Author: Laura Kate

One of six children, I was raised by a busy mom, who instilled in me a love of fabric. Though I learned to sew and knit at a young age, it was the arrival of my first grandchild that pushed me into action. A long-time knitter, I am now ready to explore all things fiber.
Posted in colorwork, knitting

What I’m Knitting Now

Posted on by Laura Kate

I can’t describe this post as a cast-on, because I started this project immediately after I had cast off and kitchener stitched my last Christmas gift item.

My inspiration for this project is a slipped stitch pattern used in a shawl design.

https://www.i-knt.com/product/3879940/co-zzy-shawl-eng

The two yarns I chose are Rowan Felted Tweed (purple) and Tosca Light by Lang (multicolor.)

The Rowan was acquired in Madison at Sunset Yarns, although it is readily available from many on-line sources. The Tosca Light? Honestly, I can’t remember, but it was probably found at a Wisconsin yarn store. It is no longer available (according to Ravelry, the yarn is “dyed and gone.”) I’m in love with the long color changes that unfold as I knit.

The thing is, I don’t want to knit another shawl. There is simply no more room in my “shawl drawer” for another one, no matter how beautiful. Instead, I plan to knit a sort of serape/poncho kind of thing based on this design from Cheryl Oberle.

This jacket is knit in two matching rectangles that will be seamed together at the center back. I simply replaced the arrowhead lace section with the slipped slip pattern from the Cozzy shawl. Next I filled in the rows between pattern sections with alternating stripes of the multi and purple yarns.

Oh, and I threw in a few rows of eyelet lace for good measure.

It’s all going pretty well so far, as you can see in the first photo. The tricky part will come next, as I finish up the first half and start knitting the sleeve down.

I’ll have an update in a few weeks. Until then, happy knitting!

Posted in knitting

Christmas Knitting Reveal – Stash Yarn

Posted on by Laura Kate

This Christmas I gifted my daughter’s family with adult booties, aka Dorm Boots.

https://auntekristy.blogspot.com/2016/09/better-dorm-boots-lace-edition-free.html

I was determined to complete all three pair in yarn sourced from my stash. Fortunately, the pattern does not require much yardage. The trickiest part is getting the right sizes for people with vastly different foot lengths.

The fun part was choosing yarns that mirrored my loved ones’ tastes.

First the soles. In the waning days of Bluprint.com, they were trying to unload all of their product, including yarn. I bought two skeins of a blended yarn – part wool, part acrylic. It turned out to be a disgusting color and very rough. So it lanquished for a year in my stash closet.

Eventually I tried it out as the sole section of a pair of dorm boots I made for myself, where it revealed itself as made to be crushed under foot.

With a proto-type complete, I moved on to the Christmas knitting. First up was a pair for 13-year-old grandson, H.

This yarn selection was dead easy. In my stash was a half-complete shawl knit from bluish color-changing acrylic blend that I had purchased in Milwaukee. It was incomplete because I had run out of yarn. With no more available, it was evident that unraveling the shawl was necessary. It yielded more than enough for the boots. And blue is H’s favorite color. He also likes multi-hued garments. Win-win.

Next came my son-in-law. A tall, slender guy, he wears pretty big shoes. The challenge here was getting enough length.

I chose to marry together two cotton/acrylic yarns. Both of these had been purchased to make things for their new baby, who arrived in 2018. I had used the white to make a stuffed toy in the form of a snowy owl. The grey had been knitted into a bunting. Lo and behold, the boots fit and SIL was delighted.

Finally came my daughter’s pair. I was running out of obvious choices in the stash. Would I break down and buy yarn? Nay, make it be not so! Adjusting the pattern by adding more stitches to the upper section, I was able to use some dk weight yarn leftover from a top-down sweater knitted for myself.

She is fond of warm brown shades. In tribute to her bohemian nature, I added some beaded ties at the ankles. She loved them!

Thus all is well that ends well.

Warm feet in Wisconsin and a happy heart in Oklahoma.

Posted in knitting

Merry Christmas (and Happy New Year) — Diary of a Yarnophile

Posted on by Laura Kate

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! This year has been a fiber adventure for myself to say the least. I spun 20+ new breeds of wool this year, bought over 300 pounds of raw fleece from various farms all over the United States, & knitted, spun, and wove more […]

Merry Christmas (and Happy New Year) — Diary of a Yarnophile

This image was too cute. I had to re-blog it! Thanks for sharing, Emily!

Laura

Posted in Uncategorized

Solstice Gifts from the Garden

Posted on by Laura Kate

I can’t let December pass by without writing about the garden produce I harvested this month. I like to think of these as gifts from Mother Nature to me.

The first image you see is a bunch of French Breakfast radishes from seeds sown in October. They were ready to eat in early December. I’ve been pulling a handful every week this month. Shredded and sliced they give a fresh crunch to salads. I even made a carrot and radish coleslaw dressed with a light vinaigrette.

There are a few interesting things to note about winter grown radishes. As you can imagine, they grow more slowly than they did in the spring. But they also remain ready to eat in the ground for weeks and don’t get woody. The hot peppery taste is much reduced.

I plant spinach nearly every October, typically at the same time that I plant garlic. Usually it germinates, makes a few leaves and then goes dormant until spring, at which time it explodes with growth. This year, it continues to make new leaves. I cut enough spinach for two salads in the last two weeks. The texture is velvety and the flavor is mild.

This Italian parsley was planted from transplants in early summer. Parsley is a bi-ennial. I usually get lots of leaves the year it germinates. Going into the next year, it produces leaves until the heat sets in, when it blooms, sets seed and dies.

This year I was unable to harvest any of parsleys during summer and fall because of the black swallowtail butterflies. They kept laying their eggs on it. The crop of caterpillers ate everything except a couple of stems. But lo and behold, come late fall the plants all produced nice umbrellas of leaves. I’ve been taking cuttings for the past two months pretty regularly. I’m wondering how these plants will behave next year.

This week the temperatures have dropped back into the twenties at night. So, the curtain may now be descending on the final produce production of 2021.