Knitting Dragonflies

We seem to be on a rented movie marathon at my house. I think it has something to do with the post holiday decompression. Mostly rainy and cloudy here during the winter, it’s perfect to cuddle up on the sofa and knit or spin. I found some yarn in my stash and I’m off. Easy Ribbed Hat (made with bulky yarn) yarn Bernant Felting Natural Wool, color way 94420 Needles size 8 US, circular needles I used the magic loop method, see here for help Cast on 64 stitches, being careful not to twist stitches Pattern is K1, P1 all around every row Continue until approx 6 inches or around the top of your head Start your decreasing Row 1: Knit pattern (k1, p1) 6 stitches, ktog , place stitch marker Row 2: Knit all around Row 3: Knit pattern until last two stitches before marker, then ktog Row 4: knit all around Repeat rows 3 and 4 until you have 8 stitches left on the needle. Cut a long tail and draw through all of the loops. Stitch back and forth through the top...

I have been knitting over the holidays. A little, some light knitting that I don’t have to think to hard about. Looks like I’ve got a red theme going… Some house slippers… Easy pattern here Going to knit another pair for a girlfriend in the hospital. It has been cloudy and cold here, a little snow falling. So we have been watching some movies. I knitted an easy cap while watching Star Trek, (picked out by Steve) and Julie & Julia.   (for me).  This allows for a lot of knitting and spinning. Here is the pattern (see hat above) Easy Knitted Cap I used approx. 200 yds of worsted wt 100% wool Galway in dark red US 4 circular knitting needles or size to gauge(i use the magic loop method, see here ) Gauge = 17 sts and 24 rows, 4 x 4 swatch Cast on 76 stitches, be careful not to twist when joining the circle. Knit 2, purl 2 every row for 2 1/2 inches. Now starting knitting all around until 7-9 inches, about to the top of your head. Decrease using: ...

Winter Knitty is out, Check it out!   Hope you get everything you want!

Calkat is Kathy and Carrie, they have numerous etsy shops and also blog. I love the idea of yoga fairies Namaste Pose - Yoga Fairy   $15. 00 Cobra Pose - Yoga Fairy  $15.00 She makes about every pose you can think of, cute and I think the vibrant colors are nice also. Ametista's.etsy.com PurVeyOrs of DeLiCiOuSly DaRk aPoThEcArY bOtTlEs, FuRrY MoNsTeR bOxes, uNuSuAl OnE oF a KiNd GiFtS aNd MoRe... Mr. Snowman Apothecary Bottle  $10.00 CalKat the Jewelry Junky.etsy.com Sole Luna e Stelles $58.00   blog located at http://calkatthejewelryjunkie.blogspot.com/   Enjoy shopping! Technorati Tags: featured etsy seller , calkat , yogafairies , ametista.the clayshoppe

When learning to knit or spin, You Tube has been a great resource for me, especially when I’m in the middle of a pattern, and have to figure out something, with no knitter to ask. Here are some recent videos that may help you. The KnitWitch has a number of great knitting tutorials available. Here are some of her new ones. Wet Blocking a Knitted Piece Weaving in Ends on Stockinette Stitch Weaving in ends on ribbing How to work in ribbing How to tell the difference between a knit stitch and a purl stitch Binding off in Pattern How to do stockinette stitch How to perform a knitted bind-off on the right side of your work How to recognize a backwards knitting stitch How to Purl through the backloop Knitted Cast On Knit Witch Yarn Bowl Demonstration How to fix a dropped stitch in knitting How to perfom a Cable Cast-on I knit with cat fur , is great, don’t let the title kid you, she has a wealth of videos on all sorts of stitches. Abby Franquemont , love to spin? Check ou...

With a mug of tea or glass of wine and a knitting project. Get your knitting out and enjoy, I can hear the fire crackling! I’m done with my hair towel wraps ( see here , on how to make), they are all wrapped up and I’m ready to settle down with a cup of tea and my new mag.

Podcasts are great to listen to while knitting or spinning.  I really enjoy it. I also like to listen to my favorite podcasts, music or books, while cleaning or commuting to and from work. Some of my favorite are: Cast On by Brenda Dayne In her description it says “A podcast about Knitting”, but this is so much more. Brenda’s beautiful voice lulls me into a dreamy knitting mode, while I learn about, well you never know. Historical, interesting, musical, essays read by the writers, oh and knitting. She is charming to listen to and never fails to bring  a smile to my face and heart. This is my number 1 podcast. It’s a PurlMan, a guy in Boston with Knitting issues. Funny and good knitting info. The host, Guido, was introduced to knitting by his fiancé and has been completely obsessed ever since. The Knitmore Girls A mother and daughter team, who knit. I recently was introduced to this and am enjoying it. I like this duo, and the way they work together to produce a...

Upon moving south, I learned that the Holidays include a different variety of foods. I love corn bread stuffing, and cranberry fluff, but my favorite is sweet potato pie. I’m a long time pumpkin pie lover, I’ve always requested pumpkin pie for my birthday instead of cake. So pumpkin is near and dear to my heart. But when I first tasted a sweet potato pie, I’ll have to say it is a close second. SWEET POTATO PIE Ingredients 1 (1 pound) sweet potato 1/2 cup butter, softened 1 cup white sugar 1/2 cup milk 2 eggs 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust (of course it would be an absolute SIN to use store bought!) Directions Boil sweet potato whole in skin for 40 to 50 minutes, or until done. Run cold water over the sweet potato, and remove the skin. Break apart sweet potato in a bowl. Add butter, and mix well with mixer. Stir in sugar, milk, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. Bea...

From CraftIdeasInfo here is a way to recycle a old cereal box into a good looking tote or gift bag. Planet Green has an idea on how to  repurpose those wool sweaters into nice looking mittens. Also check out FeltsoGood on flickr for more images. Recycle those plastic bags into “plarn” (plastic yarn) and make a nice sturdy grocery bag. Thanks to myrecycledbags.com . She also uses cassette tape to crochet Barbie dresses and other things (evening bags!) Her list of patterns here Neauveau Fiber Arts has a tutorial on how to unravel a wool sweater and prepare for repurposing. We all have these to toss, you have to take a look at pwka on flickr , she has a nifty idea to carry your bagel to work in. Perfect! Sports bra from mens underwear, I’ve seen this before, but it is worth repeating, thanks GiannyL. Look at her video  and her website where " Do It Yourself has never been so Sexy" she has some great ideas! Be green Technorati Tags: Cereal box into tote/gift bag , ...

I have been looking for stocking stuffers, and ran across this tutorial from Skip to my Lou , her blog has so much great info, and is fun to read. I followed her tutorial . I purchased a bath towel from Wal-Mart that was $2.50, by folding this in two, I was able to make one from each towel, with a little leftover to make a small face towel. I just bought one towel as a trial run, now I’m off to buy 20 towels and more elastic. Mini microfiber hair wrap I have short hair, and the regular size hair wrap is a little larger than I need, so I experimented with a smaller towel. I wouldn’t go any smaller than the size below and if you measure a standard hand towel it is approx. 16 inches x 27 inches. This would be the perfect size. I purchased two microfiber , (which absorbs water wonderfully), tea towels (size is approx. 25 inches x 12 inches) from the Dollar Tree, price 1.00 a piece, they come in several bright colors. I picked green. I roughly traced what I thought would be ...

Some sequels are just plain better than the original, Die Hard 2 , the 1989 Christmas Vacation , Return of the Jedi , Star Trek II the Wrath of Khan , After the Thin Man , The Bourn Supremacy , Toy Story 2 , and my last one Dawn of the Dead . Sometimes it takes some tweaking to get it just right. Knitters live by this lesson.. So fearlessly my henna saga continues. I decided to re-henna my hair with the hopes that I would be able to get that rich color I was seeking. With henna you can add several other plants, that are dried and ground, to adjust the color. Indigo , which we all are familiar with, can be added to darken it from a little all the way to black. (the indigo when combined with henna produces a deep rich black). If you desire a strawberry blonde look you may add some cassia obovata, this adds a golden color. To tone down the brilliance of the red, people add buxus dioica (also known as Katam, has been used for obtaining light brown, ash browns and brunette colors...