Green Sheep

Recently our library had a community night and invited people to come and share with those who came to visit.  They had hot dogs, free school supplies, and lots of activities.  I decided to go and spin because I have met many of my fiber friends at the library.

One lady was very inquisitive. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Spinning yarn," I reply.

"Is that insulation?"

"No it is wool," I say."

"From sheep?"

"Yes"

"Where do they get green sheep?" she asks.

Trying not to laugh, I tell her,

"Uh, they dye the wool after they shear the sheep."

"OH," she exclaims.

She stood and watched a few more minutes and thanked me.

I am still looking for a green sheep.

Where Have I Been?

You may be asking yourself that question since it has almost been 2 months since my last post.  The picture on the left will answer part of that question.  This is our new "home away from home."  It is not our first.  We upgraded from a hybrid (part travel trailer-part fold out/pop up) to this 31 foot travel trailer.  It takes less than half the time to set up as our old camper and is very nice.  It has a slide out on the other side that contains the kitchen and sofa (not huge but adds a great deal of room).  The nice thing is that I don't have to climb over the dinette to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.  We have taken it out on 2 trips and are planning a 3rd soon.

A few months ago (March to be exact) I taught my first "learn to knit class" at the Crafting Stop in Franklin, VA.  With the warm weather there has been a lull in knitting so I haven't had any more "gigs."  Last week I got an email requesting my teaching services again at the Crafting Stop.  In just one evening I created, wrote the pattern, and knit the scarf you see on the left.  I call it the "Fuzzy, Braided Cable Scarf"  and the pattern will be available soon.  Check the blog again soon for the pattern.  I will be teaching how to knit cables using this pattern.  The yarn, Lion Brand Quick & Cozy, is awesome for this type of pattern.  It is soft, fluffy, and works up so quickly you will be done before you know it.  On another note, the valet you see the scarf wrapped around is a new purchase for my photos and display.  My wife found it at Goodwill for $7.50, a steal I think.  This is the first time I have used it and it seems to work very well.

To the left you see a stole I have been meaning to block for almost 2 months.  It is a retirement gift for a friend and she will hopefully get it Tuesday.  It is modeled after the "Scribble" shawl from Mason Dixon Knitting.  I hate the idea of  changing yarn every 2 - 4 rows so I created my version.  The yarn is "Tides" from Universal (discontinued I think), but any thick and thin yarn would do for this shawl/stole.  The pattern for this will also be coming soon.  Please look for it on Ravelry.   It is to be named "Evening Walk on the Beach Stole."  It will be an inexpensive pattern and the drape is wonderful.


I have more to share, but will save for another day this week.  Enjoy!

Published Finally!

To have closure is a wonderful thing!  Late Thursday evening I received word that the Simplicity Volume 3 Men's pattern book was back from the publisher.  Skacel emailed each of the designers who had patterns published in the book.  They also attached a copy of the cover (I wish I could post that but cannot) and my pieces made the cover!  I was so excited I cried.  My first design made the cover of a book!  I have been awaiting word so I could post my pics of the pieces.  So here they are.  The set is completely reversible with a Wavy Rib on one side and a basket weave on the reverse side.  I will include pics to show each side.  You can check with your LYS to order the book and the yarn.  There are also some great colorwork patterns and a couple of great sweaters by my friends Frank Wilmott and Kurt Fausset, both of whom I met at the Men's Fall Knitting Retreat in Seattle last September.   So enough with the chit/chat, bring on the pics!

Wavy Rib side of mitts

palm side of wavy rib

Wavy Rib Side of Scarf

Wavy Rib side of Beanie

Top of wavy rib side of beanie

Basketweave side of beanie

Basketweave side of mitts

palm side of basketweave

Basketweave side of scarf

Basket weave side of beanie

Top of Basketweave beanie

 All of the pics are pre-blocking. I just did not want to try this after blocking.  I can't wait to get the book.  It should delivered this week.  I will get my wife to take a pic of me holding the book so you can see the cover next week.  Enjoy the pics!

Turning a Frown Upside Down

Me "roping" an Alpaca's legs

shearers working on front legs

Show Blanket Fleece

This one was quite rowdy

Getting his teeth filed

Nails being clipped

More fleece

my new cell phone

                                                                           Last week I wrote about the disappointment from a design that I had returned to me from a major knitting magazine.  It hit hard for a few minutes, and then I went back to work.  The weather was beautiful last Monday afternoon, so I sat in the screened area of our deck, while the kids played with our neighbor in the back yard.  After a few minutes of drawing and reworking the design, I worked up the ideas for another magazine editor that a friend had introduced me to via email.  I scanned in the drawings to my family's ancient laptop, and took a couple of pictures of the swatch with my new phone (see the pic above).   I then typed up an email to the editor of the magazine and submitted the drawings, pics, and design idea.  Then the waiting began.  Finally on Thursday, I decided to drop a note to the editor, just to check in with her.  She, as it turns out, had been swamped at the magazine, but was thrilled with the design and offered to publish it in an issue  later this year!  In order to do this, I changed the cowl to a scarf and added fingerless mitts.  I know that I would wear a cowl but it seems a scarf would be a bigger selling point for most men.  All in all I am a happy designer again.  I still haven't heard from design number 3 which I submitted to Interweave for their winter issue.  If it is rejected, I will post the pattern for that design on Ravelry.  It seems that lace will be in fashion this year and chunky lace is a focus for this trend.
Several weeks ago I was given a brochure by my pastor's wife about shares for Alpaca yarn from this years shearing at a local farm.  As a result of getting this brochure I have made a new friend, Kate Brown.  She is the owner of Beech Springs Alpacas, just outside of Ahoskie, NC.  I took my family for a visit, which I blogged about just a few weeks ago.  Kate had her annual shearing yesterday, and invited me to come and participate.  The shearers came from Indiana, and it seems travel a total of 15,000 miles during a season.  They make appointments and map out their route, a large loop it seems that takes them from farm to farm until they get back home.  They started shearing about 7:45 yesterday morning and finished at 3 yesterday afternoon.  To get the Alpacas ready to be shorn, this is where all the other hands are needed.  I discovered yesterday that the animals must be stretched out with cords, to avoid clipping injuries, prevent flailing (which could injure the animal or helper), and allow the shearers to clip nails and file teeth if necessary.  I helped with putting on the cords and pulling the ropes yesterday.  It was not hard work but, I am a little sore today.  My wife and children came out for a couple of hours and watched the whole process.  My daughter was fascinated and ended up staying through the afternoon.  She took lots of pictures with her own digital camera.  She has a bag of Alpaca fleece to take to school with her pictures for show and tell.   My wife and I, sometime in the near future, will have our own show and tell of  6 hanks of alpaca sportweight yarn, our share in this year's shearing.  I can't wait to see what we get!

So excited about this fiber life I am living.  It gives me great satisfaction to share it with my family and friends.  I promised a free pattern and I am working on it.  I made a cell phone holder earlier this week.  I used some leftover acrylic and it is beautiful to look at but not very sturdy.  So I am working one up to felt.  As soon as it is finished and written I will post the free pattern.  Look for it later this week.  I will also be posting a new coffee cozy pattern, this one is felted, after the knitting retreat. 

Knitting Retreat

Since I just listed our Retreat on the Lion Brand Website I suppose I should list the document for Registration.  Registration will begin this Friday (I am having early registration for my knit and crochet group this Thursday evening).  Later this week I will have info on materials needed for each class.   We are trying to keep materials at a minimum so that each the Retreat will be affordable and enjoyable.  For more information on the retreat click the link below.  If you need further information my email address is listed at the end of the document before the registration.  Thanks.

Keeping You In Stitches Info and Registration Document

Photos of FO's

I am trying to link my Google/Picasa photos so that you and others can see my wife's and my work of late.

Knitting Knook Finished Works

It includes ponchos, hats, shawls and more.  I am hoping that everyone who wants to see these will be able to visit this Album.

Another item to tell you about is the wonderful yarn shop visit I had on Friday.  Due to planning the Knitting Retreat, I am trying to visit as many shops as possible within driving distance of our retreat.  I went to a wonderful shop on Friday.  After an unplanned dentist visit Friday morning, 2 hours and 2 fillings later, I headed to Plymouth, NC to visit "Yearning for Yarn."  It was probably the smallest yarn shop I have ever visited.  It was also one of the best.  Everything was very organized, by weight and content.  The owner was very delightful.  We discussed knitting, yarns, patterns, Elizabeth Zimmerman, and my publishing.  She was interested in every detail of each customer (there were others in the store).  I can say I will return to her store when I am in the area.  If you ever find yourself anywhere near Plymouth, NC,  get in to Yearning for Yarn.  It is worth the drive.  Take your knitting and sit a spell.

Knit your family together with prayers and love, and they will never come unraveled.

Teaching Gig, a hat, and a pig....and announcing a Knitting Retreat

So last weekend I went to Crafting Stop in Franklin, VA to talk to them about teaching knitting.  My wife and children went with me along with a laundry basket full of FO's (finished objects).  We discussed knitting and crochet for an hour and by the time I got home that evening I found out that they liked all my work and set up their first knitting class.  It will be held March 26, teaching How to knit, with a dishcloth as the project (scarves are easy but take longer than a 2 hour class can sustain).  Today I finished the model washcloth and will type out the pattern for the store this weekend.  I also found great knitting instructions that show an easy way to do the long tail cast on (I think it is one of the hardest parts to teach).   Things are looking up in my knitting world.  My first pattern to be published, the Reversible Men's Hat, Scarf, and fingerless Mitts Ensemble, will hopefully come out next month.  Design number two went out in the mail on Monday.  I don't want to jinx it but I am very proud and excited with the design. (The drawing was even good, and I am not an artist.)  There is another call for designs for Interweave Knits mid March, and I am buying yarn for that design this weekend when my wonderful wife, a good friend, and I go to Coordinated Colors Yarn Shop to take an Entrelac knitting class.

On to the hat.  My daughter loves Taylor Swift.  Over the Christmas holiday, she watched a special and saw a slouchy beret/tam/hat that Taylor loves to wear.  She said "Daddy will you make one for me?" and I of course could not say no.  So I set out to find a pattern and quickly found the pattern by another blogger on the web.  The hat was cabled and I went in search of yarn for it.  My daughter loves blue and picked electric blue Charisma yarn from Michael's.  This yarn is super soft and worked up great for the cables.  I will post a picture here later.  She loves the hat and wears it daily now, which is a good thing because I was the mad knitter Friday night trying to finish it.  When I finished it at 10:30 pm Friday, my hands were raw and sore.  The look on her face Saturday morning was worth the pain in my hands.  Thanks for loving my work, Eleanor.

And the pig...My son is 5 and still in preschool (Thanks NC for pushing back the Kindergarten entrance date so I have to pay for an additional year of daycare on my teacher's salary).  Last week he found a set of phonics readers we bought for my now 8 year old daughter and asked to be taught how to read.  I am very proud to say that he can pick out and sound out quite a few of the words.  He likes the short i story "Pig Jigs."  The pig jigs in a wig and the pig is big.  You get the idea.   I am very glad he has taken an interest in reading at such a young age.  Not sure what they will do with him in Kindergarten next year if he comes in reading, already knowing his colors, and recognizes numbers up to 20 (he can count much higher than that).  Maybe I should start a knitting commune and home school my kids.  Just a thought.

Finally...Announcing the first (annual) Keeping You in Stitches Knitting Retreat.  It will be held in Beautiful Downtown Murfreesboro, NC.  The Barnes House Bed & Breakfast will be the venue for our Retreat hosted by Heather Boyd, my wife and avid crocheter/knitter, Claudia Morris, owner of Southern Purls in Ahoskie, NC, and myself, Rusty Boyd aka Small Town Knit Guy and published knitting designer.  There will be classes in Magic Loop, Felting, Broomstick Lace, and a sock done toe up/magic loop.  We will take a field trip to Three Hawk Alpacas, have several Sit & Stitch sessions to share and talk, and prizes donated by several LYS's.  If you are interested in more info or registration details email me at smalltownknitguy@gmail.com.

Well I have rambled on now for quite a while tonight.  Hope you enjoyed reading.   Pics of finished objects coming soon. 

What have I been up to, Up to now....

2 hour Wrap

more like 5 day wrap

 My wonderful wife gifted me with a weekend away this year for Christmas.  There are pictures of the place in which we stayed below.  It was secluded without the temptation of shopping (which we both love).   We did some yarn shopping on the way to the cabin.  I have included lots of pictures which I haven't shown before.  The two pics above are of my wife's Christmas present last year.  It is thick and glamorous and has a hint of pink in it.  She wears it well.
The next two pics are of a scarf I made for a co-worker

Bead It Scarf

 who retired in December.   I was unable to complete it by retirement date, but she came to visit last week and I gave it to her.  She was thrilled.

Retirement Gift

 She will have to hide it from her 3 daughters.

Bedroom at my Weekend Away

Cabin on the Horse Farm

Great Room in Cabin

Covered Bridge Red Ponchette

A very relaxed and happy Couple

Holey Mohair Shawl

Cabin Kitchen

Mobius Cowl wrapped twice

Here is the bedroom of the cabin from our weekend away.  (I still am having a hard time getting the hang of this blog for example arrangement of these pictures.  I'll keep practicing).







This is an outside view of the cabin.  It was on a working horse farm and we could view the horses from the windows as we knitted, crocheted, and watched movies all weekend.










My daughter is modeling lots of things for me.  See her in several items I have knitted over the past few months.  The ponchette was finished just before our trip.  The Holey Mohair shawl is small but was my first design (before I knew I could design, one day I will get around to remaking and writing up the pattern).  The mobius cowl to the right is an older piece, one of the first that I knit after learning.  It fits and looks good on my darling girl. 

The felted hat is only the second piece that I have ever felted (the first was a belt).  I accidentally felted

a little too much, but it will fit a pre teen girl.

Felted girl's hat

Shawl in Autumn colors

Another view of the hat, my daughter makes it look good.

This is my favorite shawl pattern.  It only takes me about a weekend to complete one.  And this one is in my favorite color, oranges. 

Shawl, tied in the front

Holey Mohair Shawl

Mini Waterfall Shawl

Sweetie Pie baby hat, for a friend

While we were at the cabin I quickly knitted up this Horseshoe lace cowl for the owner of the horse farm.  She was thrilled and called us on the way home to thank us.  It is going to be my next free pattern.  Look for it in February.

























Finally I completed a baby hat from yarn I bought in Seattle, on the Men's Fall Knitting Retreat.  I gave it to a friend who had a baby this summer and she was thrilled.  I got to practice lace and try bobbles for the first time on this piece.  Well, now you know what I've been up to, up to now.  Next blog, finished pics of the Bernat Mosaic Shawl.

 Keep playing with sticks and string.

Just in time for the Holiday--Free Cowl Pattern

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Kwanzaa.  Last Monday I Priority Mailed my knitted Men's Reversible Ensemble (beanie, fingerless mitts, and scarf) to Skacel for their approval.  By Friday I was on pins and needles because I had not heard from them.  I emailed them from my mother's house and got an immediate response.  The pieces and pattern had arrived and to quote the email, "They look GREAT!"  I was so happy that I nearly cried.  I worried all week, because as many of you know as knitters, crocheters, or crafters in general, you can always find something wrong with your work.  I was extremely proud of my first ever design and publishing contract and prayed all week for it to arrive safely and for the powers that be at Skacel Collection, Inc. to like what I had created.  And they did.  Praise God!  So, In honor of my first pattern being published, I decided to knit up a quick and easy cowl.  I also decided to post the pattern here for free as I want to share it with my readers and others looking for free patterns.  My hope is that you like it, will try it, and tell me what you think (especially if you find a mistake so I can correct it).  It is quite warm, as the weather has turned very cold here in NC (colder than I can remember it getting this early in the winter).  The yarn I used is discontinued, however you should be able to find a great substitute at your LYS or Big Box store.  Ravelry calls it super bulky, however I found it to be more of the bulky/chunky variety.  I really enjoyed working with it and wish I had more, but, alas, it is discontinued.   The yarn color inspired the name (looks like candy) and stitch pattern (reminds me of steam rising from a warm drink).   It knits up quickly (I finished mine over a weekend).  My wife is modeling the cowl in these pics.   The pattern is written below or can be found as a Google Document here:  Peppermint Hot CoCowl

Peppermint Hot CoCowl

by Rusty Boyd, 

Small Town Knit Guy 

Warm ribbing in a wavy pattern!

Difficulty level:  EASY!

Dimensions:  Approximately 7.5 inches wide x 11 inches in length 

Materials:  2 balls OnLine Linie 146 Montana in the Ruby Fire  colorway (01) (my wife is modeling) 
or 
1 skein Loops and Threads Charisma  (my daughter is modeling)

 (or bulky (#5) yarn of your choice that gives you the approximate gauge)

                  size 11 DPN or long circular for magic loop 

                         (or size that gives you approximate gauge)

                  cable needle

                  tapestry needle

                  stitch marker

Gauge:  Not entirely important but -- approximately 3.5 stitches and 3 rows per inch (pre-blocking)

Abbreviations:

               K-knit

               P-purl

               Sl-slip

               st-stitch(es)

               CN-Cable Needle

Stitch Pattern:  Wavy Rib (from Mon Tricot Knitting Dictionary 1030 Stitches and Patterns)                     modified for working in the round    multiple of 6

         Rounds 1-6:  *P4, k2*

         Round 7: *P2, sl 2 to cn and hold to back of work, k2, p2 from cn

         Rounds 8-12: *P2, k2, p2*

         Round 13:  *Sl 2 to cn and hold to back of work, k2, p2 from cn, p2*

         Rounds 14-18: *K2, p4*

         Round 19: *sl last 2 p st from previous round to cn and hold in back of work, K2, p2 from cn, p2,

                             sl 2 st to cn and hold in back of work, k2, p2 from cn, p2

         Rounds 20-24:  repeat rounds 14-18

         Round 25:  repeat round 19




Cast on  60 stitches. Place stitch marker to mark beginning of round.  Join to work in the round.  Work pattern stitches through round 25.  Repeat rounds 20-25 to desired length (height).   To bind off I used Elizabeth Zimmerman's Sewn Bind off.  (Click for link to Knitty.)   It gives a stretchy bind off which will be helpful when pulling this over your head.  Use tapestry needle to weave in ends.  Blocking I feel is unnecessary with this type of accessory, but you can if you like.


copyright 2010
Rusty Boyd
Small Town Knit Guy 
For personal use only,  Please ask permission before duplicating, or making items to sell.