Monday, July 31, 2006

Baby Sweater


This is my old standby baby sweater. It is a Plymouth pattern for their Encore yarn. I must have made over 10 of them over the years. It is a quick easy knit for me and occasionally, I make a little hat to match depending if I have any yarn left. This one is for a girl at work who is having a little boy.

One of the nearby yarn shops closed this week on Saturday after 21 years. I went twice since I knew they were closing but also looking through my checkbook today, I saw that I had been a few more times in the past two years. They always had a great Super Bowl weekend sale that I always went to. They will be missed in their area. I bought a ton of patterns and notions the first time I went and this weekend, it was mostly yarn to make projects that I have had picked out and just needed the yarn. Very strange, when there is just not the right yarn in the large stash but there wasn't, so shopping I went. I have found some really nice yars that I had never noticed before so it has been a fun experience seeing these yarns and bringing them home to play with.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

A small FO


Not a good picture, but this is my 9 patch dishcloth from http://masondixonknitting.com/

It was a fun knit but all those ends took a little while to weave in. I needed a new dishcloth and this will be perfect, it is a little bigger than the last one I made.

I went out and bought two skeins of Peaches N Cream and plan to make the dischloth on the label the next time I make one.

Monday, July 24, 2006

The Big Bag


I went to my favorite yarn shop, Yarns Down Under, in Deep River, CT this weekend. The owner told me my bag was ready and I was like, "What bag?". I never expected it to be ready so soon after the retreat. It is just great. There are two sections inside and tons of pockets on the inside and out.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Yarns Down Under Retreat 2006 - Part II





















My favorite yarn purchase was this yarn from Tidal Yarns. I bought two skeins, the one on the left to make my mother a scarf/shawl and the one on the right to make me a shawl. The owner used a picture of her yarn as a type of business card with her contact info on the back. I have the picture leaning against my monitor and I just love to look at the colors of her yarn.

The books and bag are my favorite none yarn purchase. The books are a fabric covered index card book and a small yellow pad cover. The bag is a small tote bage probably big enough for a lace project or socks or something else small. I have asked the women who made it to make me a large knitting bag with similar fabrics. I love, love the colors.

I also bought a skein of mhair yarn from Ellyn Cooper's Yarn Sonnets and some stitch markers that I am going to use as pendants from a women who makes jewelry.

Monday, July 10, 2006

Yarns Down Under Retreat 2006 - Part One


I spent this weekend at the Yarns Down Under knitting retreat at the Cave Hill Resort in Moodus, CT. It was a nice, peaceful, weekend filled with fun and knitting.

I arrived right after noon on Friday and unloaded the car and then went to hang out with the other knitters. We started by decorated a foam cozy and flip flops. The clear bag was a goody bag that all campers received and we used up some of the decorations on them by the end of the weekend on Sunday afternoon. I don't have a good picture of the flip flops but they are decorated with fuzzy yarn.

In the afternoon we learned to make knitted necklaces. I will show a picture of that in a week or so when I did out my clasps and finish my necklace a little differently than the campers. Some made eyeclass chains and others made of the head necklaces. I want mine a little shorter so I am digging out my clasps and finishing it that way.

There was also a trunk show with Berocco bags and I now have kits to make two bags.