Wyoming Breezes

A main goal this month is to use some yarn from my stash. This week, I finished the cranberry shawl from some "mystery" yarn that I purchased at a yard sale. It feels like wool, and I think it has some mohair in it. The shawl is for February's All Crafts for Charity project. The shawl is a simple triangle garter stitch wrap. I will use scraps yarn to make some 12 inch squares for the same project. The lavender hat is made from some wool that I got through Freecycle. A woman gave me three skeins for the wool, some needles. I used a double strand of wool for the brim to keep my ears warm on cold, winter days. She also gave me two balls of purchased wool that is labeled as unscoured wool , a new term to me. I did some research and discovered very little information, but what I did find makes me wonder if I should knit with it. However, I did find some lovely hats on this site made with unscoured wool. Has anyone had experience knitting with unscoured wool? The hank of ya...

This month, I am going to concentrate on using scarp sock yarn, and I decided to make some Monster Socks. Ravelry has a group dedicated to making Monstersocks, and Heather Sebastian posted a technique that she calls Blended Socks . I like this technique: it is a lot of fun to see how the different yarns "play" with each other. The yarn scraps I am using are blends (wool, cotton, nylon), and the colors are wild together. I will not even attempt to match the socks since they are going to be worn around the house. I am looking forward to making more Monster Socks with scrap yarn that coordinates. I think the result will be stunning. Another project for this month involves Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness. Look for posts (every other day) about this disease. Someone close to you may have PH and not know it. Knowledge is Power.

October will be a month of challenges: I am taking two craft classes, organized by the Central Wyoming Community College Community Outreach Center. Hopefully, I will learn how to crochet and how to do two-color, two-handed knitting. I have tried to crochet before, but this time, I have enrolled in an actual class. It will meet three evenings this month, and the instructor promises that I will learn how to make a simple dishcloth and develop skills to crochet simple shawls and afghans. She is accepting students from ages 8+. Hopefully, I will not embarrass myself. I want to learn to crochet so I can add some borders on the Oddball Baby Blankets, but I will be happy to complete a "simple dishcloth." My second class will be just as challenging even though I have been knitting for years. I've never knit with yarn in both hands, and the Christmas stocking project will be knit in the round with two colors. I am using yarn reclaimed from wool sweaters for the stocking. In the p...

September and cooler temperatures blew into Wyoming last night. The house shuddered from the wind gusts, and this morning the lawn was littered with fallen leaves and branches. A light rain fell periodically all day, and now the sun is shining. I knit my way through the dreary day and listened to Tall Grass by Sandra Dallas, a book that I highly recommend. The reader (or listener) feels like a member of the Stroud family. I was drawn in by the description of the farmhouse and the surrounding fields. It brought back memories of my childhood and my family home. The narrator is a young girl that the dad calls, Squirt. She is much like Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird . Tall Grass shows how a Japanese internment camp brings out the best and worst in its community. Wyoming also had an internment camp during World War II, and I am sure the communities surrounding Heart Mountain went through the same struggles as those in the community in this book. This page gives you an idea of ...

August's goals are centered around finishing some projects and to clean my spare bedroom (craft room). Cleaning the craft room is the most ambitious project: the room is crammed with fabric, yarn, and items I have collected for the hospital nursery. I laundered all of the donations, and the items are in sealed bags. Even thought the hospital is limited on storage, I am hoping that they can find room for the items. I am going through my scraps and cutting the bits and pieces into standard sizes of squares and strips and sealing them in plastic bags; thus, when I decide to make another quilt, half of the work will be done. The flannel scraps crammed into the bag in the top photo need to be cut and organized. The smaller pile of cotton scraps is just a representation of the chaos that I need to tame. These scraps came from the receiving blankets, burial gowns, and demise pouches I made this past year. I doubt that I will eliminate all of the chaos in the craft room, but it would be n...

The purchases I made on my recent trip included two knitting stitch books. I looked for the perfect book in Hobby Lobby, JoAnn's, Barnes & Noble, Border, etc. and finally decided to purchase Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns and a Leisure Arts leaflet simply entitled, Beginner's Guide Knit Stitches & Easy Projects . The Big Book shows two patterns per page and the photographs are clear, close-up, and in color. Over 550 stitch patterns (written directions and charts) are included in this book. I feel it is the most comprehensive stitch book that I could buy for the price. I purchased the other stitch book because of its size (about 5 x 7 inches), thinking it would fit nicely into my knitting bag. It contains a modest 26 stitch patterns, and the photos are black and white. The project patterns in the book include: basic mittens, men's muffler, two pillows, baby & full-sized afghans, and a cropped cardigan. It also has some general knitting instructions for th...

Even though summer is officially over a month away, I have always equated June with the beginning of summer. For 33 years, June signified the end of school and two and a half months of freedom from grading essays, planning lessons, and dealing with teenage attitudes. Last weekend, I bought a watermelon because it sounded so good, and I was bitterly disappointed because it had no taste at all. I guess even watermelons know that it is not yet summer. I have several knitting projects planned for June. The Oddball Knitting group has decided to take some time off this summer, so we are not starting any new blankets. The ones rotating now will be the last until August. I still have two blankets scheduled to arrive in June: Pastel Rainbow and Neon Rainbow. I am trying to destash, so I am also working on another Oddball Baby Blanket on my own, using some Caron Dazzleaire in Baby Yellow/Green. I currently have about two inches done. I am trying to bring some organization to my life and to my gu...

April showers are supposed to bring May flowers, but it is too cold for any flowers to be blooming here. The gusting wind feels like it is blowing off of a snow-topped mountain. Hmmm, I guess it is. Even though signs of spring are all around (the trees are budding, the grass is starting to green, the tulips are up but are far from blooming, the robins are building their nests), it is just too darn cold to enjoy the season. Yet. Today's paper featured a snow-covered tulip and a snowy and blustery day, some 120 miles to the east. Brrrr! It is just too cold to be spring. Yet. Maybe the next few days will bring a warm front and some warmer days, but until then, the only May flowers that I am going to be seeing is the one on my pillow.

It seems strange to celebrate Easter a week after St. Patrick's Day; however, the early Easter has prompted me to post a second pillow top this month. In addition to the Easter pillow panel, I can now reveal the surprise that I made for Brenda who accepted my Pay It Forward Challenge. The tote bag is made out of Martha Stewart kitchen towels, found at Kmart. The bright, bandana colors are fun and hint that warmer weather will soon be here. If you want to make one of these reversal tote bags, check out the tutorial on What Is That Going To Be? blog. Brenda's bag reverses from bright pink to turquoise and is big enough for a quick trip to the grocery store or to take a knitting project on a road trip. Happy Spring!

This year is flying by so quickly, but I continue to work towards my goals of knitting items for myself and charity. With those goals in mind, I packed four skeins of sock yarn in my suitcase when I flew to Denver for a doctor's appointment. I packed my needles in my checked bags because I like to use metal needles, and I didn't want to chance having TSA confiscate them. I stayed at my sister's home and found some nice blocks of time to knit. My sister is on a bowling league, so I sat near the lanes and worked on my socks. It seems that knitting in public is a magnet; people always approached me to see what I was making, and a lengthy conversation ensued. At the end of my two week visit: four pair of socks and another sweater for the Guidepost project were finished. The sock yarn was Lorna's Laces (Mother Lode), Austermann Step (Blue/Gray/Charcoal), Trekking XXL (#184 - Green/Navy), and Lorna's Laces (Gold Hill).

February's panel for my pillow features a patchwork heart. Both of my sisters love to quilt and to piece fabric together; however, I did not inherit that gene. I have managed to make a few quilts, but it is not a passion of mine. I admire the quilts others make and appreciate the time and skill it takes to create them. I prefer to spend my time knitting. My current project is another Guidepost sweater, a red one for February.

The pillow made its debut under my 2006 Christmas tree. The gift from my sister included an over-stuffed pillow, four interchangeable panels (December, January, February, March), and a promise to provide the other eight panels. The months sped on without additional pillow panels: Summer flowed into Fall and these months and seasons were represented by the plain back of the March panel. I didn't remind my sister of her promise to make the other panels because she was distracted with her grandchildren and her other sewing projects. I was happy to have the pillow and the four panels that she made. Fast forward to Christmas 2007 - I nearly squealed with delight when I opened her gift on Christmas day. Tucked in the box were the eight pillow panels! In the coming year, each month will show a photo of the pillow in my favorite knitting chair.