or my basket or my lap. Knitting that is easily hauled, which isn't really necessary right now, it's too cold to go much of anywhere. Much better to stay inside by the fire and knit and read and play cards. But it's nice, none the less.

Anything fun in your workbasket at the moment?

two vests and a sweater

Clearly I'm on a keeping warm kick. Vests and sweaters and slippers and quilts seem to be occupying most of my crafting minutes these days. But then again, the other day I realized that we had had a 50 degree change in temperature in one day last week without it ever climbing above freezing. Oh yes. From -19 when we woke up to a whopping 31 by the time I picked the kids up from school. Burrr. So I guess my warmth obsession is well founded.

I started the green sweater a few months ago and had it finished up to the armpits when I abandoned it to work on Christmas goodies, so it didn't take long to finish it up last week. The green yarn, which makes me think of spring and gardens and is really my favorite color of all, is something I picked up at Rhinebeck and the cuffs and neck are knit with some Hello Yarn wool that I spun early on on my wheel and which I've been saving for something special. I tend to err on the side of too big when I kit a sweater for myself and this one is wider than it should be, but it's comfy and warm and I've been wearing it almost constantly since it was dry. Actually, I may have started wearing it when it wasn't quite dry yet. Patience has never been my thing.

Evelyn's felted red vest has been so handy and loved that I immediately started hunting around for another sweater to felt down for her and also one for me. I picked up a nice blue and white one at an estate sale before Christmas that would work well for Evie and  my lovely friend Carol sent a beautiful hand knitted sweater from Norway that had been her dad's so that I could make one for myself.

I used a stretchy, bias cut cotton binding instead of ribbon to face the hems this time and because the sweater I got for Evie's had a couple of holes in the ribbing around the waist and was unusable, I also bound the bottom of hers with it. Perfect! And so warm. Just the thing to wear under your coat on a very cold day. Or just around the house, also on a very cold day. Because these days, they are very cold indeed.

sweaters one and two

 There is a third, as well. One for me that I finished last night. But it's drying at the moment, so no photos. Now that it's done Will is hinting that he might like another as well so I may end up making yet another sweater this winter (oh darn, more knitting!) But here are numbers one and two. The boy's and the girl's.

Evelyn had a lot of say in her sweater. She chose a pattern - which was unavailable so I had to wing it - and also chose the fiber for me to spin. Last year's sweater is still sitting in a "to work on" basket since she won't wear it as it is. Cardigans that button at the top, while adorable in my opinion, are not her thing. I'm thinking of adding a zipper to see if that works. But this sweater, with all her input, has been a success.  Like the red felted vest, it's the perfect layering piece for her. Light and thin but also warm. Which is important, of course.

Briton wanted a sweater that was essentially the same as last year's, which he wore and wore until it got slightly felted and he had a growth spurt and it no longer fit. I upped all the dimensions from my notes last year to size it up. I wish I'd only increased the length and not the width because it's a little wide, but he loves it as is (although he keeps wearing it inside out for some reason)

And now? Well before I start any more sweaters (because I have the fiber to spin for this one in addition to the Will request) or hats or fingerless gloves or anything else, I need some slippers. My Snugs have so many holes in the soles that they are pretty much unusable in this weather. So it's time for a new pair of slippers for mama. Anyone 

foxy the fox scarf

My favorite Christmas knitting, this one. I realized yesterday that in the run up to Christmas I made two sweaters, two pairs of cabled, wee-teeny needle fingerless gloves, one fox scarf and six and a half pairs of slippers. The half is the one slipper I knit for Will before remembering that someone else was getting him slippers. Although I'll finish the other I think. When it's -19 degrees in the morning (burr) you start realizing that there can never be too many slippers. The bummer of it, however, is that I took almost no pictures of my knitting. The gloves and the slippers have all gone off to their new homes with out a single shot of them. Ah well. The sweaters I'll show you later but the fox, she deserves her own post.

Not long after I finished her bunny slippers, Evie announced that she wanted a fox for Christmas. Which was really knitting kismet because the slippers had led me to this fox scarf pattern, and I was looking for someone to knit it for.

Because she wanted an actual fox, and because I thought having a fox that was a play thing as well as a scarf was a good idea for the cold winter weather, I modified the pattern a little to make it more stuffed animal-like, seaming the body and tail, stuffing the tail a little and adding a second pair of legs (which are not seamed but roll nicely to form leg-like legs). The body is unstuffed so that it wraps nicely as a scarf. The head and tail tuck under one another perfectly to keep Foxy in place.

She is a hit. And goes wherever Evie goes these days. Out into the snow, up into bed, off to school. With whiskers to match if she can finagle it. Will thinks he needs his own, except in grey so he can have a silver fox. I might have to do it too.

fuzzy bunny (slippers)

(Slippers) because she had decided that, first and foremost, they are new friends, and then they are slippers. They have names already, of course, even thought it's only been one night and one morning since they were fully felted and dried. Glitter and Twinkle. I'm not entirely sure which is which, but she seems to know. I *think* Glitter is the one with the floppy ear.

These were a super quick knit, which was wonderful after tho very protracted Will sock project and the Solstice sweaters still in progress and the hat that never seems to end. Whipped up in an easy evening out of the angora yarn I spun last winter which has been sitting around waiting for a project that needed to be particularly warm and fuzzy.

The pattern is from Tiny Owl Knits, home of the Beekeeper Quilt and my new favorite place to go peep at knitted eye candy. I want to make them all! All! But first probably this fox scarf for my girl. To go with the bunnies. Although the Where the Wild Things Are hat is pretty awesome too.

Because the directions were for adult sizes only, I had to make some adjustments, winging it a bit since I knew it would be felted anyway. If you are interested, my Ravelry notes on changing the size can be found here.

So now our feet are cozy and warm. Very necessary when it's 21 degrees out in the morning and not officially winter yet.

socks for we two

Cozy, chunky socks. A pair for him and a pair for me. Finally done! Mine are, you may remember a save from the first pair I made for him. The yarn, although warm and delicious looking, is not at all stretchy, which is a problem when your feet are huge. Even all that ribbing and cabling did not give enough for his long foot to make the turn at the heel. So they were unravelled until they were the right length for me. The toe is a bit abrupt, but they aren't for wearing under shoes anyway. They are house socks through and through. And much needed now that it's getting colder.

Will's pair were found in the lost knitting bin with one sock 2/3 of the way finished, a second ball of yarn stuck through the needles and no pattern to be found. I'm sure I had a photo copy of it at some point, but it's long gone. I finished the first sock using my pair as a guide and then used that sock as a guide for the second sock. The yarn is Cascade 220 and is squishy a stretchy and warm. So now he has house socks as well. Although he declares they are good under shoes as well. And can he have another pair please? I'm thinking these look like fun. But first, oh I have some bunny slippers that need to be knit for a little girl who can not find her slippers anywhere. Too cold for bare toes!

It's knitting weather out there, indeed. I seem to trail yarn these days, always a project clicking along. That also means I usually have kitties trailing after me who love to chase the yarn and bat at the needles, and then I have a girl trailing after the kitties. Which is not a bad thing at all.  *See, as soon as I hit publish I looked up to find Miss Finn attacking the bunny slipper yarn! It's just too much for them to resist!

My favorite project, a guilty little treat, is the beginnings of a BeeKeepers Quilt, which may end up being a Bee Keepers Bench Cover for the pew, or maybe it will be a quilt. All knit up from odds and ends of sock yarn. So I suppose it depends on how many odds and ends I can find around here. We'll see. I'm not in a hurry and it's the perfect project to keep in my bag at all times. A few stitches here, a row or two there, another hexi-puff done and tossed in the basket.

fuzzy and warm

Last week a bright red, slightly felted sweater arrived in the mail from my grandma. When she was here she mentioned it, wondering if I wanted to for legwarmers for Evie, which I did. So I was excited when it arrived and I left it on my desk for a few days while I pondered what to do with it. Legwarmers were a must, of course. Evie loved the pair I knit for her last year, even after they ended up felted and a little tight, but after the sleeves came off there was still going to be lots of lovely red and white, thick and cozy sweater left over. A vest sized chunk of sweater really.

I felted it down quite a bit more, until the wool was very thick and the width around the waist was about what a sweater for Evie would be, and then I got snipping.

First, of course, I but off the arms for the legwarmers. This sweater had nice long cuffs so I folded them down and stitched them in place and then hemmed the raw end. Simple and sweet and super cute on. She'll be toasty on the playground today.

The neck and shoulders were too big still, and also one was cut where someone (maybe my grandma but it could have been like that when she got it) had started to cut into it for a project. I cut straight down the remaining sleeve from the neck  and narrowed the sleeves and shoulders by lining up the ends of the raglan decreases (the diagonal lines where the sleeves meet the body of the sweater). I also cut the sleeves at more of an angle, instead of having them end straight. This way it's a a little more "vest" and the holes are roomier for thicker shirts or sweaters underneath. The sleeves I rolled into a hem, which I may embellish a little, or maybe not. I can't decide. I kind of like them rolled and simple.

Once the sleeves were done I cut up the center front of the sweater. Because it was so thick, I wasn't going to be able to double over the fabric to hem it so instead I took a cue from my knitting guru friend Carol, who showed me once how she stitched grosgrain ribbon along the hem of a cardigan that was gaping. I sewed ribbon along the raw edge and then turned that and stitched down the front. Originally I wanted to put button holes in but the fabric is still so thick I'm not sure her little fingers could deal with getting buttons in. And also I don't think my sewing machine could make button holes though that much wool. So now I'm thinking buckles. Or maybe a heavy zipper. Or maybe I'll just leave it because she went off to school today with it as is. What do you think? Frogs? Buckles? Zippers?

I have to say, as a devoted vest wearer, I'm a little (a lot) jealous of this thing.I'm going to have to look for a huge Nordic sweater to felt down and make my own.

over the river and through the fog

On Saturday I woke up early, earlier even than I do on school days when we have to be out the door at 7, and drove through a foggy, misty morning down the length of Vermont and into New York for my first visit to Rhinebeck.

Normally I dislike driving, hate it actually. But driving all by myself through forests and over mountains and past farmhouses with a good book to listen to (we almost never listen to books when we drive as a family as they almost always put Will to sleep - even the exciting ones- and little ears in the backseat limit what exactly you can listen to anyway), well, it was kind of pleasant.

The wool festival was, of course, wonderful, as wool festivals are. I spent most of the day plunging my fingers into different bags of fiber or petting pretty yarns. I visited the sheep (of course!) and threatened Will (via text) to bring this lady home. Look at that face! I went back and forth and back and forth between three different Alpaca fiber stalls, feeling and touching and debating before buying two pounds of lovely charcoal fiber to spin for a sweater. My first attempt at spinning an adult sweaters worth of yarn. I also picked up a sweaters worth of yarn in my favorite greeny green and a half pound of some romney wool fiber that should be named Maleficent, because it looks just like she did in Sleeping Beauty. Black and green and purple and a little yellow. I usually buy my wool in 4 ounce bags for spinning so having the chance to buy it by the pound was delicious.

I also got a chance to see some of my New York Knitting gals, which was a treat, although one couldn't make it because of a family emergency and was very much missed, by my stash as much as by me because she would have convinced me to buy way more, the way good friends do :)

And then, after roast lamb sandwiches and cider donuts and with a (new!) basket full of (new!) fibery treasures and two huge caramel apples for the kids and some super warm socks for my sweet husband who didn't bat an eye when I said I would be driving 10 hours to look at yarn and wool and sheep, I drove home. Back through the colorful trees, back over the mountain, even back through the fog that returned for the last hour of my trip (slightly more stressful in the dark at the end of a long day, I must say)

Now it's time to get spinning. And knitting. And spinning! And KNITTING! Mummmm, a winter's worth of fun ahead.