From the Library's Shelves

I've been working on my Counterpane Masterpiece, but I confess that with my short attention span the triangles are getting a little monotonous . . . but I'm really sticking with it and seaming up a storm. I really want to wear it this fall. 

click here to place a hold

So when I saw one of our new 
knitting books . . . Refined Knits by 
Jennifer Wood . . . I only took a quick 
look . . . and as I looked I told myself  'I am not looking for a new project . . . I am not looking for a new project'. 














I was okay until I saw the Idril Pullover. It's knit with Anzula Dreamy which is 
a fingering weight blend of merino wool, cashmere and silk. Look at the 
cables . . . isn't it gorgeous?! 
Fingering weight . . . can I pick them, or what!!









And there's more . . . the Vivian Sleeveless Pullover . . . there's shawls . . . there's more pullovers . . . there's enough that it's worth purchasing. I had to stop looking before I started to order yarn. Take a look and decide for yourself. 

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

Read the Fine Print

Once my yarn was all wound . . . I dug out my needles, grabbed the pattern and sat down to knit. 



You make a bunch of triangles and sew them together into squares and then sew the squares together into the gorgeous creation shown in the picture. 

Here's my first one.

Okay. Easy enough so far.









I worked up a few more and even sewed together my first square. It's not blocked yet, but it'll work.


At this point I decide to take a closer look at the pattern. How many of these little triangles do I need anyways?
"Make 36 for front, 42 for back".
W H A T? Math is not my strong point . . . but isn't that like . . . 78? 78?!! I have the attention span of a gnat . . . and I really want to wear this in the fall. 

Okay, I got an audio book and started listening while I made more triangles. I've got 14 so far . . . 64 more to go . . . I think I'll get an another audio book . . . or two . . . or maybe I should even start a series.


What was I thinking when I decided to make this??!!



Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

Monday Night Knitting

Monday was another wonderful night of knitting. Familiar faces and new ones too . . . it's always nice to add to our group!!

Lizzie finished her poncho. 
The 2 year-old recipient loved 
it . . . although it took a little to explain there were no sleeves in it!








There were lots of other things going on too . . . Joan is working on her sampler scarf . . . Nancy is knitting a prayer shawl . . . Peggy got a little lesson on the kitchener stitch . . . there were sweaters . . . and more. 

Unfortunately there are no photos. It seems there was some type of an 'operator error' . . . which is really code for 'I don't know what the H E double hockey sticks happened to the pictures on my phone'. Perhaps they are in the cloud in the sky.

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

Just Like Dad Use To Do

There is nothing like that feeling you get when the yarn you are waiting for arrives! Since I ordered mine on-line, I was a little nervous . . . what if it didn't feel right? What if the color wasn't the shade I was expecting? 

When I opened up my package . . . it was perfect . . . phew!! I quickly rolled one of the hanks into a ball . . . grabbed my needles . . . and sat down to make a gauge swatch. 

The one ball that I rolled up didn't last 
long . . . and then I had to look at . . . 
yes . . . 18 more hanks to roll up. Ugh. 

In the past whenever I had hanks that needed to be wound I would send them to my dad. He would send them back all nicely wound and ready to be used. Since my dad passed away, this was no longer an option.

So I called my mother and asked to borrow her swifter and winder. Of course she had also always given her hanks to my dad to wind . . . so it was handed off to me with a 'here you go'. I figured I was reasonably intelligent and I could figure out how to use this in no time.







.

Since it was a nice day, I set it up on my deck and started to wind. First I realized it couldn't be done at NASCAR speed . . . and then I realized it easily tangled at the end. As I debated how useful this contraption really was . . . and considered that it was perhaps quicker to wind it by hand . . . . and perhaps uttered a few words i won't repeat here . . . my daughter calls out from the kitchen window . . . 

"You do know you have the yarn on 
wrong . . . right?"

"I do?"






She nicely came out and changed it. 

"How did you know it went like that?" I asked.

Her response made me laugh . . . "When we were little Papa use to let us play with it all the time. If he had yarn he let us wind it up."

My sneaky father . . . all the time I thought he was winding my yarn it was my 6 year old daughter doing it while he babysat for me!!






After I started doing it the right way . . . I realized that you could go at NASCAR speed . . . .it was definitely easier than doing it by hand . . .  and the 'cakes' it made were firmer too.

Then I also remembered my dad would have the yarn label on the inside of the cake. That way, later on  I could always identify any left over yarn in my stash.

So I got the hang of wrapping the label around the winder core before I started to wind.

Here's what you'll end up with. It's not only quicker than winding by hand . . . it also sits flat . . . so when you are knitting you won't have a ball of yarn rolling all over the place for the cat to chase.












You can also work it from the outside by just untaping it . . . or from the inside since you can just pull it out of the middle! 

If you don't have a swifter and a winder, think about investing in one. It's a lot easier . . . and quicker to get those hanks of yarn ready to knit! (And it's even better if you have a 6 year old at home!)



Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

Time to Color

My daughter just came back from visiting her college room-mate in Ohio. Which really has nothing to do with knitting . . . but she brought me back a present.


My very own knitting coloring book. Does she know her mother . . . or what!!










Of course I quickly moved my old book to the side and began to work on a page filled with Lopi sweaters.

Click Hereto Place a Hold

If you live in the Duxbury area . . . and you haven't joined the coloring bandwagon yet . . . come into the library. We have a kit of colored pencils you can check out for a couple of weeks to see if it's 'your thing' or not. When you see how relaxed it makes you feel . . . well you'll probably want your own set. Give it a try.




But if you do it with a glass of wine . . . don't start stressing if you go outside of the lines.

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.