Pringle of Scotland Animation by David Shrigley - Life Behind The Scenes

via youtube.com

This will give knitters a giggle!

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Long time no see

Well, a lot has happened over the past few months I have been missing from my blog. My mother did pass away on December 23rd, 2009. The grief was and still is overwhelming. I knit my sorrow into a mourning shawl. I knit I did not want to have to think about how bad it hurt. Counting stitches occupied my mind so I just kept knitting. Over the course of my mothers whirlwind illness I knit five hats, a scarf, and three shawls. Mom was always a strong proponent for "no idle hands", I know she would be proud. Working with my hands is helping me heal and I will forever be grateful to Mom for teaching me to be artistic and crafty. I miss you Mominator.

Stitch markers: my friend and nemesis

I'm working on an Aeolian shawl right now. Knitting is my solace, my meditation. I love knitting lace. It find it so fullfilling to watch a beautiful pattern emerge as I methodically work through the pattern charts. You can't fudge it. It has to perfect to look good. I don't love stitch markers but they save me from making mistakes by helping me catch errors before I get too far along and have to tink back. I also try to remember to use life lines in between changes in pattern repeats.
Knitting itself has been my lifeline lately. My mother has been very ill the past few months and knitting has provided me with a precious distraction from the harshness of lifes realities as I knit at her bedside. My mom taught me to love arts and crafts so in a way she has given me a great gift that is helping me to be calm, meditative, and cope. Thank you mom.

C-

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Why I make things & product plus process

I was reading TECHknitting today, and if you haven't done so yourself you should right now, and she posted the most eloquent post on the value of a knitted object and the process of knitting said object.

excerpt:
"When non-knitters look at hand-knit goods, most tend to focus on the result, on the product. "Why spend 42 hours making a pair of socks? Wal-Mart sells 'em for a buck a pair" is their attitude, their tolerably obvious attitude. Confirmed sock knitters, however, find that mass-made socks cannot be compared to hand-made--the custom fit, the warmth, the exact colors of a hand made sock cannot be duplicated. This excellence is sometimes the very heart of a successful knitting project--the seamless toe, the beautiful work, the perfect fit, the non-binding sock on the achy foot. Knitting as product (and, as a very superior product which you simply couldn't buy anywhere!)

Often, however, hand-knitted objects add another dimension, a process dimension. See your kid standing near the door in hand-made socks, ready to pull on shoes and head out? Those socks are loving that child--the kid is wearing a hug on each foot, and the knitter and the kid both know it. This is process and product combined: knitted object as connection between people."

Read the rest of the post here.

Very well said. I don't knit socks by hand very often but the sentiment behind her example can be applied to all crafts. I have always had a hard time explaining to my husband why I would rather spend my time crafting things that I could easily purchase cheaply. She hit the nail on the head. Bravo.

More pictures from my Lorna's Laces tour

I am proud that I didn't sell my first born to take home more yarn. The day was a complete success.

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The yarn booty

Don't be jealous of the goodies I brought home from my trip to Lorna's Laces.



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Lorna'a Laces

I'm on my way to my knitting meetup where we are going to get a tour of the Lorna's Laces facility here in Chicago. I'm so excited!


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Mixing it up with a little crochet

I'm relaxing today. I finally started making myself this queen Anne lace scarf after starting and stopping many times due to yarn fail. It's pretty easy to memorize and goes really fast. It's good mindless work that I can do whole I surf Ravelry for more projects.










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knitty goodness

Ooh, the new Knitty is up!

Poor neglected blog

I am still knitting I swear. I finally finished up my Wing-o-the-Moth shawl after a year of hibernation, I just love Anne Hansen's patterns. I tend to knit a little less in the summer because my summers are usually filled with visiting family/friends and making wedding dresses. I just got over a serious cold (it was the plague if you ask me) and being laid up for two weeks gives a person a chance to think. I'm trying to decide what to do next. I have dusted off my knitting machines and would like to make another video but need some input as to what people want to know. I probably don't know a lot more than most people but I'm willing to share my experiences while figuring it out. So speak up and let me know what machine knitting stuff you want to watch me fumble around with. I'm a pretty good hand knitter too so I'd be willing to make videos about that too. I'm off to go clean my machines and fondle my yarn.

Fan lace tutorial

Here we go. Now, I'm going to warn you ahead of time that my camera work is lacking. It was the best that I could muster at 4am all by myself.
Fan lace part 1: A better look and a short explanation


Fan lace part 2: Casting on


Fan lace part 3: Getting started


Fan lace part 4: Making lace!


Fan lace part 5: More explanation


Fan lace photo diagram (click the photo for a larger view of my shaky mouse hand tracing of the path of construction)
I hope that this helps to explain things. I would have written out instructions but I just couldn't figure out a good way of wording it.

I have been knitting, a lot. I swear I have

Not only have I been knitting by hand but I have been knitting by machine and crocheting. I have been a busy little beaver, just not a blogging beaver. I just learned how to make hairpin lace. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Thank you Stitch Diva for the inspiring pattern. Check me out:
I just acquired yet another knitting machine. I love eBay. This one has a ribber and I can't wait to figure out how to use it. I'm in the process right now of making some youtube videos to show how I created a fan lace pattern I saw on ravelry. My next post will have the videos.

I have finally mastered the kitchener stitch!

I can't tell you how many of my hand knitting projects have gone oh so wrong because I had never taken the time to learn how to properly execute the kitchener stitch.
These socks make my brain so happy. I love flip flops but I live in Chicago and flip flop weather is brief indeed. My mother is going to shake her head at me and say "child go put on some shoes".
I'm 35 years old and my mom is still trying to dress me. Gotta love her though.
I think I will be making a pair in white as soon as I get to the craft store to pick up some more yarn. I like it when a project comes together.

End of Summer

As the little bit of warm weather we get here in Chicago is going to wind down pretty fast thoughts of what I want to knit to keep me warm this winter are swirling around in my head. I have missed my daily knitting over the summer. I still knit but not as feverishly as I do when it's cold. I haven't touched my knitting machines at all in the past few months and I look forward to continuing to learn how to use them. I think leg warmers will be my first order of business, I am a child of the eighties after all.
I have a lot of quilt work on my plate right now as well that I can't wait to finish so I can relax and make something for myself. I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed as of late because I have had so much to do. In addition to just taking care of the homestead I have remodeled my sewing room, done a lot of work to get ready for my website re-launch, written content for the re-launch of my quilting podcasts, and started writing a guide for people whom are organizing group quilt projects. It has been difficult organizing my thoughts and taking my business more seriously as I get more work. I have never been good at the business end of things but have discovered that I have to get good at it and it has been a long road full of resistance to specifics and planning. I'm an artist and I just like to "do" but if I want to continue on and be successful I have to make plans and carry them out.
I don't even know why I just rattled all that stuff out, I guess it's been heavy on my mind.

I'm still alive

I have been knitting but I have just been to swamped with work and remodeling to share. I'll get back in the swing of things soon.