October 31st. Christmas. Knitting.

It's October 31st. October 31st. Where has the time gone? It seems like yesterday that I was thinking ohhh, I've got plenty of time to start all of the gifts I want to knit this year. Yes, I think I will make 5,675, 345 washcloths for all of my friends and family. Oh, and ALL of the kiddos in my life are getting mittens. That's right, all of the adults requested socks last year too (note to self, do not wear hand knit socks to Christmas parties from now on). I was thinking it might be nice to make an afghan for my parents too. And so on.

Oh dear, that WAS yesterday. And now it is October 31st. Almost November! Less than two months to Christmas. On the up side I only have 5,675,344 washcloths left to knit. Here is the one that is finished...

I love the pattern...it's easy to do while listening to a podcast or watching tv...you don't even have to worry about looking at it - we're talking elementary lace, which is great for making a dishcloth/washcloth the perfect scrubby material...plus it's pretty. Downside, there is only one of them. Yep, one lonely washcloth. I finished a second one today but, I managed to spill hot cocoa on it right before I cast off, which means, I can't give it as a gift. Upside? I get to throw it in the washing machine and use it for myself! Now, I know that there are only a few more weeks til Christmas, but I am still insisting on doing as many handmade knitted items as possible. From reading other blogs, appears to me that many knitters do the same thing - we like giving our works of art as gifts...it warms the soul...even if we don't go to bed until 5 am Christmas morning because we just haaavvvveee to finish this @#%* toe!!

Speaking of warming the soul...here is a pic of one of the socks that I was going to send to my bf's grandmother...note that it is already past her birthday...luckily he thinks she will understand - I hope so!!! I am about to frog it. Yep, that's right, I've completed the ankle pattern, knit the heel flap, turned the heel, and completed the gusset. I'm already an inch into the foot and I can't stand the sock. I have decided that the pattern I knit competes with the pattern of the yarn. I am going to frog it and just do a simple knit 8 or 9 and purl 2 combo...I did that for the top of the foot and I really like how it compliments the yarn. So how does that warm the soul you ask? Well, it means that in the end...even with all the frustration...I will have created something pretty and something that she can really cherish. I love that.



wonderful = october 31st. christmas. knitting. - jj

old buildings. great service. oh, and coziness, definitely coziness.

Hi Everybody!!!

Thank you, thank you Nikkianna! The LYS that I mentioned in my last post is The Fiber Studio in Henniker, NH. It is gorgeous!!!! Off of Rte 9, halfway between Concord and Keene, NH, it is a one of those little gems tucked away, waiting to be discovered! It is in a beautiful old building, and is jam-packed with amazing yarns at reasonable prices and the women who helped me when I stopped in for the first time last month were sooo sweet...if you ever have a chance to stop by I highly recommend it! If you would like to turn your stop into a yarn crawl...I also recommend The Elegant Ewe on Main St in Concord. Amazing yarns there too (especially the sock yarn - ohh and the lace weight)...and the staff is wonderful as well (of course now that I mention it the staff is wonderful at all three of the stores I wanted to tell you about). Third stop on your crawl (or first, depending on where you are coming from) is The Knitting Knook on West St. in Keene, NH. It is a tiny, cozy little shop hidden in the upstairs of a building next to The Savings Bank of Walpole. What it lacks in size it makes up for in quality - quality of yarn, quality of service, and quality of coziness.

Well, I'm off to knit for a bit, and then head to bed... it's almost midnight... oops make that 12:01. If you get a chance to visit any of the above let me know :) Also, if you have traveled to any other yarn stores in the area...let me know that too - I'm always willing to visit more - It's getting on winter and my house is not insulated as well as I like...I've heard yarn makes great insulation :D Have a great night everybody! Talk to you soon. wonderful = old buildings. great service. oh, and coziness, definitely coziness. - jj

cables. socks. australia. hidden yarn stores.

Hi everybody!!! I have missed you!!! My life has turned into utterly complete busy-ness lately! A couple of exciting knitting related things have happened to me recently - I have started a cabled baby sweater that I'm considering turning into a bag - those cabled bags really are hot this season! I have also started a new pair of socks (yes, just started - I think I have first sock syndrome let alone second s.s.) to send to my boyfriend's grandmother. Of course, these have to be finished by October 29...and yes it is October 13.
I also desperately need to take some photos of all these things. I have a procrastination problem with photos - I love to take them - it is the downloading and then the subsequent uploading that doesn't seem to happen anywhere near as fast as I'd like it to. I am inclined to believe however that the new gadget that I just purchased so that I can use usb 2 rather than usb 1 (aka the slooooooowest possible way to work with any kind of information) may help ten-fold in the process of photo downloads. I would cross my fingers and pray that it works, but I think I may have to forget the crossing of fingers and just pray as I have less than 10 days to finish these socks. Yep that's right, 10 days. They are flying to Australia, so I have to account for travel time as well. Yikes, eh?
Ok, I'm off to knit...I will catch up some more very soon, promise! PS - NH Knitting Mama - Have you ever been to the yarn store on Rte. 9 halfway between Concord and Keene???? It is amazing!!! I will look for the name of it...
wonderful = cables. socks. australia. hidden yarn stores. - jj

Kathy. Baseball. Maytag. and Felt.

What have I been up to during the past few weeks? Work. More work. Um, more work. Ohhhh and some fun stuff too :) ! Last night I got together with my friend Kathy (that's her in the pic). We intended to do some scrapbooking, but ended up making invitations to her son's fifth birthday party. I designed them based on his absolute loooove of baseball. It was great to get together and just hang out and create...I haven't done that in a while. I find that the world keeps turning and I get swept up in the mundane, everydayness of it. Sometimes it is wonderful to sit back, relax and play.

P.S. I swear these pictures were right side up when I uploaded them!!! Anyone know how to rotate a pic once it is in blogger???

Speaking of playing...I just got a NEW washing machine and dryer!!!! Ok you have 3 guesses as to why I'm incredibly excited. Is it a. I no longer have to drive to wash my clothes? b. they are beautiful objects of modern machinery and I am using them as part of my new interior decorating theme or ..... C. I can now FELT the stack of sweaters I've been collecting to recycle





Bet you can't guess hehe





Yes, driving to wash is a pain, but it isn't the end of the world and while they aren't bad looking washing machines aren't exactly the most decorative objects I have seen in a while so yes, you have figured it out. It is option c. I can FELT!!! (or full - I am usually a woman who loves the technical terms...but I have loved the word felt ever since I was a small child so that is what I still call the process - please forgive me) Woohoo!!!! Here is my first project - a sweater I purchased at a yard sale this summer. It is absolutely gorgeous and I am going to repurpose it as a purse...stay tuned to see how it comes out...





Until then, I hope you have a chance to take at least 10 minutes to have a creative frenzy today - it's totally worth it!

wonderful = kathy. baseball. maytag. and felt. - jj

projects. cleaning. and procrastination.

Monkey See, Monkey Do. I found my sock! Amazing what a little organizing can do, huh? I had my best friend's kids overnight on Sunday and as I was cleaning up to get ready for them, I found the monkey sock I had lost. I just finished the fourth repeat on the first sock and as I was working on it today I couldn't help but think of, first, how talented Cookie is to have come up with such a simple yet beautiful lace pattern, and second, how much I would like to come up with my own pattern. Sooo...I'm going to toss around the idea of coming up with something I can call my own...we'll see how successful I am at it.

In other parts of my knitting life...I am still working on the French Market Bag from Knitty and I am continuing to turn out squares for my fuchsia granny square afghan. While I am happy to make the squares the seaming is looming over my head like a big storm cloud. Strangely enough I actually like seaming so I'm not sure why...I'm thinking that I might start seaming it before all of the squares are finished so that the actual project isn't so huge.

Last but not least, I am finishing up the itty bitty sweaters I'm donating to Marly's KAL/CAL prizes. Several posts ago I mentioned that I might put them on etsy, but I have yet to follow through with it. Procrastination is such a difficult thing. It seems like such a brilliant idea at the time, but later, when you really want to see results it comes back and taps you on the shoulder saying, "Um, hello, you decided not to do that when you had the time, remember?" at which point, I usually think, "Oh, hmmm, maybe I should do that now, since I didn't before..." and then proceed to do something else.

Note to self: work on the procrastination thing.

wonderful = projects. cleaning. and procrastination. - jj

Hi!
I don't like to post without pictures...as the pictures are my favorite part of blogs...but it has been almost two weeks since I last posted! Since then, I have been up to northern NH for a 4 day teacher conference (which was fantastic, btw) and I am almost done with the French Market Bag from Knitty. I have also found the "I thought I had lost you" Monkey socks that I had started about a month back (also a fabulous Knitty pattern). I haven't worked on them as I have been working and cleaning and working and cleaning and...well you get the idea :) . I don't have to work tomorrow, and even though there is much cleaning in order, I intend to post with pictures so, .... until then ... have a great night!

stockinette. blue skies. potato chip yarn.

I really must learn to post more often!

The monkeys have not been worked on in a while...the main reason being....um....well....I can't find them. I was cleaning out my tote bag and I put them in a safe place. Ahem...very safe, apparently. I went to take a picture of the progress I had made on them and they have disappeared! I'm sure they will show up soon, I hope they will show up soon!



In the meantime, I have started a French Market Bag from Knitty (that orange blob in the pic above is what I have accomplished so far...I have done all the increases and am currently working on the body)...and I can't wait to felt it! I think it will be a bit deeper than the original (I like to carry lots of stuff) but other than that I am following the pattern. If you need a good knitting project to do while reading a book...this is it! LOOOOTTTSSSS of stockinette. Yep, LOTS.

Did I mention that there was a lot of stockinette in the French Market Bag? I did? Ok, just checking.

Also, I went to the beach the other week with a friend of mine. There literally wasn't a cloud in the sky. Here's a little eye candy for you :)




Just a side note...I now know why people don't knit at the beach...So much salt got on the yarn and my hands that it was like knitting potato chip yarn. If you like crispy yarn feel free to knit at the beach...otherwise I suggest reading a book. LOL.
wonderful = stockinette. blue skies. potato chip yarn. - jj