The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing

You would think that a blog that is authored by someone who owns a yarn shop would have more knitting content than this blog does lately, right?

I can't blog about my knitting when I am not knitting...... My left hand is still troubling me.........and it does not allow me to knit more than a few minutes at a time. But,,,,,,,all is not lost, I can crochet and scrumble. I have been working on some brown and pink bits that might grow up to be a shawl.

The first weekend in June, Betty and I will be attending the TNNA trade show in Columbus, Ohio. I hope to have my scrumbled shawl finished by then. The attendees are shop owners, designers and yarn companies. You can be assured there are a lot of fabulous garments being worn and displayed at this annual event. I have not seen anyone wearing a scrumbled garment in previous years, I may be the first. Or not.......depends on my hand.

More flowers from our yard

trillium

diez de mayo?

Tonight we celebrated Cinco de Mayo, never mind that it was 5 days late!
Actually , two members of our regular Knit night group had birthdays this week,,,,,they brought food,,, the most delicious fresh salsa, chips, fruit,,,,,,,,,, and margaritas!

Betty mixing beverages.
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.One of the birthday girls, Sue.

Mary Kay and Florine ,

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I did take a shot of the other birthday girl, but it turned out quite unflattering, ,,,,,,I thought it best not to post it.......I value Dawn's friendship.......that's right it was Sue And Dawn who had birthdays this week! Sisters with birthdays just a few days apart...........

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My sister MB has a birthday on Sunday, the 13th. She could not be at knit night,,,,she is half a world away, but I happen to know that she enjoys the occasional Margarita...... so here's one for you , MB!

Before and after

I acquired this chair somewhere last summer,,,, at a garage sale perhaps, a thrift shop.......I don't remember. If you recognize it, please let me know.

There is nothing in the photo to show scale,,,,,,,it is a child sized chair, covered in scratchy brown upholstery fabric and cat hair. The cat hair accumulated after I got the chair, the chair is the perfect size for Thunder to curl up in.

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I did some scrumbles in my favorite colors and TA-DA! It is now an ART PIECE!

For those of you unfamiliar with scrumbling, it is freeform knit and crochet,,,,,,,no patterns, no rules. I learned from a master, Prudence Mapstone. Check out her website here. Prudence is from Australia, but I was lucky enough to take a class she taught here in Wisconsin a few years back.
I love this technique, it's very "out of the box"! And it is a great way to use up small bits of yarn.

Here is a photo of the chair in progress,,,,,,,,the scrumbled pieces are fit together like a puzzle,,,, and then stitched down,,, If you compare photos, you can see that I moved a lot of the pieces around to different positions in the finished chair.

Come see the chair at the shop. I will be teaching a class on scrumbling on May 5th........just phone the shop if you are interested.

ripple update

still working on this

TROUBLE and SCRUMBLE

I have not been knitting much,,,,,,,, trouble
(WITH A CAPITAL t AND THAT RHYMES WITH p AND STANDS FOR POOL)

with my wrist. ( Sorry for the cheesy reference, but it is my favorite movie) Actually P stands for pain, in my wrist, so I have been doing very little knitting, but I can crochet! So I have been scrumbling. I love free form work.........These are a few scrumbles I have done lately, I don't know what they will become yet, probably a bag. In the process, I lost my favorite crochet hook. , After frantic searching both the shop and home, I found it behind a chair at home,,,,,,,,I am almost sure it was NICK who put it there! This hook is a gem, a Grafton Fibers creation. I just love it! I use it for all my scrumbling, no matter the thickness of the yarn, or stitch.

The sock of the month group at the shop has begun stitching. We met Tuesday evening,....... and tonight, Thursday, just 48 hours later, the ladies have made remarkable progress! WOW!

Here is a close pic of some of the socks. The pattern is Meida's Sock from Favorite Socks.

And here is a lovely sock made by Mary Kay on her radioactive leg! :) Just kidding, she has stopped glowing already!

A promise?

I have begun using up bits of leftover yarn in a random ripple afghan. I hereby promise to actually finish this project, all you readers can hold me to my word! December 1st seems like a reasonable deadline,,,,,,,,,

,,,,,all you non-knitters may be thinking' "What? Why does she need that much time?" Well, summer is coming , even an unfinished afghan is way too warm to work on in the heat.......that's why. AND, this afghan is as wide as a queen sized bed,,,,,,,,,one row takes twenty minutes,,,,,,,,Maybe December of 2008 is more like it.........

Mays Sock finished

Here is May's finished sock, two color resoleable. This is Dave's foot.........worsted weight yarn, very warm

May's Sock

Here is May's sock in progress, VERY different from April's. This pattern from the book Favorite Socks is titled "two yarn resoleable sock." It's a utilitarian sock, not feminine or pretty, but unique construction, and practical. I chose colors with great contrast so it is easier to see the way it is put together.
My trouble with this sock is the same trouble I have with anything I knit that I expect to fit well..........GAUGE..... look at those tiny needles! I knit so loosely,,,the pattern recommends size 4 needles,,,,,, I am knitting on 0's, yes, ZERO'S to get gauge! And this is worsted weight yarn. I am on the home stretch, the instep is knit, the heel flap is done, heel turned, and gusset finished. Just the sole and the toe now.

first time for everything

Learning to knit.......... Hmmmmmm, let's see.....must have been around 1966or 67... I was in

4-H. Head, Heart, Hands, Health.







I have only little flashes of memory about it.......the knitting teacher was a Swiss woman, and her accent was thick. Her house was in the back of a cheese factory, my Dad tells me her husband made wonderful cheeses. The house was a little dark and scary. Someone in the home must have been a smoker, the smell of cigarettes lingered and was quite exotic to me. Remembering these details may seem strange to you, especially since most of you know that quite often I can't recall what I ate for lunch only an hour earlier !



We knit on Wednesdays after school...... maybe my first project was a scarf, my memory doesn't include the details of any projects. The feeling and experience of Knitting is a strong memory. Making something useful , maybe beautiful,,,,,, from seemingly nothing,,,,,, was, and still is, magic to me. I loved those knitting lessons. The lessons did not last long, and we met for just a few weeks....



My next memory of knitting is a year or two later. My friend Keith told me that his aunt could knit hats. I boldly asked him to ask his aunt if she would knit one for me.......I had plenty of hats, I just wanted to see a hand knit one, and how it was made and maybe take it apart.................. Keith's aunt did knit me a hat, a beautiful red beret with cables. Sadly,I never wore it, and it was way too complicated for me to copy or learn from independently.



Then when I was thirteen or so, my parents gave me a "Learn to knit kit" for Christmas. Everything I had learned in 4-H came back easily and I from then on I taught myself.

The magic of knitting and creativity is so important to me now, I wish I could thank everyone who helped me in my youth,..........Maybe I can influence some kid..

Step by step

Start with this.

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Add this.

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Add some of this.

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To get this.

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What does my beloved do while I am spinning? See for yourself!

Sock in progress, part 2

More progress on April's sock.

This is the "eye of partridge" heel flap. This style continues the pattern through the turning of the heel. I like it.
I collect sock darners,

but I don't darn socks,

so this photo seemed like an opportunity to use one.

The Japanese have very cool craft/ needlework books. The photographs are all so artfully done.

My sister gave me this one.

All the patterns are in Japanese, but the photos and diagrams are so good, I think I can just wing it without understanding the text.

Very nice crocheted buttons.

woooo-hooooooooo

Check it out! KNITTED PEEPS !!! Ther pattern is here, I have not made any yet, But you can be sure I will!

Sunday Spin

Weeks fly by so fast. Here it is Sunday again.
We usually spend our Sunday afternoons at my parents farm, but at this time of the year there are lots of birthdays on Dave's side of the family. That means birthday parties on Sunday afternoons. These gatherings are usually rather sedate affairs, often I am the youngest person present. There is sometimes a game of sheepshead,* and always lots of good food. Desserts are featured, at least 4 kinds of cakes, tortes, or sweet treats. A person could easily slip into a diabetic coma.

*the sheepshead game in Daves's family is also quite sedate, cards are laid seriously, with careful strategy. When my family plays sheepshead there is lots of table talk, nudging under the table, and cards are laid willy-nilly, leading to general mayhem!

Today's party was quite rowdy compared to years past. The birthday girl (who is 62) has 9 grandchildren, 7 of whom are UNDER 7 years old! All these kids made this party fun! Someone was always running about, doing or saying something cute. These kids were GOOD, just having fun, not crabby or fighting, almost unnaturally so. No drippy noses or smelly diapers, either! The 2 grandchildren who are over 7 years old are teenagers, and they acted like normal people, too, not a sign of sulking or surliness. I think there must have been something in the water,,,,,,,,,,

Here is a photo of some spinning I have done in the last few days. Kay bought some roving while on vacation in Canada last summer, I spun it for her. I have done little spinning in the last year and had forgotten how satisfying and soothing spinning can be. 182 yards of relaxation.

April's Sock In Progress, part 1

We do have fun!

Caryl's lips match her shoes! Now that is fashion!

Rita's ruby red lips

We had a lot of fun at knit night,,,, Just not a lot of knitting.

Busy, busy, busy.

I have Thursday mornings off, sort of. I planned it that way when I set the hours for the shop, so I would have that time to cut the grass each week. In the summer, that is. In the winter I have two hours free time.

Each Wednesday evening, I think to myself........."oooohhh, tomorrow I don't have to open the shop till noon,,,,,,,I can get this and this and this done, I can run an errand, call that person, and cook a decent meal for Dave before I go to work....It's an extra two hours every Thursday morning! What luxury!

Who am I trying to fool? I hardly ever get any extra things done,,,,,,,, not even one or two things on my list.

I linger over my coffee.

I knit a few extra rows.

I talk with Dave.

I take my time with the routine morning chores, instead of rushing though them.

I chat on the phone.

I blog.

Two hours of extra time, just like that, GONE! Then it's time to leave......... and nothing is done!

But,

I enjoyed that coffee.

My knitting has a few extra rows.

Dave and I had a little time together.

The chores are done well.

I have talked and blogged, and I am happy.

Nothing is done, But I usually accomplish a lot!

Nice baskets

My house was built in the 1970's. This means it was in the middle of the energy crisis. Good things came from this. My house is well insulated and easy to heat. It is a very small house, not much to clean., but still good closets. We have a fireplace.

Along with this came other 70's stuff, like dark, dark, fake wood kitchen cupboards and shag carpet in almost every room. Groovy....... The cabinets and carpets have been replaced to reflect more up to date trends.........but the bathroom...................



We have an AVOCADO green tub enclosure and toilet!!!!! Not groovy anymore.

This is my tub. It is full of baskets, soaking. The baskets will be for sale at Loose Ends, but must be shaped first. So, I soak them and then re-shape them. Nice baskets, ugly tub.

Applied I cord

At the Winter escape I taught a class on applied I-cord. Here is a photo of a use for this cord. Makes a nice finished edge.

Knitting News

Spring must be just around the corner, the new issue of Knitty is up and ready!


For those of you who are unaware, Knitty is a online knitting magazine, complete with articles to read, ads, and lots of free patterns. This issue looks like a goodie. Spring and summer knitttng mags are always a little bit disappointing to me. I knit winterwear year round, this being Wisconsin and all. I don't especially like knitting with cotton, but this issue of Knitty has my kind of projects,, not necessarily summerwear, just small knitted items so the knitter does not have the warmth of a huge sweater on her lap in mid July.







A new book is out, by Interweave Press, Favorite Socks. I ordered just one copy to check out, and this is a great book! More copies are on the way.
A wide variety of sock patterns are offered and almost every one teaches a new technique or method. I love it!
Look for a new "sock group" of classes at Loose Ends, based on this book. Kind of a "sock of the month" thing.