Cotton and Yarn

I am very fortunate that I don't get carsick... knitting in the car is one of my favorite pastimes... on our way to Roanoke to shoot a wedding!

I have this new and thankfully temporary task at work... I am scanning files into a program. This means that I sit here for an hour or so with nothing to do but feed paper into a scanner. I am currently doing so and about to be driven insane by the scanner's constant "FOOOP-veep"

sigh.

In my last yarn order from Peaches and Creme I ordered myself some bulky charcoal grey 100% cotton yarn in a decision to make a sweater for myself to wear at work.





Coming up with a pattern/ mental idea that I like is proving very frustrating. Saturday I spent a fruitless two hours pouring over patterns on Ravelry.





I had this vision of a fun cardigan with a leaf pattern in relief traveling up the front edges. My main downfall in this plan is that I only knit top down raglan sweaters... because they are seamless and I like the look.... all in all i am very frustrated and will probably end up with something super plain but wearable and cute... hopefully...



I did find a super cute pullover sweater pattern with cabled owls around the yoke. Maybe I will attempt modifying that pattern for my work sweater.



First I have to catch up on all of these baby projects...

Oh the frustration.

Once again my house has swallowed up the cord that connects the point and shoot to the computer...



In other news... Mark and I had a very rare and coveted weekend at home with no places to go or people to see except eachother.



Glorious.



We got a lot done around the house and my knitting was generally neglected... except during the second half to the Tech vs. Miami game. ***the first half was way too interesting to knit but once we started pounding them into the mud so badly I picked up my project and enjoyed the backgound noise of Lane Stadium coming from our tv.***



We ran errands in the West End, decided that Mechanicsville is the place for us and did lawn work like crazy people. I dug up some pretty hideous Azalea bushes to find out that they had some sort of mold that was causing their near death appearance. I happily crammed the bushes into our trashcan and planted the entire strip along the side of our house with Daffodil bulbs (90 for $20 at Costco right now folks!) hard work... saw four different and equally huge spiders... but will be well worth it come springtime!



Sure was hard going back to work after so much fun and relaxation. Not too awful though because Fall weather has finally set in and my lunchtime-bench knitting-sunshine soaking time has been just right. Only problem is that my allergies have been horrendous this week.
Such is life.
Sometimes you just have to suffer for that Vitamin D boost.

A few months ago I broke down and bought my first pattern on Ravelry. Its a baby sweater... suprise... The pattern is so clever and cute and knits up quickly...its just perfect!



I have made 4 of them so far and each time I get a little better at perfecting the teeny things about a project that no one usually notices. I have, in my opinion, perfected my technique for provisional cast on and kitchenering the hood... and have even managed to start the sleeves without creating giant holes in the armpits of the sweaters!


I tried three different methods for provisional cast on and absolutely by far THE best method can be found HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqWfea8oOH8

Using a crochet chain as a base to hold the provisional stitch beginning is much better than using a spare circular needle or plain peice of thread. It holds the stitches well and evenly without being overly bulky or inflexible. Most importantly it keeps the project looking pretty and tidy as we know... noone wants to knit a sloppy ugly project... its the sloppy ugly ones that get thrown to the back of the U.F.O.( Un-Finished Objects) Closet.


Kitchenering; however, is a whole 'nother problem in itself... every time I have to kitchener the hoods of these sweaters together I have to watch the instructional video again.... and again... and again. I did finally figure out how to make the kitchener look like purl stitches. this really helps to blend the brim of the hood into the rest of the project without making a funny looking flat seam front in a very visible area of the project.

In reality... the best thing about the pattern is that even though I have made it over and over again in different sizes I still love the pattern, learn something new about knitting every time and don't get bored while knitting it up.

Pictures later!

Well first of all the last post was in April. Yipe.
A lot has changed since April... The opening of the Etsy shop has been derailed... maybe not derailed so much as indefinitely postponed.

We simply do not have the time. Our hobbies must remain our hobbies. It brings us joy to create gifts for loved ones. If we start peddling our wares on the streetcorner now our knitting and quilting projects will cease to be a source of relaxation and become a second or (in some cases) third job.

This just will not do... and, as I am in desperate need of a place to jot down my many knitting hints, pointers and techniques... more for my own remembrance than anyone else's... I shall commence to use our blog to journal the comings and goings of life in our part of the world as well as my sucess, and sometimes woes, with knitting, photography and other items of craftiness.

Phew. Its been a busy month. We really are working hard creating projects for our Etsy shop...
Working 9-5 and doing housework sure does get in the way! Projects are still being made, it is our "therapy" after all.... its the "web-developing" that has suffered.

I (Erin, the older daughter) have joined Ravelry this past week... Its a great networking site for knitters and crocheters and is proving to be super helpful in getting new ideas and projects going. Look for me on Ravelry... HokieBee... I always love meeting fellow knitters!

Last month I knitted up a storm as I attended a baby shower for some close friends of my husband and I. They are having a little girl so I made a small rabbit doll and named her Hetty. I also completed my first sweater knitted with 100% cotton yarn and I must say I will never go back... except maybe wool for hats...

I lost the photos of Hetty and little Addison's sweater... sniff sniff... but am cranking projects out like a madman during my lunch breaks at work and will soon have new knitting pictures to post.

Keep checking with us, we should be posting items on Etsy within the next month.

Here it is, the very beginning....

What is Cotton and Yarn? ... well, we are a mother-daughter trio who love to quilt, sew and knit.


My sister and I inherited our Mom's talent and love of handmade and useful art, some of our earliest memories are of afternoons spent in her sewing room. The three of us have been enjoying our hobbies for years and love to create items for our family and friends. Everything we craft is made from top quality organic material. We believe that using natural fibers in our quilts and knitting projects preserves the history of the art as well as keeps the quality top-notch. Currently we are working on putting some items up for sale on Etsy.com which is an amazing outlet for all things handmade! Our desire in developing our crafts into a business is not only to share our lovingly created items with other people but to further the love of our Lord and Savior. As Christian women we desire to spread Christ's love through all generations. Twenty-five percent of all proceeds will be donated to charity. Our choice for this project is Compassion International's Bite Back campaign, we will be using our donations to buy mosquito nets for $10 each. Each net goes to protect a child's bed from Malaria carrying mossquitoes. You can learn more at https://www.compassion.com/contribution/giving/bite-back.htm
We also participate in Project Linus, making quilts for hospitalized children
http://www.projectlinus.org/


A little more about us...

Mom is an Organist with a music-ed degree and has always shared her artistic and musical talents with the rest of the family. Mom started sewing in highschool and after making clothing and other odds and ends discovered quilting. Mom's creative technique and use of bold color choices give her pieces a whole lot of character. Just like her each quilt is beautiful with an underlying hint of spunk.

I, the oldest of the two daughters, was always too impatient for quilting and took on smaller projects making skirts and purses and eventually discovering knitting. I have been knitting for 7 years now, starting in late high school knitting hats, developing my skills thoughout college at Virginia Tech where I obtained a degree in Human Nutrition Foods and Exercise. Since college I have gotten married and discovered the joy of knitting for babies and children and mostly make baby sweaters, booties, hats and have recently started making dolls. I, like my Mom and Sister, realize the importance of high quality material and mainly use 100% cotton yarn due to its durability and washability.

My younger sister has a patient and detail oriented artistic eye. One of her first projects was a beautiful hand appliqued Hawaiian Quilt. She inherited Mom's love of quilting and Dad's patient, mathematical reasoning skills (he's a Civil Engineer). She can complete projects faster than any of us and works hard over all her breaks from college. She is also a Hokie and is hard at work obtaining degrees in Geography and Horticulture while minoring in Spanish. Her personality shows brightly and beautifully in each quilt she makes. She uses geometric and difficult patterns often preferring to work in solid colors which really allows her amazing work to shine through.


We will continue to update the blog as we work on building our inventory. I am currently collecting photos of items we will be offering for sale as well as some of our personal favorite projects just for show and tell...

... More later.