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a Medatative Cabled Sheep

a non-wooly sheep

I've gotten involved in a variety of yarn swaps on Ravelry. For those unfamiliar, a swap is an on-your-honor trade among a group of people. A limit is set for how much your box should be worth as well as a few items that must be included in the box. Each swap usually has a theme, too: tea, earth day, journalimg, etc.

For the yoga swap I did late last year, the rules said you needed to include one hand made item, and something in the package must contain an "ohm" symbol. After a bit of research, I found that my swap partner collected sheep. I remembered a pattern I had picked up at the Black Sheep Wool Company in Salt Lake City. It was a perfect fit.

  • Pattern: Petite Sheep by Melanie Elizondo, a $4 handout available at Black Sheep Wool Company
  • Matrials:
  • Modifications:
    • added a needle point "ohm" symbol to the belly
    • If I make this again, I'll not bind off the belly until after I've added the legs, that way I don't have to pick up stitches and it will produce a smoother transition from body to leg
  • Ravelry Link

Sandy Sprint 5k

jog a lot, walk a bit

Last month Amiya and I ran the Sandy Sprint 5k organized by the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation. For the third year in a row, Sam was the first Ovarian Cancer survivor to cross the finish line! I didn't finish nearly as fast, but I'm happy to say I ran the majority of the race, and thanks in part to my snazzy new Garmin Forerunner 405 I'm running in the mornings so that I may be able to run (most of) an 8k in a couple weeks.

Amiya and I after the Sandy Sprint 5k Sam, Colleen, Amiya and I after the Sandy Sprint 5k
Sam, Collen, Amiya and I after the Sandy Sprint 5k

A Medallion for Morissa

or... A Caribbean Capelet

I've completed a bunch of projects but completely failed to write them up. Luckily I have most of the specifics on Ravelry. So here is entry number one on catching up with my "Finished Objects."

Last July while on our Alaskan cruise for my dad's birthday, I found a nice little yarn shop in Juneau called "Skeins". The owner was quite helpful, had a great selection of well organized yarn, and a very relaxed dog that hung out at the shop. Even though I'd promised my husband I wouldn't buy any yarn until I used up some of my stash, I made an exception for myself because this was for his mom. He couldn't get mad at me for that, right?? I chose a DK weight yarn (Rowan RYC Cashsoft DK) instead of a worsted weight yarn like the pattern called for in order to make it lighter. Hopefully its not too warm for her to wear at home in Trinidad.

The goal was to finish the capelet during our visit to Toronto while visiting my in-laws. Unfortunately my timing was a little off, and I finished knitting the third medallion on our drive home from Toronto. I didn't finish assembling the capelet and adding the collar until a few days later.

The pattern itself is very easy to follow, quick to knit and easy to memorize. The Rowan Cashsoft yarn was great to knit with. I'd use it again, but many of the patterns I find myself making don't call for a DK weight yarn.

detailed view of the medallion capelet wider view of the medallion capelet

  • Pattern: Medallion Capelet by Nicky Epstein from Vogue Knitting, Winter 2007/08
  • Materials:
    • 4 1/2 balls of Rowan RYC Cashsoft DK in Dark Red (SH 521)
    • size 8 circular needles
    • size 8 double pointed needles
    • tapestry needle
    • safety pins
  • Modifications: I made this out of a DK weight yarn instead of the worsted weight that the pattern called for. Because of the smaller gauge, I did 26 repeats of the pattern on a size 8 needle (instead of 22 repeats on a size 10.5).
  • [Ravelry Link]