Mothers Day II

I'm still not entirely comfortable with formatting this blog but fortunately DS#2 Sean (a Computer Science major) is around now to give me some pointers. I now know how to move the photos around.

DS #1 Brian was happy with his recent birthday gift-a bizarre hoodie that zips all the way up over the face. I whipped it up on the standard gauge machine using a Mary Ann Oger raglan pattern with acrylic yarn (Symphony) from my stash. It is my first attempt at sewing a zipper on a knitted garment with the sewing machine. I just hope that he doesn't try to rob a bank!

It's nice to have fellow knitters push you to try new things. My friend Shirley wanted me to help her learn how to do Entrelac so we basically started a "Market Squares Tote" knit- along. I was able to knit it entirely out of stash Cascade 220 and Patons wool from Michaels. Here it is before felting:



And after:


I love the way the colors blend together and how irregularities in the knitting disappear!

Gracias Amy!!

I breathed a sigh of relief when DD Amy arrived back from her 6 week stay in Peru. She spent a month working a clinic in St. Clothilde, a tiny village somewhere in the Amazon Basin accessible only by boat. Fortunately while there "Doctorita" Amy managed to avoid any major infectious diseases or or other hazards like snake or crocodile bites. Afterwards she was joined by her boyfriend and they explored the rest of the country- Lake Titicaca and Machu Picchu in particular.

Knitting is also big in Peru. Apparently the women spin the yarn and the men knit: (note the dpns)



Women are the weavers.

Amy found these lovely ladies in Cuzco before her trek up to Machu Picchu and ordered a Mothers Day gift for me:




The wool yarn is hand spun and hand dyed with natural dyes. It's fingering weight, so it's thin enough to use on the standard gauge machine but in keeping with it's origin I think I'm going to hand knit with it.

Knittin to It Knit Club

I spent most of this weekend devoted to machine knitting events since the Knittin to It Knit Club met the next day after the Interknit Machine Expo. We had a nice turnout for Dean's presentation. He was really nervous but did a great job sharing his considerable expertise with us. Cheryl Schmedeke of Knitting and Sew Forth brought items from her shop and was amazed at how fast the Yeoman yarn sold!

Dean improvised this handy toolholder from a milk crate:



These fun snowman ornaments sport knitted arms and scarves. Caps can be knit too, of course.

The star is an E-wrapped surface embellishment using three different colors.



Finally, he showed how to attach pieces together to make a knitted patchwork.


I videotaped Deans presentation for the benefit of absent members. Unfortunately, I was so engrossed in the production that I can't remember the content! Please contact me if you would like to arrange a viewing.

Interknits Machine Knitting Expo

The Interknits machine knitting club hosted a Machine Knitting Exhibition on April 14th. Members brought their equipment and demonstrated various techniques as well as finished objects. It was alot of fun to see what everyone has been doing and as a bonus, Carol Foster from Our Shop brought yarn to sell!
If we had been giving out prizes, I think Gail's portrait of her late nephew would have won. It was a spectacular example of what can be created with Photoshop, DAK and double bed jaquard.

It's been a cold April here in the Midwest and East Coast. I spent Easter weekend in the Washington DC area where we received a dusting of snow.




The frosted cherry blossoms were a pretty sight.



After my return to the Midwest,we woke up to this a few days later. My husband was glad that
he hadn't changed the snow tires on his car yet!


Well, I've posted my first photos. More about knitting later.......

Testing, Testing, One, Two Three

I'm trying to keep my creaky middle-aged brain oiled by trying something new-creating a knitblog! My goal is to keep in touch with fellow knitters and any interested family members (especially the globe-hopping daughter). Now that I've updated my browser I'll try to post some photos.