do whatever you want to do, 'cause you're gonna anyway. I'll be knitting socks!
A downloadable pdf of this pattern is available for sale for $4.00. They are called Nichole Beaded Band Socks, and are knitted in Schaefer Nichole. I love these and need to reknit a pair for myself sometime very soon! I love this yarn and I loved designing these socks. The pattern is written for DPN, but the knitting was done 2-at-a-Time. The cuff is worked in a simple rib that transitions into a central beaded panel and then returns to the rib. Straight forward and with a simple elegance that I just adore. "Let the yarn do the work", and it does it beautifully!
Also available as a pdf for $4.00 is the pattern for these lovelies. The yarn is Noro Silk Garden Sock and the pattern is, again, simple but with a twist. I love the horizontal bands of reverse stockinette against the ribbed background. And my love of the colors of Noro is well documented. On my feet they're wonderful; no, they're not scratchy at all, but they are warm when I need them to be and cool when I need them to be which is one of the many joys of wool and silk. This pattern is written for 2-at-a-Time sock knitting. There are other patterns for sale here. Stop by and have a look!
In spite of the rain, or maybe because of it, things continue to grow. All from our own garden; strawberries, radish, and a ton of peas, snap and snow, though mostly hidden here.Missing when picture was taken: black, red and yellow raspberries, currents and gooseberries. I love summer!
We seem to have come to some sort of a weather impasse here in New England. It has rained, or been significantly overcast, or in some way not been sunny and bright for so long I have forgotten the last shiny day. (I love the Carpenters. Wanna make something of it? Also Barry Mannilow, in that kitschy, cozy, reminiscent sort of way...)
Anyway, I recently finished up a kind of last minute deadline project and needed a little something to ease me back into my regular work flow. I reached into my basket of single-skeins and pulled out color. Sunny, bright color. Noro color.Noro is so my guilty pleasure. It's the one thing that can send me to the registers with 6 or more bags of discontinued colors just because, like Everest to Mallory, "...it's there".
I present the end product of my "wishing-away-the-rain" knitting project, complete with free pattern to create the same should you so choose, providing you adhere to the rather lengthy but really important copyright information you'll find under the pattern. It was fun, fast, and simple. Enjoy!
Melissa’s Cloud-Chasing Rainy Month Hat copyright 2009 Melissa Morgan-Oakes - see below for more information on copyright
Materials- 1 ball Noro Silk Garden Lite color 2047 US 6 and 7, 16” circular needles or size needed to obtain gauge. US 7 dpn, or one size larger than that needed to obtain gauge. Pompom maker, 1 5/8” or pompom method of choice. Seaming needle Gauge- 19 sts/4 inches in K3, P1 rib with smaller needle Abbreviations - Sl2KP: Slip two stitches together knitwise, knit one, pass 2 slipped stitches over the just-knit stitch. This creates a centered double decrease – you’re eliminating 2 stitches each time you work this decrease, and the center stitch ‘pops’ to the front of your work. K: knit P: purl K2tog: knit two stitches together
With smaller needle cast on 88 stitches. Join for working in the round, being careful not to twist. Work in K3, P1 rib for 8 rounds. Change to larger size needle and begin working in stitch pattern as follows:
Round 1-3: *knit 3, purl 1. Repeat from * to end of the round. Round 4: *K1, K into the stitch 3 rows below, K1, P1. Repeat from * to end of the round.
Work in stitch pattern until hat measures 6” (or desired length - usually the measurement of your hand from the heel to the tip of your middle finger - or to put it another way, from the base of your carpals to the tip of your longest distal phalanges) from cast on edge. Now you will work the following rounds, decreasing for the top of your hat. Change to double pointed needles when you can no longer comfortably work the stitches on the 16" circular.
Round 1: *K3, P1, Sl2KP, P1. Repeat from * to end of round [66 stitches remain.] Rounds 2&3: *Knit 3, P1, K1, P1. Repeat from * to end of round. Round 4: *Sl2KP, P1, K1, P1. Repeat from * to end of round. [44 sts] Rounds 5&6: *K1,P1. Repeat from * to end of round. Round 7: *K1, P1, K2tog. Repeat from * to end of round. [33 sts] Round 8: *K1, P1, K1. Repeat from * to end of round. Round 9:*K2tog, K1. Repeat from * to end of round. [22 sts] Round 10: *K2tog. Repeat from * to end of round. [11 sts]
Cut yarn leaving a 6” tail. Thread yarn onto a seaming needle and run through all stitches. Pull snugly, take yarn to inside and run yarn ends in.
Make pompom if desired, and if there’s enough yarn left. I used a Clover Pompom Maker, 1 5/8”. Tie pompom using alternate yarn or strong thread. (I used a 6” scrap of a strong, plied sock yarn that was handy – the Silk Garden Lite is not strong enough as a single ply to tie it’s own pompom securely). Use pompom tie to attach pompom to top of hat with a strong knot. Run in all yarn ends.
Apply hat to head regardless of current temperatures, and stand in front of mirror often. The colors of the hat will inspire hope that someday, yes, the sun will return to New England. If nothing else, I am now prepared for fall and winter. Maybe that's when the sun is coming back?
Boring but really important part: Copyright 2009 Melissa Morgan-Oakes. All rights reserved. This pattern may not be sold or used for any purpose other than personal use by the individual knitter without written permission of the author (that'd be me). In other words, please don't steal this and tell the world it's yours, or make 500 hats to sell at your local winter craft fair thereby becoming independently wealthy. You may print it for your own use. You may even give a copy of it to friends as long as this long and conversational little copyright explanation is included. You can even use it to knit for charity, like Warm Woolies. This pattern is also available for download as a pdf from Ravelry download now
There were lots of Ravelers in this contest. For the first time all of our winners have Ravelry accounts. Is anyone else totally blown away by how fast Ravelry has become as ubiquitous as yarn in the fiber world?
What a fascinating road to take, beekeeper. Such a honey of a job! The chicks are sweet and so cute, hopefully, many will become layers and will life a long and happy life.
The chicks are adorable! Some of them will grow up to be layers, that's for certain. The rest are boys, and there's only so many roosters a girl can have on ten small acres with only 25 or so hens. We'll keep 2-3 of the boys for breeding back to the girls. The rest will become part of our food web. I know this can be hard for some people to (for lack of a better word) digest. It's very important to us to know where our food comes from as much as possible. By raising these 'as hatched' or 'straight run' chicks - that means girls and boys - we're taking responsibility for all of the chicks hatched on our behalf. Many hatcheries offer pullets, which are girls. That means they have to set about twice the number of eggs as there are orders for chicks, because about half will NOT be pullets - they'll be cockerels (boys). What happens to the boys? This way, I know what happens to them, and it feels right to me. It's not for everyone, I know! Kim (tarheelfan) said...
Would love a copy of your book and yummy yarn. I haven't done 2 at a time yet, but working my way to it as I just learned magic loop recently.
Then, Kim, this is a great book for you! Make sure you check out, if you haven't already, the 2-at-a-Time group on Ravelry. It's an awesome way to get help if you have questions, or share finished projects.
Paulette (fuzzy-slipper, who's also a homeschooler, and we all know how near and dear that is to my heart AND apparently makes some quite lovely jewelery as well!) said...
Well, you'll be happy to know that since I apparently don't travel in your circles often enough I hadn't heard of Valley Yarns before, so you weren't preaching entirely to the choir. I mostly am a "reclaimer" and a Knitpicks fan, but I loved their website and their variety. Thanks for the info.
Living as close to Webs as I do I sometimes forget that there are people out there who may not have heard of them. Their Valley Yarns are lovely. I'll add the caveat that I teach at Webs and have designed for them in the past, but trust me on this - I don't recommend yarn I don't like. I won't bash it, but I also won't mention it. This is yarn I can happily mention, recommend and stand behind!
I am terribly impressed by your daughter becoming a beekeeper. Does her interest stem from the depleted bee population?
There were a few bee questions in the comments, so I'll share some answers here. Girl (who's 21 now) showed interest in bees from the time she was about 13. She's allergic to a lot of things, and we were more than a wee bit paranoid, and more than a wee bit broke (we have four kids, she's the youngest. The groceries alone...), so we delayed "the bee thing" in case she changed her mind and in the hope of better times. She did not change her mind. She studied and spent hours hounding innocent beekeepers at any public event she found them at, and many more hours begging her equally innocent mother. Bees, she said, would make my garden huge. They would make us honey. I only use about 10 pounds of honey a year. It seemed like a big investment for a meager ten pounds. Then a few years ago she became very concerned when she read an article in American Bee Journal about bees in crisis. She shared the article with me, and I became convinced that an "if not now, when?" mentality was what we needed. Small producers like we hope to be could be essential if bee numbers continue to diminish. All of a sudden keeping bees means more than just honey to us. It meant a positive step in preserving humanities access to food. Pollinators play a much bigger role in producing our food than most of us know. A family member (Cousin Gail) very generously offered to give Meg (that's Girl's real name) some of her father's (Uncle George's) bee things. It took us some more time to get established in our new home; getting our gardens in, taking out a lot of trees to make enough dappled sunlight for bees and direct sunlight for gardens to feed them properly. Finally this winter we were able to place our order from Warm Colors Apiary for a nuc, or nucleus colony of bees. I doubt that Dan Conlon the owner of Warm Colors remembers, but my daughter has, I believe, chewed his ear off with endless questions at our local fair on more than one occasion over the years. (He and any other beekeeper who wasn't moving. And some that were. But she's fast and slippery and could keep up with them when they tried to escape.) And yes, Cheryl, my kid is totally cool. The bees are just the beginning. When she was quite young she said she wanted to learn sign language after meeting and spending time with an older girl who was deaf. We put her off on that one, too. Homeschooled through high school, when she began college the first class she registered for was American Sign Language. She came home from the first day of the first class and said, at 18 years of age, "I know what I want to do with my life." She's got a passion for ASL and the Deaf community that never ceases to move me. Once Girl sets her mind to something, there's no stopping her. There were some chicken questions and comments too - yes, the post office delivers the chicks. They leave their 'home' as soon as they're fluffy and dry. Chicks absorb the remaining yolk into their body just before hatching, and their abdomen closes over it. They can live off the contents of that yolk sac for up to three days. The baby chicks make it from where they hatch to my door in about 36 hours. The postmaster gives us a ring and we fly down to meet them fresh off the truck. Swknits asked if the chicks were any particular breed - they're a mixed bag from an truly wonderful place called Sand Hill Preservation Center. We order assortments because they're a fun way for us to experience lots of different breeds. These chickens are mostly Red Sussex, Cuckoo Marans, Buff Cochins, and Rhode Island Reds. There's also some very fun things in this batch, like Blue Jersey Giants, Blue Laced Gold Wyandottes, Black Australorps and the "original chicken", Black Dorkings. To learn more about chicken breeds, check out Feathersite, an amazing compendium of chicken information. It is my firm belief that everyone should, if they can, have chickens in their backyard. Or in their chicken house. And with that, I give you pre-adolescent poultry at their finest. Gawky, lanky, half grown feathers and all.The butts are still fuzzy. This is a guinea fowl. They eat ticks. I hate ticks. More on that another time. Delightful little chick that I believe is a Dorking. A Rhode Island Red Another Rhode Island Red. I've had "RIR's" before, but from a commercial hatchery. There birds are nothing like commercial birds. They're super calm, and more true to their original breed than I've seen before.A smattering of baby cuteness. More smattering. And the finale - a Blue Jersey Giant, a Buff Cochin and the capper - a wee little Ameraucana pullet. I think she looks more like a chipmunk than a chicken. When this little girl grows up, she'll lay blue eggs. I have seven of them. The Ameraucanas did not come from Sand Hill - we got them at a poultry swap in New Hampshire. After a week in quarantine they're in with "the big birds" now, and settling in beautifully. Knitting someday soon. I promise. Well, unless bees or chickens or the garden catch my eye and I forget to knit...
I revel in my job as a yarn enabler. I consider it my highest duty, really. A few days ago the new Valley Yarns catalog arrived on my doorstep. Or, rather, in my mail box. Valley Yarns is Webs' own line of "quality yarns at affordable prices". I have not been shy about relating my love of their yarns here and on Ravelry. Because I am not at Webs all the time I miss out on hearing some newsy bits. As a result I was happily surprised to discover that Webs is now offering new "grab bags" - not just their close-out grab bags, but a new idea where a knitter can buy a selection of one skein each of various Valley Yarns in their preferred color family. It's an excellent way to try out new yarns. This excited me. I personally remember grab bags as a kid and always delighted in them. It was just pure fun; opening the bag and poking around inside, seeing what I'd gotten for my investment. With these yarn grab bags you just can't go wrong. One skein of these yarns will, as a rule, generally be enough to knit at least a hat. The tons of patterns and books available for "One-Skein Wonders" abound. It's pretty easy to find something to make while you acquaint yourself with the yarn.
But then Kathy sprung this one on me. Webs' volume discounts will now apply to books as well as regularly priced yarn! Let's say you order yarn and books totaling $60. You'd get 20% off of your total order. Order $120, and get 25% off your order. Add in the ease of on-line ordering and getting all your items together - books and yarn (and, if you need them, needles and notions too - although these don't count toward your discount amount, why not go in for one-stop shopping?) all in the same package!
This announcement made me feel a little flush with yarny joy. Overcome, I made a decision to do another give-away! I will give away one skein of sock yarn (enough for a full pair of socks) and one signed (and personalized if you so desire!) copy of that book of mine to four random commenters on this blog. This contest will end, and names will be drawn on Saturday June 20th. All comments made through midnight of Friday June 19 will be entered in this give-away. One comment per person please! Duplicate comments will be disqualified.
And now, because I am flush with the new life around here, including my own (but more on that later), I give you food for your weekend: Chick-A-Bees! This one is my favorite, I must say. After bugging us for 9 years (NINE, the poor deprived child) Girl is now a beekeeper, and has the sting on her neck to prove it. I think a celebration is really required. Share in it with me and leave your comment by midnight on Friday June 19th!
I will be signing books and demonstrating Two-at-a-Time Sock knitting (and trying not to buy stuff or come home with more chickens...) this Sunday, June 14th at Achille Agway in Keene, NH from 9am-2pm.
Stop by and say hi if you're in the area - get a book signed, buy some handmade soap, or honey products, or take home a chicken or two!
See you there! (No. I am not bringing fuzzwuzzits. They're just eye candy!)
Great blog title, I know, but that's what we're on about today. I've decided that this blog is no longer a knitting blog, but a whole life blog. I find it ironic that it's been this way for a long time now and I am just getting around to making it official. But I digress. If you recall in my last post, or maybe the one before, I said that I had started my very first ever batch of homemade wine. I started with rhubarb utterly without intent. There was no plan. The kit was here, discussions were underway about what kind of wine to begin with. Ideally I wanted the first batch to come from the yard. We have berries a-plenty. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, black raspberries and blueberries grace our place, along with currents and gooseberries. But "patient" is not a word in my vocabulary, and when a trip to the farmer's market yielded some large number of pounds of fresh, organic rhubarb; well, the decision was made. Chopped, mixed with golden raisins, orange juice, cane sugar and after a time, Pasteur Champagne yeast, the blend began the process known as primary fermentation. When you open it (as you must ever few days to stir it up) it looks like this. It smells like a blend of rhubarb, alcohol, and yeast with a citrus tinge. And it sounds a lot like Rice Krispies in milk. It is very much alive.After stirring it bubbles and foams, and the lid is snapped back on with the airlock firmly in place - gas may exit, nothing may enter. A week from today it will be racked, which means the solids will be sieved off and the remaining liquid will enter secondary fermentation in a 1 gallon jug. Somewhere in there it will be racked a second and possibly a third time depending on sediment levels and clarity. Eventually, in about six months, it will be bottled, and six months after that opened and hopefully not turned to vinegar. Only time can tell. Now about that sour milk. The idea of making my own yogurt has always been appealing to me. I also have a thing for making my own tofu, but that has yet to reach fruition. I've studied up on yogurt makers, watched Alton's "Good Milk Gone Bad" episode over and over, but it just seemed like such effort, or expense. Basic and not well recommended yogurt makers run about $30; good ones are closer to $60. A.B.'s method (love ya truly, A.B., but...) has you adding honey and powdered milk and fussing over a thermometer which must be kept at 115 degrees F with the use of a heating pad - meaning constant electricity use. Then I found out about crock pot yogurt, thanks to a posting by Tipper on Facebook about her yogurt experience. She made reference to the blog "A Year of CrockPotting", wherein there is a simple recipe for making yogurt at home in the crock pot. No additives, just milk and a half a cup of yogurt. No fussing - just cook the milk for a while, add your yogurt starter, and insulate the crock for a day. My love of my crock pot and slow cooker are known. Not the obsessive 'use it every day' sort of love but a deep and abiding respect for fresh scotch oats at 7am that cooked all night, soups and stews of mixed and varied cultural heritage and (today) braised ribs just like my grandmother made. Could I add yet another favorite to this multi-tasker's repertoire? I am in deep need of yogurt right now, and the more live things in it the better. Having been recently diagnosed with Lyme disease (more on that later) and put on a pretty intense antibiotic regimen Lactobacillis acidophilus and Acidophilis bifidus are my new best friends. We've always been close, but the ante in our relationship has been upped by the death of ever possible good and healthy flora in my body. The cost of organic yogurt is not small. $3.99 buys a 32-ounce container of Stoneyfield Organic. And we're not even going to talk about Fage, for which I swoon. Running low on yogurt I made a decision. One phone call, and Mr. Wonderful brought home a gallon of local organic milk which cost, he thinks, "around $5.00". I think this may be a high estimate. Regardless, that's 128 ounces of milk. The crock pot recipe calls for 64 ounces; a half-gallon. At that price, if the experiment were a success, I would get roughly 64 ounces of organic, fresh, whole milk yogurt, loaded with L. Acidophilus and A. bifidus for a whopping $2.50. That's a savings of about $5.50. So if this worked, it'd be a win all the way around. Well. Guess what?IT WORKED! And it is wonderful. A bit more tang than the average yogurt, which is perfectly ok by me since I like the sour. I will play with longer and shorter fermentation in the future to see if I can reduce that sourness a bit for the sake of Girl. But still; smooth, creamy, and made right here - not to mention the longer fermentation time of home yogurt versus store bought means a higher concentration of the healthy flora I seek to slurp up. The only thing better would be if the cow were mine.Mmmm. I put half of it into the recycled Stoneyfield container, and the remainder in a strainer wrapped in a loosely woven 100% cotton dish towel (with chickens on it). Ideally this would be a couple of layers of cheese cloth, but as my cheese cloth has left the building this worked.After about an hour, during which time I checked it, squeezed it, and rigged it to hang I had this:which is about the consistency of sour cream, still with the creamy richness and flavor of the thinner stuff. Much closer to Greek yogurt, though still not as sweet. I saved the liquid run-off (whey) and added a bit of yogurt and honey to it, blended it well with my stick blender, and drank a high-protein all-natural fresh and local breakfast. So there you have it. Rotting rhubarb and sour milk, both of which fill be with delight. Fermentation Rocks!
An avid knitting designer and teacher, I teach a variety of classes at Webs in Northampton, MA. I am the author of the book 2-at-a-Time-Socks, which liberates knitters once and for all from Second Sock Syndrome.
The cuff is worked in a simple rib that transitions into a central beaded panel and then returns to the rib. Straight forward and with a simple elegance that I just adore. "Let the yarn do the work", and it does it beautifully!
The yarn is Noro Silk Garden Sock and the pattern is, again, simple but with a twist. I love the horizontal bands of reverse stockinette against the ribbed background. And my love of the colors of Noro is well documented. On my feet they're wonderful; no, they're not scratchy at all, but they are warm when I need them to be and cool when I need them to be which is one of the many joys of wool and silk. This pattern is written for 2-at-a-Time sock knitting.
Missing when picture was taken: black, red and yellow raspberries, currents and gooseberries. I love summer!
