Knitting Passion

You know, you just can’t get enough “girlfriend” time. Last Friday I invited my friend to drive to Anchorage with me - we were just going up for the day - just to have some chatty, weepy, laughing, alone time together.

Each of us is busy, busy, and we just can’t do this often enough to satisfy us. You know? We’ve all been there - we dibble and dabble into each and every project that comes our way - we do for our families - we do for other folks - we work - we eat (sometimes too much) - we sleep - we exercise (sometimes not nearly enought) . . . we do all those things, but

we forget to take time for ourselves. And, time for ourselves needs to on occasion include other folks to share it with - and, so the great adventure for Anchorage began.

And, what’s a trip to the big city without a stop in one or two local yarn shops?

Favorite-est of all (tis TOO a word!) is Knitting Grounds, so I made sure we had enough time to stop by to say hello before heading out of town. I have some gorgeous lavender/purplish wool from Knitting Grounds that I purchased late last year - I really need to get that made up into another felted bag.

Goodness . . . I sound like a junkie or something . . . I NEED to (do this or that) hahaha

The picture above shows my friend modeling a blue felted hat and a green and blue scarf that were on display in the shop. She is SO much fun to be with. I am blessed to have her as a friend.

I have another friend who likes to make that big city run with me, too. She has just started a new job - so a big shoutout to Ms. B!! Trusting you are still enjoying the new work!

Well, folks, I am very tired, so I am going to cut out of here for tonight - but I want to leave you with this . . .
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Bag Ladies and Gents still needed. Read about the project here and contact me at prplmoose AT kenaiwriter DOT net if you’d like more information or would like to contribute. THANKS!

On Monday when I came home I found another box from Shelly . . . as we say in our family - “oooohhhhh, a box!!!” Yup, big smiles because I knew I would find more lovely squares to put together for the Share a Square project.

It seems that we have reached our goal as far as squares are concerned and Shelly thinks that she has gotten all of the afghan kits out to folks to put together now. Yay!!! That is quite an accomplishment. See how far we can go when we dream just a little?

So, I have finished edging the first group of squares with black and am working on the second set now. After all are edged, I will lay them out and find an appealing (to me, at least) pattern to place them, then begin to stitch them together. I think I may need to buy ONE more skein of black to finish them off. I have enough to edge and, maybe, stitch both afghans together. But, I will need more to do the outer edging.

I know - twist my arm - I have to go yarn shopping. LOL.

After I get the two afghans finished I will start on decorating the bags Shelly sent to me. I have several if there is anyone out there who would like to take one or two to decorate and then return. They would fit into an envelope so it is no biggie to send. Drop me a line and let me know if you want to help out.

In other news, Lucy bag is finished and felted. It’s drying now and then I can put a pin on it to call it complete. I plan to carry it to Juneau with me next week. (No, not Juno the film, Juneau the city in Alaska, sillies). I’d carry some of the squares, but I don’t want to even think about possibly losing them on the flights.

Soooooooooooooo I will probably pull out some of that sock yarn - or maybe the purplish wool I bought on a trip to anchortown and start on a larger lucy bag. Hmmmmm, yeah, THAT’s the ticket!

Have a great day, everyone!

Bag Ladies and Gents still needed. Read about the project here and contact me at prplmoose AT kenaiwriter DOT net if you’d like more information or would like to contribute. THANKS!

Now, you all know that a trip (ANYWHERE) to the big city is an opportunity to troll through either bookstores OR yarn shops.

Can you guess which one struck my fancy this time?

Yup, you’d be correct!
One of my sweet sisters in Christ joined me for a drive up to anchortown Friday. I had entered some pictures into the Fur Rondy photo contest and it was the first day of the show - so we went to see how many had made it onto display.

Once again, no ribbons for me as none of the pictures “placed”, but all five were IN the show so we did get to see them hung among the others.

But, a good “girlfriend’s day out” ABSOLUTELY MUST include perusing the yarn shops available. My friend has recently begun a quilt, so the first stop had to be the quilting/yarn store in mid-town. We ooohed and ahhhed over the pretty colors in the quilting section. I heard some “I could do that” comments from time to time and I loved it. She CAN do it - she can do anything she would like to try!

And, that includes knitting - although she has never tried . . . yet.

In the yarn section she was fascinated with all the different yarns and such - I kept saying - just wait until we get to the Knitting Grounds if you think THESE yarns are cool.

So after lunch at the City Diner - sorry, Lessa, they have taken “chicken fried bacon” off the menu - we stopped to visit with Zaynab (pictured above) before heading out of town.

I was a bit disappointed that we had gotten there before all of the Friday Night Knitting folks. And, we were not able to stay longer because of the whole driving through the mountains to get home thing . . . but I got some great shots of my friend modeling some of the gorgeous knitted items through the store.

AND . . . she even asked if we thought she could knit some socks - well, of COURSE we think she can. But, we might want to start with a simple scarf first - just to get those knits and purls down.

Bag Ladies and Gents still needed. Read about the project here and contact me at prplmoose AT kenaiwriter DOT net if you’d like more information or would like to contribute. THANKS!

At my daytime job part of my duties is to arrange for - or give - various trainings. Some are required trainings, while others are educational, entertaining, or plain fun. Some are a delightful mix of all of the above.

One of the latter occurred this week when I invited some of Kenai’s finest firefighters to come and teach us how to utilize fire extinguishers properly.

First, they started a fire in a burn barrel. They used plastic bags filled with newspapers and poured gasoline (!!) onto them, then ignited the lot with a barbecue fire starter. Oh, pyromania!

One by one, our staff members extinguished the fire (which was started over and over again) with the firefighters watching and coaching closely. Much fun ensued!

And, they, of course, made sure the fire was fully extinguished before heading back to the station.

Then, my brain tried to figure out a way to tie together knitting AND firefighting, and you know what? I can do that!!

Here is a blog written by someone who both knits and is a firefighter - for two different companies! Whoot! She also apparently is fond of breaking double point needles.

And, for my British friends - here’s a group of firefighters who helped make a calendar to raise money for some seniors. I love this comment: “We have such unlikely situations as a firefighter sitting in the garden being taught to knit by three older ladies and a polar bear being rescued from a tree (scared by fireworks!)” Yup, the story has a picture of the unlikely firefighter in the garden. Cute!

And, last, but never least . . . a pattern for firefighter’s socks - well, socks that reminded the crafter of ladders . . . thus of fires and firefighters.

I’m off to the big city tomorrow - driving up with a friend after swimming and a dental appointment. We will stop by the mall to see my pictures (hopefully) hanging in the Fur Rendezvouz Photo Contest, and have some lunch before we head back home. Oh, we’ll hit a couple of stores, I’m sure - a yarn store for absolute sure.

You all enjoy!

You know it’s almost spring when you hear about babies, babies, and MORE babies headed for a soft landing on this earth. Two of my longtime online buddies are going to be first time grandpas. And, while the situations (in both cases) are not 100% hunky dory, nevertheless, these two gents (did I mention they are both Brits?) will make stupendous Grand-das. Yes, indeedy.

So, I’ve been the knitting gramma from across the pond (also known as “that wacky ‘laskan” and other not so charming monikers - heh) and I’ve been knitting baby socks. I’ve sent some off to one of my friends and am ready to send some off to my other friend.

And, THEN, I found out that my dentist is going to be a first time dad this summer!!! Can we say MORE baby socks?? I knew we could.

But, not just socks . . . BOOTIES!!! How about these for an upcoming holiday . . . Booties go Bragh! from Vickie Howell. Or, you could knit her Hugs and Stitches newborn booties. key-ute!

And, for those feeling all goose-bumpy about babes, but not in the family way . . . nor even having a family man (so to speak) . . . here’s a quick and cute Boyfriend Scarf that just might help (or not).

okay, friends . . . you know how you do a search and click a link that has NOTHING to do with whatever you were originally searching for? Right? Right? And, it just happens to be one of the most interesting links you have seen that night? Right?

Yeah, like that . . . here’s a site for those who have no sight - braille knitting books! That’s very cool.

Those of you old enough to remember those words, raise your hands. (me, me, me! My hand is WAY up there) heh.

Of course, that would be Dezi Arnaz calling out to his wife, Lucille Ball on the I Love Lucy show. Yup, good old black and white tv from the 50s and 60s. I was little, and so was the tv screen, but I remember watching that show (dee, dee, dee, dee DEE, dee, dee . . . are you humming the theme song now?) and also the Honeymooners - although, the Honeymooners always bothered me because Ralph was so abusive. (and, of course, it was so close to home - my dad was very much a Ralph Cramden)

But, this is a KNITTING blog, so what in the world does I Love Lucy have to do with knitting?

Not much, I guess . . . but I AM working on a Lucy bag - niice segue, huh? I’m making the smaller bag this time, but plan to make a larger one sometime as well.

and what, you might be asking yourself, is that little critter there in front of the work in progress?

Why, it’s a PurpleMoose, of course, you sillies!

Not just ANY purplemoose, either . . . but one made by my very specialist, oldest, granddaughter, Ms. Thang! Thanks, baby girl! I love my little purplemoose - she made him in class - her mama got a turtle.

Now I’m sure it’s a very NICE turtle . . . but I got the PurpleMoose. Heh.
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Bag Ladies and Gents still needed. Drop me a line at prplmoose AT kenaiwriter DOT net if you are interested in helping out for a great cause.
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Hearts and Flowers

Well, if you watched The Apprentice tonight you no doubt noticed that there were NO hearts and flowers on Piers’ team. Oy! And, I must hand it to Donald Trump for doing the right thing in NOT firing anyone from Trace Adkins’ team. That would have been so tough to do - and a completely WRONG move on his part. Kudos to him!

So, what did you and your honey do for Valentine’s Day? Go out to eat? Buy candy - cards - flowers - write special words - buy/give a ring - pop the question - survive the night? or did your love go wrong?

Hubby and I had an early dinner out - a bit disappointed that our favorite Mexican restaurant didn’t have the special dessert - Tres Leches - yummy when they have it. Sigh! I was disappointed - but probably better off not to have had it. Right? Right.

After dinner hubby went home and I went back to work - it is group night and I am one of the facilitators . . . soooooo . . . and it was a good group tonight. Lots of insight from a couple of the participants and that is refreshing!

Anyway - I looked around for some more hearts and flower-type stuff for you all.

I just love this little hearts and flowers scarf! And, she also is selling this little kiss on your neck scarf.

My sister is the one who always did such lovely filet crochet. Here’s a beautiful doily - just fine work.

And, how about the little dolls in your household - both living and plastic? Here’s a sweet little outfit. (Oh, I am SUCH a Gramma, aren’t I?)

How about this slightly naughty valentine candy pillow?

And, oh, by the way . . . . I wanna be a domiknitrix!!! Wearing that I could LOOK the part and reading this I could knit the part. Heh!

Hope your Valentine’s Day was full of Hearts and Flowers!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh - it’s THAT time of the year again - cupid is tightening up his bowstring and sharpening the points on his arrows - NEWSFLASH! Cupid uses pointy sticks!

Heh - so do I - use pointy sticks, that is.

With The big day coming, of course my thoughts turn toward hearts - and lots of ‘em. What to do? What to make? Is there enough time? (nah, probably not . . . but you could make a good start for next year - or your anniversary - or something like that)

Here’s a heart dishcloth to knit. I’m not quite sure why the sample is done in GREEN, but, the sentiment is the same, I guess . . . I heart your dishes. Heh.

Are your lover’s tootsies a bit cold? Here’s a pair of valentine heart socks. Now, just how cool is that?

And, to top off your ensemble, here’s a valentine hat! Warm feet, warm head, big and warm HEART!!!

Speaking of warm hearts, don’t forget the bag project for Shelly’s Share a Square project. If you can whip up some bags for the afghan tags - and get them sent in to me that would be so cool. We are thinking bags large enough to hold 48 tags - approximately 3×5 or 4×6, I’m thinking those should be big enough. Actually, I think Yellow Rose suggested 8×10, but something tells me that might be too big.

At any rate - simple sewn bags, ornately beaded bags, ALL bags are welcome.

We hope to collect 140 bags - one for each afghan - before they are distributed to the kids at Camp Sanguinity this June. Wanna help? Drop me a note - prplmoose AT kenaiwriter DOT net. I will hook you up!

What do YOU do when you go to a swim meet? This young lady (click for larger version) was right down on the deck - surrounded by swimmers in various stages of wetness, busily knitting away at a scarf. I snuck a picture over the balcony while waiting for my daughter to swim her next event. (that’s daughter in the yellow cap, leaning against the wall.

The young knitter was surrounded by friends during the entire meet - some of them helped (mayby I should say “helped”, huh?) her by winding her yarn, helping her keep it up off the wet deck, even offering to knit a row or two.

She was a lot of fun to watch. She engaged in conversation with her friends, never dropping a stitch that I could see - she mostly held eye contact with whomever she was speaking with, and knitting away without looking at her stitches. Like I said, a lot of fun to watch.

I, GASP, did not take my knitting with me to the meet. I know - what in the world was I thinking?

Well, to be honest, I was thinking of my daughter - who was swimming in her first meet since high school. Oh, by the way, she graduated high school in 1993! Yup, she was the “old lady” on the team - beat out the next one by 9 years. And, she loved the distinction of being the oldest one, too.

It all started with her little guy, our “GUNS” himself was competing in his second ever meet - he’s 9 and just learning some of the strokes. But he stood himself proud, too, by beating every one of his previous times! Yay, TAT!

Daughter? She did a great job, too. She bested her high school times in three of the four events. She’ll be working on her flip turns over the next month to try to get her time tightened up somewhat. She and “GUNS” will be competing in Homer, Alaska in March. Way to go, family of mine!

in other news . . . are you Survivor fans? Head on over to check out the Watching Survivor recaps of the show and don’t forget to join the POOL PARTY!

Have you made your bag yet?

We’re looking for a few good baggers, you see. Men and women who have kids at heart, a sewing machine nearby, and more cloth than they know what to do with - you are needed. Drop me an email to let me know you’d like to help out and I will send you my mailing address. It’s as easy-peasy as that. Thank you!!!

In other news . . .

So, are you thinking to yourself that you just canNOT get enough knitting news and information? Are there truly not enough magazines in the stores - or enough knitting books on your shelves?

Yes, friends, of COURSE I am being facetious. Because we ALL know that there are NEVER enough of those things, right? Right!!!

So, can you hold your excitement until July for something totally new?

Knitting Daily TV is coming to a pbs station near you - and, there will be a blog to go along with the tv show.

Now, I ask you . . . just how cool is that? Of course, I’m not sure I’ll be able to see the show - will have to wait and see. We ARE in Alaska, after all. Sometimes we don’t get all of the shows that you all do down there in the Lower 48 states.

I have just about finished off one skein for the HAP project and am working my way through a second skein also. I am thinking I might get these mailed out by next weekend. We’ll see how far I get.

Then I think I might start on a pair of socks - or maybe a bag - or . . . or . . . or . . .

we’ll see - but for now, the macaroni and cheese casserole has just come out of the oven and I have a hungry man to feed. See you soon.

So, I’m here in Anchorage – the first day of the conference is in the bag. I’m in my room with the American Gladiators playing in the background. Trying to decide if I want to pay the $9.95 the hotel wants for me to hook up to the ether to post this. Yeah, I likely will. Haha

There are about 50 people here in Anchorage for the conference – we’re from all over the state and at least one of the speakers is from Outside Alaska. (Yes, we say Outside with a capital O – it’s an Alaskan thing.)

I brought some knitting with me and took it down today to work on in between speakers. This morning I looked across the room to see another conferee knitting away. So, I stealthily took a shot of her – first I took a picture of that section’s speakers. It didn’t turn out well, but at least I got this shot for you all.

I’ve finished 2 of the 6×9s for the HAP project while here. I think I have 4 or 5 back home - should be able to finish another couple tonight and then some more tomorrow. When I finish off these two skeins of yarn I’ll pop these into the mail.

After the conference closes tomorrow I will be taking my car in for its 100,000 mile service and a recall service. They’ll drop me off at my friend’s house and she and I will go to dinner. I’ll be heading back to Kenai sometime Wednesday afternoon – after the car is finished.

Well. I guess I will go on and connect up to the hotel’s ether and get this posted and check emails and such. You all have a great Tuesday!!

. . . In a couple of ways . . .

first: I put the finished afghans into the mail today - so Shelly should be receiving them by Friday at the latest. So, they are on their way and I am ready to do a couple more if Shelly has any to send to me.

I’ve really enjoyed this project. It’s been great fun to see all the different styles and patterns of squares - and it has been a real kick to see squares from all over the globe. I’ve worked on squares from Japan, Australia, and all over the United States. It was most fun to find squares from an online friend in New York as well as an IRL (in real life) friend from right here in town.

It’s a wonderful to see the love people have in their hearts - and to know that from one woman’s dream came this concerted effort to work together.

Now, I’d like to ask the seamstresses out there for your help in a secondary project for the Share A Square . . . we’d like to put together 140 drawstring bags to hold the tags from the afghans. You see, each square (48 of them) in each afghan (140 of them) is made by a different person. Each person places a tag with their name and sentiment (i.e. “get well soon”) onto the square. Then, when the recipient is ready to take all of the tags off we thought it would be nice to have something to put them into. The recipient from the first afghan played with his tags like they were playing cards.

So - if you’d like to help email me at prplmoose AT kenaiwriter DOT net and we’ll exchange addresses.

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secondly:
On my way - I’m in Anchorage this week for a work related conference. The laptop may (or may not) get to go with me and I may (or may not) have wireless connection at the hotel. If it is and I do, I will be updating throughout the week. If not, well - I’ll see you when I get back. How’s that?

You all be good to yourselves and we’ll see you on the flip side.