BEARy close

My bear is getting closer to completion! He is all knitted up and ready to be felted. 



Here he is . . . just to give you an idea of his size before he is felted. He is about 19 inches long and about 17 inches from one paw to the other.

He is all sewn up . . . except for a vertical seam going down his chubby tummy where he will get stuffed with fiberfill.










To keep the seam from getting felted shut, I tacked it down with a piece of cotton yarn.


Okay, here is where I will confess. There are some short rows in this pattern . . . which are easy enough . . . if you pay attention. If you don't pay attention . . . like if you are watching Downton Abby and you are worried about Mr. Barrows and you are wondering if Carson will stop be nit-picky about his new wife's cooking . . . or your wondering who Mary will end up with . . . well, you may miss a wrap. 






So look what happened to my poor bear's nose!! A slight hole!

But one thing about felting, it's VERY forgiving. Everything is going to 'smoosh' together and create a fabric that is like . . . well, felt. 












So I simply took a piece of yarn and worked it through his nose and  . . . 


Now there is no hole!!

If I didn't tell you I messed up, you'd never have known!!






Come back on Saturday . . . I'm going to felt him. We'll do it together.

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

Making Snow BEARable

In between my snow shoveling moments I have been working on my bear. 



Here he is so far. I have just joined his little arms and I am about to start the decreases that will lead up to his neck.


You can't really tell from this picture, but I am using size 10 1/2" needles, with worsted weight yarn.

When you are felting it's important to knit the pieces very loosely for it to 'shrink' to the correct size.




You can see here that I am getting a gauge of about 3 stitches per inch. 




Hopefully it won't snow anymore and I can spend my time finishing him up . . . and not shoveling! 

Stay tuned to see him finished and for the felting process!!

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

BEARable Shrinkage

I decided to take a little break from mittens. Yes, I know . . . I should at least finish the pair that I am on. Don't worry . . . I will . . . just not this week. 

I thought this brown would make a great bear.
It's 100% wool.

For some reason I decided to make a felted bear. I'm not sure what I will do with it when it's done . . . maybe sit it next to me and have it watch me finish my mittens! I'm going to use the Fiber Trends pattern for The Marigold Bears. Go ahead and do a search for them on Ravelry. They are pretty cute. 

When you felt it's important to make sure you are using all natural fibers. Wool, mohair or alpaca are all good choices . . . or a blend of them is fine. Just don't use any superwash wools or anything with synthetic fibers in them. They won't shrink/felt. (Just think of any of those nice yarns that would shrink your sweater to a doll's size if your husband did the wash).

I'm going to wind it tonight . . . tomorrow I'll cast on.

Stay tuned. I'll show you my bear as it progresses.

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

Forecast says . . .

You know you live in New England when you hear the word snow and then think 'how much'? If it's 2-4 inches you probably just shrug and go about your day. If it's in the 4-8 range you might think about stopping on the way home from work for milk and bread. . . or wine and cheese. When you start to talk 8 or more inches it's time to start the checklist. Batteries, cell phones charged, wood for the fireplace, bottled water . . . and another bottle of wine.

You know you are a knitter in New England when you hear the word snow 
and think . . . 

Thanks to my friend Kirstin for finding this . . .
 and for littlemonkeyscrochet!

I know, I know. It's says 'Crocheter's Blizzard Forecast'. 

But let's face it . . . when you are stuck in the house with a raging blizzard outside . . . crochet, knit, spin . . . you really just need some fiber in your hands.







Snow is coming on Saturday. Since it's too early for an accurate forecast, I'll be ready. I have a new mitten pattern, an on-going afghan, and some nice fingering weight for a cowl.

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

Hmm . . . perhaps my favorite Knitting Night of all is the one that falls right before Christmas. 



I wonder why?

Perhaps it's because of the mini cheesecakes or the Grinches made from fruit . . . or the cookies or chocolates or Christmas bread.

I'm really not sure which it is!!





But of course there was knitting involved too.

Peggy made the cutest little knitting bag ornaments for everyone. Now when I look at my tree I will think of all my knitting friends.

Here she is showing us the American Girl doll outfit she made. Because it was Peggy that made it, there is not only a reindeer sweater . . . but matching pants, mittens and ear warmers.







Then . . . just to out-do herself . . .



Yes, a knitted bike seat cover! (Well I guess if your granddaughter asks if you can make her one . . . then what is a grandmother to do?!)










Lizzie's sweater is almost done.










Just another all-around-wonderful-time with a wonderful group. A great way to have a stress-free evening.  Join us.

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

Cool Chicks Wear Sweaters

Let's face it. When the cool temperatures of winter start to come we all break out our sweaters. Pullovers, cardigans, cabled or mohair . . . we all have our favorites. 









But if you want to be a really cool-looking chick . . . well, you have to have a hand-knit sweater.

Seriously. What more can be said?

These chickens belong to my mother's physician assistant. Anyone that cares about their chickens this much . . . well, I think my mother is in great hands!

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

Ready to Time Travel?

Saturday was a beautiful November day, so I convinced my husband to take a trip to visit Old Sturbridge Village. I thought it would be fun to transport myself in time to the late 1700's-early 1800's . . . (I had a vision of turning into Clare from the Outlander series!).

 As soon as we walked in we, were greeted by the cutest little sheep . . . well okay, they weren't really little . . . I looked at them and wondered how much they weighed!!


While some people were looking at them and probably thinking of lamb chops for the village, I thought . . . 'oh, fleece'!




When we came across the building labeled, Carding Shed, I couldn't wait to go in. (For some reason my husband was not as enthusiastic). Gone were the days of carding by hand . . . dominating the building were two carding machines that would have been powered by water.

I could just picture myself walking around the village in my bonnet wearing a dress made of a pretty blue calico print and carrying a basket . . . to put my fleece in, of course.







I envisioned myself purchasing my fleece (probably using vegetables from my garden or eggs from my chickens, since not many people had money), and then probably going home and sitting down and setting to the task of spinning my yarn . . . hey, just like the spinners that come to Knitting Night on Mondays!










But then as I walked around more . . . 
 and noticed more of the cute little woolie lambs . . . it hit me. They weren't knitting cowls from sock weight yarn or scarves from the latest novelty yarn . . . and their sweaters were not knit from kid silk mohair or cashmere.

They were using homespun wool . . .  literally . . . and knitting for warmth.

I also took a closer look at the cute little woolies . . . and then I also took a closer look at their fleece . . . and I saw how DIRTY it is!! (Leaves, mud, sticks and other 'items' I would not want to touch.)



Then I found out that women could drink alcohol and carry a gun . . . but couldn't vote. (My husband thought alcohol and firearms could be a dangerous combination in women and perhaps they should have allowed voting instead.)

Hmm . . . what do you think? Would you want to live in that era? Take a trip and visit Old Sturbridge Village and decide for yourself. The library even has a pass so that you can get a discounted admission.

I decided the 18th century was not for me. I'll stay in 2015 and visit my local yarn shop and purchase a hand painted skein of yarn to knit something frivolous.





Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.