Trish Knits.com

Category: blog

  • Post Florida Blankie Update

    rainbow striped blankie in progress

    Here’s the latest blankie update photo. I haven’t measured but I think I got about six inches or so done while I was on vacation. At this moment I am planning to work my way up to the next pink stripe before calling it done, since the first stripe was pink. Then I need to decide whether the blankie needs to have a border of some sort. At this point I’m thinking maybe an attached i-cord.

    So, while doing all of this knitting in the car on my trip, I listened to and got all caught up on the podcast Lime and Violet (or should I say, Violet, sans Lime? Where is she anyway? I miss her.) This podcast isn’t as much about knitting as it is about yarn and fiber and lots of wacky conversation… though of course there is some knitting, especially socks. I definitely would not listen to this podcast around my kids, but it is hysterically funny. I even caught my DH laughing several times. Now he knows why I’ve been known to guffaw out loud at night in bed (I use my iPod as a sound abatement sleep aid!)

    I also listened to many episodes of Sticks and String, by David Reidy from somewhere in the Blue Mountains of Australia. I also love this show, as he is always talking to someone new about the world of knitting. As I was listening last week I found myself wondering whether, since he’s in Oz, if he happened to catch any of the Countdown Spectacular 2 concerts that are happening there. BSG were playing and of course since they play pretty much only on that side of the world I’ve never had a chance to see them. Have I ever mentioned that I am their WebLady? BSG of course are the principal founding members of Australia’s super-group, Little River Band. But, I digress…

    I’m almost caught up now on David’s podcasts too and will look forward to the new ones each week.


    Look, Ma! I’m Petting a Dolphin!

    Trish petting female dolphin at Sea World

    Here’s a shot of me petting a dolphin at Sea World in Orlando. I don’t get the chance to get up close to animals very often, except for my own cats of course, but this dolphin trainer called the dolphin up out of the water so I could pet her. She also showed my son how to ask the dolphin to make that clicking sound they make, and the trainer also showed us how to ask the dolphin to wave her fin at us as in waving bye-bye. It was so cool that she responded to us, and this was a highlight of our vacation. Thanks for letting me share!

  • See? My Trip to Disney DOES Have Knitting Content!

    Mr. and Mrs. Incredible admire my knitting

    I just got back from a fabulous vacation to Walt Disney World. I had been in line, like a doting mother, taking a photo of Diana with Mr. and Mrs. Incredible, when the Mr. motioned for me to come over for a photo. Their “handler” chick had been admiring my yarn while we were waiting in line, and as I went up for the photo, she mentioned to Mr. Incredible that I was knitting a scarf! So there he was, guy with big plastic head, trying to look really impressed through his immovable face. Kinda reminded me of the reactions I get when I show my knitting to most of the real people I know! Muggles! All of them. Sigh.

    While on vacation I did get a lot done on my rainbow stripey baby blanket. I will try to take a pic later this week. I’m still too beat! I did all of that knitting in the car plus a little back at the hotel. The little thing I am knitting is my “emergency waiting in line ball of yarn” that I brought with me to get me through the endless amounts of waiting that would inevitably take place over the week of the vacation. It is of course the Lisa Souza yarn in the Emerald City colorway. This was my first time attempting lace at all and I was doing the Flame Chevron lace pattern from Barbara Walker, Volume 2. Of course I had to rip it all out multiple times and at the moment have nothing to show for it. I guess I will be needing lifelines until I get the hang of how not to drop yarn overs and not discover having dropped them until several rows later. Yipe!

    More later about the trip and my knitting adventures, and how, somehow, I managed to knit my way through Disney. Right now, I hear a pillow… softly calling my name… zzzzzzzzzzzz…..

  • 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!