Mittens

Almost done just have to work in the loose ends.  These were fun to knit.

Mittens for Francis age 5

Mittens pattern

Cast on 40 sts 

K2, P2 cuff 12 rows

Knit row

P2 rows

Knit row

10 row pattern

Knit row

P 2 rows

Knit row

Increase 4  stitches knit 10 M1 (44sts)

Thumb gusset place 2 markers increase after and before  the markers every third row till you have 14 sts between markers

See photo below

Put these stitches on a holder or string to finish thumb later

Continue the mitten to length you need and decrease use heart of the blossom decrease and finish pulling stitches together.

Perfect cabled tam

Needles 16" circular #9 ndls and #7 Double points 

Bulky wool and alpaca yarn, natural color

Cast on 44 sts

K2, P2 around 4 rows

Increase

K2 , increase two sts between so pattern becomes k2 p4

Decrease p2 tog.    Till you have k2, P1, cable k4, P1,  decrease k2 tog . Till you have k3 , P1, then decrease quickly to K3 tog. Finish with K1, P1 two rows then pull tog

Mercer County Spinners and Weavers Meeting Dec.12, 2013

The Mercer County Spinners and Weavers meeting is this Thursday, below is the email from Bonnie Massing about our meeting.  I hope we have a break in the weather for the meeting. The forcast looks ok. It will be cold but with a high of only 17 so dress warm, it takes a while for our little building to warm up.  The warm soup will also help.   I am looking forward to seeing everyone.   nancy

Hi All,  To remind you that this Thursday, December 12 is our annual soup (crock pot)and dessert tureen luncheon at Munnell Run Farm.  Everyone doesn’t have to bring both.  It’s worked out fine to leave it to chance in the past.

Remember your bowl and spoon and cup for the beverage of your choice and whatever project you’re working on at the present – socks, spinning, other knitting.....

 

See you there.  Bonnie

Mittens

I try to take notes and photos as I knit mittens so I can make a matching pair. I do not work from a pattern, so the notes are critical to making the second mitt. 

How long does it take?  I honestly do not know. My best guess might be at least 10 hours to knit a pair of mittens. I rarely knit them straight thru, rather allowing them to develope over a few days and sometimes weeks knitting in short periods of time.

 I sell them for $30.00 if I can find a buyer. The yarn cost in a shop, $10-20.00 depending on sources. The Alpaca wool blend I am using in project is expensive to buy.  I am using left overs so materials cost is not a factor in my priceing. However, knitting mittens cannot be about earning a living wage, it is about love, love for the person you intend them for or love for the creative process. 

It cannot be about selling Mittens for $$. People often ask how long it takes to make these mittens. I often say I do not know or care to think about my time. They find this disturbing. The idea of knitting for pleasure and creative fulfillment is so foreign to most people.  They scoff at my $30.00 price, do they think it too expensive? Do they think I am a fool to sell them so cheap?

Do they not respect my efforts because I do not charge more for my time? I will never understand them and they cannot understand me unless they knit a pair of mittens.

Dragon Fly Studio Slippery Rock, PA

My new collection of Hats are on display Dec.1. From 1 - 4. That's today

Annual holiday show includes work by 

Nancy Kneupper

Diane Bowser

Barbara Wukich

Toni and Jay Mann

Trish Grabteski

Nancy Griffin

Guild meeting at the Farm

Spinners and weavers are meeting at Munnell Run Farm this Saturday from 10 - 2 . Bring whatever you are working on and your bag lunch and join us. 

Bonnie sent the following email just in case you missed it or are not on our list .

Hi All, I just sent the message about the next meeting and then received one from Judy. She is planning to bring some felting samples and discuss the possibilities of doing some felting in the next year.

She also wants to help you get started on your socks.  Verna has her socks finished, I have one and a half done (maybe 3/4).  So bring your needles and wool and get help getting started.  Bonnie

Fall Dye Work Day

Spinners and Weavers Sept 14th 2013

Hi Spinners and Weavers,

The annual natural dyes workshop will be September 14th at Lyn Croskey’s place. Mary Kathryn Crum has gifted us with several out-of-the-ordinary dye materials.

We have brazilwood (pink or red) and logwood (purple).  She also has given us several differentmordants and some extra pots in which to do all this.

Mary Donaldson is doing goldenrod dye,  Lyn is doing Queen Anne’s lace,  Bonnie will do jewel weed,  onion skins and butternut hulls.  Judy is doing indigo.  Judy said if anybody else can do goldenrod also, that would be good so we can overdye to get greens.

Bring your marked skeins.  Cut up a milk bottle or other plastic “thing” and write your name with a magic marker and attach them to your skeins.  If you are doing fleece you need mesh onion bags or those mesh laundry bags and mark them with your name.  I got mesh laundry bags at the Dollar Store.   You need plastic bags to take your wet wool home.  

Don’t forget your lunch.   And a lawn chair would be good.  If by some miracle this hot weather breaks,  throw a sweater in the car just in case.

Lyn is going to send me written out directions to her place and I’ll forward them.

Bonnie

cell phone in case you get lost – 724 456 6806

 

 

Spinners and Weavers Meeting, June 2013

We are here at the Farm spinning and trading funny stories about our pets and other creatures in our lives here in rural Western PA.  The July meeting will be changed to Munnell Run Farm and the sock dye workshop will be Aug. 10 at Bonnie's Church in Greenville.  Details will follow.  This is a report from the Thursday June 12 spinning day at Munnell Run Farm in Mercer.

Mercer County Spinners and Weavers Guild spring meeting

Here is a Newsletter from Bonnie concerning the April 11 meeting of our Spinning and Weaving Guild at Munnell Run Farm on Rt58 just north of Mercer.

Hi Spinners and Weavers,

The killdeers were flying and crying at Munnell Run at the last meeting and Judy thought they were blaming her for the snow. There was a flock of redwings calling. It seemed a whole lot like spring except for the snow.

There were only a few brave souls at the meeting or to quote Judy, "maybe the foolish ones."

For the next meeting, it will be a Thursday project day but Bonnie Swogger has some felted alpaca that she does not know what to do with. After some examination and discussion, Lyn and Judy suggested needle felting. So Lyn and Judy will bring felting needles and foam and their knowledge for everyone to try their hand at felting. We will also bring some pieces that we have made to inspire budding needle felters.

We invite others to bring any roving or needle felted pieces and their experience and we will have some fun. There will also be carders for those still wanting to prepare fiber for the "fleece to feet" project. Judy will be available to discuss spinning for socks and offer examples of plying.

meeting dates:
April 11
May 11
June 13
July 13 stripe dyeing the yarn with Kool Ade, for our "fleece to foot socks". This meeting will be at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Greenville PA. Bonnie Massing will make a large pot of soup and have homemade bread. It's her church. People could bring some desserts, in smallish quantities. We had a difficult time finding a place available with water and electricity and tables.
August 8
September 14 (natural dyes workshop)
October 10
November 9
December 12 (holiday soup tureen)

Meeting March 16. Mercer Spinners and Weavers Guild

Some people are ready to start spinning their sock yarn and I for one am still carding my wool.

Come join us for the fleece to foot sock project or bring your latest project or wheel. Bring your latest project for show and tell or bring the project that is driving you crazy and get the help you need to finish.

Remember your lunch and cup for the beverage of your choice.

10:00 at Munnell Run Farm.

Bonnie Massing

Mercer Spinners and Weavers Guild March 2013 meeting

Attention!  Spinners and Weavers.  Lyn Croskey just called me to say we cannot use the building on March 9th.  The meeting was rescheduled to March 16th.  Sorry for the confusion.  Bonnie

Blocking cable knit hat.

Finished Cable Hat
Blocked over a bowl and sit on plastic jar. Washed in med temp water. It is amazing how dirty the yarn is. The wash water turns coffee colored.

Decrease the crown of the Cable tweed hat.

Finished the cable tweed hat today.
Now on to making another one
The next one is brown alpaca.

Winter cap in cables

I started this hat last night and this morning I ripped out the last 4 inches I knit last night. The cables were too complicated and going no where good so I have simplified my design.

Cast on 80 sts. On # 8 ndls.
After ribbing I increased to 96 sts(6 sections of 16) I will have two large open cables in each section.

I will decrease to only one cable in each section at the crown. It will be interesting to see this one evolve.
I will post pictures.

Mercer County Spinners and Weavers Guild meeting Feb.14

Hi Spinners and Weavers, Well, the groundhog didn't see his shadow so we are in the downhill slide to Spring!! Yea-a-a!
To remind you of the Spinners and Weavers meeting on Thursday, February 14 at Munnell Run Farm. Some of us are working on the "fleece to feet" sock project, and are preparing fleece to spin. Some people are ready to start spinning. If you choose not to take part in the sock project or if you plan to dye commercial yarn using the Kool Aide method and make self striping yarn to make socks when we dye later this year, please come anyway. Bring your wheel or other project as you wish.
We have tea and coffee and hot water to make the beverage of your choice. Remember to bring your lunch and a cup unless you like styrofoam cups.
Bonnie

Happy Valentines Day
Hope to see all my fiber fanatic friends at the meeting.
Nancy

Inaugural Ball, White House Tour,

We arrived in DC on Sunday around 11:00 went off to explore the Mall. Met up with friends at the Botanical Gardens and visited the Native American Museum and had some wonderful native food.
Inauguration Day : we stood with a million other enthusiastic mostly younger people to watch the swearing in ceremony. It was inspiring to see such a diverse and friendly crowd. I was renewed with hope that we can work together to make a better world. FORWARD. Into the new century. Everyone carried a cell phone to record the event and the felling of being part of this giant community was worth the physical endurance it took to walk miles and stand for hours in lines.

We did no use our tickets for the parade. We went back to our hotel to rest up for the Ball and find some food to keep going.

The Ball was hard to describe. Thousands of people all dressed up milling about. The music was great and seeing the President dance with Michelle was the high point of the evening.

The tour of the White House 11:00am
Frigid cold standing in line. We just missed the Surprise visit of the President, First Lady and Bo. If we were just a little slower moving through we would have seen them. Kathy F. From Greenville was there and had the her picture posted on the White House Site. I will attach it below.
Here are a few pictures:

Inaugural hat for Deborah

Knit cabled Tam my original design. Inspired by a tam I saw in Knitty Magazine. My tam uses larger needles and my flower only has 6 petals the other one had 8. I knit this without a pattern just making it up as I knit knowing that the math had to come out so I had 6 equal sections to create the design I hoped to achieve. Below are some notes that I took as I knit. An experienced knitter should be able to knit a similar hat following the notes plus pictures posted below.
You may email me at spinningotter@gmail.com if you have questions.
Worsted weight Manos yarn on #9 circular needles.
Cast on 64 stitches
K2p2 for a couple rows
Knit one row
Purl around two rows
Knit row increasing (k8m1) to 72sts
(72 Divide by 6 = 12) knit 12 place marker to create a design with 6 sections in the pattern. Blossom pattern on top looks like flower with 5 petals.
You will use the markers as a guide to increase stitches inside the petals to 104 stitches to make a Tam shape.
When the hat is large enough you will decrease inside of the petals(seed stitch) to form top of the hat. Look at the photos below as a guide

Another pair of Angora Mittens

The mittens I made for Sue we so much fun I made another pair. Red Angora by Elsbeth Lavold and left over yarn green tweed from Dale of Norway.
Knitted.
Cast on 40 stitches on #5 ndls
Adding stitches for thumb gusset(16+adding 4-6 sts to finish the thumb when seperated from the body of the mitten). finished off the thunm with # 3 ndls to tighten up stitches.