Betnat's Lana bag--machine version of the Booga Bag. This took about two hours on the machine (Bond USM), plus seaming and felting time, and left to go to my SIL's Mom in Canada today. I love it so much I want to make a dozen or so of them for Christmas gifts, and one for myself of course! While it was felting in the washer I was knitting a cotton face cloth out of Bernat's Cotton Tots. It seems I'm keeping Bernat going at the moment. The cloth is so soft and the honeycomb pattern is a pretty design. I also cast on for the green Parade sock and got the ribbing done. I'm ready to start the cables. I'm knitting lickety-split. Don't know if we will get any storms from the hurricane, but it is cooler here in Texas today. I'm praying for all those people in New Orleans, Gulfport and Biloxi. I sat out a hurricane (Carla) there 40+ years ago. It was scary stuff. I hope by morning Katrina will be downgraded to a tropical storm as it goes inland.
Proof that I do knit other things--not just socks. I love knitting socks and have to have one of a pair with me at all times. I knit them in the car because they are so easy to carry, and I even drag them around the office with me so I can knit a row or two whenever there is a lull. Socks are the perfect mobile project. This scarf, however, is not so bad in the mobility category. It hasn't gotten so large that it won't fit in my bag (as the big, blue sweater/shawl has). It's going to be pretty with the green Swarovsky crystals I bought for it dangling from each of those points. The green in the yarn is pooling on the left, and under other circumstances I would do something about that. In this case I think it gives it character and mystery. Other projects include the wool tote to be felted that I have on the machine. It will be a surprise for my SIL's Mother, as she makes a stressful move from one city to another. I am knitting multiple cotton face cloths for Christmas stocking stuffers. For a bath lover friend I'm doing a group of pink, lavendar, and purple cloths to be arranged in a big crystal dish with soaps and other stuff. So, a'knitting we will go!!!
I guess I have a triple case of "second sock syndrome". I finished one Hollyberry sock, one of the green Parade socks Kris started, and one infamous pink front cabled sock in the dreaded Katrina. Now, how do I decide which to make a mate to first. I love the Hollyberry, but I'm probably not going to wear them until closer to Christmas. I've had enough of the pink monster, soooooo, I guess I just talked myself into finishing the green pair first. Those I will wear right away, and they are really pretty shades of green.I am also knitting a lace scarf for a gift, and it is coming along beautifully. I will take a photo of it and post it with a link to the pattern. I am also working on one of a number of fingerless mitts (TUGGS) for Christmas stocking stuffers. It seems the ladies in our family can't get enough of them. My firefighter son has also asked for a black pair. Back to the knitting.....
I wish I had a big smiley face to paste here. Blogger support came through for me. They pretty much told me that I caused the problem myself by putting two photos side by side. It made the column too wide and pushed the sidebar down to the bottom. It is sure nice to know what to do if that ever happens again. Guess I'll stick to one photo or two thumbnails. Thanks Blogger Support!!! I appreciate the help, and I promise to get better at this.Now, back to knitting.
I'm having big problems with this blog. Of course, I started out with absolutely no knowledge of how to manage a blog, and today--I still don't know how it all works. I've managed to get some links into the sidebar, and a button or two with a lot of help from my friends. NOW, the whole sidebar has dropped down to the bottom of almost gone. Yup, the sidebar is down there at the bottom if you care to page down, and down, and down, to find out who I am and what I'm linked to. I've had help from a PoohBear and a Knitting Grandma (thank you both so much!), and I thought I was perking along okay when this happened. So here's what I am going to do. Unless one of you dear knitters can tell me what to do about this problem, I am going to pop to a new template and start over. Only, this time I am going to save a copy of the template when I get it the way I want it--at least I've learned that.It's not like I'm writing the great American novel here, but when you care enough to share thoughts with others who care enough to read them, it's hard to wipe the slate clean and start over. Also, the older I get the more I resist change! So I guess I'll see you on the other side of .................
Wow! I ran flat out all day and when I got home I started knitting on both of these socks at one time. Somebody stop me please!I picked up the red and green (Hollyberry) sock first, and after I took the picture I finished down to the toe. But before I took the pictures I picked up the half finished (by Kris) green Parade sock and knitted most of the foot. This is the test sock for Kat's Front Cabled Sock that Kris was kind enough to try for me. Then, she didn't like the color and sent them to me--I love the color. Thanks Kris!!! Now, here I am blogging, and still going strong. I'm going to collapse any minute--I'm sure of it. Tomorrow is Saturday and I can sleep late. I sure need it because it has been a wild week. Isn't it terrific that we can knit and bring some calm and relaxation into our lives. I keep telling DH he should try it, but he's so laid back that knitting would only put him to sleep. Those of us with a high degree of nervous energy need to c-h-i-l-l-l-l. Knitting does it for me, and a lot of other people it seems. I think it's because we can only knit one stitch at a time, and the process puts everything back into the proper perspective--life is all about one stitch at a time!
I love Knitty Gritty, and the quick tips I pick up. I record all of them, watch each show, and delete the ones I don’t want to keep. Last week Vicki Square (The Knitter’s Companion) was on the “Getting Started” show, which for the most part was perfect for any beginning knitter to watch over and over. THEN, Vicki Square got her mouth running before her brain was in gear. When Vickie Howell asked her if she had always used the Continental style of knitting and if so why, she replied, “Because I like to finish more than one garment per year.” Will somebody escort that lady from the building!!
I, the dyed-in-the-wool (pardon the pun), ultimate, never going to change, English Thrower am offended!! I have tried and no matter what I do I can’t get used to holding the yarn with my left hand, so I throw. AND, here’s the thing, I have finished five pair of socks, a sweater, two scarves and a shawl since January 2005. That’s all hand knitting, and doesn’t even include the machine knitting. It follows that the English Throw style is not so annoyingly slow that Vicki Square should mock it on TV. It was a lot like the sort of inane drivel people utter when they have had too much to drink. The difference is that others DO remember it in the morning!
I don’t understand what the big darn hurry is about! I knit to relax and enjoy the process—what’s the rush? There was recently a lot of blogging about a sweater knitting race that was to prove which participant was the fastest knitter. I admit that I was caught up in the excitement, and if that was fun for them then it’s okay. But don’t go talking bad about my style of knitting, implying that I should knit faster just to join the race. I think everyone should use their own style and their own pace. The important thing is to enjoy the process. No matter how fast you finish, enjoy it! Vicki, that was a no-no.
Pardon my blur! I took this picture every way I could think of and it still came out dark and blurry. I guess it's dark because the yarn is. This is Knit Picks' Sock Garden in Hollyberry. They are going to be my Christmas socks. Two by two ribs all the way down the leg and top of the foot, and an inverted toe (purled around to put the knit side on the inside). It's a simple pattern, but a decorative one, and this yarn is so sweet! I love Knit Picks, they are just the best. I've been more than happy with all the yarn (a lot) I've ordered from them, and no one can quibble about the price!!! I just ordered some of their Palette--100% Peruvian wool, to make the American Flag socks here. Can't wait!On other news fronts--there is a new sock knitting list, Sockit2um. Fun talking about, mmmm, just socks. My friend Kris started it and hopes all you sock knitters out there will join in and share tips, problems, FO's, and patterns/links. I'll put a button up here as soon as they have one.I haven't blogged for the last few days because I've been involved in a major accounting project. I still have my knitting basket beside my desk, and only receive mild disapproval when I pick up my knitting during a meeting. It's who I am, and I am nothing without knitting in my hand!
I don't know how I've lasted this long without posting a picture of my little Macy. She is a two year old Jack Russell Terrier, and a great knitting companion. I know that a lot of knitters have cats who usually love to curl up in the middle of a knitting project. Well, so does Macy. She likes to be in my lap, under the knitting while I work, and gets only mildly upset when I accidentally stick her with a needle. She is very sensitive to my moods, and if the knitting isn't going well (as in the case of the alpaca lace shawl) she climbs up and puts her front paws around my neck and rubs her little face against mine. A-w-w-w-w! I guess you can tell by now that she is our baby. The thing about Jack Russells though is that they shed fur 24/7, 365 . And so it seems that everything I knit has little white "Jack" hairs in, on, woven into it. Still banded skeins of yarn in my stash, wound yarn I'm working with, FO's all contain white fur. Someone asked recently on one of the knitting blogs how to get dust off stash yarn. The answer was to vacuum it. Done it! Done it lots! Still have white fur. So anyone who is gifted with, or falls heir to any of my finished projects will get an extra gift. That's just part of who I am! I just tell myself that cat owners have just as much shed hair around. That's right isn't it--cats do shed?
It's so funny how yarn behaves sometimes. I had a comment from Kris of Knitting Little Bits about her yarn talking back to her. Mine digs its little heels in sometimes! The Picture is of a cabled sock I started some time ago. It's my own pattern and I really want to finish it because I want to post the pattern. But n-o-o-o! This yarn refuses to cooperate. It's Patons Katrina--92% Rayon and 8% polyester. It is very stretchy, and I bought it because a knitting friend had made a bikini out of it and it was wonderfully pliable and soft. So here's the prob, it splits when I try to pick up a stitch, the stitches have to be very loose, and trying to cable evenly with stretchy yarn is difficult. So I put the sock away, but the pattern haunts me. I could start over with a nice undemanding, less mouthy sock yarn, but I think I would live under the shadow of the pink Katrina fiasco. What to do--what to do. Oh well, Kris you're right! Some yarns just have no manners, and they think they are the boss. And they're right!
I
said I would write more about this baby. She didn't know what to be when she grows up. This started out four months ago, a glimmer in the eye of the knitter. The original thought was to make a summer sweater. Then summer sweater seemed not to be logical due to the fact that the yarn is Paton's Decor--75% acrylic and 25% wool in periwinkle blue. Not light weight by any stretch of the imagination. So I picked her up the other day and she spoke to me, "I want to be a shawl." I said, "You start with four inches of ribbing, that says sweater, not shawl." She argued with me, "My ribbing will mold around your body and keep you warm this winter. Besides, my lacy body is shawl worthy, and you have enough yarn to make me at least 5 feet long. I am a shawl." We all know that you never argue when yarn speaks to you, so shawl it is! We went shopping this morning and finished six inches while sitting in the food court. She is already starting to get around. AND, when someone asked what I was knitting, I felt her nudge me so I answered, "A shawl!"
Busy, busy, busy--I've been going 60 miles an hour for three days, and it occurs to me that it's going to be this way until Christmas. I worked past 7:00 pm last night, and still managed to finish the second TUGG fingerless mitt, finish the ribbing on the Baltic sock, and begin the first lace pattern. I also decided that the blue cotton/wool blend that was going to be a summer sweater is going no where, and that the back that is already started is about the right width for a lacy shawl if I just keep knitting straight. (More about this later). Do any of you do that? Do you change your mind in mid-stream and instead of frogging to reclaim the yarn decide what else this 12 inches of knit that you have finished can be used for? Maybe I'm the only one who is that lazy, but with my schedule as wild as it has been, I'm looking for all the shortcuts I can find! As I said, Christmas is coming, and not only do I feel the need to knit gifts, I have friends and family who are beginning to say things like, "Can you knit me some heavy wool socks for Christmas?" or "I really need a pretty lace scarf to wear in the evening." All those requests and gentle hints put a lot of stress on all of us. But I wouldn't have it any other way. I resolve to find the time, between now and then, to knit all the requests and some extra things I have in mind as well. Knitters are suckers for people who love our completed projects, and want them for their own. It is a validation we can't resist. Knit on!
This evening I spent some time knitting on my knitting machine. Mine is a Bond Ultimate Sweater machine--rather a "super Bond" because I have two of the machines put together to give me 200 needles, and the ability to knit wider fabric. I am working on a shawl as a Christmas gift, to be followed by bunches of fingerless gloves, leg warmers, and hat/scarf combinations. The machine gives me the ability to knit a lot faster, and finish many more projects. But it doesn't mean I stop hand knitting when I use the machine! I have also cast on for the second Baltic sock a couple days back, finished the lace top of the grey slipper sock yesterday, and cast on with leftover Lorna's Laces Sunshine for a pair of wrist warmers to match the Baltic socks today. Top that off with 8 hours in the office, and I can sing "I am woman, W-O-M-A-N." Just today a friend asked if the machine took the fun out of knitting. The answer is no, because I always add some hand edging, or have to do some seaming on the piece. Also, I try to combine unusual yarns and colors to make it not just any old machine knit object. The knitting machine offers a different kind of relaxation. There's something calming about the swish, swish of the carriage as I move it back and forth. My grandson once said that it made him sleepy to listen to the sound it makes. I guess it is no different that combining hand knitting and spinning. One doesn't take the fun out of the other, and they fit together in a way that only knitters would understand!All in all, I don't think there is anything more relaxing or enjoyable than knitting in any form. But then, I'm addicted to it! If I were required to go to rehab for my knitting and yarn addiction, I would have a lot of company--A LOT of good company!
The whole sock, and as seen from the front of the leg.One Baltic Sock is done in Lorna's Laces Sunshine, and I'm having a giant case of second sock syndrome. It looks beautiful just hanging around, but looks like any other sock on the foot. I think my problem is that I just received two skeins of Knit Picks Merino sock yarn in Hollyberry, and I want to knit Christmas socks for me, me, me. But I'll be good! I lovingly put it away and wound the Sunshine to start the second Baltic Sock. All those little swirls and swishes are a lot easier now that I read the lace knitter's blog about making an Excel chart of the pattern and making as many copies as there are pattern repeats. I wish I could remember who came up with that because she is a genius!!! I highlight the row I just finished and throw away the page as I finish each repeat. It goes much faster. Okay, I talked myself into it--I'm ready to start the second sock.
Pooh-Bear asked if I am also revamping the face of the blog. Boy, don't I wish! I'm finding Blogger a little unforgiving. I asked for help from technical support to place buttons in the sidebar. They replied that they don't support that sort of thing, and that I should learn some html code. I'm just a simple accountant, and I don't know nuttin' 'bout no html code! I did manage to get my links into the template, and even kinda got the Knitting Bloggers button into the sidebar. But the picture won't show up even though I have tried many times. Yes, I did insert the location of the picture into the line where it says "image url here" but it still didn't show it's face. You notice Blogger has THEIR button in the sidebar, so I know it can be done! Maybe someone will read this and try to help me with some easy instructions. Oh please, oh please, oh please!!! I won't give up! Life is all about learning and growing. When that stops, I guess it's all over. So, I'd better get busy on the html code thingy. Anyway, the Knitting-On-The-Go web site looks great and I would truly like the blog to look as good. Thanks for asking Pooh-Bear!BTW, today is my birthday, and I can happily say that life is good! I feel good and look pretty good for my age (unless Stacey and Clinton show up today with a plastic surgeon in tow). That could really bring me down.
