Fuzzy Wuzzy
I have seen these on two different blogs and I knew I had to make a pair of them. It's my second felting project and one of the few things that I have knitted that I have not taken a class to get them completed. I am still new enough that I feel like I need to see that someone else has done something and how it turned out. I also need someone to hold my hand. "Yes, that looks like you are heading in the right direction", "That yarn does felt and it's a good choice" or "Now look how that turned out".

So I bought the leaflet and had Ruth and Lee from The Knitting Corner help me pick the yarn. They helped me figure the yardage and I was good to go. This all happened in Jan. I wanted to have them finished for Valentine's Day but I was in the throw of "Sock Love" and really didn't want to stop.

Here is the view of the clogs before felting. I used the apple as a point of reference so you can see how large the really get. I used that same apple in the "after" photo.

Here is the view before the washing/shrinking deed. I am always a wreck when I put something in the bag and throw it into the washing machine. I am doing what has always ruined my sweaters. Now I am getting a thrill doing it. What is wrong with me? Nothing...I just think that felting is so cool. When I first started knitting I had tunnel vision. I only wanted to learn to knit...period. Then I needed one of these and the sickness set in. It's sickness I don't desire a cure for. How often do you hear that??

This is the end result...a bit fuzzy but much smaller than when I started. Hubby says they fit. My son tried them on and said he felt like a cartoon character on TV with them on. So what does he know. I know HE'S not getting a pair!!

And the Winners are...

...my happy cold feet. I finished my second pair of socks using the same pattern as the first pair. I am going to do more using this pattern because it's such a quick simple knit and I don't have to keep track of too much row by row stuff. I have the yarn for the second pair and I will have them on the needles probably this coming weekend. I am about to finish my latest project but don't want to start anything else until I get it done.

Here is a better picture showing that I did the heels and toes with extra reinforcement yarn in a teal blue to compliment the rest of the sock. I just love the way they look. I have to say because they are a blend, they aren't as soft as the wool I used in the last pair. What is the funniest about them; is they make a pat-pat sort of sound on the flooring when I wear them. The wool socks made no sound at all. I have no idea why they make that sound. Maybe after I wash them that will change. Does anyone else know what I mean?

Forgive Me, For I Have Sinned
I am not a religious person per say. I am however a very faithful friend. I have been going to The Knitting Corner for over 18 months now and that’s pretty much the only place where I have bought both yarn and knitting supplies. I don’t know how this happened, but I got a Knitpicks catalog in the mail and I sinned. First, I caused my husband to sin with me. Our anniversary and Valentines Day were coming up and I made the suggestion that I would love a book from the Knitpicks catalog. I got the book and a gift certificate for a pedicure (from my favorite place just a bit down the road).

The sin has been committed again. There was a knock at the door 15 minutes ago and the enabler Postman made a delivery. I squealed with joy over the four barking dogs at the door. It’s here! It’s here! Then the guilt and shame set in. It’s so hard touching my new things and feeling the shame of not being a faithful consumer/friend to my favorite yarn shop. Will I single handedly put them out of business by ordering via the internet? How many women will be looking for a new job?

So I must make amends…I must go and shop there next week. Then the shame will be absolved? What happens if I commit this sin again? Perish the thought.

Now lookie what I bought…





I have seen these before and really thought it was such a great idea. I might be traveling on a plane two three times this year. Since the airlines take scissors away from you, I thought this would be a good way to have something that would cut my yarn and not cause me to be arrested at the gate! I have opened it and used it on my latest project and it works like a charm! That was money well spent. Now let's see what happens when I try to get it on a plane in July.





Next...I saw this at a Charity Knit-In for the knitting guild a month or so ago. I thumbed through it and decided that there were enough patterns in there I would use. So I bought it. I especially love the little preemie hats that are in there. I can add those to the Santa hats that I made in December of last year. I have been reading chapters in the book about how all the charities started. It makes for some quick heart warming stories. Again...money well spent.
















Here is the yarn and pattern for what I am working on right now. It's a gift for hubby. I am about half way done so hopefully by next week I can show what I made.

Bookcase Material
I am a new knitter although I don’t know how long I can keep using that term. How long are you new before you are not anymore? 18 months? In the span of a knitter’s life, 18 months seems pretty new to me. Maybe when I hit the two year mark or finish my Mock Cable Sweater, I will consider myself not “new” anymore.

Being “new” still I don’t have much knitting reading material. Since I am chef and have a rather large collection of cookbooks, I think that I should show the same attention and enthusiasm for collection knitting and spinning books.

So I have started my endeavor to fill up a book shelf that doesn’t exist…yet. I have a small cubby hole place in one corner in the living room that has a few books, but it will soon be too small and I will have to come up with a more suitable place for my books. I hate the thought of cleaning out what used to be the X-stitch closet, but I am thinking it’s going to come to that.

I have already gotten rid of most of my craft items but the X-stitch is the last to go. I am hesitate to toss any of it away, for fear I might decide to take it up again. Oh poop, who am I kidding. I will never pick it up again, because I just flat have lost interest. I haven’t done any X-stitch in years so I really have to get a grip and let it all go, but go where? Do I sell it in a yard sale? Donate it to some Thrift Store? How about another X-stitcher who has a hording problem? I keep looking in the closet thinking that I would have more room for my roving and yarn if I would just get rid of the other stuff. I think I getting closer to tossing in and then putting a sign on it saying, "Free to the home of a faithful X-stitcher”. Wonder how fast it would disappear? Anyway, I digress.

I bought two more knitting books and have just been on-line ordering another this very morning. I saw the one I just ordered at a Knit-In and saw some really cute things to knit that all looked pretty simple. So I did the deed. Hopefully in a few weeks my new space-taker-upper will be here. Here are the two that I have acquired so far. One was recommend when someone saw a shawl I was making. Yes, it’s still in progress. Okay, okay, it’s still on the needles because I have just gone off the deep end of making myself socks. The shawl has two purposes to serve. One, is to use up all my old acrylic yarn. The second is to donate it to an elderly female vet at the local Veteran’s Home. So I won’t waste any yarn and when my hands are tired of holding #1 dpns, I can still knit something and feel like I am making some progress on something that really needs to be finished. Some progress is better than none. The second book was recommended by someone at The Knitting Corner on a chance meeting. I have not done any projects out of either but sooner or later I will. I sure hope they don’t end up out in front of the house with one of those signs…

Show and Tell
This past Monday I went to my monthly meeting of the Tidewater Knitting Guild of Virginia. We meet the first Monday of the month no matter what. We are a diverse group of both seasoned and new knitters. There are so many creative people there its not even funny. During the meeting we have a program. This month was steeking.

Now I am a pretty new knitter and this totally freaks me out. I have never seen anything like this and it really makes me a wreck when I see scissors getting near a perfectly lovely piece of work. Such was the case at our meeting. Jackie Scott talked about steeking and used a fabulous piece knitted by our President, Linda Johnson. Jackie talked about sewing down the stitches made for just that purpose. You could see the sweater had some stitches that all looked alike in a row. Then to either side were stitches from a sewing machine. Below you will see what happened. Maureen took pictures of Linda's face and I got some shots of the scissors doing the deed.








If you look closely, you can see that some of the stitches where the scissors are look like they aren't quite right. You won't be able to see where the machine stitching is, but believe me, they are there.


In this shot you can see some of the machine stitching if you look really close. Take a look at the blue along the scissors. You can sort of see the stitching. Very scary!

In this shot you can see more cutting. Linda was very brave and I was a total wreck. I kept leaning in to see her cut. She was calm and I was sweating. I could feel my heart pounding really hard.


This photo is blurry. If you can make it out, the sweater is struggling for it's life. It knows what's coming. More cutting...poor thing....

Rats! Jackie won. The steeking was done and then was talk about how to put the sleeve so that the stitches matched. The inside seam where the sleeve is inserted into the hole is folded back and then doubled stitched to insure that nothing comes undone. The finishing is lovely. I hope that Linda brings back the sweater so we can see the finished product.

Before Linda's sweater was steeked Jackie talked about a sweater that she made. The colors were bright and so cute.

I really enjoy going to the meetings. If you link to the blog that is set up for the Knitting Guild you can see other colorful sweaters. Martha (one of our very talented members) taught a class where you can take a sweater for a Teddy Bear and do some math and make a sweater any size you like. I wish I had been able to take the class but I had to work. I am hoping to learn this method from Martha some day.