StitchDiva project 2 is live.

The Causal Glamor Capelet laid bare. Pattern and picture found here at: http://www.stitchdiva.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=SDS-011

The yarn I used was 100% cashmere. Thee softest fluff ever to run through my fingers. A bit hard to see is the extra hem added at the bottom which becomes ruffly when this dreamy dish is thrown across the shoulders. Beautiful. The pattern says intermediate but it may just past up this marker. But that will not stop any red-blooded knit lovin' fool. I did enjoy working this babe.

September's almost over, already.

Lots of things going on at the same time. The needs of others, the needs of self. A tough balancing act. My grandson seems to have a problem with interacting with other kids. He uses the first strike method. Any perceived danger, real or imagined, and he takes 'em down. He is only 3 but sheesh, take it easy fella'. Before this young man could walk he knew how to grapple and do a half Nelson. All the men in our family thought it was pretty funny getting him riled up. Nobody listened to Thee GrandMa. They are listening now. Hmmm :0/, wonder if he is too young for karate or something...?

Lots of things going on at the same time on the needles. Here is the back of the sweater mentioned in a previous post from the British mag Simply Knit. A pretty chevron stitch which quickly becomes memorized. The yarn is Charisma by Yarn Art and, as you can see, is red. Yeah, yeah, the picture is crappy. There are other projects but those pics are even crappier; a unfinished knit ripple blanket in black, dark green, lt. green and soft white; a half conceived stocking cap made with Patons Wool in turquoise, red and gold. Nice color combo. I used the fascinating jogless jog single row stripe. At first my frustration was extreme. Each needle holds a different color to make for the unending, jogless stripes. I kept ending short of the next color change. A quick google search found what I needed here at

http://www.hipknitism.com/. Check out the Stashbuster Spiral Socks under Free Online Classes. Superb directions. All her classes are great. I wanna make lotsa her ribbed socks in wool for my job. It gets damn cold at the factory midwinter. Shoot, its already kinda cold now. Also worked up a crochet entrelac cap in the same Patons Wool but really didn't like how those colors came out in that project. Shall share pictures someday. Wish I was at least as good with a camera as with a knitting needle or two. Not that I'm all that great but at least I love it. Not so with the camera. That is not a great love. A true hindrance.

A picture of the ripple stitch afghan.

Getting a shot was a pain in the butt. But this one came out the best. Wonders never cease.

batteries not included, darn it.

I need to get real good recharge batteries for my camera. The ones I got are junkers. They petter out faster than regular batteries. And when I do get 'um I need to then figure out how to work the camera. Uurggg. It's just that I have many, many FP's to show and tell and well, I'm stymied.

Sweaters; shawls; hats, crocheted, knitted, felted; mittens and scarfs. My latest favorite hat design, which I mustered up myself, is a crocheted entrelac bottom up beanie. They have a pattern at http://www.anniesattic.com/crochet/detail.html?prod_id=22853 of a similar hat but theirs looks to be top down. Mine is bottom up and I'd love to share but first, my gosh, I need some pics. Don't ya think?

If someone blows by and you know of a good type battery and can tell a fool like me where in thee tarnation they can be bought, drop me a line. Like what's the best brand with the best price. Smart stuff like that.

Right now I'm working on a zip up sweater which I've been lusting after for quit some time. The back is almost finished and if the camera is up too snuff I'll put up a pic. Very pretty stitch pattern. It's in a British knitting mag, http://www.simplyknitting.co.uk/ from Issue 22 Dec '06. Problem is I can't find the cardigan I'm working on to link to but its a great place to visit. The magazine is 4 bucks a month! but we americans get it, like, 8 months late. Not a problem.

Alrighty, have a good one.

a knit techie queen

One favorite visiting spot: http://www.techknitting.blogspot.com/

This lady has tons of gems on how to do stuff different ways. Lots of great pictures and she's very detailed. She even dapples into knitting from a left handed person's perspective, more than anywhere else that I can find. Why do I care? Well, just because. Lefties wanna knit too and. Lefties wanna be able to be lefties. Right? This is something which bothers me about Thee Knitting Status Quo. A lot. Though I'm not necessarily left handed, many of my friends and family are. Therefore I feel kinda strongly about this. Maybe a tad bit on the passionate side. You get the idea. I try on handedness just to show myself and anyone else standing around, interested or not, it can be done.

A super helpful place to browse. And I do mean browse. Page after page she's got.

project 1 pictures

Now, ain't that garment somethin' else! I really enjoyed making this lovely thang. AND to tell truth it sure did not look like this on me. Hardy har. You can get a better look at http://www.stitchdiva.com/. Yes, I know I already said as such. But, oh well. =0D

This 'un is crochet and there is also a knit version. Check it out. The crochet is fun to make!

Further project pictures and info when patterns become live.

early headstart and back to work

The last few years have been a little on the rough side. That being said, things have settled down some and life has, strangely, gone back to the way it was. Five years ago one of my children needed a doctors care because of mental illness. She had a son and wasn't able to care for him. And so, as many a grandparent has needed to do, we stepped up to the plate. The turmoil has been intense but three very wonderful things has came form all of this.

#1: Of course. My grandson (he is number 5 of 9 grand kiddies)

#2: I have learned some important things about myself. I won't go deep but suffice it to say I now understand that my daughter is my teacher. I guess we are here to grow, to move beyond what we think is our safe place. I needed to become soft and strong. Not just soft or just strong. In a nutshell.

#3: Knitting.
People, let me tell you this. My knitting and crochet was, at times, my only friend. It has helped me through the these past few years. I would bend over my work, feeling very isolated, and practice whatever technique had grabbed my attention. Ah ha. There's that word again. Technique. A true comfort. Something which could be mastered, perfected. That which could be torn up with no remorse. Yarn. The intensity of my surroundings, no doubt, influenced how I worked with yarn. I'd say, for me, creativity was not an option but technique sure was! And so now the grandchild is in early headstart, the daughter is 20 years old and growing more sure every day and I am back to my old job. It has been a strange rite of passage. I sure hope I pass this test well.

Have a good day.

knit poncho shawl

This is one of my own creations. Nothing special, simple enough to do with 3 stitches to begin it. It's a triangle increased at each side and double increased at the center. We've all heard tell of these gems. I don't really care for how wide a poncho can get so this is my version of a poncho. I whip up this shape and put a tie on it. Just the right size in my opine. Hence, poncho shawl. Hey, maybe a Ponchawl! Actually, I picked up an ugly sweater at Goodwill and frogged it for the yarn. A thick and thin soft orange and cream acrylic. This idea I discovered at Interweave Knits Magazine: Ashley Martineau. Ashely talks about being a Thrift Store Stash Queen. I love this concept. Added to this yarn I used Lite & Lofty in Cafe working two row stripes alternating the yarns. The colors turned out very subtle and while knitting it up, I thought of this young lady, pictured above. My good friend. She loves these colors and well, they just look dynamite on her. Now how's that for reuse renew refurb?

Good day, folks!

Glamour Capelet and the Irish Clan Aran

My second project with StitchDiva was a beautiful Capelet linked here: http://www.stitchdiva.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=SDS-011

The one in the link above is in worsted weight but my project was done in a different weight. It was this beautiful luscious yarn which felt like a cloud. If you take a look you will see the added ruffle at the hem which makes the capelet very special. Now that was a new technique for me but I loved the challenge! The lady never ceases to amaze.

And about the Murphy Clan Sweater. It was a pattern in "The Complete Book of NeedleCraft" by Jennifer Kirkwood. I found a website that explains the history of Irish names and how this is represented in the aran sweater. Very awesome. http://clanaran.com/ They list alot of names, their history, each name's clan pattern and how the stitches relate. I found this site after I knit my sweater up, which was kinda cool.

Gotta go. Lots of gran-kiddies running around making demands. Uggggh!
Have a great day.