Paige's sweater

Okay, so here is Paige's sweater. Nevermind the ketchup stain or the fact that it's so long! She loves it and asks to wear it all the time, hence the stains! I'm glad that I could make her something that she loves to wear!

Latest purse

Well here is my latest purse fresh from the washer. I still need to box off the bottom, add handles, and maybe line it, after it dries.

Eureka, it fits!

Finally! After getting prompted by Pam and scared by Margaret, I decided to plow forth and finish "the stupid dog sweater." All of that toil and hardwork actually paid off. Rob's dad was surprised, and loved it. It fit Bailey (or Bail Boy they call him) perfectly.











As you can see, Bailey is unlike most large dogs, and loves to wear things. We put it on him, and he went outside in it right away. Then came back in and relaxed.






It kept him warm while he was chasing after wild turkeys.

3-Needle Bind Off

My mom was inquiring about the 3 Needle Bind Off... Here are the instructions that the calendar lists.

Hold 2 pieces with right sides together and needles parallel. With third needle, put needle knitwise into first st on each needle and knit those stitches together. Repeat for 2nd stitch on each needle. Two stitches are on right-hand needle. Pass 1st stitch over 2nd stitch on right-hand needle to bind off. Repeat.

Hope you can follow that!!! :)

A new bag...for me!

So this is the next project, I have decided. Since finishing Margaret's bag and the stupid dog sweater (which I still have to sew in ends for), I decided to do a little something for me. I have had this pattern for a while and almost forgot about it. It's a hobo style, with a double zipper. I think I will shrink mine a little smaller, though.

My projects

Ok, so here is the stupid hat I did for my grandma. It turned out cute, but I knitted it on those circulars that I hated, so now it is known as the stupid hat. I will be glad to be rid of it! And also here is the sweater that I am knitting for Paige. The top and sleeves are all done, now I just need to knit the body. I am working on it, but it takes forever just to knit a row! And, Pami, I have been calling Anshan when I have a question about the pattern. They are tricky! You'll get it just fine, with all of the knitters that you have around you. It's not perfect as I have already made mistakes, but hopefully it will be wearable. I thought it was hard to knit it all in one piece, so I think I will try one next that you knit the pieces separate and then stitch them together. We'll see.

My Tote!

So here is the tote that Anshan made for me. I hope you love it as much as I do!!

Hi Knitters, I found a seller on ebay who is selling sets of 12 bamboo needles in both straight and circulars in graduated sizes for $9.99 to $15 for twelve needles. She has testimonials from other ebay sales about the quality and smoothness of the needles. I looks like a cheap way to build a great set of needles. Here's her seller's list for future purchases if you're interested.

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZjian0028

together at last

Well ladies here is the hat and tote together. The handles should be in by Wednesday. I can't wait.

Pictures

Lining my purse

Well ladies here are my pictures of the lining I made for my purse. Pat thought that maybe I should share them. I ordered my handles and they will be here in about 5 days. I'll take more pictures when I am finally done. I have also started on a matching felt hat. Too fun!!!

Felting Instructions

Guess it would help if I added the actual instructions.

Felting Instructions

Here are some felting instructions sent to me by Pamo. Anyone interested in learning felting could use them on even the samples they have knitted up in wool. - Thanks Pamo

Decisions

Anshan...what did you end up deciding to do with that maroon super bulky yarn??

I've been baaaad

Ok ladies, I have been knitting but a little lazy about posting because I don't have my camera to take pictures of my newest acquisition. Friday night was my yarn shop's Happy Knitting Hour, and there was a one-day sale, 20% off of Blue Sky Alpaca yarns. So what did I do? I bought the most decadent stuff I have ever knit with. I made a scarf in 1x1 ribbing of Bulky chocolate brown (50/50alpaca and wool) and double stranded Brushed Suri (67% baby suri, 22% merino, 11% bamboo). I'll take a picture when I get the camera this weekend because it is at Rob's. But here they are. I nearly finished it by the end of the happy hour since it was from 5-7pm. It felt good enough to eat. Without the calories.

And about the handle and felting issue. I felted Margaret's purse fine, but I have had only one bag that seemed to stick to itself Pamo. It could be a lot of things, but one thing I always do is stop the washer periocidally to make sure it is not sticking to itself, wrapping around something and distorting its shape, or shrinking too much. It also could be all of the agitation elements you had (baking soda, detergent, a towel I think you said, plus your water also determines how it felts). The handles were an issue for me. My cobbler didn't have any leftovers so I had to buy a brand new leather belt and have them split it in two, and attach it. It was cheaper than it sounds. Kohls has a great selection, plus I saved by finding one very wide belt. The cobbler agreed it was a cheaper option for them too.

No Knitting :(

I am sorry to say that I haven't done any knitting for days! We have been helping Nate and Kaleigh prepare for their move. And today is moving day. They found a place that is smack dab in the middle between our house and the babysitters house. Only about 1 and a half miles aways. They are so excited....and we are very happy for them. Then I will proceed to my construction mode...I am going to take down the popcorn ceilings in the two rooms that were occupied by them and then paint the walls and ceilings before Michaela and Christian move into those rooms. So I'm still going to be busy doing stuff....after that is done, I'll be back to being a knitter. :) Can't wait!

Progress

I've been a little busy, so I haven't had much time to practice. Last night I was able to knit my first swatch without error! Yoo Hoo!! Pretty soon I'll be able to really make something.

New Yarn - Purse Handles

Yea - my new yarn has arrived. I'm thrilled with the colors. I'm going to make the U-turn messenger bag printed in an earlier post. The finish of the Paton Classic yarn is wonderful to knit with.

I finished knitting the hot pink yarn tote, but haven't felted it yet. Need to get to Pam's to use her washer.

Pamo - I found purse handles at
http://store.quilting-warehouse.com/pursemakingsupplies-pursehandles.html

Most of them are plastic, but look nice, I didn't see any right off that said they are leather, but look like it and they are only $7.99 a pair. Check it out.

As much as I appreciate Barb setting up this blog I'm having trouble checking all the time to see if anyone has commented on anything. Anyone else have this problem? I hate having to figure out those distorted letters to try to post anything. I liked it better when we just had emails flying back and forth popping up many times a day. I can't remember how many posts were on the blog the last time I was there, so I have to open each previous post's comments to see if somebody else said anything. Does anyone else want to go back to regular email and we can post links and patterns and other general instructions on the blog? It could be just me, but I think that we've slowed down a lot on the conversation. Or did everyone just get too busy returning to work after the holidays?

Great cartoon Pami - how is the knitting going?

Leather Handles

Hey Margaret, Could you check on the price of leather handles the next time you go to Purl's? I can not find any around here. The cheapest sew on leather handles that I found on the web are $24 plus shipping. I can't find any with with the rings on them that are round leather. I have made 4 tabs to attach the rings but I will improvise and sew on if I have to. Let me know.
Thanks Pamo