Fun with Meez

Here's my new Meez for autumn, I've been trying to upload the animated version, but no luck - I should've paid more attention in the HTML class. NO, my hair isn't that long yet....but it's getting there! I am well on my way to becoming a full-fledged crone. I'd rather buy yarn than pay for a haircut!

Southern Illinois Fiber Arts Collective

I have finally found a local group to join, the Southern Illinois Fiber Arts Collective. I made this soap sack from Lily Sugar 'n Cream Twist during my first meeting. Many of the members were spinning, and one was knitting with the new square needles. I am going to learn to spin with a drop spindle! Once a month they meet at The Yarn Shoppe in Herrin, which is both good and bad for me. Usually I can restrain myself from going there several times a week, but one visit is all it takes - I won't tell you how much $$ I spent there at the last meeting.

Illusion Knitting and Washcloths

I wanted to learn Illusion or Shadow knitting, so I signed up for 2 Yahoo groups to learn how to do this, Illusion Knitting and More, and Illusion Knitting. This is the Pumpkin Illusion Cloth I made as my first attempt. When you look at it directly (below), it just looks like stripes - but if you view it at an angle (above), you can see the pattern.
I used acrylic worsteds from my stash of vintage yarns. The pattern is from the Illusion Knitting and More group, if you want this pattern you should sign up for the group. They require participation in 2 swaps a year, and also require that you have a 'Life Happens' cloth in place with the moderator so that if you cannot finish a swap, there will be a cloth to send your swap partner. Below is my 'Life Happens' cloth, the Flying Geese design by Vaunda Rae Giberson. It is worked in the Reynolds Saucy mercerized cotton left over from Bri's Mushroom Cap, and it is much nicer to work with than the other cotton yarns that are readily available.
Below is my first attempt at making a dishcloth, this is the Embossed Turtle cloth from Smariek Knits. I went stash-diving for an appropriate cotton yarn, and found a bag of Jack Frost Comfort 12 that I bought in the 70s. I googled Jack Frost yarn, and only found a few items on eBay, so I doubt it's being made anymore. After I made up the cloth, I atually read the label - nope, it's not cotton, it's acrylic! I don't think acrylic would make a very good washcloth, but I love this design.

Mushroom Cap

I'd rather knit than crochet, but this is another pattern I had to make for my granddaughter Bri. Her school has a crazy hat day, and she liked this hat for it. The pattern is Lion Brand's Mushroom Cap, and it is worked in Reynold's Saucy mercerized cotton - I couldn't find Lion Cotton in red, which is what Bri wanted. It is goofy enough to qualify as a crazy hat.

A Pattern That Misbehaved

Once in awhile I can't get a pattern out of my head, and the only solution is to put aside all the other UFOs and make it. That was the case with this shawl pattern - I couldn't stop thinking about it, and I couldn't find the thread it called for. I went stash-diving and found 2 colors of cotton thread, earmarked for some crocheted bags, and worked up this Country Cotton Shawl from Lion Brand Yarn.
I used 2 different colors held together: 1 strand of Caron Grandma's Best Crochet Thread in Pale Teal and 1 strand of Aunt Lydia's Classic Crochet Thread in Delft. I tried other, thicker cottons, but they didn't produce the lightweight drape I wanted. This shawl could be used as a pareo or sarong over a swimsuit, which is what I had in mind for it.

Here's Adam Baldwin as Jayne Cobb, wearing the cunning hat his Ma made for him. I couldn't find a picture of him wearing the hat and hefting a large weapon - a sure way to stop anyone taunting him about his hat.

This Jayne hat is the closest I could get to the original. It's being modeled by Bri's BFF. The yarns are all from my acrylic worsted stash.

Flaming Wristies and Jayne Hats

My Sk8ter grandson Tyler requested these Sparky Flaming Hot Wristies, a design by Britta Stolfus Rueschoff. Britta has some lovely patterns on Knitty, but when I tried to locate the Sparky pattern, it had disappeared! I had to learn how to knit Fair Isle style, and I think I did pretty well for a first attempt at multi-stranded knitting. The link above is to a website that has lots of great knitting patterns. I'll be looking for more of Britta's great designs.Here is a view of the thumb holes, where I knitted a few more rows than the pattern called for. Tyler didn't care for the checkerboard design at the base of the flames, so I substituted rows of yellow, orange, and red. The yarn is Hauk from Dale of Norway, which is treated with Teflon so it will stand up to hard wear.
Jayne Hats! I found several free knitting patterns on the web for Jayne Hats.
Jayne Cobb Hat, My Jayne Hat Pattern, Bootstrap Productions, Jayne Cobb's Cunning Hat, Jayne Cobb Hat for Mugua, This Land, Yarn Demon, Cider Moon's version, and one from katydidknits. I got the basic idea, and went to town with the most outlandish color combinations I could make from my stash of acrylic worsted. Here is granddaughter Bri in her favorite red and black version.

Tabitha wanted to get in on the photo shoot, she picked this stripey Jayne hat. Cassie Ru liked the purple version. You have to see the Firefly series to grasp the significance of the Jayne hat. Sadly, the series was cancelled, but the outcry from the fans was so great that creator Joss Whedon made the film Serenity to tie up all the loose ends from the series. My daughter Arlyn and her family gave me the series and movie on DVD for my birthday - wooohooo!