Good time had by all at Mets Stitch N Pitch, 'cept the Mets-- they lost

Go team, stitchers that is. How cool is it that a crowd of crafters can gather and celebrate their handiwork? Here's a shot of the knit banner for the event sponsored by The National Needle Arts Association and Warm Up America! Free needlepoint kits featuring the Mets or Yankees logos were distributed to the first 200 attendees... and they "sold out" -- yeah! Free yarn and knitting needles were handed out so attendees could make 7x9 inch squares for Warm Up America afghans that are donated to charities. Of course the colors were blue or orange, in chunky yarn from Lion Brand, it worked up fast and 2 cartons of squares were donated... MANY THANKS to all participants.

Here's a shot of Lily Chin sporting her Big Apple outfit, it had HOME RUN worked into it. Notice the crochet baseball glove on the gentleman sitting next to her, the "baseball" scarf and baseball cap--all crochet in the Mets colors --- now that is team support. ;-).

There was yarn bombing all over the stadium, you can see examples wrapped on the railing. There was a beautiful moon over the stadium, the weather was close to perfect.The night was sublime.

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By the way... I found this http://craftzine.com/images/extras/113/baseballsocksinstructions.pdf -- great socks if you are a baseball fanatic!

Happy Day!

My niece had a baby shower on the 13th of August. I thought I had at least another 2 months of knitting time. Nothing like a deadline to get things done. YEEKS! So I switched into high knitting gear and plowed thru. Driving to the shower with a few rows to go, and I finished it off at the party. Whew! My wrist was a little sore, and I had to ice it for a couple of days. But it was worth if for this smile.
Got a lovely thank you card from Erin.... for a gift made with love... ;-)

Yes, it was, and hope and joy and best wishes.

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Here's to free patterns on the Bernat website, and this lovely Knit Baby Blanket (fyi, you have to sign up to get access), done in Softee Baby, which is Machine dryable and Machine washable. The pattern is a simple 5 row repeat, and it feels great. The yarn had a tendency to pull, but with a tug or two restores itself.

On the train...

Quiet time, away from it all (well, as far as one can be -- with technology), I finished this cutie for Amanda W.. I love Amtrak and took advantage of the 2.5 hr ride to finish up a gift piece. I took last week off (almost...) to read "Cathedral of the Sea" and knit. Spent some quality time with a dear friend.

Caught up on movies... All About Eve (what a ruthless story) - loved Bette Davis, she was really beautiful. The Hangover - far better than I expected. Tried watching The Red Shoes, but couldn't finish. Snatch was great fun as well as The Fifth Element, but my dear friend thought it was not so hot... viewed thru her eyes, I guess she's right. It has become a cult viewing in our house, as my husband LOVES TFE. I thoroughly enjoyed Emma with Gwyneth Paltrow. You could call my week off the "Austen Week"... for I watched as well Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley on the train headed to AC. Watched more movies this week than I have all year.

Starting the next baby project--a blanket, for a baby boy due in October... stay tuned for photos. Happy Knitting.

To Rip or Not to Rip, that is the question

Okay, we all get faced with this... a big stupid mistake. The thought of ripping this time was too much so I dropped stitched and got out my handy-dandy crochet hook and remade the rib pattern that I had forgotten to continue after I turned the heel. I was not focused on this pair, it took me a long time to get one done. I think because I really didn't like the color and feel of the yarn. My gamble worked, the ribbing is restored and --other than those of you who read this confession-- no one would know. ;-)

I have managed to complete yet another pair of socks since this green pair and now the garden calls. My beans are just popping through the soil in a miracle of new life. My onions are almost a foot tall. Garlic is on it's way and I wait with excitement for my organic flowing potatoes to sprout. I pray the weather is amenable and the garden flourishes. More to come...

Whew! better late than never

Hey, Erin, Happy Belated birthday!!!!

Erin's birthday scarf is finally done. and now to get it packed up and sent off... only a couple weeks late. The yarn is a beautiful nylon microfiber from Tess Designer yarn . The wavy scarf pattern is created with dropped yarnovers. The pattern as written is a narrow scarf, if you want wider, increase in multiples of 10 stitches. I discovered Tess at the Vogue LIVE! event at the NY Hilton in January. The yarns are breathtakingly beautiful.

Mary's gift for Carol

I am sharing a project completed by my friend Mary.... it is lovely, medallions of flowers with glass crystals clustered together, from Vogue Knitting 2007 Fall 25th Anniversary issue, on the cover! oh, i really should be knitting! I have a scarf to finish for my niece. It's for her birthday, but alas it is late.

obsession

This winter has been rough. Okay, having a BAD week, so I did more knitting. this time a variation on the one i finished on the 2nd, in Wool-ease in a taupe and mustard gold.... the picture does not do it justice. This is beautiful, and with a ceramic button from my stash that I wish I could remember where it came from. OY.

The scarf is going to be a birthday present for a dear friend. It can wrap around the neck to keep her snuggly WARM!!!

The weather outside is frightful, but the knitting is delightful

In the middle of winter, battling fatigue, I decided to take a half-day for me. I finished my MaggiKnits scarf from the Vogue Live event. A silly and delightful project to cure what ails you, it has 3 different yarns and a cute button. A couple of first for me... 1. knitting with "tape" and 2. making little "tube" fuzzies that remind me of wooly bear caterpillars. The rag look was created by cutting the tape in short lengths and tying them together before knitting. Back to work!

As my friend Jack said, "There is no guy equivalent"

I had a DELIGHTFUL weekend at the Vogue Knitting Live! event at the NY Hilton last weekend. It was a "gathering of the tribe", and what a gathering! All my friends were there, surrounded by the most beautiful fibers, and colors and inspirations. We laughed and explored, and spent too much money.... but worth every penny. Thank you Vogue! And thanks to all the contributors to the Save the Children Caps for Good baby hats... your generosity was amazing.

Holiday knitting madness

Socks and cowls and shawls and such! There is never enough time to knit what you want, but I'm going to make more time! My wonderful husband just got me tewelry from lesliewind.com and I LOVE the Cable Needle Necklace, and she even engraved it making it even more special. I dropped off the map for a bit this summer, too hot to knit.
But am back on track with a pair of green socks and a cowl and a Helen Hamann Kit that I got from Knit-purl.com which seems now to be out of stock. and I can hardly wait for the arrival of my next project, Acorns cardigan, from a LOVELY site called SundayKnits.com thanks to my BFF Mary!

Exit Zero

Took a weekend off and headed south to Cape May, and another deeper breath to start a Latvian Lace Sock. And what a delight. it was relatively easy, just have to keep track of the row and understand how to do a yarn over. The yarn is from KnitPicks.com, and is wool with nylon, and I added a reinforcing thread. I am now empowered to tackle more complex patterns. But, wait, Leslie wants sock with toes... that may have to be next.

Sock Aktion (Lang, that is)

I Love this yarn!!!! Lang Aktion Jawoll... I was luck enough to snag a skein of the custom combo from November 2007. Was a wild knittin' woman, couldn't put it down. Love the colors, love the feel.. and love the fact that I worked on them over a memorable weekend spend with Susan and David in Cape May. (Just gotta weave in the ends on the toe--later! it's not cold yet!)
Bucket list item checked off, road the Ferris Wheel in Ocean City. and Whacked a MOLE! ANNNDDDD saw Revenge of the Nerds, not sure how I ever missed it.

All that jazz on the explanade

What to do on a hot and steamy Staten Island night? Knit on the esplanade and listen to JAZZmobile. Akiko Tsurga performed, amazing! Chenda and I soaked it all up. But where was everybody.....?

monkey-in' round

I just had so much fun making this monkey for my friend Betsy's new baby... whooo hoo!, now I need to make one for ME! Been a busy knitting month, took a break from sock-making to work on "Chico"... great fun and easy, from Patons Monkey Business.

It was a month of new babies... and this sweater is for Charlotte. The Pattern is a modified Debbie Bliss hoodie pattern. Knitting for babies is such a hoot.

The packages are going out Monday!!!!

Magical

I love knitting socks! Every time I turn a heel I get a thrill. The magic of sticks and strings turning into something real and useful is so satisfying. This sock is the CLASSIC SOCK PATTERN, from Folk Socks by Nancy Bush. The trick is learning how to do short rows. I am using sock reinforcing yarn for the heels and toe on a set of #2 double-pointed needles.

Had a great lunch yesterday with my two Marys! I showed them the "turn" and am hopeful that the next time we have lunch they will have "turning" stories too.

Lastrada -done-whew, the best yet

I have to admit that I long to purl when I am working on Falkenberg projects, but the end result is always fabulous. I love the drape and this sweater can go from jeans to evening. Enjoyed the process but socks are calling!

Crankin' on Lastrada

Right side is finished.!

I just love the construction of this sweater. I have now cast on 475 stitches and am cranking on the left side of my Hanna Falkenberg Lastrada.... I got distracted by a pair of aqua blue socks, and am glad that I am back on course with this.

YouTube videos on socks

Long time coming

Today I finally put the finishing touched on my Pagode sweater. Feels like I've been working on it forever, feels like we are old friends, and now it is new to wear. I am thrilled with the outcome. Yet there is an emptiness in the completion. There is now a hole in my day, what will I fill it with? hmmmm.... I'll have to check my stash. But I really need to get outside into the garden. It's beautiful today.

Recession Rag

Last weekend I asked my husband to clear out his dresser. Much to my surprise he really did clean out his old stuff right then!!! I was faced with a pile of old t-shirts and there was my dilemma. Now I had to actually get them out of the house... or not. hmmmm. I have a very hard time throwing anything away. And I noted that my rag bag was pretty full.

The artist in me noted the nice selection of muted gray colors and thought they might work as a rug for the newly tiled gray floor in the bathroom. I sprang into action, pulled out a sharp pair of scissors and started cutting a spiral of "yarn" out of four of the shirts, winged it with the increases on the corners and VOILA... a week later I have re-purposed 4 t-shirts into a great and funky new rug for the bathroom. ;-)

Ok... so I still have a pile of shirts, mostly mouse-gray. I'm thinking I'll work up another and throw it in some dye.... to be continued.