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Frogged: The Koigu fingerless gloves. C'mon you guys are supposed to be my friends. Honestly, after coming home from vacation and looking at them anew, they were awful. I will re-knit them. Hints From Bobby Wool'N Things in Boulder Junction confirmed I'd knitted the glove fingers incorrectly. Here's the Challenge: No guilt. No Explanations needed. Just the Facts ma'am Just the Facts. Fellow Bloggers, will you consider telling how much you paid for the yarn when Posting its to- die- for- picture? I'm not about cheap yarns, I am a yarn snob. I need however, not to fall in love with your WIPs and FO's until I have a ballpark figure. Does this sound cheap? I'm trying to make it sound factual. I'm as guilty as the next in the yarn budget category. I'll start. The Double Rolled Brim Hat knit with Mountain Colors, 1 skein, and pattern totalled 26.00. (Pattern and Yarn). The bad news is, its too small for the person I was making it for,

Doesnt' Marcia Cleary's rolled-collar shrug look like its going to be just fine here? I'm using Kathmandu DK in a coca-ish color with flecks of orange and a touch of purple. Jan C. assures me from LaGuna that it will turn into what it is supposed to if I keep on following the pattern! I miss Big Kitten lake and my little perch there. Off to the 3 BAGS Full Summer yarn sale. Looks like Lynnette has a nice little tent display outside this year.

This is the darling Double Rolled Storm Hat designed by Eagle River's Annies' Woolens. I used Mountain Colors Pheasant. Storm hat was relaxing on the dock of the Thirsty Whale. I've decided I buy patterns from locals when traveling and have unknowingly begun a fine tradition as well as a good habit. Up North cabin/lake home owners name their places things like: The Wet Dog Inn, The Doo Little Lodge, Loon Landings, and Whileaway Resort. Oh, back to knitting. I met Jennifer, the Borders Knit group organizer last night at our informal knit group. She's a great new knitter, attempting complex projects and so enthusiastic. Thanks Jennifer for starting this group. Also met Karen for the first time. Loved the colorway of the scarf she was making. I will bring a camera next time. Also met Alyssa, whose blog you can enjoy at Wordsandwool.blogspot.com. She is a writer and probably does not blog in prose as I do! I do plan to read Eats, Shoots and Leaves soon. Jan, my

Because I'm Knitting As Fast as I Can blog has asked for our biggest blunders I will tell you this story....... Once Upon a time in the land of growing up, a young mother promised her only son a beautiful handknit gansey sweater to wear for the Christmas picture. She would make him this sweater because her little boy asked his Mom to knit something just for him. But the young mother was impatient and not wealthy. She couldnt afford the knitting classes down the street at the lovely yarn shop. So she bought a pattern that the evil shop owner told her was "EASY" . The young mother was very bright but not good at puzzles, or math or geometry. So she cast on happily without making a gauge swatch. Many days passed with the mother sheepishly trying to catch the evil shop owner's attention for pattern clarification. The shop owner talked in turse snippets, "well you know how to CABLE dont you?", and "You have to adjust the pattern, you know, if every wo

How to have a wonderful vacation: 1. Purchase yarn before leaving home, so as to start vacation knitting euphoria. 2. Vacation Up North near Bobby's Wool'n Things studio in Boulder Junction, WI. 3. Purchase seamless sweater book from Bobby, and begin skimming book. 4. Ask Bobby for closest fudge vendor. 5. Let Bobby talk you into trying, Bryspun bry-flex circular needles. Fall in love a needle. Ergonomically correct. 6. Find local knitters new winter hat double-rolled brim pattern. (Eagle River shop owners pattern) 7. Hem and haw during second trip to studio, deciding between luscious Mountain Colors Pheasant and others. 8. Encourage Al to shop sale yarn in Brown Sheep wool creamy white fudge color, to start her cabled seamless sweater. 9. Go to dock, where Loon is statuesque and magnificent. 10. Open fudge, begin knitting. .......

Well, this is my seed stitch shell. Susie Homemaker pose. (in reality I was leaving my family to eat at the Wildfire compliments of the Ross formula company.) I love the feel, I love the seed stitch and the color. What I don't love : its kind of shapeless. Maybe it will shrink a little if I carefully, of course, was and dry it. Lynn's your poster for the week. Maureen, might you post? Al and I are headed to the land of bears and bats and bobcats. Knitting every day!

Well, it is not a knitting picture, but since we are in the middle of a drought here in Chicago I thought I'd share a waterfall photo. This photo was taken on one of the more memorabile parts of our summer trip last year. Al and I will be vacationing soon, so I'll hope to bring some fun knitting photos back from Northern Wisconsin. Last night Al and I went to the local Borders bookstore, prompted by a sign in our LYS for a knitting group. I was wishing for just this sort of thing last week, but too tired to be the organizer. Ahhhhh serendipity. 5 of us showed up, NONE of which was the organizer. The second most common demoninator was golden retrievers. I'll go again in 2 weeks. It was nice to knit and not have to answer the phone, look for an item someone had lost and needed to recover asap, or answer the doorbell. Second fingerless glove is up to the thumb. I embellished the other and I think you'll like it. It just gets funkier and cuter......

Well, it needs some tidying up, but here is the first fingerless glove waiting for its, yes, Better half! Tough stuff for me : Knitting the fingery parts as instructed in Interweave. Must be a better way to make a smooth join from knuckle to digit. I'm going to be a big shot blogger and try to figure out a better way. What do you think? The koigu is such a no miss , you know?

Al's baby sweater 

So what fun is this? Sorry I have to ask Lynn to post photos for me again. Technical difficulties. I'm on alert. It seems like its all we can do. I'm thinking of all those directly involved. Godspeed. Knitting helped me out so much after 9/11. Thank God creativity and art are such gifts to the human mind and spirit. Al is working on a cabled baby sweater. She amazes me. Just picks it up and starts making this intricate thing of beauty. Al probably wouldn't know how to knit right now if I hadn't picked up the needles for therapy in 2001. Goodness knows the ripple effects.

No one got the correct answer to my contest. Lynn, many entertaining guesses! You see its the traditional Christmas in July time! My current project is a Christmas gift. I'm almost finished with one tipless glove. Koigu is the yarn of choice. Oh so soft. The pinky finger is the hardest to work, so far. Not enough stitches to make it a smooth knit. The pattern in from an old Interweave with a feature on gloves. I miss Jan my best knitting teacher.

Martha from Rowan 37 

A closeup of the pattern 

I've been bad at posting lately. Only one real WIP for me: Martha, an eyelet cardigan from Rowan 37. I'm using Rowan 4-ply Cotton in a pretty peachy-pink color called Cheeky. It will take me forever on these small needles, but I'm enjoying the pattern. Since this will take me ALL summer, I'm planning my fall projects. On Maureen's recommendation, I bought some Aurora 8 in a beautiful chocolate brown. Now I'm on a hunt for a great pattern!