All Blog Posts (4,273)

Yesterday I was in my LYS and was being asked by someone that I taught how to knit why the pictures in the book look so different than how I showed her how to knit/purl.  I told her that there are many different ways to do it and that my philosophy was that you do what works for you, you stay consistent and it will usually work.  When I purl I wrap the yarn clockwise around the needle instead of counterclockwise.  The lady at the store almost lost it and I was treated to a 10 minute rant…

Our daffodils bloomed just in time for Mother's Day!

Currently I am struggling with project management.  I have work projects, knitting projects and then the house/garden projects.  Luckily the work projects can usually be limited to working hours.  7 to 5 Monday through Friday and a weekend here and there.  Knitting is for when the hubby drives and when I am otherwise not busy working on the house/garden projects/those weeks when it is my turn to drive.  Right now there are a lot of these projects and they all are vying for my attention.…

Common Threads met at Georgette's this week, and we had some varied projects. Margareth had finished this woven wrap:

I've been spinning some Knit Picks Full Circle Spinning Roving in various colors. Currently, I have "Pigeon" on the wheel. Here are all the colors together:

In the end I brought the materials for the Great and Powerful Oz socks with me and a ball of dish cotton and needles.  On the way out, I ended up stuck while AA computers were down.  I was too antsy to really knit.  Once I was on my about all I could handle was a wash cloth.  I was able to prop my book (At Home by Bill Bryson), read and knit at the same time.  I ended up only knitting on the planes.  I did get a chance to start the socks once I was home.  I believe this I am using the…

Did you miss me?  Ok so most of you have no clue who I am but I used to be super active on this community.  Then I got pregnant with my daughter (who is now 4) and ended up with morning sickness so bad I couldn't knit.  It was horrible.  Since then I have had two more babies and am just now getting back into knitting in a huge way.  Not that I ever stopped but I'm starting to listen to podcasts, read forums, ect. again.  I'm also working on starting a yarn business called The Jumping Sheep. …

One of my KP friends, Knit4Many recently did a blog post about her challenge after an injury to her hand... and how she coped (or didn't) with not being able to knit.  So, I have been inspired to do this blog about my little adventure into foot surgery. I've had these foot problems for years (genetic), and they have become really painful, so when the doctor said he could fix it... I said "When?"

Prior to surgery, I tried to do some things to help myself... getting in foods that…

Common Threads met on Thursday. Brenda has two new grandchildren coming. This quilt is for the boy:

 Topsy-Turvy Inside-Out Knit Toys Magical Two-in-One Reversible Projects by  Susan B. Anderson

Such a cute and useful idea. This book gives you the details and instructions on how to make a stuffed animal with a surprise.

My favorite is the egg that turns into a penguin.

Easy to understand…

I finished a second scarf of moonlight mohair and season 3 of Downton Abbey.  I will have to block the scarf and see if it will make the trip north with me in a few days.  It would probably be wiser to bring one of my bigger scarves considering the temperature. I should probably at least block the scarf.  My DD was comparing the two scarves.  I would not be surprised to find her sashaying about the house wearing the scarf tomorrow morning.  She had commented it was itchy, but I am not sure…

Here's a new yarn for you: plastic bags!

(My thanks to Angelkarhu, aka Angel Bear in the Knitting Community, for coming up with this suggestion. Her grandmother made something like this for use in the sauna.) I found the cutting instructions …

Hey Sock Knitters

I was in Barnes and nobles book store just browsing and drinking coffee.

I picked up this magazine called "Knitting Traditions" from piecework and I flipped through and there is a whole section on the history of socks.  Can you say "yeah"  anyway, I didn't know…

I have managed to knit down 4 to 5 balls of yarn here and there in the great stash reducing project.  I have been opting for things that require no or little brain power to work on.  I have cranked out a few scarves and several wash cloths.  My DD took possession of a crazy hat I was knitting of remnants before I could sew up the top.  She likes to wear it as a cowl or up over her face as she runs around the house.  Lately, I have been using left over cotton to knit the dragon fly portion of…

Hey sock knitters

Well, I am off to the races!!!!

My 2nd baby is being knitted from the book "Socktopus" by Alice Yu.

The name of the socks are called "Shur'tugal"…

Happy Easter !!!!!!

Well, I am done!

I am warmed up and ready to go these socks were kind of easy to knit.

I hope that you enjoy them.  Right now I have a house full of people eating Easter…

I had read a lot about how to do natural dyeing using black beans... I thought it was a nice thing to have a dye bath, PLUS a pot of black bean soup to show for my efforts... 

I used 16 oz. of black beans to 4 oz. of fiber (Polwarth BTW)

I soaked the black beans for 24 hours in plenty of water... at a ratio of 5:1... 5 cups of water for each cup of beans.

I also put my fiber in a mordant of nearly boiling water, with 2 Tbsp Alum and 1 Tbsp of Cream of Tartar. I had read…