Knitting Dragonflies

Burrrr……It is cold here! We have had about 2 weeks of very cold weather for Southern Indiana. With temps in the single digits at night and in the teens during the day, we are bundled up and ready for some warmer temps. As usual, we are the marathon dog walkers, no fenced yard, and large dogs equals our own exercise routine. This has resulted in a hat knitting binge for me. Quick and warm, everyone needs a hat. My mother always taught me that most of the heat escapes through your head, and you need to wear that hat to stay warm. Now I have read the study that determined that may have been misleading , but when it’s 4 degrees out and the wind at 30 mph, I’m not going out without my hat. When the temp dips this low it feels great to put on a knitted wool hat and bundle up against the winds. The pattern I used is a free one from Bernat for bulky yarn, I used Bernat yarn felting natural wool in color 94310, (a pink/purple blend). On size 8 US circular needles, using the magic l

  Well I’ve become somewhat obsessed with sock monkeys! It seems that people have definite opinions on them, similar to clowns, love or hate them. So it all starts with a pair of socks $4.95 from WalMart. After making a couple for gifts for my niece and nephew. The mania began. The traditional sock monkeys that we think of were made with a specific sock, the  Rockford Red Heel Socks . John Nelson, a Swedish immigrant to the United States, patented the sock-knitting machine in 1869, and began manufacturing work socks in Rockford, Illinois in 1890. During the Great Depression, American mothers first made sock monkeys out of worn-out Rockford Red Heel Socks. Sometime around 1951 Nelson Knitting company discovered that their socks were being used to make monkey dolls, this resulted in a dispute over the pattern. The company was awarded the pattern in l955 and started including it with every pair of socks. In 1992 the Nelson company was acquired by Fox River Mills.  A  change in the re

Enjoy yourself, watch some football and knit!