Meet Oliver & Ruby

These teeny tiny Ragamuffin kittens are only 27 days old, but they'll be coming to join our family on May 1st. Since we lost beloved Bailey this past summer, I've been pining for something cuddly...

There's something cozy about kittens and yarn, and it got me thinking in general about pets and knitting. I'm wondering what funny stories readers have about pets getting themselves in the way of knitting projects.

The one that comes to mind for me happened about 8 years ago when Bailey was still a puppy...

Bailey was a major chewer,and it drove my husband and kids crazy,because she'd chew anything within reach which was usually my husband's gloves or one of the kids' toys. I was always sticking up for Bailey, pushing her positives, defending her chewing habit as being the most natural and innocent of puppy traits. Until she got a hold of the RED SWEATER...

I had, years before, found the most gorgeous red silky wool at a store in England...I'd carefully brought it home, tucked safely in my carry-on, lovingly watched over it for a long, long, long time - waiting for the perfect project to knit it into something wonderful. Finally I found just the project: a complex lace, dropped sleeve sweater... The front and back and one sleeve were done and the pieces felt like butter against my skin...The second sleeve was on the needles when the unthinkable happened...I'd left my knitting on top of my open knitting bag after working late into the night. In the morning, I discovered, to my horror, that Bailey had slept on the project and at some point during the wee morning hours it must have caught in her puppy nails, where it had snagged and become a really really fun chew-toy.. The work was shredded...as were the three extra skeins tucked in the bottom of the bag, Bailey had left no skein intact. It was hopeless. And yet...as my vet friend pointed out,she had slept there because my scent was on the sweater and she loved me best....How can you argue with that?

And so, 8 years later, I'm bringing two kitties into the house: Eight paws with nails itching to catch my knitting...but look at those little faces! I'll let you know how it goes...

Yours in yarn,
Claire

Happy Valentine's Day

Sue and Shirani are at the yarn show in Pittsburgh, but Bob is holding the fort down at Cultured Purl so the shop is open today. Thanks Bob!!!!!!

Happy Valentine's Day,
Claire

Polishing the silver

Today I polished the silver and it got me thinking about how some things seem meant to be. Years ago, I was strolling through a dirty, dark, antique shop somewhere in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, when I spied a filthy, tarnished, cobweb-covered
tea service. Most people wouldn't have, understandably, given it a second glance, but something about it spoke to me and after some good natured back and forth with the shop owner, it left the shop with me and made the long journey back to Pennsylvania. And now we come to the point of the story...I quickly set about polishing (thank God for Goddard's silver paste) and as that lovely silvery sheen emerged from under years of black tarnish, I was shocked to see that a finely engraved "B", previously hidden under the weathered layers of age and time, now graced each piece of the tea set. A "B" for my last name: as if it were meant for me all along...

Sort of the way it seems that I was meant to find the Cultured Purl, and Sue and Shirani, my wonderful friends, and all the customers who I enjoy so much. It makes me smile to think of all the little twists and turns my life has taken through the years for me to have happened into their shop one sunny August day. As if it were always meant to be!

Well the silver is gleaming, and I am heading back to my super chunky neck warmer: a new design I've been playing around with. And, no Amy, I never made it to 12: New Year's Day saw me at 11 and 1/3. Although, technically, the single socks I had done through the year really did push me past the dozen I had set as a goal, but since they weren't pairs I'm not going to count them!

Yours in knitting,
Claire

ps, the thing that got me in the mood to polish silver this morning is the book I'm reading: An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear, her most recent title in the wonderful Maisie Dobbs series - set in 1920s England, Maisie is a psychologist/war veteren (nurse) who solves some very interesting mysteries as Winspear explores the journey of an independent woman trying to make her own way in life in the aftermath of WWI. A good weekend read.

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Baby Surprise!!

I love this pattern...it is a bit like origami...When you finish knitting the fabric you fold it this way and that way and Viola an adorable baby sweater.


These are Daren McCullough's Baby Surprise Sweaters...TOO CUTE! Hard to believe this was all stash yarn.
The finished one is one ball of sock yarn.
Can't wait to see the pink one finished!
If you would like to bring your stash and join us for the class there is still room...call the shop for info.
Thanks for sharing Daren. :)
~Shirani

Number 11 and counting

Here's the 11th set of socks this year. They're knit from the top down and done in the wonderful Austermann Step with Aloe. I'm in love with the stripes and the repeat was frequent enough that it wasn't hard to match the striping on second sock


I tried something different with the toe: I modified the Round Toe and ended with the kitchener stitch. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE LOOK OF THIS TOE!!!!!! It has a lovely curve and using the kitchener avoids the funny little elf point one so often gets with the regular Round Toe.

SO...one more sock to go. The stress of getting it done for Christmas was getting to me, what with everything else going on. Then it occurred to me that the year doesn't end till the 31st! SO it doesn't look like there'll be a knitted gift under the tree for my husband this year...

That takes a bit of pressure off. There's still so much holiday work - haven't wrapped a thing, still have to decide on the Chrismas Carols we're singing next week so we can learn them all, there are parcels to mail, fruitcake to make (a pale apricot pistachio this year) and the Christmas cards aren't quite finished - looks like England won't get theirs till the week of New Year's at this point...My parents are visiting and Mum took care of the baking-of-the-cookies-with-the-kids this year. (There was a wee bit of stress when my mother realized that my husband had accidentally poured the Wheat Flour into the All Purpose Flour tin, resulting a cookie dough was unbelievably soft and difficult for the kids to roll out, but Mum was a trooper and made the best of it.)

We did make the annual trek out into the woods of Edinboro to cut down our Christmas tree this morning. On a sad note, it was the first year in recent memory that Bailey wasn't with us, bounding around, getting her leach tangled in the trees, and occasionally knocking one or the other of us into deep snow in her exuberance (she never really did lose her puppy mentality). Her absence was especially noticeable because it seemed like EVERYONE IN ERIE COUNTY was at the tree farm WITH THEIR DOG this year...but I think in general fun was had by all.

Here are the kids modeling their knit hats...I love that they love the things I make them!

And thanks Amy and Linda for your kind comments about Bird in Hand Designs, I'm having a really good time with it.

For now it's back to #12. I'll feel better if it's at least on the needles,

Yours in Trekking,
Claire

I've got news!

I'm starting a pattern business! Bird in Hand Designs

Printed copies of my patterns will always be available at Cultured Purl (thank you Sue and Shirani!), but once BirdinHandDesigns.com is up and running, you'll also be able to find me online at Ravelry and Etsy. Toward that end, I have started a blog here at BirdinHandDesigns.com so feel free to stop by and let me know what you think. There is a TON of set up involved: I'm hoping to be officially open for business in February. In the meantime I'd love your thoughts and comments.


I just got designer status at Ravelry.com and I have a couple of free patterns that you can download here and here.

Take a peek and let me know what you think!

Yours in knitting,
Claire

Another toe-up sock completed!

My younger daughter is getting a pair of socks for Christmas, and here they are - my second pair of toe-ups done in the gorgeous but sadly discontinued Trekking 100. For this pair I used the new square needles Shirani and Sue just gone in. They're nicely fast, being metal, and the point is a joy for getting through the tiny wraps at the short row heel, but I have to say my tension is not as even as it is with wood, and I found the shortness of the needles caused a bit of cramping in my hands. But, they are definitely worth a try, if for no other reason than to throw a little novelty into your knitting! They come in sets of 5, which is nice for the toe-up technique, and I believe Shirani has them in 0,1,2,& 3s.

My younger daughter is also a dancer, and although her arch is not quite as high as her sister's, it's high enough to warrant the addition of two 6 stitch gussets at the turn of the heel. (See the detail of the gusset in the photo below.) Also, her point shoes have a wider box to accommodate the width of her toes (making pointe a lot less painful!) so to account for her specific foot shape, I made a much wider toe by beginning the cast-on with 24 stitches.


These small changes to the basic toe-up pattern, made better fitted socks for both girls (although they won't know it till Christmas morning!) For my son's pair, and that's number 11 if you're keeping count, I'm going back to my old friend the top-down sock. I'll let you know how it goes,

yours in yarn,
Claire

Manos del Uruguay

Check out this new yarn Shirani just got in: Manos Silk Blend - a lusciously soft blend of Silk and Merino Wool. Silky soft beyond belief and the colors! Well, these are the three colorways Cultured Purl has in stock right now and I'm in love with all of them. It's hand dyed by the "hands of Uruguay", a non profit organization with over 400 artisans in cooperatives scattered all over the countryside of Uruguay. Its goal is to bring economic and social opportunities to rural women.

This yarn would make a beautiful hat, pair of mittens, or dare I say it, a shawl...
Stop by the store and take a look!

yours in yarn,
Claire

18 Hours of Musical Theatre...

(the same 3 hours over and over and over again! only a Mother's love...)

I had planned to get SO MUCH knitting done, but it turns out that trying to sneak in a few rounds on black yarn in a darkened theatre simply does not pay. I ended up dropping stitches and ripping back so frequently I just didn't get anywhere fast on this hat for my brother-in-law. (Sorry it printed sideways!)

Shirani got me hooked on this awesome Brooklyn Tweed pattern, found here and I have to say I adore this project! It's simple and very intuitive, and I am absolutely enthralled with the yarn I'm using: Nimbus and O Wool, both organic, and a joy to knit with. Each skein of O Wool (made in Middlebury Vermont), uses half an acre of organic land. WE NEED MORE YARNS LIKE THIS IN THE WORLD!!!!

I love this fibre so much I'm ready to get started on a second hat (my husband's birthday is a few short days away and I now he'll love the feeling of this wool - it's very soft and not at all itchy.) I'm going to cast on right now, and then do my best to put it aside for today's 3 hour afternoon show!!

yours in organic wool,
Claire

PS, Next year's sock club is almost full. If you'd like to sign up, stop by or call the Cultured Purl.

Jill's Baby Blanket

This blanket is just gorgeous...in fact I almost hesitated to post this picture because the colors aren't anywhere near as vibrant and beautiful as the real thing. But when Jill stopped by to show us the finished project the only camera I had was the one in my phone.

She did a lovely job! Her color choice was inspired and the garter stitch was spot on! Love the red border Jill!

Yours in knitting,
Claire

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Sent with my Treo 755p smartphone & Chattermail

And then there were two...

The fit on the first sock was just shy of perfect, so I cast on 4 more stitches at the start to make the toe a bit less pointy. I also began the gusset 6 rows earlier to create some negative ease. And after the short rows were done, I picked up 2 extra stitches at each corner to eliminate a messy looking gap at the top of the heel. This second sock fits like a glove. And Robin, yes I did finish the socks in about 2 days, but ankle socks take a lot less time! The ribbed cuff is my least favorite part of sock construction - all that back and forth with the yarn on size 0s is tough on ones wrist. For the girls, I only do 8 rows of ribbing and it's a breeze.

To keep my momentum going, I cast on immediately for a second pair (my younger daughter picked this lovely Trekking yarn out of my sock stash) and I have to say I'm loving the vibrancy of the colors. Thanks Amy for your kind comments. My younger daughter is also a dancer although her feet are slightly less arched so I'll make some modifications to these toe-ups to better fit her wider but equally beautiful foot. This time I began with a lot more stitches at the cast-on to create a flatter, more subtly rounded toe.

Well it's back to the double points for me...my deadline is looming closer!
yours in yarn,
Claire

Toe-Up Socks and "Nice" Feet

Archy feet are lovely on Pointe, but a pain in the butt when it comes to getting a good fit in a toe-up sock. The short row heel doesn't seem to be as elastic as the flap construction of a top-down sock which makes slipping the sock over the ankle and heel difficult for those of us with high arches. After trolling around online yesterday, I decided to add a gusset to my daughter's ankle sock.



When the foot was about an inch shorter than where I wanted to begin the heel, I began increasing one stitch at each side of the instep. I alternated the increase round with a plain knit round, and added 6 stitches to each side, taking my total stitch count from 56 to 68 - allowing a little ease at the widest part of my daughter's lovely ballerina feet. Once the heel was complete, I quickly narrowed the ankle area, by decreasing every round 6 times to remove the extra 12 stitches. The decreasing can be done more quickly because the anatomy of the ankle narrows at a faster rate than along the curve of the arch.

I'll have her try the sock on tonight, but it fits me just fine and while my arches aren't as 'nice' as hers, she did inherit hers from me, so I'm optimistic that the fit will be tailored right to her!

On to the other one,
yours in Opal sock yarn,
Claire

The End of the Year is Coming Fast

I've had to put aside the Silk Garden blanket for a bit so I can get to work completing my goal of 12 pairs of socks this year. For this pair for my daughter, I've decided to cross party lines so-to-speak and give the toe-up a try.

I thought I'd custom fit it to her particular foot shape, so I cast on only 16 stitches to create a pointier toe. After testing several cast-ons, I settled on the Figure 8 method. It nicely mirrors the look of the grafted toe on the top-down sock although the cast-on stitches looked a little loose and sloppy at first. After knitting a few rounds, I used my crochet hook to pull the slack over to the side with the tail so it looks neater. For the second sock, I may try the Eastern Cast-on to see if that gives a neater appearance.

After watching Shirani rip hers out several times because the increases weren't nicely matched, I decided to use the Lifted Increase, my favorite, which is nearly invisible, leaves no hole, and has an almost perfectly symmetrical slant depending on which stitch the increase is worked into.

By the by, here's a photo of the double pointed needle holders that readers asked about. (Hmmm, it posted upside down...)

They are great to use when knitting socks: the needles fit inside the tube and the sock in progress can be wrapped around the outside. Hand made for Cultured Purl by a wonderful Pennsylvania woodworker, they are beautifully constructed out of various woods and come in two sizes to hold either 5 inch or 6 inch needles. They are perfect for protecting your precious wooden double points and keeping your work in progress from slipping off the needles. I have several. Cultured Purl just got a bunch in - they make a great Christmas gift!

Yours in knitting,
Claire

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Sent with my Treo 755p smartphone & Chattermail

A hint on the Rambling Rows Blanket

I'm continuing to make progress on the afghan. It's mildly annoying to look at all those ends dangling from the back of the blocks (but that's NOTHING compared to how annoying it would be to have to SEAM TOGETHER all those blocks, so I'm not complaining...) so I thought I'd stop for a bit and weave some of those ends in. A mistake.

Those ends are really the simplest way to tell front from back. Really, this blanket is so beautifully designed, the joins blend right in rather "seamlessly"! So, if you do decided to stop by Cultured Purl and pick up this pattern and some Noro Silk Garden, resist the urge to take care of all the tails as you go.

By the By, we had a WONDERFUL time in Stockbridge. Turns out the bar has a late night menu with the MOST DELICIOUS chicken nachos ever, so missing dinner didn't matter much. The weather was beautiful, crispy cool and clear: a perfect New England FAll weekend. The Red Lion Inn is amazing.



The rooms are filled with gorgeous antiques from the collections of the various people who have owned the inn since it was begun as a stagecoach stop between Boston and Albany in (around) 1773.



The porch is quintessential New England: a charming spot to sit in the late afternoon with a cup of tea or a cocktail before dinner. Just inside the doors is a room with a roaring fire and lots of old rocking chairs perfect for doing a little knitting.


Almost upon entering the inn, one seems to relax into the nostalgia of another time and place. Even those of us with type A personalities can stop and smell the flowers!!




Keep this magical place in mind if you're ever looking for a weekend getaway.
Yours in knitting,
Claire

On the Road Again

We FINALLY headed out...3 hours later than I had hoped, 1 hour past the point of no return for making our dinner reservation, 30 minutes to0 late to eat dinner at the Inn at all because the kitchen closes at 9...what is up with that I ask. Luckily they have a bar...deep in the bowels of the basement of this 216 old bit of historical New England heaven. A bar appropriately named "The Lion's Den" which I'm guessing will at least have some chex mix or peanuts...

(she sighs as she snaps the photo of the highway sign confirming that even considering remotely the possibility of making it for a little nibble of kitchen left overs is beyond ridiculous.)

but here we are, somewhere in New York State, listening to a Billy Collins poetry reading on a CD I burned last night. I drove for awhile because my husband worked most of the night and, as I knew would happen, he was snoring before we hit Harborcreek. For awhile the pager kept going off, followed by the usual phone calls checking in, till we either crossed an invisible line of unspoken acceptability for leaving behind responsibility and entering
vacation mode, or we got out of the pager's range!

Either way here we are in that comfortable, easy silence earned after years of togetherness -the kind you have to experience to really appreciate. Billy Collins is talking about (ironically) the virtues of staying at home, and I am knitting on my husband's sock-he has no clue...

Enjoy the weekend,
Yours in knitting,
Claire

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Sent with my Treo 755p smartphone & Chattermail

Seamless mitered blocks

Thank you Sarah for your kind words about the blog. We're so glad that people enjoy it! I'm having a wonderful time working on this blanket. The geometry of it is beautiful and I just love knitting with Silk Garden. I have found this Noro yarn to be very soft after washing and I think my son will find the scrunchy garter fabric very snuggly. He's getting a kick out of watching me knit it, and I have to say that his reaction to my progress is really pushing me along. Sometimes it's the complexity of the pattern or the beauty of the stitches that attracts me to a project, but in this case it's knowing I'm giving a part of myself to someone I love who, in his own little 10-year-old way actually appreciates handknits, that makes it very very special.

After knitting the fair isle hat and having your sister love it, you must get a sense of that also. And by the by, fair isle isn't easy...you're already knitting beautiful things!!

Stop by the shop soon. I'd love to see what you're working on!

Yours in knitting,
Claire

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Sent with my Treo 755p smartphone & Chattermail

The Rambling Rose Afghan

I love this blanket!!!!!!



Noro's Silk Garden is such a lovely yarn to work with. This pattern is all about picking up stitches for the different blocks meaning there's no seaming involved! Also, it's done in garter stitch which yields a beautifully thick fabric - prefectly for a child's cuddly blanket!

I was a bit worried that I'd find the pattern boring, but between keeping track of the decreases, and anticipating what each new geometric shape will look like in the self-striping yarn, I'm finding this project to be extremely interesting and a delight to work on.

Yours in knitting,
Claire

It Was a Day Like Any Other...

I got the kids off to school, ran a few errands, stopped by Cultured Purl to drop off the new shawl, then somehow CAME HOME WITH 20 SKEINS OF SILK GARDEN and a pattern for a mosaic afghan for my son. OHMYGOD...i did the only thing that seemed sensible-i quickly ran it down to the basement and dumped the whole load of new yarn into one of my big rubber bins, sealed it up tight, then went upstairs and had a cup of coffee. THEN, I found the right needles, read through the new pattern and, realizing happily that I could finally make use of some of my stash, went back down to the basement, grabbed a couple of skeins of the silk garden, and got started on the project :)

yours in yards and yards of yarn,
Claire

I just finished the new shawl...

It's blocked out on wires and is in the process of drying right now. This is the part that seems to d r a g g g g o n s o o o o oo long...waiting for it to dry to see if it really is as pretty and lacy as I hoped it would be. One never really knows, with a new yarn, how it will work as lace.

This is done in Noro's Silk Garden sock yarn. There's a lot of thick and thin going on, but I think it adds to the organic feeling of this shawl. It reminded me, as I was knitting it, of a butterfly, so I had given some thought to naming it "The Butterfly Shawl". Then I decided that I'm not sure there are any striped butterflies actually in nature, so I was going to call it the "Old Shale Shawl" after the lace pattern. But then today at the shop, Rita commented on how much it looked like a butterfly....so I don't know. What if, for instance, a year from now, I come up with a design that actually resembles a real butterfly pattern? Then I would have wasted the name on a non-existent striped butterfly....





Here, by the way, is my left-it-in-mistake. (If you've taken one of my classes you probably already know that I tend to always leave one mistake in a project as a reminder that no one's perfect and this is a hand knit item after all.) I messed up a couple of yarn overs down the middle seam. However, I don't think it's that obvious!

The shawl should be dry by the morning. If you're looking for a new lace project, stop by the shop and take a peek!

Yours in knitting,
Claire

I'm happiest when...

I'm happiest (knittingwise at least) when I'm designing lace. Anything out of lace, but especially a shawl. I've just started one in the new Noro Silk Garden sock yarn. I ADORE the colorways!! This is going to be a top down, triangle shawl in the Old Shale pattern. I'm hoping the Noro will make an interesting striped "V". We'll see...


Then, on a sad note....
Our beloved Bailey passed away two weeks ago. Just before we went camping actually, but I couldn't talk about it then. I can't even really now, but I did want to post a picture and give her a moment of rememberance in the World Wide Web. She was a sweet thing...

And then,






to end on with something more positive...



We spent a lovely evening at Beach 6 last night - Presque Isle was beautiful, the water was clear, it was breezy and cool, and the children had a blast playing in the sand after a picnic dinner with their cousins from New York. Hard to believe it's the end of summer and that school starts next week.

I love having the kids home, and it's always a bit too quite come the last week of August. But I have to admit, the promise of cooler weather gets me back in the mood for working in wool!
I know a lot of people tend to be cool weather knitters and while I do knit year-round, I nearly always aim for projects done in cotton, silk, or linen in the summer months. Of course there's always a sock or two going - woolly or not, their too tiny to throw much heat! But with school around the corner, the brisk Autumn days aren't far behind and I'm getting ready to pull out some merino!! Why don't you join me!

Yours in yarn,
Claire