New Year's Eve

Happy New Year's Eve everyone, or the few people that come by to visit! I'm back from southern CA. I had a wonderful trip visiting relatives and loved ones, but it went way too fast. It always does though.

My brother purchased a website, http://www.golonka.net/. You can check out the munchkins I went to visit there. I had a blast playing with them.

While in CA, I managed to finish the backpack for my friend's little girl. I put some other items in it, and when she opened the gift, she thought it was another blanket. LOL. We had to stand it up and show her how it works. Take a look at the finished backpack, after felting, and the liner (sorry about the blurred photo).



This is a pattern from "Bags: A Knitter's Dozen", by Elaine Rowley. I like the pattern a lot. I used Knitpicks.com Wool of the Andes yarn for the bag. I used Tulip and Hush, one strand of each, about 400 yards each color. The yarn felted very well, except you really can't see the details in the cables, so I'm not sure I would do the cables the same. The yarn used in the pattern may work better to show off this detail, or maybe I needed to not felt the fabric as much. However, I like the sturdiness of the more felted fabric. The bobbles show up really well. For a child I worry about the weight of a felted bag. The little girl put it on and thought it was heavy, but it did have a book and a doll in it when she put the backpack on. We'll have to see how it works out for her.

What didn't get knit on much while in CA? My mom's socks. Sigh, I got up to the third repeat of the main cable pattern and that was it. So, they will be finished here and mailed to her. She likes the colors of the sock yarn though, and I love how my handspun is working up. I turned the heel and started on the instep decreases, so I will have more pictures soon.

For Christmas, my family gave me lots of books. I love books and these are going to be wonderful reads and are packed full of things to knit (or at least most are).

1. "Sensational Knitted Socks" by Charlene Schurch. This book is chocked full of stitch patterns that can be used for sock designing, and she groups them by stitch number, so you can tailor your sock easier. The socks are really lovely too. I'll enjoy using this as a reference.


2. "Odd Ball Knitting: Creative Ideas for Leftover Yarn" by Barbara Albright. This looks like it will be helpful using up my stash leftovers. My only concern is that the patterns actually require quite a bit of yarn, so the patterns may be more appropriate for large quantities of stash yarn. We'll see though. There are some cute patterns in here, including a rug.


3. "Modular Knits: New Techniques for Today's Knitters" by Iris Schreier. This is probably one of the more interesting technique books I've seen. Lately I seem to be getting more and more into modular knit items and have been looking for a quide on some of the techniques, other than "Domino Knitting" by Vivian Hoxbro, which is great by the way. Many of you may be familiar with the yarn company of Iris Schreier, Artyarns.com. She offers a tutorial for modular knitting that anyone can sign up for. I receive her tutorials and they have been helpful, but I find the book much more helpful.


4. "Handknits For Kids: 25 Original Designs For Girls and Boys" by Lucinda Guy. This book has some really cute knits for kids. I'm looking forward to making some of the items for my niece and nephew, and have already have ideas for them.


5. "Denying Evolution: Creationism, Scientism, and the Nature of Science" by Massimo Pigliucci. Yes, this was one of my non-knitting gifts. DO NOT send me any emails or post comments about creationism or ID, I'll just delete them. This book is in the picture mainly because my brother laughed when he saw my Christmas list. He said it was eclectic, and that it is. I'm looking forward to reading this to help me answer student questions and expand my debate capabilities.

While in CA, I also purchased some fabric for myself. The top fabric in this image is a collection of blocks with sheep on them. I've been looking to buy this in the U.S. for a while. I saw it on a U.K. website a while back and was delighted to find this fabric in Moore's Sewing Center while my mom was ordering a chair for my father. It's such a cute scene. I can't wait to play with the blocks. The green fabric with sheep on it is to be the backing for the sheep block quilt.



I also purchased the yarn ball fabric there. I kind of wish I had this fabric for those pouches I made. Wouldn't that have looked just great in a knitting bag?

The cat fabric that you see in the right corner and the book "Fast, Fun & Easy Fabric Boxes" by Linda Johansen, were purchased at Bunney Hutch. I have plans for the book. Just have to find the right fabric for a friend's gift. Yes, more gifts, but I have a while for that.

Well, only 2 hrs or so and we're into 2006. Can't believe how fast this year went. I'm off to play with my yarn stash and keep my hubby company.

Happy Fibering and Happy New Year!

OOops, forgot one thing

I forgot that my husband also purchased me a swift, from The Oregon Wood Worker. He bought me a maple MamaBear. I love it. It stores very easily too, which is great for small places. Off to pack.

Gifts and holidays

I'm feeling pretty blessed over here. I have a loving husband, great friends, and a really wonderful family I'm off to visit in CA for Christmas. I am leaving my husband to watch over the kitty cats and will be by myself. I'll miss him, but there are exciting people to see, like my niece and nephew. :) My nephew is crawling now, so that should be great fun, and my niece is a very inquisitive 25 month old, so life should be very interesting while I visit my parents, family, and friends in CA. I'll be back after December 28th, hopefully with some completed project pictures.

But before I do that, I have items to share. I'll start with the items I am making or in the process of finishing up.


The blue sweater in the image is one of the sweetest little sweaters I have ever knit and is the one I mentioned in a previous post. The pattern comes from Sirdar, Book 278: "Family in Denim". It's a relatively fast and easy knit. The bottom is a bit complicated, but it was so fun to watch the ruffles being made. I really liked this pattern. And the pattern comes in sizes up to 12 years old! The yarn is Bernat Softee and is acrylic, but will wash well and wear well for the little girl. The buttons are by JHB International. I haven't been able to find these buttons on their site though. I purchased them at my local Hancock's fabric store. I purchased some other buttons too, which I'll show a bit later.

The pink/pale lavender blob in the top left corner is going to be a backpack. I need to obviously finish knitting it, but I will also be felting it at my parent's home. Thank goodness they have a washing machine, since I sure don't! It will be a little gir's backpack and I will line the inside. I just have to find the fabric for that and finish it after I felt it. Sigh, lots to do yet. Did I mention I also have to finish my Christmas shopping over there in CA? My hubby is taken care of and he's having a blast with his toy, er toys as we picked up a few other gadgets this weekend for us both. I've been wanting a cordless mouse for the longest time, but I am particular about the buttons working easily and not being difficult to push down, plus I have tiny hands. And I mean tiny hands. I have junior size hands and feet. This weekend I found my mouse. It's a Standard Wireless Optical Mouse by Microsoft. Love the lack of wires!

Enough tech stuff, what is that in the top right corner you say? Robin will tell you that I don't own a set of Denise Interchangeable Needles. Normally she would be right, except my husband purchased me a set for Christmas from Knitpicks.com and they came in today. Of course, this would be the day before I leave for my trip, and alas, they are staying home. Oh well, that's life.

Oh, and the sheep skin beneath these items was purchased from a guildmember, Kate Shirley at Humbug Farm. This sheepskin is one I currently have residing on my computer chair. Supposedly cats love these things, but oddly enough the cat that usually sleeps in my computer chair has been avoiding it like the plague. She won't sleep in it with the sheepskin on it. Oddest thing.

The other buttons I purchased at Hancock's is a pack of two polymer clay sheep buttons. One of them is shown below. Sorry for the slightly blurry image. These buttons are a little under 1.25" wide. My plan is to put a pin back on them and use them as a pin. I'm making one for Robin too. Aren't these sheep cute?



And finally, a sock. Well, okay, it's just a cuff, but look at it. It's looking pretty good. I started with a tubular cast-on. I love the cast-on edge like this, but this was the first time I was knitting this type of edge and trying to find gauge with my homespun yarn. Yes, that's superwash homespun yarn, seen previously on this blog. I dyed the roving and spun it up, then entered a skein of it in the NC State Fair. I am loving how the colors are coming up on this sock. The other skein isn't as nicely patterned with separate bands of color, so the pair should be interesting to see when done. Unfortunately, this is as far as I have gotten. Sigh, I'm slow over here.


Robin's probably wondering about my shawl. Shawl? I don't see a shawl? Do you see a shawl any where? Nope. Sigh, the shawl is on hold until after I get back from my trip.

Okay, that's it for me. I have to go plan what I am packing up and head down to pester, er talk with my husband. Happy fibering!

Surprise for Robin

I wrote this the night before Robin came up to visit with me and participate in the swap. See, I didn't just make one of those beach totes, I made a second bag, for Robin. The fabric has cats playing with balls of yarn and knitting needles. I really liked the pattern, but wasn't such a fan of the color. I hope Robin likes it. I'm not sure how the kitties will look from far away (my fear is they will look like sports equipment). If Robin doesn't like it, I'll keep it, minus the "Robin's Bag" part that is. I did a much better job on this bag than the first one. Things lined up beautifully and sewing went easier. Except now my sewing machine is squeaking quite a bit. But I'll take it to the repair shop soon. Check out the bag below.

My mom embroidered the words for me and sent 4, yup 4, different title options to me -- two colors with two different fonts. Do I have a cool mom or what? The original plan was to satin stitch around the title like my sheep bag, but I decided that I would rather not mess up and went for a simple zig zap pattern. I like what I did.

And yes, some of those little zippered pouches were for Robin. Hope she likes them.

Well, more after the swap. I'm off to finish job application packets.

Happy Fibering!

Oh, the things we find . . .

When we search for the title "Clicking Needles". We found another blog with that title, started just this past October. Hmm, no offense, but you wonder if the title wasn't googled before starting said blog. Although, the blogger definitely has a better website address. :)

Fiber content will continue on Thursday. Robin is coming up for a fiber swap our guild hosts. Fiber (yarn, roving, raw fleeces), equipment, needles, books, patterns, fiber, oh, did I mention fiber! Lots and lots of fiber. I'll try to remember my camera to show off the wonderful assortment of items up for grabs.

What is a fiber swap? Well, guild members bring items they no longer want or had extra of. We place all the items on a table, the floor, and any other space we need to hold the items. We all draw numbers and then get to choose an item when our turn comes. We continue on until all the items are chosen or no one else wants to choose anything. Um, I don't think we have ever run out of items. Any extra yarn gets donated to the local thrift store. Fun, fun, fun!

And Robin is coming up for the swap! I'll try to take some pics of her too. She really does exist, honest! She just finished her first semester of graduate school. I think she said she is doing very well too! Great news all around.

All of us guild members look forward to the swap. We're a generous group and have members that have phenomenal stashes they clean out at this time of the year. Really great stashes! We don't care if a member doesn't bring anything, they can still choose items. We're there for fun and to get rid of items we no longer want. If we just happen to, um, pick up a few extra items along the way, well that's just a perk! This means that for newbies, this is a great way to increase the stash.

Many of our members are vendors and they will bring items they can't sell or have extra of, just to be generous. It's a great guild.

Okay, I'm off to finish up work and then home to finish a baby sweater. I hope to have pics up tomorrow or this weekend.

Happy fibering all!