Hootie the Felted Owl

Topanga is known for it's crows, rattlesnakes, and coyotes.  But there are a few other forms of wildlife including mountain lions (rare) and owls.  Most nights I can hear an owl hooting in the distance but I've never seen one during the day.  At least not until now.

This is Hootie the Owl and he's hand knit and machine felted.  I'm very pleased with how he came out and might just make him a friend.  I've always been fascinated by owls and when we lived in the Midwest many years ago one year for my birthday Steve bought me a owl house.  It was a large wooden box that had to be placed high up on a tree and it took ladders and a great deal of effort to hang.  Since we lived on the banks of the St. Joseph river surrounded by tall trees I was sure an owl would come and stay in my beautiful owl house in the woods.

But one never did. I was slightly mollified when Steve pointed out that they must be very fussy birds if they passed up that birdhouse.  Nonetheless the appeal and mystery of owls has never diminished for me.  And I just hope this little guy likes his home and doesn't decide to fly away.

Particulars:  Woolly Owls by Marie Mayhew Designs; US 10 1/2 needles; Nature Spun worsted yarn and Frog Tree Brushed Suri yarn (the yarns recommended in the pattern).  This is a great pattern and a fun knit and I made no modifications whatsoever.  He is knit and then felted in the washing machine.  I used handmade glass eyes (16 mm) by Artist JP that I glued on using clear silicone glue (at the artist's recommendation) and the glue seems to be holding well, but this is not a toy.  If it were going to be a toy I would not choose eyes requiring glue.

The MisAdventures of Simcha

As much as I kid (sorta) about Simcha being a difficult dog, he is without question at least well socialized.  Steve and I have both made a huge effort to take him out and about around Topanga so he can meet and greet other dogs and people.  He not only goes on daily hikes but is also out and about around town.  So I was very amused the other day when Steve took Simcha into a local gift shop where the clerk exclaimed "I know that dog"!  He's becoming so well known around town we might just have to nickname him Mr. Topanga!

Until next time, be well and love well and may you have a wonderful Spring filled with bird watching and time spent enjoying nature.

Cranberry Gloves and Cranberry Swirl Coffee Cake!

I love immersing myself in the rhythm of the Seasons. The colors and flavors of Fall particularly resonate with me. There's just something about this season that touches the inner Pilgrim in me. I know that Steve would disagree, but I'm sure that I would have made a good Pilgrim. For example I could have made all my own clothes, like the gloves that I'm wearing!

These gloves are not what you think, though. There is no knitting involved. They are my own design and I made them with my own handmade felt! While handmade felt is very popular in Norway and other European Countries (probably something to do with the climate) it is rarely seen or used for clothing in the United States. For those interested, I'll be explaining more about the process of making handmade felt in upcoming posts and I'll explain how gloves like these are made. But I want to see how well these wear and any changes that I need to make before I do that.

Particulars: Cranberry Felt Gloves (my own design); handpainted merino tops purchased from Ingermaaike on Etsy; this is a seamless design using a resist; the cuffs are embellished with sheep locks. My inspiration for making handmade felt has largely come seeing the beautiful designs by Ingermaaike who writes Daily Felt and Sherry who is known as Pink Knitter on Flickr and Ravelry. For a great beginner resource that I found helpful I recommend Uniquely Felt by Christine White.

P.S. If you love wearing fingerless mittens as much as I do, then I recommend you look at the beautiful selection of free knitting patterns for fingerless mittens just published by Theresa at TDoesWool. I'm having a hard time deciding which one to make first!


Cranberry Swirl Coffee Cake

It is the practice in American college towns for the local residents to open their homes as informal Bed & Breakfasts to handle the influx of visitors that descend on game day and for graduation events. My parents flew to South Bend, Indiana to see me graduate from the University of Notre Dame, School of Law, and stayed at one such B&B where they served this Cranberry Swirl Coffee Cake for breakfast. It's a taste of the American Midwest and I hope you enjoy it!


Ingredients:

1/4 C. Butter (unsalted) - softened (1/2 stick)
1 C. Sugar
2 eggs - well beaten
2 C. All Purpose Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1 C. Sour Cream
1 Teaspoon Almond Extract
* *
8 Oz. Whole Cranberry Sauce 
1/2 C. Chopped Walnuts 

Garnish: powdered sugar (optional)



Steps:

1. Cream butter and Sugar together. Add beaten eggs and mix well.
2. Combine dry ingredients. Then add the dry ingredients alternately with the sour cream stirring with wooden spoon after each addition (begin and end with dry). Stir in Almond extract.
3. Add 1/2 batter to a greased tube/bunt pan. Swirl 1/2 of the cranberry sauce over and into the batter. Sprinkle 1/2 of the walnuts over the sauce. Repeat layers once more. 
4. Bake in pre-heated oven at 350 degrees 55 to 60 minutes. Start checking after about 45-50 minutes as you don't want to over bake this.
5. Cool for 10 minutes in pan and then turn out on a wire rack (you may have to loosen with a knife). 

6.  Garnish with powdered sugar, if you wish.

Serve warm with fruit and coffee.

Until next time, be well and love well ~ and look around and enjoy the bounty and beauty of the harvest ~ Fall is here and will soon be gone.

P.S. Thank you for all your comments and concern about Simcha. His surgery went very well and he is doing great. He had a somewhat unusual condition where neither testicle descended so his neutering required abdominal surgery, but I was very motivated that he be neutered for a variety of reasons. I have my fingers crossed because if this doesn't settle him down I don't know what we'll do!

Shaelyn Shawl

The Shaelyn Shawl is a relatively new pattern and is sure to be popular this season because it is an easy and quick knit with stunning results.  But why have the same shawl as everyone else?  Instead break a few rules and have a shawl that is uniquely your own.  Here's a few ideas on adjusting this or an any lace pattern to better suit your personal style.

The conventional thinking is that lace shawls should be knit in a solid colored yarn. But knitting in a solid color is boring so go ahead and use a variegated color.

What if the pattern recommends a sport weight yarn? Why limit yourself.  If you find a yarn you like in a different weight go ahead and try it.  I'm using a worsted weight yarn; I always say in for a penny in for a pound.

Most people will tell you that lace shawls should be heavily blocked to emphasis the pattern. But, meh, why?  I lightly blocked this pattern and saved the heavy block for the top to extend the top width.  Personally I think heavily blocked shawls tend to look a tad old fashioned.

Finally, while it's not conventional to substitute a different textured yarn for the bind off but I substituted a yarn that is both different in color and texture for the bind off and I think it gives this shawl that little something extra.

The result is a shawl uniquely my own with a slightly Goth feel and I am not displeased.  Now all I need is a dark moody novel to curl up with.  Suggestions anyone? 

Particulars: Shaelyn Shawl by Leila Raabe; 3 skeins Jade Sapphire 6 ply cashmere (20 grams left over) and a small amount of Noro Retro for the bind off; US 9 circular needles.  Modifications: none other than yarn weight substitution.  I followed the pattern alternate version to purl 2 together instead of knit 2 together in all lace section. For the loose BO I used my favorite BO which is k 2 transfer those 2 stitches back to left needle and k2TB then k1 repeating until last stitch.

Wet Felting Flowers

I wet felted a flower specifically to match this shawl and I like it worn this way too.  For the flower I used the tutorial for flower making by Ingermaaike sold in her Etsy shop.

Until next time, be well and love well and enjoy the change in season.  Wrap yourself in a cozy shawl and go out and experience all the wonderful colors, flavors and decorations that make this such a fun and special time of year!

Knitting Memories

I find that certain projects have memories knit into the fabric. For example, the scarf I'm wearing will always remind me of Simcha and how he came into our lives. It's a scarf I've knit before so it was easy to get lost in my thoughts as I knit and purled my way through the pattern as events unfolded around me.

I haven't told you how Simcha came into our lives. He almost wasn't the one. Life is filled with so many "almosts". The step that you didn't take that would have taken you in a different direction.

I knit on this scarf during two flights that eventually resulted in Simcha coming home with us. As a preface, the criteria for our new puppy was primarily focused on good health as our first German Shepherd (adopted 20 years ago) had a lifetime of surgeries and health problems. Steve found a breeder in North Carolina who had healthy dogs and a new litter of "working" German Shepherd puppies. We were almost positive that one of these puppies would come home with us. We paid a non-refundable deposit, we were that sure. But we hadn't understood that difference between a working German Shepherd and a show German Shepherd until we saw the dogs in person. Working dogs are bred primarily for protection and police work and are not well suited to be a family dog. That became clear once we met the dogs in person and spoke more with the breeder. We almost made a misstep there.

So we took another flight, this time to Dallas, Texas and I knit more on my scarf. On this trip we found the puppy we wanted. A healthy, highly intelligent, and beautiful show dog. He was almost what we had in mind not understanding at the time that a pure blooded West German Shepherd would be so different than a domestically bred German Shepherd. It's almost a different breed. Almost like a wolf, some say. Do we have regrets? We did in the beginning, when he first came home and was biting like a wild animal and rampaging about the house. But not now, even though he will still go on a rampage unless supervised at all times. But life has settled into a routine and is back to normal, almost. I have time to knit once again and, finally, I finished my scarf.

PS Steve took the above pictures on the San Clemente pier after we had dinner at the Fisherman's Restaurant in San Clemente, California.

Particulars: A Very Nice Scarf, Designed by Linda Romens, purchased as a kit from La Lana Wools, 2 skeins La Lana's Phat Silk Fines. US 5 needles ~I used special short needles (9 inches long) specifically for scarfs (seen in the picture above). They are particularly light weight and enjoyable to knit a scarf on. Finished Dimensions: 5" x 56." I love this yarn but it is handcrafted and highly variable with "flaws" within the skein. I like the rustic appearance of the yarn and am not bothered by the slubs of silk and thick and thins spots. My first version of this scarf is blogged here and a shawl I knit also designed by Linda Romens is blogged here (both projects use the same yarn). I find this an interesting pattern to knit and I particularly love the serpentine cable which is unlike any other cable I've seen in patterns for handknits.


Simcha at 7 Months

I would have liked to have had Simcha model my new scarf which reminds me so much of him. Except he's still a wild thing and knitting and yarn are not safe anywhere near him. You'll just have to use your imagination and pretend he's wearing it.


She Plays With Fiber

I don't believe in hiding myself under a barrel. At my age, it's more about expressing my personal style than anything else. I love the drama element this flower adds to my plain black top. Plus I made it myself and therefore I wanted to wear it and (trust me) it looked better pinned to my top than any other conceivable way of wearing it.

I made this flower by following a tutorial I bought on Etsy from Ingermaaike a very talented fiber artist who writes the blog Daily Fiber. Her instructions are wonderfully clear but I've so much to learn about felting that it even resembles a flower I think is a huge achievement! I'm new to the experience of playing with wool tops and roving that the spinners swoon over. Now I get it. The love of playing with fiber. Maybe someday I'll even learn to spin.

Until next time, be well and love well. I know it's hot out there, but it's almost Fall and time to assess what you will be knitting to wear come the cooler days of October!