born2knit

Slow Start......

2012-01-29T11:20:00.000-06:00

Just realized the reading is going slow. My goal was to read 100 books in 2012. I love Pixels of Ink. I have downloaded so many free books to the Kindle and I pad. Also, I got two $25 gift cards for Christmas. Thank you Beth and Lindy. Back to the hundred books. That would be 8-1/3 books a month or two a week. I have time. My Lymphedema really limits what I can do and reading is good. I can do it with one hand with the bad one raised. I am past 3/4 of the next book so I will be at three books in January........Slow start........

Best Christmas gift ever

2012-01-04T15:01:00.001-06:00

You may wonder how I typed that last post with the problems with my arm and hand. For Christmas my husband bought me a computer program called Dragon naturally speaking. It is speech recognition software. My entire last post was talked into the computer like dictation, I didn't have to use the keyboard at all. I'm sitting with a headset on and my arm elevated on a pillow. I'm wearing a compression sleeve and gauntlet and a special insert in the gauntlet to help the lymph fluid drain.

People had suggested to me that I blog through my treatments and cancer journey. It wasn't something I was ready to do. I did send out some newsletters, that as time went on the lymph edema developed and even writing the newsletters became very difficult.

I hope to blog more frequently now. I laughed yesterday because my neighbor sent me an e-mail asking about my pattern I had used to make a loopy scarf on the loom. It has been several years since I made those and it was going to try to look up the pattern for her by googling. By the time I got her e-mail, there was a second e-mail that said she had googled it and found it on my blog. Thank you Judy for reminding me that there's a lot of valuable stuff on my blog and it now than I can speak and post I can have a lot more to say again.

This software would be an excellent gift for a college student. I sure wish I would've had this when I was in college. It was me taking notes a lot easier. I have to say this is the best Christmas present I have gotten. That says a lot because two years ago for Christmas I got the Addy Turbo interchangeable needle sets. LOL

2012 is going to be a better year and where I've been since 2010

2012-01-04T14:44:00.001-06:00

September of 2010 started a whirlwind change in my life. From the day that Labor Day weekend that I found the hardness on my right breast which turned out to be stage III breast cancer, everything changed.

Turns out my finding that hardness on my breast saved my life. My cancer did not show up on a mammogram or ultrasound. The type of cancer that I have is called lobular. Only 8% of breast cancer is this type. Most breast cancer occurs in the milk ducts of the breast. Those tumors are formed by cells that divide and form a sphere. For example, the tumor starts as a few cell which divide to form a small spheres, imagine pea. The kind of cancer I have is different than that and much harder to detect. When these cells divide, they divide flat, imagine a piece of paper. It is not until there are enough of those pieces of paper, thick enough to be seen on a mammogram or ultrasound. I was fortunate enough to have doctors that did not follow the standard course of waiting and watching for six months, but instead sent me for a breast MRI.

The MRI showed a 6 cm tumor. It also showed a couple of other suspect spots on that same breast and on the other. Next on the schedule was two separate biopsy days. Each breast had to be biopsied separately because the biopsied had to be under MRI assistance. There is an IV required for contrast and I would've needed too high a dose to do both biopsies on the same day. Luckily the spot on the left breast was benign.

We scheduled surgery to remove the right breast along with a sentinel node biopsy. At the time of the surgery the sentinel node biopsy was positive so I had 25 lymph nodes removed as well as the breast. I had a breast expander put in and over the next several weeks it was filled with saline and had some minor surgery on the left well. By the time of the surgery, the tumor had grown to 9 cm. When I saw the oncologist, he told me that I was very fortunate that the doctors pursued the suspicious hardness that didn't show on the mammogram or the ultrasound because I would have been dead in three months.

Unfortunately one of the consequences of losing the 25 lymph nodes was that I develop lymphedema in my right arm. More specifically the lymphedema is in my right hand, arm, and chest wall. There is way more to the story but that's all you need to know for now. I have to wear compression garments 24 hours a day seven days a week. The lymphedema Dr. will only allow me to knit 15 min. twice a day. I always considered myself a pretty fast knitter but you're not getting much done in 15 min. twice a day. And to be honest, even with the pain medication it is really hard to get those 15 min. in.

Dont worry, I'm strong. Don't forget I was born to knit!!!

Still here....

2011-09-26T10:53:00.002-05:00

It has been a very rough year but I am still here.......more updates soon.

Yeh Bonnie!!!!!!!!- more hats for BB

2010-10-19T12:44:00.000-05:00

Bonnie sent more pictures of the hats she has been making for the Bedstemor's Beanie's Project. I love that row of red in the second hat.

Fruit hat for Bedstemor's Beanies

2010-10-05T13:13:00.000-05:00

Bonnie sent this picture of another hat she made for the project.....

still more hats

2010-09-30T15:25:00.000-05:00

Ann J. sent a picture of these lovely hats she will be sending to Kansas for the Bedstemor's Beanies.

more hats

2010-09-10T10:46:00.001-05:00

Shelly sent me this picture of her hats she is ready to send off to Kansa for the Bedstemor's Beanie Project.

Hat pictures

2010-09-09T12:13:00.000-05:00

Bonnie sent these pictures of the hat she made to send to the schools in Kansas with 2 types of self striping yarn.

Hat Project - Update and All new Information

2010-08-27T12:32:00.001-05:00

Okay here we go. There have been a couple of changes and I will now be in charge of the Kathy's Hat Project which I will call Bedstemor's Beanies. Kathy always used the name Bedstemor - Norweigian for Grandmother in her email signature so I think it is appropriate. The hats will now be sent directly to the schools in Kansas where Kathy's daughter Edith is a teacher. Send one or several. Please feel free to email me with any questions.

Edith will gather the hats and then she will take the appropriate number of hats to each school-give a little speech about her mom-all of her friends, and the history of this project-it's been going on for about 6 years now!

What to make: Hats for grade school children grades Kindergarten to 5th grade in fun colors and patterns. (see my previous posts for hat patterns and topper ideas and be creative. They are kids and they love to wear fun hats!!!!!)

Here is how Edith described the hats Kathy finished: "The hats that I have are all different "sizes" shapes and colors-some are "girlie" some are "all boy" and some are gender neutral."

Here is how Kathy herself described the hats she made: "I don't really use a pattern much any more. I cast on 70 or 80 stitches in worsted weight yarn and make the pattern up as I go along. Oh, I'll use a chart from one of my books sometimes ... the Dancing Granny one, or some fair isle one. I never make the same hat twice. I vary them by colors, stripes, ridges, lace work (simple lace like YO K2TOG across, then a row of plain, then K2TOG YO across, varying the hole placement), various pom poms, I-Cords and things at the top ... things like that."

There are lots of cute patterns for kids hats here to get you started: http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/directory/hats_childrens.php

Where to send the hats: The hats are to be sent directly to the schools. Please do not send hats to any members of the knittalk list as previously suggested. The school has no problem receiving the individual packages. I like to send my knit items in flat rate boxes from the post office. I have done this several times and have compared what the cost would be several other ways and the flat rate has worked out to be a good deal and the boxes are free at the post office.

The school addresses are:

Lincoln Elementary ( grades K-3)
1020 Grant Ave
Clay Center KS 67432
Attention: Edith Floro

Garfield Elementary (grades 4-5)
815 4th Street
Clay Center KS 67432
Attention: Edith Floro

How we can all share our fun ideas: Post a note to the Knittalk list about what patterns and yarns you used and/or email me that information and pictures and I will post them on my blog. My email is sloosen1@wi.rr.com

Hat Patterns for Kathy's Hats

2010-08-24T11:27:00.004-05:00

Basic Hat For Straight Needles:
With worsted weight yarn on size 7 or 8 needles, cast on 72 (80) sts.
Work Brim for 1.5-2” in one of the following ways:

in K1P1 or K2P2 ribbing
in garter stitch (k all rows)
in seed stitch
in stockinette stitch (K1row, P1 row)

Then work in stockinette stitch (K1row, P1 row) until total length is 7 - 8".
Begin decreases: K6, K2 tog across row. Next row and all even rows Purl. Next row K5, K2 tog across. Repeat having one less stitch before K2 tog on each odd row. When you have 8 stitches, cut yarn and weave through remaining stitches and pull tightly. Sew seam.

Basic hat For Circular Needles:

With worsted weight yarn on size 7 or 8 needles Cast on 72 (80) sts.

Work Brim for 1.5-2” in one of the following stitches:

in K1P1 or K2P2 ribbing
in garter stitch (K1row, P1 row)
in seed stitch
in stockinette stitch (k all rows)

Then knit all rounds until piece measures 7 - 8”. Begin decreases by K6, K2 tog. Knit next round.
Continue having 1 less stitch before decreases. Switch to dpns when needed and finish off by drawing yarn through last 8 sts.

Ribbed Hat on straight needles

On Size 7 or 8 needles with Worsted Weight Yarn Cast on 72 (80) stitches.

Knit 7 (8) inches of K2P2 ribbing.

Decrease Rows: For the first row, K2tog, P2tog across. Then, knit 3 rows of K1P1 ribbing.

For the next row K2 tog across row. Purl back across. Then, K2 tog across row.

Cut yarn, leaving about twice the length of the finished hat. Weave the tail back through the stitches on the needle and sew the back seam. Weave in the ends.

Ribbed Hat - circular

With Size 7 or 8 needles and Worsted Weight Yarn Cast on 72 (80) stitches. – Join.

Knit 7 (8) inches of K2P2 ribbing.
Decrease Rows: For the first row, K2tog, P2tog across. Then, knit 3 rows of K1P1 ribbing.
For the next row K2 tog across row. Knit next round. Then, K2 tog across row.

Cut yarn, leaving about twice the length of the finished hat. Weave the tail back through the stitches on the needle and weave in the ends.

more on Kathy's Hats

2010-08-24T08:20:00.004-05:00

8/27/10 This email sent to me and to the Knittalk list from another Mari in CA. I have since found out that the information is not correct and the schools would be happy to receive the hats directly from individual knitters. Please see my August 27th post for all the mailing information. The project lives on as Bedstemor's Beanies!

Posted by: Simply Spaniels Mon Aug 23, 2010 10:00 am (PDT)

Good Morning All...

After a lot of emails back and forth in regards to finishing Kathy's Hat Project as a sort of Memorial to her I think that we are at a "go" and hope all you gracious, talented women will want to help. Several different "counts" have the remaining number of hats left to finish between 20-40, but for us thats a piece of cake, right? The goal is to provide "fun" hats to all the children, both girls and boys. The base is to cast on 80 stitches and let your immaginations fly as Kathy did.

The other Mari, who knew Kathi and often knit with her, has graciously offered to post a Memorial page to Kathy, with hints/sources to hats, requirements, etc. and we'll keep a running total as the hats are received. Maybe we'll be able to provide for the rest of the school depending on what we receive. You can mail your hats to me (email me for my company address) XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX and we will see that they get to Edith appropriately for deliverance to her children, etc. The school prefers NOT to receive individual packages. Actually - the school would love to receive the packages.

How to do random............

2010-08-22T11:09:00.001-05:00

If you are only using six or less colors - dice! Number each yarn and roll the dice. More than six colors - lets say 12 - 2 bags with yarns labeled 1 to 6. Write heads on one bag - tails on the other. Flip a coin and roll the dice.

More about hats...in Kathy's own words from a Knittalker

2010-08-20T07:53:00.001-05:00

My email from Kathy regarding Hats
Thu Aug 19, 2010 5:08 am (PDT)

Hello everyone,

Below is a copy of an email that Kathy sent to me regarding her hats.

Pam

*************************************
Hi, Pam!

I don't really use a pattern much any more. I cast on 70 or 80 stitches in worsted weight yarn and make the pattern up as I go along. Oh, I'll use a chart from one of my books sometimes ... the Dancing Granny one, or some fair isle one. I never make the same hat twice. I vary them by colors, stripes, ridges, lace work (simple lace like YO K2TOG across, then a row of plain, then K2TOG YO across, varying the hole placement), various pom poms, I-Cords and things at the top ... things like that.

I started "Hats for Army Brats" several years ago when my daughter's husband was stationed in Germany and she was a kindergarten aide in the American grade school there. For two years my friends and I made enough hats for every American Army Brat. I've attached a picture of some of them.

Now I am making all 120 hats myself. This is something I wanted to do for a long time. Daughter now teaches K-5 art classes at elementary schools in Clay Center, Kansas. I found that too often, friends who "helped" me meet the quantity goals for hats for Army brats had the mind-set that charity work doesn't have to be pretty, original, child-friendly, etc. They felt that as long as they used up some old scrap of yarn, made a PLAIN, PLAIN hat and gave it to me that it would be appreciated and loved. Not so! I cannot tell you how many hats I dumped into the garbage because they looked trashy. I figure if I wouldn't make my kid wear it, it wasn't worthy for some needy child. Actually, the hats for Army brats were not for "needy" children. Those hats were a gift and a thank you to children whose dads were deployed so much that the kid hardly knew their own father.

May I respectfully ask you that if you knit for charity ... it doesn't look like it's for charity? Thank you so much, Pam!

Enjoy making them. You may never know who has a hat you made, but you'll always know if you made a really nice one for some small child. Colorful, bright, something they'd pick out if you took them shopping.

Kathy/Mom/Bedstemor in Kenosha, Wisconsin USA

NEEDLEWORK FOREVER!!! HOUSEWORK WHENEVER. bedstemor@hotmail.com

what people are saying.....

2010-08-17T08:11:00.000-05:00

Kathy - if you are still able to read my blog up there in heaven......here is what is being said about you. You probably didn't realize what an inspiration to others you were..........

Things people said from the knitlist and knittalk Yahoo groups………….

Mari -- and Kathy's family: I knew Kathy only via the Knit List. Thank you for your post that made her come visit me personally. I was so sorry to see the message from her family and thought it probably was just like her to ask them to let us know. I guess the best thing we all could do to remember her, long term, is keep giving as we are most comfortable doing. Please know that I'll be doing that. I give to a group for the Johns Hopkins pediatric hospital, to those who have requested preemie things from Heavenly Angels in Need, the Red Scarf Project, and a few other places. Also for my family. I'll remember Kathy for a long time as I do that. And I'll certainly miss her posts on Knit List!

-Susan

Mari, Thank you for sharing your memories of Kathy with the knit list. I am so sorry you lost such a wonderful friend. I did not know Kathy but she sounded like the type of person you did want to get to know. -Heather

Thank you for sharing Kathy with us...I just know I would have loved her! You were lucky to have such a nice friend, she will be missed! -Susan

Hi Mari, Thanks for sharing your memories of Kathy Sorensen... I saw that post on

Knit list too, and it made me very sad. I've been on that list with her for over a decade... I sent a note of condolences to her son and her daughter. I'm so glad they gave their email addresses. Was Kathy not on Knit Talk, as well? Her saying, "Needlework forever, housework whenever"... will live on! -Take care, Bonnie Evans

Hi Mari, I just wanted to let you know I appreciated what you shared about Kathy to the knit list. I was touched and am sure Kathy would have been as well. I always enjoyed reading her posts to the list and thought she seemed very nice. I was sad when I read that she'd passed away but, glad that you wrote and shared your personal story with her. I'm sure she'd be pleased, -Abby

Mari, What a beautiful tribute to your friend. Thank you so much for sharing this. My thoughts and prayers go to you and all of Kathy's friends and family. She sounds like an amazing woman. Best wishes, Trish, in Brooklyn.

Mari: I hope you sent this to her family. This was a very wonderful and loving tribute to a wonderful lady. Vicki Meldrum, Buda, TX http://www.vickimeldrum.com http://www.lonestarstateknitters.org http://schnorkiemom.homestead.com

What a wonderful tribute to one you held so dear. I hope you shared this with her family; I’m sure they will appreciate how their wife/mother/sister/aunt/friend/loved one will be treasured and missed. Anne C. crafting is my passion; Cats are my obsession. http://catsrmecrafter.blogspot.com

Thank you, Mari, for writing to the list about Kathy. Although I didn't know her, I wrote a note to her daughter after learning that Kathy died. I always enjoyed reading her posts - her passing is a loss for all of us on the list, but especially for you, her friend. Sincerely, Susan

Mari, what you wrote about your friend Kathy is a heartfelt, moving memorial as you remember her. I didn't know Kathy, but from what you wrote, her family must have happy memories of her life with them. My condolences to the family and friends of Kathy Sorensen for their loss. May the Lord bless all who knew and loved Kathy. Nan in Central IL

Thank you for sharing your experience with Kathy. The virtual lists can be impersonal at times, and you’ve really helped us to know Kathy better. I’m so sorry for the loss of your friend, and I can just imagine how proud you will be to wear your feather and fan scarf that she made. Best Regards, Wendy in San Diego Ravelry: socalknitgirl

I am sorry to hear of the loss of your friend. I'm sure she will be missed by many. She leaves behind a wonderful knitting legacy, it sounds like. May her memory always be for a blessing for you!

Thank you for letting us know Mari, you have written a wonderful homage to Kathy. I am so sorry for your personal loss. Please take care, Allison in NYC

I am so sorry to hear about Kathy. We had written to each other a few times and I really liked her. I can tell you were a friend and I am sure you will miss her a lot. Thanks for sharing the news with us. Ellen in NJ

Jessica-Jean has left a new comment on your post "Kathy Sorensen":

How wonderful that your memory of Kathy is so warm! I'm sure she treasured your friendship, too. Your tale makes me feel better about having joined a group of knitters, some of whom are much younger than my own grown children. If I'm lucky - when I'm gone, some of them will feel about me the way you do about Kathy.

NEEDLEWORK FOREVER!!! HOUSEWORK WHENEVER. That always gave me a chuckle whenever I saw it! Margaret - St. Louis

How to help? I read Kathy's posts frequently and was often challenged, educated and tickled.
How can we help to finish her gol of 100 hats for her daughters school in Kansas? Where in Kansas (my birthplace). What is needed to finish her project? We can make it happen, can't we.

Mary

would love to help with this in any way possible. Please share more info with me Thank you Jane Tatum in Tennessee

How wonderful that your memory of Kathy is so warm! I'm sure she treasured your friendship, too.
Your tale makes me feel better about having joined a group of knitters, some of whom are much younger than my own grown children. If I'm lucky - when I'm gone, some of them will feel about me the way you do about Kathy.

Things people said on Ravelry’s K Town Knitters

I have been trying to knit with the Tuesday Barnes & Noble group. There is quite a grroup of regulars that meet there. This morning, I was checking my e-mails and received this e-mail from John Sorenson, who told me to pass on the information.

We regret to inform you of the death of Kathy Sorensen, Friday, August 13, 2010. As you know, Kathy has been battling cancer, but enjoyed her life, her frirends and especially her family, until the end. She left instructions for you all to be notified as you played an important part in her life. Details regarding a memorial service for Kathy will be sent out at a later date.

Emails may be sent to her son, John Sorensen at kenoshasown@yahoo.com, and daughter Edith Floro at edithfloro@hotmail.com*

Information from a follow-up e-mail included:

As it stands now, we plan to have a memorial service on Friday evening, August 20th at Draeger Langendorf Funeral Home. Once I meet with them I will set the time and get it to you. There will be information in both the Racine and Kenosha papers early next week.

I will miss Kathy! She always had a fantastic project she was working on and quick to reassure you that it wasn’t rocket science, just knitting. She just recently ordered yarn for and completed Sylvi for her daughter. She mentioned that she showed it to many in the Tuesday morning knitting group. It was beautiful. I did take a picture and now am frantically looking for it to share with everyone. An amazing knitter…

turtleysaunt and I went to her husband’s funeral not too long ago. Each time she was in the shop since, she’s mentioned him. I’m sure she is happy to be with him again!

Very sad news. Kathy was one of a kind. She was one of the first knitters that I met in the group. I did admire that she would try new things and be interested in new yarns even though she had many, many years of knitting under her belt. Well, I’ll miss her.

I was thinking about her last week, and ran across her contact card she gave me just last night…

I was always impressed by the projects she’d bring to show us, from simple to intricate, they were always beautiful. I’ll miss her too.

What a loss to our community. She was really special. I wish I could have had more time getting to know her. It was a rare treat for me to see her. How sweet she’s no longer ill and she’s at peace with her beloved.

Kathy was a wonderful person, and always an inspiration to everyone. I was always excited to see all the lovely things she knit, and amazed that she knit white socks, and fancy ones at that. My thought was they will get so dirty, but she didn’t care. Surely will be missed. I would be interested in going to the visitation if anyone else is going.

Kathy meant a lot to me and I, too, am quite saddened by this news. I went to her husband’s funeral as well not long ago never once thinking hers would follow soon. She missed her husband. Her “tell it like it is” way about her always made me smile inside. She was a very kind woman and I’ll miss her, but I know she is happy to be with her husband again.

Kathy Sorensen

2010-08-16T11:09:00.001-05:00

Got an email yesterday and read on the knitlist that fellow knitlister and my friend Kathy Sorensen passed away. Kathy knit with me at McDonalds "McKnitters" on Thursday mornings for the last 5 years in Racine WI. You might recognize her signature on her emails to the list:

Kathy/Mom/Bedstemor in Kenosha, Wisconsin USA

NEEDLEWORK FOREVER!!! HOUSEWORK WHENEVER. bedstemor@hotmail.com

Kathy was one of the nicest most talented memorable people I ever met. I was looking for something to do at the time I found the message that a group met a few miles from me at the McDonalds. I emailed Eileen, the group's founder and said I was interested in coming to knit. When I went that first Thursday I was reluctant to join a group of people I had never met to KIP. Kathy was one of the ones there that day. Kathy and the others made me feel welcome. I remembered Kathy from her posts on the knitlist and was happy to meet her. The "problem" with going to knit with a group like this is that you form special bonds. Kathy was old enough to be my mom but she became my friend. She made the coolest most challenging things and no pattern was too much of a challenge for her. She was especially good with fair isle and I still remember her trying to teach my the Kitchener stitch. Kathy's daughter and son-in-law lived in Germany because he was in the military and one year we all made hats to send to the kids in the German school for US military kids. It was a memorable Thanksgiving night when Kathy emailed out the pictures of the kids at the base in their new hats. Shared that with our holiday guests - a real thing to be thankful for. Her current project was making over a hundred hats for the kids at her daughter's school in Kansas. Kathy was also a member of the Lakeside Knitter's guild and at Christmas time we brought in gifts to randomly exchange. Two years ago I picked Kathy's package which instead of the usual yarn or a knitting notion contained a beautiful hand knit lace weight off white feather and fan scarf. I will treasure that scarf. She was always making mittens for the mitten tree at her late husband's church. She has so much fun making mismatched socks for her granddaughter. I'm sure I could say much more and I am going to really miss her.

Fingerless Mitts

2010-06-23T13:14:00.001-05:00

DS2 had Father's Day at his house this year. I dropped off DH at the golf course to meet him and went to wait with DDIL2 for the rest of the gang to come a few hours later. Unfortunately there was a Michaels and JoAnns - both in the same parking lot mind you - right along the way. Okay - I took the long route. Stopped in Michaels first and picked up the Patons Next Steps Seven - Mittens and Gloves. Also picked up several skeins of Loops and Threads - Impeccable (http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/loops--threads-impeccable-ombre)

in various ombres. I am after all the girl who never met an ombre she didn't like. Ran into JoAnns too but only bought some yarn needles for tucking in the ends on the fingerless gloves. I had the nicest day sitting out at the picnic table on his new patio, catching some sun, and knitting the fingerless gloves from the book with the new yarn.

The Dog who inspired the sweater

2010-06-23T12:58:00.000-05:00

Too cool not to post

2010-06-15T17:18:00.001-05:00

The Blue Angels

Not muching knitting got done this weekend. We spent Friday and Sunday at McKinley Marina on DS's boat watching the Air and Water Show. I brought knitting in my purse just in case but the shows were great and I never brought them out. DH got a new camera for an early birthday and Father's Day present - a Nikon D90. I figure since WI is a marital property state LOL it is mine too. We got tons of cool airplane pictures.

Knit a Bird

2010-06-03T13:50:00.000-05:00

Just knit a cute little birdie and his nest. Got the pattern and the yarn at Just 4 Ewe in Oak Creek WI. You can see the pattern here. http://www.skacelknitting.com/s.nl/it.A/id.7256/.f Sock Yarn Balloon Tying Creations

The idea is really cool. You knit the "balloon" with sock yarn and stuff as you go. The "twists" of the balloon are made by increasing and decreasing. Here he is before it is "tied".

Here he is after he is "twisted".

Buttons everywhere

2010-06-01T15:59:00.000-05:00

I had alot of questions about the dog bone buttons on my weiner dog sweater.

I have a habit of buying button assortments at JoAnns and Hobby Lobby. I buy two or three bags at a time and then I get more matches. I dump them all into big gallon ziplocks and have fun button diving when I need something for a project.

Knitting on the Road

2010-06-01T14:21:00.000-05:00

DH and I went up to our lake place in Northern WI this weekend. 4 and a half hours there and 4 and a half hours back. I knit mittens. I used the http://www.afghansforafghans.org/mittens.html pattern. In order not to get bored I knit one mitten - lets call it blue to get the hang of the pattern. Then I divided up the pattern into portions

1- cuff

2- start of hand

3- gusset

4- rest of hand

5- top shaping

6- thumb

I used 2 sets of double points and started two mittens. One blue and one we will call red. I made the cuff of both, then the start of the hand of both, then the gusset, etc. etc. etc. Until I have 2 mittens done. A pair of blue and a single red. Then cast on another red and another color and continue. You are always working on something new and fun.

The Boyer's Birthday

2010-05-23T13:09:00.000-05:00

The little DGS had his 2nd birthday on Thursday. It was also the 2nd day he could see! It has been amazing to see him look at the world for the first time.

I baked him a doggy cake because we did a doggy theme for the party. In his minimally sighted first two years he became very attached to the younger of my 2 golden retreivers and since he was never able to watch any TV and doesn't know the Sesame Street characters or any other characters for that matter the dog seemed to be the perfect theme.

The cake was Devil's Food made with buttermilk and the frosting was homemade butter cream. Nine egg whites and 2 pounds - yes 8 sticks - of butter. The spots and ears were homemade chocolate MM fondant and the nose and collar were homemade vanilla MM fondant. Frosting and fondant recipes came from "Peggy's Baking Corner" at http://whatscookingamerica.net/PegW/Fondant.htm

DDIL made "Puppy Chow" and served it in plastic dog bowls from the dollar store. http://www.netcooks.com/recipes/Kids/Puppy.Chow.html

Everyone really liked the weiner dog sweater

and since the dead fish hat had turned out alittle big - DS modeled it.

Weiner Dog Willie

2010-05-19T16:48:00.001-05:00

I made the Willie sweater for my 2 year old - this Thursday - grandson’s birthday. I made the size two. I knit it according to the directions and the body length and sleeve length were too long in proportion to the body width. I ripped out the yoke and adjusted the sleeve length and the body length to match a storebought sweater of his. I reknit the yoke and tried it on him today and it fits him perfectly. Instead of the 9.5 inches for the sleeve length and the body length I had to rip back down to 8” for both sleeves and body.

His aunt and uncle have a weiner dog they rescued from the pound. This week besides his birthday gifts, he has been given the gift of vision. We just found out he cannot see near or far - has severe farsightedness. He just got his glasses and is seeing the doggies and the rest of the world for the first time.

A Walk in the Park

2010-05-14T07:46:00.000-05:00

Except it isn't a park - it is my backyard. The grass is freshly cut so you can't see the dandilions. We could make quite the batch of dandilion wine with this crop. Picture is from Mother's Day with DH and DGS taking a walk around the yard.

Beaded Bracelet

2010-05-07T12:18:00.000-05:00

My new book on making knitted bracelets with beads and embroidery floss came in the mail yesterday. I looked through my bead box and found an assortment in a colorway I'll call spring lilacs. The pattern called for a size 2 needle but I found that a bit loose so I am using a 0. It is easy and fun.

Sock yarn

2010-04-08T16:51:00.000-05:00

I love color and the self-striping sock yarns are irresistable but I don't like knitting socks. I don't know what it is about socks. I tried to tell myself it was the small needles and small yarn, yet I made 5 or 6 of the I phone socks and had no problems with the size 2 needle. Maybe it is fear of second sock syndrome.

I'm also a fan of mindless garter knitting so I searched high and low on Ravelry and on the internet for a pattern for a simple little scarf I could make with one skein - 50g - of sock yarn but didn't find anything. I thought about converting my favorite "Bowknot Scarf" to the right gauge and even started it, but it just wasn't what I was looking for.

So with a size 5 needle, I cast on 24 stitches and started to knit back and forth in garter stitch. After 6 inches, I decided to make a buttonhole so that one end of the scarf could be tucked through the other. To do that I knit 9 stitches, cast off 6, and knit the last 9. On the next row I knit 9, cast those 6 back on with an basic e wrap cast on, and knit the last 9 stitches. I kept going in garter stitch. Here is what it looks like.

I plan to knit until I am all out of yarn. I really like the way the self-striping yarn is working with the garter stitch. You really don't want a fancy stitch pattern with a yarn like this.

2010-04-06T14:34:00.002-05:00

Finished the ~~Dead~~ Alive Fish Hat over the weekend. It is a bit big for the boyer but he looks cute in it and he will grow.

I used some yarn I've had in the stash for a while. The main yarn is black with some yellow, green, red, blue and purple dashes of color - I guess you would call it a print rather than a variagated. It was really alot of fun to knit. I used the Fibonacchi striping to determine the number of rows for each color. I was very pleased with how the stripes turned out and doing the stripes that way made the plain knitting much more interesting. I used a size 5 needle and the yarn is a worsted weight.

Directions for the tail are found under FAQ in the designer's website. The ones on Knitty are different.

Pickles

2010-03-29T16:25:00.006-05:00

Knitting cartoon from March 3 2010 - Pickles by Brian Crane.....

Living color

2010-03-29T15:30:00.005-05:00

It was a bad weekend for the grandma and the boyer. Matching boo boo's obtained separately.

The grandma's eye and the golden retreiver Holly's nose met unexpectedly and suddenly. The boyer fell on the driveway at his house. Ouch!!!!!!

iphone sock

2010-03-18T17:18:00.007-05:00

DS1 - father of the cute little boyer - asked me to make him a cover for his iphone so I knit up this little thing out of sock yarn. Like a tube sock with a square bottom. Could either start with a closed bind on and knit "toe" up or start at the top and join with a 3 needle bindoff. A fun quick knit!!!!!

Great Grandpa's Birthday Jeopardy

2010-03-09T14:51:00.004-06:00

Sunday we had a party for my dad's 76th Birthday. We played Birthday Jeopardy - personalized just for him. Click on title above to go to the game and play it.

My cousin brought the best dip I've tasted in a long time - Cranberry Nut Spread. Had to ask what was in it. Here goes:

Cream cheese
Craisins
Toasted Pecans
small amount of orange juice concentrate

Mix together. Serve with Wheat Thins - delicious!!!!

7 Hour Toddler Sweater

2010-03-09T14:28:00.006-06:00

Every here and there I enjoy knitting the 5 Hour Baby Sweater so I was really excited when I was reading the Knitlist and saw that Suzetta had written a pattern for a version of the sweater in a larger size - The 7 hour Toddler Sweater. Click on title above to go to pattern. She was looking for someone to take a picture of an actual child in the sweater and who better than the precious little grandson boyer. I dug out a couple of skeins of "I Love This Yarn - Stripes" in the colorway camo and got knitting. When I got to the sleeves I decided to start the second skein and match up the yarn for both sleeves. I started at the beginning of the first section of black (first black stripe). This was a really fun knit - took me 7 days - probably about an hour a day - and the pattern was flawless. It looked alittle big to me but I attributed that to the fact that I was using the addi clicks DH bought me for Christmas and the size 10 needle is a bit larger than the usual - there is no 10-1/2 with the set. Actually the sweater fits him perfectly and he wears an 18 month in storebought clothes but still fits in alot of his 12 month size. Preemies grow slow but CUTE!!!! He is 21.5 months and 25 lb.

Ripple preemie Blankie Pattern

2010-03-01T15:20:00.005-06:00

Blankie for NICU - approx. 14" x 16"

Worsted weight yarn or baby yarn doubled
Size 10 needle

Cast on 61 stitches.

Rows 1 to 5: Knit
Row 6: K 3, *K2 tog, K2, inc, inc, K3, SKP; repeat from * to last 3 sts, K3
Row 7: K3, P to last 3 sts, K3
Rows 8 to 11: Repeat rows 6 and 7 twice
Row 12: Repeat row 6

Repeat 12 rows until blankie measures 15".

Repeat Rows 1 to 5 and cast off in knit.

inc = knit into the front and back of stitch
SKP = slip one, knit one, passed slipped stitch over knit stitch

Picture to follow......

Frogging a Tower

2010-02-22T12:16:00.003-06:00

Couldn't resist posting the cute little video clip of DGS building a tower and knocking it over. Kind of reminded me of knitting and frogging!

Started another preemie blanket with worsted yarn and a size ten needle. This one is going much faster and is still plenty soft.

rectangular blankie

2010-02-20T13:27:00.006-06:00

I've been making preemie hats lately for the NICU at St. Mary's Hospital. I asked if there was anything else they might like and was told 14" x 16" blankies would be great. I decided to use the old reliable dishcloth pattern and asked my friends on the Knitlist for advice on how to make a rectangle rather than a square. I got some very different answers ranging from not possible to do to something that created a hexagon rather than a rectangle to the way that worked. Here is the pattern:

Grandma's Preemie Blankie - 14" x 16" size

Size 8 needle and 2 oz sport or DK weight yarn

First section:

Cast on 4 sts. Knit one row.

Next row: K2, yo, k2.

Increase row: K2, yo, k to end of row.

Continue working increase row every row until 2 eyelet sides measure 14". Do not measure the side with the stitches on the needle.

Middle section:

Alternate decrease and increase rows until one of the 2 sides equals 16". The other side should still be 14".

Decrease row: K1, K2 tog, yo, K2 tog, k to end of row.

Increase row: K2, yo, k to end of row.

Last section:

Work decrease row every row until there are 6 stitches left.

Next row: K1, K2 tog, K2tog, K1.

Cast off.

Checking in

2010-01-22T10:04:00.004-06:00

It's been a while since I posted. Life being a business owner as well as a daycare provider for the cute little boyer grandson has kept me busy. This week I started another blog http://www.milwaukeewindowrepair.blogspot.com/ where I will post our business happenings in the window repair/replacement business. While I'm into blogger, I might as well update this blog too so hopefully I will be posting frequently again.

DS2 decided to skip the big wedding - no need for the slippers of a couple posts ago - and got married last Labor Day weekend. I am a lucky lucky woman. Two daughter in laws that I love like my own, two wonderful good sons - most times- LOL - and a very wonderful husband. Also the boyer's GG's - my parents the great grandparents who are still very young at heart. Seeing as we have an empty nest now, you would think it would be peaceful here, but with the little bird coming and going and our work schedule, it is still pretty hectic here. Actually as you can see - maybe not a little bird but a little kitty.....

Mini Mittens

2009-11-16T13:01:00.000-06:00

I'm making Mini mittens for my Christmas cards this year.

Slipper Pattern #2

2009-07-29T12:42:00.002-05:00

Just when I decided all the slippers would be knit from worsted weight yarn doubled, DS came over with a bag of yarn he and his fiance picked out at Hobby Lobby for slippers. Included was "I Love This Yarn" Stripes in the Autumn Stripe colorway. This yarn would be better single. So off I go in search of the right pattern.

I had made Pantoufles Faciles from the website http://www.trieris.com/cfsj/artisan/ar-tri-pant-facile.html . The pattern is in French but there is a translation into English on Ravelry. I liked the slipper, but wasn't happy with the seam needed on the top of the foot. I put the pattern aside after one slipper.

I brought out the pattern and rewrote it to be made with a magic loop in the round. I just cast on.

Slipper Pattern #1

2009-07-23T13:39:00.008-05:00

This pair from http://www.knitaddicted.com/html/40.html - the BULKY YARN BOOTIE - was made with one strand Vannas Choice Autumn Print and one strand Vannas Choice Terracotta. It took a total of 6 ounces for the 68 stitch slipper. I used a size 8 needle since I tend to be a loose knitter and the pattern calls for a 9. I might consider opting for a 9 or even a 10 for a bit larger slipper but then would definately need more than 3 ounces of each yarn and since the Vannas prints are 3 ounces would probably choose a different yarn for a larger slipper.

I have made this pattern in the past and it is a fun easy knit in straight needles. You start by casting on for the bottom of the foot and after several rows of garter stitch you will change to stockinette and work short rows on the center stitches. The pattern calls for a 2" K1 P1 rib cuff but I chose to do 8 rows of garter stitch instead. I will definately be making several pairs of these.

Wedding Slippers

2009-07-23T09:16:00.003-05:00

DS2 and his fiance have set a date for the wedding, October 23, 2010. The wedding will be held part way between Milwaukee and Chicago where the bride's family is, so they anticipate that many of the guests will be staying overnight. They want to have a welcome pack at the hotel for overnight guests and have requested I knit slippers in the wedding colors. The wedding theme is FALL and brown, burgandy and orange are the colors.

Some have told me this is a pretty big proposition to take on. I agree, but I helped my older son's wife with every aspect of her wedding from picking the hall to knitting shawls for the attendents, making all the flowers, invitations, and programs. Not complaining - I loved doing it. But these 2 will do that all themselves. What a good excuse to buuy yarn, use stash yarn and do my favorite thing - knit!!!

I asked knitting pals on the Knitlist and Knittalk Yahoo groups for suggestions. I got many good ones. I decided it would be fun to blog and keep track of the progress.

Hoodie

2009-03-20T11:38:00.003-05:00

Today the boyer is 10 months old. I decided he needed a grandma knit spring sweater and here it is. It is the Lion Brand 70038 Simple Hooded Cardigan. The pattern called for Jiffy but I had some Bernat Softee Chunky on hand and it worked up great.

Another Toy

2009-03-15T14:13:00.005-05:00

I've been working on lots of small projects. A few bibs from the Mason Dixon book, playing with some stitch patterns on scarves and little hats for preemies. DS was going to a birthday party today for a 2 year old and asked about making a socktopus in pinks. Sounded fun but I was not sure I had enough time to get it done. He asked me Friday night - so I decided to make the Flower Power Elephant by Ala and Ela instead. The pattern is available through Ravelry. It took alittle longer than I expected but it was very fun to knit.

Not sure if piggy pink was the right color though - reminds me of dear grandson's farm fridge toy where you match the front and back of magnetic animals. If you get it right it tells you what the animal says. For this it would say "You put an elephant in front you put a pig behind. Put them together and what do you find. A elephant pig. That's silly!!"

Again, a long time no blogging. Busy with work, baby, and just life in general. I told myself that when I was done with the job of guild newsletter editor I would get back to blogging and now guild drama has me rethinking the guild membership altogether and so I need to get back to this forum. I really enjoy the freedom of the open knit groups that are just about knitting and having fun. Nuff said.

Found a new scarf pattern at http://www.straw.com/cpy/patterns/scarves/minimochi-triplerib-dbled.html that is going to be added to my top list of make again patterns. I love knitting basic garter both for the way it looks and for the mindlessness of it. Also the fact that it is reversible. This one meets all those criteria too. Looks nice in the striping yarn with a long colorway repeat.

Socktopus

2009-01-05T16:03:00.004-06:00

I fell in love with this pattern the minute I saw it and knew that the boyer just had to have one. The pattern is from the newest Knitty and was really fun to knit. I wanted to make it colorful so I decided on lime green for the body and a striping yarn in blue, green, yellow, orange, red, and turquoise for the socks so they would each be different. It is so cute! My first knitted stuffed animal.

Turkey hat

2009-01-02T16:17:00.006-06:00

Some November knitting I didn't have a chance to post. I knit a turkey hat for the boyer. No pattern anywhere. I looked at several pictures on the internet and I made it up as I went along. It turned out really cute and fit the boyer perfectly!!!

New Year - New blogging resolution

2009-01-02T15:29:00.004-06:00

The new year is finally here and with it my pledge to blog more and keep better track of my projects. The winter cold and snow as well as being a grandma/babysitter to the little boyer are going to put a cramp in my Thursday morning McDonalds knitting so hopefully I can use that time to blog.

2009 Works in Progress (WIPS)

Weavers Wool Mini Shawl in aurora print Red Heart Supersaver for DMIL's birthday. DH called her to wish her a happy new year and she is cold even with the heat up to 75 degrees so I figured the shawl would be the perfect gift. I've never made it before but have read on Ravelry that it is addicting like potato chips and I beleive that. It is also a great candidate for a pattern for my new blog -http://gartergoddess.blogspot.com/- the place for all patterns garter. The pattern for the shawl can be found here:http://www.knitlist.com/2003/minishawl.htm I really like the way it is working up in the yarn and my MIL does not do any natural fibers. She likes acrylic and she machine washes everything so this will work. Not sure if the colorway is still available. This yarn came from the basement stash - that is stash that is older than the upstairs stash. I made myself a loop scarf from this same stuff between Christmas and New Years.

Also on the needles is the January 2009 KAL dishcloth from Monthly Dishclothes at Yahoo dot com. I decided that the KAL would be a fun project for on the recubant bike. Took about a half hour to do day one and day 2. Andi - the moderator - suggested a light blue for this one. Here is what it looks like after the first 2 days worth of knitting. (on the seat of the bike) It will be fun to see if I can figure out what it is going to be after I knit on it tommorrow. So far it is impossible to tell. If I had to guess before I started I would have said I thought it might be a snowflake or snowman. It does not look like a snowflake - maybe a snowman? For anyone not familiar with this group, you are sent the pattern in daily increments in emails. The first day had 9 rows, and the second day, second email had ten.

Warm hands and feet

2008-09-03T15:41:00.003-05:00

Just a reminder of how tiny the little hands and feet we knit for are.......

Summer

2008-09-03T14:24:00.002-05:00

Wow! Summer sure went by fast and I have had no blog entries. New grandbaby was born early and work and baby have kept us busy here. Not a whole lot of knitting time but all is well and with fall approaching I should be able to get back to blogging!

Bear Hugs

2008-04-17T14:09:00.004-05:00

DDIL gives the bear a hug wearing her new bolero I made for her for her birthday. I saw it on Knit and Crochet Today this past Saturday and knew I had to make it for her. It was a very challenging project but it turned out great. Pattern can be found online at http://crochetme.com/patterns/crystal-lace-bolero

Speaking of hugs....Iddle the black cat and Holly the golden snuggled up on the couch last night and we couldn't resist taking a picture.

Striped Baby Sweater

2008-04-11T15:17:00.003-05:00

The bug for using Red Heart Strata and other striping yarns definately bit me this winter. I wanted to make a baby sweater that would stripe well but had a hard time finding the right pattern. I didn't want to go over 40-50 stitches so the stripes would be the optimum size. I ended up taking a basic boatneck sweater and adapting it to a larger needle with a heavier weight yarn. This is the result. I just had to make a little hat to match!

More Winter Projects

2008-04-11T14:59:00.003-05:00

The baby shower for the little grandbaby to be is coming up and I have been busy knitting away on some shower favors. Our favors will have a "SHOWER" theme -as in taking a showeror a bath.

The bath mitts are made with self striping dishcloth cotton. Have I mentioned I like self striping yarns????? I really like how they turned out. I will probably make some more. Pattern can be found at
http://www.plymouthyarn.com/index.php?nav=cPatterns.freePatterns&pattern_id=000022

The star washcloth is also done with a striping yarn. This pattern can be found at
http://members.aol.com/JSchlossma/stardc.html

The washcloth at the bottom is also made from the striping cotton. The pattern was somewhere on the web. I liked this one for the striping yarn because it started in the middle and worked outward.

Back at Last

2008-04-11T12:53:00.005-05:00

It sure has been a while since I blogged. Glad to be back and have lots of knitting and even a bit of crochet to show. One of the things I played with over the winter was Red Heart Strata in some really wild colors. I ordered the yarn from Mary Maxim.

Above is a hat I made from a generic formula for hats in the book "Teach Yourself Visually - Knitting Design".

This next design is a smaller version of a tuck in scarf with matching little mitts and a ribbed hat. All were patterns off the web but I couldn't tell you which ones.

The pastel hat below is the same as the one above but in a little bigger size.

It is really fun to work with the Strata yarn. It is a bit stiff but I'm hoping it will soften up a bit when washed.

Hats for Army Brats

2007-12-23T16:04:00.000-06:00

The Thursday morning McKnitters, Lakeside Knitters Guild, Knitting in WI Yahoo group and others helped out Kathy Sorenson by knitting hats for the kids at Ware Elementary School, Fort Riley Kansas. I decided it was time to bring my blog out of hibernation to show you the kids in their hats.

Elk Hunting and Knitting

2007-10-24T12:13:00.000-05:00

My DH is in Montana this week elk hunting. I thought I would have so much more time for knitting and blogging, but I realized the following:

I still have to work even with him gone. The business must go on.
The dogs and cats still need to eat, be played with and let out and played with some more. One less person to help with that.
I don't like to cook. DH loves to cook. We still have to eat. I get to cook. I usually knit while he cooks. Then I clean up. Now I get to cook and clean up. This equals lost knitting time.
There is still alot of activity here with DS1 coming in and out for work and DS2 and his fiance who both live here coming in and out for work and school. Don't get me wrong - I love the activity. I am just reasoning why the knitting isn't progressing like I had hoped.
I started to read a book. I have been too busy to read for quite a while. I picked up Sandra Brown's Ricochet the other night. Big mistake. Reading cuts into knitting time. Who can put down this book before they find out if the judge's trophy wife who used to be a topless cocktail waitress is a killer or a victim??????????
As for the blogging..........He took my camera!!!!!!

Okay, but I really have gotten some knitting done.

I made a pair of the Bulky Mittens from this website. http://www.shirleyknits.blogspot.com/ I really like this pattern.

I made one of the Freebie Friday- Stranded Pumpkin Mitts from Kathleen Taylor's website. I started the other and have the striped cuff almost done. This was a bit of a challenge, but it is well worth the work.

I also made a scarf for the charity box from some fun clearance yarn from WalMart.

More Pictures from Guild

2007-10-19T14:42:00.000-05:00

The yarn we were given was in a brown and blue colorway. It was a New Zealand wool.

I have really sensitive skin so the yarn made me itch.

The itch made me scratch.

The scratching made me look like I'd skinned my hand.

I liked my finished project though and noone else seemed to have any sensitivities to the yarn but I've learned I need to stick to merino wool which is softer.

Guild Yarn Project

2007-10-19T14:23:00.000-05:00

All of the guild members were given the same skein of yarn at the August meeting and told to bring whatever they chose to knit with it to the October meeting for Show and Tell. Here are some pictures from last night's meeting.

There were shawls, a shrug, some slippers, hats, bowls, scarves and lots of bags both felted and non-felted.

Our group is getting so big we are outgrowing our space.

There Lindy and I are on the left. We were part of the "hallway girls" since the room was full to capacity!

What's New

2007-10-14T14:02:00.000-05:00

Wow! It has been a long time since I blogged. This past month has been very busy. I promise to get to it this week!

Knitting Survey

2007-09-18T21:04:00.000-05:00

I took this knitting survey. In BOLD are the things I have knit, with Italics are the ones I plan to do sometime, and the rest are things I'm probably not interested in.

If you want to take this survey, you can copy and paste it to your computer and change the formatting accordingly. It makes you think about all the things you've done and what you'd like to try.

Afghan

I-cord

Garter Stitch

Knitting with metal wire

Shawl

Stockinette Stitch

Socks

top down Socks

toe up Socks

Knitting with camel yarn

Cuff up Mittens

Tip-down Mittens

Hat

Knitting with silk

Moebius band knitting

Participating in a KALSweater

Drop Stitch Patterns

Knitting with recycled/second hand yarn

Slip Stitch patterns

Knitting with banana fiber yarn

Domino knitting

Twisted stitch patterns

Knitting with bamboo yarn

Two end knitting

Charity knitting

Knitting with soy yarn

Cardigan

Toy/doll clothing

Knitting with Circular Needles

Baby items

Knitting with your own hand-spun yarn

Slippers

Graffiti knitting

Continental knitting

Designing knitting garments

Cable stitch patterns

Lace patterns

Publishing a knitting book

Participate in an exchangeScarf

Teaching a child to knit

American/English knitting

Knitting to make money

Buttonholes

Knitting with alpaca

Fair Isle knitting

Norwegian knitting

Dying with plant colors

Knitting items for a wedding

Household items

Knitting socks (or other small tubular items on one or two circular needles)

knitting with someone else's hand-spun yarn

Knitting with dpns

Holiday related knitting

Teaching a male how to knit

Bobbles

Knitting for a living

Knitting with cotton

knitting smocking

Dying yarn

Steeks

Knitting art

Knitting two socks on two circulars simultaneously

Fulling/felting

Knitting with wool

Textured knitting

Kitchener stitch

Knitted flowers

Purses/bags

Knitting with beads

Swatching

Long Tail CO

EntrelacKnitting

purling backwards

Machine knitting

Knitting with self patterning/self striping/variegated yarn

Stuffed toys

Knitting with cashmere

Darning

Jewelry Knitting with synthetic yarn

Writing a pattern

Gloves

Intarsia

Knitting with linen

Knitting for preemies

Tubular CO

Free-form knitting

Short rows

Cuffs/fingerless mitts/arm-warmers

Pillows

Knitting a pattern from an on-line knitting magazine

Rug

Knitting on a loom

Thrummed knitting

Knitting a gift

Knitting for pets

Shrug/bolero/poncho

Knitting with dog/cat hair

Hair Accessories

Knitting in Public

Is it a kitty or a pillow?????

2007-08-31T15:31:00.001-05:00

It nevers ceases to amaze me how animals interact. Caught a few pictures of Holly and Iddle the black cat. Holly seems to think Iddle is a pillow!!!!!!!! It started with the cat laying on the dog's leg and then the dog decided to put her head down and use the cat for a pillow.

Team Spirit Scarf

2007-08-15T07:39:00.000-05:00

Summer is sure going by fast. Saturday night I knit while watching the Packer preseason game so you know fall will be here before you know it. This month’s pattern will be a quick knit wool scarf in your favorite team’s or school’s colors. I made it for an eighth grade graduation gift for a friend’s daughter in the Oak Creek High School colors - blue and white. It would make a nice Christmas gift for a Badger fan in red and white or a Packer fan in green and gold.

School Spirit Scarf

With worsted weight wool and size 8 needles cast on 22 stitches with color A.
With A work in K2 P2 rib for 16 rows. Do not cut A.
With B work in K2 P2 rib for 2 rows. Cut B.
With A work in K2 P2 rib for 16 rows. Do not cut A.
With B work in K2 P2 rib for 2 rows. Do not cut B
With A work in K2 P2 rib for 2 rows. Do not cut A.
With B work in K2 P2 rib for 2 rows. Do not cut B.
With A work in K2 P2 rib for 2 rows. Do not Cut A.
With B work in K2 P2 rib for 2 rows. Cut B.
Repeat pattern until scarf is approximately 36" long ending with 16 rows of A.

With B work in K2 P2 rib for 16 rows. Do not cut B.
With A work in K2 P2 rib for 2 rows. Cut A.
With B work in K2 P2 rib for 16 rows. Do not cut B.
With A work in K2 P2 rib for 2 rows. Do not cut A.
With B work in K2 P2 rib for 2 rows. Do not cut B.
With A work in K2 P2 rib for 2 rows. Do not cut A.
With B work in K2 P2 rib for 2 rows. Do not cut B.
With A work in K2 P2 rib for 2 rows. Cut A.
Repeat until second side is same length of first side ending with 16 rows of B.

Using color A put a fringe on the predominantly A colored side.
Using color B put a fringe on the predominantly B colored side.

The scarf is beautiful. I used Lamb’s pride wool. There are lots of ends to work in but it is worth it. I worked them in using a duplicate stitch.

Copyright 2007 Mari Loosen This pattern is for individual use only and may be shared freely between knitters but this notice must be retained on any copies. It may not be reprinted in any commercial publication or used on any web site without written permission from the author. Copies of the pattern may not be sold without written permission.

New Look for the Blog

2007-08-07T08:47:00.000-05:00

I decided it was time to change the look of the blog to make it more reader friendly.

My new obsession is illusion knitting. I stuggled all weekend long to come up with a chart to make a scarf that says LAKESIDE KNITTERS in illusion knitting. I did alot of frogging. Not sure if it was my knitting or the frog in the pond outside my patio door but I would swear I heard "Rippet, Rippet, Rippet" as I was tearing out the beginning attempts. As the weekend went on, the concept suddenly clicked and I came up with my own letters and subsequently charted the design very successfully. Now I am in the process of knittting my design. I also started the heart bag from Shadow knits tonight but I am going to do it in just 2 colors.

I joined the illusion knitting yahoo group and had to introduce myself with some basic questions. I thought it might be fun to post the questions and answers here too.
How long have you been knitting?

about 35 years

What are your favorite things to knit?

I like projects that can be finished quickly the best - hats, scarves, mittens, purses, baby sweaters etc.

What do you have on the needles now? (illusion or otherwise)

Initial dishclothes for Christmas gifts, lace scarves and a purse to felt, along with the illusion projects.

Favorite yarns?

We have a new local yarn shop that carries some yummy wools. I also love varigated in any fiber, even the red heart acrylic.

Do you do any other crafts?

I crochet- but I'd rather knit and scrapbook. I used to paint professionally - I sold my first watercolors in college of blood cells to the university!!! Now I stick to fibers.

Add any personal info you might want to share (totally optional)

I am the editor of a knitting guild newsletter and have just volunteered for the program duties. I own a small business with my husband doing window warranty work for several large corporations and window repair. (The kind that have glass and open and close - not the computer kind -LOL)

I'm a ISTP

2007-07-25T11:34:00.000-05:00

I took a quiz on the internet and it was pretty good at determining my personality. Here's what it said about me.......

http://bloginality.love-productions.com/

You are an ISTP!

As an ISTP, you are Intraverted, Sensing, Thinking, Perceiving.This makes your primary focus on Introverted Thinking with Extraverted Sensing

This is defined as a SP personality, which is part of Carl Jung's Artisans (Sensation Seeking) type, and more specifically the Crafters or Mechanics.

Because of your desire for action and independance, you will change the format of blogging or design frequently to keep it interesting and different. Your loyalty may have you reading the same blogs over a long period of time. Even though you could be easily bored with blogging, you might find that because you like following a project through, this is a good way for you to use your alone time to sort the facts you pick up through the day.

Innovations Knitting Machine

2007-07-24T13:50:00.000-05:00

These are the first and second hats I made on the Innovations Knitting Machine.

I stopped in at Just 4 Ewe here in Oak Creek on Sunday and Jan has the Innovations knitting machines set up on picnic tables in front of the store for charity hat knitting. I should have just walked past and on into the store. But no, not me. I had to stop and look at what was going on. I had to look at the hats they had produced. I had to have one.

40% coupon at Hobby Lobby brings it down to about $25.00

So I sent my retired parents to Hobby Lobby to get the last one yesterday. (They love to shop!!!!) They dropped it off for me and I set aside my work on my desk and set it up. I made 3 hats. Last night I made a scarf with sport weight yarn.

DDIL is here with me now turning the crank for a multicolored one. It is addictive and a great way to quickly reduce stash.

Scribble Knitting

2007-06-07T16:01:00.000-05:00

How did I miss this?

I have had the Mason Dixon Knitting book since it came out and I never noticed this pattern.

I googled loopy knitting after the last guild meeting where we learned to knit loops and came up with the Loopy and Luscious scarf on Knitty.com. Wasn't what I was looking for so I passes it up without further scrutiny.

I saw the Scribble Lace Scarf on the Crystal Palace website and didn't give it a second glance either.

So the other day I picked up Mason Dixon Knitting to put it on my bookshelf and leafed through it and found the scribble knitting. I have crochet cotton. I have bulky weight yarn. I have size 17 needles. So I cast on my stitches and started one. I love it! It will be so cool to use small amounts of novelty yarn with n inexpensive crochet cotton and come up with amazing creations. This will definately be a make again pattern.

Quick 2 Needle Baby Hat

2007-06-06T11:41:00.000-05:00

Size 8 straight needles
Worsted weight cotton yarn

Cast on 54 stitches.

Section 1: Ribbing
6 rows 2x2 rib in yarn A

Section 2: Stripes
6 rows ss in yarn A
6 rows ss in yarn B
6 rows ss in yarn C
6 rows ss in yarn B

Section 3: Next 12 rows are knit in SS with yarn A
K7, k2tog, across
Purl
K6, k2tog, across
Purl
K5, k2tog, across
Purl
K4, k2tog, across
Purl
K3, k2tog, across
Purl
K2, k2tog, across
Purl 2 tog across

Gather and end off.

Long Time No Blog

2007-06-06T10:31:00.000-05:00

Wow! It has been a long time since I blogged. A month goes by very quickly. Then again Spring is busy season in the window repair business and one must work to have money for yarn. This is my office.

And these are my office assistants in their usual spot under my desk!!!!

Busia Ascot

2007-05-04T13:11:00.001-05:00

Three things came into the development of this scarf:

ONE: I love yarn! That should not come as a surprise to anyone reading this. I have a habit of buying one skein of a yarn I really like, perhaps in several colors or colorways. This has led to a stash with many single stray balls of yarn that I love but don't know what to do with.

TWO: I also love knitting the bowknot type little scarf that has a slot for tucking one end into the other. You know the classic grandmotherly type pattern that has been around in many variations for years.

THREE: Vickie Howell (Knitty Gritty) and her statement that she intends to try to bring the ascot back into style.

This still doesn't explain the name, does it?

I've been having a bout with migraines again and when I do, I like to take someone along with me when I go out shopping, etc. DS2 volunteered (okay - was coorced) to go with me to WalMart last weekend. I found a yarn I hadn't previously played with - Rag Doll from Red Heart. I wasn't sure at the time what drew me to it but I bought 1 ball of each of 5 colorways. I have since figured it out. When I knit up the first ball of it into my ascot scarf adaptation I realized it reminded me of the rag rugs my Busia (my dad's mother) used to make.

Thus the name - The Busia Ascot. She made the rugs from rags and old nylons with white crochet thread crocheted around them. I'll try to find a picture of one.

One of the things I love about blogging is how it makes me think and what I learn from my thoughts and the research I end up doing afterwards. For the life of me I could not remember how to spell Busia. Oviously I have since figured it out!!!!! I Googled Polish grandmother and came up with Babcia. I knew that wasn't what we called my grandma - it was pronounced "BOO-shah". I finally found a few web sites on Polish geneology and figured it out. Busia is not a Polish word but a Polish American dirivative common in the Chicago area. Well that makes sence because my dad grew up in Racine WI, not far from Chicagoland.

The odd thing is, I was never really close to my Busia. She immigrated to the US as a teenaged girl. She spoke very little English and because my dad was the youngest of eleven, I came aound with a batch of great grandchildren and for her grandchildren were pretty much old hat. Even though I didn't know her very well, she had a huge influence on my life. As far as I know, out of all her grandchildren I inherited her talent for working with fiber. She made the most beautiful crocheted items with thread; table runners, doilies, pillowcase edgings and even tablecloths. She made patchwork quilts from old dresses, etc. Beautiful things fom the most basic of materials.

Back to the Ascot. I am almost finished with it and with tweaking the pattern. It will be posted in the next post as soon as I finish and there will be a picture of the finished item.

Are you ready for the answer?

2007-04-19T12:19:00.000-05:00

Have I gotten your attention with the pieces to the puzzle???????????????

Here comes the answer...........

The Magic Ball!!!!!

The inspiration comes from "The Knitter's Bible - Knitted Accessories" by Claire Compton. She creates a beaded sequined scarf with 5 different yarns. Prior to beginning knitting, she creates a multiyarn ball by tying together lengths of yarn in a proportion of 9:8:6 so that yarn number one will have 9 lengths the first time, 8 lengths the 2nd time and 6 lengths the third time. The result is what you may find referred to in other places on the internet as the magic ball. This is the ball you knit with. I treated the ends differently than recommeneded and was very pleased with the results. I left about a six inch tail and tied the 2 ends together with a square knot. When I came to six inches before the knot, I held the end with the working yarn and after the knot held the new tail with the new yarn. The joins were just about invisible. The pictures show a scarf I started which will be frogged soon and restarted in all garter stitch. It is worked the long way. I casted on 270 stitches. The stockinette and seed stitch sections were not as pretty as the garter stitch section. With the large number of stitches, the yarn changed very randomly and was really neat. All the yarns I worked with were about a sport or light worsted weight (3).

Puzzle Pieces 4 and 5

2007-04-17T16:06:00.000-05:00

Yarn Bee Soft Delight

Patons Brilliant

Puzzle Piece #3,

2007-04-16T15:20:00.000-05:00

Here we go - another piece to the puzzle........

This is Feza Aspen left over from the shawls at my son's wedding.

Pieces to a Puzzle 2

2007-04-10T13:06:00.000-05:00

The 2nd piece to the puzzle is an unknown ball of stash yarn. I think it is a JoAnn's Sensations from 2 Christmas's ago.

Pieces to a Puzzle 1

2007-04-10T12:51:00.000-05:00

This is the first piece of the puzzle.......

Bernat Baby Coordinates Sweet Stripes

Sheep or Lamb??????

2007-04-09T14:21:00.000-05:00

According to the Sheep101 website:

Sheep are over one year of age. They have usually produced offspring. Lambs are less than one year of age. They have usually not produced offspring. Lamb is also the term for the flesh of a young domestic sheep eaten as food.

Butter Lamb

2007-04-09T13:34:00.000-05:00

A Polish Tradition at Easter called Swieconka (pronounced sven-sewn-ka) involves having the Easter holiday food blessed by a priest on Holy Saturday. One of the traditional foods is butter in the shape of a lamb. For years we bought the molded butter lamb at the grocery store. This year I found an article in the February/March edition of "Taste of Home" magazine with the "recipe" for making a butter lamb. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to make it. There is a weblink to the directions. http://www.tasteofhome.com/2007/FM07/mainFeature05.aspx?r_d=y
Pictured above is my lamb. It was so much fun to make that it will be our new family Easter tradition for me to make one every year. I thought it might make a really neat addition to a knitter lunch or brunch or dinner buffet any time of the year.

My DDIL will be 22 next week and they will be busy moving into their new house, so we celebrated her birthday on Easter. My mom made a checkerboard cake in chocolate and white with silk flowers and edible glitter on top.

More Finished Objects

2007-03-24T18:58:00.000-05:00

Another colorway of this dishcloth. I have another one started and went to Nelson's Variety Store in Racine and got 8 more varigated cotton skeins to make some more. They have a really nice selection. The ones I bought are all different and it was hard to choose but I pickked all with some white since I think dishclothes/washclothes should be easy to wash. The darker colors look dingy to me after they fade a bit.

These are some baby booties from "The Knitter's Bible" by Claire Crompton. It's a nice basic 2 needle pattern that is easily memorized and easy to seam up.

This is the bag on the cover of "Last Minute Knitted Gifts" by Joelle Hoverson knit with Red Heart Strata. I have made this bag before in the small size and this is a medium size bag. It is a nice pattern and a no seam no brainer knit in the round with a three-needle bindoff at the bottom. I use the smaller one to keep my migraine meds in and made this one to match the knitting bag DH bought me for my birthday.

Finished!

2007-03-22T19:29:00.000-05:00

Garterlac Dishcloth

2007-03-22T14:46:00.000-05:00

Google is definately my friend today. I was looking to print out the basic garter stitch dishcloth pattern. You know, the one that starts with a couple stitches and increases 1 stitch per row with yarnovers yadda yadda yadda.

So I Googled garter stitch dishcloth. I came up with this wonderful pattern at http://criminyjickets.blogspot.com/2006/07/garterlac-dishcloth.html for a garter stitch entrelac dishcloth written by Dave in Canada. Thanks Dave!!!! The directions are clear and well written and again I am thinking of all the fun things I can do with this technique.

History for Knitters Part 2

2007-03-14T15:18:00.000-05:00

Just who is Elizabeth Cady Stanton? According to the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Elizabeth Cady Stanton was born on in 1815 and died on 1902. She was a social activist and a leading figure of the early women's rights movement. Elizabeth is pictured at the left seated next to Susan B Anthony. (Picture from Wikipedia)

Eliza Osborne appears to have been a friend of hers, not a notable person historically since there was no listing for her on Wikipedia. Eliza Osborne is pictured at the right. (Picture from http://www.smith.edu/library/libs/ssc/newsnoknit.html)

Lucretia Mott was born in 1793 and died in 1880. She was a Quaker minister, an abolitionist (part of the political movement to abolish slavery) a social reformer, and a proponent of the rights for women. She is sometimes referred to as the first feminist.

Martha Wright was a knitter and the mother of the girl who upset Stanton with her knitting and caused her to write the letter to Eliza Osborne urging her to quit knitting.

William Lloyd Garrison was born in 1805 and died in 1879. He was a prominent person in the movement to abolish slavery and one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society. He was also a journalist and social reformer.

In Stanton’s letter, the word digital does not refer to the type of digital that automatically comes to mind today. Digital refers to the digits of the hand or the fingers, so she is referring to women doing handwork.

I love the way this mirrors the opinions of some people today. Why knit it if you can buy it cheaper? Dishclothes are no longer 25 cents a dozen. That's about all that has changed in this regard. I have been asked the same question when knitting socks. Why buy them when you can buy them so much cheaper? Isn't it intersting that knitters in the 1800's were basically dealing with the same scutiny from others that many knitters face today in the 21st century.

I was especially interested in the part about men in Osborne's poem:

They even used to preach and plan
To spread the fashion, so that man,
Might have this satisfaction;
Instead of idling as men do,
With nervous meddling fingers too,
Why not mate talk with action?

I've often thought about how much I get done watching television or riding in the car. I like to knit for charity or gifts and the men in my life seem to appreciate what I do.

As for the part about being able to knit and talk at the same time.......our McKnitters group and all the Stitch and Bitch type groups that are common throughout the US this century are sure proof of her premise today.

A History Lesson for Knitters Part 1

2007-03-14T14:56:00.000-05:00

I’m not much of a historian. Actually you would think that being a college graduate and all, I would have taken some post high school history classes. That is not the case. My study of history in high school was also very limited. I took only US History that was a required class my junior year of high school and the teacher was the basketball coach so he relied on filmstrips (yes, I know how much that dates me.....) to teach us while he visited with the other coaches out in the hallway. Nice guy, but I learned little about history. A lot of my knowledge of history comes from studying for history tests with my 2 sons through the years.

I never really thought much about knitting in the early days of the United States. I ran across something on the internet that I found very interesting. The blog I was diverted to is: http://taoknitter.blogspot.com. I did some googling of my own and came up with today’s topic.

HISTORY LESSON FOR KNITTERS.

From: http://www.smith.edu/library/libs/ssc/newsnoknit.html
The Sophia Smith Collection - Women’s History Manuscripts

The 1892 exchange between Elizabeth Cady Stanton
and Eliza Wright Osborne is excerpted below:

Dear Eliza,

In a recent letter to Mrs. Miller, speaking of the time when we last met, you say, 'Why was Mrs. Stanton so solemn?' to which I reply: Ever since an old German emperor issued an edict, ordering all the women under that flag to knit when walking on the highway, when selling apples in the market place, when sitting in the parks, because 'to keep women out of mischief their hands must be busy,' ever since I read that, I have felt 'solemn' whenever I have seen any daughters of our grand Republic knitting, tatting, embroidering, or occupied with any of the ten thousand digital absurdities that fill so large a place in the lives of Eve's daughters. Looking forward to the scintillations of wit, the philosophical researches, the historical traditions, the scientific discoveries, the astronomical explorations, the mysteries of theosophy, palmistry, mental science, the revelations of the unknown world where angels and devils do congregate, looking forward to discussions of all these grand themes, in meeting the eldest daughter of David and Martha Wright, the niece of Lucretia Mott, the sister-in-law of William Lloyd Garrison, a queenly-looking woman five feet eight in height, and well proportioned, with glorious black eyes, rivaling even De Staël's in power and pathos, one can readily imagine the disappointment I experienced when such a woman pulled a cotton wash rag from her pocket and forthwith began to knit with bowed head. Fixing her eyes and concentrating her thoughts on a rag one foot square; it was impossible for conversation to rise above the wash-rag level! It was enough to make the most aged optimist 'solemn' to see such a wreck of glorious womanhood.And, still worse, she not only knit steadily, hour after hour, but she bestowed the sweetest words of encouragement on a young girl from the Pacific Coast, who was embroidering rosebuds on another rag, the very girl I had endeavored to rescue from the maelstrom of embroidery, by showing her the unspeakable folly of giving her optic nerves to such base uses, when they were designed by the Creator to explore the planetary world, with chart and compass to guide mighty ships across the sea, to lead the sons of Adam with divinest love from earth to heaven. Think of the great beseeching optic nerves and muscles by which we express our admiration of all that is good and glorious in earth and heaven, being concentrated on a cotton wash rag! Who can wonder that I was 'solemn' that day! I made my agonized protest on the spot, but it fell unheeded, and with satisfied sneer Eliza knit on, and the young Californian continued making the rosebuds. I gazed into space, and, when alone, wept for my degenerate countrywoman. I not only was 'solemn' that day, but I am profoundly 'solemn' whenever I think of that queenly woman and that cotton wash rag. (One can buy a whole dozen of these useful appliances, with red borders and fringed, for twenty-five cents.) Oh, Eliza, I beseech you, knit no more!
Affectionately yours,
ELIZABETH CADY STANTON.
Dear Mrs. Stanton

In your skit,
Against your sisterhood who knit,
Or useful make their fingers,
I wonder if–deny it not–
The habit of Lucretia Mott
Within your memory lingers!
In retrospective vision bright,
Can you recall dear Martha Wright
Without her work or knitting?
The needles flying in her hands,
On washing rags or baby's bands,
Or other work as fitting?
"I cannot think they thought the less,
Or ceased the company to bless
With conversation's riches,
Because they thus improved their time,
And never deemed it was a crime
To fill the hours with stitches.
They even used to preach and plan
To spread the fashion,
so that man
Might have this satisfaction;
Instead of idling as men do,
With nervous meddling fingers too,
Why not mate talk with action?
But as a daughter and a niece,
I pride myself on every piece,
Of handiwork created;
While reveling in social chat,
Or listening to gossip flat,
My gain is unabated.
That German emperor you scorn,
Seems to my mind a monarch born,
Worthy to lead a column;
I'll warrant he could talk and work,
And, neither being used to shirk,
Was rarely very solemn.
I could say more upon this head,
But must, before I go to bed,
Your idle precepts mocking,
Get out my needle and my yarn
And, caring not a single darn,
Just finish up this stocking.

Eliza Wright Osborne

Highlights of 5297/98

2007-03-10T12:26:00.000-06:00

KL 5297 is mostly lots of discussions this time about the suggestions of yarn to use for certain patterns.

KL 5298

Lion Brand Microspun is slippery and knitting are having trouble joinin a new yarn.

There is worsted *weight* yarn which knits to about 5 sts/1"
Then there's worsted *spun* yarn, which refers to a yarn whose wool fibers were combed, not carded, before spinning. Heavy worsted *weight* yarn is a reference to the yarn's thickness. Heavy worsted weight yarn generally knits to 4-4.5 sts/1".

It was asked if Knit Picks plans to add a 16" cable to their options set and they do not.

Highlight of KL 5296

2007-03-08T16:01:00.000-06:00

Cute mitered baby sweater pattern at: http://megan.kiwi.gen.nz/BabyJacket/babyJacket.pdf

Garter Lace Scarf

2007-03-08T15:22:00.000-06:00

I brought my garter lace scarves to McKnitting this morning and the white one pictured here, knit from one skein of Lion Brand Glitterspun matched the outfit of DDIL who came with me.

Since I knit these while under the influence of Prednisone, I could not remember what stitch I used. Luckily I wrote it down at home. It was a single row pattern, very easy to memorize.

Garter Stitch Lace:

Knit 2, * YO, P2 together, Knit 2, repeat from * to end.

I used a size 5 needle and casted on 22 or 26 stitches since the pattern requires a multiple of 4 stitches + 2.

Highlights of KL 5294/95

2007-03-08T14:40:00.000-06:00

What's being talked about on Knitlist 5294 and 5295

Regarding knitting on airplanes:

A knitlister reiterated the suggestion that you bring along a self addressed stamped envelope onto the plane. The flight crew can take the needles away from you if they feel threatened by them (less likely) or if another passenger feels threatened by them. (you know how people can be!)
Carry a package of dental floss on the plane and use the cutter instead of scissors.

www.Knitlist.com has a variety of knitting related resourses as well as a nice archive of patterns.

Someone wrote in looking for lacy soap sacks. This Fibertrends pattern was suggested:http://www.fibertrends.com/viewer/images/224x.jpg

The pattern for a Pinwheel baby blanket can be found at: http://www.knitlist.com/00gift/round-baby-blanket.htm

Another place to find a good selection of pattern links is http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/

The Spring issue of Knitty is up: http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring07

Some cute free dishcloth patterns are at: http://knittingheavenonearth.blogspot.com/ There is also a link to patterns for sale at her other site.

Meg's jogless jog instructions for making color changes less noticable when knitting in the round is explained well with written instructions and pictures at: http://tiajudy.com/cyber2a.htm

Holly's Dilemma

2007-03-07T11:25:00.000-06:00

I work at home and am working on the end of year tax stuff today, my two golden retrievers on the floor next to me to keep me company. Well a few minutes ago I let them outside to play in the snow. Holly needs a leash ( about 30 feet long) so she can't get back into the woods at the rear of our 2 acre lot. She usually heads straight back into the clear but today wandered off in the wrong direction. When I called her to come in she tried to take a shortcut and got stuck!

Honey went back out to check it out and went around back to coax her out the back end where she proceeded to wrap herself around the pole for the bird feeder! I ended up going out and unleashing her and pulling the leash back in.

A few posts ago I decided to try to keep track of highlights of what is being discussed on the big list and some of the free pattern links and tips that are presented. So far so good. Here is the next installment. Knitlist 5293

Someone asked about taking knitting needles on airplanes. The general consensus is that they are allowed but screener are allowed discretion. This may vary from country to country, airport to airport and airline to airline. It was suggested to keep the work on a stitch holder and be ready to have the needles mailed back to you as a worse case scenario. Website for TSA:
http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/ It was also suggested that bamboo or plastic needles may be allowed on easier than metal.

Another suggestion for those curling circular needles was to lay them over a radiator overnight and store them in a length of cut off garden hose.

More suggestions for sweaters that fit:

* Find a pattern that works and make it in other variations.

* Make your own pattern from a storebought sweater that fits.

* Be very careful with gauge. Even a small variation in gauge can cause a problem.

Another free pattern for easy versatile mittens can be found at: http://www.freevintageknitting.com/mittens/615-mittens-pattern.html

Hint: Pick a color for the season, then knit a child several different hats and multiple mittens with a pattern like the one above that does not have a right and a left and you won't have to worry about being left with mismatched mittens when one or two inevitably gets lost.

A new knitting movie, "The Friday Night Knitting Club" is due out in 2008, starring Julia Roberts, based on a novel by Kate Jacobs, which follows single mother Georgia and the lives of women in a knitting club held at Georgia's shop. Read about it at: http://imdb.com/title/tt0840327/

March 7 Knitlist Bantor

2007-03-07T08:26:00.000-06:00

Knitlist 5291

Yet another conversation about the merits of Knitpicks , Denise , and Boye interchangable needles. It seems to be a matter of personal preference. I actually have all three sets and think that each has it's own merits.

Other topics included knitting sweaters and then finding out that they don't fit like you thought they would. It was suggested that you put the sweater away for awhile and bring it back out and if you still don't like it - frog it. Another person suggested learning to knit sweaters that fit with some preplaning. The book "Big Girl Knits" was suggested reading for all sizes when picking a sweater pattern. Also discussed were specific pattern problems and ideas for a specific yarn.

Knitlist 5292

Knitty's Mittens 101 are suggested for a 3 needle mitten pattern calculator. http://www.knitty.com/issuefall05/FEATmittens101.html

Hint: When working a pattern on 2 circular needles, they don't both have to be the same length. It is easier to tell the difference if they are not and you will have 2 different needles in your collection.

Several suggestions to get kinks and curls out of the cable of a circular needle......

Fill a pan with water. Bring it almost to a boil. Drop the needles in thepan. Leave them there about 30 min. Remove needles from pan. Empty water inpan.
Run the cable under hot tap water.
Use a blow dryer on high on cable up to 5 to 10 minutes as needed. - Can even be done with yarn on neeedles.
Attach one end of the needle to a clothesline with a clothespin and put a weight on the other end and let hang 24 hours.
Do not recurl the needle when storing.

This website was suggested for picking the right sweater pattern for your body type: www.bigskyknitting.com
There is also a multisized multistyle top down sweater pattern that can be tried on as you go at this website that a knitlister suggested trying.

Another knitlister highly recommend the book "Sweater Design in Plain English" byMaggie Righetti for learning about the right choice of sweater pattern. Also be sure to watch how the models are photographed in a knitted garment. Is the neck covered by a scarf for a reason, or is the model sitting - standing - laying in an odd position so part of the sweater is not visible??????

Lacy Scarves

2007-03-06T13:57:00.000-06:00

Knittalk 636

Lots of banter about needles and socks and works in progress but what I was interested in was a message to Allison Hyde. Allison loves to gift others with her lacy knit scarves. She was asked for some suggestions for lace scarf knitting.

I found this interesting since I have been puttering with lace stitch scarves for Spring with Lion Brand Glitterspun and Patons Brilliant. I will post pictures when I have a chance.

This was Allison's response:

...the answer to your question is, I usually just use one of the quicker
lace patterns out of Barbara Walker's treasuries, or one of the ones I've come up with, usually around 20-25 stitches across in a fingering-to-worsted weight yarn; they work up quite quickly. What my mom fondly calls "yarn necklaces." A bit of softness and color around the neck.

Update

2007-03-06T12:10:00.000-06:00

DS came home last night from work with sad news. His coworker Deb lost her battle with cancer and passed away over the weekend. She was only 54 years old. He had only worked with her 6 months yet she must have been a wonderful person since she impressed him so much. He told me that she liked to say "Put on your big girl panties and deal with it." when faced with a challenge. I never met her, but was glad to have helped make her happy with the handknit scarf he gave her at Christmas time.

New Blog Feature

2007-03-06T11:49:00.000-06:00

I subscribe to a couple of the BIG knitting lists. I thought it might be fun to post some of the stuff that is hot on the lists on my blog for future reference and for those who do not subscribe. I'll concentrate mostly on tips and free pattern links mentioned.

From Knitlist 5289:

Converting needles between US and Metric. There is a convenient chart at:
http://www.yarnforward.com/needleconv.html

Hint: When felting, be sure to make a swatch and felt it to see how the yarn felts, since different colors of the same yarn can felt differently.

A free pattern for making circular yoke Fair Isle sweaters can be found at:
http://www.jessica-tromp.nl/circleknittingpatternsroundknittingcircular.htm

The "Nona Knits" website has good tutorials on three different methods of doing the turns on short rows at: http://nonaknits.typepad.com/nonaknits/tips_and_techniques/index.html

A revised Principles of Knitting is scheduled for release in September.

Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers Neighborhood) mom knit his famous cardigan sweater from an old Spinnerin pattern.

Free pattern for a cute bunny Easter egg cover at: http://simpleknits.blogspot.com/

You learn something new every day.....

2007-03-02T17:26:00.000-06:00

I've been knitting ever since I can remember but am always amazed to learn something new that is actually old. I ran across something the other day called a built-in i-cord.

I have seen, but never tried the i-cord cast on, i-cord bid off and applied icord. I have knit yards of icord for purse handles and drawsrings and even icord ribbon necklaces. But I've never seen or used this technique before.

The built-in i-cord is attributed to Elizabeth Zimmermann which is why I say it is something old. I think that one of the things I love about knitting is that there is always something new to learn. I'm thinking I may never make a plain garter stitch scarf again. The picture above is the beginnings of the scarf made from a varigated worsted Mainsatay yarn I got at WalMart for $4 for 16 ounces. I like the way it is turning out.

I can see lots of possibilities for this. The front edges of a garter stitch baby sweater for one. Panels knit with this edge would be really easy to sew up into an afghan. I want to experiment with this edging and an i-cord cast on and bindoff too. It is amazing how one small "new to me" technique can get you thinking. I want to experiment with this edging and different stitches for the middle section.

Since I googled and found this in other places on the web, I don't think EZ will mind me sharing her stitch.

Cast on desired number of stitches. Knit across to last 3 stitches. Bring yarn to the front and slip last 3 stitches as if to purl. Repeat on every row. It takes a bit (a couple inches) before the i-cord looks just how it should but it is a beautiful finished edge.

It could always be worse.......

2007-03-01T13:00:00.001-06:00

Wow- I can't believe its been over a month since I blogged. Where have I been? I've been plagued with a really bad respiratory virus that went to my lungs and activated my asthma. After a 5 day supply of Zithromax and Prednisone, it still took a while to get the virus on its way out of my system. That's where I'm at now - its on its way out but not quite gone. And then yesterday I got hit with a nasty migraine. It is one of those times when it seems you just can't win.

But.......as the title says.......it could always be worse. Things need to be kept in perspective. One of Andrew's coworkers who received one of the scarves I made at Christmas time has had a reoccurence of cancer in her jaw. She is not doing well and has been told she won't be able to eat or drink. She doesn't want anything from anyone so over the weekend I decided to make some chemo caps to donate in her name.

I don't usually enjoy crocheting. But, let's blame it on the Prednisone - I have had an urge to crochet rather than knit. These are the hats I've made so far. It is a pattern from the web which works up rather quickly with a small amount of worsted weight yarn. The crown is all the same, easily memorized pattern and the variations are fun to try. I plan to pin the flowers on so they can be easily removed.
Pattern is found at the following website. http://www.yarncat.com/Modern-Flapper-Hats.html

Tuna Lasagna

2007-01-24T09:36:00.000-06:00

I knit. I don't do a lot of cooking. My DH is the king of the kitchen. However occasionally I make one of several signature dishes. Today will be one of those days so I thought I would post the recipe. It is a somewhat unusual tuna dish, but one of DH's favorites.

Tuna Lasagna

1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T olive oil
2-61/2 oz cans of tuna, drained and flaked
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 t dried oregano
1/4 tsp pepper
6 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
8 ounces mozzerella cheese
1/2 lb Velveeta cheese, sliced
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

In large skillet, saute onions and garlic in oil. Stir in tuna, milk, soup and seasonings. In 12" x 8" baking dish, layer 1/2 of noodles, mozzarella cheese, tuna mixture, Velveeta, and parmesan cheese; repeat layers. Bake at 350 degrees 30 minutes. Let stand ten minutes before serving.

I use the light velveeta and Heathy choice soup.

This can be easily made ahead of time and refrigerated before baking.

One Row Easy Lacy Scarf

2007-01-11T15:25:00.000-06:00

This is the scarf pattern I put in the Lakeside Knitters Guild January 2007 newsletter.

Every row is the same. After a couple rows, this flows as easily as an all garter stitch scarf. It would be a really pretty lacy scarf for spring.

You will need one skein of yarn of your choice and straight needles one size larger than appropriate for your yarn. I used a worsted weight yarn (One of the NoBo yarns WalMart had last summer) with a size 11 needle.

Cast on an even number of stitches (12, 14, 16, 18, or 20) depending on how wide you want your scarf to be.

Pattern Row: *YO from front to back, P2tog. Repeat from * across. Repeat until yarn is gone or scarf is desired length.

Here's a closeup of the stitch pattern. I'm sure if you made it wider it would be a beautiful rectangular shawl.

Iddle

2007-01-10T14:35:00.000-06:00

You will need to read the previous post "Raffia" first for this to make sense since this starts where that left off.

Okay again- I know Iddle is a strange name for a cat.

The summer after the unfortunate incident with the garage door opener, we were at a picnic at a neighbor's. Another neighbor girl brought over a basket of kittens and DH fell in love (remember this is the same man from the last post) a little black kitten with blue eyes. She came home with us. I took her to the vet the next day and was told she was way too young to be away from her mother. I asked if I should give her back and he said no - if the family with her mother was giving away the kittens so young, they probably weren't takin good care of them. We named her Shadow.

Remember I had boys - third and fifth grade at this time. They called Raffia Ig (like Big) Kitty and Shadow Iddle (like little) One. At the time I had a cleaning lady. She called her Midnight. I don't know why. Well basically the cat had 3 names and the one that stuck was Iddle. When she goes to the vet she is Shadow. Otherwise she is Iddle.

Iddle has a very different personality from Ig (Raffia). She is quiet and very very shy. If she was a person she would need a shrink. She licked off all her hair on her legs and chest last year. Excessivc Grooming Syndrome the vet called it. We had to buy her a cat pheromone that plugged into the wall near her favorite spot to lay and put off "happy mist" for her. Several friends have asked me to find out if they make that for people. LOL Overall, she's a really good cat and very pretty too.

Raffia

2007-01-10T14:12:00.000-06:00

I have been told that I haven't mentioned my kitties on my blog. I have 2. Raffia and Iddle. Okay I know - strange names even for cats, but I can explain.

Raffia is a beautiful grey and white cat. She is about 13 years old. We got her shortly after we moved in to the house. DS1 had always wanted a cat. DH was at a job and saw her catching a chipmunk. When we moved in there was nothing but field in between our house and Lake Michigan to the east a few miles. Lots of mice and chipmunks. He mentioned to the homeowner that that was what he needed, a cat to take care of our garage. She said he should take her and her sister. So he did. They were to be outside cats. Never to step foot (excuse me - paw) in the house. (You'll notice that changed because she is sitting on carpeting next to a couch obviously in the house!) Because they were to be outside cats and we were really not supposed to fall in love with them, we were to call them Riff and Raff. Like Riff Raff. Their sole purpose here was to catch mice and chipmunks. They lived outside from October until New Years Eve. They climbed trees, slept in the engine of our old BMW and we gradually fell in love despite DH's best efforts. We got them a heated water dish and a cat bed for Christmas. Now Raff was a really skinny little scardy cat. Riff was big and overbearing. Riff was very friendly and loving but a big bully to her sister. Well New Years Eve that year was very cold. I went out to the garage and they were both cuddled up in their bed. I closed the garage door to keep them in for the night to stay warm. About an hour later I went back out in the garage to get a soda. I only saw one cat. I called and there was no sign of Riff. I opened the garage door thinking she had probably snuck out as the door was closing and then I saw her. She was a big kitty and slow. She had been squished by the garage door and was dead. DH had to go out in the backyard and dig a hole in the frozen yard to bury her. The kids were at Grandma's and I killed their cat! Well it continued to be cold and DH decided after a few days that we would be devistated if Raff froze to death so he said she could sleep in the little bathroom right inside the house next to the garage service door. But only if it was below zero. Well as you can probably guess that lasted one night. We decided she needed a real name so Raff became Raffia like the craft cording. Raffia became a very loving cat. She gained weight once her sister died and became very independent. I hate to say it, but if Riff hadn't died I don't know if Raff would have made it. She is a big mouth. One of those cats that talks to you and you sometimes almost think you can hear words. Now she is our princess.

McKnitters

2007-01-10T12:54:00.000-06:00

I took my new camera to Thursday morning knitting at McDonalds the week after Christmas and took some pictures of the McKnitters at work. This is the nicest group of ladies. It is so much fun to go there and be inspired by all the projects on the needles.

.

Thank you in the mail

2007-01-05T15:51:00.000-06:00

Today's mail brought a very nice thank you card, note, and picture of DS2's coworkers in the scarves I knit for him to give to them for Christmas.

It is so much fun to give a gift to someone who is not expecting anything.

The ladies all look nice in their scarves. I made them all and set them out on the kitchen table before Christmas and let DS choose which one went to which coworker. It looks like he did a good job.

I decided I had to post the note they sent.

So many times we gift our knitted treasures to family and friends who expect a handmade gift. These scarves were the only items I knit for gifts this Christmas. I think over the course of the year I have to knit a "gift stash" and watch for people whose Christmas next year might be brightened by a surprise gift.

I'm proud that DS2's coworkers think so highly of him.

DS1 works for our family business. Just last week I received an email from a customer stating pretty much the same thing about him.

I had the opportunity to meet Ryan, and am very pleased in the way he explained the work he performs. I am very picky with certain projects that are being done on my house lately, and Ryan was very willing to make certain corrections that I has asked for. I am sure you are very proud to have a son like him. Happy New Year.

I am proud of both of them!

Sheep Drawing

2006-12-29T11:31:00.000-06:00

Just experimenting with scanning a drawing and getting it onto my blog. I need a sheep for a logo and decides I was best off to draw it as not to steal anyone else's work. This is draft #1 of my sheep. I used to love to draw and even did some watercolor paintings that I sold to Marquette University's Medical Technology Department. They were bllod cells as seen under a microscope. This is my first attempt at a sheep.

Christmas Camera/Slippers

2006-12-27T14:55:00.000-06:00

DH got me a new digital camera for Christmas. My old one was a dinosaur - used a floppy disc. It was 2 megapixels. My new one is 10.1 Megapixels and about 1/8 the size of the old one. I'm really excited!

I also got the 2007 Pattern a Day knitting calendar. I bet alot of people did. There are really some nice patterns this time. Okay - I know you are supposed to look at one pattern a day. Does anyone really do that? Not me. I looked through the entire knit calendar and the crochet one I received for Christmas too yesterday and put all the patterns I liked to the front. The crochet calendar was disappointing. This was the first year I got that one and I thought alot of the patterns were for things I would never consider making.

Last night I wanted an easy project since I've been experiencing frequent opthalmic migraines the last few days. I pulled out the pattern for Dec 10 for Dorm Boots. They are very similar to ones I've seen on the web but I wanted an easy no brain 2 needle project so I started them. I am knitting them in Patons Decor (Colorway: Mountain Top Varigated) Since I've NMAVYIDL (Never met a varigated yarn I didn't like), I tend to pick up one skein of colors that catch my eye just to see how they work up. I'm pleases with how this is coming along. No pooling.

Last night I was having trouble withP2tog tbl - I finally figured it out today by going to www.knittinghelp.com and watching the video. It makes perfect sense now that I saw it done. Last night I just purled 2 together and took those two sts out on the next row and did a slip one knit one PSSO to make it look right. Oh - I tried a few times to do what I thought was right and it just didn't work. I like the knitting help web site because it has separate mini videos for Continental knitters and English knitters. I am a Continental knitter and alot of times books are written in the English methos.

Honey the Red Nosed Golden

2006-12-27T14:50:00.000-06:00

I got a new digital camera for Christmas. It has a feature that allows you to draw on your pictures right on the touch screen or apply stamps onto the pictures - snowflakes, stars, hearts, etc. I could not resist turning Honey into a red nosed reindeer!

Knitting reference in The Big Street

2006-12-24T12:40:00.000-06:00

Lucille Ball is one of my favorite actresses. I guess it is because I grew up watching alot of reruns of I Love Lucy on my little black and white TV in my bedroom. I got up yesterday morning and my husband put on the movie "The Big Street" on American Movie Classics on Demand (free with Time Warner digital cable this month) starring Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda. (1942).

It was an interesting movie - a very different role for "Lucy". She plays a glamorous nightclub singer, Gloria Lyons, who is a real bitch. Henry Fonda (Pinks) is a shy busboy in love with her but she treats him like he doesn't exist because Gloria only goes out with men who are wealthy. Her rich gangster boyfriend pushes her down the stairs. After months of treatment, she will never walk, but Pinks is the only one who takes care of her. A very young Agnes Morehead - Endora of Bewitched - plays Pinks' neighbor.

Toward the end of the movie there is a Knitting reference. When Gloria (Lucille Ball) realizes she will never walk she decides she will have to take up knitting, like it is something expected of one in a wheelchair. Interesting perspective from 1940's culture.

It wasn't the best movie I ever saw, but it was interesting to see Lucille Ball in one of her earlier roles. The filming and costuming of the times was very different than today's but I think that added to the my interest in the movie. The knitting reference definately took me by surprise!!!!
I would give it a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10 for vintage movies.