Kelley Petkun's Blog – December 2009 Archive (10)

Ripping update

I left for dinner last night carrying my purse stuffed with my mis-knit scarf and new yarn. My plan was to do the heartbreaking ripping while in the company of loving family members and then get started again right away.

And, I am very happy!! I am knitting with one strand of new (fresh) yarn and one strand of ripped (used) yarn. The difference in the fabric is just like Erica's scarf in our office! Much, much, much better!! Today I am going to enjoy reading The Help by and knitting.… Continue

Added by Kelley Petkun on December 31, 2009 at 12:05pm — 5 Comments

MUST READ PATTERN!!!

Erica Jackofsky is one of the extremely talented designers participating in our… Continue

Added by Kelley Petkun on December 30, 2009 at 5:35am — 10 Comments

Sock Knitting Community Embarassment -- But, I redeemed myself!

Ok, yesterday was a crazy day!! I was running behind schedule and grabbed the first pair of socks that I touched in the sock drawer. And, look what I had to deal with all day!

Store bought socks!! Yes, I have, what? - eight pairs of lovely hand-knit socks in that same drawer!! What was I thinking! No more sock selection before coffee!

This morning I redeemed myself for this blow to the sock knitting community. I love… Continue

Added by Kelley Petkun on December 17, 2009 at 7:40am — 10 Comments

Seeking comfort

We are heading into the third week of renovation chaos in the office. Thankfully my office space is shaping up nicely and I've been able to be productive all day! What a nice change!

The problem is that Xena is not at all comfortable with boxes in hallways, strange men walking around pushing big, heavy carts and people in new spaces! When she does find someone in a "normal" space, she demands attention. Kate offered some love and comfort.…

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Added by Kelley Petkun on December 14, 2009 at 4:42pm — 13 Comments

DPN or Two Circulars or Magic Loop?

As modern knitters we are blessed with a potentially mind-boggling array of new methods for knitting.

For centuries knitters used Double Pointed Needles (DPNs) for knitting small circumference items like sleeves, sweater necks, mittens, etc. But, with the advent of circular needles, knitting with two circular needles became another method.

When Socks Soar on Circular Needles came out,… Continue

Added by Kelley Petkun on December 13, 2009 at 7:07am — 17 Comments

My drop spindle arrived!

Actually it arrived on Monday but our office renovation has left me so exhausted at the end of the day that I couldn't do anything other than read and rest every evening. This morning I not only woke up ready to bond with my new little friend but I was determined to learn how to "Navajo Ply on the Fly"! More about that later.

Let's start with the comfortable feeling that came back amazingly quickly! Remember that my "crushed" spindle was a Golding Aromatherapy Spindle. I loved it but… Continue

Added by Kelley Petkun on December 10, 2009 at 3:45pm — 11 Comments

After 12 years, it's time for new paint and carpeting!

We are painting and re-carpeting one entire floor of our building. One section each weekend spread over a month. On top of that, we are moving departments around as well. That means that nothing will settle back down until the middle of January. What chaos!…

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Added by Kelley Petkun on December 9, 2009 at 4:08pm — 7 Comments

Remember Mary's book signing?

Here are a few shots from her book.

Clearly Mary loves working with color!

My mother raised me to be kind and not laugh at other people's difficulties. Most of the time I manage to remember those lessons. But, when a blogger puts it out there then I consider it open season for a stomach aching round of laughter. I read… Continue

Added by Kelley Petkun on December 6, 2009 at 11:19am — 3 Comments

Always something new to learn!

I have been impatiently waiting for Abby's book to come out and it is a treasure!!

The life changing lesson I learned from Respect the Spindle is that spindling is even more portable than a small knitting project! I had often heard spindlers say that they, "spindle every day rather than spinning at a wheel once a month". It seemed to make sense… Continue

Added by Kelley Petkun on December 3, 2009 at 11:31am — 14 Comments

Absolutely crushed! Or, No Good Deed Goes Unpunished!

We are in Mexico with my sister and her husband. Sissy, Michael and Bob play golf. I prefer to sit in the cart and enjoy the day. Sissy and I had already decided that she was only going to play nine holes and then we were going to head back to the pool.

Well, Sissy totally muffed a shot on the 7th hole. For those of you who are not familiar with golf, that means she hit the ball so badly that it sort of hoped all of about twenty feet! I decided that I would be helpful and drive the… Continue

Added by Kelley Petkun on December 2, 2009 at 6:07am — 7 Comments