Yes, a Bag Lady I am, I am!

Look what I just got in the mail ... from Ravelry.com

Oh yes, I think I want more. Yes I do, I do!

I've dedicated my life to knitting ...

I hadn't even finished my last post when my DH interrupted me to remind me about appointments we had to get out to.  So now I'm back to finally showing you the Summer Socks. Well I've already shown the one pair for me. I think the second pair will be a Christmas gift for a sister that has been blatantly hinting for a pair ... Peds (without the pompoms)

Of course I use fingering weight yarn (if not lace weight) for shawls and I've been knitting the shawls up too ... You know I need the yarn for the Sock Yarn Blankie? It's only one quarter of the way done. I need a lot more yarn ... well a variety of sock yarn.  Well I also knit those up and put some into classes I teach down at the LYS. The next class will be Winnowing. The textured lace shawl below. I knit it in a cashmere but any fingering weight yarn will do. A solid or heathered color is best I think.

Summer Flies (once again)

Afternoon Tea by the Seashore

And finally I've knit Winnowing

And between all that ... I knit an easy doggy sweater for my sister's little dog, Bonny. To match the hat I knit for her (my sister) a few years back no less ...

Now I'm all caught up I think until I finished the dozens of other projects I have on the needles still.  Not to mention the millions of others that I want to cast on from my queue.

Did I tell you I have an obsession?

Life has been one knit after another ...

I can't even remember were I left off the last time I posted what I've been knitting. I know it's all about the sock yarn I'm trying to use for socks so I'll have yarn left over for my Sock Yarn Blankie, but there's been other WIPs falling off the needles in the past few months or so. Such as;

The Vogue Ottoman Cover

I love the way it looks but it was quite the chore to knit with three strands at one time.

But it was worth it once it was done.

And then I made up this Icord Bracelet for a friend's birthday gift ...

No pattern. I just made it up as I went along. And it was the yarn left over from the shawl I also knit for her birthday. But I think I've already shown that to you already.

I also finished a crocheted shrug for my youngest grand daughter. It's another pattern I can't share with you right now because it's a test knit. But I can show you a picture of the beautiful little girl I knit it for ...

I took a picture of the sweater I knit for her for Christmas too and guess what .... she's almost out grown it already. Did I tell you she's only 6? The sweater is for an 8 yr old.

I went to take her sweater off  in order to try on the shrug and she said, "Grammy don't take my sweater. I LOVE my sweater!"  I had to convince her I wasn't taking it. Only wanted her to try on the shrug and she then could have both of them.

It's really nice to have someone that really and truely loves my knitting!!

Reviewed by the StitchingNut

NONI FLOWERS by Nora J. Bellows

This book contains patterns for 40 exquisite knitted flowers and 6 beautiful projects. Not just knitted stylised flowers but more detailed and realistic flowers that happen to be knitted. Yes, most of them are “felted” but if that intimidates you it’s not always necessary to felt them. If you want to leave then “just knitted” you can. Although, I think felting makes them look even more realistic.

I have yet to sit down and knit any of the flowers but I have flipped through the pages many many times over; scrutinizing and planning which one to start with first while gathering some materials together. Just looking at the beautiful photos has been a treat. Wonderful details keep me coming back and engaging my imagination.

The book is broken down into a very nice workable order. You learn and understand gauge in a new way and it contains lots of descriptions and pictures of the special techniques as well as the supplies needed to create these beautiful flowers. Fantastic! But she doesn’t just end there with just the flower patterns and gorgeous pictures. Oh how I love those pictures. But the last third of the book also covers some really beautiful projects to apply those flowers to. Different type of flowers with a variety of different yarns and project styles both for the home or to wear. My grand daughters would love the May Violets Fingerless Gloves and I'm dying to wear the Gossamer Fuchsia Wrap. Yet I want that Forget-Me-Not Pillow adorning my couch by the next change of seasons.

The most difficult part of this book? Well it’s deciding which project or flower to make first.

Do yourself a favor ...

Flip a coin.

I'm knitting in circles and neglecting you ...

I'm so sorry about my neglectful blogging lately, but alas I'm still knitting. Really I am.
Please be patient with me ...

As you see, a lot of it has got to do with socks and sock yarn.

I'll be back. I promise.

The moment before ...

my latest knit goes into the wool bath to soak for Blocking, I need to take a few pictures. I know it hardly needs any blocking at all but I only plan to soak 20 minutes in a wool bath, gently squeeze out the water and roll in a couple of beach towels to soak up the excess water and then lay out on the blocking board. No pinning this time. Just pat out flat and let it dry! Couldn't be simpler.

Wingspan Shawlette ...

I did the final 4 rows and I-cord Bind Off in another color for high contrast.

This knit was so additive, I want to cast on for another. But wait ... I have a few other projects to finish first. Oh no, it's MIAs or that pile of WIPs sitting next to my chair that has to be finished to make room for more.  Mmmmm, I have to think about this because it's a toss up on what to work on first.

On second thought, there's a birthday gift in there that has to be mailed next week in April. Problem solved.

Another Baby on the way ...

A Great Grandchild  ... #5 ...  "It's a boy!"

So I've knit and crocheted up a storm for the baby in between the shawls I've knit. Now it's about time that I displayed what I've done. Such as ...

Teddy Bear Brights Round Afghan

IMG_6639, a photo by Stitchingnut on Flickr.

Baby Hat with Leaf Edging



And of course I had to use up every bit of yarn that I had left ...

Mix Up the Baby Booty Socks



And since the baby is a boy I did have to knit a sweater set for the Fall ...

Tó Haachi Baby Cardigan



And of course there's a hat, booties and mitts to match ...

Aviator Baby Bonnet and Baby Socks



Baby Mitts


And why not a Baby Leaf Blanket ...



Perfect for a cool Summer evening or Fall day.



For Great Grandchild #4 who just turned one this month, I knit a Pixie Hat ...



And a little pink one if I ever have another little girl to knit for ...



Of course there were some miscellanous items knit in there also. Just a few to use up left-over yarn from the stash.









Last but not least, the Zig Zag Tam I knit on purpose ...




Now I think I better get back to my knitting. Those needles need to fly!

Shawls have fallen off my needles ...

since my 2010 Christmas knitting was completed ,,,

Astrid Shawlette

Oaklet Shawl

Garter Stitch Wrap

Summer Flies

Dreaming of Summer

Summer Flies over again

Summer Flies and again

Simply Warmer Boneyard Shawl

Of course I have cast on for another.

Every Little Thing is ...

just fine. Honestly, I realize I've been gone a long time. But a lot of knitting has still been done while I've been busy with many other things as well. Like searching on Ancestry.com between my own family tree and helping a grand daughter with her son's; who will be born in June. Yup, I'll be a great-grandmother again for the 5th time already. It's been keeping me pretty busy too. You know I'm cranking out the baby knits, right?

Also ... of course I'm still teaching knitting and crochet and consulting for a publishing company and reviewing books for another and trying to keep my DH busy and not sitting front of the TV too much, since he can't drive anymore. I just can't believe how busy I am!

So I'm just letting you know that all is good. Life is wonderful! And I'll be back before long with an update. Once I can sit down and get my thoughts together that is. Those who want to peek at what I'm doing or have completed; check out the progress with the Stitchingnut on Ravelry. Go ahead, be my guest. I still keep that pretty much up to date (another thing that takes up time). In the mean time, enjoy this glorious Spring ...

Getting your Stash under control ...

Stashbuster Knits
Tips, Tricks & 21 Beautiful Projects for Using Your Favorite Leftover Yarn 
by Melissa Leapman


The title alone tells you what kind of a book you’re getting involved with here. Dealing with the knitter's stash. Oh yes, the "stash" is always something to consider when you knit and what knitter doesn’t have boxes, baskets and/or bags of left-over yarn from previous glorious projects? Of course the question is "What to do with all that yarn?" The yarn is too good to throw away of course, but there comes a time when every knitter realizes that something has to be done to make room for more. After all, the intent is to be organized and not let the stash be hindered by the lack of space as the orphan balls of yarn start to take over a room or even the whole house. As much as we love our yarn we need to do something wth it right?

Melissa Leapman has the answers and gives some very good advise on how to get it all together and organized in a working manner so you can have access to what you have and make a plan on how to incorporate it all into a knitted project. Yet it also doesn’t have to look like it was made from left-over scraps. She then gives you 21 projects as a jumping off point to choose from and start you on your way to using up all those scraps taking over your house.

When I first got this book I grabbed two beautiful skeins of wool from my stash to knit the Urban Knitster Slouch Hat on page 109 just to see how well written or understandable Melissa’s patterns might be. Well, I not only loved knitting the hat and wearing it afterward, but I also loved how the pattern was organized and easy to follow from start to finish. She even gives samples of how the hat might look in alternative colorways from variegated to a solid color. Nice to see it before you begin.

There are a number of projects in this book that I know for sure that I want to knit and love the many tips & tricks scattered throughout the book in notes within each project, but the most invaluable part of this book is in the beginning. I’m referring to the "How to get it all together and sort it" section of the book. Melissa recommends sorting by weight first and then color families. She tells us how to do this and even gives us a couple of charts to go by for us knitters who find this one of the hardest things to do without a ball band. A problem for many of those left-over balls of yarn. But don’t fear, Melissa has helpful charts also. She even includes a chart on how to get the weight you need by combining two or three other weights of yarn. Even picking out the correct color combinations can be daunting. But Melissa gives you all the information you need to be successful. I hardly have to stress how invaluable it is to know how to plan the color combinations. Oh how I love this potential in this book. Melissa explains it and breaks it all down to where anybody will have success by following her advise.

I know I'll be referring to this books for many other projects as well. Even just for the color combination secion alone. So now I'm going to take Melissa's suggestion of shopping from my Stash and making use of this wonderful book while knitting a dent into my own yarn collection. But first I need to pull all those hidden balls out into the open and find out just what I have. Thanks for the inspiration, Melissa!

The Urban Knitster Soucy Hat came from this book and it's now one of my favorites.

But now I have to get back to my knitting. Catch ya later knitsters!!

A New Year ... and more knitting ahead of me in 2012.

Well I hope everyone had some nice memorable holiday cheer last year. A happy new year is ahead of us now along with ... yup, more knitting of course.  First I'll just give you the update on what I finished for Christmas gifts in 2011.  Of course I got a pair of fingerless mitts done for my DH. So he won't get cold hands while he reads the Kindle I got for him for his big Christmas gift this year. [he gave me a Touch Kindle so I could be read to with text-t0-speech while I knit.]

And I also completed the fingerless mitts for my dear daughter [DD] who knew they would be a little late getting to her. Oh ya, there's a story behind these

Hourglass Mitts by Anastasia Blaes.

I love the way they work so well being worn over a pair of leather gloves too. Keeps you hands extra worm on those very cold days.

But I did say there was a story behind them didn't I?  Okay, I'll admit to not always being the perfect knitting machine that I seem to be at times. Dare I say that I don't believe in being "perfect" anyway? Well the pattern for this traveling stitch design comes with a 60 row chart. That's sixty rows mind you. So I knit up the right hand without a hitch and was on my way to completing the left hand up to a few days before we were to go up to New Hampshire to see the kids for our Christmas get-together. I'm on row 59 late into the evenin' and I'm determined to get 'em done & have them on the blocking board before going to bed. They may still be damp when we leave for NH in a couple of days but that's okay, they can dry in their new home. All I have to do after this last row is the 4 garter stitch boarder and then the thumb ... the Thumb. There was NO HOLE for the thumb. I forgot to do the gusset and hold off the stitches for the thumb. Where was I suppose to do this? Well way back on row 17. That's right; row seventeen.

I've knit over 40 pairs of fingerless gloves and mittens in the past few years and never once did I forget to do the gusset for the thumb. Now someone made a very good suggestion of using EZ's afterthought thumb. BUT, I had already done the right hand correctly and the left had to match because it was a gift right. So yup, I frogged back to row 17.

It's all in the process isn't it? So I'm over it now. And I'll never forget the gusset again!

One last pair of fingerless mitts for a gift went to the munchkin, JD because she wondered where her's were. [inspite of the fact she was the only one who got a sweater] At least she loves my knitting right? Well she's only 5 1/2 and I needed to "size up her hands" I told her. So I had her measure her's with mine to give me an idea of how small to make her mitts.

And they seem to fit her perfectly.

So now I can knit for myself!  And with that in mind I went crazy casting on ...

but I also completed a couple of hats and a pair of mitts for myself by Christmas.

Urban Knitster Slouch Hat by Melissa Leapman. It's in her new book; Stashbuster Knits. A fantastic book by the way!

Autumn in Garrison by Kate Gagnon Osborn 

And a revised version of Susie's Reading Mitts.

I used  Aslan Trends Invernal in both of the last two knits. Lovely yarn to work with BTW.

And now I'm on to the many other projects that just suddenly jumped onto the needles before I knew it. OCKD or Startitis?

And next week I'll tell you about ....

So little time and so much knitting to do!