My Knitting Garden

Two Finished Projects!

2009-10-16T17:45:00.000-07:00

I (finally!) have two finished projects to show off!

I actually finished this project back in May, and just now getting around to taking a photo of it. My Poncho has had quite the adventure over the past 3 years. The pattern was one of four in a brochure I picked up at a craft store. I knitted the child size poncho for my daughter and wanted to try one of the ladies ponchos. I was pretty new to knitting, but wanted to try it as a project for the Yarn Harlot's Knitting Olympics back in 2006. I did finish it, but it just didn't seem right, the neck opening was too large, and the edges rolled. The fun fur was terrible to crochet with on the edges. So instead of wearing it, the poncho just sat until I decided to completely frog it (the knitter's term for ripping it out!), and started all over...a couple more times. I loved the pattern and the yarn and really wanted to try it again. A few more attempts, but it sat again for over a year!

I attempted it again back in November, trying out a couple of different stitch patterns, and finally settling on a seed stitch pattern. I decided to not use the fun fur on the edges, and carefully followed for gauge and proper pattern dimensions. I used the yarn suggested in the original pattern, Lion Brand Chenille, lovely yarn to hold in your hands, but a bear to knit with . Chenille yarn does not have any stretch, and it hard to move along the needles, especially metal. I switched to my Denise needles and it was a little better.

Besides changing the stockinette stitch to a seed stitch I also left off the fun fur. In order to have the edge give a bit to make seaming easier I cast on and off very loosely. After seaming both panels together I did a single crochet around the edge twice to give it a very sturdy finish. I am glad that it took me so long to get it just right, because I really like the way my poncho turned out!

My other project I finished recently was another EZ baby sweater. This one was knitted using Caron Simply soft (Smoky Blue color) and Bernat Simply Soft (Banana color). I kept this simple only adding in a few rows of yellow, then accenting it with yellow buttons. It really didn't take me long to knit it, just didn't do much of it over the summer. Once you get the hang of this pattern, it really does knit up fast. This sweater will be donated to our knitting ministry.
I am making great progress on my caplet, so far pretty easy to knit. With stitch markers in place it easy put in increases.

On the other hand my February sweater is not going as well. I completely started over, taking out the first part and getting a brand new skein of yarn! The increases were giving me a hard time on this one, for some reason having a hard time remember which side it which. I eventually figured out the button holes, but will have to do them all over again when I get to them again!

The Good and The Bad

2009-10-12T22:31:00.000-07:00

It's been a couple of tough weeks here for, a little of both that good and the bad. I am trying to keep up our daily and somewhat normal routines, but there have been a variety of interruptions, or um...opportunities that have come along and created a bit of chaos to that routine. While some of that chaos is truly good; friends visiting from out of state, a camping weekend with our church family, teaching both at church and home, spending time with friends. The bad has been mingled in there with family issues, loss of a loved ones, friends (and family) dealing with crisis, and just the pure exhaustion of learning to balance it all.

This week is somewhat calmer, with our routine a bit more, well, routine. Our to-do list is long, but a family vacation is not far off. For one week we can just relax, play, and be silly together.

Think Pink

2009-09-28T17:33:00.000-07:00

This month we are going to think pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Recently my dear aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer and started her journey through surgery and cancer treatments. Her name is added to a list of friends who are already have battled or are continuing their battle with this horrible disease.

Breast cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the breast. It is considered a heterogeneous disease—differing by individual, age group, and even the kinds of cells within the tumors themselves. Obviously no woman wants to receive this diagnosis, but hearing the words “breast cancer” doesn’t always mean an end. It can be the beginning of learning how to fight, getting the facts, and finding hope.

Women in the United States get breast cancer more than any other type of cancer except for skin cancer. It is second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer death in women.

Each year it is estimated that nearly 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 40,000 will die. Approximately 1,700 men will also be diagnosed with breast cancer and 450 will die each year. The evaluation of men with breast masses is similar to that in women, including mammography.

From "What is Breast Cancer?" at the National Breast Cancer Foundation Website.

During this month I want to take some time to honor those who have had to deal with breast cancer. If you would like to honor them you can leave their name in the comment box and will add it to our list on in the side bar. If you want to learn more about breast cancer or want to help, there are few links listed. If you have any other links you would like me to add, let me know.

Busy, busy, busy!

2009-09-23T09:29:00.000-07:00

I do have some projects to get posted, just need to get photos! It's been quite busy here with school, church, and cakes. For knitting I have been mainly working on my capelet, and was going along quite well...but alas, too many stitches and some mistakes noticed after several rows of knitting. I took about half of what I had done out, and now reworking that section. Worth the trouble, I probably could have adjust it, but I would know the mistakes were there!

Knit-In Hem

2009-08-21T10:50:00.000-07:00

I tackled the first new technique with my capelet called the knit-in hem. I was able to find a tutorial explaining how it is done, just so I was sure of what I was doing. The pattern didn't call for a invisible/provincial cast on, but the tutorial example does use one. Either way the method works well, but I would opt use the invisible cast one next time. It would save a lot of time picking up stitches as directed in the pattern, and give it the strength and body it needs at the collar area.

This photo shows where I have picked up the necessary stitches from the cast on row (yellow needle). The markers are on there to keep track of my stitch count. I now have three needles in which to knit the hem with. Very similar to the three-needle bind-off, just that you aren't binding off to the finish the hem in this case. Close up of picked up stitches ready to be used for the knit-in hem. I didn't feel it necessary to add the lace yarn to the picked up stitches, and only used the green yarn at this step.Completed knit-in hem, which is actually the top of the capelet and beginning of the capelet's collar. It was a little cumbersome at first but I did get the hang of it. I like how it turned out, very even and forms into the neckline very nicely.
Close-up of the right side of hem:Close up of wrong side of hem. At this point I have already knitted and placed markets to be begin the body of the capelet.

The next main portion of the pattern is basic knit and purl stitches, with a couple of different increase stitches along the way. As the main body of the capelet is formed, then I can decide exactly how I want to finish the edges and the collar.

Glamour Capelet

2009-08-19T12:50:00.000-07:00

I don't know what intrigued me about this pattern, because when you first look at it, glamour isn't a word that I would use to describe it. But it just kept calling my name and I finally bought the pattern. Ravelry was a great place to start looking at color options, and how others might have adapted the pattern.

At the beginning of summer I purchased several skeins Wool of the Andes Kettled Dyed Yarn (Ivy Color) through knitpicks.com, with the hopes of using it for a different pattern, but it was the wrong gauge. I also purchased Shimmer Hand Dyed Lace Yarn (bayou color) , a variegated yarn of brown, greens and teal blues. When combined with the WOTA yarn, the effect is a very pretty heathery color scheme. This turned out to be the right combination to use with this pattern.It's only in the very beginning stages, only a few rows into the neck portion. There are two new techniques with this pattern I am not all that sure about, the "knit-in hem collar" and "short-row knitting." Also I am not all that sure I like the ribbed collar, it seems rather bulky for my taste, so I may redesign it. It will certainly be a learn as I go pattern!

And now back to knitting...Adult February Sweater

2009-08-18T21:00:00.000-07:00

Up first is a project I started a few months ago, the Adult February Sweater.

This is NOT my sweater, it's Pamela's the pattern's designer.

This is the baby sweater I did a few months ago. Great pattern, really do want to make another!

I really did enjoy knitting the Baby version...ok, once I got it figured out!, and really wanted to give this adult pattern a try. This pattern is based on one from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter Almanac, a popular book amongst knitters of all ages and skill levels. Elizabeth's original pattern is actually titled "Baby Sweater on Two Needles", since the entire sweater was designed to be knit on one pair of circular knitting needles. Now it's more commonly known in knitting circles as the "February Baby Sweater," because in the Elizabeth's book the pattern is written under the February Chapter that features a variety of knitted baby items.

Some very clever knitters figured out from Elizabeth's vague pattern (also known as pithy directions) how to actually knit the entire sweater without any seams. Which would, of course, now require two sets of circular needles because the sleeves are now knit in the round, with no side seams. Now if you are completely confused, don't worry so it seems are most knitters when it comes to this pattern. However, once you understand the pattern and the modifications you will be surprised how easy it really is to knit! Ravely has a forum that can give you plenty of help if you are willing to try it. I spent several hours reading and asking questions in order to get my first February Sweater finished!

Now another clever knitter modified the pattern for us ladies, also becoming a very popular pattern in the knitting community. Pamela Wynne of flintknits, describes the pattern as "a swingy lace cardigan, ...lovely based on Elizabeth Zimmerman's classic "Baby Sweater on Two Needles..." There are plenty of beautiful examples on Ravely.com to look at, showing a variety of yarn variations. The pattern has recently been modified and updated, and can be found at the above link or on the Raverly pattern database. One Ravely member posted she saw a mom and baby at the Stitches West Convention wearing match sweaters!

For this pattern I decided to use the Malabrigo Yarn I purchased back in February at Stitches West. If you haven't knit with this yarn, try at least one pattern with it. It's soft and smooth, and fairly easy to knit with. Because it is wool, it's not the best to knit with in the summer. It's definitely not wash and wear, or you will have a felted doll sweater if you aren't careful! Have no doubt that this sweater will keep me warm in the winter!

Beautiful Malabrigo Yarn in Marine Blue:

The beginning of my sweater...

As from the photo you can see I didn't get very far. I got stuck on the button holes and had to put it aside. Between the frustration of the button holes, and the heat, I decided to just wait.

I choose to use my knitpick's harmony option needles with this yarn, absolutely wonderful wooden needles to work with, as well as beautiful! Realizing I didn't have enough yarn to make the complete sweater I need to order two more skeins. I was able to find a company that had this particular color (Webs was out of stock), unfortunately the dye lots don't match, but I am not going to let that bother me. I will mix up the lots on the lace part so you won't notice the shade difference as much.

When I purchased the extra skeins I also bought these beautiful buttons to match. I opted to only do three buttons at the top and let the rest just hang open. At this point I think I am glad because the buttonholes are getting the best of me right now!

I have several other projects that I am working on, that I will post on later. A few of them are in my project que at Raverly, but I need to get photo and update the progress. I have a beautiful cape that I started, a blanket I need to get finished, and a baby sweater that just has few rows left to go!

Happy Knitting!

P.S. Decided to try out a more of a seasonal theme, celebrating the start of the new school year!

Summer Recap

2009-08-18T10:47:00.000-07:00

Before I get to the knitting projects, I will give you a little recap to our summer.

An early Father's Day dinner at Black Angus. John and the kids left on Father's Day for camp, so we enjoyed a nice family dinner together the night before.

John, Tyler and Lauren enjoyed a week of Scholarship camp up near Yosemite National Park at Sugar Pine Christian Camp. I spent the week watching movies, knitting, getting out to a movie, and trying to not be to bored while they were away.

Lauren and John at the waterfalls near the camp...

Vacation Bible School immediately followed. I taught the Kindergarten class, while John helped in the opening sessions and music classes. Tyler assisted the music director, and Lauren enjoyed being a student in the pre-teen class. We left the Friday after we put as much away in my class as possible and spent the 4th of July weekend with friends. Thankfully we all got to sleep in while we were there!

The kids and I had an opportunity to attend the Christian Home Educator's of California Convention soon after. We traveled with friends to Long Beach for the three day weekend of workshops, encouraging speakers, and lots of shopping for curriculum.

We stopped at a beach before we settled in for the weekend at the convention.

Lauren smiles from inside a huge Yucca Tree: Tyler at the shore of the Pacific Ocean, on the rocks of the tide pool.

With a little break in between summer events, we enjoyed a trip to the San Fransisco to celebrate Tyler's birthday a little early since he would be on choir tour. Breakfast at the famous Cliff House Bistro (love the popovers), and then for some fun at the Exploratorium.

Tyler on tour performing in one of the skits. On this particular night he got a surprise visit from his aunt who drove to Oceanside to see him sing!

Lauren begins horse riding lessons. A break from dance, she decides to try out horse riding. Here she is leading the horse, "Barbie" to the riding area. At her first lesson she learned to go and get the horse, put on the bridle and saddle, and even got to learn how to walk and direct the horse where to go. She loved it, and was so excited to go back.
Unfortunately after we welcomed her brother home from his first choir tour, she ended up on the hospital last Monday with a emergency appendectomy. She spent her last week of summer recovering, no swimming, no horse riding, but lots of movies! On Saturday, John and Tyler got out to do some BMX type biking and that ended poorly with John having a broken elbow and Tyler a very sore wrist. Both were also scraped up pretty badly. I am over my horrible cold, and everyone else is recovering!

Now our "fall" begins as we get our school year underway. John and I are busy preparing for Awana at our church. We don't have a lot planned other than our normal routine of school and church activities. A camping trip in October, and then maybe a trip out to Kentucky for the holidays.

It has been a very eventful summer, wonder what the next few months hold for us!?
Hopefully lots of knitting for me!

Redecorating

2009-08-17T16:08:00.000-07:00

It's time for me to update my blog, in more ways that one!

Not sure if I will keep this, but like the fact I can update it with the seasons using these free templates.

On the homefront...

The appendectomy patient is recovering quite well, and will have another work of summer before she begins her schoolwork.

The high school student started today with school by sitting down with me and preparing notebooks and lesson plans.

The broken elbow biker is still in a lot of pain, but managed to get to work and will be home later.

The blogger lady is going to fix up a chicken, rice and cheese casserole for dinner, then meet some of her friends for dinner.

I promise to get pictures posted this week of current knitting projects. I do have a couple I can't wait to finish, and many more waiting to jump on those needles! Probably time to think about what to knit or crochet for Christmas!

Bikes and Elbows

2009-08-16T19:42:00.001-07:00

While Lauren was at home recuperating, John and Tyler decided to head out and do a little BMX type of bike riding. Sure we will stay home and they can enjoy some dad and some time. Fast forward to this afternoon, after a trip the urgent care after a miserable night of pain in John's elbow. His elbow has a break, and now he is resting. Knitting...not sure when I will get those updates posted. Stayed tuned, I will get them up before too long....I hope.

Quick Little Update....

2009-08-14T00:19:00.001-07:00

I hear there are a few people out there anxious to have me update this blog!

No knitting news...just that we had a little emergency with Lauren this past week. After and emergency appendectomy on Monday night, Lauren come home Tuesday afternoon, and has been recovering at home. And so are the rest of us.

Newest Member of the Family

2009-07-16T11:36:00.000-07:00

Meet Dexter.Dexter is a Siamese Delta Tail Fighting Fish. We are still trying to figure out how often to feed him. The box that the aquarium came in says to feed it 2 to 3 times a week, the package of food that also come in the box says "feed your betta 2 to 3 times a day." We finally found that most websites suggest once a day, with one day off. And that they like a variety of food, so I guess I need to look for freeze dried brine shrimp.

We also read that Dexter might like a cave or something to hide behind so he can have privacy and to rest. Of course we also learned that it can't be sharp or scratchy because it might tear his fins. And I thought dogs and cats were a high maintenance animals, the more I keep reading about Betta's, maybe a goldfish would be better.

Lauren is happy and getting to know her new friend. Did have to explain you can't carry him around the house, he needs to stay in his "home base" in the kitchen.

Changes...

2009-07-15T10:26:00.000-07:00

I am considering tweaking my blog a bit, instead of focusing on knitting changing it to more of a family focus. I have been so busy of late, and it not of the knitting variety, so have little show in the way of knitting progress. Have plenty to blog about other stuff! Vacations, family, Vacation Bible School, fish, homeschooling, and a little knitting can be thrown in!

If you have any suggestions on new templates, leave a comment!

Working On...

2009-06-01T21:35:00.001-07:00

Another EZ Baby Sweater for the Community Pregnancy Center. This one is a pretty smoky blue and soft yellow stripes.

A modified Modern Log Cabin Blanket. This one is with homespun yarn, and based on a pattern from Mason-Dixon Knitting.

And continuing to work on a crocheted baby blanket, Granny square style. I am not very fast at crocheting so this one is taking me some time! It not done yet, I have some more rows to do so it will be a nice sized baby blanket.

My first "February Baby Sweater"

2009-06-01T21:17:00.000-07:00

It took me several tries to get this going, but I got through it and can't wait to make another! I found that using stitch markers helped me keep track of the lace pattern better. Working on the sleeves came from lots of help from the EZ group on Raverly! I was able to knit the sweater in the round, which was not quite as hard as I had expected. I did miss putting in the button holes, so just used small buttons, (directions were a little hazy on how where to put the button holes, but I finally figured it out!) I love the color, hope little Adrian loves it as much as I do! (It's actually a lot me brick red than this picture.)

Toddler Fun Fur Poncho

2009-06-01T21:11:00.000-07:00

My friend's granddaughter turned one the other day and I (with the help of my daughter) created a fun poncho for her. I used one strand each of dark pink and light pink fun fur with one strand of dark brown yarn. Adding the brown yarn made knitting with the fun fur a lot easier. I think it's a bit wild for my taste, but I am pretty sure little Elli will like it, or at least her grandmother!

Happy Birthday Elli!

No pictures yes, just a short update!

2009-05-20T21:13:00.000-07:00

I still haven't got any pictures to post, so you will have to wait just little longer. I am working on a little poncho for my friend's granddaughter, but ran out of fun fur. Fortunately I was able to find one skein on Raverly so I can finish it up soon her birthday is next week!

I have been feeling quite poorly of late, and no I don't believe it's the swine flu, but people do ask, some sarcastically, but others I ask so seriously! I haven't had much energy for much last few days, and even today still don't quite feel myself.

We are slowing transiting to summer, certain activities at church are taking a break for the summer time, while we begin to prepare for others like camp and Vacation Bible School. Our family continues school throughout the summer, but work around our summer activities.

I do hope to get a lot of knitting, have a lot of projects that need to be finished and new ones that I need to get swatch and started. No promises on when I will post pictures, but I will try to get some before too long!

Family Update

2009-05-11T09:47:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday, here in the Bay Area it's sunny and cool, warming up as the morning speeds along. I have neglected keeping you updated on my blog and reading your blogs, and it time to sit down and do a little of both!

Our family has been busy of late, seems to always happen this time of year. Holidays, birthdays, anniversary, church events, and every day life just seems to overwhelm our schedule. We celebrate Easter with family and friends, and had full weekend of celebrating our risen Savior. Then it was time to purchase a new van, which took another full weekend sorting through our options and costs. We settle on a particular van, and were able to purchase it right away in early April.

DH has been through three rounds of layoff's, the last one coming right on my birthday in April. Again God took care of us and John's job is secure for the time being. Later that night we celebrate all of God's blessings with friends at the most wonderful restaurant at Santana Row in San Jose, Maggianos. Because it was spring break for most of the students around here, it was quite packed, thankfully I had booked our reservations the week before. My favorite part of dinner was the creme brulee we had for dessert, can't think of a better way to end the day!

Then it was time to celebrate our anniversary! Yes, April is a busy month! We dropped the kids off for Vacation Bible School training (they were helpers this year), and we enjoyed a quite evening at home with dinner, a movie, and a new Wii game. The following night we dropped the kids off where our DS attends for Awana, and we enjoyed a very nice dinner at Macaroni Grill. Not quite as nice as Maggianos, but one of our favorite Italian restaurants to get out to every now and then, and both the food and the atmosphere were just right to celebrate 18 years of marriage.

And if that wasn't enough, John's parents arrived from Kentucky soon after and we had a full schedule of activities while they were here. I had the privilege of making them a wedding cake. We enjoyed the week with John's parents, and then Sunday said goodbye to them as they prepare for their first cruise. Between all of that we also had our annual Ladies Tea at our church. I was busy with preparations for that, but managed to finish everything and still spend plenty of time with my in-laws. Now it's time to prepare for our annual Awana Awards night this coming Sunday, and then we have the summer off from teaching on Sunday Evening.

We will not really wrap up school, since we just continue schooling through the summer, but final grades and reports are due in June and I need to work on getting those finished. Then summer will be here and it will be time for camp, vacation Bible school, and other summer activities. Makes me wonder if we ever slow down!

I am squeezing in knitting when I can. I did finish the February Sweater, and started a few more projects. I am looking forward to knitting between lessons, running errands and getting the house picked up. When I can I will post pictures of what I have been working on, (if you are part of Raverly, you can see a few things a started. I do need to update pictures there too!)

Even though our lives are very busy, we are very blessed. I enjoyed a lovely day with my family yesterday as we celebrate Mother's Day with lunch at Panera (yes, I really wanted to eat there!) a movie, then finished the evening off at Famous Dave's (not my favorite, but I know my family enjoys it!). Then I was able to sit and just knit until I fell asleep in my favorite chair!

Hope all of you who are mothers enjoyed a day of rest, and the rest of you treated your mother with lots of love!

I better get this posted and catch up on what my blogger friends have been up to!

Yep, I am still trying to knit

2009-03-30T17:03:00.001-07:00

Between cakes and chocolate I am managing to get in my knitting and now crocheting. I am trying to get my February Sweater going...again. I was getting ready to work on sleeves and realized I left out an increase row. After frogging back to the correct number of stitches, which was back quite a bit, I am back on track and starting the lace pattern after completing the yoke.
I started a new project at our church's knitting ministry the other night, a simple crocheted blanket to put with the EZ sweater I finished a few weeks ago. I am using the left over yarn from the baby sweater so it will match nicely.
Thanks Carole! She is a great teacher!

Baby Booties and Hat

2009-03-11T14:28:00.000-07:00

I wanted to learn how to make booties and found a great crochet pattern. They turned out well, and so did the little hat. The booties were very easy to make once I figured out the directions...still a little new at reading crochet instructions. These are going to the donation basket at church.

EZ Baby Sweater: Raspberries and Cream

2009-03-07T15:08:00.000-08:00

All finished! Left off the last two knit rows, replaced it with one row of single crochet and one row of picot stitch around the jacket. Added one row of single crochet and one row of picot stitch on sleeve edge.

Stitches West 2009 Recap

2009-03-02T10:13:00.001-08:00

I attended my first Stitches West Knitting Expo last week - me and hundreds of other knitters - it was truly amazing to see so many knitters. I arrived in time to check in at the registration desk, get a feel for what was going on and then spent the rest of my time trying to find the room for my class. Fortunately I eventually found it and got settled in for my 3 hour class on learning how to cable.

My first class, "Cables Untangled" was taught by Melissa Leapman who presented our class in a manner that made everyone feel at ease and confident to get started. First, we learned how to read those, often intimidating, knitting charts and got a feel for understanding how to use them for cabling. With our first swatch in hand, she walked us through our first cable chart. My first several attempts were quite pathetic, but Melissa was very patience with all of us who were struggling and gave us plenty of time to get the hang of it. When I got home, I actually took out what we did in class, and knitted it all over again, which I found very helpful.

Here is what my first cable swatch sampler:

Three different types of cables:
In the green I actually did one of the cables wrong. It's towards the bottom, I think I was supposed to move the cable needle to the back, but instead I moved it to the front.Our second swatch was a little more challenging, but my first attempt in class come out better than I anticipated. Again, I decided to start it over but using a different yarn that I had picked out for class. It took me a few attempts to get it started, and I had to go back and redo a few places. This one I really have to concentrate on because you have to remember not only where place the cable needle, but when to purl and when to knit along the way. I think I will keep doing this pattern and make it into a scarf. Melissa suggested using a wool blend of yarn rather than the yarn many of us were using in class, acrylic blends. Her opinion was that wool blends give a more defined detail and bring out the cable appearance. I personally found it easier, because my yarn wasn't splitting.

Here is our second cable project done in rowan soft baby. I took me several repeats to see what the pattern was supposed to look like.

Close up of cable pattern:We skipped one project #3, which I think I am grateful for, since after she explained it briefly I am not sure I would have understood how to do it. Instead we skipped to our final swatch, where we added a second color of yarn. Very cool, and actually seemed a lot easier than the first two. However I am not going to keep this swatch and will take it out (if I haven't already done so by the time I get this posted!) and use the yarn for my original projects. When Melissa was explaining that this project was basically a form of fair isle knitting. She added that she doesn't put that in the class description because she felt if she did she would scare away potential students telling people they would be learning to cable with two colors at the same time!

Fair Isle and Cables all together:
This is the back of my swatch. One thing we had to learn was how to make the yarn go across properly. These stitch are called floats, and in order for the fabric not to curl, you have to make very loose floats. As you can tell I am still learning to make the floats with less tension.On Saturday I did a 6 Hour class with Gwen Bortner on how to adapt a published pattern. We learned how to properly swatch and check our gauge so we can make a published pattern fit as we want it too. After several exercises on how to recalculate gauge, adjusting the numbers we were able to see how we could take just about any pattern and tweak it to give an almost perfect fit. There was so much we went over I can't even begin to explain it.

If you ever get a chance to take a class taught by Gwen invest in it. This particular class covered a lot of ground in 6 hours. On her website I see that she also offers this class broken down into small classes of 1 or 3 hours, focusing only on certain topics for each one. However taking the 6 hour class will give you the complete picture of using gauge, preparing swatches, proper measurements, understanding the math of knitting, and how to really make a garment fit, etc. It's like a puzzle that now all neatly fits together on how to adapt a published pattern. No pictures of this class, but in the future I hope to be able to show that I did using her methods.

The market place was OK for me. There was plenty of beautiful yarns, and other items out there for sale. I am not all that familiar with yarn companies, especially ones that spin and dye their own yarn and sell as their own label. I am more of a Lion Brand Yarn or Knit Picks type yarn person. There was yarn that was absolutely gorgeous, soft to touch, beautiful colorways and plenty of delightful textures. However, most of these to-die-for-yarns were quite expensive, especially when you need several skeins to make a project. There were places that had bins of yarns, that were prepackaged, but even they were too expensive for me, even with the sale price. For me, this is not my one and only hobby, so I just couldn't see spending that kind of money on yarn.

So even though Thursday was preview night, and only open to students, I didn't stay long. I guess I didn't really know what I was looking at or for. I did purchase some yarn from Webs because I wanted to get some nice yarn for my swatch for Saturday's class. I have ordered from before and most the yarn was in my price range. By Saturday I was interested in giving the market another chance. Despite that it was a lot more crowded, I did find a few things I knew I could use. I also felt a lot more confident that I could purchase yarn that I would/could use for the many patterns that I accumulated from what I learning in my class!

I ended up purchasing several nice yarns from Webs. Their prices were more in my price range and as always most yarn can be discounted when you purchase a certain amount.

Malabrigo Worsted in Marine Blue:

Valley Yarns Stockbridge in Chocolate Brown:

Valley Yarns Springfield in blue:

Plymouth Silk Merino in Pink:

As we were getting settled and set up for our Saturday class, one lady pulled out her handy caddy and set it up in her work space. Turns out they were being sold at the Market place, but I must have missed them on Thursday. They had did have a nice two for one special, and I thought they would be very useful for me since I take my knitting with me to a variety of places.

I have always wanted some kind of shawl pin, but most I have seen are so expensive for my taste. I found these very simple ones at the Gita Maria Booth and decided to get two. Guess I should finish one of my shawls now so I can start putting them to use. She also has beautiful jewelry and I would have loved to get a pair of earrings, but decided that I could add that to my wish list for another time.
Over all I am very glad I choose to attend Stitches West. My classes were definitely worth it, and I feel I got some very helpful and useful information. My son asked if I would attend again, and after thinking about it, I said yes. Not really for the market place, but definitely for the classes.

Stitches West 2009

2009-02-23T17:44:00.000-08:00

Stitches West Knitting Expo 2009 will be here in Santa Clara this Thursday, and I decided to try it out this year. Back in November when I decided to take a few classes, many of the classes were already full. I was able to register for two classes.

My first one is a three hour class on learning how to cable with Melissa Leapman. There are a lot of patterns out there that have cables in them, so it's time to learn.

My second is called "Adaptations-Customizing a Published Pattern." with Gwen Bortner. Class description: The pattern is just what you were looking for except for a few changes. A different yarn, maybe a different stitch pattern, change the sleeve length or make a different neck line. Gain hands-on experience converting a published pattern to meet your design ideals.
I am always seeing patterns that I like, but want to change something about it, and this sounded like the perfect class for me.

With this being my first Knitting Expo I am not sure what to expect. I understand that the market place is huge and to be prepared to be overwhelmed. I don't really plan on buying much, but I do want to get some nice yarn to use for my class on Saturday. Fortunately because I have a class on Thursday afternoon, I will be able to attend the Market place preview after my class. Then on Friday it's open to anyone who wants to attend the Expo but not enrolled in a class.

I crocheted my first pair of baby booties, so very cute. I am working on a matching hat, when I get it finished I will post pictures of both the hat and booties.

Off to prepare for Stitches!

Baby Blankets

2009-02-17T14:37:00.000-08:00

I planned a day for the youth girls from our church to come over to work on the rag baby blankets. The squares were all cut and just needed to be sewn together. Three girls from our church's youth group were able to come over. Only one would go near the sewing machine. The other one would only piece the squares together and pin them. The third girl enjoyed the cookies and chips. We did get one blanket completely put together, and get the seams cut. We also were able to piece and pin together two more blankets. I also prepared three other blankets to be sewn that are not the rag quilt style.

I am still quite new at teaching and working with teenagers, especially girls. I still need to perfect how to best direct them with a project. Having started just teaching them on Sunday Mornings, I also have a lot to learn about directing them in general!

Even though I might not have kept them on task the entire time, we did have a good time and we did complete one blanket!

Two more rag blankets to sew together, plus three more quilt baby blankets. Lauren is also working on her own rag quilt blanket to donate to the Community Pregnancy Center. So by the time we are done we should have 6 finished baby blankets. Plus the one we will be doing Friday night with my Awana Girls (3rd through 6th graders), it will be done in Awana colors, red, blue, green and yellow. I am almost done with the EZ sweater, it is turning out so cute. I can't wait to see all the project finished and donated to the center!

Raspberry and Cream EZ Baby Sweater

2009-02-13T15:23:00.000-08:00

My second EZ sweater and I am getting more comfortable knitting it. I decided to add in some stripes and really like how it is starting to look. Thank goodness for the DVD on showing how to knit this, it has been a big help.