Monday, March 26, 2007

MY KNITTING DREAMS.....

As the deadline for the completion of Michael's sweater rapidly approaches I find I am preoccupied with thoughts of other knitting projects for which I've been procurring the necessary yarns.
So much for my Knit From The Stash Resolution made in the New Year!

But, wait!
My good intentions to somewhat reduce my stash will be realized through the CROCHETING of the Smooth Waves Afghan, found in the 200 Ripple Stitch Pattern Book! I am not biased against crochet by no means! What inspired me was the beautiful Ripple made by Yarnstorm, so take a looki-lu at her blog, why don'tcha?


The Three Amigas have been enchanted by Entrelac Knitting for some time now, so we established our own Unofficial KAL to satisfy our desire to finally share this knitting experience.

The rules are only that you select two balls of Noro Kuryeon yarn and you are free to knit whatever type of purse/tote your little "ol knitting heart desires, using only the 2 balls! I used the pattern in The Encyclopedia of Knitting just as a guide. I will post pictures at later date of my progress. Not so bad once you get passed the base triangles!
More books I just couldn't do without! Great patterns in both and well worth the scooties!


I am waiting for Sarah Dallas's Knitting to come in at B&N because their is a terrific hot water bottle pattern featured in it. Again, I must credit Yarnstorm for providing the inspiration!

That's it for today.

I've got a sweater to knit!

Have a fabulous knitting week!

Monday, March 19, 2007

Knitting Deadlines



I have been feeling very stressed lately, as in Must finish Mike's sweater vs. Finish knitting the 4 baby gifts in various stages of progress. Mike's birthday is end of month, while the babies were born November, January and February. There is a 5Th baby due early fall, I believe, but I must check that due date.

As much as I love Mike, KNITTING FOR BABIES IS MY FAVORITE THING BECAUSE:
1. usually small, quick, cute, and portable.
2. designs are usually uncomplicated, at least the ones I choose to knit.
3. projects are easily put down and picked up again.
4. yarns range from inexpensive to obscenely pricey ( cashmere on babies just becomes a luxurious spit up garb for an sleep deprived mom to handwash-I don't think there's anyone I'd want to put through THAT!)
5. as seen previously on my Fairy Booties, embellishment can really enliven plain vanilla knitting, and the possibilities are endless!
6. babies can really wear color!
7. people go ga-ga over handknit baby items and that's worth it to me!

I bet , Gentle Knitter, you thought Ballband Dishcloths was my favorite thing to knit? Nope! It's Number 2.

Back to Mike's Miracle Sweater, so named because it will be a miracle if I ever get it done!
The top photo is the back of Mike's sweater and if it looks big to you, well, it is! It measures 25 inches wide by 31 inches long. Mike is built very similar to Hoss Cartwright ( YEE-HAW all you guys old enough to remember Bonanza!) I purchased this yarn YEARS ago from WEBS
and it sat waiting...waiting...waiting... till I tried to knit in stockinette without the benefit of swatching first. SWATCHING? WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN SWATCHING! You guess it! I ended up completely frogging it because it wrapped around him like a bathrobe!!! Plus, knitting in stockinette was a real snooze!
So, again the yarn rested. And while it did I searched and searched for a suitable stitch pattern. Finally, I found a version of the Imitation Fisherman stitch. Probably found in on of the Barbara books, with several aliases , but here it is simplified and committed to my ever dwindling memory:

Row #1 K3, P1
Row #2 K2, P1, Knit3, etc.

The pattern gives it a nice corrugated look plus it stretches and recedes to accommodate weight loss or gain!

So anyway, I got carried away with knitting the first side as I didn't remember to start decreasing for the v-neck shaping on the side opposite of the armhole beginning.
Now, I have to frog back to the 19 inch mark or slightly above to begin v-neck decreasing. SHEEEEEEESH! Thank God for Ann Budd and her Pattern Guides! I'm following her guidelines for the drop shoulder cardigan. I measured a well fitting cardi in order to get my working measurements in the beginning, so I think I am on the right track. It just seems endless!

This family baby sweater is being knit for a girl with Checkeaton yarn, which is very nice to knit with. I particularly like the little flecks of contrast color that appear in the stitches. I am nearing the halfway mark, and as you can see, it is knit from sleeve to sleeve.

What is in the water where I work?

I have 3 co-workers who have recently given birth- 2 boys and a girl. One on the way.

I've begun knitting a pair of little Mary Jane's with Schachenmayr yarn, and am using #3 DPs but doing straight knitting garter stitch. There are three different balls of this brand in the photo. I will do the Cupcake Hat finally, sizing it to fit an infant by knitting with #4 DPs. The darker pink variegated will be the cupcake ribbed bottom and the pink flecked yarn will be the cake top. Yarn purchased at Knitwitz and Sew Much More -one of my Knitorious Places to shop yarn!

One of the boys will get a hat, booties and sweater with the camo, because they are a farming/hunting family. Maybe the Mason-Dixon baby kimono? Hmmmm..do I have ribbon that'll go nicely with camo? Hoping they will enjoy that. The other boy will no doubt be gifted with a yellow and blue sweater which lies asleep in the UFO section of my Yarn Room, but is 75% completed. It's good to have a plan!

I've been intrigued by appliqued needlework and embroidery of late, having been inspired by many of the blogs I've been fortunate to discover.
After reading the tutorial over at Shim and Sons I tried my hand at some applique onies using baby flannel.

Not being happy with the thickness of the stitches on the middle one, I'll rip that out and try again using a lazy daisy chain or running stitch around the bunny.
I find this immensely gratifying.
The possibilities are endless with these baby clothes. I picked up several onesies at the $ store, and bought several baby themed flannels in quarter yard amounts, so it's not expensive to experiment. I do intend to sew any button embellishments onto the onesies very securely, as one would do with a sweater.



This is the Wedding Ring Dishcloth, pattern purchased from Harvest Moon Designs
Very quick, easy, fun to knit! I'n done with the cloths for now until I get my knitting priorities completed! Hold me to this, Ya hear?

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

Imagine you are hosting a knitting get-together in your home in which you can invite 6 famous people from the world-wide Knitting Community.
Haven't you ever wondered who you would invite?

I was thinking about this the other day while browsing through the massive knitting talent represented in all the knitting books that grace my bookcase shelves. Just who would I want to invite to my home for an evening of knitting and knoshing? I really gave this some thought...

Which lead to this idea....

The game is called "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner"?

Three Bloggers are tagged and must post on their blog these directions and list the names of 6 of their favorite renowned Knitters whom they would invite to dinner and their reasons why.
Then the Bloggers play it forward by INVITING 3 new Bloggers play the game and name their Fantastic 6 for dinner. And so on.

I think it will be fascinating to read who others would want to sit down, knit and dine with for an evening!

Consider it a Fantasy Knitting with your favorite Knitting Icons! Not unlike Fantasy Football, but without all the grime, grunts, and bodily injuries. (IF you disregard the time Chelsea, my cat, knocked over a glass of wine on my ivory baby blanket, occasions when I had to frog mohair, and, oh yes, the time I stabbed myself in the palm of my hand with my Addi DP's!)

Anyway, after much consideration I decided that the 6 I would invite to my Fantasy Knitting Knosh would include:

1. Barbara G. Walker, because of her extensive contributions to the world of knitting through her Collection of Knitting Treasury books. I consider her to be extremely gifted, not only knitting, but in the field of cultural anthropology, where she has published several books exploring feminist influence in ancient culture. Although we do not share the same beliefs in several areas, I think having her among my dinner guests would certainly make for lively discussion full of interesting ideas, and an entertaining evening! I'd ask her "which Treasury book is your favorite?" and " do you have a favorite stitch pattern"?

2. Nicky Epstein because I own 9 of her ten published books! I think I would knit and felt some flowers to use as table favors in her honor! I love knitting the doll clothing designs in her Knitting for Barbie books . I think she is "the Edge"!

3.Kay Gardiner/Ann Shayne Pick your word. Ballband. Kimono. Bib. LogCabin. Their blog is my daily read, and I think these two gals are a hoot, besides being incredibily creative! Sorry, I just couldn't separate 'em! 'Nough said!

4. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee gives great knitting advice and consolation in "Knitting Rules", not to mention her funny blog profiles her everyday reality. When I returned home from Stitches East 2006 I realized that the nice lady who briefly chatted with me from across a vendor aisle was actually her. I am reading "At Knit's End" right now, and it is chock full of enlightenment. She is the Dalai Lama of knitting!

5. Ann Budd because she helps make knitting easier by designing generic patterns for our basic must-have-knitting projects. Her two books are my blueprints for all of my knittingwear, accurate and simple to follow.

6. Elizabeth Zimmermann. If only but for one day, what a treat it would be to have her at my table, knitting and sharing her common sense approach to knitting!

Well, there you have it, my Fantastic 6!

Now I am sending an invitation to play GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER? to

1.Yarnstorm

2.Smariek knits

3.Hakucho



I don't know how this is all going to be received, but I'm hoping that it becomes a fun way for Knitters to share their ideas with each other!


BIG NEWS!
I heard from my Secret Pal 10 Buddy today! She sent me a cute e-card.
Can't wait to find out who I am to send to! Waiting to start the fun!
Till next time!

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

FRIENDS OF KNITTING

As important as my knitting has become to me, I realize that the friends I have found through my knitting adventures are my real treasures. I've mentioned the Three Amigas before, so here they are again.....




Nan is modeling her lovely knitted and beaded scarf. She tends to favor pinks and mauves, with a smattering of lavender and pastel teals thrown in for a good measure, and these colors suit her well.
The Amigas, Jeanie and Nan, recently feted me with a delicious birthday lunch at one of my favorite places to eat , Granny McCarthy's Tea Room .
Jeanie is wearing one of the many beautiful sweaters she's knitted. She is the Sweater Queen!

Friends, tea, and knitting...does it get any better than this?


Yes, Gentle Knitter, I actually do manage to complete a knitting project or two despite my habit of starting something new before finishing the old.

Remember the 5 pregnancies I must knit baby gifts for?
Well, here is one completed!

I had a flash of creativity, instead of my typical hot flash, and made Fairy Booties. At least that's what I'm calling them! The angora bootie pattern from Last minute Knitted gifts was a snap to knit, but maybe you'll agree that the unadorned project below looks like plain vanilla knitting.
Only 33 yds/one tiny ball of Belangor. The hardest part was deciding how to embellish. It seems lately I am hell bent on sticking things on my knitting. So, I will be making more of these, but with different personalities. Yes, my inanimate objects d' knitting do have personalities!It comes from the yarn "speaking" to me.

Whatever.....!

Here is my Log Cabin Dishcloth made out of SCRAPS (gotta love it when you can create something neat out of leftovers!) of Sugar and Cream cotton. I tried to keep the cools and the warm colors on their opposite sides. I'm happy with how it turned out.







I had been wanting to knit the Papilloncloth created Marie, who was so darn helpful to me as I struggled on row 23. Not her fault, but my massive knitting block just kept me completely messing up that row. I emailed her and she actually talked me through it! She was right to caution "mind your YO's, as I must have been dropping one somewhere along that row when I attempted to do row 24. She does a terrific job turning Barbara G. Walker stitch patterns into beautiful cloths, scarves and hats. I check in on her blog daily just to see if she's got anything new posted for us! What's next Marie?

Maybe she'll post it in her Readers Gallery?

My Pal Maggie never forgets me! She surprised me with a beautiful crocheted cloth for my bath, a great cook book from Gooseberry Patch, which I collect (how does she KNOW these things?), vanilla soap, a book marker that reminds me of Kringle and a really FUNNY card that had everything to do with chocolate!

Thanks, Pal O' Mine!