Wyoming Breezes

LeAnn's T-shirt rug October 2018 LeAnn has been crocheting on this T-shirt rug for several weeks at the Crochet/Knit group. She is keeping all the knots on the backside of the rug. I love all the colors. LeAnn said she would continue until the red bag shown bottom left is empty. Several years ago, I knit a small rug with T-shirt "yarn" and huge needles. I used the rug at the door to collect damp shoes. I haven't seen it, so I wonder if it survived the move. Julie's crocheted entrelac blanket October 2018 Julie's entrelac blanket was the hit of the day. Everyone gathered around to see the process. I've seen entrelac that was knit, but this was the first time I'd seen crocheted entrelac. Have you knit or crochet with T-shirt yarn or knit or crochet entrelac?

October 2017 One of the Lucky Seven skeins of sock yarn from this post is being turned into a pair of gift socks. Yarn : Match 100 (75% superwash wool and 25% nylon)           Color #55188 Needles : US size 2 Stitch count: 60 stitches The Match 100 yarn feels good in my hands and is knitting well. I am pleased with this brand and will order it again. Have you discovered a "new to you" sock yarn that you like to knit?

Wandering Musicians serenade knitters: Cheryl (aka Lyle), Jane, and Nancy Fremont County Fair Riverton, WY July 29, 2014 Last Tuesday evening, members of the knitting group met at the County Fair to knit in the Fiber Arts exhibit area. We were surprised when two musicians wandered by and agreed to perform for us. The gentleman with the guitar, improvised a knitting song - such an unexpected and delightful treat. The other gentleman sang about wanting to be a tomato - more laughter and foot-tapping music. These two musicians live in different areas of the country but have travelled and worked county fairs together for several years. They clearly enjoy life and enjoy making others happy, too. This was probably the most fun we've had in all the years we've met at the fair to knit. Have you had any pleasant surprises this summer?

Jamie D. knitting with giant needles You may remember Jamie and her giant knitting needles as I have posted about them earlier in two separate posts - here and here . Off the needles January 2014 At Saturday's Fiber Guild meeting, Jamie revealed the finished rug during Show and Tell.  The rug "yarn" was made from old, promotional T-shirts. Those who have knit with T-shirt yarn know that it is heavy and awkward to handle. I applaud Jamie for working with the heavy material AND the large, heavy needles to create this rug.

Saturday, the Fremont County Fiber Guild hosted a Fiber Fest, which was well attended despite the bitter cold that has settled in this valley. Members demonstrated spinning (wheel and drop spindle), twining, knitting, needle felting, etc. As promised, I have photos of Jamie knitting with her giant needles . Jamie demonstrates how to cast on.  She cut T-shirts into strips and looped them together for "yarn." Jamie counts and arranges the stitches on the needle. With any knitting project, the first row can be a bit tricky. Alice B. steadied the right-hand needle as Jamie knit the first row.  Once started, the rug grew and grew.  The black bag contained more shirts for strips of lime green, gray, blue, and white. The big needles were a hit at the Fiber Fest, and were perfect for showing the knitting process to beginning knitters. 

Fremont County Fiber Guild Co-president, Bea R. and Lucy O. are intrigued with Jamie D.'s new knitting needles Jamie recently commissioned a man to make these special knitting needles for her. She intends to knit wool roving into rugs with the giant, wooden needles, and I hope to get a photo of her knitting with them at the guild Spin-in early in January. Jamie is also in my Tuesday night knitting group. She knits clever baby hats and fun projects that she designs.

Orenburg Lace Border lace weight yarn, using size 2 needles All Orenburg shawls have borders, so that was one of the exercises on Saturday's workshop. Orenburg shawls are knit strictly with garter stitch, yarn overs, and knit 2 or 3 together - no purl stitches. I've knit many items over the years but consistently avoided any patterns that involved charts. Saturday, I managed to knit my border swatch, as well as some sample lace patterns, using charts. The learning curve wasn't too steep for this section of the workshop: the frustrating part was yet to come.

Lace points are adjusted during the blocking demonstration. At Sunday's workshop, Galina demonstrated a wonderful lace blocking technique. She told us to use nylon cording because a wet shawl will not stick to the cord; thus, it can be positioned easily. Also, the nylon cord will not stretch and distort the lace as it dries.  Thread the cord through the yarn over holes on the lace points, alternating from front/back on the dry lace points.  Secure the cord with a slip knot and launder the lace in 40 C or 100 F water for 15 – 20 minutes. Use a gentle soap like Ivory or Dawn to cut the oil the lace has absorbed from your hands. Rinse well and squeeze out excess water.  The item can be blocked on carpeting, a bed or any flat cushioned surface. Have a friend hold the cord at top corners and gently stretch the knitting by adjusting the cord corners only.  Pin the four corners when the piece is the desired size. Notice the pins are not touching the lace -...

Chocolate-Mint is ready for donation. Two friends in my knitting group (Cheryl and Sheri) joined me in knitting on this blanket. We each knit two sections, and Cheryl added the border.

Cheryl and Sheri and I decided to knit an Oddball Baby Blanket called Chocolate Mint . The blanket will have two more sections - a mint and a chocolate. When it is finished, the blanket will be mailed to the Western Oddball coordinator for distribution at Seattle Children's Hospital.

Just Ducky is a Western Region Oddball Baby Blanket. The preemie blanket was started by Cheryl O., a knitting buddy, on needles donated by Julie. Another friend, Sheri H. knit the second section, and I knit the third section, using the Box Stitch . Update : February 5, 2012 photo does not show true colors

Cheryl O. and Sheri H. also knit sections to   Sweet Dreams , a preemie baby blanket. Two additional sections will be added by those in the Western Region Oddball group on Ravelry. Update : January 20, 2012

Two of my knitting buddies added sections to   Raspberry Delight  while I attended a wedding in Colorado. Sheri H. added the light pink section, and Cheryl O. knit the dark raspberry section. Now, three Western Region Oddball knitters will complete the blanket. Update:   December 15, 2011

Raspberry Delight , a Western Region Oddball Baby Blanket, is knit on size 8 needles. I used the Seed Block Stitch . The blocks on this blanket are five stitches wide. The needles for this blanket were donated by Julie, a friend in the Tuesday night, knitting group. I just discovered this site where stitch patterns can be sorted by stitch count, row count, stitch category, and offers thumbnails for a quick view of the patterns. Notice the other helpful links on the left side of the site.

Last week was the county fair, but I didn't enter anything since I was gone when the entry forms were due. I was pleased, however, that one of my knitting friends won the Championship prize for her beaded shawl. Everyone who passed the table was in awe of the workmanship. Congratulations, Julie! Julie's winning shawl was from the 2009 Year of Lace program. She entered all of them in the fair. This plum shoulder shawl is my favorite. This red circular shawl (it is folded in half) was Julie's favorite to knit. I missed taking a photo of her green rectangular shawl, but you can see what it looks like here . Julie liked making these four shawls so much that she enrolled in the 2010 Year of Lace. I'm sure she will enter them in next year's fair.

"The dog ate my homework!" I wish I could remember how many times I actually heard that statement from one of my students. It was usually uttered by someone who haven't attempted or finished their homework, but now I wonder if some of them could have been telling the truth. It was one of my knitting buddies that changed my mind. You see, her dog actually ate . .  her sock! And not just any sock, but the first attempt at knitting a sock. She took the class with me about three years ago, but she never got the hang of it. I told her to find her sock and we would work on it together. She had just finished the gusset and was ready to cruise when her dog chewed the top of the cuff and totally gnawed the heel. She was left with an air-conditioned wool sock. Thankfully, the dog spared her needles and most of the remaining yarn, so she may be able to knit a pair of short-cuffed socks. I have gained a new respect for the statement, "the dog ate my homework....