Minnie's Dog Sweater

 
 Poor little granddog Minnie has vasculitis and gets so cold in the winter. I found this free pattern "Biscuits and Bones" from patonyarn.com. It fits her perfectly and a great way to use up the old acrylic stash.

Good Way to use Stash...Gloves!

 What to do with leftover yarn from Bill's Aran Sweater. I had one skein left of Woolease and found a great diamond glove pattern on Ravelry. Voila! Gloves!

Another Absorba Bathmat!

 Long car trips need a quick easy knit. This is my second bath mat from Mason Dixon Knitting. I forgot to take a picture right after knitting it, so here is is after a lot of use and a good machine washing.

Alpaca Lace Scarf (mobius?) now blocking

I had only 3 skeins of Baby Alpaca with a Twist Yarn and wondered what to make with it. the plan once this finishs blocking is to make it into a mobius scarf. It knitted up to only 48 inches so I'm not sure how it will be and am anxiously awaiting it to dry. The pattern is a free Leaf Lace Pattern posted as a free download on Ravelry. For my first attempt at lace, it was quite easy. Once dry and finished I will post the final picture.

Felted Lopi Summer Purse

 
  I used Lopi Lite Yarn in bright fun colors and knitted and felted a purse. It has become my favorite for taking the latest projects to the knitting groups or to watch my granddaughter practice gymnastics. I didn't really have a pattern. I just knitted in the round and icorded the handles. I shaped it on a cereal box when felting.

"Mamaw, will you teach me to knit?"

 
 Finally! The words any grandma longs to hear......."Mamaw, will you teach me to knit?" I was really for it! I had needles and yarn just waiting for this moment. I whipped them out and happily began to teach Rylie to knit. She caught on quickly. I tried to teach her the Continental Style, she converted it to conbination style by accident and it worked so well, we stayed with it. I will post her first finished project as soon as it happens. She is working on a coin purse at the moment.

Sheep and Fiber Festival Waynesburg, PA

 
 
Rylie and Evan dancing to the gospel music at the Sheep and Fiber Festival in Waynesburg. They had a great time. There was a kids craft tent, alpacas to pet, and my favorite, the sheep to shawl contest.

Rylie Modeling her Wallaby!

 
 Here is Rylie modeling her new Wonderful Wallaby. It fits her perfectly.

Rylie's Wonderful Wallaby is Finished!

 
 
 I have had such trouble with this sweater and I blame it on the yarn. I will not be using cotton yarn again for this type of sweater. I have ripped this out so many times finally just starting all over in January. The Knitpicks Shine Worsted Yarn is incredibly soft but shows every mistake especially in the joins. I did learn how to avoid jogs in the striping and I really improved my kitchener sticher stitch joining at the hood. I really love this pattern but the yarn just wasn't loving it. I made Evan's Wallably in the same yarn but in a sport weight. Rylie's is a size 12 and maybe the larger size was just too ambitious. Anyway, it is done and looks good on Rylie. It fits her! I am off to knit with anything wool for my next project.

Embroidered Sweater

 
 
 My first try with Knitting Software. I downloaded a free trial version of Knitware Sweater Software to see if I could do this. I chose a cheaper yarn because I really had no idea how it would pan out. I used Fiesta Red Heart Acrylic purcharsed at Walmart. I took my grandaughter's measurements and plugged them into the software. It spit out a pattern and I began to knit. I really came out big and the hood was huge. As you can see Rylie can still wear this sweater today and it was knit for her at age three. I also tried something new in embroidery. I downloaded a free graphic of cute animals (hippo and butterfly). I used regular embroidery thread with all the plys intact on a yarn needle. I just went in a running over and under stich on each knit stitch horizontally until the colors were filled in. It looks OK, but next time I'm just going for the old tried and true duplicate stitch for embellishment. It's a lot easier.

I Knitted a Bowl!

 
 I have never felted anything and of course had to try it to see what all the felting talk was about. I knitted a bowl using a free online pattern with two skeins of Noro Kuryeon double stranded. I dunked it into a bucket of hot water and agitated with my hands for about 10 minutes. I came out limp droopy and I could still see every stitch. My friends at Ravelry gave me a hint. It takes a lot more that just agitating with your hands. Soooooooo off to Walmart to get a plunger. Yes a plunger and a big bucket. I filled it with hot water, enlisted the help of my granddaughter and we plunged and dunked and really felted the heck out of the thing. It worked! I put it over a bowl to shape and into the dryer on a rack it went. I'm kind of proud of it actually. It will hold yarn and other knitting things. Rylie was quite happy to help and we had a grand ole time. Now, I think I am ready to do a purse!

Bill's Wristwarmers for the WVU game

  I know, I know, they are not in the Blue and Gold WVU colors, but tonight's game with Louisville is going to be so cold that the color doesn't matter. He should keep warm in his Aran sweater and wristwarmers all under a WVU jacket. I'm staying home where it's warm.