Busy

Posted on July 30, 2016 by Jen

jenjoycedesign© wee hearts pink & green

Knitting aside, I’ve been busy as a bee hive this summer. Mostly running down off of the mountain every day to water or weed or do some laborious task associated with home-improvement (of another house). Only this morning I was scrubbing a bathroom of tile & grout for hours with bleach, oh joy. Not. Feeling rather tired in fact, and looking forward to Autumn with a great yearning, but it is … sigh … only the end of July.

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Anyway, aside from the ‘town’ house project and my trying to keep the garden up here on the mountain alive through the hottest months of a Northern Californian summer, I am getting a little knitting done in spite of it all.

jenjoycedesign© wee hearts 7

I am now done & dusted with Wee Hearts Tam, in Isager Tweed Moss & Pink ( from last post’s mention of pattern merge). Not bad I think. But I am thinking I am now ready to test this design for a full-on Fair Isle approach, with many color changes, and warm foreground colors play against cool background colors sort of thing. I’ve been studying the great Fair Isle designers, ready to make simple Wee Hearts sparkle with about seven different colors of Hebridean 2ply…

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So thankful for my yarn stash, I am ready with what I already have, and off I go, on a major color adventure!

Just Hanging Around Knitting . . .

Posted on July 7, 2014 by Jen

I’m pleased with myself for I indeed got the Dicey Highland Bonnet pattern updated yesterday to include the Dicey Highland Beret, and now I am squeezing in a quickie before I have to wind myself up to the max for the big Autumn Sweater Thing that I do every Autumnal Equinox for my nieces.

Backstory. Last Friday was the Independence Day holiday here, and we went on over to my brother’s as there was quite the party happening in his little Appalachian-esque neighborhood. Well, there I am knitting, you know ‘on-the-go’ , with the knitting bag slung over my shoulder and knitting as I always do. My youngest niece, Miss Eleven-Years-Old knows how to knit, and is getting better, so I said “Lets get you some knitting ! ” … so we walked down to her house and raided her mom’s stash & needles, and found a darling knitting bag and we set her up to knit-on-the-go too. So there’s the two of us among the wild & crazy dancing & feasting folk outside, she and I knitting together near the whole time, while walking about here and there with knitting satchels slung over our shoulders, swaying to the music … knit-dancing ! … and thoroughly enjoying our peaceful & productive selves ( stopping only to munch cake and other wonderful things ) . She got nearly half of a garter-stitch cotton dish cloth finished, and I made great progress on my hat band. I knit until it was too dark to knit any longer, however, Miss Eleven carried on knitting into the darkness which totally killed me, her eyes like a hawk’s .

Backstory over. About the forthcoming big Autumn Thing, this year I’ve got some ideas, I may either come up with a whole new design from which I will write & submit a pattern, or, I’ll just add some sleeves to my Penny Candy Tee. ((By the way, many folk have been making them, and I’ve been so proud !)) Whichever way I go, I must say, I better get cracking because it’s already first week over in July, and at the speed the seasons are going, I best not dawdle.

But I have a bee in my bonnet for the moment, about a wide and shaped band for a hat, and playing with some Alice Starmore Hebridean 2ply I’m on a roll. I’ve got most of my big chores out of the way for the week, so looking forward to just hanging around knitting !

Azure

Posted on July 6, 2013 by Jen

Been knitting in a heat wave for a couple of weeks, thirsting for that which best expresses my summer blues, and so I’ve produced the latest . . . I call it simply ” Azure “. It is a perky beret shape that is less voluminous than the recent one’s I’ve been knitting up, narrower and vaguely muffin-shaped as are some of the Old World Scottish bonnets I’ve seen. Uh huh… (more photos upcoming).

But what I love most about this beret is the color-work in the band while the crown is a single complimenting color, don’t you? I tell you, in this particular knitted beret, it is all about the subtle Fair Isle motif that one can barely see, from the two shades of blue, one angle the motifs pop out, another they disappear into each other. Can you see the design in there? I have more photos where it stands out better, in different light, but will save them for Azure’s pattern debut, second in the series, which will be happening very soon !

With Dicey and Azure, I have learned how to make a lined band, concentric decreases, experimented with several shapes of varying lengths, and practicing my ‘new stitch’ , while also focusing the design into the band alone, in a Guarda Pampa sort of affect. Oh, and I’ve also been toying with the adorable thing which is a toorie !

Azure & Dicey are knitted from Virtual Yarns Hebridean 2ply , a yarn with which I am totally smitten, but which substitutes excellently with renowned Shetland wool yarns of Jamieson & Smith, and Jamiesons of Shetland for those who prefer them. Coming up soon is the pattern for Azure, yeah sure, but maybe I’ll round-up the tam-o-shanter inspired series for an e-book sort of thing. Everybody is doing e-books, why not run with the herd ??? I’ll be hunkered down with the last one in the days ahead. More wool bonnets mean still more wool bonnet knitting in the heat of Northern California summer ! Have I gone insane?

Well, there you have it, the blue has taken hold of me. This is the fifth post in a row about blue …. and I have not even done this consciously ! Fortunately, as of this morning, there has been a significant drop on the thermometer, and I’m writing this while overlooking dense fog in the valley and 56 degrees Fahrenheit. Going to cast-on this very minute for another !

Summer Solstice

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Jen

I can’t think of a better thing to post on the summer solstice than to show off the apricot jam I just made ! I beat the ravens & jays to this year’s crop of uncommonly tiny but plentiful fruits, and surprisingly I was able to make at least a few jars of apricot jam ( I did toss a few dried sour cherries in there too).

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And now for my Fresh Apricot Torte recipe!

This is a perfect desert choice for fresh or frozen fresh fruit. Very rustic, and it’s fruit flavor equals that of any fresh fruit pie ~ without all the hassle of pastry ~ and it is made in minutes ! It’s relatively low in fat too. I’m taking this to a casual dinner party we’re going to this evening. Here’s how :

Beat briefly, two eggs. Add 1 cup sugar, 1/4 cup milk, pinch of salt, beat together till blended. Fold in 1.5 cups flour. Gently fold in 1 to 2 pounds in-season fresh or frozen fruit (berries, cherries, apples, pears, apricots, peaches all do really well). Pour into one buttered and floured cake layer pan and bake at 375 or 400 until deep golden on top, anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes, depending on whether fruit is fresh or frozen.

Cool on rack, then turn upside down and let torte come out of pan, then place right-side-up on a pretty plate. Serve room temperature, or cold from the fridge. A dessert of under-statement ~ surprisingly simple, and yet very elegant!

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Happy Summer Solstice everybody !

Dicey ~ The Pattern

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Jen

I did it folks… I submitted the pattern for Dicey !!!! You can find more information about the pattern on Yarnings HERE

Dicey Bonnet https://jenjoycedesign.wordpress.com/2013/06/02/dicey-bonnet/

(You can find it on Ravelry here )

Dicey

Posted on June 2, 2013 by Jen

jenjoycedesign©Dicey!

” Dicey ” is a simple and fairly traditional Scottish style bonnet. It has a checked, or ‘diced’ band as it is called. It has come to me in a sort of time capsule of childhood memories of Peter Rabbit . . .

as well as my present-day intrigue of a name by “Tam O’ Shanter” . . .

In a poem by Robert Burns ‘Tam O’ Shanter’ tells a story of a farmer named Tam, who gets drunk with his friends in a public house and then rides home on his horse Meg, enduring a night of terror and misfortune. (click to go to resource)

The Scottish forename “Tam” (for Tom) followed by “mishanter” (misfortune, ill-luck, the devil) = Tam of shanter . Coincidental how the name for the style of Scottish bonnet which Tam wears is what we think today of the voluminous hat with a pom pom on top of it. Its evident that the hat called a ‘tam’ came from Robert Burns’ character.

Oh, and check out this old tobacco label ! The dicing on the band is rather vaguely penned . . .

Actually, as far back as 1500’s the bonnet was a popular thing to wear throughout Europe, and the diced or checked band is a motif I find very timeless and yet fashionably dynamic !

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Dicey is knitted with Virtual Yarns Hebridean 2ply shown here in colors “Selkie, Red Deer, and Sun Dew” (with a few rounds of Jamieson’s Spindrift black).

A small semi-felted pom pom, or “toorie” which sits on top, makes Dicey just a little bit whimsical, with real ‘sassitude’ .

Dicey has a sort of horizontally ‘incorporated’ cord stitch ( i-cord) bordering the diced motif either side . . .

Dicey has a built in ‘cord’ stitch knitted right into the fold on the band, lined with more rounds of knitting, then the turned hem is knit into the fabric with no stitching afterward, very neat and tidy !

Dicey is very much the traditionally inspired bonnet I wanted it to be.

Dicey has been undergoing many designerly changes since its beginning in this post . I feel I’ve finally arrived with the right motifs, the right techniques, the right yarn, the right gauge, the right shape (with much feedback, knitting, and knitting over from Carol I thank you !). I am very pleased it is finished, and the pattern soon available !

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Tartan & Tweed

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Jen

Folks, I’ve just finished my latest design concept to date. It is tartan-inspired, Fair Isle knitted, and I am naming it “Tartan & Tweed” !

… and here is a pair of Tartan & Tweed Mitts . . .

The very interesting thing is that the Shetland wool ‘fuses’ to itself so well that I’m not worried the short floats will catch on anything. Other yarns, yes … Shetland yarn, not. The best part of this project is that I am nearly done with the pattern for it, and will be directing you very soon as to how you may get started on your very own Tartan & Tweed knitted mitts !!!

Project details on Ravelry HERE