GIVE ME A "C"!

GIVE ME A "G"!


WHAT'S THAT SPELL?!?!

...No word I know of, in the English language.

But they are letters of the alphabet, and there will be 24 more of them, plus a few other squares, and thankfully, the rest are being knit by other folks in our knitting group, to make an alphabet baby blanket for someone we know who is having a boy. (Fear not, I don't think she reads my blog, so I don't think the surprise is spoiled.)

Specs:

• Yarn: Linie 12 Clip 100% cotton, color #190, purchased from Unraveled
  
• Gauge: 5 stitches per inch
• Needles: U.S. size 5 (3.75 mm) Clover Bamboo circulars
• Pattern: Alphabet squares from Knitting Knonsense
  
• Size: ~7" square, although I didn't measure, and right now, unblocked, they appear taller than they are wide.

All the letter blocks will be the same color, and Issy has agreed to sew them all together, for which I am most grateful. I can't wait to see how it looks after it's all sewn together. And I will insist on taking pictures of the finished object, when we give it to its recipient. So stay tuned here for that, hopefully within a few weeks.

Moving on to a different, but still knitting-related topic, did anyone catch these socks on Antiques Roadshow (Salt Lake City part 1) last week?


They look like they were just made yesterday. Amazing. You can watch a little video of the appraisal here.

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More Birthday Knitting....

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(...but at least it's not mine...).

(Feedblitz subscribers go here to view embedded video)

More Knitting on TV

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It's official. Knitting is ubiquitous. It was all over the place last night on NBC:




How 'bout a knitted Ferrari?

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(Feedblitz subscribers click here to view embedded video.)

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My theory: NBC is so hard up for viewers that they'll do anything to attract knitters to watch. We're a very powerful demographic, dontcha know. ;-)

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Laurie, you're not crazy...

...or else, I am, too.

So that Laurie doesn't feel so alone in her taking pictures of knitting on tv craziness, I give you these images I took of the Antiques Roadshow a couple months ago:


That woman is making one smart use of her time waiting in line. Here's hoping her antique was worth millions, so she can afford lots of cashmere yarn. ;-)

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Get the Knitty Gritty

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For those who get DIY network, (digital cable or satellite), just a reminder that they begin airing new episodes (Season 4) of Knitty Gritty starting Monday, July 3rd, at 11:30 am. So set those VCRs/DVRs/TiVos or just set yourself on the couch on Mondays at 11:30 am.

Well, I'm off to beautiful Lake Gaston for the extended holiday weekend, so I guess I better get my act in gear so I can leave in the next couple of hours.

Have a great Independence Day holiday, everyone!

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Restraint and the lack thereof

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I'm guessing that there were more than a few knit-bloggers out there like myself who felt a bit guilty after Saturday's "Flash Your Stash" day. Although my stash is relatively small in comparison to that of more experienced knitters out there, it was still more than I had imagined, and definitely more than I need at any given time. And that guilt, coupled with the shameful number of WIP's I currently have, (final count = 6), was enough to allow me to restrain myself from driving over to Unraveled this weekend for their Blue Heron Yarns trunk show. As much as I love their yarn, I don't need it right now. (And besides, I can get it more cheaply off of ebay, if/when I feel it necessary.)

However, that being said, and lest you think I have the willpower of a saint, (HA!), my stash guilt is not enough to restrain me from sale yarns! And look who's having a sale on yarn tomorrow:

Look at all that fuzzy, ribbony, tacky, eyelashy, flaggy, novelty, yarny goodness!

I'll be the one at the store when it opens at 8 am, ready to pounce on all the "good" yarns. Just don't get in my way! ... ;-)

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Oh hey -- did anyone else catch all the knitting content on last night's episode of Grey's Anatomy? Way cool. I knew I loved that show for a reason!

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Knitting Rocks!

Knitty Gritty aired their "rock-n-roll" episode again today, where host Vicki Howell demonstrates for her rock-n-roll knitsters how to make a knitted guitar strap. At her side was Share Ross, guitarist for Bubble and a fellow knit-blogger. Share has a book called "Punk Knits" coming out this fall which apparently will have rock-n-roll knit patterns, which should be fun and funky. Looking forward to it!

I've seen this episode a few times already, and always get a kick out of the "knit-bit" where they show a clip from Steriogram's "Walkie Talkie Man" video, which is animated almost entirely with yarn and knitted objects.

Take a gander here:

( click ^ to watch)

And if you liked that, check out the "Making of..." video:

(click ^ to watch)

Off and On the Needles

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A recent finished object:

And here is the lovely Ali modeling it:

(She's just barely tolerating it -- notice the ears wanting to point backwards?)

And a close-up of the knitting.

Doesn't it look soft? It is!

Made with 2 balls of Berroco Plush Colors # 1958, "Taffy". US size 10 needles, cast-on 20 stitches, knit every row. I knit this over Christmas. It is for no one else but me! :-) I've taken to wearing it around the house on chilly mornings, but today is a gorgeous 66ºF, and so not needed.

During that knitting segment on the Carol Duvall show the other day, she showed a really cool way to wear a scarf which I'd not seen before. Basically, you fold the scarf in half, and then drap that evenly around your neck, and then pull the two ends through the loop made made by the fold, and snug it up a bit around your neck. It makes for a very pulled-together look when wearing a scarf, and keeps it from sliding off. Brilliant!

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A current work-in-progress:

Remember this? Which prompted me to buy this? I'm finally now getting around to knitting that up, and here is my progress thus far:

And a close up of the knitting:

Unfelted, it has that typical "wormy" look of a garter stitch chenille fabric.

I'm on the third ball (out of 10) so far, and after three or four attempts, finally found a gauge (28 stitches, size 11 needles) where I feel the finished, felted object will still be big enough for a regular-sized scarf. I can't wait to finish and felt this thing! Pictures will be posted, for sure!

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She did it again!

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I love it when Carol Duvall has a knitting segment on her craft show. You can tell how much she loves to knit -- her enthusiasm is so infectious.

Today's segment was on knitting scarves with novelty yarns - a topic near and dear to my heart. All the example scarves were fun and gorgeous, but I think this one is my favorite:

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I've been in somewhat of a funk this past week, for many reasons, which has led to blog-writers block. I've been knitting; just haven't felt like blogging. In part due to the depressingly rainy or overcast weather we've been having, in part due to a mild family trauma that occurred last week, (I'll blog about it in a future post), in part due to the horrific New Years Day murders that occurred not too far from me, in part due to the mining tragedy in West Virginia. Just a crummy way to start the New Year.

Since I'm self-employed, I also need to work on the accounting and tax situation for my little corporation, for which I've been procrastinating because I'm basically clueless when it comes to that stuff - in part due to a long-held math anxiety, and also to never having taken an accounting class in my life, (see: math anxiety). I've found some good resources, however, and so am forcing myself to learn this stuff. Surprisingly, there's a very good tutorial I found on the IRS website. (Never thought you'd see the words IRS and "very good" in the same sentence, did you?)

So, alas, I must end this post with many topics unblogged, for now, and get back to work. :-(

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Like, tubular, man....

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I love Carol Duvall's craft show. I don't do 99% of the crafts demonstrated on that show, but it's still fun to watch all the rubber stamping and polymer clay crafts. And every once in awhile she throws in some knitting, like she did today, which is like serendipity. And I learned a new technique from her today -- tube knitting! Great for someone like me who is more comfortable with straights than with DPNs or circulars, at this stage of my inexperience. She made a felted cell phone holder, (or purse, depending on how much or little you felted it):

Once again, Carol Duvall rocks!

Movie Hand-Knits

Last night, after a long, tiring week, I crawled into bed early and watched "The Santa Clause 2" on Encore. I'd seen it before, and at the time thought it was a cute movie, and I was in the mood for some escapism, so settled under the warm covers with one of my cats for nice comfy, self-indulgent movie watch. The thing is, I had seen this movie BK, that is, Before Knitting. Watching it as a knitter, however, is a whole 'nother thing entirely! Since the movie is set in the Northern Hemisphere in December, (winter), in a northern climate, there are hand-knits on almost every character, in almost every scene of the movie. (A sight for sore eyes, since we just got past a 75+ degree heat wave here in the mid-Atlantic in November. It's supposed to be cold in November! Why did I move home from Hawaii if it's going to be warm here in near-winter? But, it's cold now, finally.) So, anyway, better than that, the characters are wearing different hand-knits in different scenes of the movie. A feast for the knitter's eyes. I was in heaven!

Feast your eyes on these:

I love this cap for several reasons:
1) It's in maroon & gold, so could conceivably be worn at a Redskins game. (Hail!)
2) It's worn by the cutest kid in Hollywood. Granted, he's probably 18 by now, but when he premiered in the original "The Santa Clause" movie, he was about six years old and you could eat him with a spoon, he was so adorable. And strangely, at that age, he reminded me of my niece, who was about the same age and had very similar features (big brown eyes, cute smile) and coloring. He's growing up nicely, too. I hope we'll see more of him in future movies.

Another cute-as-pie kid in this movie, and she also seemed to be wearing different hand-knits in every scene. Check out that cool scarf she's wearing.

Alot of the movie characters wore these hats with the flaps -- also cool (and warm, too, we can only hope).



All the elves, (except for the tall teenager elf, strangely enough), wear hand-knits in this movie. And not just any hum-drum hand-knits. They're fair-isle and intarsia, all skillfully made. Kudos to the knitters!



A neat set of fingertip-less gloves and matching scarf worn by the Curtis character in this movie. Again, nicely knitted.

Kudos to this movie's costume designer for a job well done!

Now, go out and rent this movie and indulge your eyes!

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Today is another premature holiday for my family, who can never, ever celebrate a holiday on the actual day. And so, five days early, we're having Thanksgiving at my brother's house, and two of my three out-of-town sisters are coming with their families. Terry's family can't make it this year (sob!), but we'll see them on non-Christmas, whose date has yet to be decided, but may end up being mid-week between Christmas & New Year's.

Finally, thanks to the two folks who have visited my Frappr map so far and posted pins on it! Yay! Thanks to the venerable (and very pregnant) Kate, from Montreal, (designer of the ever-popular clapotis pattern, which I hope to knit someday!) ;-) And to Tammy of Midlothian - thanks for stopping by, too! Do you have a blog? If so, let me know and I'll visit! Do you go to Stitch-n-Bitch? If you're like me, it's just a bit too far to drive out to Short Pump. We really need to start one on the Southside....

Happy Weekend, everyone, and Happy Thanksgiving, family!

Carol Duvall rocks!

I love how she snuck knitting into today's episode of her craft show which normally focuses on the likes of polymer clay or rubber stamping -- crafts which, don't get me wrong, are noble unto themselves -- but she doesn't have too many segments on knitting, so I was thrilled to serendipitously find it today when I flipped on DIY.
Her guest had a lot of neat ideas on how to quickly jazz up a regular purse with knitting, without having to go all out and do a felted one. (Not that I'm knocking felting in any way -- I can't wait to do my first felted purse.)

And so I say to you, Carol Duvall, queen of all craftdom, on behalf of knitters everywhere, thank you, and knit on!