I have a KNITTING JOURNAL-and I write in it as often as I blog...Ah ha you say...that often, huh? So, right now I am looking thru my journal to refresh my memory. Since finishing the lacy baby blanket ( a friend has since advised on how to post non-gigantic pictures, hopefully some of those little bitty pics will follow) I have finished other small knitting projects-Whoo Hoo! Remember those gloves? Well, they are just a memory, because I ripped them! That's me, the expert frogger. I couldn't help it! Those tiny bamboo needles were poking so forlornly out of my knitting bag...I knew I wasn't going to finish them. And when I took a KNOTTY glove class at The House of Yarn in Broussard, Louisiana, I knew the first pair of gloves were history.
I probably, more than likely, pretty sure, have said I have an aversion to multiple projects. OK-I have to take that back. If I turn around now I would be looking at my knitting bag with not one, but two on-going knitting projects! ( one more at home) And two more project bags awaiting a start in my large knitting tote-which by the way- the husband says weighs a ton as he hefted it out of the car last night. Oh, and before I forget-the Knotty gloves were done on the magic loop-and I like it!
Projects completed: (not in order)
1. Knotty gloves in Happy Feet yarn by the Plymouth Yarn Co. in a smoky blue
2. Ribbed fingerless gloves using Brown Sheep Nature Spun worsted weight in Bordeaux ( I love Brown sheep yarn!)
3. Baby pink eyelash yarn boa scarf ( the yarn was a yard sale find)
4. Red heart scarf using color 39 red by Sierra
5. Knitting for the troops: One black helmet liner-using Cascade superwash
6.) Self-striping socks that my daughter claimed right off the needles
7.) Wam Bam Thank You Lamb chunky cowl (http://www.ravelry.com/) using Lion Brand Chunky yarn in black-gave to same daughter who stole socks....hmmm....
On the needles:
1.) Using gray Baby Alpaca in worsted weight: fingerless gloves in the pattern TOASTY ( http://www.ravelry.com/)
2.) Toe up, two at a time socks, knitting using the magic loop-and Sockin' Sox yarn in blue and grays by Plymouth Yarn
3.) a KAL at The Vermilion Bay Yarn Company using the Scalloped Shells pattern from the Book: Ocean Breezes-knitted scarves inspired by the sea By: Sheryl Thies.
Well, that's not too bad now that I see it in writing-I think it's the projects that are lined up like little soldiers waiting their turn that might be what's making me feel a tad bit overwhelmed:
1.) Purple and gold yarn for a pair of LSU spiral socks (see previous post with note on being a hopeless sock knitter)
2) Cream colored Cascade yarn for the Martha Stewart Knitted Neck Scarf (http://www.marthastewart.com/)
3) A green on green ear flap hat for son in law using Cascade yarn and the THORPE earflap pattern (also from http://www.ravelry.com/)
Last but not least: Never leave home without your knitting bag! ( I did once-and it wasn't good) tote that tote with you-you never know when you'll get a knitting moment. And thanks to Amy at The House of Yarn and all my new knitting friends-2010 IS the year I'll become a better knitter.
Next time I'll report in on some charity knitting The House of Yarn is participating in...
Writing
I thought for awhile that I might be in a writing slump-I had alot of self doubt and thought about giving it up-then the writing assignments poured in! My doubt all started when my February submission to Acadiana Moms wasn't in the issue, and I didn't know why. But it popped up in the March issue-it is titled The Blue Bird of Happiness. I sent in my column for their April issue about Surviving an Empty Nest-pick up a copy to see how I coped!
Acadiana Lifesyle Magazine editor Cheryl made me feel better without even knowing she was helping when she called my ad writing for their March progress report section "poetry." She's such a peach! Check out the publication at: http://www.acadianalifestyle.com/. It's a great magazine chock full of good articles and information. I have a CPR article coming out in the April issue and for May Cheryl was nice enough to ask me to write a piece on Moms with Special Kids-be on the look out.
Sevie, my editor at 008 Magazine, asked if I'd become a feature writer for them. I've been writing for them for a couple of years now-and of course I agreed! I wrote about Doggie Dental Care and the Golf Digest for the March/April issue. The piece I finished on grass-yes, I said grass, as in your front lawn, will appear in the May/June issue along with a Horse feature and a neat new sports gadget piece ( my lips are sealed-you'll have to pick up an issue to find out what it is!) and the latest in pets-Toads and frogs-of the mini kind! Visit http://www.008magazine.com/ to read on-line these articles and lots more good stuff!
Happy writing
lynn
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Writing and Knitting January 2010
Happy New Year Everyone!
It is apparent I'm not a prolific or dedicated blogger. Kind of had a few technical issues with the blogger address-self-induced, of course. Then it was the fact that I didn't sit down to write. So, I'm trying again. In 2009 (I think) I vowed to become a better knitter. Slowly I have worked on this, intermingled with some crocheting, a whole lot of reading, four grandsons, a full time job and a freelance writing career I'd like to work on expanding.
How have I worked on knitting, you ask? Besides the spiral socks, I knit a garter stitch baby blanket using a free pattern from Lion Brand. I had some camouflage yarn in a beige/white/brown combo (hey, I have four grandsons! I'm bound to have some camo yarn) anyhoo, it wasn't working out as socks, go figure-see previous note to self- so when we found out our niece was having a boy-you can be proud now- I decided to knit a baby blanket instead of crocheting one. I have to say it came out really nice and matched her color scheme of brown and green nicely, too. I started another pair of spiral socks for the hubby, but I don't like the yarn, so they have gone nowhere. (I can't not knit socks, I'm doomed to be a sock knitter.)Recently bought more sock yarn...just fyi
Then my sister -in -law found out she was pregnant with baby number three. Yep, I started another knitted blanket. It's a girl. Getting a little braver I invested in a good pair of Addi-Turbo circular needles. I listened to advice from mom:
"Buy a good set of needles, honey" Words to live by.
Boy, was she right. But before I could start knitting, I had to sift through the ten thousand (slight exaggeration) patterns I have amassed. I'd run across what looked like a simple knitted lace blanket pattern when looking for a crochet pattern for a grandson's blanket. I eventually dug the pattern out of the pile and with new needles in hand and white baby yarn, I started. It took me awhile to memorize the pattern row, but once I did this pattern works up to a beautiful piece that looks more complicated than it really is. And I've only had to rip up twice! (note: don't knit and gab or knit and watch exciting TV while working on this pattern-you might have to rip up) It's been mentioned to me this pattern resembles the feather and fan pattern. You can get the pattern I'm using and others from: http://www.projectlinus.org/ or read below:
All Purpose Knitted Afghan
I am using a size 9 circular needle with Bernat Softee baby yarn in white, and cast on as directed for the smaller size.
Materials Needed:
40 oz. 4-ply worsted weight yarn for large afghan, size 10 circular needles
Directions:
For large afghan cast on 210 sts, for a small one cast on 144 stitches. Pattern is a multiple of 11 sts+1
Row 1: K 1,*yo, k3, k2 tog, k2 tog, k3, yo, k1. Repeat from * to end.
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: Knit
Repeat rows 1-3 until desired length.
I love yarn. I probably don't love it as much as some, but I have a healthy "stash" However, very few of these yarns are noteworthy by today's standards. I am just now diving into the world of Malabrigo, Rowan, and other exciting yarns. My first love is wool (but I'm learning to love others-it's easy!) but I was discouraged for years because I thought wool was a winter weather yarn (Norway-cold-snow-ice)Ha! I found out I can satisfy my need to knit with wool because of all these lovely wool and wool blends, and I can still live in South Louisiana. In fact, the The Vermilion Bay Light the newsletter for one of our fabulous Acadiana yarn shops, The Vermilion Bay Yarn Company(VBYC), had a column in their latest newsletter titled Wooly Misconceptions. When In Acadiana stop by, say hey! and buy some yarn from one or more of our yarn shops. You can never have enough yarn, right?
The Vermilion Bay Yarn Company
2100 Verot School Rd Suite 8
Lafayette, La 70508
ph 337-216-4564
http://www.vermilionbayyarn.blogspot.com/ or visit them on face book
The House of Yarn
3711 W. Pinhook Rd Suite B
Broussard, La 70518
ph 337-839-0006
http://www.houseofyarn.com/
The Yarn Nook
321 Oil Center Dr
Lafayette, La 70503
ph 337-593-8558
http://www.yarnnook.com/
Gloves
Moving along with the knitting I saw an announcement in The Vermilion Bay Light that they were having a glove knitting class. Should I? Dare I? After all gloves have fingers that have to be knit...separately...tiny little fingers. I did! Well, I signed up. Glove making class went well...until I got to the fingers part...let's just say I have two gloves knit one with two fingers and a partial thumb, and one with partial thumb, no fingers(yet) knit...moving slowly...I'm afraid of those small finger parts, I can't seem to get comfortable with the small needles. One good thing that came out of class...I now own a nifty set of size two bamboo needles. My next pair is gonna be those fingerless pairs I'm seeing so many patterns for. I wonder if there's a reason fingerless gloves are so popular? Hmmm...
More knitting projects
My next class at the VBYC was Fair Isle baby booties. What the heck, I thought. I've been knitting simple garter stitch booties for years. I bought some really nice Rowan 100% cotton in gooseberry (green) and bleached (white) With the first bootie I wasn't comfortable with changing the colors, but by the second I had it down pat. I actually knit both booties, sewed them up and made the cord for each. One finished project!
At the VBYC the other day I saw a neck scarf displayed on their finished goods table. I had just made a note to myself to look for a "lotus leaf" neck scarf pattern. And what was this? Yep, a lotus leaf neck scarf! What luck! And when I asked about the yarn used? Designer yarn by Kaffe Fassett for Rowan called Colourscapes. Wow. I bought a raspberry hank. Then the next week I was talking to my mom and without me mentioning anything she said: "well, there's a man who's a knitting designer, Kaffe Fassett, he's known for his colorful sweaters." What a coincidence! "I know now," I replied "I'm looking at one of his yarns as we speak."
More on wool....Brown Sheep makes a wonderful wool...I bought a ball in "army" green, although it looked brown at home, and knit a neck gator to send to the troops. This peaked the knitting interest of my daughter, who hadn't knit a stitch since her grandmother taught her 17 years ago! "I want to do that too," she said. (knit for th troops) So out came practice yarn and needles. And for her it was like riding a bike. She remembered everything, like she hadn't had a hiatus at all. When I told her grandmother (my mom) she said: Well, she's a natural, when I taught her I could tell." It's doesn't hurt that there is "designer" yarns, cute, up -to -date patterns, and knitting accessories either to keep her interested.
To get the free patterns for Project Helmet Liner visit: http://www.citizensam.org/
I want to try to track my knitting projects and my knitting progress for 2010. We will see...will those gloves ever get fingers? How about those Selbu socks mom knit and sent and all I have to do is finish a toe? Will the hubby ever own a pair of spiral socks to call his own? Only time will tell.
Writing
I was lucky enough to pitch an article idea to my editor at Acadiana Lifestyle on maybe running a knitting article. And they accepted! Look for the February 2010 issue of Acadiana Lifestyle and my article: That Knitting Craze. I also submitted to my February Acadiana Moms column- The Way I See It -about the Blue Bird of happiness...well, you'll have to read it to understand. Also February brings the Feb/March issue of 008 Magazine where I wrote about the Boy Scouts of America's 100th anniversary and also contributed to the magazine's outdoor section with an article on doors. I have done some book reviews for Louisiana Book News, and contributed book reviews as a guest reviewer to The Daily Advertiser so far this year. Chere Coen, the Writers Guild of Acadiana's VP, is author of Louisina Book News and has a book column at the newspaper. She allows me to help out from time to time. And then there is blogging...
Happy writing and knitting...read a little, too.
And I did make an "old-fashioned" baby cape that I gave as a gift-but it was crocheted, so I really can't tell you about it because this is a knitting blog...but it was really cute! and it had pompoms...
It is apparent I'm not a prolific or dedicated blogger. Kind of had a few technical issues with the blogger address-self-induced, of course. Then it was the fact that I didn't sit down to write. So, I'm trying again. In 2009 (I think) I vowed to become a better knitter. Slowly I have worked on this, intermingled with some crocheting, a whole lot of reading, four grandsons, a full time job and a freelance writing career I'd like to work on expanding.
How have I worked on knitting, you ask? Besides the spiral socks, I knit a garter stitch baby blanket using a free pattern from Lion Brand. I had some camouflage yarn in a beige/white/brown combo (hey, I have four grandsons! I'm bound to have some camo yarn) anyhoo, it wasn't working out as socks, go figure-see previous note to self- so when we found out our niece was having a boy-you can be proud now- I decided to knit a baby blanket instead of crocheting one. I have to say it came out really nice and matched her color scheme of brown and green nicely, too. I started another pair of spiral socks for the hubby, but I don't like the yarn, so they have gone nowhere. (I can't not knit socks, I'm doomed to be a sock knitter.)Recently bought more sock yarn...just fyi
Then my sister -in -law found out she was pregnant with baby number three. Yep, I started another knitted blanket. It's a girl. Getting a little braver I invested in a good pair of Addi-Turbo circular needles. I listened to advice from mom:
"Buy a good set of needles, honey" Words to live by.
Boy, was she right. But before I could start knitting, I had to sift through the ten thousand (slight exaggeration) patterns I have amassed. I'd run across what looked like a simple knitted lace blanket pattern when looking for a crochet pattern for a grandson's blanket. I eventually dug the pattern out of the pile and with new needles in hand and white baby yarn, I started. It took me awhile to memorize the pattern row, but once I did this pattern works up to a beautiful piece that looks more complicated than it really is. And I've only had to rip up twice! (note: don't knit and gab or knit and watch exciting TV while working on this pattern-you might have to rip up) It's been mentioned to me this pattern resembles the feather and fan pattern. You can get the pattern I'm using and others from: http://www.projectlinus.org/ or read below:
All Purpose Knitted Afghan
I am using a size 9 circular needle with Bernat Softee baby yarn in white, and cast on as directed for the smaller size.
Materials Needed:
40 oz. 4-ply worsted weight yarn for large afghan, size 10 circular needles
Directions:
For large afghan cast on 210 sts, for a small one cast on 144 stitches. Pattern is a multiple of 11 sts+1
Row 1: K 1,*yo, k3, k2 tog, k2 tog, k3, yo, k1. Repeat from * to end.
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: Knit
Repeat rows 1-3 until desired length.
I love yarn. I probably don't love it as much as some, but I have a healthy "stash" However, very few of these yarns are noteworthy by today's standards. I am just now diving into the world of Malabrigo, Rowan, and other exciting yarns. My first love is wool (but I'm learning to love others-it's easy!) but I was discouraged for years because I thought wool was a winter weather yarn (Norway-cold-snow-ice)Ha! I found out I can satisfy my need to knit with wool because of all these lovely wool and wool blends, and I can still live in South Louisiana. In fact, the The Vermilion Bay Light the newsletter for one of our fabulous Acadiana yarn shops, The Vermilion Bay Yarn Company(VBYC), had a column in their latest newsletter titled Wooly Misconceptions. When In Acadiana stop by, say hey! and buy some yarn from one or more of our yarn shops. You can never have enough yarn, right?
The Vermilion Bay Yarn Company
2100 Verot School Rd Suite 8
Lafayette, La 70508
ph 337-216-4564
http://www.vermilionbayyarn.blogspot.com/ or visit them on face book
The House of Yarn
3711 W. Pinhook Rd Suite B
Broussard, La 70518
ph 337-839-0006
http://www.houseofyarn.com/
The Yarn Nook
321 Oil Center Dr
Lafayette, La 70503
ph 337-593-8558
http://www.yarnnook.com/
Gloves
Moving along with the knitting I saw an announcement in The Vermilion Bay Light that they were having a glove knitting class. Should I? Dare I? After all gloves have fingers that have to be knit...separately...tiny little fingers. I did! Well, I signed up. Glove making class went well...until I got to the fingers part...let's just say I have two gloves knit one with two fingers and a partial thumb, and one with partial thumb, no fingers(yet) knit...moving slowly...I'm afraid of those small finger parts, I can't seem to get comfortable with the small needles. One good thing that came out of class...I now own a nifty set of size two bamboo needles. My next pair is gonna be those fingerless pairs I'm seeing so many patterns for. I wonder if there's a reason fingerless gloves are so popular? Hmmm...
More knitting projects
My next class at the VBYC was Fair Isle baby booties. What the heck, I thought. I've been knitting simple garter stitch booties for years. I bought some really nice Rowan 100% cotton in gooseberry (green) and bleached (white) With the first bootie I wasn't comfortable with changing the colors, but by the second I had it down pat. I actually knit both booties, sewed them up and made the cord for each. One finished project!
At the VBYC the other day I saw a neck scarf displayed on their finished goods table. I had just made a note to myself to look for a "lotus leaf" neck scarf pattern. And what was this? Yep, a lotus leaf neck scarf! What luck! And when I asked about the yarn used? Designer yarn by Kaffe Fassett for Rowan called Colourscapes. Wow. I bought a raspberry hank. Then the next week I was talking to my mom and without me mentioning anything she said: "well, there's a man who's a knitting designer, Kaffe Fassett, he's known for his colorful sweaters." What a coincidence! "I know now," I replied "I'm looking at one of his yarns as we speak."
More on wool....Brown Sheep makes a wonderful wool...I bought a ball in "army" green, although it looked brown at home, and knit a neck gator to send to the troops. This peaked the knitting interest of my daughter, who hadn't knit a stitch since her grandmother taught her 17 years ago! "I want to do that too," she said. (knit for th troops) So out came practice yarn and needles. And for her it was like riding a bike. She remembered everything, like she hadn't had a hiatus at all. When I told her grandmother (my mom) she said: Well, she's a natural, when I taught her I could tell." It's doesn't hurt that there is "designer" yarns, cute, up -to -date patterns, and knitting accessories either to keep her interested.
To get the free patterns for Project Helmet Liner visit: http://www.citizensam.org/
I want to try to track my knitting projects and my knitting progress for 2010. We will see...will those gloves ever get fingers? How about those Selbu socks mom knit and sent and all I have to do is finish a toe? Will the hubby ever own a pair of spiral socks to call his own? Only time will tell.
Writing
I was lucky enough to pitch an article idea to my editor at Acadiana Lifestyle on maybe running a knitting article. And they accepted! Look for the February 2010 issue of Acadiana Lifestyle and my article: That Knitting Craze. I also submitted to my February Acadiana Moms column- The Way I See It -about the Blue Bird of happiness...well, you'll have to read it to understand. Also February brings the Feb/March issue of 008 Magazine where I wrote about the Boy Scouts of America's 100th anniversary and also contributed to the magazine's outdoor section with an article on doors. I have done some book reviews for Louisiana Book News, and contributed book reviews as a guest reviewer to The Daily Advertiser so far this year. Chere Coen, the Writers Guild of Acadiana's VP, is author of Louisina Book News and has a book column at the newspaper. She allows me to help out from time to time. And then there is blogging...
Happy writing and knitting...read a little, too.
And I did make an "old-fashioned" baby cape that I gave as a gift-but it was crocheted, so I really can't tell you about it because this is a knitting blog...but it was really cute! and it had pompoms...
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