Travel Knitting: On the Road to Florida

Shelagh and her husband are enjoying themselves in Florida this week. But last week, she busy getting herself organized. Of course that included figuring out what projects to bring along! 

Variety is the spice of life in knitting too! Here are the travel projects Shelagh brought on the road.

So what might be on her needles? Top left is some variegated blue yarn that Shelagh dyed herself: she likes it so much she is going to make a scarf for herself. The pale pink, aqua and blue yarn in the centre is for a baby booties. The pink yarn at top right is for a baby blanket. The raspberry at the bottom left is a scarf she is making for herself.

And the white ball of yarn at the top right? That is to finish up the bathing suit cover up she began just before she left!

With just the arms and hood to complete, Shelagh crocheted away as they drove from the cool north to the warmer and warmer south.

Blocking in the hotel while in transit.

Shelagh showing off the finished coverup poolside!

And ta da! Done and ready to wear poolside!

Follow us on Instagram over the next couple of weeks: Shelagh will be posting occasionally while she is away.

What Else I Make 2

Last week I told you about the baby blankets I've been making for over thirty years. Something I've been making for about five years is a bit unusual: wedding garters!

It was really a bit of a fluke: a girl I was working with was looking for something very specific for her wedding garter. She wanted her garter to be camouflage and lace. I found some pink camouflage fabric and I crocheted the lace edging. Then I personalized it even more by attaching a dog charm and a pink Swarovski crystal heart. She loved it and her husband was surprised when he went to remove the garter during the reception. He loved it! I just wish I'd thought to take a picture of it.

A pink and a blue garter: as individual as the brides they are for.

When two of my sons got married a few years ago, I made each of their brides her own keepsake garter and a throwaway one for the reception. I put so much work into each garter, I thought it would be nice to make two.

Since then, I've made several for friends and others. They are a fun little project to do.

We currently don't offer wedding garters in our Etsy shop, but contact me (Shelagh) if you would like one or a pair for your special day. I will work with you to match to your wedding colors. Contact me at threesistersknit@gmail.com or DM me through the Three Sisters Knit Facebook page.

What Else I Make

I enjoy knitting or crocheting things for our shop, but I make many other things that don't make it there! Like Margaret mentioned in her post a few weeks ago, creativity is in our DNA.

Something I love making are baby blankets and I've been making them for well over 30 years. I started out making them for friends when they were expecting their babies and continued making them for new friends, co-workers and their family members. I still think they are so much fun to make.

For baby blankets, I like to use a washable yarn: we know that "things" can happen with little ones, so washable is necessary. But so is soft and comfortable for baby's skin.

Soft and squishy Bernat Baby Blanket.

Lately, one of my favourite yarns to use is Bernat Baby Blanket. It is so thick, soft and squishy. It knits or crochets up so quickly I can usually have a blanket done in a couple of days depending on the pattern.

The most-recent blanket I made was for one of my son's friends. He and his wife were expecting their first baby so I made a Hudson's Bay inspired blanket using Caron Simply Soft. Because it was all garter stitch (knit every row), it knit up fairly quickly. I loved it when it was done, but more importantly the new parents loved it! It was a perfect gift for them as they waited until the birth of their child to learn the gender.

How special for a new mother to receive a handmade baby blanket. From being swaddled in it as a newborn to dragging it with them everywhere as a toddler to swaddling their own newborns in it, a handmade blanket is a beautiful gift.

My own three boys each have their own special blankets that their Nannie (our mother) made for them. They are all put away for now, ready for them to use with their own little ones!

We don't offer baby blankets in our shop but if you are interested in one, contact me (Shelagh) at threesistersknit@gmail.com or DM her through the Three Sisters Knit Facebook page. I will work with you to find the ideal pattern and yarn for the new baby.

Baby Hudson's Bay-style blanket: ready to finish the ends.

FO Friday - My Catching Fire Cowl

Yes, I read all the books in The Hunger Games series before the first movie was out. I loved them! Who doesn't love a strong lead woman character? But I'm not really a movie-goer, so it was a while until I saw the first film.

I had seen patterns for a really cool-looking "cowl" referencing Katniss and the series on Ravelry. I always liked these unusual cowls, but it wasn't until I saw Catching Fire on Netflix that I knew I had to make one for myself. Remember the scene near the beginning of the movie when Katniss is hunting in the restricted area outside of her town? She is by herself, exploring, listening to the quiet of the natural world. And she is wearing the most amazing gray cowl that is perfect for an archer.

Starting on the pattern.

Back to Ravelry, where I settled on Ashley McCauley's Catching Fire Cowl, which I set it aside until I could find the right yarn. And a few weeks later I found some beautiful superwash chunky by Sweet Georgia in the colourway "Terra Firma": gorgeous earthy burgundies, which suit me more than the gray Katniss wore.

The pattern calls for a Bulky yarn and my chunky made the finished version a little bit smaller than it could have been. And I have to admit it seemed incredibly tiny while I was working on it! But, once Shelagh added the crocheted edging, it seemed to be a more "normal" size. (Note to self: learn to crochet, willya?)

I'm thrilled with the way it turned out! What do you think? Do I look like an archer?

FO Friday - Shades of Gray Infinity Scarf

Silver, steel, and charcoal altogether in one snuggly scarf and set off by a lovely wine-coloured edge.

Let's face it, knitting brings so many wonderful pleasures: it's relaxing (when it's going well!), it's creative, and it's social (how many of you belong to the Knitting Club in your local yarn store?). But no matter how much you already know, there's always more to learn. I love that! 

This project started after I found three skeins, each of a different shade of gray, in our local yarn store They were gorgeous and the softest yarn ever. I knew I had to have them. The yarn is a blend of 70% alpaca and 20% bamboo. It has the best of both those fibres: Incredible softness and springiness (loft) from the alpaca with the tiniest bit of sheen from the bamboo. 

And as is often the case, I didn't have a pattern in mind for this yarn, but I knew I had to make something that could be worn close to the skin—it's just so darn soft! I did find a pattern in a magazine that I adapted: simple garter stitch using three shades of gray and edged in a lovely wine colour.And that book seemed to be making headlines everywhere, so I arrived at the name easily.

Because the pattern was so simple, I didn't mind trying some new skills: the pattern called for a provisional cast-on,  a three-needle bind off, and a crochet edging to finish. I was so excited to try all of these (I did practice the provisional cast-on with some junk yarn first . . . I wanted to make sure I wouldn't do anything to the lovely alpaca yarn!). I was even more thrilled when I was successful with the cast-on and bind-off methods.

I never did get around to learning how to crochet though: Shelagh finished the edging for me. So this scarf really is a family product.And I guess I'm going to have to learn how to crochet sometime soon.