A Different Kind Of Holiday Tree!

 I saw a couple standing in front of what I thought was a Christmas tree.  However, as I approached it I realized that it is a solar-powered car charging station.  It's the first time I've seen one and not sure that it really is real but it does look pretty authentic.



Holiday lights show that it is indeed providing power from the sun.  Most likely it was power held in reserve as the weather in Vermont today was totally cloudy.  Burlington is second to Seattle for the highest number of cloudy days per year.

This charging station is located at my local health food store.  Likely location as Vermont is known for its health food stores and proud to be very "green".

Yes, I've been knitting and have quite a bit to show you but still have to take pictures.  So, in the interim...............

Happy Knitting!

Blogging Friends Are The Best!!!

Amy and I have been blogging friends for at least 5 years.  I am proud to know her and admire all her talents one of which is card stamping.  I always hoped that Amy might want to send me one of her creations and was delighted when she asked me for my address.  This card is gorgeous.

I collect bookmarks, magnets, etc. with a "dream" message so, this fact unbeknownst to Amy, she had a "dream" message for me.  Well, thoughtful as Amy is, also included in the package was a pair of hand-knit knee warmers for my arthritic knees. 


The package arrived on a day that had proved to be quite challenging so Amy's thoughtfulness really perked up my day.

Check out Amy's blog.  She is a wonderful, mom, wife, daughter, friend and much more.  Her creations are fantastic and she is currently knitting for a charity in each of the 50 United States and she has a map on her blog listing the states that have benefited from her thoughtfulness.  Amy is originally from the U.S. and now lives in Israel.


Sadly, about two months before we met online, Amy was in my town and shopped at my LYS.  How I wish I had had the opportunity to meet her in person.


Hugs to you, Amy.  I'm proud to be your friend.


Happy Knitting!

Cat Bordhi's Sock E-Book

Cat Bordhi's E-Book Cover!

Note:    Had a problem posting earlier regarding this topic and hopefully this time Blogger will be friendly. 

I purchased Cat Bordhi's new E-book that was just released this past week and it is wonderful!  The book contains several patterns with more to be released as part of the purchase.  Check out the link to the video for a new style heel. 

Sweet Tomato Heel You Tube Video

I've joined Cat Bordhi's Ravelry Group.

I had the opportunity to take a wonderful workshop with Cat on moebius knitting a couple of years ago.  The workshop was to help raise money for breast cancer research at the University of Vermont.  What fun!!! 

Here I am on the Cat who is on the right.

Here's Cat checking out a knitter's work.

I was flattered when I was asked for permission to use my picture for Cat's pattern "Swinging Mikado" (moebius cowl) on Ravelry.


So go ahead and purchase the e-book.  You can find the link on her blog (see above) or directly on Ravelry.com  It is downloadable for Windows, Mac and IPad.

Happy Knitting!

Baby Surprise Jacket (BSJ) Parade

This is my 5th Baby Surprise Jacket (BSJ). Scroll down to see pictures of the other four.
I taught this class about three months ago. I thought it would be a fun project to teach. It backfired. After all, the sweater is garter stitch with increases and decreases and an eyelet buttonhole (s)which is quite easy. Because it is a piece of knitted origami, it can present a small challenge as the knitter is not aware of which part of the sweater they are knitting in the early stages.

Visit the BSJ group on Ravelry.com for instructions on which rows will give you the stripes you are looking for.

I included an I-cord bind-off to achieve a nicer finish and allow my students to learn an additional skill.

As it turned out, my students either loved or hated this project. Those who completed the sweater were anxious to start another on their own. Some struggled to the point of total frustration. They did not like all the stitch counting. Some felt competitive to keep up with others in the class and were not able to.

Except for my "Sock Class" and my "Bring Me Your Kniting Problems", I seldom repeat a class. I love having former students return for additional classes and watch their knitting skills increase. This is one class that I will DEFINITELY not repeat.

My first BSJ was the dark blue/brick color one. That one was gifted to my grandchild, Jakob. The next one was the yellow/aqua sweater with the fish buttons that was gifted to my boss. The other two are still in my gift box waiting for a matching hat.

Happy Knitting!

Using IPad with Blogger

I am testing this app for Blogger. I sure hope this works. It is called Blogger Plus and is an independent app and the reason I couldn't figure it out with Google.

The following are random pictures to see how they appear on my post.

This would make my day!

Well, I now know that I can post more than one picture.

Iceling Baby Sweater

Pattern:  Iceling Baby Sweater  (purchase on Ravelry.com)
Yarn:  Plymouth Encore (2 balls)
Needles:  Size 8
Size:  3 months (sweater) 6 months (hat)

What a fun and quick knit!!  Knitted from the neck down, there is no seaming and only a few ends to weave in.   This pattern is very well-written.

I knitted the hat a size larger than the sweater as I was concerned it might be too small.  The garter stitch edge is folded up and can be made larger by removing the button and unfolding the edge.

This picture shows the true color of the sweater.  A very suitable color for either a little baby boy or baby girl.

This sweater has I-cord buttonholes.  If you've never knitted this type of buttonhole, it is really quite nice.

Of course, I always sew clear buttons on the inside as reinforcement.

and I also add my personalized label.  Someone asked where I purchased these labels and I can't remember what the website name is.  Sorry!!!

My daughter, Amy, knitted the same pattern in blue for a family baby shower a week ago.

Cute little tractor buttons!  Great job, Amy. 

As you can imagine, I am delighted to have a daughter who enjoys knitting as much as I do.

I'm on vacation this week and it feels wonderful, refreshing and energizing. The weather has been a mix of sunshine, thunderstorms and cloudiness.  It's ok......I'm happy knitting indoors or outdoors.  There will be other fun things as the week progresses depending on what my inner joyful person tells me to do.


Happy Knitting!

Darn Blogger!!!!

What's up with Blogger lately?  Last week, for 24 hours, Blogger was eating up people's comments but not till after they had been posted.

Today, I can't leave comments on blogs.  It is very frustrating.  I have not been a regular blogger as of late and am trying to return to being more in touch with all my readers.  However, I noticed that numbers were down and I figured readers just thought I upped and moved on to something else but probably it was because Blogger is being so damn fickle. 

In my last post I mentioned I purchased a new IPad.  Blogger does not yet have an app for it so I can't blog using my new toy!  WordPress has an app and relatively user friendly.  However, I hate, hate, hate moving my blog.  I had almost 300 posts on Yahoo 360 when they totally went to an insane assylum and most of us abandoned ship and moved elsewhere totally trying to keep track of all the friendships we had formed.  I now have over 250 posts on Blogger.  It's like living in the same house for years and accumulating all this "stuff" and you just don't want to move which you might say is true about my life in general.

Import your posts, you say!  I imported my Yahoo 360 posts to WordPress about five years ago.  Every posts lost the first picture in each post....the parent went away but the children were left behind.

Is anyone else having problems.....but then of course, you won't be able to leave me a comment today if this continues.

It could be worse!!!

In the meantime..............Happy Knitting!

Guilty Pleasures

In my last post I mentioned that the money I earn from teaching knitting classes is being spent on some fun things (and sometimes practical things as well). I felt guilty about my latest purchases.

It started with this.

It's been extremely frustrating trying to get the screen on my laptop to stop dancing with one hand while I type with the other.  Never mind that the letter "e" sometimes doesn't work.

Some days, it behaves and the screen looks lik this.

So for Mother's Day I purchased myself this little Vera Bradley tote.  I'm always good to myself on special occasions.  I've always envied women who have one of Vera's bags, and though I think that they are overpriced, I now feel that the quality warrants the cost.

Check out the swivel buckles.    A couple of pockets comes in handy as well.

Can you guess what is inside?  C'mon......guess!!!!

The orange cover puts "it" to sleep.

It's an IPad 2.  You'll have to break my arm to take it away from me.  I must say that it has been an adjustment in my way of thinking when it comes to computers.  I had never heard of a "cloud" before, or "air printing".  The apps for it are absolutely, absolutely wonderful.

One of my hobbies is photography.  I have an app that once I enter an address and a date, it will tell me when is the best time to take a picture showing the location as an aerial view, the angle of the sun, etc. using the GPS system.

If someone were to steal my IPad, I can go on any computer and locate my IPad. 

Just one little problem..........Blogger needs to upgrade their technology so I can continue blogging on my IPad itself.  WordPress, I'm told, is the blog site to go with.  I don't want to transfer just yet.

Any of you readers have an IPad?  Any tips, comments, suggestions?

Happy Knitting!

Strawberry Baby Hat

This cute little hat is a very quick knit.  There's no intended baby recipient but it is always nice to have a baby gift waiting in my stash of handknits when the occasion arises.

I purchased this yarn at A.C. Moore and it is a joy to work with.  This particular pattern has several "fruit" hats from grapes to pumpkins and Paton's has an excellent choice of colorways for any of these hats. 



The floats are a little long but because it is a hat and there will be no little fingers or toes to get caught in the floats, long is ok.

This coming week is the last class I will be teaching in the latest series of classes.  The money from the classes has been earmarked towards some "fun" things that I am not divulging until I get over a case of "the guilts" so stay tuned.

The wrist has been acting up so there has not been as much knitting as I'd like.  I find that I also tend to knit more when I blog regularly but this darn computer has been extremely tempermental lately.

Happy Knitting!

Bling, Bling Baby Sweater

Pattern:  Knit Lace & Leaves (Leisure Arts)
Yarn:  Lion Brand Cotton Ease
Needles:  Size 5 & 7 (I went up one size)
Erratas for this pattern: Can you believe all the errors in the pattern....geesh!!!!

I loved this sweater the minute I saw it.  I'm a sucker for garter stitch.  Probably one of the reasons I usually enjoy knitting Elizabeth Zimmermann patterns. 

It looked beautiful as I knitted it.  However, once completed, I felt that the leaves really overpowered the sweater and needed to be a little more dainty.

I fell in love with these buttons.  Every little girl needs to be exposed to a little "bling-bling" at an early age so I obliged.

The pattern....isn't that baby adorable!

 I won't be knitting the blanket.  However, that would be one gorgeous gift!

 The pattern booklet gives you the choice of two hats.  I love the bonnet.

But I'll be knitting the cap to match.

I hated knitting with this yarn.  Colorways are beautiful but I find cotton hard on my hands when it comes to knitting.  When knitting baby things I put my "yarn snobbiness" aside in favor for "easy of care" and "cost".  I'm really not excited about Lion Brand's Vanna White's yarn either.

I'm off to a birthday celebration lunch.  Lots of fun things coming up in the next two months.  More on that later.

Happy Knitting!

Knitting Apps

I must confess. I have a new addiction. Yes, I know that it is one of many but all my addictions are creative and not harmful except for the Diet Pepsi monster. This newest one is free to affordable. It's apps for my phone...you know, like in applications.

The contract on my cell phone with Verizon expired last October at which time I could upgrade for a small to huge fee, of course. The rumor mill was ripe with information that the IPhone 4 would soon be available with my Verizon carrier. The magic date in February arrived and the  IPhone 4 cell phone purchased was made. I love it!I don’t know how I ever lived without it.

So, you are wondering about the knitting apps. They are pretty cool!!!!!

Here are a few I have downloaded and if my aging memory serves me right, they were all free except for the spinning app.

StitchMinder - My favorite knitting app, I think it is self-explanatory.  The settings allow ascending and descending tracking.

KnitGauge - Useful tool for measuring swatches. I’m amazed at how this one works.  Align your swatch with the needles and drag one of the needles to the area you designate on your swatch and it will provide you with the info you want.

I really like the measuring tape and find it useful for a number of things when shopping.

Row Counter - Very basic and useful

Knit Counter - (sorry, no pic available) A lot like Ravelry except you can keep this info private till you are ready to share it with the Ravelry knitting world.


KnitMinder - Keeps track of projects, UFO, etc. Similar to some of the others that are available.

IKnit NdlSzr - not that impressive but it works in a pinch

SockCalc - (forgot to take a picture of this one) Want customized socks? This free app is for you. Late last year I purchased a similar software program for $30. Just goes to show you that if you wait awhile, it will be free.

A spinning app for fiber addicts!

WEBS, Kaleidescope Yarn (my LYS) and Knitting Daily, where are the topics are neatly stored as opposed to lost in my e-mail in-box, are part of this group.

I have many other apps ranging from NASA to entertainment. I have the Martha Stewart app where every afternoon (I selected the time) I receive a recipe along with a grocery list specialized to my local grocery store of choice according to aisle.
 
Happy Knitting!

Baby Surprise Jacket

Pattern:  Baby Surprise Jacket (BSJ)

Yarn:  TLC Supersoft (but not sure as I lost the ball band

Needles:  Size 6

Skill Level:  Advanced Beginner

Ravelry BSJ Info that is invaluable

(Scroll down for more informative links.)

I have missed you, my loyal blogging friends.  You fed my knitting ego with your comments and I really appreciated it.  However, I needed a break for awhile and I am now back by popular demand to stay with my goal of at least one post per week.

I just finished teaching the BSJ class.  The BSJ, by Elizabeth Zimmermann a/k/a knitting guru, is a piece of knitted origami.  It can be a little confusing for a new knitter as the knitter is not aware if they are knitting a sleeve, a front or a back, etc. 

I've been teaching knitting for several years and this was probably the most challenging class I've taught for a variety of reasons.  It sold out so "the pie" was divided in many more sections.  The knitted piece looks like this just before folding so you can understand a student's apprehension.

Some of the skills learned in this class were different methods of increasing and decreasing and the finished appearance of each,    M1 (make one) versus K1FB (knit one in front and back) which creates increased and K2 tog (knit 2 together) versus sl1kpsso (slip 1, knit 1 and passover the slip stitch).

We planned on how to have the "applied I-cord bind-off" to start and end at the center back neck when the remaining live stitches begin at the top right, down and around the sweater and up the left side.  We didn't want the seam to be in the front, top-most corner which was likely going to happen without some modifications. 

Notice the special finish.  It's like graduating from grade school to high school (i.e. bind off to I-cord bind off).  A little more time-consuming, it is definitely worth the effort.

This YouTube link demonstrates beautifully how to turn the corner with a knitted I-cord bind-off.

Here is the link to the  "BSJ Spreadsheet" that I found extremely helpful and complimented the actual pattern very well.  Thank you to the creator.

 I added my personalized label to the lower inside front of the sweater so that it would not "scratch or itch" baby's neck. 

 (Note to self:  trim those threads...don't you hate it when you notice these things after you've taken the picture.)

Pattern can be found in the above and below-pictured books.  

Sweater is now folded and tucked away for a future, special baby!

I'm excited that I've been invited to teach at a weekend yoga/knitting retreat this September.  It is still in the planning stages so I'll provide you with more information in the near future.  However, I'll tease you with the fact that at this Vermont location there are beautiful small log cabins with 1-2 bedrooms, fireplaces, fantastic views and more.  A maximum of 20 registrants will be accepted.

Happy Knitting!