Posted in knitting, Uncategorized, tagged Natasha and baby Elliot on August 10, 2009| 1 Comment »
You would think we’d never seen a baby before….we were all so excited to see Natasha with 2 1/2 week old Elliot…a beautiful baby with beaming mother and grandmother. Here’s Elliot!
Posted in Uncategorized on August 6, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Cotton Chenille Wash Cloths
Just the other day Marsha from our Saturday morning knitting workshop laughingly said, “I’ve made great progress…I’ve graduated from sweaters to wash cloths.!” And it’s interesting that so many of us have done the same thing….Susanne, Eleanor, Diane, Terry, and myself to name a few. The wash/dish cloth that is garter and knit on the diagonal is a quick and comforting knit….great for those moments when you want to knit but can’t concentrate because of conversation. I’ve just completed four. Check out Terry’s….she bought cotton chenille and a week later she had enough to decorate a bathroom and then some.
Posted in Uncategorized on August 5, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Can it be that it’s been more than a week since I’ve posted? Much like my knitting friend, Kimberly, some of my time has evaporated with my new girl pup, Lucy, and my kittens….that and blogging for my family blog…a memoir of my paternal grandparents on the Plains of Eastern Colorado And then Bill and I were able to get away to South Lake Tahoe for a long weekend.
Both Kimberly and I, as well as others at our Friday morning knitting, were enarmored with Jean’s latest….hat and mittens…yarn and pattern from Green Mountain Spinnery. You can see Jean and her project both here and at Kimberly’s blog.
Posted in knitting, Uncategorized on July 1, 2009| Leave a Comment »
And now some photos from the shower. Nina’s granddaughter, 7-yr old Kinsey, was quite eager to help Natasha open her presents. It truly was a wonderful morning of celebration.
Posted in Uncategorized on June 29, 2009| Leave a Comment »
We gathered at 9:00 this morning full of excitement….friendship, knitting, eats and flowers (Eleanor brought sweet peas from her garden)….we were showering Natasha with baby gifts…we knitting “aunties” had knit up a wardrobe for Natasha and John’s son to be born late July.
It was so fun to see Natasha’s joy as she opened the gifts as well as the joy of the giver. Natasha is a great Cal fan…so you will see that some of the gifts have a Cal theme. I identify the gifts by giver only to share their creativity. Eleanor knit a cap and matching socks…as well Crystal Palace’s Cotton Chenille washcloths. Rebecca also knit a treasure chest of garments – hat and sweater (I think there was something else). Shari knit a bib in Classic Elite’s Provence – 100% Egyptian Cotton (one of my favorite cottons)…the pattern was from One Skein by Leigh Radford. Susanne added the football theme booties. P.J. knit Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Tomten Jacket using Cal colors. She also knit the sweetest sweater. And Natasha’s mother is almost finished with a beautiful alphabet blanket. We as the Saturday am knitting workshop group used Brown Sheep’s cotton fleece to knit the Moderne Baby Blanket from the Mason-Dixon book. In many cases, the gifts were just off the needles or soon to be coming off. In the case of the Moderne Baby Blanket the drying had just finished minutes before we met.
Blocking and color fast tips. In the case of this most recent Moderne Baby Blanket, Cotton Fleece was once again chosen because it is such a wonderful yarn to use for baby blankets. After weaving in the last thread last evening…the next task was washing and blocking. In the case of the Cotton Fleece blocking washing was quite successful.
Posted in Uncategorized on June 21, 2009| 2 Comments »
Early last week I had the opportunity to work as a knitting/crochet judge for entries in the Marin County Fair. And, oh, there were so many wonderful entries, in fact at least double from years past. I will post just a few of those that I saw…and these are photos of ones that were eye-catching and my camera was handy.
The caplet that Katie modeled really caught my eye….the colors, the design, the drape, and the frog/clasps in front. It was one of the garments…and there many… that I would like to have taken home. The sock with the target design was unique in that the design appeared to be knit from center out and then incorporated into the sock. And the hat that Barbara modeled caught my eye because I love hats…and I loved the construction of this one…cables, colors, and embellishments.
Having served in this judging role once again reminded me that there are so many creative people. I glimpsed other items (not knitted) that will draw me back to the Fair as a visitor so I can really see all the other entries. If you are looking for something to do over the July 4th weekend….you might enjoy this event.
Posted in Uncategorized on June 18, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Natasha has been busy knitting for her baby treasure chest and for herself as a new mother.
Natasha and her baby son's sweater!
I think it’s important to say that she started knitting just a few years ago…and with her quick math mind and nimble fingers she has custom designed many garments for herself. It has been a joy to watch her design and knit! She wears most everything that she knits….and she keeps a great knitting journal. She can refer to it often. And just this weekend she completed her Annie Scarf Stole…which will be most useful to her as a nursing mother…and then many moons past that.
Natasha and her Annie Scarf Stole
Posted in Uncategorized on June 14, 2009| 3 Comments »
Diane's latest baby gift!
These Moderne Baby Blankets are in the making.
Diane is using Brown’s Sheep’s Cotton Fleece for this baby gift.
And Marsha is also using Brown’s Cotton Fleece and she is using an accent novelty yarn in each block.
Marsha's Baby Gift
Posted in Mason-Dixon Knitting, Uncategorized, tagged Mason-Dixon Knitting, Nina, Sugar 'n Cream on June 9, 2009| 2 Comments »
Nina and her granddaughter and Moderne Baby Blanket
The book Mason-Dixon Knitting by Kay Gardiner and Ann Meador Shayne (friends and business partners because of the internet) was released in 2006 and has been the inspiration for many log cabin blankets to be knit. I have knit two – one for my youngest sister’s child and one for my lifelong friend Mary…friends since we were 12. And I have participated in many as we Skein Lane knitters have knit for the arrival of new babies within the groups. The joy and beauty of all them is that even though the design is simple, each one looks different. It’s all about fibers and colors. So, let’s take a look at few of them over the next few days. The most recent completion is one that Nina knit using Sugar ‘n Cream yarn…one of the cheaper and great cotton yarns. She edged the blanket with stockinette which rolls back over the body. This edge is different than the design from Mason-Dixon…and all the better..it’s about being inspired by books and patterns that we see. And then we can take off!
Posted in Uncategorized on June 8, 2009| Leave a Comment »
It was great to see Ellen this past week. She has a very busy schedule with two near-teen daughters, a husband, and she is in school. She has been studying so that she can enter into a nursing program…and this moment she is eagerly awaiting to hear back from she has applied for nursing school. In the midst of this full schedule she knits. Her favorite knit projects include lace designs and aran designs.
And my heart was delighted as Ellen and Lucy met! What a good girl this pup is…what great knitting friends.
Skein Lane - IN THE LOOP 