Smiley Happy People

Update: People have been asking where these puppets can be dropped off. Aside from the locations at the IWK which Dorothy was kind enough to answer in the comments, you can also drop off your finger puppets at The Loop, on Barrington Street in Halifax (click on the link on the side), and IWK staff will also pick them up there.

Calling all HRM knitters, crocheters, and those talented to make something similar to what you see on the right. IWK has a shortage of finger puppets, and they called the fine staff of The Loop to ask some of their customers to make finger puppets for them. They give these to outpatients of their clinics and I think this is a very worthy cause.

The two multicolored crocheted puppets you see on the right were made by my 8 year old daughter, the yellow and blue/green puppets were knit by me, and the bottom 3 were crocheted by me.

All you have to do is knit or crochet a tube just a bit bigger than your own finger, and decorate accordingly. I don't have a pattern, as we just made these up ourselves.

pictures from a yarn trade

A good friend of mine from a sock knitting list participated in a trade with me. The 3 balls of yarn are rowanspun 4 ply. The skein is Jo Sharp DK yarn. The dark yarn is a gorgeous deep green that almost looks brown, but it's heathered with flecks of light brown in it. The purple and grey are also very lovely too. I received far more than is pictured: 3 skeins each of the purple and green, 2 skeins of grey, (enough to make a pair of socks each for my husband and myself, with grey heels and stripes or colorwork) and 4 skeins of the Jo Sharp. The yarn all feels so soft and gorgeous. As usual, if you desire to see the picture full-sized, simply click on it.

I'll say I am in yarn heaven these days.

The Big Cone of Yarn

Thank you all, and especially Frozen Extremities (another local knitter from KOL) for the comments and advice on the cone of yarn from my previous post.

My plan is that it will become a sweater. Still waiting on a few things to determine which member of our household will be the intended recipient. :) Seeing how my swatch turns out after washing will greatly help with this decision.

For the Yarn Voyeurs

Isn't it purdy? I'm going to make a sweater with it. It's a nearly 1200g cone of what I think is Rowan Donegal yarn. I purchased it at LK Yarns.

Socks from the road trip...

Yarn: Opal Gems sport weight, 2 skeins
Needles: Kertzer Collection 2.75mm bamboo needles
Pattern: My own
Recipient: My husband.
Gauge: 7 stitches per inch.
Level difficulty: easy.

Socks from the Road Trip is a variation of the basic sock patterns knit from the top down. The stitch repeat I used for the leg is k5, p2, k5 per needle (48 stitches). This centers it in the front of the leg.
I will write out the whole pattern when I have more time, and post a link on the side of the blog.

I was able to make this so that even knit from the top down, as these were, I used one entire skein per sock, from the casting on, to the kitchenering of the toes. Given my relaxed knitting style, I likely could have achieved the same gauge on 2.5mm needles, but didn't have any handy at the time I started. I did have to knit fairly tightly, but the end result is worth it, as my husband says they're a perfect fit for his US size 7 foot.

Current Sock in Progress

I designed this sock using a lattice pattern from the Harmony guides and stuck it on a sock. This is mosaic slip-stitch colorwork. I am using Briggs & Little "blue jean" durasport and "Natural" sport. Needles are Clover Bamboo size 0 (2.0 mm).

Gaspereau Valley Fibres at last!

If you live in Nova Scotia, and are into yarn crafts, they say you have to visit Gaspereau Valley Fibres. This weekend I finally got that long-awaited opportunity. DH and I were able to take a day trip to Wolfville with the family, and this was one of the stops.

Upon our arrival, we were warmly greeted by Brenda, and she showed us around the whole store, and patiently showed our children how she spins yarn. Our daughter got to spin a couple of meters worth and take it home.

In spite of having previously seen photos of this wonderful yarn shop on other people's blogs, I was unprepared for how big it actually is.

My husband took some more shots from different angles...




I had a hard time deciding on anything, as I was so overwhelmed with the immense variety of yarn. The picture below represents only one of the many shelves of yarn this place has.


While I was fondling all the yarn, my children were taken with the sheep, and pet them. The sheep seemed to enjoy all the attention:


After windowshopping practically the whole store, and imagining driving home with a vanload of yarn, I finally made my decision and bought this yarn:


I am looking forward to knitting with this. The trip was very much worth it. We also took a side trip to Oaklawn Farm Zoo. I had never been to a zoo in my life (that I can remember) - and I am 39. It was one of the best days this summer.