Finished some UFO's ...

This hat has been sitting in my basket waiting for those two pompoms since August. Remember the other two hats I knit? One for the DH's birthday & the other for the 'Circle of Love' hat project at the Seed Stitch Fine Yarn store in Salem. Well I made this from left over yarn and decided it's the one for ME. That's right ... another kooky hat for the StitchingNut!

And believe it or not, there's still more yarn left from this batch and I think it's enough for one more hat. I'll make it for the Circle of Love hat project I think. It'll be strippy so I can use up the rest of the yarn.

I finally got the orange socks done for the Munchkin. Hope they fit! They came out pretty cute and the pattern is from Knitting Vintage Socks called Infant's First Socks. It was a quick an easy knit ... until I ran out of yarn, LOL.

And I got a pair of mittens done for her also. These weren't UFO's but I started them two days ago using the pattern in Folk Mittens and wanted to finish them in time for our visit this weekend to New Hampshire. We'll be going to the Deerfield Fair with the kids ... and might stay until after dark.

Want the little hands to be warm on a cool Autumn night right?

Now that his hands are warm ...

Added Note: Needle Exchange is having a contest called "Pretty-in-Pink" for the month of October. Check it out! Sign up and pass the word along!!

I finished the fingerless gloves for the DH. I think he loves 'em! He thought it was funny that I wanted to take some pictures ... but he let me get the mug shots of his hands anyway.

I have plans for more socks but ... there are more mittens to knit as well. But Knitting History wanted to make sure I was well stocked for socks and generously sent me these beautiful purple & red sock yarn by Scheepjes ... I already have plans for the red in the cable pattern from Knittin' Mom and the SugarFree Sock pattern. And the purple will look nice in a lace pattern. I have a number of those just from Knitty. So many socks, so little time ...



And the yarn for the orange socks for the little Munchkin came in and I MUST finished those before this Saturday.


And what about all that other yarn? The cotton yarn? Well there might be some wash or dish cloths in the future. I don't know for sure yet. We'll see what kind of time I've got available.


Now it's back to knitting mittens for the grandchildren. I'm trying to figure out the directions in my newest mitten book, Folk Mittens by Marcia Lewandowksi.

But I'm not ready for the beautiful ones on the front cover yet. I'm working on the classic mittens. But look at those charts on that page! If only I can figure them out ...it's for the gore & thumb. M-m-m-m, maybe I can get these finished by Saturday. (or not)

I wear socks when I walk ...

and there's nothing like handknit socks!

Check out this wonderful sock pattern from Knittin' Mom called Karen's Sugar-Free Diabetes Walk Socks pattern.

I decided it was worth the $5.00 to donate to a good cause and
get a great looking new sock pattern at the same time.

I have just the right sock yarn to use too.
No more talking, just knitting, knitting, knitting ....

What? No pictures today? Or all right ... here's a few I took at the Boston Knit Out & Crocket Too 2006 this past Sunday.

Warm feet and hands ...

Just a quick note to show off the fingerless gloves I just finished. The embroidery is my own personal touch. I love 'em. Got them on the blocking board now. Believe it or not ... my DH wants me to knit him a pair also ... without the embroidery ... oh pooh. So I've started a pair for him in grey wool.

Our hands will be as warm as ... MY feet!

It had to happen ...

That's right there's no getting around it. I ran out of Barnat Sox yarn in Orange Hot. You can see in the picture that little piece of yarn sticking out from the toe at the needles. JUST that much more to go. Okay, I have two choices to pick from. Either frog back on BOTH socks to the ankle and pull out one repeat of the pattern to make shorter cuffs and knit the whole foot in each sock over again. OR just try to find more yarn to buy.

Okay I made my decision ... doesn't take me long!

I did a search on the Internet and found the color I needed at Yarn & Thread by Lisa. The shipping is not cheap, altho the yarn itself is, so I contemplated frogging. [But only for a moment ...] Don't I need more yarn for other projects? Christmas projects maybe? Well Dipsy Doodle gave me a nice quick idea for gifts for the girls ... knitted wash cloths bag (inspired by Pens and Needles) with pretty sented soaps. I'll try Dipsy's pattern tho. I like the looks of the texture. And Knitting History has me thinking of knitting a couple of tea cozies. So I added more yarn for these projects and sent in the order. Now I can't complete the munchkin's sock until the yarn order comes in. Hopefully the shade of orange isn't too noticeable.

On a happier note ... my STR from Blue Moon came in. Yippy! I so love this yarn. And it came along with TWO sock patterns this time. One called Titania Revenge , which you can see better from the link to Cookie's pictures and this colorway from Blue Moon, Titania which looks so beauuuutiful in this pattern. So I'm saving it for later, once I get up the nerve to start it. It does look troublesome ... just like the Hippie Crunch that I haven't finished yet. Oh ya, I got one sock done ... but haven't started the 2nd one yet since I needed a serious breather after that. Took a picture ... on the blurry side, but I'll take better pictures once I have a complete pair. Hopefully before the year ends! Ayah!!



But see that other pattern over there? Central Air ... now I think I'm going to LOVE that pattern. There's a Cherry Tree Hill yarn I got some time ago that I think would look lovely in that pattern.

So once again I'm dreaming about socks ...

Boston Knit Out & Crochet Too 2006

Don't forget -- this Sunday, 12 pm to 4 pm.

Hope to see ya there!

I'll have either socks or mittens on my needles.

Added note:

12:30 - 1 pm Book Signing - with Daena Giardella and Wren Ross,
the authors of Changing Patterns: Discovering the Fabric of Your Creativity

2 - 3 pm Keynote Address: Wren and Daena about the Creative Process

I'll have my book in my bag for the signing also!!

(that's right ~~ I have the book as well as Wren's Greatest Hits CD.)

Another day wasted ...

Hell no! ... I did laundry ... I did ironing ... I knit ... and I read.

I even made lunch for the DH. We usually each take care of ourselves for lunches, but I was feeling generous and it was such a glorious day I thought we could sit outside together. It was certainly beautiful out! And once the table was cleared after lunch, I pulled out the little orange socks I'm knitting for my munchkin, Jayden. I thought about the yarn left over from my Dipsey Doodle socks and decided it just might be enough for an infant sock. Sure enough, it was exactly enough for the first sock. But I started the 2nd sock while sitting outside and now I'm praying I have enough yarn for it. That's my mantra as I knit this sock now ... "please be enough yarn, please be enough yarn."

And then I decided to read a little before my eyelids dropped shut for a little snooze. Just a short one, coz I was satisfied with just a cat nap. I woke to knit some more. And to give you some perspective on the size of the munchkin's sock compared to mine, here's a picture of the two. The infant sock is one of the patterns in Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks.

I've got plans for mittens for the munchkin also. Here's the yarn & fleece I bought for them to make thrummed mittens for her. I'll be using the new mitten book I got, Favorite Mittens: Best Traditional Patterns from Fox & Geese & Fences and Flying Geese & Partridge Feet. How's that for a name of a book? I hear this is a fantastic book & I love what I see so far. Especially since there's also instructions for using fleece or roving for thrummed mittens. You see the yummy soft fleece I got? Hope the combination comes out nicely.

Wanted to start the mittens this weekend, but I also want to finish the socks. The socks won out!

And BTW, have you read this book? Hit by A Farm? I'm half way thru it and LOVE, love, love this book! Such a nice read. It's about two women starting a farm. Sheep on this farm, of course. And the stories of their trials and tribulations with farming. Especially since it was a "dream" of only one of them. The other is a writer and telling the story of course. It's a true story, so it's even more interesting to read. I really like Catherine and her partner Melissa.

But I never thought I'd have sheep in my dreams ... tee hee!

Added note on Sept 18: Check out FemiKnit Mafia`s post on a very interesting/amusing video. Freaky indeed! Go ahead, take a look. You'll laugh ... or cry ... or it'll put you right over the edge!

The Last Knit

And if you want to laugh until you have tears in your eyes ...
check out the L.A.'s County Fair commericials. I graduated from Savanna High in Anaheim, CA in 1967, yet I was a transplant from New England so I really appreciated these. Hehe. I got this link from Knit Together who's in California. Check out her Blog to read what Lynda's daughter asked her about Mohair. Too funny, Lynda! And those commercials are a hoot!!

Nothing new ... No wait, I got some more books!

So that isn't really news is it? Everyone now knows that I love Jo Sharps patterns... so why not collect her books right?

Not that there isn't enough free patterns out there ... because there IS. Check out the new Fall 06 Knitty issue because there are a few more patterns in this one than usual that I just absolutely love. Such as ... Ivy. I can see me wearing that one! Or Serrano, even in red. Or maybe an Emerald Green! And the socks and this one will be in my WIP basket soon also ... every one of them!!

So it's off to knitting I go. MIT S&B today and then after 6:00 tonight I'll be at the Seed Stitch Fine Yarn store for the Community Knitting. Oh wait, I have more work to do at work ... daRn ... getting side tracked again.
I'd rather be knitting!

A wonderful weekend ...

My DH has promised to pose for a picture wearing his new knit hat the first day it snows! Happy Birthday!

If I have anything to say about it ...

Knitting is here to stay! In my house anyway ...

I had promised to show the hat I knit for the DH's birthday. His birthday is this Sunday and the hat is now an FO! It's the black, red, white & blue one. You can see it's a little big on the Head form ... which is more femine than masculine anyway, LOL [the form, not the hat]. Hope the hat looks good on him and he likes it! Remember, he picked it out of the book Hip Knit Hats. I might talk him into a picture of him wearing it when I give it to him on Sunday ... or maybe not ... unless I surprise him. We'll see ...

The other hat is going into the donations that the Seed Stitch Fine Yarns store is collecting for in October called 'Circle of Love' hat project. Knitted or crocheted hats and caps will be donated to cancer treatment centers. The donated hats will be displayed on trees in their windows for awhile also.

I have another hat in my WIP pile for myself. Just need to do the pom-poms which always takes me awhile to get around to doing. I should have enough Merino yarn left over to knit yet another hat for the donation tree.

Last night was Community Knitting night in Salem at the Seed Stitch Fine Yarns! This is the new yarn store in Salem, MA that I've been talking about and here are some pictures finally ...

At the counter is our cheer leader, Victoria. As you can see, she's pretty busy. Ah, she was busy all right ... yup, with all of us SERIOUS knitters! What a nice group of people I've met here!! We did a lot of knitting, shopping, talking and yarn feeling. If they don't get sick of me and my camera, I think I'll keep on going every Thursday. What fun ... and

Meet the girls. Notice they're all pretending to be absorbed in their knitting. Only the StitchingNut is posed with a big smile [the ham] ... wait, I think she spotted something to buy before she leaves tonight ...




Oh what could it be?







It's not the sweater over on the wall is it? Notice all that beautiful color ...

Nope. That's the one I'm doing the in the Jo Sharp's Silkroad Aran in green. Lots of new yarn & books on the shelves since last week. But...

It must be the Casmere Silk scarf from Florence, Italy that will go just perfect with the green sweater when it's done. Yup! That's it.

Isn't it beautiful with the green yarn for the sweater?











And there's empty shelves waiting for a delivery. That's right ... more yarn is coming in.

Oh dear, I'll be back every week on Thursday - PAY DAY!!

Is knitting on it's way out?

Here's a recent article from Publisher's Weekly. What do you think? Is knitting on it's way out? Thanks to Knitter's Review for bringing attention to this article. I find it interesting.

Of course they haven't seen the knitting library of the StitchingNut ... I'm only one knitter, but the DH thinks I have enough in the way of books and yarn to start my own knitting school.

Hey that's an idea!

Update on my Knitting ...

Here it is the sweater from the Gathering by Jo Sharp
I love the color and the yarn ... which is Jo Sharp's Silkroad Aran Tweed in a light green called Spring. The flecks are a deep purple & a darker green. The yarn feels rough when you're knitting with it but softens up a great deal after it is washed & blocked. I really like it!

I didn't like the way the picture of my Hippy Crunchie sock came out, so I'll take a new picture later on.

That's it for now. Back to knitting ...

Shopping and knitting during the Holiday ...

First the shopping at Seed Stitch Fine Yarn Shop. Books by Jo Sharp and a Tshirt by Knitiot. Love the t-shirt altho the sizes run small. Or should I say my body "runs larger?"

I know I'm book crazy but now I'm in love with Jo Sharp's patterns. Simple classic styles. I got ECLECTIC and her magazine Knit Issue 1
I confess I didn't stop there. I also placed an order with Amazon.com for 2 more of her books, but I'll let you know about those when I get them.

I spent the weekend knitting on a sweater from the first Jo Sharp book that I got the Gathering. I'll take a picture of my progess on this by this Thursday. I love the way it's coming out so far!

I've also been working on my Socks that Rock Club, Hippy Crunchie sock. And finally got the 1st sock done (in the pair) and will post a picture tomorrow. Here is a progress picture I took over the weekend before I finished. I do like the way the sock fits and I love the way the short row heel came out. BUT, I just do not like the slow progress of knitting this one. It's not a quick knitting patttern or even one I can memorize. I had to go line-by-line for ever repeat of the pattern and that was 10 rows each with a knit row between each one [I'd give a sigh of releif everytime I reached a plain knit, LOL] ...

But the sock fits nicely and the yarn is just lucious & lovely ...