Trish Knits.com

Category: blog

  • In Good Company at the Ballgame

    Tonight was the annual Stitch n Pitch event at the Washington Nationals ballpark. As luck would have it, it was a cross-town rivalry game because they were playing the Baltimore Orioles. (The O’s won, 2-1. But we left after the 8th inning, and didn’t know it at the time.)

    Of course I had my camera with me and I snapped quite a few photos. Click the thumbnails to embiggen.

    This year, because the event was on a Saturday, we brought the kids along. BoyZilla got his one big wish… to have his very own foam finger! It was hard to keep a straight face when he said to the cashier, “This is my very first foam finger!” As if there will be many more. Wait, this is BoyZilla the Clown we’re talking about. Of course there will be more.

    Her Highness the Teen had pretty much made up her mind that baseball was going to be boring, but by the 7th inning stretch was singing along to “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” with a smile on her face. Busted! She had a good time.

    As for me, not much knitting got done. There’s so much to see at a baseball game, that I was too easily distracted by the sights and sounds all around me. Not to mention the smell of the Chili from Ben’s Chili Bowl. Ben’s is a famous Washington Landmark located next door to the historic Lincoln Theater in the famous U Street neighborhood. If you visit DC, you have to go here. Seriously. I’m glad they have stands at the ballpark to expand the tradition to so many others who might not experience it otherwise. Yeah, I had me a chili half smoke with cheese and onions. It was messy, and I had a big ol’ glob of chili on my nose when my friend Amy’s mom Ruth walked up to introduce herself to me. How embarrassing! I would have hugged her or something, had I not been completely coated in chili at the time, but man, that’s Murphy’s Law for you! Anyway, Ruth, if you’re reading this, it was lovely to meet you! (And that top you were wearing was Fabulous!)

    The evening ended too early for me as always, and I already can’t wait for next year. Yay for Stitch n Pitch!

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  • As If…

    Well, here it is, the Friday before the Sunday that I’m going to see my friend Jen for the first time in four years. I’m excited! We have lots of catching up to do. A couple of weeks ago, as I was staring at a ball of hot pink sock yarn on my ball winder, I immediately thought of her. She loves Hello Kitty and and all things hot pink, so this scarf was just the thing:

    pink scarf in progress
    pink scarf in progress

    Except, what was I thinking? Of course, there’s no way I could have gotten it done in time. In fact, I’m not sure how people can get a whole scarf done in a few days or a week. On average, a single scarf takes me about a month, a pair of socks can take about two months, and even a simple felted hat takes me about three weeks. Clearly, this was not going to happen. But hey, I tried.

    There’s going to be plenty of knitting time this weekend, though. Our pool opens for the season, which is prime knitting time for me. Plus tomorrow night is the Washington Nationals Stitch n’ Pitch, where I’ll be in good company with hundreds of yarny friends. If you’re coming to the game, look for the goofy lady in a wheelchair with spiky hair, knitting furiously away on a hot pink scarf. That would be me.

    Oh well, that’s tomorrow! For now, it’s another day at work. I’m chanting already: Come on, 5 o’clock! See ya!

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  • Is it Yarn Yet?

    Tonight I played with my new drop spindle and some roving that was here, and look:

    Spun yarn on a drop spindle
    Spun yarn on a drop spindle

    It took a few tries, but guess what? It’s yarn! My roving on the other end is a bit of a twisty mess but I am trying to get the hang of managing the twist as it spins. Of course I spent the evening doing this instead of knitting on my scarf for my friend Jen. But I did get quite a lot of knitting done on the commute today. I still have hope that between now and the weekend, some miracle will happen and I will be able to get the scarf done.

    But hey, my first yarn! How exciting is that? Ok, it’s only a few inches of yarn, but it’s yarn! Who would have ever thought I’d get excited about making my own yarn, when I’ve been promising myself all these knitting years that I really don’t need another fiber obsession? I can tell already that spinning is seriously addictive. I’ve got a typical all-over soreness that I get from tensing up when I learn something new. I hope I can get comfortable enough soon so that this feeling goes away. I guess that means there’s more practice spinning in my future!

    What is it?

    Lookie at what I got in the mail today:

    seed stitcher tool
    seed stitcher tool

    I used to knit with a Bond Incredible Sweater Machine, but stopped completely when I learned to hand knit. I really don’t have room to set it up in my house since the addition of a little boy, first with playpens, and now with train tables and Legos abound. But there are one or two little gadgets I miss, especially this one, as I recently found out.

    This little double ended latch hook tool is used to create seed stitch on the machine, which is really only capable of producing stockinette on its own. Well, in working on my February Lady Sweater, and dropping garter stitches one too many times, I realized that this tool is something that would make it so much easier to fix the dropped garter stitch. Basically, on the knit side you grab the ladder in the latch and pull through as you would with a crochet hook, but then you push it through to the other end and grab the stitch in the other direction for the purl side. I’d make a video to show what I mean, but there’s one on the Knitting Today site already. It shows the tool in use on a machine, but hand knitters can easily see what’s happening to the fabric and figure it out. I think everyone who garter stitches a lot needs one of these!

    Back to the scarf knitting tomorrow. Maybe I’ll post a pic then. See ya!

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  • New Stuff in the Knitting Bag!

    It’s been a mundane Saturday at my house. But, perhaps I’ve needed one. My DH let me sleep in til 11:30 this morning. I can’t remember the last time I did that! I got quite a bit of knitting done on my scarf in progress, but I am not going to show you that. Let’s just say it now looks like it’s going to be a scarf when it grows up, but realistically, there’s no chance in you-know-where that it’s going to be done by next Sunday. So instead, I thought I would show you some of my latest knitting-related acquisitions. First, I’ll start off with a wonderful new book I got while at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival this year.

    Everything Old is New Again for Baby

    This adorable little book, Vintage Baby Knits: More Than 40 Heirloom Patterns from the 1920s to the 1950s is really no little knitting book. It contains a plethora of patterns for babies. My mother had some old knitting books from the 50s in her collection–I remember reading them and not understanding a thing about what they were trying to tell me to do. Many years later, I of course became a knitter, and you know what? I went looking for those patterns, and was dismayed to discover that I still didn’t understand them. This book attempts to solve that problem. The author, Kristen Rengren, is a lover of vintage knits and has translated some classic baby wear designs from decades past into modern knitting language and modern yarns.

    The photographs in the book are just too adorable for words; who could resist all of the adorable wee babes wearing beautiful knitwear?

    There are many cardigans to choose from, and cute little booties and soakers, and pullovers and blankets, and an adorable hat or two. There are even some toys tucked in there, so just about everything you could ever want to knit for a baby is contained within the pages. An adorable sailor sweater and classic argyle are among the vintage looks… and lots of lacy, delicate little things that just make it so fun to dress the little one. There’s even a gorgeous christening gown, that maybe if I start it now, I’ll be done by the time my 13-year-old daughter becomes a mother (sometime in her 30s, of course!).

    I see that Amazon has this book for a very reasonable price, so if you love to knit baby things, go get this book now! You won’t regret it. I paid list price, but I don’t mind. I got to meet the author at the festival, and see? Mine is signed:

    Kristen Rengren signed my copy of Vintage Baby Knits
    Kristen Rengren signed my copy of Vintage Baby Knits

    You Spin Me Right Round

    Also while at the festival I bought one of these:

    Golding Drop Spindle
    Golding Drop Spindle

    It’s a drop spindle by Golding and it is a beautiful thing. Now, I’ve tried my hand at drop spindling a couple of times, and I haven’t had much luck with it yet. I bought some practice roving at the festival for a very good price, and I’m going to learn how to spin if it kills me. Why, do you ask, am I so thusly determined? Well, wouldn’t YOU be determined if THIS was waiting for you???

    purple, olive and brown roving
    purple, olive and brown roving

    Uh huh. I thought so. When I start something, I dive in with both feet. I wasn’t content just to have my little inexpensive scratchy roving. I needed an incentive, and this is it. It’s a Lorna’s Laces Wool Top Roving in the “Purple Iris” colorway. It is SO soft. I’m half tempted to stick some wiggle eyes on it and call it a stuffed animal and let it be. Who am I to think I can make some pretty yarn out of that? I hope I can do it some bit of justice. Meanwhile I’ll practice away on my gray Icelandic roving. I’m sure my yarn will have some interesting textures, but isn’t that half the fun?

    Meanwhile, I’ve got a scarf to finish. Better run. See you soon!

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  • Knitting Ruts and Why We Love Them

    It’s true; I am a slave to my knitting habits. This week I realized in horror that one of my best friends, who I have not seen in FOUR years, will be in town for a visit in just two weeks. And I’ve wanted to do something special. But what?

    Then I realized I had a ball of Socks that Rock in the Hot Flash colorway sitting on my ball winder. (OMG is this a discontinued color? If so, WHY oh why did I not pick up the skein that I saw in a bin at MSW??? Kicking self, now!) Fate stepped in. You see, my friend loves Hello Kitty so much that she even has a Hello Kitty tattoo on her leg. And the Hot Flash yarn is, well, Hello Kitty pink and red. What could be more perfect?

    beginnings of hot pink scarf
    beginnings of hot pink scarf

    So I grabbed my copies of my red and blue Barbara Walker books, and began to look for a lacy pattern that would fit the bill for this yarn. In the end, I didn’t choose a lace pattern. I chose Twin Rib. The thing is? I always choose Twin Rib. But why? Well, it’s easy, albeit a little boring, and it does make a lovely fabric. In this case, I am knitting the mediumweight yarn on a size 7 needle, which for me, with my loosey-goosey knitting, makes a very loose, drapey fabric. Other times I’ve knit it much tighter, to make a very dense, warm scarf. But it’s almost summer now, and the yarn is shockingly pink. Loose, drapey and fun seemed the right thing to do.

    I wish at times that I would branch out more. I have all of the world of knitting in front of me, and I tend to go back to the same, simple patterns, over and over. Why is that?

    If there’s time, I’ll knit a red, Hello Kitty-shaped bow and sew it to the scarf, just for added cuteness. I doubt there will be time. But I can dream.

    So, this whole thing has got me thinking. Am I the only one who is a slave to my knitting ruts? What are yours? Please let me know I’m not alone. Drop me a line and tell me all about them. I know you must have them. Please tell me that we all do.

    Meanwhile, wish me luck in my quest to finish a whole scarf in the next 10 days. Sleep? Who needs it? Gotta Knit! Ciao for now…

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  • Just This One Thing…

    There’s just this:

    New Knitting Bag
    New Knitting Bag

    Namaste Laguna. In eggplant. Nirvana. That is all.

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