Irigak: A book review

Purchase from Amazon

Irigak is an intriguing children's book about the mythical little people who live on the Alaskan tundra.  Amber Cunningham a local lady wrote this great fictional tale and recently self-published her work.

Review from Anchorage Daily News

I have always been interested in the tales of the Irigak from my early ski coaching days here in Unalakleet.  What are these creatures? Where do they live/hide?  Who sees them? When do people see the Irigaks?  What happens when you see them?  My skiers would fill me in on all kinds of rather gruesome details about the little people of the tundra.

My skin would crawl a bit about how Irigak's have spikes on their elbows to help them pull their bodies across the tundra as they chase you down, short legs, and big teeth. (It seems that different families would have their own variation of the gruesome Irigak.)  I can say when you are out skiing with the howling wind, the snow blasting pass you as you try to ski home in the fading light . . . you start to think of these little people believe me!

Are you yarning, Mrs. P?

I was sitting at my desk this morning before the "official class start." Kids come into the room to grab their bags to put their outdoor gear in as a protection against the joys of bedbugs. One of my little charges came up to me as I was knitting and watching Salomon TV (nordic skiing videos on my smartboard).  "Are you yarning Mrs. P?"  I stopped and laughed to myself and replied, "Well, yes I am yarning."

Last night while I was yarning, I realized I am no longer in love with a project (Carraig-Fhada Vest, AKA Ol'Blue).  I stopped knitting and sent a text to my dear yarning friend and told her I hate this @#$@$##%$%^ project and I think it is time to frog it.  She did suggest setting it aside.  Which I had already done.  Then she said well couldn't you just EZ (Elizabeth Zimmermann) it and make it work . . . thinking a bit about this other than I would have to purl to do colorwork.  H m m m m . . . .

I basically have bailed on the present "yarning" project and decided to return to the roots of my "yarning" that would be the traditional Norwegian sweater or an Icelandic Lopi.  I just mailed off a Lopi that I just finished to one of "My Knit Girls."  I haven't had a Norwegian on my needles for some time!

This is the repaired and Wool Washed sweater from the previous post Proud Auntie. The sweater came out great and is back on a very Knit Worthy younfggal.

Felted slipper/sock, unspun Icelandic Wool: this was an experiment which came out pretty good.  I would make the cuff a bit taller next time and knit the next pair with a single strand of unspun.

Lopi on its new owner!  She is thrilled with it and I am thrilled as it fits!  I kept thinking it would be too small.  I knitted this as an EZ percentage system and of course, it fits perfectly.  I will have another photo of her outside with her new Lopi.

I have been ordering some yarn to experiment with for a few sweaters for ME!  This yarn is from Schoolhouse Press and is Briggs and Little.  I have knitted this yarn several times and as people say today it is rustic.  For me, it is real yarn that stands the test of time and only becomes better as it is used!

The morning I was asked if I am "YARNING!" Tea is always a must during the work day and a bit of yarn for the creative juices.

I called in the Norwegians to help me plan for my next sweater for me! I often design as I knit.  I love looking at different motifs as I create with yarn on my needles.

This is a long time favorite of mine and one of the most knitted Norwegian sweaters.  Designed by Stein Eriksen's mother.

Stein Eriksen in his famous sweater the Marius design. 

Stein Eriksen ski legend!

Yarn from Bartlett Yarns which is produced in Maine in a very old mill.  I love their simple yarns and their rich wooliness!

I struggle with colors and what I think will look great often doesn't work. I had picked some colors that just wash each other out.  In this swatch, there are several color combos that just didn't work.

In the end, I knitted a speed swatch which I learned from Knitting With Two Colors. This is a Norwegian motif I was just testing the color combo I will be knitting for my sweater.  A great source for color work is Mary Jane Mucklestone's books.

A speed swatch is done on circular needles and is just that a fast swatch.  I do know the next time I will make it larger but the goal for this one was to see the see the color combo I have picked together one more time before casting on!

Waving good-bye a frozen starfish on our beach.  In the fall we often have hundreds of starfish on the beach frozen in time.

Yes, I have been "YARNING" a lot lately! 

Osceola How Reversible Cable Hat By: Linette Grayum

Hats are just a great knitting project!  The knitter doesn't have to knit up a matching partner as in socks or mittens.  Cast on, knit away, cast off, soak and block and you are ready to go.  If you are just learning to knit hats are a great place to practice new techniques and skills.  A hat isn't a HUGE project like a sweater.  The knitter gets a finished project rather quickly and wa-laaa success!

I recently did a test knit for designer Linette Grayum who can be found on Ravelry. LinetteG, as she is known on Ravelry, has a nice collection of designs.  For you shawl knitters I would highly recommend stopping by her page to see her designs/patterns.  She also has several hat designs as well.

Osceola Reversible Cable Hat

I loved this hat right from the beginning.  I learned a new cast on technique that I will certainly be using again.  The cable work was a blast to knit, and easy to follow.  I did place markers for each cable panel.  I always do this or I just plain forget to stop and think about where I am when working either in colorwork or cables.   The pattern is well written with space to write notes.  I give LinetteG five stars for her Osceola Hat.

Harrisville Highland Yarn purchased at the Knit'N Needle.

I knitted a small but due to my tension it is a very small small. his hat was given to a wonderful little gal.

How cute is this hat!

Didn't I say this was a cute hat and look at my stellar model and owner!  She will be able to use this hat for some time.

Cable work in progress with markers for each panel.

Hat #2 that I knit with one size larger needles to get gauge. I am not sure which cable side I like more. 

Osceola Hat was knitted for this wonderful art teacher, glacier guide,ski coach, bike loving, skijorer, adventurer seeking friend!

201st Post!

July 4th Whitefish, Montana

Celebration! Blog Post 201! WOW!  I never ever really thought about writing over 200 posts when I started Wool-n-Ski. I have arrived at this number of posts today.  For a person who is not a strong writer and struggled severely with writing growing up, I have managed to write a lot of posts.

What is next for the blog and the blogger? 

I certainly want to keep blogging.  I often think of moving this blog over to Word Press and I think of this about every 6 mos and then I don't follow through with the migration.  I like blogger it is free, simple, and it let me start Wool-n-Ski.  This is the home I will stay with and I will not place ads on my blog as I find blogs with ads annoying, to say the least.  I understand why people have ads and they are trying to make some $$$.  I give those bloggers credit for figuring out how to make a bit of a living blogging.  No migration to Word Press and no ads for Wool-n-Ski.

What to write about?

I write about my life and sometimes it may be boring but sometimes life is rather slow and not super eventful.  Sometimes there is a lot going on in my world.  Just like all of you sometimes life is rather simple and I do cherish those moments.  I really just write about my life, knitting, reading, cooking, being outside, my dogs, and sometimes my wonderful husband shows up in photos.

What is new in my life?

Not a lot . . . I work and am thinking more and more about when I might leave the classroom and move on to a less stressful position.  I have a bit of an idea and a plan but will keep that to myself.  

I also want to start drawing and sketching using pencil and ink and some watercolor tossed into the mix.  I will be using a cartoon book. I heard about this book from a famous fiber artist to start this sketching journey on a more serious note.  

Unspun Icelandic Wool: Lopi for one of "My Knit Girls."

Knitting, of course, is something I will always keep developing.  I just finished a cute Lopi sweater for one of "My Knit Girls."  This sweater was knitted up in unspun Icelandic which I describe as knitting with cotton candy.  I find this fiber rather addictive!

The sock/slipper test knit from Unspun Icelandic Wool.

I am also working on a felted slipper sock out of unspun as well.  I have a lot of this fiber and need to find some more uses for it!  Once my Carraig-Fhada Vest is done, which means I need to pick it up and start knitting it again, I will move on to my Norwegian!  

My Norwegian sweater is based on these buttons which I bought some years back.  I found these buttons online and then had to find a place to purchase these vintage ski buttons.  I tracked them down and purchased enough for myself and a dear ski friend of mine.  The theme for My Norwegian will be my love of Nordic skiing and snow.

The top button is an Alpine skier. The lady I purchased these buttons from just sent me a few of these in my order along with a few snowflake buttons.  The bottom button is my Nordic cross-country skier.  This button is the button I am designing my  Norwegian sweater around.

Ski Season!

Enough Said!

I am looking forward to skiing and was able to get 4 days skiing in October.  

Current crap-o-la!

Then the weather warmed up, we had rain, ice, mud returned, the

ice melted in the slough, and generally rather gross typical late October early November weather.  Today it is supposed to be +37ºF and yesterday it was +12ºF at one point.  I am hoping once we make it through today the temps will drop, the slough freezes up, and we can have winter!  I am extremely happy with my knee's progress since I had surgery in July.

Gratitude Journal 

My dear friend Lynn, asked me to join in with her and her daughter to keep a Gratitude Journal.  I am keeping this as a combine sketch & writing journal.  The goal is to come up with 1,000 things to be grateful for in your life.  I started stating the obvious things one should be grateful for but not to be taken lightly.  For example, the obvious things are life, great health, family, and friends . . . I wanted to move on to the little things that are unique and surprise you.  These little sparks in your day that give you that sensation of gratitude that make the moment or day.

A Kid who totally Rocks! Inupiaq Whitewater Kayaker in North Carolina

I have been very lucky to know this young athlete for years.  She is a talented skier, climber, kayaker, skijorer, and to top it all off a very humble young person!  I will admit at times I am envious of her lifestyle!  Mallory is a fortunate young gal who has the outdoors at her fingertips! She has great parents who have shared their love and traditions of being outside.

One of the many things I enjoy as a ski coach is getting to know the athletes and their families.  I have lifelong friendships built around outdoor activities.  I treasure these friendships and memories.  I love showing up to some outdoor event where there are longtime outdoor friends.  It just seems like within seconds you are right back to that last adventure or planning a new one without missing a single heartbeat.

I hope to stay friends with Mallory and her family for years to come.  Mallory is maturing into a future guide and she may even take up that profession.  I hope she does!   To Mallory and all those up and coming young outdoor athletes/adventurers who love the wild open spaces: 

Never forget the peace & happiness the outdoors gives to you & keep sharing that love with others!

To all you gals out there I  just wanted to share this great bit of inspiration.

Proud Auntie of Knit Worthy Girls!

As many of you know from following the blog I have some very knit worthy girls in my life.  "The Knit Girls" as I call them rock the knit worthiness world!  I knit and they wear everything I knit!  I can seriously attest to their knit worthiness!  I recently received a worn sweater back to be from Knit Girl #1.  This sweater was repaired once last spring as the icord cuff trim was wearing out and this was done at a local yarn shop in Port Townsend.  I got a call saying the elbows had holes and it would be going back tot he yarn shop.  On Friday the sweater arrived here in the village as it was not getting repaired as the person who once was doing the repair work has moved on.  I was thrilled to get the sweater back and to have a serious look at this sweater's wear and tear. 

Knit Girl #1: wears this sweater all the time! I do mean all the time!  Wool will wear in places, the sweater is stained, but I am thrilled. I know this sweater is loved and worn! 

The first job was to assess the worn out bits. Both elbows had holes one more than the other showing that right elbow spends a good deal of time leaning on desk and table tops. The left elbow only has a bit of wear but still, a small hole was present. One pocket had the potential for a disaster, I was able to head that off.  Buttonholes were snugged backup. To help reinforce the elbows, I remembered that EZ (for those who don't know of EZ this would be Elizabeth Zimmermann) had heart shape knit patches she designed for just this purpose.  I dug through all my EZ books and located the pattern in her book the Knitting Workshop a wonderful knitting tool/resource I can highly recommend.

Now one thing you should all know I jokingly call EZ the knitting astrophysicist.  Her brain never ever worked like the rest of us and she was a brilliantly talented designer.  I am continually amazed at her work.  Off I jump into casting on a heart patch . . . right away I am in over my head and knit up a mess!  I quickly go to Ravelry and the Zimmermann's group to see if others had an issue with this little pattern.  Well, of course, I am not alone.  Meg, EZ's daughter, pointed me in the right direction with her reply to another knitter.  I also pulled out the revised Knitting Workshop and saw that Cully had more detailed instructions.  I spent most of yesterday working on heart patches.  Mission accomplished!

Knit Girl #1's Kate Davies' Bláithín sweater is now washed, 98% repaired,  and on the blocking board. All I have left to do is to sew on the elbow patches and send Knit Girl #1 her sweater.

Worn elbow

Small hole

Top photo now repaired

The 1st disaster of a heart patch and off to Ravelry to find a few answers to solve the mystery of an EZ heart!

Using the newer Knitting Workshop and solving the mysteries of the heart patch!

Not blocked or anything but it looks like the hearth patch will work just fine.

Very worn & loved sweater.  I am so thrilled my work is used 110% of the time.

Off for a nice long soak in wool wash.

Hearts blocked and drying.

Washed and blocked . . .

We were just out ont he tundra and last weekend we were skiing right at this spot.  We have had rain, winds, and highs in the upper 30ºF.  A bummer but snow will be back soon enough.  The Nulato Hills south of us are covered in snow!

Miss Tally ready for the ride home!