SOCKS Toe up, two at a time class

Anyone remember "Little Roses"?

Anyone ever been to "Iron Horse"?

I am SO excited to be teaching the techniques associated with this pattern at the Iron Horse later this month.  It would be so much fun to see some friendly faces there as well.

My favorite sock knitting technique is Two At A Time, or TAAT, and Toe-up.  I will be teaching Wednesday evenings starting September 19th for 4 weeks.  Class is from 6:30 p.m. till 8:30 p.m.  Plenty of time to get to Natick after work.

Check out the Iron Horse website for more information and to register.

If you already know the benefits of TAAT and toe-up but know someone who doesn't, please pass on this message!!  The more the merrier!

 

Here is the excerpt from the Newletter:

 

NEW! Toe up, two at a time sock workshop
Bored with a basic ribbed sock? Have second sock syndrome? Join Linda for four weeks knitting a toe up, two at the same time (on two circulars or Magic Loop) sock workshop. This is Linda's own design, Little Roses, using a fingering/sock yarn and US 1 needles. This sock is knit toe up with a gusset and heel flap. The pattern is written for 60 sts around (at 30sts/4 inches) but easily be resized by adding ribbed sections to the front and around the back.Linda will be glad to help those who want to learn Magic Loop or two circular needles. The pattern will be available in the store at the first session.

Prerequisite: Must be comfortable with knit and purl. Basic sock knitting helpful but not necessary!
Date: Wednesday evenings, September 19, 26, October 3 and 10 (4 weeks).
Time: 6:30-8:30 PM
Fee: $90.00, materials must be purchased at the store.
Instructor: Linda Fisher
Registration Form

 

Ronda

I've been bitten by the pattern bug and have been designing like crazy.  As they get testing and published I'll post them here for you to see.

Ronda

While Vacationing in Andalucia, I was impressed with the jagged mountain peaks.  The views were breathtaking, especially during our drive up and through the Sierra de las Nieves mountain range on the way to Ronda.  It is these mountains that have inspired this shawl/scarf

  This is a great beginner's lace pattern.  Easily memorized and perfect for "on the go" knitting.

I will soon also have this available as a full kit through MomofTwins@Etsy.com.  The kit will include a Handmade knitting bag, yarn, needles and other accessories required to complete the project.  I'll let you know when they are available.

12th Anniversary Celebration

We've.been together since 1993 and celebrating our 12th wedding anniversary in kennebunk, Maine. We love to visit Maine but this is our first time with both the girls and the dog.

Camp Spofford

My home away from home! Lovely sunset tonight.

Feels like rhe best lunch ever!

No AC. Took the dog for a run. Dripping sweat and hungry. Amazing how good a cold lunch can make you feel. Hummus, crips veggies and a cold IPA.

Great day for a walk!

Out walking the dog I stumbled on these flowers. Aren't they gorgeous?

Technology is so cool

Now if I could only get my I-whatever to knit my sweaters I'd be all set. This is really cool any way. I can blog from anywhere on my iPhone. Oh yeah!

One of THOSE days!

I just said to my husband, "where has the day gone?" His response was :" you spent the day knitting". But I have nothing to show for it. Do you ever have one of those days when you frog just as much as you knit? Well, that was my day today. I wound lots of yarn. First I was trying a new technique on the knitting machine and after three tries of it not working it was time to quit. then I knit an entire vest from "Knitters" magazine. And it was awful! Ugly and heavy, more like a blanket than an item of clothing. So to the frog pond it went. Now to think about what to knit tomorrow. :-) How was your Sunday???

One of

Happy New Year / Happy Stash Busting!

My goal for this year is to stash bust! I know many of us set this goal each year. I am going to post about my stash in order to hold myself accountable.

Here is my start to 2011.

A felted hat. Used an entire skein of worsted weight wool. It is now my favorite hat as it is quite cozy and warm. It also does a great job of keeping my ear buds in place while hiking with the dog.

The Market Vest. Now, I had to purchase some yarn in order to use up stash yarn, so I basically break even on this one. But, I love it!

And lastly, I used the rest of the yarn left from the vest to make a felted bowl. It's cute, pretty and not very functional. I'll most likely use it as a "drop" spot for knitting stuff.
Well, I hope you enjoyed my stash busting, I hope to post quite often this year as I would love to actually put into use some of my gorgeous stash yarns. They really don't do me much good sitting in a box. I may even find some that I will post for sale, so keep your eyes open.
Have a Wonderful 2011!

New Etsy Listings

I have been a busy bee! I have been sewing up some new handbags. I love them! They are a little smaller, now that my kids have grown and I no longer need to carry extra snacks and other such items. No more big Mommy style bags for me. I want to be a lady again. Thus the new bags. Stop on by the Etsy Shop and see what's new.

These bags are 11 1/2" wide at the zipper and 13" at the base. They are 3 1/2" deep and 9" tall. They each have 4 inside pockets and 2 pencil/pen pockets. The handle is 25" long (an 11" clearance).

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Whew, glad that's over. We were all exhausted after the Halloween fun ended. And then I remembered "I haven't taken any pictures, back into your costumes!" That didn't go over real well, so we got only partial, but better than nothing.

Sarah, on the left, is Dr Who, the 10th Dr, but she no longer has her sonic screwdriver, tie, overcoat or Converse All Star Sneakers. She did look great!

Catherine was the "Human Dalek" from the 10th Dr Who series. She too looked great!
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Now for some accessories:
Buttons for Feb Lady Sweater

More Buttons

My first Shawl Pin - Love it, thank you for sharing your source Marcy!

Happy Yarnoween!

I was not able to make it to Rhinebeck this year, but I did make it to Stitches East '10 instead. Although it is quite a different venue, it was still a LOT of fun! I found some really nice things and thought I would share. First .... the YARN....

Starting on the left, the multicolor yarn is my first purchase of this sort ever. I never really had an appreciation for handspun yarns until my friends started to spin. I really LOVE their yarns and the way they knit up. So when I saw this skein I felt a warm and fuzzy feeling. I will have to take up spinning one day :-). It is called Krazy Skeinz from Still River Mills in CT. It is 50/50 Baby Alpaca/Merino. The coolest thing is when I met up with my friend Marcy for some lunch, she had purchased the roving (I think that's what it is called) from the same booth to make the same yarn and subsequently the same vest (free pattern came with the yarn). So cool! I feel another knitalong coming soon!

Next is my very first purchase ever of MissBabs yarns. It is Yowza in Smooch. It is a Superwash merino, hand-dyed and feels just yummy! It was great to meet Babs too!

Next is a tried and true Blue Moon Fiber Arts, socks that rock in Medium weight. I just could not pass up the colorway: Spy-say Guacamolay. I love everything spicy!

Next is Kitchen Sink Dyeworks, another never tried yarn. One touch and I could not put the skein back, not for nothin'! It is called Luxe Merino Fine in colorway Dexter and is 80% Merino, 10% Cashmere and 10% Nylon. I plan to knit this into something that I can feel around my neck. I also got to meet the dyer, Mercedes, in this booth. Meeting the real people behind the yarn was what made this trip so amazing!

Lastly, but not least is String Theory! OMG this is squooshy yummy yarn with the most gorgeous dye work. I wanted to buy it all. It was so difficult to just purchase one colorway for one project. I bought 5 skeins of Caper Aran in Shale to make my very first February Lady. I am not one to run with the crowds and knit what everyone else is, but this yarn is just calling out to be a February Lady and I can't resist.

I'll get to the accessories later...

Summer Sewing

Surfing anyone?

I've been spending some time sewing this summer. It has just been too hot to actually hold yarn! Look what I have been up to.

There's more too. Check out my etsy shop for more style bags.

Now I will move back to knitting.
Happy summer!

This is a test

This photo collage made with Smilebox

I have this new piece of software and thought I would play with it for a minute to see if I like it....

Am I back? or Just visiting?

iPad Cozy!

I don't know the answer to that question. What I do know is that blogging is alot of work and quite time consuming. I felt the need to step back for a while, but today I felt a desire to check in.

It is my 48th birthday today and I have had a wonderful day! The family bought me an iPad for my birthday. No, nothing fiber related, but an iPad. Hmmmm. Anyway, I will enjoy it. It means I can post to my blog or to ravelry any time. While waiting for the girls at their activities, while at playdates, when ever. That sounds pretty cool.

I wanted a safe way to stash it in my purse so it is always with me, so I whipped up this iPad case today. Yes that is what I spent my birthday doing, untangling a skein of wild yarn so I could make this.

I like it, what do you think?

Yarn: Socks that Rock, lightweight in Flower Power.

Needles: US1 or T10 on a standard gauge machine
Notes: I did a gauge swatch and used those numbers to plan how many to CO and how many rows to knit. Pretty straight forward as the iPad is pretty narrow, no need to calculate for depth.
I knit a 20 row hem (10 each side), knit 60 rows at regular gauge, 5 rows at a tighter gauge, 60 rows regular gauge, and another hem. Seemed the sides and voila! Then I though, hmmm, it needs a button. So I just picked up 10sts and added on a button flap. easy peasy.

RHINEBECK '09

The Team! Pat (left), Me and Marcy(Right).
This was only stop #2, The Fold for some Blue Moon Fiber.

Just after lunch and chatting with fellow Ravelers we head to the car to lighten our load.

Yes there were sheep.

The collective loot! Lots of yummy stuff and some fun stuff too! Wonderful time with friends and fiber! Can't wait till next year!

For more photos take a look at Flickr.

Whoah!

Just for Giggles

I made the comment "My craft/guest room is overflowing with yarn. The challenge was given "I'd like to see pictures of this craft room.
Well, here you go. It's not alot compared to some people I hear talk, but it is more than I can handle.

That table is my scrap booking table and the large basket usually sits under it.
The big basket is filled with all sorts of yarn, mostly worsted weight, some singles and some enough for sweaters. The teddy bear basket has the skeins for Shalor. The small basket is filled with singles of worsted weights for hats/mittens. The chilli bowl box is filled with left over sock yarn.

This is the top shelf of the closet, the basket has yarn for 2 sweaters. Under that the bin contains cotton yarns for sweaters. On the top right is skeins for the little girl bulky cardigan I am making and the 2 bins below contain sock yarn (the one one top is Cherry Tree Hill).

This 2 drawer is sitting on the floor of the closet and contains mostly yarns for sweaters....lots.

And this shelf is just chock full of sock yarn. It is hard to see, but there are 2 balls on top shelf waiting to be knit, the basket on the right of those contains sport weight yarns. 2 shelves down in the pouch behind the pinecone is another sweater waiting to be completed. and the overflowing basket below is all finger weight yarns.

OK, maybe I shouldn't go to Rhinebeck tomorrow!
Off to knit RIGHT NOW!
feeling ashamed

It is Fall here in New England

I can't believe it has been such a long time since I last post. As soon as school started for the girls, it got quite busy around here. I am only just getting used to the hectic schedule. My girls are only doing a fraction of the after school activities that others are doing, and I feel overwhelmed and like a taxi driver. They are only in Third grade, they say it gets worse...so I best get used to it.

Well, I have finished a few knitting projects since I was last here, that's good news anyway!

But the bad news first. I've lost everything on my PC. My photos for the last few years, my saved patterns, my designs (those published and those not), etc. We lost both the primary and backup discs. Bummer! Well, a chance to start anew, and hubby has set up a whole new backup system. I will also take the time to creat CD's of photos from here on in.

Let's see what have I completed, that I have photos to show....

Pattern: Stricken by CookieA.
Yarn: The Painted Tiger, Tiger Cub in Rusty
Needles:US1 (2.25mm)
Pattern: A test knit of Everthing's Connected by Jeannie Cartmel
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill supersock solid in Burgundy
Needles: US1 (2.25mm)

Pattern: Cascade Christmas Stocking
Yarns: A bunch of left overs in Blues. Sarah's favorite color.
Needles: US7

I have also made some mittens in preparation for winter's imminent arrival. I'll get photos for next time.

Keep Woolly Warm this Winter!