When I pulled gather out of the wordplay envelope that Heather Smith Jones sent me, I was excited.  I knew exactly what I wanted to do.  I had this image in my head of a young girl gathering something - apples off a tree, flowers from a field - in her hands, holding it out to share with the world.  I wasn't sure how I could convey this.  I thought about photography and drawing and even painting.  I stewed on the word, rolled it around in my head and wondered about some of its synonyms like congregate and collect.

Life got busy and I put gather on a shelf, waiting for inspiration to strike.  The vision of the girl was fading.  I thought about it from time to time, but never put pen to paper or picked up my camera.  Suddenly, it was November and I had a deadline.  I took out a fresh piece of paper and my micron and started writing down everything I was thinking about this word.  About halfway through the page, it came to me:  I was gathering my thoughts.  And I knew exactly what to do.

I found a board left over from my recycling bin art project and painted it a neutral green.  I took my sheet of thoughts and ripped it up in to small bits which I decoupaged on to the board.

I used an aqua acrylic to paint the words and the spots, giving it a bit of a wash in places.

My only regret is that I didn't have more time.  I would have liked to add more layers to this piece.  I'm okay with it, though.  Wordplay is about inspiration and creative process and I am happy with where gather went. Who knows, I may be inspired to take it even further.

I have really enjoyed working on this project with Emily and Tracy.  They are incredibly talented ladies and I feel lucky that I got to do this with them.  I can't wait to see their interpretations of this word.  And thanks, too, to Heather (and Shari, Jen and Blair) for giving us a great starting point.  Isn't it amazing what can be done with a single word?

This sweater has been a saga.  I am amazed that I even finished it because it was by far the least fun I have ever had knitting.  My wrist issues started when I started this sweater and I have my fingers crossed that they end with it too.  But, I am glad that I stuck with it and finally got it off the needles, even if it took the better part of a year.

Rowan Felted Tweed is a beautiful yarn.  I loved working with it - it was soft and light in my hands.  There were many times that I wished I had chosen a different color.  Well, a lighter color, actually.  It would have been easier to see the dropped stitches and the mistakes I made in the cable.  But I don't think I would love the finished sweater so much if it weren't this pretty brown.

The garter rib was tedious.  I kept messing it up - knitting when I should have been purling and vice versa.  When I look at it now, I like the subtle detail and think ripping out all those wrong rows was worth it.  I do love the mock seam.  That is just plain beautiful.

The tangled yoke - well, it was a tangled mess most of the time.  But in the end, if I went at it one repeat at a time, I swore less and managed to get a whole row right.  Add up 18 right rows and you get a whole cabled yoke.  How I managed it, I am not sure.  The frustration was worth it.  I think it is pretty amazing.

The buttons are shell and they pick all the little tweedy bits in the yarn.  I wish they were a smidge smaller, but oh well.  They do look nice.

The sweater is comfy - it's light weight, but still warm.  The sleeves are too long (my fault - I added too much length) and the overall fit is a little big (my fault, too - I lost weight).  I don't care - it's a good problem to have.  I still adore it.  I am just so happy that I am finished knitting it.

So there you go - item number 3 checked off the craft goal list.  That, too, feels good.

Pattern:  Tangled Yoke Cardigan by Eunny Jang

Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed, Color 145, 8 skeins

Needles:  sizes 4, 3 and 0, 32" circulars and size 4 double points

Size:  38"

Modifications:  I added length.  1 1/2" to the body and 1" to the sleeves.  I also picked up a few extra stitches on the button bands to make up for the length.  Otherwise, I knit it as the pattern said.

Would I do it again?  Hell no.  Was it worth it?  Hell yes.

Did you?

This week started off on a good note.  I finished the tangled yoke yesterday.  Once it's blocked, I promise to show and tell.

Other exciting things happening this week....

- The election.  I don't and won't talk politics here, but please go vote.
- Local craft swap on Thursday night.  I'm almost finished with my craft for that.
- Wordplay sometime this week - tomorrow, I think.  {Did I tell you the word?  Gather.}
- A weekend trip away for me.  By myself.  I'm looking forward to that.

What are you excited about this week?

Here is my hat.  And here is the pattern.

I saw a hat in the Garnet Hill catalog last winter that was similar to this.  It was made of cashmere and had a price tag to prove it.  I thought I would try to make my own version of it and then lost the photo.  Imagine my surprise when I saw it in the catalog again this year.  Right away, I decided to give it a go, but I used my new most favorite yarn, Malabrigo worsted, instead of the cashmere.  I had this pretty pink on hand and for lack of a better name, I am calling this the Rose Hill Hat.

It's an easy hat.  Some garter stitch, some bobbles and then full speed ahead with the stockinette stitch.  I haven't written out a pattern to share before, so if you do make it and  - gasp! - find any mistakes, let me know and I will correct them.  I put the pattern in a pdf that you can download here or over in the left side bar.  I am extremely grateful to Tracy, who didn't think twice when I asked her to take my camera and photograph it for me.  She also graciously let me use one of her shots for the pattern - thank you so much, friend.

Go on, get knitting.

This past weekend, we traveled to Wisconsin for my cousin Dallas's wedding.  On the way there, we made a pit stop in Madison to see Tracy and Nate.

The two hours went by super fast - we had such a great time.  Tracy and I are total dorks - in the best way.  If you don't believe me, look here and here.

Saturday, before the wedding, we went and toured the Leinenkugel Brewery in Chippewa Falls.  Lucky us, we had a private tour from none other than Jake Leinenkugel himself.  I guess it pays to have friends in the beer business. (Thanks Dad!)

Yes, that pretzel was just as good as it looks.  Of course, the Fireside Nut Brown was even better.

We had a great time at the wedding - the bride was beautiful and we danced a ton.  Sunday morning, we drove 10 hours home.  I managed to screw up my tangled yoke in the car, but made a recovery after not allowing any one in my family to speak to me while I untangled it.  I'm past the cable, ready to start the short rows.  Cross your fingers for me.  I really need to be finished with this.

Have a great day, everyone.

I took this pile of stuff and made a quilt.

It's a whole cloth quilt meaning that it isn't pieced at all.  I used 1 1/2 yards each of two 60" wide fabrics.  The green gingham is on one side, the floral on the other with a nice layer of cotton batting in the middle.  I spray basted it with 505 to save time and then did some free motion quilting.  I evened up the ends and set it aside.  This part took 2 hours.

I cut the pink and green polka dot into binding strips, pieced them and then pressed them using my clover bias tape tool.  I zig zagged the binding on.  This wasn't ideal.  It would have looked way better hand sewn, but time was of the essence.  I had to rip it out a couple times.  This part took 1 1/2 hours.  Then it went in the washer and dryer, got boxed, wrapped and dropped off for my neighbor's baby shower this weekend.

A quick and highly satisfying project.  And pretty damn cute, too.

That Leslie.  She's gave me a gift without even knowing it.

If you haven't knit her Toasty mitts, or her Toast wrist warmers for that matter, grab some yarn and cast on.  I love making these - they are comfy and easy.  They are also a fast knit - it took me about four hours per pair.  Perfect for the carpool line, or all those sports practices where you sit and wait.  They are even more perfect for me because amazingly I can knit them without much strain on my wrist.   These are my three finished pairs - all in Malabrigo worsted.  From top to bottom, the colors are tortuga, frost gray and pink frost. 

I've started the fourth pair and there will probably be more afterthat.  I told you I was a one trick pony, and I wasn't just talking about the yarn.  But I digress.  They aren't all for me.  I'm keeping one pair and giving therest as gifts.

Thank you, Leslie.  I am sure my friends will thank you too.