Sealed 4 Ever Knits

kudos for rachel

2009-12-11T17:28:00.001-05:00

Super kudos, not just regular ones, to Rachel Goodgal (who, by the way, IS a good gal), for her knitting related Girl Scouts Gold Award. She's a local girl, from Wyckoff, NJ, who's project was to generate lots of knitted caps and blankets for Valley Hospital newborns and at the same time, encourage her local community members to knit as a relaxing and productive hobby. She taught Brownies and Jr. Girl Scouts to knit (and some have continued meeting with a knitting group that meets at a local library) and she led a workshop of senior citizens at the Christian Health Care Center, inWyckoff. She had meetings with both groups for several months. As a result, over 90 caps and blankets were created for the preemies.

Rachel was valedictorian of Ramapo High School in 2009 and a National AP and Merit Scholar.

I don't know her personally, but she sounds like a delightful young woman.

great tips

2009-12-07T12:15:00.003-05:00

I'm a pod cast freak, and in addition to listening to some serious stuff, I like to listen to BlackBerry and various fiber art 'casts. The last yarncraft podcast I heard, included some great tips from Lily Chin. She has 2 new books that are full of her tips for knitting, as well a crochet. I have implemented one of the knitting tips already. I don't know why I didn't think of it.

When swatching, to permanently record what needle size was used, Lily suggested YOK2TOG-ing for the number of your needle size! How smart is that??? So, you have your swatch of some yarn you're using again. All you have to do is count the holes created by the YOK2TOG-ing and you know. Just great!

Christmas count down

2009-12-07T12:09:00.004-05:00

Well, I've been counting down to Christmas since January 25th. I'm a Christmas person, that's just how it is and has always been. We're at 18 days. I have tons to do and probably won't post more until after Christmas. I will be taking pictures of everything I have knitted, as they get wrapped etc. I still have a few projects to make, but if I work on them in my down time, I should be okay.

Aside from weaving in ends and sewing on buttons, I have 1 project in progress and am swatching for another. The project I'm swatching for will result in at least 1 and perhaps 2 of a particular item. There is an optional set of projects I would like to finish but they are not absolutely necessary, so I'll work on those last. Last year, Christmas blew by me, as we were still recovering from our August move. I love this time of year and want to drink it in. It's always over too quickly. When I finish the few blog posts I'm making today, I will do some long desired decorating before I go to work.

Have a beautiful celebration of Chanukah and Christmas and I wish you lots of creative expression in 2010.

less than 4 months until Christmas!

2009-08-27T21:17:00.002-04:00

On Tuesday, when I was teaching some guitar students, I mentioned to all of them, that we were 4 months from Christmas. Some of them are school age students and they don't want summer to be over, but hearing that Christmas is right around the corner seemed to lift their spirits.

I'm happy to report that I am on track, project-wise. I have nearly 5 knitted gifts complete and I'm keeping an open mind about some of the remaining planned gifts. My mind is WIDE open because I used a $5 Borders Reward to pick up VK, and I must admit that now, I'm thinking about hats. The whole Fall 2009 edition is lovely.

early review of knitpicks zephyr options

2009-08-27T21:08:00.002-04:00

My 2 pair of Zephyr Acrylic Options interchangeable knitting needle tips arrived last week. They're a little strange looking but they're light weight and I doubt that they will hold cold the way nickle ones do. I have to say, I'm skeptical about their "staying power." The threaded collar into which the threaded pin on the end of the cables to which these tips attach, is affixed in the same way the Harmony Wood Options interchangeable knitting needle tips were. I didn't have a good experience with those, as much as I wanted to. I have nearly finished the 1st project for which I'm using the new tips. So far, I'm neutral. I don't love them yet, but they function just fine. I need to spend a little more time with them.

new zephyr needles from knitpicks

2009-08-09T21:59:00.003-04:00

I have been getting emails about KnitPick's new acrylic Options tips, which are called Zephyr. I have and use Options circular needles 95% of the time. I only occasionally use Pony Pearl straights to teach someone to knit, test a stitch or other atypical use for which I have a yen to or feel compelled to knit with straights.

My original KnitPicks Options purchase was a full set of Harmony Wood needles. They are beautiful and delightful to knit with. The problem is that the metal collar that holds the screw that the cable locks onto, unattaches. KnitPicks is always accommodating and replaces tips that have come apart, but after it occurred too many times, I returned the Harmony Wood set and exchanged it for the Nickel set. Not as lovely to look at, but not a wimper of a problem with them.

On close examination of the connectors on the Zephyrs, they appear to be the same as the Harmony Woods. I'm probably going to try a set or 2 of Zephyr tips and hope the adhesive bonds more permanently to the acrylic than it did to wood. I know I can return them if they don't live up to my expectations.

Christmas is less than 6 months away

2009-07-04T10:38:00.003-04:00

On June 25th the "task" alarm rang on my BlackBerry. The little window read, "Make Christmas Crafting List." I was in the throes of the last "regular" week of my teaching schedule, but spent a few days trying to be realistic, yet thoughtful; economical, yet not cheap; reasonable, yet not slothful. So, I came up with a list of the gifts I plan to knit, crochet and sew as Christmas presents. For the most part I will make the gifts I give. I did pick up some small books on clearance for particular people, who I hope will enjoy them.

I have a prototype of something I have not previously made, almost finished. I have a little swatching to do and then I can begin. The projects I have planned are interesting but not extremely complex. If I hold to a schedule and don't get "lost" over the summer, I think I will actually get to enjoy the autumn and winter, rather than stressing over not-yet-completed work.

projects in progress

2008-12-13T13:23:00.003-05:00

A couple of the projects I have knitted for gifts have already been given and several more await on my needles.

My in progress stuff is:

a Wedge scarf in self-striping yarn
a masculine scarf (I have only cast on) to match a cap that is completed

What I have not begun but need to make and finish:

fingerless gloves -at least 1 pr - I'm hoping 2
spa sets (face cloth & head band) - I'm hoping 2 or 3

I'll get photos up some time after Christmas, I hope.

knitting daily tv!

2008-07-22T12:48:00.002-04:00

This is just a quickie post about Knitting Daily's new TV series which will air on public television networks nation-wide. Read all about it. I expect it will be more interesting to me than Knit & Crochet Today's show - which I watch when I can. (Not lately.)

By far, my favorite knitting tv show was way back in the 80's or maybe early 90's, with EZ. It was called Knitting Workshop and the DVD's are available all over the Internet. I learned how to knit in the round on multiple needles and on a circular one. That may be where I learned to knit backwards - if not, I learned from one of EZ's books. That show was the informal instruction in knitting that is the basis of my understanding of knitting to this day.

I hope new knitters will be offered more than a parade of interesting yarns, but real instruction in knitting and finishing techniques.

ok, i'm convinced!

2008-06-14T17:21:00.003-04:00

I have finally surrendered. I give up. I have seen the light. Oh, the folly of my ways!

Now, I have embraced the eternal admonition to block one's knitting. I have not consistently resisted swatching. That, I do. And when I forget to swatch, the sting of having to frog what I have done - because it never just works out ok when I don't. But blocking??? I am ashamed to say that with all the socks, sweaters, hats, scarves, gloves and wristers I have knitted, I have never blocked a blessed thing. Somehow, they have been wearable and have survived washing and wearing time after time.

The final nail in the coffin came last night. Kelley Petkin of Knit Picks Podcast (to whom I listen every week) convinced me. I like Kelley and I listen to her so regularly that she is just a whisker away from being an honorary Material Girl DKnJ.

Last week, Kelli went on and on about blockink and even wetting ones' swatch. Her justification -- read "logic," was so sound, I can no longer overlook such an important step in the process of successful knitting.

But where shall I block my knitting? I'm moving into a wee small place. Knitter's (sic) to the rescue! (I think the ' should be after the s but it isn't on the cover of the magazine.) I came across an ad for something called Knitter's Block, which is a modular blocking surface. Parts fit together like a puzzle. The versatility is great. The blocking modules can be connected in a row to block a scarf or a couple socks or wristers. They can also be connected in an equal length and width for a sweater. I'm ordering it as soon as possible. (It's out of stock right now.)

saturday: wwkip!!

2008-06-04T21:45:00.003-04:00

Saturday is Worldwide Knit in Public Day. Yarn shops and knitting groups all over the world will be knitting in public to enjoy each others' company and to be seen. Knitting and crochet are yarn crafts that are not only a genre of fiber art but are also seriously social practices during this current resurgence of these media. I think it's good -- not that anyone really cares what I think. I know that part of my enjoyment of machine sewing and quilting is the sharing part with my Material Girls DKnJ and I'm sure yarn crafts are likewise. I haven't had the time to join a knitting group but there are tons of virtual knitting groups doing "knit alongs" (KALs) or who don't knit the same thing, but communicate online with great regularity.

My LYS will be having a WWKIP get together in the park across the street from the Ho-Ho-Kus NJ Post Office. I won't be attending because I need to pack etc. However, I will likely be going to Barnes & Noble with Bern for a couple hours Saturday night. If I do, I'll take knitting and knit in the cafe -- so I will have participated in the WWKIP. :-)

toe up progress is regress

2008-06-01T09:49:00.001-04:00

I've been trying, unsuccessfully, until last night, to get a little knitting done at night, for its therapeutic calming effect and to be creating something. For the last week or 2, every time I sat down with my knitting, my eyes closed and I just couldn't do it. Last night I actually allocated time to knit. Well, in this case, it was to come to the realization that I needed to re-start my socks.

I know you're thinking I was just so overwrought with the day's happenings plus moving that I just lost my cool. That's not why I ripped them out. I have been making notes for myself as I have knit this first-time-ever toe up pattern (which I like a lot.) As I have been knitting and trying the socks on, a consistent concern has been that they are more loosely fitting than will fit properly into shoes -- even Birkenstock clogs, which are loose shoes. At first I thougth I'd just wear them around the house because they aren't the highest quality yarn nor the most expensive. I had to rip back a little way the last time I knit them. I have been thinking that although they are a great learning pair, don't I want to actually wear them as socks? Of course I do. Then, I recalled that the easiest way to tighten up a knitted garment/project is to decrease the size of the needles. So, I thought I'd rip back to just where the garter toe was done and change needle size there, so the foot and led fit better. As I thought about it, I concluded that the change in gauge wasn't going to be sufficiently smooth so I went all the way and unraveled them entirely.

My problem for those socks, was that I was impatient in my swatching, so I only swatched a small piece instead of 4". I already know that a swatch on straight needles is not usually the same on circs, so I did swatch on circs. I just didn't knit long enough to give myself an accurate measure of my gauge.

So, I'm happily, mindlessly, wisely knitting a tubular swatch that will give me truer gauge and therefore, socks that will fit with shoes. I'm still using the now discontinued, Lion Brand, Magic Stripes yarn in a blue, white, black and brown pattern striping colorway.

I think I understand the pattern well, too, which is going to make this 2nd try more rewarding and not too challenging. That's fine. I have all the challenges I need right now, thank you.

new maizy yarn from yarn diva

2008-05-25T19:51:00.000-04:00

It's been a while. Packing has put a dent in all my activities except work. I just wanted to post a photo of this very cute sock yarn I bought in Hillsdale, at Yarn Diva. The shop is tiny but the owner is very nice. The location is 430 Hillsdale Ave, Hillsdale, NJ 07642 (201) 664-4100. A web site is under construction.

There were a few knitters there when I went in to kill some time. A student nearby had to cancel a lesson at the last minute. (Wonderful) I decided that I would shop, since I foolishly went out without knitting or a book to read. I could have listened to something on my BlackBerry, but I was in the mood for something more pro-active than that.

I ogled all the yarn. First I was going to impulsively buy some fine lace weight yarn to make a shawl that would come in very handy in air conditioned venues all through the summer. But I snapped out of that line of reasoning when I realized I thought of it because I had been listening to so many podcasts and reading so many web sites and blogs that were talking about shawls.

Then I decided that more sock yarn - not that I needed any - was a better idea. I like knitting socks. I could also use it for gloves or mittens or fingerless gloves. I justify buying sock yarn, when I already have a stash, by never purchasing the same brand until I have knit it up and decide if I really like it or not. So, among the brands in the shop that I did not already have, I found a Crystal Palace yarn called Maizy. You Latin and Spanish speakers know that maiz is corn. This yarn has a nice texture and hand AND is 82% corn fiber. I assume it's corn silk or husk but I don't know. The colors didn't really send me but the colors I chose, though conservative, are pretty. The creamy looking one is called corn and the multi is called brick bark.

It feels like the socks will be very comfortable. This is thinner than usual sock yarn, more appropriate for warmer weather. If I finish my first toe-ups soon, I'll try Maizy so I can wear these socks in the summer or early fall.

As for the progress of the socks currently on my needles, I have ripped out some rounds on 1 sock. I was quite impeded with the eye problems I have had for the past several weeks. I'm hoping to get back to them tonight for at least an hour or so. I miss not knitting nor sewing for these past weeks since we learned that we are likely moving.

new blog launch

2008-04-27T22:25:00.002-04:00

This blog is an outgrowth from my original "everything in my life" blog. I will probably continue posting about my hand knitting knitting, my machine sewing and the Material Girls, DKnJ on the personal one, but I wanted to have individually focused blogs for public consumption.

I hope to post photos, projects, exploits and links to blogs and products or web sites I use, like or recommend. Feed links will follow.

To coin a phrase from dear EZ, go unvent something!

hand knitting & me

2008-04-17T10:32:00.002-04:00

I don't know what it is about my make up that is dismissive of my hand knitting. I'm fairly proficient for a primarily self-taught knitter. Once I begin a knitting project, l love it. The "in between" of projects is usually the death knell to my continued production of knitted things.

I learned to knit one summer when I was about 9. (That may be why I knit nearly every summer.) I still have the number 7 pink aluminum knitting needles and still remember the too-thin charcoal gray yarn I learned with. My mother learned to knit a a yarn shop that year, and for her first project she knitted a complicated multicolored, patterned, lined mohair jacket. It was a great jacket and looking back, I can't believe she learned to knit and made such an amazing first project. I'm sorry I never told her. She showed me how to knit and purl that summer.

As a born musician, I was blessed with terrific digital dexterity and the ability to focus on and perform tedious activity until my goal was reached. In this case, knitting and purling with gigantically long 14" needles while using a smaller than fingering weight yarn. You knitters and crocheters know what I'm trying to say. Well, learn I did. Thereafter, in the summer I bought yarn and made some obscure knitted object like a scarf or hat. Then, with the fall, and a more regimented school schedule and practicing music (happily for hours every day, my knitting ceased. The same cycle took place most summers until I was in high school. Then, summers were just as crammed with practice and other things that I'm sure I skipped knitting for several years.

One summer, when I was about 16, we spent a little time in Belmar, at the Jersey Shore. We stayed in a cute B&B a couple blocks from the beach. Among the guests were a couple of older women from NY, named Ida and Henny. They were avid knitters and their creations re-ignited my interest in knitting. So, I went to F Street, to the 5 & 10, and bought some cheap yarn and another pair of 14" number 7 needles (which I think I still have) and knitted for the couple weeks we were there. After that I probably knitted every summer and into the autumn. I knitted some holiday gifts and accessories for myself.

Fast forward to the 1980's. I was in a horrific car crash. I went through the windshield and sustained some head, neck, back and most concerning right hand injuries. (Musicians think of hands before their skulls.) My hand needed a lot of therapy -- and there it was, the perfect opportunity for knitting to become OT for me. And so it was. I'm sure my right thumb is much better than it would have been with just the medical treatment I received because I knitted. I made my first real sweater during that convalescence. It was for Ed and he still has it.

I mark the recovery time from that accident (and I use the word to use the vernacular term. My Christian faith mitigates against the possibility of "accidents") as the renaissance of my knitting. I learned to knit in the continental method, which is far less taxing to the wrists and works up more quickly than the American way. I think guage is much more even, too. I learned to knit backwards, make short rows, knit on double point and circular needles and began to produce "real" things. All of this "learning" was from books, magazines and a PBS TV show, so I consider myself self-taught. I never took a class or had anyone other than my neophyte mother demonstrate how to do anything with knitting needles, in person.

I will take pictures of old and new knitted projects and post them in the near future.

Now it's summer, and I'm knitting again. I just finished a pair of socks (one of my favorite things to knit) and have a Christmas gift on my needles. I have found some patterns to knit for Sam, Dot & Gerry's greyhound, who has to wear pj's and sweaters nearly year round. When I get his chest measurement, I will knit him an "oddball" striped jacket, using up odds and ends. If he likes it, I'll make him as many as my left overs afford.

elizabeth zimmermann

2008-04-17T10:30:00.001-04:00

If you knit and you haven't ever read Elizabeth Zimmermann's books, you're missing out on a glorious read and a permanent liberation from patterns if you desire to knit freely, as I did. EZ was a huge promoter of the idea of seamless, top-down knitting with her "percentage" system for making a perfectly fitting sweater based on the chest measurement. (Of course, some of us modify the formula to suit our unique shapes.) When you use her percentage formula, you begin knitting at the neck, on circular needles, add circulars for sleeves and complete them, then continue down the sweater to it's end. She was also a great process instructor. If you understand what you're doing and how it effects the finished fabric, it's much easier to freely create shapes and patterns. That's right up my alley. It's how I teach music and everything else I have ever taught. For me, there's nothing better than to be free to create what I see in my mind's eye, rather than being shackled to a pattern. Patterns are great for a first attempt at something new, but after than, I like to make original things. I'm that way with hand embroidery, quilting, knitting, some aspects of music, cooking and just about everything creative except baking (because that uses chemistry & I can't "guess" at that.)

Try to get a copy of Knitting Around, Knitters' Almanac, Knitting Without Tears, Knitting Workshop or any other Elizabeth Zimmermann publication. EZ's daughter, Meg Swanson, has taken over Schoolhouse Press, the publishing company/knitting catalog/wool shop/knitting camp etc. that EZ began. If you're an avid knitter, you will often see credit given to EZ in the prefaces of knitting books. I came across one just yesterday in a new book called Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles, by Cat Bordhi. EZ was truly a matriarch of contemporary knitting, an artist and one of the most amusing story tellers. If you have your choice of EZ books to read, I'd begin with Knitting Around. It's an unusual blend of knitting patterns (start with this even if you are a beginner but don't knit) and EZ's "Digressions" about her life. If you are not the least bit interested in reading EZ's extraordinary prose, and you are a beginner or intermediate knitter, begin with Knitting Workshop. In it, you will learn how to do every "important" thing.

left-over socks

2008-04-17T10:28:00.002-04:00

This pair of sock was completed while bunny sitting Kris' rabbit, Fagan. Each morning and evening I went to check on him (and give him treats and apply his skin spray and make sure he was "clean") I took my knitting and knitted around and around, making my favorite sock pattern from Patons for their Kroy Socks yarn. I had make a pair of Kroy Socks socks last year and had not enough left over to make a pair of socks. So I used the last - or nearly the last - of my Kroy Socks yarn, which is a self-striping sock yarn, and some left over sock weight yarn to make another pair of Kroy Socks. (No, I don't know what or who Kroy is, but that's bad. I'd make my students find out. I suppose I should.)

So, here is my first pair of socks I'm posting. I will add old and new ones as I can.

Knitted Socks

going in circles

2008-04-17T10:26:00.002-04:00

My "summer learning" of knitting socks on a single circular needle went very well. I quite liked the prototype even though I picked up an extra stitch and then decreased so I'd have the correct number of stitches -- which caused a break in the ribbing pattern, but I know what I did and that sock was just going to be for around the house anyway. So, I left it. I will get a photo up soon, maybe this weekend. I have to say, I was very skeptical of this circular needle sock knitting. Circular needles and I have been very good friends for many years. Likewise have double point needles and I been well acquainted and happy to make socks. But socks on a long circular needle? Well, once I got past the awkwardness of the first few rows and let the memories of how the beginning of a sock looks on 3 or 4 needles, it was fine. .

I'm almost done with a "matching" (same yarn) prototype 2-circular needle sock. (The socks won't match at all, so they will really be around the house socks.) After I cast on, joined and knitted a few rows, I liked the 2-circular needle process much more than the single circular needle way. I'm hoping to finish this test sock this week. Cat Bordhi, the author of the book Socks Soar on 2 Circular Needles has written another sock book that I will probably get. Her directions are very understandable. She's an EZ fan and one can detect some EZ in the way Cat writes. She's right up my alley: clear, precise, conversational and an expert at what she does.

I will make socks to wear with jeans or leggings on either a single or two circular needles from now on. Most likely, 2.

Picture will follow ASAP.

summer prototype socks

2008-04-17T10:23:00.002-04:00

Finally took pictures of each of the summer-learned circular needle socks. I prefer the process of the 2 circ socks. I followed the authors' patterns for each sock -- theoretically you could make either look like the other. Since these were just trials with left-over junky yarn, it didn't matter to me if they matched.

Album

Summer Socks

Slide Show

finished 2nd circ sock

2008-04-17T10:22:00.002-04:00

I finished the sock made on 2 circular needles last night. I like it better than the one made with a single circular needle. Looking over it, I see I dropped a couple stitches. That would account for why I was short a stitch just before I began casting off for the toe. It's not a problem. Now that I know the process I will be an astute knitter. I think I dropped those stitches while riding to and from the pool. Bumps aren't conducive to accurate knitting on small needles. I'll snap photos and get them up as soon as I can.

I'm happy to have learned the new sock making techniques this summer. When I am proficient at translating double point sock patterns to 2 circular needles, I will be in sock heaven. :-) If you're a sock knitter, you should try it.

an old yarn or how I didn't buy on etsy

2008-04-17T10:17:00.002-04:00

I have felt more stressed out over the past few weeks with to wallet being stolen, my heavy student load and the computer threatening to crash (we will replace the hard drive, but this isn't a particularly good time for me/us to do that). I have noticed a funny thing about me and stress.....it always causes me to want to knit. I love to knit, but it's a practice I reserve for when I'm waiting somewhere or decide to watch TV. (I can't watch TV in a totally idle state -- which disturbs Ed a bit.) So, whenever I have had a moment, I have been knitting. I currently have 4 Christmas projects on a long circular needle. But more than wanting to finish those projects, my mind has been wandering to what I would like to be knitting right now -- and it's not simple gifts. I have had nearly irresistible yarn lust, too. I have had all I could do not to buy a zillion different hand dyed sock yarns on Etsy! (I have to admit, it's hard to go offline without first checking Etsy for anything whether it's yarn, earrings or anything else.) Of course it doesn't help that I listen to some knitting or sock knitting pod casts, which just make me really want to buy. My favorite knitting podcast is Socks in the City. Carrie is fanatical but I don't have a problem with it. Hearing her is almost as good as me having her exploits. She also sounds like someone I know but I can't put a name to the voice/speech pattern. I think it's probably a student from a while ago, who I don't see anymore. She's a pistol and very enjoyable company at 1 in the morning when I'm checking email or prepping the next day's lessons. Like Carrie, I really like to knit socks.

I have moved my small but respectable yarn stash into plain sight, in my studio. I keep my yarn in a clear zippered bag from a comforter or something. I can SEE that I have several self striping or interesting colorway yarns just clamoring to become socks or mitts or whatever else delights me. Oh, and it nearly finished off my resolve when I wore some of my knitted socks with my Birkenstock clogs on a cold day last week.

As I reflect on other stressful times, I recall having this same urge, but not doing so well at staving off the lust. Part of that memory comes from looking at my current stash :-) I still have yarn from former times of crisis.

I am happy to report that I have survived the strongest and most terrible urges to buy yarn and stop everything I'm doing in favor of knitting until my fingers fall off. There are 2 books I'd like to get, but I am content to wait for them. A few students give me B&N gift cards and I hope I'll be able to get the books with them, although I saw them on Amazon. I'm not sure B&N has or offers them. We'll see.

Now, all I have to fight this urge to do a whole separate knitting blog -- which is ridiculous, because currently, I have hardly any time to quilt, sew, knit , read any magazines I get or write this blog. I'll get over it when my stress level drops.... I hope.

my lys

2008-04-17T10:11:00.001-04:00

I have finally visited a LYS (local yarn shop) past which I drive a few times a week, with no time to spare. Last Wednesday, between my students almost-priest Nathan and Olivia, I had over an hour so I popped into Close Knit, in Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ.

Surely, there are larger shops with a greater variety, but I doubt they are more welcoming or more cozy. It's a teeny shop, but they have a really good selection of yarn. While there, I met Phyills, who is an employee and The Knit Doctor on Thursday nights.

I didn't need anything, but I couldn't go into a little independent shop and not make a purchase. I can't wait until the Christmas sewing and knitting is done so I can work on projects for me. I don't mean it to sound selfish, but I haven't knitted anything for myself since the summer. While at the shop, I found 2 skeins of a nice hand dyed merino sock yarn by Claudia Hand Painted Yarns in Stormy Days, which is just luscious: light amethyst, tan, palest rose and blenders and a large ball of Austermann Step that's 75% merino superwash and 25% polyester. It's in a sedate cream, charcoal and brown. Both yarns will eventually become socks.

The shop is outfitted with a table and chairs around which instruction and shmoozing can and does take place. There are upholstered chairs and a sofa, too.

In addition to yarn, there are notions, patterns, books, magazines etc. If you knit or crochet, and live in the area, stop by.

ravelry

2008-04-17T10:07:00.001-04:00

I have been a member of Ravelry for a few months. I should say I'm a beta tester, because the site is in beta stage. It's such a cool, and sometimes wild place for people who do things with yarn. My mini pitfall is that sharing photos with Picasa doesn't yet work on Ravelry. Currently, the photo-sharing program that works there, is Flickr. It's an interesting sharing site and community. I haven't had a lot of time to get acquainted with it, so as yet, I do not have photos shared on Ravelry. If you're looking for my meager postings on Ravelry, my user name is sealed4ever. If you are on or join Ravelry (you may have a wait from when you request to join and you are able to join) add me to your friends. I'll do the same.

Material Girl, Donna, has been putting some of her photos on Flickr, too! It was uncanny that we were both exploring it at the same time. I think she was a little farther than I, when we spoke Tuesday morning.

I'm hoping to have some time to read the guides of how to get the already uploaded photos onto Ravelry soon. If not, I'll try to link my Ravelry to this blog so the Picassa photos can be seen.

left-over arm cozies

2008-04-17T10:05:00.001-04:00

It was 20 degrees colder today, than the balmy day we had yesterday. I was so glad to tuck the last tails into the fabric of my left-over arm cozies last night. They are original and done in little bits of time when I couldn't do any major project. I took the instructions for making the baubles at the arm end of the cozies from a very lovely pattern in Interweave Knits, fall edition. The textures I knitted into the cozies are ribbing, rings of knit and purl, chckerboard and some very this cables that I should have made bolder, but this was a "just because" exploratory project.

I wore them today and I received a few compliments, but honestly, if no one said a word, I'd have been just as happy. I LOVE THESE THINGS! I hadn't planned to make more, but I probably will. They're simple. One can work any pattern or texture on them. They're useful. They're colorful. They don't take a lot of yarn or time. What else could you want? I have a few ideas for the next pair.

I used this project to get the feel for knitting 2 cylindrical objects at the same time on 2 circular needles. I made a prototype single sock on 2 "circs" in the summer, but hadn't tried the 2 socks on 2 circs trick. Since I'm planning to knit socks in that technique, I chose to make the cozies first, sort of as a test drive of the process. I like it. If you're a sock or anything cylindrical knitter (sleeves, gloves, leggings etc.) you have to try this method, if you haven't done so yet.

Here's when I began them:

And here's the finished product:

friday night knitting club

2008-04-17T10:03:00.001-04:00

Most of you know that I am not much for reading fiction. I don't have a lot of time and there's very little out there that I really want to read. I read magazines and news and spend a lot of time in the Bible and study resources.

There are a few podcasts I listen to, that have featured interviews with Kate Jacobs, the author of The Friday Night Knitting Club. When I heard her talk about it, I thought it would probably bear some resemblance to How to Make an American Quilt, a book I didn't read, but the movie of which I loved, and other women-bonding books and films. Sure enough, when I found it in paperback in BJ's, one of the comments on the cover was, "Steel Magnolias, set in New York City." Of course I bought it.

I'm only up to the 5th or 6th chapter, but I am really enjoying the story. The writing style, not so much, but the story keeps me reading.

I won't let you know how it ends.

Julia Roberts' name comes up a few times at the beginning of the book and what do you know, she is going to star in the movie, as the primary protagonist, not as herself. I don't know what megastar knitter's name they'll use for the references that are now mentioning Julia

If you like light reading, and relationship stories, this is a good one.

I hope I can round up the Material Girls, DKnJ for a movie night when the film is out of production and in the theaters.