Trish Knits.com

Category: Knitting

  • Knitting in December

    Today was our monthly knitting group meetup at Borders in Bowie. It was a lot of fun! Today I got to meet THREE new folks: Melody, Iliana, and Diane. Our Bowie MD Knitters group at Ravelry is growing, thanks in part to the recruiting efforts of Marie.

    Here are the photos from today’s gathering:

    As usual, click on the photo to see a bigger version.

    It was snowing as we were all departing from group today. A perfect wintry ending to a wonderful December afternoon.

    Tegan is snoozing
    Tegan is snoozing

    Tegan decided she’d rather sleep through the whole thing.

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  • Knit Picks Goodness

    It came! It came! I finally received the Andean Chullo Hat Kit from Knit Picks today:

    Andean Chullo Hat Kit
    Andean Chullo Hat Kit

    I can’t wait to make this, but I do have a couple of other things to work on first. But I wanted to go ahead and get the kit now, because it seems that Knit Picks doesn’t keep it available all the time so I had to wait a while to get it. The kit includes 9 balls of Palette and a pattern, which I can’t recall whether it’s similar to a pattern that I bought several years ago but I’ll have to try to find that one and see. This one does appear to be more detailed, if I remember right.

    Also in the box today were two hanks of WoTA Bulky in Blackberry:

    Wool of the Andes Bulky Yarn
    Wool of the Andes Bulky Yarn


    I thought I might use this in my afghan of domino squares, which is an ongoing, long term project. There were also some size 0 needles in the box, in about every cable length size available, because I recently learned how easily one of those toothpick-thin things can snap. There was also a book, but more on that at another time.

    On the Home Front…

    We had a glorious weekend with my DH’s family. They were here for Thanksgiving Dinner, which was a rare treat indeed. The last time all of my DH’s siblings were together for a Holiday, my now 12-year-old daughter was in preschool. (We were all together for a weekend in January of 2006, but there was another addition to the family shortly thereafter that some others in the family hadn’t even met!) So, it was a good time. Mostly the cousins all had fun playing together. The youngest, now two and a half, really enjoyed playing on my son’s train table. It was better than just about anything to him, except he did say last night that he wanted to sleep in his own bed.

    Tonight he did get to do just that, because everybody parted ways this afternoon. Who knows when we’ll all be together again? I do hope it’s sooner than three years from now!

    Before they left, though, the cousins all got together for a “grandchildren portrait” that my mother-in-law wanted. All of the kids did great! My DH and I decided that since we were taking our kids to the studio that we would dress up and have our own portrait updated:

    Family Portrait, 2008
    Family Portrait, 2008

    It seems strange to me that my little girl had to bend over so far to be near my head. Where does the time go, that she should be so grown up?

    And me? I see a diet in my future.

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  • Lady Hawk Knitting

    lady hawk hat progressing
    lady hawk hat progressing

    See? I promised a photo of the hat today. At least it looks like a hat by now! I’m hoping to have it done by the end of this weekend, because other projects await! I love a simple hat. I have yarn to make at least one other hat and maybe a scarf too. We’ll see. Hopefully Diana will be wearing this by Christmas.

    Speaking of Christmas, what’s on your list? For me, it’s a Jordana Paige Rio bag in eggplant. I saw it at Stitches East this year in person and I would have bought it on the spot, but the booth was closed that day. But, the color is YUM. My most favorite shade of purple. And I got to hold and see the bag up close, to see how it’s organized and how big it is, and how it closes. Oh my, I am going to love this bag.

    I’d also like to make another version of this hat. It’s a discontinued pattern from Knit Picks, but it turned out to be one of my favorites. The original one that I made is just a hair too big and the weight of the long cap causes it to slide off my head. So I’d like to make another, this time with smaller needles and green and red stripes.

    Winter is here! It’s come really cold and pretty early for us this year. I’m not too sad, though, because it just means more knitting! I’ve found that I feel better when I’ve knit even just a few stitches each day, so I’m really trying to do that. Knitting is comfort food for the dark days of winter.

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  • Book Review: Quick Knits, Cool Projects

    I was recently gifted with the book, Quick Knits: Cool Projects, by Jeanne Stauffer. On the surface, this would seem like a basic knitting book, with tons of boring projects, sort of ho-hum. But, let me tell you, I was very impressed, and I like this book a lot! You can find just about everything in here. There are plenty of hats and scarves to choose from, bags, wraps, baby things, sweaters and other clothing, and afghans. The projects are many and varied, with a nice sampling of skills introduced and skill levels needed. While I can tell on first view that it would appear that the sweater patterns are not terribly intricate, there are enough different styles that there would be something to appeal to just about anyone.

    I especially love that many of the sweater patterns are written with fuller figures in mind. I am eyeing the cabled hoodie pattern and may try to do this one. The pattern calls for Lion Brand Wool-Ease, but I may try Cascade 220 Superwash, or, better yet, dive into my generous stash of Wool of the Andes yarn. We’ll see.

    In other knitting news, I am making good progress on my daughter’s hat. Hopefully I’ll have photos and a detailed update tomorrow. Also I have received the Winter 2008 issue of Interweave Knits. I’ve heard some people say that they are not inspired by the projects in this issue. I am having the opposite reaction. Usually the magazine is full of sweaters, with a few other things mixed in. This time, it’s full of accessory problems, with a few sweaters. Just my cup of tea! I am especially in love with the mitten and hat patterns inside, but my favorite thing, I think, is the Pfeiffer Falls Hooded Scarf, which I think will be in my queue of to-do’s as soon as I am done with this blog post. I’m betting without looking that it’s already a popular design on Ravelry. I guess I’ll go see if I’m right!

    Ok, it’s getting late and I guess I’d better head off to bed. The alarm goes off bloody early around here. See ya!

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  • Oh, the First Snowfall of the Winter….

    DH and I telecommuted today and for a moment this afternoon we looked out and saw this:

    snow clouds hang low and threatening
    snow clouds hang low and threatening
    snow shower
    snow shower

    And then? Just like that, it was gone. It would have been great for knitting!

    Here’s One from the “Now I’ve Seen a Knitting Book for Just About Everything” Department

    I recently received a copy of the book, Knitted Icons: 25 Celebrity Doll Patterns, and let me tell you. Now I think I’ve seen everything. This book features a pattern for a basic knitted doll, and depending on how you accessorize, it can be anything from Madonna to Marilyn Monroe or Abraham Lincoln, or Jimi Hendrix. For some reason, there’s even a Che Guevara doll. If you’re into knitting dolls, or doing knit projects that are a bit off beat or downright amusing, then this is the book for you. Me? I think I need a knitted Audrey Hepburn.

    In other knitting news, if I have any, I’m still working on my giant mitered square, and the hat for my daughter. But I really need to get motivated to finish the brown ripple afghan so I can get that one off my plate. Hopefully, I’ll have an update on that project soon. I’m hoping that mentioning it publicly will motivate me. Wish me luck!

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  • Great Group Today!

    Today was knit group at the Borders in Bowie. And, despite the crappy weather, or perhaps because of it, we had the biggest turnout ever! I think all of the “regulars” were there, plus we welcomed several new folks… including Tammy and Pam. At one point the only partly cloudy skies opened up and delivered a fast and heavy downpour! It was ok, though, because we were treated to a lovely rainbow afterward.

    Knitting is so much fun when you do it among friends, though I do admit that not much knitting was done on my part! The theme of the day was Show and Tell. Several of us brought some of our booty from Stitches, and Jo brought her weaving projects from her recent weaving class. They were amazing! And the yarns passed around were yummy. I wanted to take them all home with me.

    Here’s a gallery of photos from today’s fun. As usual, click on the photo to enlarge it and read more details about each one.

    Ann
    Lola’s Mr. Greenjeans Sweater
    Jo
    Pete
    Dina’s Lady Eleanor Stole
    Closeup of the Lady Eleanor
    Marie
    Pam
    Rhoda was knitting a hat
    Tammy
    Trish

    Today Lola brought her copy of Sweater 101, which is a timeless classic in sweater making. I do think I’m going to have to get one. It is available now as a hard bound book and an e-book, which I think is a FABULOUS idea since the book is chock full of worksheets that one can just print out and add notes and details to it. I think this is going on my Christmas list for sure, as is the Rio bag by Jordana Paige, in eggplant, of course.

    All for now, I think I am about to turn into a pumpkin. Happy knitting!

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