Knitter Bay

Keeping Great Grandma Link in Christmas

2011-11-28T18:42:00.001-05:00

It started with a quilt that we had selected from Great Grandma Link's home after she went into the nursing home. I had it on display in our townhouse, but it just gathered dust. It was too damaged and very heavy for anyone to use. So it sat in my chest for several years. Too cool to get rid of, too pretty to just store, too big to display... Last year I thought of a way to use it. I asked Dave for permission since it was his family. Then I filed the idea away.

Here is the quilt folded in half (about queen size).

Christmas time came and I again checked with David. He said it was fine. So I proceeded to turn it into a tree skirt. I never had one, and always wanted one. So carefully I took the topper off of the quilt. The fabric was damaged in many areas. I tried to guess when this was put together. I am guessing 30's 40's. I discovered that flour/sugar sacks were used for the back of the squares. There is a lot of olive colors - WWI uniforms?

Back view

Back up close. See 'Saginaw'. I also found Pillsbury.

I carefully cut, hoping that I didn't make a huge mistake. The more damaged squares were put to the back of the skirt. I sewed on a new backing and added bias tape. As I sewed around the piece I hoped I wouldn't stress the fabric more. It was very heavy even at 4' x 4'.

When I got home from work, I saw that Molly had it already under the tree as she was decorating. It was perfect. Each Christmas when we pull out the decorations, Great Grandma Link will be with us.

The extra scraps from the quilt will be made into ornaments for her great grandchildren. I hope to get them all done this year.

Preemie Charity Drive

2009-11-17T16:54:00.001-05:00

Preemie collection
Originally uploaded by Eunice Link

That time of the year again. I love knitting little baby items. These are so small that they look like doll clothes. Fortunately there is a deadline so I could make myself stop. They are due at tonight's guild meeting.

Of course I waited till yesterday to put on buttons. Six sweaters of buttons and all had to be done last night so I could get them washed. I had to have everything ready before I headed out the door for work.

I will probably wait for the last minute next year too. Hats don't need buttons, but there is something about a tiny sweater. :-)

Sleepy Hollow Sunset

2009-11-11T20:51:00.003-05:00

Lake Ovid
Originally uploaded by Eunice Link

2009-11-08T00:23:00.008-05:00

Winter Wear

2009-11-04T14:38:00.007-05:00

Winter Wear
Originally uploaded by Eunice Link

It is that time of the year again. Mittens, hats, and charity knitting has begun. A little bit of ADD knitting. Doing quick projects while my larger projects are taking a time out.

The blue hat is from the book 'Hats On!'. This is a Lace Rib Watch Cap. Fun thick knit. Will see if it is too big for me when the first really cold day hits - if so, then it goes off to charity. At the moment I am knitting preemie items for our guild's November charity collection. Along the bottom you will see a preemie cap and just on the left is a peek of a preemie baby surprise jacket.

.

Teapot Lamps

2009-08-24T13:47:00.005-04:00

One morning while watching a morning show and getting ready for work I saw a lamp made out of mix matched china cups, saucers and tea pots. I fell in love with them. They looked like they belonged in a cozy cottage.

I looked up the instructions online. They were simple enough. Molly and I went out to the local resale shops and antique malls looking for inexpensive bits and pieces to make our own.

We found many tea pots. And for once if there was a chip in a cup or sugar bowl - it didn't matter because I was going to end up destroying it by gluing it to something else.

This seemingly easy project ended up taking almost a month. A lot of the parts I bought online. One it was usually cheaper even with shipping and two... after going to several stores looking for the little doo daddy things and not finding them ... just picking it up online was easier.

For several weeks my bits and pieces of china were sitting in various stages of glued and unglued. Waiting for the time and arrival of all the little extras. Over the weekend I had the time and gumption to finish the projects. Then spent the next two days just looking for simple lampshades. Gees, even finding simple lampshades was a dragged out process. But now the lampse are done.

They are cute, look great when lit. Now as I look at them completed - there is nothing in my house that says, "cute little cottage - put it here." I have to figure out what to do with them. :-) They were a lot of fun. I do have enough extra parts to make 3 more if I run across more teapots and cups.

Growing Scrappy

2009-08-16T08:44:00.003-04:00

Still plugging away on Scrappy. I think I am about 1/2 way with it. It is a fun knit. Slow, but fun. It is getting a little too large to just lug around willy-nilly.

A new toy that I am happily toting around is my Kindle. I have read several books on this and I have many more waiting to be read. I also have uploaded several knitting patterns on it. I also can type in notes and easily bookmark. Because of its wireless access I am able to check my mail and Facebook in the middle of a chapter. It works great on the road too. It wasn't meant to be used as a browser, so it is slow and cumbersome. But it works great in a pinch or for quick web checks.

Scrappy

2009-07-11T12:50:00.002-04:00

This started out as a way to use up large quantities of Cotton Plus yarn that I have left over from many projects. Original idea was a baby blanket. I have become smitten with this. Now it is going to be full size. I did buy just a few more skeins. (But may need more - anyone around Lansing have some random bits? I do have Linnie in there too.)

I am knitting backwards on the backside so I don’t have to turn it around. I am not as proficient at knitting backwards, but it sure makes this pretty painless.

Lookin' Up

2009-06-27T09:12:00.004-04:00

Last night after work we drove down to Howell to enjoy the balloonfest. I have wanted to do this for many years. When we lived in Gaines we would hear and see balloons fly over head. (Dave and I also took a ride in one over 10 years ago.)

The only thing I haven't seen yet is the Balloon Glow. This is where they fill them up at night (they don't take off) and you see the filled balloons lit from inside. All off them glowing.

If you have the time this weekend, please go. It was easy to park and the crowds were easy to maneuver through to get to what we wanted to see.

Michigan Challenge Balloonfest

Chillin'

2009-06-24T19:50:00.010-04:00

Today T was relaxing before piano lessons. Later she and Ram-niss went swimming at the park pool.

Queen Zoe had a haircut for the summer.

One afternoon the Budweiser Clydesdales were in front of the capitol. This was taken from my office window.

I am making good progress on a sweater for Ram-niss. He under grew the 'Pup Tent' that I knitted him a while back. This time he wanted a fisherman's sweater. In the end he decided he wanted 'Iain'. It is a little more modern version of a fisherman's sweater with a hood. The yarn is Cascade Yarns Ecological Wool in the color he chose. He wanted it by the fall. I think he will end up getting it while the temps remain in the 90's.

Georgia is still being worked on occasionally. I am almost done - just have an inch or so of the sleeves and then the caps. Not in a real rush to complete it since I am not seeing me needing to wear it for a while.

Would rather be here (especially in this heat):

The Hungarian Falls up in the UP. Ram-niss and I went to visit Son since he is working up at school for the summer. This is the view in the other direction at the falls. What a view!

This has to be the coolest wooden playground! It is in Houghton.

Georgie Girl

2009-03-19T17:10:00.001-04:00

I may have lost my mind. Georgie is an adult size sweater and is knitted in lace/sport weight yarn with teeny tiny needles (#2, #3). I chose this project because I felt I was cranking out the sweaters too quickly and I wanted to slow it down. Plus as it gets warmer, I wasn't looking forward to a heavy worsted weight sweater.

I am well on my way working up the back.

In the beginning I began to wonder if I should have moved on. It seemed like a train wreck approaching. It was an auspicious start. After casting on for gauge - I found the correct needles and put it away for the night. Then next day I put the finishing touches on a different sweater. It dawned on me that I hadn't seen my yarn from the night before. I had my daughter look under the couch that I was sitting on because I am lazy. It wasn't there. I looked through my knitting corner and the bags several times. Then an awful feeling came over me. I told my daughter to check the dining room floor. Yup. Her stupid cat had dragged it and disembowel the skein all over the floor. Spent the rest of the day untangling it and winding it up. I put it to the side and will only use it if I need it in the end.

A few days into knitting it I frogged it and am started over. Misread the pattern and casted on for the wrong size. Didn’t see it till after the ribbing was done. Thought maybe I could make it up with the front. But in the end I thought it was better to frog now and NOT when I was done with the back. Usually I remain in denial for much longer, but with these tiny needles it would be a whole heck of a lot of time wasted if I had put it off. Better to get started on the right foot.

Tomorrow I and several members of the guild are heading up north for a knitting retreat. Have my projects all figured out for the weekend. Probably will figure out what clothes I am taking about 20 minutes before I get in the car... I will have packed an over abundance of yarn and projects and not enough underwear.

Mystery Revealed

2009-03-15T16:12:00.000-04:00

Mystery Sweater is now completed. It only needs to be washed and mailed off to Warm Woolies. I enjoyed not knowing how it was going to look. It wasn't complicated, but had enough interest to keep me going. I think this would be a nice sweater for a boy. I would knit it again, but next time in worsted. The bulky weight for this purpose was good. My main goal was to have this sweater be nice and warm for those who are in need.

It was also enjoyable that it was daylight when I finished. Nice to take photos of the finished the object outside and in the s.u.n. Don't tell Mother Nature that it is mid-March.

Repeat Cardi, Repeat Lesson

2009-03-13T10:47:00.006-04:00

See this lovely sweater? All done. Pretty.

Lesson? Oh, take your pick. I have a few going with my knitting at this time.

First one is this lovely sweater. It started as knitting this pattern again from a lesson learned from the first time I knitted this sweater 5 years ago. This was my first top-down sweater. I knitted it with acrylic yarn. First it was knitted at a much larger size, but I lost weight after it was done. Being a lovely sweater, I eventually wanted to wear it more often, so I learned how to take apart pieces, and shorten, reknit. I liked it and it was a good throw on sweater. Then as time went on, it must have lived in the dryer just too long and it did what acrylics will often do. It became limp and giant piece of static. It began to stay in my closet longer and longer. I still couldn't part with it. Then one day I decided to make this sweater again. This time I used superwash wool. I checked gauge, lesson learned well since the first time I knitted this. A little over a month with other projects on the needles it was done.

Now the hardest part for me is the final stages. You know... wash, block... buttons... weaving in ends. I decided it was a superwash - delicate in the washing machine. While I am at it, I have a few other sweaters that I could add. Seemed like a good thing. Well one sweater, although it is a superwash - had only been hand washed. Guess what? Yarn the color of a clay pot really shouldn't be washed with a purplish yarn. I had little red lint all over the sweater. After it dried I tried taking duct tape and a brush to the sweater to remove the lint. Ha! No such luck. One more attempt. Rewash it with blue towels and thow in the dryer in it's lowest setting hoping the lint screen with catch it. Results? Red lint embedded in with blue fibers, and the sweater is slightly smaller. Fortunately I did make the sleeves extra long. So it is nice and fuzzy and has a bit of a red haze to it. Many lessons in this sweater. Main one which will be hard on follow through is not to rush the final stages AND not to mix red yarn of anything with other color yarn. (Which I should have remembered from a previous knit back in December when I knitted black glittens and washed with red sweaters. Three months later and I did it again. duh! )

Next Lesson? This is the Mystery Sweater that I am knitting for charity. See how far I am? Very deceiving. I am really not that far. Body is done.

I am such a dufus. You know when you are knitting and you know that you aren't doing it right, but yet you keep knitting thinking it will work out in the end? I knew the sleeves were too narrow. I knew it, I knew it - and yet I kept knitting. Figuring I would knit the second one correctly to see if I was right that I had been wrong. Then I planned on frogging the first sleeve and duplicate the second one. What the ...? Second sleeve was ripped back twice to get it right. I was reducing too fast and couldn't quite figure out what the pattern meant. My fault, not the pattern.

"in the same manner as in rnd 2 every 6 rnds 4(10) times"

see that doesn't mean every 2nd round and 6th round like done in the previous 8 rows! DUH!

Onward finishing second sleeve, and then go back and frog the first sleeve and try again.

I would say, "take away my pointy sticks." But if I didn't have them at this moment in my life, I would have to hurt someone.

Knitting lessons are easier to grasp than life lessons.

Mystery Sweater KAL (part II)

2009-03-03T13:03:00.001-05:00

P1010042
Originally uploaded by knitterbay2

Plugging along with the sweater. This is the front yoke of the sweater. Back yoke instructions arrived last night. Funny, looks similar to the front.
:-)

Mystery Sweater KAL

2009-02-23T11:46:00.005-05:00

One of my projects on the needles is this pattern. I have joined Lismi Knits' Mystery Sweater KAL (knit along). Each week we get a portion of the pattern's instructions. This is from the first set of instructions. I just have to finish knitting it to 12" in length.

In the end this sweater will go to Warm Woolies.
From their site:

"Warm Woolies is a non-profit organization whose volunteers knit warm clothing for poverty-stricken children who would otherwise suffer from cold. Our mission is to provide the very neediest children with wool sweaters, vests, hats, mittens, and socks.

In 2009, we're continuing to knit for children living in orphanages in Russia, Kazakhstan, China and Mongolia and on Reservations throughout the northern United States. Our goal for 2009 is to knit 10,000 pieces of warm wool clothing for these children!"

The pattern calls for bulky wool yarn - 4 stitches per inch on size 8 needles. Being a charity sweater I was going to stay within my stash. In the end using 2 DK weights strands together, I was able to make gauge. I have seen where others used worsted and went up in needle size to get gauge. Personally I didn't want the sweater to be breezy. I wanted warmth and yet still be able to move in it. I like the heft and the movement of this sweater.

New instructions come on Friday.

Whole Lotta' Sweater

2009-02-06T11:01:00.016-05:00

That was what Ram-niss proclaimed when this sweater (Vine Lace Top Down Cardigan) was drying on the dining room table. "That's a whole lotta' sweater." It is a long sweater knitted on large needles. After it dried, it went from one pile to another until I found time to put the buttons on it. Today I was able to wear it to work.

Now I am going to tell you to run, not walk to knit up this sweater! Because this morning as I was running around trying to head out the door to work, my husband asked me if I had lost weight. This definitely wasn't the case. I have been sitting like a cold lump eating and vegging. Nothing close to loosing at this point. In fact I think I am spreading... He decided it must be the sweater after I had assured him that the scale are not moving in my favor.

Yarn snobs - avert your eyes.

I had 5 skeins of Fishermen's natural wool in brown. I love this silly commercial yarn. It is a lovely color. The Vine Cardigan calls for bulky weight so I just knitted two strands throughout. There was enough left over so I knitted Ram-niss a pair of clogs. He had been nagging me for a pair since early one snowy cold morning, I had him throw on my clogs instead of his boots to fetch the dog. To his amazement - his feet were still dry and comfy cozy. So what followed was bound to happen… he wanted a pair for his own. And being the freezing winter that it has been along with a very generous nice wife… I made him a pair too.

(I now have to find a moment that he isn’t wearing them so I can shrink them a little more.) :-)

I still had some of the Fishermen's yarn left and was still in love. So I knitted up a pair of warm boot socks and an Elizabeth Zimmerman's warm reversible hat.

Ram-niss warned me that if I couldn't find my hat, he was probably wearing it brown side out. So I made him his own hat. But I really like his, so now he is the one that needs to worry about where his hat is.

I still have a little bit of yarn left. I am thinking of making some bats with it using this pattern.

T's first snowman built without any help from siblings. The rest of the girls were tired of the snow, but not T. Because it was warmer than most days this winter it was also good packing snow.

Remember when...

2009-01-22T13:50:00.014-05:00

...butterflies, sun, flowing water and warm skies?

It has been a long time since my last post. Anyone around here will tell you that it has been cold. Freakin' cold. While looking at my photos, I had wandered into our vacation on Mackinac Island. I saw the photos from the Butterfly House and thought they were much more inviting than the white, brown and grays of winter.

I have completed many projects, and the family has done many things.
Favorite memory of the new year is the kids sledding down the hill behind our cottage in the dark for hours each night. They rigged up a shop light off of the deck so they could see their way down. In the photo you may spot an orange hat at the bottom of the hill. That is T. Son built a bonfire so they could warm themselves.

During the day there were many games of Mexican Train Dominoes. Wheeeeee! (Not me, I don't like board games. Ram-niss and the kids love them. I knitted.)

We sure know how to party it up. :-)

I will show finished knitted objects later. For now I will keep looking at butterflies and warmer days.

Breakfast with the Big Guy

2008-12-15T10:27:00.001-05:00

T just had to visit with Santa. She thought that maybe he would understand her wish for an American Girl doll. It has been on her Christmas list for the past 3 years. One day she pulled out the AG catalog out of the recycle bin for the umpteenth time and said to dad, "I don't understand why mom throws these away. These are great magazines!"

Last Saturday Ramniss, I, T and a sister went to have breakfast with Santa. I wonder ... was this our last year or do we have a few more?

I have holiday ADD

2008-12-03T10:13:00.005-05:00

I have several projects started. None of them really are for gifts. Or I tell myself I am not knitting for Christmas. I really am. I keep adding to my collection of current ‘not knitting for Christmas’ projects. Each one ends up with learning a new technique. Which is good, but only adds to me jumping from project to project.

I have containers of yarn in my living room for matching and pairing for projects. Do I take it back downstairs? No, because I have other projects rattling in my head that would require maybe what is in the big honking tote along with other yarn in the basement sitting in totes. What if I run out of yarn in my current project? I probably have more in the tote – so why should I take it downstairs????

I also have a few felted sweaters that I had a brilliant idea of turning into a few items. Went to the store to get the fabric and patterns needed for these projects – now I have piles of cut fleece, felted sweaters, patterns, sewing machine, sweaters hoping to be part of the project… all sitting in various stages in my dining room.

Ugh. Then there is the bedroom. I have projects in there too.

Oh, and there is the decorating. I will have to move all my nonsense back downstairs. We have to get the house ready for the holiday.

... I want to ride my bike....

Made it!

2008-11-26T12:47:00.004-05:00

0 Days left - Finished mitten count - 14 pairs. 3 for family members and 11 for others.

Month of Knittin' Mittens has come to an end. I will admit it. Towards the end I slowed down. It was the thumbs - all 28 little dinky thumbs. My last mitten I strung out over 3 days. Even using the magic loop method, the short rows of knitting, turning, knitting... bleh. But the body portions were fun to knit. It was similar to knitting socks. So here they are 11 charity mittens knitted with superwash worsted weight scrap yarn on #3 needles.

I am done. Did I mention that I am done? finished? Any kid/husband claiming they need mittens/gloves can go buy their own for the rest of this season.

Mo's Match from Mitten Month

2008-11-17T11:22:00.005-05:00

9 Days left - Current finished mitten count - 10 pairs. 3 for family members and 7+ for others.

Gryffindor Glittens.
No pattern, just guage along with a bunch of knitting references, and Mo's measurements.
Worsted weight yarn
Size 3 needles

Mo is a Harry Potter nut. She and her friends have read the entire series many times and are still reading the series. A while back Mo knitted a very long Gryffidor scarf. She is currently knitting a Ravenclaw Scarf for her friend by the next movie release. Meanwhile I took her left over yarn and made her matching glittens. I didn't get a chance to wash and block them. Heck, I was lucky to get a photo taken before Mo ran off with them.

Knittin' Mittens Month continues

2008-11-06T15:23:00.008-05:00

20 Days left - Current finished mitten count - 4 pairs. 2 for family members and 2 for others.

While Michigan still is having lovely warm weather I will show you a recent finished object. I made a Savta’s Shell Pattern Afghan for our family. As you can see I need wash/block this, at that point it will be softer. But for now we haven't needed it, though I hear that we will probably be fighting each other for it by the end of the week.

I have knitted a few charity mittens. While knitting Son indicated that he needed mitten/gloves. I knitted them up pretty quickly (despite having big man hands). If he doesn't like them I want them back for me. Ram-niss tried them on before we shipped them and declared that he wanted them if Son didn't want them. Guess I will be knitting another pair.

So for my Month of Knittin' Mittens - I have these done with a few more waiting in the wings.

Mo handed me her left over yarn from her Harry Potter scarf so I could knit her a pair of glittens to match. Fortunately unlike her brother's pair hers will be much smaller.

Will it be Knittin' Mittens Month and a Half???? Stay tune. Whoooo Hooo!

*Please pay no attention to the little flecks of red on the black glittens! I was in a hurry to wash them so I can get them in the mail to my son up at Michigan Tech. i thought I was being clever by washing a few other sweaters with the mittens. Guess what color the sweaters are? :-)

Buy a dram, save a farm

2008-10-31T17:12:00.003-04:00

A local multi-generational farm is in trouble. They aren't asking for a handout, they have product that they are selling for a nominal fee ($5). If they sell enough, they can save their farm. (Knitters know it takes just one stitch at a time to make a sweater :-) Those of you in Lansing can purchase their mint oil at the Farmers Market on Saturday, Nov.1. Others can purchase online at www.getmint.com.

Most farmers and local people can understand what happened. Others, please take a few moments and read, watch the video, and visit their site. (I have included the address, phone and email - because yesterday they were so busy their site was down.)

Articles have appeared in the Detroit Free Press, Lansing State Journal, and other publications around the US. I have copied from the St. Johns Independent.
----------------------------

Article from - St. Johns Independent

Crosby Farm on YouTube
See the interview

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yFtlrKKfLQ

Crosby Mint Farms
1250 East Parks Road
St. Johns, MI 48879

Phone: Contact Linette @ 989-493-3873

Email: info@getmint.com

Buy a dram, save a farm
Crosby family mint farm in jeopardy

We have heard the politicians and pundits talk about the pain on Wall Street and Main Street, but now there is trouble with one the oldest continuously operating family mint farms in the country. The mint farm run by Linette Crosby and her brother, Jim, is on the brink of foreclosure.

Last summer Greenstone Farm Credit Services purchased the 140-acre farm for $300,000 during an auction at the Clinton County Courthouse. Now Linette and Jim have until November 1 to pay down their debt.

The family has enough product to cover their debt, and here is how our readers can help. The Crosbys are selling peppermint and spearmint oil on their own website for the very reasonable price of $5 per dram. This 100% natural essential oil is processed from the first harvest of the growing season, which will produce the highest grade oil available, with no chemical additives.

To purchase essential oils visit the Crosby website.

The Crosby family has cultivated and processed mint since J.E. Crosby purchased the property before World War I. Through the vision of J.E. Crosby Sr., the farm has been producing unparalleled mint oil products through four generations. These signature oils have developed over a 96 year family tradition and have contributed to the rich history of the mint industry in Clinton County and the mint industry as a nation.

If you are interested in more information on the old Crosby Mint still located just south of St. Johns on Business US-27 there is a 53-minute video release created with excerpts from American Mint: "The Historic J.E. Crosby Mint Still." The Historic J. E. Crosby Mint Still, one of the oldest surviving mint stills in the United States, is part of an important heritage that touches us all. But the number of mint farmers is decreasing, and it is a heritage that is disappearing from the American countryside. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this video will be donated to a trust fund at the California State University, Fresno Foundation for researching, recording, and restoring historic structures and buildings associated with the American mint industry.

Download an order form.

Mittens Month

2008-10-30T13:25:00.005-04:00

Knittin' mittens. Knittin' mittens for one month, and one month only.*
I started on October 27th and will knit through November 26th.

First set were done for T. I didn't want the shoeless cobbler's children syndrome. Mo will get a pair of glittens later in the month. Ram-niss wanted a pair too. (Yes, really - mittens. I can't say that I ever saw him wear mittens.) In between these pairs the rest will be charity knitting. I have a thing for cold fingers/hands and am always on the quest for the warmest mittens. I don't like the idea of others having cold fingers/hands either. Some of the charity mittens will go for the guild and hopefully I will be able to hold back a few for our local library's mitten tree.

But after one month - I am done with the mittens for others. My goal is to not knit on my current sweater or the siren call of another project. Can I only knit mittens for one month? That will be a tester. I may stray into a hat, but I am hoping I can focus on this one project for now.

Do you want to see a month of mittens? Really doubt it. I do have a few projects done that I haven't yet shared. I can show a few shiny objects till Thanksgiving. :-)

*Only the quick mittens for this month only. I foresee taking my time and knitting Selbuvotter mittens in the future after the holidays. So those don't count :-)

Picking scabs

2008-10-24T14:29:00.006-04:00

Remember my Creme Savers sweater?

Do you ever have a sweater that is good and done, but yet it nags at you that there are things that you aren't pleased with?

My Creme Saver sweater was my recent itch. It fits well, everything is in the right proportions. BUT there were a couple of things that nagged at me. One was the collar. I just wanted it to stand up. The collar had other ideas. It wanted to flop down. Then when it limply laid there, the cream zipper was flashing brightly on the underside. This probably drove me a little crazy because I had ordered this zipper a couple of times and in the end settled with the cream. So this leads me to fix #2 - I bought some ribbon and stitched over the zipper on the inside.

Now I can enjoy my sweater. Though being a 'hoodie', my daughters will be circling like vultures.

Do you have any projects that you couldn't leave well enough alone after you were done with it? Did it come out better, or was it like a scab and just bled? :-)

Hey, it is done!

2008-10-24T14:21:00.004-04:00

P1010010-1
Originally uploaded by knitterbay2

I finished my Hey, Ewe (Hey, Teach) sweater. I was able to make my planned changes from my drawing. It looks very nice on too.

I knitted the sleeves in the round. I tried a different technique in the ribbing. I love it, but I sort of screwed up the first sleeve. Though no one else would notice that they don’t match on the cast/on area - it was driving me crazy. I re-knitted the first sleeve's rib and was able to graft it to the original sleeve.

I am proud of this sweater and I think work will tire of seeing me in it :-)

EZ's Bavarian Jacket

2008-10-23T13:32:00.001-04:00

EZ's Bavarian Jacket
Originally uploaded by knitterbay2

I love the structured look of this. The original plan of this was to have it take the place of a blazer occasionally at work. I t may be better suited to go with jeans.

I do adore the i-cord piping. I seamed it from the inside and the outside looked like crap, inside was fabulous. So again I ripped the seams and seamed from the outside... still looked like crap. Fortunately the washing took care of it.

Now we get into the fun of washing. The yarn is superwash. Superwash yarn drives me nuts. Some yarn that is superwash, you can't really wash it in the washing machine. Other superwash sets up better if washed and dried in the machine. (Don't lecture me on washing the swatch first... I am happy that I even knit the swatch in the first place....) Anyways, I washed it in gentle cycle, the yarn fuzzed up and the body and sleeves grew. It was horrible when I tried to block it on the dining room table. Gave up, threw it in the dryer for a bit and removed while still slightly damp. It looked a little better. Still a little soft and limp. The sleeves are still too long; I will wear it a little while and see. My luck is if I shortened them, they would shrink back to their original knitted size after the next washing. Then they would be too short.

As someone who grew up with shirt and sweater sleeves always too short, I really don't mind them being a little long.

St. Brigid - She is done.

2008-10-12T14:41:00.005-04:00

14 months later, and I am finally done knitting Alice Starmore's St. Brigid. It wasn't a hard knit. It did take concentration and certain amounts of available time. This was not a project where I could knit it in the car. I had a metal board with 5 or 6 different charts going at the same time, I had a counter to back up my magnet place markers, and I usually knitted this spread out across the couch (..and on the floor, extra yarn in my room and closet...). I also would stop and just look at the cables. In the end I added the same collar detail to the end of the sleeves. Though I did make the sleeves longer, the ends looked unfinished. I like this extra detail that I had seen on a few other St. Brigid sweaters.

It is a lovely sweater. As thrilled as I am to be done with it, I am just as sorry to see it done.

I am making an effort to finish up my projects. I am a little tired of large mounds of yarn with projects in various stages of finished. Though I know that this and the others almost completed will soon be replaced with new unfinished objects... that is the nature of the beast. But for now, just in time for brisk fall days, I have St. Brigid.

11/26:
Darn Blogspot - I have no way of contacting you, New England Knitter, directly. I have everything on Ravelry, but here is what I used -

I knitted the large size.
Size 6 needles
I used just under 9 skeins (1980.0 yards) of Universal Yarn Deluxe Worsted LP.
But in those 9 skeins I did a few extra things - one was to add the band along the bottom of the sleeves, and the other was I added 1/2 a repeat from the chart to make the sleeves longer.

Questions? email me at knitterbay@yahoodotcom

Hey, Ewe

2008-10-04T19:39:00.003-04:00

I am knitting my own version of Hey, Teach. I am making the sleeves 3/4, and mimicking the straight stitch and slight flair along the body's bottom of the sweater. I saw it in my mind, so I did a quick sketch. Now the question... did I order enough yarn? (Bought before my brilliant idea.) Why 3/4 sleeves? I have pale, flabby, freckled upper arms. I guess the better spin is to say that it is getting chilly here in Michigan - longer sleeves will carry me further into the season. But really - capped sleeves - bleh! - they aren't flattering on me.

I also tried a new (to me) type of cast-on, the alternative cable cast-on. Though it is slow, I love the look of it for this sweater. For now I am almost done with the back. Weird, I seem to be hurrying to get to the sleeves so I can find out if I have enough yarn. Knitting faster doesn't save yarn. I guess I am just anxious to try out my changes to see how they will look.

EZ's Bavarian Jacket

2008-10-04T19:37:00.002-04:00

The weather has turned, time to finish up some of the projects started a long time ago.

I have been busy knitting, just not posting. I have many FOs, but for now I am showing you this cute Bavarian jacket designed by Elizabeth Zimmermann. I love it!

I just have to add the pockets at the bottom of the jacket, a couple of buttons to hold down the collar, and then wash and block it.

You're it!

2008-08-21T20:13:00.003-04:00

Dish Rag Tag - The box arrived this morning. It came from Cindy from Tennessee. Along with keeping her knitted washcloth, I also received soap, coffee and cute stitch markers. The yarn she left in the box is for me to knit for the next person on the tag team.

This evening I have knitted the yarn in the box into a washcloth, placed it and my yarn (for the next person to knit) and a few goodies. So tomorrow as we are driving Son up to MI Tech (well before any post office is open) we will make a little stop and mail it to Patricia in Illinois. (I am thinking of stopping just after the Mackinac Bridge. If I could mail it from the Island I would, but that would be next weekend. ;-) )

I am glad I was at the beginning of the team :-)
Below is my dish rag.

Coming along

2008-08-17T16:25:00.003-04:00

Interrupting your summer fun with a quick photo. The log cabin blanket is coming along. It is just cute! I only have a couple of more strips to knit, then they need to be seemed. I will finish with an i-cord around the entire blanket.

Back to your regular scheduled program...

Teams are set!

2008-08-10T17:50:00.004-04:00

Carefully stretching, warming up the needles... I may be a crappy runner, but this is one relay team I can hold my own! :-)

Dish Rag Tag
I am Team #9.

Baby Log Cabin Blanket

2008-08-04T07:43:00.005-04:00

Baby Log Cabin Blanket
Originally uploaded by knitterbay2

This is a lot of fun. I am knitting the Parcheesi Afghan by Janine Bajus using ice cream colors. Cost of the pattern is a donation donation of any size to Heifer International (www.heifer.org).

The downside of knitting this is, although it is portable knitting, I have to carry a lot of colors along with me.

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Savta’s Shell Pattern Afghan

2008-07-31T10:05:00.008-04:00

With permission of the family of Sharlene Ungar, I am sharing her Shell Pattern Afghan in honor of her memory.

Background: This was made in honor of a family’s grandmother. She was called Savta by her eight grandchildren which is Hebrew for Grandmother. Savta found out that she had cancer back in November of 2006. At that time she wanted to make each of her eight grandchildren an afghan. She died before completing all of them.

The family started knitting the rest of them, but ran out of knitting family members. They needed help with #8. So I volunteered.

I love that this pattern is Savta’s. When anyone got an afghan from her it was usually this pattern. When asked what yarn to use, they said that she always bought what was on sale.

So with great pleasure, I knitted it in her memory. I especially enjoyed knitting it in her choice of yarn. This project is truly the thought and time that counts. I know that my grandma would have done the same thing. … It is such a lovely afghan I will make another one for us and remember her family.

The family has approved sharing of this and perpetuating her legacy.

Savta's Shell Pattern Afghan

*Please note that I doubt that she invented the pattern, it is just one that she always used. The pattern doesn’t have a name on it nor does it have a company that it is associated with. You will see her corrections on the paper.

Kattail Shawl

2008-07-28T10:45:00.004-04:00

Originally uploaded by knitterbay2

I won this lovely yarn a while back from Kat’s blog after she chose my suggested name for her kitten. I wanted to make something special with it so when I wear it I think of her. (She is a fun lady!). It had to be something nicer than socks - though she would have been thought of often, I thought she needed something special.

So with this, I knit my first lacy shawl - using the Swallowtail Shawl pattern. (I have knitted lace, but it has been with heavier yarn). As I begin this project, lace seems to be a leap of faith. I follow along, knitting and ripping and thankfully having a live line once in a while. All the while will not quite know if it works out till it is blocked.

So Kat, if this tanks - it isn’t because of you :-)

PS. More cat tales: We have 3 kittens (2 boys and 1 girl) left that need to find a new home. (They have names, thank you very much...) Anyone interested? They are cute! Litter trained, use to dogs and kids - about 10 weeks old. Stupid zealots at Craigslist keep flagging my postings...

Lil' Chippy Socks

2008-05-30T08:36:00.006-04:00

I have had the honor of test driving a long awaited sock pattern by Lynn Hershberger. Last year Lynn had knitted some very cute socks for a young friend. They were multi-colored socks. Each one was different, but used the same colorway. I immediately thought of T, my nieces and nephews. Just this month I received an email from Lynn asking if I would help test her pattern.

She is right. The Chippy Socks for Kids are like potato chips, you can't just knit one! And every time I started a new sock I would think that this was my favorite version of her pattern. Each one is unique. I love that a kid can just pick any two and they go together. And as a mom, if one gets lost, the remainders will still match. (I admit I buy many pairs of socks in the same color in hopes that in a few months there may still be a matching pair. :-)

The yarn, Debbie Bliss Rialto, given to me for the testing period was amazing! It was springy and squooshy. Who would have thought that merino wool could be that way? In some ways it reminded me of cotton because of the weight, but it was soft. The fact that it was machine washable was a bonus.

I can't wait till I get a chance to knit a set for T. I am thinking of using the colors in Rainbow Sherbet for her.

Kitties!

2008-05-23T09:45:00.002-04:00

Yes, while we were waiting to make sure Pi was going to stick around before we had her fix, we discovered she was pregnant. So we now have 5 little ones. The kitty names are Radius, Diameter, Circumference, Area, and Buttercup. :-)

Today was a beautiful morning. I puttered around the yard taking a few photos. They always look more impressive in person, than in the photos. Then on my way into work I saw a red tailed hawk up close. Usually I see them perched on road signs along the highway. This one was about 8' feet from me sitting on a low branch of a pine tree on the Capitol lawn. It then flew in front of me to the ground. Each person that passed me asked if it was hurt. No, it was in pursuit of food. He was much larger than I imagined and very impressive.

Everyone have a safe and fun holiday weekend! Looks like it is going to be great weather wise.

Merry Month of May

2008-05-19T15:48:00.007-04:00

St. Brigid Sweater
Originally uploaded by knitterbay2

St. Bridgid is slowly coming along. I started it with the intent that I would take my time on this. I love just staring at the cables. I am on the final repeat of the front and then I begin the sleeves.

Garden is up to date and has recovered from last year's 'big dig'. I am sure that those photos will show up in the following days. (Ha family members, no real details of the daily crap going on... maybe sometime, just not today. Here - look at some pretty knitting. :-) )

I am almost done with a sweater for T. She wanted pink. (Doesn't every girl want either pink or purple?) The collar has been done since this photo was taken, I just have to set in the sleeves, and put on the buttons.

Star Stitch sweater is washed and blocked, just need to put on the buttons.

I have also knitted a zillion more dishcloths and am now working on an equal supply of knitted Swiffer mop covers. I purposely bought one so that I could knit the covers. My sole reason for NOT buying one before was because of having to purchase the disposable clothes. Now I can just wash it when done. (Family member chime in if you have one - is it with or without the added liquid streamer? I can make some for you too.)

Mothers Day 2008

2008-05-15T09:51:00.009-04:00

Here are the kids cleaned up and ready for Mother's Day brunch with Grandpa and Grandma Link.

I grabbed T and Mo when I got home on Thursday and we headed to the store. When T tried on the dress she reminded me of Idgie Threadgoode in the movie Fried Green Tomatoes - the scene where she was a small girl and they forced her into a dress for the wedding. T was a willing participant, she just looked like a tomboy stuffed into a frilly dress. When she cleaned up, she looked darn cute.

Mo looked very grown up, and son is very handsome too. They just didn't come up to me while I was running around on the way out the door on Mothers Day. (I, the last one to get dressed and after I had made sure I had gotten everything ready ahead of time - dress, tights without holes, shoes - so that just this once I wasn't running around getting items for kids while I was getting myself dressed) ... they weren't the ones that came up and told me that they didn't have any clean underwear.

I hear Peepers!

2008-04-17T11:27:00.009-04:00

Last weekend Zoe and I went to the cottage. (Nice photo of Zoe, who was not very cooperative in taking my photo at the cottage. Darn dog.) It was a weekend of just me, the dog, knitting and sewing supplies. (I promised Mo that I would make 9 cummerbunds for her school play.) We left after our Friday night family night of pizza and a DVD. When we arrived in the dark I was greeted by the sound of spring peepers and seagulls. The next day we took a walk around the lake in the snow/rain. It didn't bother me. It was spring and I had heard the peepers! Spring had to be here, what was a little snow?

I took more than enough yarn to finish my star stitch sweater if I got to that point. I didn't. Making cummerbunds without a pattern and from memory took most all of the weekend. The last time I saw a cummerbund up close was for my wedding 20 years ago, and then it was to just pick out a color. But I got it done! My main goal was NOT to be struggling with fulfilling a promise the night before it was due. I got done a week before they were needed.

Lucky for me that I didn't have all the extra time to finish my sweater.
Yarn? - check.
Elizabeth Zimmermann's book, 'Knitting Around' (in case I needed guidance beyond the pattern)? - check.
Extra knitting needles? - check.
The rest of the pieces of the sweater previously knitted? - oops. Forgot the completed body. That was sitting at home next to the couch.

Guess I was in a rush to get out and spend a nice weekend alone. It was much needed and not long enough.

Zoe has been restless at the house. She has been sleeping at the front door and wandering up and down the stairs looking for various family members. Our kids are getting older. One child has moved, another is going to college, another is gone most of the day because of commitments. We didn't see this situation changing, so we thought maybe a companion - something to divert her attention.

Let me introduce you to our newest member of the family, Jazz. She is a 10 month old full Black Lab. She acts like a puppy and doesn't realize how big she is! She is slightly larger than Zoe, and hasn't filled out yet. She is very sweet. She is the best walker we have ever had. Jazz is Ram-niss' dog.

Ram-niss' dog (I mean puppy.) likes to lick and mouth feet (eww), chew, and chew and chew. So far she has chewed the blinds in the bathroom, my blackberry, a set of circular needles, a bag, and Ram-niss' CPAP mask.

Repeat as often as necessary: "She is a puppy. She is a puppy... " Brings back the days of childproofing the house when the baby learns to crawl. ... and Jazz is really a sweetheart... really...

A girl with colitis goes by

2008-04-07T13:47:00.003-04:00

Starting a nice knock-around-in sweater. It is a Star Stitch Cardigan from House on a Hill Knits. The diamond pattern reminds me of a dumb song that has been stuck in my head for a few weeks. It got to a point where I knew the line in the song just couldn't be 'A girl with colitis goes by'. I went online and looked up the lyrics to "Lucy in the sky with diamonds". Ah, so it is, "A girl with kaleidoscope eyes." When I read the rest of the lyrics, I think my version just made as much sense as some of the other lines in the song. ... Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies...

Done! Finally! My Creme Savers Sweater is finally completed. Again the holdup was just sewing in the zipper. I had the zipper, just was hesitant in sewing it in.

I used Elizabeth Zimmermann's Seamless Raglan Sweater pattern. Her percentage system hasn't failed me yet. Ram-niss loves his version of this sweater too. I just fits so well.

Also completed is Absorba, The big ugly bathmat. I was trying to reduce my stash. Although I do like a few washcloths, I grew tired of seeing the larger skeins of yarn. I always wanted to try this pattern. It was easy and knitted pretty quickly.
I think I just may spring for yarn colors that I like for this next time. :-)

... meanwhile 'Theres a bathroom on the right'

... apology to Creedence Clearwater Revival. It took me many years to learn, 'Theres a bad moon on the rise.'

Kitty on the 'Pup Tent'

2008-03-29T18:30:00.005-04:00

DSCN1313
Originally uploaded by knitterbay2

What is this? What? See that sea of blue? Is it the sweater that has hounded me for MONTHS all because I was hesitant to put in a zipper? I am trying to finish up the few knitted items that I have that are pretty much done. If it wasn't Pi sitting on the chair every time I got up from the sewing machine, there was Lavender cleaning herself on Ram-niss' Pup Tent. When she was finished she started pulling out the straight pins BEFORE I basted down the zipper.

But in the end - this sweater was finally done. Ram-niss is very happy and he will no longer be hounding me for it to be completed. It also looks like it is done at the end of winter. Hey, if finishing a sweater is all it takes for winter to finally leave Michigan, then I will throw myself on the sword for the state. If this doesn't do it - I have a couple more that I can finish the last 1% to help push it.

Also completed is this Heart Baby Blanket made out of a cotton blend. I have another one in the works. I have a lot of babies that require knitted objects. I will not be saying who these are for - sometimes the blog has eyes. (Before someone emails me directly - none are for me.)

Odd story: Pi, my son's cat that he rescued disappeared while we were up at the cottage for the Christmas/New Years holiday. We couldn't find her when we got back. We walked around the house for a week waiting for a particular bad odor associated with dead animals. About the time we felt safe that she didn't die in the house, but must have snuck out while we were loading the car, our sewer backed up in the basement. The plumber assured us that it wasn't a dead cat blocking the pipe, but it was a root ball in our 'you will probably never have to call us out again after paying big gobs of money on this problem drain' several months sooner than our usual time of the year. January! Who gets root balls forming in January???... oh, yeah... Pi's story. Well, Pi Day came and went (March 14 - 3.14) and Pi was fondly remembered. Then last weekend Son and Mo were helping Aunt Katie and her family move into their newly purchased home several blocks from here. At the end of the day after night fall Son sees a cat sitting on her porch. He thinks nothing of it as he brings in more boxes. His next trip in he hears a 'meow'. "Pi?" She came up to him very very skinny and purring. He picked her up and set her in the truck. She road in the front seat just sitting there like they do it all the time. So she is now back home. If she stays for more than a few weeks, we will get her fixed and get her shots.

Happy Birthday, Mo

2008-03-10T14:44:00.005-04:00

Today is Mo's Birthday. To celebrate #14, she requested that she invite a few friends for bowling. She got her wish. Bowling and pizza and her friends. J on the left is looking up something in one of the Harry Potter books to prove something to Mo. (Pretty funny, since it is exactly what her mom and aunt would do :-) Please note that getting teenage girls to look in the general vicinity of the camera is tricky. They are at the stage where they want to be noticed, but do not like having their pictures taken.

So far she can still handle having her parents near by.

Happy Birthday, Mo!

Knitting continues - just everything is a little longer or bigger...

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EZ's BSJ, MMKG, and GPS

2008-02-15T11:32:00.014-05:00

Last Saturday was our MMKG (Mid-Michigan Knitters Guild) Retreat. It was held again at the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station. It is a very nice facility, though both times we have gone it has been extremely cold outside. I do wonder what it would be like to see the place when it is sunny and green. We ate, we talked, we laughed, we knitted, we ate, and we had knitting classes taught by the very patient Sarah Peasley. (Did I mention that we ate? Way too much really good food is furnished at the facility.) I had a great time! I worked on my Elizabeth Zimmermann's (EZ) Bavarian Jacket. I am making mine plum with black trim. I ran across it on Carla's site and loved the structure. I thought I would give it a try.

We spent our final day at the retreat in the registration building. Due to the weather, a portion of the county was without power. Fortunately the Kellogg Biological Station had generators. We were able to continue with the retreat. Leaving was a bit scary since the roads were horrible AND if you did find yourself in the ditch, the temperatures were below zero along with a nasty wind chill. Teresa and I caravaned back to Lansing. Others traveled in their packs. Eventually everyone safely made it home. One of the harder aspects of the trip was reversing the directions that we used to find the location so we could drive back home. All back roads - nasty, icy, and trying to read the directions made it very difficult.

When we first arrived at Kellogg a couple of the members were singing praises of their GPS navigation systems. I didn't think twice about it until I got home. Wow, if I wouldn't have needed to read the map while concentrating on the roads, that would have helped. This weekend we are heading to Wisconsin for a niece's birthday. Snow predictions come and go, and with the thought of last weeks drive and the story of several hundred cars just sitting on a highway in Wisconsin during their bad snow storm... Hey, I love balancing maps and trying to figure out how the hell to get out of Chicago, or how to get back onto a road as much as the next guy... but, I realized that it just doesn't have to be that hard anymore. So why should it? So after calculations of costs verses features, we found the GPS system that will work for us. And when I am not driving... more knit time. :-)

At the retreat Sarah had some yarn that had been donated by Pat for the charity knitting. I scooped up three colors intending to knit a Baby Surprise Jacket (BSJ) hoping to get it done in time for Sarah to take it to afghans for Afghans . When I was knitting the swatch I thought it was too thin for freezing babies in Afghanistan. Double checked the yarn. You know, funny thing - 'worsted' on yarn labels seem to have many meanings. I really should remember to check the weight of the skein along with the length. (I get lured by the color and forget that last detail.) It is thinner than the DK weight yarn I used to knit my gloves. Well, I still was in a yank to knit a BSJ. Since my goal was a warm sweater for charity (if done on time) - color isn't as important. So I am using bright scraps of yarn used on T's previous projects. All while knitting this the colors reminded me of Lynn H. :-)

Meanwhile - the BSJ sweater... holy crap! I wouldn't say it was the odd construction that made it difficult. I would say it is the vagueness of the pattern. Simple words like 'continue' would have been appreciated. Ravelry to the rescue!!!!! Found a forum, and information that I was looking for to get me moving forward. Oh, and Sarah - my guess is that if I don't get it done in time it - I will have tried my darndest. Everything will be done but sewing on the buttons. Gees, just ask Ram-niss. He is still waiting for me to just sew on the zipper to his otherwise completed sweater (seams and all).

#372 & #373 in a 1000

2008-02-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

I am behind in blogging. This was 2 weeks ago. There isn't much more to add to those who have already blogged about it. Mo and I participated in this fun event and we met Franklin. We sat and knitted with Kat, Kristi, Marcia, Sharon, and Dirty Sue (who, by the way, can belch frequently and unabashedly more than ANY teenage boy I have ever met...) At one point the banter between our knitting partners was going in so many directions, I just wanted to get some popcorn and sit back and watch. (It is always good to see Kat :-) "Hello!" and happy to meet Kristi and Marcia who I have read for quite some time, but had never met. And Sharon, it was wonderful to see her, a regular knitting bud who has been busy with her granddaughter.)

When Franklin posted about the visit to Threadbear in Lansing, Mo's photo along with several guild members photos was posted on his site. To find Mo's photo, she is in the last black and white grouping - she is on the bottom row on the left hand side wearing a striped sweater.

This visit was my first to what others have called 'Mecca' - Threadbear. Oh, I have visited their website many times, but very afraid of actually going in. I get over loaded with all the possibilities when visiting yarn shoops, but this was a nice slow introduction. I will definitely go back again! T found the coolest buttons, and she had to tell me about this really cool thing they had and how she got to help. My 6 year old was geeked over the ball winder. That's my girl. :-)

Large Marge sent me.

2008-02-07T17:17:00.000-05:00

Lookie, lookie! I was the lucky winner/recipient of wonderful goodies from Larjmarj at Knizzle fo Shizzle. I have been reading her blog for quite a long time. I don't remember how I found her, but once I saw her name I was hooked. She and her blog are a lot of fun. Now I need to find a colorwork project worthy of this yarn.

So in honor of Larjmarj an excerpt of Ram-niss and my first date movie...

Knitter's version of idling

2008-02-04T20:24:00.000-05:00

I have been knitting dishcloths in between projects. When knitting it reminds me of the car as I sit at a stop light. Engine running, yet not going anywhere - just like knitting. Needles are clicking with yarn, but just making squares. Now it is my simple project in between stints of cable knitting for my St. Brigid sweater. Which I would show you photos, but I am on the front. So at this time, it looks just like the back I was knitting in October. So think green with grey and black flicks of color knitted in a lot of cables. :-)

I have knitted 2 pairs of gloves. I followed the instructions, but I have to shorten the palm and lengthen the fingers. I would cut and graft the palms and lengthen the fingers, but I keep wearing them. I may just cast on another pair and try again. I have a ton of the yarn. I am just thinking of them as my sock knitting. Though I did learn that I can't knit them when knitting with others. I found myself knitting too far and having to frog back many times.

I have to show you this. This was a gift for T from her Aunt Jane! It is a dragon scarf. Very cute. Aunt Jane is always so clever. I should get a piece of Velcro to put under his chin so he be attached to his tail.

T is also very happy that mom FINALLY felted her lunch bag! (Knitted before school started. All I had to do was to felt this. I had piles of items waiting to be felted! Why I didn't do it, really... just excuses.) She picked out an old button from Great Grandma's collection.

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Sassy shrug

2008-01-21T21:40:00.001-05:00

Originally uploaded by knitterbay

This has been done for a couple of weeks. The hold up was getting it photographed. If I just stretched it out on the couch it would look like a long tube. If I put it on a daughter, the sleeves would go down to their knees. Finally I had on some clothes that I would wear with this sweater. It is just a fun sweater, nothing to take too seriously. It is made from Himalaya's Recycled Silk and just plain black wool.

I searched the web trying to find a photo of what this shrug looks like to me.

Do you see it too?

Photo from Webers Circus

Feisty Feral Tam

2008-01-20T16:01:00.000-05:00

The Feral Tam is done. I did remove and reknit the band to make it tighter. Then I wanted to make the companion mitts that Kathleen Taylor* also offers on her site. In her posting of finished pieces she showed store bought gloves. I don't have any gloves, so I winged the pattern and made gloves. Although the gloves are fine and warm, I see a few areas that bother me as I am being over critical. I know that washing and blocking won't fix it. I was then on the hunt for glove instructions. I was able to download a book on glove making and how to knit them to fit properly. But before I knit another pair of gloves I want to finish the Companion Feral Mitts first.

Gloves may be the new 'socks' for the rest of the winter or until I have figured out the key to knitting good fitting gloves. Meanwhile here in Michigan it is freezing - I will just hunker down and knit.

* Kathleen Taylor graciously shares her patterns for free on her site. She is also the designer of the cute button band hats I made for my nieces at Christmas. She also has a few knitting books and one coming out soon.

Rekindling an Old Flame

2008-01-15T10:35:00.000-05:00

It had been about 28 years since we were last together. I was in High School looking for a little excitement. I found a challenge. I was excited and prepared. As with most flames, they eventually die out. What becomes of them? Where did it go wrong?

It was my first.

Others were normal. Others were abysmal. Others were too far of a stretch. This one stood out from the others.

Over the years, I would often think back to this time in my life. How colors were brighter, visions of future were clearer. I look back with fondness and wonderment.

For the past few years I have searched the internet and old stacks too see if I could once again find my old flame, my first.

My first...
My first Fair Isle
My first charted pattern
My first color work knit
My oldest UFO (unfinished object)

I remember completing the back and partially the front panel. The main color was cherry red and had sparkly charcoal grey and light pink as the pattern colors. I remember carefully knitting the pattern and watching the figures slowly emerge as I continued. I was especially fond of the little pink snowflakes that dotted the big cherry red field. They looked like little hearts.

Why had I never completed it? I loved that silly sweater and the daydreams of how it would look once completed. Over the years I always thought I could always pick it up and finish it anytime. However, that was so long ago. Once I had gotten back into knitting, I began to look for the project. For the past few years I searched my old family homestead, eventually I had to concede, it wasn't here.

I have looked at every pattern book and website. I was constantly in search of the dancing boys and girls. I began hunting for the book instead of trying to find the charted pattern. This was the easiest route. Unlike today, back then there were fewer resources for knitting. There was only a smattering of Scandinavian knitting booklets.

Long last, I found it! (on Ebay) I present to you -

Nomis Scandinavian Sweater Pattern Book 1946

Now that I am reunited with the old book, I will finish the sweater. I also see why it took so long to knit. It was worsted weight (probably used Red Heart) yarn knitted on #5 needles. That is a large amount of time commitment and concentration for a teenager. I am not the same person (nor the same size) as I was back then. I have to decide to knit it either for my youngest daughter or for myself. Either way, it will involve some recalculations. Keeping with the color choices as before, I do have better yarn selection than Ben Franklin had to offer.

Feral Tam

2008-01-12T15:07:00.000-05:00

I was yammering on about the next project I was going to try. In the middle Ram-niss said, "Feral Tam?" It took me a beat to catch what he had said. Although if the knitting goes badly it just may be a feral tam, but for now it is Gramma K's Fair Isle Tam.

2008 and it feels like forever

2008-01-08T20:23:00.001-05:00

Recycled Silk Shrug
Originally uploaded by knitterbay

In my head I know that it is only the first full week of January. But to me it feels like March. Some of it has to do with the weather, some of it is the bug that has been going through family members and work. (fun times)

Currently on the needles is a Recycled Silk Shrug (using Blippity + Deco-Ribbon Shrug pattern). I love the colors and texture of the Himalaya Yarn. Knitting with it is a pain. Most projects made with this are not the most flattering to wear. I had an idea on how I wanted to use it, but there was a lot of Christmas knitting going on here. I now get a chance to experiment and try to see if it is any better in smaller doses. So far I like it, but we will see.

I have a lot of newly finished objects, I can't tell you which if any were the official first FO of 2008. The holiday week was a blur. My guess would be one of the 5 lowly dishcloths, or maybe it was the pair of felted clogs, or it could be one of the button hole bags.

My favorite FO over the holiday week was my Ga Ga Glittens. This was my first attempt at color work on mittens and making gloves. From this quick and simple project I got some very warm gloves/mittens and a huge need to make Selbuvotter (black and white patterned Norwegian mittens). This also makes me want to knit simple gloves too. I can't believe I was afraid to make gloves before. I believe that using the magic loop method instead of DPNs makes it easier. (I don't have to switch needles as often, nor am I accidentally pulling out a needle from the live loops!)

Reminder to those in Michigan...

...the snow will be back. (Let's just hope that it is gone by May.)

Quick glimpse

2007-12-28T09:25:00.000-05:00

A lot of this...

And this....

Makes a lot of this...

And this...

And wayyyyyy toooo much of this.

And a good start on these.
Hope everyone had a very merry Christmas! Wishing you the best 2008!

Stayed for dinner and never left

2007-12-20T16:11:00.000-05:00

Long story, but the shorten version is Son brought in a stray cat. After calling Animal Control a couple of times and putting ads in the paper and Craigslist, no one has claimed this beautiful sweet kitty. So he named her '3.14159'. We call her Pi (π) for short.

Wee little things

2007-12-18T09:53:00.000-05:00

So I think I have lost my mind.

I have knitted a few sweaters a day. Though as you can tell they are very small sweaters. I have to make the hangers for them. They are ornaments for the tree. I am not sure if I can part with them for gifts or if I will be selfish and keep them for myself. Believe it or not - this isn't where I thought I have lost my mind.

Nor did I loose it knitting these teeny tiny stocking ornaments either. Though the larger one was knitted second. The burgundy sock was just too small for me. The larger sock is perfect for putting little items in it.

Nor did I loose it knitting a nice hat and mitten set for charity. Where did I loose it????

Here! After knitting several sweaters the hardest part was starting. It is a top-down raglan sweater. Six and four stitches on long #1 DPNs was a pain - too much needle. So I have this brilliant idea. Toothpicks are size ones! And if I break one, I have a few hundred more. If this works sweaters will be flying out of here!

See - this is where I have lost my mind. Now all I need to do is see if someone has an emery board that they don't care if I sand down the points of my new DPNs.

Oh, and I don't want an intervention... I have all my real knitting done and I am not ready to dig into my beautiful cable cardigan just yet. So just let me sit in the corner humming Christmas tunes to myself with cookie crumbs on the front of my shirt while I keep knitting wee little things.

What does this mean?

2007-12-12T10:07:00.000-05:00

This means I am done with my Christmas knitting! Yeah! So all of the nieces and nephews are done. Parents done. Son done. I have still have felt T's stuff. (Many photos aren't being shown - Ravelry people can see it complete there. Little brothers have big mouths... :-)

I now able to finish Ram-niss' sweater. (... and look... we still have plenty of winter left to wear it!) He wanted to wear it to a Christmas party on Friday, but the party we are going to is dressier than that. Though I do like that he wants to show it off. (or maybe he wants to embarrass me at the employee party.... I will have to think about that one.) Hemming and blocking are complete. I just have to get my courage up and put in the zipper.

Let the charity knitting resume. :-)

... and all the other projects floating around waiting for their turn...

I knew it...

2007-12-09T19:41:00.000-05:00

I took the bait. I read it on another blog - quite often I do them, but I don't post them. But Christmas is T-16 days and counting. I have knitting all over the house, yarn stashed in places that I wouldn't have thought to place it, I have gone to meetings with circular needles hanging around my neck (yup.)... So when I took this dumb quiz - the results were unfortunately very true.

You Are a Fruitcake

People pretend you're sweet and precious, but they know how weird you really are!

What Holiday Food Are You?

Oh, knitting photos? I have them. FO's? I have them. UFO's? I have those too. Children? Yes, they are still around...

Well, back to my knitting. I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Not too many years left...

2007-12-05T09:58:00.000-05:00

T is six. There are not too many years left in which she will believe in Santa. Last Saturday T and Santa discussed what she wanted for Christmas. It was a long discussion on if she was a good girl at home and school.

What does she want for Christmas? Only Santa knows the answer. T told me it was a secret. (Last time I checked she was still into pink, purple, ponies, princesses, and girlie things... oh, and a microphone.)

Hats off! ... and a peek...

2007-11-28T15:27:00.001-05:00

DSCN1043
Originally uploaded by knitterbay

In the middle of a knitting fury. I have a few hats for December's guild meeting - the charity hat contest. This hat, Palindrome Hat, is squishy and big. I like it, but will use worsted instead of bulky next time. The cold weather caught me off guard at work. I will admit that I was tempted to wear the charity hats instead of my old raggy hats from previous winters. But it just didn't seem right, I didn't knit them for me.

On the Christmas knitting front - I have a few projects on the needles. Some I can tell you about and others... well they read the blog.

So I have a nice project that I am working on, and mom, I know you are reading this... but I am going to show you just a little hint.

Do you need a little more hint? Try this... Those in Ravelry can view it here.

There. That should answer all your questions. Please act surprised when you open your gift at Christmas. Now Dad's gift - that I can safely post when the time comes. ... and Ram-niss and my children's too - they don't read this site.

In between

2007-11-21T18:13:00.000-05:00

In between knitting a huge variety of items with deadlines, I had a bee in my bonnet. I wanted to wear a cardigan. I really love this one that I made a few years ago, but it looked nicer sitting in my drawer than on me. It drove me nuts that it was way too big/long. I could chalk it up to it being one of my first knitting projects at the start of this addiction. All projects are a learning experience. It also could be that with knitting I had the opportunity to make a sweater that was long enough in the arms - so I over did it. Then I could also blame my ability to judge my body size or I may have been making this before I lost a lot of weight. Any and all of these reasons aside, I wanted to wear it. So one day this week I removed 9" from the bottom of the sweater and re-knitted the band. Now I will be happy to wear it.

Now back to my little projects and piles of yarn...

Aye, greetin's, argh!

2007-11-13T10:35:00.001-05:00

Pirate Flap Ear hat
Originally uploaded by knitterbay

Arrr, my son wanted a flap eared hat in Michigan Tech colors and I wanted t' make him a pirate cap. Aye, I have come up with a compromise. Aye, me parrot concurs. Me have made a Pirate flap ear hat in Husky Colors!

Aye, me still have a little bit o' work left before it is done. Gar.

Apologies to the Pirate Speak Translator.

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Getting ready

2007-11-05T11:00:00.001-05:00

A little snap-shot of our weekend. The kids raked leaves at the cottage. Can we get them to do it at home? No. But at the cottage where it isn't required, they all pitched in. They loved the huge oak leaves that made the biggest leaf piles that they have ever had. So they spent the weekend raking and then jumping in the piles. Not a bad way to spend a fall day in my book.

hat
Originally uploaded by knitterbay

Here is a hat already for the winter snow to start flying. It is waiting for the matching mittens to be completed.

The pattern is EZ Fit Hat by Rae Blackledge. This hat can be made into any size. I personally love the folded brim. It is soft and extra warm.

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Holiday knitting continues

2007-11-01T11:27:00.001-04:00

DSCN0973
Originally uploaded by knitterbay

I know it seems early to have my Christmas knitting well underway. I also know that I should knit now. Once the holiday charity knitting starts, I don't want to try to be working on gifts. I will get overwhelmed and nothing will get done.

I know that I am 'early', but it really ticks me off that there are holiday ads on TV already! It is one thing to tell yourself that you are doing this to prepare, who wants the commercial world to try to get you to start thinking of the holidays now?

"It looks like a dust ball!"

2007-10-26T10:19:00.001-04:00

"It looks like a dust ball!" said my son as he snuck across the room with Mo's new kitten. Meet Lavender, she is actually much smaller than she appears. She is very fluffy. Zoe likes the little kitten and Stella can't believe we felt the need to bring in another cat.

(I tried to take a good picture of her, but she moves too fast. The other pictures were a blur of grey.)

Girl's way too cute hat

2007-10-24T15:24:00.001-04:00

Girl's Way too cute Hat
Originally uploaded by knitterbay

I love this hat! More importantly T loves this hat, though she hasn't seen the flower on it yet. Without the flower it still looked very cute on her little head. The shoe button is from Great Grandma Ram-niss' button collection. The hat is Button Band Hat by Kathleen Taylor. It is an adult size pattern but I changed to smaller needles and then followed her instructions and it worked out great. I didn't shorten it because I wanted it to protect little ones ears.

Many more in the works in various colors for little people.

Last week during our monthly guild meeting, Cindy talked about embellishments. I have never really tried any before. I usually knit, seam, and send it on it's way. For practice during the meeting I did a tiny embroidery with one of the preemie sweaters. The little lesson gave me the little push I needed to start putting a little extra on the knitted items.

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Lots of little projects

2007-10-23T16:21:00.001-04:00

I can't believe that it has been so long since I have written!

I had stopped knitting socks and have been knitting preemie items for one of the charity collections from the Mid-Michigan Knitting Guild. I had to stop myself, I wasn't getting much else knitted. Those little items are very addicting. Now I have a lot of buttons to attach.

I also received a huge box of yarn so I can get started on my Christmas knitting for my nieces and nephews. Siblings, you may want to avoid this blog for the next few months... Honestly, with all of the toy recalls, it has me concerned about gifts this upcoming holiday season. Knitted items haven't been recalled, so I am working on several cool sets for my nieces and nephews. I was going to give T her items at Christmas, but realized that I needed her to try items for sizing. So she is a willing participant.

Welcome to Houghton

2007-09-29T19:42:00.000-04:00

From Houghton - Mi...

Greetings Trolls!

On the road again

2007-09-29T07:44:00.001-04:00

preemie
Originally uploaded by knitterbay

I am way behind in blogging. But since it isn't a requirement or an assignment - the three people who read this may or may not come back and see this posting. :-) This posting may be a little jumbled, there will not be any graceful segways between ideas. They are pretty much non-related.

Yesterday we were driving to Houghton, MI to take Son to Michgan Tech's open house. He is very interested in studying environmental sciences and was anxious to see if this school would be where he wanted to go.

So with work in total turmoil, late nights, phone calls, web updates we left early and drove north. (Blackberry worked till St. Ignace, cell phone had just a few dead areas In the UP.)

I will add photos of Houghton later today. This town is fabulous!!! I was really shocked. I have seen photos of it, but usually it involves a lot of snow. Then as soon as we checked in, I logged in at work, made phone calls to see where things may have been dropped. Ram-niss took Son and T to register at MI Tech and I worked.

Knitting content: By the time we were at Indian River I had finished the i-cord of one hat and completed another knitted hat. Sarah at the guild is our charity coordinator. So instead of socks I will be making preemie items using stash yarn. On the needles right now is a lime green sweater that matches the lavender one in the photo.

Speaking of the guild, I had a lot of fun at our first Mid-Michigan Knitters Guild meeting of the season. (I have always worried that when I have that much fun it may not have been fun for others.) They are interesting, energetic, and unique. I look forward to October's meeting.

Oh, and Zoe and I have signed up for Rabble Rousers dog class. I need some training. I do not behave well when other dogs approach us when I am walking Zoe :-) I was looking for a class, but was afraid of the basic obedience class because of the way she behaves around other dogs while she is on a leash. This class is specifically for dogs like her. So all of them will be awful. Zoe is smart, I think she will pick up pretty easy. I just need a structured environment with someone who knows what they are doing.

Photos of Houghton later. It is just too beautiful to let pass.

Thar she blows

2007-09-15T20:30:00.001-04:00

From whaling

Today Ram-niss and I went whale watching. We saw humpback whales. At the end of the tour we saw 5 swimming together. Of course photos couldn't do it justice. If you are interested in viewing our tour or schlepping through all of our Boston photos today, just click 'whaling' under the photos.

They can always find you...
Believe it or not this is a photo of Ram-niss and I signing our final papers on our cottage (in Michigan) on the back the notary's car outside our hotel in Boston. Back of the car was because parking is awful here, and he was parked illegally. He didn't want to get towed. Funny and weird at the same time. It will make a good story years to come. Cell phones and email... amazing.

We are here...

2007-09-13T21:34:00.000-04:00

Ram-niss and I made it to Boston. It took 28 hours to get here by train. Had we not had a delay in New York we would have made it in time to catch the subway to get to our hotel. Instead at 1 am I was telling a cab driver that I was not going to pay x amount of dollars to take me 1.5 miles to my hotel. Instead I would go to the other side of the station and catch another cab. He came down in price and we went got in. The cab ride was worth the money in entertainment value alone. (Though it did reaffirm my wish to walk or take the subway.)

Next day we took the subway into town. The MBTA worker kindly spent a fair amount of time showing us how to use our tickets, how to figure out the lines, the best places to eat and how far we could safely go on which lines. All this from staring at the turnstile with the ticket in my hand.

Any time we stood too long staring at our maps, people would come up and offer directions. We were tourists. We didn't stick out - there were many people walking around with maps in their hands.

The weather is much nicer than it was 20 years ago. Sunny and low 70's. If you are interested in seeing our photos so far, click the photo of the John Jeffries House.

Knitting update

2007-09-08T10:46:00.001-04:00

Sorry, no clever title. School has started. Projects are clicking along. Nothing is done yet - they are just bigger. For family members reading: we will be signing on the cottage after our trip to Boston. I forgot how much crap there is involved on home purchases. I thought our concern would be the approval process. That was nothing, but paper work involved even when everything is approved still is an absolute pain. Photos for everyone once we actually sign on the FINAL dotted line.

Ram-niss' pup tent is almost done. He tried it on a few days ago and it is fitting perfectly. God bless, Elizabeth Zimmerman! Her percentage system worked for my Creme Saver sweater and this one. I am finishing the hem on the collar, using a softer contrasting yarn for the inside band. My intent is that it not be scratchy along his neck. I have to knit bands for the zipper and hem the sleeves. On this project there are a few new things I am learning on this project. One is the zipper - though that doesn't intimidate me. Knitting underarm gussets does have me breaking out in a bit of a sweat. Many books talk about them as well as websites, but I can't find specific instructions on how to do it. (Sock gussets, yes. Underarm gussets, no.) I have an idea I am going to try, though I will not take out the yarn holding my live stitches till after I know it will work.

St. Brigid will be going with Ram-niss and me to Boston. There will be plenty of time on the train. I will not need to have other projects along. There is little chance that it will be finished on this trip. I will be taking a sock for mindless knitting. That may actually be completed.

T's backpack is almost done. Still haven't felted her lunch bag. I told her that she is to be surprised at Christmas when she finally gets her backpack. :-)

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Mahna Mahna

2007-09-01T09:38:00.001-04:00

While I am knitting and gardening today, please sit back and enjoy my favorite Muppet song. Over the years we have used many different words to go along with this song. Menominee, phenomenon,...

Lots of WIPs (works in progress)

2007-08-21T11:17:00.001-04:00

St. Brigid is underway. The photo doesn't do it justice. It is actually more of an olive color with gray and black to make the tweed. I love the pattern - and this sweater may take a while. :-)

Ram-niss' Raglan sweater is coming along. I have the bottom complete and most of one arm. So visualize one sleeve and a large rectangle of knitted blue yarn that matches the sleeve. That would be his sweater. I hope to complete this during the train ride to Boston in a few weeks. Does anyone have a good source for zippers? I went to JoAnns and all they had were the big toothed plastic zippers. I have found a company online but the shipping charges will make me wait till I can order the zippers for this sweater and my Creme Saver sweater.

Also up for Ram-niss is a pair of socks. He claims that he wanted a pair of hand knit socks. We will see if wool makes his feet break out - if it does then I have another nice pair of socks... You may notice that I am using bamboo needles. Not my favorite needle, though they are good when first starting a sock since the yarn doesn't slip much, but then I usually switch to metal. I currently don't have my metal #2 DPNs. Meg is using them for her first pair of socks! She is doing very well on them - tiny little fussy stitches are right up her alley.

T's Bolero is completed, just haven't photographed it yet. It is a little big for her, but she doesn't care. I am working on her backpack once it dawned on me that school will be starting soon. No picture of that yet either - just picture lots of pinks and purple in large over sized stitches. It is going to be felted just like her lunch bag. (which is purple and pink...)

Knitting at Mintfest

2007-08-12T11:52:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I was at the Mint Festival parade. I was knitting before the parade. Later in the afternoon Mo and I were at the Great Lakes Folk Festival working at our guild's booth (Mid Michigan Knitting Guild). I met a lot of wonderful people. I hope that some of them do join us in September when our new season begins. (I also saw several people from work who were as surprised to see me in the booth as I was surprised to see them out of a business suit. ;-)

I have a lot of projects that I am working on. One is a very cute bolero for T called 'Molly' by Debbie Bliss. This should be done later today. With school just around the corner I have T's lunch bag knitted, just haven't felted this yet. I also have a backpack, Ayla, that I need to get completed for her for school too.

Meanwhile I was able to score a copy of Aran Knitting by by Alice Starmore. No, I didn't win the lottery - I actually found it in the library. (Thankfully they didn't know what this book costs!) So I am frantically trying to finish a few my knitting projects so I can get started on the St. Brigid sweater. Will I get it done? Or more realistically, will I get it done before the second month when I can't renew my book again?

Do I dare tell you of my day?

2007-08-02T12:04:00.000-04:00

I don't normally put in too much personal information on my blog. And while this isn't personal as in what family member is suffering from what - it does involve my day job. Specific details beyond what I observed were garnished from office chat - so it is gossip, but the event did happen. ... and me without my camera - only my phone.

Yesterday morning, once again we were sitting inside the police caution tape. This time it isn't from construction hitting the gas lines. (This has happened 3 times this summer.) This time a suspicious package was dropped off at the front desk.

The woman was a frequent visitor to Constituent Services and often signs in with the guard on arriving. Only this visit she arrived with her normal pamphlets and a bag with 2-3" pipe inside it. It had wires hanging off of it and a switch on the side. She then tried to get the guard to sign for her package. (I find this part actually funny - the thought of a slightly disturbed woman trying to get the guard to sign for a bag with a pipe and wires. As if this package had importance.) State Police made the determination that due to it's size if it was real - it couldn't cause much damage beyond the first floor. This is the reason I (and several hundred others) were not evacuated. I had the pleasure of continuing on with my day as if there wasn't a bomb squad truck parked outside my window and watch the robot come up the sidewalk and go in below.

Not sitting inside the caution tape today... yet...

Bloomsbury Take II

2007-07-27T13:26:00.001-04:00

Bloomsbury Take II
Originally uploaded by knitterbay

Final picture of my Bloomsbury sweater after all the alterations. I know that there are a few glitches, but I love it as a 'knock around in' sweater. It is good for casual Friday. It is very comfortable. I have gotten a few compliments at work while wearing it. Usually my new knitting goes undetected. (Probably just as well :-))

Reminder of the before picture of the Bloomsbury.

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Big Bag Weekend

2007-07-22T16:29:00.001-04:00

I seem to be on a bag kick this week (or summer). I made these two bags, MasonDixon's Buttonhole Bag, in less than a day each. I really like them. Do I need more? No. Do I know many people that would like these for Christmas? No, I am not sure many on my gift list like this style. Most I know use bags with handles to throw over shoulders and have to be large enough to drag everything possibly needed. Needless to say, I will be making more :-)

Also completed this weekend is a lunch bag. I was happy to be able to use one of Great Grandma Niss' buttons. I have her buttons and I try to use them with every project, but most of the time they don't match well. The pattern is from Knitty.com and is called Brown Bag. I couldn't leave it brown. T wants me to make her one for her school lunches. She has requested her to be purple and pink.

Last up is the Retro Tote. The knitting was completed at the cottage, but I finished lining it today. I can't say if I like it or not. I am not fond of it, but my girls are drooling over it.

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Oh sure, it looks pretty...

2007-07-19T13:58:00.001-04:00

Less than a week ago we were on vacation. The kids didn't seem to mind that it was mostly lower 70's upper 60's. They swam. They drank hot cocoa. Then they swam some more.

We saw most family members from both sides of the family. We had family members of all ages. Some of us sat around, read, knitted, napped, swam, built sand castles, walked on the beach, enjoyed beach fires, star gazed, over estimated our abilities and had to be pulled back by a neighbors boat because some were being pushed by offshore winds where had they waited too long others would have needed to call the coast guard, BBQ'd, ate and ate some more.

Till next time...

When I am not swimming or staring at the water

2007-07-13T14:59:00.000-04:00

We are on the final few days of vacation. Knitting was done in the cottage, swimming and reading was on the beach. Creme Savers Sweater is ready to be steeked, zipper added, and hemmed.

What do you make with a bag full of thick itchy ugly rug yarn from the 70's?

This was yarn left over from cleaning out the knitting guilds closets. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it. It was knocking around my sewing room. One day I ran across some newer yarn that I had bought, but didn't have enough to do anything with it except make a hat. Then I noticed that it had the same colors in it as the old yarn in the guild bag. So I have started my Retro Tote using the same pattern as the one I previously made with the recycled silk yarn.

Deep breathe... took apart my Bloomsbury sweater. Carefully detached the extra length - at one point I was careful not to drop any stitches only to discover that I was carefully saving the section of the sweater that I was removing - DOH! Then I took off about an inch too much - now ribbing the bottom. I removed the sleeves and added about 5". Removed and shortened the button/holes sections. In the end I think I may like it. There are some parts that I am hoping washing with even out some of the stitches. It was a good practice anyways.

Beach photos later...

Himalaya Tote - done

2007-06-30T19:59:00.001-04:00

A very easy knit. This bag is lined with pockets and is all done.

Now I can pack to go up north.

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Birthday meme

2007-06-29T09:32:00.000-04:00

I never do these. I have been tempted before, and this one actually interests me.

Here are the guidelines: Go to Wikipedia and type in your birthday month and day only. Then post three events, two births and one holiday that occurred on your birthday, then tag 5 friends. (I won't tag anyone. Please participate if interested.)

May 19
3 Events:

1536 - Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII of England, is beheaded for adultery.
1568 - Queen Elizabeth I of England has Mary Queen of Scots arrested.
1962 - A birthday salute to U.S. President John F. Kennedy takes place at Madison Square Garden, New York. The highlight is Marilyn Monroe's infamous rendition of Happy Birthday.

2 Births:

1925 - Malcolm X, American civil rights activist (d. 1965)
1948 - Grace Jones, Jamaican singer and actress

1 Holiday:

Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day in Turkey (1919).

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Himalaya Tote

2007-06-27T09:09:00.001-04:00

Himalaya Tote
Originally uploaded by knitterbay

The pattern is free when you sign up for Knitting Daily. It is quick and easy. I am considering using it as a stash buster and make additional totes. It may end up as Christmas gifts

This is a quick project. It is made from Himalaya Recycled Silk yarn.

The yarn - hmmm... very beautiful, but a little fussy. It is over spun in several places. So I am constantly letting my ball hang to unspin the kinks out. Fortunately the pattern is very easy so fiddling with the yarn isn't too bad. Also the yarn has a lot of joined sections. Pretty annoying when the skeins are only 80 yards.

I have the front done. After the sides and back are completed, I have to make a lining for it.

Muppet Coat is finished

2007-06-24T17:04:00.001-04:00

The Muppet Coat (aka Einstein Coat) is done. It was very easy to make. I love the simplicity of the design. T wants me to make one for her. She wants hers to be purple and just as fuzzy.

My hopes while making this coat were that I could wear it a little better than a blanket. It lives up to it's intentions. Nothing fancy, just a knock-around-in-it fuzzy fun coat. I can see me wearing this to the fireworks and on the beach in the evenings.

1 more week, cottage here we come!

Lil' socks

2007-06-24T16:56:00.001-04:00

DSCN0522
Originally uploaded by knitterbay

These have been done for a week or so. I made these for T while I was sitting in various doctors offices. I am not that fast of a knitter, T has little feet. I made them a little large for her.

I used the Knitting Fiends' calculator. I love the sock-u-lator! I have used it many times for many different sizes.

PS - if you see Tessa, don't mention the socks. They will be for her birthday or Christmas.

To frog, alter, or hide in the back of the closet?

2007-06-21T10:43:00.000-04:00

Remember my Bloomsbury Sweater? After several months I finally put in all 12 buttons. Finding 12 matching anythings in one location is a feat in itself. Having not seen it for several months, there were a few things that I noticed that I hadn't before. Some of it has to do with not satisfied some of the stitches. I do love the lace panels.

I don't like

that it is heavy. It is cotton, but it isn't a light sweater. This would work as a fall sweater.
the length of the sleeves - too short. I think I would like them to be 3/4 or full length. This would gear it towards cooler days.
the see through lacy panels, love those - BUT I have to wear something under it so that my bra doesn't show. Again - that would gear it towards cooler days.
the length of the sweater. It is too long, and though it does look like the photo on the pattern, my back end doesn't. And this sweater emphasizes it.
button band is flimsy. I would have done better to pick-up the stitches with smaller needles and knitted. Instead of knitting the band separately and stitching on. The button holes seem loosy goosey.
collar needs a little help.

OK - to solve some of the above

I can pick up the sleeve stitches and knit down. Maybe... the entire sleeve is K2P2. I will try. But I wonder if that is similar to color work and all my stitches would be off 1/2 stitch? If that doesn't work. I can just start the sleeves over.
Length... I could find where I want it to end and place the stitches on the needles, remove the rest of the yarn, and then bind off. My fear is the lacy panels. I have to find a spot where I can easily find all the stitches to pick up. All of those yarn overs, k2tog, ssk... I could make a real mess out of it.
button band - try it again. Though I will see what mess I have if I am able to shorten the sweater. If I am happy with it then continue with the small finishings.

Bloomsbury or Doomsbury Sweater?
Here the final picture of it with the buttons. If I choose to not hide it in the back of the closet - I will post a before and after. (Oh, that could hurt. Before photo: a decent sweater that won't get much wear. After photo: a big old pile of tangled yarn.)

Still deciding. I like the challenge of trying... then there is the possibility of frogging it if I totally screw it up. I would then knit it into something I would like. But I may like it if it was shorter...

Paris

2007-06-20T07:58:00.000-04:00

Son is currently in the Netherlands with a friend and his family for the next couple of weeks. Before he left I worked with him to get an online photo album set up. He is able to upload pictures while he is on vacation. So these are some of the photos he took while in Paris for the last few days. He said that his next jaunt is Oslo Norway.

I am happy to see that he is having a great time AND that he is able to share his photos with us while he is traveling. The other day I was writing him an email and he noticed that I was online at the time. I was able to instant message him for a little while. I know that this isn't a big deal, but things are very different than when I was a kid. Never mind that my vacation wouldn't have been too far from home. If I was away long enough I may have been able to get or send a letter.

If interested my son uploaded several photos of Paris. Not all are award winning, but there are some very good ones in there. As I was clicking through I actually got a little teary eyed when I spotted them drinking Coke from a glass bottle. They were regular size. (After they changed to plastic I use to have wonderful dreams of drinking Coke from a glass bottle - only to wake up and find it was a dream.) Son, forget bringing home wine, bring Coke in glass bottles! :-)

Creme Savers Cardigan

2007-06-18T13:15:00.001-04:00

Cream Saver Cardigan
Originally uploaded by knitterbay

Newest on the needles is the Creme Savers Cardigan being knitted in the round.

I am not sure at this time if it will be a raglan yet. I hope to have that figured out in the next 15". Otherwise it will be a tube and I will steek the sleeves in.

It will be a zippered cardigan with a stand up collar.

The yarn is hand dyed 100% merino from Woven Art in East Lansing. I couldn't leave it on the shelves after Friday's Yarnival. I tried to ignore it's call during the 3 hour event, but in the end it found its way into my hands by the end of the night. Others were calling, this one was the most persistent.

Einstein Coat

2007-06-12T15:27:00.001-04:00

Einstein Coat
Originally uploaded by knitterbay

Currently on the needles... a big furry fuzzy thick Einstein Coat. I am using yarn that I have knitted twice into a wrap. Frogged the third time and hoping for something that I will be able to knock around in.

I like it, but this summer weather is a bit much for the yarn... but when it is cool enough for the yarn, I'll want to wear it.

At this moment I am almost done with the bottom panel. Will be adding the upper panels at knit-in tonight.

You may notice that this is a little different than my old layouts. I am playing with Ravelry - which is just cool!

Huzzah!

2007-06-12T15:15:00.001-04:00

Croisette
Originally uploaded by knitterbay

Croisette wrap-around cardigan from Lana Grossa is done! And after froggin', guessing, and tweaking - I love it.

Knitting Daily

2007-06-04T08:47:00.000-04:00

I am usually the last to know of these things. In case there is someone out there who wasn't aware and is intereseted... there is new online community soming soon from Interweave Press.
Are you Knitting Daily?

By the way... there was a great post by the Yarn Harlot written about 18th birthday of her daughter, Amanda. I think most moms have been here.

Some knitting...

2007-06-01T13:19:00.000-04:00

I have finished my socks made from the denim hand painted yarn I received from Stumbling Over Chaos. Being Michigan, the weather will turn and I will still be able to wear them before the Fall.

I am working on Croisette wrap-around cardigan from Lana Grossa. This is a beautiful sweater! The only problem is that the directions are very complicated and flawed. The main trouble is that it was originally written in German and then translated to English. Some of the words used (after searching for several hours on the Internet) do not have an English translation. So I have resorted to figuring out the best way to handle certain parts. Also I can not rely on their translation of inches. I am following the schematic written in centimeters instead. I hope to at least have a good sweater in the end... stay tuned.

I have no idea if I can get this pattern to work, but I am giving it a good try. I have frogged and tinked this many times. At this point I am now left with doing the lacy bottom sections. Fingers crossed.

I have started my Ravelry account a few weeks after receiving an invitation. I like the site, but it does take a lot of time putting in information.

We don't need no stinkin' lawn

2007-05-25T13:21:00.000-04:00

I was going to whine about another part of the garden needing flowers removed.

This is what I saw when I got home. It reminded me of the movie 'The Money Pit'

lawn - what lawn... I have plants scattered along the drive way, but most seem to be saved.

Why is it always the last place you look? They dug the entire width of the yard to find the sewer drain. They found the old footings to the original porch about 3' from the current porch.

Crap.

2007-05-25T10:12:00.000-04:00

Literally. Our annual Spring blocked drain pipe to the road was more than just roots this year. The pipe was crushed to a 1/2" opening. Lucky me. Money we saved to live off on in case the state shuts down for a month was the exact amount needed to pay for a new pipe to the sewer. I know I should feel lucky that we had the money available, but somehow I don't feel it.

I have spent the last few weekends working on a garden that I thought was in great shape. I wasn't planning on adding to it, but a friend was thinning out her garden. Last year many of her perennials went to the compost pile. So I volunteered to take her extras. She had so many that I was pretty busy. Again thinking that when I got done planting I can just enjoy my garden this year. I would thin out my own garden next year. One garden area project ended up being a much larger project than I expected. I am hoping the effort will be worth it - many of the plants were stressed when planted, so it looks nasty. I am expecting it to be stronger next year.

What I wasn't expecting was removing 12' of garden in the front of my house to accommodate a drain pipe. (This is most of the plants from the top photo.) I got home from work and spent the rest of the evening trying to find temporary locations for all of the plants. Later this morning I got a call from Ram-niss. They couldn't find the drain pipe and are now going further down the porch. He wanted to know what plants I needed to keep. "All of them!" was my reply. So now he will be moving more plants. I have no idea what our lawn is going to look like. Somehow that isn't nearly as annoying as redoing 5 years of gardening this weekend.

I thought I was going to be able to sit back and just enjoy my garden this year.

Did I meantion that the dryer died? It has the same symptoms that it had last month when we paid for a repair man to come and fix it. Ram-niss and son purchased a used dryer for less than a repair man. We can still dink with it on our own, meanwhile we can continue with the laundry... once the sewer drain is repaired...

Linden Fire

2007-05-23T23:35:00.001-04:00

The kids and I went to Gaines to visit old friends and help thin her garden. (I just pointed at what I wanted and her husband dug it up.) I eventually had to stop because it was obvious that if I got any more, children would be forced to run alongside the car for the drive home.

I had heard on the news that there had been a fire at the Broad Street Grille in Linden. This was one of my favorite buildings. They had spent a lot of money, time and effort restoring it. While we were in the area, we stopped in Linden. Unfortunately the building will be no more. It is to be torn down. Linden is a very small community and this was the large percentage of their downtown. It is very sad.

The image below is a slide show. I hope it loads.

I added a bunch of photos from the zoo and of my garden. If interested check it out!

Zoo, girls, and posies

Of little interest...

2007-05-22T09:47:00.000-04:00

This is of little interest to anyone outside of the family. (... and I am not sure how interested they would be as well...) This is a snippet from last night's St. Johns High School band concert. This is the symphonic band. For family members not able to come and are interested in hearing some of the concert this is for you. Son is the round head under Mr. Davis' directing arm. You will recognise the big ears. So enjoy, the tuba solo piece is very good.

Weekend Sun

2007-05-20T11:26:00.000-04:00

A little slow in posting. These were from last weekend - Mother's Day. The girls and I went to the zoo.

Pony rides around a nice path.

This is the new otter exhibit. Otters are my favorite. Very nice setup. There is more than these few photos. Potter park does have more than goats.

Mother's Day on our way to MIL brunch. T is wearing her new dress. After I finally found a slip and removed 4" from the hem.

On the needles are the 'pup tent' and a pair of socks. I also have another sweater going. (It is a quick knit - I have frogged the left front panel it 3 times. That exciting *snore* story in following posts.)

Wedding Shower

2007-05-06T09:06:00.000-04:00

I can't believe that it has been so long since my last post. In that time we have had 2 gas line punctures outside of our office and a 3rd on the backside of the block. No evacuations, though Friday's I could actually smell in my office and went home. It was nauseating and I had a nasty headache.

I have been knitting. The above photo is of a wedding shower gift. They are washcloths from the Mason-Dixon Knitting book. Inside the enclosed cloth is homemade soap from a local shop.

On the needles is a small pup tent. I am knitting Avast for Ram-niss, with a few alterations. I am using yarn that I picked up at our knitting guild meeting a few months back. Sharon Winsauer was doing a program on lace knitting and shawls. When she walked in the door she had a ton of yarn, placed it on several tables and told us to please take what we wanted because she was not leaving with any of it. I picked up a couple of colors. Everyone did their best holding back so that everyone could get something. Ram-niss liked the yarn I brought home, so now the original yarn I bought is sitting in a bag. I hope there is enough of Sharon's yarn. It is DK weight and is being knitted on smaller needles. I can go buy a complimentary color to work the sleeves.

The other knit, besides the socks - is a toy that I was trying to get done this weekend. That didn't happen. So I will finish it up and put it away for a certain holiday at the end of the year.

Zoe and B plotting.

Rigorous play

2007-04-25T12:54:00.000-04:00

Friday afternoon knitting on my lunch break at the mall behind the capitol. It was a beautiful day, yet not many people were sitting out on all the benches and picnic tables. The rest of the weekend was beautiful! I and the rest of the family spent the entire weekend outside. Everything is much greener this morning that it was just the few short days since this picture was taken. I think we may have made it through the winter in Michigan!

My Pinwheel Sweater from Elann.com is done. Although it says 'one size fits all'... come on, we know better. As I was knitting it I did double check the width of the back before I started the sleeves and it was fine. I even added my regular inch+ for the sleeves. What I did fail to consider was the front. If I had to do it all over again - I would have continued knitting in the round several more inches. I sort of like it, but it almost resembles a shrug. Also the yarn that is recommended for the pattern it too light for my taste. I like a little more heft. I may knit another one and revamp towards my taste. Meanwhile I do love the crocheted edging!

Zoe loves her toys! That being said that once she starts playing with them, and with very little effort on her part - they only last moments. So while I was at the store, I looked for a sturdier toy. This looked like it would work. Read the label.

As I was putting away the groceries, the children gave it to Zoe. A few minutes later I hear, "Mom, Zoe has the rope off." No big deal. I didn't expect the rope to be sturdy. Then it was followed quickly that she had just removed the tiny cloth label on the toy. Again, it wasn't a necessity to the toy. And in less than 15 minutes from the time we gave it to her - you see the final photo. I wanted to return all the pieces immediately back to the store - just so they could see the time stamp of the receipt and what condition the toy was now in. I thought it was funny. Ram-niss stated that they would care less and just give me back my money. What fun is that??? Meanwhile, I rescued the squeakers from the toy. I may try to felt a few items with the squeakers inside and see if these would last longer than the sturdy toy. Maybe I could knit with chain metal. :-)

Quick Zoe story: The other day my SIL stopped over for a few minutes. Both the dogs were sniffing her over pretty good. I thought it was her sheep they were smelling. SIL said no, it was probably the mink she was working with. After I shooed Zoe away, she went upstairs. She returned a few minutes later with an old mink stole of Great Grandma-niss that was in T's room. (T keeps it in her dress-up box.) I thought Zoe had a good sense of smell, and it looks like she is pretty smart too. Now if someone could give me the magic words used to make her walk better. We are working on it, but 70 lbs. of momentum is hard to reign in. (We are getting better though.)

Doh! ... and done!

2007-04-17T17:32:00.000-04:00

I had finally finished the baby blanket for a coworker due in June. The miles and miles of garter stitch was boring. The only entertainment was in the striping of the yarns. I crochet the edging because on the side that I weaved in the loose yarn it looked bad. (The large stitches makes it harder to hide the extra yarn. A tighter stitch seems to hold the yarn better.) I was all done when I discovered the hole. (A friggin' hole in the boring garter stitched blanket!) I thought I had cut the stitch when I had cut off the yarn ends after weaving. I was cussing myself out as I tried to figure out how to fix it. I decided sleep would be the first step. (I had images in my head of screwing it up more.) The next day I discovered it was a dropped stitch. I weaved in a new stand of yarn and it is now fine. I now have to wash the blanket and see what loose ends show up.

The baby wasn't due for a while. I had a lot of left over yarn and decided that I could make baby socks. I chose the green since it would help the gift remain gender neutral. (We don't know if it will be a boy or a girl.) When the socks were done, it needed something to match. I found this cute hat pattern. (I love the little dangling i-cords at the top!) I added the twisted stitch pattern from the socks so it would match.

Everything is done for the gift. I have to get it wrapped and give it to her before I start making a matching sweater, curtains, ...