The Woolen Rabbit

Wing Of The Moth......

Pattern:  Wing of the Moth
Yarn:  Woolen Rabbit Whisper
Colorway:  Red Hot Chili Peppers
Needles:  US 6

Can you believe it took me well over a year to knit this shawl?  Not because it is difficult, because it really isn't.  In fact it is actually one of Anne's easier shawl patterns. 

I started this back in the summer of 2009 and really moved right along on it.  With Anne's usual consistent flow, it was easy enough that I took it to Fryeburg Fair to work on.  That is where the trouble began....you see.....when the fair was over, I somehow managed to lose my chart keeper with all of my notes....grrr! 

I tried a few times to figure out where I had left off, but by then I was distracted with other knits and this one was cast aside for a rainy day.

This fall was when that rainy day came around.  Determined to finish up some of the UFO's kicking around here, I finally pulled this out of my knitting basket and figured out where I had left off.

Once found, I whipped right through the last element design and quickly remembered why I had enjoyed knitting this so long ago.  I finished the shawl right after Thanksgiving, but did not get around to blocking it until just before Christmas.

The timing was perfect because it gave Courtney a chance to model it for me.  This was the first time Courtney actually was willing to model for me as she is another one of my girls who does not like to be the center of attention. The coloring in this shawl however was just so perfect for her.  The soft golden terra cotta and browns are perfect with her golden brown hair, freckles and hazel eyes.  Thanks Courtney!  See....it wasn't so bad now was it? 

 
All in all I really enjoyed this knit!

Merry Christmas!!!

I hope that Santa was good to you all.......Merry Christmas!!

Year of the Sock? Hmmm....

 
Hmmm is right.  Back in January I had set a goal for myself to knit 6 pair of socks and sadly I will not meet that goal.  The Rosalynd Socks, designed by Patti Waters, knit in Pearl will be completed before the year is out, but it will not be number 6. 

Having completed the first sock I am working on the second one.  Somewhere around the middle of the first sock I bit the bullet and started cabling without a needle.  A bit tricky with such small stitches, but it saves fiddling with that extra needle.  I will admit that cabling on socks is not my favorite thing to do, but I love how they look so I persevere.

The first socks of the year were my French Quarter socks, designed by Anne Hanson made in Kashmir. I finished the first one and started the second one, but I have to tell you cabling on size 0's is a challenge for this slow knitter.  As soon as I finish Rosalynd though I am going to finish the second French Quarter sock while I am in a cabling mode. :-)

Next on tap were my Angee socks designed by Cookie made with Harmony.  I really enjoyed knitting this pattern and I wear these socks all the time. :-)

 
By early summer my Hayricks, designed by Anne Hanson made in Pandora were ready to be worn.  These are a perfect lightweight sock for those cool spring/fall days.  I really love these socks........almost better than any of them. Comfy without being too hot.

....and finally my Keukenhofs designed by Anne Hanson, made with Pearl.
These socks are my most favorite!  The yarn is soft and cushy and the pattern makes me smile.

Yes.....I failed, but not really because I will have 5 new awesome pairs of socks...just for me.  Having said that, I realized that I have not knit anyone else a pair of socks in some time.

After reading Carole's post about Dale's new socks and how it has been 2 years since she knit him a pair...I was shamed.  You see, it's been about 4 years since I knit Mr. Woolenrabbit a new pair of socks, so come January his socks made with this hand-spun will be the first socks of the new year. :-)

Friendship and Birthdays....

A friend is one to whom one may pour out all the contents of one's heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping and with a breath of kindness blow the rest away."
- Arabian Proverb

Whew!  I was so afraid this day would get away from me before I could post, but here it is only 30 minutes before tomorrow, so it is not to late to wish my very good friend, Terry, a VERY Happy Birthday!

I have said it before and I am sure I will say it again,that the people who I hold most dear to my heart are the friends that I have made in the fiber world through blogging.

Terry is one of those friends and even though I have only known Terry for about 8 years, it is as though I have known her all my life.  Terry is an amazingly talented knitter who has that rare gift of "kind" sarcasm.  When you read her words on her blog it is exactly the way she speaks to you....I can hear her voice in her words and that is such a gift.  Best of all you never have to guess what she is thinking, because she will be the first to tell you....LOL!  This is what I love most about her.......that and the fact that she is one of the kindest and most generous people I know.

I'm sure you are wondering by now what these shawl pictures have to do with Terry.  Well....late in the summer I commissioned Terry to knit a shawl for me using my Lark fingering yarn.  It is no secret that I am a very slow knitter, that coupled with my work load leaves me with very little knitting time.  I asked Terry if she would be willing to knit a shawl for me using 2 skeins of Lark and I was thrilled when she said she could do it.  I mailed down the 2 skeins and told her to surprise me........

.......imagine my surprise when I opened up the package that contained this AMAZING shawl!!  The shawl that Terry chose was a free pattern from Ravelry called Echo Flower.  The pictures here do not do this shawl justice.........it is SO much prettier in person!

Thank you Terry for being such a kind and generous friend!! 

Happy Birthday!!!!

 

Wood Hollow and Wedding Planning....

You may be capable of great things,
But life consists of small things.
Deng Ming~Dao

We had a most enjoyable weekend here at The Woolen Rabbit.  Saturday was spent organizing Christmas decorations and shopping.  Sunday had Stacey, Ashley, Hannah and I attending a bridal expo at the White Mountain Hotel where Ashley's wedding is going to be held, followed by a Christmas Party with friends.

Of course having Ashley home gave me a perfect opportunity to twist her arm for a little photo shoot of the Wood Hollow Hat/Mitten set.

Pattern:  Wood Hollow Hat/Mittens
Yarn:  Woolen Rabbit WW Kashmir
Colorway:  Pussywillow
Needles:  US size 5 and 6

This is such a fun pattern to knit and it works up ultra fast!  Perfect for a quick Christmas gift.  Kirsten offers the patterns either separately or combined as an e-book here on Ravelry.  I will have some of this yarn up in my webstore later today. :-)

Back to the wedding planning...

Even though the wedding isn't until next October, it isn't too early to be thinking about wedding plans.  We were so fortunate that the bridal expo this weekend was held at the place where Ashley and Brian are getting married here in the Valley. 

This is a picture of the Gazebo where the ceremony will take place.  Ashley and Brian love the outdoors which includes hiking and camping in the White Mountains, so this is a perfect backdrop for them.

This is another view of the mountains from the hotel.  It was a bit of a dreary day, so you can imagine how pretty it is on a sunny day.  The end of October usually has some pretty foliage on the trees as well.  A bit past peak, but still very beautiful.

Ashley was a bit overwhelmed with so many choices and decisions, but we came away from the expo with a wonderfully talented local florist to do the flowers and colors were chosen, so a good step in the right direction. :-)

.........and while Ashley drew inspiration for wedding colors from pictures of beautiful summer/fall flowers, I took a quick opportunity to snap a few pictures for color inspiration here in the dye~pot.  I really love the subtleness in this picture.  Hmmmm.......

Wood Hollow Mittens and Smiling Eyes....

Pattern:  Wood Hollow Mittens by Kirsten Kapur
Yarn:  Woolen Rabbit Worsted Weight Kashmir
(soon to be released)
Colorway:  Pussy-willow
Needles:  US 5 double points

These mittens were fun to make!  Such a fast knit as well, which is good given that I knit the pair twice...

The first mitten had a big, glaring boo boo.  I twisted right when I should have twisted left...or was that left when I should have gone right?  Aggh!  It was also a tetch big for me, so I reduced the number of stitches by 2 and it fits much better.

So Hannah and I went outside today to shoot a few pictures.  It was the first sunny day we have had in what feels like a very long time and we were feeling a bit silly.

Hannah was trying to explain and show me how to smile with my eyes ala Tara Banks .
(can you believe she copy righted the phrase??  Sheesh!)

In between giggles and laughs, we got a few good pictures. 

I think I did ok with those smiling eyes, but then I AM Irish and you know the song....

"When Irish eye are smiling"....
It was fun to be out in the sun today.  It's a good thing because it's going to be awhile before we see the sun again.