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.

Evan's WVU Mountaineer Wallaby (Yes I changed the logo)

 
 
I just didn't like the filled in logo and thanks to an online knitting friend at Ravelry, I got the idea to do an outline. I think it looks a little better. I am getting practice at the swiss darning and beginning to get the hang of it. That's what I love about knitting.....always something to learn. Feel free to comment on which logo you prefer. I can still fill the outline in if I need to, but I'm going just leave it alone for awhile.

Evan's Wonderful Wallaby

 It's finished! I made this on size 4 needles using the smallest Wanda Wallaby size with sport weight Knitpicks Shine. It came out about a size 12 - 18 months and should fit Evan perfectly! As soon as the little angel comes to visit, pics of Evan wearing it will be taken and posted. Hope he comes to visit soon!!!!!

Husband is not Happy

 

I had to have somebody try on my completed Hallowig. It took some convincing and of course a promise not to tell anyone (hee hee). Anyway, here is the finished product ready for Rylie to become Cleopatra on Halloween. Shssshhhh. Don't tell anyone it is Bill modeling it, OK? (wink wink)

Sheldon and Lula

 I knitted Sheldon the turtle in between pieces of Bill's sweater just to have a break from the cables. I had enough yarn left over for a small baby bib. My granddaughter's doll "Lula" modeling the bib. I used Shine Sport and really love this yarn. Very smooth, soft and a very fast knit. Loved the Sheldon pattern.

Bill's Aran Sweater is Finished!

 
 
 
 Finally the Aran sweater is ready to be modeled. My husband, Bill, is quite uncomfortable with modeling a heavy wool sweater in our front yard in the heat of summer, but he really loves the sweater. It fits him nicely. I'm glad it is done, now on to the Wallaby sweaters for the grandkids. I'm always into another knitting project.

Bill's Aran Sweater is Blocking!

 
 
 Finally I finished the main pieces of Bill's Aran Sweater. Since it took a couple of days in between the sleeves and the body blocking and drying, I knitted Sheldon, the turtle from Knitty while I was waiting. Sheldon is also done. He was a fairly quick knit. Once the sweater is blocked and dry, it will be time to assemble and add the neck. The next pic should be Bill modeling his new sweater just in time for the cool weather. Oh and by the way, The washing and blocking was done with Baby Wash and I can now happily say, the sweater no longer has the essence of Evan's poo.

Evan Pooped on Bill's Sweater!

 

Our precious little 6 month old grandson had a little accident right on Bill's Aran Sweater. I am about 3/4 done with both sleeves and when it was time to feed Evan I put the knitting aside and began to feed him. He had a rather large bright yellow stinky poo that did not stay in the diaper. It leaked out onto my lap and right on to one of Bill's sleeves. Oh my it is stinky. I tried baby shampoo and a paper towel blot but so far it still smells quite like baby poo smells. Any suggestions on how to rid the smell while the knitting is still on the needles. The yarn is a wool blend. I'm afraid Bill's sweater is going to have a special essence all it's own if I can't get rid of the poo. How can something so beautiful and cute produce such a stinky thing?

Finally knitted that Dishcloth.

Did it on a car ride. It seems I just have to have something to knit in my hands anytime I am sitting down. I just can't sit and do nothing. Maybe that's a common characteristic of all knitters.

Summer Beach Knitting

Our annual trip to Pine Knoll Shores and of course I had to have a Beach Knitting Project. I started the Great Absorba Bath Mat from Mason Dixon Knitting. It is knitted with 3 strands of Sugar and Cream Cotton Yarn on #11 Knitpics Circulars. It is a quick knit and will be rectangular in shape when finished. It is the first time I have tried the "Log Cabin" style of knitting and I really like it. By the way you may recognize the yarn as leftover from my "dishcloth that became a purse" project.

Dishcloth that turned into a purse!

OK, I'll admit that I want to knit faster so I can get more projects done. Right now, I call myself an English "throw" knitter and can go relatively fast if I concentrate. But those "Continental Knitters" blow me right out of the park in speed. So.....I decided to make a simple dishcloth in the Continental style of knitting figuring that I would have it mastered by the end of the cloth. Using a simple basketweave stitch, I thought that would give me all the practice I would need for knit and purl. Well, I was wrong. At the end of the cloth, I found I needed more practice. I just didn't have a very regular smooth stitch yet. I needed more and more practice so I kept on knitting and knitting and knitting. The cloth turned into a scarf which is when it began it's tranformation into a purse. I was designing as I went along because I really just wanted to use knit and purl and get a decent looking stitch gauge that didn't look all irregular. Well, as you can see, this became a rather nice sized purse knit in cotton Sugar and Cream Yarn. I am working on the lining now and should be showing the finished product soon. And yes, I think I have the Continental thing down pretty well. It just took more than a dishcloth amount of knitting. You can see my progression in mastering the stitch as the gauge is pretty awful at the beginning of the dishcloth, err... purse.

Sheep and Fiber Festival!

A short trip to Waynesburg, PA to their Sheep and Fiber Festival. It was a small festival but really beautiful and quaint in a very old town. The main street closed for the festivities. We watched sheep shearing, dog herding, sheep to shawl contests, and toured the various vendors. I didn't buy any yarn this time. I have so many projects to finish I refuse to buy any more yarn until something gets completed. I really was impressed with how clean this old town is and how beautiful the old buildings are. Rylie is shown here meeting an alpaca that appeared to be very friendly.

Sheep to Shawl Day At Pricketts Fort!

This old fort has been around since the pioneers were settling in West Virginia. It is Sheep to Shawl Day. We watched as the sheep got sheared, the wool processed and woven with an ancient loom into a shawl. Rylie was amazed that this is where the yarn comes from that Mamaw works with. We were shown how the yarn gets it natural colors and how to dye with plants like indigo and goldenrod. This Fort was built to protect the settlers when under attack. They would gather into this small fort and stay until it was safe to return home.

Pricketts Fort

Click on the photo and use the Slideshow option for best effect! Enjoy!

Evan Modeling his Baby Surprise Jacket

This pattern fit Evan perfectly across his chest but was way too long for him. I need to see how to tweak the pattern not to come out so long in length. Has anyone else had this problem?

Pittsburgh Knitting Festival

 

The 3rd annual Knitting and Crochet Festival was loads of fun. I saved up my lunch money and splurged on beautiful alpaca and silk lace yarn. I also bought some 100% Baby Alpaca Yarn that practically screams to become matching hat and scarf. I really enjoyed meeting the people and learning from them. Knitters are indeed good people to know. I did stop by the Knitting Warm Up Lounge and started a square for the homeless and battered women. All the squares donated by knitters will be attached into blankets for these special people. That was probably the best part of the day.

EZ Baby Surprise Jacket Done!

I took a break from the Aran cables and whipped up EZ's surprise Baby Jacket for my grandson, Evan. It was knitted all in one piece using bits of scrap yarn (Caron soft), size 3 Knit Pics circular needles, and, with a couple of folds and two seams, it was done. This pic is before blocking and buttons, so it may look a little rough. I can tell you that this sweater is pretty easy but you have to get your counts right from the first row. I actually knitted this twice because I had my counts off by a stitch in the first row and when I reached the end, I was really off.

Bill's Aran Sweater

I finished the back of Bill's Sweater. The cables start swirling in your head if you knit too much at one time. My husband, Bill , is of Irish ancestry and has always wanted a hand knit Irish Cabled Sweater. Well, this is my progress so far. It is not blocked yet as I am waiting for my blocking board to arrive. I think before I start on the front, I'll take a break and knit up one of EZ's Baby Surprise Jacket for my new grandson. Check my main blog link for pics of my beautiful grandkids!

My Attempt at Domino Knitting

Modular knitting is something I just had to try. It makes very sturdy items and is just perfect for the pot holders I have made with Cotton Yarn. I did like the idea of not having to sew the seams, but rather knitted them as I went along. The piece once knitted was done and ready to use. I'm sure you will recognize the yarn as bits of left over from Rylie's fall sweater.