Category: blog

Well, I finally got the chance to knit with a friend at the swim club tonight. I met Rhoda, from the KnitTalk group, and she is lovely! We had a grand time chatting and knitting. She brought some goodies for me to ooh and ah over, and I was thrilled! First were the KnitPicks Options Needles, and Oh, I think I am in love! The needles are as light as air! I don’t know what that says about their long term durability, but ooooh they feel so good in my hands. The cable is so thin and so flexible, (and purple. to boot!) and once Rhoda showed me the proper technique for using the tightening tool, I found them very easy to assemble. The needles are on my birthday wish list, and I do hope to receive them.

This is a pic of the Options needle tip. It’s very pointy! Which can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on what and how you knit. And I do find that the barrel of the needle fits just right in my hand. Did I mention that the cable is purple? Haha. It’s my favorite color. Yes, I will still love my Denise needles, but these are definitely going to be an asset to the collection.

Rhoda also brought the book, Mason-Dixon Knitting : The Curious Knitters’ Guide: Stories, Patterns, Advice, Opinions, Questions, Answers, Jokes, and Pictures. Wow, I have wanted this one for a while, and I think I am going to move it up higher on the wish list. The discloth patterns seemed like something I’d actually make, whereas before now, they seemed like a boring project and didn’t really interest me at all. But the ones in this book were nice! the nested felted baskets were nice, too, and the afghan patterns were quite unique. Plus it looks like there’s plenty of reading too, to make the book colorful and interesting. Hmmm… I’m kinda on a book moratorium at the moment, since I have so many, but I think this would be the next one on my list.

All in all I had such a fun evening knitting and getting to know a new friend. The weather was gorgeous too, which is nice after weeks of rain. They say we shouldn’t see any more rain at least through the weekend. That’s a relief.

Be well.

I know, it’s been a while. But the truth is, when you’re just knitting away on the same thing ad nauseum, it’s hard to find new and exciting things to say! So that’s the reason for my long absence this time, but I’ll try my best.

As I suspected, it’s taking a while to knit this version of the Clapotis, given that I am using KnitPicks Shimmer, which I’ve decided is about as thick as dental floss. I’ve never worked with laceweight yarn before, and this has been quite an experience for me! I must have started over at least a dozen times, only to get myself tangled up in the first few little stitches, and have to start again. I was about to give up for good, when after about two weeks of trying it finally came together. Still, it has taken me a month to get only this far, not nearly finished with the increase section. Of course, even with this thin yarn, I was shooting for the shawl size. It’ll be forever, but that’s ok.

Some Boring Technical News (But hey, I’m a Geek and I’m excited!)

On a technical note, I’ve been getting my feet wet with Dreamweaver again and I think this time I’m getting the hang of it! Today I learned how to make and use Dreamweaver templates, which should make updating this blog a bit easier. Consistent with the idea of making a shawl sized Clapotis from the thinnest possible yarn, I also do my blog the hard way. I don’t use any of the blogging software that’s out there, and instead do my own thing with a web site. But it has made it hard to make site-wide changes until now. Now, all I need to do is make simple changes to the Dreamweaver template file and they will be easily applied site wide. At least that’s what they say.

Of course, as I am writing this we’ve had a big storm come through and the cable’s out. So no telling when I’ll actually be able to upload!!

Until next time…

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!