Date: September 12, 2009
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Location:
Borders (in the same strip as Target)
4420 Mitchellville Road
Bowie, MD 20716
Phone: 301.352.5560
See you there!
Bowie Borders Knitting Meetup
August 12, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The Joys of Summer
August 10, 2009 By 1 Comment
It was a dark and stormy night.
And a hot and sticky day. But hey, it’s August, in the DC area. Hot and sticky with air quality somewhere in the wheezy crud zone is to be expected around here. The thermometer hit 99 and I had to chew my air upon inhaling. I would have stayed home in my air conditioning but I’d be afraid my office would think I’m allergic to Mondays. So I toughed it out.
But, even on the crappiest summer days, there’s always something about summer to appreciate. For instance, this:
Summer garden salad
My dinner. Isn’t it lovely? One of the things I love about summer is the vegetables. They’re fresh and flavorful. And pretty to look at! There was not one bite of my salad left, and it made me feel so much better about the crappy weather and the otherwise mundane leftover slice of cheese pizza I was eating.
And you know what else? I’ve decided to start a new project. I am bored, bored, bored with the scarf. It’ll still be my takealong project, but for at-home knitting, I’ve decided to take on a challenge.
Tam book with yarn surrounding it
, by Mary Rowe, as my guide. It’s more of a guide book, than a pattern book. Normally, this would excite me. But this time, I’m feeling a little intimidated. I don’t really understand all of the steps, but I’m hoping it will all become more clear as I go. We’ll see! I don’t know if what I see in my head is what is actually going to happen. I guess I’ll find out! Wish me luck!
For now, I’ve gotten this far:
First few stitches
That’s the cast-on edge. The waste yarn cast on edge. Yes, I’m setting up for my first tubular cast on, too. Thank goodness for Lucy Neatby’s video on the subject! I watched it a couple of times, and decided to just dive in. Wish me luck!
I leave you with this tad bit of wishful thinking, on a night when it is 85 degrees at 11:00 p.m.:
Wind up toy snow man
Whole Lotta Yarn!
August 7, 2009 By 3 Comments
Call me nuts, but there was a HUGE honkin’ box from Knit Picks on my porch today, and THIS is what was inside:
Big pile o' yarn
That’s what 72 balls of yarn looks like, people. SEVENTY-TWO. Am I crazy? Waaaaaait. Don’t answer that.
Knit Picks introduced a bunch of new colors in their Palette line, and what can I say? I’m a sucker for having lots of yarn in many colors. The thing is, when I nonchalantly clicked to order two balls of nearly every new color, I had NO IDEA, and I really mean that, NO IDEA how much yarn I was actually buying.
My name is Trish D. and I am a yarnaholic.
Except I don’t want to be cured.
Squee! This winter I AM going to learn how to do colorwork. I want to make tams. And selbuvotter mittens. And lots of other colorful things. Now I have a whole crayon box full of colors to play with.
Did I NEED more yarn?
Define need.
I’m gonna go roll in it a while before I go to sleep.
Knitting at the Ballpark
August 6, 2009 By Leave a Comment
It’s been a really stressful week. The kind of week where it all seems to just get sucked right out of you. So when the chance came up to go with a group from work to the baseball game this afternoon, I took it. (We’re right across the street from the Washington Nationals.) None of my friends from my immediate office went today so I was by myself, pretty much, with about 75 other co-workers I don’t know that well.
I was alone, but I didn’t care. I had my knitting, the skies had cleared, it was cool and breezy and just a glorious afternoon. The Nats even won! That was a rare treat but they are currently on a winning streak. I somehow managed to capture a home run with the only video I shot all day:
Baseball. And knitting. A much-needed perfect day.
Zephyr…or Harmony? Do I Have to Have a Favorite?
August 4, 2009 By 2 Comments
closeup of two knitting needles, one wood, one clear acrylic
When Knit Picks introduced their new Zephyr needles recently, well, I had to be the first on my block to get some! They came today, so I haven’t had much time to play with them yet. But here are my first impressions.
They’re pretty. I’m sitting here at my computer desk, which is brightly lit with an LED light strip, but these babies sparkle in the light. Not in a bad way, that causes too much glare. But in a good way. Like, in a do diamonds ever cause too much glare? –sort of way. Haha. Maybe that’s overkill, but the aesthetics do please me.
As promised, they’re extremely lightweight. This is a good thing for those of us who have pain in our hands. Less stressful, for sure. But then again, all of Knit Picks’ needles feel light to me. But, I think these are even a bit lighter than the others.
There is a touch of give. The needles are slightly flexible, which makes it easier to bend and “pick” stitches. I suppose this would be especially good for continental knitters. I throw, but from the left not the right, and even so I found this bit of give feels good.
They’re a bargain. This is really good news for someone who would want a nice needle set for less money. They are the cheapest set in the Picks line, and they sell for less individually as well, especially in larger sizes.
There is a bit of “squeak.” This is the one thing that I’m finding I don’t like. It’s not an annoying audible squeak, but you know that “feeling” you get when something sort of squeaks? That little bit of friction? I definitely felt it. I was using a size 7 needle, and Socks that Rock Mediumweight sock yarn. Perhaps my results will vary with different yarns. We’ll see. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not a terrible issue that will keep me from loving these needles. It’s just something I noticed right away.
I haven’t spent enough time with these yet but I wanted to give some first impressions. I think I’m going to love them, especially for certain projects where picking at the stitches could be helpful. Lace? Cables? Probably a good choice.
Knit Picks did a nice job with these. I do like them so far. My Harmony wood needles are probably always going to be my favorite, but these are good. Really good.
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