Where does the time go?

Not that I didn't do any knitting, but it was on-going WIP's on the burner all weekend, but only when I took breaks from the HOUSEWORK. That's right, I finally got some housework done. (And you all must know by now how RARE that is!) Especially my little bedroom. Well it's pretty little when you can't even walk around the yarn, supplies & projects stacked along the walls and piled in the corner.

I did some sewing tho. A Dutch friend had sent me Belgium lace last year for my birthday and I finally decided what to sew it on to. My two antique pillow cases for my bed. And here's how they turned out and and the result of my cleaning BTW.

And why not show you my lasted purchase as well ... other than Christmas shopping that is!
Happy knitting!

Do your socks really rock?

Are you interested in joining Blue Moon's Sock That Rock Club? Sign up notification will begin in November (if you're on their list).

Keep on Rocking ...

Spinning to the top of the fiber ladder!

Did I tell you I was going to a Spinning class? A free workshop at MIT. Our teacher pictured here is giving us a demonstration. She's an M.I.T student and looks like she knows what she's doing.



Whoa, this is going to take a lot of pratice.

I certainly didn't catch on right away!



It was a small class and we got to take our little drop spindle & some roving home with us.


There were 5 of us. Only one knew what she was doing. M-m-m-m, she's had a class before she said. But she needed a refresher class.












I took pictures of my work once I got home. I think I've got single ply Worstered weight here, LOL. More work is needed but look below ...











This wheel might be what I really need right? Or is it a case of "want" ... I heard a rumer that there are bets being taken on "How long is it going to take Rhonda to buy a Spinning Wheel?" But ...

How am I going to get this into the house without the DH seeing it?

I've got the magic!

Whipping out the Christmas Knit Gifts!

Two more pairs of fingerless mitts. Both for Christmas gifts. I'm just making as many as I can & will decide later, who gets which pair. I've had about a dozen requests so far from family & friends. And if I have time, everyone will get a pair. (I'm going to try anyway.)


Well the wee little Jayden will have nice warm little fingers with her new thrummed mittens. Got those done yesterday. I am going to put an "idiot" cord on 'em also, but I'm waiting for my daughter to let me know how long I should make it. So here they are. A lot of work but they will be such warm mittens and her Mom won't be worring about her fingers, that's for sure.

Here's a picture of the inside of one of the mitts and how the thrumming looks. Funny, huh? There are two methods to inclosing the roving in the mitt. You either pick up both the working yarn & the roving rolled strip with it and produce a little blob on the outside. Or you knit up the roving rolled strip instead of the yarn which locks in the inside strand as you do the next stitch. You then knit as usual like it was the working yarn on the next row and give it a little tug on the inside to make sure it's locked in. Like I said, it is a lot of work. Especially since you need to prepare the roving by pulling about 3 inches off the roll like in the Double-Rolled knitting (altho shorter pieces) and split each one & roll into little pencils.


I did the Kitchener stitch to finish the top of the mitten and here's also a picture of them next to the adult size Double-Rolled Mitten that I made for myself. I like doing the Double-Rolled more than Thrumming. I like the results. But both are very warm. The Thrummed is the best for little ones tho.

Had some purchases last week also ... mostly for the making of Christmas gifts, so it's justified right? If it wasn't yarn to knit up more fingerless gloves or a sweater for the Munchkin or a scarf for myself (after the Holidays are over), then it was supplies to go in each of the 8 knitting bag gifts I'm putting together.

Notice all of those knitting needles?

I also have tools of the trade being bid for on Ebay to go in each kit. Since I need 8 of everything, I need to go cheaply, LOL.

And I can't forget the hats I've knit for the 'Circle of Love' hat project donations. (Hand knitted or crocheted hats for Cancer Treatment Centers.) This is being put on by the Seed Stitch Fine Yarn store. I figure there might be people who can't wear wool, so I knit up four hats in acrylic yarns. The grey one is a little too big tho, so I'm going to do up a PINK cord to weave around the brim & then it'll be adjustable.

They'll all be delivered to the store November 1st ... and I'll still be
buried in Christmas knitting!

Preparing to teach kids to knit ...

And of course I'm going to do it with BOOKS! Seven of these 9 books will be given out to seven of my grandchildren. I'm putting together a Christmas package for each ...

Christmas package will contain:
One age apropriate book, a knitting bag (that I will sew, oh yah I really will) , two skeins of yarn, a set of new plastic knitting needles, plastic embroidery needle & one sheep marker for each child. They'll have to get scissors from their parents ... but I am thinking I might put a travel size pack of Dental Floss in the bag and show them how it will cut yarn & is safe ... but then they can also use the floss ... how convenient. You know how when you're eating candy while knitting it can get stuck in your teeth, right? So floss comes in handy too, lol.

Two of the new knitters will be boys. Who told me themselves that they wanted to learn to knit. Good for them right?!. The two oldest of the girls are ages 16 & 15 (the 15 yr old says she's presently knitting a scarf so I'm giving her a more advanced book). The other girls are ages 12, 11, & 7. The boys are 13 & 9. Six of them will be in one house to learn together. So I'll start 'em all out together. (OMG, will I be sane afterward?) The books are so they will have a reference to go to when I'm not around to help 'em out. You see, I live in another State. The 13 year old boy is also out of State in another town ... so I'll start him out another weekend. I've already taught him some crocheting, so I know he'll pick up on knitting really easily. Nicholas is the one I've knit socks for and he loves them so much that instead of giving him a chance to ask for more ... hehe, I'll teach him how to knit socks. In fact, I'm including a pack of dpn's in his gift.

What are the other 2 books for? Well..... if my daughter decides she MIGHT like to learn also, she'll get her own book. AND one of the books is for the first child to knit something for ME!

So my ambition is growing ... Knitter's take over the world!

Give a Knitting Hand ...

Check out the "Pretty in Pink" contest with Needle Exchange and help knit for a cause. Pick the cause you want to knit something for & sign up with Eve. You might win a prize!

I'm knitting hats for the "Circle of Love" with the Seed Stitch Fine Yarn shop in Salem, MA. This is one I`ve finished. Knitting another.

November 1st
Circle of Love project premiere. Your hand knitted or crocheted hats for Cancer Treatment Centers are welcomed. From 5-6 PM they will begin the hat hanging in the windows of the shop. Come in for a toast.

How did I double-row my mittens?

My Double-Rolled Mittens are done. I'm so happy with them.
... And the DH is looking for his!



I'll attempt to tell you how I did it thru pictures . . .

The fit is great!!

Now I've got a few plans for a multitude of projects in this Special Issue from Interweave Knits ... Oh when will I have the time to complete everything I have planned?



It's too cold outside for Hibiscus, so we brought the plants in a few weeks ago. And sitting in the well-lite mudroom seems to agree with it ... Such beautiful final Summer blooms!

Woopee, I finished a pair of socks!

First pair completed for Socktoberfest!

I don't really like this pair.

Why? ...You would ask.

Okay. It's because of short-row heels. It's my 2nd try at them and I still do not like short-row heels. Just doesn't fit my foot OR my heel correctly. Atho, this pattern was highly recommended ... The Easy Sock! Well it was easy to knit, but I don't like the way they fit my feet. I might have to give them to one of my granddaughters. I know you can't tell in this picture ... but believe me, the heel doesn't STAY where it should.

Well I guess I will give short-row heels only one more try. But that's only because my Blue Moon Sock Club has short-row heels in the Hippy Crunchie sock pattern they sent us and I'm committed to finishing them. I have only one sock done so far. So my next goal is the make the other one during Socktoberfest.

I have a feeling I'll stick to the heel flap after this tho!


Lolly Knitting Around has asked ...

1. When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?

I started knitting socks 1 year 9 months ago. Yah, I know the date ... January 2005 during M.I.T.'s Independent Activities Period (IAP) in a class on stitching. I was the crochet advisor and someone else did knitting & we had knitting guests there as well. Since there was only one person there for crocheting advise, I wanted something else to keep me busy & interested. So our guest, Cynthia was teaching how to do "Toe up socks on Two circular needles." I knit my first pair of socks & I was hooked! That 1st pair don't fit well but it didn't stop me from knitting more. Now I have a whole sock drawer with only hand knit socks. I love 'em!

2. What was your first pair? How have they “held up” over time?

I guess I just answered this in question #1, LOL.

3. What would you have done differently?

Other than binding off looser ... nothing much. I considered these my "learning curve" socks.

4. What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?

Fleece Artist Hand Painted Yarn, Socks that Rock from Blue Moon and Crazy Cotton ... I have more to try that's waiting for me in my sock yarn stash. The only yarn I did NOT like was Fixation.

5. Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?

Believe it or not, I prefer the DPN's. I don't dislike the 2 circular needles tho and have never tried Magic Loop. But I never will crochet my socks. I don't think they would be as comfortable as knit. Nope, I won't even try.

6. Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)

Oh boy, I answered this one above also ... Flap fits & looks much better.

7. How many pairs have you made?

I haven't checked but my quess would be about 10 pair now. Wait ... I knit 3 other pairs for gifts also. And I have another pair on the needles already.

So it's off to knitting my mittens now ...

Knitting in the background ...

Just so you know that I'm still knitting ... here's my work in progress ...

One down & started the 2nd mitten yesterday.

I'll explain all about the 'Double-rolled' mitten when I'm done.

Warning ...

A non-knitting post as we celebrate the Month of October!

Elephant walk by M.I.T.

The Circus is in town ...

(Click on Sound Button at the bottom next to the arrow if you want to hear music with the slideshow)

I love the sheep ...

This past Saturday was spent in New Hampshire to visit with grandchildren and go with them to the Deerfield Fair in Deerfield, NH. Once we got thru 2 HOURS of traffic we got into the park and had a great time. Altho ... there were SO MANY people there, we never really saw everything or even ATE everything we intended to.

BUT, I got to see the sheep ...






Hey don't ignore me gals ...






And then I even watched the "Traveling Barnyarn" felters doing their handneedle felting. I'd rather knit & then felt in the washer, but it was interesting talking with the ladies.

I just couldn't leave without something in my hot little hands either, right? So what did I get? Roving! Yup, I got some beautifully soft Lamb's Roving ... for knitting thrummed or lined mittens. I purchased the roving from Riverslea Farm. Oh my gosh, it's sooooo soft & luscious! Wish you could just feel it. It's black roving so I need just the right backdrop for it to show up in a picture.

And then I got home wishing I had bought MORE ... go figure.