Knitting Passion

It’s completely finished now! Yay for me. What??? Oh, you have no clue what I am talking about? Ahhhh - that is what my family says all the time. Ha ha.

The bag, of course! I felted it up last weekend, but just put the finishing touches on it tonight.

I used leftover yarn from last winter’s sweater project, by the way. The same friends and I decided we would do felted bags next. I’ve actually completed several - one I use often, another I gave to a dear friend. Then, I made a couple of mini bags and I’m still not sure what I’m going to do with those.

But, then I made three more - my friends and I are going for coffee Saturday morning to show off our finished objects. Well, we are going to have coffee and chat also . . . but the intended purpose is to show off our finery.

So . . . . here is the completed bag:

This is after the felting has been completed. Isn’t this a great color? I love it and I’m looking forward to carrying it. It’s a bit on the smallish side - I guess you would call it a clutch. But it is big enough to hold checkbook, wallet, and other necessities.

I then decided to add some embellishments to it. Now, I’ve had these beads for quite awhile. I don’t even remember anymore why I bought them. But, I thought they might be perfect as a little “bobble” for the clutch bag.

Next I decided to check the fabric box to see what I might have to line the clutch. I haven’t lined any of the bags before, but I really like the idea and thought I would give it a go - if I could just find the right piece of fabric. Tell me if you think I did a good thing here.

Oh, now really - just how perfect could it be? PAISLEY!!! Yup, just transport me back to the 60s and drop me onto the disco floor.

Okay - so it wasn’t disco in the 60s, but we DID go clubbing - complete with black lights and the like. There was that week down in Florida . . . erm, never mind.

Knit two together - or in this case, Two knit together.

Long ago - before hubby and I moved to Alaska - so, about 30 years ago now - we lived in Ohio. And, while Alaska winters can be harsh and they last a long time, Ohio winters are very cold as well.

So, hubby and I each began to knit sweaters together - he, knitting one for me and I, knitting one for him. We chose a simple pattern - k2, p2 throughout - because this was his first project ever. And, he worked so very hard on my sweater. Somewhere (this was back in the day - you know, BEFORE digital cameras) we have pictures of us knitting together.

I recall that many of his pictures showed him concentrating madly - sticks held tightly - a slight grimace on his face - and tongue peeking out from between his teeth.

Being a more established knitter, I finished his sweater first - then had to finish my own. He got all of the pieces done, but I sewed the seams and then cast on and knitted the turtleneck/roll collar.

The sweaters came to Alaska with us - and we were grateful to have them in the drafty trailer where we lived the first nine months of our Alaskan life. They also came in very handy whenever we went out on a boat fishing - the wind can be pretty chilly coming off the Cook Inlet waves, let me tell you.

I wish I could tell you where the sweaters are now - I CAN tell you this - neither of us could wear them still. Too many body changes over the years.

But what I do have is many fond memories - of knitting together - and of the joys it brought both of us. That is priceless, my friends. Truly priceless.

Now, Lessa has two cats and a dog - at any given time one of them might be found draped across her lap, her feet, or her keyboard. That’s pretty “normal” as we animals all seek warmth, right?

But a week or so ago the Today Show on NBC made a big deal about the Crazy Cat Lady who’d had a sweater knit from her cat’s fur and was (HORRORS!) wearing it and loving it. There’s a link to the video of the story in the right column on this page. (Cat sweater - purr-fect)

I guess this just tickles me because the same people who laughed about this story may be the same who wear a lamb’s wool jacket/sweater/etc. and think nothing of it. They might come to Alaska and purchase a scarf or sweater made of qiviut.

But they would fuss with someone who takes the offcast hair of her cat and sends it to a company to be spun into wool and then makes a sweater? People are odd, I tell ya!

here, kitty, kitty, kitty . . . heh

crazy cat lady, cat fur sweater, purrfect sweater, knitting cat hair, spinning cat hair, fiber arts, nbc, today show

My winter’s labor.

A friend from church asked me if I would like to be in a knit-along over the winter months. The idea was for a group of us (my friend, her sister-in-law and me) pick out a pattern, our yarn, and off we would go.

We chose a simple cardigan that each of us felt was within our talents to complete. (I have made plenty of pullovers, but this may have been my first cardigan) Two of us purchased yarn from online stores and the third from a local vendor. Surprisingly (or maybe not) none of us chose the same color.

We checked in with each other over the winter and encouraged each other when one of us became bogged down - not necessarily by the project, life has a way of interfering. We met at one point to show our progress and one of the ladies showed us a simple joining stitch. We used the mattress stitch shown on this page.

Going home from THAT meeting was interesting - two of us got stuck (very well stuck!) in the third’s driveway as we had to have chosen the most snowy day of the winter to meet.

About a month later my friend and I got together and went button shopping. Because, as you all know, buttons make the final piece. We also stopped at the Kenai Library to check out a new knitting group that was meeting there.

And, we learned something! Now that is just cool - to be able to learn something when you weren’t really expecting it, huh? The head of the group suggested placing a button behind the knit (back side) when placing the fancy button on the right side - an anchor button. Now, you may all have already known that and practice it faithfully, but it was news to us. Sure makes the buttons look nice, I must say.

This past Saturday the three of us got together for a sweater luncheon. We all brought or wore our sweaters and I took photos after lunch.

I cropped the other ladies because I don’t have their permission to show their faces. But here is my friend (left) and her sister-in-law (right) with their sweaters.

We have chosen our next projects - something new for two of us - felted bags. Watch here for updates.

Soooooo- what are all of YOU knitting?

sweaters, knitting, friends, knitting lunch, buttons, friendship, felted bags, felting, alaska, snow, knit along

This was the original yarn called for in this pattern:Victorian Brushed Mohair

I can’t show you what I am actually using, though, because my camera batteries need to be recharged. So PTC on that. But it’s some of the yarn that I received from the Relief Society President, which means I’m still maintaining my resolution. I like it because it’s black and sparkles, although I don’t know who it’s made by, where it came from, or what it’s made of. I have about 10 skeins of it though, (all without labels) and it’s worsted weight, so I’m using it. According to the pattern, I need 725yds of the 1st yarn, so I’m pretty sure I have enough…
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I’ve decided that I will knit a sweater. For me.

The pattern is in fact from SNB, and is called “To Dye For.”

This Picture is from Stitch ‘N Bitch

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sweater

Congratulations to me! I have finally finished my first sweater!

::cheers, whooping, applause, all that jazz::

Granted it came from a sucky pattern, with yarn that wasn’t called for, and the sleeves attach to the arms REALLY weird, but hey… it’s a milestone.

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I haven’t had a lot of time to knit these past 2 weeks. I have been moving, of course, but I’ve also been tending a bunch of sick people!

Other than that?

Yeah…

SO last night I started a pair of socks for my fabulous friend Claire. I forgot how much I like knitting socks. More on that later.

I finally finished the first Tick scarf and made $20 for the Lyme Disease Association. Which I gave to Lisa because although my heart is in the right place, I am not that great with money, and may have accidentally spent it on gas, otherwise. (I actually shredded all my debit and credit cards for just this reason.)

I finished one sleeve on Lisa’s sweater and sewed it on. While the sleeve itself was way to short for Lisa’s taste, it matched the sweater. We figure it’s going to be size 7/8 in young girls. (Note: We tried it on Kyle, and it was a perfect fit. Pics DEFINATELY to come on this one. Hahaha!) I’m adding a red TICK on the other sleeve, just because I can, and we might sell it for the cause.

Lisa is starting a crocheted scarf using some of the donated green yarn, and will give me pics, as well.

Other than that, not much else, for reasons listed above.

PS: My in-laws are awesome! Next entry will explain.

… here’s the sweater as it is at this point.

sweater

Yes, my friends, it’s true. I’ve already screwed up the sweater.

After staying up until 3 am to finish the back panel and join the shoulders together, I’ve found that

a) The sweater is going to be too small for anyone other than probably a 12 year old (due to me screwing up and casting on 4 stitches to few, as well as substituting the yarn without making a gauge swatch… honestly have I learned nothing? Well at least I’ll make sure to make guage swatches from now on…)

and

b) It doesn’t really matter anyway because the pattern I have didn’t provide a means of joining the sides together. What this means is that I have to wing it, and hopefully it won’t suck horribly.

Since this sweater is for Lisa, I know she’ll still be very appreciative, even if she can’t wear it. Maybe she has a niece it will fit.

Oh well, I still have to do the sleeves, anyway, so hopefully they won’t be orangutan arms.

sweaters, knitting screw-ups

So when I first started knitting, I learned from Debbie Stoller’s first book Stitch ‘n Bitch. In that book there are several sweaters, all of which I was way too chicken to attempt. But after my first “sweater” I somehow found the courage. I look at those projects now, and think, “I could totally do that!” It’s so cool!

So here’s the front panel of my first “real” sweater.

I’m almost done with the back panel. Then its on to the sleeves and sew it all together! Heehee… I’m so freaking excited….

sweaters, Stitch ‘N Bitch, knitting

Woohoo!

First off… I have my first comment!! Heehee! That’s so cool! Thanks Jaime!

I will have pictures to follow, but I’m just trying to get a handle on regularly posting. At the moment I’ve got packing to do, a baby to care for, a house to clean, and church stuff to finish. I haven’t been exactly free to knit lately. But happily, we went over to my sister’s for dinner last night, so I was able to work on - yes I am doing it - my first REAL sweater. Woohoo I say!

So in lieu of sweater pics, I have, instead, halloween pics! And they aren’t edited because I can’t find an easy way to do it with the new camera yet. So…. they’re little. It was either too big or too little. Sorry about that…

sweaters, knitting, Halloween, comments

Ni is Japanese for 2 in case you didn’t know.

I have started my first “real” sweater. It’s going to be for my friend Lisa for Christmas. She’s probably the most understanding female person I know when it comes to knitting, depression, animals, and writing. She’s also very intelligent, so I know I can talk to her about anything, and I don’t have to dumb anything down.

So the sweater is knit from the bottom up, in four main pieces, just like Kyle’s doll sweater. I’m using a pattern I got here except I changed the yarn. It calls for Lion Brand Thick and Quick Chenille, but Wal-Mart didn’t have any colors I liked, so instead I’m using Lion Brand Homespun in “Colonial” which is a beautiful blue blend. It’s on size 11 needles, so it’s going quite fast, so far. I’m thinking it will take as long as the other sweater, based on the proportion of size, but we’ll see. At any rate, I’m loving the yarn, and if it turns out nice, I’ll probably make one for myself.

That’s all. No pics today. Josh is waiting to play World of Warcraft.

knitting, Lion Brand, yarn, sweaters

Upon completion of my first sweater

I’ve discovered that I really like making sweaters! I can’t wait to make another one. Although, the fact that this sweater was made for this guy

might have something to do with it.

knitting, sweaters, Knitted Babes, dolls