I've Been Knitting

I know it's been over 2 months since I have posted on my blog. I have no valid excuse. All I have to say is one word, Ravelry. It is a knitter website that is so addictive that I get little else done on the computer. I do check my mail and after that I can spend hours on the Ravelry site. I do manage to go to work, occasionally do housework, do the shopping and knit.

Since it has been so long I have lots of knitting to post. Let me start with the Adult Marley Hat that I knit for Shanda. Shanda is a nurse that I work with and she really wanted a hat like the Baby Marley that I knit for Amanda's baby shower. I finally (months later) made one for her. I love it too. I would like to have one for myself, maybe months from now I will knit another one.

As you can see I made this the first of December. We drew Secret Santa at work and I drew Diana's name. She recieved this scarf.

I continued with the gift theme and knit felted clogs for Mom and Dad's Christmas presents. They were a very fun knit and even more fun to felt. Before felting they were HUGE!
This is Dad's clog on my right foot, a normal slipper on my left. Can you say clown shoe?

This is the same clog after felting. Sorry there is no comparison picture but they are normal size. As you can see the picture was taken Christmas Eve. They were freshly felted and I don't think they dried for a couple of weeks past Christmas. I hope he's using them.

Dad's were in a nice denim blue shade. Mom's were a little brighter.

Turquoise uppers, pink tops, and purple soles.

In January, I knit Claire a fair isle tam.

I love knitting fair isle projects. Lindsey had visited Sophie's Fine Yarn and purchased Noro Silk Garden for me. I wish you could see the hat in person. It is adorable. When I gave it to Claire she immediately put it on and said it was very "French". Pretty smart for a 5 year old. She asked me to knit her some slippers, so she got these.

In her favorite colors, pink and purple. They will go with her purple robe and her pink and purple bedroom. She is a girly girl.

I have tried and tried to knit something for the boys that they would actually wear. They have declined everything so far, except Jason who wore the first scarf that I ever knit (until Lindsey gifted him with the Harry Potter scarf for Christmas, Yeah Lindsey!). Anyway, I knit a Fake Isle hat and Cory liked it. He liked it so much that he wore it on the annual guy's ski trip.

They went to Snowshoe this year. They had a good time at Snowshoe year before last but decided to step it up a bit last year. They drove for 18+ hours to Killington Vermont. Killington experienced record high temp's last year and no natural snow in December. They were sooooooo disappointed but did get to ski on man made snow. This year they opted for Snowshoe again and had plenty of natural snow, and were able to ski in and out of their condo. They even let a couple of girls go this year!

My neighbor, Sharon stopped in the weekend before Christmas. She asked, in a half joking manner, if I could knit her daughter, Samantha, some fingerless mittens for Christmas. I said sure but not before Christmas. She got these for New Year.

The good ol Fetching pattern from knitty.com. I have knit these before, they are quick and cute. I think everyone makes these, at least those in my knitting group.

Speaking of the knitting group, there is a group of knitters who met at the knitting retreat back in November. We enjoyed each others company so much that we decided to meet once a month to keep up the camaraderie. We have named ourselves the 127 Knitters, since we meet in Frankfort most of the time and have to travel on Hwy 127 to get there. Origional huh? If you are on Ravelry you can find our group aptly named 127 Knitters. Everyone has been bringing projects to share with the group. I made this from the yarn intended for the purse pattern from the retreat. I don't think anyone finished the purse and used the wonderful Mission Falls yarn for another project. Mine is a Tudora neck wrap from knitty.com

It is a cute pattern with cables and it folds over under the chin. Very victorian looking. Lindsey gave me the button. It has a crown on it (for the queen)!

Mom and Dad flew south for February, (not literally, they drove). Mom's birthday is in February and I gave her this scarf before they left.

It is the Huckleberry pattern from Interweave's Holiday issue. I knit it in a yarn with tiny sequins on it, held double with some kidsilk haze. It is so soft against the skin and with sparkle too! I hope she uses it. I think she is afraid to "hurt" the stuff that I give her. She usually just displays it. I want you to use it. I promise to make you more if something happens to the stuff I have given to you already! If anyone reads this blog that has been gifted something handknit use it. That's what it's for.

Finally something I knit for me. It is the Ice Queen from knitty.com.Do you see a repeating pattern here. Lots of knitty pattern use. I like that web mag alot. Anyway, I think that this is the most beautiful project that I have ever knit. I used Rowan Kidsilk Night, so soft and sparkly! I also used Swarovski crystals. It does indeed look like tiny flecks of ice on the cowl.

You can see a few sparkles in the picture. Oh and it is modeled on the infamous head in a box. I had mentioned to Jason and Lindsey that I would like to have a head manequin to use for photographing my hats. For Christmas they gave me this one. When I opened it we all laughed that I had recieved a head in a box. It will forever thus be named.

I have to show you what Roger made Lindsey for Christmas.

In case you don't know what it is, it is a lovely, beautiful, smooth working, creative, wonderfully made yarn swift. Lindsey had to wait until she came to our house to wind her yarn. Now she has a better swift than I do. I know I'll get one of these too, won't I Roger?

Until next time, whenever that will be.

Happy Knitting and God Bless

Holiday Traditions

Let me start this post with Thanksgiving.

I am thankful that we have had another year to gather together (to ask the Lords blessings) sorry I just couldn't help myself.

We did gather together at my in-laws on Thanksgiving day this year. Last year we were at my parents. The boys really liked having both sets of grandparents with them at one time. I hope this is the start of a Thanksgiving tradition, having everyone together in one place. We are not a huge family, but we are a very fortunate one. We are all in generally good health and we all get along well.

This year we even added a few people that were not with us last year. My stepson, Bill, his wife and stepson were there. YEAH!

My mother-in-laws sister, Catherine, who lives in Cincinnati and Catherine's daughter, Carol, who lives in Oklahoma, were also with us.

I took a few photos but the one I want to share is of Roger with all the boys.

They are left to right: Tyler, Cory, Roger, Bill, and Jason. Are they the best looking group of men you have ever seen? I think so..........

Last night Jason and I took Claire and Bailey to the Christmas Parade here in Lexington. This is the third year in a row that I have taken Claire to the parade. I hope she has good memories in adulthood of our annual tradition. This is the "girls" waiting for the parade to start: Bailey, me and Claire. Notice the knitted hat and scarf? I knit them last winter and waited for a cold spell to wear them. Although Claire's mommy, and my best friend, Diane, wanted to know where my big furry hat was. She had bet that I would have it on when I picked up Claire. Sorry to disappoint but I had to wear something I knit.

Here are Jason and the girls just as the parade starts.

One tradition that only began last year is to get a photo of Jason that includes his idol, Ronald McDonald. Here is this years picture:
For comparison last years picture:

As you may have noticed (because I know my readers are a bright bunch) it was daytime last year and nighttime this year. This is the first time the Lexington Christmas Parade was held after dark. I liked it very much, the lights in the parade really made it memorable for me. The crowds were definitely larger than the past few years and the tree lighting was included in the nights festivities. I had never taken the time to attend the tree lighting and I enjoyed it very much last night. The Lexington Singers performed as did dancers from Town and Village. Santa was there and there were fireworks after the tree was lit. Very festive indeed!The girls were totally impressed with the tree, its size and the size of the decorations.

Even big girls like to look up at big trees. Especially beautifully lit Christmas trees.

We Don't Eat As Much As The Quilters!

I had the grand and wonderful experience of attending Shopies Knitting Retreat this weekend. A total of 48 knitters from the Kentucky-Indiana area gathered together at Clifty Falls State Park in Madison, Indiana. The setting was divine. I would highly recommend a visit to the park, for a day, a weekend, whatever your schedule permits. The park inn was beautifully decorated and the accommodations were superb. There is a restaurant on site so I didn't have to leave at all from my Friday afternoon arrival until my departure on Sunday morning.

This is the sunrise view that greeted me in the mornings. The photo was taken just outside my room. What a view.

This is just one of the many welcoming areas in the Inn with comfy seating, warm fireplaces and beautiful views. Doesn't it just look like a place for knitting?
Speaking of knitting, that is what this weekend was for. We first gathered on Friday night for informal introductions and to receive our goody bags.

The knitters closest to the camera were at my table. Clockwise from the upper left, Candie, Anita(mostly hidden), Suzy, a very fun lady that I am sorry to say will remain nameless, and Therese. (I am happy to call Therese my new friend. I enjoyed meeting her very much)

We received our bags that contained yarn, needles, a pattern book from Mission Falls, and various notions. It also contained our "number" . We were called to the yarn table to choose our yarn, in numerical order, for the project we would knit in class on Saturday.

Could you chose just one from this fine assortment? Barb, the owner of Shopies, did a fantastic job of assembling bags of beautiful colorways. I was #40 , and a little afraid that I would have to choose from the left overs. I sort of felt like the last kid chosen in grade school from the playground. I was totally happy with the selection though. Like I said, Barb did such a fantastic job that there were no bad combinations.

We also had a yarn swap on Friday night. I got a really good skein of Trendsetter yarn (Mohair)! Thanks to whoever brought it. I think it is destined to become a pair of Mrs. Beetons.

On Saturday morning we were treated to instruction from Anastasia Blaes. Anastasia is the author of Yarn Cocktails. She taught us to knit a modular purse from her collection. Anastasia is a warm, friendly, and humorous woman. She lost her voice before her arrival but she "played thru the pain" and arrived with a cheerful attitude. She did have a little voice assistance from one of the retreat participants, Paula.

(Sorry, I tried twice to upload the video without success)

We knit all day and enjoyed it immensely,(except the occasional frustration of not "getting" the technique)

At dinner we pushed our tables together, much to the disdain of the staff. One of the ladies was at the buffet when someone from the kitchen was refilling the trays. The staff asked if we were the knitters. When the answer was yes, the staff member said, "You all don't eat as much as the quilters". That became the quote of the retreat. I can envision it being repeated year after year. Thus the name of this post.

After dinner we gathered for the last time and shared our "bloopers". Most everyone said they had not kept their bloopers and had ripped them out and reused the wool. There were a few of us willing to share though.

This is a modular knitted and felted hat that we lovingly nicknamed the Marge Simpson Hat. I am glad to see this. I was planning to knit this hat. Notice the word was.

This lovely lady knit a sleeveless top that was a LITTLE misshapen and mismatched. So much so that she didn't even bother to seam it up.

This is a beautiful shawl that turned out just a little too big. Barb helped to make a few adjustments, add a collar, seam up the arms and now we have a shrug.

Meet Debbie, or Debra (depends on location and her mood I'm told). She is the only person that I have ever met who took a class from Elizabeth Zimmerman. Her sweater was beautifully knit from hand spun cotton. The problem was it just didn't fit very well. Such a shame. Blame it on the cotton.

Last years winner, this woman knit a shawl that never grew. She said that she kept on knitting and it never got big enough. It is a knitting phenomenon.

My entry in the contest, a bulky weight sweater. Just like Debbie/ra's sweater it is a perfectly good knit. The problem lies in the fact that big girls should not wear bulky knit sweaters. I not only knit one, I knit a second one too!
And the winner is.......(drum roll)............ The newly named, conjoined twin shrug. Large enough to comfortably fit two people.

I don't have pictures of the stash contest but believe me I feel so much better about my own small stash problem after viewing pictures of some H-U-G-E stashes out there.

One more picture.

The woman in orange blouse is a Master Beader. Her name is Diane and she was wearing one of her pieces. She teaches beading and I may have to take a class, watch for a beading blog coming to you soon. Don't let the beading stores know I'm thinking about this. They would surely overstock beads to sell me.

Long Time No Post

I know the 2 of you who read this blog have been wondering why I haven't been posting lately. (Well 1 of you know because I talk to you most every day)
Since the last post I have gone to a couple of craft/art fairs. Made a couple of purchases that I don't have pictures of, bought more yarn, started more projects, bought magazines and books that I want to buy more yarn and start more projects from and knit, knit, knit.
Oh yeah and I have sat in the hospital with my youngest, Cory, after he had a seizure, argued with him after he came home about his order not to drive for the next 3 months and grinding my teeth incessantly.
I have also helped move my oldest son out of the house, into his new apartment with his partner, Lindsey. I am very happy for them, they are so happy together, but at the same time I feel the loss. They were my sanity in this crazy household. I know they are just a phone call away but I will miss their company. I wish for them a long lifetime of happiness.
I also get to dog sit every weekend (as long as there are UK football games in town) Tyler comes home and brings Tyson, then he goes out to tailgate, go to friends, and generally socializing.
I have a new cell phone with a camera that I hope will take pictures suitable for blogging.

Oh yeah and I am still talking about making that craft room/den/hideaway in Tyler's old room. I have already commandeered Jason chest of drawers for my yarn stash.

I will probably be talking about that hideaway for a long time without action.

Just Another Sunday

Who Let the Dogs Out?

Tyson, the puppy Boxer/Lab, and Zedd, the Shih Tzu, came for a visit. Actually Tyson has been with us all week. Tyler had his appendix out on Monday and he along with Tyson have been here since Tuesday. We have enjoyed having both here. I do think Maggie and Max may disagree though. I am glad that everyone is getting to know each other while Tyson is a puppy, it won't be long at all before he towers over the other dogs.

(Click on the arrow to play the video)



After everyone left I got to play with my yarn. As I posted yesterday I have fallen in love with the Dream In Color yarn. I wanted to experiment with Kool-Aid dying and I had a blast. I ended up with 7 colors.

I made 7 small hanks of yarn and soaked them in plain water until they were well saturated. I then dipped them into the Kool-Aid bath. I used 2-3 envelopes of unsweetened Kool-Aid per jar.

The jars then went into the microwave for 2 minutes. I left out a portion of the yarn for the first 2 minutes then dunked the whole thing in for 2 more minutes.

After they "cooked" the color moved out of the bath and into the yarn.
You can see the best example in the center jar. The surrounding water is pretty clear.

Aren't they lovely. I had already removed the red to dry. They look like easter egg dyes to me.

I used lemonaid, pink lemonaid, grape, lemon-lime, orange, cherry and blue raspberry. I need to come up with one more color and I could knit the Dream In Color Tulip Sweater in my own colorway.

Thanks Roger for taking some of the pictures.

I Have To Go!

I finally got it!!!!! The Dream In Color Tulip Kit,

I ordered it from Lettuce Knit in Toronto. I placed the order in July, I had to think about it for a couple of months after seeing it first on the Yarn Harlot's blog. I loved it the first time I saw it. I saw it a second, third, fourth, etc. on Ravelry. It was knit in the original Knit in Color yarn that is so lovely, and on Ravelry others had knit the pattern in other yarn. While they are nice, they are not as pretty as the Knit in Color yarn. I had to order the kit. I can hardly wait to cast on, thus the post title.

I ordered this kit in July. The store called last week to inform me that the card I had used to pre-order was expired. They had a good laugh that I had been on the list for so long that I had received a new card. It was definitely worth the wait. It was mailed last week and took 10 days to arrive. I wore a path in the grass to the mailbox looking for it.

Attention all gift recipients! This sweater is going in my grandchild hope chest. I love you all but this yarn is destined to be a "hairyloom" aka heirloom sweater.

On a side note: the pattern included in the kit has sizes up to age 6. I think I will try to dye my own yarn to make a kid sized one. I'll keep you informed(if all goes well) and will keep you entertained(if all fails)

I'm off to Knit!!

PS: the stained glass in the background is my creation too.

Super Smart Overachiever!

I just had to post pictures of Lindsey's latest projects. Either she is a super smart, overachieving, awesome new knitter, or I am a super smart, overachieving, awesome new knitter teacher. (I am pretty sure it's her)

She has been knitting for just under a month. She made her first hats and dove right in to socks. I really wanted her to learn the double point method, and the magic loop method too. So, she made one each way.

Her very next project, 5th of the month, 3 hats, socks, and now this, A Mini Cardigan. It is from the same pattern as mine and looks lovely on:

It is totally this not so awesome, or smart, knitting teachers fault that the sweater was knit too small for even tiny Lindsey. She did a fantastic job on this project. She amazes me that she is not afraid to tackle new patterns, and to make it her own design. If there is a "mistake" she just turns it into a "design feature" and continues on. I am so very proud of her. She has gifted this sweater to the teeny tiny teenage daughter(say that 3 times fast), of her friend.