Yup...9 Days

I have been so busy with work that the last 9 days have just slipped by without me being able to post anything. Knitting has slowed down considerably as well due to work. Its been pretty stressful. Though there have been some fun things going on as well. Swimming, yarn playing nights at Deluxe yarns, outings with others...so its not all work...but ALL busy.



Had a weekend when I was able to hang out with my cool friend K, we played yarn, went to see the 5th Harry Potter movie and went out to dinner over a three day period. She lives far out and sometimes it gets a bit difficult to get together. Actually going to see her tonight for a belated bday dinner (her bday). All you can eat crab legs! YUM!


Earlier this week J and I were invited to the lovely Knitty Otter's for a DELICIOUS dinner! For those of you who read her blog you know that she posts original recipies every once in a while ... however...you may not know that she is a GOURMET cook. I have been fortunate enough to sample some of her tasty creations and have not had one thing that I did not like. The other thing is her food always looks pretty. lol...Dinner at her house was no exception. It was a lot of fun to visit with her and her honey. THANK YOU! Got to give their kitty, TKK, rubbies. She is so sweet.



Summer of Socks 2007: River Rapid Socks: I am in the middle of my second sock. These will be a part of my Summer of Socks. I really wanted to make some more socks this summer...thought I would be able too. Summer has gotten away from me. (geez I start my last semester at the University in just a few weeks...but it is my last ....YEAH...diploma will be in hand right around Christmas...YAHOO! There WILL be a party!)


Mystery Stole 3 by Pink Lemon Twist: Slowly but surely working on them. This one has been really slow because I have to really pay attention lol. We are on clue 4 as a group but I have still not knitted past clue 1. Yeah I know.


Summer CAL - KAL : Purse Round up: I picked up the beads I want to put on the one bag I made up myself (that pattern will be written up and shared for whom ever might be interested). I found some fantastic beads made of glass in the shape and colors of fall leaves. Which go with the colors of the bag perfectly. I have 3 other bags that still need to be felted (big purple thing, Lucy bag, Lotrop II bag). I also found a really nice handle (finally!) for the entrelac bag ...just need to pick it up from Deluxe Yarns (whom by the way was over with J and I for dinner the other night. We laughed so much! That always happens for some reason.)


Yarn-In-A-Teacup Swap: I finally got all the things I want to send together and will be wrapping up all the little items on Sunday and mailing them off on Monday to Elan in Canada. :-D

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: OH and how could I forget! I went to the local Border's release for the book last Friday night. By the time I got home with my book it was close to 2 am. So I slept so I could be alert and began reading on Saturday at noon and finished at about 2 pm Sunday. Though I still have questions and like many others thought the Epilogue was kind of sappy...I LOVE IT! JK Rowling, imho, is a creative genius! What a fun book. I need to re-read it again more slowly. I didn't want to accidently come across a spoiler so I stayed off the internet and didn't even check email until I was done. Though my sister called me to see where I was and so did K's hubby (whom I hung up on because he was teasing me too much...brat!). It was fun after I was done to go over the book with my sister and then with K's hubby. K was working on fixing her truck so she didn't get to it until this week. She is now finished and I am looking forward towards dinner tonight and I KNOW we will be going over the whole book! Can't wait!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Movie: Best one out of all the movies. Contained the best acting so for, best depicted action and though they changed HOW some of the story and important information was told it was done in such a way that it added to the story and so that it didn't take away from the story.

Other stuff: One of the OTHER reasons knitting has been a bit slow is because I stopped the above projects to get some secret knitting done. I do not want to say what because I don't want to spoil the surprise. I will be able to share after the 5th though. Also, finished writing and testing a pattern for a crocheted fish shaped wash cloth. Will clean it all up and post it soon (hopefully!).


Yarn: I have recieved some belated bday gifts as well. One from Knitty Otter lady and one from my friend K. BOTH gifted me with SCOUT YARN! Yeah me! I have some Scout yarn. Yippy! I have also purchased some more CherryTree Hill sock yarn. I love that yarn so much!

Books: The night I purchased the last (sniff sniff) Harry Potter book I also picked up "Knit it! Felt it!" Really nice..it has unique pieces in it that can be used as the base for projects that you can make entirely your own. It has patterns in it but it can also be used as book of ideas as a stepping stone to your own ideas.

Work wise: Its been an interesting summer program this year. I have come across some unique situations that I have not had before. As an example this was the first year that as a teacher I HAD to pull out and use "THE LAW" to help out some students. For those who are teachers, counselors or doctors/nurses they know what "THE LAW" is...for the rest here is a brief explanation:

"THE LAW": If a child/student is may cause harm to themselves or others, is being harmed or in jeapordy of being harmed, is involved in drugs, alcohol or criminal activity the property authorities and/or parents/gaurdians must be informed. The professional must take action to ensure the safety of the child/student immediately.

That is it ...simplified and in a nut shell but describes it well enough I think. I have always believed that WHEN it came time for me to pull out and use THE LAW that I would be able to do so with a feeling of knowing that it was for the benefit of my kids. Well intellectually that was the case...and I did what I had to do and what I believed to be the right thing personally but it was emotionally difficult to do and extremely stressful. Which took me by surprise. It was a learning experience to say the least.

School: On the 27th of August I will begin my final year for my license! Woohoo hoo! Its been a long long road. I have had many personal up-hevels that have made the road extremely difficult at times. But I am standing at the end in the light. YEAH! I have to say that the finish will also be well done...without tooting my own horn too loud lol...I will be ending with a flourish...with a high (high!) GPA...a great student teaching opp. lined up (paid at that) and many more grand things that will in the end make the entire trip over the long, windy and bumpy road worth it. Whew! Deep breath.

Ok super long post ...but I guess that is what happens when you don't post for almost 10 days. OOPS.

Yarny Adventure

For some reason I keep forgetting to write up the post about my little trip up to North Star. On June 30th about 12 of us from my area (including my friend K, Monkeysocks, Freddie and Knitty Otter).

We began the day by having a really nice lunch at the River Ranch Lodge, which sits on the Truckee River. And I do mean it sits right on the river. They have an outdoor patio and bbq grill which juts out over the river (just a little). The service was really nice and the food was great! Gourmet hamburgers and fries.

After lunch we went up to The Village at North Star (a popular ski area) and visited "Loopy at Tahoe" yarn shop. The shop used to be located in North Lake Tahoe (under the name "Three Dog Knit") but has recently moved to North Star. The owner (Judy) of the shop was featured last year on an episode of Knitty Gritty with her kids in which Ski patterns were featured. It is a small shop but very nice welcoming atmosphere in a lovely spot. Judy couldn't have been any nicer and didn't hesitate when I asked if I could take her picture for my blog. Thank you Judy! I didn't buy much but what I got I really like. Going to make a felted bag with the yarn. The booklet was a great find, had not seen it before and it has given me some really great ideas. Not only for bags but for some other things. Love when that happens. :-)

After the yarn shop we strolled down the path and found a great bead shop. Nice service and beautiful beads. Though the shop was in a high price area I found the prices to be comparable to other bead shops in less afluent areas. The service was great (which seemed to be the way it was on saturday...every where we went we were treated really well). The shop is called Farrah Rale. Not only do they sell beads but if you are not a jewelry crafter and you find some beads and trinkets you like they will put it together for you right there. I found a really nice large bead that will serve well as a closure for a bag, plus some interesting beads that will make nice stitch markers. Now I need more beads like I need more yarn and more books (my bead stash is 3rd in size only to my book stash and my yarn stash). lol

It was a really nice day with some really nice people. My friend K was able to come as well and she got to meet some of the people I talk to her about. She lives sort of far out town and doesn't get to participate in some of the yarny things because of distance. I love going to my LYS (Deluxe Yarns) and playing yarn there but every once in while its nice to see what else is going on. :-)

Library thing

Have any of you heard of LibraryThing.com? I just learned about it and it seems pretty cool. Meant to add this to the last post but forgot. I will be playing with it this weekend and will post again about it.

Barbara Walker's Books

Has anyone heard of the series of books written by Barbara Walker? There are 4 in the series titled "A Treasury of Knitting Patterns". There is also a KAL for the books (called "The Walker Treasury Project") and from what I am seeing these books are a must have! I would love to have them. I have never seen them in any of the yarn shops nor in the bookstores, but Amazon carries them so I will have to get them from. So I have a few books on my must have list:
1. The Walker books
2. Knitting for Peace
3. More Sensational Knitted Socks
4. Fitted Knits
5. Runway Knits: 30 Fashion Forward Designs
6. I am sure there are some others lol

Ok well time for dream land...sweet dream all.

Book Stash Flash

I saw that someone else had done a knitting book stash flash so I thought I would jump on the bang wagon as well. I was thinking while I looked over my knitting books which one was my favorite and I have to say that I cannot pick just one. LOL...I have a rule about knitting books: I will not buy it if there is only 1 or 2 patterns in the book that I like. As much as I am addicted to books I just do not see the point of buying a book if I cannot see myself making almost all of the patterns in the book. The first picture shows a pile on its side is of patterns I have downloaded and knitting magazines. Do any of you have a favorite knitting book? Something different then what you see in my "stash"? Let me know, I am always interested in new books! LOL

A DUH moment.

I have a great book that I purchased at a local bookstore, off their sale table for 50% off, called "Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns". Now, I know there are a ton of books for both knitting and crochet that are compilation stitch books out there. However, I liked this one because as a beginner (though I can say with everything that I have knit since I learned in July, I am well past beginner stage)...anyway...the book explain the stitches in words and not in graphs. I also have another book "200 Knitted Blocks". Between these two books are there are some really interesting stitches that I would like to try out, plus the myriad of free patterns I have found over the net (more about internet patterns below). I wanted to see what alot of these stitches do without having to test them on my nicer yarn in my stash and I also didn't just want to make a bunch of blocks or swatcheds that would just take up space. Yes I know then I would have physical references, instead of just the pictures in the books (that is besides the point lol). A few weeks back I finished organizing my entire stash (took months, some cursing, and a bit of a mess in the studio/office), when I was done I had huge bags of arylic yarn that was given to me or I purchased ages ago before I knew any better. Seriously some of this acrylic yarn I have had so long that the labels yellowed or from stores that no longer exist (like Woolworth's...east coast 5 and dime). I was going to donate this yarn to the library group in Spanish Springs when it I had a "duh" moment. I want to do charity projects for next year. My LYS is going to collect scarves, hats and gloves for next fall to give out to the homeless in our area. So why not save the acrylic and practice the interesting stitches and make notes about what I learn from them. This way I make something useful, get rid of the acrylic, and learn new things. DUH! lol I can take pictures and save the notes along side the pictures for reference. Sometimes I am just slow, sheesh.

Now about Internet Patterns:
Ok I think almost all crafters by now know that the internet has become an infinite source of free patterns for all crafts. The quality of the patterns is sometimes not all that great but a good majority are. I have amassed a collection of knitting and crochet patterns that is as out of control as my yarn stash. To date I have about 3k+ in knitting patterns alone, never mind crochet. Un-freaking believable. Every time I come across something new I save it, whether I think I will ever make that item or not. So if anyone is looking for a pattern and does not want to search all over for one or wants to know where to find something just send me a message I probably have it stored or can guide you to a good site to find what you are looking for. There is also good ole' Google. Doing a search for "free knitting patterns", or a search for a specific item such as "free sock knitting patterns" will give you a huge list of sites to look at. It is not hard to find a decent pattern. There are great sites abound that have patterns all ready collected and sorted at sites likeKnitting Pattern Central and Knitty (just to name two), but there are a ton of others that very little effort will bring up. If you find a great site with nice patterns please do share it with me because I will add it to my list. I do not want to be come a blog that just lists pattern sites because there are plenty of those out there but I can be resource if you are looking for something and haven't been able to find it. I even have patterns from sites that have long ago disappeared because I began searching for patterns over 10 years ago. Is this another sign that I am well entrenched yarn addict? lol

Projects Galore 5

Orange Warming Set:

This is the set I made for my honey for Christmas. The hat is a modified cable hat pattern from Stitch n' Bitch Nation. I added extra pattern rounds, made the cable brim longer so that it would fold. The book's pattern called for a short ribbing prior to the cabling but it is too short to cover the ears. So I made it longer and then when the hat was done I picked up stitches around the edge and so that it would fold neatly. As for the scarf, I took the cable pattern for the hat and figured it out so that it would be a flat pattern. I love, love, love how it came out. I am really proud of this scarf, it looks like something that would be found in an expensive store. Finaly I made him fingerless gloves. I used Brown Sheep's Lamb's Pride worsted weight in orange. I just love this yarn. It isn't expensive and knits up so nice. The colors are really bright and varied. I wish they made variegated colors. The yarn is perfectly suited to variegation. I have also been told that it felts wonderfully. I am hoping to make something for felting with it.

Speaking of felting I was told also that Patons SWS felts really nicely as well. It comes in really nice colors and has a nice sheen to it. The variegations are done so that there will be a stripping pattern. I am going to buy some soon.

Projects I am currently working on:

1. Shawl (page 20 of Victorian Lace)

2. Socks (in Mag Knits "Jaywalker" pattern with one of Opal's new colorways)

3. Socks (in Modea Sassy Strips, no pattern just my own thing)

4. Afghan (no pattern, just my own thing, using Lion Brand's Homespun and Caron's Simply soft carried together)

5. Butterfly Bag (my own pattern for the bag using a graph for duplicate stitch a friend gave me)

6. Dyeing yarn (did my first try tonight, colors did not come out as deep/bright as I wanted, but it was a first try, skein is hanging in the shower to dry; I used Wilson's food coloring dyes)

New things I want to learn: (some of the links for examples of what I mean are from Knitty Otter, whom is extremely talented and has completed pieces that are excellent examples of the kind of work I want to do as well)

1. Intarsia

2. Cabled type sock pattern

3. Mobius Scarf type project

4. Intricate Lace pattern

5. Faire Isle

6. A sweater

7. Entrelac

8. Making something with sock yarn that isn't a sock. lol

Sigh and school starts back up next Monday. The break went way too fast for me.

"The Knitting Way"

I have lovely friends who know me all to well and know that if they give me yarn, books (or gift certificate to buy books) or art supplies I will be a happy girl! So I was given two lovely gifts of certificates to the bookstore...yesterday I purchased two new knitting books. One was "Scarf Style" which contains patterns for the MOST gorgeous scarves and I can see myself creating more then half of the projects.

The second book I purchased was "The Knitting Way" by Linda Skolnik (founder of Patternworks) & Janice MacDaniels. I was looking actually for "Mindful Knitting" ... I am interested in learning how to connect my internal self with my passions (knitting and art) in a meaningful way to grow as a person. The store didn't have "Mindful Knitting" so I almost put "The Knitting Way" back. I AM SO GLAD THAT I DIDN'T! This book is fantastic.

The writers are knitters, business woman and philosophers. This book is not what I expected. I am only into chapter 2 and it is one of the deepest books I have experienced. Yes there is knitting and patterns but it so much more then that...its difficult to explain. I am already finding myself thinking and examining the ideas and questions that I have read so far while I am knitting. Already I am purposely slowing my knitting down so that I can think about it, feel it and feel myself. Seems like a no brainer but if it was then what wasn't I doing it to begin with. This book is about connectedness, with oneself and others. Even if you knit this book can be used to help someone examine what they are doing as well as how and why.

I will keep reading it and post more about it. I am so amazed t hat it has hit me this way. I am an avid reader (thank you Mom for giving me a love of books) and I haven't come across a book such as this in a long long time. Thank you to the author's, I needed this.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

Project Pictures

Finally, I have pictures to post of my knitting.

This is the cable hat and cuffs (minus the beads) from "Stitch 'n Bitch Nation". I did them in Brown Sheep Wool. First time I have used this yarn it felt really nice in my hands and it has a nice sheen to it. I am making another one like this for a friend for the holidays out of Encore and James wants another one in Brown Sheep Orange Cotton Fleece. This time I am going to do the ribbing a little longer and add and extra pattern round because it fits more like a cap if I follow the pattern exactly and doesn't cover the ears. It gets cold enough here that one wants their ears covered.

So here are the socks I am making for my brother-in-law for Christmas. My second attempt at socks, the first one is done now on two its mate. The notes they are laying on is the pattern that I put together by combing what I liked from about 6 different sock patterns.

This is the first sock. Sock gone bad. I followed the pattern to the letter and I knew I wouldn't like it after I got a little past the ribbing. The pattern said to do the ribbing for 6 rounds only and it looks ...well...wonkey (for lack of a better word). The third pic is of the two that was totally a disaster. I should have just stopped and ripped it all back when I thought the ribbing was off but I couldn't stop myself....I was way too excited about making my first sock...the heel and the gusset came out so great that I kind of just ignored how strange the ribbing looked. LOL oh well...



I have more pics but I will save them for another post.
Time for class.

Projects everywhere!

I was able to add another book to my collection "Magnificent Mittens" by Anna Zilboorg (it was on my wish list). I am working on the beginner's mitten project. This is my first two color knitted project. I thought it would be harder but I am happy to say that it isn't at all. I was hoping to complete at least one mitten of the pair but I am stopped at the thumb because I do not have enough short double points of the size I am using (Latern Moon Ebonies 3 US, Length 4 inches). The pattern calls for creating the thumb on a seperate set of needles in a tube and I currently have 4 of a 5 needle set on the tubular part of the mitten. So I will have to now wait until I can get some more of the same size. Frustrating!

Anyway, I am trying to get myself organized so I decided to make a list of the projects I am working on to see just how many I have going (yikes!).

Current projects:
1. Sock yarn cell phone bags (on going)
2. Mittens (just started)
3. James' afghan (mentioned in the previous blog)
4. Camel bag. (not begun yet)
5. 2 Dolls (not begun yet)

Future projects:
1. Socks: for James and for me (I never make myself anything)
2. Shawl
3. First sweater
4. Something cool and stylish for my beautiful niece!
5. More complicated mittens
6. Something made from all the sock yarn I have that is not a cell phone bag or a sock.
7. Design funky and unique dolls.
8. A "heirloom" type afghan.

There are a ton of other projects that I want to create. I just hope I will live long enough to create them all AND paint the paintings that I want to leave to the world (dramatic huh? lol).

Thoughts and Books

It seems lately that "life" is getting in the way of yarn plaing! I have about 10 projects going and more that I want to do but cannot get to them all. I get withdrawls when I can't play yarn. I wonder sometimes what it is about crocheting and knitting that relaxes my mind. It actually helps me focus and think things out. It honestly helps me with my homework when I'm stuck. Last week I was working on pretty difficult Math Modeling problem/project and was just stuck. I sat for a few minutes and worked on one of my little cell phone bags and I was able to come up with a new approach to the problem. I was able to relax enought to think clearly and remove myself from the problem I was working on. I "stepped back" from it so to speak.

One of the projects that I am working on is an afghan for my guy. I started crocheting him one earlier this summer but when I picked up knitting in July I got bored with crocheting. I ripped it all out and now am knitting one. I am not using a pattern for an afghan but rather various textured square patterns and will put the squares together. My idea is to make as many squares as I can so that I cannot only make an afghan but learn new stitches (like different kinds of cables). I found this great book , "200 Knitted Blocks" by Jan Eaton. The patterns and instructions for each block are easy to follow. Every block has a colored picture that makes it easy to see what you work should look like. At the beginning of the book there are instructions on how to create your own unique geometric looking afghans by using the blocks. One of the things I enjoy doing in my visual art is geometrics so this book is right up my alley!

I have a TON of crochet books and am just beginning my knitting book "stash". I have disciplined myself to purchase only knitting books that have more then just one pattern that I like. Honestly I could go broke getting all the ones that I want.
Here are some of the books that I have purchased that I am really enjoying:

"Big Book of Knitting" by Inc. Sterling Publishing Co.
This books has a TON of patterns. The more I learn and the more my technique improves the more ideas I am getting to create my own original patterns.

"Stitch n Bitch Nation" by Debbie Stoller
This book is really nice and fun! Stoller mixes patterns with stories of various knitting clubs across the country.

"Sensational Knitted Socks" by Charlene Schurch
Just got this book today (thanks honey!). I want to make some socks as gifts and this book looks really great in helping you learn to make all kinds of socks and also helps with creating your own original patterns. It has charts and instructions to help you learn how to make a good fitting sock.

"Yarn Harlot" by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Ok what can I say Ms. Pearl-McPhee is great! This is one of the funniest books I have ever read. I find my addiction to yarn clearly explained. Now when I first read this book I was a tiny bit taken aback by a comment against people who play yarn by crocheting. But that was before I started knitting....and ok ok she has a point. sheesh!

"Knitting Rules" by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Her latest and just as funny and also helpful. I just want to give her a hug because her books give me a smile and I want to thank her for that. Giving someone a reason to smile is a gift. imho.

"At Knit's End: Meditations for Women Who Knit To Much" by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
What I have said above goes for this one as well.

"Folk Bags" by Vicki Square
A few years ago I found this book and gave it to my friend as a Christmas gift. Recently I saw Vicki Square on an episode of Knitty Gritty (on the DIY Network). This is a great book. Another friend made the "Camel Bag" from this book and won a blue ribbon at the state fair last month. Its hanging up in my knit shop and I got everything so that I can make it. I love all the patterns in this book and though I will choose different materials for some I believe I will eventually make them all. I do not really like using purses but for some reason I really enjoy making them.

"Domino Knitting" by Vivian Hoxbro
I have been creating geometric type art since I was kid so this book fits in with my ideas for creating artistic type knitting with geometric patterns. Modular knitting seems to be the way for me to create the things I am imagining. I have been tossing around ideas for creating pieces that hang on a wall.

"Bags a Knitter's Dozen" by Elaine Rowley (editor)
Really fun book and nice patterns

I have three books coming from Amazon:
"Toys to Knit" by Tracy Chapman
I have a "thing" for toys. Do not know why I just do. I have always wanted to make toys but since I do not sew (and do not wish too) I am really looking forward to knitting some.

"Not Just Socks" by Sandi Rosner
When I was crocheting for some reason I really got attached to fingering weight and sport weight yarns and crochet threads. I have become addict to sock yarn. Particularly "Opal Sock Yarn". This book and the next have ideas for making items with sock yarn other then just socks. A lady from my knitting group brought it in and the patterns are just gorgeous.

"Not Just More Socks" by Sandi Rosner

Now obviously I have an entire list of books that I would like to put into my collection:
"Knitted Toys: 21 Easy-to-Knit Patterns for Irresitable Soft Toys" by Fiona McTague
"Knitted Toys: 25 Fresh & Fabulous Designs" by Zoe Mellor
"200 Knitted Ripples" by Jan Eaton
"Mason-Dixon Knitting" by Kay Gardner and AnnMeador Shayne
"Big Girl Knits" by Jillian Moreno and Amy R Singer
"Modular Knits: New Techniques for Modern Knitters" by Iris Schrier
"Folk Hats" by Vicki Square
"The Knitting Way: A Guide to Spiritual Discovery" by Linda T. Skolnik and Janice MacDaniels
"Mindful Knitting: Inviting Contemplative Practice to the Craft" by Tara Jon Manning
"Slip Stitch Knitting: Color Pattern The Easy Way" by Roxanna Bartlett
"Mosaic Knitting" by Barbara G. Walker
"Dazzling Knits: Building Blocks to Creative Knitting" by Patricia Warner
"Vogue Knitting on the Go: Scarves Too" by Trisha Malcolm
"Andean Fok Knits" by Marcia Lewandowski
"Dream Toys" by Claire Garland
"Blankets and Throws to Knit" by Debbie Abrahams
"Folk Mittens" by Marcia Lewandowski
"Latvian Mittens" by Lizbeth Upitis
"Magnificant Mittens" by Anna Zilboorg and Alexis Xenakis
"Free Form Knitting" by Prudence Mapstone
"25 Bags to Knit" by Emma King
"Vogue Knitting Socks" by Trisha Malcolm

Well its now time for the Late Show.
bye for now
Vikkie

books and patterns

I am trying to setup a list of all the knitting, crochet, art and bead books I own so that I can share them with others. I have also collected a HUGE...and I do mean HUGE collection of free patterns from online. I would like to be able to share these links in some orderly fashion so shall see. If anyone has patterns to share, links to free patterns, or good books that fit into my themes let me know.

I actually do have thousands of patterns. Half of them I want to make myself and this is why I will have to live to be over 150 years old. :-)