all-merino shawl

Got in the mood to knit a shawl recently and Berocco's Mrs Watson shawl has been on my Pinterest shawl board for a while. I had a lighter weight yarn, so my version is smaller and lighter weight than the full size, worsted weight version. The purple is Malabrigo Mechita in Eggplant and the secondary color is Malabrigo Nube in Arco Iris, so all merino with some handspinning involved. All roughly fingering weight.

The pups make great models, yes?

I expect to use this shawl as a scarf this winter, as we don't get that cold in the Bay Area. The pattern is easy to use and I love this color combination. I particularly like the way it looks with a dark dominant color and lighter secondary color. Many iterations may be coming...

bunny bolt

Bolt's First Halloween! Since he's a social, people-loving dog, I was excited to dress him up and go to costume contests. Given his sweet nature, I went with Lion Brand's Bunny Dog Costume Pattern.

The pattern knit up quickly, with the only challenge being how to get the ears to stand up. I moved them to the top of the head and stuffed them with filling, but they still flop around more than I'd like.

He tolerates it really well and loves all the attention it gets him.

Happy Halloween from Bolt.

coming soon

Working on Bolt's Halloween costume. It's going to be totally adorable, but he is less than thrilled.

more Bolt photos

The new puppy continues to be adorable.

He's continuing to grow and learn. Our current expectation is that he'll level out around 40 lb, but he's a total mutt, so there's no telling. And if you enjoy Pack, you can find Bolt's Pack page here.

new puppy

Introducing Bolt, our new roly poly, border collie puppy.

Tatum loves him so much already.

2016's big project

This year I've been planning a big, big spinning/knitting project that I've kept under wraps, as there were too many unknowns to guarantee it would happen. But I'm happy to report that progress is far enough along.

So here it is: this big project is a hand-spun, hand-knit sweater. But that's not all! It will feature colorwork of a border collie, modeled off of Tatum, using his fur. Eeks!

The base color is white/cream. My fiber guild was doing a rare breed study, so I accumulated a ton of 2 ounce samples of a bunch of different wools. I decided to spin them all separately and randomly ply them to get something that might look well together. I know it'll be slightly different shades, but this sweater has a lot of value in the process over the outcome; it's been quite the education about different fibers, staple lengths, consistency...

The pattern is a basic sweater from Purl Soho with a high neck, because I wear everything high-necked these days... The Tatum fur yarn was mixed with some gray merino/alpaca blend to beef it up and provide some softness. Tatum fur yarn is not soft!

While I still have only 2/3 of the yarn needed or so, I needed a break from spinning, so we are moving on to starting the body. I love it already.

Stay tuned for updates.

black sheep gathering

After kayaking time, I went down to Eugene for my first Black Sheep Gathering. And I can confirm: it is one amazing fiber show!

To start with, I took a sheep shearing class.

Then I bought too much fiber, although I restrained from the full fleeces.

Also nearly adopted a new dog to guard my non-existent cattle.

Finally, I had to wrestle my luggage into submission at the airport from way too many sheep-related purchases. Oops.

It goes without saying, but I will be finding reasons in the future to attend more Black Sheep Gatherings.

oregon

Thanks to a great org- First Descents- I spent the last week in Oregon, kayaking, rafting and bonding with a stellar group of young adult cancer survivors.

We stayed in Hood River, OR, and kayaked/rafted the Klikitat, White Salmon and Columbia Rivers. Every morning, I woke up to a view of Mt. Hood. We had stellar guides, good conversations, cathartic arts & crafts sessions...

If anybody out there is a young adult survivor, looking for friends and adventure (for free), First Descents is the group for you. I have absolutely no regrets about doing this program and I feel stronger for having faced down some fears in the river... Great group, great time.

county fair entries

In this year's county fair, I entered a skein of yarn and the High Contrast blanket in the fiber arts competition. After striking out last year, I was pleased to see that I got two (maybe three) awards!

First place for the blanket:

Honorable mention and Judge's Favorite for the skein of yarn (and a very favorable display):

Yipee!

High Contrast pillow pattern

You may remember I released a throw blanket pattern earlier this year called High Contrast.

As a companion freebie, I've adjusted the pattern for a pillow.

Skill level: Intermediate (or beginner with gumption!)
Skills Needed: provisional cast on, stranded colorwork or intarsia, grafting cast off using kitchener stitch.
Finished Measurements: 18" x 18"

Materials:

• Caron One Pound yarn, 100% acrylic; 812 yards, 453.6 g; Black #0503, 1 skein (MC)
• Caron One Pound yarn, 100% acrylic; 812 yards, 453.6 g; White #0501, 1 skein (CC)
• Caron Simply Soft yarn, 100% acrylic; 315 yards, 170.1 g; Autumn Red, #9730, 1 skein (TC)
• A note on yarn: these were leftovers from my High Contrast blanket pattern, so you do not need even close to the whole pound for either black or white. Buy smaller skein if you are making only the pillow.
• US size 10 [6 mm] needles, either a long straight needles or a circular needle (at least 20" long)
• waste yarn
• tapestry needle
• 18" square pillow insert (or other pillow filling)

Gauge: 12 sts x 20 rows = 4"; use color chart for gauge and use the same colorwork method that you'll be using on the pillow.

Pattern:
Using waste yarn, CO 54 sts using a provisional cast on method. Using TC, complete 3 rows in st st.

Switching to MC and CC, complete color chart for 160 rows, or until you have reached desired length. You can use stranded colorwork or intarsia; the sample pillow was completed using intarsia.

Note on color chart: they are added below as jpegs. Start with bottom chart and work up, or print both out and cut/paste them together. Have trouble seeing them? Shoot me an email and I'll send you fresh copies. kateandtatum at gmail

Switch back to TC and complete 3 rows in st st.

Keep all active stitches on one needle and put provisional stitches onto 2nd needle. Cut TC yarn with enough length to complete graft and thread onto tapestry needle. Holding the two needles parallel, use kitchener stitch to graft the two ends together.

Weave in ends and block to size. Seam one side, add pillow insert or filling and seam second side.

And you're done!

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If you like this pillow, I hope you will consider the matching High Contrast lap blanket. You can buy the pattern on Ravelry and Etsy. They make a great pair.

guest kittens

We have two guest kittens! (That's foster kittens, really.)

They are 6-7 weeks old, healthy and lovely and at the height of their kitten cuteness. All day, it's just play, eat, poop, sleep, repeat. Bless their hearts. One is more adventurous and outgoing, one is more reserved and cautious. We love them both equally, although Tatum is more partial to the adventurous one...

If you think these are the most awesome kittens you ever saw, they will be up for adoption soon at Valley Humane Society.