Knotty Nancys

It has been a very, very busy season leading up to Christmas. I was fortunate to have a number of friends and colleagues ask for my help in providing some homemade knit gifts for their own friends and family. Months ago, I began to prepare for these requests and started to knit scarves that were special ordered. That went pretty quickly. Then the big order, two monsters and two hooded sweaters for kids. Those took FOREVER... but the rewards were great when I found a pattern that I know will be one I'll revisit again for future gifts. Finally, socks. I started the socks on my trans-atlantic journey to England over Thanksgiving. It is NOT easy to knit when your elbows are restricted by airspace. Not only that but I encountered a nasty knot in my skein of yarn when I was barely past the picot hem on the first of four socks. It was not a smooth start. So, here I am just about 5 weeks later and I am happy to say that I am done. Both pairs of socks are done! I should note that this w...

I consider knitting my zen time. I am at peace, I am involved and yet very meditative. That is, until I was working on this shawl for a friend with a yarn that I almost detest. It has a high acrylic content and was taking forever to knit up so I was losing my patience and gobs of time. Needless to say, I was less then please this would be the time I should learn the importance of reading directions but also the golden rule of knitting - check your gauge. I knit sweaters and hats and scarves and all sorts of things but never FOR someone in particular. So far at least. So gauge hasn't matter too much. Even this shawl wouldn't have proven too much of a problem except that the project was born out of the need to make something with a scant few skeins of a yarn picked up at a yard sale.  It has a very earthy tone that my friend liked, and the bulky weight of it lends itself well to the idea of being something warm and cozy for fall and winter. I backed into the pattern through Ra...

True to form and name, I had to try some more saucy knits. Thanks to Nikol Lohr, I now have a great variety of options. And I had a fast request for some pasties as a bachelorette gift. I could not resist the opportunity to try making these, including the mini pom-pom. The end result was much appreciated and in great humor.. I wish to share. "Hoochie Kootchies" - N. Lohr

The eastern seaboard took a wallop from Hurricane and then Tropical Storm Irene last weekend. It came roaring up through North Carolina, Virginia, DC, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and headed right past New Hampshire and Vermont. Sadly, some parts were very nearly devastated by torrential rains, flooding and high winds. Fortunately most communities were given plenty of warning and most people were prepared for a bad storm. However, plenty of people and areas couldn't have predicted the flash floods and destruction, mostly from falling trees, debris, and water. My own experience was extremely tame in comparison. As I lost power about 1:00pm on the Sunday and had it fully restored sometime the following afternoon while I was back at work. Most of the surrounding community weren't affected at all. And then there those areas that are still in the dark.  Needless to say, I felt like Sunday was a day I could give into the elements and lo...

Cast On Stitches I am still learning everyday about the nuances of knitting. There are some schools of thought that the little hiccups which occur in knitting a pattern may be the 'character' of the piece. Then others would say those are the mistakes and you should correct those for the piece to be done properly. I struggle between the two, depending upon whether the mistakes are visible or not. Feather & Fan Shawl In my current piece, a feather and fan shawl, I am knitting with one of my most expensive skeins of yarn. In the past, I have allowed for one small mistake in each piece rather then having to undo a lot of work and correct it thereby losing time (and patience) to make something "perfect." However, this time around, I find that I am struggling with whether to continue knitting even then I am aware of numerous mistakes or to continue on with the idea that these mistakes aren't noticeable? Do I knit? I am leaning towards going to get ...

Knitting for some months now, I have come to bring it with me almost everywhere I go. Trips are a great occasion to knit, while traveling on the plane, or especially whilst visiting family so you have something to do in your down time but can still hold a conversation (unlike reading or television which are very anti-social activities.) It's on these frequent trips to my sister's house that my niece and nephew found me repeatedly knitting something new. At first it was a scarf.. which upon completion I gave to my sister.  Then came some hats.. which I gave to a friend who was to pass them along as a present for a new born baby. Inevitably, the question came up, "when are you going to make something for us?"  So I promised hats. But winter came and went before I had finally finished up a baby sweater I committed to working on. So, wool hates didn't seem appropriate and their heads were sure to be larger next winter. So, I would wait to make those hats.  On the ne...

It all began in 2003.. years after a knitting class.. when my sister went into premature labor with the twins. What to do with 8-16 weeks of bed rest IN THE HOSPITAL. My mom (nana-to-be) had the foresight to have me teach my sister a new skill. After visiting a local yarn shop, we learned that baby hats could be a good project. And two would take some new knitters a little while :) So it all began with one little knit. One little knot.. something like this:

I've been working on this project for a while.. on and off in between other projects. I think the standard stockinette stitch of the ankle length and foot length got to be monotonous, but I pulled it off finally today!  Coincidentally, I took a nasty fall after catching my foot on something on my floor this evening and fell on my knees really crushing the toes on my left foot.I got knocked off my feet though I wasn't wearing my fine new sock. Mainly because I only have one.. but at the time I wasn't even sure that one would fit. I estimated the size of this sock pattern for someone with a 8-9 size foot, but I'm thankful the yarn was pretty stretchy and fits a size 9 after knitting 8 1/2" of the foot. And they're extremely warm. Not idyllic for summer socks, but they're going to be GREAT for winter. And I love the yarn which made the color and pattern really exciting, and the picot hem was nice and unique. now I just have to make a second one.. and I...

I am nothing if not determined and my work on this Garter Stitch baby sweater was no exception. I worked with one pattern, pulling out rows after rows more then four times before finally realizing that I might have met my match. But I had those great buttons - what was I going to do? How was I going to get over the fact that this wasn't going to come out the way I had envisioned?  Well, thanks to the recommendation of Diane at the Yarn Basket in Portsmouth, NH (www.yarnbasket.com), I started the project over again from scratch and with a new pattern. This was the sad beginning of the sweater that I just had to give up on once and for all. I was disappointed not to get to use it, since I had done well with the sleeves. But, the body was awful. So, a week later.. I finished this sweater once and for all and I love it. This frog.... became a prince after all! Oh, and I have to just point out the buttons.. I am considering calling this my "barnyard door" sweater. I ju...

The journey of this hobby has been fun for the most part. At times, there are monotonous parts of patterns that just repeat the same stitches over and over without variation.  For entirely different reasons, I have become completely frustrated with one project based on confusing directions and numerous errors. I've taken out sections of the sweater now FOUR times. That is a pretty bad feeling - seeing all the work you've done be undone far faster then you created it, and hoping that you can get the stitches back on the needle. It's a scary thing. But regardless of how how I tried to correct prior errors each time I started over, I somehow came to new issues each time. Today, I was asked if I wanted to consider abandoning the project altogether, at least using that pattern, and start afresh. This was something I hadn't wanted to even consider. But I guess I was at my wits end. It was time to 'frog' the project. I wish it was that easy to finally give up on thin...

There is a rush of adrenaline with that last step. As if you have in fact run a marathon, sewing together the last seam on a project now completed. There is something that I can show for the hours of work I've put in and the lessons I've put to use. I took knitting classes years ago with friends and if I remember correctly, we all chose the same pattern to learn on. It was a raglan roll-kneck children's sweater, a la JCrew. I made mine in a navy blue, no recipient in mind necessarily. That turned out to be a blessing the project was put down and never picked up again once I got to the point where I needed to sew the seams together. I admit that I was intimidated by that last step. It was something new that I had not learned before. My approach to knitting and my classes in general now are the complete opposite. I purposefully selecting projects that include skills that I believe need strengthening so. I don't expect we can all known or learn everything, but if we can at...