UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

I know I haven't posted in like forever, but hey, my computer is fritzy and I am having it worked on...I'll be back when it is, but I am having withdrawals...really bad withdrawals. I can't post pics of all the things I have knitted recently. But I will, I will....soon!

DESIGN 101

Okey dokey boys and girls, I'm about to jump into the big world of knitting design and start my sketch (not yet on the drawing board, but in my head) for a very nifty jacket...one I can actually wear myself, so it isn't at all fussy...and then, after a few deep breaths, I'll start the inevitable swatching, yea verily, even frogging too and of course, as is always the case with knitwear design and execution, the dreaded......shhhh...math. But, I will do it because I have this really cool idea and of course, there is that yummy Baby Alpaca yarn in the Tide Pool colourway mmmmmmmm, and won't it look the dream once knit!! Oh yeah, I forgot about writing it all down too...you know, in knit language, so I'm going to do that too. Ambitious, perhaps, but what the hey, time's a'waistin and I'm not getting any younger.

Hot Socks

Amongst the other things I am knitting....and trying to be ohhhh so careful with and do just right...is another pair of socks for moi..in wool and with red toe and heel. Did I mention these are toe up socks. Well, Ann Budd, that's her name I think, has a tute in the latest issue of IK and I decided I'd give toe up socks a go-even though I am a top down knitter. So, they are really hot, and I mean weatherwise hot. Why would I make wool socks and live in a place that is as hot as Hades? Because wool knits up so nicely. I know I could have chosen something a little lighter, but how cool are charcoal gray socks with red toes and heels? I like them but they really are super toasty. Do you think I should turn the AC to 40d and just wear em anyway?

Stuff and Stash

Well, it's about time I posted again I think. Mother's Day is over...finally heard from one of my boys, not the other though..and Mom, well, she was out of town visiting my sister, but forgot to tell me she was going!! I felt like I had the plague or something-no one around on MD...but Tommy was a dear to me and got me knitting things...Ahhh yes, #1 Vogue Stitchionary with all the lovely stitch patterns and the latest edition on IK...soooo many things I want to make. Also, when we got home from B&N Saturday, some lovely baby Alpaca yarn was on my doorstep fro Knit Picks-plus some new DPN's.

Pics of all are posted above.

I finished this collar for Leslie tonight. It's kind of like the one I made for myself, but in white and I think it's much nicer than mine actually. White cotton and I added a little Dragonfly pin to it.

OH SO CUTE HANG TAG FOR HANDKNITS

I got my hang tags today....soooooooo cute. Not too pricey and nicely done! I like them and will probably order others from these people myownlables.com. In keeping with the color rut I'm in, they're purple and you can see....fortunately, these folks have other colors and styles so I will not always be so predictable...still, the purple is rather nice I think.

Whew! What a Frogging Relief!!!

Is the Internet great or what?? I mean, I've been having a time with a lace pattern I've been working with...the pattern is easy peasy, I already have it memorized...but I'm working with some navy blue fingering weight yarn and I've been messing up something chronic~ I don't know why. Anyway, I've frogged all the way back to the start three times already and I was just getting ready to call it quits when I happened upon a little article in Knitty written by Theresa Vinson Stenerson about what seems to have become my most recent passtime-Frogging. Now, I've only been serious knitting for a short while but I'm pretty much up on the how to's and wherefores of knitting, but this little FYI is worth all the tea in China, or wherever it comes from these days, probably China knowing what I know about our Gov't and GWB...but I digress. This knowledgeable lady showed me how to frog back only a couple of rows and just pick up and start again...no ripping out to the beginning, no whining and moans and groans and needles flung afar in my studio. No avoidance of delicate lace patterns or anything for that matter. How freeing... I can now make mistake after mistake and just frog tiny bits...not that I want to do that, but I can if I must.

So, I tip my dp needles to you dear lady. Thanks for the good info and saving me yet another step on the road to better knitting through knowledge. My hero of the day...Theresa Vinson Stenerson.

I MADE SOCKS...FOR BIG FOLKS

Now, I've knit socks for wee folks before...you know, little bits of tubular knitting that slip over those chubber little feet, but for the past couple of days I've actually gotten out the sock instructions and knit a pair to fit Tommy (size 10) and if I say so myself, even though they are "house" socks, not shoe socks, they turned out rather well and I am quite pleased with myself for the nice turning of the heel as well. Sock knitting is addictive though. I'm going to have to have more DPN's and lots more sock yarn...LOTS! They're going on the LMG list too! Knit up several pairs in varied and sundry sizes and, as my neices used to say, VIOLA (not voila) there you have a last min gifty that's nifty, n'est ce pas? T'will also be a lifesaver guy gift, 'cause I never know what to get my brothers-in-law...they have everything already.

SOCKS...very cool knitting project!!!