Football Game Knitting

You get a few odd looks when you knit at a high school football game. It was the first home game of the season, and cross town rivals were playing. The oldest is in the marching band so they were there to play during half time. It was packed, I was there 40 minutes early and still had to park 3 blocks away and hoof it to the field and then stand on the track for the first quarter and sit on the track for the second quarter, and finally got a bleacher seat after half time. At the beginning of the second quarter I cast on for this sock. It is some lovely Opal my sister Karen shared with me ... I love it, thank you, Karen. This is how much sock you can knit in 3 quarters of a high school football game. It is Opal Traumfanger 1232, just a plain jane, mindless knitting sock. 68 stitches, size 2 needles, 8.5 stitches to the inch. Oh, and by the way, the band sounded fantastic. They work so hard and it shows.
And also on the needles is a sweater for the youngest. The oldest says it is "ugly", but the youngest likes it, and assures me she will gladly wear it. It is a pattern from the Spring 2005 "Knit It" magazine. It is the Hugs and Kisses Pullover, designer Kristen Nicholas. I am knitting it in the round, instead of flat as the pattern directs, and will do steeks for the armholes. I am knitting it in Cascade 220 on size 7 needles. It is a little scrunched up on the needles for the picture, but it is coming along nicely. Hopefully, I will have it done for cool, fall weather. She will match the changing colors of the leaves.

That is about all for today. We have a house full of sickly people... I hate when school begins for just this reason. We take bets on which one will get sick first, and how many days into the new school year it will take. This year , boy child won, sickly in just 3 days, followed by the oldest, 5 days, and now the youngest, who appears to be the worst. You just got to love those confined spaces and 26 coughing, sneezing kids all in one room. The youngest wants to be held, so I am off for now.

Honestly....

I really have been knitting. Most of what I have been working on has been Secret Pal stuff, so, I can't show it to you.. I will say, I have been branching out, and not all of it has been knitting. But my daughter said I had to post, because it has been a while, even though I have nothing to show, so I am.
How about a little eye candy from the flower bed. I love the Hibiscus, but the flower is short lived and we had torrential down pours soon after it bloomed. So, we had a few beautiful blooms for just a few days. The flowers were just shy of 8" across.
Maybe I will have some knitting to show in the next day or so.

Happy Dance

Kathy had a contest to celebrate her 500th post, and I was the lucky winner. Today when I came home from carpooling kids to and from band camp this was waiting for me. I was so excited, the yarn looked so beautiful in the pictures on her blog, I couldn't wait to get it open. And what was inside this package? All this beautiful Handpaint Originals Brown Sheep Mohair / Wool blend yarn. And these are all so my colors. Take a look, isn't it just lovely. I am going to search through patterns to see what it wants to be, but I am thinking some kind of lacy shawl. It is so pretty, I have it sitting here by the computer so I can admire it.. Thank you so much Kathy!

Just A Really Bad Sprain...

along with some kind of little deformity. I am so relieved that the arm is not broken, just badly sprained. And she is happy, no cumbersome cast, but she gets out of the push ups and other weight bearing arm exercises in band.... at least for 2 weeks anyway. What they thought was a fracture turns out to be some little abnormality in the bone, nothing to worry about, says the ortho MD. She may have been born with it or it may have resulted from a previous injury. It is a mystery. So we had an enjoyable morning and afternoon together, just the two of us, shopping. We don't get the opportunity to have just the two of us time very often.

There is nothing new on the needles, but I did finally attach straps and handles and buttons to some felted bags . Now if I could just find those pesky little buttons I bought for Baby Albert, I could sew those on too. I am almost done with the first sleeve on the FC Cabled Hooded Sweater. I may knit the back next just so I can do something different, rather than the other sleeve, which was my original plan..

Random Knitting Theory #1

There is a contest going on over at Jerry& Maxy A theory to prove whether there is a difference in the hands of different styles of knitters ... anyway, I think that is what is going on. So, I had my very reluctant daughter, she is having a bad day, take some pictures for me.
Exhibit 1 : idle hands














Exhibit 2: knitting hands















Now, onto the reluctant daughter. I feel so sorry for her. First of all, she was at band camp all last week in the blistering heat. They were outside in the heat for 6 hours a day, and she endured that like a trooper. I know I could not do it. This weekend she went to a camp with the church youth group. It was sort of a welcoming of the freshman, which she will be this year, into the "senior" youth group (sort of an oxy moron I know). Now, my oldest has always been somewhat accident prone, in fact I often tell her I should wrap her in bubble wrap before she leaves the house. Well she fell off a cabled wire type rope during some "extreme challenge" She has a bruise that is 11" long on her thigh , one about 4 " long and 2" wide on her chest, and her arm is bruised, but otherwise she appears ok. I did take pictures of the bruises but she doesn't want me to show them off. Anywho, yesterday morning she wakes up and tells me her arm is sore and she has a terrible sore throat and she doesn't want to go to band. I am a little hesitant to let her stay home because they are pretty strict about missing, but I let her stay home because she went all last week and didn't complain so I figure she must feel rotten. No fever, throat doesn't look too bad and she seems to be able to move everything ok. Then last night she asks me to look at her throat again, and I do and I think it looks suspicious for strep, so I tell her she can sleep in I will take her to the doctor in the morning. So we go the pediatrician this morning and while we are there I asked him to take a look at all the bruising just to be sure it is just soft tissue damage and nothing more to worry about. Well, we end up at the radiology department for xrays of the arm and tomorrow get to go to the orthopedic doctor for follow-up as the arm may be fractured. But the good news is, she doesn't have strep. This child has had 6 fractures in her 14 years of life and stitches twice, did I mention she is a little accident prone. She is such a stoic child and it is hard to tell when she is really hurting. Now I feel bad for waiting for a whole day to take her. And I think I am going to buy a HUGE package of bubble wrap when I am out tonight.

BallBand Craze

I have been hit by the Ballband dishcloth craze. I am making these like crazy. I think they are addictive. And the best part is, they are cotton, so your hands stay dry in this terrible heat while you are knitting, unlike my wool ... I am half afraid to knit with it for fear it will felt in my hands from the heat and the sweat. I went to Hobby Lobby the other day and bought more cotton, JoAnn's and Wally World were just about out and had maybe 4 colors total. I think the whole city must be knitting them.




And as if I don't already belong to enough groups, I joined 2 more this week. I joined the FCCabled Hooded Pullover KAL I think I knit this sweater in 1977 when the pattern was released. It looks so familiar. I am knitting it in Cascade Eco Wool. I started with the sleeves, I hate knitting sleeves so I thought I would start with them and use that as my gauge swatch. I think this is going to be a really quick knit.

And the other KAL is the Mystery Sock KAL. You find a sock pattern online that doesn't have a picture, hence the mystery. I thought what the heck, I will be brave and not even look at the patterns first. I closed my eyes and pointed my index finger out and whatever it lands on, that is the one I will knit. So, I am knitting this sock in Mountain Colors Bearfoot. I figure at least the sock yarn will be great, since I am knitting site unseen. It is a simple lace pattern, I didn't even copy it as it is only a 3 stitch repeat with only 4 rows to the pattern, 2 of those being knit . I will have to go back though and look at the name of it so I can post it on the KAL. I think I am starting a little early. I hope that is ok.

Well, surprisingly enough, blogger has been relatively cooperative today. This has been an almost pleasant posting experience, LOL.

My turkey breast smells like it is getting close to done so I better go finish dinner. Have a great weekend all, what is left of it anyway.

Baby Albert

He is finally finished, well except the buttons. I seem to have a button shortage in my house. I had a 7 hour staff meeting yesterday, to make up for the cancelled one last week, so I was able to finish the little sweater and make my Secret Pal exchange gift. I love getting paid to sit and knit. Now I need to do a little work on the crayon box child's jacket so I don't get fired as a shop model knitter at my LYS. (just kidding Cathi). And I think I may finish the I cord on the Ohhh Bag Me bag, and then the July bag is done, except a button ... of course. I hope I don't jinx us, but it is beautiful here in south central Indiana today. I hope it is wherever you are too.

The Bag Lady Returns

I just finished the new Dorothy Bag from Black Sheep Bags. I knit it in fall colors and like the way it turned out. I did the attached I-cord a little too tight, so the top pulls in a little more than I would like. I thought this bag had a flap, it took me a while to realize that the bag is just folded over ... duh!. I am a little slow at 2 AM, that is when I was finishing it. It still needs a button, then it is officially done. Cascade 220 sure does reek when it is felting. My husband says it smells like perm solution, but I think it is worse than that.



I am working on the I-cord for the July "Oh Bag Me" group, and then I will have another bag finished. I am glad my 8 year old wants that bag, I don't know what I would do with it otherwise.

I am working on the Pinwheel sweater too. I have quite a bit more done than what is in the picture. I am on the fifth color and I really like this sweater. I can't wait to get t finished, but it is a little too warm to knit on it right now. It is like knitting under an blanket.
Well, that is about all for today. Happy knitting all!

First Clue Finished

I joined the Yahoo Group Mystery Stole 2. I am loving this pattern. I am finished with the first side of the first clue and have the first row done on the second clue. I think I will finish the second clue and then start the other side. Maybe I can get it done before the 3rd clue comes out this week. I am using fingering wt. Merino, which I dyed, and I think it is showing the pattern well. I am dying more today and hoping to get it close enough to the first batch. My kids are complaining about the smell though, they hate it when I dye yarn. But I want to have it done and ready to go when I need it. Thanks Melanie for a great pattern.

It's a Bobble Invasion

I felted the Noni Bobble bag tonight. How am I going to give this thing a haircut, and WHY did I use Lopi? I knew it would be a fuzzy mess when it was felted, I just didn't think of all of those pesky little bobbles getting in the way during the shaving process... live and learn. It was a very time consuming bag to knit, not a difficult knit just a time hog. I wish I had remembered to bring handles home with me today from the LYS, so I could officially finish it this weekend. I will settle for it drying and try to defuzz it, and then worry about the handles on Monday.

I also want to show what little progress I have made on the Baby Albert. Why haven't I finished this yet? Why, why? Well, I don't know. I like knitting it and it is small, so one would think it would be a quick one to do. I have no excuse... other than the Bobble Invasion.














Well, I am done for the night. It is late, I am tired so it is time to shut things down. Goodnight all!

No Baby Yet ...

I really thought I would have the Baby Albert Sweater finished by now, but I don't. I did however, manage to finish a pair of socks that have been sadly neglected for weeks. They are just a Plain Jane pair of socks knit in Opal Rainforest in the Parrot colorway. That makes for a boring knit and that is why it took so long to finish them... anyway that is my story and I am sticking to it.

I am still plugging away on the Baby Albert. I have a 6 hour staff meeting tonight at work, so I will take it along. I should be able to make a big dent in it, and my secret pal exchange gift during that time. So far they haven't complained about me knitting through those things. Thank goodness, I don't think I could survive them otherwise.
Happy knitting all

Reserve Grand Champion

I entered a little baby dress in the county fair and I got a Reserve Grand Champion. How exciting. I haven't entered anything in the fair since I was a kid... and that was a long time ago, anyway it seems like a long time ago. Some of my friends and students entered items too, and they all got first place ribbons. I am so happy knitting is making such a great come back. One year I went and there were just a few dish cloths and a baby blanket there. This year there was a wide variety of items entered.
I am still working on Baby Albert, he is close to getting done. I showed it to a friend the other day and she said it looks like Joseph's coat of many colors. I am really liking the way it is turning out. I should be able to finish it this weekend ... I hope. I am working on a Noni Bag also. I am about half way done with that. I am making the bobble bag and it is very time consuming. I hope to have pictures of both by the beginning of the week.

It's a roll neck...

I was beginning to think I wasn't supposed to make this sweater. I had a hard time getting gauge to begin with. Then the jogs for the stripes are right in the middle of the chest until you start the body. And then, worst of all, last night after I tucked in the last of the tails, my daughter tries it on and says, " Mom, I need help getting it off." Now, she doesn't have a freakishly large head, but it has always measured in the 95th% on the growth chart. after we get it over her head, she informs me she heard and few snaps and pops. One would think that would be my clue to do a little investigating... but not me. I take that sweater and throw in the wash for a good soak. I wish I had thought to take a picture of what I pulled out of the washing machine, but I think I was in shock. The neck was unraveling... I have NEVER had this happen before. So I took that wet sweater out of the wash and undid that neck and threw it back in to finish the gentle cycle. This morning, after it was completely dry, I reknit the neck, (making it a little looser this time) and it fits fine. No problem getting it over the head this time. Finished just in time for the class that begins tonight.

I haven't worked too much on the shawl I mentioned in an earlier post, but Baby Albert is coming along nicely. Still hope to have that done soon, as it is a very quick knit. Now I need to run to the grocery so I can feed my family for the next week or so ... I hate going to the grocery store!

Finished Just in Time

My nephew's birthday was today, but the party was yesterday. I had decided to make him a throw for his birthday, and then was worried that I wouldn't be able to finish it in time. It was originally going to be for Christmas... what was I thinking. Thank goodness my husband decided to come along for the party, or I would have been knitting and driving over to Ohio... not a good combination. I finished it in route and it turned out really nice, anyway I think it did. And I think he liked, it is hard to tell with boys .. . I mean young men. The pattern is from the Little Box of Throws and it is knit in Reynolds Utopia.

New on the needles this week is a shawl and the Baby Albert sweater. I hope to have them both finished by the end of the week. I will have pictures of them then.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th

OK ... so just because

....I have several things on the needles already, I won't let that keep me from starting yet another project. I bought a Sassy Skeins sweater kit for the youngest at the LYS the other day. And of course, I had to start it right away, even though I have few, (more like 30 or so) UFO's. I probably should have left it at the LYS until some of this other stuff is finished, but I had to have it and start it right away. I was really impressed with the product when we were at TNNA, I like the packaging and the finished product. It is a bit pricey, but each kit comes with absolutely everything you need for the project you are making. It comes in a nice little project bag with another little bag for all the notions needed. I should have taken a picture of it before I started, while it was still packaged nice and neatly.... but I didn't.

And under the little sweater is the throw I am making for my nephew for his B-day. I really should be focusing all my attention on that since the party is in a mere 11 days. I get so tired of knitting the same thing though for any length of time. That adult ADD is to blame for that. I can post a picture of it here and not worry that he will see it. I doubt he would ever even of think of reading my blog. The pattern is from the Little Box of Throws. I am about 1/3 of the way done. I think I can finish it in time.... as long as I can keep from starting more things.






.... like this little rolled neck sweater. I do need to knit this though. It is for a shop model and an upcoming class. It is the Knitting Pure and Simple pattern. It will eventually be for the youngest so it is being knit in colors she picked out. I like the colors too, but I really wanted to knit it in Lorna's instead of Cascade Superwash. This is a really quick knit, so I am sure I can get it finished in time. I did this in one evening, and am close to being done with the body.

Well I need to start dinner, so my family can eat tonight. Happy knitting all!

Just Needs a Zipper

I have finished a cardigan for my youngest, ( it is actually a shop model for awhile and then it is the youngest's). She was more than happy to model it for me. It is a Knitting Pure and Simple pattern. We chose the jacket collar option for the neckline. I still need to put a zipper in it. I knit it with Cascade 220 Superwash and Opal Petticoat held together. I love the Knitting Pure and Simple patterns, that no seaming is a great time saver. She likes it too, the sweater that is. I will have to make a trip to Jo Ann's tomorrow for a separating zipper and then it will be officially finished.


Also just off the needles is a shell. It is a free online pattern. It is the Quick & Easy Shell. I knit this for my eldest. It fits her beautifully and she likes it, but she won't model it for me because she is sunburned from a day at an amusement park and she is in too much pain to mess with modeling clothing her mom has made. I knit this in Crystal Palace Choo Choo. It is hard to see in the picture, but it is a burnt orange with little bursts of a hot pink and the ribbon is held together with a black nylon thread. It looks like I really need to sweep off the the porch at the doorway. I should have looked closer at that before I posted the picture.


And on the needles this weekend is the Roll Neck Child's Sweater from Knitting Pure and Simple. No pictures yet. It is being knit with Cascade 220 Superwash also. The youngest wanted stripes in a spring green, yellow and peach. The body of the sweater is almost done, so there will be pictures soon. I really liked the texture of the cardi knit in Opal and Cascade 220, but I couldn't sway her into another one like that. What I really wanted was to knit it in Lorna's Shepherd Worsted but the LYS, Cottage Knits, didn't have enough of any one color that the girl child liked so we settled. It takes so long for Lorna's to ship and I need a model for an upcoming class.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. We are having a lot of rain here and the youngest is having fits because she can't go out and play. More next week, I should have progress on the next sweater and hopefully I will find the missing throw pattern so I can do the next stitch pattern on that.

Let The Name Dropping Begin

Ok, this weekend was the TNNA in Indy, and I was able to attend with my friend Cathi, owner of Cottage Knits. I am an instructor at her shop. Oh my gosh, it was a blast!... very exciting and very exhausting. I waited in so many lines for book signings, some paid off some not. A few times I waited in line for 30 minutes only to get to the booth or close to the booth to find they were out of books. This happened in the line for "Handknit Holiday"s by Melanie Falick, but she was nice, I did get the "Greetings from Knit Cafe" while in that same line, so all was not lost. My daughter loves that book and really wants it, but I am not giving it to her, she can, however look at it whenever she wants. Didn't get the Nicky Epstein, "Knitting Flowers" either, but did get a tote signed by her. I didn't get in the line for Norah Gaughan's "Nature Knitting" in time either, but I did see her. I got books signed by Margaret Radcliffe, "The Knitting Answer Book", The uncorrected proof of Melissa Leapman's " Cables Untangled", the uncorrected proof of Suss Cousin's " Home Knits", Barry Klein and Fayla Reiss', "Knitovation", and a favorite of mine Kay Gardiner's and Ann Shayne's " Mason * Dixon Knitting", Iris Schreier's, "Modular Knits" and Candi Jensen's " Crochet Bags". I also met Jo Sharp, Lucy Neatby and Annie Modesitt. You were warned, I told you I was going to be a name dropper.

And then, there was all the yarn. I have never touched so much cashmere, and silk and alpaca in my life, not to mention the merino and the cotton and the synthetics, and anything else you can imagine. The vendors were very generous with their samples today. They didn't want to have to pack them all back up and take them home, so I got a ton of yarn. Some of it is truly "sample" size, just enough to knit a swatch and some of them gave you quite a bit of yarn. Diakeito was very generous, I think I have enough from them after 3 days to knit a multi colored sweater for my youngest daughter. And they were the nicest bunch of people, not that the other vendors weren't, but they just seemed to stand out. I got a sample of the new Jo Sharp yarn too, but for some reason it didn't make it into the picture... trust me, it is lovely. Once my head stops spinning from all the excitement, I will knit something up with this lovely yarn. What a great experience this was, thanks for taking me along Cathi.

30 things about me

Kerrie of Hip Knits is celebrating her 30th B-day next week and is having a contest. I hope I can think of thirty things about me. So here it goes, beware... I am pretty boring
1. I was an Army brat
2. I was born in Regensburg, West Germany because that's right I was an Army brat.
3. Today June 10th is my 17th wedding anniversary
4. I have 3 children, 2 girls and 1 boy.
5. I am 44 years old
6. I love to knit and according to my kids I knit 24/7
7. I have a friend who owns a yarn shop and she lets me play with any yarn I want
8 All three of my kids are allergic to anything with fur so I have no pets.
9. I am one of 7 children
10. I spent all day at the TNNA today and I had a blast and will be a name dropper later this weekend or Monday after I return from another day of fun tomorrow. ( I will have pictures of all my goodies then too)
11. I hate exercise and it shows
12. I love to read
13. I sew and used to sew all my girls' dresses, but not anymore... now I knit
14. I teach knitting classes at my friend's yarn shop.
15. I love Starbucks
16. My favorite colors are peach and teal
17. I like to dye yarn
18. I am obsessed with starting new knitting projects
19. I am getting a lot of gray hair, my hairdresser suggested coloring it yesterday, but I think I will stay gray, my 8 year old thinks I should dye my hair blue and purple.
20. I love Fruit 2 O
21. I love chocolate
22. I drink way too much caffeine
23. I spend a lot of time on the internet looking at knitting patterns and yarn
24. I have never liked cartoons, not even as a kid
24. I sleep on my left side
25. I fall asleep knitting and keep on knitting in my sleep
26. I have a small Steiff toy collection
27. I will not share my drinks with my kids, but I will with my husband... don't ask, I don't know why
28. I like Sudoku
29. I am an IU ( Indiana University) graduate
30. I have a blood clotting disorder and have had several DVT's and Pulmonary Embolisms

Well, that was hard. I am glad Kerrie is only turning 30, I don't think I could think of anything else.

Finished Another One

This little sweater has been sitting in the bottom of my knitting bag for quite some time. I am determined to get some of these UFO's finished so I have empty needles. I have a small fortune wrapped up in needles and I just keep buying more instead of finishing projects. I have set a goal for myself, to finish at least one project each week. I have two tanks that I really need to finish, and hopefully they will get done this coming week ... as long as I don't get distracted by some other project I can't wait to start..

I have the body of the Lopi sweater finished to the armholes and one sleeve finished. That is such a quick and fun knit. And I have about 12 inches done on the throw I mentioned earlier in the week. But, being the start- aholic that I am, I started the brain washed felted bag, and a Knitting Pure and Simple cardigan this week. I will post pictures of those this weekend.

My sister is coming this weekend. My daughter is being confirmed and she is her godmother. We will have a nice weekend together. We are going to the Hoosier Fiber Fair Saturday, so I am sure I will have pictures to post later from that.

I need to head to bed, as it is 2:30 AM and I have a beginning knitting class at 9 AM so good night all.

Summer Treats

I have finished the toddler sundress. Way back at the end of March, I started this little dress. Then it was put aside when I finished all the colorwork... because then it got boring. But I was determined to finish it this weekend, so I did. I can say, I did not like making the fringe, it was just so monotonous. I really think I suffer a little from adult ADD, I love to start new things and quickly lose interest in them. So I put them aside until they feel new again. The pattern is called Summer Treats and it is from the Knitting in the Round book. I knit it in Reynolds Saucy Cotton. Now to finish the other summer projects...







But instead of working on summer knits, I started a Lopi Sweater this weekend. It is 90 degrees outside and this is what I just have to have on the needles right now. I also started a throw from The Little Box of Knitted Throws. When I get a little more knit on that I will share a picture of it. It is a pretty quick knit too, but I had to borrow the needles from that to cast on for the sweater. I went to Cottage Knits today, so now I have more Addis and am good to go.... for today anyway. It is an affliction I have, this need to have a new project going everyday