Fran is a genius ~

I have not actually met Fran, but I read her post on Knitter's Review this Friday. Fran has an amazing idea of knitting for 10 minutes a day on a project that has you stalled or bored...it is a great idea, and here it is in its entirety, taken from Knitter's Review. If any of you know Fran, please tell her she is my new hero.....(plus, she only allows herself 6 projects going at a time, what strength of character!)

Dear Patience,
You could always try my old trick. It has served me well for many years. Just pick out the one, two, or three, that you feel you have to finish first. Then the rule is that you must knit on them for either 5 minutes or 10 minutes every day until they are finished. After that time you can knit on anything you like. It is surprising how fast you can get things finished with just 10 minutes a day and you usually don't get bored or overwhelmed with just 10 minutes of a task. Even when you are tired late at night, you can still do 10 minutes. Add it up, that is 5 hours a month.With 10 WIP, I think I would first decide which ones would do better in the frog pond. That is the fastest way to finish a project. Don't feel bad, I've know knitter's who had over 50 projects going and they still got them all finished......10 minutes at a time. I limit myself to 6 at once and can't start more until one is finished.
Fran

P.S. I think I will start this wise 10 minute rule with my Central Park Hoodie...it will take me the first 10 minute to figure out where and how I stopped on the hood!

Turning Point ~

Yippee! The tofutsies' heels are turned, thanks to some effort from me and the wisdom of Queen Kahuna. She has the greatest directions EVER and the heels (and the gussets and all the sock parts) turn out error free when using the Queen's methods. I highly recommend trying the Queen...

Now I have to figure out if I want a pattern on my sock cuffs, or if I should just knit knit knit until its time for the ribbing at the top....

And the winner is...

Remember a few weeks back when I had two versions of the Candy Cane Llama hand spun scarf going? The yarn is variegated in a long repeat of pink and then a long repeat of mint green. One end was knit to make the colors show in horizontal stripes and the other version was a diagonal pattern to show the colors diagonally. Since the scarf is for H, I asked which version she liked the best, and she chose the same one that you, dear readers, chose... the diagonal scarf! Bravo to all!

And thanks to those that shared their favorite version on the blog comments...

Knit One Below progress ~

I'm having fun with this new pattern and how the Noro colors flow while the hot pink keeps the colors focused around the chains moving up & down the scarf. I found this pattern on Ravelry. My sister said the chains of "knit one below" look like tulips, so that is a neat way to think about this scarf as well.

I wish I could take pictures like Brooklyn Tweed, but here's my best try! What I'm lacking in photo technique, I make up for with chickens...?

Pretty neat, eh? The colors are fun, plus those yellow knitting needles are such a kick to knit with! It is like knitting with sunshine!

Sleeve time ~

I am still knitting and knitting and knitting on the lacy pullover. It seems to be taking forever. Note: I've noticed that everything that is not a hat or scarf takes forever to knit.

However, I am continuing to knit knit knit on this project, as I know it will be lovely to wear...and I hope to wear it this summer!!! Perhaps, I should decide to finish it for the Sock Summit in August... so I would have a place to wear it, where there will be lots of knitters... So, I've started the sleeves, and although I wanted to do them both at once on two circular needles, like socks, I couldn't quite figure out how to do this....even though I do all my socks that way...so, as stubborn as I am.... I'm doing the sleeves at the same time, on circular needles, but not like socks... (2 out of 3 is not bad...)

Time for heel turn ~

Finally, it is time for the heel turn on these tofutsies. For some reason, this yarn is not as fun to work with as I would like. I love the colors, however the yarn is like string. Not really as soft and tactile as I like to knit with, so I am not magnetized to keep working on these socks so I can continue to feel the soft and luscious yarn. After talking with my friend from kindergarten, Deb, she said, "Just keep knitting on them" and she's just finished a beautiful pair of tofutsie socks as well... so I'm going to keep knitting on them, and perhaps I have them done by Sock Summit in August....but, no guarantees.....

Deb is also a big fan of Queen Kahuna sock construction.

Lucky Sawyer ~

You remember Sawyer, right? The very cute lad lucky enough to have a grandma and mom that knit for him...remember the pumpkin hat and the beautiful sweater with the truck on the front... well, his luck continues, as looky looky what is coming his way soon.... are these about the cutest socks you ever saw? Grandma is making them out of Cascade Fixation and the colors are just too cute. The pattern she is using has a big stinkin' error with the heel, but she has valiantly overcome this....

What a lucky guy!!!

Yarn Yoga ~

We have a great group of women that get together once a month for knitting. We call it Yarn Yoga since we seem to untangle a lot of yarn each time, and our contortions typically look like a great yoga class. Often the untangling covers an entire living room, with groups of us in each corner trying to untangle our knots so we can continue to wind the yarn.... very fun, indeed. Today we didn't have any tangled yarn to "yoga" with, so we just enjoyed each other's stories and had a lot of laughs. The highlights included an acrylic trunk show from Turkey (including the purple wrap in the first picture), and lots of great knitting. One of the questions we pondered was, since we (in the USA) get a lot of great yarn from Turkey, why is it hard to find good yarn in Turkey when you are visiting there? Why is all their yarn-for-sale acrylic? Also, why aren't there local yarn and spinning stores in Scotland, as they have a million sheep there... what happens to all that great wool? (if you know the answers to these mysteries, please let me know)

Picture #1: The Turkish Wrap, and Sawyer's sock

Picture #2: Really, these are the beginnings of toe up socks... not a bathing suit top....

Picture #3: A beautiful scarf out of many types of yarn, from a class at Sewing Expo from Roberta

Picture #4: Crocheting hot pads from stash & scrap yarn

Picture #5: a sleeve to a great jacket that was knit partially in Scotland and partially in Washington D.C.

Picture #6: an alpaca Mobieus...turning out beautiful, and able to come home on the plane from Turkey

All these projects (and the women knitting them) are so inspiring! We played with yarn for hours!

Another way to celebrate ~

I keep thinking of other ways to celebrate one year of my yarn & knitting blog, and thought of another great idea. There are many knitting books that I borrow from the library on a regular basis. They are due in 3 weeks, and I return them, and then borrow them again when they reappear on the shelf. In honor of my one year blogiversary, I decided to check some prices on Amazon, and ordered this one! One of my Christmas hats will be one of the cable hats in the book....so it already will have a purpose...

plus, it will make me smile to not have to return it to the library!!!!

One way to celebrate ~

In pondering the best way to celebrate one year of delightful blogging (I think it has been delightful, but not all the family votes are in!) about yarn and knitting and all related topics. Since I've recently been part of the Webs Parade of Sale Yarns (and what a great parade it has been), I thought that I would not buy more yarn... *sigh* ....


but, instead try out a new pattern that I'd been longing to cast on.... so I did. Out of the library book Knit One Below (which I check out of the library on a regular basis) I cast on the basic scarf. There is also a free download of the scarf on Ravelry,


This pattern uses two yarns, one a "noro type" with long color repeats and the other should be a complementary color. I'm using Noro from my stash and also a hot pink Tahki "Sable" yarn 70% merino and 30% french angora that I bought years ago in the $2 bin at a yarn sale! I love using stash yarn, especially when I've bought it on an incredible sale with no clue what I'll knit with it! The hot pink matches perfectly with the Noro. I took two pictures so you could see the way the pattern of Knit One Below shows the two yarns. I'm having fun with the new pattern and will keep you posted on my success!

Happy Blog Anniversary ~

Wow ~ Happy Day ~ one year blog anniversary today! More Yarn Please has been going on for one year, and started as a challenge from my daughter, H.

She found it hard to believe that I could talk about yarn and knitting day after day... however, I have had no trouble....as I certainly think about yarn and knitting day after day...

It seems to me that there should be some celebration to mark such a momentous occasion... perhaps buying more yarn?

Another Clothesline Fan ~

Since I've had such fun comments from my posts of my wonderful double-decker clothesline, I have to share this little story. Last night, as I finished my little bit of night knitting, and I'm getting ready for bed, I realize that the clothes are still out on the line. I turn the outside light on, and start pulling in the clothes, using the pulley system to pull them all in, one piece at a time..... until I came to the last item on the clothesline, one of E's shirts... and it was carrying a wee fan....

perhaps a thrill seeker, like we find at fairs and carnivals, up on the high wire?

He was such a cute little guy, and we saved him. He's back in our garden, hoping for another ride, soon.

Parade Celebration ~

This may be the end of the parade, but the beginning of some beautiful and enjoyable knitting with all these wonderful yarns. I did notice a theme of my yarn purchases... alpaca :) lots of soft and smooshy alpaca means hours of knitting the deliciously soft fiber into wonderfully warm hats and scarves and mittens....plus its good for our economy...

A Big Thank You to my sweet chickens for modeling, and for Webs as they hosted this lovely Yarn Sale parade.... I'm looking forward to the next one (when is that?)...

Webs Parade, float 6 ~

Still on the parade route, we are nearing the last of my Webs Parade Sale of Yarn treasures. This one is a deep green Cuzco from Berroco. 50% superfine alpaca and 50% Peruvian wool. Very soft and a nice twist to the yarn so it will make a great Green Bay Packers hat for Christmas. The label calls for size 10 needles, so it should knit up fast as well ~ double bonus when knitting for Christmas! This skein has 130 yards so easy peesy to make a "chocolate ribbed" hat with this... Very soft, plus it will be warm too!

Webs Parade, float 5 ~

Are you still with me watching this parade? Guess what this one is? Did you guess alpaca? Um, well, yes... more alpaca... this one is Plymouth Yarn's Baby Alpaca Worsted which I always fondle at any store that carries this yarn. Oh, so soft and the colors are so beautiful. 100% baby alpaca, and in the blind folded touch test, both daughters picked this as the softest of all the yarn in the Webs Parade....pretty soft, eh!!!

I couldn't resist this one on sale, as I'd had fantasies of this yarn for years!!!! So I bought it in this teal blue, and a beautiful green.... Just 102 yards per skein, so I've bought enough for a cabled hat... or some other treasure!!

Webs Parade, float 4 ~

The next yarn in our amazing Webs Parade of Sale Yarn is one I took a teeny risk on, as I'd never felt it before. However, I love the Mirasol company, and thought this yarn would be worth the risk. It is called Pina, and it is 80% baby alpaca and 20% bamboo... and the name of the color was olive... but certainly not the army type of olive green. The green is beautiful, almost a Spring Green, and the yarn is so soft. I was surprised when I pulled it out of the box, as I'd not remembered that I'd decided to take the risk.... I'm so glad I did! 91 yards per skein, so I'm not sure exactly what it will be when it gets knitted into something wonderful!

Are you seeing a theme with lots of alpaca on these parade skeins!!!

Webs Parade, float 3 ~

The next new yarn in our Webs Parade is a luscious Misti Alpaca, 100% Baby Alpaca and it is so very soft. This was from the Canadian closeout, so a big discount on Webs ~ how could I resist? The color is a perfect blue for a Finnish hat for my mother-in-law for Christmas. 200 meters will be plenty for the cable hat pattern I'd like to try out!

I had a lot more of this in my cart, but thought I'd better not go too crazy...... (rats...)

No Stanley this year ~

We interrupt the Webs Parade for this breaking news:
Stanley is leaving Detroit this year, as the Red Wings lost game 7 of the series. They didn't play with the energy and magic we've seen in their home games, and they couldn't get their momentum going. The guys we count on for those clutch plays just couldn't produce, and it was a frustrating loss in Hockey Town. I'm going to look forward to bringing back Stanley next year.

I did some knitting on the very fuzzy white & purple scarf, as the sweetie from Ravelry sent me a skein of the Patons I needed... more on that later.

Speaking of Stanley, last year (2008) my man and I were able to get tickets to a series game. We were thrilled, and when I walked into the arena and saw HOCKEY TOWN on the ice, it gave me goose bumps! Then Stanley started coming down from the ceiling and we knew we were in for a game we would never forget.... and Red Wings won that night... what a great night for Red Wings...and they won the Stanley Cup that year. Here are great pictures of Stanley, courtesy of mackie's photobucket: (gotta love Stanley ~ I'm sure he's coming back to Detroit next year!)

Webs Parade, next float ~

The next yarn in our wonderful Webs Parade is a lovely Jo Sharp Silk Road in a shade of red, almost a brick red. The yarn feels as soft as the "lake" color that I used for the chocolate ribs hat this month, so I wasn't disappointed in ordering more of this lovely Silk Road. The yarn is 85% wool, 10% silk and 5% cashmere. Just 60 yards per skein, and needle size is 10.5, so it is a bit bulkier that my typical choice...but the softness is so delightful.... I also bought the shade "clinker" (what a great name!!) and it is a deep bluish black ~ and still that same softness... ahhhh, I love this yarn!
P.S. H made both of the ceramic pieces in 7th grade!

Webs Parade ~

I discovered Webs in time for their sale a few weeks ago. It took me an entire week to place my order. Each night, I'd come home from work and check out what was still in my shopping cart, and I'd start to look at the sale yarns again, and yarn would go into my cart, and yarn would come out of my cart... and I'd go to bed.... and think about it all the next day.... I knew I wanted more Jo Sharp Silk Road...so it was just a matter of choosing the colors... but the other choices were difficult... I wonder if all of the purchases of the Webs Sale Yarn helped our economy this month? (I hope so, as the President would be proud of us)

This week will be the Webs parade of new yarn... where I'll show you the marvelous yarns that remained in my shopping cart, and now are in my home!

The first I'll share is the Inca Marl in reds. H picked this out for a scarf. 100% Alpaca and it is so soft and the colors of reds are beautiful... a very good choice, indeed.... Here comes the parade!

Too Excited ~

I was so excited thinking about the Red Wings game yesterday (and hanging laundry out on the line is very exciting too), I forgot to post pictures of the finished hat. Here it is, the one knit with Jo Sharp Silk Road Ultra that I found on sale at the Sewing Expo in February. The pattern is "That Chocolate's gone straight to your ribs" and I've made it several times. It works well and knits up pretty fast. I ordered more Silk Road from the Webs Sale, as it is great to knit!

Extreme Knitting Friend ~

I read about this on Knitters Review and thought this was a very clever way to organize all my knitting needles. I have to say that her pictures were better than mine, but the love is there!!! Little did I know how I would grow to love my Bass Pro Extreme Worm Binder... I even love to say it......(try saying it... you'll love saying it too...no nick names for this, you have to say the entire name..... I love it....) I'm not the only one to love it... all the gals in my knitting group bought one too, plus extra pockets....oh, but I'm getting ahead.... Here's the tour....

Step one: I just love the name... (plus, if you order on line, you get on their mailing list for weekly mailings about fishing oil and lures and some pretty funny "must have" products - just ask Marion....) also, guys love it when they hear you talking about the Bass Pro Extreme Worm Binder ~ trust me.

Step two: fill the outer pockets with your pattern notes, notions, crochet hooks and sticky notes, plus in the back pocket you can put your strait needles.

Step three: Number your pockets from #1 to #13 (or whatever needle sizes you have) and start organizing your needles into the correct pockets.

Step three and one half (for the very anal): make index cards that work like old fashioned library cards for your needles, so that when you take them out to cast on a project, you can write on the index card where they are... and leave the index card in the correct pocket (genius, eh? or just anal....)

Step 4: Marvel at how many lovely needles you have, knowing that if you decide to cast on a new project at 3:00 am, you will probably have the correct needles...

I do love my Bass Pro Extreme Worm Binder!!!!

Cleaning up ~

When I finish a project, I like to revel in the casting off and feel great that I've finished a project. I try on the item (if adult size) and take a few pictures. I made sure the ends are woven in, and put the supplies and needles back. I begin thinking of a new cast on....

The same "cleaning up" thinking, as I was hanging the family laundry out today (on my marvelous clothes line) I laughed when I hung up this wash cloth (can you see it with the red Red Wings logo?). I'm sure it is called something else at the hockey game, like the terrible towels or the devilish dish cloth.... but I thought it looked so great on our line ~ we'll call it the power play line, or the Grind Line ~ just like the Red Wings. I do hope they are getting some rest, plus getting psyched up for the game Tuesday! Some great excitement and great knitting time!

Shutout Knitting ~

After the lousy two hockey games in Pittsburgh, tonight's 5 to zero victory for the Red Wings was a welcome outcome. Back in Hockey Town, the Wings skated like the Stanley Cup Champions they are. Home rink advantage and Pavel Datsyuk back in the line up, and we made it Chris Osgood's 3rd shut out victory in Stanley Cup Finals... what a great goalie he is! This picture was taken after the 3rd goal ~ by Henrik Zetterberg ....as you can see, I was able to knit a lot during this game!

I finished the hat during the commentary at the end! Bravo Wings!

Silk Road for Christmas ~

I love knitting with this Jo Sharp Silk Road. It is soft yet not splitty and feels great when I'm knitting. I think the ribbing would have been better suited for a finer gauge knit, perhaps, as the ribs seem to be a bit wide, but perhaps that is how all ribbed hats appear when worn?

What do you think?
From the looks on this model, I'll be starting my decreases soon!

This will be my first Christmas gift completed!

Another Scarf Success ~

Here is another Instant Gratification scarf that is done. I finished it on the plane, and all I have to do is weave in the ends (as you can see in this picture). H is very pleased with it. She said, "I'd wear it tomorrow, but the weather is supposed to be 90 degrees again" so no scarves tomorrow!

Looks good on H, eh?!!!!

Choosing a style ~

Using the Candy Cane Llama hand spun yarn makes for a mystery in knitting. I wasn't sure how the pattern would turn out when I started my typical "drop stitch" scarf pattern. When I saw that it was turning out in symmetrical boxes, I had the idea of making a diagonal scarf to see if the pattern would be more pleasing to the eyes.... so I asked H which one she liked best. The picture shows the "drop stitch boxes" on the left and the "diagonal pattern" on the right.

Which one do you like best?

Red Wings in The Series ~

Yes, the Red Wings are in the final series of the Stanley Cup playoffs! They won the first two games against the penguins at home in Hockey Town! Sadly, they lost last night when the series went away from Detroit, so we are hoping that is the only win for the penguins!

As you can see, I can get a lot of knitting done during hockey games!

Silk, Noro and Chickens ~

I do not know what age one realizes that silk is especially wonderful. I do know that when I saw this picture on my camera chip, I had to laugh... as there is my scarf I knit with silk and noro yarn, proudly worn by my daughter, as she's holding one of our Sussex chicken, Lemony.... does it get any better than this?

I don't think so......

Christmas knitting begins ~

Amazing at it may seem, I have begun my Christmas knitting... yes, I realize that June has just begun, so I should be able to meet all my Christmas knitting goals, right? Since this is a Christmas gift, I can't really say who the lucky recipient will be...in case they might hear through the grapevine, or read through the blog lines....I'm knitting with Jo Sharp Silkroad Ultra, and so far it is wonderfully soft. I found a deal on it during the Sewing Expo in February. My fear is that it might be too big due to the gauge difference... but I'll let you know....