Knitting Passion

I am hoping to meet up with some of the Ravelry knitters this morning - from the Alaska Knitters group. We will meet at a Soldotna coffee shop.

Of course . . . . THIS is what Alaska threw at us this morning . . . so . . .

a nice fresh spring snowfall - about 3 1/2 inches or so - and, on the day AFTER I changed over from winter studded tires to summer tires. Bwahahaha! Alaska has such a great sense of humor.

Will a measly 3 1/2 inches stop us from getting out and meeting for coffee? Well, I can’t answer for the rest of the folks, but it won’t stop ME!

In fact, I will be meeting a second group - of dear friends - at 2 this afternoon at another coffee shop for a love-fest of coffee and laughter and hugs.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhlaska!

By the way - for those of you who like to do yarn crawls while on travels . . . here is a GREAT place to visit FIRST - America’s Knitting - just go to the state and town you are planning to visit and you can find most - if not all - of the local yarn shops listed there.

I wish I had found it beFORE going to Ohio in March, but at least I have it for the next time. And, check out the projects page to see a pair of my socks featured. That pair is now finished and I am working on the baby socks. Hope to have them done by Monday to take to the pool to give to the mama. She only has a couple weeks left in this pregnancy and I’m not sure how much longer she’ll be coming to the pool for her lap swimming.

thanks, Mary!

Hope you are all enjoying a snow free day. We got OUR snow for free! lol

Well, I have LOTS of things - in various stages - on various sized needles. Some things have been put down “for awhile” and never picked back up again - those are destined for frogging, I’m sure. I may end up making the very same thing when(ever) I pick them up again, but for now will likely be frogged.

Come on, you know you’ve done the same thing.

I tend to like quick and easy projects - projects that are DONE when they are taken off the needles. I don’t generally like to do TOO MUCH finishing work.

Does that make me lazy?

Nahhhhhhh - I prefer to think of myself as focused. Yeah, THAT’s the ticket - FOCUSED!

heh.

But at least I am not EXTREME - in that I am not an Extreme Knitter. Well, not for now, anyway.

Here’s another very dedicated knitter. That piece looks destined to getting wet.

For now, it’s just socks - I finished the first of a pair tonight - not entirely happy with it, but going to cast on the second sock tomorrow anyway. I may (or may not) frog the first one after the second is finished. These are for a pregnant mama who swims with daughter and me each morning. I hope to get them finished - AND - a pair for the baby finished BEFORE mama goes into labor. She has three more weeks.

Three more weeks! I know! And she is still swimming with us every morning! And, let me tell you - she is no slouch in the pool, either. She does a pretty good workout every day - full out swimming - while I just paddle along. I am impressed, I’ll tell ya!

oh, dang! I missed the wee tiny sock swap signup! Shoot! Well, there’s always 2009. But, I have several wee tiny socks already done - she’s right, you can’t just make one! Hmmmmm - maybe I should do my own swap, huh? Well, we’ll see if any of you would like to do that - or I will just wait for the wee tiny sock swap 2009 to come around.

Whoo, boy! (or as some in my past would say, BOY, HOWDY!)

So, I have been “stuck” in Ravelry for several days. I now know why so many have said it is addictive - and, being one of those addictive-type personalities, I can say - it sure is!

I’m Purplemoose over there if you’re looking for me - and be sure to let me know here so I can find you, too.

I’ve joined a few groups - and posted one picture - of a pair of socks, of course. Remember these socks?
I finished them in Ohio on our trip and gave them to our friend (he was our best man 39 years ago) for his expected grandbaby. Well, the little tyke was born 3 months early and weighed in at a whopping (I jest) three pounds! So, a plea was made from the new grandparents to make a tiny pair to fit his widdle feet.

I made a tiny hat also - and the socks are tube socks. The hat is small enough to fit an orange, I would guess. For the picture I put it onto the hat of the baby on the card I sent with them. I wanted to make sure they arrived quickly - because, well, because you just never know with premies - and whoo! the post office made out on that deal. But the socks and hat arrived in less than three days so I consider it money well spent.

Hubby talked with his buddy today and the little guy is holding his own and seems to be doing well. But they still haven’t named him. He’s 8 days old. It’s time to give that baby a moniker!

Speaking of monikers . . . Alaska’s Governor Sarah Palin (and the First Dude, Todd) have welcomed their fifth child into their family. Master Trig Paxson Van Palin arrived a month early. Sarah went into labor while making a speech in Texas(!!) after her water broke (!!!) She was able to get through her speech, get to the airport and aboard an Alaska Airlines jet, get to Alaska in time to deliver the young sir. And, yes, baby socks are being mailed to her tomorrow, too.

Thanks to those of you who commented or emailed wondering if I had dropped from the face of the earth - I’ve just been really busy at work and after winding down by knitting a row or two (3, 10, you know), I either browse through other folks’ blogs - or Ravelry - or drop off to sleep (either still in my chair or in my bed).

Life is good, I am fine, and I thank you all.

So, what’s on YOUR needles?

ha ha ha

Today marks the end of my three month stint as interim executive director. As such, today was just a bit on the overworked side. And, I’m still not quite ready to meet with my boss tomorrow.

Almost - but not quite. I do have the biggest hurdle ready for her to jump. It, of course, is the biggest headache, the one thing that has caused me no end of grief and stomach upset. By the time I left this afternoon I was more than nauseous.

It may be the flu.

I know it is not the flu.

Good thing my boss loves me. Good thing I know how to read (and follow) the Policies and Procedures manual, huh? Yup, good thing.

Of course, all of this has left me (very) little time to knit - and even LESS time to blog about knitting. So, you see several empty spots in this blog over the past month - okay, over the past THREE months. Sorry ’bout that, everyone. I will try my best to do much better.

Orrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr - who knows, there might be a NEW person waiting to take over the blog. I guess only time will tell that tale.

So, I’ve been looking for a new (to me) sock pattern to use up my Tofutsies yarn and found the Tidal Wave over at Southwest Trading Company that I think I’m going to try. It calls for circulars - I’ll probably try it on dpns because that is what I’m used to. Maybe some day I will get brave enough to try something new - maybe - maybe not.

I do like the looks of the leg of this sock, though. And, since I live in Alaska (where I make my own fun, I might add), something named Tidal Wave just seems to fit. (what with our propensity towards earthquakes and the like)

Picture from the website.

Take care - I’ll see you next time.

I’m a bit disappointed, though, because I did not make a yarn run in all the time we were there. There just wasn’t enough time - what with running around visiting with relatives and then doing our sightseeing with our granddaughter. It was SO much fun to introduce Ms. Thang to our Ohio.

I was born and raised in Columbus and hubby was born in W. VA and raised in the Columbus area. Some family still in the area - and, in order to see as many as possible we had a no-host get-together Thursday night at a buffet restaurant. (poor folks there will never be the same - haha) It was good to get reacquainted with everyone.

While I was not able to visit any yarn shops - I DID get some knitting done. I made a pair of baby socks for one of our friends who is going to be a grandpa soon. Okay, the socks aren’t for HIM, they’re for the baby - but you knew that, right?

Right.

It’s the first time he had ever seen self-patterning yarn. He kept asking me how I had done that - did I use several balls of yarn. I had to tell him I wasn’t quite as talented as he thinks, because it all came from one skein.

Gotta love messing with folks’ minds, huh?

So - we arrived back home earlier this week, but it has taken me this long to be reacclimated to the time change (four hours) and catch up somewhat at work. And, this morning I get some extra time as I am only working a part day.

I even logged in to my Ravelry account yesterday - didn’t get to stay for long - I was looking for a pattern for socks using the Tofutsies yarn I purchased eons ago. They had one listed that I’d seen elsewhere (on the Tofutsies yarn site) so I’ll either use that pattern or one from my stash. But I need to get the yarn done up - right?

And, I need to get busy on the second afghan for Shelly’s Share a Square project. I finished the first one before we left. Bought some beads while in Anchorage for the bags. Thanks to the folks who let me know they were working on bags for the project - if you have time to do one or two, drop me a note, too.

Have a great day, everyone!

Oh, my - these are some great (80’s throwback) colors for yarn . . . Jelly Yarns. I am loving the colors and I’m sure the granddaughters will as well.

In fact, I’m so sure, I’ve just ordered the belt and bracelet pattern, black yarn, and pink heart buckle for the Girl’s birthday.

They even offer free patterns. How very cool is that - and it is a great looking little purse, too!

These colors remind me of when Ladybug (my youngest daughter) competed in a scholarship pageant the summer between her junior and senior year in high school. For her talent she decided to sing “Anything you can do, I can do better” from Annie Get Your Gun. (side note - I was in that musical when I was in high school - long, long ago).

Deciding to try to impress the judges a bit, we went for an updated version of Annie toting her gun. Ladybug was decked out in the neon colors that were the rage back then - guess that was actually the 90s that the colors were so vibrant and NEON.

It was also when the super soakers first came out - so, Ladybug wore bright colored tights, shorts, suspenders and shirt with a jaunty little tam on her head. In her hand she carried one of the super soakers. She had greens and yellows and pinks and oranges covering herself. It was really a cute outfit and she wore it well.

Unfortunately - or perhaps not unfortunately as God has it all in His power at all times anyway - she did not place in the pageant and we came back to Alaska to carry on with our lives. Don’t know about her, but I would not have given up that trip with her. It was great fun to visit Iowa and Illinois (the pageant was in Illinois) and see the sights while she was so busy practicing for the pageant.

I saw Ronald Reagan speak at Truman’s Library (? I think it was Truman’s - somebody out there help this old gal remember whose library is where) on the Iowa side of the river. I also visited all of the Amana Colonies and experienced a glorious midwestern thunderstorm. I LOVE the rain, so gloried in it while the folks at the Miniature Barn grumbled.

I also suffered a bout of heat stroke. But I am fully recovered all these years later.

Memories from a ball of yarn. Pretty cool!

I love, love, LOVE this idea! You know, people toss their old keyboards and typewriters without thinking about it. And, here is someone who is making use of the things - recycling at its best. Right?

I am secretly lusting after those many keyboards out there in hubby’s space - okay, not really, but everytime I see these chokers I get to thinking about all of the various pieces of computer equipment out there.

I could knit something around them, right? Right? Heh - yup, just as soon as I find the extra time to do that. LOL

And, from keys to buttons - look at these vintage buttons! I’m thinking a cardigan with these . . . yummy!

And, while you’re in etsy land - mosey on over to check out the “upcycled” hats and clutches. Who among us has NOT accidentally felted a favorite sweater? Yeah, I have one in just that color of pink, too. Sigh! I wore it home after our wedding nearly 40 years ago. I think it is still in my hope chest.

What? You didn’t have a hope chest? You’re too young to know what a hope chest is? They don’t do hope chests any longer? Oh, my. You all do make me feel my age some days.
Not really, but it’s fun to poke fun at myself sometimes.

I have been thinking about how much fun it might be to felt up some sally’s sweaters and making some bags or hats from the results. Had no clue I would be an “upcycler”. I just thought of it along the lines of the 3 r’s (reduce, reuse, recycle). Fun to do my part.

I’ll have to keep my eyes open.

I am a member of Ravelry . . . but hardly ever have time to play there. Is that sad or what?

You see, I do have a reason. I only have just so much time - and when I get to reading other people’s stuff - checking out what THEY are doing, I suddenly find myself with NO time left over to do things of my own.

I can either read online - or I can knit (crochet, etc.) offline.

I can play online - or I can see my Share A Square projects grow.

I can play with others at Ravelry - or I can knit and crochet things for my loved ones here.

But, I LOVE to read about other projects - to see what others have to say - to PLAY!

Sigh!

I was actually able to join the group early on in its beginnings. I was one of the lucky ones who was chosen. And, I’ve fallen down on my duties, I’m guessing.

It’s a nice thing that they still let me come in and update my list of needles and such, huh? Oh, and to check out all of the folks from Alaska who are members - hey, there is even one just in the next town up from me. That’s sort of cool. Because, it is possible I might never meet some of these folks otherwise.

It’s not like we have knit-ins here in the central Kenai Peninsula or anything.

But, I imagine THAT could happen, too. But it would take more time - and time seems to be something that I have little of these days. It is a very precious commodity.

Like fuel for my car.

But that is a whole ‘nother story. (oy! the prices!!!!)

wha??

That would be Yarnivore speak for Knit in Public - your Work in Progress. It, of course, is a slogan on t-shirts for sale in this San Antonio local yarn store. The photos on the store’s website show a nice place to visit, a nice place to shop, a nice place to knit.

Pretty nice if you live in, or near, San Antonio.

Sadly, I do not.

I DO, however, live near enough to two very nice local yarn stores - Birch Tree Gallery in Soldotna and The Knitting Grounds in Anchorage.

But I really love the names of The Knitting Grounds and Yarnivore. The first is a little play on words - you can get a cup of coffee while visiting Zaynab and the crew - as is the second - after all, we who love to knit are like carnivores attracted to yarn.

We must have yarn
lots and lots of yarn
we love to roll in it
lay on it
smell it
feel it
touch and caress it
yarn is a living, breathing part of us.

Right?

Or is it just me?

Yeah, I thought not. I’m a pretty visually oriented person. I love colors - lots of colors - but I stick pretty much to the basics for my own wardrobe. Bright colors draw me to them, nevertheless. There seems to be this little homing beacon going off inside my head . . . beep, beep, beep . . . come closer, my pretties!

And, I am struck once more by the gorgeous array.

Sadly, I cannot bring them all home. Harumpf! A gal can dream, though.

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!

Just one more thing about Juneau (well, one more that I can think of right now) - I rode from Anchorage to Juneau with the First Dude! Only I didn’t realize it until later.

You see - I saw him in the Anchorage airport, then again in the Juneau airport. And, I kept saying - who IS that guy? I know I know him. I’ve seen him on TV!

The women with me said they had no clue . . . and it bugged me all the way to the hotel. So, I got the ironing board set up (yes, I still iron - especially after a long trip and the luggage has been dropkicked by the ramp rats one too many times) and was staring out the window as I pressed a pair of slacks. Suddenly the light came on and I shouted THE FIRST DUDE!

By the way - while I was in Juneau, Governor Palin revealed that she is SEVEN months pregnant with her fifth child! She is due mid-May. That is a mighty long time to have hidden a fifth pregnancy. She used smoke and mirrors - welll, jackets and long scarves, anyway.

So, of course, I (and probably thousands of other grammas in the state) am going to knit her a pair of baby socks.

something like these. With our crazy laws against accepting gifts, she will likely donate them to a hospital, but I am okay with that, too.

Sigh! I know, I really need a life. haha

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 . . .
(more…)

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.

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.
(more…)

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!