Friday, August 26, 2011

Peppermint Ginger Finale


Pattern Ginger by Kim Hargreaves (Ravelry free download)
Project: Peppermint Ginger
Yarn: Rio de la Plata handspun kettle dyed 100% wool
Yardage: 560 yards in stash
Needles: US Size 7 & 9
Previous entriesstarted, math problem
Cast on: July 16, 2011
Cast off: August 16, 2011

Notes: I started with four skeins of yarn, used three skeins for the body, there should be enough for two three-quarter sleeves. Sort of. The second sleeve was only an inch or two shorter than the first. But can you tell from the finished picture? I made the front and back the same, deep V neck, and the result was the sweater slid down my shoulders like I'm a show girl. Henry helped me pick out a bright blue yarn to offset the "too much pink", so I made a very long i-cord out of it for the neckline. I love the overall artsy feel of this sweater, thick and thin single yarn, unpolished edges, unmatching sleeves, unique neckline. I see a lot of wearing the future.


Sleeves, one slightly longer than the other


Rascal invited himself to the photo shoot.
Happy Fiber Arts Friday! Join the party on Andrea's blog and leave me a comment!

Friday, August 19, 2011

Vacation Yarn Shopping Part Two

On the way home from Santa Barbara I made the guys stop at couple of yarn shops for me. Fortunately The Man had bronchitis during the trip, not pleasant, but it made him much more willing to give up the wheel. I drove the car straight to the yarn shops.

Yarns at the Adobe is in San Luis Obispo, on a side street in the downtown area. The shop was cute and pretty, had loads of lovely yarns, both fancy expensive stuff and the every day wools. The owner was running a tea party when I was there, an actual tea party with the hot beverage and little sandwiches, so I was left on my own to wonder about.


Yarn arranged to coordinate with the adobe themed mural. 
The Scarlet Skein is in Paso Robles. The shop is large and airy and comfortable. There was even a little dog to greet me. The sad part was I couldn't find a thing to buy, even tho the entire shop was 25% off. The entire shop! I have a good sized stash, and I've shopped in a lot of places, I'm picky.


I did not come home empty handed. Here are two skeins of O-wool worsted weight from the sale rack at Knit and Pearl Boutique in Santa Barbara. I've read lots of good reviews about this yarn and now I have a chance to try it myself. 


Last week I won the button give away on Melissa's blog Curly Bird Express, and she packed all these nice buttons just for me! Aren't they beautiful? These are just some of them. Thanks Melissa!


Happy Fiber Arts Friday! Join the party on Andrea's blog and leave me a comment!

Friday, August 12, 2011

Yarn Shopping in Santa Barbara

This week we are enjoying a much anticipated week-long vacation in Santa Barbara. We've passed through the town quite a few times when we traveled to and from Los Angeles and San Diego areas, but never spent much time to explore. This is a beautiful city, with Spanish style architecture everywhere, and a huge downtown leading to the ocean. We rented a small bungalow that's built on top of a garage. The home owner listed it on TripAdvisor, and the week rent for this nicely furnished two bedroom one bath apartment with full kitchen is much less than any hotel I could find, no brainer!

Of course, what's a vacation without yarn shopping! So far I've visited three shops in Santa Barbara, with more planned on the way home. Here is my experience so far, good and bad.

Loop and Leaf is a block away from the main drag (State St.) in downtown. Very cute little house turned yarn shop which also sells its own tea blend. The shop is pretty small (cozy/cramped). I got in an hour after they opened. There were two ladies sitting in the living room knitting, they barely acknowledged when I walked in, which is fine as I usually enjoy to be left alone. There was a class in one of the rooms, I heard one of the ladies telling someone it’s ok to go in as the class was ending and there were a lot of yarn in that room. I tried to go in to look at the yarn, twice, and was stared back like I was an alien. the other room was the tea room with yarn, books, etc., but someone kept vacuuming in it. Couldn’t get around her. I was quite disappointed at the experience as I was really looking forward to visiting this shop.




Cardigans is a little ways away from downtown, also a very cute house. I went there in the late afternoon but not close to closing time. Another class in session in an area full of yarn and books, but I was able to check out the rest of the shop (more than half). Quite a bit of high end stuff, nice displays. 

Knit and Pearl Boutique is also in the downtown area, away from Loop and Leaf (it’s a very large downtown). The shop is slightly bigger, very friendly staff. Fortunately there was no class in session when I visited, so it was very pleasant. On the other hand, their table and chairs are set up away from the yarn displays, so visitors won’t be in the middle of a class. They had Mission Falls and O-Wool, among other things, on the sale rack. Super :-)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday! Join the party on Andrea's blog and leave me a comment!

Friday, August 05, 2011

Peppermint Ginger -- Math Test


I started with four skeins of Aran weight Rio de la Plata Kettle dyed wool, used almost exactly three skeins for the front and back. If two full length sleeves take a third of the yarn in a sweater, how much sleeves will I get with this last skein of yarn? I'm guessing 3/4 sleeves, but we shall see. It might just be my wishful thinking.

In case you missed Rascal, here he is enjoying some sandwich time. He folds himself between the cushion and the bed, just like Trinket did.


Don't forget to visit Andrea's blog for the Fiber Arts Friday party!