On Sale Now!
There is a yarn shop that I have been in twice in the last few months called Knit Wits. I went in the first time because I was curious about what was inside. The shop is now in a serious clearence sale. The current owner has decided that being self-employed has run it's course and it's time to move on. There is a new owner but they won't take over until some time the end of May, early June. I heard from the current owner that the shop will be closed for a few weeks while they are remodeling and stocking new yarns.

Since I stayed too long, I ended up helping out the old owner of her burden of too much inventory. I wouldn't want her to have to pack any more of her yarn that what she needs to, so I lent a hand. So I did my part. I have projects in mind for everything.

Since most everything in the shop was 40% off, I bought the last 5 of Whisper varigated lace weight yarn. I want to either do a shawl or 5 lace scarves of some sort. I bought two of these from Lorna's. It's hard to tell from the photo but it has the same colors as my youngest son's camie uniform for the Army. The shop had a knitted hat that I think both my sons would like so hopefully before winter starts here I will have them done. I have only made a few hats so this will help me stretch my wings. These babies are Mandarin Petit and 100% cotton. They will be made into these items... I saw these at Wool Windings and my brain started working on how I could use these for gifts. So I have a project in mind for the Mandarin Petit.

I was in The Knitting Corner last week and Susan told me she has a shipment of brand new Addi Lace circulars. I could hardly wait to buy my first pair since I have been a lot of lace scarves lately. I have been putting them to good use since getting them on this past Tuesday. I have been making another lace scarf from Wallis Knits and those needles are WONDERFUL! I tossed the straights aside and have been clicking away with my 24" #4s. I will have to have more of these!

Susan also ordered me some more Misty Alpaca in and wonderfully dark green. I doubt that any of my chef buddies read my blog so I can post the yarn here. So I will busy the rest of the summer knitting lace. I was even thinking of taking a lace class at The Knitting Corner. How sad is it that I might have to decide whether or not to spend lots at MS&W or take a Beaded Shawlet class. What happened to having my cake and eating it too??

Opps, I Did It Again...
Okay, I sat a little too long at The Knitting Corner one day. A woman came in the shop and sat down at the table. She had a cute pink and white stripped bag. Everyone asked her what that bag was. She said she had ordered it via the internet a few years ago and just loved it. It was small enough for a sock or something really small. Since I have been getting into socks, I thought this would be perfect for long car rides or sitting at the doctor's office, etc. She told us what she remembered the name was, but couldn't remember the site. I dashed home and got right on the computer. I did a work search and found myself one.

I have to say that I am not disappointed very much by what I order over the internet. This is one of the very few times. I was really excited about getting my little package in the mail. It came pretty quickly considering it came from the west to the east.

I opened it up and this is what I got.

I saw it on the internet before I ordered it, but it was smaller and not as cute as the one the woman brought with her that day in the shop. I will use it but I really don't like the name on the side. As one person said to me when I took it to the shop, I was doing their advertising for them. I don't want someone's name on my rear, so why have this. Well, it was too late. I already spent the money. So I will live with it. Has anyone else seen a cuter version?

This bag contains one 50 gram ball (I wound it up myself) and my #1 dpns for one sock. Notice there are no instructions for the socks in the bag. You will have to photo copy your instructions and then fold them up fan style and shove it into one of the pockets. Heaven forbid it should fall out...

We Interrupt This Blog For... It's pretty unusual we get snow this time of the year. I heard on the news that the latest we have had snow is April 11. So we almost broke a record.

This is the view from sunroom, looking at the neighbor's house. My poor little Japanese Maple is trying so hard to put out some truly beautiful purple blooms. The daffs have already come and gone. So here's to spring!

Been There, Done That
This is my second time going out to my friend Mary Scott's sheep farm for shearing day. I consider it a privledge to go and help out. So here are the pictures from yesterday. It took 6 pickers on and off to get through 21 fleeces. Mary's husband was in the sheep barn helping shearer with that part. I helped with the sheep once they were sheared. Getting out the pen is just as hard as getting them back in. Either way, they have a mind of their own. So here is a series of pictures of the sheep being sheared.

Here are the girls and two withers waiting to be sheared. They are herded into a small space and then one by one guided out of the pen to the man doing the shearing.

Here are the two colors of sheep before shearing. The one with the more long face yielded a whiter fleece. The other girl yielded with black fleece or a black with silver undertones. Either way, they were both beautiful. The first girl to be sheared for the day. She doesn't look too happy about any of this but...

Here she is with about half of her fleece sheared off. See how white she is? The fleece that is closest to her skin is nearly as white. It had a really nice crimp too.
Here is one of the black sheep. Isn't that a nice looking black fleece?
This is the dark wool tarp.
This is the end result of lots a sweating, corraling, chasing, clipping, labeling and picking. This is the light wool tarp.
Then one by one all the fleeces are picked over to get out any gross things. The wool is then bagged up and taken to a processing plant that does all the hard work.

No blog article about shearing would be complete without the "naked" sheep picture to cap things off. ...and here they are!

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.

...And Now There are Four!
I could not resist taking this picture. Sue Van Ohlsen is the designer of my proudest pair of new socks. The funniest thing about all of this is that Sue and I seem to have the same taste in colors. When I took the sock class I picked out my yarn and then sure enough Sue had the very same color for her "class" socks on the needles. Don't we have impeccable taste?? Aren't they just the cutest sets of socks?

I have loved making them so much that I could not wait to get the next set on the needles. I bought a bunch of sock yarn (even not knowing how to knit socks) at the Maryland Sheep & Wool last year. I have three or four different colors and I plan to knit them all up! Here the first sock of the pair. I have just cast on the second sock this afternoon. Hopefully in a week or so I will have that one done and cast one another pair. I just love the fact I can do these.
Sue told us to reinforce the heels and toes so that the socks would last longer. So I picked a darker color for that and I am crazy about the way it looks. The next pair will be red. I bought reinforcement yarn last night. I can't wait to see how they will turn out. I am doing a lot of pairs using Sue's design to get used to doing socks so that I can learn to do others later. Right now my feet are cold and I need some warm socks. The second pair is knit with Filatura Lanarota Country Sock yarn. It's 45% Cotton, 15% Superwash Wool and 15% Nylon.

I still have an unfinished sweater that will be a year old here shorty and two lace scarves on the needles that need to done but I keep plugging along! Stay tuned...

And then there were TWO...

I am so pleased with the way they turned out. The second pair is well underway. Hopefully by the time fall comes around again, I will have a HUGE selection of hand knitted colorful socks to sport around.

One Down, One to Go...
I am just tickled pink with myself! I finished my sock at class last week. I really did try to finish the second one this past weekend, but I had a blow out as I was closing up the toe. I went to tighen up the Kitcher (sp?) stitch and something went horribly wrong. The left sock is now at the Knitting Corner having some repairs. Sue was nice enough to fix it for me. She called yesterday to ask me what on earth happened. I have no idea, but thankfully she said she picked it out and then ripped it out and fixed it. I am so thankful to more experienced knitters who just shake their heads and then do their thing. I am not worthy, I am not worthy, but my cute sock was!! This weekend the pair will be reunited for some serious cold piggie time on my floors!

This is the side view of the first sock at class. I am just smitten with my new creation. I am so excited that I finished the set that there is another set on the needles right now!!

Here is the first of two new piggie warmers. I hate wearing shoes even in the winter. So these will get worn until I just can't use them anymore. Thanks Sue! I am now a sock addict. Can you hear the great sock sound in my wallet?

PS. I am really sorry about my comments section. I had five comments to publish today and only one did. I have no idea who the others were who commented except for Maureen who tried to post twice. I have turned off the moderation thingy so hopefully that won't happen again. If those of you who commented on the last post could post again, that would be great. Thanks, and again I am sorry that the comments didn't post.

Green Sock Knit Along
I saw this concept posted on Wool Windings, click on her site and then it lead me here. I wanted to steal the button, but I haven’t been able to figure out how to do it yet. Sadly, I have no teenagers here to tutor me through this. See, I knew they were good for something.

I was so excited when Susan from the Knitting Corner send out an E letter saying there was going to be a sock class with dpns. I have always wanted to learn how to do it. So I plunked down my money and this coming Tuesday will be my last class in the series of four classes. I have no idea why, but I seem to have done better at this class than any of the others I have taken. My first sweater is still unfinished in the knitting basket. It’s hoping to have some sleeves, a collar and a button band someday. So I have found my niche. I am just so pleased with myself, if I do say so myself. I am so impressed with myself that I have already picked out my next pair’s yarn. I bought the yarn at Maryland Sheep and Wool last year. I have no idea why I bought it, but I got six skeins, thinking that I might use them someday. Wow, was that good or what??

The pattern that we are using for the class was designed by Sue Van Olsen. She has asked us not to copy or post the pattern anywhere and I am honoring that request, but that doesn’t stop me for showing you my progress.

This is the cuff of the very first sock. It's a top down. I am using Fortissima Colori Socka Color. It's a 100 gram skein. I am getting a little worried that I might be cutting close for the second sock. I bought some Forehlich for reinforcement yarn for the heels and toes. I ran out on the first sock about 6 rows from the last row of the toe. I haven't finished the second sock yet, so I am wondering if I will run out about the same place as the first one. Who cares? I am just happy I learned how to make a sock! I am using Takumi bamboo #1 dpns. I thought I would really like them but I am a bit indifferent about them. I can see how I have bent them trying to get the SSK done. They were really tight and I struggled with them, but by crackies I got through it. I am wondering if metal needles would be more to my liking. I am concerned about losing the package the needles came in. So I had a thought about marking them with a Sharpie. I would put one hash mark for the ones and two for the twos and so on and so forth. I wouldn't have to check their size everytime I want to find a set of dpns for a project. I am sure that the longer I knit the more I will know by sight and feel, but since I am a beginner I have come up with short cuts. Does anyone else do this?









This is the sock in progress. This is the first one and the second one is about the have the gusset done. I would really like to finish for class on Tuesday night, but I am not sure I will make it. Two socks for class would be great!

Here is where I was yesterday on the sock. I had to work today but did get the rest of the toe done. I am saving the last little bit of the toe for class in case Sue has some trick about sewing the toe together.

Now, if I can just figure out how to get the Green Sock Knit Along button on my side bar...

Momma's Got a New Toy
I have come to the realization that I am getting older. Yes, I have dared to utter that and now it will be forever on the net that I am getting older. How do I know this? My waist is now in the Granny Smith apple description along with tree trunk legs. My hair is in the sink and floor of the shower more than it's on the top of my head. The hair that I do have has turned on me. I really mean turned...GREY. I have noticed that there are little brown spots appearing out of nowhere on my hands lately. I won't even tell you about the body parts that have left for the South of some where else. You know what I mean? I have been losing my eye site for years but now we are at a critical point. What is that point you say?? Serious extra lighting. Do I hear an "Amen"?

I have been wearing glasses for about four years now and have become acustomed to them, but this is just annoying. I finally broke down and got my self a new light. I read on this blog about a spiffy lamp. When I went to research it, I discovered I would have to rob Ft. Knox to pay for it. So I scouted around for another suitable and cheaper alternative. I found one, hubby found one.

Hubby was at our favorite Blue box store and found this...

What can I say. It worked like a charm. When you are getting older you just need a different kind of a toy. And when you are knitting with size 1 dpns on this color yarn, blindness will follow shorty. I have only myself to blame for this. While in the Knitting Corner, I thought I had picked a lovely shade of green for my sock class. I think that from now on, I should purchase one skein and take it home and sit in the dark with my little lamp, and see if I can actually see what I am about to knit. I would love to knit some black socks, but the eyes don't have it.

Inspiration
I was at the Knitting Corner one day about a month ago and ran into a woman who was lookng for some yarn to match some colors that she had run out of. I didn't pay much attention to her because she was just looking and made a few comments about some shawls that she was making over and over. I am all for doing a pattern more than once but 10 or 15 times? Well, you should see what she has come up with ... Each one of these shawls is unique because the woman picks colors that compliment each other. No two looked a like to me...

I love all the differnt colors. She did say that she doesn't use red or green. She just didn't want to do something that looked like Christmas.
Inspired by this woman's efforts and by this challenge, I decided to give both a chance. I have been crocheting a long time and have collected lots of "un-natural" fibers from one of two box stores. I have a nice collections of skeins that need to move out to a new home. So I am working on shawls and lap blankets that will be donated to a good cause at later date. I am trying to clear out the stash and make good use of it for those who need it. What could be a more inspiring? I am sure my favorite yarn store will love it when I start to re-build my stash...
This is my effort. I stil have ways to go but there is something soothing after being on my feet all day cooking, coming home to sit in my favorite chair to do mindless knitting. It gives me a break from other knitting that I have been doing the requires counting on every round.

Finally...early for once!
Well, I know it's been a while since I posted last but I really have been knitting my little fingers to the bone. I have been reading my favorite knitting blogs and getting inspiration from them. Wait until you see what I have been up to.

First I really did finish something! Wahoo!

As in a previous post I talked about the Preemie Project and the cute little project that inspired me. Thanks to Wool Windings for helping me to learn something new. I wanted to learn how to do dpns and a hat. So I took the class and finished two hats. They were extremely simple but they gave me the foundation to tackle more hats for a purpose. These for this coming Christmas. I haven't done booties to match. One thing at a time...

I just printed off the Tidewater Knitting Guild of Virginia's Feb. newsletter and read something that I did last year. I decided that I needed knitting goals. So I wanted to learn how to make a pair of socks, a sweater and a hat. I have accomplished all three in varying degrees. The sweater was a Mock Cable and it's not done. I have to do the buttons, the collar, one whole sleeve and then finish the last 2/3rds of the first sleeve. I will finish it here shortly. I got frustrated because I wanted to do the lower part of the sleeve with dpns but didn't know how. So I waited until I had a chance to learn and now I know how. So the sweater should get done here shortly. I did the hats. And now for the last one...socks. I am now taking a sock class with dpns. I am so excited. I have wanted to learn how to do them since I took my beginner's class in late '05. So this leads me to the next dilemma. What can I set for a learning goal for this year?

I want to do more felting. I have a project in mind and have bought the leaflet. I can't reveal it for the moment, but I will soon. The next big project is inspired by Stephanie. Anyway, I wanted to post before I let it slide another day. I have good intentions to post and like many projects at the moment that are sitting in the knitting basket, I really do mean to do them. Maybe this year's goal should be to just finish one project at a time? Nah...

What A Nice Little Green Card Can Buy...
I was so excited to get a Barnes and Noble gift card this past Christmas. I just want to kiss the person who invented those wonderful gift giving tools. I have decided that I just can't dash out and buy things just to use that little card. Nope, there must be a purpose. After two visits, I finally found one.

Since I am a beginner knitter I don't have very many patterns or books. I signed up to take a beginner's sock class with dpns and I decided that I needed a sock book. There were about three or four and I finally narrowed it down to this one. I have no idea when I will use it, but I think I will eventually. It's got nice color pictures and since I can't seem to read directions, this is the perfect book for me. This is Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. There are great color pictures and directions both for the reader and visiual learner. There are pictures of different kinds of patterns you can do up the sock. So I am excited that I start my new sock class next week on the 16th. It lasts 4 weeks. I hope that means that I get a whole pair. I guess when you do one sock in class you go home that week and knit the other one so they are done at the same time.

So thanks to my Texas family members for a great gift. Beware. I am learning how to knit socks. Let's see how many days is it until Christmas????