Freshisle Fibers

Another Vest for Dad

The March break is drawing to a close and it's been a week of super spring weather.  The rubber boots and spring jacket are at the front of the closet, winter wear to the back - hopefully to stay there until next year!

The March break also gave me time to finally finish the great, grey blob and turn it into a wearable vest.  Another vest for my father.

The pattern is called His Quilted Vest. The yarn used is a long-ago, discontinued, vintage yarn from Patons called Aran Style.  I purchased two unopened bags of it at an auction sale years ago with the idea to knit it into a vest for Dad.  It was the perfect colour, the perfect blend of wool and acrylic for machine washing, and the perfect weight.  It feels good to finally see it knit up and on my Dad.

No photo shoot for the blog is complete without Dusty helping.  They are quite a pair!  Lots of love.

Catching Up

I've been catching up on sleep, catching up on housework, catching up on dyeing, and so on and so on.  I'm just starting to catch my breath again with a weekend at home.  School has been super busy and I've been enjoying lots of time curling.

Then the amazing designer, Susan B. Anderson, posted her socks.  Her socks knit with my yarn!  The orders and emails haven't stopped.  It's been lovely.  Lovely and busy!

I managed to finish a pair of mittens for the NaKnitMitMo 2012 knit-a-long.

They are knit with our own Softspun yarn.  Very thick and cosy.  I'm working on finishing up the pattern and hopefully it will be available soon.

But, today is not for pattern writing.  Today is for dyeing.  I'll never catch up on dyeing enough watermelon yarn but at least there will be a few more skeins ready to go. 

Getting There

Four more school days left.  I'm getting there.

The final pair of Christmas gift socks are done.

The presents are wrapped.  Let the baking begin.

Yummy butter tarts.  A few for us for now and this bunch to freeze for later when my brother comes home during the holiday.  His favourite.

I baked with some students today at school.  Baking with a group of kids is exhausting.  A good exhaustion, but exhaustion.  Tomorrow we eat their creations.  That's the best part!

Little Orange People

It's that time of year when our island swarms with little orange people.  Deer season starts on Monday and hunter blaze orange clothing is everywhere.

I've looked at this pattern - the Fornicating Deer Chart - for a long time and when I came across this pattern for a hat with a normal deer and then the 'interesting' deer, I had to make it.

The hat was knit with Patons Angora Bamboo so it's extremely heavy and warm.  I also used a bit of Louet Gems fingering for an extra soft lining just for the ears. 

School continues with a Professional Activity day on Monday.  More meetings, which will hopefully translate into a bit of knitting while I'm listening to presentations.  I hope.

Sock Land

I have finished socks here in sock land.  Two pairs!!  This isn't the easiest year at school for me and simple socks seem to be the best thing for me to manage in the evenings.  Mindless, round and round, zen-like knitting is good.

Both are my Hunters' Socks pattern.  The first pair is with our own Suffolk yarn.  Nice, heavy work socks.

The second pair is with our Double Down - 60 stitches - and are a reject yarn!  These socks came from one of the Unique skeins, knit first on the machine as a sock blank, then dyed, and rewound for hand knitting.

I wasn't happy with the colours so it never made it into the shop.  I have lots of rejects that never get put up for sale.  Colours I'm not happy with, colours that are too light, too dark, dyes that just aren't right.

My brother and his partner are here for the weekend.  Those lucky government employees had Remembrance Day off!  We're doing lots of visiting, relaxing, and enjoying time together.

Dear husband is endlessly preparing for deer season.  The hunting continues.  And continues.  And continues.  The freezer is already full of moose meat.  Where will the venison go?

Power Knitting

This is what happens when I'm not swamped with report cards and my husband leaves for a week of moose hunting,

I knit.  And knit.  And knit.

Behold, at long last, my February Lady Sweater.  Not quite 7 balls of Patons Shetland Chunky, followed the pattern exactly as for size 37.5 inch finished bust size, collar modification.

But, it's not for me!  It's for my mom.  A cozy, warm sweater just for my mom.

More knitting.  A pillow with some very strange yarn.  Bernat Puff Ball is like string with puffy lumps every couple of inches.  It was difficult to work with at first, but once started, knitted up very quickly and the finished effect is soft and cushiony.

Dear husband is now back from the moose hunt and they returned with a moose!  Plus, school work is about to kick into high gear again this week with parent interviews.  My knitting will slow down again.

October Already

Where did September go?  It's October already and I can hardly believe I'm one tenth of my way through this school year.  There's been a lot packed into one short month.

We've had an open house/meet and greet the parents evening at school.  And, I've spent the better part of last week and this weekend working on progress reports.  Progress reports!  I hardly feel I've been with the kids long enough to start writing a progress report.

I have an interesting and very busy timetable this year.  Here's the list of what I'm teaching - Computer Technology - all grades from junior kindergarten to grade 8, Math -  grade 3/4, Science - grade 7 and grade 8, Core French - grade 6/7 and grade 7/8.  Busy is an understatement.  But, it is challenging and certainly makes the days fly by.

The feet-on-fire socks were completed last week but I'm finally getting the time to post them now.  My sock model isn't here for pictures.  He's getting ready for the annual moose hunt, so the flat picture will have to do.

 

The pattern is a combination of Hot Rod Socks and Flame Thrower Socks.  They are knit with my leftover Wollmeise in Campari Orange and Patons Kroy for the black.  Wendy's Gusset Heel pattern from Socks from the Toe Up,  3 mm needles, 64 stitches.

These socks were also an experiment in which yarn to hold under and which yarn to hold over in stranded knitting.  See any difference?

 

In the toes, the orange/red was held over and on the cuff, the orange/red was held under.  The yarn held under is supposed to stand out more, be more distinctive.  It does a bit, I think.  In Fair Isle knitting, the pattern colour yarn should be held under so that the pattern 'pops'.  Interesting.

August, Already

It just can't be August.  It's too soon.  August means my summer holiday is half over.  August means that school starts sneaking into my thoughts.  It's too soon.  I'm not going to think about school just yet.  There's still lots of summer left.

I had visitors in my backyard the other day when I was dyeing outside.

 

I ran for the camera and the deer were still there and close enough for these pictures.  So adorable but, so hungry.  They love my flowers.  They've nibbled on the geraniums, the verbena, and their favourite is phlox.  Dusty puppy is usually a pretty good deterrent to the deer, but he was away with my dad for swim when these two wandered by.

 

I've been dyeing fairly steadily the last little while, but I did manage to finish some knitting as well.  These are another pair of man size socks.  Huge!

 

They are knit with Louet Merlin Avalon, a linen/wool blend, 3 mm needles, and 60 stitches.  It's my basic sock pattern but this time I tried the 'princess foot'.  I purled the sole stitches instead of knit so that the flat stockinette part is against the foot and the bumpy side is out.  Dear husband, the sock model, pronounced them very comfortable.

 

 All those marigolds in the background are ready for harvesting for more dyeing.  There's still lots of summer left. 

Glorious Days

We are having the most glorious, perfect summer days.  I'm loving every minute of them.

I'm dyeing loads and loads of yarn, knitting whenever I feel like it, enjoying working in the flower beds, reading, and even spinning.  With all the painting and tile work done in the house this spring, so many of my big cleaning jobs that I usually do at the first of July were done.  It's wonderful!

I have finally finished the precious Wollmeise socks.  I used the Baby Cable Rib pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch, 64 stitches, and 3 mm needles.

 

They are lovely.  Wollmeise is a lovely yarn to knit with, gorgeous colours, and lots of yardage.  It's one of those yarns that is hard to get and I'm happy I've finally had the chance to see what all the hoopla was about.

 

We're off to Ottawa for a few days to visit baby brother.  Of course, the time we decide to visit the city is the time the weather forecast is for super hot weather.  I think we may especially enjoy their pool on this visit!

Coming Up For Air

I'm easing my way out of report card land.  They are done and handed in for review.  Ahead are still corrections, copying, stuffing envelopes, filing .....  But, the hard part is done. 

This week is class trip and Grade 8 graduation.  8 school days left, 1 professional activity day.

Finishing report cards also allowed for finishing some knitting.

Patons Kroy FX socks, 3 mm needles, 60 stitches, Clover Colours, and my own pattern.  These started out to be man socks but there was not enough yardage in two balls for man size socks so they have become ladies' socks and added to the Christmas gift giving basket.  I was also frustrated by the lack of colour repeats.  No matching socks from this yarn!

 

The fluffy, boa-like Cha Cha scarf is also finished.  It's poofy and showy and ruffles to die for and very, very red!  5.5 mm needles, 15 stitches, and the pattern is from the yarn label.  This yarn was interesting to knit with an interesting result.  I'm not sure it's me though, and I think it's going into the gift giving basket as well.

 

The postal strike has given me a break from selling yarn and packaging and mailing.  I have mixed feelings about back to work legislation but it's time for this to be settled.  My small business needs Canada Post to be working!

One last bit of news.  My father-in-law had a heart attack last week.  He was in hospital in Sudbury for a few days, but is home now and doing well.  That makes this an extra special Father's Day.