Christmas Party Time!

Today was our lab Christmas party.  I can't believe this month is flying by so fast!  Christmas is right around the corner, and there is still sooooo much knitting still to be done!  One of the items that I have finished is the Stained Glass Shawl I did for Jackie, my Pollyanna person at work.  She was really surprised, and she really loved her shawl!  That is what it is all about, isn't it!  That is why I push myself every year and do all that knitting for Christmas presents!  The shawl was knit out of Lion Brand Trellis yarn in the color Stained Glass.  The colors are really rich and bright.  The pattern I used was the free one on the Lion Brand Yarn website called Trellis Triangular Shawl.  The pattern is also on some of the ball bands on some balls of Trellis yarn.  Now, I had better get back to knitting if I want to see any more smiles on Christmas day!  More pictures of finished presents coming soon!!!!!!!

'Twas the Month Before Christmas........"

I hope that everyone had a really great Thanksgiving!  We had a wonderful time!  I finished the Santa hat, but I did not wear it.  I gave it to Rich, and he had a great time playing Santa Claus with it!  I wanted to share a couple of pictures from Thanksgiving with you, and also a poem that I saw yesterday -- someone had posted it on the Knitting Scarves group, and I thought that it summed up perfectly this time of year for knitters!  I do not know who originally wrote it, but they were for sure a knitter!!!!!   Enjoy!

KNITTERS CHRISTMAS EVE

'Twas the night before Christmas and all around me
Was unfinished knitting not under the tree.
The stockings weren't hung by the chimney with care
'Cause the heels and toes had not a stitch there.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
But I had not finished the caps for their heads.
Dad was asleep; he was no help at all,
And the sweater for him was six inches too small,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter
I put down my needles to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tripped over my yarn and fell down with a crash.
The tangle of yarn that lay deep as the snow
Reminded me how much I still had to go.
Out on my lawn I heard such a noise,
I thought it would wake both Dad and the boys.
And though I was tired, my brain a bit thick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
But what I heard then left me perplex-ed,
For not a name I heard was what I expected,
"Move, Ashford! Move, Lopi! Move, Addi and Clover!
Move, Reynolds! Move Starmore! Move Froelich --move over
Paton, don't circle 'round; stand in the line.
Come now, you sheep will work out just fine!
I know this is hard; it's just your first year,
I'd hate to go back to eight tiny reindeer."
I peered over the sill; what I saw was amazing,
Eight wooly sheep on my lawn all a-grazing.
And then, in a twinkle, I heard at the door
Santa's feet coming across the porch floor.
I rose from my knees and got back on my feet,
And as I turned 'round St Nick I did meet.
He was dressed all in wool from his head to his toe,
And his clothes were hand knit from above to below.
A bright Fairisle sweater he wore on his back,
And his toys were all stuffed in an Aran knit sack.
His cap was a wonder of bobbles and lace
A beautiful frame for his rosy red face.
The scarf 'round his neck could have stretched for a mile,
And the socks peeking over his boots were Argyle.
The back of his mittens bore an intricate cable.
And suddenly on one I espied a small label,
"S.C." was duplicate stitched on the cuff,
And I asked, "Hey, Nick, did you knit all this stuff?"
He proudly replied, "Ho, ho, ho, yes I did.
I learned how to knit when I was a kid."
He was chubby and plump, a quite well-dressed old man,
And I laughed to myself, for I'd thought up a plan.
I flashed him a grin and jumped up in the air,
And the next thing he knew, he was tied to a chair,
He spoke not a word, but looked in his lap
Where I'd laid my needles and yarn for a cap.
He quickly began knitting, first one cap then two,
For the first time I thought I might really get through.
He put heels in the stockings and toes in some socks.
While I sat back drinking scotch on the rocks.
So quickly like magic his needles they flew
That he was all finished by quarter to two.
He sprang for his sleigh when I let him go free,
And over his shoulder he looked back at me,
And I heard him exclaim as he sailed past the moon,
"Next year start your knitting sometime around June!"

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve to Everyone!  I can't believe it is here already!  Time has really flown these last few weeks, and no doubt it will fly even faster for the next month.  I am off today and tomorrow, and I am spending today knitting and cooking.  We are all going to my sister Debbie's house for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. 

I have several active knitting projects on the needles at the moment, all Christmas presents.  I have 3 scarves, a shawl for my Pollyanna at work, a farmer's market tote for my sister, and a cabled hat that I am test knitting for Spunknit (her blog, Innane Knitting Babble) is in the sidebar at the right) that is destined to become a hat/scarf set for my Dad.  I am currently searching for exactly the right pattern for that cabled scarf.  I am not having any real success, so I think I will just "wing it."  Last year I made Dad a Seafarer's scarf, and he loved how that scarf hugged his neck without a lot of excess bulk, so I am thinking of making another one of those but changing the garter stitch ends to regular knit stitch and adding cables. I am thinking of adding a seed stitch or garter stitch border along the edge of the scarf to prevent curling.  I will have to do a couple of test swatches to see what I like best. 

There is one more little project on the needles at the moment -- a Santa Hat for me!  It is a free pattern from Lion Brand Yarns and it uses Thick and Quick Chenille in Scarlet and Fun Fur in White. Here is the link to the pattern: http://freeknittingpatterns.lionbrand.com/patterns/kctq-santaHat.html  Originally, I had planned to have it done for the lab Christmas party on December 14th, but I think that I will go ahead and finish it today and wear it to my sister's house tomorrow.  It definitely will be cold enough!  We may even get some snow tonight! 

There are a couple of other projects waiting their turn on the knitting needles!  I love knitting this time of year!  I don't even mind the pressure of getting everything done -- it gives me the perfect excuse to sit and knit away without guilt when I really should be doing something else!  The latest project to roll off the needles and join the WIP list is Megan's sequined scarf, pictured above.  It is made out of Berroco Laser FX and the sequins are teal and pink and gold.  I held that yarn together with 2 strands of Trendsetter Perla yarn.  It is white eyelash with irridescent strands in the eyelash that pick up the colors of the sequins beautifully.  The picture does not do it justice as it is really very glittery and sparkly.  It would have come out better in sunlight, but there doesn't seem to be any of that today.  It definitely looks like snow outside! 

Well, off to knit!  I have set myself a certain "daily goal" of knitting each day to be sure that I get everything done by December 25th!  So, I think I will break out the hot chocolate, the Christmas music and the knitting needles and wait for the snow and enjoy the day!  Hope everyone has a safe and GREAT Thanksgiving!!!!!

My Name is Harley!

I want to thank everyone for their comments and emails and suggestions on a name for this little cutie!  There were some really great suggestions, and it was a difficult choice.  In the end, the one name that I just kept coming back to was Harley.  This little fella is all dressed in black, he zooms around everywhere he goes, and he has a really loud motor.  If that isn't the definition of a Harley, then I don't know what is!  When I took him to the vet for his shots last week, she told me that little Harley is going to be a long haired kitty.  So we are trying to get used to being brushed at this early age, but is not going very well.  He can't sit still long enough!  

Knitting progress is a bit slow right now, thanks to the turbo charged ball of fluff that loves to "help" me knit!  Mostly what I have been doing is planning the rest of the presents that I had not already decided on and digging through my "Outta Control Yarn Stash" looking for the perfect yarns to use.  I have been able to make Jackie's scarf for her granddaughter, add the fun fur trim to Kayla's baby poncho, and start one of the Farmer's market felted tote bags.  I will take knitting pictures next, I promise! 

I am going to my LYS this afternoon to look for some more yarns for some more Christmas presents.  I know, I know -- what in the world am I doing going shopping for MORE yarn when I already have an "Outta Control Yarn Stash"??????  I have a good reason!  I want to make a scarf for my niece Megan for Christmas using the Laser FX yarn by Berrocco.  It has little sequins in it, and since sequins are so popular this year, my niece the little Fashionista Diva will be right in style!  Also, I was thinking of getting some more Noro Kureyon to do another Booga Bag for a present.  I am not sure about that, though.  And I need some more double pointed knitting needles.  I am test knitting a pattern for Spunknit (see her blog, Innane Knitting Babble in the link to the right), and believe it or not, I do not have the correct size double pointed knitting needles!  I have just about every other size, but not the one I need!  (at least they are not where I can find them -- they are most likely tucked away in a bag in my "Pile Of Undone Projects!") There are a few other odds and ends that I need to get, but those will probably come from Michael's. 

Well, I will return with knitting pictures soon!  Right now, I have a trip to the LYS to make!  Yahoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What's In A Name?

I need some help!  I have this new, adorable, 4 month old little boy kitten, and I don't know what to name him!  He is solid black, with medium length hair. I had mentioned to my sister a couple of weeks ago that I have always wanted a solid black kitty, and when her neighbor (who works for a veterinarian) brought this adorable little fellow home to "foster care" until he could find a permanent home, my sister knew just who to call!  I went to see him Friday night, and it was love at first sight.  I was a little worried about what Cotton would think about the situation, but despite a few grumbles and growls at first, he now loves his new little brother and they play and have a great time together.  The girls from Diamond Hill Veterinary hospital named him Harry Potter, but somehow, that just doesn't suit him.  But the problem is, I don't know what does!  Some of the names in the running now are Salem, Harley, and Karma.  So far, I can come up with dozens of cute names for girl kitties, but not for boy kitties!  So, if anyone has any suggestions, please, I would love to hear them!  As for knitting, it just became a bit more difficult as it causes quite a stir with the new kitten!  It seems he loves to knit!!!!  Because he enjoys knitting with mommy so much, I was trying to think of a cute knitting related name for him.  Any suggestions?????? 

Willpower!!!!!

I am proud of my willpower this week!  The box from Knit Picks arrived 2 days ago, and I have been able to keep my "Start-itis" under control (so far!)  I do not know how much longer I can hold out, though.  It is very difficult!  I have been trying to finish up a few odds and ends before I dive into that fabulous box of fibers.  So far, I have finished and fringed the scarves you see in the above pictures (2 of them the knitting was completed, they just needed fringing) and I have also finished the other Red Hat Lady scarf for Jackie to give her friend.  Now Jackie has managed to convince me to knit yet another scarf for her granddaughter for her birthday next month!  This one is another fun fur scarf in denim blues. 

There are 2 more "finishing" items that I want to complete before I start the first felted bag.  The first is the fun fur trim on Kayla's baby poncho.  I found some fun fur in my "Outta Control Yarn Stash" that I think will work fine, but I have not got around to doing it yet.  And the second thing is a project that I rescued from "The Pile of Undone Projects."  It is a scarf I started almost 2 years ago, and then abandoned to work on Christmas knitting projects that year.  I had forgotten all about it.  It is a scarf made of Wool Ease in denim twist, and denim blue fun fur.  It is really pretty, and best of all, it is almost finished!  I can't believe I had forgotten all about it!  I came across it again while working on the "Art Studio."  I sure am finding all sorts of neat stuff that I had forgotten that I had!  It is like Christmas every day I work in there!

As soon as these last 2 items are finished up, I will start on one of those felted bags.  I will take pictures of the yarns and post them in the next entry.  I dare not fool with that gorgeous yarn too much too soon or my willpower will fade completely and the "Start-itis" will win!!!!  (I think I can, I think I can!)

Waiting for the Mailman!

I got an email from Knit Picks the other day.  My package filled with all of the wonderful Wool of the Andes yarn to make felted bags is on the way!  I am making at least 3 for Christmas presents this year, and depending on how the first 3 go, I may make a couple more.  I made a felted bag almost 2 years ago and I loved knitting it.  It was a fun project.  I used the free Booga Bag pattern I found on the internet.  I have included a link to it in my Favorite Sites on the right.  It knit up fast and it was fun to watch the yarn make its own stripes.  I used Noro Kureyon.  I have some more of it in another lovely color to make myself another bag, but that will have to wait until after the Christmas Knitting rush.

This week I have finished knitting Kayla's baby poncho and started knitting another Red Hat Lady scarf for Jackie to give to her friend for her birthday.  That birthday deadline comes soon, so that is what I have been concentrating on the most.  I did not get much knitting done at lunchtime this week as I was playing "Knitting Instructor."  I have taught a couple of people at work how to do the knit stitch, and all are happily making scarves as fast as their needles will go.  But one girl has decided that she is tired of just making scarves, and she is ready to branch out into other projects.  She wanted to learn how to purl.  So, we have had purling classes this week at lunch.  She has homework to knit this weekend, but I think she has it down pretty good! 

I guess before that package of yarn arrives, I need to finish up some odds and ends of projects I have lying around here.  Once I open that box, my "Start-itis" will kick in, and I will not be able to resist starting one of those bags!  I have at least 3 scarves that are finished and just waiting to be fringed.  And the baby poncho needs its hood seam sewn up and attached to the body of the poncho.  I think I am going to add some fun fur around the edges.  I think that would be adorable!  I need to go scope out "The Outta Control Yarn Stash" to see if I have some lavender fun fur tucked away somewhere.  If not, it is off to Walmart or Michael's!  Well, I have to do something while I am wainting for the mailman!

Life's A Beach!

The Beach Vacation Scarf is now officially the Beach Sunrise Scarf.  This was the first "sideways" scarf that I have ever made.  I followed the pattern for the StockPot Scarves from KnitPicks website.  I used Reynolds Saucy Sport for the main yarn.  It is a sand color.  Then for the "effects" part of the scarf, I used 3 different eyelash yarns and knit for about 1/3 of the scarf with each one.  The effect that I was trying to create was to "paint a picture with yarn."  I love to blend yarns, like paints, to see what effect the combination will create. The picture I was trying to paint here was the beach at sunrise.  I wanted to start with the sand, move into the water, and finally the colors of the sky at sunrise.  To do this, I started the scarf with a combination of sand and blue eyelash.  Then I switched to a another eyelash yarn that was a lighter color beige, more like an ecru, mixed with blue and some blue iridescent.  The last eyelash yarn was a combination of ecru, peach and peach iridescent. 

The scarf  was fun to knit.  I have decided that I really like knitting these sideways scarves.  It takes a long time to get through a row, but you can have a lot of fun with striping effects with this type of scarf.  I see lots of possibilities here!  I will make some changes the next time I knit one of these scarves, though.  First of all, I cast on more stitches than the pattern called for because I was afraid that the scarf would not be long enough.  I wanted a long skinny scarf.  I need not have added those extra stitches.  I now have a very long skinny scarf!  Especially since the main yarn is cotton, it grows a little bit each time I take it out of my knitting bag and show it to someone!  The second thing I would change is the needle size.  I followed the pattern directions for determining what needle size to use, but I think I will try one size larger next time.  The yarn called for a size 5, so per the pattern, I used a size 7.  I think an 8 would have been a little better.  The fabric would be less dense and would drape a bit better.  Needless to say, I am ready to try another scarf!  So, what picture should I paint with yarn now????

The yarn painting may have to be put on hold for a while though.  It is that time of year again when Christmas Knitting comes into the picture.  I have been looking through patterns and bins of yarn trying to come up with ideas for Christmas presents to knit.  I am almost finished with Kayla's baby poncho.  All that is left is the hood.  Yesterday I ordered enough Wool of the Andes yarn from Knit Picks to make 3 Farmer's market tote bags for Christmas presents.  WHAT????  Ordered yarn??  With 16 (yes, 16!) large tupperware bins of yarn, what in the world was I doing ordering yet more yarn!  Well, I want to make some felted tote bags, and I do not have much 100% wool in my stash.  The wool I have is superwash or mixed wool and acrylic, and that just won't do for felting.  So you see, I had no choice!  But the tote bags will make great presents, and they are fun to knit.  The pattern that I am going to use is also a free one to download off the Knit Picks website, and I have added that link to the Favorite Sites sidebar at right.  I will share the color combinations that I picked when the yarn arrives.  One other present that I have decided to make is also from a free pattern from Knit Picks.  It is the Ocean Capelet.  I have decided to knit this for Megan.  I have some other possibilities brewing, but these are the only definites right now.  I even think that I have stash yarns to use for the Ocean Capelet!

The art studio is progressing nicely!  It is just about ready to use.  I have hauled out 6 trash bags of junk that I don't need anymore, and the rest of the junk that I still need is now piled pretty much out of the way.  (Just don't open the closet door!!!  Yikes!)  There are still a few odds and ends that need to be done, but the bulk of the heavy work is out of the way now.  One bad thing about this project is that now that I see how much better that room looks, I am casting my eye around the rest of the apartment thinking that there are several other places that could use a good overhauling!  It is like a chain reaction!  But I can't get too carried away overhauling everything right now.  It is time for Christmas Knitting!!!  I love this time of year!

Red Hot Jackie!

I finished Jackie P's Red Hat Lady Scarf and gave it to her yesterday at work.  She was thrilled!  She paraded it all over the lab.  She has a meeting of her Red Hat group at lunch today, and she couldn't wait to wear it. 

Also last night I finished knitting the Beach Vacation Scarf.  All that is left to do is to weave in the ends.  I think that I will change it's name, though.  I will explain in my next entry which will be all about the scarf and what I learned while making it and what I would change, etc.  I used the free pattern for the Stock Pot Scarves from the Knit Picks website to make it.  I have added that link to the Favorite Sites sidebar to the right. 

I feel like I need a bit of a change, so to cheer myself up, I have decided to turn my spare bedroom (which is currently being used as a storage area) into a sort of "Art Studio" complete with my painting and knitting supplies all gathered around and easy to get to.  It will be my little creative retreat!  Now, the only thing standing in the way of this little bit of heaven on earth is all of the junk that is currently in the spare room! It is a daunting task, and one that will take a while to accomplish, but it will be worth it, and I am really very excited about it! 

Slow Going

I am slowly trying to get back into the swing of things, but I must admit that it is very hard to do.  Losing Precious has been a terrible ordeal.  I have not been doing as much knitting these last 2 weeks.  I just haven't felt like doing much of anything.  It doesn't help matters that the temperatures have soared back into the 90's again.  The first day of fall was 86 degrees!  Certainly not very fall like. 

 The knitting I have done during the past 2 weeks has been on the Red Hat Lady scarf that I am knitting for Jackie P., a lady at work.  She is big into the Red Hat Society, and she has an absolute ball everytime they meet.  Their next big outing is the end of next week, so I plan to finish her scarf this weekend and get it to her so that she can wear it then.  I will take a picture of it before I give it to her. 

I have been trying to perk myself up by looking through some fall fashion magazines and I have seen lots of things that can be knitted that will fit right in with the trends.  I have bought several knitting magazines and now there are so many things that I want to knit that I don't even know where to start!  But my first priority is Jackie's scarf, and I really want to finish the Beach Vacation scarf that I started a few weeks ago.  It got put aside when I started another (actually several) other projects.  I need to get myself organized and get a grip on those knitting needles before the Christmas Knitting Rush arrives in full force!!!!  Maybe doing so will help me to move forward again.  Knitting has always helped me during difficult times in the past, and it will help me to overcome this heartache, too.  So, without further ado, I am headed off to work on that Red Hat Lady Scarf.  Nothing like a bit of bright color to liven up the day, and you can't get much brighter than red and purple together!

Good Bye Precious. I will miss you.

My Beloved Precious lost her battle with kidney failure today, and I lost a beloved family member and friend.  I will miss her. My heart is broken.

Hello. My name is Lisa, and I am a Knitaholic!

I am out of control again!  I spent this morning digging through my yarn stash and patterns looking for ideas for Christmas presents.  I had forgotten how many projects currently reside in "The Pile of Undone Projects."  Seeing some of them made me want to resurrect them immediately.  I counted everything up, and including the items in my WIP list on the side of the blog, there would be 18 projects on the knitting needles if I worked on everything I wanted to work on!  I would never get anything done!  Sigh.  So much to knit, so little time!  One of the projects that would definitely be on the "Must Knit List" (aka my "Wish List" -- I wish I had time to knit it!) is in this book pictured above.  The pattern on pages 102-104 of the book is for a scarf called Knotted Burgundy Sparkles.  It uses the yarn Paton's Brilliant in the color Burgundy Sparkles, and it is gorgeous!  The knotted fringe is the perfect finishing touch.  Guess what I just happen to have in my "Outta Control Yarn Stash"????  Yup.  You guessed it!  Patons Brilliant yarn in Burgundy Sparkles!  OH NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  The Knitting Gods are conspiring against me again!

It Was a Beautiful Wedding!

Saturday was a beautiful day!  The perfect day for a wedding!  And the wedding was beautiful, too!  Some of our relatives from Canada came down for the wedding, and it was wonderful to all get together and catch up on each other's lives.  Cheryle made a beautiful bride and my nephew Bill a handsome groom.  The unusual thing about this wedding was that the wedding party colors were black and white.  I had never seen a wedding where the maids of honor and the mothers and grandparents of the bride and groom were dressed in black, but it was very beautiful!  Many of the guests wore black, too, knowing the wedding party's colors.  I have to say that I was a little skeptical at first, but it turned out to be really elegant and beautiful.   

On a knitting note, I have begun the first Christmas knitting project of 2005!  I am knitting a poncho for baby Kayla, seen in one of the photos above.  I am using a free pattern from Lion Brand Yarns.  The yarn in the pattern is no longer available, but I am using Bernat Breeze in the color Summer Breeze.  I am going to depart a bit from the pattern and add a row of lavender fun fur around the hood and the bottom of the poncho.   I used this same Bernat Breeze yarn in Violet Crush last year for Megan's poncho.

Here is the pattern link:

http://freeknittingpatterns.lionbrand.com/patterns/kts-1108AD.html

here is the yarn link:

http://www.pagelinx.com/cgi-shopper/loadpage.cgi/smileysyarns/ezshopper?user_id=id&file=iriot.htm

 

Change of Plans!

No, the wedding has not been cancelled!  It is still on schedule for this coming Saturday!  What has changed is what I plan to wear. Again. Last Thursday, I found another outfit that I liked better than the original one I had planned to wear to the wedding. Blame my sister, Paulette!  I showed her both outfits and she picked the new one, too.  I hope I do not see anything else before Saturday that I like even better!  Luckily, I already had accessories and a bag, etc. that matched the new outfit, so it was not hard to pull it all together.  Unfortunately, the shawl I was knitting will not go with this new outfit.  So I have stopped knitting on that shawl and frogged it.  I was not completely satisfied with it, anyway, so it all turned out for the best.  But since I stopped working on that shawl, I have been kind of scattered in my knitting thoughts.  I have several projects in various stages of completion, and it seems like I jump from one to the other and never get anything accomplished.  I need to get myself a little more organized! 

Actually, there has been precious little knitting time this past week.  I had to work this past weekend, so I was off on Friday.  Rich was off, too, so we took the opportunity to ride our bikes the full length of the bike trail - a 14 mile round trip.  And, my sister Paulette and I joined a walking group from the hospital where we work, and every Tuesday and Thursday, we meet to walk one of the many walking trails around Lynchburg.  Paulette and I also walk a couple of times a week on our own at our favorite walking trail, Blackwater Creek.  We usually walk from 3 to 5 miles, depending on how much time we have and how hot or humid it is.  Sometimes it is so bad that we can barely stand to go the 3 milies.  But it is the end of August, so that should be over with soon.  I am looking forward to the cool fall weather! Once the weather gets cool and crisp, my energy usually returns in leaps and bounds.  I don't do well in this awful August weather. Between all the walking and biking, I have been pretty tired at night, and I don't get to knit very long before I start to nod off!   

After work on Sunday, I went to Barnes and Noble.  I found a couple of knitting magazines and a new knitting book as well as the 2006 Knitting Calendar.   Just what I need -- 365 MORE ideas to get me into trouble next year!  I glanced through it, and I see several things right off the bat that I want to do!  Actually, I like the 2006 one better than the 2005 one that I currently have.  I have honestly not found that many patterns in the 2005 one that I want to knit, but it has still been a lot of fun all through the year to turn the page every day and see what the next pattern will be.   I have posted a picture of the 2006 Knitting Calendar, as well as a picture of the India Sunset Scarf.  I just realized that I never posted a picture of the finished product.  So here it is, better late than never! 

Now about those knitting magazines......................................................  (to be continued!)

Extra, Extra, Stop the Knitting Needles!!!!!

Uh oh!  Another knitting project is on the horizon!  Another one of those last minute, whoops, I need to knit this like yesterday projects!!!!!  My nephew Bill's wedding is Saturday, Sept. 3rd, and I have just decided that my outfit needs a shawl to be complete!!!!!  I finally finished picking out and purchasing an outfit, complete with shoes and assorted other accessories, but it still lacked something.  Now I know what it is!  Luckily, I already have in my stash what I need to make a loose knit shawl, and the yarn matches my blouse perfectly!  The yarn is Eros.  The shawl will be just like the one that I knit for my friend Debbie last Christmas.  I have posted the picture again so that you can see what I am planning.  Since I have already knit this shawl once, I know that I can do it in a fairly short period of time, but ALL other knitting projects have temporarily been put on hold until its completion.  This shawl is knit on large needles, size 19's, so the knitting is pretty fast.  I have added a link to pattern that I am using.  It is a free one off the Lion Brand Yarn website.

http://freeknittingpatterns.lionbrand.com/patterns/ktr-triangleShawl.html

Totally Tubular!!!!!

As usual, I am knitting several things at once.  I finished knitting the Carnival Scarf, but it has not made it into the Finished Projects list because I still have not yet fringed it.  It's completion left me looking for another project to take its place at lunchtime.  I was all set to start another chemo cap, when I found another old project that had been sent to the "Pile Of Undone Projects" by last year's Christmas knitting spree.  It is the "Wild About Hairy" scarf.  It is one of those tubular "magic" scarves knit on circular needles.  I had knit about 1/4 of it last year.  When I spotted it in the Box Of Undone Projects, I could not resist rescuing it!  The yarn is GGH Apart, and it is in a gorgeous variagated color scheme of fuschia and teal and blue.  I have a real weakness for anything in those colors!  It caused quite a stir when I whipped it out in the lounge on Monday.  It is a yummy soft yarn, and everyone that saw it wanted to pet it.  Speaking of petting, since I do not have any new pictures of knitting content today (shame shame!!!), I thought I would post a picture of Rich's Border Collie puppy, Pepper.  Talk about soft and cuddly!  Unfortunately, she loves my knitting as much as my cats do, so I have to keep a close eye on the knitting bag at all times!!

A Picture and a Post

I thought that I would post a picture of the Pink Bling Bling Scarf that I made this past March.  It is made out of Berroco Laser FX and Berrocco Sizzle Bright.  It is a fun scarf to wear - very light and very "Blingy!" 

I just HAD to do it!  I just HAD to try one of those StockPot Scarves on the KnitPicks website.  I wanted a light and airy warmer weather scarf, so I chose a lightweight cotton yarn, Reynolds Saucy Sport and I am randomly adding in various colors of eyelash yarn (thin eyelash, not the Fun Fur type) throughout the scarf.  There are gorgeous shades of blues and tans and pinks.  It reminds me of a beach at sunrise, so I am naming the scarf Beach Vacation.  I will post a picture of it when it is complete.  Speaking of posting pictures of completed projects, I still have to post a pic of the India Sunset Scarf as well as the Night Life Scarf. 

There is another project trying to sneak its way onto the WIP list!  I have fallen in love with yet another sweater pattern (imagine that!!!).  This one is from the Aug/Oct issue of Cast On and it is found on page 26 -- the Diamond Coat.  Alas, the orange would NOT work for me as I would turn an odd shade of greeny-yellow.  But it just so happens that I have enough of the yarn that the pattern calls for - Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick and Quick in a much more flattering (to me) shade of navy blue.  Uh oh.  You see this coming, don't you?????  Also of note is the Campus Coat on page 22 of Cast On.  It is made out of Coats and Clark Red Heart Light and Lofty.  It is a cute car coat kind of thing.  Plus I just picked up the Fall issue of Family Circle Easy Knitting.  Dare I open it???????????????? 

A Happy Coincidence!

While knitting "The Blues" striped scarf, I made a really cool discovery.  The colors seemed very familiar to me and reminded me of something -- the Unikat Poncho I made last year!  I pulled the poncho out of summer storage and sure enough, the colors are exact!  So now I have a matching scarf for the Unikat Poncho this fall.  Now, if the colder weather would only get here!!!!  The Carnival Scarf is in the home stretch, and as well as another one of the chemo caps. 

It is time to start thinking about Christmas knitting!   In preparation for the Christmas Knit A Thon, I am in the process of trying to organize my yarn stash.  I am discovering all sorts of forgotten treasures!  I want to make a trial run of a couple of the free patterns the Knit Picks.  I have already mentioned the free pattern from the Knit Picks catalog -- the Potato Chip Scarf.  There is another free pattern on their website that I am anxious to try.  It is Stockpot Scarves:

http://www.knitpicks.com/Projects/Projects_Display_Yarn.aspx?itemid=50350220

I think they would make great Christmas presents and would be a good way to use up stash yarns, too.  Actually, Knit Picks has some really great free patterns online.  Check them out!

"Are You Knitting a Christmas Tree?!?!?"

That is a question that I heard more than once as I worked on Juanita's scarf at work this week.  I can see why people must have thought that.  This yarn -- Bernat Disco in Jungle Jive -- is sort of a Victorian Christmas green, with some glittery strands of the same color throughout.  Although the color is hard to see in this picture, it is really very pretty.  As my friend Mechelle put it, "there is just enough sparkle to put just the right amount of glitz in the scarf without making it look too "tinselated."  (Is that a word????)  I finally decided last weekend what needles to use to knit the scarf.  I wanted  a very drapey and soft fabric, so I ended up using size 19's.  I started the scarf Sunday morning while sipping my morning tea, and by the time I had finished my second cup of tea, the scarf was half done.  Ahhh, the benefits of using telephone poles to knit with!  I took the scarf to work and finished it over the course of a couple of lunchtimes this week.  I will give it to Juanita either this afternoon or this weekend. 

The Carnival Scarf is almost finished, also.  The colors are really pretty and I think adding the fringe will really "make" this scarf, as it did in the India Sunset scarf.  Also, I arrived home from work Tuesday night to find a package from Smiley's Yarns at my door!  It was full of Patons Divine in the color Amethyst Allure.  It is for a sweater pattern that I absolutely fell in love with in the September issue of Creative Knitting magazine.  It is on page 20, and it is called Autumn Warmth.  I would love to knit this up for myself this winter.  Lately, if I don't get to knit at least a few minutes a day, I feel like I am missing something!  It really is true what they say about knitting being "Zen."  It is very relaxing to me.  Besides knitting at lunchtime every day, I also enjoy knitting for a while right before bedtime.  I used to read then, but lately knitting has been taking over.  The combination of incense burning, relaxing music playing and knitting needles clicking is irresistable!  Or should I say addictive!  Anyway, I am hooked on the experience. 

One last note -- non knitting related.  Remember the 4th Bob Ross painting class I took?  I mentioned it a few entries ago and said that I planned to give the painting to a dear friend for her birthday.  Well, yesterday I gave it to her.  She loved it!  It is a painting of the nearby Crabtree Falls in Nelson County, Virginia.  It is one of Debbie's very favorite places.  I have posted a picture of it above after Juanita's scarf. 

The Carnival is Back in Town!

When I was a kid, one of the highlights of summer vacation was the Fireman's Carnival that came to our town every July.  I was fascinated by the rows and rows of booths where you could play games and win incredible prizes, the gypsy fortune tellers with their crystal balls and tarot cards, the hall of wonders where you could see all sorts of oddities.  And of course, the rides -- complete with flashing lights and blaring music.  This week, the Fireman's Carvinal was back in town.  Alas, it has lost the allure and mystery and magic it held for me in my youth, but it did serve another purpose this year.  It reminded me of a scarf that I had started last year that got lost in the avalanche of Christmas knitting.  It was the Carnival Scarf and I was knitting it out of Lion Brand Incredible in the color named Carnival.  Above is a picture of that scarf as it was last year before Christmas knitting took over and buried it in the "Pile Of Undone Projects."  Since I do not have Juanita's Scarf ready to start, I decided to resurrect the Carnival Scarf in honor of summertime and childhood memories. 

Still Undecided

Even though both "The Blues" striped scarf and the Night Life scarf are now on the completed list, Juanita's scarf has not made it to the WIP list yet.  That is because I can't decide what to do with it.  I have tried several needle sizes, including the whopper 35's, but I cannot get a satisfactory "nice feeling fabric."  I have decided that even though the two yarns are gorgeous together, I will have to knit them seperately.  I am going to make a regular scarf out of the Bernat Disco, and I am thinking about making a shawl out of the Lion Brand Suede.  I am not sure what pattern I will use for that, either the same one that I am using for my own Suede Shawl, or a pattern from one of the new knitting books that I got while on vacation.  There are lots of gorgeous shawls to choose from in these great books.  I have added a picture of these books above.  And speaking of vacation, I have also added a couple of pictures from one of our road trips.

Today I got my new issue of Creative Knitting in the mail.  There are three patterns in there that really caught my eye.  Remember the search for the perfect yarn for a belt for my niece Megan?  Well, on page 32 and 33 of this issue, there is a pattern for The Cat's Eye Scarf that doubles as a belt. The Cat's Eye is the stitch that they feature in this month's "Noteworthy Stitch" article.  It is an easy 4 row repeat done over a multiple of 4 stitches.  I like this stitch!  It looks like it would be a lot of fun to knit.  Much more interesting than the regular tried and true garter stitch scarf!  And I like the fact that this can be worn as either a scarf or a belt, depending on Megan's mood!  The samples were knit out of Paton's Grace, and I think that would be perfect for Megan.  I feel another trip to Michael's coming on!!

The other patterns that caught my eye are The Autumn Warmth sweater on pages 20/21, and the Fall comfort Coat on pages 24/25.  Both of these garments are gorgeous, and would make wonderful additions to my fall wardrobe.  Since my precious knitting time is so limited, I usually stick to smallish projects so that I can feel like I get at least some things accomplished, but both of these patterns call for bulky or super bulky yarns, so maybe I would have a chance of actually finishing them before the cold weather is over.  The best bet would probably be the Autumn Warmth sweater as it is a fairly straighforward, simple piece.  I will definitely be thinking about this one!

Juanita's Scarf

 I am currently experimenting with needle sizes for the next project about to appear on my WIP list.  I want to knit a scarf for Rich's mom, Juanita.  She is one of the sweetest people I have ever met, an opinion shared by just about everyone that has ever met her.  She has pretty red hair, so I thought that this green color combination would look good on her.  The yarns are Bernat Disco in Jungle Jive and Lion Brand Suede in Sage.  I will be starting this scarf soon.  The Night Life scarf is just about done.  All that remains to do is add the fringe.  And the Blues Striped Scarf is in the final few inches.  As soon as these 2 scarves moved to the Finished Projects list, Juanita's scarf will go on the WIP. 

Lion Brand Yarns has recently added some really nice new free knitting patterns on their website.  And I have also recently discovered the show "Knitty Gritty" on the DIY network.  There are also some nice patterns there, too.  I am also thinking about trying the free "Potato Chip Scarf" pattern that is on the Knit Pick's website.  It looks interesting, and recently there have been a lot of people on the Knitting Scarves Yahoo group that have been talking about this scarf.  Seems that everyone that knits one can't stop at just one - hence the name!  I like the idea of knitting each row in a different color to create a colorful spiral, making this scarf the perfect use for all of those leftover odds and ends of yarn.  One of these will probably be added to the WIP list before too long!  I may make one of these for Megan instead of a skinny scarf if it turns out cute enough.

 

Already in Progress..........

Here are a couple of my projects in progress.  The first is a scarf made from the Lion Brand Fun Fur Stripes yarn.  From the moment I saw this yarn in the store, I thought "how fun!"  I had to try it.  I knit on this scarf at work at lunchtime, and everyone always oohs and ahhhhhhs over the stripes as they appear.  It really is fun to knit with.  I am going to use it in several colors to knit some chemo caps.  The only drawback to this yarn is the short yardage - only 57 yards per skein - so I am sure that it will take more than one ball to knit a chemo cap.  Oh well, I am sure I can combine the leftovers from the second ball with some other leftovers to make an even more interestingly striped chemo cap!  Like last year, I will post the chemo cap pictures before I take them to Lynchburg Hematology Oncology in October. 

The second picture is of the shawl I am making out of Berrocco Suede.  It is somewhat bigger than this picture by now, but it is still moving a bit more slowly than the other projects due to the size (it is awfully hot here to have too much yarn in your lap!!!)  I took the India Sunset Scarf to work yesterday, and I thought I would never get it back from Cathyanne, the lab secretary!  She took off down the hall wearing it, and I thought I had seen the end of it forever!  She finally did give it back, but she told me this morning that she thought about that scarf all night long last night.  Then she asked me if we were going to play Pollyanna at Christmas again this year.  (HINT, HINT?????) 

Back to Work.........

Today is my last day of vacation.  Tomorrow it is back to work.  I start out with a 12 hour day.  Ewwwwwwww.  Luckily, my 12 hour days are numbered.  Before vacation, I requested to go back to regular dayshift, so starting in August, I will only be working 8 hour days.  Thank goodness.  I am looking forward to that!

I finished the India Sunset Scarf yesterday morning!  Since I bought the yarn on a trip taken during vacation, I wanted to have the whole scarf done before vacation was over.  That way it is a true "start to finish" vacation memory!  AOL help was able to help me fix the problem with You Got Pictures, so I have added a picture of the India Sunset Scarf that I took last week.  I will take a picture of the finished scarf and post that plus the other pictures I mentioned last entry later on. 

Summertime Knitting

At the moment, I am enjoying a much needed vacation from work.  I took last week and this week off, and I have been taking several daytrips around Virginia.  During one of those daytrips, I went to this little knitting store in downtown historic Charlottesville called The Needle Lady.  There was so much gorgeous yarn there!  I happened to spot this one particular yarn called India by Lana Grossa in an absolutely gorgeous color!  The color number is 9, and it is a breathtaking combination of reds and oranges.  It reminds me of a sunset.  I am trying to add pictures to this entry, but apparently AOL's "You Have Pictures" is having issues!  I will get the pictures added as soon as it will let me. 

I have several projects on needles at this time.  For me, this is the beginning of the busiest knitting season.  I am not a fan of the hot and humid summer conditions here, so when the weather is too miserable to be outside, I like to start knitting for the fall and winter in the cool and comfortable air conditioning.  I do the least knitting in the spring and early summer when the weather is so gorgeous that I just can't stand to be inside.  But for right now, and for the next 2 months or so, my knitting needles will be busy!  I am still knitting chemo caps, and I have started several new scarves.  I want to knit my niece Megan a belt and a super skinny scarf, but I have not found exactly the right yarn that I want yet.  The search continues!  I will add the pictures of all the new yarns and projects as soon as I can get them on here. 

I also took that other Bob Ross painting class and will add that picture to the album, also.  We painted a beautiful waterfall scene.  I am giving this painting away as a birthday present for a dear friend.  More on that later. 

 

So Much To Knit, So Little Time!

My, how time flies!  I can't believe that it has been over two months since my last entry!  I vowed then to try harder to keep my blog up to date, and I see that I have not done a very good job of that!  Well, I will try again!  Lots has been happening in my life.  Work is extremely busy.  This is usually our slowest time of year, but that is not happening this year.  The weather keeps roller-coastering between cool and rainy and hot and humid and there has been a resurgence of repsiratory and stomach viruses galore.  UGH!  There have also been lots of personal life happenings, some good, some bad.  The bad include my Dad has had some additional heart problems which now appear to be under control with new meds, thank goodness.  Also, a couple of weeks ago, I took one of my kitties, Precious, into the vet for a routine teeth cleaning, and during the preoperative blood work, they discovered that her kidneys were not functioning properly.  She stayed in the animal hospital on IV fluids for a week before coming home.  I now have to give her subcutaneous fluids 3 times a week -- sort of a kitty dialysis.  She seems to be feeling better now as she plays a lot more.  And the icing on the cake was the day I was coming home from learning how to give Precious her the fluid injections, my car's transmission died!  Here I was on a hot day with a dead transmission and a sick cat in the car!  The lesson I learned from that day is NEVER ask "what next?" because you just might get an answer, and it will never be a good one!  On the good note side, my sister has become a grandma!  One of my nieces, Katie, had the cutest little baby girl on May 6th!  And there is a new man in my life!  I started dating a while ago, but it wasn't until a couple of months ago that I met Rich.  He helps me give Precious her fluids and he is a really great guy!  And best of all, both cats adore him!  I have also painted my third Bob Ross type painting, as you can see from the above picture. And I have signed up to take the fourth class in June with a friend, also named Lisa.  That painting will be of a waterfall. I have still been walking as much as possible, unfortunately, the weather has not been very cooperative. Walking definitely helps me to put things in perspective.  I have also added some of my favorite pictures from the walk to my album above. Some of the pictures have been taken quite recently - in the past couple of weeks - and some of them were taken back in April before the leaves came out on the trees.  And during all of this, there has of course been knitting!  I have knit some assorted scarves and a baby blanket for Kayla (my sister's new grandbaby).  I have also started knitting a new batch of chemo caps.  That  is my favorite summertime project!  Last Friday I went to the new knitting store that I recently found, Backstitches, and bought some gorgeous yarn that I just couldn't pass up!  It is Berrocco's Suede, and the color is a bright pink, #3753, Belle Star.   http://www.berroco.com/yarns/suede.html   I saw a pattern for a gorgeous shawl using that yarn, and I was hooked!  http://www.berroco.com/225/225_oakley_pv.html  Now, Backstitches is not a new store.  They have been around selling cross stitch supplies for many years, but I just recently found out that they have begun selling yarn -- and what gorgeous yarns they have!  It is a dangerous place for me to be!  ;)  I will take pictures of knitting content and post, I promise!  Until then, Happy Knitting!  I will be back soon, I promise!!!!!

I Am Still Here!

It has been a little while since my last entry.  So much has happened since then.  Almost one year ago I started this journal.  I started it in a time of great upheaval in my life.  I had just left my husband and my heart and my head were in complete turmoil.  That was a year ago.  It has been a year of soul searching and growth and pain.  But it is finally over now.  I am awaiting the judge's signature on the final divorce papers - something my lawyer expects to be completed in a week or so.  It occurs to me that it is appropriate that this all takes place in spring.  Like the Earth waking up after a long winter of sleep, I feel as if I am emerging back into the world of sunlight and warmth.  Life is good, and it will only get better.  I see that now.  There were times in this past year that I doubted that, but I have no more of those doubts now.  I am looking forward to life and whatever is out there waiting for me to experience!  I am thankful that I had my knitting to concentrate on this past year.  It has always helped me to get over the difficult times in my life, as well as the happy times.  To celebrate this new stage in my life, I have knit a little skinny scarf out of black eyelash and Berroco Laser FX.  I call it my Bling Bling scarf.  I will take a pic of it and post it in this entry a little later on today. 

A Little Bit of Progress, At Least!

I was not able to get as much knitting done this past weekend as I would have liked, unfortunately.  But I did finish the Landscapes scarf done with one strand of Lion Brand Landscapes yarn and 2 strands of Lion Brand Fun Fur.  The fringe is pure Landscapes.  The picture does not show the Landscapes yarn in the body of the scarf very well.  It actually shows up much better in person.  I have received many compliments on this scarf at work from the "Lunchtime Stitch and Bitchers."  Also, the Moda Dea scarf is about halfway done.  I plan to put a very generous fringe on it.  There was not enough progress on the Glamour Wrap to take a picture of -- only a couple of rows, so I will save that for later.  I did some digging in my yarn stash this weekend, too.  I have plans for several more projects (surprise, surprise!) My dad loved his Seafarer's scarf so much that I am going to knit him another one to match a different coat.  And since it is so cold outside, I have been feeling the need to knit up another batch of "No Hair Day Hairy Chemo Caps!"  While checking out the www.headhuggers.org website, I noticed a new pattern that has been posted there.  It is the "Floppy Brim Hat" or knitting Pattern #12 on their website.  It is so cute!  I think I will have to make at least one of these in this next batch of chemo caps.  Also, Spunknit has some great ideas for chemo hats on her blog, "Innane Knitting Babble" (check her out on the link in my sidebar).  Last year, I got the  idea to knit these chemo hats from her and I made a batch to take to the Hematology/Oncology center.  The patients loved them!  Cheers to Spunknit for promoting such a wonderful idea!  The next idea I have to knit is a scarf made out of the leftover yarn from the "Merry Cruisemas" shawl I knit for my "Other Sister Debbie" (see the December 26th blog entry for details of this shawl). The yarn is Lion Brand Trellis and the color is "Night Life."  I am going to make a skinny scarf out of the leftovers -- just something to brighten up all of those black sweaters that I seem to wear all winter long.  And I have more project ideas, too!  I know you are surprised about that!  ;)  But I will wait until the weekend to tell you about those.  Until then, happy knitting!

Snow!

This is the scene that greeted me this morning when I woke up.  It finally snowed last night!  It wasn't much, but it is still pretty to look at.  Now the weather forecast is calling for an ice storm this weekend.  Ugh!  I hate ice storms!  Unfortunately, we get a lot of them here.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that we are close enough to the ice/snow line that it will end up being more snow.  At least I do not have to work this weekend so I don't have to worry about getting out in it.  I do not have much knitting progress to report on.  This has been a busy, hectic week, and I have been too tired at night to do much knitting.  But I am off today and I plan to get enough progress done to show by the end of this 3 day weekend!  If the ice storm does come, I plan to knit and watch movies and drink hot tea -- exactly what I need after this long, hectic week!

How Embarrassing!

The spell of unseasonably warm weather has ended here, and the temperatures have plummeted from highs in the 70's and lows in the 50's back to highs in the 30's and lows in the teens.  The drastic weather change brought about an embarrassing situation for me.  As the heavy winter coats came back out, so did the hats and gloves.............and scarves!  So why is that so embarrassing for me?  Well, out of all of the scarves I have knit over the last couple of years, I find that I do not have a warm scarf for my own neck.  The scarf that is now draped around my winter coat is a store bought one!  GASP!  On Saturday, I was asked 4 different times if I had knit that scarf, and I was very embarrassed to have to say, "No, I bought it."  Well, there is only so much embarrassment that I can handle in one day, so I decided that I had to remedy that situation ASAP!  As soon as I got out of work, I hurriedly ran to Michael's to see what I could come up with.  I wanted a couple of quick and easy portable scarf projects.  The glamour wrap is a really fun project, but it is hardly portable since I have a huge bag of leftover yarns that I am using to knit it.  When I got to Michael's I was pleased to see that there were new yarns in the store.  I ended up with Bernat Bling Bling in Cabaret Crimson to make the scarf in the new Bling Bling leaflet. And I also bought Moda Dea Cache in the color Rave to mix with Moda Dea Dream (no color name -- color #3503) for another scarf.  And I really liked this color of Landscapes yarn from Lion Brand -- it is Deep Sea.  The Landscapes is a bit more expensive than I wanted considering there is not much yardage, so I compromised somewhat.  I have started that scarf mixing the Landscapes with black fun fur and larger needles to stretch the Landscapes a little further.  I hope to finish the Landscapes scarf later on today so that the next time somone asks me if I knit that scarf, I can proudly say, "Yes, I knit it!"

First Knitting Project of 2005?

 Since I'd been finishing up some odds and ends of old projects, I had not really thought about what would be the first knitting project of 2005.  Not until I this morning when I changed the day on my Knitting Pattern A Day calender, that is!  The Sat/Sun January 8 & 9th page features the "Bias Knit Cocoon & Glam Wrap."  Wow!  This just might be it!  And the best part of it is, I can use stash yarns for this project, and I have just the yarns in mind.  Only my color scheme will not be acid green and sun yellow.  Alas, that combination would leave me looking like I had a bad case of jaundice.  Instead, I have the more complexion friendly combination of fuchsia, teal and blue in mind.   I did not make any real resolutions about knitting this year, just a couple of "decisions".  First, I would like to use up stash yarns whenever possible (to both save some money and make more room in the "art studio"). And second, I am determined this year not to saddle myself with any "restrictions" forcing myself to finish a project that does not "feel right" for some reason.  After all, knitting is what I enjoy and what I do to relax, so why should I force myself to work on something that I have lost interest in for whatever reason?  After all, I can always use that yarn for something else that does excite my creativity.  And this Glamour Wrap does make me want to grab up those knitting needles and start clicking away!