Tuesday, August 31, 2004
A very blue fuzzy sweater!
How very exciting! The big news is that I actually finished up a sweater that had been blocked and was sitting in my knitting bag for about a month. I couldn't figure out why knitters hated to stitch up their knitted projects. I don't think that, for me, it is about hating to stitch up the project, but more about loving to knit. I would far rather have the two wooden needles in my hands than an embroidery needle.Behold, the blue and fuzzy sweater:
This is the first shaped item that I have knitted that has actually come out looking like it was supposed to! The pattern is from Knitting for the First Time. I thought this was a great book when I first started knitting again, but I'm not so sure that the finished projects really work like they should. Do you see the sleeves? Aren't they strangely shaped? And I followed the project to a letter--It just didn't seem to work as well as I hoped for. But, I did remember how to do decreases and increases with this pattern, so all is not lost.
This was, however, a great beginners project. I used Lion's Brand Homespun, which is sort of fuzzy. It is very forgiving and hides mistakes, so the stitches look decent. Plus it is cuddly warm and machine washable, perfect for my daughter who creates washing/stain removing works of art each day!
Next time I post I will show a few more early knitting projects and talk (write) about when I learned to knit (think 4-H and lots of acrylic).
So This is a Blog, I guess
Ok. I am setting up this blog because I am so inspired/interested in all of the great knitting blogs that are out there. What can I say? I just am a techno geek. Plus, I keep pretending that this is going to be a super paper for publication... If I can find the time in my schedule to set this up....So, here's the first entry! I have knitting pics and kid pics for additional entries, once I am sure that I know how this crazy thing works.
Monday, August 30, 2004
Weekend O Fun
What a weekend. We were mostly playing catch up from the week. I was really tired from all of the workshops that I ran and the stress of trying to deal with what my new job entails. I guess the problem is that no one really knows what I am supposed to be doing, since this is a new job, and we are making things up as we go along. Hopefully this will all work out soon.Anna and Bruce were busy yesterday in the yard. It is so hot here--100 degrees--that the plants are just hanging on. But, there are some tomatoes in the garden. I guess tomato part 2 is starting. Here's a picture of Anna raking with Daddy (The little wooden rake was mine as a kid--bought from an Amish store in Lancaster, I think).
As for knitting, I finished up the actual knitting on the Yarn Girls tank from the Summer Interweave Knits. The yarn is a gorgeous light blue blend of silk and pima cotton from Classic Elite. Now I have to stitch it together and finish the crochet edging. I'll post pictures of it shortly (plus two other finished projects).
Now I get to return to the never ending felted bag from Hip to Knit. I frogged my (stupid) mistake--I was watching the Olympics, reading blogs, and watching the kid, so I wasn't paying attention and missed the edge knitting. Argh.