Fall Projects

Short days, wet patio, warm blankets and hot mulled cider: it’s Fall, y’all which means TIME TO KNIT!

I’ve got two new knitting books checked out from the library for inspiration and am trying my hardest to finish this last pair of socks so that i can dig into Christmas projects and some warm clothes for personal use. On my list to make this season: mug coozies, leg warmers, fingerless mitts, mittens and a bunch of baby things like socks, bonnets and toys. I love knitting stuff for others, and love it even more when i get all those gift projects finished and can work on stuff for me! I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.

After all, knitting for yourself is the best way to learn. If you keep giving away all your finished knits, you have no idea how they wear: comfie, itchy, good, bad, long lasting, etc. My last project was an experiment that failed, and i’m okay with that. Plus, now i have yarn available for another project after i rip out this non-cowl.

What sort of projects are you looking forward to working on this fall? Do you knit, quilt or sew? Do you like making things for yourself or others more?

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Fall is In the Air and On My Needles

Burnt orange, brown and mustard yellow have always been my favorite colors. That is they WERE my favorite colors until i moved to Austin, TX: land of the UT Longhorns with the team color of burnt orange. Burnt orange coated, no SATURATED that city and i wanted nothing to do with any affiliation with a sport team, so i quit wearing burnt orange. Luckily i moved! Now i live in a town with team colors in….. ORANGE! haha. Ah well, it’s Fall and i’m wearing orange, darnit!

I picked up some lovely batts of pygora fiber at this summer’s Black Sheep Gathering and spun it into a lovely three-ply yarn. I’ve finished my husband’s knit hat in time for the cooler weather, and it’s not quite Christmas knitting crunch time (though in reality, it probably already is) so i’m knitting myself something. Despite never having worn a cowl, or knitted lace – i’m combining both into my current experiemental knitting project. Doesn’t this yarn just scream autumn? I think so.

Read more about my knitting adventure and get the “pattern” for achieving this lacey look over at today’s Pocket Pause.

Are you a knitter? Do you rely on patterns and charts, or do you ever just wing it?

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My Handmade Holidays

With all my traveling, sewing, soap making and present wrapping, i missed out on participating in much handmade holiday conversation here at Not Dabbling, so my post this week will be a run down of all the projects i worked on this year.

Check out An Austin Homestead in the next week or two to see all my projects revealed. You can also find all my original handmade holiday posts in the archives on the left sidebar.

I got started with my holiday gifts early this year, beginning in September with some canned blackberry jam made from berries i picked just down the road, blended with dried cayennes saved from my Austin garden.

While i harvested gobs of berries and sold veggies to folks at the local farmer’s market, i was inspired to make my own produce bags for use at market and at home. I played around with my crochet hooks and came up with a sweet and easy pattern. I made at least 6 of these to give to several family members as Christmas gifts. *And i’ll be posting a tutorial on how to make your own market bag soon- so stay in touch and crochet with me!

My spinning wheel was a big contributor to my gifts this year. Not only did i give some beautiful skeins of “meriboo” (merino/bamboo) yarn to my mother in law, i also spun the yarn for several knitting projects for other loved ones. One mother has a new scarf, one father has a new hat, and each sister has a headband or hat. I am especially proud of two hats i knitted for my two best friends. One is in Texas, the other in New York and thus one has ‘not so warm’ hat, and the other an extra warm hat made of handspun quivit fiber (musk ox). I don’t yet know how to follow a knitting pattern, so all my projects come out rather “uniquely” which makes them even more special: they’re the only ones like them!

Giving my handmade gifts filled me with so much pride this year. I think my recipients loved their gifts, and i could tell they were all touched by my truly ‘hands on’ experience with each of their presents. Whether spun then knit, or picked then canned: all my gifts started with me from scratch to become treasured and useful possessions that will hopefully remind my recipients of me whenever they taste, wear or use them. To sit down to spin yarn for a project for someone you love to enjoy for years to come: THAT is what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown. For me, at least.

In these dark days after Christmas (and other gift giving holidays) and before the new year, what thoughts and gifts are you pondering – both given and received? What present (given or received) stands out in your memory as the most treasured this year?

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Spinning A Yarn

Yes, i spin yarn. No, my wheel is not an antique and neither are the robust group of friends i’ve made here in Oregon who are part of the even more robust fiber community. My wheel i picked up used at a great price and my friends i picked up from fiber stores and a local farmer’s market, and all of them already priceless to me. Isn’t “Clementine” spiffy? She’s a Clemes & Clemes Modern Wheel. (Please forgive the repulsive state of my kitchen. It’s a tiny apartment and it’s never clean.)

I am often asked “why would you spin yarn when you could just buy it in the store?” or “why would you want to knit a hat when you could just buy one in the store?” I believe those people are missing the point. I do still buy cotton yarn and lust after other folks’ gorgeous handspun occasionally. I don’t think everyone in the world needs to make everything from scratch, but in case you too are wondering why i’m crazy enough to spend hours holding balls of fluff in my hands and treadling my foot up and down, this is why i do it:

Some of my very first handspun, totally uneven, but super soft!

Spinning is an ancient art that is so simple yet so complex. By carefully holding the fiber of animals or plants in one hand, rotating it using a spindle or spinning wheel, and gently tugging it forward and back, you can create yarn: something beautiful and strong that can be used to make functional and long lasting garments. What’s better than that? I am also a sailer, or was in my younger days, and spinning is a bit like sailing in that you’re grasping just a few simple elements and harnessing them to do what you want. Wind and water make you go, fluff and twist make beautiful yarn.

Ultimately, I will be raising many of the animals who will contribute the fiber that i spin. I’m thinking of raising Icelandic sheep for their fiber and their meat, pygora goats for their cashmere-like fiber and friendship, and a few fluffy rabbits from which the softest of fiber comes. To raise an animal, sheer it, wash and prepare its fiber, spin it into yarn and create a sweater to be worn for the rest of your life: now THAT’S the reason that i spin. Spinning is relaxing, rewarding, and reconnects me to a time before the hussle and bussle of this century – and i get to wear or clothe my loved ones with the fruits of my labors!

What do you think of my very first knit hat? I’m an absolute beginner knitter, and it’s kind of atrocious. At least the yarn i spun for it is warm, if a bit uneven! I think the hubs likes it, even if it is “The hat of many mistakes.”  Read more about my spinning and knitting attempts and see how much nicer they’re both starting to look at An Austin Homestead. -Miranda

Are you a spinner? I know there are more of us out there than some may think… Why do YOU spin?

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Handmade gifts: knitted necklaces

One can give only so many scarves as holiday gifts. One gets tired of knitting scarves over and over again…

So this year I’ve created knitted jewelery for the ladies in my life. It’s been a really fun project and I thought I’d share it here with you first. (It will also be available on Ravelry later today if you like to keep track of your projects there.) Hemp cording was used in place of yarn, but I’m also using jewelery wire and embroidery floss to create some more delicate looking pieces.

Enjoy!

Needles and Yarn: Choose your needle size and “yarn” gauge according to how tightly you’d like the finish project knit. A larger needle will result in larger holes between stitches. I used hemp jewelery cording; the black was knit with a size 3 needle, the tan with a size 7.

Slip on clasp for closure as you would beads.

Co2 leaving plenty of lead for jewel or charm.

row 1: k1, M1, M1, k1

row 2 :K1, yo, k2, yo, k1

rows 3,4,5 : k1, yo, knit to last stitch, yo, k1

row 6 : k1, yo, k1, yo, k1, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, k1, yo, k1

row 7,8 : k2tog, yo, knit to last 2, yo, k2tog

row 9 : k1, yo, k1, yo, k1, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, k1, yo, k1

row 10 : make stitches to continue row to the back of neck. Make last stitch extra loose to make closure for the necklace.

row 11: knit across, binding off in process. When you come to the end of the pattern, make the same number of stitches as you did on the right side. Allow closure clasp to remain on last stitch before continuing down to next row.

row 12 : (this row will bring you back down to row 11) k1, binding  off until you come to end of row.  Bind off last stitch by sewing through one stitch of original pattern.

Wrap extra CO lead to tie onto charm and pull through to make a knot. Add a dab of glue if you think it’s necessary.

Et Voila! A simple and pretty necklace great for any gift-giving opportunity.

Jennifer can be found over at Unearthing this Life where she blargs about living life in the slow lane.

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