Artyarns Filigree Wrap

Are you up for a challenge? Try this beautiful wrap made from Iris Schrier's Lacy Little Knits book. I made it with 6 skeins of Artyarns Bronze and Beads, which can be found in my favorite links - Yarn Barrel Specialties website under silk. It can also be done in Regal Silk. All the Artyarns yarn is beautiful! Try it sometime!

Happy Knitting!
Barbara

Riley In Her Adorable Hat

Doesn't Riley just look so cute??!!! I knitted the hat as stated in the earlier post "Darling Little Baby Hat". I just had to share how cute the hat is. It's done with one one skein of Filatura DiCrosa Kiss. (see Yarn Barrel Specialties website for yarn and below for the free pattern.)

Happy Knitting!

Lantern Moon Needles are TOPS!!!

Yarn Barrel Specialties

I received a shipment of Lantern Moon needles last night. Oooh Boy are they GORGEOUS!!!!! I have to get them put up on my website, Yarn Barrel Specialties, asap! Good needles are soooo worth it!

Have a nice day Knitters!

Hysterical Joke

I thought this was really funny!

Darling Little Baby Hat

I finished the most darling little baby hat. I've done it in Filatura DiCrosa's Kiss. You can view the yarn at: Kiss Yarn.

I adapated a pattern I found to make the hat fit the yarn and to make it a bit taller. Here is the pattern:

Ruffled Hat

Materials: 1 Ball Filatura Di Crosa Kiss, size 6 16" circular needles, size 6 dpns

Cast on 210 Stitches using long tail cast on.
Round 1: K2tog = 105 stitches.
Round 2: K2tog = 52 stitches.
Knit in the round until hat measures 5" total.

Decrease as follows: (switch to dpns when necessary)
Dec. Round 1: (K2tog, K5) repeat to end.
Round 2: Knit.
Round 3: (K2tog, K4) repeat to end.
Round 4: Knit.
Round 5: (K2tog, K3) repeat to end.
Round 6: Knit.
Round 7: (K2tog, K2) repeat to end.
Round 8: Knit.
Round 9: (K2tog, K1) repeat to end.
Round 10: Knit.
Round 11: (K2tog) repeat to end.

I found the flower on Sarah's Yarn Box.

It was a quick little project to give as a gift.

Happy Knitting!

How to make I-Cord

At the knitting group last week. I was asked by the person sitting next to me how to make I-Cord. It's really easy, but the concept can be confusing. Try it - Good luck!

How to Make I-cord

You use two double pointed needles.

Basically, you knit across your stitches but never turn your work. The right side of your work is always facing you.

To get the yarn to the *working side* or right edge of the next row, you slide your working stitches to the right edge of your double pointed needle, then you simply pull the yarn that's at the end of the row snuggly across the back of your knitting and knit the first stich of the row.

Keep going and you make a very nice rounded cord. It doesn't look right at first, but after a 1/2" or so, you should start to see the cord emerge.

You can also go to My Favorite Links on the right side of the page - "Knitting Help" and look up I-cord. She has great videos on how to do it.

Keep on Nittin!

Knitting & Household Tasks

Household tasks are easier and quicker when they are done by somebody else.
- James Thorpe

This saying is so apropos when it comes to knitting! Who would rather clean than knit? And, how would James Thorpe know? He's a man! Maybe he's a knitting man?!

I'm waiting for an order of Lantern Moon needles to come in. I can't wait to get them. They're supposed to be awesome!

Got to run. Lot's of work to do before the holidays!

Christmas Rush - Projects to Finish

Well, let's see. . .

I've got to hurry!!! The pressure is really on now. How many days left? I'm blocking one gift a shawl by Iris Schrier. I finished the entrelac scarf I showed you in my earlier blog. I'm working on a child's hat for Hanukkah. I finished the starburst shawl for someone else. And, I really need to make myself a shawl for a Christmas party we're going to on the 15th. I'm really beginning to feel like a machine!

But I LOVE it! I say it again and again....I love knitting because it feels like such a challenge to figure out the directions and end up with a beautiful object. (even if I do say so myself!) The Iris Schrier (Artyarns) multidirectional patterns are a real challenge. She even has a chat group to get help on her patterns. (I've used it too!) The starburst shawl I made took many tries before I "got" it. It was all about following the directions EXACTLY and interpreting correctly.

I don't know - all you folks knitting socks seem to GET it. I don't. I have a pair going and I'm stuck on the heel (of course). Any help would be appreciated.

Have a nice day and keep on nittin!
Barb

Dancing in the rain

Someone sent me this via email. Everyone I sent it to mentioned how it made them stop and think and reflect. I hope you like it also.... especially the last two lines.

There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head.

Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today?" So she did, and she had a wonderful day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head.

"H-M-M," she said, "I think I'll part my hair down the middle today?"
So she did, and she had a grand day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head.

"Well," she said, "today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail." So she did,
and she had a fun, fun day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head.

"YEA!" she exclaimed, "I don't have to fix my hair today!"

Attitude is everything.

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

Live simply,

Love generously,

Care deeply,

Speak kindly,

Leave the rest to the person upstairs.

~
Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...
It's about learning to dance in the rain.

Oh Sophie!

Link to yarn: Torino Silk.

I arrived home to find that our dog Sophie, a beautiful Sheltand Sheepdog, had dedided that my 660 yards of Great Adirondack Torino Silk was just the toy she needed to soothe her lonliness! What a mess! I sat for a while to try to unravel the mess, but I began finding new ends everywhere. I think it's hopeless! 660 yards is a bit over the top to try to detangle. There are even bits of tree branches and dried leaves stuck to it. I can just image what she was doing! Wish I had a doggiecam to watch! Well, what can I do? No more knitting anywhere in Sophie's reach!

Have a nice evening! I'm off to my knitting group.

Hi Everyone!
I'm home again. So here is the photo of the scarf I'm making. Again - here is the link to the free pattern entrelac scarf.

A knitting tip for today. Use the best yarn you can afford. It makes a huge difference in the finished product.

I just received the pattern book, "Itty Bitty Hats" by Susan B. Anderson. Jess, from my knitting group, showed us a baby hat she made from the book. It was so cute! I had to get the book! I'm hoping to make one for my my Niece's daughter!

The pressure is on to finish all my projects for the holidays!

Let me know what you're making. I'd love to hear!

Having A Ball!

Hello knitters and friends!

I had such a wonderful weekend away at our cabin! My husband and I dried fruits and meats, made fires, relaxed, napped, watched TV and I knitted my little fingers off. I just love watching a knitting project progress. Of course, I forgot the cord to connect my camera to the computer --- so the photo above is from the internet. The link to the free pattern is here entrelac scarf.

This pattern looks hard, but it's not at all. It's not sewn together either! It's all done with picking up stiches along the edges of the triangles. It sounds hard, but it's not. I saw a woman in my McKnit Group knitting a wrap in Entrelac in Noro and was hooked. I'm using a pretty blue, long soy wool stripe yarn by Patons, but I don't recommend it. There are multiple connecting knots in every skein! (What can I say. I bought it to research for my webstore. But will NOT be carrying it.) I recommend Noro which the pattern calls for.

Well, since it's Sunday morning and we'll have to leave for home soon, I talk to you lata as I NEED to get in more knitting before we leave.

Bye!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Wow! Thanksgiving is almost over and now I'll have a chance to get back to knitting rather than cooking. The fam was quite appreciative of the meal I prepared, but whew, glad it's - done - done - done. I loved seeing the kids though - I miss them now that they're all grown up.

We celebrated Thanksgiving last night so that everyone could do they're own thing today. We left this morning to drive up to Old Forge for the weekend. When we left NJ, the temperature was 66 and, by the time we reached Old Forge, it was 32! It's snowing a little bit and supposed to do more tomorrow.

So, FINALLY, here I sit in front of the fire - Knit, Knit, Knit.

Here is a photo of the last project I finished Starburst Shawl designed by Iris Schrier. It's made of Regal Silk by Artyarns.

One More Day to Knitting

Thanksgiving is almost here and then I have 4 whole days off to knit and have fun! Yay!

We have begun a tradition of having Thankgiving on Wednesday night so that the kids can have Thanksgiving with their friends. It works out fantastically as it gives us a chance to sneek off to our cabin in the Adirondacks.

The Adirondacks - that's where I caught the bug to start knitting again while reading Debbie Macomber's book "A Good Yarn". There is a wonderful, friendly little shop there inside a hardware store! You'd never know that a knitting shop resided inside, but the store is well known for having hardware and anything else you could possibly want. The ladies in the shop are so helpful and nice and a sample of a tank top caught my eye. I was hooked again!



I hope you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Barbara

Finance and Yarn

Quote: Finance is the art of passing money from hand to hand until it finally disappears.
- Robert W. Sarnoff

I stumbed across this quote this morning when I was thinking about what to write. How true it is when it comes to knitting! My husband always teases me (as co-owner of Yarn Barrel Specialties online yarn store) that I am my best customer! The yarn comes in and I'm all over it wanting to knit with it! So where's the profit in that? What can I say? I'm obsessed!

Tip of the day: Try to join new yarn at the edges where you can hide them in a seam. To figure out if you have enough yarn to knit to the end of a row, your remaining yarn should be 4 times the width of your project.

OMG - SNOW!

Do you believe that it snowed today? Here in New Jersey, we have schools closed and icy roads - BEFORE THANKSGIVING!!! I would be a good day to stay home toasty warm in front of the fire and Knit - but, no, I have to work for a living! (Well how would I afford the yarn addiction otherwise?!!)

Here is a thought for the day.... Why do they call them straight jackets when they are never straight? I thought that was funny, but I have a strange sense of humor.

I've included a link to Knittinghelp.com over in the links section on the right side, because I think it's a terrific site for new knitters and for those who need a refresher. She has videos and talks you through it while you watch. I've used it myself, and I've been knitting for MANY years!

Gotta tell you - I LOVE to have my family for the holidays, but it sure cuts into my knitting time! I'm desperately trying to get a project done before someone's birthday which is in December! Yesterday, I had to shop for Thanksgiving, clean the house, and polish the silver. Today, I'm beginning to cook (and do the laundry at the same time). I made homemade applesauce so far. After this blog, I need to look up what to do different with sweet potatoes and butternut squash. If anyone has ideas, please let me know.

Hopefully, I'll get in some knitting too!

Hey out there knitting world! This is my first blog. Please feel free to send me your comments and suggestions for topics you'd like to read about.

I love yarn! I love to feel it, squeeze it, carees it, gather it, collect it, hoarde it, stash it, knit it, and crochet it. I found that I'm not alone in this obsession after recently joining a knitting group called McKnit. They all seem to have the same obsession! Now I don't feel so crazy! We all seem to bring knitting wherever we go. Some of us stash a project in the car and work on it while waiting for car pool pickup; others bring it to work and knit at lunch time; some of us have 5 or 6 projects going at one time!

If you think you're alone out there, I highly recommend joining a knitting group in your area. I found mine on yahoo/groups/knitting. There is a negative to joining a knitting group though. After seeing all the great projects that others are working on, I NEED to go find the patterns for some of the projects I liked. And, that begins the cycle all over again!

I'll add photos of my projects when I figure out how to do it! Ha! I'm such a dork.

Talk to you soon - Barbara