Knitting with dinosaur bones.......

I am in the middle of knitting a baby blanket and using a different type of yarn and I need # 9 needles for this project.  I normally use 2.75 or 3mm needles for my hats and other projects, so it's like using dinosaur bones knitting with the bigger needles.

I have got this done so far:

It's going to have to wait now until the beginning of February as that is when dd should find out whether she is having a boy or girl.  Because of the size of the needles I could not get a loose enough cast on.  Had to get Angie to cast on for me, and knit the first row to start me off, which is crazy.  I did attempt it twice and had to pull out so I was getting frustrated.

When I started knitting last year I said I wanted to learn how to knit a pair of socks.  I bought this book recently:

 As I have never knit with multiple needles I decided to start with tube socks to get used to knitting with four needles.

 I will admit to finding the whole thing very awkward, but on Thursday at knitting I will give it the good British try!

I read a couple of good books recently.  Once Upon a Flock is about a woman who gets herself some chickens to fill a void and this tells of her adventures.  It was a good book and I reviewed it here.  We read  The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett as our January book club choice, my review is here.  My mam suggested I read "The Queen and I," by Sue Townsend, which I liked a lot better.  You can read my review here.

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Lots and lots of body parts.......

I am busy knitting gnomes as take home gifts for Our Little Man's first birthday in September.  I have a bag full of body parts all ready to sew together.  I like to knit a few and then sew them up all at once.

 Here are five that are completely finished.  

 I have also knit a couple of baby hats.  The one on the left is for a little girl it is pale blue, lilac and cream, and the other on is a blue/lilac shade for one of two babies that are due in the New Year.  I am hoping one of them will be a boy!!

I haven't had much time to do any reading.  Although I did get this book read this past week:

Ariadne Evans swore her sleuthing days were over after her very own knitting shop became a crime scene a few months back. But she hadn't anticipated that the Freeport Wool and Yarn Festival would become the site of another murder -- with hers truly as a prime suspect. Since Ari was the one to find the body of Felicia Barr -- the much detested and influential owner of Knit It Up magazine -- with a knitting needle stuck in her back, the cops are needling Ari for answers. In a stitch, Ari dons her hand-knit detective cap and helps her on-and-off boyfriend, Detective Josh Pierce, untangle the day's events and solve a very woolly crime -- before the killer strikes again....

It was an okay book; guessed part of the murder/mystery, but not all of it; it was an easy read.  You can read more about it here on Amazon.  Does have a couple of knitting patterns in the back of the book for A Padded Coat Hanger, which is super simple and a "No Hair Day" Chemo Cap, again a very easy pattern to follow and uses Lion Brand Fun Fur.

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Funny little bits for Yarn Along this week........

This is what I got done this past week in knitting:

Those are all the bits knitted up for two more gnomes.  I have a third one on my needles as these are all gifts for a neighbours grandkids who are coming to visit next week.  Just need to sew them together and stuff.

I read and reviewed this book:

and this book which I reviewed also:

I am starting this book; it's our book club choice for September "The Chaperone," by Laura Moriarty:

For more Yarn Along posts with Ginny, please click on this link.

Another couple of small finishes for Yarn Along.

I made another Gnome for a baby girl who is due in October.  I used US #6 needles and the yarn pictured in the photo.  It is pink with a light brown face.

 I also completed this newborn hat for the same little one.

Neither are perfect but they are made with love.

I did get the following two books read and reviewed this past week also.  You can read my reviews here.

I have started this book:

Award-winning writer Ntozake Shange and real-life sister, award-winning playwright Ifa Bayeza achieve nothing less than a modern classic in this epic story of the Mayfield family. Opening dramatically at Sweet Tamarind, a rice and cotton plantation on an island off South Carolina's coast, we watch as recently emancipated Bette Mayfield says her goodbyes before fleeing for the mainland. With her granddaughter, Eudora, in tow, she heads to Charleston. There, they carve out lives for themselves as fortune-teller and seamstress. Dora will marry, the Mayfield line will grow, and we will follow them on an journey through the watershed events of America's troubled, vibrant history—from Reconstruction to both World Wars, from the Harlem Renaissance to Vietnam and the modern day. Shange and Bayeza give us a monumental story of a family and of America, of songs and why we have to sing them, of home and of heartbreak, of the past and of the future, bright and blazing ahead. 

I picked it up for 99 cents, so at that price I couldn't say no.

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Just gorgeous colours for Yarn Along

I was at The Knitting Basket yesterday and took this photo for this week's blog post:

The colours are just gorgeous aren't they?  The Knitting Basket's blog post will be posted on Thursday, but pop by to see what other posts there are.

Meanwhile I haven't done too much knitting this week.  Made a start on this little hat for a newborn due in October. Knitting with Baby Rico, 100% cotton. I did though read this book, which is three books in one.  Suffice to say I have been "home vacation-sick" for Charleston, South Carolina all week.  I am sure if we hadn't booked to go to Lancaster, PA; we would have booked to go to Charleston, I love that part of the world........well minus the no-see-ums!

Finally it doesn't get any better than this. Cauliflower with cheese sauce and fresh baked bread straight out of the bread maker.

For more of this week's Yarn Along posts with Ginny, please click on this link.

BY THE WAY THIS IS MY 2,500TH POST TODAY!!

A little cuteness for Yarn Along....

I made a couple more Gnomes this week for Our Little Princess and Our Little Man.

I used this pattern and Paton's Canadiana Yarn and US #4 needles.  They are the child size so I think around 8 inches high.  As I used smaller needles it's a tighter knit so you can't see the stuffing.  I am going to a baby shower at the end of August so would like to make one more to add to the gift.

I have read a couple of books this week, and have posted reviews on my book review blog here.

Still hot and humid here and finally we had a break and it rained.
The sky was very busy before it rained.

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A hat for Yarn Along

I have another small finish this week this hat and for once I had a lovely little model:

I knit it with a Lorna's Lace sock yarn. Angie at The Knitting Basket gave me an "opened" skein of yarn.  However as I can't knit socks I decided to knit a hat using my favourite pattern for the store and have another one on my needles for my little model!!

I have read two books this week.  I have yet to post my review:

I did post the list of books we are going to read over the next year at our book club here, if you want to take a look?

For more Yarn Along posts with Ginny, please click on this link.

Happy Canada Day and Yarn Along.

Today is Canada Day and it's Canada's 148th birthday.  You can read more about how Canada Day came about here.  As dh is contracted out to a factory and they can't shut down the big mills mid-week, so they are celebrating Canada Day on Friday; he gets a nice long weekend, which I think is better.

I have a couple of small finishes for my Yarn Along post this week.

I made another baby hat for Hannah (dh's co-worker's baby), this time a slightly bigger size; I love how it came out so pretty:

I also made a soft toy using this pattern:

Now please remember I only started knitting the middle of March of this year.  I have a long way to go before I can really say I am a knitter, but for my first attempt this wasn't bad.  I used 100% cotton yarn and this is the father size.  I need to practice my hand finishing as that leaves a lot to be desired.  

Angie at The Knitting Basket made a great suggestion at the Tuesday Knit and Stitch to knit my next one on smaller needles so it is a tighter weave, and that way you don't see the stuffing.  So instead of using US# 6, I will probably use US# 4 or 4.5.  

I printed out the pattern and you will need pages 1 through 20 for the body and pages 2 through 9 for the hat.  It is super simple to follow, I had no problems and it is a pretty quick and easy knit.  I am going to try it with some worsted yarn in a smaller size and in purple for Our Little Princess as that is her favourite colour.

The blue and yellow one I am going to give to Our Little Munchkin, as it reminds me of a Smurf and the blue food colouring "incident"!  Do you remember that?  If not you can read about it here.

I am not reading any books at the moment, just too busy with other things.

For more Yarn Along posts with Ginny please click on this link.

Small bits and bobs for Yarn Along.

Nothing major finished other than another dishcloth.  I used this pattern on the top dishcloth; the bottom one is a plain knit one.

I went to the Knit and Sit at The Knitting Basket on Tuesday.  Angie is having a table sale throughout the month of June and I was able to pick up some goodies, like this yarn which I am making into a baby hat for the little girl born earlier this month.  This baby hat was well received, so I thought I would make her a larger one.

It's such a bright and light hat and so girlie.

I also picked up these goodies:

The three smaller balls, are for more baby hats, as I have another baby due in October (no relation to us, just friends), so want to include them in the gift I give the new parents. I love knitting with that type of yarn.  The larger ball is for a project I have in mind......I will reveal more later!!

One thing I have discovered that like quilting, my stash of yarn is getting bigger and bigger, and I swore up and down I wasn't going to start a stash of yarn!!

If you do a craft or hobby, what do you have a stash of?  And is it out of control (LOL)?

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Simple Baby Hat - Yarn Along

Managed to get one small finish this week a simple baby hat.  I have also started "The Mermaid Chair," by Sue Monk Kidd on my Kobo.  I sent a request in electronically back in March to order this book for the Kobo and I got it this week.  I guess if they get numerous requests for certain e-books, when funds allow they order them.

 I used this pattern for this hat,  Super simple and didn't tax my knitting skills too much.  I also love this type of hat for little ones.  I knit it in the newborn size, and from that 50g ball of cotton yarn I have a bit left.  

This is part of a gift for a newborn called Hannah who was born at the beginning of the month.  I would love to fill you in on more information of this little one, but it was like pulling teeth getting the name out of my dh.  You know men, not really fussed about the details!!

Back to the book, I reviewed "The Invention of Wings," and "The Secret Life of Bees," earlier in the year.  Both also by Sue Monk Kidd.

For more Yarn Along Posts with Ginny, please click on this link.

Yarn Barf on Yarn Along

It's one of those terms I had never heard off until I started to knit.  This is what Yarn Barf looks like:

What's even funnier, Gillian was showing us on this post How to Wind a Skein of Yarn Yourself.  Guess I should have read that first before I started knitting.

I have read two books this week.  Rosewater and Soda Bread by Marsha Mehran, you can read my review here.

 Also The Vagrants by Yiyun Li, and you can read my review here.

I have been putting the binding on Our Little Munchkin's quilt this past week.  So very little knitting has been done.  I did go to The Knitting Basket to the sit and knit and got a little more done on my dish cloth:

However I have pulled it all out again, as I got lost in the pattern.  I find I can't concentrate on my knitting when talking.  I know don't talk, but it doesn't happen that way!  This dishcloth is proving to be a tricky thing to knit for some reason.........

So here we are now, just plain knitting:

I prefer the prior pattern and may give it a go again later when I spend more time concentrating.

For more Yarn Along with Ginny posts, please click on this link.

Yarn Along- June 2nd 2015

Not an awful lot to show this week, knitting wise.  I did a bit more of the baby blanket, but not enough for you to notice a big difference.  I did get my flower brooch finished and it is so cute.

I did read this book however and it was so good.  

"Sweater Quest, my year of knitting dangerously," by Adrienne Martini.  I think both knitters and non-knitters would enjoy this book.  It reminded me of a gossip magazine for the knitting world.  For the non-knitters out there, you will not believe some of the things that went/go on in the knitting world.  It does say if you enjoyed the movie, "Julie and Julia," this is the knitting equivalent; and I totally agree.  

The book is centred around the author who wants to knit a "Mary Tudor," sweater.  Now for those of us who is not in the know like I was, the first thing you think is how can someone write a whole book about a bloody sweater/cardigan?  However before you know it you are sucked right into this real life story.  I was also sitting with my mouth open at the story behind the designer of the sweater pattern Alice Starmore.  Oh, I hope to goodness she doesn't sue me for mentioning her name?  She is what I would call trigger happy when it comes to suing folk.  

If you enjoy looking up things on Google this book is also for you, as there are so many names, things and places I had to look up, just to see what's what.  Chapter 7 was of interest to me as the author travels to Toronto to meet with various knitting people, so more places and people to look up.  The author does kindly say, "Given that I don't live in Toronto, which is quickly becoming the center stitch in the modern knitting world......." that makes me realize I have a lot more learning and day tripping to do right on my own door step.

Obviously the one thing you have to look up at the end of the book, is the cardigan that the author ended up knitting.  It is a piece of art, you can see a photo of it here, that is also where you can read more about the author of the book Adrienne.  Make sure you click on the photos to see the detail, it is gorgeous, and no wonder people ooh and aah over it.

Here are links to other things mentioned in the book:

Virtual Yarns

New York State Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck

Yarn Harlot - Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Purple Purl

Amy R. Singer - Knitty.com

Lettuce Knit

The Knitter's Review Retreat

Camilla Valley Farms - super close to where I live.

There are many more interesting people and places mentioned in this book.

Stars out 5 : 5 Loved the book, very interesting.  Well worth the read even if you don't knit.

Had another good frustrating time at The Knitting Basket on Tuesday.  Angie was trying to teach me the Magic Loop way of knitting mittens.  I just couldn't wrap my head around it at all.  Will keep trying though.  Here is her latest blog post.

Too see more blog posts in this week's Yarn Along with Ginny, please click on this link.

Yarn Along - May 27th 2015

I haven't done much in the way of knitting this week, but I have learned a couple of things.  I bought the Spring 2015 issue of Simply Knitting.

 In it was this free flower brooch kit.

I figured I would give it a go, despite the fact it had a couple of abbreviations I knew nothing about.

Luckily my mam mailed me this booklet she got free from the Daily Mail newspaper in Britain.

Discovered:

sl means pass a stitch from left-hand needle to right-hand needle as if to knit or purl without working it.  Who knew? Don't see the point of this, but did it all the same.

M1 means a knit wise increase (same as inc.)

yo means yarn over; where you make a new stitch by placing yarn over right hand needle.

s2kpo means slip two stitches from left-hand needle to right-hand needle, one at a time, knit the next stitch and pass slipped stitches together back over the stitch; which in turn forms a left leaning double decrease.

Luckily there was a page in the book that showed me a step by step on increasing, as I wasn't sure about that.  Plus by reading over the abbreviations and meanings a couple of times I managed to understand what they were trying to say.

I have read this great book this week.  Well worth the read and I have just ordered the sequel to it as it was that good.  You can read my review here.

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