HAPPY 25TH BIRTHDAY TO MY BABY GIRL!!

I can't believe that this lovely little beauty is 25 tomorrow! She still has the same twinkle in her eye and can light a room with a smile. She has become the most wonderful young woman and we are oh so proud. Where has the time gone? Keep it up darling Lyndsay - the sky is the limit for you!

SAMPLER AFGHAN

My new year's resolution holds with no new yarn purchases. I dug this project out of my UFOs and got interested in it again - I had totally forgotten about this sampler afghan that I had started last fall.
12" x12" squares knitted on size 8 needles make for a quick knit and it is so much fun to try all of the different stitches.
This one is "Quilted Lattice"




The camera didn't pick up the true colors of the yarn - it is a camel color in Encore worsted weight.
I figured it would be easy to wash and care for.



Little Shells








Moss Stitch




Yarn Over Cable




5 squares long and 4 squares wide - Should make for some great snuggling on a cold winter's night.



The 5th square is on the needles - I will update every 4 squares!

SOOOO MUCH FUN TO KNIT!!!!!

Too much fun!! Dale of Norway NR 101 Snowman sweater. Knit on size 4 and 6 needles with fair isle and cables made a very fast and interesting knit! I used Encore worsted yarn - due to the fact that this sweater is a 2T and goodness only knows what grandbabies will spill on it!

FAIR ISLE AND FELTING - LIFE DON'T GET NO BETTER THAN THAT

Nicky Epstein's Tote Sweet from Vogue Knitting - Holiday 2006 issue! What a great knit! I love fair isle and felting but never thought to put the two together. This bag turned out great and I made it for my nursing paraphenalia when I get to go back to work. A hopeful project as I still am not any where near ready to return to the ICU but the doc promised to have me back to work by June 1. So here is a ray of a dream, some planning, and a prayer that I may be able to return to my beloved job. It will be so great to pull my stethoscope out of this bag!



Close up of fair isle after felting. One of my New Years Resolutions is to knit my stash down - So I used the colors of Lambs Pride that I already had!










Prefelted - This bag was huge!






I am keeping my other New Year's resolution - I am knitting socks from the stash only - No yarn acquisitions for the new year yet!

DARN IT OR NOT?

I have knit a LOT of socks and never had a problem. This Christmas, I decided to knit a pair of socks for hubby and for darling son. I had a hard time finding a masculine self-striping yarn in a thicker sized yarn. I was looking for masculine, comfy, and warm.
I thought that I had found the answer with this Moda-Dea Sassy Stripes yarn made by Coats. I have used this yarn before and never had any problems ------until now! GRRRRRRRRRR!!
Within a week after Christmas - both loved ones presented me with socks that had gaping holes in them. I don't knit through the knots. I used the correct gauge and needle size. I hand washed and air dried them. I lovingly put my whole heart and soul into making these socks perfect!!!! AGGGHHHHHHHH!!!
The boys feel terrible and I simply don't know what to do - the yarn is definitely not going to hold up and the holes are huge! Not just one sock has a hole in it but both pairs - all 4 socks- have these same holes! What to do - Guess I will toss these and start new ones but Coats yarn has lost a customer forever!! Be forewarned

My pile of handmade socks that all have holes in them after being worn only 2 times each!

NEW YEARS RESOLUTION...

I am terrible at keeping New Years Resolutions. I always make them an unacheivable goal that never lasts for more than a few days but this year I think that I might actually keep my resolution! I will knit all of my sock yarn!
I find sock yarn irresistable - You know, you head into the yarn store to get a few skeins of yarn to make a specific project and then.......... the stacks of sock yarn beckon you. They call to you with all of their gorgeous colors and self striping promises. What the heck - I can afford to buy one or two more skeins of yarn and they are only for a pair of socks! I throw the sock yarn into my basket and take them home where they sit in my knitting basket until my next purchase of sock yarn. Then these lovely skeins get moved to the HUGE plastic bucket upstairs in my craft room rarely to be seen again.
But not this year! I will revisit that plastic bucket everytime I finish a pair of socks until the sock bin is empty! I think this resolution might last a couple of months before I give out to the latest and greatest sock yarn sale! HEEHEE

YOU KNIT WHAT?

It has been a busy season for our family including an emergent gall bladder surgery for our darling son-in-law. He has never had a trip to the emergency room or surgery before and understandably, was a bit nervous about the whole ordeal. Darling daughter decided to quell some of his nervousness with this knitted gall bladder! The nurses and doctors (not to mention the entire family) got a real hoot out of this one. Doug had it on the gurney with him all the way to the operating room. He has recuperated well and is back to his old self again with this hysterical reminder floating around their apartment! Job well done Lyndsay!


Another adorable knit by Lyndsay!! NORBERTA

CHRISTMAS KNITTING REVEALED....

Dale of Norway!!!! Yahoo - I thought that I would never finish the beading on this gorgeous hat and scarf. Felted using Heilo yarn and size 5 needles. I just had to make this for darling daughter for Christmas.



The finished scarf and a closeup of the beading. I only bought about 14,000 beads to make sure that they were absolutely right for the project.



















"They call them pirates" scarf for darling son. My daughter made him the hat - so I thought a scarf would be a perfect match for him. Do you see the problem with this? It is the same color combo as the felted duo for darling daughter - It will be a long time before I use a black/charcoal color to knit anything again!! Heilo yarn on size 5 needles - I made my own pattern from the hat design!









Dale of Norway - Hat for hubby! Hope everyone likes their Christmas knitted gifts!

FLYING OFF THE NEEDLES......

I just love my new Mason-Dixon Knitting book. These gals really have some great ideas and make it fun to knit with lots of tips and stories to go along with great patterns. These are 3 of the Ballband Dishcloths that I have made from the book!







I used size 8 needles with 2 balls of Peaches and Creme cotton! One variegated skein and one solid color make the slip stitch pattern just jump right out at you!




These need to be washed, blocked, and wrapped for a great Christmas gift for someone really special to me!



They are so fun - you might almost want to wash the dishes! (NOT!!)

SOCKS AND A HAT....

It is such a busy time of year but knitting will not take a back seat this year. I am furiously trying to finish up several very complicated Christmas knits. But here are 2 that I can post - the folks who will be receiving these knitted goodies don't even own a computer -Can you imagine that? Above is a Dale of Norway fair isle hat - Dalegarn NR 130. Made from Heilo yarn on size 3 needles, this is the hardest fair isle yet!


Another pair of Thuja socks done!! This Knitty pattern is just wonderful and is one of my favorite car knits - the pattern is so simple that it is difficult to make a mistake and it is easy to see where you are in the pattern repeats. Moda Dea Sassy Stripe Yarn on size 3 needles - Another pair of tootsies will stay nice and warm this year!

28 YEARS AGO TODAY,,,

28 years ago today, I married the love of my life. Not that it has been all roses and butterflies - It hasn't but when I woke up this morning - I knew that I loved this man more than ever! He is my best friend, my love, and my hero. I can only hope for another 28 years with this wonderful man.

BAH HUMBUG.....

BAH HUMBUG..... I have been knitting my little fingers to the bone! I have made some quite excellent knitted items that I would really like to show you but....................some people who are getting these gifts will see them!!!! Guess I will have quite the show in January!

SILENT BOB AND THE CHRISTMAS TREE

I know what you are thinking - this is supposed to be a knitting blog but with the holidays approaching so quickly I thought I would share a little.
I would like you to meet Silent Bob. Silent Bob (my kids named him long ago) was a Christmas school project that my son made when he was in first grade. Silent Bob has been sitting on the hearth everyday for 15 years since he was presented to me by a cherub faced little boy who was so gleeful at his completed snowman that I thought he was going to burst. Every year when I am putting away the Christmas decorations, I pick up Silent Bob and remember the sweet faced boy and Silent Bob never quite makes it into the decorations box. Silent Bob got a makeover last year with a newly knitted hat and a new ribbon around his neck.


This is the 10 foot tall pine tree that sits on the hill next to the house. My son brought it home when he was in kindergarden and he proudly planted it with the help of his dad. The tree was little more than 6 inches tall and we never thought that it would live -especially because the kids were constantly sledding over it when they were little and the snow called them to this little hill with sleds in hand. It now stands tall and proud - just like me whenever I think of that little boy and his sister with the ruby red cheeks - sledding down that hill with the dog chasing them the whole way. Those beautiful little faces that would sit and drink hot chocolate with marshmallows after a long afternoon of sledding.
Thankyou to my wonderful son and daughter for all of the memories that you have given me at this time of year. You are my blessings.

DINOSAURS........

A cutie dinosaur sweater for the grandbaby trousseau! A eweCANknit pattern #015 Dinosaur Fairisle knitted in Encore Worsted Yarn (superwash because this is a size 2T - Can't you just see the sticky little hands now?) Size 7 needles for the fastest fairisle knit in a long time. I thought I would take a little break from the Dale of Norway patterns on size 1 and 2 needles. How cute is this?



I think the dinosaurs need a little more color - Colored spots maybe? What do you think?



Last week, JoAnns had a sale on beads and I went a little nuts. Hubby was great about the bucks I dropped on my evergrowing bead stash. I threw a few pairs up on ebay because I could never use all of the stitch markers I make. It is good therapy for me - when I need a break from knitting.

CHOO CHOO..................................

Another baby sweater to add to my grandbaby trousseau. A wonderful fair isle pattern from Sandnes (patterns are similar to Dale of Norway). Book # 0105 Size 2T - Knit with Baby Ull yarn on size 2 needles. I love the look of the baby fair isles and although it is tedious knitting with such small needles the results are just great! What do you think?

A WELL USED SKEIN OF YARN.....

Last Thursday, I went to a doctor's appointment. It was just supposed to be a follow up but it turned into an adventure in knitting! I packed my knitting bag for the 4 hour trip and brought more than enough knitting for 8 hours in the car and an hour in the doctor's waiting room.
I also packed my brand new copy of One Skein Wonders thinking that I could have a chance to really look through and think about simple one skein projects to debulk my growing stash of orphan yarn. Little did I know that my quick little appointment would turn into a 6 day hospital stay!
Between tests and treatments, I kept my mind and thoughts busy with a little red baby sweater that was just pure knitting in the round. I even made the IV team place my IV in a spot on my arm where it would not interfere with my ability to knit! They got a real hoot out of that request.
Once the red yarn for the baby sweater was used up - I had only one lonely skein of Lambs Pride Wool left in my knitting bag. It was a lonely leftover from a previous project and had gotten lost in the bottom of my gigantic knitting bag. I pondered my options and decided to make a scarf out of this lonely little chocolate brown yarn.

I finished the scarf and had nothing left to knit. HMMMMM.......... I ripped it out and made a fancy hat. With still another day before I could go home and no more knitting to be had ---- I ripped out the hat and made this cute little brown bag! A skein of yarn well used I must say!

A lesson well learned to always, always pack as much yarn in my bag as possible and it will be a very long time before I knit anything brown again!!

By the way, this is a great book with excellent patterns. I highly recommend it!

IT'S GETTING MIGHTY COLD HERE IN THE MOUNTAINS........

With the temperatures here in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, dipping into the teens at night - I decided to put a little warmth on the needles!
Reynolds Odyssey Pattern #82226 is a great knit! The diagonal stitching on the cuffs was a breeze to do and sure look gorgeous in this yarn. Stampato Extra - 100% Merino makes these mittens so soft and warm. I tried them out this morning with a walk in the garden.


I came across this Paton's Rumor Yarn on Sale at the Korner Knitters in Standish Maine. Hi Guys!(They follow the blog). I bought 2 skeins with no idea what to do with it but hubby chimed in that it would make a luxurious scarf - Okay, I'll give him the right part just this once!











This yarn is an Alpaca blend and is so soft! On size 10 needles it worked up quickly! I found the pattern on the Yarn Harlot Blog and it was just a repeat of 4 stitches!

UNDERSTANDING SELF STRIPING SOCK YARN...

I decided to take a break from my large projects this week and make up a pair of gorgeous socks for myself. I had bought this self striping sock yarn - Big Mexiko from Schoeller Stahl - last spring on sale for just this purpose. I have used this yarn before for another pair of socks and knew full well that it takes 3 skeins to make a pair of socks. The sale was too good to be true and these 2 skeins were the only ones left - therefor I knew they would have to be short cuff socks. I checked the lot and color numbers and Voila! they were the same.



Rules for using self striping yarn -
1. The socks are never ever the same striping pattern no matter how hard you try.
2. You have to buy the same lot number or you need to make one sock!
3. The finished project is always always gorgeous!
4. You must always pull from the same end for each sock. If you start with the middle strand for one then don't pull the center for the second.

But - with all of my self striping yarn know how - I never expected this! Look! These socks are exactly opposite striping patterns!!! I pulled the yarn from the outside of the skein for both and I knit both from the top down! Thank goodness they are for me and I love being different!



What do you think?

LIFE IS GOOD......

Thanks for the pic Lizzytish!

HOPPING OFF THE NEEDLES THIS WEEK........

Dale of Norway did it again!! An adorable froggy on the front with a worm on the back. I love the pattern and styling of these great baby sweaters!! Here is a face only the cutest of grandbabies could wear!

His friend the worm on the back.

Knit on size one needles with Baby Ull Yarn.