Trish Knits.com

Category: blog

  • Saturday Knitting with New Friends

    Jo, Pat, Lola

    Today was way fun! Kiva had posted a question on Ravelry about whether the knitting group still met on Wednesdays at the Bowie Borders. I responded that yes, I thought so, but I had never been. With school age kids there’s always homework to monitor, showers to be sure get taken, and flutes to be sure get practiced, etc. So the whole weeknight thing seems out of the question for a good long while. So I posted back that I would love to get an occasional group going on a Saturday afternoon. Even if it’s only once a month. Kiva responded that yes! This sounded like a good idea. So we set it up.

    To my surprise, seven people showed up today for our first meeting! My knit buddy Rhoda was there too, and everyone else was from the Ravelry boards. Lola wore a knit sweater and brought two others in progress. Kiva had a gorgeous scarf and brought her mother and daughter along, Pat was knitting her traveling sock, Jo was knitting a gorgeous drop stitch wrap with yarn she had spun herself, and Rhoda was working on her gorgeous (purple!) chevron scarf. I was knitting on my never-ending afghan, and spilling coffee all over the floor. Geez, can’t take me anywhere! Left to right in this first photo are Jo, Pat and Lola.


    Rhoda, Kiva, Betty

    Here’s a shot of Rhoda, with Kiva, and Kiva’s mom, Betty. There’s Kiva’s gorgeous daughter, too!

    Rhoda showed Betty how Magic Loop works, and we all shared stories of how long we’ve been knitting and how we learned. It’s funny, but even though most of us had never met, the language of knitting made it easy to talk and it seemed as if we were old friends very quickly. We talked lots about Ravelry and how much we love it.

    Ravelry button says Hello my name is wheeltrish The ladies admired my Ravelry button and are all hoping to get one before the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. I’ll have to see if there’s a way to get ahold of some.


    Lola works on her sweater

    Lola was working on a blue sweater with saddle shoulders from Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knitting Without Tears. She puzzled a bit over Elizabeth’s traditionally wordy directions, and showed us all a photo of a completed one on her blackberry. But, before the afternoon was done, the light bulb clicked on and Lola was off and running with the next section of her sweater.

    For now, we’ve decided that we will meet on the First Saturday of the Month, except for May. That’s the Sheep and Wool Festival, so in May we will have a Show and Tell session on the Second Saturday. It was great being in the company of knitters, and I hope it will continue!

    Of course, I can’t go to a bookstore without brining a few things home! Today my haul included Son of Stitch ‘n Bitch: 45 Projects to Knit and Crochet for Men, and Creative Knitting Magazine. Don’t know why I don’t subscribe to that one; I always like it. Perhaps I should go now and fix that little problem. 🙂 More later…

  • Stash Diving

    Cherry Tree Hill Oceania, Monet colorway, green, yellow, pink

    So this evening I went through most of my yarn bins. I took pictures of a lot of stuff to upload it on Ravelry. On one hand, I was comforted to find that my stash was not as vast as most people think it is. But on the other hand, I have lots of single skeins of things that I have no idea what I’m going to do with it.

    In this photo is one of my favorites. It’s Cherry Tree Hill Oceania. I bought it about two years ago, when there was this half off sale so I got a really good deal on it. Of course I have no idea what to do with it.

    Along the way there was a small pile of UFOs that I rediscovered for possible finishing. There were even a few that I kissed goodbye, including a French Market Bag that I had started with some leftover oddballs that didn’t really go together, and a mini triangular scarf out of some leftover Noro Silk Garden.

    The Silk Garden yarn had been used to make a Knit Round Scarf by Sally Melville. (The link takes you to the book at Knit Picks. If you click the “View More Images” button from that page, you’ll see the scarf in the second group of pictures. It actually looks more like a wrap to me…) Anyway, I made it, but was totally unhappy with it being totally in stockinette stitch and then being all curly on the edges. I changed the neckline to a ribbing, but the bottom edge still rolls of course. Well I couldn’t just throw it out because it was made with such expensive yarn and all. Well, Diana, who was probably only 6 or 7 at the time that I made it is now almost 12 and the thing looks just darling on her! Glad I found it today. I’ll have to snap a photo of her wearing it and post it so y’all can see. Diana was so excited that she wove in the remaining ends herself.

    We also found a scarf that she liked that only needed ends weaved in and some fringe added. So she started on that, too! So not all of my UFOs are lost causes. Yay!

  • Almost Big Enough…

    Ripple blanket in progress

    …for a shawl, if it were one. But since it’s not, as you can see, I’ve still got a long way to go. I’m not getting tired of knitting it, exactly, but I am getting a wee bit bored of not being able to knit anything else. However, my sense of purpose keeps me going, and I am at least fairly certain that I will not be working on this blanket for eight months like I did on the last one. I’ve found several things on the internet that I’d like to try:

    For the last one I am hoping to find a yarn with long color changes like Noro Kureyon, but that isn’t Kureyon, because I hate the way it feels. I’m thinking maybe a Trendsetter yarn. I’ll have to see.

    Ripple Blanket close up

    Here’s a closeup of the blanket today… couldn’t resist. More soon, I hope!

  • It’s an Addiction, I’m Tellin’ Ya!

    Namaste Laguna Bag, Turquoise


    I shoulda’ known something was up when the Namaste Executive Bags began disappearing a couple of months ago. I thought to myself, I had better grab one, now. So I did. Like an idiot. If only I had waited another month. How was I to know they were coming out with something even better?

    Introducing, my Namaste Cali Collection Laguna Bag! I loved my Executive, for about a minute, until I tried to jam my WIP afghan into it. It just didn’t really fit. I don’t know if it’s because this bag is softer, or what, but it holds the afghan, and my obnoxious, oversized wallet with shoulder strap, with actual room to spare. There’s even a zipper pouch in the middle — woo hoo! It’s big enough to hold all of my knitting notions. And they’re not going to fall out like they would have out of the inside pockets of the Executive. That one only has elastic on the pockets. (Yes, the Executive has a SIDE that is zippered, but that is where, presumably, one would put one’s wallet and personal stuff. My notions were in the other pockets and were constantly falling out because the bag wouldn’t close because my project was too big for it.) And it has a shoulder strap. So I can hang it on the back of my chair if I need to.

    Did I mention that the afghan fits inside, AND it still closes? A bag big enough for this had eluded me.


    Namaste Laguna Bag, with stuff inside

    Here’s a photo with my afghan tucked inside and my obnoxiously large wallet peeking out on the other side. No, it’s not even completely full. I am suitably impressed. Finding a bag big enough to hold my stuff has been a big challenge.


    Namaste Laguna Bag, closeup of magnet closure

    And here’s a closeup of the magnet closures. When the bag isn’t quite full, the top of the bag sort of folds over on itself. If it’s quite full, it is more completely upright, as shown in the first picture. Yes, even with the afghan inside, the top of my bag still folds over. I only propped it up for the picture.

    I think I am in bag lust! Help me!!

    And as if this day could NOT get any better, my Spring ’08 issue of Interweave Knits arrived today. Is this Nirvana?


    Namaste Laguna Bag, dimmer light and truer color

    Ok, last one! This photo was shot in dimmer light and is probably more true to the color of the bag. Thanks to the folks on Ravelry for asking!

  • Worms, Anyone??

    worm binder, front cover

    Ok, this is going to sound crazy, but on the Knit Picks discussion board on Ravelry, folks started talking about finding a better way to store their Harmony needles. Someone mentioned that they found a “worm binder” at Wally World and that it was a perfect fit. Now, I don’t go browsing the fishin’ pole section every day, in fact, never, so I had never even heard of one of these marvelous contraptions. Yesterday, I braved a throng of tween girls at the new Hannah Montana movie, and it just so happens that at this mall where my favorite theater is, there is an Outdoor World store, that includes a Bass Pro Shop. Lo and behold, there they were! But alas, the one I found in the store, and bought fairly immediately, is not available online — yes it is, here’s the link: Extreme Worm Binder (Mine is the “medium” size.). The bag is made of some sort of waterproof fabric, and includes lots of little ziploc bags (for fishing tackle) inside. The outside has a zipper pocket, and because the bag itself is soft sided, it is really very roomy.


    worm binder, inside, showing zipper pockets on inside front cover

    Here is a view of the inside front cover, showing two zipper pockets. They are the perfect size for my needle sizer, scissors, or whatever else I need to carry.


    worm binder, inside, showing zipper pockets on inside back cover

    And here is the inside back cover, which has quite a few small pockets, perfect for end buttons, stitch markers, the little “key” thingys that help tighten the needles, etc.


    worm binder, back cover

    And this is the back cover, which has a mesh pocket with a velcro tab for holding it closed. Overall, this bag is great! All of my needles fit in there, which is more than I can say for the bag that came with my Harmony set. (Ok, there’s enough room for one pair of each of the interchangeable tips in the bag that the set comes with, plus you can throw cables and stuff in the center section, but then where would I put my fixed circulars that are sized 0 to 3? especially since the 1’s and 2’s have two sizes each, and the needle sizer doesn’t have holes for each of these. I would have a devil of a time telling them apart. PLUS, I have multiple pairs of tips for my favorite sizes, and now they will all fit in the ziploc bag things. It’s great that I can keep all of my needles together.

    So, I highly recommend a fishing worm binder (also called a tackle binder or a bait binder) as wonderful knitting needle storage. I should have gotten more than one. The only thing is I hope I can somehow remove the Bass Pro patch off the front and replace it with something a little more “girly”…. My dad would be rolling his eyes at me if he could see this!

  • I’m So Weak!

    purple skeins of yarnOk, yes it’s true… my Yarnaholic Tracker does not lie. Last week, I caved and bought yarn. LOTS of yarn. What am I going to do with it? I don’t know yet. But it’s here. In my stash. That pile, you know, the one that’s overtaking my house.

    I shopped at Knit Picks, as per usual, and got Wool of the Andes in Amethyst Heather and Onyx Heather. My daughter has a lovely purple afghan that my step mother made for her a number of years ago, when her room was purple. So I got enough yarn to make myself an afghan and have some left over for some felted hats (of course).

    Then there is the not-so-small matter of the endless brown blanket for Miss Z. I am making progress. I am. I am. I am still enjoying knitting it. But there is the issue of that huge box of new yarn and I SO want to make something with it. The Miss Z. blanket cannot wait so I must remain strong. I must hold my resolve to finish that project first and to work on nothing else until it is done. Miss Z. needs it. I need to be able to give it to her. And I will. In a way I am glad she likes brown and I don’t. for a brown blanket, it is turning out BEAUTIFUL if I don’t say so myself, and if it were in colors I actually loved I might have a hard time giving it away. No, not really. I can’t remember the last time I knitted something with such joy and such purpose. It’s a cool feeling.


    charcoal colored skeins of yarnWanna know what else was in the box? A set of size 7 Harmony needle tips with a 24″ cable set, that’s what! IJ at work has been eager to learn to knit. About a month ago she bought herself a learn to knit book and I told her about KnittingHelp.com. She doesn’t live near a yarn shop so I offered to include starter needles and a ball of yarn in my big order, which of course she then paid me back for. She decided she would go home with her book, yarn, needles, and website and see what she could do on her own, then she’ll come to me with questions next week. I hope she has an easy time and can get going! I bet she’ll be fine. She seems like the kind of person who would be a successful self-taught knitter. I can’t wait to give her some pointers on Monday!


    Harmony Cable Needle Set The last item in my bag was the Harmony Cable Needle Set. Aren’t they just lovely? I usually prefer to cable without a cable needle, but there are times when the extra insurance is really helpful, such as with a slippery yarn or one without much give. I just love looking at them, and hope they will be not too slippery to do the job!

    All for now, talk to you soon.