General Ginger Knits

knitting in history

2005-08-25T05:28:00.000-04:00

Wow, what a crackup this is! Back in the good ole days knitting wasn't just a craft, a vice, or a hobby but rather a necessity. I ran across Erica Lee's knitting website that had some really neat historical knitting photos and knitting artwork.

What happened over the past sixty years that changed the need for hand knitting into a want? Industrialization, mass production, cheap, foreign labor have all combined to produce usable goods that obliterated the need to hand create a lot of products including hand knitted socks. Our desire to knit has been transformed into a hobby that we yearn to spend time on rather than a requirement that we must fit into our day. This transformation is sort of mind boggling if you sit and think about it because this change has come about in really only one generation. Technology preserves our observations and recordings of these social changes, allowing us, no doubt, the ability to look back another sixty years from now and see what other changes have occurred. I sure hope those changes are for the better.

knitting in history

2005-08-16T05:19:00.000-04:00

How about those groovy hairstyles? Or that Father Knows Best sweater? Or if you look beyond that you've gotta dig the outrageous flower drapes coupled with that boldly striped couch!

Part of the University of Arizona's Photography Special Collection, this knitting photo takes us back a couple of decades to a simpler time.

knitted doll

2005-08-15T08:19:00.000-04:00

I've gotta say this is the cutest little knitted doll! I'm usually not into these types of things but she is adorable! Best I can tell her pattern isn't for sale but the doll itself is. Of course I've been meaning to knit those groovy Ramone dolls from Stitch 'n Bitch Nation.

Believe it or not I really have been knitting. I need to line things up to take photos. Janice asked if I was still planning to enter the fair. Well, I am, but not with the original entry. Haven't quite settled on exactly what I want to enter yet though.

Lisa asked how I find all these groovy knitting pictures. Well, a lot of it is image searching in google. I also run across a lot of photograph archives in the course of my day job. These photo archives are truly amazing! Tons of cultural images have been digitized in an effort to preserve history. The trick is to find 'em! These databases are examples of that term you've probably heard, the deep web.

art of knitting

2005-08-10T03:28:00.000-04:00

Knitting
Oil on Canvas
Nancy Bea Miller

I promise I haven't forgotten you guys. I've just been busy as sin!

knitting culture

2005-07-20T06:10:00.000-04:00

This photo appears in BBC's History Your Photos. This rabbit suit photo is from circa 1940.

Is it just me or do you think that something went horribly wrong here? I'm not quite sure what Auntie Ann was thinking with this outfit but it seems a bit over the top!

knitting culture

2005-07-19T05:42:00.000-04:00

Shimon Mednick's Faces Abroard from the October 2002 Baltimore Gallery Exposure to Art through Photography exhibit.

HP6 tiny spoiler

2005-07-17T12:40:00.000-04:00

Dumbledore reentered the room [from the bathroom] and Slughorn jumped as though he had forgotten he was in the house.

"Oh, there you are, Albus," he said. "You've been a very long time. Upset stomach?"

"No, I was merely reading the Muggle magazines," said Dumbledore. "I do love knitting patterns."

- from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, page 73

Harry Potter - no spoiler, promise

2005-07-16T08:05:00.000-04:00

I finished the book. All I can say is Wow. It is THE best book she has ever written. It is her masterpiece. You will love it.

Harry Potter 6

2005-07-08T12:51:00.000-04:00

Things to Watch

Hermione's incantation of portable fires
Harry's eyes
Harry's dreams
Neville
Silver instrument in Dumbledore's office: "but in essence divided"
snakes/socks/scar/mirrors/"split in two"
Dementors
Sirius
Harry's real time connection to Voldemort
Time
Blood: Harry & Lilly
redemption for James
Wormtail's debt to Harry
Harry more powerful
TAPESTRY
wandless magic
Goblin wars
Fountain of Brotheren
Desires
reflection; shadow; light; spliting/breaking in two
Olivander & Luna Lovegood connection
Department of mysteries: stars, planets, Mars, centaurs
locked door

Questions

Potters were Dobby's masters before Malfoys?
What scars were left in Ron from the brains?
How did the house elves become enslaved?

Who will fight each other

Wormtail vs. Lupin
Dobby vs. Kreature
Ron vs. Draco
Snape vs. Bella or Harry (Snape must choose which side)

Predictions

House elves will be freed at the end of book six.
Their magic is what will help destroy the Dark Lord in book seven.

knitting culture

2005-07-08T08:50:00.000-04:00

Now here is a dream vacation: "Puchka...small-group, hands-on workshops with master spinners, weavers, knitters, embroiderers and gourd engravers from across Perú who come to work with us in our guesthouses."

FOs - easy scarves

2005-07-01T05:25:00.000-04:00

What have I been doing? I suppose I've been taking a little break. Sometimes life gets in the way of knitting and the past couple of weeks have certainly been the case for me. Its time for me to get back on board the knitting express.

After a few knitting catastrophes I managed to create a couple of quick FOs. These two scarves are exactly alike and us the raised bar stitch pattern from Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns, page 23. I truly like the simplicity of this pattern and the fact that it is reversible. I believe I used Woolease Thick and Quick and size 10 1/2 needles. Cast on ten stitches, rows 1 and 3, k1, p1, repeat; all even rows work each stitch as it appears; row 5 and 7 p1, k1. This simple pattern can easily be committed to memory and knitted in front of the evening news.

the art of knitting

2005-06-16T05:19:00.000-04:00

I'm glad you folks are enjoying these knitting art treasures. Thank you to everyone for the compliments on my St. Brigid. I've been too busy this week to keep up with the knitting blog world but I'm going to try to catch up next week. In the mean time...

Artist Matt Brown creates woodblock print art with the traditional Japanese hanga method. This one is titled Knitting. There is a sense of motion in this piece that truly delights.

the art of knitting

2005-06-15T05:17:00.000-04:00

What a lovely lady painted by American Impressionist painter and muralist Albert Henry Krehbiel (1873-1945). Painted in 1904, Woman Knitting is an oil on canvas and truly beautiful, don't you agree?

prize & distraction knitting

2005-06-10T05:23:00.000-04:00

I love it when unexpected treasures show up in the mailbox. My prize finally arrived from France! Isn't this a delightful set of treasures? I won the chicken naming contest over at the Stitchin' Sheep's blog a couple of weeks ago and look at the goodies she sent me: tasty tinned mints, some soothingly sensational smelling soaps, and a packet of herbs.

I think this prize was partially delayed because it rained all last week. Those of you in the southeast know what I'm talking about. It was highly unusual and put people in mind around here of the great flood of '94. Lucky for us it finally stop raining or rather, it slowed way down to just an hour's worth a day instead of continuously. My mail deliverer doesn't deliver in the rain. Yes, I know they're supposed to, but I almost never see them on my street when its wet outside. This is just one of those inconsistencies in life we must learn to live with.

I've had an odd feeling the last couple of days. Although I've been thoroughly enjoying knitting St. Brigid, my eyes have been inexplicably drawn to my stash. I keep wanting to rip open that Webs box, yank out some Lopi and whip up a groovy felted bag. I've been resisting the temptation because I want all my knitting energy to go towards the aran and it feels like a quick knit would be a distraction. But maybe I need the distraction. Perhaps I need the instant gratification that comes from having completed a project. After all, its been a long time since I've committed to working on such a long term project. I think I will give into this desire over the weekend and knit one up. A change of pace would be refreshing.

aran continued

2005-06-09T05:06:00.000-04:00

You know what's painful? Knitting for an hour and completing exactly one row, then having to rip that row and several other along with it out for a second time. Uhg. Just when I was congratulating myself yesterday that I hadn't made a huge error since that second, fateful row 24 waaay back there. So, naturally, that was when I made my mistake, or rather, when I thought I'd made my mistake.

I glanced (this word can not be emphasized enough) at my row notes when I picked up my knitting to continue after I got home from work. I noticed that I'd made a mistake during my lunchtime knitting by cabling the 8 row cable when I shouldn't have. I ripped back the work and reknit it. Later, I picked up my row notes again and realized that I had indeed knitted it correctly the first time and that it was the rip and repeat without the cable that was the mistake. Did I mention that this was three rows back? Both times? So I had to rip out and reknit what I had already knitted correctly the first time, wrongly the second time, to end up with the correct pattern the third time. Ugh.

On a more positive note I am thoroughly enjoying this pattern. Alice Starmore must have genius in her noodle because this St. Brigid is heaps of fun. Try it, you'll like it.

in progress

2005-06-06T06:12:00.000-04:00

What does this aran in progress look like? Here is my work slightly tidied up for camera viewing.

Usually I spread things out a bit more than this. I've included a picture of my notes to myself about which cable line I'm at. I've got three columns right now. The first number is the row of the 24 row cable and the second number is the eight row cable. Notice how they don't stay in line with each other. This makes it nearly impossible for me to memorize the pattern. I find that I can keep track a lot easier if I write out the corresponding rows and then draw a line under the one I just completed.

I didn't have much of a chance to knit this weekend. I've completed about a hundred rows so far.

zen and the art of aran

2005-06-01T19:34:00.000-04:00

Thank you all for your compliments on my new project.

I've noticed quite a few things while knitting this Aran. This sweater requires a level of concentration that I have not applied to my knitting in several years. Let me back up and say that I've knitted off and on for the past 20 years. There was a long hiatus in there where I didn't do any knitting at all. Then a dear friend gave me Weekend Knits in 2003 and continuously suggested that I get back into knitting. I'm eternally grateful for her encouragement because without it I wouldn't have gone back to the craft and I wouldn't have this wonderful creative outlet.

I've dabbled in easy projects these last two years. Nothing complicated, nothing thought provoking. Its embarassing really, how I haven't been able to go beyond my comfort level. Well, actually, that is not entirely true. I did manage to learn to knit socks last year. Knitting with toothpicks is a skill indeed! But for the most part it seems I was stuck in a rut with simple, comfort knitting. Yet there I've hit the similarities between that kind of knitting and the Starmore Aran type.

Both kinds of knitting provide a kind of pleasure. Both kinds of knitting provide comfort. The simple knits allow a kind of contentment by feeling the rhythm of the knitting action and to seeing the item being created. The aran knitting, on the other hand, provides a comfort by causing the knitter to completely emerse herself into the process. It requires focus and does not easily forgive a mind that wonders onto other daily life problems. This kind of focus is rare for me since multitasking has become a way of life. In fact, in our high tech, fast paced world multitasking has become highly prized. How many activities in our every day lives require such focus and critical thinking skills?

I feel like I haven't been able to get enough of this Aran sweater. I look forward all day to the moments that I can have in exquisite concentration working with charts from multiple pages, a cable needle stuck behind my right ear, and two sticks in my hands that make the magic happen.

and so it begins...

2005-05-31T20:48:00.000-04:00

St. Brigid

Here are the first 24 rows of pure fun and delight. I've been coveting Vicki's for so long that I could hardly stand it any more. Since Webs had a Cascade 220 sale and I got Aran Knitting by Alice Starmore from the library, I couldn't not go for it.

Lindbergh & swatch

2005-05-29T14:01:00.000-04:00

Did you know that Charles Lindbergh made his very first solo flight in Americus, Georgia? Apparently he roadtripped on down there to pick up a used WWI plane cheap. He stayed around for a bit and had about 20 hours of flight instruction. He did hang out for about a week to practice his take offs and landings. The solo flight at Souther field happened in May 1923 and it was just four years later that he made his famous flight from New York to Paris in the Spirit of St. Louis. Of course there is a monument in his honor.

Any guesses about what I swatched for on my day trip to the backwoods south?

the garden

2005-05-28T09:35:00.000-04:00

Something is alive out there. I love these little feather like annuals.

I had to have this Josephine Clematis when I found it at one of the hardware stores. It is the most beautiful shade of lilac in a double flower.

book review

2005-05-25T17:23:00.000-04:00

Knitting: a novel by Anne Bartlett

Set in Australia this modern day story of loss and knitting appears on the surface to be one that would appeal to all audiences. The problem is that the style is too clipped to be enjoyable. The introduction of the three main characters stimulated my interest enough to keep reading this book even though I wanted to put it aside. The two women in the story have deep seated problems that the reader hopes will be heard and understood by the other. It is also hoped that these women will come to rely on each other and assist in overcoming whatever obstacle the other faces. The trouble is the terse manner of writing does little to bring these characters into a well developed world where I could care about them. I kept thinking that their character development would arrive on the next page but that really didn’t happen. I simply couldn’t find myself caring what happened to these women so I decided to return the book to the library even though I’d only read 83 of the 270 pages.

As far as knitting related content, one of the characters is a superb knitter and artist who knits for her own pleasure rather than the consumer driven world. She knits items because she wants to and then altruistically gives them away to the persons she perceives are in need of them. The word obsessive comes to mind here as she drags around three large, heavy bags containing, one can only suppose, expensive knitting gear. I wanted to like this book very much but just couldn’t do it. There are far too many other books out there to be explored and enjoyed to spend time on this one. If anyone else has read the book and wants to tell me what was in those bags I’d appreciate it.

FOs

2005-05-24T20:35:00.000-04:00

They are so cute that I can't stop myself! I think Christmas is in the bag. They're quick, easy, and very fun to make.

I promise I'll stop when I get to the end of this yarn...which is about...hum...three or four more.

Anyway, I've got to hurry up and get these things out of the way so that I can start on my fair project. Shh...its a surprise.

new discoveries

2005-05-22T09:20:00.000-04:00

Don't you just love it when you discover something new and beautiful in your own town? I decided to go somewhere different for my power walk today and ended up at the huge park downtown. I was meandering along when I stumbled upon this beautiful, secluded garden.

It gave me inspiration to spiff up my own backyard!

I'm still on the flower cloth knitting binge. Thanks to everyone trying to figure out what the yarn says. Its an interesting mystery anyway.

knitting in the news

2005-05-21T07:08:00.000-04:00

Yarn party to dye for

By Ann Lemons

May 13, 2005

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Fun filled Kool-Aid dyeing.

Felting can keep novice knitters in stitches

The shrink-for-fun fad makes a variety of crafts and covers up beginners' mistakes.

by Kim Roberts-Gudeman

May 4, 2005

Omaha World-Herald

Extolls the virtures of felting. You've got to register to read it.

No longer needles in a haystack
By Michele Schwartz
May 1, 2005
Newsday

"Forget about poker night or the local pub: Boys' night out for one group of guys revolves around a casual evening of camaraderie, a few drinks and knitting needles."

Interesting article about knitting men but you've got to subscribe to read it.

LYS

2005-05-20T05:15:00.000-04:00

The LYS grand opening last night was well attended. I hadn't been in her shop since opening day a couple of weeks ago and she has acquired quite a bit more lovely stock since then. I mentioned before that she is carrying a lot more high quality merchandise. I saw lots of things last night that were thoroughly tempting like gorgeous Lantern Moon wood needles. It was far too crowded to really shop however, so I settled for enjoying the tasty treats such as hummus and veggies. I heard some folks talking about the other LYS and saying that this one's atmosphere was a lot more appealing. Silently I had to agree. I hope this new shop does well and I hope that the old shop continues to do business too.

Here is a promised picture of the ball band of the yarn I'm making the flower cloths from. If anyone out there can read it I'd love to know what it says. I think I'm on my fifth flower cloth. There is enough yarn in each skein to make two cloths so I've been very busy!

flower washcloths

2005-05-19T05:29:00.000-04:00

I'm off to the new LYS grand opening tonight. I'm curious to see how many people turn out for the event. Of course I'll be bringing my knitting along with me. I'm still on the flower washcloth kick with a couple more being added to my gift pile. I'm determined to finish off the yarn that I bought for these washcloths. Several of you asked me what type of yarn that I'm using. Heck if I know! I bought it off ebay and the ball band is in some sort of hieroglyphic language that I don't speak. Hum. Tell you what, I'll get a picture of the band today and maybe one of you talented folks out there will be able to read it. The seller on ebay said that it was cotton chenille which is what the pattern calls for. I got quite a deal on this yarn compared to the cost of yarn that the actual pattern calls for. Worming hasn't been such a horrible problem with this yarn.

I wanted to share a picture with you all of a typical view on my power walks. This lovely, old cemetery sits by the river and is terraced so that there are many rolling hills.

FO flower washcloths

2005-05-17T05:17:00.000-04:00

Before I get started looking around for my fair entry I thought I'd give these flower washcloths a try. The pattern is from one of my favorite books Weekend Knits by Melanie Falick. I always get inspired looking through this book and have enjoyed the objects I've knitted from it.

This pattern looks my complicated than it really is so I highly recommend it for a fairly new knitter. It took me about two hours total to complete one flower cloth over two nights while watching a one hour TV show. The worst part of the project is having to weave in all the ends! This is a fantastic item to pair with a bar of handmade soap as a thoughtful gift. You can't stop with just one so get going folks and you'll have several gifties for Christmas.

the fair

2005-05-11T05:26:00.000-04:00

Thank you all for your comments yesterday about my cotton bag. I've accepted the fact that it should indeed be lined I just need to settle myself to it. Thanks Amanda for the awesome sewing link. I think its going to be very helpful.

I’m picking up the gauntlet and running with it. This year I’m entering my knitting in the state fair. I couldn’t stop thinking about the idea every since I read Ann’s post.

Being the little researcher that I am I reviewed the winners list from last year. Weeding through the hieroglyphics I believe that no one won in any knitting category in any class last year. Does that mean that no one entered? Not necessarily. According to the rules, which I also looked up and reviewed in detail J, “any article not up to standard in the class in which it is exhibited can be ruled out by the judge.” However, I would guess since this is such a hot state that not many people are into knitting and of those people an even fewer number go to the state fair. This means I could probably get away with entering an intermediate level object and still be in a good place to get my hands on that ribbon. For that’s what I really want folks: the Blue Ribbon.

There are exciting cash prizes, or premiums as the fair lingo states, in each category. Ten dollars for first place, $8 for second place, and a whopping $6 for third. Oh, and honorable mention gets a ribbon. It also states that all those place holders receive ribbons. However, it doesn’t state whether or not the ribbon is blue. I want the Blue Ribbon. I don’t care about a lousy ten bucks as a prize that costs the ten with another zero added to the end. I want the Blue Ribbon. There is even a shot at an ‘Award of Excellence’ rosette. Wow.

Here is the scariest part of the ‘rules’: “All articles that require hanging for display should be brought with wire, etc., attached and ready to hang.” I have a horrid little feeling that the judges may think that a knitted sweater would be something they consider in need of a wire hanger. My insides are churning at the thought of it. Must check into this in more detail. Probably requires speaking to a live human being to allay my fears otherwise I’ll only be submitting baby blankets.

Entries must be received by September 17th. Can I make it? Who’s with me?

FO cotton bag

2005-05-10T04:47:00.000-04:00

I picked up some sale cotton yarn, Idena Big Cotton Sport, at the LYS last week that was screaming to be turned into this bag. The color is actually a bit more salmon than my monitor shows. I created this simple design using a sand stitch (RS K1, P1; WS K). I'm going to staighten it out with a bit of blocking but I couldn't resist showing ya'll a picture.

I'm also trying to decide if I should line the bag. I don't much care for sewing but I'm afraid that the bag will be less practical if I don't line it. I usually see some groovy sewn item and rush out to try to replicate it only to realize that I really can't stand all the steps involved in sewing. Perhaps some of you have a secret trick for lining the bag? An easy way to do it?

knockout

2005-05-09T05:27:00.000-04:00

What's that hiding among the bushes? My MIL and I picked up a knockout rose each after our garden tour last weekend. We saw this plant blooming in nearly every yard we saw on the tour. It bloomed this week and is quite beautiful. My last rose has nearly succumbed to black spot so I was happy to find something that may actually survive this hot, humid climate.

I'm really hopeful this rose will work out because it certainly is pretty. This gardening thing certainly is a lark. You can't take it too seriously because it will break your heart when things die. For those of you interested in gardening check out the Garden Web Forum site. There is lots of good information from gardeners all over the world.

It was an all cotton weekend on the knitting front. I created several small face clothes and a sort of hippy bag. I've just got the finishing up to do on them and pictures will be up this week. Thank you all for your compliments on my latest felted bag. The original pattern started life as the Booga Bag but has had many changes and derivations.

yet another one

2005-05-06T05:37:00.000-04:00

Is that the same bag you made for your MIL? Why no, its not. Its yet another bag. MIL didn't use all the yarn for her bag so I finished it up in this little creation. Much like Jane, I feel that little embellishments are a good thing. In fact, I'm having so much fun picking out the right pin to go with the bags that I'm planning to go garage saleing soon to find more.

Thanks to those folks who shared links on needle felting. I think its safe to say that this an activity that requires the correct environment in order to avoid injuries. It sure is neat what can be done with the technique though. I thought I might try it on one of the endless felted bags I've been churning out.

Oh, in other good news, my WEBS order has been shipped!

knitting in history

2005-05-05T05:25:00.000-04:00

I stumbled upon this very interesting historical knitting photograph at the New York Public Library's Digital Gallery. This is an amazing collection of "illuminated manuscripts, historical maps, vintage posters, rare prints and photographs, illustrated books, printed ephemera, and more."

This 1930 photo of a Vandamm Theatrical production was produced with a glass negative. The detail of this picture is amazing. It really takes you back there.

Valerie asked about needle felting. Although I haven't tried it yet, I understand that it is a process of felting wool without water. It requires several sharp needles that you poke into the wool several times, creating agitation that transforms it into felt. This is the same process that regular ol' felt is made except that is on a much grander scale with machines and thousands of needles. Can anyone share a website with us that explains the process?

new LYS

2005-05-04T05:10:00.000-04:00

Thank you all for your comments on my last post. I was happy indeed to see my Mom in law enjoy her bag right away. Like many other bloggers out there I struggle to create beautiful pictures to put on my blog. I had no idea I had an aptitude for taking pictures until I started this blogging adventure last year, so this is a new, fun discovery for me. I think the consensus is that I've got to make one of these pot people next year. They are cute as the dickens'.

If you can believe this a new yarn store opened up here yesterday. Is this town big enough for two yarn stores? I'd only heard about it from my friend Max, who had moved away to Virginia. He received an email about the store opening. So I trucked on down there yesterday to see what it was all about.

Friends, it was beauteous. Not a lot of stock had arrived yet but what she did have was delicious selections. Since it was her first day I had to spend some money to help bolster her confidence that the business would be a success. I picked up some needles, a needle felting kit, some roving for the needle felting, and some Manos. I've never actually used Manos before and loved everything about it. The colors are rich, the texture soft, and the smell was invigorating. I guess I'd have to say that Manos del Uruguay is certainly all that! Even my dog liked it. I'm looking forward to knitting with it.

felted bag & garden tour

2005-05-02T08:03:00.000-04:00

My MIL loved her felted bag. She quickly transferred all your purse gear into the new bag. Here she is admiring the porch flowers, pink, variegated double impatiens, before we set off on the garden tour. They both look good, don't they?

It was a lovely day Sunday for a garden tour after the sheets of rain that came down Saturday. There was a lovely breeze and everything was lovely! We saw several beautiful gardens.

I really enjoyed this lovely lady. I may have to try creating one of my own next year. I've put so many new things into my garden this year that I'm just about worn out with it. But we did pick up a knockout rose and an orange hibiscus at the plant sale.

Got some knitting done this weekend in the form of another gift scarf which is nearly complete and a roll brim baby hat. I'm waiting for my Webs order to arrive so that the real fun can begin!

I won

2005-05-01T06:36:00.000-04:00

Can you believe it? I won the chicken naming contest over at the Stitchin' Sheep's blog. I am so excited. She is sending me some made in France goodies and I can hardly wait!

Rain washed out the garden tour my MIL and I were going to go to yesterday so we're going to make a go of it this afternoon. I did manage to get some quality knitting time in yesterday. I finished this scarf last week from Sirdar Nover super chunky and Katia Damasco in seed stitch. I'm not a big fringe person but this scarf was screaming out for it made from a combo of the two yarns. Into the gift basket it goes.

If I make this picture really small maybe you won't notice how blurry it is. :)

a couple more felted FOs

2005-04-29T05:48:00.000-04:00

Well you lovely readers were chalk full of good ideas for stiffening your felted bag bottoms. I think I may have to try some of that perforated plastic that Amanda suggested. I also like Miriam’s idea to glue the board in place. That might keep it from shifting around too much.

Jen, please let us all know how your front loader felting experience goes. Wool Winder’s idea to use plastic placemats is an idea after my tightwad heart. You can usually pick those up for a song at garage sales and the season has already begun down here in the south. Valerie also suggested an economical idea to be on the lookout for in those plastic notebook covers. Martha, I love your idea to knit a pocket to hold the foam core board. I will have to think of a design to create one of these that doesn’t involve any sewing. Let us know what your sister says about her bag bottom Lisa. Clearly more user surveys are required to find out just the right combination to create a sagless bottom.

Now for your felting pleasure are a couple more bags that I finished up this week. The blue bag was actually knitted by my MIL. She is English and learned how to knit as a child. She knitted the bag part but had no idea what icord was so she gave the lot of it back to me. I finished it up, felted it, and am planning to surprise her with is this weekend. We’re going off to enjoy a garden tour. So you folks will have those pictures to look forward to on my blog this weekend.

Sadly, I had to say goodbye to my green felted bag with the lovely flower pin. I knitted it for a dear friend of mine who begged me to knit one for her for a charity auction after she saw the first one that I knitted. I truly hated to see this one go because I loved the colors so much. I was especially pleased with it because I’d heard from nearly everyone that the white or light Lopi colors wouldn’t felt. Well I’ll be gosh darned if mine didn’t felt just as well as the green part. I was especially proud of that purse but I know that it is going off for a good cause.

books

2005-04-28T05:49:00.000-04:00

Meme is "a unit of information - stored in a brain or an inanimate storage base" according to Wikipedia. But it did not tell me how to pronounce it. I supposed I've got to go and find a dictionary for that. The lovely Stitchin' Sheep tagged me to complete this book meme.

1. Total Number of Books in Your House:
No idea in truth. Perhaps 30 or 40 maybe 50. Oh, wait, my new other half moved some of his in so perhaps double that. Are you shocked and amazed that I own so few books? It's really true. I do read, a lot; in fact, it's just that when you work where I do there is really no need to own many books. :)

2. The Last Book You Bought Was:
I honestly can't remember. I tend to borrow a lot of books.

3. What Was The Last Book You Read Before Reading This:
I'm currently rereading a fun fiction book titled Peaches and Screams by G.A. McKevett. This author really shouldn't hide behind a pseudonym because she is quite hilariously funny in this series of comic murder mysteries featuring a quick-tongued Georgia gal now living in California. What makes this series different is the fact that our heroine is described as a voluptuous, full-figured lady. If I go twenty pages without reading the word chocolate I'd be surprised! I love the quick way that they read, much like a TV show. They are perfect for immersing yourself in pure fiction for an hour or two at a time and are guaranteed to make you forget your troubles during that time. I laugh out loud at these books so often that my sweetheart probably thinks I'm over the top. Sorry but Yankees and Canadians may not understand or enjoy the humor as much as southerners.

4. Write down 5 (or 6) books you often read, or that mean a lot to you.

An ex-boyfriend introduced my to Spoon River Anthology years ago. Originally published in 1915, this book of poems, or epitaphs, are just as prevalent in today's world. Each poem is actually meant to be the writing on the tombstones of the townsfolk of the mythical town of Spoon River. As with all groups of people, there are good souls, bad souls, with most somewhere in between. You can open up a page at random and begin reading or start at the beginning and read through to the end. There is lots of wisdom between these bookends. It's interesting to read about someone and then several pages later to read about another person who relates in someway (usually negatively) to them. Poor Masters never experienced as much popularity in anything else in his life so much as he did with Spoon River. BTW, my favorite character is Margaret Fuller Slack.

What can anyone say about the Harry Potter series that hasn't already been said? I fought like H-E- double hockey sticks to not read these books. "But they're children's books" I would complain. A couple of years ago I got fed up with being left out of conversations because I didn't know the HP plotline. So when the public library finally got copies of the books on audio tape I figured I'd listen to them in the car on my way to where I was going so that I wouldn't waste my valuable time reading them. Well, I would get to my destination and end up being late going in because I was sitting in the car listening with bated breath to every word that Jim Dale spoke. It's a magnificent series with many twists, turns, and nuances that can be enjoyed over and over again.

I had no idea how The Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn would change my life when I ran across the book years ago. Yes, it is a how to save money book but it is also so much more. Based on the lives of the Dacyczyn family, matriarch Amy wanted to have it all, and she managed it by using a myriad of tips and tricks to keep from spending money. It helps you to feel empowered so that you can take control of your money of your life. That reminds me of a couple of other books that are also in a similar vein, Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin and How to Get What You Want In Life With the Money You Already Have by Carol Keeffe.

I could go on and on with the books that are important to me but I'll just leave you with a sort of list in no particular order: Notes to Myself: my struggle to become a person by Hugh Prather, oh and Notes on Love and Courage by the same author; The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot; Endurance by Alfred Lansing; My Life by Golda Mier; most of Andrew Weil's books; Thats about all that I can think of off the top of my head.

5. Who are you going to pass the stick to (three people) and why? Hum, well, how about Amanda and Janice?

Well that was a bit fun. I wonder what ya'll think of my list.

advice for front loaders & bag bottoms

2005-04-27T05:06:00.000-04:00

Thank you all for your lovely compliments about my felted bags. I highly recommend them to those of you who haven't created one yet. It is so much fun! Its also a fantastic beginner project.

Several of you asked me what the secret is to felting in a front loading washer. Having just completed another couple of bags last night (pictures forthcoming) I think I may have the answer. This time I did not put the tennis ball in with the bags. I did place several towels in with them and used the longest setting. This setting started on prewash with hot water and rinsed in cold. I still found that I had to put the bags in again for a second washing. I have heard that this is not uncommon for top loading washers as well, so expect that to happen. I wanted a really felted look for the bags. Next time around I will place them in a closable pillow case. I didn't really think that much fuzz was released but after a thorough inspection of my machine I spied some loose fuzz down in its innards.

foam core

I've found that the bottom of my bags need some sort of reinforcement. For the longest time I couldn't really figure out what to do about that without having to sew anything. Then I hit upon the idea of foam core board. You buy the stuff poster board size at the craft store for just a couple of dollars. It even comes in a variety of cheery colors. I simply plopped the bag down on the board, whipped out my handy dandy Xacto knife, and cut it to size. I also cut off a bit of the corners so a sharp edge won't poke out. Then I slipped it into the bottom of the bag and presto! A stiff board to keep the bottom of the bag from sagging with a bright color to lift your spirits while you're rifling around for your keys. What do you folks who felt use in the bottom of your bags to dispel the sag?

a felting adventure (or multiple FOs)

2005-04-24T13:32:00.000-04:00

Finally, I finished the felted bags! I bet ya’ll were starting to wonder if anything at all was getting done over here at the general’s place. It’s going on a couple of weeks (or is it months) that I’ve finished up these bags and had them lying around in the yarn storage unit. I’d tried felting one of them in my front loading washing machine and it just wouldn’t felt. So I’d made up my mind to haul them down to the laundomat to use a regular washer. My heart was aching to get out to the laundromat last weekend and get the things felted. But the fates were against me so that I ran out of time…

This weekend I was bound and determined to get them finished up. On my drive to work last week I scoped out a fairly new, roughly two years, laundry facility that looked fairly reputable. I planned out my Saturday morning chores to include a stop by the bank to pick up a roll of quarters. Boy do I not miss the days of living in apartments and having to scrounge enough quarters to have clean clothes for the week. I also don’t miss lugging all those heavy, awkward plastic bins up and down the apartment stairs! This alone is enough to convince anyone to become a home owner. But I digress…

I gathered all necessary supplies including towels for thrashing around with the bags, laundry soap, latest VK to reread while awaiting the magic, my latest knitting project and of course the unfelted bags themselves and headed out the door. There was a spring in my step as I bounded from the car towards the laundromat’s front door. I wanted to scope the place out first incase all the washers were taken so I didn’t waist time dragging all my accoutrements inside. I was through the door while pushing my sunglasses on top of my head with a smile on my face that slid suddenly off as I stood stock still when I realized that every single washer in the place was a front loader. I went down every aisle just to be sure…

I was so shocked and disgusted that I turned around and headed straight for home. Now there has got to be a laundromat on nearly every other street corner in my town and I had to go and pick the one that only had front loading washing machines. Can you believe that? When I got home I threw the lot of unfelted bags, their accompanying handles, the towels I’d dutifully drug around on this adventure and a tennis ball just of good measure into my machine. I poured in a wee tad of soap, slammed the door and put it on the longest, hottest cycle it provided. I had to run the green one through twice but all in all I’d say they turned out pretty well, don’t you think?

future object

2005-04-20T05:37:00.000-04:00

Isn't she lovely? This sweater invokes slow nighttime walks along quiet stretches of beach. A very serene image indeed. This design is #11 from Vogue Knitting's spring/summer 2005 issue. This particular color of yarn seems to be sold out where ever I look, but no matter, it comes in lots of other colors too. What I don't like is the fact that the yarn is dry clean only. That is a phrase that usually doesn't exist in my world. Trendsetter Yarns Spiral (acrylic/polyamide) in #96 aqua. Anyone have any suggestions for a non dry cleaning substitute yarn?

I haven't been doing much knitting lately. I also still haven't gotten to the laundromat to felt my bags. Its been a very long week and its only Wednesday!

real life knitting

2005-04-18T20:48:00.000-04:00

A virtual cavalcade of beautiful, real life knitting.

Has everyone seen the new Vogue Knitting? There are several patterns to love but there is only one that I'm completely mad about. Any guesses?

in the garden

2005-04-16T08:09:00.000-04:00

This is the latest four legged creature added to our collection. Thankfully, it won't cost too much to feed! My sweetheart and I ran across this little fellow yesterday while out searching for a bigger one to decorate the entrance to a dog park. His eyes lit up with he saw this doggy and he scooped it up without a backward glance. Apparently it looks just like the dog he had when he was a kid so it brought back good memories.

Lucky and Ranunculus

We tucked him safely into a crook in the trunk of the car for the ride home and put the newly purchased dog treats from our next stop in the back seat so that he wouldn't be tempted to get into them. (wink) I asked the sweetheart to find him a spot right in the front garden so that he would be there to greet our guests and us when we come home. Oh yes, that is a Ranunculus blooming next to Lucky, the dog. Beautiful, isn't it?

Here are the other four legged angels enjoying sitting on the front porch. That is a fantastic double impatien with white and pink blooms.

porch sittin'

I'm going to try to get myself down to the laundromat today or tomorrow to see if their machine will finish felting the unfeltable bag.

the art of knitting

2005-04-14T06:06:00.000-04:00

"Sisters Knitting" from Jo Adang Studio. Don't you just love the vivid colors and the striking determined face trying to learn how to knit? I think we've all seen that face before!

wips - felted bags

2005-04-13T06:23:00.000-04:00

I'm whipping up a couple of felted bags this week. I still have a pile of knitted bags that need to be felted. I'm going to try to get to the laundromat this weekend to throw them all in at one time.

This little bag is a made up pattern from some Italian yarn called Lane Borgosesia, 85% Shetland Wool and 15% mohair. Oddly enough the color is called Loden. But this is as far from deep olive green as I've ever seen. Its really blue. But its a very pretty blue and I'm enjoying knitting it up. I've know idea how mohair felts but I thought I'd give it a go. Anyone have experience felting this combination of wool and mohair?

I've also got another Lopi bag in the works this time in a lovely, cheery bright red. I need to work on the icord handles though and for some odd reason I can't seem to find my double pointed needles. I know they're around here somewhere....

I'm seriously considering knitting St. Brigid from Aran Knitting by Alice Starmore. Vicki's is so beautiful and I tend to go over and visit her's from time to time. Since Webs is having a Cascade 220 sale do I really have any excuse not to?

the art of knitting

2005-04-12T07:04:00.000-04:00

Artist Germaine Koh had an exhibit of knitwear from recycled sweaters. Pretty interesting.

A couple of recently acquired books. I love it when Michael's has 40% off coupons in the paper because I can dash out indulge in knitting whatknots. I decided I needed these books because I when knitting a pattern one day and couldn't figure out a particular acronym. Knitting reference books are always great to have around.

the art of knitting

2005-04-10T14:41:00.000-04:00

Ran across this interesting website with historical information about Currier & Ives. Here is their take on knitting.

Now why hadn't I thought of the idea of combining the garden and knitting by taking my hobby outside and indulging in it amoung the lovely blooming things. Thanks for the great idea Lorette. Its definitely warm enough here today. I think its near 80 degrees.

front garden

the art of knitting

2005-04-09T05:48:00.000-04:00

From artist Julie Baroh. Sorry folks, this one has already sold.

Its going to be another lovley day here today. I've still got lots of spring fever left in me. Things are blooming all over. I've even got the stuffy nose to prove it! The side garden is exploding with azaleas. Can you find the angel in the picture?

What should I do to the garden today?

the art of knitting

2005-04-08T18:20:00.000-04:00

This lovely lady is a result of artist Yasuji Paul Hamanaka.

I’ve got a plan of attack for my felting problem. I’m going to give it one more go in the front-loading washer with some tennis balls and really hot water. It that doesn’t work I’m packing up the whole shebang and carrying it down to the local rinse and run. I’ve got a couple of other things to felt as well so maybe I’ll just make it a little outing this weekend with lots of KIP.

Amanda made the cruel mistake of mentioning that Webs has a sale going on Cascade 220. (just kidding Amanda; ya know I love ya!) Hum….so many felting ideas! Where to begin? Which colors to choose? Which projects to buy for? Eek!

Slash has been a great help in the garden lately.

thanks

2005-04-07T06:37:00.000-04:00

Thank you all for giving me some advise on my nonfelting bag. Part of the problem may in fact be that I have a front loading washer. I don't think that it gets as much agitation as a regular washer nor can I control the water level. I can't open the thing to check on it and there is no window so I can't tell whats going on in there! I've had to give my lovely knitted objects up to the fates that it will all come out in the wash. ;) But this time its sure acting out. I'm going to give it another go with some of your suggestions.

I ran across this cute picture while surfing the web for interesting knitting tidbits. Its from a pet sitting website in Massachusetts.

knitting girl with dog

felting wierdness

2005-04-06T07:27:00.000-04:00

The odd thing about this bag is that I can't see to get it to felt. It is the same Lopi yarn that I've used for the other felted bags that I've made so I can't figure out what is different.

I've tried it in the wash with jeans, I've tried it with towels. I've put it through twice and it still doesn't seem to want to felt. Anyone have any ideas?

sockapalooza

2005-04-05T08:29:00.000-04:00

What a fantastic sock pal I have!
These lovelies arrived in the mail.

There are dozens of beautiful little baby cables on these socks. They're the perfect color for me too! And can you believe it, she used the same Sock it to me! Elann yarn that I used for my secret sock pal. Thank you Toni!

brush with celebrity

2005-03-29T21:39:00.000-05:00

Still not much knitting to report. Oh, wait, I have nearly completed a couple of Chenille Thick and Quick scarves to stick in the gift stash. Do these even count? It only took about an hour and a half to knit both. This knitting was just to keep my hands familiar with the whole knitting process because frankly, I've been way too busy in the garden to knit anything complicated!

Last weekend we slipped off to a lovely outdoor craft festival. I really enjoy walking around at these events because you find the neatest things you had no idea existed or that you really needed them. LOL I also love seeing how very creative people can be. I stopped at one particular artist's booth who had created a series of dog and cat portraits. Since I love animals, I had to stop.

goofey dog

Her work was fantastic and felt sort of familiar. I was milling around her booth when I noticed a print out from HGTV. That's when I realized who she was. Cathy Dailey was on an episode of Crafters Coast to Coast that I had just seen the other day. It turns out that she is from Athens, Georgia which is just up the road. I felt like I'd met a celebrity! I am completely addicted to HGTV and there I was talking to someone who had been on the show. It was completely groovy!

Cathy's art is completely fantastic and hilarious (see kitty butt)! She also does portraits of your family pets from photos. There is a fantastic one in her brochure of a Matisse inspired lounging kitty that is maddeningly adorable.

knitting in history

2005-03-26T20:05:00.000-05:00

"Green and brown knitted wool girl's bonnet, off-white and black patterns, 1848-1852" from The Children's Clothing Collection at the Wisconsin Historical Museum Online Collections.

fever

2005-03-24T21:20:00.000-05:00

What have I been doing lately? Certainly not much knitting! I've got the fever bad ya'll! There is lots more to plant and have fun with out in the garden. Promise I'll report more on knitting next week!

front garden

back garden

Baronne Prevost

angel and azalea

knitting in history

2005-03-23T05:03:00.000-05:00

Ladies’ Home Journal cover illustration for December 1945 from the National Museum of American History.

knitting in history

2005-03-21T07:59:00.000-05:00

Halifax School for the Blind: Girls' Manual Training Class Engaged in Machine Sewing, Chair Caning, Weaving, Basketry, Needlepoint and Knitting, 1921

more socks

2005-03-18T05:06:00.000-05:00

Not much knitting this week. Its been a pretty long week. I did get fairly far on this sock during an eight hour stint of helping out at an orienteering event recently.

I'd wanted to knit the cascading leaves socks but I didn't understand one of the acronyms in the instructions so I decided to just knit a regular ol' basic socks. Item number 452 to carry in my knitting bag: knitting acronyms key.

Thank you all for your lovely comments about my sockapalooza sock. Looks like the recipient, Lori (who is blogless), loved them. I'm so glad!

FO - sockapalooza socks

2005-03-13T07:06:00.000-05:00

They are complete! I had a fun time knitting up these socks. I used the Elann sock it to me yarn. This yarn was easy to work with which is good since I might have a couple more in my stash ;)

Here is the package currently winging its way to the recipient. I've included the requisite state postcard and a little cotton ball still clinging to its plant that I picked up at Jarrell Plantation last weekend. I also stuck in the ball band and a bit of extra yarn incase of the need for fixing down the road. Hope you enjoy it!

snakes & spiders

2005-03-12T17:19:00.000-05:00

I finally got a picture of an FO from some time ago that I wanted to share with you all. This snake actually started out life as a worm from Knitting Pretty by Kris Percival. This little book has several wonderful patterns in it suitable for all levels of knitters. I encourage you to check it out. This worm is a very easy project and is suitable for beginners. The stockinette stitch has a naturally rolling edge that gives it its shape.

I knitted it for the same little boy for whom I knitted the spider. I thought I was doing the right thing by knitting a nice, sweet, docile looking and non intimidating worm. Boy was I ever wrong! Immediately my gift was turned into a vicious, striking snake sent to destroy all little boys. He has been nearly constantly played with for which my knitting heart is truly grateful.

Jarrell Plantation part 3

2005-03-10T05:04:00.000-05:00

I'm glad to hear that ya'll are enjoying this yarn I'm spinning. (Get it? Yarn. I'm spinning. hahaha) Thanks Lisa for telling me about rolag.

Continuing my Sheep to Shawl saga at Jarrell Plantation I went to check out what was happening inside the 1895 house.

Hard at work at a wood stove was a woman dyeing the wool. She took out a great hunk of it and carried it in a pan outside to the clothes line. She laid it out on the line allowing it to drip dry.

Apparently you can use just about anything to dye wool. There was a really groovy handmade sample book on display that had various types of wool with a notation about what it had been dyed with. The pages are actually made out of envelopes with holes punched around the edges. I was amazed at the many different types of plant materials that could be used to dye wool.

Dyeing wool is, again, a labor intensive process that, back in the old days, took quite a significant amount of time. I loved the sample card that showed wool that had been dyed with black walnut hulls. There is a sample of wool from each stage of the dyeing process so that its easy to see how the wool is affected. Amazing!

One of the funniest things that happened on this adventure was Toby, the plantation mule. He was carrying on up a storm the whole time I was there. I wasn't sure if he was in distress or if he was just greeting all the visitors. I don't think a visit to a historic farm is complete until you see a cantankerous ol' mule peeing a river in the restroom portion of his padock.

I sure admire these Jarrell folks. Their family worked that farm for over a hundred years. When farming got to be too much they donated their land to the state of Georgia who promtly turned it into a historic site thus preserving the Jarrell's family history. One of the decents still owns the big house on the property, the 1920 house, and today it is a bed and breakfast. The tenactiy of these folks and their ability to reinvent themselves throughout the last hundred years and even into these modern times is amazing.

Thanks for joining me on the saga ya'll. I'm off to see if I can get this drop spindle thingy to work. We now return to our regularly scheduled southern accent without as much twang!

Jarrell Plantation part 2

2005-03-09T05:20:00.000-05:00

I trouped down to the next fun station at the Sheep to Shawl day at Jarrell Plantation with stinky sheep wool in hand. I stopped by a table where a woman was giving a drop spindle demonstration to a youngster. The kid was spinning his recently sheered wool like an expert!

I was given a demonstration of how to card the wool that I'd sheered. Basically it was like using two huge doggie hairbrushes. The brushes were curved and had stiff wire bristles. After placing the wool on the tines you brush the wool so that it all evens out and some of the farm trash comes out of it. Once it's nicely carded then you can roll it off the brush resulting in what is called a roll lag. This is new vocabulary to me and I tried to look this term up but couldn't find any reference to it. Anyone out there know if I'm spelling it right or know of another term to describe it?

It was pretty groovy carding that wool. I had no idea that it was so complicated. My instructor said that the wool could be washed either before or after the carding although she prefers to wash it before so that she can keep her carding brushes clean. I can believe it ya'll because there is still a bunch of farmyard trash in my wool. She also said that if left unwashed that eventually the natural lanoline in the sheep wool would go rancid. Now there's a pretty thought.

Next she showed me how to use a drop spindle to turn wool into yarn. You would think that she was showing me water to wine for how excited I got! I've heard all you nice folks online over the years talk about using a drop spindle and frankly I had no earthly idea how it was done. I'd never actually seen it used live and in living color. So I was ever so excited when I slipped that wool onto the drop spindle and gave it a shot myself. Wow, what fun. It sure takes practice though.

After experiencing the carding and spinning I was nearly exhausted and had yet to see any of the actual plantation. I really got have quite an appreciation now for those of you out there who actually process wool. It is very time consuming although, I imagine, very rewarding.

wool and spindle

Jumping ahead of my story abit I will tell you that I stopped by the gift shop on my way out and picked up some wool and a drop spindle. I grabbed several extra balls of wool as well cause I figured, what the heck, who knows when I'll be get another opportunity to get wool to spin?

Next time I'll show you the old fashioned dying process.

Jarrell Plantation part 1

2005-03-08T06:14:00.000-05:00

What an exciting weekend I had ya'll! Both days were filled with knitting related activities. I've got so much to say about it that I'm spreading it over a couple of posts.

Saturday I spent the morning at Jarrell Plantation. This is a state of Georgia historic site of a once working farm. Sheep to Shawl was a special event held once a year to highlight how wool is processed. Billed as a "hands on" event, I went expecting all sorts of interesting things. Well I certainly got them! I had the chance to sheer a sheep in the old way with a huge pair of sheering scissors. I didn't get the actual name of this piece of equipment but they looked just like a giant pair of scissors. Weighed a ton too.

I guess I should have figured out that the "hands on" part was meant for kids when several eight to twelve year olds thrust their hands into the air yelling "me, me!" Didn't matter though. I was determined to get my own hands on with the sheep.

sheep sheering

Apparently back in the olden days they used to lay the poor sheep on a table and tie up his legs on a pole with some rope in order to keep him from getting away. I felt a bit sorry for the creature actually. But the handler insisted that he was fine.

After the motley crew of children finished their cutting I sidled up to the sheep, whose name was Harris by the way, and took my turn. Boy was I nervous. I'd never been that close to a live sheep before, well, except maybe at a petting zoo once about a thousand years ago. Now here I was about to take a sharp instrument to one I'd only just been introduced to. I made my first cut and the handler pointed out that I could still get off more wool then I had. He showed me that I'd left at least a quarter of an inch behind. So I held those giant scissors even closer to the poor sheep's skin and sheered away not once, not twice but three more times. The handler pulled off a piece that I'd sheered and gave it to me. What an excellent memento.

I have to say that I had a blast sheering that sheep. Now a days of course we all know that sheep sheering is done with electricity and takes all of thirty seconds. Back in the old days it took a little longer and I like to imagine that the farmer knew his sheep well and would know the name of the sheep next in line to be sheered. Thanks for the souvenir, Harris.

sheep close up

By the way ya'll, freshly sheered sheep is some of the stinkiest stuff in the world!

Next time I'll go over what I learned about processing that wool.

file organization

2005-03-05T05:41:00.000-05:00

I read somewhere that storage has become a million dollar business with self storage units being built at the rate of...well, lots. One such unit was just built on a strip of land that used to hold several lovely trees that I drive by on my way to work. Another one is being built about a mile down the road from that one. I ask myself how much stuff do I really need? Not much, really.

I do, however, need a place to store my knitting patterns. Surprisingly, I don't have many considering the fact that I've been knitting for 15, uh, I mean 20 years. I bought this really neat portable storage filing system at a local discount store the other day.

It has these groovy multicolored file folders that pull out. Don't you just love office supplies? I was really struck by the colors of this little file and I loved the little button closure which is almost like a little purse.

My second sockapalooza sock is nearly complete. I've just got the kitchnering to do. Wow, I actually finished on time. Now, what do I want to do next?

wip - sockapalooza

2005-03-02T05:22:00.000-05:00

They are coming along just fine. I love knitting these socks. The sock it to me yarn from elann is nice to work with. The fact that these are ankle socks makes them a very quick knit. Thoughts of new projects are looming in my head...

and the winner is.....

2005-02-28T08:22:00.000-05:00

Thank you all for entering the Stitch 'n Bitch Nation Giveaway contest!

My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed reading all of your diverse and creative suggestions for using the souvenir camel yarn that came home from our Alaskan honeymoon. We were delighted to read all of your wonderful ideas and will let you know as soon as we decide what will be knitted from that groovy yarn. If you haven't read all these intriguing ideas then please scroll down and check them out.

Now I'm sure you're all dying to know who the winner is. Well...it was a long and grueling process to select the winner. First I had to cut up little pieces of equally sized paper. Then I carefully recorded everyone's name onto an individual slip. It seems there were duplicate names from different people so I had to be careful to differentiate the two names. The correct vessel had to be selected to hold the entry forms.

The husband was recruited as an objective third party to draw out the actual winner. Then the entries had to be swirled and shuffled around on the inside.

There were two false starts with one slip of paper accidentally falling out onto the floor and the first drawing consisting of two entry forms. Finally....

Congratulations to...

Valerie, please email me with your address so that I can get your prize in the mail to you.

This has been some of the most fun I've had with my knitting blog and I thank everyone who stopped by to share their comments with me.

Kate knitting

2005-02-27T05:11:00.000-05:00

my heroine

wip - sock pal's socks

2005-02-25T06:38:00.000-05:00

Finally! I started my sock pal's socks. It's not that I'm a procrastinator or anything :) it's just that I've had all these other projects standing in the way. I'm thoroughly enjoying knitting these socks. The color is a very pretty blue and the yarn is easy to work with. The socks are knitting up very quickly since she requested ankle length. I'm actually about half way through sock number one.

Stitch 'n Bitch Nation Giveaway Contest ends on Monday get your entries in soon. I love all the ideas I'm hearing so far!

FO sweetheart's socks

2005-02-23T20:20:00.000-05:00

Finally finished my sweetheart's socks yesterday. I hear that they were worn and admired today. The Regia sock yarn is terrific and easy to work with. I immediately put those needles back into use today working on my sock pal's socks. I'm using some of the sock it to me yarn that I picked up at elann.

sweetheart socks

Don't forget to scroll down and enter the Stitch 'n Bitch Nation Giveaway Contest. I am thoroughly enjoying reading your entries!

Stitch 'n Bitch Nation Giveaway Contest

2005-02-19T09:17:00.000-05:00

I find myself with an extra copy of “Stitch ‘N Bitch Nation” by Debbie Stoller that I’m offering up in an online contest. You could win this book by suggesting a knitting project for my souvenir yarn.

While on honeymoon in Alaska I met Boris and Tula, two Bactrian camels, who gave me these two skeins of their yarn. Boris and Tula live at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage. I simply could not pass up this yarn when I spied it in the gift shop and it’s probably my favorite souvenir. I’d like to knit something really groovy from this yarn that will remind me of my honeymoon.

Each skein is approximately 75 yards and is 77% camel hair and 23% wool. I wouldn’t mind mixing it with another yarn if anyone has any suggestions about that as well.

Please pick your best idea and add it as a comment on this blog entry. Winner of the Stitch ‘n Bitch Nation Giveaway Contest will be selected at random from all entries on Monday, February 28^th.

“You should only buy yarn from camels that you know!”

wips

2005-02-17T18:39:00.001-05:00

I have indeed been knitting this week despite my lack of posting. I'm past the heel of my sweetheart's second sock so I hope to finish it up this weekend in order to begin my sock pal's socks. I know, I know, I should have already started that by now. But she requested ankle socks so I figured it wouldn't take me too long to whip them out.

sweetheart's second sock

I've also been working on a third felted Lopi bag. Boy do I enjoy knitting these up! What a breeze. This one was requested as a charity item for an up coming silent auction. What do ya'll think of the color combination? A bit...well....festive...I suppose. I couldn't resist these colors at the LYS.

third lopi bag

TAGGED - music

2005-02-15T13:22:00.000-05:00

It feels like it's been about a thousand years since I posted. Sorry about that ya'll! I finished a blue bag just like my green bag for a friend's birthday. She loved it but started to worry she might be allergic to wool after a few minutes of using the bag. What exactly are wool allergy symptoms anyway? I've also been working on my sweetheart's socks. I'm planning to start my sock pal's socks this weekend.

I've been tagged!

1. Total amount of music files on your computer?
No idea. Probably not as many as most folks since I'm not too interested in the latest technology. Most of my files came from those ol' free Napster days.

2. The CD you last bought is: Nude on the Moon the B-52's Anthology. I've been hearing songs from this album a lot the last few months in various shops. I finally picked up a copy at a collegetown indie record shop a few weeks ago.

3. What is the song you last listened to before reading this message? Siren by Tori Amos. I've come to realize in the last few years that 90% of the cds I own are actually sound tracks. I wonder what that means? I've seen lots and lots of films and when the music is good I tend to pick up the album. The songs usually bring back the memory of the feelings that I experienced while watching the movie.

4. Write down 5 songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you.

I'm going with the mean a lot to you songs:

Love is only sleeping by the Monkees
Landslide by Stevie Nicks
Tainted Love by Soft Cell
Bela Lugosi's Dead by Bauhaus
Raspberry Beret by Prince

Wow, am I dating myself or what? I used to watch the Monkees on TV when I was a kid. I was totally crazy about them. I don't feel too bad admitting this since I've seen other folks such as Alison admit her fondness for them too! Stevie Nicks is the queen and nothing makes me feel so powerful as Landslide. Yeah, I've seen her in concert, twice, and saw the Fleetwood Mac reunion tour. Tainted love is the quintessential 80s tune. Come on, you know you do some seat dancin' when it comes on the car radio. The dance club I used to frequent in the early 90s used to always close down at 3a.m. with Bela Lugosi's Dead. Then they'd snap the cold, bright lights on and you could truly see who you'd been dancing with all night! LOL. Nothing, I repeat, no other song, can turn my mood around more quickly than Raspberry Beret. Of course, I may go deaf early because I also cannot seem to listen to that song without turning the volume way up and, of course, singing along with the tune at the top of my voice! Maybe I should buy a copy of this song since it's such a cheery little ditty.

5. Who are you going to pass this to? (3 persons) and why? Tami because I'd love to see what her list is like.

And in case you're wondering. It's Mike. It's always been Mike.

attack of the killer spiders

2005-02-07T06:31:00.000-05:00

What happens when you take this:

pile of useless acylic yarn

and turn it into this:

spider from above

It turns into Attack of the Killer Spiders! Yes folks, my first and only true novelty knitting project is complete. But wait, was there any actual knitting to make up the components of this spider? Ah yes, the legs are nothing more than i-cord. Oh, and so are the fangs. The rest is crochet. Thankfully I was able to follow the extremely helpful instructions sent to me to create a less shower cap looking head.

I'm delighted to report that the birthday recipient was thrilled with his killer spider. The spider was actually played with for over an hour. He was tossed about, twisted his head, and tied up all for my pleasure. It certainly was wonderful to see my hours of labor enjoyed so thoroughly. His playmate was so taken with him that he made a request for one of his own. Yeah right kid, it took me three weeks and a crocheting meltdown to make the thing so I'm not sure I'm up to another one. I think I'll make him a snake scarf instead.

I think one of my favorite parts of creating this spider was the tons of fun we had posing the him out in the backyard in scary attaking spider positions!

wip - creature body

2005-02-04T06:15:00.000-05:00

Thanks to High Energy Jenny and my mom for sending me some crochet advice. I didn't feel like facing all that crochet last night so I put the spider aside in favor of finishing my friend's birthday present (note to friend: I know you can't wait), and working on my sweetheart's socks while listening to HPOoTP.

Is it a bird, a plane, a shower cap? Nope, its a creature! Here is the spider as it exists now. It will be stuffed with poly fiberfil, have legs with claws attached, and grow a terrifying head. That novelty yarn sure comes in handy for novelties!

creature

I would have gotten a few better pictures of the creature but I had this fellow here helping me take pictures.

helping with knitting

crochet help needed

2005-02-03T14:17:00.000-05:00

I'm working on this spider as a birthday gift. I couldn't figure out how to knit a sort of a circular ball so I decided to crochet it instead. I figured I could do it easier.

But, the thing is, it turns out that I pretty much suck at crocheting in the round. I crocheted the body in a fuzzy yarn but I think I must have increased too many stitches because it got kind of puckery. Ok, I guess the best way to explain the way it looked is to say it resembled a shower cap with its puckeriness. Um, ok, you can stop laughing now.

I don't really care that its this way on the body because it will sort of look lumpy after its stuffed and I think that's fine. Now I want to do the head in a regular non fuzzy yarn but its coming out all shower cap looking too, which I do not want for the head.

Ok, let me explain what I'm tring to do so you can advise me. I would like to crochet two pieces in the round then sew them together and stuff them for the spider head. How do I do this? What is the stitch ratio? Do I increase in every stitch on the round and then crochet one even or what? I'd actually rather crochet one big piece to simulate a round ball instead of the two pieces because I hate sewing things together. But if its more complicated this way then forget it. That is how I crocheted the body though.

Thank you, thank you to anyone who can help.

knitting in the news

2005-02-03T05:21:00.000-05:00

Political protest turns to the radical art of knitting, The Guardian, Monday January 31, 2005
"For many political knitters, the craft represents an act of rebellion. "

Instructions included at the bottom of the article to "Knit your own purse grenade"

Knit two together, The Times (London), January 29, 2005
"There's a lot of woolly talk these days about 'post-feminist knitting', says Erica Wagner, who takes up the needles for the sheer comfort of it"

Community of Faith: Knitting ministry popular; Novices, pros put creativity to good use, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, January 27, 2005

"Church membership is not required. Meetings include a time for devotion and prayer. Everything the crafters make is given away to beneficiaries ranging from newborns and preschoolers to men working on oil tankers."

The neat thing about knitting, Baltimore Sun, Friendships are formed at weekly sessions
note: you may have to register to read this one

FO felted lopi bag

2005-02-02T06:13:00.000-05:00

I think that I had more fun felting this bag than I did with the French market bag. I love the way that it came out. I'm planning to cut a piece of foam core board to fit down inside to stiffen the bottom of the bag. I was trying to figure out how to secure the board inside so that it wouldn't shift around. My sweetheart came up with a brilliant idea of using liquid nails to hold it in place. Has anyone had any experience with it and have any tips to share? What other things have you used to stiffen the bottoms of bags?

lopi felted bag

I'm still working on the spider. I forgot to get a picture of the fuzzy body but I did manage to get a picture of the legs. They look a bit like match sticks don't they? They're actually over a foot long. Notice the blood red tipped claws. I think the soon to be six year old recipient will be pleased. I'm sort of just making this pattern up as I go so we'll see how it turns out.

spider legs

My local public library had lots of knitting book treasures on their shelves. I picked up Folk Socks: The History & Techniques of Handknitted Footwear by Nancy Bush, Folk Mittens: Techniques and Patterns for Handknitted Mittens by Marcia Lewandowski, Knit One, Felt Too : Discover the magic of knitted felt with 25 easy patterns by Kathleen Taylor, and Felted Knits by Beverly Galeskas.

Thanks Tami for suggesting the Folk Socks book. As well as sock patterns, there is lots of groovy information in this book about the history of socks. I'm still on the lookout for an interesting pattern to use for my Sock Pal's socks and I may have spied one in this book. Folk Mittens has many beautiful patterns that are awe inspiring but that I probably won't knit. Not much call for mittens here in the deep south. I guess you all can figure out how I feel about the two felting books I picked up. I want to felt everything that I can get my hands on! The Felted Knits book seems to be full of useful basic information about the felting process whereas the Knit One, Felt Too books has really jazzy patterns. I can't wait to put some of these to the test.

wips & ice

2005-02-01T05:36:00.000-05:00

Thank you all for your comments regarding what you keep your works in progress in. It was very interesting hearing about all the different ideas that people have come up with to store and make portable their knitting projects.

icicles

The above picture sums out how my weekend went. We had a bit of an ice storm down here and the whole city stopped and stayed inside while the sleet fell down. Yes, all activities were arrested because a little bit of freezing rain came down. Now you nice folks up in Canada can go ahead and laugh if you want to but this kind of thing doesn't happen here in the deep south very often so naturally I had to break out the camera. I stopped short of taking pictures of truly adorable stop and street signs with icicles hanging off them so at least you are spared those shots!

Bad weather has kept me from photographing my latest FOs. I finished the Lopi bag and felted it. I think it is the cutest thing that I've ever made and, of course, can not wait to make something else that is felted. I've made down to the heel on my other half's second sock. I've had to put that project mostly aside though because I've been working on two birthday presents, one of which is finished but I'm unable to share In case the receiver reads this blog (hey there!). The other is a spider. The eight legs are done. The fuzzy body is nearly complete. The head is coming out all wonky. I'll get a picture up soon so that I can discuss the details.

wip & Knitting POLL

2005-01-27T06:49:00.000-05:00

Someone really should have warned me. I had no idea this whole felting process was so addictive. I couldn't stop myself and cast on for another felted bag. This time I'm trying Lopi instead of Cascade 220.

Lopi bag

I guess that I should admit that I already finished knitting this bag and it is currently blocking. Wow, what a quick knit. I truly love how this bag is coming out too. More details and photos later.

Knitting POLL:
What do you keep your WsIP in?

Personally I have a different bag for every work in progress. I like to recycle shopping bags for this purpose so that I don't have to worry about the state of the bag in case it gets slung around, tossed about, or slightly crushed. Yep, that has happened to all of my knitting bags! I select bags based on size and ease of use. It must be large enough to hold the wip but not so large that it will be flopping around. It also must have handles. I'm a grab it at the last minute and go kind of girl. I lineup all my WsIP bags in one spot in the TV room and grab one or two as I'm going out the door somewhere. I also prefer a bag that is a little on the stiff side so that it stands up rather than flops over while resting on the floor. Whew. If only these manufacturers knew what their bags were being recycled for. They might make them to knitters' specifications!

what's inside the bag?

This is the bag that I used while knitting up the French market bag. I am happy to report that the quality of the bag is very high and can with stand lots of abuse.

a knitting project!

So the question of the day is: What do you keep your WsIP in?

knitting in the news

2005-01-26T05:54:00.000-05:00

BULLISH WOOLLIES
Maclean's, January 17, 2005
"Knitting is on a roll as young hipsters across the country -- including some men -- reinvent the craft"

Teacher, 5th-graders take up a new hobby
The Post and Courier, January 20, 2005
"None of the boys balked at learning a "girlie" hobby, especially when they heard about former NFL player and avid knitter Rosey Grier. "

Festival picks up on knitting craze
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 25, 2005
"Knitting is white hot."

Never mind the needling: Knitting clicks with boys;More males taking up a "female" craft.
Star Tribune, January 23, 2005
“…a friend - another teenage boy - showed him how to make beanies. "Now he's mad at me, because I'm better at it than he is" note: you may have to register to view this one

I'm about half way done with my next felted handbag. This Lopi knits up quick! Still making slow progress on the second sock. Then I want to work on: knitted present for a friend's birthday, spider for a 6 year old's birthday, my sock pal's socks. Lots to do and more fun to have!

FO - French market bag

2005-01-25T05:53:00.000-05:00

Did I drag me feet on felting something for years? Yes. Did I worry it would come out all wonky? Yes. Did I know that I was going to enjoy felting this much? No. Here it is folks, my first felted object!

My sweetheart kept looking at this French market bag and saying that it was a little on the large side. I kept trying to explain to him that it would shrink. Of course, I said this to him in a tone of "yeah, right, sure its going to shrink to the right size and look like a beautiful object, uh huh." Its no wonder he didn't believe me.

pre-felting

But folks, I swear it did! We were both amazed. Secretly my cutie was hoping that it wouldn't felt perfectly so that he could use the bag for his own devises. But I think he was more excited than I was when it came out of the laundry bag and I started to shape it into form. Wow! We were stunned and delighted.

I followed lots of people's advice and stuffed the pre-felted item in a sealed pillow case. I didn't have one that zipped up so I devised a frugal substitute and found an old one among the linens, slit two small holes on the inside edge, threaded a non-felting yarn (acrylic) through the hem, and tied it shut. However, it didn't seem like the Cascade 220 gave off many fibers. I threw in the towel, shut the door and commenced being patient. I actually had to do this part because my washer is the stackable kind where the door is hermetically sealed shut once the cycle begins. I had to let it run its course after that. This could be one of the reasons why I avoided felting for so long. I've read that its best to keep an eye on the amount of felting in order to reach the desired shrinkage. Ah well, it turned out great anyway!

post felting

In fact it came out so great and I had so much fun with it that I've cast on for another felted bag. Can you believe that folks? I bought some Lopi over the Christmas holidays and within a few hours of the first success hot out of the laundry had caston for the booga bag. I do believe ya'll, that I am converted!

another felted bag in the works?

weekend & Vogue knitting

2005-01-24T06:58:00.000-05:00

Had a fantastic weekend of knitting, hiking, visiting with family, and dog park clean up. I finished grafting together my sweetheart's sock and knitted about four inches on the second sock. I had no idea that I was going to enjoy knitting with such tiny toothpicks. After this pair of socks I want to try a more patterned sock. Anyone have any pattern suggestions?

babbling brook along my weekend hike

Stopped off at the bookstore this weekend and could not resist Vogue Knitting. I've fallen completely in love with the Felted Flower bag designed by Nicky Epstein. I love it so much that I'm considering joining the Flower Basket Knitalong. What makes me want to do this you ask? Because I finished and felted my French Market Bag! What a fantastic experience. I will share more details and a picture soon.

What I found strange about this issue of Vogue Knitting was the faux cover. This cover is actually an advertisement for Lion Brand yarn. I thought this was kind of odd.

faux vogue cover

This is actually the real cover. Lion Brand has provided a couple of patterns on the front and back covers of this issue. Advertising certainly gets more and more creative every day.

real vogue cover

200 vs 175

2005-01-21T05:01:00.000-05:00

It's been a bit of a tough week for me. Work has been really busy. Car has been in the shop. Extracurricular commitments have been numerous. I offer these excuses as to why my knitting came out a little on the short side. Short of stitches that is.

I've been working on the French market bag this week. I've always wanted to knit this bag because it is so cute and, lets face it, a woman can never have too many handbags. I've never made a felted object before and this looked like the perfect candidate. I was encouraged to add extra inches in case the bag felted too shallow so I've been knitting and knitting for what feels like days now. Last night I was thoroughly excited because I'd finally finished the body and was ready to knit the handles. I was mindlessly knitting away and binding off the appropriate stitches. That's when it happened. As I got to what should be the last handle I suddenly ran out of stitches. "There should be more stitches here than this" I said to myself. So I counted out all the handle stitches and all the bind off stitches. No, I didn't make any counting mistakes there. "This is crazy" I thought to myself.

So I started counting all of the stitches on my needles. Disbelief on my face after counting all the way around once, I counted again. Huh. That's when it hit me: there weren't enough stitches there because I never increased way back there at the base of the bag to 200 stitches. For some odd, unexplainable reason (see excuses above) I only increased to 175 stitches.

Ok. So there I was with only 175 stitches to work with in a project that I'd been working on for days as a way to relax. I felt mentally devastated. I toyed with what to do. I could always rip back to the bottom of the bag and reknit it. Its only the knit stitch in the round after all. But in my heart I really didn't want to rip and reknit. I wanted to carry on and hope for the best. I suppose that I really wouldn't make a very good designer because I get pretty stressed out when I have to deviate from the pattern. The stress began to mount on my shoulders last night as I ran from the knitting room to the calculator on the computer and back again repeatedly ranting incessantly about the impending failure of this project. UFO ville was looming. I'm no great shakes at mathematics so trying to figure out how to divide four handles evenly on 175 stitches wasn't computing in my head. I wonder what my sweetheart must have been thinking, poor thing. Thanks for putting up with me darling!

The math is now figured, the handles divided, one section is already complete. The big question now is, what is this bag going to look like after its felted?

wip

2005-01-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

Work has been busy as sin! I haven't had many nice, restful lunch hours to knit. The weather has finally turned back into winter as well so that I can't sit outside next to the lake refreshing my spirits with water and knitting. Instead I'm forced to stay indoors at my desk with the door shut. The good part about this plan is that I can knit and catch up on other knitting blogs. The bad news is that people know I'm in there and come and knock on the door anyway. Hum.

French market bag coming along

My French market bag is knitting up very nicely. Once you get past the bottom of the bag its just miles of the knit stitch. Jane and Max both advised me to add a few extra inches to the bag so that it won't be too shallow. Anyone else have any advice to allay my fears on this felting project?

knitting lesson

2005-01-19T13:58:00.000-05:00

Owned by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston but not currently on display. Knitting Lesson by Jean- Francois Millet.

Jean-François Millet, French, 1814–1875
Knitting Lesson
about 1860
Oil on panel
40.4 x 31.5 cm (15 7/8 x 12 3/8 in.)

knitting quote

2005-01-19T13:33:00.000-05:00

"An unnatural silence and desertion reigned there. Only one soul was to be seen, and that was Madame Defarge - who leaned against the door-post, knitting, and saw nothing." from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

knitting in the news

2005-01-18T07:20:00.000-05:00

Here is an interesting article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about local knitters knitting for shelter animals.

almost an FO & French market bag

2005-01-17T15:52:00.000-05:00

I'm 99% finished with the first of my sweetheart's socks. I really enjoyed knitting with this Regia yarn. I need a few minutes of quiet time in front of the computer to complete the kitchener stitch and it'll be all set. I'm planning to work on the other sock this week. As soon as I finish this pair of socks I'll be working on the sock pal's socks for sockapalooza.

nearly completed sock

I started the French market bag this weekend as well. I've been wanting to knit and felt something for a long time and this project really appealed to me. I'm using cascade 220 in some lovely browns.

cascade 220 for French market bag

So far, so good. I've nearly completed the bottom of the bag. I suppose I should have done a test swatch to see how it felts but I jumped the gun and went straight to the pattern. Have any of my blog readers felted this yarn before? Any helpful hints?

start of French market bag

wool wine

2005-01-14T06:23:00.001-05:00

Let me just tell you folks how much I am loving this Regia sock yarn. It is easy on the fingers, is very soft, is very prettily striped, and hasn't given me any problems at all. I'm about an inch away from starting the heel and am looking forward to working on them over the three day weekend. Yippee! I'm looking forward to using this yarn again sometime.

dyed-in-the wool wine

While out shopping a couple of weeks ago I ran across this Dyed-in-the Wool Wine and I could not leave the store without it. It is a 2001 Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand. I'm more of a merlot girl myself but this little sheep just followed me home. I haven't had the opportunity to crack that baby open yet. Have any of my blog readers tried it and are willing to give a wine review?

FO & new socks

2005-01-12T17:12:00.001-05:00

Here is the finished orienteering hat. I think my sweetheart likes it a lot. I finished the cable band on a holiday roadtrip and topped it off the other day with a bit more orange.

orienteering hat

orienteering hat being modeled

I also started a new pair of socks for my other half. The last pair of socks I worked on were to get me ready to make a nice pair for him. I wanted to get used to using toothpicks (which I've done) and I also wanted to practice kitchnering so that it would be a lovely item. I'm excited about this next pair and hardly intimidated at all! I'm using Regia strato color, farbe 5745, partie 48134. He picked out the yarn himself and I think he did a great job. These are really nice colors.

current socks

feminism & knitting

2005-01-11T07:19:00.000-05:00

Here is an interesting article from The Guardian about Debbie Stoller and the popularization of knitting. They've also included several knitting patterns at the end of the article. According to the article "the secret to gender parity doesn't lie in shunting women from one arena of toil to another, then back again; it lies in everybody being able to range freely between one probably partly boring pursuit and another, according to his or her ambition, without certain activities being irrationally denigrated for their traditionally female associations. This point needs to be made, trenchantly and repeatedly, and knitting is as good a way in as any."

techno hair scarf

Whipped up a novelty scarf last night for a friend's birthday. Its tough to get a good picture of the stuff but its made with Gedifra Tecno Hair. Tonight I'll get started on a new project. Haven't yet decided what it will be.

situation

2005-01-10T09:07:00.000-05:00

The good news is that I'm at the point of kitchnering the toe on the second wildfoote sock. The bad news is what I discovered when I turned the cuff down.

nearly complete

Notice that string just sort of hanging out in space? What the heck is that I thought as I was looking over the sock. For the life of me I couldn't figure out where that piece of yarn was coming from.

situation

I gave up trying to figure it out late last night. While trying to fall asleep listening to HPGoF I sat bolt upright in bed with the realization that I had made that mistake while reallocating my stitches on the needles. I remembered that I wanted to spread those stitches out a bit more since I had so few on one needle and too many on another. Without realizing it I must have slipped those stitches without knitting them. What a bummer!

Its simply impossible to go back at this point. The sock is virtually done and I've no desire to rip it all out and start over again. Its a good thing that I decided to make these socks for myself and that I've called them the practice socks since the beginning. But its a major hit to my perfectionist self!

cashmere

2005-01-09T10:57:00.000-05:00

The second wildfoote sock is nearing the home stretch! This is an interesting article about cashmere.

weekend

2005-01-08T08:37:00.000-05:00

The weekend is wonderful. I'm so exhausted from working this past week after having been off for two. Finally, I can have some uninterrupted knitting time where people aren't actually expecting me to work. I'm off to the LYS this morning to pick up those circulars that I need to finish the orienteering hat and to hang out with other knitting folks for the weekly wool gathering. Haven't seen them for two weeks due to the holiday season.

The second wildfoote sock is about an inch and a half away from starting the heel. Its possible I might be able to finish this project up this weekend. If I manage it I'm going to work on the orienteering hat that I started while roadtriping during the holidays. When I mentioned this to my sweetheart last night he said "yeah, what about that project" as he rolled his eyes as if to say "are you ever going to finish anything". Sometimes its tough to make our loved ones understand that the fact that our projects can be started, put aside, completely forgotten, put on hold, abandoned, or heck, even completed, is immaterial. For many of us, myself included, it is the process that we cleave to and enjoy so much. I am planning to get back to that orienteering hat, I am indeed. But who knows what will happen between now and the day that I pick up the needles. That day may be tomorrow or perhaps a year from now. Regardless, I love knitting no matter how many projects I have going.

recovery

In other non knit news my little kitty, Piglet, was spayed this week. Poor thing hid under the bed for three days!

FO with kitchner

2005-01-07T06:02:00.001-05:00

Yippee! Sock one is complete. It was a bit tough coming down the home stretch on this one. I'm so, so glad that I ripped out, added more rows, then reknit the toe shaping. Now I've got a sock that will fit me.

completed sock

The groovy part is the toe finishing. Dig that groovy kitchner stitch man! I've never done kitchner before and was, frankly, quite intimidated by it. But thanks to Bagatell I was able to follow the wonderful directions on her page and figure it all out.

kitchner stitch

I think this sock intrigued me, well, sucked me in is probably more like it. I've already worked nearly four inches on the next sock. Yippee! I don't even notice how teeny, tiny the needles are any more. I'm not afraid that I'm going to snap one of those little bamboo babies in half. I simply get into the rhythm of the stitches and go to town. Amazing. I even signed up for the beginners Socapalooza. Ok all you sock knitters out there. Is this how it all starts? Will I be giving away nothing but socks next Christmas? Hey, can someone tell me the correct way to spell kitchner? kitchener?

wip & sex

2005-01-06T05:43:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I had to rip out all the toe shaping from the wildfoote sock. I started the decreases in haste because of my fear that I would run out of yarn so that the sock turned out far too short for my foot. I hated the thought of ripping out and having to pick up such teeny tiny stitches but I took a big breath and plunged right in. Surprisingly everything turned out ok. It actually felt quite good to do it. Last night I reknit those stitches and finished off the sock using, for the first time ever, the kitchener stitch. More details on that, along with a picture, later.

knitting mags

Picked up a couple of knitting magazines to gloss over the blues. Both of them have simple, beginner like patterns in them. There is an interesting sweater that I like in Easy Knitting on page 49, #18 that includes interesting texture with basket weave. knit.1 had some nice looking flowers I thought I might try. Although I think I've seen nearly the same pattern on knitty. I was actually a little shocked at this magazine. I have never seen such blatant use of sex to sell knitting to teenagers. Based on the simplicity of the patterns and fun, youthful appearance of the models, it is obvious who the audience is. The words "LUST" and "SEXY" are clear as you please on the cover. But most shocking of all is the position of the cover models into the shape of a specific female body part. Hum. What can I say? I needed a little pick me up yesterday and I succumbed to knitting temptation.

on the needles

2005-01-05T06:12:00.001-05:00

Still working on the wildfoote sock. I'm looking forward to its completion.

wildfoote sock still continued

baby hats

2005-01-05T06:12:00.000-05:00

Last year I spent a lot of knitting time unchallenged with about 100 scarves. About two or three years ago I'd spent my time knitting baby hats. I made up a very simple hat pattern and used extremely cheap acrylic yarn so that the parents wouldn't be afraid to lose it or throw it into the washer. I created many color combination which was probably the only exciting thing about these little projects. It was neat pairing colors in a block pattern and using colors not usually associated with newborns. Team colors were always a winner with fathers that are sports fans. I finished off the top with a crocheted stalk in the contrasting color.

nipper models baby hat

I've given away countless hats in the last couple of years not only at baby showers and the like but to friends who had baby showers to go to. People always oo and ah over them. A couple of weeks ago I decided to count up how many hats I had left. I counted 44 hats! I couldn't believe it. I'd made many, many more than what was in the basket and yet I still had 44 hats! Amazing. I'm sure there is no way of knowing exactly how many hats I made all together.

The good news about that knitting adventure is that I'm all set with baby gifts for probably the next, oh I don't know, I'd say ten years or so.

projects

2005-01-04T09:27:00.000-05:00

The Wildfoote sock is coming along nicely. I'm about half way done with the foot. I always get nervous that I will run out of yarn when I'm near the end of a project. Its nearly impossible for me to gauge how much yarn I am using when knitting something up and I really can't tell how much yarn there is just from squeezing it. I'm back to work today so will have to limit my knitting to breaks and lunches this week. What a bummer. Why can't I just stay home and knit all day? I've got so many projects that I want to complete and a stash that is growing out of its baskets.

WIPs

wildfoote socks
sweetheart's orienteering hat
lime handbag to felt
homespun blanket

Future Projects

Regia socks for sweetheart
French Market Bag
couple pair of woolease socks
giant spider
some sort of felted bag
HP scarf
halfmits with camel hair yarn (thanks Judy!)

So you see nice people, there really seems to be a lot more knitting than work that needs to get done!

FO

2005-01-03T14:35:00.000-05:00

Here is the completed and blocked brown and rust cable scarf. I finished this very quickly but it seemed to take forever to block!

completed brown & rust cable scarf

on the needles

2005-01-03T09:05:00.000-05:00

It got a lot easier to work this sock after the cast on and first few rounds. I found a rhythm and have managed to get several inches knit. I enjoy how this yarn pulls from the skein, not too much and not too little. It was hard to believe at first that this entire skein of yarn was for only one sock. Now, however, after having worked several rows I see how this is true. I also love the colors of this yarn! The pebbly effect is gorgeous.

wildfoote sock continued

This practice sock is going very well. The toothpicks seem to be doing their job and I'm pretty much knitting as I normally would. I'm bound and determined learn the kitchner stitch on this sock but am hoping that I can find someone who can show me how it is done when the time comes.

I'm off to the LYS later today to pick up those number 4 circulars that I need to finish the orienteering hat. When I started back knitting last year (or was it two years ago now?) I focused on one project at a time and this seemed to work out pretty well. Now I feel like I've got a lot of projects going at one time and I'm feeling a bit over whelmed. Fun, relaxation, and comfort knitting, these are what I'm going for today!