No way the same ~

I'm currently knitting on several projects with lovely yarn, two yarns that are of some interest today. One is a very glorious celebration of autumn colors, subtle shades of trees changing colors and moss and crisp fall apples..... the other is a riot of neon greens and cranberry, with some wild shades of gold....

yet, on closer look....they could be sisters....... (This was quite a surprise to me, as I pulled the riot of neon out of my bag, and it matched the Sweet Jazz I was working on......who knew?)

Clapotis Done ~

Finally, and before Mother's Day.... the Clapotis is done..... first with the knitting and running of the stitches.... all that Dropped Stitch Karma coming my way...

Then the blocking of the lovely scarf......

It looks fabulous!

I think Mum will love it!!!

Power of Knitting ~

I received this simple email from a lovely sweet lady I know from our church:
My daughter is undergoing chemo for breast cancer and has already lost most of her hair. She saw a knit hat on someone last week that had cat ears, nose and whiskers on it. Do you have any idea where to get a pattern like that? Well, it happens that I know Ravelry, so I sent her some links to some hats that might fit this description. I cast on in a lovely and soft grey merino/bamboo, as I knew that she doesn't knit, and emailed her that I would be happy to knit a cat hat for her daughter. I'm busy with work, home, kids and "all things in my world" but I'm not fighting cancer, nor is one of my daughters fighting cancer...so knitting a cat hat seemed like a very small effort given the circumstance.....
I received this response:

You have no idea how much this means to me. She and I had not spoken but twice since last September when there was a "blowup" at our other daughter's wedding in SF. As horrible as this disease is, it has brought our family back together and brought my daughter back to me. We text back and forth several times a week (it is easier for her as talking on the phone seems to tire her out more quickly). My heart is nearly at peace again. When I sent her the cat hat picture yesterday, she wrote back, "Wow Mom, you have no idea how very much this means to me!" So, finally I am, through your kindness, able to do something special for her that no one else is doing! It is thrilling for me. She said she is resting lots this week and maybe she will be able to come over on Saturday, when we will celebrate Easter and her daughter's birthday. Keep your fingers crossed. We are so hoping she will be able to join us. I'm sure she will feel she can never have too many cat hats - she loves cats and takes in every one people dump on their road. They don't all stay, or survive the coyotes out there, but she is very much a nurturer. Thank you again for your thoughtfulness and kindness in doing these hats for me and my daughter.
I was speechless......
Do not ever underestimate the power of knitting - even knitting a cat hat.... I encourage you all to share some knitted kindness this holiday weekend of Easter and Earth Day... knitting makes the world a better place...

Clapotis Spring ~

As I've been looking out our window, and seeing our spring flowers being dashed by our rain, I wonder when I'll finally be able to take some pictures. Today is the day....
Here is Clapotis with Pink Friend and Trilliums.

Clapotis with daffodils.....ah, perhaps spring may be here to stay?

Vogue, Really?

I was lucky enough to be gifted many Vogue Knitting magazines and I've been excited to look through them, as I've never been past the cover on one of these legends... When I opened the cover of the first one, I started turning the pages with a bit of amazement, and then surprise...and then disbelief.... I laughed when I made it to the patterns in the back....does anyone ever knit these patterns? Do mere mortal knitters knit these patterns, or does one have to have super-human super-hero powers to knit these patterns... There seems to be a hat that I think I could tackle....maybe....if the pattern wasn't four pages long....for a hat? Really?

Knit and Drive ~

Not exactly knitting and driving, but knitting while waiting in the gas station line. I always have knitting in the car, and when I went to fill up this week, there was a long line. Interesting, as I rarely have to wait more than 4 minutes, as I get gas at 7:15 AM....but, there was a line, and so I took advantage of the line to do some knitting.

Even with gas almost $4.00 a gallon, it is still wonderful to be able to knit while waiting in line. I've not knit on this scarf in awhile, and I love how soft the Venezia yarn still feels! Plus, the bonus of rosewood needles...ahhhhhhhh!

Summer Stitch 'n Pitch ~

Get ready for this year's Stitch 'n Pitch, coming to a baseball field near you!



I hope you are able to attend this year ~ I'm hoping to attend my first one! Bonus is that I'll be sitting with this famous knitter!!!

Tulip Winner ~

This past weekend was the Tulip Run, held up north by the tulip fields of Mt Vernon. Both daughters ran, and both came in the top 5 of their age groups ~ very fast girls here!

This daughter placed second in her age group ~ awesome and wonderful and amazing. Hurrah!

Tea and Jazz ~

I watched the video to see how to fill in the gaps of the Sweet Jazz shawl. I found the link to YouTube on one of the comments to the shawl in Ravelry. Very helpful!

Now I've made it past the gaps, and just knit the row where you increase to 450 stitches. I only have a few more rows to knit, and they are long ones! I can't wait to see how the edging turns out, as it was delightful to be knitting this Hazel Knits yarn again!

Spring Yarn Socks ~

Spring is here for our public art! This installment of Knit Socks is perfect for the season, and so creative!Click here and here for the story and pictures of the winter installment, and click here for the story and pictures of the spring installment (picture courtesy of link)!

Tea and Malabrigo ~

These socks are lovely to work with. I'm using size 2 addi lace needles to combat the "no twist" of the yarn, so I'm still getting a little split-y-ness. Still, I think the fabric is tight enough for good socks. In my short time knitting with this, I'd have to say the Manos Silky Merino is still my favorite of the two...The colors are lovely...my daughter and I have such good taste in colors!!! :)

Plying Silk ~

This silk spinning is a little tricky for me, very thin and I am still getting some thick and thin, plus some lumpy bumpy in my single.

I plyed the single I had, just to see what it would look like. It certainly is not consistent as commercial yarn (although that is not my goal, either) but I think it could be knit into a lovely shawl as it seems to be a sock weight in the 2 ply version.... I just need to spin and ply a bazillion yards more.... I love the colors!

Cast on Lovely ~

This yarn is lovely and oh-so-soft. This is my first knit with Malabrigo Silky Merino, and it feels great, even without a twist. This yarn is similar to one of my favorites, Manos merino silk. The colors are rich and bright.

I'm so glad that my daughter picked out this yarn so I get to knit with it!

Second Chance Yarn ~

Funny story ~ two friends walk into a yarn shop (have you heard this one?), one says to the other, "Check out this great yarn! These colors are vibrant and happy ~ I love this yarn!" The other one says, "That is so 'you' in the overwhelming clown barf variety of colors ~ what in the world would you ever make out of that to wear?" Other one replies, "It is NOT clown barf, it is lovely... and I would buy it if I knew exactly what it should be....(sadly) as I would love anything made out of this yarn..." One month later...a mom and daughter walk into the same yarn shop, the mom is checking the sale bin, and the daughter says, "Hey mom, I've found the perfect yarn for great socks ~ would you knit me socks out of this yarn?" You guessed it....she picked the very same yarn as her mom picked out a month before.... so, it came home with us....(Lisa, I hear you groaning, across the country!!!!) Isn't it lovely? Malabrigo Silky Merino P.S. This daughter is also the one that shares my love of these orange socks, so I knit them for her for Christmas last year....

Clapotis at the Beach ~

Once I became stuck on the Sweet Jazz, I bounced back to the Clapotis. No problems with this knitting, and it looks lovely at the beach! Did I mention how much I love vacations at the beach, and knitting at the beach? High hopes to have this finished for Mother's Day!

Sweet Jazz at the Beach ~

I knit on the Sweet Jazz all day, in between our walks on the beach, and our trip into town. Did I mention we did some walking on the beach? Shells and driftwood, and lots of birds squawking at us... The beach is so beautiful, peaceful and calming. I love vacations at the beach! P.S. I am now to the "closing the gaps" part on the Sweet Jazz, and I think I need to check YouTube for some tutorials of what the pattern is telling me.... (translation: I'm stuck)