One month later - or - The Holiday Deluge

Once again, knitting survives the Holiday Deluge.

Cascade Christmas Stocking #1 of 2013

Cascade Christmas Stocking #2 of 2013

Secret Holiday Swap Cowl

And the still unfinished Advent Scarf . . . 

And the latest addition to my stash? Santa knew just what to put in my stocking!

Kauni Wool 8/2 Effektgarn in gray

Kauni Wool 8/2 Effektgarn in rainbow

I sense a two color shawl coming on . . .

Ah, the days of summer!

The Pioneer Press newspaper has started a Summer of Walking series and I've been walking along with them. They are also encouraging Tweeps to Twitter about their walks using the #pioneerwalk hashtag.

Yesterday, I forgot my camera but today was just glorious!

The flowers are bursting everywhere!

I walked this route this morning - ran into a lawyer I knew and two men whom I can only hope were a trainer and his client. They were doing a lot of close-up sweating!

Now that it's 90 degrees F., I'm really glad I walked early today.

I've moved on to the sleeves of my Turn of the Glass cardigan. I'm doing them two at a time because I think they go faster that way. 

The cuffs are seed stitch just like the collar of the jacket. 

On Friday, I stopped by Three Kittens Needle Arts to kill some time and came home with one of their lovely Grab Bags. 10 balls of yarn for $10 - mine all came in shades of white, black and gray and I'm looking forward to coming up for a use for them.

Only four items made this Saturday Seven photos (three hats and some soccer shoes) but the other two items already went to a neighbor boy - three work books for school.

Yarn - forward!

This past weekend was not only relaxing - it was rewarding.

I acquired two lots of unusual yarn and bought one lot for only $1! And I won a book!

I've used this Persia Color in another colorway before - it knits up beautifully next to a plain color wool. And - it was the $1 yarn!

I just love the sparkle and fluff.

This was two skeins of an old but free yarn called Laine Dor - it might even be Laine D'or but the label is done is a spiffy 1970s font and I can't read it. It's mohair and I'm using it on my trip to Pennsylvania to make a simple little shawl from the free patterns on the  Mary Maxim site. Plane knitting in all senses of the word!

I also got this skein of yarn in my goody bag.

It's a lovely blue color and it seems destined for mittens or a hat.

As a door prize, I also won this fun book.

One of my table mates offered me "a lot of yarn" for it but I think the patterns are well worth the keeping.  

Although I'd love to be working on my Turning Glass cardigan, I need to knit a baby sweater for a little baby girl at my church. And I need to knit it before she grows even more! So I'm pulling out some stash yarn

Jamieson's Soft Shetland in granny smith colorway

 to knit a Rosemary's Little Sweater. Simple and quick (or so I'm hoping.)

And I'll be traveling with all this knitting so - you probably won't getting another post until about Monday. Enjoy the snow!

Lookie here, look at what I got!

I had a lovely time at the No Coast Craft-o-Rama on Friday. There was a real variety of items available and I was able to do quite a lot of Christmas shopping. GFM found some gorgeous clothing for her daughter and I was able to score some hair jewelry for the Girls. The rest of the items will have to remain anonymous until after the holiday! I bought this dark yarn from AishaCelia for a Sand Dollar Shawl from Knitting Lace Triangles by Evelyn A. Clark and the pink yarn from Green Apple Yarn for a pair of mittens for me! Okay, so they are both for me. Call it my birthday present to myself!



I had to clean out my closet in order to free up some room for hiding presents so I was able to round up two sweaters, a lace poncho - one I usually wore as a shawl - a pair of running shoes, two tote bags and a Pokemon. I actually don't know how that little guy got in there! Off the Saturday Seven goes to charity!

Come on over to my house - and meet the Winners!

Which Hogwarts house will you be sorted into?

Just recently, I discovered that I would be a Ravenclaw if I were at Hogwarts. Unfortunately, I am not participating in the Hogwarts Sock Swap (it looks like fun but I didn't get there in time to sign up) but if I were - I would so be a Ravenclaw. I've always liked them - they seemed a little more sophisticated and not so into sports. Supposedly, Ravenclaw values intelligence, knowledge and wit. Many are good looking (ah, if only!) and Cho Chang is a Ravenclaw. She always seemed so sensible.

I even like their colors - blue and bronze. Maybe I'll have to come up with a Harry Potter house scarf or some house socks to fill up my time until the next book comes out. Eagle stitch markers, anyone?

As for winners - the Grand Winner of the First Lazy Daisy Peep Diorama Contest!

The Knitting Coxswain from Ariel and Celeste.



Now, Celeste tells me she is actually a coxswain for the Minnesota Boat Club but I don't really know if her scarves get caught in the oars. Note the downtown Saint Paul skyscape in the background! Congratulations girls! I will send out your skein of beautiful Lisa Souza "Violet's Pink Ribbon" sock yarn. I don't know how you will share this but it would be perfect for a simple pair of socks. Perhaps you can rotate wearing them?

The Second Place winner is:

Gymnastic Peep or "Look at me! Look at me!"



Note the clever use of crochet hooks as the uneven bars! This entrant, the Fair Melissa, sent three variations of the Wit-Knit Observer at various sports. I'll send out her second prize - the "Knit your own Mrs. Beeton Wrist Warmers" kit. She'll be able to make her own pair of lovely, ruffly wrist warmers as designed by Brend Dayne. The kit includes a skein of Artful Yarns' "Heavenly" in the Trumpets/1477 colorway, a skein of Rowan's Kidsilk Haze in the Liqueur/595 colorway and a tube of matching size 6 Czech seed beads.

The Third Place winner is from Sonia:



The Little LYS (Local Yarn Store) on the Prarie - Or, "What would Laura knit?"

This one grew on me. It seemed a little plain at first but then I looked at what all the peeps were doing and it made me laugh. There is even a little spinning wheel! Sonia will be receiving a skein of "Malabrigo Chunky" in the burgandy colorway. Perfect for a pair of Voodoo Wrist Warmers from Knitty!

There were two more entries that deserved Honorable Mentions as a tie:

Luke with his "Shauna and her knitted thong" and Mary with her "Mrs. Lavender in the Conservatory" - I am working on getting their pictures posted here but . . . even technology sometimes fails ;)

Both of these dioramas are very witty - the games that people play with their knitting! I'll give them the choice of yarn or chocolate as consolation prizes.

You can see all the entries at the Flickr.com Lazy Daisy Peep Diorama Contest where all the entries, including multiple views of the same subjects are posted.

All the entries were great - some very funny indeed - and many had actual small scale knitting going on. One thing I learned? Toothpicks do not make good knitting needles!

Nothing but air -

As I am the boring member of my family, I have done nothing more interesting today than clean house. Two daughters are at Anime Detour in Bloomington (the "Mecca" of nerds as the other daughter called it but, really, it is quite entertaining! I don't think you have really lived until you watch a carload of boys dressed as elves arrive in the middle of the day) and Middle Daughter is at a Father/Daughter dance with her dad. Youngest Child and I have hot plans for watching "Flash Gordon" and some macaroni and cheese. Ah, the high life!



This Saturday Seven will warm the cockles of your heart - it was all coats. One warm winter coat from my Youngest Daughter, one from my husband, a very fine red leather coat from my Late Mother-in-law, a fuzzy brown fleece jacket from me, a lovely blue snap cardigan that I loved but, alas, it shrunk, and two hoodies from various daughters. These are all great coats and I've felt, oh, I don't know, greedy, for keeping them when they weren't being worn. I am all for keeping things out of the dumpster when I die.

Anna, my late Mother-in-law, once told me a story about her elderly neighbors. The husband had died and the wife just couldn't handle the maintenance of her house on her own. After her children helped her move into assisted housing, they came back to the house, hired a dumpster and put everything left from the house in the trash. Furniture, tools, appliances, everything. When Anna mentioned that their Amish neighbors would probably have appreciated some of the tools, the neighhbor's daughter said, "Who would want any of this? It's all trash." and off it all went to the dump. That's when Anna said she would haunt anyone who sent her to a retirement home. Sadly, she never even made it to "elderly", let alone retirement. And, most of her things went on to be used by many other people. No trashing there.

And no trashing at my house, either! Give it all to the Salvation Army or at least donate my yarn stash to my knitting guild. Wasted yarn would make me come back and haunt someone!



Youngest Child and his Grandma Anna in 2004

First sweater of the new year!

I finally finished my baby sweater project for Andy's co-worker. I started this the day after Christmas using my great Knit Pick Interchangeable needles. These needles are lovely and I had no problem with my order. A friend told me her needles did not fit her cables and she had to send them back.

Luckily, nothing wrong with my set. I love their nice sharp pointy tips! It was a real pain to go back to my dull wooden DPNs to do the sleeves.

Now, if I could only make my Violet's Pink Ribbon sock go as quickly. It's a nice pattern but hard to remember where I am. Rounds go so slowly that a picture this week would look just like last week. You'll just have to imagine it.

I am dying to start a new sweater project but I also need to finish my blue/green Interlocking Balloons scarf this month as well as a cool little red bag I started some time ago. Must . . . finish . . . projects . . . aughh!