More pretty stuff

Ravelry: Starshower pattern by Hilary Smith Callis

Crocheted Puffy Snowflake

Granny Christmas Ornaments

Magic Gryffindor Scarf

Felted Art to Wear

Happy Go Knitty Yarns - aren't they scrumptious!

so there's more to it than just the knitting...  All about what it takes to create a pattern.

Embossed Pocket Stitch

Beverage Cozy Mitt

Learn Tunisian Crochet

Oh, the Weather Outside is Wonderful!

Ray, at Knitivity, has always been one of my favorite indie dyers.  Especially because he loves to do custom dye jobs!   He once did a  red, yellow, black and white skein for me to make Mickey Mouse socks before a trip to Disneyland!  Check out his gorgeous ready mades, and then think if your knitting club, Purple Hat ladies, or church group would like to have their own custom colors!

The geek in me just has to have this.  T.A.R.D.I.S. Tea Cozy

Little Dryad would look stunning with some of Knitivity's yarns!

Lacy Cabled Sweater is just too pretty.  Cables will create nice shaping!

What fun combining fabric and knitting to make Folk Bags.

Gingerbread Cottage Hats.  So many possibilities.

Diagonal Lace Cuff2Cuff Sweater.  What a great design.

My favorite from todays perusal of Ravelry?

Sanquhar Cowl or Scarf

Sanquhar is a town in Scotland, noted for its distinctive two-color knitting.

Welcome Back!

Welcome back to all my old friends and welcome to new followers.  I will be updating this blog on a regular basis with lots of knitting, crocheting, spinning, some weaving, and other fibery wonderfulness!

Click on the pictures for links (if there are any) to more information.  Some items will just be inspirational because I couldn't find links.

Petits Modeles

How pretty!

Celebrate!

Internet Special! It's Flag Day! 10% of all red, white, and/or blue yarns! Come join us at Grandma's Spinning Wheel for some fun fibery chatter and a cuppa!

autism reality from Alex Plank on Vimeo.

Clover is giving away a bunch of free circulars! Enter Daily!

Knitting Books

If one goes to Google Books and types in Knitting in the search engine, a list of hundreds of knitting books will come up. If one clicks on the "Limited Preview" link on the left side, a list of books will come up that one can view, cover to cover. Included in my short perusal of this list is Knitting Without Tears, by Elizabeth Zimmerman, Stitch 'n' Bitch, Mary Thomas's Book of Knitting Patterns, 2-At-A-Time Socks: The Secret of Knitting Two at Once on One Circular Needle, by Melissa Morgan-Oakes and hundreds more, including knitting fiction. Many are vintage, many current. What a find!

Looking at this book, Exercises in Knitting by Cornelia Mee, I find that the patterns call for knitting and seaming. Seam being another word for purl. Once I figured that out, the patterns make sense and would be fun to try.

I find it interesting the sock patterns from the late 1800s and early 1900s often have a seam stitch, a purled stitch in the stockinette, in the center back, so the hand knitted socks have the same appearance as machine knitted socks that were indeed seamed up the back.

Ode to the unknown knitter

Earlier in the week I went out for coffee with Eldest Daughter and Youngest Son. We ended up at the local gently used store and I found the most beautiful hand knit sweater! The workmanship is superb, ends woven in almost invisibly, good tension throughout all the patterning. It's a zippered cardigan and fits me like a glove. Toasty warm. The zipper was sewn in by hand perfectly and can't be seen when it's closed up. Please take the time to click on the pics so you can see the patterns up close.

I don't know why it ended up in the used clothing store and was on sale for $6, but I'm certainly thrilled it was. To the unknown knitter, I don't know if this sweater was appreciated and loved by the recipient, but it certainly is now. It's totally treasured and loved. I washed it, rinsed it with hair conditioner and blocked it. It's so totally soft and snuggy. I am sure it was dry cleaned previously and if that's why it ended up on sale for me to find, how sad that the original owner didn't know how to take care of it and bring out all of it's soft warmth. Unknown knitter, know you are truly appreciated and the sweater is well loved and petted often.

DL's kids have been sick so she was housebound until yesterday. We met with BFF, F, for coffee and knitting. Enjoyed my morning walk much more than thinking about doing my morning walk. I am always trying to justify not doing it, but feel so good once I do.....

Team Harry

Some one asked me recently if I'd gotten into the Twilight Saga thing. This is pretty much my answer! (Click to embiggen!)

This looks like a fun project after the holiday madness...or Christmas Day....

Oh, this looks like another great project. Maybe this could be a bus riding project....

It's getting colder and mostly wetter. So glad I have all these warm socks (which I've taken to wearing in bed at night), scarves, hats that I've made over the years and really had no where to wear them. Not needed when just running out to the car, but now that I'm taking the bus and walking....warm woolies are wonderful!

Pocket Mittens

Spent Saturday making these mittens for my Eldest Granddaughter's birthday. We stand outside in the cold mornings waiting for the bus. Thus the mittens. But these have a twist. There is a little pocket on the right palm for her bus fare. Despite the fact the change could fall out, I think these will work, as she carries her lunch box in her right hand which will provide the pressure necessary to keep the change in the pocket until the bus comes. Her Tia is making her a lanyard for her bus card. The pocket was easy to make and details on my Ravelry page.

Going off to knit with an "old" knitting friend, G, from my past, today. Not sure if DL will join us or not. We're going to yet another local bookstore as it's closer to G's house. And Barnes and Noble has Starbucks coffee which I'm afraid has become my drug of choice. It's still cold, about 39 degrees this morning. I'm glad I won't be out walking in it till around noon.

I spent the entire day knitting, listening to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. TV just isn't interesting and my DVR is filling up with all my usual shows. Oh well, I'll get around to them eventually!

Handmade Stocking

I'm thinking today will be an "at home" day after taking granddaughter to school and my walk. They are supposed to come turn on the furnace today. Not that we'll use it much, but all the cold air coming in through the evaporative cooler will be blocked.

I meant to CO granddaughter's mittens last night, but Youngest Son asked me to extend the cuffs on his fingerless gloves, so I got one just about finished.

Cold

It's finally started staying cold around here. Especially in a house with no heat! We haven't had them come over and turn it on, but even if they did we can hardly afford to use it. We're not freezing...it's just chilly in the house in the mornings. Everyone is sleeping better because of the cold, though.

Yesterday was spent doing household stuff....groceries, cleaning, rearranging furniture, laundry.... Very little knitting was accomplished! Today will be more "normal." Back to taking the bus, meeting DL for coffee and stuff like that. Like my routines!

I finished the scalloped socks for Youngest Daughter, have one of the socks done (minus toe) for son and have an inch or so of the eight inches of leg on the other one done. Won't put the toes on till he gets here to try them on. Next plan is to CO mittens for Eldest Granddaughter. I have an idea to put a little pocket in one for her bus fare. The pocket will have an opening on the outside of the mitten, but will be on the inside. That way as she holds on to her lunch box, she'll be gripping the money, too and it won't fall out on our walk to the bus stop. We'll see if it works out in reality as well as it does in my head! ;)



Twenty-five best places to find free knitting patterns.

Santa Made an Early Delivery

My dear friend, DL, bought me a new phone for Christmas! Although DL and I see each other almost every day, we still text each other alot in the evenings. This is a super duper texting phone. What even makes it super duper special is she has a brand new one, too! Hers looks like this one, and mine is burgundy. I got it all turned on, switched over from my other phone, and charged up. Then played and played with it to see all the features I could readily find. Soon I'll even read the manual to see what other cool things it does. It took awhile to get used to the placement of things on the keyboard, but, boy howdy, can one text so much faster!

Yesterday DL and I dropped off the seven hats we made for an employee at a local used book store. He requested them last week when he chatted with us while we paid for a knitting book. Today we go back to collect the cash! Christmas money!

Sock knitting has advanced. One of the scallop socks is done, the other leg started. One of the legs on my TN son's socks is finished, just waiting to be bound off.

We had a wonderful lunch at C's house yesterday. Cuban style chicken and rice with veggies, lots of coffee and pumpkin pie. Oh, and much knitting, too! C's finished off her first hat and will be heading out to get more supplies to make her hubby a pair of house socks! She's bound and determined to join us in our sock knitting frenzy! Eldest Daughter joined us for lunch and then we ran errands and everyone ended up here for leftover turkey, rice and veggies.

Found another "old" knitting friend, G, on Facebook yesterday. We've known each other since before her oldest daughter was born. Said daughter is now a mother herself. Anyway, G facilitates yet another knitting group at another coffee shop on Saturday evenings. Although I hesitate to bus it to that one, I'm trying to figure out how to add it to my knitting adventures. I'm hoping G will come for coffee Sunday at the mall bookstore along with A and DL. They'll get along well! We're all just a little different than most so understand each other better than most!