Another book that mentions of loom knitting

I periodically have to drive myself crazy trying to find look through all my craft-type books for something I remember seeing but unsure which book it was in. Not an easy task as this bookshelf is nothing but craft-type books (plus remote control car hehe).

(The black board you see in the bottom left of the picture is my loom knitting display board that will be heading to Michaels tomorrow.)

While pursuing Better Homes and Gardens Stitchery and Crafts (1966), I found a reference to loom knitting!


The instructions cover double-sided knitting and give loom design credit to Mildred Koch. The loom has a stand (of sorts) which I like - nice idea!


If you're in the Lancaster/Palmdale, CA area tomorrow (Saturday, September 30th), stop by Michaels to say "HI!"...class preview from 1 to 4 pm. Have a great weekend!

Glitz and Glitter

Did you know that yarn has to age before it can be used? Well, of course not - but don't tell my husband! He sometimes asks whether I'm a knitter or a yarn collector. He has a point...sorta...I do have yarn in my stash that I purchased 10 years ago.

Some of the collection includes this Christmas Glitter yarn.

A few years ago, during an after Christmas sale at Michaels, I picked this yarn up in red, white, and varigated Christmas colors. The yarn has a strand of silver metallic "yarn" that runs through it and when it catches the light, it glitters.

I'm using the red to make a Christmas hat and matching scarf.


The brim of the hat uses Paton's Cha Cha in white.

I started the hat during a class demo at Michaels last Sunday. The yarn caught the eye of one of the customers and she asked where to find it. I had to tell her that we no longer sell it....but I had a suggestion of how to replicate the glitz and glitter of the yarn. This knitter loved the suggestion, so I thought you might like to know too.

Purchase a spool of DMC Metallic Thread

...or DMC's Light Effects Thread

Hold a strand of the thread with your yarn while knitting. You'll get the same effect.

I hope this little suggestion is helpful to you too.

A week of changes

Such a week of changes!

People that know me well, know that my primary "job" is raising my daughter (she's an only child). Angela has physical and cognitive disabilities (she was born 16 weeks early and had a cranial hemorrhage at birth). In a nutshell, she's a bright, sensitive girl that needs help.

My "job," in addition to loving and nurturing her, has been to teach (homeschool) academics, do vision therapy, physical and occupational therapy, and life skills....more, obviously, but that gives you the idea. She has been with me everyday, all day, for years (except when I teach at Michaels).

Angela is now 18 years old (time flew!) And this past Tuesday, she started a pre-vocational/life skills training program. She's gone Monday through Friday for 5 hours. We're thrilled to see this fragile little flower blossoming into a young lady. Yet we're scared to death...she's out in the "cold, cruel world" now.

I know that this is what parenting is all about - helping our children to become independent adults. But, geesh! Letting them go takes some getting use to. I'm happy for her, scared for her, and wondering about her future (yep, that's typical parenting).

Thanks for listening. Here's some favorite photos...

Insane? Evidently.....

Crazy day....full of non-knitting, can't find time to bead crap. Darn....

The Movie Of Your Life Is A Black Comedy

In your life, things are so twisted that you just have to laugh. You may end up insane, but you'll have fun on the way to the asylum. Your best movie matches: Being John Malkovich, The Royal Tenenbaums, American Psycho

If Your Life Was a Movie, What Genre Would It Be?

Camping and bamboo yarn

We're home from our family outing to Fallen Leaf Lake. Camping is a family hobby for us and this trip is always relaxing and fun! We hiked, played games, and sat around the campfire in the evenings. No photos as the camera was forgotten - too bad 'cause it's a beautiful area!

Not a lot of knitting for me. I haven't developed the motor skills for hiking and knitting at the same time. And I'm sure yarn would get dirty trying to knit around a campfire!

However, I did run across a yarn shop called Wool Tree in Lake Tahoe area. I scored a couple of addi turbo needles for sock knitting and picked up some sock yarn. AND I discovered bamboo yarn - so soft!! OK, so it's actually been popular for a few months now. I guess I'm the last one to "hear" about it.

Anyway, I didn't buy it as I've promised that I will not buy unless I have a project for the yarn (huge sigh). But I did make a mental note to look at prices online...just in case (hehe). Now I'm finding there are more then one manufacturer of bamboo yarn. I found reviews for this one but I like the price better on this one.

Have you tried either of these? I'm hoping to come up with a project soon!!

Mixing it up

I'm going to be gone for a few days but before leaving I wanted to post a little about color. I love mixing yarn to get new colors...similar to the way a painter mixes paint. In June, I posted a little about mixing color with fun fur....two distinct colors mixed will become a whole new color.

This time, I'm playing around with mixing a varigated yarn with a yarn of 1 of the colors from the varigated. I wanted to go for fall colors for one of my new patterns.

I took this...

...mixed it with this....

...and when loom knitted, it turns out like this....

I really like how the burgandy took on the hue of light brown from the varigated yarn and became a very dark orange/red. Fall colors...YES! (The true colors are being changed slightly by the flash of the camera....but trust me....it's more orange then pink!)

And here is a little slide show of the hat that these mixed yarns became....(psssst, Isela, thanks for the info about slide show...it IS easy!)



I'm still typing this pattern as well as others....but was slowed down by the "death" of my rewriteable CD!! Did you know they wear out?? Well, why didn't you tell me!??!

CYA in a week!

P.S. Thank you for the adventures, Crocodile Hunter. Rest in peace. We'll miss you.

August loom projects

Wow, I can't believe it's already September. I suppose we need to start thinking of Christmas, yes?

Here's a little peak at some (not all) of the projects from August.

I did this bag early in August.

It's felted and ready for embellishment. And even though it's almost fall, I'm thinking spring and will be adding loom knitted, felted roses to the bag.

This rose is the first felted version of the pattern I worked on last January.

I wanted to try it in a different yarn so that it could be felted. And I knew it would shrink during felting process so I enlarged the rose. HA! Silly me! I forgot to consider the differences in the plies of the yarn so this rose is larger then I wanted for the bag. I also played around with different leaf patterns. This particular one works nicely but it's not really a rose leaf (picky, picky!). So I'm still working on felted version of the rose to get it just right for this bag (sounds like Goldie Locks). BTW, the color of the rose is actually a pale pink.

Earlier the year, I did this boa/scarf with a new stitch I had worked on.

I found a skein of the same yarn in my stash and did a matching hat.

The patterns for these will include the instructions for doing this stitch. I've actually gotten the patterns written (gasp!) but I still need to proof read. Hopefully I'll have them ready next week - unless inspiration gets in the way of paperwork....again.

I haven't named the patterns yet. The boa looks feathery - so that's one possibility. If you have an idea, let me know!

Project meters

Here I sit at the computer....wondering what to make for dinner now that the remodelling of the kitchen cabinets is finished ... and wondering when the latest rejection letter word on my latest bead pattern submission will show up. So here's a little post for you on those blog project meters. If you don't know what I'm talking about, click here.

I had thought about putting these on this blog. But to be perfectly honest,
I don't want you to know how many projects I have going!
it's just too much blog work!

But if you're interested in them, here's a link you can get code from.

Have a great day!

Random Countdown Meme

This is my first meme (I didn’t know what meme’s were until recently!) I got this one from Janet….who got it from Deb…..who got it Crazy Aunt Purl. You can get it from me if you want.

TEN random things you might not know about me:
1. I’m the baby of 3 children (all girls)
2. I’m addicted to Lost (television show)
3. My favorite color is green
4. I love the Harry Potter series (eagerly awaiting next and final book in series)
5. I am a certified scuba diver
6. I’m horribly disorganized! I attempt to be organized with do-to lists but I usually loose the list
7. I still own a record player and play vinyl records (I’m so retro)
8. My father was a musician and played with Jim Reeves
9. I’m an insecure person but hide it well behind a mask of confidence. In private, I rage a war with a little voice inside that says “…but is it good enough…" or "why bother, you’ll probably fail anyway…” I hate that little voice.
10. I have a horrendous singing voice but have an innate sense of rhythm (I wanted to be a dancer when I was younger). So don't ask me to sing...ask me to dance! ;-)

NINE places I've visited:
1. Philippines (I met my hubby at Clark Air Base…and we’re both originally from Dallas, Texas area. Go figure.)
2. Wall, South Dakota (famous Wall Drug Store)
3. Hong Kong (before ownership returned to China) Picture of MacDonald's in Hong Kong - that fast food joint is everywhere!!

4. Japan
5. Jamaica (discovered Jamaican blue mountain coffee!) Picture of me shopping at open market.

6. Crazy Horse Monument, South Dakota (I think it’s more worth the time then Mount Rushmore)
7. Carmel, California (love the art galleries!)
8. Orlando, Florida to watch Jai Alai games
9. Hawaii (we were married in Hawaii)

EIGHT ways to win my heart:
1. Ask about my daughter
2. Understand when I don’t keep in touch
3. Have understanding and compassion for disabled people
4. Volunteer at an animal shelter
5. Encourage me
6. Ask about my daughter some more….definitely the way to my heart
7. Send chocolate
8. Comment when you visit my blog (does anyone really read my ramblings??)

SEVEN things I want to do before I die:
1. Use all yarn in my yarn stash
2. Use all beads in my bead stash
3. Have my own room dedicated to my crafts so that projects can lay about without being in the way
4. Swim with dolphins
5. Wine tasting at all the vineyards in Napa Valley
6. Afford to buy a house (cottage will do) with ocean view – on the central California coast (Morro Bay would be closest to my favorite vineyard)
7. Fulfill my secret dream…..it’s a secret and I’m not telling

SIX things I'm afraid of:
1. Bees (stung too often as a kid)
2. Roller coasters with too many loops
3. Snakes – all colors and sizes
4. Insects with a-kazillion legs
5. Falling from great heights (no sky diving for me!)
6. Tornados (been in one – will take earthquake anytime!)

FIVE things I don't like:
1. People who think they know everything
2. Southern California traffic
3. Walmart
4. Liver
5. SPAM

FOUR ways to turn me off:
1. Tell me my “OPINION” is wrong – it’s MY opinion and I’m entitled to have one even if it disagrees with yours (I hope my middle sister is reading this!!!!)
2. Speak or act before you think
3. Make assumptions about a person based on the way they look
4. Copy my designs

THREE things I do every day:
1. Walk the dogs
2. Read
3. Daydream

TWO things that make me happy:
1. My family
2. Creative successes

ONE thing on my mind right now:
1. The remodeling of my kitchen cabinets....going on right now.....by DH and friend. It'll be great when it's finished, but it's mighty messy right now!!

hahaha

Sorry there's no knitting update. I'm still not ready for "show and tell" of new loom knitting projects.

A Good Yarn

Nice birthday filled with love and chocolate cake (yum).

I love to read, as evidenced by the bookshelves throughout our house. In addition to the chocolate cake (and pizza for dinner) hubby brought me a book for birthday. It's titled The Shop On Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber. He said...it's about a yarn shop called A Good Yarn. That got my interest.

I hadn't read anything by this author before but a book that includes knitting did sound intriguing. I read a couple of chapters last night. It's actually pretty good!

Did you read it? Are there any knitting patterns??

P.S. Thank you for the birthday wishes!

Happy Birthday to me!

...49 doesn't hurt at all

Your Birthdate: August 17

You tend to find yourself lucky - both in business and in life. And while being wealthy is nice, you enjoy sharing your abundance with others. You put your luck to good use: you are very ambitious and goal oriented. Often times, you get over excited and take on more than you can manage. Your strength: Your ability to make your own luck Your weakness: Thinking you can do it all Your power color: Bronze Your power symbol: Half Moon Your power month: August

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Goats?

This was the view from my bedroom window yesterday afternoon. My first thought..."what huge dogs! Wait. Not dogs?!!" A herd of goats? Roaming the Southern California desert? No idea where these guys came from.

I know I haven't posted much about knitting lately. I have nothing on my needles 'cause I'm loomin'. Yep, loom knitting has taken over again. I've been working on new (successful!) patterns but have nothing I want to show yet. Sorry!

And speaking of knitting, Knitty Gritty is looking for new show ideas. If you have ideas (needle or loom knitting), you can make a suggestion to Vickie Howell here

Time for a laugh

Remember the saying "up a sh!t creek without a paddle?" Well, that problem seems to be solved.

Back to loom knitting my new designs. ;-)

Taking a break

My hands need a break from.....

It may look like a mess....but it's not ;-)

And my brain needs a break from.....

So I'm......

(and blogging...)

and my trusty companion is meeting a lizard (who is safely on the outside of the window).

How did your day go?

In the news

Blogger isn't able to upload pictures right now. So instead of knitting (needle or loom) tidbits, you get to read a piece of news. No, not about the insane price of oil.

A floating bed has been invented. It seems that suspending it from the ceiling with cables is necessary so that the bed won't float around the room. Good idea as you would have to hunt for the bed after returning from the bathroom in the middle of the night. But even if I could afford the $1.54 million price tag, it's not for California living. Can you imagine the roller coaster ride during an earthquake?

The picture and story is on yahoo here.

Back to teaching and Sock Wars!

Sunday is the first classes I've taught since June. I feel a little out of practice but it shouldn't take too long to get back into the "explaining" mode.

August Knifty Knitter project class will be a fingerless mitt. This one is done on the round loom (not the newer oval loom) since I haven't seen the new looms available at Michaels yet. I'm wondering what's with that!

Also I'm teaching a stretch magic class. This is a huge thing for me as I tend to be a snob when it comes to beading thread. Stretch magic has been used for making bracelets without clasps - the stringing method, ya know. And I'm a beadweaver....so I stuck my nose in the air and stated "not for me." I was wrong. It does works for some beadweaving projects.


And here's a peek at a future Knifty Knitter class.

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Like some knitters, I'm addicted to knitting socks. Yeah, yeah....I know I can get them already made for cheaper then the price as yarn. Yet I'm addicted like many other knitters.

One of the groups I belong to has mentioned Sock Wars 2006. Since it sounds like fun, I wanted to mention it here! Check it out.

Ouch!

A jewelry designer needs to remember that glass beads (even seeds) can weigh alot when woven into a design. I didn't think about that until trying this earring on...OUCH! Very uncomfortable to wear! And I didn't even put the focal bead in the center yet! (sigh) So let my mistake be your reminder....as I take this one apart and downsize it.

What should I blog about?

I'm taking a break from beading to update the blog. And I can't decide what to blog about.

Perhaps you'd like to see what I'm beading? Hoop earrings seem to be "in" again.

Or would you like to hear that I finished the needle knitted slip-stitch scarf. I started the matching hat on the loom, but haven't gotten far with it (so many ideas, not enough time)

Or you might like to know that your local library is a great resource for knitting books you want to buy....but can't afford right now because you "need" to spend money on beads and yarn first! "Knitting Over the Edge" by Nicky Epstein has some great edgings - and I'm working on a new design.

Or perhaps you're thinking of food (I am - I missed lunch because I was too caught up in beading). Sam's Club carries the greatest crab cakes! Yummy!! But not for lunch (darn it).

Off to grab a sandwich!

Less than 100 degrees!

Yesterday the trend of daily temperatures being over 100 degree was broken! It was a lovely day of mid to high 90's (ha!) But it did feel cool enough to spend more time with yarn.

I'm a very tactile person when it comes to yarn. Since I teach at Michaels, it's my obligation (snicker) to work with as many yarns as they carry. As you can guess, I spend loads of time in the yarn section.

A few months ago, I got Moda Dea Dream in 4 different colors - 2 skeins of white, and 1 each of pink, purple, and green (for the exact color names, click on the link). It's like working with cotton balls - very, very soft yarn.

I decided to make another scarf and hat set since both work up quickly.

This is the scarf so far. It's being needle knitted but I think I'll do the hat on the Knifty Knitter with the same checkered design.

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It's never too hot to bead. The non-knitting time was spent designing beadwork. None are ready for pictures. But since a blog without pictures is just a letter, you need a bead picture!


This little guy demanded to be made last fall. He's drawn comments whenever he gets an "outing" and hangs out with the hummingbird when at home.