Minding the Ps and Qs

Went downtown to Purl to buy some more Joseph Galler angora in Powder for another pair of twee baby booties.





And, since I was in SoHo, also bought some prosciutto bread at Vesvuvio Bakery. (Made only on the weekends.)




Home now to ponder what to make of some quality Sheep Shop that quietly and quickly jumped onto the counter as I was paying.



Perhaps a pair of Maine Morning Mitts designed by Clara Parkes?

Last Project of 2007

This weekend, I'll be working on



Binders, page protectors, knitting magazines. . . yep, I'm going to attempt to corral the patterns.

A Yarny Christmas

On our Christmas tree, we have some yarn on the hoof:





I always thought this was a llama, but hubster says that llamas don't have whiskers and that it's a cat. Whatever! The llama/cat is wearing a nice-looking scarf.



Also wearing a scarf is a canoe-paddling bear



And this frosty Yankee fan must be enjoying a World Series game in chilly October. (Please, oh, please let's hope for 2008!)



This pretty Hardanger ornament was made by talented knitter, Sonja.



A tin-full of crocheted Christmas (all made by my Mom):



An old friend crocheted this bell:



And a very famous knitter once made an appearance at this store. (Also, once upon a time, yarn was sold here)



I bought this felted cat face at Rhinebeck:



On this Christmas, I hope all your yarn dreams come true! Have a good and merry one!

122 Stitches

Procrastinating fool that I am put off wrapping out-of-town Christmas gifts till this past weekend. And you know what that means? I mailed them today. Yes, today--the busiest shipping day ! When will I ever learn?

Since everybody in my neighborhood is from elsewhere, I knew the Post Office would be jam-packed with others mailing gifts to far-flung places. So I trudged out in the freezing cold ready to hunker down in the Post Office for the afternoon. Brought a snack, a bottle of water and my knitting. I'm working on the Chimney Sock.

There was a line. It was long. I was calm and resigned to a long wait.

Imagine my surprise that it only took 122 stitches to get to the head of the line! 122 stitches! That's two rounds of the sock.

This is either a testament to how efficient and prepared the USPS was to the December 17th crowds or it's a statement about how slow a knitter I am.

Later this afternoon, I'll be going to Kay's sew-up party. I can't wait to see all those gorgeous squares!

Crafty in New York

I was leafing through Time Out New York, the weekly guide to what's happening in this city, when this picture stopped me dead



Knitted cashmere bracelets! For sale! In my city! OOOOHHHHH!

No, I'm not running downtown to purchase any. Knitted bracelets aren't for me--but, I like that the designer showcases knitted stitch work as a thing of beauty. ***

The bracelets were pictured in a companion piece to an article about NYC's best: Craft Stores. I'm happy to report that most of the stores listed are yarn shops with a smattering of bead and craft type of stores.

Elizabeth Yarborough is the bracelet designer. She's a new designer from North Carolina, now living in New York, who uses all sorts of non-traditional materials for the jewelry--feathers, yarn, spools of thread, leather buttons, tassels. Check out Yarborough Jewelry's website -- interesting stuff. And click on "About" to look at the designer's cute cable sweater. I wonder if she knitted it.

***Edited to add:
Hubster, if you're reading this and you think I've just dropped a Christmas gift hint---I haven't! A yarn gift should only be in the form of uh. . . yarn. Cashmere is nice. Black cashmere is especially nice. A jewelry gift should be in the form of gold, silver, diamonds, sapphires, emeralds. The two should not be confused.

You see that little gold card on your computer desk? Over by the right edge. Yeah, that's it. That's my guy on 47th St. Now that's a hint.

Cute, Lazy Toes

No, no, no--not those toes--eventhough they are exceptionally cute and lazy.

These toes:



The beginning of my first toe-up sock!

There was some experimenting going on with this sock. You all know about the various toe-up cast ons:
the Turkish cast-on
Judy's Magic Cast-On, etc.

Well, I couldn't get the hang of any of them. Too fiddly for me. So, while making the twee bootie from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, I wondered about knitting an adult sock using the double knit toe.

The experimenting resulted in some odd boxy toes:



Finally I figured out the right, fiddly-free, not too boxy formula for me. I cast on 32 stitches and did the knit, slip thing for six rows. Then I slipped the stitches, opened up the toe and turned it right side out. There were now 16 stitches on each needle. I then worked an increase stitch (Kb &f) on the third from the end stitch of each needle. When there were 30 stitches on each, I knit a few straight rounds. Bear in mind that I kept trying this on! At some point, I worked a single increase on each needle and I now have 31 stitches on each. It seems to fit fine.

I won't even think about how to do the gusset and heel yet. But, so far, there's something about Fleegle's that appeals to me.

More cute, lazy toes:

It's in the Bag

It's said that one can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. However if the one is the very talented Sonja, a beautiful little bag can be made from beaded acrylic, polyester and PVC--PVC?!



Sonja reports that the yarn used is Moda Dea's Beadnik.

What a classy way for me to carry around my mah jongg gambling loot!



Check out Sonja's blog and you'll see other sweet bags she's recently made.

Half-Baked Thoughts

I'm in a bit of a knitting rut--but, I'd prefer to think of it as the confusion one has before a burst of activity. So many things I'd like to get to, but I can't settle on any one project.

First up:
Another pair of twee booties



It took me two weeks to knit this one. Yes, this is the bootie that takes one hour. However, I must have knitted and frogged it about four times. Silly mistakes. After the final frog, it did take only an hour to knit up. Where's the second one? Well, gee, no rush--the baby is only five days overdue.

Next up:



At the Knitters Review Retreat, there's the New Beginnings tradition where we start a new project. Something that might be a challenge. I had a fear of cables. Never did 'em and was somewhat wary of them.

This was my New Beginnings project. The Good Ole Cabled Scarf. Pretty. I like the pattern. But, boring. OK, OK I get cables--but, I don't see the need to complete this project. Off to the frog pond.

However, I felt guilty about not doing a cable project. So I designed a lace and cable scarf:



It was great fun to pore over stitch patterns and try to match a lace and cable. Eventhough my head was going to explode, I even enjoyed the Math. And making little marks in boxes--pure joy. But, the actual knitting of--OH--that's another story.

Then there's the Artyarns Beaded Silk Rhapsody that's asking to be made into the Filgree Wrap from Lacy Little Knits. Perfect for holiday parties. And it looks like a quick enough knit.



And socks--there's always socks.



Yarn is from Sundara -- colorway is Chimney.

And how about Clara's book? Aren't there one or two or seven or ten lovely projects from that wonderful book that are begging to be knit?

Too many choices! I think I'll go toast my head for a while and think about it all.

Parade Preview

Since we live only a half block away from where the Macy's Day Parade is set up, hubster and I got up at half past o'dark to take some photos.





We walked down one block where the balloons are kept under nets till the parade kicks off.





We saw Macy's workers in their Thanksgiving attire:






But, we really got up so early to see the floats:








Then it was home to take a nap before cooking up the bird.

Have a good one, everybody!

I'll be Darned

I knew that someday a hole would spring up in a hand-knit sock,



so I read up on how to repair it. Duplicate stitch seems to be the way to go.

However, this tutorial downright scared me and I ended up repairing the hole my own way. First I secured the stitches around the hole by doing some sort of stitch. Then I joined the sock material and wove the yarn back and forth and up and down to create a patch. Voila! Not pretty and neat--but it seems to have worked.



When I wore the sock today, I couldn't even feel the patch job.

And what's this?



Will more socks be cast on soon?

More socks = less wear and tear on already made socks = fewer holey socks.

Retreat Sights

I just don't have the words to explain the Retreat. Like-minded individuals speaking the same knitterly language. New friends made. Connecting faces to online names. The sharing of tips and techniques. The laughter, the jokes, the chatter. The moments of quiet reflection on what path our knitting may take. The questions, the answers, the ooohs and ahhs and hugs. Watching all the different ways one can knit. Meeting knitters who have been knitting for sixty years or for only a few months. The fibers, the colors, the finished and unfinished projects.

The photos can't even begin to describe the passion.

Knitters















and spinners everywhere.



Bags



and baskets of fiber goodies.



A piano top full of swap yarn



and vendors too.















A knitting muse perhaps?



And a few Night Owls.



Some of the gorgeous knitted items:







































I wish I had taken a picture of every knitted item I saw--well, maybe next year!