Knitting Passion

Do you all realize that TODAY is the LAST DAY of July? Holy mackerel - where in the world has our year gone? I have my window open to take advantage of the breeze - it is actually H.O.T. outside today - remember, I live in Alaska. It is TOO hot when it is in the high 60s.

One of the advantages of having the window open, though, is that I can hear two of my granddaughters playing with two little girls next door. They have the doll house set up on the lawn and are busily marrying off barbiesandkensandbarbiesandbarbies. THEY have NO clue that today is the last day of July. To them, summer will go on forever - or at least until school starts in a few weeks.

In the crafty, knitty, crochet-y world . . . here is a video that is making the rounds today over at Ravelry and other places I frequent. It’s G.G. the Green Granny (or, actually Granny Gertrude, aka GG). The only thing the reporter didn’t mention is the name that we all use for plastic bag yarn - plarn. He’s young, maybe he’s still teachable.

Hey . . . time’s drawing close for the announcement of the winner for Lessa’s Big Brother Craze - bloggy world - comment contest. Follow the link, go on over there, and leave your comment. Cool prizes to be had. Let’s get her up and over the 100 comment mark, okay?

And, if you have left me a comment this week, you will also be entered into a little contest of my own. It won’t be for the cozy (I only made one), but for something special out of my stash. I will contact you after Lessa makes her announcement tomorrow - and then will ask you to send me your mailing address. I promise I will only use it for good.

Here’s a pretty piccie for you: the teddy bear love cloth that I gave to Ms. B for her birthday. (which, btw, is TODAY! Happy birthday, friend!)

Yup, I love to watch So You Think You Can Dance. I was a tad confused tonight when Cat Deely began saying something about it being Thursday and an elimination night and I was all “Wha? Honey, what day IS it?”

Of course, it was a rerun of last Thursday night’s show followed by the new one-hour show.

And, what a show it was! The judges said they were so glad they were not judging tonight. I’m with them. Every time I think I have my favoritest favorite - the next couple dances and I flip flop. Sigh.

Twitch is AWESOME! Mark and Joshua . . . as well. Of the wimmin, I really, REALLY like Courtney, but I think she is destined to leave next week. That is sad. And, I think that Mark is the one destined to leave next week for the guys.

But . . . . . . this is a KNITTING blog, not a dancing blog. Knitting is what I was doing during the show - and, boy are my hands STIFF now. I cast on two of the baby feet cloths and am working them on the same needles. You might think that means they would be done more quickly, but such is not the case. You have twice as many rows to do this way. The one sure thing is that you can be sure to do both cloths alike - if you are paying attention.

Granddaughter came down to switch out some laundry and came in for a goodnight kiss - I had all the stitches but ONE on the right hand needle and her hug popped that last stitch right off the left hand needle . . . and onto the right hand needle! She saved my stitch without even knowing it.

This is one of the dish cloths I knitted for my friend’s birthday. It’s a bit hard to read, but says CAMPING IS IN (TENTS) - the last is not a word, but two tents. (Lighten up - you’re too tents!) Heh.

Waving hello to Ginny, a new commenter (new visitor?). She also commented over at Big Brother Craze. Have you commented there? Why not? Don’t you like prizes? hahahaha

One of the groups I joined at Ravelry is hosting a dish cloth exchange in July. I had the option of signing up for one name or two names to send a new dish cloth and a ball of cotton yarn.

I chose two people and sent off two envelopes last week after the partners were announced.

By choosing two, my name was then matched up with two people - and look what I received in the mail yesterday from one of them - aren’t those colors gorgeous? And the cloth was done from one of the patterns of the week that the group posts. The ball of yarn Anna sent me is in baby colors which is cool, because it is perfect for a project making the baby feet cloths for a group known as Birth to Five. I have the pattern already because I made it for Ms. S last year. (she wears a baby feet lapel pin so I thought it was a natural for her)

I didn’t try that pattern, although I have completed several of the others. They are generally quick to work up and make nice cloths. The group seems really nice - I haven’t noticed any backbiting or the like. I guess if people are nice enough to make dish cloths for other folks, they must just be nice all around, huh? (please understand that MOST of the people I’ve run across over at ravelry seem to be VERY nice people . . . but there is always that one, you know?)

So - have you checked out Lessa’s Big Brother contest???? Why not???? Get on over there and join in the fun. Leave a comment and have a good chance at winning one of the prizes. I wrote about it in a previous entry. Lessa wrote about it here.

I knitted a couple of prizes for her to give away - and you need to comment on HER site to have a chance at winning one of those. Buuuuuuuuuuttttttttt . . . if you comment on that entry of mine, I just might throw something into the pot for one of the knitting passion readers, too.

How’s THAT? Go on, you know you wanna!

Well, allrighty then! Have we got a contest for you . . . we being Lessa over at Big Brother Craze, that is . . . with a teensy bit of help from the passionate knitter here.

The object is for you to go on over to visit Ms. Lessa and leave a comment on her contest post. Every post there will be eligible for a prize - and, just wait until you see the prizes my friends!

There is a coffee mug, a beer stein, a sticker, a cozy for your to-go frou-frou coffee, and a coffee cup dish cloth. Oh, this is WAY too much fun. And, there will be special prizes for the 50th, 100th, 150th, etc. commenter on that Big Brother Craze post.

It’s all in conjunction with a giveaway over at Bloggy. You know you like contests. I know you like contests . . . so hurry on over to Lessa’s and get your Big Brother comment in.

So . . . who do you think will be eliminated? Angie or Jessie? Hmmmmmmmm? And, who will hold POV?

Would YOU eat pig’s feet (knuckles, lips, ears) if that was what was offered to you - even if they were cooked really, really well . . . and covered with lots (LOTS!) of barbecue sauce to cover the taste, or the looks, or the THOUGHT of what you were about to eat?

Would YOU have been able to follow Renny’s shouted instructions on which sock to put on the board - and if you could not have done that, would YOU pout because it lost you the wine for the week?

Tell us, tell us true . . . just what would YOU do?

(do I sound remotely like I know what the heck I’m talking about? hahahahahahahaha)

p.s. there just might be a special prize listed here later this week for those of you who make a comment to THIS post. Are ya hooked yet?

All the better to knit, my dears . . or shop for yarn, my dears . . or . .

Two of my friends and I drove to Anchorage Saturday - our plan was to stop at Mt. Alyeska in Girdwood, ride the tram to the top and have lunch to celebrate Ms. B’s birthday. Unfortunately, the weather was not very cooperative and we could not make ourselves spend the money to go up if we would then not be able to see much.

Soooooooo, much laughter and conversation ensued as we tried to decide where we would have our lunch in Anchorage . . . and what we would do afterwards before heading back to the Kenai.

Lunch decision first: Bear Tooth! It’s been awhile since I’ve been there, and I think Ms. S had never been so we were off and running . . . and lost . . . okay - I don’t call it lost. I call those extra twists and turns “tourist miles.” We did several tourist miles until we got ourselves turned in the right direction and “THERE - it’s right THERE!” Ta-dah! We had NO doubt we could find it. (Thanks Mr. S for helping to hone us in by way of cell phone!)

Lunch was good, although Ms. B and Ms. S ordered the fish taco and got the Baja fish taco, which are two different tacos and they were a bit disappointed. But they decided it was very good nonetheless. I had a half favorite salad (oriental with sesame dressing - yum) and a slice of pepperoni pizza.

Ms. B opened her pressies and was happy to receive 6 new dishcloths and some frou-frou soap. Yay!

After that we went across the road (how convenient was our choice for lunch - a LYS right across the street!!!!) to Far North Yarn Company. We fondled and oooohed and ahhhed over the different yarns - we chatted a bit with Kay (the owner) and her daughter (sorry, I forgot your name!) and peeked in on Kay’s knitting class and chatted a bit with the other knitters there. (yes, I bought yarn!!! No, I’m not sure what it’s for . . . yet)

I asked Kay if I could take a picture of the store to post here - and asked her to pose. Such gorgeous pretties, Kay! We had a wonderful time looking . . . and buying (or course). Hope to come back again soon.

After the stop at FNYC we went to the Yarn Branch at the Quilt Tree store - and, amazingly, I was the one who came out without buying anything. Who’d a thunk it? (yeah, me either!) Both Ms. S and Ms. B found things they liked. Yay.

A stop at an antique store was next on the list - Ms. B was looking for something specific - Ms. S and I were just looking. While we didn’t find exactly what Ms. B was searching for, she did find something that she liked and it came home with us.

We decided to stop at a Michael’s next - well, actually I went there while the others went to the Sportsman’s store first. I found some dishcloth cotton - 608 yard skeins of Sugar N Cream for only $5! Couldn’t pass that up.

We had a stop at Wally-world (a must, of course) before heading on back down the road.

It was a lovely time, spent with dear friends. We laughed and we cried and we did both at the same time. What more could you ask?

Welcome to this summer’s Alaska . . . rain and more rain and still MORE rain. Sheesh! It is no wonder people are cold and grumpy and just plain old sourdoughs. (You know what makes an Alaskan a sourdough? S/he’s sour on Alaska, but doesn’t have enough dough to leave - rim shot!)

But still . . . it was in the low FORTIES!!! this morning. Even I, queen of needing all things about her cool, even I had to turn on the heater in the car this morning. Big sigh!

In all things knitting related, however . . . I have finished another dish cloth for my friend’s birthday basket - hopefully she is not peeking in here to see what I’m up to - but I won’t be sharing pictures until after Saturday.

Three of us, including the birthday friend, will be driving up towards Anchorage, stopping at Mt. Alyeska in Girdwood. We’ll take the tram up to near the top of the mountain and have lunch there - probably take pictures - for SURE we will gab and have a good time together before heading back down the mountain.

After that . . . drive on those last 35 or so miles into Anchorage to look for - what else - clothes and YARN!!! Whoot! Yes, planning on looking for the Far North LYS. I haven’t been there yet, and everyone is all a-twitter about it, so NEED to go see what all the fuss is about.

Friend wants to do some clothes shopping, too . . . so that ought to be fun as well.

Here’s Patti’s first ever sock! She is one of our “Soldotna knitters” who I met through Ravelry. Congrats, Patti. We have now corrupted you! Come to the dark side . . .

And, for all of you Big Brother fans out there . . . Lessa over at Big Brother Craze and I have teamed up to put a contest together. Watch her site for details - contest starts the 28th. Come on, you KNOW you want to know what the “hampsters” are doing.

There is even a BB group over at Ravelry! Yes, I’m a member - even though I have only seen a complete episode of the show ONE time. Heh. Ollie is my man . . . but, ooooweeee . . . you should see him after dark! Oh, my oh, my oh, my!

This thread came across on Ravelry . . . What would happen to your stash if you died? (note: this is a YARN stash, people, not the other kind - lol) The woman who started it was on a boring drive home from a 300+ mile trip and wondered just what would happen to her yarn if she was in an accident and . . . well, you get the picture.

My thoughts went right to Squitchinglady who I wrote about here. Wonder if SHE has written a will leaving her beloved stash to someone who she knows would take care of it and use it in a good way. (that’s a picture of SOME of her stash there above.)

Nah, mine’s not in my will. I named the other things that were important to me - wedding rings, other special rings, charm bracelet, etc. THOSE things I named - but not the yarn. Hmmmm - guess I could think about it - but there are a lot of you out there who could step up and request. My girls would honor me by honoring your request. Yup, they would.

Not that I have that big of a stash - well certainly not as big as Squitchinglady’s. But, I have SOME yarn here and there (don’t forget to look behind my chair!)

I thought I might be adding a coupla balls today . . . but somebody beat me to them. Oh, well. That’s life. I’m sure it happened the way it was meant to happen.

But, you know . . . there is just something sad about going to a yard sale or estate sale and seeing someone’s yarns - there only because someone passed away or was put into a nursing home or something. They look all squished and forlorn . . . and the people selling them have NO clue of their intrinsic worth - that would be their worth to their owner, not necessarily to the new person fondling them.

And, even sadder is when those yarns don’t sell and they come into our shelter on donie day - scrunched up in between books that didn’t sell either.

They go to good use, though . . . but wouldn’t it be more fun to gift your stash while you’re still living and able to see the smiles on the recipient’s face? Yeah, I think so, too.

Okay, folks . . . let’s try for two days in a row, shall we?

It’s a blustery Sunday afternoon - well, early evening I guess. We’ve had lots of wind today, but since it has blown away the rain clouds, I am not going to complain. We’ve had sun, more sun, and even more sun on this Sunday.

So, what’s up with you and knitting? Myself . . . lots of dish cloths finished and either in the works or planned - planned, you know . . . the patterns have been printed off - now I just have to cast them on and get them done. Sounds like the stuff to do while “watching” tv with the hubby.

Some folks have told me they can’t knit and watch tv - well, surely one of them will suffer. In my case, it’s the watching tv part that suffers. I am basically there next to hubby while he watches. It seems to work out well for both of us.

This is an Alaska dishcloth made for a Ravelry swap. I made two, actually, and sent them off to two different people. I added the “8 stars of gold” in honor of Alaska’s 50th anniversary for statehood. (that is actually 2009, but it is all the news now as the state makes its plans for its “big” birthday bash.) I also did fish cloths (rim shot) in honor of our salmon fishery. Found a pattern for a fishy afghan, did three fish up in dish cloth cotton, sewed them together and there you have it . . . a fishy cloth. They turned out pretty cute, too. See?

Hope my swappees like them. I should be receiving a cloth from two different people (since I chose to send to two, I will receive from two) soon. Well, soon is relative, of course. The deadline to send is the 26th. I started on my cloths right away - only waited to see who I was matched up with in order to choose a ball of cotton to send along with - waited to see what their fave colors were. Some folks appear to have waited until they were matched to decide what to send. It’s all good.

And, hey . . . run over and check out Lessa’s Big Brother Craze! She and I are working together on a little project for a CONTEST!!!!! Stay tuned for more information - and rules - and all that kinda stuff!

Isn’t this cute? So sweet Shelly gifted me with this cute little hand after the Share A Square project was “over”. Why the quotation marks??? Well, we had so many squares donated to the project that there were enough for the original 140 afghans - PLUS many more.

So I have two more sets of squares I’m working on right now. All of the squares have been edged in black and I am working at piecing together the first afghan. It’s my goal to finish both this week and get them shipped back to Texas in lickety split time.

In other project news . . . met with the “Soldotna knitters” this morning. We’re all working on various projects - one is working on fingerless gloves, another an afghan, another socks, and I had a dish cloth on the needles (shhhhh a friend has a birthday soon.) I thought I might finish it so also had some of the squares with me. They were not touched this morning. Guess I know what I’ll be doing during tv time later, huh?

Have you tried Ravelry yet? If you are a knitter, crocheter, or would like to be, this is your home! Seriously. There is so much fun to be had there - so many different groups to join - many different swaps to join - and just interesting conversations to take part in, or to lurk and read through.

Sign-up invitations are only taking a couple of days now - when they first started it could take a month or more - and there are currently 153,476 registered users. Goodness! It is growing. Even Lessa has joined - and she doesn’t knit OR crochet! She’s there to chat about Big Brother, of course.

Come on over and join us. We’d love to see you there.

The KnitWitch is open and running a contest. Run on over and check out the site and let her know what YOU would like. There are some seriously gorge-mous yarns there . . . and, and, and, YARN BOWLS!!! How pretty THEY are. Go on . . . you know you wanna . . . time to add to your stash.

And, if you have any alpaca roving or have knit with alpaca, she is interested in seeing pics of that as well.

There are three ways to win her contest - so go on over and check it out and, ENTER!!!

And, have you joined Ravelry yet? If not, you need to get on over there and check it out. There is a place where you can take a test run so to speak - that is, check out some of the site before joining.

I’ve had a lot of fun reading through - and joining - several different groups. I’m taking part in a couple of swaps - you’ll read more about them here as we get closer to them. I don’t want any spoilers going on with my swapees.

Speaking of spoilers . . . Big Brother is starting today. Lessa’s 451 site is not available so she is writing about it here. Hopefully the powers that be will get the problems sorted out before much longer - orrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, I might let her come in here and do some guest postings - wonder if anyone took knitting needles along? Well, the one who might have is a fellow raveler and she was not selected for the group. Pout!

So, go on over and give the KnitWitch and Lessa some knittingpassion kinda love, okay?

I couldn’t beleive it when I was able to log in just now! And, here I was ready to head off to bed. Well, sir, I am going to take this chance to post something and do it quickly before the 451 devils whisk my site away again.

So, how are you all doing? Here it is July 9th - okay, 10th for most of you - and I feel like my summer has just gone whisking past me - I know, it is just beginning to be summer for all of you, but I live in Alaska and it is feeling a bit chilly in the mornings lately.

But, what have I been doing knitting wise? Well, after the last of the bags for the SAS bag project were completed and shipped off, I started some dish cloths. One of the Ravelry groups I belong to is a dish cloth exchange group - so, I joined a July swap where each member knits a cloth to send to someone else - you can swap with one or two people. In return, you will receive a dish cloth from someone. I chose to swap with two people - then I chose to do two cloths for each. Those are ready to go - just as soon as I receive my swappees’ names and addresses.

Then I cast on the July 6th weekly dish cloth pattern. It is pretty nice looking - and will be a gift for a sister-friend who is having a birthday this month. She and I and another friend hope to drive towards Anchorage - going to Mt. Alyeska ski lodge - take the tram to the top of the mountain, have lunch and share some good friend time.

We’ll probably also go into Anchorage to the LYS for some dream/shopping time.

And, I’ve been spending some time on the Ravelry forums - doing some RAKing (Random Act of Kindness) and receiving one as well:

Aren’t they the cutest? Yeah, I know the picture is crappy, but the critters are darling. They’re finger puppets - will take them to work for my groups and such - some people like to fiddle with toys or something and are able to learn better when they do. So I try to always have paper, pens, markers, and TOYs on the tables when I present.