A Tiny Dilemma…

I have been knitting up a storm for baby Clark lately, and as is usually the case, I have another dilemma. Here is a little something I knit him:

After I lovingly stitched this up, I proudly presented it to Richard so he could tell me how fabulous it is. Instead, he told me it looks spooky. This confused me because I knit it exactly to the pattern specifications. It’s the Blanket Buddy by Mary Ann Thompson.  See? They look the same! Do they look spooky? Do I need to add a mouth? Or would it be less spooky if the eyes were black? I appreciate any knitterly advice you can offer.

In other news, Clark’s mom is a saint and she wants me to send his dyslexic hat to him just the way it is.

Now I’m casting on a special anniversary gift for a friend while watching Rachel Zoe on QVC. Can’t wait to show you all!

Tour of My Knitting Studio

Tags

Knitting, Knitting Studio, organize, tour, Yarn Stash

Hello!

Have you ever wondered what my knitting studio looks like? This video gives you a full tour. 🙂

What does your knitting studio look like?

Quick List – Random Places Where I’ve Taught People How To Knit

Tags

Arts, Caribou Coffee, Crafts, Glam to Go, Instructions, Knitting, Knitting and Crochet, Learn to Knit, She One, Sweater, Toyota, Yarn, Zed451

When I knit in public, I invariably come across people who want to learn how to knit too. Here’s a quick list of random places where I have given impromptu knitting lessons.

1. Rooftop of Zed451

2. Glam to Go Boutique

3. She One Boutique

4. Toyota Dealership Service Center Waiting Area

5. Leona’s Restaurant

6. Caribou Coffee

Do you have a random list? Add it in the comments below. 🙂

Happy Knitting!

Tour of My Knitting Chair

Tags

Crafts, Knitting, Knitting and Crochet, Knitting Chair, Knitting needle, organize

Do you have a special spot in your home that has been claimed as your knitting space? I do! Here’s a quick video tour of how I have organized my Knitting Chair:

I would love it if you would shoot your own videos of your knitting chairs and link them in the comments below.

How do you organize your knitting chair?

Video Tour of My Knitting Bag

Tags

Knitting, Knitting Bag, organize, tour

Here’s a video tour of my knitting bag. I would love love love it if you would make your own video knitting bag tours and link them in the comments below. 🙂

Enjoy!

Chicago Auto Show and Knitting

Tags

Chicago, Chicago Auto Show, Concept car, General Motors, Infiniti Essence, Knit Afghan, Knitting, Shelby Mustang, Toyota, Toyota Yaris

We went to the Chicago Auto Show last night. The show was pretty good but we noticed there weren’t a lot of concept cars this year. Infiniti had the best concept car by far. Here’s the Infiniti Essence:

This car is so cool! Unfortunately, they have no plans to ever produce this one.

I caught Richard climbing into the trunk of this car:

He says he was checking out the trunk space. I think he was hiding from all the salesmen that kept following us around trying to sell us cars.

Speaking of trunks, we noticed this in a GM vehicle:

That is the emergency trunk release. Notice that the person is RUNNING after escaping from trunk in this little diagram.  What is GM implying about their customers?

They had a lot of Camaros this year and a few Shelby GT 350s. Richard and Jim spent a lot of time checking out the Shelbys.

We saw a LOT of tiny cars. The Smart Cars were a disappointment for me. They looked really cute but when you got in them, they felt really cheap. I also got into every competitors’ versions of the Toyota Yaris and I can say with confidence that Toyota wins that category. No contest. Here’s a cute Fiat we saw and liked:

Who makes chairs that you can’t sit in? These chairs were stupid. You just slid right out of them.

It’s been a tradition for my Dad and I to go together for as long as I can remember. I love you Dad!

After the show, we went home and hung out. Richard and Jim had an impromptu jam session.

I was really happy to get back to my knitting. I hadn’t knit a stitch all day yet.

Isn’t it beautiful? I love this afghan so much; I don’t know how I will ever give this away as a gift. I will be so sad to see it go. 😦

April stopped by to see what I was knitting. I think she thinks this afghan is for her.

Alex made a brief appearance as well.

Overall it was a fun day. Did you go to the Auto Show this year?

Perfect Knit Accessory for Valentine’s Day -Heart Necklaces!

Tags

Free Pattern, Heart, Holidays, Knit Heart, Knitting, Knitting Pattern, Necklace, valentine day

I have fallen in love with Heart Necklaces this year! They are the best accessory for Valentine’s Day or for any day. 🙂

Wear a traditional heart, like the ones above from VNNC, or sport an anatomically correct heart necklace like this one from KnitKnit:

I love these because they’re fun, flirty, and a simple way to add a touch of knit to your wardrobe. 🙂

For more knit hearts, check out this post about the knit hearts I sometimes slip in Richard’s pockets/wallet/etc. It includes a simple free pattern for the tiny hearts I make.

So, what’s your favorite accessory for this Valentine’s Day?

Great Gift for VDay: LoveSocks by Devon Clement

Tags

Gift, Knit Socks, Knitting, Knitting Patterns, Love Socks, Valentines Day

Looking for a great gift for your sweetie on Valentine’s Day?

Knit them a pair of LoveSocks! Created by Devon Clement, this pattern would be great for men and women alike.

Here’s a more masculine color scheme:

I wish I was a sock knitter. These would be such a cute gift for my man!

Snowpocalypse Day 1

Tags

Arts, Blizzard, Chicago, Crafts, Knitting, Knitting and Crochet, Snow, Snowpocalypse, Winter storm

Here’s a quick video of the view from my apartment balcony this afternoon:

There is a record breaking blizzard descending on Chicago today and tomorrow and it JUST SO HAPPENS I have those two days off work. This means that for the next 48 hours I can knit relentlessly and guilt-free because there is no way I can leave my house to do things like buy groceries or go to the bank.

While most of the non-knitting residents of Chicago will be stressed about their cars getting stuck in the snow, or being bored stuck inside for two days, I will be blissfully clicking away on an afghan I’m knitting for my mom’s birthday. This is what we knitters always wish for, an opportunity to do nothing but knit for an extended period of time. I plan to take full advantage. 🙂

Dave Cole’s Extreme Knitting

Tags

Arts, Crafts, Dave Cole, Extreme Knitting, Knitting, Knitting and Crochet, Knitting machine, Teddy bear

When I discovered Dave Cole’s works online recently, I got so excited I dropped the chocolate cookie I was eating. Dave Cole is a contemporary sculpture artist who creates lots of his pieces by knitting unlikely materials into even more unlikely pieces of art.

He has knit a teddy bear out of lead:

And a bullet proof baby suit out of kevlar:

He knit a dress out of shredded dollar bills:

And a giant teddy bear out of fiberglass insulation:

As you can see, Dave Cole has taken something as familiar as knitting and blown it up into something larger than life. His works take knitting further than most could ever imagine. He bends limitations and he pushes his own agenda.

Dave Cole is an inspiration for us all to never stop dreaming and to follow even our strangest whims and desires.

It is with this in mind, that I would like to share with you the new direction I am hoping to take this website. I have a lot in the works, including on-line knitting classes, new patterns, a new look for the website, and more interesting/personal content for the blog. My gut is telling me to pursue teaching as one of the main focuses for this site and I’m going for it. Please excuse our dust during the remodel over the next couple months and if there is anything special you would like to see on BeLoved Knits, please let me know! I will continue to post new content on the blog throughout the transformation.

I am very excited to expand the site and to connect with more knitters (and future knitters)!

To find more information about Dave Cole, please visit his website.