A Knitting New Year

It was just me who showed up for Wednesday Night Knitting on the first day of the year, and I was already here.

there’s a cat head intruding in my knitting

Despite demands from the feline population, I finished my shawl and it’s all ready for mailing.

finished Bamboozle Cable Capelet, blocked

Luckily, I finished with just this much leftover yarn:

amount left of 615 yards

I also finished a doll hat and coat, another awesome pattern from Easy How-to Techniques for Simply Stylish 18″ Dolls by Andra Knight-Bowman.

3-Needle Nettie from Simply Stylish

This selection was lesson 3, The Practical and Simple 3-Needle Bind-off. I ran out of maroon yarn just as I finished the second I-cord hat tie. I had to make the boots out of black yarn, just as well.

knitted boot

The maroon yarn was from a batch of acrylic yarn remnants given to me; what a perfect way to use up odds and ends! Knitted doll clothes are cool.

I see other bloggers posting summaries of the things they’ve done all year, but I don’t want to go that route. I already feel keenly that I don’t measure up if I look at it in list form. But I feel pretty secure in the haze of having had a good time. Soon the holiday trappings will be back in their boxes.

I really should get started knitting for Christmas earlier in the year!

how lovely are thy branches

thank you, Miss Rhetus, for the beautiful flowers on Christmas Day

Time to call it a day, Grayzie

colorful and calorific treats

So what new knitting will I do in 2014? A sweater? Fair Isle? Lace? Socks that actually feel good on my feet? Hmmm.

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Raised on Promises? and of course, Knitting

My door was open for Wednesday Night Knitting, but no one came over. It was the historic 9th day of the Government Shutdown. Yesterday was also my anniversary and our cat Bob had to go into the hospital because we’ve been unsuccessful at stabilizing his blood sugar :(.

We celebrated all these events last night by getting take-out from Zaxby’s and sitting in front of the TV watching World War Z. And, for me of course, knitting.

finished this soccer outfit in worsted-weight scrap yarn

I love working on a project that is finished SOON! This is something I’ve been planning to work on and just got around to.

bought this pattern book in May…

Having completed the first project in the booklet Easy How-to Techniques for Simply Stylish 18″ Dolls, I am motivated to plow on through the entire 7 projects given. Each outfit begins with a technique to learn, so each begins with a lesson. At first glance, I was stumped by some of the written instructions, but as I mulled over the language, the techniques slowly began to dawn on me and I was able to move ahead to the next step. My next project in the sequence will be a button-up poncho (which I’ve already started), skirt and messenger bag in sock-weight yarn.

soccer outfit modeled by Texas Girl

Now I need to go to Nancy Zieman’s website, Nancy’s Notions, to get some doll tennis shoes!

Another newsworthy tid-bit I learned from endlessly watching the news regarding the US Government’s three-ring circus-like festivities, is that an American Girl store is coming to Orlando. Oh, wow! Not just “a shopping experience”, but a destination. A shopping destination. If I take in these words slowly, it begins to sound like…shopping…destitute…nation. What does American Girl mean to you? Well, on the web site you can purchase the doll of the year 2013 with 3 outfits and associated books for $211, or with her favorite dress and one book for $110. Does a little girl who is gifted with one of these expensive dolls know that American Girl is the cream of the crop in the 18″ doll universe? Would she deign to play with the Target 18″ doll (cost: about $30 with outfit) or the Texas Girl I bought (on sale for $10 at H-E-B)? I don’t think she knows there’s a vast difference: she would happily play with any and all of the dolls, but her parents and grandparents know. Oh yes, this is The American Way, the free enterprise system that gives us a splendid market share of everything from dolls to health care.

Happy birthday next week to Tom Petty, born here in Gainesville, USA. We’re thinking about ya, here in our balconies overlooking 441, with the cars rolling by like waves crashing on the beach. We were raised on promises, like a government for the people by the people. And the right to vote those bums out of office, who don’t represent us.

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May Day! May Day Knitting!

Fleurs por moi? sniff, sniff.

Ethel showed up for Wednesday Night Knitting with May Day flowers, how beautiful! Grayzie immediately assumed the responsibility, which he does not take lightly, of knocking over the vase. It was finally lodged in a place of relative safety on the counter, and all the cats and humans settled back in flower appreciation mode!

We shared what we’ve been working on.

Ethel’s Shrug

Lois’ Fingerless Gloves

Ethel has been crocheting a lot lately. This shrug is her own design, perhaps inspired by lots of recent Pinterest and magazine surfing? Lois took up her partially-knitted gloves and felt that now was a fine time to finish working on them. They are knitted of a soft red and maroon striping sock yarn, with a single-crocheted edging next to the fingers.

I don’t have to tell you what I’ve been working on, do I? The boucle Ghetto=mohair wrap, still. DH has been heard lately, sweetly prompting me, “Why don’t you lay that thing aside for a while and do something quick and fun?” I think even he is tired of seeing the same old thing on my lap.

my possible future project

Rhetus gave me some hats she’d bought on ebay for us to look at. She really is a Wednesday Night Knitter at heart, but has yet to physically come to a meeting. The first step is to join us in spirit, which she has done! Here are some of the lovelies she shared with us.

Italian beret

homemade beret with llamas

made in China

We celebrated with a little cookie decadence. Happy May Day Knitting to you!

clockwise from upper left: Belgian chocolate 2-bite brownies (me), triple-chocolate cupcake (Lois), and raspberry-filled cookies (Ethel)

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It’s a New Dawn! at Wednesday Night Knitting

Looks wintry around here, but actually it’s 77 degrees F

January dawns so full of hope. For WNK knitting group, we are looking at a new year of potential, lots of fun projects and happy times ahead. We missed out on Distaff Day, a traditional “back-to-work” day for practitioners of the needle arts, following the Twelfth Night of Christmas. Maybe next year!

Tricia wrapped yarn using her nostepinde.

 

Trish worked on the beautiful white and multicolored afghan, and says she’s bound to finish it no matter what! She’s not going to let another year go by! Meanwhile, DH was out in the shop making more nostepinder for other knitters in our group.

That Li’l Ol’ Nostepinde maker

Ethel’s doll and ball gown

Ethel brought her recent labor of love, a ball gown for an 18-inch doll. She also hand-beaded the gown’s jeweled bodice, and plans to bejewel a matching pair of shoes. In the meantime, she kept working on the beautiful Boutique Magical cowl, the subject of Love of Knitting’s Winter Knit-Along.

Ethel’s Magical Cowl, in progress

Lois and new hat

Lois came wearing a new hat she’d made. She liked it so much she decided to keep it for herself. The crown was done in seed stitch. She worked on a ruffle-knit scarf on dpns in a beautiful multicolor yarn.

Lois and ruffle scarf

Ethel showing 2 balls wound on the nostepinde, or rather, a ball and a cake

Bob was thrilled to snog Ethel’s purse once again

Deb working on a baby hat in “Crimson Tide” colors

Even though she resides deep in Gator country, Deb doesn’t want the new grandbaby to grow up without having a proper Alabama connection. We love the gators, but they sucked in the Sugar Bowl. Sucked. Alabama is just the most-nearly-perfect football machine we’ve got here in SEC territory, so I won’t really begrudge Debbie that little unspoken hint of “nyah-nyah”-ing at the close of a rocking college football season.

my Poppy beret

Finally, here is my WIP, the Poppy Beret from Sock Yarn Studio. You cannot see the pattern very well because I used a variegated yarn, Red Rocks by Universal, rather than a single color like the one in the book. I seem to be getting nowhere fast and I long for a big bulky yarn and a simple pattern. Ethel, too, lamented the extra time and energy needed to work with sock yarn and lace-weights.

Ethel winding malabrigo grape sock yarn on the nostepinde with Evil Pauly

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