Major Knitter

A Designer in Our Midst

By now you all know how much I adore my LYS - Knitting Central.  I love Cynthia, the yarn, the instructors, the designers, the classes, etc.  Cynthia is so good about promoting her staff and helping them realize their full potential.  She opens doors (figuratively, and probably literally, too).  She makes introductions.  She really does everything she can for her knitting family.  Case in point - check out the current issue of Knit Simple Winter 2009/10

It's a wonderful magazine with several fashionable quick knits for those of us who demand instant gratification without sacrificing style and design.  To that point, look at Design #2 from the magazine - Boucle Jacket by Knitting Central's very own Lynn Wilson.  This is knit in Be Sweet's Boucle Mohair (body) and Brushed Mohair (edgings).  It's gorgeous, fashionable, lightweight and very, very warm.

Lynn is an amazing teacher and designer.  If your LYS doesn't sell Lynn's designs, ask your LYS owner to contact Lynn for her wholesale patterns.  She does not sell retail.  

Congratulations Lynn on your fabulous design in this month's Knit Simple.  

Knitting Friends Are the Very Best

Shanti came to visit last night on her way from Newport, RI to Norfolk, VA.  We had a great time chatting, knitting, playing with Wilma, eating, chatting and knitting.  Shanti came bearing several gifts - and I really enjoyed the yarn and the homemade chocolates

Shanti gave me two skeins of Artyarns Ultramerino 8 in colorway 1006.  It doesn't have a name, just a number, but I thought the yarn had a funky look, so I have officially dubbed these my Funky Electric Socks.  But wait, what's that sitting next to the yarn?  Yum - chocolate truffles.  Shanti made these herself in Newport and shared some of the delightful chocolatey goodness with us.  Pure heaven!

Wilma got some doggy treats and a lot of attention.  I was afraid she was going to try to jump in Shanti's car when she left this morning as she has become one of Shanti's many ardent admirers.  I mean, what's not to like... she even got down on the floor to give Wilma some love and attention.

In addition to giving Wilma lots of attention (which my Girly Girl ate up!), Shanti and I hit Knitting Central and picked up some sale yarn and chatted with Cynthia for a bit.  That's always such a treat and something I will miss dearly when my LYS closes next month. 

After dinner at Rizzuto's with BF, we continued our sitting, chatting and knitting.  I wound the yarn Shanti gave me and cast on for a pair of basic stockinette socks with the Artyarns Ultramerino.  By this morning, I already had the K2, P2 cuffs knit for both socks (on US Size 2 dpns) and am ready to start the stockinette.  These will be great friendship socks and will make me happy when I see them.  

Shanti, I hope you'll stop by often.  It was a great visit. 

Finishing Friday - Secundogeniture's Socks

It's been a busy, busy week.  So busy in fact, that I've barely knit.  I haven't picked up BF sweater since I last posted about it early last week.  I've knit a few little BSOs (Bright Shiny Objects) and have been carrying around my portable and mindless stockinette socks all week.  That may explain why I haven't been focusing on the sweater(s) I should be knitting.

Here they are in all their blue tweed goodness waiting to gift to Secundogeniture when he gets home from school.

 

Unfortunately, Secundogeniture's first reaction upon seeing them was "Gee Mom, thanks for the purple socks with rainbow polka-dots." - He nearly refused my handmade gift, until he saw them in another room with better natural lighting and decided that they were indeed blue.  They still had rainbow polka dots, but they were definitely blue.  He could wear those.

He'll probably wear them all weekend.  What joy!  Secundogeniture already picked out the yarn for his next pair of socks - Socrates Alpaca with a Twist in a teal blue.  Could be interesting. 

Didn't See That Coming

But then again, neither did the weatherman.

 

It was a beautiful winter wonderland to behold

It was also very, very slippery out there.  I hope everyone was safe.  It would have been a great day to stay indoors. 

 

I'm Jennifer and I'm an Antelope

It's already time to gear up for Wood Badge staff for 2010.  We had our first planning meeting and I took my antelope critter to our meeting.  I also took something new I found online - the Antelope Dishcloth by Lisa Millan .  I did what any knitting Boy Scout Wood Badge trained leader would do - I quickly knit up two!

My second attempt was much better than my first.  

The stitches were too loose on the white dishcloth and the design is lost on the light fabric.  I'm not sure how many of these I'll make... but I could be making a whole passel of critters:  beavers, bobwhites, eagles, foxes, owls, bears, buffalos, antelopes and even a lone wolf.

If you're in Scouting in Connecticut, it's time to sign up for the Wood Badge 2010 training course.  It's simply amazing!  If you come to our Connecticut course, I'll even knit you your very own critter dishcloth.

  

Teenage Mutant Ninja Hat

Aha!  I did it.  I finally managed to knit a funky wild and wacky hat for the Boy Scout Troop.  I decided that I would knit some critter hats for the various boys in my Troop.  I haven't decided if each patrol should have the same hat, or if I should make different hats as giveaways for the boys.  At any rate, the first hat, in honor of our Ninja Turtle Patrol is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Hat.  

 

I pulled out the ever popular Thorpe hat pattern  and started with that as my base.  I looked through my stash to see what I had on hand, and managed to make the hat work using 2 strands of an unlabeled Paton's Classic Wool Merino in an olive green and then using a combination of 1 strand of unlabeled Paton's Classic Wool Merino in a red and 1 strand of Cascade 220 in a red (sorry, these yarns were leftovers, so the fact that I actually know which yarn it is - is about all the information I can provide!).  I used a 40" inch Turbo Addi in a US Size 9 to make this hat using the Magic Loop method.

As I was knitting, BF handed me the New York Times "On The Street "section from that day.  Bill Cunningham had a special article about cute whimsical hand-knit hats.  Who knew?  I was onto something.

I picked up 7 sts vertically about 8 rows in from the back ear flap (on each side) and knit in garter stitch until each flap had about 38 ridges.  Bind off.  Repeat for other "tie" and then loosely tie a knot.  

After consulting with my 11-year-old expert, he decided this was about as Wacky as I could get for this hat.  "No eyes, Mom, puh-lease!  We're not kindergartners, you know." 

OK - but you want a chicken hat -- and everyone's OK with that?

I don't get it.  Whatever.  

Life is Not Always Picture Perfect

I often get comments about how clean and tidy my house is.  I find that interesting because those who live with me know that I live in clutter.  I throw things in bags (Scouting, Filing, Knitting, Miscellaneous, etc) and hide them in the pantry when guests arrive.  It gives the appearance of clean and tidy, but it's really only swept under the rug.  I laugh when readers comment on my tidy house, since I'm the one taking the pictures, it's easy to move the clutter to the other side of the frame.  Today, though, I thought I'd share with you the nightmare my family lives with on The Day(s) After [a campout].

This is a good portion of the campout cookware, cleaned, drying and ready to be stored for the next campout.  I'll get it to the basement today so it's stored and out of the way.  

But, wait, is that knitting in the mix?  Why, yes, it is!  I'm trying to come up with some wild and crazy hats (something akin to the chicken hat in yesterday's post) for the boys to wear on campouts.  I hope to have this one finished today or tomorrow.  I bet you'll never guess what it's going to be.

OK - I'm off to clean-up and then knit.  

Winter Campout

We had a great time on our winter campout.  The boys made our first sled last year out of wooden slats and lashings.  It was great for a first attempt and also gave the boys the opportunity to work on their lashing skills.  After this weekend's campout, the boys looked around and got "sled envy" and started thinking of ways to improve their sled and make it sturdier for next year.

 

They sure had fun with their sled on the snow covered trails.  

 

Mush!  Look at that Scout powered sled!

 

One of our Scouts wore his handknit hat by Scoutmaster Jackson.  Awww.  But even I must confess that it wasn't the best handmade hat of the weekend.

Check out this crocheted chicken hat worn by another Scout.  Hmmmm.  It's got me thinking. 
 

Anyway, I was very proud of all the Scouts and parents who participated in this winter campout.  Did I mention we slept in tents in 12 degree weather?  The boys had a blast and learned many new skills.

Suzanne's Hang Ups

I've been following Suzanne's blog - Just Another Hang Up - for almost a year.  She's an amazing seamstress and designer of bags, but until this week, I was just a lurker admiring her goods.

Last week she posted pictures of this gorgeous little wristlet and I fell in love.  I mean, how cute is that?  

 

Look at the close up.  It's so adorable.  Well, needless to say, I went directly to Suzanne's Etsy shop and browse through her other adorable designs.  I bet you'll get bitten by the "gotta have it" bug, too.
  

A Gallon of G.O.R.P

It's that time of month when another campout is on the horizon.  We'll be sleeping in tents - YES - Tents in New England in January.  Crazy?  I prefer to think of it as seasoned.  We've been busy preparing for winter camping.  I have my gear ready to go.

 

In order to stay warm in the winter, I have my ground pad, my down sleeping bag, a fleece liner or my personal favorite, my Marine Corps camouflage poncho liner; and pajamas.  Even in cold weather, some people prefer to sleep in skivvies.  I prefer long johns.  Maybe I'm getting soft as I get older.  I'm all about warmth.  Of course, I always sleep in handknit wool socks.  

 

And for extra energy, I mixed up some homemade G.O.R.P. - Good Ol' Raisins and Peanuts.  Here's my recipe for a perfect mix:

• 2 lbs of Trader Joe's Roasted and Salted Peanuts (two 16 oz bags)
• 1 lb of Trader Joe's Organic Thompson Seedless Raisins (one 16 oz bag)
• 2 12-oz packages of Trader Joe's Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

All these ingredients were gently mixed together by hand in my mixing bowl.  I was able to fit them into one Hefty Zip Gallon Bag.  Sweet!  Now I'm ready to brave the elements.