Paradise Fibers Yarn Club: February

I've been done with this project for a while, but was waiting to get the January yarn club finished and posted first.  The Paradise Fibers Yarn Club for February was a skein of Mountain Colors Merino Ribbon in the colorway Harmony Aspen.  The colors in this one are absolutely gorgeous!  It is a really subtle blend of tan, blue, and green.  Also, remember how I said there was only one of the Mountain Colors novelty yarns I would consider using again?  This yarn was it, and it is much nicer to work with on its own (away from the weird fuzzy yarns.)

I decided to make a little shrug for spring and summer.  I found an easy pattern on Ravelry from the book One-Skein Wonders that was perfect.  It worked up fairly quickly and didn't have any seaming or grafting.  I added several rows beyond what was called for in the pattern (or else it would have been super short.)  This is the kind of pattern that can be extended until you run out of yarn.

Overall, I enjoyed working with the Merino Ribbon yarn.  The color was perfect and it made a nice light fabric.  I would probably buy this yarn again for a summer sweater, or other warm weather knitting.

Paradise Fibers Yarn Club: January

I have been participating in the Paradise Fibers yarn club since last summer.  The yarn for January was Mountain Colors Twizzle in the color Evening Star.  It is a lovely worsted weight Merino wool with a strand of silk plied in.  The silk adds a lovely pop of color to the yarn.  Evening Star is a black and purple base with orange and blue accents.

Since black and purple are my cousin's favorite colors, I decided to make a triangular scarf for her as a birthday gift.  I used the Ashton Shawlette pattern that I made for myself in the fall.  Unfortunately I didn't check the yardage before I started, so I ran out of yarn less than a week before the project deadline!  So I ordered a second skein and finished it later.

I had to keep setting this project aside for other things (like yarn club projects for February and March, and both of my big ice skating competitions this year...) but I finally finished the shawl over the weekend and got it blocked.  Now that this is done, I can post about the other yarn club projects I finished in the meantime!

Paradise Fibers Yarn Club: December

The Paradise Fibers yarn club project for the month of December was a scarf kit with 5 one-ounce skeins of natural fiber novelty yarns.  The yarns in the kit were: Merino Ribbon (a flat open ribbon), Wooly Feathers (sort of hairy like fun fur), Missoula (a springy textured yarn), Mohair Loop (a curly yarn), and Mohair.  All the yarns were in the red/magenta color family with a few touches of purple.

Honestly, this is the first month of yarn club that left me unhappy with the yarn choice.  I hate novelty yarns, and the colors this month are my least favorite.  The project was a chunky scarf that basically alternated rows of all the different novelty yarns.  I knit the entire scarf in one day while the city was shut down during the first "polar vortex".  It was something like 13 degrees below zero, before windchill... So knitting was the perfect distraction.  Out of all five yarns, the only two I would consider buying again are Merino Ribbon and Missoula.  They are the least weird out of the bunch.

Like I said, this is my least favorite yarn so far... And I mostly knit the scarf to get my $10 in store credit.  I'm hoping to find a friend, family member, coworker, (or even a random stranger) that loves red and can rock this scarf.  It is not really my style, but I know somebody out there would absolutely love it.  Leave a comment if that somebody is you!  (Seriously, I'll send you the scarf.)  Edit 3/4/14- I found an owner for the scarf!  My good friend Fenna from The Honest Badger.  Hopefully I can get a picture of her wearing the scarf to post here.

Paradise Fibers Yarn Club: November

I realize this post is way overdue, but I finally finished my yarn club project for the month of November.  The deadline for the project was the night before my last holiday craft show.  Between creating inventory for shows and making Christmas presents, this project just didn't get done in time.  The yarn for November was River Twist by Mountain Colors in the colorway Rock Creek.  It is a lovely 100% merino that is plied with two strands that change colors.  Rock Creek is a blend of dark gray, blue, green, and purple.  It almost looks black at first glance, then you notice all the muted colors.

The project for the month was a hat with cables called Intersections Break.  I like working with cables and the pattern was easy to follow.  The only thing I didn't like about the pattern was how they figured out the sizes.  My gauge was correct, so the circumference of the hat was fine, but the number of cables for the "small" hat wouldn't have even covered my ears.  I realized this after starting the decrease rows on the evening of the project deadline.  After ripping back a few rows it became clear that I wasn't going to finish 2 more cable repeats and the decrease that evening so I set the project aside.

In the meantime I finished knitting my Echo Lodge sweater and picked up again on my colorwork socks from last year.  I also finished the yarn club project for December, which will be posted soon!  This hat ended up being a Valentine's gift for my guy.  Overall, I like the River Twist yarn and would probably order it again for another project.

Paradise Fibers Yarn Club: October

I finished the October yarn club project way back before Thanksgiving.  However, it was a Christmas present for my sister-in-law so I didn't want to post about it and ruin the surprise.  Now that Christmas is over, I can post about it all I want!

The project for the month was a boot-toppers kit using three colors of 4/8's Wool in "Just One Ounce" skeins.  Since neither of us wear boots, I decided to make a Reindeer Headband project from the Norwegian Handknits book I've had an eye on since last year.  It was a quick little colorwork project, and my sister-in-law loves it!

Paradise Fibers Yarn Club: September

I am woefully behind on posting about my monthly yarn club projects.  For the month of September the yarn was Mountain Colors Crazyfoot in the color Poppy Trail.  The yarn is a fingering weight Merino with a little bit of nylon.  The color was a blend of orange, pink, red, and green- great fall colors!  (It was still actually fall when I was received the yarn and started knitting...)

The suggested project for the month was a pair of socks.  Since I had done a pair of socks last month, I decided to make a lace shawl/scarf.  I chose the Ashton Shawlette because of the pointy scallops on the edges.

The pattern was easy to follow and worked up pretty quickly.  I managed to finish knitting within minutes of the October 20th deadline.  And then it sat unblocked in my room for over a month... oops!

Last week I used my Paradise Fibers store credit to get a set of foam blocking mats.  They are squares that fit together in different shapes, and then you can pin items to them for blocking.  I finally blocked the shawl and it looks great!  I'm always amazed at how much bigger a project like this turns out after blocking.

And here's a bonus photo of Frankie helping me with my knitting!

Paradise Fibers Yarn Club: August

This month's yarn club package had a skein of Mountain Colors Bearfoot sock yarn in Lilac.  It is a lovely blend of superwash wool, mohair, and nylon in a blend of navy blue, purple, and blue-green.  The pattern that came with the package was for a pair of fingerless gloves.  I discovered that the pattern is just a "suggested pattern" and as long as I use about the same amount of yardage, I can make whatever I want and still get the $10 store credit!

Since I just finished a nice pair of fingerless gloves earlier in the year (and the pattern provided had eratta and a few sizing issues) I opted to make a pair of socks instead.  I wear warm socks all winter long at work, so it would be nice to have a third pair of basic handmade socks.  I used my favorite sock pattern from the book "How to Knit Socks: Three Methods Made Easy."

This month I was slowed down by a trip out of town, two craft shows, and a massive ear infection.  I was also working on a few baby items for a friend of mine that is due very soon.  (More on those projects later.)  I found myself five days out from this month's deadline with only a half inch started on the second sock!  So I knit furiously on my day off and after work every day that week... And somehow managed to get it done!  I think that is the fastest I have ever knit a pair of socks.  (Huge thanks to my boyfriend for not minding that our "date night" was watching episodes of Community on Hulu while I finished knitting the second sock...)

So far having a deadline has really helped me finish the projects I'm starting.  Next month's box has already arrived and I started knitting a lace shawl over the weekend.  I've also got a plan for my store credit: get another skein or two of Cascade Baby Alpaca Chunky and make the sweater I wanted to make last year.

Paradise Fibers Yarn Club: July

Last month I signed up for a year long yarn club through the yarn store Paradise Fibers.  Joining the yarn club means that every month Paradise Fibers will send me a mystery package with pretty new yarn and a knitting pattern.  As part of the deal, if I finish the project within a month and post it on Ravelry then I get $10 in store credit!

The first month of the club included a skein of Monarch by Mountain Colors in the color Harmony Aspen, and a pattern for a faux cabled mobius cowl.  I was SO excited to get the box in the mail and get started.  To make things even better, the yarn happened to be in my favorite colors.

It took me about 3 weeks to finish the project.  I had a lot of other things going on last month, so my knitting time was fairly limited.  The box for August should be arriving sometime this week!  I'll be sure to post about next month's project once it gets here.