Katharine and Audrey Knit

I love to see people knitting out in public or finding out a friend of mine is a knitter as well.  To see Audrey and Katharine knitting just makes me happy!

Fun things to Knit

If you ever browse Ravelry or other knitting sites, you can find a lot of interesting things that people choose to knit out there.  I have to admit some I just look at and ask why.  Some, however, I look at ask why not?  Courtesy of Pinterest here are some why nots.

On my needles

On my needles right now I have:
1.  A Purse that I thought I would make as a Christmas gift, and it is currently hibernating.
2.  A hat that was also to be a Christmas gift, but it wasn't right for the recipient so it is also hibernating.
3.  The project I am actually working on the moment is nice light summer/spring sweater for ME!  From Custom Knits I am working on Jewel. 
I usually have more little projects on the side, but I just finished posting MaryJayne's swing coat and Easter Basket so I thought it was time to take it easy and do something just for me. 
As much as I love to knit for everyone else, there is a certain satisfaction in knitting for myself.  I appreciate the finished project as only a knitter can, and I am aware of all the little snags that went into the finished project along the way. 

Enjoy knitting for others, and enjoy knitting for yourself!!! Share your favorite for yourself items by adding a comment.  I'd love to hear from you!

Pinterest

A slight deviation from an all knitting topic today.  I discovered Pinterest. This wonderful "social networking" sight is a crafters delight.  My mind is swimming with new insperation from the things I have found and posted.  I highly recommend checking it out.  Here are a couple of the things I "pinned" that inspired me.

How cute would this be with a little knit mouse!

Wonderful wrap...another item to add to my to do list for knitting.  The pattern is available for free at:

http://store.cocoknits.com/products/everyday-wrap.html

This just makes me smile.

Hats

I have never knit too many hats.  Why?  I don't know.  Part of my Christmas Knitting frenzy, however, included hats for my sisters and hats for two of my nephews.  Here are a couple of pictures of them.

For a sister

 For my nephews

Valentine Knitting

Nothing says I love you like a handmade gift, in my opinion at least. That said I find knitting for guys tough. Things I have knit for my hubby and other male relatives to date: slippers, scarves, hats, neck warmers. If anyone has any other ideas I would love to have you share them.
Knitting for my angel children, however, is much easier. Their gift list includes: MaryJayne doll, scarves, hats, ponchos, sweaters, stick horse, bags/purses, and stuffed animals. This year I don't have anything in the works. I am thinking about a cute little fairy and bag I found in a knitting magazine, clothes for MaryJayne, or something else as of yet undetermined.
Valentine knitting...filled with love, filled with creativity, and hopefully filled with fun.

Anne of Green Gables

On my knitting break I have been reading. I started by reading the Anne of Green Gables series. I have enjoyed rereading a childhood favorite, and I have a new perspective as I read about Marilla or Mrs. Lynde knitting. As I think about books I have read or research books mentioning knitting, I find knitting is everywhere. Knitting was integral in the America Girl Series about Kirsten that I read to my daughters. I get a little thrill when my girls chime in with "you knit Mommy.". Knitting is everywhere in life if you just keep your eyes open.

Knitting break

After my Christmas knitting frenzy it has been a month since I picked up needles. What have I been doing instead? Reading...books that discuss knitting.

Made It

I completed all my projects by the 23rd! Merry Christmas!

Countdown

Okay, I had plans...let's say delusions of posting daily here as I knit my way to Christmas. Obviously that did not happen...how about an update as I and many of us while enjoying the holiday season find it hard to find time to fit it all in. Here is my knit gift list progress to date. Two older nieces: one wrapped, one needing to be assembled and wrapped...an hour probably to complete. Two nephews: one hat done and unwrapped, one on the needles. Little niece, and my Mom: done and wrapped. My aunt: done but unwrapped. My uncle I purchase a gift...cheated. My 2 sisters: one completed and mailed...I rock...and one on needles...she is coming here for Christmas so that buys me some extra time. My Dad...the man you can't buy for but you can make for...it is the oh my child made me a gift still works with him despite my advanced age...I will let you fill in the age...not even started. In addition I made a MaryJayne doll for one of my daughter's friends. While things haven't gone exactly as planned with 4 qdays to go I think I will actually make it!

Counting Down

With 27 days until Christmas, I am counting down. I have to mail just one of my handknit gifts.  I have one poncho done for my nieces and a second on its way.  That leaves 10 to go!

Christmas Knitting

I have decided to undertake a task that knitters should not undertake.  I have decided to knit most of my Christmas gifts.  Notice, I did not say all, but most.  I am knitting for my two sisters (gift undecided), an aunt--project in the works, my dad and uncle, three nieces, and two nephews.  That leaves a lot of people on my Christmas list with nonknitted gifts.  But I will be documenting my progress through probably December 24th.  We'll see how my knitting Christmas goes.
At the moment I have started a pillow for my aunt...but it is on hold, as I started a poncho for one of my nieces.  I don't think she follows my blog, so I will submit pictures as soon as I finish it.  I have about 1/3 done to date. Let the knitting frenzy begin!

Fall is almost here

It never fails.  October arrives where I live and things cool off....for a few days...before it goes back to 90 degrees Fahrenheit.  I start to pull out jackets and my hand knit scarves only to return them to the closet a few days later.  This little hint of Fall, however, stirs my urge to knit.  I hopped on Ravelry the other day and found 4000 Ravelers on-line!  I am apparently not the only one who gets the urge to knit when Fall arrives.  So if there is a nip in the air where you live, whether the nip lasts a few days or you are already preparing for snow, grab those knitting needles and find a fun project.  Knitting season is here!

Nothing on my Needles!

I just finished two projects almost at the same time, and very oddly I don't have a single project on my needles at the moment.  To keep from going off the deep end I am grabbing yarn at random and making quick dish cloths while I prepare for my next project.  I need to hurry up and get my next knitting adventure started or the dish cloths will take over.

Musings on Knitting inspired by For the Love of Knitting

I have just finished reading my first book about knitting.  Not a pattern book or an instructional book, but a book about the love and joy of knitting.  Kari Cornell appropriately titles it For the Love of Knitting.  It is a compilation of essays on knitting:  learning to knit, projects lovingly made for others, knitting as an art and Elizabeth Zimmerman.  (I have seen Elizabeth’s name in numerous places related to knitting, but this book explained more clearly who she was, and gave my a new book to hunt down and read…Knitting Without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmerman.)  Throughout the book I jotted down ideas for my blog and thought about why I knit and why I love knitting.  It reminded me that we knit for many reasons.  I started to knit as an adult as a way to be productive while waiting for my children at various practices and activities.  I love the feeling of being productive while I wait.  I also started knitting as a way to release stress.  I kept knitting because it was a true passion.  I love the creative expression it offers, the practical garments and items it produces, the opportunity it provides to work with my hands, and the chance it gives me to express love and appreciation to family and friends through a handmade gift. 

I enjoyed reading the section of the book discussing knitting as art.  While I have enjoyed various crafting endeavors throughout my life, I have never thought about the finished project from knitting as art.  I think of weaving as art, but I believe I relegated knitting to a craft because of its practical applications.  I have never seen a knit piece on the wall of an art gallery; or thought to knit a piece as art.  I have always considered the skill of knitting an art, but the finished project I thought of practically.  Extending this thought process beyond knitting you really can find art in many practical things we do daily.  Cooking can be an art; surgery is an art; drafting a winning legal brief is art.  It reminded me that art is all around us in the world in our everyday experiences.  Furthermore, it challenged me to expand my notion of knitting and see the “art” not just in the process but also in the finished project.  My yellow-cabled sweater truly is a piece of art.

I share with many knitters a stash of yarn to rival a small yarn store.  I particularly enjoyed Lily Chin’s Top 10 Ways to Hide the Stash in For the Love of Knitting.  I haven’t gotten to the point where I need to replace my sofa cushions with yarn to hold my stash, but I will let you all know when I do.  Each skein and ball of yarn in my stash of course has a project attached to it.  One that most likely will never come to fruition, but a plan for the skein nonetheless.  I often have so many plans for things I want to create via knitting, I find myself making lists of projects to start.  (I am a list person.)  My stash is helpful when I come up with a new project, decide to start it immediately and need yarn.  I may not ever get to that cute little gray skirt, but the skein takes new life in my current project.  Worst-case scenario, I can open up a yarn shop someday.  At least knitters won’t find it odd to be purchasing yarn out of soup tureens.  (Again, see Lily Chin’s list to understand the reference.) 

Knitting as art has been handed down through the ages.  I was fortunate enough to first learn from my mother, a way of learning that is quickly becoming extinct.  I hope my children find joy in knitting, to whatever extent suits them.  For me, knitting has been the discovery of a passion.  What further roads it offers me for exploration will be a pleasure to roam. 

The Simple Joy of the Garter Stitch Scarf

I have a wonderful yellow cabled sweater that I adore.  I enjoyed knitting it, sliding the stitch markers as I followed the pattern repeat and carefully working with my cable needle to create a masterpiece.  I wear my sweater with pride and receive plenty of compliments when I take it out for a spin.  I’ve made sweaters, skirts, dresses and toys for my children.  The patterns range from relatively easy to complex and from patterns I’ve written myself to patterns pulled from my favorite books, magazines and on-line sources.  As much as I enjoy these projects, I always have a simple garter stitch scarf on a set of my knitting needles.  It is the project I can throw in my purse and take anywhere.  Never too bulky to take out and about with me, the scarf never requires me to remember what stitch should come next or what row I have just completed.  It doesn’t require a pattern, my adored stitch markers or paper and pen to keep track of my progress.  It doesn’t require a great deal or sometimes any thought at all to click off the stitches.  One size fits all; it is gender neutral (color of course may change this), and everyone can use one.  If you are like many knitters the garter stitch scarf is likely the first project you completed; it may be how you learned to knit.  By changing the yarn, width and length you have almost limitless possibilities in your finished product. Almost of all of my family members and friends have received or will receive a simple garter stitch scarf from me as a gift at some point.  While I enjoy the challenges a new complex pattern presents and enjoy the challenge of learning new knitting techniques, the garter stitch scarf will always have a special place in my heart and on my knitting needles. 

Wrapped in Love

Wrapped in Love

You pick up the needles and a wonderful lucious yarn and begin to click away as you create a masterpiece for a beloved friend or family member.  What thoughts go through your head?  I think about the person for whom I am making the gift.   Two years ago I made my children blankets for Christmas.  I picked colors that represented them and adjusted the size for each of them based on their age and height.  They sleep under those blankets everynight and call them their “Mommy Blankets.”  When I tuck them in at night I feel they are wrapped in a hug from me.  I had made items for others before these blankets, and I enjoyed thinking about the indivudal recepient as I made the gift.  With the blankets, however, I had the joy of not only thinking about my children as I made the gifts, but I see the warm glow on their faces as I wrap them in love with a hug from me every night.