Sunday, July 24, 2011

Since when is Knitting Uncool???





So, last week, I spent the hours of 9am-3pm teaching 11 young girls, ranging in age from 5-14, many aspects of Fiber Art. They learned how to finger knit, finger crochet, knit and purl, macrame and how to turn recycled wool sweaters into art and accessories. They made their own needles, knitting bags, and turned out scarves, belts, ipod holders and purses. They felted raw fiber into beads and made their own clay beads to use in their macrame bracelets. It was a very successful week! So much so, that they had me marching them down with felted coffee cup holders that they made for the superintendant and principal (entirely on their own idea-I had nothing to do with it at all) in the hopes of convincing them to have a year-round "Knitters Club"-with me as their instructor. I know the girls had a great time b/c they told me so-repeatedly, as did their parents. But their parents also told me something alarming that I never really even considered, let alone thought about until last week.

One of the mothers had called me to ask if her child could stay on for the 2nd session b/c "she loves knitting with you so much." I, of course, said yes!! This is all that I wanted-to show the girls how fun and creative the world of fiber arts is and how summer can't possibly be boring once you know how to use yarn in many ways. My goal was to present many different aspects of the fiber arts world and hopefully one of those areas would click for each girl. They would latch onto knitting with their fingers, with needles, or even felting and that would be their go-to craft. It worked!! The younger girls ate up the yarn I provided for them and must've knit hundreds of yards of finger-knitted scarves. It actually got comical by the end of the week, b/c they were so proud of their knitting that they wore all of their projects at the same time. So cute The older girls banged out project after project on their needles with one of them making 3 Itouch holders in two days!!!.....But...I digress....this mother who called, told me that both of her girls were loving my class so much that they really want me to host the knitters club at school in the fall. I told her that I was working on a plan for the club and would talk to the superintendent soon about it. She then told me that her oldest daughter, who is going into 5th grade, "is worried about her friends making fun of her for knowing how to knit." "Whaaaattttt????" was my reply. She went on to say, "You know there is a stygma attached to knitting, I just can't believe that my daughter has picked up on it already." I was dumbfounded. Knitters, crocheters out here-do you know of this stygma?? I must really be naiive b/c I seriously never thought about it. Ever. I tried to defend us to this mother over the phone, saying that so many celebrities knit nowadays so I'm sure that isn't the modern thought of today, but then I got slammed again by another parent. She came in and said, "I used to crochet but these crafts are such a dying art. No one really does them anymore. Too bad it's uncool. Maybe you're doing this will bring it back for these young girls." Ok-someone wake me up from this bad dream-haven't these people seen or read of Julia Roberts knitting? Uma Thurman visiting Rhinebeck to shop for yarn and fiber? Have they not noticed the umpteen blogs there are out there completely devoted to this craft?

I went home stunned by all this and attempted to talk to my husband, who informed me that he always knew there was some sort of social stygma associated with knitting. He said, "C'mon, even our friends have asked you why you knit b/c they thought only grandmothers did it." Now he is right-I did get that a bit when I first started bringing around my knitting to weekend trips and such, but that quickly was squelched I thought, when I turned out pretty cool projects as gifts for them and started selling handknits at high-end boutiques in the area.

So, even as I sit here now, pondering all this makes me upset and feeling a little bruised up emotionally. Why on earth would such an innocent beautiful craft be subject to societal ridicule in this day and age? It's just plain crazy to me and makes me really feel cynical towards mainstream societal viewpoints. In other words, I'm just plain pissed off about it all....

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Summertime....and the knitting is....

Slow. as. molasses!!! Yet busy, somehow. I decided, over our very long winter, to start up and run a "Knitter's Camp" for kids at my daughter's school this summer. The camp starts up in two weeks and I've been furiously knitting up quick samples to show the girls to get them excited about it. We're going to be making our own knitting needles and designing our knitting bags to start. We'll learn finger knitting, knit, purl, cast on and bind off. The girls will be making bookmarks, bracelets, dishcloths, headbands and ipod holders. They have many choices so of course, I have to have many samples.....

Then, of course, I have my summer knitting project-this time of year, I always need a quick, mindless project to work on during my girls' swim practices/meets. This time, it's a cowl, using a terrific cotton tape yarn, who's name escapes me (I will post a pic as soon as I locate the camera). The yarn is smooth and cool and so nice to knit with in the hot stickiness of summer days.

And let us not forget that one of these days, I'll have to finish up my design for Knitcircus, using Malabrigo Twist, the most sumptious yarn ever!!! Too bad my head isn't into that right now with all this summer stuff going on!?! Must get my focus back soon-I've got work to do!!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Designer's Block

So I've been designing a jacket for Knitcircus, using Malabrigo Twist yarn and knitting it has been so nice. The yarn is just perfect! It is so soft and is really showing off the stitch pattern the way I wanted it to. The problem that I have been having hasn't at all been with the design or the yarn, but the whole idea that this pattern is not for the beginner knitter. With every part of this design, I have been having the mental thought of, "Uh oh, are knitters going to understand that they have to 'read' the stitches and adjust accordingly?" I know from past patterns that it is so much better to be user-friendly and make things as easy and clear as possible, but does it always have to be this way? What about those knitters who want the challenge of a harder pattern? I am certainly not going to be able to write out line-by line instructions on this one-it would be forever and no one would want the pattern if it is umpteen pages long, right?? So the silly battle goes on in my head....

Hoping it all leaves soon though-I've got summer knitting to catch up on!!

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Catchin' up and Jammin'...


Phew. Disney was unbelievable and I can't believe I haven't posted since our trip. It was a whirlwind of fun and magic and it left me simply exhausted but thrilled that we really made magical family memories. Hoping to get back there in a few years to see more of that great world...

Onto summer! I went strawberry picking here in Sussex county, with the local moms group and my daughter. It was stifling-ly hot out there at 10:30am, but we managed to laugh it off and collect some really ripe strawberries! Finished the outing up with fresh icecream for lunch and it made for a great time! We went picking at Green Vally Farm in Wantage, NJ. Beautiful farm with great produce! They even have a very nice selection of organic beef and poultry and a CREAMERY!! My daughter got her new fave, cookie dough and I had my new fave, Jamoca Chip. It was a coffee based ice cream with nuts, coconut and chocolate in it-to. die. for. I'm still dreaming about it!!!

Yesterday, we went to a friend's house (a mom in the moms group) and she taught us how to make freezer jam with our strawberries. Freezer jam is quicker and easier to make than the traditional way of sterilizing the jars, etc. I love this way!!! It was so quick and simple that I went out to the store to gather supplies after we did it at her house and today I made more!! Her method used:
2 pints strawberries, washed, hulled and chopped
4 cups sugar
1 package sure jell
Follow sure-jell instructions for quick set jam

My new method:
2 pints strawberries
2 cups sugar
2 pkgs. knox gelatin
1 pkg. strawberry jello

Mash up strawberries and add 2 cups of sugar. Blend well and let sit for 10 minutes. While you are waiting, mix 3/4 cup water with knox gelatin and jello and bring to a boil. Stir constantly while boiling for one more minute and take off stove to cool. Add to strawberries (after 10 minutes) and stir. Wait 10 more minutes to set. Pour into mason jars and cap. Leave out for 24 hours, then either store in fridge for up to 3 weeks (if you know you will eat it like I will!) or in freezer for one year (makes great gifts!).

I found that my way is more economical (sure jell is pricey) and it set up faster and firmer. Either way works great though!! We made this with blueberries and peach/mangoes too (need to add 1 TBSP lemon juice to peach mango). Each batch makes approx. 4 1-pint jars.
Good summer farm fun!!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Disney, Here we come!!!

Yep-we're going!! I can't wait!! We leave at the un-godly hour of 3:30am on Friday for a 6:30 flight to Orlando...the kicker?? The girls have no idea!! We're not telling them until I have their disney attire all laid out for them the night before!!! I can't believe I've kept my big mouth shut!!?? Yay!! It's going to be a great time-our very first Disney trip as a family!! So looking forward to it! I even managed to quickly crochet these:mickey

I'm secretly packing us all while the girls sleep-I'm about 90% done-hoping to bang out the rest tonight and knit some of my fall malabrigo design too-that deadline is looming.....yikes!

Hope you all have a magical weekend!!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Zumba knitting??

Yep-today, at my daughter's dance place, they also offered zumba class for adults. Have you ever heard the Latin music that they play for this class? It's GREAT!! What a fast beat! I sat right outside the class (my daughter's class, which is ballet/tap combo is right across the hall) and b/c they left the door open, I could hear the music pumping through the hall. It was great! I have to tell you-I never knit so fast!! There I was, all by myself, flying through the stitches for my fall design (the malabrigo jacket) and kind of boppin' up and down to the beat. It was quite silly, yet quite enjoyable at the same time. Zumba knitting, anyone??

What music do you like to listen to while knitting??

Monday, May 16, 2011

Knitcircus KAL and other stuff...

Fauve_color_14_medium

This is what is itching to get on my needles right now, despite the fact that I am designing a jacket for Knitcircus Fall 2011 with this and it feels like I'm knitting with BUTTA!!!! Malabrigo Twist is most likely the nicest, smoothest, most sumptious yarn I have ever had the priveledge of knitting with-thank you, Knitcircus and Malabrigo, for sending this my way! Holy Smokes, folks, once you knit with this yarn, you will never want to knit with any other kind of baby merino wool-ever!! So rich!!! Perfect for fall....wait for sneak peek pics on this design coming soon!


Also, taking up much time in the household here is the garden! I can't believe I have yet to post pics of the loveliness of it all but it is really blooming here in Sussex County!! I've got the raspberry bush in, the lettuce and peas are up and the spinach and herbs are coming!! I've got zucs, cucs, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, and melon in waiting, and the carrots are even surviving-so far!! We'll see...

It is raining today and it's supposed to rain for the next three days-so much knitting to be done!-Thank God!!! We're surprising the kiddos with a trip to Disney for Memorial Day weekend, so I've got to sneak-pack everyone before Friday, the 27th too! Crazy, right??? Yep, just plain crazy....

Friday, May 6, 2011

And the winner's are.....

I have reached out to the winners of the giveaway and awarded them. If you haven't heard from me, unfortunately, you haven't won this time-BUT, there will be more!! I'll be posting another one (b/c this is just so fun-I can't stop!!) next week sometime! Keep checking the blog for updates!! Good luck!


Thank you all for participating!! If by chance, I don't hear from our winners by next Friday, I will let www.random.org pick again and you will get a second chance...we'll see...

Have a great day!
Chriss

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Knitcircus Summer issue Giveaway!!


Have you seen the summer 2011 issue of Knitcircus? Go to www.knitcircus.com and peruse the pretty patterns. I'm in love with all of the patterns in this collection, including my own, of course (wink, wink). But these are my top 5:
1. Orchidea-GORGEOUS!!
2. Star Rib mesh market bag(I have a feeling, if I make one of these, I'll make many)
3. Mughal (to.die.for)
4. Lonely planet socks (that is how most of my socks feel b/c I never get around to finishing them.....
5. Celebrity Tank (so sexy and cute!)

So, what are your favorites?? Check out the issue and come back here to leave a comment! I'm going to pick 3 of you to win! One of you will win a subscription to www.knitcircus.com and two of you will win the summer 2011 pattern collection!! As they say, "You must be in it to win it!" Contest will end tomorrow and I'll announce winners tomorrow night. Good luck!!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Summer Knitcircus issue is coming soon!!!


Yes, here is the cover shot for Knitcircus' Summer Issue-isn't that shawl pretty??? There are so many gorgeous patterns in this issue-be sure to check out the magazine online tomorrow at www.knitcircus.com

I will be doing a giveaway to 3 lucky winners here tomorrow too so come back and leave a comment on what you think about the mag, the patterns, my Isis pattern, etc., and you'll be entered to win. Enter a comment as many times as you wish! Good luck!

Don't forget the Isis KAL will begin tomorrow as well! Check out the Knitcircus group on Ravelry for the latest post tomorrow to get the details. This is going to be so fun!!

Monday, May 2, 2011

Alpacas in costume???


Yes, they were in full costume yesterday at the Sussex County Fairgrounds here in NJ! My daughter, as part of her 4H program, got to dress up her baby Cria and flaunt her stuff around the ring to the breeders and spectators who came to the fairgrounds to watch the spectacle. She wasn't the only one-there was
the Mad Hatter,
Harry Potter and
Spider Man, among others! The alpacas came, courtesy of Hidden Pastures Alpaca Farm in Branchville, NJ. It was a fun day of judging and ribbons won and we came home exhausted! For this fiber-lover, it was bliss to be surrounded by this!!

Friday, April 29, 2011

The Royal Wedding!! Best Wishes Will and Kate!

Woke up at 5:55 AM this morning and couldn't wait to turn the TV on! Oh my goodness, did Kate look simply stunning or what? Loved every bit of it!!! Soaked up the whole event! I eat this royal stuff up-can't get enough of it. In fact, I'm heading over to my favorite LYS later for a "Royal Sit and Knit"-my daughter and I will be donning fancy hats to celebrate! The LYS owner is hosting the event with an all day sit-n-knit and serving scones and tea all day. She is also giving 15% off to anyone who comes in wearing a fancy hat! Here is what I created for this event:





I knit this in a very stiff yarn-it actually hurt my hands!! Made with rayon and banana fiber that my friend gave me years ago. I knit up a quick flower and then poked in feathers all around it-the more I added, the better it got! I finished it off with a vintage pin from my etsy shop. Perfect!!!

Here is the inspiration for this hat: I purchased this at an antiques shop for $16 in Lafayette, New Jersey. What a steal! The hat is in great condition and I know that somehow, I will work this into a Halloween costume for next year. I do love this hat! The color is terrific!!



Well, here's hoping you all have a rather royal day!! Cheers to William and Katherine!! May they have many years of married bliss!!!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

My Design is going live soon!

Holy smokes!! Don't know if I mentioned it, but I've got a design coming out in www.knitcircus.com! The summer issue is going live on Wednesday, May 4th and my pattern is in it! Knitcircus is also hosting a knitalong on Ravelry in the Knitcircus group and on the Knitcircus facebook page. Here is the sneak peek of my design:


Hope you like it!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

And the winner is...

fowlervilles_Deb!!! I used www.random.org and it picked "12" so you are the winner of this book!! I will send you an email, asking for your mailing address and should have the book out to you tomorrow! Yay! Congratulations!! Thanks to all of you for my birthday wishes and for playin' along!!

Here is a pic of the cake my husband made for me-it really was incredible!!! I had it for BREAKFAST!!! LOL!! We just couldn't wait to eat it!! So good!!!!


As for the knitting stuff, here is a pic of the sweatercoat that flew off my needles in record time. I did make a few modifications, as stated on Ravelry. I've been wearing this sweatercoat since Saturday-it's so cozy!!! It's been a steady rain here in Northwestern NJ (so good for my garden!) so this coat is going to get lots of wear!!


Here is also a pic of the necklace set from my barter with the antiques dealer!-Don't you just love it?? I'm so going back there for more-they have such fun vintage jewelry!


Working on a few yarny things for later posts-and I will be updating my etsy shop with some great new stitchmarker sets! Be sure to check it out in a day or two!

Until then~
Chriss

Monday, April 11, 2011

Birthday Giveaway!

Yep-it's my birthday!! Been celebrating all weekend with dinner out at GREAT italian restaurant (good friends, good food and wine!!), putting up garden fence and putting in plants and today I started off the day perfectly--with cake!! Not just any cake either-my darling husband made the cake of all cakes-get this: Lemon cake, with raspberry/white chocolate/cream cheese filling and butter cream frosting with white chocolate and coconut flakes and fresh raspberries on top-unbelievable....he is my cake boss....

I plan on getting some seeds started with my daughter, having lunch with hubby and her (he's coming home from work just for me-how great, right?) and knitting. Today was supposed to be hot and sunny (80 degrees) but it is cloudy, damp and just plain ugly out. But....perfect cuddling/knitting weather...

I happened to get two copies of Debbie Macomber's new book, "The Knitting Diaries" so I'm giving one away. Simply leave a comment with your email to contact you if you win and on Wednesday, I'll randomly pick a winner.

Later on today I'll post pics of the sweatercoat that I'm wearing everyday (the neighbors are soooo going to start talking about me b/c I've been wearing it since it flew off the needles on Sat!) and of hubby's fabulous birthday cake for me.

Happy Knitting~

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Orders...


So, I went to a new hair salon in my town yesterday for a pre-birthday haircut. I loved the place, my new hairdresser and my haircut, and to top it all, my hairdresser and her staff loved the capelet that I wore there. First, my hairdresser tried it on and then the others did. They requested cotton ones (perfect for spring) and their colors (brown, mossy green and burnt orange). They all ordered one, so now I'm super busy knitting these puppies up!! Hope they like them!!

I also finished my sweatercoat (Stephanie Japel-previous post) so pics to be coming soon. I did a few modifications due to time and my lack of patience!! I finished the coat up in the car (!) on the way to the restaurant and loved wearing it out!!

Dropped off the cowl the the bartering antiques dealer who loved it!! This cowl actually turned into my very first ravelry pattern for sale-it is called the "mia cowl." YOu can also find it on my etsy shop, www.yarngirl.etsy.com named knit-mia cowl. Here is a pic of how it turned out:

I will post a pic of the necklace that I bartered this beauty for. The dealer was so pleased-she may order another one soon! Yay!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Bartering-I love it!

So, guess what?? Today, I took my daughter to dance class and while she was in class, I decided to pop over to this antique shop next door to check things out. The musty smell was familiar to me as all of the antiques and collectibles shops that I've been in all smell the same. The surprise was the sheer amount of vintage jewelry that was there! Good, fun stuff! One of the necklaces looked like it came right out of an Anthropologie catalog-and for $20 bucks, not bad, eh??? So, I poked around and saw some vintage sewing stuff. I caught the shopkeeper's eye and asked, "Do you happen to have any vintage knitting patterns or knitting stuff?" and she said, "Sometimes..." She looked around for something and then told me that she didn't know where it was but if I gave her my phone #, she'd let the dealers know and they'd call me if they came upon something. Then, she asked me if I was a knitter? Am I a KNITTER??? Of course! I told her I was and then she asked me if I sell my stuff-Of course!! She went on to say that she would pay me for a hand-knit cowl and while she explained to me what she wanted, I couldn't seem to take my eyes off of this necklace-it was from the 1950's-very anthro, very spring-y-totally me. It made me smile, just looking about it and so when she saw me looking at it so much, as we were discussing price, she said, "How 'bout we trade-this set (it comes with clip on earrings-but I'll repurpose for something else) for the cowl??" And I said, "YESSSSSS!!!"-of course...




It looks kinda like this set, but my flowers are pink. We are going to trade on Saturday at noon....and I'm going to rock this necklace when I hit the town Sat. night with hubby and friends!!

Saturday, April 2, 2011

What do I do when completely stressed???


I cast on for a toe up sock pattern, that's what I do. Doesn't matter that I have no idea how to do toe-up (my preferred method is cuff down on dpn's), I've got youtube videos!! Yep, I learned Judy Becker's Magic cast on method by watching this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkyd3nq3Yn8
Then, I found the perfect pattern, "Diagonal Lace Socks" from www.wendyknits.net-free pattern that I learned about while reading the online knitting mag, www.knitcircus.com-great magazine, by the way...more on that in another post, for sure!!-anyway....I'm knitting these socks using yarn bought from Rhinebeck last year. It is Jill Draper's splendor sock yarn-Ozone (435 yds 80% merino 10% cashmere 10% nylon). Perfect color blends of muddy browns, cerulean blues and fresh to forest greens...makes me think of spring!
Pics to come soon...

So, why the stress??? DD just showed signs that MRSA is on its way back into her little body...Darn it. I thought we were in the clear....

Monday, March 28, 2011

What makes you choose a pattern?




Today I cast on for a sweater coat that I never intended to knit and by the look of it in the book, you'll guess why-it's a bulky knit, slouchy sweater coat. Now, I had intended to knit up Briar Rose Fibers' Robusta cardigan, making the necessary mods like the really nice woman who wore it at Rhinebeck told me to do-just knit it longer to make it like hers. I instantly fell in love with this sweater coat that day and went through their patterns frantically searching for it to purchase-to no avail. I even went back to their tent, later in the day, to see if they re-stocked and to my surprise, the incredibly nice woman there, told me that since they were out of stock on it, she would gladly mail me the pattern-gratis. Gratis?? Whaaat??? What an unbelievably nice and kind and completely unneccessary thing to do? I gave her my mailing address and walked away stunned. Wouldn't you know, a few days later, I got the pattern in the mail-just as promised!! I am still stunned by the above and beyond service, that I've since been told, is the way that really wonderful company runs. How cool, right?

So, imagine my surprise, when I finally went to CO for this cardi, that I debated it over and over. I found myself scanning "Sweater coats" on Ravelry, to see if there was something seamless instead. You see, when I knit for myself, I want the pattern to go smoothly and quickly-no seaming, no sewing in sleeves, if at all possible. The idea of having to knit fronts, back and sleeves and then set them in-while, I know how to do this, it bugs me when I have to-for a pattern for myself. I almost feel guilty knitting something for myself, like I should be knitting for my kids or hubby or gift-knitting instead. I know, completely insane!! I'm going to change this thought and will write more about it in another post. Anyway, I also find that I prefer raglan sleeves for their look-they seem more flattering on me-I think. So, despite the incredibly kind story above and the overwhelming infatuation I had with Robusta back at Rhinebeck, I just wasn't feelin' it anymore.....so I checked out Flicca and Stephanie Japel's Long Coat with Chevron Lace and Stephanie's won. So there...

Sunday, March 27, 2011

New updates to etsy shop!


Well, it's been a nice, long and relaxing weekend. The whole family, myself included, is sick with a wicked cold and so we didn't do a thing but hang out all day in the house. I did a ton of swatching for fall designs and worked on some proposals. I also made some new small stitchmarker sets (4 in each set) that I'm going to set at a lower pricepoint on etsy and see how they do. I love stitchmarkers-they are like pretty knitting jewelry and I do love to see them hanging on WPI's. Look for these to be up on my etsy shop real soon!
All this knitting hasn't made for many FO's though b/c it's mainly swatch-n-see time. I can't believe I'm saying it, but I'm actually looking forward to cutting the t-shirt yarn for daughter's sun cloche. Crazy, right?

All this patterning and swatching has me really thinking about the type of patterns that I write. My friend's mother often says to me, "I don't know how you knit without a pattern. I can knit, but not without a pattern." I don't know, when I first learned to knit, most of my projects were without patterns b/c I learned from a book and bought my yarns from a big-box store, not an LYS (I know, egad!!) Back in those early days, when I look back, those designs were flying off my needles and I couldn't get enough of mixing yarns and seeing what the end project was to look like. In many ways now, I wish I didn't know as much as I do b/c I know now that I can search on Ravelry for different ways to do things or look in my substantial library of books and magazines instead of merely experimenting with yarn to see what happens. Sometimes I feel like all these directions at my fingertips hinder my designs and experimentation. At the same time, though, there are plenty of designers both big-name and independent, that I look to for inspiration. I guess, like all good things, it takes a delicate balance of both to work well.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

I really need a....


knitting friend. Everywhere I go, be it to teach a knitting lesson, to an LYS, various wool festivals, meetups, whatever, it is a rare occasion that I have a knitting friend MY AGE with me. While I do love my knitting "friends" on ravelry too, I would love to be able to sit and knit with someone my age, who is interested in similar patterns, yarns, etc. I find that most of the women that I meet, while incredibly nice, are just not at the same point in their lives that I am in mine. No one has little kids, no one is knitting/designing garments that are more suited to show off curves, and most of the women I meet are either beginner knitters (learning to knit from me) or are really, really into socks. I mean, how many pairs of socks can you really have?? While I too, love a good sock yarn (socks that rock really do ROCK!!) the idea of making socks day and night bores me to tears.
My friends that I hang out with (on the rare occasion that I do hang out) find my knitting addiction fascinating, if not a bit insane. I don't really know how they survive happily cleaning the house, cooking dinner, taking care of hubby and kids w/o some sort of outlet. None of my friends have hobbies either-so strange....not that this is a hobby-goes way beyond that now, but despite my many attempts to convert my bff's to this great craft, it hasn't happened yet. I so wish I had a friend close by to knit with and go here:
http://www.everythinghomemade.com/lunch_menu.shtml

They host a knitting night on Thursday nights-how fun would it be to hang out and knit there?? And eat/drink some yummy food? This place is great-I've taken my daughter there after her dance class and everything we've had has been so yummy! If only I had a friend...

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Tilling the garden and...


Knitting do not mix well! This morning, I saw a bluebird. My favorite bird in the whole world-that cobalt blue tint is like nothing I've ever seen-it stirs something in me everytime I see it. Amazing....anyway, I saw our resident bluebird and thought to myself, as the sun peaked out, "Today would be a good day to till out the garden area." So, with pitch-fork in hand, I went outside and.tried.hard.-no luck...
A phone call to the home and garden store and a massively large piece of rental equipment later, the garden is tilled....I'm exhausted, but so happy. The soil is much better than I thought-not nearly as many rocks as I thought we'd have and it is really nice, drained soil. I brought the tiller back to the store to get my deposit back and asked the gentleman if my deposit came with a bottle of Motrin?? He laughed and asked me to sign a paper and I winced while holding the pen. Holding the pen hurt!! What about knitting needles??!! Aye....

Here's hoping a hot shower helps!!!

Monday, March 14, 2011

Spring fever...


This time of year always makes me...antsy. Filled with the promise of unpredictable weather, new projects for the year, the earthy smell in the air and all things sprouting up from the ground, I can't help but have a little...A.D.D! With all these ideas sprouting up in my head, I can't focus on a darn thing! Do I: finish up sending my very first whole garment design, plot the new garden out (my upcoming b-day present!-can't wait!!), wash windows (too cold for right now-can you believe it's flurrying outside??), give the house a good cleaning or just go for a walk around the property and neighborhood with my daughter and doggie in tow?? Decisions, decisions...

Any way ya slice it, I do believe...I've got spring fever!!

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Update on...

the bus driver lady. Seems she's a bit brazen, thinking that knitting is so much more mindless than crochet. Last week, she stopped me at the bus stop to say, "Hey! I can't get those mitts you gave me away from my daughter-she loves them. I crochet and I'm sure I could figure out the pattern. Would you give it to me?" Ummmm....sure....I guess....

Of course, I gave it to her that very afternoon. Happy Knitting, Bus Driver Lady!!!

Friday, February 25, 2011

Heaven on earth...


So this is where I was last weekend....beautiful Southern Vermont! Went up for the long weekend with hubby and the girls to stay with closest friends and we had a great time!! Much eating and much knitting, thanks to a stop at the Black Sheep Yarn Shop in Dorset, Vermont. Now, I have been to many an LYS, so imagine my surprise when I encountered at least 4 of the nicest, friendliest women, all wanting to help me-yet not too pushy where I wanted to run right out! Cute shop! Great selection of yarns-they had the shop arranged by weight of yarn, which I like-all worsted in one place, all bulky in another, sock yarns all gathered together...it was wonderful. I even managed to find some local yarn (I'm a sucker for local yarn-especially when on vacation) in a bulky weight! Really pretty pale blue yarn-don't know what it will become but I'm thinking a hat for my fair-haired little girl...we'll see...
I wanted something mindless to knit while watching the ridiculous movie, "Social Network" so I picked up some Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande yarn in a creamy, caramel color and a slipper sock pattern, some size 6 double points and now I have a souvenier from the weekend! We did get out of the house-we went ice-skating, shopping at the bookstore in Manchester, and the LYS, but for the most part, we stayed in. So, this project was the perfect way to remember the trip! And all of it was completed this week (should have been a weekend completion but I caught a wicked cold and was out of commission the whole darn right home in the car-5 wasted hours!!! Ugh)
Pics to come of this great yarn and that local bulky beauty...

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Fetching for the bus driver...


Ok-so I'm a bit of a procrastinator...have been since elementary school and quite frankly, I'm positive this fault of mine is the sole reason why I haven't done really much with my crafty skills....I never seem to have enough focus to drive myself into success. I'm always getting distracted by people or things (mostly knitterly things) and this is why for at least 5 years now, I have felt like time has stood still as far as me moving ahead with my knitting/craft goals and dreams.

Case in point-this past week, while I should've been working on the summer top that I'm designing for a knitting magazine (with a MARCH deadline!), I chose instead to waste umpteen hours on the internet, reading blogs, searching endlessly for cheap flights to disneyworld (to no avail-I really think they don't exist b/c idiot parents like myself can justify spending $400 roundtrip per person for "memories."), etc. Then on a cold Monday, while walking my daughter to the bus stop, I noticed the bus driver lady holding her hands like they hurt. She had a cute little lap blanket on but that was all. She doesn't wear a coat, just a sweatshirt and I wonder why? Then, I thought of my emergency-car knitting project that has been in my car for at least 2 years. I put it in there, in case I forgot my knitting on a family car ride to or from NJ to PA or from PA to NJ. I used to knit it when bored in the car line at my daughter's school. But it never got finished. The project was Fetching http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer06/PATTfetching.html
I decided right then and there that I would whip up the other mitt and give them to the bus driver lady so that she could still grip the wheel when driving my precious daughter and stay warm! My husband thinks I'm nuts, but I love to spring unexpected knitted gifts onto complete strangers! Hope she likes them!!!

Monday, February 7, 2011

Working, working, working...

Yep-I've been crazy at it lately! Lots of UFO's completed and updated on my ravelry projects page and even some pattern designing going on-finally. Crossing my fingers that I can complete basic math with success, I don't procrastinate, and I manage my time wisely. I've got more teaching gigs lined up and need to knit samples for those as well and I do have to knit up a sweater for my younger daughter-to be fair. Managed to finally complete a pair of mittens for me so I don't feel like a total idiot as the knitter who buys store-bought mittens for herself b/c she just doesn't have the time to knit a pair for herself. I had knit one mitten of Bella's mittens (no, I'm not a Twilight fan-just love the pattern) last year sometime and wanted to get the other one done asap so I finished them over the weekend. Tried them out this morning on the way to the bus stop and they are nice and toasty. But-wouldn't you know, in my haste to get them off the needles, I made the right thumb too short and now it bugs me-pulls the whole mitten up some. I'm hoping some nice water and blocking (stretching!) does the trick.

Well, with Valentine's day around the corner, I've been thinking of gifts for my family. Hubby is going to get this:

The girls are going to get the hallmark love bug pouches filled with (hopefully) crocheted flower barrettes and amiguri love birds, along with some stickers, candies, etc. We are going to make some chocolate covered strawberries and red velvet cupcakes too.

My sis and sil are going to get these b/c well, every girl deserves some pretty jewelry on V-day, no?? I made these in a matter of minutes-so quick!! Hoping to get some on etsy real soon!

And my mom and dad will hopefully be getting some homemade macaroons-if, I can make them and get them mailed out to NC in time...we'll see!

Caio for now!

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Whoooaa!

Ok-to catch ya'll up on what has happened over here....on the day that I posted my last post, I was feeling a bit under the weather-couldn't get warm all day and unusually tired. It was about a week before my little one was set to have surgery so I thought maybe I was just feeling stressed that I wanted everything to be done (i.e. the quilt she requested, like her big sis had for her surgery, the knitted bunny she wanted, the soft food grocery shopping and full house cleaning that my house really needed). So, I trudged through most of the day until hubby got home. Then I went to lay down for a bit and fell asleep for the rest of the night. Very weird for me. The next day, I couldn't lift my head off the pillow and that is when I knew it...I had the flu. Exactly one week before my daughter's surgery, I had the @#$% flu! What to do?? Well, nothing! I couldn't do a thing about it! I cancelled the knitting class I was supposed to teach, I couldn't knit(!), so I just laid there and cried and slept....and slept some more.
I got tamilfu from the doctor, who followed up with a phone call two days later, and told me that my bloodwork showed I had a sinus infection and the influenza, and he warned that I better do "nothing for at least 4 days and when I felt better to take it very slow." How?? My daughter was having surgery and so much needed to be done! Well, I found out the hard way that I should've heeded his words...The day after my daughter's surgery, I went overboard a bit and felt the same aches and pains that I had the week prior. It scared me so bad...but it worked. I dropped all housecleaning and knitting and just focused on her care and sleep and I'm finally beginning to feel better-back to my old, slightly tired self. I'm finally knitting again too so all is right with the world. And, daughter is doing so well post op, that I might be able to exhale a bit today...we'll see...

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

What's on my needles isn't necessarily what's in my head???

Yep-of course, like any other knitter, I've got stuff on my needles and umpteen projects in my head. So much so, that it is actually beginning to stress me out a bit. I've got my daughter's sweater to wrap up (currently on sleeves), my youngest is having surgery soon, so her request for a bunny trumped the sweater for a bit, I've got a beginner knitting class to teach on Friday and accompanying that is a scarf that is nearly done (needs a bit of blocking), two baby gifts to get done (the baby is almost a month old already, and a quilt for youngest (b/c I made one for oldest daughter when she had surgery-must be fair, right?).....These are the times I wish I had octopus arms and could just keep on knitting all day and night. I'm also playing around with some crochet earrings for my etsy shop (will make an appearance soon-hopefully) and upcoming projects for the shop for spring. Since I'm no longer working again, I've got the time to do this and hopefully make my shop run again. We'll see...

Wondering if anyone can help me? I'm looking for a good, comprehensive book on knitting stitch patterns-not patterns for clothing, just different knit stitches to play around with, like trinity stitch, brioche stitch, etc. Do you have any good reference books that you turn to? Let me know...thanks

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Back to Life....

Yep, I'm back!!
Seems so long since I've been on here-so much has happened and yet so much is still the same. Weird??
This year comes with many hopes in all things yarny-one of which, is really fun and what I'm excited about. I'm hoping to hit one LYS in my area a month-yep, you read right-one different LYS a month and I'm going to review it each time I go. I will write about my likes and dislikes and hopefully, I will tempt you to visit one or all of these fine stores. This is to support my LYS's the best way I can b/c as so many small businesses are having trouble these days, it's important to support what stores we find so important to us.

On the needles right now: A cowl-neck tunic for my daughter in size 10, a toy airplane and hat for a new baby (daddy is a pilot), and two bunnies for my girls-their special request. Also hoping to get some thrummed mittens on soon for myself, thanks to the tempting shout-out Yarn Harlot gave them awhile ago. Which brings me to another conversation she just wrote about: startitis While I of course, subject myself to this sometimes, instead of satisfying my need to start the umpteenth project right away b/c I have no patience, it actually makes me quite anxious-not in a good way. I'm one of those weird-o's who prefers to tackle one thing at a time-knit-wise, and so I rarely cast on for more while working on another project. I know, weird, right? What do you do?? Are you a startitis victim or do you plod along, no matter how boring, until the task at hand is complete?