Wyoming Breezes

squishy surprise package August 2021 Imagine my surprise when I found an unexpected package in my mailbox that was practically bursting at the seams. I was even more surprised when I carefully opened the package a treasure trove of luscious yarn from Kathryn E. in Lander Look at all this wonderful yarn! Kathryn is downsizing and sent me a beautiful array of fiber goodies - some scraps and some full skeins. If this doesn’t jump start my knitting mojo, I don’t know what will.  Thank you, Kathryn! 

sign from Pingora Yarns Lander, WY This sign was posted on the Pingora Yarns Facebook page, and I thought it was fun and timely. I borrowed  blatantly stole the photo and cropped out the sale information.  If you're looking yarn from the Mountain West , Carrie has a nice variety. 

stash enhancement May 2020 The last three months, I've noticed that a LOT of the socks in my sock drawer and a LOT of the sock yarn in my stash are boring and lifeless. The most common color or base color in both locations is blue. Obviously, I like blue, but staying at home to avoid COVID-19 has sparked cravings for color. I began knitting with any color (other than blue) in my stash, but my choices were extremely limited. Desparate, I searched online to find brighter colors at a reasonable price and found some great colors and yarns on Etsy. You'll notice that three of the skeins contain blue, yet it's not the dominant color. My needles currently contain three pair of socks, so I'm going to just admire these great colors for the time being. Just seeing them is helping to satisfy my craving for color. What cravings have you had while practicing social distancing?

. . . with my yarn winder! I've used a swift and a yarn winder for several years, and have enjoyed the neat and tidy yarn cakes the winder produced.  However, about two years ago, my reliable winder started skipping and creating large loops of yarn on the top and bottom of the cake. At first it was peculiar, but I was still able to knit from the cake without any problems. Then the loops became more frequent and larger, and knitting from them was nearly impossible as the bottom loops would ultimately pull through to the top and become twisted with the top loops. I thought it was the yarn winder (it was old) so I ordered a new winder - the problem continues. It doesn't matter how fast or slow I turn the crank to wind the yarn. It doesn't matter how high or low, I hold the yarn as it comes into the winder. The loops result no matter what I do. Now, I'm baffled as to the cause and the solution. Has anyone else had this problem? Have you found a solution?

washing reclaimed yarn June 2018 Several people asked me how I washed the yarn reclaimed from thrifted sweaters . I use the bathtub, hot water, and Ivory dish soap. I run enough water to cover the yarn, swish the soap to get it sudsy, and then add the hanks of yarn. I do not agitate the water, but I do gently turn the hanks over to make sure all the yarn is wet. I add more water to the tub, if necessary. I let the yarn soak for 45 minutes to an hour and turn the hanks a couple of times. Once the yarn has adequately soaked, I gently squeeze the soapy water out of the hanks. The tub is emptied and rinsed. Then I add clean tepid water to the tub and rinse the hanks to remove any soap. The hanks are then placed in my washing machine, and I run them through a SPIN only cycle to remove the excess water. The hanks are then draped on a drying rack. I do not put weights at the bottom of the hanks as they are drying. The minimal kinks that remain in the washed yarn do not bother me. ...

packages from New Zealand December 2017 In November, I sent the Colorful Cousin shawl to Linda B. ( Razzle Dazzle Quilter ) because I knew that she would like the bright colors. Linda surprised me with a squishy package two weeks before Christmas. The tissue-wrapped parcels were placed under the tree to open on Christmas Day. skein of merino, silk, and possum yarn two kitchen towels with New Zealand (Kiwi) themed fabric December 2017 The yarn ( TOUCH ) is one of the softest I've ever felt, and I know it will be a delight to knit. No doubt, the silk and possum fur will have a lot of drape. Linda told me the owl on the towel is native to New Zealand - a Morepork. The Maori name for the owl is Ruru. She said the European name is better because "morepork" is the sound the owl makes. Linda said, "I used to live in an area where there were quite of few Morepork. When I went to call my cats in at night, the Moreporks would all back to me." Linda, t...

yarn from Ellen October 2017 On Friday I picked up my accumulated mail at the post office and was surprised to find a package from Ellen ( The Ellen Report ). Tucked inside the box was a variety of worsted weight yarn (scraps and full skeins) and two skeins of sock yarn. Ellen thought I could use the worsted weight yarn for charity knitting and included the sock weight as a special treat for me. The hank of brown and gold yarn (University of Wyoming colors) will be perfect for knitting a pair of Cowboy Joe socks! Knitting will commence very soon. Ellen, thank you for sending a box filled with fiber goodies. Your kindness is beyond measure.

source Anyone who has travelled through the Rockies (Canada and United States) in the last decade has seen the devastation the mountain pine beetle has had on the National Forests. The tiny beetle has killed thousands of acres of lodgepole pine trees and created perfect conditions for massive forest fires. Yet . . . the creatures have also created beauty. beetle-kill pine What many people do not know is that the wood from the beetle-kill tree has a unique color and staining that can range from turquoise to brown. Slowly, people are starting to see the beauty of the "damaged" lumber, and it is being used in construction for paneling, cabinetry, doors, and other useful objects like . . . one-of-a-kind yarn bowls. beetle-kill pine yarn bowl December 2016 I saw a photo of the yarn bowls on the Cowgirl Yarn (Laramie, WY) blog and called immediately to order one of the most stained bowls with a characteristic blue stripe as a gift to myself. If you're inte...

five dishcloths from thrifted yarn September 2016 Last week, Cheryl and I went to Dubois to hang some posters for the Guild Fiber Fest. I like to stop at the Opportunity Shop when I'm in Dubois. On this trip, I took some items for donation and afterward browsed the aisles for things I could use. In the craft section, I found four bags of cotton yarn: two bags each containing a bit over 3 ounces of blue variegated yarn. I was able to knit three cloths from the yarn in one bag and will easily get that many from the second bag. Six dishcloths for $3.00 - a good bargain. Another bag contained 3 ounces of solid blue, and the other solid yellow. The cost of the solid cotton yarn was under $3 - another good bargain. Do you frequent thrift shops for crafting supplies?

gift of Cashmere 2 yarn March 2016 Julie W. recently gave me two hanks of 2-ply stranded Cashmere, 2 hand-painted yarn by ArtYarns - 255 yards per hank. I'm still searching for the perfect project, but right now, I'm enjoying just petting it. This yarn is sooo soft!

gifts from Ellen March 2016 My mailbox contained a surprise package on Friday - gifts from Ellen ( The Ellen Report ). Several weeks ago, Ellen asked if I would like some charity knitting yarn. I said I would gladly accept it if she couldn't find anyone in her area that could use it. The package arrived unexpectedly on Friday. Inside were the two large skeins of Bernat ombre yarn, a tube of lotion for dry hands (how did she know?), and a hank of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in this FUN color way. . . Ellen, thank you for making my day!

Try as I might, I could not resist purchasing yarn on a recent trip to Denver. My sister's neighbor (also a knitter) planned an outing to several yarn shops. The skeins on the left and the two balls on the right were found in the Clearance bin in the last shop we visited - a bargain too good to pass. The yarn bowl and its contents came from another shop, and the navy sock yarn on the right from the first shop we visited. My area doesn't have a yarn shop, so it was exciting to visit so many shops in one day. Shops visited: Showers of Flowers Yarn Shop - Lakewood, CO Recycled Lamb - Golden, CO A Knitted Peace - Littleton, CO Colorful Yarns - Centennial, CO

superwash wool 10 grams of reinforcement yarn included In September, I was pleased that my name was selected for Ellen's Indian Summer giveaway , as I was eager to see how this gorgeous yarn would stripe. Imagine my surprise when I reached inside the skein to retrieve the end and discovered the spool of reinforcement yarn - a bonus. photo taken October 28, 2014 Here's how the yarn is striping: the colors are transitioning from one to the other by alternating a few times. I used the reinforcement yarn on the heel flap and heel turn. Now that this sock is ready for the gusset, it will be fun to see what the yarn and stripes look like on the foot. Thank you, Ellen for this beautiful and unique yarn.

Here's my story: • my recent stash enhancement all started with the gorgeous Jawoll yarn. I won that skein from  Ellen  in September. • my knitting buddy, Cheryl, gifted me the beautiful twisted hank of sock yarn - the color way is Christmas Cactus. •  blog buddy, Katherine surprised me by sending two skeins of the sparkling Berroco sock yarn. As you can see, I couldn't resist casting on. •  two balls of Crazy Zauberball sock yarns were purchased at the Fiber Fest. I think Cheryl's yarn spurred me to purchase yarn out of my usual comfort zone of blues and grays. •  two skeins of Woodlander worsted called out to me at the Fiber Fest, too. I don't have a plan for the skeins, but they will tell me someday what they want to become. •  I've been looking for a shawl pin, and I found a fabulous one at the Fiber Fest. I've managed to enhance my stash considerably in the last two weeks, and it all started with Ellen and Cheryl. It must be their f...

My efforts to eliminate scrap yarn by knitting items for charity continues. The yarn remaining from House Socks #1  and House Socks #2 was enough to make a toddler hat and a newborn sleep sack. These items will be sent to the Pine Ridge Reservation Project.

This capelet was started nearly two years ago and has been neglected. I hope to finish it this month: I have eight inches of the ten-row repeat knit, but the pattern calls for fourteen inches before knitting the collar section. I purchased the huge hank of yarn at the Reno show in 2012 because I thought it would complement almost anything that I wear. Yarn: Superwash wool purchased in the vendor's display at the Reno show in 2012. Pattern: Capelet #4 in Red Heart Pattern brochure Let's Wrap Needles: Knit Picks Options sizes 9 and 10.5

I used the last of Katheryn's scraps to make three additional hats. The body of these hats are knit with Lamb's Pride (Sandy Heather, shown top left, and Aran, shown top right. The bottom hat was knit with both colors). The stripes in the hats shown at the top were odd bits that were also used in the earlier hats, which can be found here and here . Pattern link was given in the earlier posts.

I love everything about this scarf - the yarn, the colors, the knitting , and the pattern. I was dreading all the 1x1 ribbing, but it actually went fairly quickly. Pattern: Jared Flood's Noro Scarf Yarn: Noro Silk Garden (Color 349 - two skeins), (Color 381 - one skein), (Color 297 - one skein) Needles: size 7 straight needles I love this scarf so much, I may knit another one.