Image hosted by Photobucket.com

A journal of my knitting projects and experiences.

Google
 
Web knittingcircle.blogspot.com

Friday, May 27, 2005

Secret Pal 5

I have joined secret pal 5! I am really going to enjoy this. To make things easier for my secret pal I am posting the questionaire.

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?

I admit it, I am a yarn snob. It doesn't have to be expensive, but I can't stand knitting with acrylic.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?

I am learning to spin on a drop spindle and hope to get a wheel this summer.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)

I only break out in hives from the sun. It's a good thing I live in the Pacific Northwest.

4. How long have you been knitting?

I learned when I was 8. I have knitted on and off over the years, but in the last ten I have been addicted.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

I don't right now, but maybe I will have to make one.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)

I like lavender and other floral fragrance except for rose.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?

Chocolate

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?

I do some quilting and cross stitch.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I like alternative music. I have a CD player, but not an Ipod yet.


10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?

Blue, green and red are my favorite colors.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I am in a long term relationship (11 1/2 years) but we are not married. No kids, but a dog and 2 cats.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)

My dream is to go to photography school in Montana.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?

I like so many I don't think I have a favorite.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

The only fiber I don't like is acrylic

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?

Lace and socks.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Socks because they are quick.

17. What are you knitting right now?

3 sweaters, 2 pairs of socks, a shawl and a scarf.

18. What do you think about ponchos?

I don't like them.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?

Circular.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Bamboo or aluminum

21. Are you a sock knitter?

Yes, I am addicted to them.

22. How did you learn to knit?

My grandmother.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?

10 years!

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?

My favorite animal is the whale.

25. What is your favorite holiday?

Christmas.

26. Is there anything that you collect?

Coffee mugs.

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

None

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?

Stitch N' Bitch Nation

Thursday, May 26, 2005

The Return of the Flower Basket Shawl

I did some work tonight on the Flower Basket Shawl. I just love Evelyn Clark's patterns. I hope she will put out a book soon. I didn't have a lot of time to knit tonight, so I was only able to do about 5 rows, but the good news is I think I figured out why I was having problems. I was just not paying attention to the yarn overs, I think I was trying to correct them thinking they were a mistake. So basically I wasn't paying attention to the pattern or what I was doing. Here is a picture of my progress so far -


Image hosted by Photobucket.com

It is bigger than it looks as it tends to curl up on circular needles. I will probably make it larger than the pattern calls for it to be as I want it to be the size of a regular shawl. It's a lot of fun when you pay attention to what you are doing.

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Carpal Tunnel

I think knitting is giving me carpal tunnel. My hands get all tingly when I knit, and now often when I'm not knitting. Has anyone had a similar experience and what have you done about it. I don't want to have to give up knitting.

Monday, May 23, 2005

Purly Girls

Tonight I went to a Purly Girls meeting on Queen Anne. There were lots of FO's and lots of great projects being worked on. Here are a few of them:

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

Katie finished "Crumpet". Isn't it cute! It makes me wish I had a little girls to make that dress for.

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

Jessica finished knitting and dying"Leaf Lace Sweater". I love the color and the lace too!

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

Suzy is working on a top from Stitch N' Bitch Nation. I don't know what it is called, but it is a shawl like garment. It has a beautiful lace pattern on it. It seems like everybody is knitting lace these days, maybe the warmer weather makes people want to knit lace?

Thursday, May 19, 2005

Lots of Knitting Going On

This week I have been doing a lot of knitting on the Brown Sable Sweater. I finally have a picture of my progress, although not a very good one. I'm afraid I have some lighting issues in my living room at the moment, so I have limited areas in which to photograph.


Image hosted by Photobucket.com

Tonight I went to my LYS and got some help from Molly on the Flower Basket Shawl. She is a whiz at lace and correcting mistakes and got me back to where I can begin working on it again! I don't know if I will make it to the end of this project, but I am determined to finish.

Tomorrow night I am going to my first auction. A professional insurance women's group is putting it on to raise money for the organization. It should be fun as there are lots of great items up for bid, including Mariner's tickets!

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

S N' B gathering

Tonight I went to the Seattle Stitch N' Bitch group. There were only 3 of us tonight, it might have had something to do with the traffic and weather. We had a good time knitting and gabbing as usual. I made some good progress on the sleeve of the Sable Brown Sweater. I've been going to so many knitting groups lately that I'm afraid my housework is suffering. Oh well, I tell myself I'll catch up on the weekend.

Tomorrow I need to make a trip to the LYS for some help with the Flower Basket Shawl. It has been sitting around the house waiting to be worked on again. Right now it is a mess and the more I try and fix it, the more I mess it up. I also need to work on the felted bag for my friend.

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Drop Spindle

Look what I learned how to do on Sunday! I took a private lesson from my LYS and learned how to spin wool on a drop spindle. What fun! I'm not very good at it yet, so practice, practice, practice. I think spinning is something I will really enjoy doing and now I am looking for a used Ashford Traveler spinning wheel. If anyone knows of a good used one for sale please let me know. You will also notice in my picture the niddy noddy.

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

My new knitting books arrived today. My favorite is Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Without Tears. I am knitting the Brown Sable Sweater using her percentage method. She has lots of useful tips in this book. I am knitting the first sleeve on the sweater tonight. I should have the sweater done soon and will store it away until fall.

Saturday, May 14, 2005

A Little Light Reading

I'm back, after major computer problems! I'm lucky that Scott is a computer wiz and could fix the problem. Nothing frustrates me more than not being able to get on line. Now that the computer problem is fixed, I can get back to blogging.

I went a little crazy yesterday and bought several knitting books I have been wanting. I now have enough patterns to keep me busy for the next several years. Well, maybe not the way I seem to get lots of projects started. Now if I could just get them finished! I am making progress on the Sable Brown Sweater and the Retro Rib Socks. I will post pictures maybe later today. I also need to start another felted bag for a friend of mine. I won't be posting pictures of that project as it will look just the same as the red one I knit my niece last month.

Tomorrow I will be taking a drop spindle lesson. I am very excited. People ask me why I want to spin my own yarn, they don't understand why I just don't buy it at the yarn shop. Boy, have they got a lot to learn!

I will be hobbling around this weekend as I have an injured toe. It really is painful, so painful I went to see the Dr. yesterday. She put the blame on my shoes and insists that I buy a new pair. So it looks like after my drop spindle class, I will be shoe shopping. I don't like to complain about my health, but it really hurts!

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Catching Up on Old Projects

I now have 3 sweaters I am working on. I have made a vow to work on each one a little every week. I am not going to post any pictures today, but I will as soon as I have made significant progress on any of them. I am going to have them done by October 1st, which shouldn't be too hard to do.

I needed something small that I can finish in a short period of time, so I started the Retro Rib Socks from Interweave Knits. I am knitting them in Lorna's Laces. The colorway is gorgeous, I will post a picture when I have finished one of the socks.

I am going out of town for Mother's Day down to Gig Harbor to see my mom. I will bring lots of my knitting with me and hope to have a nice relaxing weekend. We will be going out to lunch at Anthony's which is on the water right in the harbor. It should be fun.

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

Knit Alongs

Image hosting by Photobucket


Image hosted by Photobucket.com

Image hosted by Photobucket.com
Image hosted by Photobucket.com

Meta Web Search: Your Engine for Top Search Results

Subscribe with Bloglines


Image hosted by Photobucket.com