tiennie knits

old shale scarf

Lately, I have really been trying something new to me.  It's a bit strange and daunting and sometimes I think I can't do it but I'm persevering and I believe I'm doing pretty well.  Yep, I've been knitting using just the yarn in my stash.  I'm not on a diet, I just haven't actively been buying any yarn.  I'm getting my fix by the 2 yarn clubs I belong to - the Rockin' Sock Club and Sundara's Seasons Yarn Club.  Looking through the stash, I see that I have a lot of beautiful Sundara Yarn that I have been "saving."  But I realized I should just go ahead and enjoy knitting with them.  Sundara's Seasons Yarn Club introduced a new yarn to her line - the Fingering Silky Merino.  This yarn is amazing!  Problem is, you only receive 1 skein in the club and I had a hard time figuring out what to knit with it.  I finally decided on a scarf so that I can enjoy the warmth and softness next to my face:

This is a simple feather and fan stitch pattern, otherwise known as Old Shale for it's resemblance to waves upon the sand.  It's often used as edging for clothing.  I'm not sure where I first saw this stitch pattern but it seems like I see it everywhere now:

I used US #6 needles for this fingering weight yarn.  I think this pattern would work well with any of the sock yarn that might be laying around in your stash.  This lovely color is Autumn Rose:

The yarn came in an amazing amount so I had plenty for this scarf.  I finally decided that it was long enough at 80" and I still have about 1/3 of the skein left:

This is a simple and an enjoyable stitch pattern and I have written it up if you'd like to have it.  I do not take credit for the stitch pattern.  I only take credit for my scarf:

Download old_shale_scarf.pdf

Happy May everyone!  I love May.  It's my birthday month.  It's Mother's day month.  It's all about me month.  Yippee!  So happy May it is!

socks and jocks

I have to 'fess up.  In my last post I mentioned that Matt's socks seem to be shrinking on him so I have to knit his socks a bit larger for him.  What I didn't mention was that they might be shrinking due to the fact that I might be throwing them in the dryer. Ahem.  So I guess this means that I have to knit the fella a few more pairs of socks:

It's not so bad when I find a pattern that is enjoyable to knit.  This pattern is a melding of Nancy Bush's Gentleman's Half Hose Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks and Wendy Knits Toe Up Socks with Gusset Heels.  What do I mean by melding?  I really liked the stitch pattern from Nancy but I don't like to knit cuff down for my husband for fear of running out of yarn.  So I changed the stitch count and switched the pattern to toe up and used Wendy's gusset heels:

There's something so fancy about knitting toe-up and magic loop.  A few loopy loops and increases and more increases and then voila!  A toe appears.  When non-knitters see what you're doing, they are suitably impressed and can even tell it's a sock!

These were knit with US #2 needles using Koigu yarn in a dark forest green shade.  This is another Project Spectrum Earth addition for me. 

Somehow I goofed a bit.  When I have 2 balls of yarn, I weigh each and start knitting with the smaller ball so I can be sure of not running out of yarn for the second sock.  Somehow I ran out yarn anyways and the cuff of one sock is 2 rows shorter than the other.  I don't think anyone can really tell.  Matt said they're fine so I'm not going to bother making the sock cuffs even:

On another topic - have you ever noticed the term Jock is usually reserved for tall, athletically inclined, males that usually excel in Basketball, Baseball or Football?  My boys are both good baseball players but they like soccer too.  They are also excellent at lots of other sports too.  My kids learned how to ride their bikes without training wheels as young as 3!  What do you call the kids that are top in other kinds of sports?  What if they excel at skateboarding or swimming or dancing?  Well, what to call girls that excel in their sports?  Why am I asking?

My daughters are so awesome at gymnastics.  My older one rocked her Sectionals meet and is going to State!  Yay!  She works so hard and at her level, she is at the gym 12-14 or more hours a week while still doing so well at school.  The higher up she goes, the more hours she'll have to spend at the gym.  She is in better condition than most all of the kids in her class.  She routinely beats the boys in strength, endurance, flexibility and even speed tests which gives her a thrill.  What do you call a girl like that?  If you call a girl a Jock, is it construed as a negative?  I'm just so proud of her and of all my kids.

Here are the Gymnastics State Cards that I made for Hailey's team.  They are given to the girls, from their coaches, to wish them luck at the meet.  They are also given to the girls to say great job, on their hard work for the season, if they aren't going to State.  Their team colors are Purple, Black and White:

On the back of the cards are diamonds where each girl can write in their scores for each event. Why diamonds?  Well, it's their turn to shine!:

Hailey and I had a lot of fun putting these cards together for all the girls:

Good luck to all the athletes out there!  I am amazed by all of you!

there's no place like home

Thank you so much for all the have-fun-on-your-trip wishes!  We did have a fantastic time at Disneyland and hardly wanted to come home:

Here's my gang on the steamboat:

It was the best time with my family!  We had such a blast just hanging out together.  I am glad to be home and in my own bed though.  I stayed away from the internet, while we were gone, and didn't really knit much (gasp!)  Here is the only thing I worked on while we were on vacation (and most of it was done during the traveling and since we've been home):

These are just a simple pair of garter rib socks for Matt using my own pattern.  They were knit a little big since it seems like all of his socks shrink a bit after washing.  There's nothing better than a sock project to work on while traveling!:

These are my first contribution to Project Spectrum's Earth.   The colors are perfect for Earth, huh?:

They were knit on US #2 needles using the ever fabulous Sundara Yarn from my Seasons Yarn shipment of Bronzed Forest.  If you're interested, Sundara's Seasons Yarn is now open briefly for sign-ups.  I love her yarn!

It's been crazy getting back into life.  This weekend, my daughter had her Gymnastics Sectionals Meet where she did beautifully and qualified for State!  Yay!!  I'm so proud of her but what's even better is that she's so proud of herself.  I love how much self confidence she has.

Also, I did this on Saturday:

This is about 10-12 inches of my hair that's going to Locks of Love.  Eek, my hair feels so short now!  I think this is the 6th or 7th time I've done this and the last time was about 1 1/2 years ago.  Please consider donating to Locks of Love or to Beautiful Lengths.  It's such a simple and easy thing to do.

Now it's time for me to catch up on all your lives!  Bloglines tells me that you all have been rather chatty while I've been away.  I can't wait to see what everyone's been up to!

a-tisket a-tasket

I have this little basket:

It is filled with 52 cards worth of good luck for Hailey's Gymnastic Team:

Every parent has a job to contribute to the success of the team and my job is to make good luck cards for the girls that make it to Sectionals and State.  I also make good job cards for the girls that don't.  The cards always have places that the girls can write their scores for Vault, Bars, Beam, Floor and All-Around on them.  In this case, the flower petals:

Hailey and I had a lot of fun making these together.  Just wanted to show you all what else was keeping me busy! 

We're off to the Magical Kingdom of Disneyland for awhile. 
See you when we get back!  Have a great week everyone!

pedicure socks

Ordinary pair of socks?

Why no, they're pedicure socks!

These are modeled by my daughter but requested by my sister Brandi who lives in cold Idaho.  I hope you like them Brandi!:

What better way to show of a nice pedicure and keep your feet warm?  I think they sort of resemble leg warmers.  What do you think?  Should I knit a longer pair and call them leg warmers? 

These socks are my own pattern and were knit with Sundara Sock Yarn in Crushed Cherry on US #2 Needles - another addition to Project Spectrum:

Here are my daughters' cute feet after I took them to get a pedicure.  We had fun doing that!:

Remember the last post when I was happy it was Spring?

Well, not so much!  Yes, snow in Seattle in late March.  Crazy!  There's so much of it in my area.  At least I have this cute little owl to enjoy:

Along with these yummy gifts by the extraordinary Moonstitches:

She generously sent them to me as a thank you.  Thanks so much Alex!  The owl that you created is too sweet!  You're so talented!  I love them.

I'm feeling like life is so hectic right now and I'm just going going going so I'll leave you all with a picture of my daughter at one of her meets.  It's taken from a video so the quality is not so great but I love it anyways and I love my daughter - the beautiful and amazing, sock modeling, gymnast:

socks in the woods

It's Springtime!  The sun came out today and I finished my first pair of socks this year only to not have my model around to photographed them.  Harrumph!  So I grabbed the socks and my camera and went on a hunt for my daughter.  I found her outside, in the pretty sunshine, playing in the woods with her friends.  I had her put the socks on, with much grumbling, so I can quickly take pictures.  Yep, I took them outside in the woods where she was:

The pattern is the toe-up Double Eyelet Rib Socks by Wendy Knits:

I knit them with Sundara Yarn's lovely sock yarn in Dahlia from the Petals Collection:

The only modification I did was to knit a picot cuff instead of a ribbed cuff from the pattern:

It's been awhile since I've knit any socks so it was a bit strange getting back into the groove.  I started on US #2 needles but had to frog and restart them again on #1s.:

I like the way they turned out on the smaller needles and now I have another addition for Project Spectrum's Fire - red/orange/pink:

I'm so happy it's Spring!  Happy Easter to you if you celebrate it!

scarfitis

OK, OK, I said no more multiple knitting. But...but...I had 5 skeins of Manos del Uruguay I wanted to use up in order to try to work through my stash:

I knitted this scarf way back when, and felt that it was a great pattern for showing off the beautiful Manos colors. So I thought I'd knit another using the 2 skeins I purchased a while back:

See how pretty the color of Manos are?:

Then I had 3 skeins of pink leftover from this sweater, so I decided to split it in half to knit a scarf for each of my daughters.  This one is for Hailey:

I think the pattern works well with a semi-solid color also.  These are my latest contribution to Project Spectrum:

This one is for my other daughter, Shelby:

I just love the randomly thick and thin texture of Manos. 

The pattern is My So Called Scarf.  These scarves all went really quickly on US #11 needles:

So there you have it.  I fell off the wagon to knit Scarf 2, Scarf 3 and Scarf 4.  It's back on the wagon now for me.

Thank you thank you thank you for all the sweet and wonderful comments on my last post.  I appreciate each and everyone of them and will always try to respond to them.  My 6000th commenter was Margaux!  I also gifted yarn to a random commenter and that was Anne-Marie!  Both are amazing East Coast knitbloggers that I love reading.  Go ahead and visit their blogs.  I think you'll really enjoy them too!

icarus

Hiya!  Didja miss me?  Were you thinking, "Wow, she's been gone awhile.  Maybe she's coming back with 15 sweaters to post?" Hahahahaha!  Not a chance.  All this time and I've only got one project to show ya:

This is the Icarus Shawl (Ravelry link) by Miriam Felton found in Interweave Knits Summer 2006 and The Best of Interweave Knits:

The only modification I did to the pattern was to knit the corrections posted by the designer:

This beautiful yarn was generously gifted to me by the brilliant dyer herself, Sundara.  This is her Silk Lace in Wine and it was so very lovely to work with on US #3 needles.  I only needed one skein and there was plenty to knit an extra repeat (if I wanted to but I didn't) Thank you so much Sundara!  It is so amazing and pretty and shimmery and I love it!:

This is the first time I've done a lace project so I started, frogged, put away and then restarted the project a few times until I got the hang of working with such fine yarn on little needles.  Once I got into the groove, I did like knitting this pattern.  It's also my next contribution to Project Spectrum 3:

Yes, I know it's been 3 weeks since I've posted but I was busy.  Between skiing, the kids being on mid-winter break, hurting my back, going on a gymnastics meet trip to Idaho (where my daughter rocked!), and getting icky sick, I haven't been knitting that much. There were days and days that I didn't knit at all.  I did eventually finished, washed, blocked and photographed the shawl so that I finally have something to post:

My back is feeling fine now, I'm getting over being sick and I'm back from my unexpected hiatus and ready to have fun with you all!  It's about time for my 6000th comment so if you feel like leaving me a comment, you might just win some yarn (don't forget to let me know your favorite color!)  Ahhh...It's good to be back!

cheaper by the dozen

It's a sickness really.  It starts out simple - "Hmm.. the girls have new hats, maybe the boys should have some too."  Then it progresses - "Hmm... I think that their friends that they ski and snowboard with will want some too."  Then it escalates:  "Maybe the parents would like one too?"  Pretty soon it's out of control - "Just one more, I can knit just one more!":

But they're so easy and Cascade 220 has so many colors!  Oohh... pretty yarn... pretty pretty yarn...  They really don't take that long to knit.  I can handle it:

Yes, I know I have a problem.  I'm here to admit it.  I'm Tiennie and I'm a Multiple Knitter.  Second Sock Syndrome?  Bah!  Never! 

In case you're wondering, these are Half-Pipe Hats by Debbie Stoller found in Son of Stitch 'n Bitch: 45 Projects to Knit and Crochet for Men.  (Ravelry link here).  They were all knitted with US #8 needles using various shades of Cascade 220 (except for one knitted with Classic Elite Princess - 'cause you know there has to be an ugly stepchild in there somewhere.)  I did make one change - I use a CO of 96 stitches vs. the original 80 stitches.

Here's the modeled shots (which was quite hectic with rambunctious boys and lots of hats.)

Black:

Dark Grey (The one knitted with Classic Elite Princess):

Charcoal:

Light Grey:

Westpoint Blue:

Denim:

Navy:

Lichen:

Straw:

Walnut:

Brown:

Maroon (My first entry for Project Spectrum 3):

Cheaper by the Dozen?  Maybe?:

That's it though.  I'm declaring an end to all the multiple knitting.  There won't be anymore - unless, that is, I knit a pair of socks.  Then maybe, just maybe, I'll knit the mate.

si capitan!

I know a lot of you have been wondering how I can knit so fast and knit so many duplicate projects.  I also know that some of you wonder why I never post a picture of myself.  At first it was because I was shy and I was worried about letting my secret out but I think that we know each other well enough now that I can share this picture of me:

Picture of Tiennie

Bwahahahahaha!  I crack myself up.  Just kidding. 

Here's some more matching projects - 'cause you know I don't do that enough.  This is Capitan by Rosi Garmendia:

These were knitted on US #10.5 with Iceland Madil Wool (hey it's not Cascade 220!):

Here's my oldest:

And my youngest:

My favorite part of the hat - the star on the crown:

My favorite girls:

Notice the snow melting in the background at my house?  It's not sticking around here, but, well, we haven't been able to go skiing because of TOO MUCH snow.  Yep, there's been so much snow that the Pass has been closed and we couldn't get to the slopes.  So that gave me plenty of time to knit 2 more hats for friends.  Here's all 4 hats:

As Rosi says: "Si Capitan!"

Thanks for indulging me in my silliness.  Something else that makes me laugh?  This e-mail from a fellow blogger (who shall remain nameless):

"Thank you so much! I have to tell you something funny. I showed ___ how your husband had been selected as Hunk of the Month in his Cobblestone sweater, and he just sort of chuckled.  But when I gave him HIS Cobblestone, he put it on and started singing a little made-up song:

Hunk of the month!
I'm cute as can be.
Hunk of the month!
Now it's gonna be me.

I nearly fell over from laughing. He absolutely forbade me from posting about the song, but gave the okay to share it with you and your hubby. :)"

Hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee!