Trish Knits.com

Author: Trish

  • She Did It!

    Diana is wearing her completed pink scarf

    Yay, Diana! She finally finished her first-ever scarf the other day and is posing for the camera. She kept asking me, “Do I HAVE to smile?” Though she did actually want to do the photo, even if the photo makes her look like an unwilling participant.

    She used two strands of pink fingering yarn, held together throughout. They were two different shades of pink. I don’t remember what yarn, as she started the project TWO years ago and immediately discarded the ball bands. Oh well. She learned to knit in October of 2005 (I think!) thanks to assistance from Genia. She’s already cast on again for an iPod cozy, made with some balls of KnitPicks Shine Sport that I had laying around. It’s based on the pattern in the Stitch n Bitch book but we’re customizing it to fit her Nano, which is smaller than the case that the original pattern calls for. I can’t help secretly hoping that she is getting the knitting bug, so I won’t be alone in my house anymore, haha! (My five-year-old says he would like to knit too, but I know he’s not patient enough yet, so we’ll see if he wants to in a few years’ time.)


    Meanwhile …

    rainbow stripey blanket in progress again

    I’m still knitting away on my rainbow stripey baby blanket. I’m about to embark on a long road trip so I hope that by the time I return it will be about as big as it’s going to get. I am getting lots of compliments every time I get caught knitting in public with this thing, so I guess that’s a good sign. I’m thinking I should also bring something smaller along to knit on while waiting in lines and such. But then again… that would risk getting distracted by another project at a time when I can’t afford losing interest in this one. Oh, help!

  • Oh, My… YYYYYYYYYummmmmmy!

    Lookie what I got in my mail today:

    Lisa Souza sock yarn in green colorway

    After weeks of listening to Lime and Violet go on and on about Lisa Souza and how wonderful her yarns are (Did I know this? Yes I did but I had resisted temptation until now…) I bought SEVEN hanks of her Sock! Merino yarn. Why, you ask? Well, the usual reasons that most people say, I guess… they were ALL so pretty, that I couldn’t narrow it down! Yikes!

    This color is called “Emerald City,” and I have it in mind for a stole for a friend. About three years ago, I started a poncho for her, and it is my most embarrassing UFO to date. Hopefully something knitted up in this greeny beauty will make up for my transgression.


    two hanks of yarn in purple and raspberry colorway

    Then there is this beauty, called “Berry Poppins.” Of course, the purples spoke to me! Maybe it is with this yarn that I will finally break the sock barrier (more like a mental block) and learn to knit toe up on magic loop.


    Hank of yarn in lime, white and dark purple

    Of course I couldn’t go without a hank in the “Lime and Violet” colorway. It was, after all, their doing that pushed me over the edge. I think it will make a cool, funky scarf to go with my purple leather jacket (the one that matches exactly the Jordana Paige bag!).


    yarn in deep purples, greens and rust and such

    This one, called “Wild Things” is my favorite one of the bunch. I wouldn’t even know how to describe it, except that it calls to mind a forest at twilight. Moi, in the forest, you ask? Not hardly! But if I were to go in the forest, I do hope that this is what it would look like.

    But alas, though I am in love with the new yarn, and now finally, understand why Lisa Souza is a goddess in my knitting community, I still have that rainbow stripey baby blanket going on. Soon, I must be done! The baby is about to be born! And then… ahhhhhhhhh…..

  • Mommy Brag

    Steven holding large ball over his head

    Yesterday, August 6, 2007, my son, Steven, at 5.5 years, WROTE A POEM. Here goes:

    Steven’s Poem

    With every click and every clack,
    Every train goes down the track.
    Is it white or is it black?
    Down the track,
    There and back.

    Cool, huh? He starts Kindergarten at the end of this month. I added the punctuation, but the words are his.

    Grapey Love

    My new Jordana Paige Knitter’s Satchel arrived today! My daughter has claimed the old one that no longer closes, but she has decided that closing it with a rubber band is doable for her. It’s a bit small for my current project, but as soon as I’m done with the baby blanket and am back to more sensible hats, I will once again be at home with my purple bag. Yay!!

    Short post tonight; thanks for letting me share!

  • Blankety Goodness

    rainbow stripey blanket in progress again

    Welp, it’s been a few weeks so I thought I would show a recent photo of the blankie…. taken this evening as I began the 10-row segment of purpleness! Purple of course is my most favorite color, and so far when it came up in the randomness of it, the segment was only two rows wide… waaaah. So I should get my purple fix this go round.

    Of course, it isn’t really random at all. See my April 5 entry to learn the methodology for this project, if you haven’t heard it already! (Yes, I’m a geek; there’s a spreadsheet behind it.)

    I also have made a major decision about this blankie. I am leaving in a couple of weeks for a vacation and I will be spending approximately 28 hours in the car, plus lots of free knitting time in the evenings. However much knitting I get done during that time, when I get home, I think I am going to call it DONE. It’s definitely not wide enough now, but hopefully it will be by then. I really have been futzing with this baby blanket since February, between deciding on a design and trying and frogging many things. I am SO longing to make a felted hat… to feel the mushing of the wool in my hands and to create something warm for winter. Plus, the baby for whom this blanket is for is due to arrive at the end of this month. I really don’t want this to be his Christmas gift.

    So, I hope my plan works, and that it will be big enough when I get back. Wish me luck!



    It was knit night at my house, and I had lots of help:

    Zoe helps me knit
    This is my knitting helper, Zöe, who is never far behind when I pull out my knitting, never wants me to get any stitching done! As soon as I pull my knitting out, she always jumps up on the couch for some scratchin’! I always seem to knit while sitting next to the sofa in my den, so I have a place to fling my knitting stuff while I work.


    Diana adds a couple rows to her scarf

    Diana even got in on the knit action tonight. We watched the movie Aquamarine tonight and she added about 5 rows to her scarf. She keeps asking, “When will it be done, mom?” to which I reply that the rule of thumb for a scarf is to make it as long as the wearer is tall. Problem is, she’s been working on the same scarf for two years, and has gotten lots taller in that time! Haha.


    Go, Eunny!

    Fall Interweave Knits

    I just received my copy of the Fall Interweave Knits in the mail yesterday. (I find it ironic that the subheading says 29 knits to chase the chill, and it was in the 90s yesterday!) It was the debut issue of their new editor, Eunny Jang, who is a fabulous knitter and I love her work, and I was wondering how she’d do with the magazine. She’s so young, and it’s a huge job for anyone, let alone someone who is only in her mid-20s! But so far, I am impressed. (I’m also pulling for her as a local girl… she’s a DC-area native.)

    There are several projects I want to make from this, including Anne Budd’s Tyrolean socks and Teva Durham’s concentric vest. The magazine explores the concept of organic yarns, and features lots of projects that include cables in the design. There’s also a cute grouping of hats and a really neat looking pair of fingerless mitts I’d like to try. Also, if ever I do get the courage to do a sweater, quite a few of them in this issue are sized up to my size. I actually loved this magazine this time! I only wish there had been a cable-y throw in the issue to complement the sweaters.

    Wow, I had a lot to write about tonight. More next time!

  • Knittin’ with Rhoda

    fingerless gloves made with sock yarn

    Hi again! Today I had a really nice visit with my knit buddy, Rhoda, who has been recovering from foot surgery. It was the first time we’ve seen each other since before Memorial Day, which is saying a lot because we’ve been getting together to knit every couple of weeks for about a year now. I often complain that I don’t get out much and don’t have much contact with the knitting community other than in cyberspace. Rhoda is my one really big exception and it is a wonderful one, to just sit and knit. Sure there is always a bit of show and tell, and sharing of resources. Today, she brought a copy of “Creative Knitting” Magazine (why I have not yet subscribed to this one, I don’t know, but I LOVE it!) and I had the Fall issue of “Knit Simple” (which I am finding increasingly underwhelming) and the Summer issue of “Interweave Knits“. (I am dying to receive the fall issue, which I hope will be coming soon!)

    LOOK what Rhoda brought me! Six weeks of recuperation from surgery meant lots of knitting time, I guess! And she brought me these adorable fingerless gloves! The pattern is Steph’s Sock Yarn Fingerless Gloves, and the yarn is Knitpicks Dancing. They are cotton, wool, nylon and elastic, which means they are warm, but not too warm, and despite the fact that they look small they are very stretchy. This is the kind of thing that is great to wear on a morning that is chilly but not freezing, and LOOK! There’s purple in them! Thank you, Rhoda!!

    While we sat and knat, we listened to Cast On, which continued the Camp for grownups theme, and to Lime & Violet, which had us laughing, but I did have to be careful that my 5-year-old wasn’t in the room!

    I did also re-purchase the Jordana Paige Satchel in Grape. I can’t wait for it to get here!!

    I may be a bit out of touch this week, but I’ll try to provide a blankie update by Friday. Ciao for now!

  • Knot Much Knitting…

    Ok so I’ve grown really slack about knitting this week. I think I’m just bored, bored BORED! with the never ending baby blanket project. I’m already thinking of other things I could be working on, and well, isn’t that just WRONG? I need to finish my blanket!

    Curvaceous Cables by Dawn Brocco

    So I’ve been thinking… I really need to make some sort of pull rope on the door to my new office. One of the things I have trouble with is closing a door behind me as I leave a room… when I turn around to pull a door shut invariably the door will hit my casters and I can’t get a good grip on the door handle. So, I was thinking back to the early 70s when I was a kid and everybody’s mother had Macramé plant hangers in their kitchens… thinking that I need some sort of ornamental rope on my doorknob.

    Then I got to thinking about a book I bought by Dawn Brocco last year — Curavaceous Cables Collection. Instead of tying knots with rope I could instead knit something. Perhaps I will give this a try! And, in doing so, it will whet my appetite again for knitting, since I love cables so much, and it should be a fairly quick project. I’ll have to dig that book out tonight and give it a try…


    The Bag Debate

    Purple Knitters Satchel by Jordana Paige

    Lately I’ve been thinking lots about how much I miss my grapey-colored Knitter’s Satchel by Jordana Paige. This photo is from 2006. I still have the bag, but it had a rather unfortunate clash with my wheels one day, and the metal frame that the clasp is on got severely bent. My DH did try to fix it, but it goes together too awkwardly and just isn’t the same! One of the things I liked best about it, aside from the color, was that fabulous clicky clasp like on my grandmother’s chic 1960s handbags.

    So here’s the thing. Should I replace it? I desperately want to, but it is expensive, and well, I just don’t know if I can justify it. Sigh.


    Knitting While Listening…

    Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Audiobook
    Ok, so I have Harry Potter fever, just like the rest of the world. I’ve been reading the book, yes, but while at work, or knitting, or whatever, I have also been listening to the audiobook edition of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Love it! Jim Dale as usual is doing a great job. I wish audiobooks were not so expensive! I’d own a lot of them!

    Discovered a podcast this week that I am absolutely loving! It’s Lime and Violet. I had tried to avoid this one before, but it is hysterically funny! If you haven’t listened yet, give it a try.

    Also, yay! I got an email from Brenda Dayne of Cast On today and she said there WILL be a podcast this weekend. Be sure to look for it!