The desire to gain more crochet skills has been growing in me.

My daughter came home with this crocheted beanie that a schoolmate made for her.

It is an adorable hat with a small brim that gives it just the right flare.


I want to make one!

Togetherness.

My dear friend Karen sent me this link. There are two videos.

A new twist on Jingle bells - hee hee.

A bedsock. I chose to knit toe up so that I could make them as long as the ball of yarn would allow. Looooong bed socks. The leg is 12 inches. These were specifically requested by Daughter. I am using Encore chunky yarn, which is a washable wool blend .

Getting my kids home for the holiday has been interesting. Their school is located in an area that is having very bad weather. My son is home and my daughter will hopefully be home before midnight tonight.


Edit: Both 'kids' home. All 3 of us under one roof. Nice. Very nice indeed.

A little egg of yarn. Enough for one sock. Filled with potential and ready to 'hatch'.

I took time off work today to catch up. I planned to paint the dining room, box up more 'stuff' for donation, finish the sleeves to my cardigan, and finish (or at least start) knitting gifts. The day evolved much differently but it was delightful. I celebrated a dear friend's 80th birthday by going out to dinner with her and her friends and family. She has become frail but her mind is sharp and quick. She is so dear to me. I want to turn back the clock.

I at least started one of the gifts.
This is the first dishcloth I have ever knit, and my first time using kitchen cotton (even though it has been in my stash for a few years). I can see how this becomes addictive. I once read a review of cotton yarn written by a scientist on her knitting blog. She tested each brand of cotton and then scientifically determined which one was most stain resistant and therefore best for dishcloths and towels. I think it was this one, Peaches & Cream. I should try to find that blog again.

I drew the line in the sand, laid down the law, and told my inner knitter I shall NOT cast on for another project. No. I have a project that is close to being finished, and I am halfway through my little lace scarf. I desperately want to finish these soon. Time to knuckle down, practice restraint, and inoculate against startitis. My inner knitter kept tickling my brain with thoughts of socks. My inner knitter wanted to knit socks so bad that it got a cramp and I began to lose my knitter's bliss. So I decided I would hand-wind some STR . I have puzzled over designs for this colorway for months now, and I think I have decided on something simple. Hopefully this will revive the inner knitter. whew.

Marmee is winding yarn on the movie "Little Women", 1949 version. Sweet.

I am blocking one of the fronts. I am surprised how much the cables relax with a short soak. I laid the two fronts side by side for comparison. The one on the left is before blocking and the one on the right is drying after a soak. It does not need pinning.

Time to correct a mistake. When I chose buttons for my cardigan, my decision was made from what was available at one store and from misguided penny-pinching. I thought the yarn was so lovely that I could afford to compromise on the buttons, but I was wrong. The buttons look muddy on the sweater. So I ordered two styles of buttons from Black Water Abbey Yarns. The leaf shape buttons are actually a brighter silver than the round ones on the right. I am leaning towards the leaves. The lesson I learned is that the buttons are like jewelry for the knitting, so it is very important to choose the right ones.


I started this last Thursday....
The beginnings of an afghan knitted from leftover yarn. There are only 12 stitches on the needles. Combining the colors is alot of fun.

Clothesline knitting. I am too lazy to knit these separately, so I knit the fronts and back on one long circular at the same time. I am inspired by the green sweater in the Vogue Knitting magazine, but I am making several modifications. Hopefully I will achieve my goal of an oversized, A-line, cable yoke sweater.