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Archive for the ‘knitting’ Category

Jean has been doing stealth knitting!

Posted in knitting, tagged , on November 11, 2011| 2 Comments »

Jean - Wrap Stitch Ribbon Sweater

Jean and her fan club

Jean - another view

Jean knits and knits and most of the time we at the Friday morning knitting group get to see her work in progress. Today she quietly brings out a ribbon sweater (that we’ve not seen before) which she is about to assemble…the knitting is done…now time for the dreaded seaming and weaving in the loose ends. We “pounce” on this new garment and want to know more. It’s a wrap-stitch ribbon sweater inspired when she visited her life-long friend – knitting guru Barbara Scott.

During the 15 years that I have known Jean she has knit numerous beautiful sweaters, vest, cardigans, scarves, blankets, baby clothes…she knits. Ellen K of our knitting group says it for all us.

“Jean, what can I say.  You’re my knitting hero!  Everything you make fits you perfectly–how do you do it?  You’re new garment is lovely, as are you.”

The details….

Neck detail of ribbon sweater

Stitch detail of ribbon sweater

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Marsha’s latest “log cabin”

Posted in knitting, tagged , on November 1, 2011| 3 Comments »

Marsha knits and knits and she recently embarked on another log cabin afghan…similar to the Moderne Blanket but different. This pattern came from May 2011 Creative Knitting magazine. This past Saturday she showed the almost finished afghan….she is now edging with a garter edge. The yarn she chose was once again Brown Sheep’s Cotton Fleece.Here are the six colors that she used….Peridot, Rue, Jungle Green, Lime, Wolverine Blue and Banana.

As many of you know this is one of my favorite yarns to knit and it behaves well before and after! My niece has a sweater that I knit for her son…it went through many washings for two sons…and it is now in the family archive. Stay tuned for photo of that sweater to appear.  I asked my niece if she still had it….her response…”Of course!” She will send a photo soon and then I will share. I will also share my latest Cotton Fleece creation in the next couple days.

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The knitting groups are abuzz!

Posted in knitting, tagged , on October 30, 2011| Leave a Comment »

The Friday group came together with its usual high energy…the needles were clicking and the travelers were sharing about their recent travels. Hawaii for Kimberly….Jan was gone for a couple of weeks and her travels took her to Canada and then some. I actually couldn’t keep up with her….her travels were while I was  gaining new vision. And what was on the needles….some shawls, vests, socks and on Jean’s needles – the “Beekeeper’s Quilt”. I will whip out the camera next week and share photos of their creations.

"Boys Crown" from Maurie's needles

The Saturday group also came with high energy. Some were returning from being absent from their knitting needles and another changed her group to Sat am.  Our group ranged in age from 9 to 97….I mention it only because it is wonderful to see young Rohan knitting with the more seasoned knitters….and quite comfortable at that. I was handy with the camera this morning….captured some projects….and some knitters. Here we go!

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So much to say…so little time! Let’s talk about Beth.

Posted in knitting on October 26, 2011| 3 Comments »

Many thoughts have been on my mind these least few weeks…one of which is I don’t sit down as often as I would like to write about…the comments…the garments…thoughts…but here we go again. (Be sure to read to the end so that you can read about Beth.)

First…as you many of you know I recently had cataract surgery on my “good” eye (my not so good eye can get me by but it has comprised vision due to eye disease in my early 20’s). I share this with you because this recent surgery was a “big deal” that made me worry….but it was successful…and now it’s a new lease on vision…and I’m back on track…wanting to knit more and chat!

Many stories to share…but I want to start with Beth. Early in the summer Beth called and wanted to reconnect with Skein Lane. She had been a customer of the retail store front.  She has joined our Saturday knitting group and is knitting away. You might wonder what is so special about that! Beth is 97….she is one of the most pleasant people I have ever met … my cousin Diane might qualify for the same  spot. Beth knits, she volunteers, she drives, she lives by herself. Just recently she looked over at another knitter who was knitting socks and she said in her wonderful voice, “I haven’t knit socks since WWII!”

Just have to say…so glad Beth is part of our world!

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Fall is here and the knitting madness begins

Posted in Knitting Videos, tagged , , on October 15, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Gardening and reorganization continued to claim time from blogging and sharing this summer. We’re back once again! Fall is here and the needles are clicking!

This morning as I was surfing through my emails I stopped to read the latest from Berroco…their knitting tidbits this morning included some unique videos featuring…what else but knitting, yarn and textures. One of the videos is of the knitter  Last Knit who kept clicking….this was went around a few years ago. Enjoy….the Last Knit

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A weekend of blessings!

Posted in knitting, tagged on May 1, 2011| 1 Comment »

An Irish Blessing

This morning in church I found  I was obsessed with multi-tasking…listening to the homily  and analyzing a  sweater design worn by another parishioner. A few minutes later this parishioner came to me with a gift…Linda whispered, “I’ve just returned from Ireland and Sister Margaret has sent you this gift.”  The gift – a fridge magnet with an old Irish blessing.

May you have all the happiness and luck that life can hold.

And at the end of all of your rainbows may you find a pot gold.

I was moved almost to tears. Sister Margaret was a customer of Skein Lane before the retail store closed. When she retired from St Jerome’s in El Cerrito  a couple of years ago I gave her a gift of yarn to take with her journey back to her homeland of Ireland.  What a thoughtful gift….thank you Sister Margaret.

Linda in her beautiful Irish knit sweater.

Another thank you – to Linda for bringing the gift to me and then for letting me oogle her sweater. She purchased this beautiful Aran knit while in Ireland. She mentioned Quills – the source of good Irish-knit Aran sweaters. The sweater is a lovely blue with the body of the sweater knit from bottom to armhole and then attached to a knitted piece for bodice (a cable design going in an opposite direction from the body. I see an Aran Sweater design class coming up in the fall.

Speaking of sweater design….a new class started yesterday…and it’s so exciting. Each partcipant is designing their own sweater specific to their own body measurements. Some of us are creating our own pattern…while others are learning to use their pattern as a road map on the way to customizing for their body measurements. We are ambitious in this group and I think we will be showing you results of our efforts very soon.

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Close up on the skirts

Posted in knitting, tagged , on April 10, 2011| Leave a Comment »

This morning I “found” some close-ups of the twirly skirts that were taken just before popping in the mail. I was inspired to “paint” with yarn on this stockinette design knit with Brown Sheep’s Cotton Fleece….great fun to add more color with each skirt being unique for each unique niece.

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Tic-tock!

Posted in Family, knitting on April 8, 2011| 2 Comments »

Tic-tock…that’s the beat that has been playing in my head since December…I’ll post soon – tic-tock it’s Christmas…tic-tock it’s New Year’s….tic-tock it’s Valentine’s Day…tic-tock it’s Ground Hog’s Day….tic-tock it’s St Patrick’s Day….tic-tock Easter is almost here!

So where has Skein Lane Studio been? Personally, I fell into the family history hole…in my other life I am a family historian. I was contacted before Christmas by Michelle – another  great-granddaughter of Kate. She was seeking information about her great-grandmother….her name being Kate. The very short version is that my maternal grandmother Elizabeth never knew her mother. For reasons that weren’t clear for years and still aren’t so clear, we – the family,  knew that my grandmother was born in England and her mother’s name was Ellen Kate. We didn’t know why her Austrian father took her and her brother from England to this country. I have been interested in this story since I was a young child 8 years old when I first heard the story. I have learned so much since then….it’s been a wonderful journey. I have created a blog that is all about Kate and her story.

The Four

In the meantime I’ve been knitting like crazy….as have so many of the Skein Lane Studio knitting workshop knitters. Where to begin?! For today I will share the photos of the twirly skirts….inspired by Skein Lane knitting workshopper Janie’s twirly skirt knit …. that I made for my sister’s three  girls…great fun knitting and great rewards when I heard their response. I knit these skirts with Brown Sheep’s Cotton Fleece….one of my favorite yarns. My niece Honara told me that the sweater that I knit (in Brown Sheep) for her 1st son was one her favorites and it lasted through two sons!

Tomorrow I will begin sharing the photos of so many wonderful knitting projects from our wonderful knitters…I will also post the upcoming classes.

Okay….we’re back!  Knit on as Elizabeth Zimmerman would say!

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The “Vested” Tomten Jacket

Posted in knitting, tagged , , , on November 4, 2010| 1 Comment »

Marsha

More creativity from Marsha!

She has been working on a Tomten Jacket (design by Elizabeth Zimmerman)…..one of my favorite children designs (which can also be knit in adult sizes). It’s simple, practical, and elegant…all at the same time. In this case, Marsha was worried about enough yarn…she was using a sock yarn that was also taking a lot of knitting time. So….in the interest of time and yarn she decided to knit the sleeves “short” to fit so that sleeves fit right into the armhole but were only long enough to line up with the body of the sweater. Remember that this design has the sleeves “set” into the body.

This design also has a hood, but Marsha chose to convert that into a collar by leaving the hood off. This version can either be a stand-up collar or roll back. Isn’t it great to be so inspired by a pattern design that you can add your own touches?

Marsha did a beautiful job of the I-cord trim. She is now looking for the right closure. Will it be a frog that she creates from I-cord or will it be a shopping trip to  Stone Mountain and Daughter Fabrics in Berkeley for the best closure. Stay tuned!

Oh…and remember the Tomten is a modular jacket…any size yarn can be used…just need to get the propotions right…..1/4 of total stitches = back; 1/2 of total stitches = 2 armholes; and 1/4 stitches = 2 fronts. This pattern is available through School House Press.

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Rabbit Stick

Posted in Crafting, knitting, tagged , , on November 2, 2010| 2 Comments »

  I was so excited recently!  Marsha returned from vacation at Rabbit Stick…..she came to knitting workshop full of such excitement and enthusiam and rightly so! I caught her enthusiam.

She had spent several days in Idaho at a creative native craft experience. She felted fabric from old sweaters and made boots. She crafted (pounded) blanket pins (cowboy pins) out of copper wire..looked like shawl pins to me.

She estimated that 300 + people were in attendance….Rabbit Stick was celebrating its 25th anniversary….Marsha has been going for years….I’m thinking it would be a wonderful experience!

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