New Cedar Chest!

I am SO PLEASED to have a new cedar chest in my craft room. We found it on clearance at a local antique store for a great price. Yippee!!!


It looks like it has never been used. The original tag and large label are still attached from when it was made back in the 50's or 60's. Nice!

Here's how it looks when it's opened:


The label still attached:


And the tag, stil hanging by it's original string, hooked at the front of the chest.


The inside of the chest smells WONDERFUL, and will make a perfect home for my nice yarns and handknit wools. Yay for me!

Current Knits in Progress

I have so many WIPs (works in progress), that it's just ridiculous.
23 projects, to be exact.

Most of them are high priority, but I have a deadline on six of them, so those are the ones I'm concentrating on right now. In between working on those, I'll grab an Oddball Charity Blanket, and add another row to it.

My deadline projects are:

Bernat - "Side Button Hooded Cape" for new Bernat blog (going live in October)
Cottage Yarn - Lace gloves from Fall 2009 issue of Vogue Knitting
Commission for a Client - 3 Vintage Christmas Stockings
Yarnhouse Knits - 3 knitted samples for the shop

Here is my progress on some of those:

Side Button Hooded Cape


Lace Gloves


Vintage Christmas Stockings
(So far, I've just selected the yarn)


I've also started one of the samples for Yarnhouse Knits, but don't have a photo right now.

In addition to those high priority items, I'm working on these as well:

Oddball Blanket #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, and the Orphan Blanket (finishing up)


Bulky Jacket for me


Silk Shrug for a friend


Chenille Lapghan for my mother in law


Lace Curtains for my craft room


Chemo Cap


"Dream by Moonlight" Shawl for me


Fair Isle Headband


Mohair Lace Scarf (my design)


Lacette Drop Stitch Scarf


Simply Anne's Infant Sweater


Chevron Lapghan


Harry Potter scarf for my hubby


Noro Lily Drop Stitch scarf



In addition to those things, I also want to cast on the following:
Wool baby jumper for Cottage Yarn
Purple shawl for my sister-in-law
Illusion scarf for my son
Something pretty for my son's girlfriend
Socks for a musical friend
Lapghan for my stepson
Lapghan for my grandma
Shrug or Cardigan for my mom
Sweater for my hubby
Cushions for my hubby's CPAP machine
Sunglass pocket for my hubby's sun visor in his car
A gig bag for my keyboard (I'll probably sew that instead of knitting it.)
Slipper socks for most of my family
Hats and socks for family and friends
Chenille lapghan for our house
Lapghan for my mom
Ribbon top and wrap for a friend
Sweater, Vest, Scarf, Hat and Gloves for me

I wonder if I'll ever make all of those things? Ha!

Oh well, at least I have goals and plans. :D

A Wonderful Day of Knitting and Yarn

Yesterday was an awesome day. I was busy all day long, meeting with friends about knitting projects.

To start off the day, I met with a young man that will soon be opening a new yarn shop in Charlotte. The shop has a website right now, but there's nothing to see yet. It's called "Yarnhouse". Cool name, and the owner is cool too. :D

We met at Amelie's French Bakery, which is also a cool place. I was afraid that I might not be "hip" enough to go there, but I felt very comfortable. They have amazing pastries and comforting beverages, and the atmosphere is eclectic and fresh. They are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. So, they are ALWAYS open. ;) Nice to know that I can go there anytime I want. It's a great place to meet friends to knit, because there are so many nice places to have a seat and relax together. Wonderful!

Funny thing....when I first arrived at the location, I didn't know how to get into the bakery, because it just looked like a warehouse building to me. Little did I know that the entrance is actually on the SIDE. Ha! But, I was lucky to meet the owner of Amelie's, who was just coming out of the building from the warehouse-looking part. She let me in the back way, by unlocking the door with her key, and I was THERE! Very nice of her to help me find her shop.

Anyway, back to my original story. I enjoyed meeting Chris (the owner of the new yarn shop), and we immediately started talking about his new yarn shop. He is full of excitement and dreams...you can see it in his eyes. I'm happy for him also. He asked me to knit some samples for his shop, and gave me the yarn to work with.

Queensland Kathmandu Chunky


Hacho


Silky Wool


I looked on the internet last night, and chose patterns for each of the yarns.
The Kathmandu will become a "Cabled Hat of Awesomeness"
(you have to sign in to Ravelry to see that one)
The Hacho will be "Berryhill Fingerless Mitts"
(the free pattern is listed on the right side of the webpage)
And the Silky Wool will be "Saartjes Booties"
(the free pattern is on the right side of the webpage - in English and in Dutch)

I think those will be fun knits. :)

Back to my story again, because my day was not over yet!

When I left Amelie's, I said goodbye to Chris, and headed over to Brodt Music to buy some music for one of my piano students. Then, I taught one lesson to a new student. She's a sweetie!

After the piano lesson, I went to Barnes & Noble in the Arboretum to meet with a nice lady that has asked me to knit some Christmas stockings for her. I have found the free pattern online before, and have always wanted to try making it. So, it's nice to get the opportunity! It's a vintage pattern from 1945. http://www.knitting-and.com/knitting/patterns/christmas/1945-stocking.htm

She has asked me to make three of them, so I'll get lots of experience with it! It will be a fun project too. She has paid me to make them, so it's actually a "commission". Nice to make some money for my knitting. :D

When I left that meeting, I drove over to Books a Million in Cotswold, to see the ladies that meet there every Wednesday night for a knit night. I wanted to show my completed blanket to the nice lady that donated wool squares to me for my charity knitting. I had used those squares to make a wool baby blanket for the Afghans for Afghans project. She loved it!


So, you see, it was a long day, filled with lots of fun knitting and yarn....just like I promised.

Knitting Little Finger on a Glove

Today, I made a video of myself knitting the little finger on one of the gloves I've been working on.

Cuffs on Gloves are Complete

Yay! I've finished the cuffs on both gloves, and have started the lace design. When I looked at the photo of the gloves in the magazine, I thought they had cables on the back of the hand. But I was wrong. It's just a lace design - so pretty!

Here's a look at the cuffs completed:

Yay! I'm a Photographer Again!

Woo Hoo! I was so glad to buy some new batteries for my camera today.
I found them on sale at CVS - buy one, get one free. So I got two packs of 10 batteries for less than 7 bucks. What a deal! Now, I'll be set for a while in the photography department. :D

Here are the socks I finally finished for my son, after 2 years of off and on knitting. I knit them with Lang Jawoll yarn, using the included reinforcement thread for the heels and toes. Nice! I hope he likes them.


And here's a view of the gloves I'm making. So far, I've finished one cuff.


Today, I went to AC Moore, and grabbed some skeins of Patons Silk Bamboo that were on sale half price. I'm looking forward to using this gorgeous yarn!

Knitting a Set of Pretty Gloves

This past week, I went to Cottage Yarn to show a knitting technique to the shop owner. She had a small question about one thing, and I showed her how I would do it.

While I was there, she asked if I would be willing to make a pair of gloves to display at the shop. She also wants me to teach a class about making them. I decided to jump in and do it.

The pattern she chose is so pretty. It's in the latest issue of Vogue Knitting.


The pattern is a pair of lace gloves, made with fingering weight wool yarn.


I'll be using "Lanett" yarn, by Sandnes Garn, in a light, natural shade. Very pretty, and so soft!

So far, I've finished the cuff of one glove, and started the cuff of the other. I like making both of them at the same time. I'm using size 4 dpns, instead of the size 2 recommended in the pattern. I actually did a gauge swatch this time, and figured out that I need to go up two needle sizes to get gauge. I know....unbelievable that I actually did a swatch. Ha!

I'll post some photos of the gloves as soon as I get more batteries for my camera.

New Wrap from Vintage Yarn

Woo Hoo!

I'm very pleased with how my wrap turned out after blocking yesterday. It's worth every stitch I knit over the past year.

Getting lots of knitting done!

I've had a great day of knitting today. Finally, I'm getting some projects finished. It's funny that they are all being completed on the same day. :D

Last week, I started making a little Barbie dress, using a pattern called "Summer Sorbet Dress for Barbie". It was fun to make, using Bernat Baby yarn.




Blocking the hem with straight pins:


And trying it on Barbie:



And here's the wrap I've been working on for a couple years. I used some vintage wool pompadour yarn to make it.

I just finished seaming together the two parts today:


Next, I got it wet, then spun it to dry in the washer. (Even as old as it is, it STILL smelled of sheep when it got wet.) Now, it's blocking. Hope it turns out well!




Next, I grabbed a baby hat I've been making, and finished it up too. Amazing.


I think I'll see what other unfinished projects I can find in my craft room. I'm on a ROLL!

:D

Lucy Neatby's DVDs

This past week, I checked out two very good knitting DVDs from the library. They were both by Lucy Neatby. One was called "Knitting Essentials 2", and the other was "Finesse Your Knitting 1". I highly recommend them both. Here's her website: http://www.lucyneatby.com/

I learned a new way to bind off that is MUCH easier and faster.
(Instructions on Knitting Essentials 2)

I also learned how to make BEAUTIFUL buttonholes. Lucy calls them "magic buttonholes". I agree with her. (Instructions on Finesse Your Knitting 1)