BEST kind of Mail
This is my latest (and last for awhile) yarn that I received. I feel like a little kid squishing my toes in mud. Ohhhhh, what to make, the possibilities are almost infinitesimal!!!!
And yes, don't adjust the color on your monitor, that is a whole bunch of orange yarn. I love getting new yarn, but there never seems to be enough hours in the day to knit it all. I finished my scarf that I showed you earlier. I will take a picture and post it another day. I also made a couple of scrubby dish cloths, not very difficult or clever I know, but fun to make and usable. I used nylon yarn (that is sold for plastic canvas, ewwww) but it makes a nice non abrasive scubby texture. I knit it in a garter stitch combined with a cotton yarn. No need to make it as big as other dish cloths, because you are only using it to scrub. I also belong to an exchange group and one of the exchanges is dish cloths.
I have also started a hat (for an exchange) and picked out yarn for a scarf (also an exchange). I have been diligently practicing my needle knitting. It is getting smoother, and I am sure I will eventually actually feel comfortable with neat stitches. I have the 2 needle bind off down pat (WOO HOO) and casting on (long tail). Also purl and knit but not in the same row. I feel really brain numb that it doesn't work out when I try it in the same row. I know if I screw it up enough times, eventually I will have an epiphany. So, off to knit......... Happy yarning!!!!
BRRRRRRRRRRR Cold
17 degrees outside and falling!!! It has been snowing on and off all weekend and been bitter cold. I only ventured outside for the very important things in life....The Symphony and shovling the drive and walk ways. Good weekend to stay indoors sipping hot cocoa by a roaring fire. It has given me plenty of time to devote to my knitting though. I am now about 3/4 done with my orange scarf on the needles (yes, I said orange). I have neglected my looms this weekend though. I also picked up my crochet hooks this weekend. I finished a soft green shawl and started on a heavy gray shawl (cold weather inspires me to make warm things!) It gets really cold at work sometimes so I like to keep a heavy shawl there and one and home in my office. This morning was a 2 shawl morning.
I have been cleaning my yarn messes in my office, sorting through projects and deciding which ones to keep and which ones to frog. Quite a few made it to the frogging pile. My big desk in my office was unusable because of the yarn and looms and such. I now have a nice clean desk. Unfortunately I also now have a box of tangled yarns that I found (I think that will make a nice project for my son to do while watching TV..hmmmmm). I want to get more organized with all my yarns and looms and needles and various paraphinalia. I have the yarn organized into containers but the shelves are everywhere and my looms are a mess. I need to put up my pegboard to hang the looms and get all my shelving on one wall. Awhile ago I did start filing away all my patterns by type in a file drawer and that has been wonderful. Eventually I will get it all done.
Right now, I think I need to go make more hot cocoa and sit my the fire. Even with heavy socks on my feet are cold and I am having to wear fingerless gloves while I type. I think I will need an extra blanket or three also.
Loom vs Needles
The last 2 weeks I have been neglecting my knitting looms in favor of....GASP...dare I say......Knitting needles. I decided to teach myself to needle knit in order to better understand the stitches and patterns to convert to the loom. I was not expecting to fall in love with knitting with needles.. I tried to take it up a few years ago and hated it, but that was before I started loom knitting. I feel I better understand the concept now. 
OK, so I know the projects are not top quality, but hey, cut me a break, I am just learning. 2 days ago I taught myself the "drop" or elongated stitch. That was one of the main reasons I took up the needles. After I finish the scarf I am working on, I will work on increase/decrease next. This is actually quite fun.
Yesterday, I was sitting on the couch in my favorite coffee house, with my grandaughter asleep in my arms, knitting and a great cup of coffee next to me. I realized at that moment my life was about as perfect as it gets!! So, here is a pic of my newest attempt on needles. I am using 10.5 alumminum needles and a very soft (the only domestic yarn I like) Angel Hair from Joanne's. I also threw in a pic of my gorgeous granddaughter.
Happy Valentine's Day all!!!
OH! MY! GOSH!
OK, so I stole this pic from my favorite blog to read You Knit What?? . I laughed so hard, I nearly choked. This is not something I knit, after all, I love my pets and I am against all forms of animal cruelty. Including this. I have shaved my dog in the summer to keep her cool, I brush my cats to keep them from shedding, I have even been known to yell at a cat for playing with my yarn...but THIS???
The pictures says it all!!!
Knitting to the Classics
OK, someone at my church wants me to teach a class on loom knitting or a focus group on classical music and opera (my other passion)once a month. So I decided to do both in one and call it Knitting to the Classics. I can teach loom knitting to those who don't know how or those who knit or crochet can just do their thing while we listen to classical music and discuss it. To take it a step further, I thought we could knit for charity while we are at it. What do you think? Personally, I thought it was pretty dang clever,m if I do say so myself. OK, so I am dislocating my shoulder while patting myself on the back. I'll stop now or I won't be able to knit.
On another note, I have been teaching myself to knit with needles. I tried to learn years ago and hated it, but this go around I am really loving it. So far I have got the cast-on. Knit stitch and bind-off handled. This weekend I am going to learn to purl and do the elongated (drop) stitch. I will post pics of my progress, let me know what you think, and feel free to offer suggestions, my skin isn't to thin (I knitted me an armor). SO here is the first pic of my newest fiber hobby.
On the Loom
Here is one of my projects that I have on the loom right now. It is made from a cotton tape yarn and a wonderfully soft polymide eyelash yarn. I wanted to make something "springy" It is in the same stitch as the duster sleeve I posted earlier. I am not terribly witty tonight. I haven't been feeling very well for a few days. And as you can see from the time of the post, I haven't been sleeping much either LOL.
Funny story, well, sort of. My dog was always stealing the cat ball from my cats. Aside from the fact that it left a slobbery, wet piece of yuck for the cats to "play" with, I was afraid she was going to choke on it. So, being the loom happy mommy that I am, I lovingly made her a colorful ball of her own. That was 3 days ago. I tossed it, she chased, brought it back, what fun, and then I turned my back for a few minutes. The picture tells the story of her ball...Oh well. I wonder if I can knit with recycled tires. Hmmmmmm...may be on to something there!
Storage...I promised
I promised to show how I store my yarn and keep the colors porganized as well as the animals out. I found out that cats and yarn are not a very good combination, atleast in the humans eyes.
I bought the containers that the yarn is in at the Dollar Store and the shelves at a thruft store for $10. You don't have to spend alot of money to get organized. But I must admit that currently my yarn is the ONLY thing organized in my house. Right now I have it seperated out by color, but the baskets are overflowing and I have more yarn that won't fit with the correct color so I am going to have to start separating by texture or fiber as well.
For my yarns that are ear marked for a certain project, I separate them out into a large ziplock baggy. That way when I am ready to start a new project I don't have to dig thru the baskets, make a mess and have to resort (although sometimes I like to do that, its fun). And before you ask, no what I have in the picture is not all of my yarn. To give you an idea, I am going to clean out a spare bedroom and turn into my "Yarn Room" to house all my yarn, needles, hooks and looms and any other sundry paraphanalia. Come on, all you yarn addicts know exactly what I am talking about. Happy sorting!
and 1 is an outdoor cat who has mostly moved to the neighbors as he is "married" to thier cat. 
My dogs are completely different. The spaniel mix is very territorial of everything that she percieves as hers, which is pretty much everything. 
The other one is a fur-ball. Miniature American Esikimo. She is afraid of her own shadow and barks at anything (including dust I think) 
