Knitting Therapy

http://knitpicks.com/yarns/yarn_Display.aspx?itemid=5420130

and have to remind myself that not everyone likes prayer shawls!  Personally I wear shawls around the house all year long but especially in the winter time and I think nothing is more Homey Feeling than wrapping a light shawl around your arms.

I started working on a prayer shawl for my friend Sally from some sportweight PURPLE yarn I picked up at Tuesday Morning on the cheap.  I got about 24 inches on a Mock Turkish knit before I realized the yarn was just too light and was REALLY showing the stitches.  I frogged the whole thing.  I think I'll wind another skein of the yarn and try to knit it again holding two strands of yarn together.  I knew when I bought the sportweight I probably wouldn't like it but the color is SO SALLY I just had to buy it... even if I didn't know at the time what I would knit for her - I knew that color was definitely for her!

I went back to the sock idea recently and started looking at sock yarn. Don't know why I bother .... I jsut CAN'T for the life of me figure out the bloody heel thingy where you pickup and stuff. UGH ... must get myself to the local SnB and but soon! I know those gals could help me out.

http://knitpicks.com/yarns/yarn_Display.aspx?itemid=5420133

But I saw this Essential and am so in love with the picture of the SOCK from the catalogue ... it's just pretty and simple and darn it, I want to make it! Why can't my brain just wrap around the sock idea? I pass Calculus, for pete's sake! I should be able to knit a sock ...

Before I die ... I WILL knit a sock.

In a search of the garage I found some crappy acrylic yarn from centuries ago in an old box of mom's crap ... it's old baby yarn from the look of it -- and none of it matches but there seems to be a lot of it.  I'm thinking of making a bag of some kind -- holding two or three strands together and using big needles... Not sure yet, I'll have to look at it sitting in my bowl for a while. Inspiration will surely hit .. you just have to give it time!

  I used two strands of cotton - one in both red/white and used my size 5 bamboo needles. The weave is really tight - which is what I wanted - and I sewed on a big satin button on the front!  Last night I took it to work and gave it to Linda ... who has been a really good friend to me since I started there.  Then her grand-daughter Hayley came into the store and saw it ((she is 6)) and asked, "Nana, can you give it to me?"

Linda told her no, because SHE liked it ... but it got me thinking  "I've got some pink/purple in my stash somewhere so today's project is to make Hayley her own bag!  I'm thinking something a little bigger... maybe a bit deeper, more like a "real" bag. 

I'm not on the schedule with Linda again until Tuesday so that gives me plenty of time to whip up a little something special for my girl Hayley.. she's a DOLL... wish she were one of mine.

My handsome son Jared models the cabled hat from SnB.  This is my lesson for knitting a gauge swatch!  I knitted this in the Andean Silk from KnitPicks ... which was a dream to work with!  But it knitted up smaller than I wanted. Yet - it is the perfect size for Mercedes little head and it fits both boys nicely. 

I remembered how fond I am of knitting cables with this hat and remembered my first ever knitting project.... it was a large cabled afaghan.  I was pregnant with Cody and losing my mind with going through a divorce and harrassment from the ex ... and my grandma sat me down and "taught" me to knit.  Before I knew it - I was in another world.  It was safe and calm where the only sound was the clicking of aluminum knitting needles!  I finished the afaghan before Cody was born and went on with the hobby ever since.  So I have fond memories of knitting cables and while I hear a lot of people complain that they are hard -- I think they are fun and exciting and happy. 

Happy little cables.... (sigh)...

I'm thinking of Sally as I knit this ... the color is very her and I have been thinking of Christmas already.

Also whipping up some of the knitted Claudia's Clutch from the Lion Brand website ... what's so funny is that I was making these little buttoned bags way before they got "popular" on the web and now suddenly this "claudia" is taking all the credit for inventing them?!  HA.  I'm making a red/white one in cotton on the small bamboo needles for Linda ... she has been worried/sad lately about our friend who is having heart surgery -- It's a little thing, I know -- but sometimes it's all about little things and Linda has been pretty good to me too.

Getting excited about secret pal 6 ... already scoping out the LYS for treats and treasures!

Today is field tripping with the boys so not much knitting will be done before I head to work... ah, but there is always time for yarn, I say!

I went to the library and got a lot of pattern books -- and I have spent some time online looking at patterns -- I just can't decide!  Trouble is, my stash is getting pretty lame and I don't have anything I really want to work with. I have several piece-skeins of the crappy Red Heart acrylic in various colors ... I just think it's ethically wrong to put that on Audi Turbo needles or bamboo!!    And I have some wool in various colors but not enough to complete a project ... and I'm saving it for when I DO have enough and will make my felted carpet bag!

So ... I'm thinking I may need to take this week's paycheck and portion out a little bit for some new project yarn.  Sure ... justify it anyway you like!

I found the Meadow Flowers Shawl in a library book by Barbara Albright's "Knitter's Stash" book.  It's a very dainty lace shawl made in kid mohair.  It's very intricate but the basic pattern is one I think I can attempt. The challenging part is the border that goes all the way around the thing!  I've been wanting to set my teeth into something more advanced and I think this may be it!  But I'm hoping it won't be more than I can bite off!  If it gets too tragic, I can always get myself to the local SnB meeting -- which I have been putting off due to working nights and when I'm off a night I just want to stay home ... I know those knitters are some of the best around and could guide me through the tough parts.

Yes ... I think this will be the next project. Now ... to afford kid mohair... 

I also finished the cabled hat from SnB and it is rockin!  Pictures to follow eventually .... I used the Knit Picks Andean silk so the gauge was a little off but it made a cute little beanie!  I've got one more skein of the yarn so I'm going to throw together a matching scarf for the hat.  I'm thinking Christmas ... who will be the lucky receipient?!   teehee... only I will know!

The yarn setion is small in square feet but how much could they actually pack into that space!?  It was literally like walking into the Knit Picks catalogue! It was all organized very well too with hanging and freestanding bins. Each bin was enough to hold about 10 skeins of type/color and were arranged so you could find the TYPE of yarn, then sort through the colors. I figured that if someone came in looking for yarn for a big project, they would likely clean out the specific bin of their color .... but perhaps Jo Ann's has a way of watching that and keeping it stocked?

I'm still not too happy with her prices ... everything is anywhere from 50 cents to two dollars higher than at Michael's but the selection was awesome. There is a freestanding wall of notions and needles too and they have at least three-times the selection of needles that Michael's does. They are still sticking with the aluminum needles, however and a few Takumi brand bamboo needles. No audi turbo, or anything which I'll still have to find at the LYS when I have the spare money.

All in all ... another great resource when we're trying to track down a particular yarn for a project. And this store is really clean now ... new management? Must be ... we walked through the fabric and quilt section, which is where I first discovered Jo Ann -- when I was quilting -- and I was really surprised that this area was reorganized and it made me all excited about quilting again! There is more room between the bolts of fabric to walk and browse, but it seems like there is MORE fabric there, or more selection?

So it was worth being dragged through the mall to go to Jo Ann's.  And while I did fall in love with some Super Chunky white/black peppered wool yarn ... I did NOT buy yarn! I bought my DPNs and that was it!  I did notice I paid 49 cents more for them than those at Michael's, but I could have easily used that much gas or more in trying to get to Michael's from there.  Plus - I'm worth 49 cents! We'll consider it a treat.

School starts on Monday and I'm being dragged to the mall today by DD so she can get the last of her school essentials. UGH ... but the mall is across the street from Jo-Ann's and their new knitting section is open now! Last time I popped in, they were still putting the shelving up and they had nothing stocked. But I AM NOT BUYING YARN...

I have been working diligently on my cabled hat pattern .. OH it's so pretty in knit picks Andean Silk!!!!  And it's one of those patterns that is easy to remember but you really have to pay attention to what you're doing. Anyway - last night I got to the point where I was ready to switch to DPN and I realized the cheap-ass pair I had were missing two needles .. and they were three sizes too small anyway! Oh poo ... guess I have to go to the yarn store!  BUT I'M NOT BUYING YARN ....

I have another skein of this Andean silk so I think I'll make a scarf to match ... It won't be a big/long one but something to pair with the hat.  I'm thinking about giving it to my brother's "woman" ((what do you call someone who has lived with your divorced brother for 6 years and bought a house with him but they refuse to get married?)) for Christmas. It's really her shade of coloring and is SO SOFT I think she would really dig it.  But I haven't decided yet .. I may want to keep it for me-own-self!

And I AM NOT going to buy any more yarn ... I don't have room for it!!

I began work on the cabled hat from SnB Nation and it's going very well on my Audi Turbo needles! Sheesh --- it ought to knit the hat for me, for what those needles cost! But I consider it an investment ... something to hand down to my daughter when I'm in the nursing home and my hands are so crippled with arthritis I can't pick up the needles anymore.  (shudder)

I finished the drop stitch scarf a few days ago but I'm having problems with the camera and can't load the pictures. Maybe tomorrow ... it's so pretty and it's really surprisingly warm considering it isn't very thick.  Thank you, Wool Ease.

Mother is going out of town tomorrow and staying a couple of nights with her sister so she can catch her high school reunion ... I'm not sure which "number" one it is ... probably 183rd or something... so I can knit while she's gone uninterrupted and unguiltily!

You'd think she'd appreciate I'm at least quiet and staying home ... but NO.  She'd rather I read romance novels like her!  "All I ever see you do anymore is sit in there and knit." she gripes at me. 

Of course, no matter what I do, I'm doing it wrong. Or shouldn't be doing it ... or something more important should be going on.  Yah - whatever.  I'm a yarn ho. It's like telling me I am wrong for having blue eyes.... I can't help it! I was born this way!

We started by going to the friendly neighborhood Michael's in search of something easy to try.  Of course,  Padwan gravitates toward the 8-dollar a skein silk and high-end bamboo needles. 

She settles on a size 15 bamboo needle set and WoolEase Super Chunky in black.  Then we set out to learn some stitches.

I think she must be a Natural - if there is such a thing - because I explained to her ONCE what a knit was and ONCE what a purl was. She began doing a K1 P1 ribbing immediately and while she "struggled" with slipping her stitches, she did remarkably well.  After showing her ONCE a CO and a BO she was designing her own scarf!

Now she can't talk enough about yarn ... she is scheming on how to get another set of LARGER bamboo needles and trying her hand at lace! She is talking about making the "Boyfriend Scarf" against my specific warnings ... and she thinks she needs her OWN STASH.

What monster have I created?

This is Meat circa 1977 when Bat Out Of Hell was rocking my world. Complete with powder blue ruffled tuxedo shirt, long stringy hair, black slacks and a red scarf in hand to dab away the excess of rock-and-roll-sweat. Here, Meat poses with all of my Meatloaf CDs ... including the foreign imports I had a hard time tracking down.

My next doll will be the infamous Jim Steinman who is the Greatest Songwriter In The World.

I made a little side trip this past weekend to the LYS which was a step into Dreamland! I really had no intent on spending so much money but I found the needles I have been searching for ... who knew they would be fifteen dollars a pair?!  Yes - I bought them. And I have plenty of intention of going back to this store too as they had skeins of wool to die for! With winter coming up - not to mention Christmas - I'm thinking this store will be seeing a lot of my hard earned money in the future!

I have started a great pattern for a cabled hat in WoolEase varigated in browns/tans. Its the first time I've worked this pattern so I'm not sure if it will be one for the boys or one for my gorgeous model as above ... So glad I have these new needles as it's making this hat a breeze