Tag Archives: Ravelry

A Little Bit of Progress

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Those of you who know me well, know that I like to eat. I also like to bake (can anybody say, “sweet tooth”?) And over the years, it’s become my mother that I see when I walk to the mirror. Now don’t get me wrong, my mother was a lovely woman and I love her a lot. But I never wanted to have her body. SO, I’ve been to see a lovely woman In Portland, Maine who is helping me try to get my hormones into balance with food. Of course, I’m also going to have to move my body up off the knitting couch … but since my feet are finally healed (or healthy for now, anyway), I feel confident that we can start walking and hiking at the very least!

Gaia Shoulder Hug by Anne Carol Gilmour
(A FREE pattern on Ravelry!)

So, tonight’s knitting night again and while we drove to Portland and back, I didn’t knit on the way home. I slept. I’m looking forward to visiting with the “girls” and I hope to finish the last few repeats of my Gaia Shoulder Hug.

Piggy Hat Pink

I think that I will start the commissioned piggie hat next … and it’s going to be sent with matching mittens. (Since they’re for a baby, she’ll need the little stringy thing to go through her jacket so mittens don’t get lost! I) think I can sew/embroider a cloven hoof on the mitten and that will be cute. I’ll try!

Maine Woods Yarn & Fiber “Maine Lobstah” Superwash Sock

 

 

I have finished one Maine Lobstah sock and it’s quite tight. Since this is my handy-dandy go-to pattern for socks, I am a bit surprised but am not going to worry much. On occasion, even Queen Bees make mistakes. I may be using a smaller needle … or maybe was using a bigger, inappropriate needle before. Whatever the reason, if they’re too small, they’ll be a gift for someone in my family with slightly smaller feet than I have at Christmas time. I bought two hanks of the yarn because I loved it so much and the woman said I can probably get three socks out of each hank! Woo-hoo! I love knitting with this yarn. It’s really got a great hand, it’s washable and it’s not “splitty” at all! I also happen to love the colorway that I chose!

Dropps Tunic … going nowhere! But check out the beautiful Signature needles!

My poor tunic hasn’t budged out of my knitting bag. Oh well! I still love the yarn color and I adore knitting on my first of many pairs of Signature needles (green is US6).

I will be knitting up a Falling Leaves scarf designed by Lucy Neatby with some yarn that I bought at the Maine Fiber Frolic last year (2011). I fell in love with the pattern and have bought it on Ravelry.com with my white bunny blend yarn in mind. Another gift for a friend who is so deserving!

Had a lobster roll for lunch after fasting for a blood test. Not sure what’s for dinner but I’m looking forward to balancing these hormones and seeing myself in the mirror again! A big grocery shop tomorrow!

Gone knitting.

(An aside … bought some new stitch markers and thought you should see the cutest ones … by Lantern Moon, purchased online! They’re buzzing around my Gaia!)

 

 

USOC Attorneys Attempt to End the “Ravelympics”

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I just found out from a Facebook and knitting friend that Ravelry is under fire by the USOC.

Here’s a link to the letter written by law clerk, Brett Hirsch.

http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/for-the-love-of-ravelry/2189293

Seems that the use of the “ympics” part of the word “Olympics” MAY be an impingement of the USOC’s exclusive right to use the word Olympics. An obvious blend of Ravelry and Olympics attempting to “falsely suggest a connection to the Olympic Movement” Are you kidding me? This is ludicrous and surely these attorneys have better ways to spend their time than trying to intimidate a bunch of knitting/crocheting crafters and artisans who are, in actual fact, having a little competition of their own in HONOR of the Olympics.

Is not imitation the highest form of compliment?

So, knitters, beware! Do not ever dare knit the Olympic rings into your hats or afghans. They, too, belong to the USOC. The word “Olympics” is not allowed in your pattern titles or posts. The USOC attorneys have nothing better to do than to pick on us as we attempt to stretch ourselves and have a little bit of fun as a community during the Olympics.  (By the way, as we were knitting we were also WATCHING the Olympics.)

While, at times, a bit tongue in cheek, it is certainly not meant to be disrespectful of the athletes. They are all winners by virtue of their participation in the Olympic games.

Gone knitting … with a bitter taste in my mouth.

New on the Needles

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I bought some yummy cotton yarn to make myself a Drops knitted tunic that I saw somewhere online when I was wandering. The pattern is a free Ravelry download. The yarn was on sale (serious sale! I think it was $3.99 a skein!) at WEBS. It’s Berroco’s Pure Pima (color #2243 “Barely Blue”). I love that Jimmy Bean’s sent me a bag and matched the dye lots of the extra few skeins. It’s a pretty sky blue color with a bit of a gray undertone and I really like it. The pattern is found here!


Classic and simple patterning … I loved the yellow but my mother always said that when I wore yellow I looked green. I don’t want to look green!

Will be winding a skein and doing a swatch … because I know that if I don’t swatch, I will make the sweater in the wrong size! I guess I had best measure my chest, too … just in case! (Note to self – gauge is not for wussies!)

Also trying a pair of baby socks by Cat Bordhi – you can find out all about Cat at her website CatBordhi dot com. All of a sudden, I have an interest in knitting baby things … could be that there’s a new little niece or nephew in the oven!? Anyway, it’s the Baby Life Rings socks and they’re cuter than cute. Found some Cascade Yarns Fixation (also at WEBS) in a couple of colors … color #9030 (“denim”, if my memory serves) and color #9936 (“pacific”in really great ocean colors.) It looks like they’ll stay on the baby feet with three rings around the ankles. Always an issue for new parents, keeping feet on those wiggle pigs … I aim to please!

Already on the needles, my son’s socks. I’ll report on the yarn … because it’s not making this knitter happy. I’ve never had a ball of sock yarn “fight” with me quite so much! Promised by his graduation in June … who can believe that my baby will be graduating from college? And the baby blanket – reversible cables in a white acrylic yarn (to make it easier to wash over and over!)

Finished – a pair of lobster mittens (cooked, of course!) and two pairs of slipper socks. Also finished is a dishcloth … ours are getting pretty yucky! Photos will come soon … maybe tomorrow!

Grateful for fingers that work.

Gone knitting!

Yummy Yarn and One I Can’t Find in Maine

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I bought the most wonderful yarn to make my big brother a pair of socks for his double nickel birthday. I had to really search my brain to remember where I found this picture which was and is my inspiration for the pair that I’m knitting. But, I found it on Ravelry when I was searching for a pattern for a pair of socks for a man (with pictures and free.) The pattern was found on Ravelry (if you’re a knitter and don’t know about Ravelry, I’m sure you must have just crawled out from under a rock in a far, far off land!) but it was originally from Knitty (again … if you don’t know about it, not sure where you’ve been living.) If you visit the Knitty Website and search for “Java”, you’ll find this lovely sock pattern (and many other patterns) for FREE!

Anywhoooo … I have my very own tried and true pattern and since these are a gift, I’m going to use my trusty old pattern and I’m going to endeavor to add a couple of these beautiful cables. BUT, the reason that I’m writing about this picture really, is all about the yarn.

I loved the name, Java, first and foremost because I love coffee and so does my big brother. I’m not, however, a huge fan of brown but this pattern showed a lovely mix or tones of brown and so I decided to look into the yarn and the place from whence it comes. Which lead me to String Theory and their hand-dyed Bluestocking yarns. Imagine my surprise, when I realized that they’re only about two hours away in Blue Hill, Maine! So, feeling like this was karma, I ordered a skein of the yarn and had it mailed to our “camp” in Maine hoping that it would arrive before we had to leave for a weekend in Florida. Which, thanks to the good old US Postal Service (thank you very much!), it did!

On the Needles

And it is the yummiest yarn I’ve had the pleasure to knit with since knitting the Senorita Lolita sweater with the Koigu KPPM yarn (“skeinlettes” that I won in the Jimmy Beans Wool facebook design contest ever so long ago and which, it seems, I can’t yet buy in Maine despite the fact that it’s made just over the border in Canada!) I’ve wandered off again but as I reign myself back in to talk about the Bluestocking yarn from Maine, it’s the softest yarn and it’s a delight to knit with – never splitting and sliding smoothly over my needles and off. And … it really is pretty, too! And now I’m going to have to beg for another fiber field trip to the shop where maybe I can witness some dyeing!

… and according to the String Theory Website, there’s a fiber fair coming up really soon and I’m wondering what I’d have to promise my sweetie in order to get there for a workshop or two!

Gone knitting!