2008 is Over!

Today is the last day of 2008. Christmas has come and gone; the tree is down. This Christmas was different than years past, not necessarily in a bad way, just different. We had a great time with all of the family we saw; we talked to others and missed the ones we didn't get to talk to. But, isn't that the way the holidays always are? Families are busy, and lives are scattered all over the country.

When we think about the distance between us and our loved ones, we have to admit that we are so blessed in this time in history to have our world so accessible because of technology. Because of cell phones with nationwide service, text messaging, computers, and email we can easily stay in touch with the people we love whether they are across town or across the country or the world. As a mom and grandmom, I love it! I can't wait to see what the next step is. http://twit.tv/ is a great place to get the latest information.

So while technology is great for staying in touch, when it comes to knitting, I still prefer hand knitting, as opposed to machine knitting, to relax. This year I didn't do all of the hectic, fast paced knitting for Christmas as in years past. I have to say that I missed it somewhat. But I did manage to knit a few things. For one, I finished my monkey socks!

These are some of the easiest socks I've knitted, and I love the pattern. I'm sure I will make a second pair.

I also finished a couple of hats. To go with the blue Gretel I made a cowl called the Ridged Lace Cowl by Elinor Brown. It can be found on her website at http://exercisebeforeknitting.com/ Here is my grandson modeling his mom's Christmas present for me! The other hats that I knit were a little easier on my hands but just as fun to knit. They included the Wooly Wormhead Meret (Mystery Beret) (http://www.woollywormhead.com/) and the One Day Beret by Kirsten Kapur. I talked about this one, I think on my last post, but since then I have knit at least 3 of these and have given away all but one. The pattern can be found at Kirsten's website, ThroughtheLoops.

http://throughtheloops.typepad.com/through_the_loops/2008/01/beret-recipe.html

Tomorrow is a new day, a new month, and a new year. We don't know what 2009 will bring to our nation or even our individual families, but I'm pretty sure my days will include casting on and knitting. So, I look forward to it!

Until next time...

b

Fall Colors are Beautiful!

Fall colors are beautiful this year, at least here in my little town. We've had bright reds, oranges, and yellows as pretty as any we've seen. Most of the leaves are on the ground now, though, and with the rain that is supposed to move in today, the rest will surely fall. Winter is just around the corner.

So the socks and hat that I've been knitting seem to be just the right things. Since my last post, I've finished a pair of socks as part of a KAL for the month of October. The pattern was written by Kirsten, whose blog can be found at http://www.throughtheloops.typepad.com/. The pattern had several versions, but I chose the simplest. Details are on my last post as well as on my Ravelry page. Here is a picture of my finished pair.
The Jitterbug yarn that I used felt really nice to knit, and I wish I could have gotten better color in my picture. The brown is a cocoa brown with nice blues and reds sprinkled throughout. The raised pattern makes the tops and the cuffs of the socks thick, so they are very warm.

I still have not finished my second Monkey sock, but hopefully I'll get it done before the weather really turns cold.

Hats have been the other thing I've done lately. I've finished two, and I like them both.
This one is called the "One Day Beret" and a pattern also by Kirsten from Through The Loops. It is knit in the round from the center out and can be done on any yarn with any size needles. I used Cotton Fleece for this one. (Looks kind of like a Santa hat in this picture!) It did take me a little more than one day, however, but just a little. It was a fun knit and made me start thinking about hats. There are a lot of really cute patterns out there now for berets and other types of hats, as well.

The second hat I knit was from a pattern I purchased from Ysolda S. Teague, whose web site can be found at http://ysolda.com/store/. The name of pattern is "Gretel". It is a beret that is knit from the brim in, starting with a tubular cast on, which I learned for this project, and continuing with cables that go from the edge of the ribbing all the way to the center. Very fun and so cute! Here's the finished hat. Oh, yeah, did I say I used STASH yarn for both of these hats?! YEAH!

In between these hats I did manage to knit a baby kimona jacket, which I forgot to photograph. It was a shower gift for a co-worker. It turned out cute, so if I can get it back long enough, I'll put a picture on my Ravelry.

Until next time...

b

Fall is in the Air!

Fall is in the air! Summer is struggling to keep a stronghold, but soon all of the leaves will be gone, and more days will be cooler than warmer. Although coffee is my number one hot beverage for mornings no matter what the season, I like tea to drink on a cozy fall afternoon; not your usual black or green teas, but the new white tea with fruity notes. I love sitting in my chair with the needles in my hand, a cup of my favorite tea on my table beside me, and "The Heart" station on XM radio playing in the background. Makes me think of the scene in "Driving Miss Daisy" where Miss Daisy was sitting in her chair at night, knitting, and listening to opera. That scene did a lot to make me want to knit. It was such a serene scene, portraying, at least outwardly, a calm and peaceful person, despite the current events surrounding her world at the time. I have to assume that the knitting was part of the reason Miss Daisy was able to cope with all of the changes that were being forced upon her world, both personal and in the country. With all of the upheavel in the country and the world right now, that picture is one I am trying to replicate at home as often as I can.

I've done my part, the knitting that is. Society seems to be taking their part seriously, so I am, too! Since my last post I've finished my Trekking XXL socks and cast on and finished one Monkey sock with the Cherry Tree Hill yarn I purchased in Florida. I enjoyed both of these yarns alot. Of course, I'm not yet finished with the Monkeys. There will be a second sock. But first I am participating in a KAL (knit along) that was put together on Ravelry for fans of Kirsten Kapur, whose website is known as "Through The Loops" and is found at:

http://throughtheloops.typepad.com/.

Kirsten designed the sock pattern and is publishing it to the group in clues which are pieces of the sock. So far we have the clues for the cuff and the leg. Pictures are available in the "spoiler" section of "Fans of Through the Loops" on Ravelry. There are some beautiful socks that are already posted. My sock for this KAL is being knitted with Jitterbug, from my stash! I've put a picture on my Projects page, but I tried to highlight the yarn, and not give away too much about the pattern. The Jitterbug yarn is a little thicker than other sock yarns I have used, so I'm using a 3.0mm needle. The yarn is so soft, and I like the way it knits up. I am knitting both socks along, meaning, I knit the clue for the first sock, put that sock on stitch holders and knit the second sock to the same point. Since the KAL last all the month of October, I'll be sure to post a picture after the end of the month.

In addition to my socks, I have finished a sweater for my younges grandson, Landon. His birthday is this week, and it will be his present (he's only 2 so he won't care this year!) I used a chunky yarn from Muench called Tessin. It was so soft and knit up super quick! I finished the knitting in one weekend! I think it will be a hit. I have enough yarn left over to do a hat later, but I'm not sure he would wear it, so we'll see.

These are the only things I've actually finished, I think. I've started several others including a hat and another baby sweater. This baby sweater is for a gift for a co-worker. It is the pattern by EZ called Surplice Baby Jacket. A little different from the Baby Surprise Jacket but just as interesting to knit. Both can be previewed on my Ravelry site.

I am trying to do my best to help the economy, while helping my family. What better way to help than to use stash yarn, buy more to replace it, and knit clothes for yourself and your family and friends! Perhaps I should try a little harder....

Until next time...
b

Enjoying Friendship and New Sock Yarn

Last week I was vacationing in Matlacha, Florida with my friend, Deanna. It was for this purpose that I was knitting my Ogee Lace Skirt. The skirt was finished the night before we left to drive the 16 hours down to Matlacha. I did wear it the first day that we went to the beach, but it was then that I realized that I was completely right in thinking this was NOT the right yarn for this skirt. I used what I had in my stash; something I for which I had no project idea. It just wasn't the right choice. I love the pattern and the knitting wasn't difficult. It actually knit up pretty fast. I'm thinking I'll get some Cotton Classic and reknit the pattern for next summer. We'll see...

Matlacha is a small community close to Fort Myers on the west coast of the Florida peninsula . It is about 40 minutes from the beaches on Sanibel & Captiva Islands, and the driving route each day included going over two bridges. Since we both were up early every day, we saw some beautiful sunrises just about the time we got to the second bridge. As De said many times through out the week, watching the earth wake up over the water was always beautiful! These clouds promised rain by the time we got to Captiva on Sanibel Island, and so two of the four days we drove over, we saw rainbows over the palm trees when we stopped to get our coffee at the local Sanibel Bean.

After our coffee stop, we drove over to the beach. Our favorite last week was Blind Pass where the sea shells were plentiful and the waves were constant.

I had never been to a beach before that had so many shells. The very first one I picked up was a nice sized Sea urchin. After that most of the shells were of the Calico Scallop type (they look like the Shell Oil sign), but among those there were several varieties of color. We found a few of the Lightning Whelk, Sailor's Ear, and many Auger Shells. When we left Blind Pass and drove down to Sanibel Lighthouse beach, we found Fig Shells and more Sea Urchins. But the water wasn't as clean on the Lighthouse beach so we didn't stay long.

Before leaving home to head for Florida, I did what every avid knitter does - I went on line and looked for knit shops in the area. I didn't find any that were reasonably close to where we were staying (I didn't expand the search much since I wasn't driving). However, there was one store that we passed the first day that showed promise. It was called the "Three Crafty Ladies". Upon investigation we learned that they no longer carried knitting yarn, but they were happy to point us to the "Jeez Leweez" Needlework Shop. The shop was quaint with a modest supply of yarn in the front and a good supply of needlepoint supplies in the back. To my delight, the shop was having a sock yarn sale. Ok, so I had taken 3 different sock yarns with me, but couldn't decide what pattern to use with any of them. I've been knitting lace socks, but didn't want to have to pay close attention to a pattern while on vacation so the yarns I took were out. "Jeez Leweeze" had some self patterning Trekking so I grabbed up a skein of it (not really grabbed. It took me 30 minutes to pick out one skein - not too bad!) I cast on some simple ribbed top socks that night, which was two nights before I had to leave for home. I made some progress, however, and will post the details on Ravelry.

But the shop also had some beautiful colorways of Cherry Tree Hill, so I had to go back a second day. I got a skein of Green Mt. Madness colorway. I don't know yet what I will make with this beautiful yarn. Maybe a shawl, hmmm..... Christmas is coming on fast, so we'll see...

What I haven't said yet is that this trip was a birthday present from my husband, made possible also by my dear friend, Deanna, who invited me to go with her to her vacation home in Matlacha. The trip was wonderful, but the best part, by far, was spending time with De. We've known each other for several years, but this trip made us realize how much alike we are. It was a phenomenal gift of love and friendship, seasoned with lots of natural beauty, discoveries of similarities, and laughter that just kept coming! WoW! What a birthday!

Until next time ...

b

All Things New

Cooler temperatures are finally here! What a difference 10 degrees can make. Take away the humidity and it is hard to believe this is summer in the South.

My lack of love for the heat has kept me indoors on my days off. Besides the EZ's Baby Surprise Jackets (and I still have 2 more to make), I've mostly been knitting lace. I shared the Ann Budd Lacy Socks in the last post. They gave me a thirst to knit more lacy socks. There are sooooo many patterns, both free and for sale. My second pair of lace socks were actually made from a pattern that I found at Knitty Summer, 2007 - "Breeze. "


I have been wanting to knit "Breeze" for some time so I was excited to get started. They turned out to be a quick knit, and the lace pattern is fairly easy. For this pair, I decided to revert back to the dreaded dpns and was pleasantly surprised that I completely enjoyed the process. Not at all like I remembered my earlier attempts with dpns and socks. I used Knit Picks Harmony dpns, which turned out to be just smooth enough for the yarn to slide easily and, also, pretty. I did the k1p1 cuff, but I think the next pair I make will have the rolled cuff. These are so comfortable, so I know there will be a second pair. They have already been dubbed as my "car" socks for my trip to Florida next week. Can't wait!

Now that I am ready for another pair of lace socks, pattern searches were in order. While surfing for my newest project, I also discovered two new resources (at least to me), two on-line magazines: Knotions Magazine http://www.knotions.com/ and Twist Collective http://www.twistcollective.com/.

Knotions Magazine has articles, patterns, a blog, a technique section where, right now they have an article about short rows for bust shaping in sweaters and how to add them and how to do an increase by reaising the bar (M1). The patterns, at least all of the ones I viewed, are free. They included women's garments, hats, socks, baby items, and men's wear.

Twist Collective has most of the same features as Knotions, but most of their patterns are for sale. Some of the names of the designers using this outlet include Cookie A, Pam Allen, Yarnissima, Stephanie van der Linden, and there was even a free sock pattern from Cat Bordhi! The articles included one by Cat Bordhi explaining the heel construction on her "Houdini Socks" and an article about how to choose a substitute yarn for a pattern with cables, considering the fibers, spin, and plies of the yarn.

My current project, however, did not come from either of these sources nor is it socks. I, as I said briefly above, am headed to Florida next weekend. Since the summer clothes season in the stores ended about the time the weather turned warm enough to actually wear summer clothes, and I am lacking a cover-up for my bathing suit, and since none are to be found in the stores, I decided to try to make one and hope it doesn't go the way of the laptop cover I tried. The pattern I am using is the "Ogee Lace Skirt" from Interweave Knits, Summer 2007. I started it yesterday and am about 1/3rd of the way into it. The pattern is fairly easy with the ability to mostly "knit what you see" on alternate rows. This may change, as I have only knit 31 rows of the 56 in the pattern. (Yes, I am 1/3rd of the way - there is a repeat of rows 26 - 56). Most lace patterns that I have knit (with the exception of socks) have been purled on the alternate rows. All in all, this is a relaxing pattern to knit. Now, if it will just fit! Like all lace, the end product will have to be blocked to show off the pattern.


Hopefully, I'll have finished pictures before I leave.

(Just a little aside here - have you noticed that all of my lace projects tend to be "fairly easy"? There is a reason for this. I was listening to Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's "At Knit's End" and heard her say something along the lines of "If a pattern says it is 'challenging or 'heirloom' RUN, don't walk, the other way. Ok, so I might have embellished a little what she said, but I think I got the meaning. I feel enabled. Ok, this works for me, anyway!)

till next time...

b

STILL Trying to Stay Cool!

Yes, that is really snow! I'm dreaming of cooler times. Can you believe that was only 5 short months ago?
I can't believe that summer is almost gone. What really marks the end of summer, anyway? I've always believed that it ended with the beginning of the new school year. The heat wave that is gripping most of the country seems to be ignoring that theory. Other than getting out to go to work, I've been staying home in the cool air-conditioning (like most people, I think.)

I have been doing quite a bit of knitting since my last post. The Ann Budd Lacy Socks are finished. Mary and I were knitting these together and discovered that she is a loose knitter, while I am a tight knitter. Hers fit me, and mine fit her so we will be exchanging! What fun! I'm ready to start another pair but need to go through my patterns to choose.


Since the first one I made, I have thought that EZ's Baby Surprise Jacket is adorable. I know several people who are expecting little bundles of joy soon, so I have been knitting these little jackets for gifts. Since I last posted, I have finished two. Well, ok, I had already finished the knitting on one, but I have since added the buttons and knitted a hat to go with it. The second one is also finished. I changed it up just a little and knit in some stockinette rows since the yarn has been discontinued, and I couldn't get a second color to use for stripes. I really do like the variation on the stitching. I think on the next one I might try some other stitches as well. Since all the babies that are ready to come on the scene are girls, this one had to have some pink added to it. I thought the little buttons all the way around on the stockinette ridge were a cute touch.

(Ok, I can't seem to get this picture to turn correctly, so just turn your heads a little - call it exercise!)

Haven't made much progress on my Print O' Waves Shawl, so nothing to reort there. I have to have complete silence in order to follow the pattern. Mostly, I think I'm a little bored with it because I keep starting other projects instead of picking this one up. Finished one more section this weekend so I guess there is some progress. I did finish a couple of washcloths, one from the Mason-Dixon Book and one from the Cloth of the Week site. No pictures.

I'm also working on a cover for my laptop. Just made the pattern up. It's going to be just a tube with a flap. When I finish, I'll post a picture.


Also since my last blog entry, I started learning to spin. So far all I've done is use some pencil roving with a small drop spindle. Of course with the pencil roving, I didn't have to draft the wool at all. (Is that cheating?!) I've watched some videos on YouTube that were very helpful. Several were by theartofMegan. Her blog also has the videos, I think. http://www.theartofmegan.com/ She uses a technique that she calls "spin and park". It was just enough help to give me some encouragement. I think it would be great to take some spinning classes, so we'll see. I did take one picture of my newly spun yarn, still on the spindle.

(The roving was also already dyed. Maybe I should learn how to dye also. Maybe not. )



Well, that's all for now. Here's to staying cool for the rest of the summer (because it IS still summer!)
Until next time....

b

Time for Cooling Feet and Completing Feats

As a child, summer in the South always meant being outside with friends and running with bare feet in the cool (and sometimes not so cool!) grass. As adults we don't get many opportunities to just kick off the shoes and wiggle our toes in nature's cool outside carpet. Ah, but recently, when I went with my friend Deanna to Dixon Gallery, an art gallery and gardens in Memphis, we did just that ! Because we started out early enough in the morning that the Southern humidity had not yet settled in, we decided to walk through the gardens before going inside to see the exhibits. The grounds are beautiful with lots of foot paths under hugh shade trees, and resting places with fountains. Now that I think back on that morning, the only thing missing was a labyrinth. It would have been one of those perfect mornings. It was definitely a peaceful oasis in the middle of the city, and after a while we couldn't resist freeing our hot feet from our sandals and digging our toes into the cool thick grass. Almost as relaxing as sharing a cup of coffee and knitting with friends!

I was able to get a few nice photos of flowers at Dixon. This one was especially pretty and lacy, and altough it fits right in with my current knitting trend, I did forget to write down it's name.

Since my last post I finished two of the lacy washcloths that I started, and I've been working on and finished the first sock of my pair of Ann Budd lace socks. The pattern for these socks is fairly easy, but it has enough YO's and cables to keep it interesting. I worked the sock on 2.5mm circulars; but I think the next pair, I'll do on 2.75 or 3mm instead. Since this was my first lace sock, I didn't know that the lace would tighten up the stitches quite a bit. I usually CO 60 stitches for my socks (my boring SS socks, that is). So I didn't realize that the 70 stitches would NOT be larger around due to the lace and cable pattern. Since I've never blocked socks like I do my other lace projects, I'm not sure this tightening can be corrected with any thing other than larger needles. Anyone? In addition to my lack of awareness to the tightening tendencies of lace in the round, I got a little impatient to be finished once most of the foot was done (as I always do!) , and I was pretty sure this sock was going to be a little short on my foot. But it isn't! I was so delighted because the length was really a much better fit than any of my other socks. I think it is because I didn't stop in the middle of the Leaf and Cable pattern to start the toe. Anyway, I am ready to CO the second sock. And, I am going to go ahead and use the 2.5mm for this one so the pair will matche. I guess if I have to, I can always give them to someone who has a slimmer ankle and foot than mine.

I wanted to show both the cuff and the top lace pattern here. I know it is not the best picture. Hope to be able to post more on my Ravelry site.

Lastly, I have started another lace shawl, this time using lace weight "Shadow" by Knit Picks. Actually, it is technically a stole, but that seems like such an old fashioned term (LOL!) The first six rows of Eunny Jang's Print O' The Wave Stole are finished. The pattern is free and can be found as a pdf file at www.eunnyjang.com/knit/ . I am hoping to make reasonable progress on it this weekend and possibly finish it by the end of July. I will try to post some pictures soon on Ravelry.

I supposed the silver lining in the cloud of high gas prices, if one is to be found, is that I will be staying home on weekends and doing more knitting. ..maybe.

till next time...

b

Casual Summer Knitting

I love pictures of flowers, especially if they are ones that I took when we were traveling. These were at the base of a lighthouse on the coast close to San Francisco. They make me think back to cooler temperatures and exciting discoveries.

I still haven't found THE next lace shawl that I want to knit. That exciting discovery just hasn't happened yet. BUT, I think it is close. I was looking at my sister's Ravelry site last night and discovered the "Heirloom Stitches" group. (One of the great things about Ravelry is that the groups chosen by your friends are available to you to check out. I mean, there is SO MUCH on Ravelry that it is almost impossible to see it all without some direction. Looking at the groups that interest your friends can open some new directions to you that you had not previously thought about.) Anyway, on the Heirloom Stitches site there is a thread called "The Art of Knitting 1897". Cindy Moore, aka fitterknitter, is in the process of rewriting patterns from this book. She has a link on her Ravelry site to her blog where she has downloadable copies of the patterns, along with many patterns which she created. Her blog can be found at http://fitterknitter.livejournal.com/. If you like lace or think you might like lace, you should check out this site.

Some of the lace projects that I am currently working on to pass the time include lace washcloths from the book, A Knitter's Stash. I've done several before now, but the two I'm working on are the Horseshoe Lace and the Lacy Vine. The yarn is easy to work with and the patterns are just satisfying enough to be interesting yet relaxing.

I've also started my first pair of lace socks. I am doing a KAL with my friend, Mary. We are using a pattern from the summer issue of Piecework magazine. I think they are just called "Ann Budd's knitted lace socks". I've just finished the cuff and gotten the first repeat of the lacy pattern almost done. Having to do two of these socks just might satisfy my need for lace right now. Maybe...

till next time...

b

Trying to Stay Cool!

Summer has settled in here in North Mississippi. The temps are already in the mid to upper 90's, and the humidity is high. As I thought about what I wanted to portray in the opening of this post, all I could think about was that it has to say "cool". So I went back to old pictures that we took several years ago when we went to San Francisco to visit our daughter. This picture was taken on a very chilly day as we drove along the 17 mile drive near Monterey. Makes me want to put on my sweater and continue knitting.

I finished my second Baby Surprise Jacket this week, minus the buttons. It was much easier to knit than the first because I had a spread sheet, which was made by Civilgrrl on Ravelry, to follow. Didn't look at the pattern at all; however, I did refer to the DVD several times, just for peace of mind. I'll look for buttons later. Don't know yet who will get this one. I need to do two more before December. Hopefully at least one of these three babies will be a girl. If not, I guess I'll be saving this one for a while.

I worked on my toe-up socks again last night. Can't seem to get the short-row heel right. I still had that nasty hole on one side when I complete the heel, so today I'll be frogging back a few rows to see if I can figure out how to fix it. Then I hope to start another pair of socks this week. My friend, Mary, and I are going to work together on a lace sock pattern from the new Piecework Magazine. http://www.pieceworkmagazine.com/ Most of my socks have been simple stockinette, so I'm excited about working a lace pattern. It will be a bit of a new challenge.

Speaking of lace, I am looking for another lace shawl pattern to knit. Bought Classic Elite's Silky Alpaca at one of the LYS a couple of weeks ago, and haven't been able to decide what it is to become. Maybe the Shining Bird's Eye Shawl by Shui Kuen Kozinski, found at http://www.elann.com/ShowFreePattern.asp?Id=267024. Any suggestions?

Well, time to go knit.

till next time...

b

The Swallowtail

This week I finished my Swallowtail Shawl. I got it blocked, and it is ready to go for the silent auction benefit.

I would not mind making another one to keep, but I think the next time I will use lighter colored and heavier guage yarn. I would like it to be a little larger than this one, although this one did block out to the finished size on the pattern. As I looked at the points, which are not as pronounced as I would have liked, I wondered if the "Swallowtail Butterfly" has points as pronounced as some of it's namesake shawls. Google produced this site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papilionidae with a beautiful picture of the Swallowtail butterfly.

This project was so intense that I had difficulty getting started on something new. It took a couple of days, but I managed. I started my first pair of toe-up socks, using the lessons learned from Lucy Neatby's class. (I'm thankful I bought the DVD's). I'm using the garter stitch short-row toe and short-row heel. I'm not really happy with the way the garter stitch sticks out bigger than the rest of the sock foot, which is stockinette stitch, but that is the nature of garter stitch. Ilm going to try to live with it . We'll see. I've already had to frog the heel, but I'm ready to try again.

Of course, I spent time on line, in addition to Lucy Neatby's DVD's, to check out techniques for the short row toes and heels. There are many sites that explain the how-to's. Here are just a couple:
http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer06/PATTuniversalsock.html , http://misocrafty.squarespace.com/journal/2006/9/21/short-row-heel-tutorial.html , http://www.knitty.com/issuewinter02/FEATtiptoptoes.html

till next time...

b

Math Is the Solution!

This weekend is an exercise in good old perserverence. I am pressing on to finish the Swallowtail Shawl, which is promised to a friend for a silent auction. Time is of the essence. It has to be finished and blocked by the end of next weekend. I think it is totally possible to accomplish. At least, I did think that until I realized that I might be a little short on yarn.

So, I've been watching this skein slowly collapse, but now it seems to be caving in at a much higher rate. I can tell you that I am nervous. All this work could be for naught! If I don't have enough yarn, I'll have to frogg the whole thing or just put it away for another season. UGH!

So I posted on the "Lace Knitters" group on Ravelry, asking for help in determining if I might have enough yarn to proceed with this pattern, or in the alternative, make some modifications to the remainder of the pattern for my shawl. I also contacted my LYS owner for her suggestions and, of course, to ask if she has more skeins of the TREKKING (XXL) yarn that I am using.

In true Ravelry fashion, I had several suggestions within minutes! Thanks again, Ravelers! I was pointed to http://www.rose-kim.com/rose-kimknits where Jennifer has linked to an Excel worksheet she created to determine the percentage of a shawl that has been knit. She calls her creation a Shawl Progress Calculator. After plugging in the total number of rows in the Swallowtail Shawl, I followed down one column to find the number of rows that I have completed and TA-DA! I'm 77% of the way finished with my shawl.

When I talked to the owner of my LYS, she suggested that I weigh my un-used yarn on a postal scale, which I do have, to see how much yarn I have left. Of the 3.5 oz originally in the skein, I have 1.2 oz remaining. So, 3.5 divided by 1.2 is 2.9. While math and I have never seemed to think through problems the same way, I think I am correct in saying that I have almost 1/3 of my yarn left. AND since I have knitted over 3/4th of my shawl, I should be safe! Yeah! Onward to completion!

till next time...

b

Learning New Tricks

May is almost over, and summer is just around the corner. For some knitters, it is time to store the needles until fall and cooler weather. But I can't; I have to be knitting on something.

Socks are great for summer knitting. They are light, knit up fairly fast, and new lessons can be learned from every pair, if one chooses to move away from the standard heels and toes. With all this in mind, I spent my Mother's Day weekend with my friend Mary, enjoying classes with Lucy Neatby! Now I don't get a chance to take lessons from the masters very often. As a matter of fact, I've Never taken a class with any of the big names of knitting so this was truly a treat!

Saturday's class was on multi-directional knitting. We learned how to attach a garter stitch edging, as you might do with a neck band or i-cord trim. One of the really neat things that Lucy teaches is the use of waste yarn. I mean she uses it a lot! One of the new uses for waste yarn that I learned is in the edge stitches where you would want to come back in later and attach stitches. The technique is to lay a piece of waste yarn on top of your working yarn before you knit the first stitch of the row. If you do this all the way up the side of your piece, it will give you the ability to see those stitches that you want to later pick up to knit in a parallel direction. Such a simple idea that can save time in the long run. I wish I had known to do this when I was adding all those different sides of my Moderne Log Cabin Blanket!

This definitely takes the guess work out of how many and where those picked up stitches should be.

Then we knitted up the neatest group of equilateral triangles. (see bottom picture). These were so cute and so easy to do. Lucy has several patterns where she uses these triangles to make garmets. Her patterns can be found at http://www.tradewindknits.com/

The second day, which was Mother's Day, we focused on socks. Lucy taught the Channel Islands Cast On. I had never tried it, but it makes a very pretty picot-like edge on your sock. This CO is found in Lucy's book Cool Socks Warm Feet on page 76. My not so great attempt is on the top of my class sock. Definitely has potential, but I need a lot of practice! Then, I tried the garter stitch heel. OMG! It will be so much easier than the conventional heel, if I can get it where it doesn't have a gillion holes in it! (See the holes!) Again, practice, practice, practice.

Of course, one of the really nice things about taking a class is meeting other knitters. I met several other Ravelers, one who was already in my friends list and a couple whom I have since added. It was so nice to put faces to those web pages. I'm hoping to have some lasting knitting friendships to develop from this weekend.

Finally, if you haven't check out Lucy Neatby, you should. Her DVD's are awesome teaching tools. She actually uses them for her classes. The segments are all closeups of her hands, very clear to see. And she is just an awesome teacher!

My whole weekend, from not being home for Mother's Day to re-thinking some of my knitting techniques, can probably be summed up with the old cliche "Think Outside the Box!"

...till next time,

b

Humbling Life Lines

I am constantly amazed at the thoughts that come to me while working on my knitting. This week I started the swallowtail shawl.
http://www.interweaveknits.com/Galleries/bonus/fall_2006/Swallowtail.asp It is a beautiful shawl, and so many people are enjoying making it. I just happened to have some TREKKING (XXL) sock yarn and thought I would give it a try.

Everything I read about the pattern talked about how easy it is (and it is fairly easy for lace). I read alot of the threads in Ravelry to get an understanding of the best way to proceed and discovered that putting in a life line would be a reasonable safety precaution. (It is lace, afterall.) If you are not familiar with life lines here is a site that explains in detail just how to put one in: http://www.heartstringsfiberarts.com/lifeline.shtm .

So I began early in the week to knit this shawl. Got through the Budding Lace 1 and on to Budding lace 2. This consists of 6 rows that have to be repeated 14 times. I decided to add my life line at the completion of Row 6 each time. As I knit all day Friday and part of the day Saturday, I was thinking this is fairly simple; why, I underst00d it so well that I was catching mistakes as I made them (notice I'm not saying I didn't make any mistakes!) and was able to fix them right away. Hey, who needs a life line?! So last night, Saturday, at about 9:00, my eyes were so tired from working on this small yarn, and I was knitting along on what I had declared to be my last row for the day when the stitch count didn't come out right at the end of the row. Ok, back up. Check every stitch after the stitch markers, since it worked out before the markers. Nope. Too many stitches. Well, another thing I thought I had gotten pretty good at was looking at the pattern formed by the last few rows and being able to spot the mistake. Oh yeah. I spotted it all right, about 4 rows down! (Did I hear someone say "Being humbled by knitting happens all the time"? At least to me it does.)

This afternoon, Sunday, I picked my Swallowtail shawl back up to fix the mistake. Since I had my life line I was able to take it off the needles and rip out all four rows instead of frogging one stitch at a time. What I had at this point was a lot of kinked up, unknitted yarn, just laying in a heap on my table. As I was re-inserting my needles along the life line row, it hit me that this is a lot like life. Just when we get confident in what we are doing or where we are, life throws us a kink. Might be big or could be small. When that happens, dealing with the challenge is so much easier if you have a "life line" to back up to. Then hopefully after the chaos is cleared up, we can pick up and continue to move forward. I'm thankful for life lines; how about you?

...till next time

b

Surprise! Rainy Days & Baby Surprise Jacket

I went outside to find something that was a bit of a surprise. This is a reflection of a holly tree in the water standing in a depression in my driveway. I guess the lesson is that even in the depressions of our lives, something good can still shine through!

Well, since my goal is to post once a week so I will have time to knit, this will be short. Today I finished my first (I'm sure there will be others) Baby Surprise Jacket and couldn't wait to post it! (I'm beelke2 on Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/ ,if you would like to see a picture). The day has been overcast and rainy since about noon. When I first got up this morning I knew I only had about 10 ridges before the knitting was finished on my EZ Baby Suprise Jacket. So I jumped right in and got that part done. Then came the part that I really don't enjoy, weaving in the ends and sewing the seams. I even surprised myself that I got that done, washed the garmet, and it is now drying to the blocked size. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out.

...till next time,

b

Azaleas & Bamboo Socks

This week the azaleas have bloomed. My dogwood tree, which every year prior to this one had only a handful of blooms, is loaded with flower buds. They are so beautiful!

My main knitting focus this week has been to finish one of my current wips, the Regia Bamboo socks, and I was able to kitchener the second toe last night. So far, all of my socks have been "top down", yet even so, every time I have to sit in front of my computer and work with a demonstration video for kitchener stitch to graft the toes. But not this time! At least not on the second sock :) Now that's progress! Next time, I may have to watch again, but thanks to the generous knitters on line, I can refresh my memory with their videos any time.

If you've never tried kitchener stitch, or you have tried and have gotten frustrated as I have, there are several great demonstration videos on line to help. The one I have used most often is found at http://www.knittinghelp.com/. After going to this site, just go to the "Advanced Knitting Techniques" and scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the video. There are a lot of other very helpful videos for other knitting techniques on this site as well. When I googled "kitchener stitch videos", several sites came up. Two others that I viewed were http://lectio.ca/ and http://www.knitwitch.com/. These actually came up in a bigger screen, making viewing the knitting process easier. All three videos were execellent! I hope they will help to give you confidence to graft those toes!

One of the main reasons I wanted to finish my socks at this time is to have them for a upcoming class that I am taking with Lucy Neatby (http://www.tradewindknits.com/). She will be at my LYS the weekend of Mother's Day, and one class will be on socks. I can't wait!

Socks make great lunch time or travel knitting. Especially the plain ribbed, stockinette kind. I've made several pairs. This particular pair, though, actually turned out too big. I cast on for the larger size, using smaller needles, thinking I was knitting too tightly on the previous ones (did I hear someone ask "Swatch?") Anyway, I've got more Regia Bamboo, so I think I will go ahead and start another pair. I think I will stick to my tried and true 60 stitches and 2.25 mm needles for these.

It's time to knit. Let me leave you with something that I have been thinking about this week. It is a quote from Charles Swindoll:

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. . . I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you...we are in charge of our attitudes."

...till next time

b

Casting On a New Chapter - Blogging!

Today is a beautiful Sunday in the South. The sun is shining; the birds are singing; and the trees and grass have turned green once again. Spring is definitely here! So why am I in the house on this computer?!
Because I am beginning a new chapter in my life. I'm learning to blog. Ok, I know it is no big deal to most of you out there. Why, I've been reading blogs for years! I watched my daughter, Meghann, create a web page and blog years ago. She's since finished 5 years of art school in SF, has gotten married, and has been working for at least a year. After all these years, she still has her site, which is one of the ways I am able to see what she does with her art work. Oh the wonders of the web!

I suppose several things peaked my interest in creating this blog at this particular time. On my way to work (I drive about 45 minutes one way) I like to listen to podcasts, mostly knitting podcasts, but others, too. I learn so much from the creative people who give so much of their lives to the delight of others. And they almost all have blogs where they lists links to the information that they talk about on their podcasts. I love to read, so I chase the links that lead to unlimited information about the times and adventures of real people.

The second reason I've decided to give this a try is because of the knitting community Ravelry! It has been so much fun to see what everyone is doing and what they like. So many people have blogs. So, if they can, why can't I? We'll see where it leads. (If you are a knitter, crocheter or other fiber artist and you aren't on Ravelry, you really should check it out! http://www.ravelry.com/)

Thus begins a new chapter in my life, my thoughts all knit together in one place. I'm sure some of it should, from time to time, be frogged (ripped out). But I'm excited to see how it develops! (I feel like I should have some catchy phrase to end with, but all I can think of is )

....till next time.

b