Month: April 2016

Hand knit socks · knitting

Pair #5 in 2016

Nyknits1 Comment

This  cascade heritage prints yarn is so cool. The self pattern gives a wonderful effect. I love the blues and greens in this color way. It’s a merino nylon blend that feels great and is perfect for my vanilla sock pattern. Toe up, simple M1 toe increases, short row heel, stockinette leg and k2p2 cuff.

I chose this pattern because I was traveling and this is the only one I know by heart. I did not want to be bogged down with a pattern. I like it. I started it in New York, continued in Baltimore and hope to finish it in Kansas. imageimage

Fiber · knitting

The Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair

Nyknits3 Comments

This year the Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair will be on May 14th & 15th. It is held at the Hallockville Museum and Farm in Riverhead N.Y. They have something for everyone who is interested in any fiber related art.

There will be carding and spinning demonstrations, also knitting, sheep shearing and the llama obstacle course. The llamas and alpacas are my favorites. Apart, of course, from the yarn. The Yarn. The main reason I go. This year’s vendors as of today are:

Angora Online
Bay Haven Short Tails
Blind Buck Farm
Bumble Bee Primitives
Cozy Rabbit Farm
Dan Tracy Designs
Groovy Hues Fibers
Hampton Artistic Yarns
Hamptons Yarn
Long Island Livestock Company
Joy Muller-McCoola/ Sandpiper Yarns
Nuna Knits
The Paisley Studio
Nancy Pearl
Rebecky’s Boutique
Barbara Ringewald, Handweaver
Temptress Yarn
Utopia Bath

FOOD VENDORS

Pizza Rita
Nice Buns Food Truck

I  love this fair. It’s close to home and I never tire of seeing where and how the yarn I use comes to be. If you decide to attend the fair, don’t forget you’re also in wine country. Go visit a vineyard or two.

Anyone coming from New York City can take advantage of this organized bus trip.

BUS TRIP FROM NYC! (Saturday, May 14, 2016 only)

Sit back,  relax and work on your craft project while traveling to the North Fork on a luxury coach bus. The bus will depart Manhattan approximately 8:30am,  and arrive to the LI Fleece and Fiber Fair at approximately 11am. A full schedule of activities, demonstrations and shopping opportunities await you at the Fair.

Tickets include:

  • Round-trip transportation to the North Fork on private coach,
  • Fair admission for one adult; Fair includes a full day of demonstrations, hands-on craft opportunities, fiber vendors with a variety of yarns, supplies and finished products, historic museum tours, and the option for local wine tasting. Local food vendors will have lunch items available for purchase.
  • Gift Bag with freebies, wine tasting, coupons and discounts from Gift Bag Sponsors(to be announced soon) and vendors at the Fair.
  • Pickup up from 40th Street @ 3rd Avenue, Manhattan.
  • Group rate: Call Beth at 631-298-5292 for special pricing for your group of 5 or more.
  • Please note: a minimum number of seats need to be sold in order to cover the cost of chartering the bus. If the minimum number of seats are not sold, the trip will be cancelled and refunds will be issued to purchasers.

Visit the Hallockville Farm and Museum website http://www.Hallockville.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

knitting

No swift? No problem.

Nyknits4 Comments

Making do with what I have. I do not own a swift and I am preparing for a whole weekend of knitting. The back of two chairs is my old standby. Now, I am trying to make something useful out of my Willams-Sonoma drawer peg insert. Originally used to organize dishes and bowls in my kitchen drawer, it now sits on a lazy susan trying to be a yarn swift.

It expands and can accommodate different size hanks. Seems like it should work. Giving it a go.

Hand knit socks · knitting

Mother’s Purple Haze Socks #4 in 2016

Nyknits10 Comments

They are done!  I cannot wait to see my  83 yr old Mother rocking these socks. These are the gusset heel basic socks from the book Socks From The Toe Up by Wendy D Johnson. The yarn is Patons Kroysock in the Purple Haze Colorway. I still have a few heel techniques to learn and try out before settling on a favorite. Who knew there would be so many ways to knit a heel? This years goals are to  learn the sweet tomato heel by Cat Bordhi, the fish lips kiss heel and the fleegle heel. 

Hand knit socks · knitting

More Of The Long Island Yarn Crawl

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image
The Knitted Purl
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This feels like heaven. Must be the angora.

imageimageimage

IMG_2330

IMG_2318
The Knitting Store
IMG_2317
Trying to find one more skein
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Infinite Yarns
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Beautiful
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Infinte Yarns
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Look at that color

IMG_2304Although Infinite Yarns Inc. was not part of this year’s yarn crawl, my friend Joanie wanted to visit this shop. Some of the other knitters had been there and gave it good reviews. What a great shop!

The owner ( I wish I could remember her name) was so kind and cheery. She has a great selection of luxury yarn and holds a bunch of classes. Everything from learn to knit or crochet to fair isle, intarsia and more.

She offered us a 10% discount on our purchases that day. Another shop we visited was The Knitted Purl in Oyster bay. I bought all my sock yarn there. They had a 35% off basket full of sock yarn.

I also picked up a hank of alpaca sox that was 50% off. Another group of helpful folks, excited and enthusiastic about yarn. I came home with enough yarn for 5 pairs of socks, 2 dishcloths and 2 spa cloths.

Infinite yarn
Infinte Yarn
Beautiful
Look at that color
The Knitting Store
Trying to find one more skein

If you’re ever on Long Island go visit these wonderful shops.

The Knitting  Store 2 Poole St. Oceanside, NY

Infinite Yarns Inc. 34 Hempstead Tpk. Farmingdale, NY

The Knitted Purl 80 South St. Oyster Bay, NY

knitting

2nd Annual Long Island Yarn Crawl

Nyknits4 Comments

It was rainy and windy. The worse kind of weather for an outing, however, IT’S A YARN CRAWL!!! We had a blast. We visited shops I never would have gone to and I got to touch yarn I’ve only seen online. I was glad to have contributed to some really nice yarn stores . The folks at The Knitting Store in Oceanside were so friendly and welcoming. They had great specials for the crawl.  A hot pastrami on rye and a bowl of matzoh ball soup was the icing on the cake. If there is a yarn crawl in your local area , go! You won’t regret it.image

The Knitting Store
Trying to find one more skein
Beautiful

The Pastrami King in Freeport was an excellent choice for lunch. Thank you to all my beautiful friends. I am looking forward to many more outings this year.

 

Hand knit socks · knitting

Knit Picks Two At Once, Toe up, Magic Loop socks.

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imageI attempted to knit two at a time socks on pair #2 of 2016. I had previously knit a skirt two at a time, and thought I could do this again, Well, the skirt was just two rectangles, it was knit flat and I had an instructor and experienced knitters on hand to help. The socks were a different story.

The toes started out fine. The increases presented no problems whatever. Once I got to the foot, as all sock knitters know, I was on easy street.

The heel is where I ran into trouble. I just could not get it to work. I wound up connecting the socks. I did not realize I needed to work one heel at a time. So, I transferred one sock to another set of circulars and finished them up one at a time. I was determined to try again. I found this pattern on the Knit Picks website.

 

I am giving it a go. I plan to use their Capretta yarn. It is a merino/cashmere/nylon blend.The Bittersweet yarn on my Pair #3 post is the same blend and I absolutely loved knitting with it. The socks feel wonderful. Soft and squishy. Just like I like them.

ETA: It is a cold, snowy, wet Sunday in New York. A perfect pajama and knit day.

 

knitting

Behind the Brain of Barb: The Absolute Best and Correct Way to Knit

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When I began teaching knitting classes (about 1000 years ago), I was shocked when the students almost got into a knock down drag out hair-pulling fight over the Correct Way to Knit. The left hander…

Source: Behind the Brain of Barb: The Absolute Best and Correct Way to Knit