25 Friday Feb 2011
Posted in Knitting
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?
14 Monday Feb 2011
Posted in Famous Knitters
Tags
Arts, Breaking Dawn, Celebrity Knitter, Crafts, Famous Knitter, Knitting, Knitting and Crochet, Knitting needle, Kristen Stewart, Twilight
Here she is tucking her knitting needles into her bag. The only photos I could find of her knitting was copyrighted on a separate blog, so I did not want to post it here. You can see those photos here: Team-Twilight.com.
03 Thursday Feb 2011
Posted in Things I Love
Tags
Crafts, Fiber Arts, Knit Hat, Knit Shawl, Knitting, Knitting needle, Knitting Pattern, Merino, Shopping, Supplies, Yarn
I know I usually do a theme like Robots or Boxes, but today I was just loving everything blue. So we’re doing a blue theme instead. 🙂
Here’s what I’m loving this week:
Starflower Flake by Thea Eschliman
SARGASSO Handspun Yarn /Blue Faced Leicester and Tussah Silk by Sheeping Beauty
Sock or Lace Turquoise Mobius Ring Stitch Markers by Twiceshearedsheep
Owl – Sterling and Porcelain Stitch Marker by spindlecatstudio
Ultramarine – Merino Yarn Fine Lace weight by Dyeforwool
Honey’s Ruffle by Susan Barstein
What are you loving this week? Feel free to blast your favorites in the comments below. 🙂
27 Thursday Jan 2011
Posted in Things I Love
Tags
Boxes, Christmas, Crafts, Holidays, Knitting, Knitting Bag, Knitting needle, Shopping, Yarn
This week’s theme is Boxes! I LOVE….
These Cabled Keepers by Lee Meredith:
This Pinwheel Purse by Frankie Brown:
These Beaded Box Ornaments from Holiday Knits:
This Yarn Box by CatsMeowArt:
And this Hand Painted Yarn in Paint Box by Off the Hooks:
That’s all for today’s edition of Knit Love. We’ll have another free pattern posted tomorrow! In the meantime, I am wondering if there are any themes you would like to see featured in future Knit Loves? Or are there any knit-related items YOU love that you want to share?
18 Tuesday Jan 2011
Posted in Knitting
I arrived at work 2 hours early one day last week, and I had decided to knit while I waited to clock in. I had just set up a little knitting zone for myself (complete with snacks), when a coworker of mine popped his head in to say hello. We’ll call him Bob.
Now, I like Bob. Bob is a nice guy. But Bob likes to talk. A LOT. Bob is never quiet. And, while he is very friendly, Bob never really has anything poignant to say. He just chatters.
I had to follow two different cable charts to knit the afghan I had brought, and seeing Bob made me nervous that these precious two knitting hours were about to be commandeered by empty speech. I bristled at the thought of putting down my knitting, so instead I decided to continue following the charts and just give a polite nod, or one word response occasionally in Bob’s direction.
First Bob tells me he is very tired because he got up really early today and he was actually planning on sleeping on the bench across from me until his shift started. I thought this was an excellent idea and immediately agreed that he looked tired and should take a nap.
Bob shakes his head. He tells me this is not possible because he can only sleep after everyone around him is asleep. He can’t sleep around other people. I am getting a headache but I am not ready to give into Bob yet. I keep knitting.
Bob and I sat like this for a while, Bob stretched out on the bench chattering away and me knitting and politely nodding.
Bob tells me about his girlfriend, who is a yoga instructor. Â (That’s exactly how he says it. My girlfriend, the yoga instructor. I find this amusing because I cannot imagine Richard ever referring to me in conversation as “my girlfriend, the knitter”. It would be really cool if he did though…)
Bob tells me a gruesome story about his police buddy that beat up a suspect because he attacked another cop. (I am sure I had a disturbed look on my face during this story, but he just kept going anyway.)
Bob tells me about the hog hunting trip he is taking in February. (Clearly, Bob and I have loads in common.)
And then, suddenly, he was quiet.
About a minute later, he started snoring, ever so softly.
I am gleeful. We sat there; me  knitting and reading my charts while Bob softly snored. It was wonderful!
Other people began arriving at work and passing by and I would signal to them to be quiet so Bob could sleep. I was giddy over the work I was completing on my afghan and as I basked in my relaxed progress, it hit me:
My knitting doesn’t just relax ME; my knitting relaxes OTHER PEOPLE too! Watching me leisurely click away on my project had relaxed Bob into a gentle slumber. Bob, who cannot sleep in front of people. Bob, who never stops talking. His snoring made my mini-epiphany all the more significant.
I won. And it’s because I was knitting. 🙂
13 Thursday Jan 2011
Posted in Things I Love
I am starting a new feature for the blog this month. Every Thursday I will pick a theme and post all the knit-related things I love within that theme. We’ll call the series of posts “Knit Love” and I think you will find this is a fun way to feature some fun knit-related stuff.
This week’s theme is: ROBOTS!
I LOVE this pattern:Â Rainy Day Robot by Mari Campbell.
I LOVE these ROBOMITTS by SpillyJane:
This Embroidered Bucket Knitting Tote by Erin Lane:
These 2 Pattern Keepers in Robot by gomonkeydesign:
This Red and Blue Robot Pixel Mash-up Tank by elf518:
Umm. Wow. That is some pretty incredible fair isle.
That wraps up this week’s Knit Love. Have a great day!
10 Sunday Oct 2010
Posted in Knitting
Tags
Arts, Crafts, Fiber art, Knitting, Knitting and Crochet, Knitting needle, Supplies, Tapestry Needle
I got to work early one day last week and decided a little crafting would help the time pass. I sat down, whipped out my knitting, and started clicking away at this afghan I’m working on. I sat in our office and some of my coworkers would occasionally pop their heads in and ask what I’m knitting or comment about how they want me to knit something for them. All pretty typical comments whenever I knit in public. About 5 minutes before I was supposed to clock in, I finished up my row, packed everything up, and went about my work day.
About 2 hours later, I ran into a coworker in our office (let’s call her Sally) and we’re chatting about work stuff, and suddenly she says, “Oh, you lost your needle. I found it on the floor and I put it right here.” She points at the counter.
I am shocked. How did I loose a needle? I am very careful to pack everything up when I am done knitting. As I make my way over to the counter, I am thinking about what a nice coworker I have. She’s so great  for taking the time to rescue my needle.
When we get to the counter, it’s empty. There is no needle. I crouch down and study the counter very closely, but to no avail. Sally is also surprised. She says something to the effect of “Someone must have moved it. I’m sorry.”
I start to quiz Sally. I ask her what the needle looked like. She says it’s a silver needle with a rounded tip. I laugh, because this describes many of my knitting needles. I ask her how big it is and she holds her hands up about 2 inches apart.
I realize we are now searching for a tapestry needle and I start to panic. Â Tapestry needles are a special nemesis of mine. I MUST own at least 30 tapestry needles, but the most I can ever locate at any time is one tapestry needle. Whenever I lose that one needle the search for it reduces me to pathetic tears and delusions that maybe the knitting store is open past midnight. Sally knows none of this, but I can tell she is starting to get the sense that THIS IS BAD.
And then it happened. I got down on my hands and knees in the middle of my office and started frantically combing the carpet for my missing needle. At this point, most of my coworkers are looking at me as if I am a mental patient, but I don’t care. I just keep searching. Ten minutes of searching yields no needle and only the shreds of what is left of my dignity. I am defeated.
I trudged out of the office and continued my work. This was, I should mention, a particularly difficult work day because virtually every customer we had contact with that day was angry. I spent 4 hours getting yelled at, and another 3 hours cleaning up and helping another manager close out the day. As we are writing our final report for the day, drowning our sorrows in Aqua Panna, I am sitting on the floor and I start to wonder again where the heck that needle went. I manage to keep my composure and NOT embark on a second search while we sit there.
After we finish our report, we start to stand up, and suddenly, I spot my rogue needle. I had actually just been sitting on it (see how the needle mocks me???). I grabbed it off the ground, raised it in the air, and started yelling in victory. This has probably confirmed any suspicions that I am a crazy knitter, but I don’t care. I won.
Boo-yeah needle. Victory is mine.
11 Saturday Sep 2010
Posted in Knitting in Fashion
Tags
Arts, Crafts, Crochet, Knit Calendar, Knit Clock, Knit Fashion, Knitting, Knitting and Crochet, Knitting needle, Scarf
I came across this online and thought I’d share it:
How it works: You pull the string to take away each day that goes by.
I love this idea because I am essentially creating an ever-growing ball of fiber which I can then knit up into a gorgeous lace stole once the year is done. Genius!
Here’s a video of the calendar in action:
Also, I found this Knitting Clock on-line recently:
It knits the time and produces a 2 Meter Long Scarf at the end of the year! I love the idea of watching time progress in a physical way. Genius!
05 Thursday Aug 2010
Tags
Arts, Chats and Forums, Crafts, Knitting, Knitting and Crochet, Knitting needle, Supplies, Yarn Arts
A while back, when I began knitting, I started the “BeLovedKnits Project.” This was my commitment to take a photo of every finished knitting project with it’s recipient and putting it in a special photo album just for my knitting projects.
When I thought about my project, I had visions of showing my grandchildren album upon album of my life’s work as a knitter and the many many faces of the people whom I had touched with my knitting. This album wasn’t just for me to showboat, I was hoping to document my history as a knitter and to capture the special and personal nature of my craft.
This is, I still believe, a wonderful plan. There’s just one problem: I haven’t kept up with it. I always find myself so overcome with joy and excitement when I finish a project I knit for someone else, that I hop in the car and finish weaving in my ends on the way to deliver it to them. Half the time I don’t even wrap it, and I certainly don’t have the patience to stop and take photos of it. And that’s a problem; every time I deliver a knitted item to someone without taking the time to photograph it, I regret it. I feel like I am losing pieces of my knitting history, which, for me is heartbreaking. As much as I enjoy gifting  my knits, I feel a personal relationship with each project and I really believe I am gifting not just a finished object but also a piece of myself. Knowing how important my knits are to me, I have decided to renew my commitment to my BeLoved Knits Project.
I will photograph every FO with it’s recipient.
To start off on the right foot, I would like to share a cell phone photo of my latest knit project:
That is Jaxson, modeling his hat with one stripe and a little “j”. He looks adorable in it now, I can’t imagine how cute it will look when he grows into it. I was inspired by his Aunt Maria, who loves him more than you could ever imagine, to knit something unique for this special little boy.
Jaxson is as special to Maria as my knitting is to me, and perhaps that is why this little baby has inspired me to unearth my project.
How do you document your knitting? Do you photograph everything?
Please feel free to share your stories, in the meantime, I have some photos to print…
21 Wednesday Jul 2010
Posted in Knitting in Fashion
Tags
Arts, Crafts, D&G, Fall 2010, Fiber art, Knit Fashion, Knit Trends, Knitting, Knitting and Crochet, Knitting needle, M Missoni, Oscar de la Renta, Scarf, Shopping
It is 90 degrees in my apartment right now and I have multiple fans pointed at me to create some semblance of a “cross-breeze.” The A/C has been broken for two weeks. We take refuge from the heat at work, in movie theaters, and frequent trips to Haagen-Dazs, but for the most part we’re melting over here. And yet, here I sit, knitting away and reading new fall knitting magazines. Even as I sweat it out, I can’t help but think of the accessories, baby items, sweaters and afghans I am hoping to create this year. I am dreaming of loved ones dressed head-to-toe in cozy hand knits and long evenings spent knitting in my favorite leather chair. I am even still knitting. I am halfway through a lace stole, despite my urges to cast on an afghan, in the interest of preventing heat stroke.
All these thoughts of fall knits turned my attention to the latest fashions we are seeing flow into stores right now. The Fall 2010 Collections have been released and they are gorgeous! Here are a few of my favorites:
From M Missoni, a beautiful Cashmere Knit Vest in Black and White. I would wear this EVERY DAY!
This Cashmere Knit Top is Oscar de la Renta. I saw this and immediately tried to figure out how to knit it. I love the design, with it’s classic lines and interesting lace panels, and it could be worn anywhere.
Below is more of the Fall 2010 D&G Collection. DIVINE INTARSIA!
This M Missoni Zig Zag Skirt is super cute! It looks like it would be a quick knit too…
So that’s just a taste of all the lovely pieces we’ll be seeing this fall. These breath-taking and inspiring knits are feeding my knitter soul. And now, commence dreaming of that afghan…
