knittinggenes.blogspot.com

  You were so kind about my shawl.  I guess we've all been there.  That's what to love about a knit blog.  (Not to mention your recipes, your intimate life shares and your inspirational charity knits and our checking in with one another throughout the week)  So yesterday I was in my LYS and Adrienne had knit this Lena Shawl in Cascade Echo Cloud.  No, no, not for me.  I just thought you'd like to see it if you are up for something new.  It uses 9 skeins of yarn and the pattern is in Pam Allen's Home book. Adrienne can't decide if it is a blanket or a shawl, but she loves it.  She says you start at the little lace part on the bottom of the shawl and decrease as you go.   Tank can be so adorable with those baby blues.  Last thing this fine Saturday: We were out to dinner with dear old friends we know from way back: we worked at McDonalds together in high school. Good things happen for us under the Go...

  We'll start with the good news.   K? I was able to get this awesome sock project bag from the recent sale at Amy Beth's Fat Squirrel site.   It is enough to make me want to knit owl socks.  I love the zipper pull!! More good news: We watched  a movie with lousy reviews and liked it anyhow: A Walk in the Woods.  The scenery is great.  After I got used to looking at Rob Red with many wrinkles, and figuring out Nick Nolte's graveled voice, it was pretty cute.   Now for the fail, which we all know is part of the process. Painful growth and all that.  Fezzik is photobombing my shawl photo.  My Thin Ice shawl is now a shawlette. I only had one skien of Louisa Harding. It is a fail for me because let's face it I don't block things. I got it really wet and stretched it out and let it grow and ....no ...just no.  I also changed the pattern and put a ruffle on the end.  I'm just going to...

I took these pictures on the same day.  They are a little riddle for you.... I just thought it funny that people were in the river and the gosling was in a nice dry towel.  :)  The kids were part of a school group near our forest preserve.  The Gosling was brought into the shelter when an owner's dog retrieved the baby .  They just checked her over.  

Ahhh the rainbow.  Ahh the fences in Kentucky. Ahhh to flowering trees on my block.  Today I'm going to give you the reasons I love to knit socks: because: buttons and I don't mix. because:  one skein of yarn makes a garment because: you don't have to change needle sizes during the project because: you don't have to purl if you don't want to for most of the sock because: I love portability because: I live in a day and age where there is more sock yarn than ever before to purchase and make into socks because: giving socks as a gift is pretty nifty because: you can make them as simple or as complex as you wish because: there are whole books devoted to sock patterns because: you can make a garment with one strand of yarn  that is just amazing i love that part A sock can be one skein of yarn without any breaks or ties or ends to weave in! because: I can knit according to the seasons in any seasonal colors that excite me. ...

  I had a rush of a morning.  It started with my lap top not taking my password. This led to screen sharing with a Phone rep who was very patient. He was in Canada. You know I've been on awhile when I start asking where they are talking to me from and how is their weather... I do love Apple products for their free phone support.  He fixed my issue and don't ask me how, but we are up and running.  I ran out to meet a friend for coffee, which was on my calendar.  I took the never ending sock leftover blanket.  Oh, if this blanket could talk... I've been taking it with me for over a year now and it has heard quite a bit!  My funny friend Helen from Ireland says,  "Silent night on that now" when she doesn't want to be repeated. I think I've told you that before.  She is a crack up.  Then Fireman and I walked in the woods nearby and these flowers were blooming everywhere. I don't think they are trillium......

( My feather and fan blanket would make a nice curtain eh? I worked on it this weekend) Happy Monday MEME day.  Hope you enjoy . Play along! *1  Have you washed your winter woolens and put them away? (oh yes.  Just this weekend. ) *2  What do you wash your wools and knits in ? (I used Eucalan but it is a no rinse and I had to rinse anyhow I usually am one to skip any step possible, but I can't wrap my head around no rinse...) *3 Do you have a favorite iced beverage in the warmer months?  (I do love a passion tea from Starbucks)  *4 Would you consider yourself or a family member in your house to be a nosey neighbor? (Sigh.  I think we both are nosey.  But Fireman gets the prize here. We have lived here so long that we have seen houses torn down and  rebuilt.  We are so close to other houses it is hard not to wonder what the heck is going on over there.   *5 Time when you were so ...

Alright, bloggy pals.  This is my Thin Ice Shawl coming along  albeit s-l-o-w-l-y.  I need your reassurance that it will really block into a semicircle magically some day.  Right now it looks like a big old mistake.  I'm so glad I didn't rip it out a month ago and I just put it aside to simmer.   So, if you have to burst my bubble, that's okay.  I have many bubbles....     Score this: Kavu bag: last years model 60% off.  I'm getting compliments right and left as I use this baby.  Perfect purse size for me.  It holds a paper calendar because Something in me can't get organized with my iphone calendar.  I need those pages.... Thank Goodness all the little calendars are on clearance now too.  Finally, I took this photo of goat art in Knoxville.  Just because!

  ThreeBags Full shop pattern cowl; I've started it.  Tulips are blooming in my neighborhood now.  The Better than Basic Pullover would itch me, but how about you?  Fireman says I often turn the camera on an angle when I shoot.  This squirrel showed up in my yard yesterday wearing a pink collar.  I try to keep things happy here on my blog;I know there is much sadness in the world. Prince is in Heaven with Freddie Mercury and that makes me smile. 

Ahhhh, what have we here? Goodies, that's what.  The lovely and kind Kim of Handeye  totally made my day yesterday with these gifts. That red bag with a zipper.... purrrfect for keeping His Highness out of my knitting when I set it down.  The yellow yarn could NOT be more cheerful. It is made by Knitology in Sweet Canary colors.  In addition she sent me the perfect sock pattern to go with this yarn and true to Kim's generosity she knows my skill level.  I can knit the Slippery Socks by Jean Knapp.   I know I can, because I have already read the pattern ...twice.  Yarn ladies, we love to give and it is so fun to have awesome mail arrive unexpectedly.  Just one more thing today,  I made a decision not to learn to sew.  I carefully considered it and discussed it with a friend who sews beautifully.  Too many steps. I don't even know where my iron is....  I thought about taking hor...

  What a cute idea! One of the yarn shops in Knoxville died up a skien of yarn and  a onesie at the same time.  I see a sweater Perpetua over that onesie or a hat and matching baby boots.   (This is for you wonders who dye your own yarn... I don't dye my own yarn....yet.  I do think I've convinced Fireman that I can raise a few dwarf alpaca buns some day....It is a long term goal.....)   This is the Lover's Knot Infinity Scarf that I made on my way home from Knoxville.  It is just a one row pattern that you do over and over again.  I used the Local Yarn from Tennessee:  Sheepy Curls Yarn in the Galaxy colorway.  I have enough left over for another cowl or socks.  This yarn has amazing spring to it. It is 10% nylon.  I think I succeeded with this lace pattern because  a) I knit it as a passenger on a long car trip b) I didnt put it down and pick it up as much as I would have at home .......

Sock finish.   Dream in Color Smooshy in Some Summer Sky colorway.  (Sale skein at my LYS, I paid 18 is for it)  I went down a needle size for this pair to size 1s.  This made for 8 sts to the inch and it made a sturdy sock. I did feel, just at times, that I was fighting with the yarn a bit. As in when I was working the gusset.  Maybe that's not explaining it right.  I didn't have that smoothly knitting away feel to it.  Is that a sign that I should have gone up to 2s? This is a shot I took of someone in the Smoky Mountains fly fishing.  Honestly, I couldnt see the image before I shot it.  The sun was bright and I just put the zoom on all the way and took a random shot aiming near the fisherman. Dumb luck.    That's what I mean about how this camera knows how I think.  There is a bakery in Knoxville called, Magpies. Oh yum.  I had to go for Pie's sake you know. So ...

This is Chris my guest on the blog.  Holding my sock knitting at a Brewpub in Knoxville.  Now for some Meme fun:  1. What's the most you would pay for a skein of sock yarn?  2. What part of a pattern intimidates you?  3. What is the most delicious thing you have eaten lately? 4. If you had the grave misfortune of being in a fire, would you grab your stash or your FO's? 5. What is a big compromise in one of your relationships? (sshhhhh you can tell us!)  6. Do you bathe your pets? 7. Have you ever been bitten by your pet? 8. How do you deal with pooling colors? 9. Have you knit a Christmas or Holiday gift for 2016? 10. Do you enjoy Monday Memes? My answers: 1. The most I would pay for a single skein of sock yarn would be 30 dollars and I'd be wincing as I paid. I prefer to get a good 400 yards for somewhere in the 26.00 to 16.00 range.   Now I know that you get much more than a pair of gorgeous ...

  Everyone in my cat house loves the Halo Liv-a-Littles Chicken Breast treats. They are dried and are not smelly.  Not one piece of it went to waste.  Few things appeal to all 4 cats, but this one does.    We all have accidents at times.  When Tank had a infection that lead to bloody urine, this Nature's Miracle was really a good find. I keep it on hand.  If someone misses and there are  *things* just outside the litter box, I clean the area with this product.  Finally, I've found that my cats all prefer different scratch posts. Some scratch vertical some horizontal.  This one is on an incline and I've found 2 of 4 using it.  I did put a weight in the hole above so It doesn't move when they scratch on it.  As always, Chewy does not pay me for the reviews, but they send the products free of charge for trial.  Thanks Chewy.  3 paws up this month!

  So the Lady's at Loopyville were all the kind of ladies you'd want to sit right down and get knitting alongside them.  This REFINED KNITS book is from a Knoxville Local knitter.  It is a lovely book.   I was after local dyed yarn and I nabbed a skein! Yes.  They only had two left.  This is SheepyCurls Yarn.  480 yards of superwash merino, angora and nylon. Guess what? It is NOT becoming socks.  The lovely shop bag was a gift from the register lady. She gave it to me as I had to wait a bit for her to figure out the price of the yarn.  I get that happy feeling when I look at this yarn.  You understand, I know you do.      A week with Al was pretty much non stop fun. I know I showed you this top she knit last year, but I still love it. Al says Tim Gunn would say it hits her waist at a bad spot. I don't think her waist has a bad spot.  It was a knitty pattern from about a year...

  We hiked the Porter's Creek Trail in the Smoky's today.  Weather was glorious, 70s, with a breeze.   We hiked to the Fern Branch Waterfall and back. We were in luck .  Many Wildflowers were in bloom.  Here are some we learned and saw today: Bishop's Cap Trillium Jack in the Pulpit Squirrels Corn Wild Iris  and Phlox.  The Squirrels' corn forms a white heart and I love hearts. The name has nothing to do with the heart.  Apparently squirrels dig the flower root up and snack on it, hence the name.  The Jack in the Pulpit was dramatic and the wild Iris were just so pretty en masse as above. We saw photographers with huge lenses on the trail from time to time.    The stream was lovely to listen to and to see. No bears, thank Goodness. Over 1600 black bear make their home there.  We laughed and made lots of noise just in case. See we are in short sleeves!! Spring in Appalachia...what a won...