Tiny baby sweater (using free Berrocco pattern cutie patootie, jazzed up with some cables). See the buttonholes? Three words: Three Stooges buttons.
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The Legend Sheepy Hollow
Happy Halloween!
Knapping house's favorite legend: Sleepy Hollow of course!
Knapping house's Yarn Shop of the week: Sheepy Hollow, of course. It's in Wisconsin.
My Hungarian side likes to tell our own legend; apparently my great-great grandfather died.....ready? at the age of 104.........with........
his knitting needles in his hands. So I asked my father, what was he knitting? He's going to get back to me on this after consulting his baby brother, my Uncle Bill, the family historian.
Because I brought it up, he retrieved his old hunting gloves, knitted by his aunt, Ella.
He's wanted them MENDED for over a year, not by me, mind you. Now that Al actually is employed at 3 Bags Full Knit Shop, he's entrusting them to us to find a mendor. So I brought them home and Al and I started checking out the stitch work. We were skeptical .......
the stitches are even, the ribbing is uniform and delicate, and the decreases are nothing short o
Alpacas in Lake County
Kathy told me to be careful of the coyotes up here, but yesterday I saw some alpacas! The Northern Illinois Alpaca show was at the Lake County Fairgrounds over the weekend, so I stopped in for a bit. There were lots of alpacas, some in pens, some being led around on leashes. They were beautiful, and so soft. In a separate building were some vendors with (guess what?) yarn! And also with coats, sweaters, socks, etc. made from alpaca yarn. There really wasn't too much yarn, and none of it called to me, so none came home with me. It was fun to see the alpacas, though.
Knit in at Kathy's
I had more than a few laughs with Connie, Joanie and Lynn today. Amazing nurses, amazing knitters. I am posting pictures of Connie's fun GreenBay Packer scarf, (a gift), Lynn's finished sock for her neice ( a gift) and Joanie's tiny baby booties ( a gift)......is there a theme here? Yup.
I look at my friend's hands closely at work. They do amazing things. They lift tiny tiny people with grace and confidence. They put IV's in veins no bigger than fingering yarns. They do a thousand minute movements with these hands and they bring honor to a dying profession.
Its amazing to see them knit too. Maybe its just amazing to see them sit in one place for a while! I am lucky to work with them and even get to knit with them, once in awhile.............
Lace cookies for the pattern reading challenged
Its cold out and drizzly and Im tired of bad patterns. Jan from 3Bags Full taught such a great Lace class again Monday night , and then the mentally irresponsible publish patterns that undermine my new skills. Jan, wrote the pattern author and magazine, and made no bones about the poorly written mistake laden Fox print pattern. So I was sad.
After the cross country meet I Dumpster dove a cookbook, in front of my teenage son's friends...........there is quite possibly a law against this. BUT look what I was destined to find. A cure for Lace pattern blues;
Swedish Brown Lace Cookies
1/2 cup butter (mmmmmmmm)
2 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup chopped blanched almonds
1 cup sifted (who sifts?) flour
Cream butter and sugar. dah.
Add almonds then flour.
Using 1/2 tsp., measure and shape small balls of dough on teflon cookie sheet.
Dont put more than 12 on a cookie sheet.
Bake 400 for 4-5 minutes.
let cool slightly.
Remove with sheet with spatula,
THEN,
roll
Current progress on the beaded sweater. Actually, my sister took the photo a couple of days ago - I'm embroiled in sleeve shaping at the moment. Like the ruffle? I'll do another one when hell freezes over - 750 stitches on a teeny tiny size 2 needle - trying to keep it from twisting as I knitted in the round was quite the headache. Okay, maybe I'll do another one someday, because it's really cute. But I'll have to figure out an easier way first.
This is a felted bag that I did as an example for a class that I was teaching. The sequins were a royal pain - wanted to face in and had to be turned after every row. Students in the class really can't believe that their huge dorky bags are going to be cool little bags after felting. Which is what I love about felting - it's like a cool magic trick.
Here is the bucket hat for my niece Erin's birthday (she will be 10). I still have to felt the matching daypack. The hat was made using Cascade 220, 2 strands for the brim and 1 for the rest of the hat. I used the 2 colors for the brim because I wasn't sure I had enough purple for the whole thing. Mindy didn't enjoy modeling the hat too much; she doesn't like having her picture taken. She was properly rewarded with a treat, though. Now I'm working on some socks for my niece Olivia (who is 3). I want to finish these quickly; good thing she has tiny feet!
A long rationalization of my learning by mistakes!
I'm finally ready to turn the heel on Troy's first sock. Feel like I need to justify why it took me so long......it's because they are really going to end up looking like Christmas stockings! There is a wonderful mistake that I could get crazy about if I wanted to. There used to be two mistakes.
The first one was r/t my misunderstanding of the difference between ssk and k1sl1psso. I was not really doing ssk's and it was looking very sloppy every 7th row decrease as I tapered to the ankle. Well, you know me. Good knitters rip. So I fearlessly, (are you cringing Maureen?) slipped the stitches off their secure little size one needles and went back to the first decrease row. Picked them all up too. Now that I have done true SSK's when called for, the improvement is satisfying enough to justify the action. (the sock recipient wasnt even in favor of the rip back......saying he was going to wear them under jeans and no one would ever see the error. But I wou
Hello
Hi Kath and Co.
Lynn knows all this already but here goes: Current WsIP are beaded sweater, baby sweaters and hats, Christmas gifts. I'm taking a class in a few weeks on beading without pre-stringing and will be happy to share any knowledge I retain. We're making beaded scarves - I'm thinking quick and glamourous gifts for the holidays.
I really need a digital camera!
I made it!
Thanks for inviting me to your blog, and thanks, Allison, for sending me the link again. It's taking me awhile to figure all this out, but I think I've got it now. My current WIPs are: the lavendar Peace Fleece cardigan (I've made it past the armhole shaping on the back) and a bucket hat for my niece's birthday in November. It matches the daypack I made for her which still needs to be felted. I'm taking a break from socks, but I should get back to them soon. I have 4 pairs to finish before Christmas. Do you think I'll make it?
Lace class homework
I needed to do my lace homework right away so I wouldnt forget anything.....although Al caught on much faster than I, and could help me. (Her Fibertrends Landscape Shawl taught her a bit about lacework. )
Mistake for me to try to use size 2 Turbos with the funky purple practice yarn Jan so sweetly lent me. Its slippery yarn to begin with and stitches were sliding off every which way. Change to wooden 8s circulars, and you can see the results. The yarn is so pretty, but I didnt like working with it AT ALL.
Other WIPs include my shawl, patient and neglected, and Troys custom cheater socks. Will post that one soon.
Be still my heart, Zach wore his hat that his MOM made him to xcountry meet on chilly monday and it brought him good luck. Until the Yankees clinch, he'll be wearing his beloved Yankee cap Im sure.
Hey Maureen how is your beaded ruffle bottom sweater coming along? Id love to post a photo of it. Lynn, what number Christmas gift sock are you on now?
