Knitting Dragonflies

Progress has been  good. Lola Bunny is fun to knit and progressing good. Shawl is fast, fun and easy. It makes me want to start another one for someone else. I like the Lola Bunny Pattern , and after making a crochet elephant, it is nice to try a knitted toy pattern. I also found another pattern on the Schaefer yarn co. Lola Curly the Pig. Very cute.. It's storming here and the colors on the shawl picture don't do the actual piece justice   Technorati Tags: Lola Bunny knitting pattern link , Sursa shawl

It's Memorial Day and rainy here. What better way to celebrate than to curl up in my chair with a latte and start casting on. First project Schaefer yarn Lola Bunny designed by Beth Skwarecki, I found this little Cutie on The Knitting Blog by Mr. Puffy the Dog .  It is super cute and I have several baby showers to go to, I usually make my crochet baby blanket, but have made so many of those, I need to try something else. I saw this and knew this was the pattern to try. Free pattern download here . I am trying this using the magic loop method, which I have always had trouble with, (ladders), until I watched this utube by Knitwitch, I urge you to check out her other videos also. She is a very good teacher.   Her website is filled with nice goodies, Yarn bowls, spindle bowls, ceramic buttons, among other things. All made by her. Whoops, I'm shopping.. I got back the Doggie Bag I finished, I used the pattern from the Yarnpath . My beading girlfriend mad...

If you have not visited this blog KnittingLadies - Knitting Crochet Program at Interim House, drop past and see what a difference some yarn and needles can make. (They also take yarn donations) Kathryn Duffy LCSW is the knitterly inspiration of this program. See her article: Knitting through Recovery: One Stitch at a time. I love the article written by Linda Cortright for Wild Fibers. These are her first three sentences: I am an addict. I exhibit compulsive behavior when engaged in those certain activities that frequently lead to a mood altering state. I am not alone. Does Knitting work as a tool in alcohol and drug recovery because it is a substitute behavior? As knitters we use terms that addicts use, and frequently admit to our addiction: For example stash, crack yarn, yarn porn (thanks Lime N Violet), yarn is my drug of choice, yarn fix. We admitted we were powerless over yarn, and of course we all need to be on a yarn diet sometimes. I'm sure we all ...

Done!! My elephant turned out to be approximately 12 inches tall and 13 inches long. Dedicated to all elephant lovers out there. Right now he is living on top of my TV. (no flat screen yet) I had alot of fun making him, I do have a hodge podge of instructions that I tried to keep up with. If there is interest I will try to write up.

In this Etsy shop A Cozy Life , I am reminded of a simpler way. Pretty and affordable kitchen cloths, (we all love them, but don't have time to make them sometimes), Headbands, scarf's, and bandanas. Check them out!

I needed some whimsy in my life. I started by playing around with some bright turquoise simply soft yarn. Ended up making a Amigurumi version of Ganesha . So far he has made me laugh, I am having the most trouble with his trunk, which is looking slightly hmm, well not exactly like I envisioned it. Maybe after I add some tusks and ears.

As Memorial Day approaches, I think of family members that have served our country. My father is one of eight, many of which served their country. My husband served in Vietnam. What I have observed in them: 1) They have life long friends, forged in times that we cannot imagine. 2) They take politics very seriously, especially ones involving wars, conflicts ie.. whatever we are calling them at the moment. 3) They are slow to anger, tender at heart, and take things seriously. 4) They had to grow up fast, saw newly made friends suffer and die. 5) Few words are said among them about what passed, but just a look between them says volumes. May we think of them this Memorial Day and send them love and healing, especially those still in service.      Running Children                                ...

Now that I know what I am doing this is progressing quickly, and is nice to transport in my purse to knit. It's nice not to have a bunch of dp's sticking out and my stitches coming off. I am actually using a 32 inch long needle, I know it calls for a 40 inch. I think this would make it easier, but I have had no trouble. I am using sock yarn, maybe the 40 inch would be necessary if you were using a bulkier yarn. The author emailed me, (many thanks, with corrections to the book) CORRECTIONS FOR THE BOOK; You’ll want to make the following changes to the technique section of the book, and then check Storey Publishing’s web site for the errata in a couple of charts. Changing the steps below will make this a smooth process (honest!) Step 17: next to last sentence should read “End having just worked a right side row” Turning the Heels, last sentence should read ”…beginning with sock A” Step 18: Should read “On heel flap A...

I have gotten rid of all of my real plants, or the puppies did, and "decluttered" my fake plants. I found this free pattern online for a very nice crochet floral centerpiece. This won't die on you and no watering!   Here are some Daffodils here A passionflower here.   A cute Lilly   Or a variety of felted ones .

I was having a really bad day that seemed to go on forever. You know the kind I mean. It was one of those futile days, everything was wrong, no one I saw was happy, grumbling everywhere. I dropped things, lost things I just had in my hand, and forgot important things that were happening just today. And it seemed like maybe my shoes were too small, or my head wasn't screwed on just right, like the Grinch But then I ran into a girlfriend I haven't seen for awhile. She said "Oh I'm so glad to see you!". Then she proceeded to tell me she needed a replacement flannel quilt for her grandson. He had to go to the hospital and lost his. She had picked one with a pirate theme. Little pirates and jolly roger skulls. Well it seems that these pirates had somehow been protecting him from the monsters in his closet, which is where we all know, monsters love to hang out. So in that moment my heart swelled from being two sizes too small to bursting with joy. Pirates to ...

Wow, I bought the book Two at a Time Socks on one circular needle, loved the idea. After much confusion I found a tutorial at the blog: Type A Knitting Obsession , thank you, thank you. The book has a lot of great patterns, of 140 pages, only page 14-30 are the instructions on how to get this accomplished. With only 46 steps, I almost took my big knotty confusion of yarn and stitches and put them on dp's. I was looking for any tips online and the only one I could find was at the above blog. Although her tutorial is toe up, and I am doing a cuff down. The pictures and instruction got me going. Thanks a million Lindsay!! In the middle of searching for this I found the best utube tutorial of Magic Hoop, I did try this and it seems, as promised to eliminate the ladders that are commonly seen with this method. Check it out! From the KnitWitch

I survived the seminar. I did get a small amount of knitting done. I finished the crappy bag from the Yarnpath blog. Pictures later, my co worker that went with me, is a beader. She deemed after looking at the yarn strap I was making that it was all wrong, and pack my little bag up to take home and make a beaded ribbon strap. So from crappy bag to evening bag, I can't wait to see it!! I also got a small amount of knitting done on some socks. The general consensus of the seminar people was "Why would you want to knit socks when you can buy them?" Yes I could find no fellow knitters. I managed to knit discreetly on breaks. I did escape one evening and found a book store, I ended up buying several yarn related books: 1) The Yarn Harlot's guide to the land of the knitting . Yes sometimes we just need to read about someone who loves knitting. 2) Two at a time Socks , Yes I am still looking at ways to do this, I find it intriguing  although most of the time no...