Author: Trish

Still in catching up mode, I have to share with you the beautiful new swift that I got a couple of weeks ago. It’s handmade by Mike at Dragonfly Turnings, and it is exquisite! Mine is crafted of Brazilian Cherry, and has foldable arms for easy storage.

My DH gave me a beautiful wooden umbrella swift Christmas before last. We all know the one. It clamps to a table, and expands and collapses like an umbrella. Seemed like a good idea at the time, especially since I’m the one who specifically asked for it. However, when it arrived I quickly realized that nearly every table I use had an apron on it that prevented the swift from clamping properly, and even more than that, I found the operation of the swift to be a huge challenge for my dexterity.

In contrast, this new swift is so easy to use! It is easily and quickly assembled, and it works GREAT for me! Plus the adjustable pegs allow you to do hanks of just about any size. I love it! Plus, the handcrafted aspect and the beautiful wood make me feel good when I’m using it. It really is a beautiful thing.

Thanks, Mike!

Tonight I went to my mother’s house for dinner with John and the kids and my stepfather’s sister Nella joined us for dinner. She surprised me with this! Can you believe it? My favorite color is purple, and it will even fit me, too.

Nella learned to knit as a young girl in Italy, and she did this without a pattern and without taking any measurements of me. I am just amazed. She was wearing a similar one to my mother’s Easter gathering, and I asked her where she got it. Hers was bright aqua with tan stripes and I fell in love with it. Now, Nella is a lot tinier than I am and I asked her if maybe someday she could make one for me. And she said, “Sure I can. But I don’t know when.” So imagine my surprise that it was done already, without any measuring or try-ons! How is it that some people just have “the eye” and can do this? I feel so lucky today!

Ok, so it’s been a looong while since you’ve heard from me. But you see, I’ve been in computer jail. Windows apparently decided to experience a critical corruption that caused me to have to redo my computer from nearly scratch. Thank goodness most of my files were recovered.

No, It’s NOT a Postage Stamp!

DH has been teasing me about the tiny triangle at the left for a couple of weeks now. I’m attempting to make a Clapotis using KnitPicks Shimmer, which is a lace weight yarn. My goal is to have a summer weight shawl. Problem is that I’ve never knit with yarn this thin before, and it’s tough getting used to. I think I’ve cast on at least 15 times by now, but I finally think I have the hang of it. It will be yummy when done but to make it wide enough for a shawl, each row will have hundreds of stitches. So, yeah, I guess I’m crazy!!

But This Yarn Has a Story…

But isn’t it lovely? The colorway is called Happy Dance, and it’s two shades of pink offset by a sunny yellow. Perfect colorway for a summery wrap. I took this picture using the macro photography setting on my camera… it’s amazing how small a ball of fingering weight yarn can actually be!

I finally got to meet Lissa, who is on several e-mail groups that I’m on. We’ve been meaning to meet for months and I’m glad we finally got together, on May 20, at Whitehall Pool. We ate lunch and talked lots, and then she tried to show me how to do long tail cast on. It took me several tries to get it right. And then, of course the minute I tried it on my own, later that night, I couldn’t get it right. Oh drat! I guess that means Lissa will just have to come back! 🙂 Then we wound that aforementioned Shimmer yarn into that teeny ball above. Actually, Lissa did the winding. And I held my arms up and was the “Human Swift”. I had so much fun that day!

There’s so much more to tell about my last month or so of knitting, but it’s late and I gotta go to bed! More later…

This is Cindy and Steve. And Me. Steve is my best friend from college, and Cindy is his big sister. We attended the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival together on May 6, 2006, and had a blast! Steve and I attended last year and had so much fun, that we invited his sister, a relatively new knitter, to come all the way from Illinois for the experience. It was truly wonderful, but also overwhelming! The fabulous spring weather brought tens of thousands of people to the event. I don’t think I’ve ever been in crowds like that before. I think that’s why I don’t have pictures… too many people and too much activity. It was hard to even think about the camera.

We barely got inside the gates when I ran into someone from the KnitTalk List. This is Erin, who I’ve exchanged e-mails with and she is a regular reader of the group. It was fun to meet someone in real space! I’m a “monitor” of the group and it’s really a lot of fun! I had brought stickers for group members, should I happen to run into them. Unfortunately, the only sticker I parted with that day was Erin’s. The crowds were so big that I didn’t see too many other knit talkers; or maybe I did and I just didn’t know it. I did run into list member Shelley, but she already had a sticker of her own!! It was great to see Shelley again; it’s been far too long! Did I get a photo? No, drat! I’ve got to be a better correspondent.

We did eat yummy lamb kabobs for lunch while listening to part of a seminar on “Fleece Development” in the dining hall. Cindy snuck off to the bathroom during lunch and was gone a long time, and came back excited about some yarns she had seen on the way to the bathroom. Cindy had been looking for an easy tank top or shell pattern, and she was sure she found the perfect yarn for one. The booth was by Tess’ Yarns, and I can’t even begin to describe the absolute rainbow of colors and fibers. I guess they must do mostly shows for now, as the website isn’t quite fully set up for e-commerce. The photo at the right shows some superwash merino in a purpley-blue with a splash of yellow. There were also silks and cashmere and vibrant ribbon yarns and wow. I don’t think I’ve seen as much variety of fiber and color from one vendor ever before. I hope they come back next year!

I have to admit I was restrained and maybe a little boring with my purchases this year. I also bought four skeins of Lamb’s Pride Worsted yarn to make another felted hat with. I purchased another copy of my favorite Fiber Trends AC-01 pattern, and also I got the lighter weight version, which I’ve never tried before. I also got the Ann Norling Basic Sock Pattern, which I think will be a good way to try socks. I guess we’ll see how that goes!

One of my favorite parts of the day was when Cindy and I sat for a few minutes to knit. Steve had given Cindy a set of Denise Interchangeable Needles for Christmas (at my suggestion!) because she had mentioned to him that she wanted to learn to make hats. She hadn’t yet, however, gotten the hang of knitting in the round. Cindy had been usnig the backward loop cast on method, which can be particularly hard to manage, so here I am showing her the knit on cast on method. She got the hang of it right away, of course, because it’s just like knitting, of course! Then we dove right into circular knitting. I started off right away teaching her how to knit in the round using one long circular needle, and we knit a round or two before heading off to The Melting Pot for a heavenly, relaxed dinner.

All in all it was a great day and I want to thank Steve for making it possible for me! Also, it was great to meet Cindy and I hope she’ll come back next year. Bye for now!

Ok, here it is. The beginnings of my four-year-old son Steven’s scarf. It’s blue. And red. For his favorite Island of Sodor friends, Thomas and James. I started it with brioche stitch early in the week, and was cooking along fine, until one day when we were waiting for a speech therapy appointment for Steven, and I was filling out a bunch of paperwork, and lo and behold, an bunch of stitches came off my needles. Now, I don’t know what it is about brioche stitch. But when I drop stitches in that pattern, no matter what I do, I can’t seem to pick them up properly to set them back on the needle. The yarn over part just always looks wrong to me, and I can always see the row that looks twisted and wonky afterward.

So what did I do? I wound up frogging. And then I tried any number of other stitch patterns, but no matter what, I didn’t like how they looked. I like this color pattern, the way it looks with switching colors every two rows. Hey, at least I don’t have to weave in hundreds of ends!! None of the other color patterns I’ve tried so far gave me the same satisfaction. So, I’m back to doing the brioche. And praying I don’t drop any stitches. Yeah, right. If anybody out there knows about picking up dropped stitches in brioche and can share their wisdom, I’m all ears.

Achoo! And goodnight. It’s definitely spring here.

Finally, the long-suffering Fancy Cabled Braided Scarf is done!! It only took, what, 2 1/2 months? Ugh. I’ve said it before that I’m a painfully slow knitter. After all that I decided to give it to my stepmother Kathy, as she has admired my cable patterns before and I thought she could use a “hug” from me. We met today at the cemetery where my father is buried. It was cold and raining at the graveside so the scarf seemed appropriate there. Of course, the clouds parted as we were leaving, and the rest of the day was sunny and warm!

This is my daughter Diana, trying her hand at striking a modeling pose. Isn’t she getting big? I think she was a bit sad at first that I gave this scarf away but she already has at least two that I’ve knitted her plus at least two more. So I think she’s pretty well scarfed, and I wanted to give something handmade to Kathy, since she has already crocheted afghans for me and for Diana.

My next project is the Lace Edged Tee from Knitpicks, in the bright orange color of their Crayon yarn, at least officially. My four-year-old son saw today that I was finished with the cabled scarf and asked, “Are you going to make MY scarf now, Mommy?” Ok, so I may be side tracked for a bit. He wants it in two colors, “Blue for Thomas and Red for James” (which most moms of four year old boys will know what he’s talking about!) so I pulled two balls of Wool of the Andes from my stash today and now I’m trying to decide on a pattern. I think I will do something akin to Brioche stitch. We’ll see.

Big Girl Knits is Here!

Finally, the book about ME!! Haha. Not really. But pretty darn close. One of the reasons that the idea of making garments scares the hell out of me is that I’m fat. And let’s face it. Most of the really cute sweater patterns out there aren’t made for fat chicks. At least not until now. Big Girl Knits, by Jillian Moreno and Amy R. Signer, is more than just a book of really cool, hip patterns designed to make the best of our abundance; it’s also chock full of design tips that make real sense. Finally, a book that I can relate to.

Some people are put off by the sort of “in-your-face” writing style. But not me. Sure, it’s a bit blunt, but heck, so am I. Perhaps that’s one reason why I warmed up to it. I loved reading the design tips and understanding where I’ve gone wrong with the vast majority of clothing choices already hanging in my closet. I wish more clothing designers would buy this book and take it to heart.

Finally, a book that gives me the incentive to sit down and try a sweater. For real. Thanks, Amy and Jillian!