SDS project 3 is finished...

...and goes into the mail tomorrow morning. One is in lovely cashmere, so soft and cosy and the other's in silk/cashmere with beads. Very lux. We were trying to keep the amount of yarn for these beauties within a certain parameter. It was intense. More when pattern goes live.



We've been having crazy weather. This week is supposed to hit the 70's. What's up with that? Not that I mind. I like warm weather but get a bit nervous when the weather goes all soft and warm this time of year what with global warming looming on the horizon. What if the whole world gets hit with a superstorm or gets swept away with a world wide flood? Could happen. Has anyone seen the movie "The Day After?" Mother Earth may decide to have a hissy fit and this would not bode well for us wee peeps. I keep my husband in stitches on this.



I wanted to share a neat link with those of you who like new ways of doing stuff. Knit stuff. This is a brand new way to bind off dreamed up by Jeny Staimen. Jeny's Surpisingly Stretchy BO. This was published on Knitty AND Cat Bordi demonstrates how it's done. Pretty cool, eh, but for real, this is awesome. Very stretchy with excellent shape retention. Used for k1, p1 or k2, p2. I have never seen any thing like this anywhere. She has also has dug up an old Norwegian(I think) cast on which uses, of all the crazy things, a bunch of slip knots! Now, you might think this has got to be tight. Slip knots are always tight, right?. Wrong. It's one of those things which defies logic. I love that. It's a bit tough to get down because it actually is two knots twisted together. Somehow. At the bottom of the page she has a link to another lady's video whose technique I actually like better for this slip knot cast on. More my style.

http://sockselkie.blogspot.com/2009/09/jenys-stretchy-slipknot-cast-on.html Jeny's version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKwYH-vqJLO the other



Thank You Jeny. Oh yes, Thank You the Other.

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.

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.

using right or left I knit straight from the hip...

...well, I can't really knit from my left hip and you're probably wondering, what the heck...? Okay, let me explain. For speedy knitting, though I'm not all that fast, I place my knitting needle either in my waist band or just jammed on my hip. It might be the Scottish in me. They had awesome knitting speed back in the day. . The Scottishness would have been my great great grand dad. But I never met the man and don't know why I knit that way. I'm thinking maybe it's the genes.

I will state here and now that I cannot abide knitting only one way. I will, at a moments notice. knit with my left or right hand, throwin' or pickin', working towards the left or right, when the mood suits me. It's the same with crochet. I'm a righty by nature but like to practice with my south paw just for spite. Knitting police beware.

I love technique. A lot. Soon as I hear tell of some new fangled way of doing something I just gotta try it. Only problem with that? I never get a project done. Always dropping the newest love and then moving on. And I'll come clean. I'm not the most creative person you'll ever meet. There are those out there that amaze. Really , the word is shock. Shock and Awe, to coin a phrase. I cannot, for the life of me, believe how these creative types pull if off. I am currently working hard at my creative muse. Not my strong point.

I'd love to hear tell of yall's travels through the knit and crochet world of techiness. Those of you who are fiber artists you's are welcome to drop by and give up some hints on how you do it.

Soon as I figure out the rules and regulations of posting pictures I'll share with y'all.

Have a great day, folks.