More Knit for Kids Guidepost Project

This is the second sweater I have knit from the Guidepost's Knit for Kids pattern. I did this one as a Christmas gift for my great granddaughter and will just keep it till then. I had decided to knit as many gifts as I could this year, and this is my first finished project. I plan to do two more of them for two great grandsons, too.

Meanwhile, I have begun a second one that will be sent to Guideposts for this project. I would like to do several of them and send them off in the fall so that other children will be blessed with a nice handmade sweater next Christmas. I am using Red Heart Super Saver yarn since it is 100% acrylic and washable.

http://www.dailyguideposts.com/help/sweater.asp

Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton

- The Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton Project -


It is around 11 p.m. and I have just finished the SURSA shawl that is in the book, Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton Hand Knitting Collection, Book Number two. It is knitted out of Noro's Silk Garden with a ruffled edge out of Cash Iroha. The pattern specifies that double yarn is used throughout the entire piece. It moves along rather fast when you are knitting it because it is on Size 15 needles and the yarn double strand.

I first saw this piece at the Pittsburgh Knitting Festival ( http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06052/658522.stm ) last February. One of the yarn vendors was wearing it and I just had to have one for myself. As I searched through a table of books at the festival, I found the pattern in the Hamilton book. Later on, I visited one of my favorite yarn stores, Yarns Unliminted in Sewickley, PA where I found the Noro yarns I used for this shawl. (http://www.post-gazette.com/lifestyle/20031207ggyarnshopsp8.asp)

Knit for Kids

Will I be knitting any gifts this year?

Yes, I have already begun thinking of Christmas gifts for family members. I have started a sweater for my great grand-daughter, Delaunay. She will be 9 years old by Christmas. I am making her a sweater from the

- Guide Post's Knit for Kids project.-

I knitted one to give away for that project, and I liked it so much I wanted to do another one for Delaunay. She will be delighted with it and the one I knitted to be sent to a child through Guide Post's project will be happy, too. And, it makes me happy to know that two little girls will each have a nice new hand knit sweater next winter.

At the top you can see what this sweater looks like. I made this one to send off to the project. Family members loved it so much that they want me to make one for them, too. This sweater is one of three different designs designated to be done for this charity project. It felt so good to be making this sweater for a child I will never know. You can get information on how to make the sweaters and how to send them to children who need them at this site

http://www.dailyguideposts.com/help/sweater.asp

I plan to organize a group of knitters where I work to make sweaters as a group project this fall and send off to children who need to be kept warm this winter.

Vertical Netting

During the past few months, from February through April, I took a number of beading classes to learn some new things. I have had so much fun learning to do Vertical Netting. I began to do the white and gold one in the class I took AT cRYSTAL BEAD BAZAAR in Pittsburgh. www.crystalbeadbazaar.com

Then, after that class was over I came home and spent the rest of the day and into the evening working on it. I think I finally finished it up about 3 am. Then, the passion has remained alive as I have now completed two more. One is is blue and pinks; One is red and purple. I just completed a fourth one in soft pewter silvers and spring greens. Number 5 is now begun, using cotton candy pinks with brilliant reds and opalescent beads.

Here are some photos of the Vertical Lace Netting that I have been doing. It keeps me up into the late nights. There is something about doing this pattern that really excites me and motivates me to keep on going with it.

I can see my tendencies taking over as I envision more and more patterns and color combinations in the future in this type of bead weaving. I think I have just been won over to the Seed Side of the discipline. I find myself shopping for more and more Delicas and other wonderful Seed Beads and a few months ago I never even knew what that meant.

The next thing I want to begin to explore is combinging beads and yarn. I love to knit, and I love to make things using brilliant and sparkling beads.

7 Questions

7 Questions from One Skein Secret Pal Exchange

1. Which yarn is most like my personality?
I recently made the scarf in the photo. It is done in the FEATHER and FAN pattern, using Cascade Yarns Bollicine Etoile. I absolutely loved working with this yarn and this scarf feels so wonderful when I wear it. I am wild about the brilliant spring greens and the softness of this yarn that is 70% kid mohair and 30% acrylic. It's wonderful!!! The scarf is much, much more beautiful than this photo shows. You just cannot capture it in a photo.




Currently, I am wild about Noro Hand Dyed Silk Garden Yarn, Noro Kureyon Yarn, and Mountain Colors Bearfoot Hand-Painted Yarn. I love Brilliant Color! I made a beautiful scarf in modular knitting out of the Noro Kureyon.

Right now, I am finishing up a lovely stole out of the Silk Garden yarn. And, made a modular knitted scarf from one skein of Bearfoot. It was exquisite. I gave it away to someone who is very ill and I told him it is a "comfort scarf." He said he could sure use some comfort. I intend to do another modular knitted scarf from the Bearfoot for myself out of soft pastel colors. I normally wear strong colors and very seldom have anything on that would be pastel.


2. What is my favorite color of yarn to knit?
I tend to favor the earthy colors of golds, russets, and brilliant oranges and bittersweet colors. I imagine that is because those are the colors that look best on me. And I also favor brilliant and clear colors like lime greens and fuscias and indigo blues. I NEVER wear pastel colors and I don't like wimpy colors. I like color that is strong and stands out in the crowd, just like me.


3. Do I use verigated or magic yarns? Heavens, Yes!


4. What fibers do I favor?
I am just wild about mohair. I like any blend of mohair and wool. I am very fond of Moonlight Mohair currently. But, anything with mohair in it just compels me to touch and feel it and buy it.


5. Do I prefer to work with pull skeins or hanks?
I do a lot of yarns that are in hanks. I use the yarn ball winder and enjoy spending a few hours in mediation while I am making the hanks into usable balls. I like to stack them up and see them just waiting to be made into something. Thre is something that I like about making the hank into a ball.


6. Have I worked with organic yarns?
Not yet. But, I did buy some skeins of organic yarn at the Pittsburgh Knitting Festival in February and I plan to do a poncho out of it. Soon. I am always willing to try most anything.


7. Wow, what projects have I made in the past year?
Can I count them? I don't record my work anywhere, I just make things. I have made many, many scarves. I am finished up a kimono right now out of Moonlight Mohair. I have made ponchos for a number of family members and two for me. I have made myself three Shrugawls that I really enjoy wearing.




There are 7 more questions. I will answer them in my future posts. Seven is enough for now. Besides, there is knitting to be done yet today.

My FIRST EVER "Secret Pal"

I am very excited because tonight I received my "Secret Pal" from the One Skein Secret Pal Exchange.

My new pal is Shelly, from Stockton, California. I wrote to her immediately to introduce myself. I visited her blog and scanned it over when I received the letter from One Skein. It is late at night right now, after midnight, so I will take a better look at her blog tomorrow so that I can get to know her. I did drop her a little email letter just to say hello though. Ah, I see she is also owned by her two cats. We have that in common. I love cats and could not imagine my life without a cat friend or two.


Well, it inspired me to visit Shelly's blogspot tonight. In fact, it urged me to begin to take my blogspot seriously and to begin to learn how to post there. I have finally figured out how to put a photo up on my blogspot tonight. I chose one of the Untersberg (mountain) in clouds. It is in the village where I live in the summers, near Salzburg, Austria. Anyone who visits me here will see the mountains I love as an introduction to me. I will figure out how to photograph some of my art, knitting, and jewelry and get them up on this blogspot in the near future.

The other thing that inspired me when I got Shelly's information is the fact that someone has received MY information, too. So, somewhere out there in cyberspace, I have a new pal, too. That is really amazing and I can't wait to hear from my secret pal as well. I decided I better learn how to do this because someone is probably looking at my blogspot to learn more about me just like I learned about Shelly tonight.

My friend, Chris, also joined the One Skein Secret Pal Exchange so I can't wait to see her tomorrow morning at the gym to see if she received her new pal's information. This should be a lot of fun. And, I am glad I have a local friend to share it with.