A Spooky October Project

I'm doing a group themed read/knit along project based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic, The Hound of the Baskervilles. It's been a long time since I read it and I do love Holmes and Watson. 

We read and discuss the book, come up with something that connects our knitting with the theme and have fun sharing the experience. 

For my project, I'm knitting a pair of socks in a beautiful, hand-dyed colorway called "221 B. Baker Street" (and no, I didn't have any idea this read/knit along would be happening when I purchased the yarn - I just loved the color).  It's a fairly simple broken rib stitch pattern that gives a subtle wavy texture to the fabric, which is also nice and stretchy. I'm enjoying both the knitting and the reading so far. 

It's the perfect combination for an eerie Halloween monster project. I mean, what could be spookier than hanging out on the moors with the fabled hound? 

Of course, a warming mug of freshly brewed Earl Grey tea does keep one properly grounded. I wouldn't want to mistake my great, black beastie, Baloo, for anything sinister - he does occasionally go bump in the night!

A Grand and Noble Experiment

I have been casting about for what to do with some yarn I've had languishing in a box for a very long time. I didn't have enough of any one color for a project, so I kept trying to find something that would use up the yarn, but wouldn't require more, since I can't get any more of these colors.

I couldn't find anything. A sweater required too much, hats and scarves too little and so I decided to try a vest. Of course, after a lot of hunting, I couldn't find any patterns that met my requirements. So I grasped my courage in both hands and knit a swatch, got out some graph paper and made something up. 

So far, I really like it - way more than I thought I would. So, what could possibly be the problem? How could it all go wrong? Well, I've never done anything even remotely like this before, so my yarn calculations could be off - the amount of the gray yarn I'm using is beginning to alarm me and I fear I will run out before I get to the end of the stranded pattern section - and I still only have a sort of vague and evolving plan for how this garment will look as it reaches arms and neck. Then, I still need to figure out how to make the evolving arms and neck part actually fit my concept when I get there - that is, if I don't run out of the gray yarn first and have to rip the whole thing out and start over again. 

I keep laughing and telling myself it's a great learning experience. I just hope it's a success experience in the bargain! I expect you'll be subjected to another post about this little foray into fashion design, one way or another. The next picture could be three piles of yarn on the floor - or it could be a vest. Or, if I can't figure out how to do the arms and neck, it could turn into a wind sock! 

As a friend of mine frequently says, "Updates at 11".  

Planning Ahead

And now for something completely different....

At Christmastime every year, the little church at the end of the peninsula puts up a hat and mitten tree to benefit local children who may not have warm winter gear to keep the chill at bay. This year, I've gotten a little head start on the project and just finished knitting my first set of wearable ornaments to add to the tree. 

The pattern is a hybrid, using the basic form my mother used as we were growing up along with a little bit of sizing help from The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns. This set should work for a late elementary school child - I think the next set will be for a more early elementary size.

Whenever I work on mittens, I always think of my mother's lessons when I knit my first pair and how she told me, when I was all finished, that I now knew everything I needed to know in order to knit a sweater. I was floored, but she explained that I had learned how to do an edge treatment on the cuff, how to increase and decrease while shaping the hand, and how to make gussets while doing the thumbs. Pretty tricky way to fit all those lessons into a small project, right? She was smart that way.

Hats Off!

Hats off to the many people who have worked so hard to put together the annual Calvary Episcopal Church Advent Festival Bazaar again this year.  It's a major labor of love, providing substantial funding for community outreach, including dental care for the uninsured, food for the hungry, shelter for the homeless, riding therapy for the disabled and many other grants given to local agencies providing services for those in need.  It's so inspiring to see this dedicated group pull together to help others.  And hats off to people everywhere who open their hearts, homes and piggy banks in this season of thanksgiving  - and every season throughout the year! 

My small contribution?  I donated a felted hat last year that was quickly adopted by one of the bazaar workers, so I was asked to make another one this time around.  It was a near thing, since the bazaar is on December 1st and it the hat was still wet from the felting process and drying on its form last night!  One of these days, I'll choose a yarn that actually *wants* to felt.  My attempts always take about 15 full-length runs through the washer.  Other people tell me that theirs felt in less than a single washing!!  I did love this thick, purple yarn, though, so it was worth the extra trouble.    

I'm also delighted to be contributing another round of my special bird cookie dough for filling log feeders (the feeders, themselves, will be made by someone who has the tools and expertise to create them based on my brother-in-law's instructions -- he made the ones in my yard that have been featured in earlier blog posts).  The woodpeckers and chickadees will be happily snacking in few more yards this winter.  Oh, and the form that I used for the hat?  It was a great big peanut butter jar that I emptied while making the bird cookie dough. Everything is interrelated!  Hee hee!!  

I had grand plans to do so much more than I managed to accomplish (as usual), but I'm glad that I could help spread at least a little good cheer.  :)  Now, I just need to start in January and maybe I'll be ready in time next year -- I have some really cool ideas!!  (I can dream about better organization, right?)

Happy Thanksgiving!!