House Favorites

Posted on by Dan

You’ve seen both of these make appearances on ScratchCraft multiple times, but in different forms. The beautiful thing is that there is no limit to the types of combinations available for us to make and sample. I’m talking about mittens and I’m talking about pies. Virginia likes making the former and I the latter.

She just finished making Charlene Schurch’s “Pattern 1” from the book Mostly Mittens.

Mittens (Pattern 1)

These are knit with some lovely yarn by Simply Shetland. It’s their Lambswool and Cashmere blend – super soft, super warm, perfect for keeping hands cozy.

Mittens (Pattern 1)

I prefer taking a more indirect approach to keeping ourselves cozy and warm. It starts with a few basic ingredients, then add some heat, serve with tea.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Winter seems to be dragging on in Minnesota, and for everyone bemoaning the fact that Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow (meaning another 6 weeks of winter), I say, “If only we could be so lucky.” It’s going to be awhile before Summer rolls around. In the meantime, Strawberry Rhubarb pie (made without refined sugar, of course) does the trick.

So, really, these are not just house favorites, but house necessities. And, ones we’ll continue to make and enjoy for awhile.

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Woven Scarves

Posted on by Dan

I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing fiber get transformed into something that is not only beautiful, but also useful. Virginia continues to explore the various ways of doing that. Over the last couple of weeks, she has worked on a couple of simple, but elegant scarves. These are both woven on her rigid heddle loom – such a simple machine, but the possibilities for creation (even with just a basic weave) are seemingly boundless. In the case of these two recent projects, different yarns were used for both the weft and the warp, the last one using some of my handspun yarn.

Woven Scarf

Woven Scarf

Woven Scarf

Woven Scarf

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The Call of Crochet…

Posted on by Dan

Crochet Afghan - In Progress

Crochet Afghan - In Progress

Crochet Scarf - In Progress

Crochet Afghan - In Progress

…is much like the siren’s song for Virginia. These are four projects that have been in the works for various lengths of time, and when she’s not rotating among them, she’s busy plotting new ones. I think it’s good to take advantage of when inspiration strikes – even if it strikes more often than not. (More photos of these projects can be seen on Flickr.)

And, albeit a couple of weeks late, happy new year! Thanks for hanging in there. I wasn’t going to have any blog resolutions that dealt with quantity and frequency, but I do intend to keep sharing (when there’s good, scratchcrafty stuff to share – which I hope is often).

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34 and counting

Posted on by Dan

Instead of dwelling on the past today (thinking about the nearly 20% of the past 365 days spent in a hospital room), we celebrated by doing what we love to do. We drank coffee, ate waffles, worked on some projects (of the scratchcraft variety), had lunch out, did a little shopping, watched a movie, worked on some more projects (of the household variety), and toasted to normal—to many more years to put under our belts (with homebrewed beer, of course). All in all, it was a perfect day.

One of my gifts included some exciting new bundles of wool (much better than a box of chocolates… although, I wouldn’t have turned that down, either).

Bundles of Wool

So, to a new year. And, with New Years right around the corner, health and happiness to you all.

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Of Mittens, Socks and… Weaving!

Posted on by Dan

I promised I’d post some yarn-related projects. So, without further ado, here are some that Virginia has recently completed.

These are Finnish Mittens from Folk Mittens. The pattern is by Marcia Lewandowski. Virginia knit these using Misty Alpaca’s worsted-weight yarn. One of the things that I like about these mittens is that she knit them for me. I like my hands to be warm, and these certainly do the trick.

Finnish Mittens

Also off the needles is another pair of socks. These are made using Trekking, and are based on the Waffle Rib pattern in Charlene Schurch’s book Sensational Knitted Socks.

Waffle Socks (28 of 52)

I knew it was only a matter of time before the weaving bug bit Virginia. It finally did with Mr. Kringle visiting early, bringing a 24-inch rigid heddle loom. No sooner had the box been opened and loom assembled, that a “test” project was started.

Virginia's Foray into Weaving

This colorful weave was created with some Fleece Artist superwash merino. Given the speed with which this project started and finished, I’d say there’s bound to be more to share in the very near future. And, I must say, the bug has rebitten me, and I feel myself being pulled away from the felting fun I’ve been having.

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