Knitting

… and it starts today!

September 14, 2023September 27, 2023 annbh356Leave a comment

round knit camp at the coast retreat badge 2023

From seed beads to bookmark looms to intentionally pooling hand-dyed colors, all will be revealed during Knit Camp at the Coast. In May, when I registered for this 4th annual retreat, September was on the far horizon. I had just planted the Yukon Gold potatoes (now harvested) and the teal Ewe Betcha shawl (the second in a trio of summer projects) was just off my needles.

Through the magic of Zoom, this virtual retreat brings knitters together with artists willing to share their enthusiasm and unique techniques. While certainly instructive all is not studious tedium. There will are WIP (work-in-progress) break-out sessions, thematic recipes, and a toast or two – whether the beverage of choice is a cocktail or a mocktail.

Happy knitting!

Graphic credit: © Marie Greene

Knitting

If knitting was like baseball

September 3, 2023 annbh3564 Comments

hand knit triangular shawl with a cream colored star and orange accents

… the game would be tied 3 Scarves – 3 Shawls. An earlier decision to skip a summer sweater knit-along (KAL) did not result in a knitting hiatus but rather a steady flow of smaller projects, just perfect for gifts and silent auction donations.

Having worried I would be overwhelmed when I committed to two fingering skeins each month from the Happy Hand Dyed Yarn Club, multiple skeins of Heather Best’s rich color combos have gone directly from mailbox to needles. The purple and white shawl with a whimsical bobble edge was a Knit Camp mystery KAL pattern which paired one of the April skeins with stashed yarn. The deep teal was the second in the April showers yarn offering, again mixed with a lovely merino silk blend. Heather’s dye pots yielded totally different hues for August (reminiscent of a large scoop vanilla bean ice cream served in an old-fashioned waffle cone on a hot day) and these were transformed into Martina Behm’s Half Norwegian. My zigzag choice for Sommer Camp.

Knitting

Getting Ziggy

August 7, 2023August 27, 2023 annbh3563 Comments

While zigzags are not required, they are the theme for the 2023 Sommer Camp hosted by Martina Behm. This annual event begins today and provides the perfect opportunity to mix up my knitting repertoire as I have been stuck on repeat. My camp project will be Martina’s Half Norwegian; a new shawl pattern designed specifically for seafaring participants of a knitting craft cruise to Norway where she was the featured instructor.

Since the pattern requires contrasting colors, I’ll be able to use two of my stashed combo skeins from the Hand Dyed Happy Yarn Club. Plus, Sommer Camp will be an ideal bridge from summer fun with Swiss cousins speaking Schweizerdeutsch (Swiss German) while waiting for September’s Knit Camp at the Coast 2023 with Marie Greene.

Photo credit: Martina Behm

Knitting

Tempted but not this summer

May 24, 2023 annbh3561 Comment

lemon slices graphically represented on each side of a announcement for lemon spritz summer knit along

handknit gray sweater hanging on white background with note that reads Foxtrot 2019

modeling handknit teal sweater with white accents and holding a Fleetwood Mac album cover

handknit gold sweater folded on marble background with note that reads Fireworks 2021

folded light green sweater with navy blue accents on yoke and note that reads Coastal Grandma 2022

Step back to a May (nearly June) day one year ago, or two, or three, or four years and you would find me studying pattern release notes and making yarn and color choices for Marie Greene’s annual 4-day sweater knit-along (KAL) but not this summer. Instead, with July’s arrival, I will observe rather than participate in this summer’s KAL since I have a full task list as the co-lead of the church building team.

After spending several years in discernment, in what now feels like it was a leisurely drive on a blue-line road, it is like we are in the F1 pit lane prepping for 78 fast laps on the streets of Monaco. As May began, we purchased 40 wooded acres of urban wilderness, engaged the architects, performed soil borings and tested for Decorah Edge. In just weeks, we will begin listening sessions when we will dream of all this building might represent and then move into conceptual and schematic designs before breaking ground in September 2024 and dedicating a new building in September 2025.

With weekly planning meetings, frequent discussions with the architects, and writing regular eNews updates intended to keep member congregants and friends informed and engaged, the 4-day sweater KAL, just doesn’t gel with my mindset. But my needles will not be still as yarn for a summer silk shawl and two scarves are tucked in the rattan basket by my TV room chair.

Happy knitting!

Knitting

A Sheep Story: MKAL

March 22, 2023 annbh3561 Comment

two skeins of yarn with aqua varigated tones on the left and peachy colored on the right

Who doesn’t love a mystery? Whether on paper or film? Puzzle or yarn? As a reader, channeling one’s own powers of detection against the author’s controlled revelation of details which may or may not be clues leading to the discovery of whodunit. As a knitter, reveling in a new stitch and then trying to deduce where the design will go next.

Despite our Minnesota days feeling nothing like spring, it is nearly time for Marie Greene’s spring mystery knit-along (MKAL). Her new pattern will be revealed in four clues, over 10 days, April 3-13. The advance teaser alerted MKAL participants that this will be a triangular shawl in two contrasting colors, knit from top-center down, incorporate texture and special design elements, and the accompanying story will feature the adventures of one rambunctious sheep – hence the title of the MKAL and the shawl – A Sheep Story.

The March surprises in my Sew Happy Jane Hand Dyed Happy Yarn Club subscription could combine nicely for a lovely A Sheep Story mystery shawl. But, my April box arrives on Friday, so I will make my final decision with two new skeins in hand.

Knitting

Vibrant Colors on a Winter Day

February 23, 2023August 7, 2023 annbh3563 Comments

two skeins of yarn aqua on left and varigated yellow on right

handknit aqua and coral striped shawl on hanger

My stash has lots of blue, green, and purple skeins with an infrequent pop of red. I joined the Sew Happy Jane Hand Dyed Happy Yarn Club intent on stretching my color palate.

While I tracked my first hand-dyed installment from Idaho, I wondered if the new skeins would blend with the predominant hues already in my stash or provide challenges from the color wheel. Both of these thoughts proved true. The solid aqua skein was well within my color comfort zone. The variegated skein is one I definitely would never have selected with its repeating runs of un-dyed natural cream to yellow to coral to burnt orange.

I knew I needed to use this odd yellow skein right away or it would languish for years. A new shawl pattern from Marie Greene featuring lacy contrasting stripes was released at just the right moment for a February project inspiration.

Knitting

Stash Challenge

February 9, 2023August 7, 2023 annbh3562 Comments

handknit gray and purple striped triangular shawl with lacy edge

In the spirit of new year de-cluttering, I joined Marie Greene’s Stash Challenge – a much abbreviated version of her Stash Sprint class. Within the text of five emails sent over five days, she offered “stashtastic inspiration” in manageable micro amounts. Then, I coupled my efforts and transformed a beautiful Merino-Silk blend into this Swiss Dot Shawl from her Stashbuster Series: B is for Bobble patterns.

Knitting

Knitting Plans – so much yarn, so little time

September 23, 2022 annbh3563 Comments

Even as my head is full of possibilities having just completed the 3-day, Knit Camp at the Coast, VIP retreat with Marie Greene, I am planning ahead for those frigid days when the garden is in its winter rest. As a means of continuing my knitting immersion, I registered for the 2022 Have a Ball Fall Crawl and several Fireside Chats. These virtual activities were created in 2020 as our world went into pandemic lockdown and local yarn stores (LYS) scrambled to stay afloat. Even as brick-n-mortar sales picked up, shop owners had discovered these online events were an engaging marketing technique. Through the wonder of Zoom, local and distant customers could be brought together with far-flung resources which generated sales and kept ledgers in the black.

The five-day Fall Crawl will feature 28 LYSs located in the U.S. and Canada including several that I frequent often – Yarnology in Winona and 3 Kittens in Mendota Heights (always a regular stop anytime I am on my way to St. Paul); several that I only know as online vendors like Knot Another Hat in Hood River, Oregon, as well as shops that are on my wish list of places to visit like Stash in Charlotte, NC (hopefully as part of November 2023 plans to attend Verse & Vino – that library’s major fundraiser). Each participating shop will have 45-minutes to showcase its specialties, share locally designed patterns, and offer discounted sales. Plus, there are will be prizes just for participating!

The Fall 2022 Fireside Chats will connect Zoom participants and designers from California to Denmark, Uruguay to Maine and beyond. The various creators will share the story of their unique fiber journeys, showcase favorite techniques, and describe their latest creative ventures. There will be time for Q&A, pattern discounts, and (yes) more prizes.

Happy Knitting!

Knitting

Three Days to Knit

September 6, 2022September 6, 2022 annbh3563 Comments

After several recent trips with destinations dependent upon multiple flights, I am ready to be a homebody and pleased that my next “excursion” will be virtual – thanks to the wonder of Zoom and WiFi on my screened porch.

Within hours of Knit Camp at the Coast registration going live in May, I was registered for Marie Greene’s third annual knitting retreat VIP package. The itinerary for this 3-Day event imbues a Pacific NW vibe with days full of new knitting skills taught by well-known practitioners. When you add in coastal drink recipes, small group breakout rooms, and retreat swag, it will be the best non-trip trip of the summer.

In prep for Marie’s Pop Knitting class, I am stash diving for contrasting fingering skeins. As advertised, her shared skills will take a simple beanie and embellish it with “bright twists, braids, and other bursts of colorful texture.”

As a fan of short rows, another session will cover the mechanics of different short row techniques, as well provide advice about when and where to use them. Short rows can be a practical devise (to add a smidge of length to the back of a sweater) or an artful design element.

My calendar is cleared; my homework is on the needles; and my excitement is mounting as I count the days to mid-September fun.

Happy Knitting!

Knitting

Sailaway Starts Today

June 30, 2022August 3, 2022 annbh3563 Comments

The color combos and at-gauge swatches knit in beautiful yarns as shared by my fellow Knit Campers proved too tempting. With today’s cast-on (after wavering earlier this month) I joined Marie Greene’s sixth annual 4-Day knit-along (KAL). Free patterns (always well designed and precisely written) and advance access prior to the actual pattern drop are among the many Knit Camp membership benefits. So while this KAL officially begins tomorrow, I already have Comfy worsted cotton in a lovely mix of silver sage and planetarium blue on my needles.

Sailaway is a top-down cardigan which takes its inspiration from the current popular Coastal Grandmother Aesthetic fashion style – classic, loose fitting designs, often in natural fibers, and perfect for a summer in the Hamptons. (Imagine Diane Keaton or other older women living in luxurious oceanfront properties.) Having just celebrated 70, with a swatch of purple contrasting against my more salty coiffure, I definitely fall into that demographic group sans the beach house.

Happy Knitting!