Our Beautiful Boy

Rest in Peace

Jeremiah Peter Summers

a.k.a. Jake

6/21/91 - 9/2/07

Fish and Knit

In the Spring I went to a Stitch and Pitch at Dodger stadium. Now as Summer draws to an end I can show you another unlikely place you would find someone knitting. Here is the the Catfish I caught having to drop my needles to reel it in.

The first one got away as I didn't get to the pole fast enough, but the second time I was ready. Knitting tossed into the bag at the same time as I grabbed my pole.

As unladylike as it is, yes that is my fishing pole between my legs. Just sitting and waiting and waiting and sitting gave me time to get a few rows done. I was working on another round washcloth. The day before I was able to listen to "At Knit's End: Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much" by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee aka Yarn Harlot on my ipod. I had downloaded it from Audible before we left. Funny book that kept me giggling and my DH wondering.

Yikes, Stripes!

Cloth Patterns:
Ballband Cloth
Simple Basketweave
This is very cool yarn. I love the colors. Reminds me of a trip I took to Cancun. The color is called Country. but to me it will be Cancun. I want to try a bag with this yarn. It is beautiful.

I added a couple of photos of other cloths I have knitted. The rainbow cloth is The "Infamous" Darrell Waltrip Cloth. Click HERE for the pattern
The round cloth is a Rhonda White purchased pattern.

This is the Drop Stitch Schrug (Shrug). It's a Daily Knitter free pattern. It looks so cool and once I got a handle on the pattern it is working up fairly quickly. I am on row 52. I was originally working off of sticky notes for each of the six rows. When there are multiple rows in a pattern I like to divide them with the row numbers to be stitched. If I write it down, it helps me learn the pattern. There are 6 rows to this pattern and each one has many rows to work. It got too complicated so I made the chart below. The colors keeps my eye on row I am working on and the right side has the row numbers that I mark off when I am finished. I also made the rows that I need to increase red numbers. Increases need to be made every 8 rows and when I have made shrugs before, I have forgotten or accidentally increased too many times. I think I can now leave my work and return and know where I need to start. A little crazy, I know, but it is helping!

More, More, More

Adding more to my scarf. I am addicted to working on this scarf. Just enough yarn not to get bored and enough yarn to want to knit with the next color! Silk, nylon, pima cotton, cashmere, linen. Beautiful and fun yarns to work with. Click here to see all of it.

New project with YOTM club stash

This is the scarf pattern that I started from "One-Skein Wonders" edited by Judith Durant. It is published by Storey publishers and there are mistakes in the books. Here is a link to the errata pages. Look for the PDF file at the bottom of the page. This book has lots of great patterns, but there are several errors. One was this pattern which the book says CO 20 and it's supposed to be 40.
I have done another project with my YOTM club yarn. Click here to see it.

This scarf was done with cotton, wool, bamboo, and acrylic; from Karabella, Be Sweet, Hand Jive, Feza, and Natures Palette along with others. Some are blends, and some 100%. I have been collecting this yarn for a while. Every month 4 samples of different yarn arrive along with a pattern and this has been a good way to use up my collection. The pattern is easy and it is fun to try out new yarns without buying a full skein.

What is Mercerized Cotton?

I bought this yarn from Elann and I didn't know what Mercerized cotton was. I understand now and thought I would share the information.

Mercerized cotton

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mercerization is a treatment for cotton fabric and thread mostly employed to give cotton a lustrous appearance. The series of processes was devised by John Mercer of Great Harword, Lancashire, in the middle of the 19th century, but didn't become popular until improvements were made to the process in 1890.

Mercerized cotton, also known as pearl or pearle cotton, is cotton thread (or cotton-covered thread with a polyester core) that has been treated with sodium hydroxide (NaOH). The thread is given a caustic soda bath that is then neutralized with an acid bath. This treatment increases luster, strength, affinity to dye, resistance to mildew, and also reduces lint. Cotton with long staple fiber lengths responds best to mercerization.

Knitting while reading.

That is exactly what I was doing. Since I didn't have to read the pattern to to 10" of stockinette stitch I was able to get through a chapter or two of the new HP Deathly Hallows book. I finally finished my 10" and then put everything else aside and finished reading.
Did I like the book? Yes
Did it answer all my questions? More or less. It did about Petunia.
Were there any surprises? Some of my theories were right, some were not and some I had just not even thought of.
My favorite character in the book: Hermione Granger since she is a strong, smart, thoughtful, perceptive, woman who can also knit socks.
My feeling of the epilogue: I would have preferred to find out where they were working. Did Harry become an Auror? Was there a need for Auror's in the future wizarding world? In my mind Hermione would be part of the Wizengamot. What about Ron & Ginny?
What do you think? Leave a comment.
This is what I was knitting. A purse, based on a Bernat Crochet pattern. Here's the link
All I need to do is finish the handle, the closure and line it.

Discount Yarn Sale MYSTERY BAG

Caron Simply Soft $1.21*
Lion Brand Jiffy $1.81
Knit One Crochet Two Italian Ice $6.75
Plymouth Yarn Sinsation $11.00
Plymouth Yarn Salsa $13.00*
Sidar Snowflake $8.00*
Fizz $8.00*
Brown Sheep Top of the Wool $7.00*
Lincatex Gold Rush $5.99
Total $62.76
*Price tag on yarn
Was my Mystery bag worth it? It all depends on what I make with it. Some of the yarn I could have done without. The LB Jiffy and the Caron Simply Soft I could have bought at Michaels. The Fizz, I have no idea how I will use. The Gold Rush I think I will use to make Christmas ornaments. The Salsa and the Sinsations; maybe a scarf or a small handbag. I will have to decide. $25.00 for just over $60 worth of yarn (some retail prices some discount prices), I'm not sure I will do it again. I am always up for a try and this was an ok try.

Score!!!

I have seen this pattern at Michael's for some time. Every time I looked at it I saw the number of skeins it took and knew that I would never be able to make it. I like to purchase all the skeins when I buy the pattern. I learned this lesson when I went back to buy the skeins I didn't buy and couldn't find it (pre-online shopping). This yarn retails at Jo Ann's for $8.95. I bought 14 skeins and the retail price would have been $125.30 just for the yarn (there is an online sale 14 @$7.95=$111.30). I got this yarn at my local Jo Ann's for the incredible price of $2.97 a skein totaling $41.58 The pattern was an additional $2.99. Woo Hoo!!!

Radical Lace & Subversive Knitting

I got a chance to see this while I was in New York. I only wish I could have taken photos of the beautiful work I saw. I also wish I had taken notes of my thoughts. My favorites were the money dress that was knitted with dollar bills that were cut into 1/8th inch strips, the skull doily along with the lace sheet that was hand cut with an exacto knife. Those are only the pieces I could think of off the top of my head. It was a great exhibit! It only runs until June 17, 2007 and I am so glad I got to see it. Check out THIS WEBSITE to see the miniatures that I saw along with others by the wonderful artist Althea Merback. There is a good article on this exhibit here.

The first photo I took myself, the others were borrowed from the HERE.

Stitch and Pitch - LA Dodgers v. Mil Brewers

What a fun night. Baseball and knitting; well actually I was crocheting, Monica was knitting and Sue was Tunisian crocheting. Mat and Joe were just watching the game and we were all have a great time. There were so many stitchers I couldn't believe it. 3 sections of people doing their craft. What a great event. I can't wait to go next year.

Knitting Survey

This is a knitting survey that I found on Yellow House Treasures by way of Kinky Coils n’ String
I alphabetized this list so I can bold the new things I have learned or done.

The bolded things on the list are things I have done or are WIPs
Afghan
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Baby items
Bobbles
Buttonholes
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Cardigan
Charity knitting
Continental knitting
Cuffs/fingerless mits/arm-warmers
Darning
Designing knitted garments
Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
Drop stitch patterns
Dying with plant colors
Dying yarn
Entrelac
Fair Isle knitting
Free-form knitting
Fulling/felting
Garter stitch
Gloves
Graffiti knitting
Hair accessories
Hat
Holiday related knitting
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies…)
I-cord
Intarsia
Jewelry
Kitchener stitch
Knitted flowers
Knitting a gift
Knitting a pattern from an on-line knitting magazine
Knitting and purling backwards
Knitting art
Knitting for a living
Knitting for pets
Knitting for preemies
Knitting in public
Knitting items for a wedding
Knitting on a loom
Knitting smocking
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on one or two circulars
Knitting to make money
Knitting two socks on two circulars simultaneously
Knitting with alpaca
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Knitting with beads
Knitting with camel yarn
Knitting with cashmere
Knitting with circular needles
Knitting with cotton
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Knitting with dpns
Knitting with linen
Knitting with metal wire
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Knitting with self patterning/self striping/variegated yarn
Knitting with silk
Knitting with someone else’s hand-spun yarn
Knitting with soy yarn
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Knitting with wool
Knitting with your own hand-spun yarn
Lace patterns
Long Tail CO
Machine knitting
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Moebius band knitting
Norwegian knitting
Participate in an exchange
Participating in a KAL
Pillows
Publishing a knitting book - oh wouldn’t that be amazing!
Purses/bags
Rug
Scarf
Shawl
Short rows
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Slip stitch patterns
Slippers
Socks: toe-up
Socks: top-down
Steeks
Stockinette stitch
Stuffed toys
Swatching
Sweater
Teaching a child to knit
Teaching a male how to knit
Textured knitting
Thrummed knitting
Toy/doll clothing
Tubular CO
Twisted stitch patterns
Two end knitting
Writing a pattern

Stitch Markers

I joined a swapping group and the first swap for me is stitch markers. I have made 3 sets. The photo is not that great and I need to choose which ones I want to send. I like them all. The blue set are on a jump ring and a earring attached. The kind you used for pierced ears. For crocheting I find these work the best. Just a jump ring works for knitting since you slip them on the needle, but when crocheting yu need to attach it to your work. I used to use the split rings that Lion brand made, but these are so much prettier!

My Sweetheart Bag is finished!

I love this bag! The pattern link is in my 2/14/07 post.

My Second Bear

Isn't she cute. I had bought some yarn from JoAnn's that I found in their sale bin. This pink and some yellow. I will use them on the bears since this one came out so cute. They are so cute and knit up pretty fast. I am getting a lot of practice in finishing!

A Good Cause

Click on the bear above to go to the © Mother Bear Project, 2007 website.

My First Bear

This pattern is very easy to knit. It was fun making this bear and I am working

on a girl bear with a skirt. I watched the HBO series "Pandemic: Uganda" directed

by Rory Kennedy and my heart just broke for those children who are orphaned due

to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. I remembered this project and decided to try to do my part

to help.

Cute Blanket Buddy

This blanket buddy was so fun to make. I used the recommended yarn (2 balls of Velvetspun) and knit it with size 10 and 8 needles. The pattern can be found here. I also have pink and blue Velvetpun and I'm half way through the pink one.

Year of the Pig

This is my year. I was born in 1959 and my Chinese Astrological sign is the Pig/Boar. I liked what this description of my sign said: "People born in the Year of the Boar are honest and tolerant and make good friends, but tend to expect the same from everyone else, and more often than not they end up disappointed. They thrive in the arts as entertainers.:

The pieces are felted

I am just waiting for them to dry. I will then need to sew them. I am thinking of braiding a handle instead of using the one from the pattern. To make it, I cast on 200 and bound them off. If I cut that in half I will only need to cast on 100 and bind them and felt it. I have the buttons and the off white wool to embroider with. It came out bigger than I thought it would. Ooh wet wool smells so good!

What is this going to be?

From the looks of it you really can't tell. the yarn over is the increase up to a certain row. Check out this pattern that is so cute! This is just the front, I still have a lot to do.

I was thinking of the sites that I like to go to when I get stuck on a pattern. I haven't been knitting too long so when I have learned a skill, I sometimes forget it if I haven't done it in a while. I also run into a pattern that has no explanation of a technique. Before I found all these knitting resources, I would just give up. I do much better with a video or in a class than I do with drawings or even with step by step instructions that I must read. I am a visual learner and these are the two sites that I have found that have helped me the most.
Knitting Help.com
Annie's Attic

Great sites and I recommend both!

Best site to look at knitting books

I started looking at the books on the KnitPicks site and it is great! They show samples of some of the projects in the book. Not all of the projects, but enough to see if you might be interested in buying the book. So often I sit at Borders and go through books to decide if there are enough patterns in a book to justify the price.

I got a chance to see 12 out of the 25 toys in Knitted Toys by Zoe Mellor. Their price is also 32% of the retail price though you do pay for shipping, less than Amazon and about the same as Overstock.com (where I usually get my knitting books when they have $1 shipping). Just like my yarn, I have so many patterns, I wonder if I will ever knit them all!

I made my own circular needle holder

I've seen them on the web and in magazines at the price of $20+. I did a Google search and found Grumperina's site on the topic. I really like what she did with the table runner, the napkin and the page protectors. Necessity is the mother of invention and the idea came to me to use fabric I already had! I am a true collector; of yarn, beads, fabric, all sorts of craft things. I had this denim fabric that I had bought years ago for something...I can't even remember what. I put it together pretty easily and since I have a set of Denise Interchangeable Needles I just wanted to make sure I had enough slots to hold the other circulars I have collected along the away. I also looked at this site from a link on Grumperina's site and it helped me design what I now can hang in my closet. I added button holes and buttons on the top just in case the hanger breaks. Better to be safe than sorry.

Felting Mistake!!

This is my effort to clean up my WIP's. With the completion of my new room, that is my goal.

Lesson learned: Felt a swatch before knitting something you are going to felt. I started these slippers before Christmas. I ran out of yarn and didn't get around to finishing them until this week. I thought the gray yarn was 100% wool. NOT! Good thing they are for me and not a gift. They are still drying

Superbowl Knitting day!

I am in the process of finishing the Illusion skull scarf. This is what I have so far.

This pattern can be found here.

I finally finished my Large socks January 6, 07 post.

Things I want to finish/Things I want to make

To Finish:

• Fisherman's shrug
  
  
• Karina's sweater
• Log Cabin afghan
• Illusion skull scarf

To Make:

• Socks for mom
• Heart scarf
• Cable poncho
• Dragon scarf
• Jake's fingerless gloves
  
  
  
  

Sweater Parts

I started knitting this sweater over six months ago. I got the pattern from the Spring 2006 Knit It! magazine. The pattern is called Fisherman's Shrug and was on the cover. I have all the parts done and now I just have to sew them together and finish the ribbing around he front. Here is what I have so far.

I finished the Pretty Poncho last night. I didn't knit the hood onto it. I just knitted the ribbing around the neck. I still could do it later by picking up stitches and knitting it on. Right now I am just happy with it.

Working on a poncho

I have 8 skeins of Lion Brand "Jiffy" in El Paso. I decided to make the Pretty Poncho from the Lion Brand site. It calls for Homespun yarn and the gauge is just a little off, so I am adjusting. This is what I have so far.

This is the table. It is a little cluttered right now. I can easily move things to make it a cutting table for sewing and it's more than big enough for my sewing machine. Right now I'm using it for my laptop.

The Ikea bookshelf filled with most of my yarn. Yes I do have more. I am so happy that I can finally find it all. When I was arranging the yarn by color I realized how I had purchased what I already had. Everything was in seperate boxes and scattered throughout the house and garage cupboards..
This great chair is a rocker. It is very comfortable and fits great in the room. The TV will eventually be mounted on the wall.

Finally, the Ikea couch. Nice, small, maybe too light, but the cushions can be easily covered. On the back of the chair is a sweater that needs to be put together and finished.

I love my room. I still want to clean out the closet of the old clothes and clutter that has gathered in there since the boys moved out. Always something to do!

I Finally Got My Room!

I have been dreaming of this room for quite some time. My boys are growing up so fast and one is already out of the house. I took over the front room, asked for it to be painted as a Christmas gift and then headed over to IKEA. I am thrilled.

Photos to come!

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What Kind of Knitter Are You?

You appear to be a Knitting Adventurer. You are through those knitting growing pains and feeling more adventurous. You can follow a standard pattern if it's not too complicated and know where to go to get help. Maybe you've started to experiment with different fibers and you might be eyeing a book with a cool technique you've never tried. Perhaps you prefer to stick to other people's patterns but you are trying to challenge yourself more. Regardless of your preference, you are continually trying to grow as a knitter, and as well you should since your non-knitting friends are probably dropping some serious hints, these days.http://marniemaclean.com Take this quiz! Quizilla | Join | Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

This is my attempt at a Log Cabin afghan from the Mason Dixon Knitting book by Kay Gardiner Ann Meador. I have learned a lot from knitting this afghan. Picking up stitches for one. I thought it was difficult and if you were to look at the middle of this piece you would know what I was talking about. I tried to use a crochet hook like a knitting needle and move the stitches onto my knitting needle...WRONG. I then tried to knit them on, which was probably a correct way of doing it, but it was an unsuccessful attempt since I wasn't quite sure of what I was doing. I then FINALLY figured it out and my stitches are going on like a dream, though as you get further along with this afghan the number of stitches you add increase by 9 for each color. This has been a most excellent way to get rid of my acrylic stash which was getting out of control. It will be used in the t.v. room or for car trips. Just an extra blanket to keep us warm.

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I decided to use some of my stash sock yarn so I pulled out my Lion Brand Magic Stripes and started on the Rockin' Ribbed pattern in Knit Socks! by Betsy Lee McCarthy. I got carried away after I turned the heel and and knitted the gusset. The length is way too long for me. I hope they fit my niece. I love the colors in this yarn. I have always used stripes or patterned yarn and now I finally have some solid from my previous post so I have to find the right pattern.

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Funny that I happened to go into my LYS to exchange a Christmas gift from my mom, only to find out that the shop will probably be closing by the end of the month. I had received a call from the owner before Christmas and got too busy to return it promptly. Apparently she thought I would be interested in buying it from her. My conclusion; I am a worker bee not a manager bee and owner is definitely not something I am interested in. It is a great little shop, close, and friendly, but as far a business-woman, I don't think so. I will be sad to see it go so I made sure I spent the gift certificate that went along with the needles and yarn I got as a gift. The photo is a little fuzzy, but the Christmas gift yarn was two skeins of Plymouth Royal Bamboo, probably enough for a scarf and my gift certificate purchase was some GGH Merino Soft in this blue (2 skeins) and 2 skeins in green. Enough for 2 pair of socks. Mom has requested a pair so she will probably get the blue.

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A whole month of not posting.

It is January 3rd and yes I have been knitting. First of all, the reason I have not posted...My crazy computer could not get online. I got a new MacBook for Christmas and will soon be posting again.

I have made a few things. Booties for baby Karina along with a crocheted dress which was her Christmas gift. I should be getting a picture of her soon in that beautiful dress.

I am also working on the Mason Dixon Log Cabin with all of my acrylic stash. I have so much that I can probably make several afghans. It is a great way to decrease the ever growing stash and it is so easy it makes for great t.v. watching knitting.

Photos to follow, boys used up my camera batteries and must replenish.