Library Staple

So, everyone has their favorite knitting book in their library, maybe you have a bunch. I know that I have more than one, but very high on the list is Mason Dixon Knitting.

I call this a favorite because I am constantly going back to this book for inspiration and ideas. It has the simplest of patterns (baby genius burp rag, the baby bibs) and it has some "adventurous" patterns (moses baskets,and multiple log cabin blankets). Some day I will totally splurge on some fabulous silky yarn and make that After Dark Robe !! I also live how this book isn't pretentious. Many of the baby items call for peaches and cream, they even give a shout out to woolly thoughts with a photo of the curve of pursuit blanket.

I was given an idea by someone at common cod fiber guild. She has a gift box. If she finds a pattern he wants to knit, she just does it, even if he doesn't have a reason or a recipient in mind. That way when she needs a gift to give, it's already made. What an awesome idea.

This weekend I cast in the Baby Genius Burp Rag 4 times. I've always been a process knitter, but this one took the cake. Really, its going to get puked in and you're worried about how the colors look? Get over yourself Betsy. But it's true, none of the colors were working for me. So that got frogged, and I cast on the baby kimono. It's adorable and I'm excited to have this be the first
gift box item.

So, What's your favorite book in your library? Why can you not live without it?

Selfish knitting

With all of the gifts that I make, and all of the charity knitting that I do, I have decided that I want to be a bit more selfish about my knitting this year.

I know, I know it's not really "nice" but hey, we all need a bit of selfishness in our lives.

I've had Anne Budd's "Knitted Gifts" book in my library for a long time. It's got some great patterns. I have always loved the hat and mittens on the cover, and since I need a new hat and mittens, and I had some great yarn in the stash, I cast them on for myself.

I am pleased with how these came out. A few comments

1. It calls for worsted weight year and sized 9 needles. I am surprised that it calls for that sized needle. I had a bulky weight yarn, and size 7 needles for the hat and size 6 for the mittens.
2. It's a loose fitting hat, so I started the decrease early. It's a loose fitting hat.
3. I also like a close fitting mitten. The next time I make these (and I will) I will probably cast on fewer stitches for the cuff of the mitten.
4. The mitten says to start the thumb gusset at 2 inches or 1 cable repeat. I will do 2 cable repeats. I think a mitten should be long and go under your coat cuff.
5. While I love the yarn that I used (rowan plaid) I'll use something that gets better stitch definition next time. The cable doesn't stand out enough for me.
6. I love this cable pattern. It's one of those charts that you can really "see" as it develops.

This year I really want to learn new techniques. What did I learn on this mitten? Bobbles. Yup, just never did them. I think they could be fun in moderation.

Kitchener stitch!!!! I see this as being a learning process. Once again, the cast on bind off book has totally come in handy here and I did well.

My apologies for the lack of links, I can't do them on the iPad app, and I am minus a computer till the wallet allows.

Wingspan Wedneaday

Okay, I know I've been gone for awhile, we'll discuss that later. But guess what? I, like many others on Ravelry, have made a wingspan!!!


I love it. I intend to revisit this pattern again. Next time if I use a sock yarn, I'll use smaller needles. While some like the design aspect of the "short row holes" I'm not a huge fan.

You all know me, I'm a sucker for ANYTHING with short rows, I think they are fabulous.

So much has been happening for me from a "fiber" perspective. I attempted ignitecraft Boston, Fiber Camp 2013, I completed holiday knitting, I signed up for my first Craftsy classes, I'm working in my 2013 knitting queue, I finished an afghan in less than 12 months, and PatPats Hats is going AMAZINGLY well.

But that will come later. Today you can enjoy my pretty pretty wingspan made out of line and violet intentions yarn (yup, you remember lime and violet don't you?)

Happy to be back blogging. Sorry for the lack of links, this is a mobile post.

PatPat's Hats 2nd Annual donation

I can't believe it, I am sitting here making arrangements for our second donation to Yale new Haven hospital for PatPat's Hats . I am doing this because of the kindness of people around me. Some of the people are family, some are friends, some are complete strangers. Whoever they are, these people have ensures that I was able to supply children with warmth.

We have been able to donate over 1500 hats this year!!1 We have reached out to hospitals, individual children, private organizations, and people affected by Hurricane Sandy in both New Jersey and Staten Island.

People come up to me and thank ME for what has been done. I guess I'm modest, maybe too modest. I know it was my idea, but I this wouldn't have happened if people like YOU hadn't kept this going!!!

So, if you are thinking about sending us some hats, get those hats in the mail!!!!

You can send your hats to:

PatPat's Hats
PO Box 318
westbrook, CT
06498

Yarn therapy

After getting stressful news, what made me walk to the yarn store. I knew that I needed fresh air, so I had to leave the office. What made me walk those specific two blocks? Did I think that I might possibly run into the person of possible interest in my life (he works around the corner from said yarn shop) maybe..... But more likely, I knew that just touching the yarn would make me feel better. I knew that I could find something in a beautiful hue and soft to the touch that would comfort me, will I ever knit with this yarn? Sure I will. It will forever be known at the triple bypass whatever (likely a shawl, it's malabrigo silky merino). Even though it's a deep purple, it will be known as the triple bypass.


I saw sock yarns, and they were of course lovely, but socks don't fit the bill for this type of stress. I need warmth that I can wrap around me. Something that will make me feel safe ... I saw sparkly dream in color, but no.... That wasn't it either. The sparkles, those are fir good news arn purchase. Today it needed to be a deep color, something that might show a dark cloud. I know the cloud will pass, I'm sure of it. For now, I have a few skeins of a lovely yarn to touch and know that the fib world understands.

App Review --- Yarn -U

I must first apologize to the creator of this app. She approached me almost 3 weeks ago asking for this review, and it's not that her app is difficult to use, it's that I have lacked the "g" key on my home laptop. I thought it would be great to blog on the ipad, but that's no fun at all. so I had to find time at work to sneak in a blog post, so here I am. WHEW!!!!

So I was approached to review an app, and I was pretty psyched about that. I review books, yarns, patterns, why not an app?

the App is called Yarn U and is available on I tunes for $2.99. If you are the type of person that needs your yarn information at your fingertips, and finds searching Ravelry on your smart phone to be a bit of a challenge, this app is well worth the cost.


This App allows you to search yarns by weight, name, or brand. It seems that they have just about all of the yarns accounted for, though my eye could have missed some.

Once you find the yarn you are looking for, you can get more information on that particular yarn. It gives you some history, then the basics (Brand, Weight, Stitch Gauge, fiber content, and yardage). It also does a good job of listing pros and cons. This is important because not every yarn is perfect. there is also a comment section where you can see other peoples feedback on the yarn.

What would I wish of this App? I'm probably asking alot, but i'll give it a shop. So I know that I would likely be using this app while I am out yarn shopping. If I am doing online shopping, I wouldn't be picking up my phone, I would be going online to Ravelry. That being said, I would like this app to have a "locate me" feature, so that if you are looking up a yarn you could see Local Yarn stores that carry the yarn. Right now, it only lists websites. It also lists online prices (ie: yarn.com which is typically lower priced than the LYS)

I know, this is probably a dream, but wouldn't it be awesometo look up "Brooklyn tweeds shelter" and see that "YAY it's at the shop that's two miles away!!!! instead of. . . oh, 3 days for shipping, what do I cast on in the meantime.

All in all, I can totally see the value of this app, and I am sure I will put it to good use on my phone.

Yarn Along 11/11

From small things

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! ~

I Just acquired a Kindle, an couldn't be happier. I just finished Reading "In Leah's Wake." I had high hopes for this book. the story was great. I wasn't loving the writing style, but stuck out hte book because I liked the story. the ending was a little to "neat" for my liking. But it kept my attention, and I never put it down, so I guess that is saying a lot.

 

As for the project, Koolhaas. This is one of my favorite patterns. I have made it a number of times (I think this could be my 4th. I am working on this one for a co-workers of my Step mothers that is going through Chemo. I LOVE this hat. It is a great pattern and just perfection.