Skein Lane

Celebration of three…

February 28, 2015 by Carolyn

It was another knitting gathering of celebration of three birthdays….Patricia, Sheri and Karen. We also celebrated (show & tell) our recent additions to our stashes….some from Madrona and some from Stitches West. I personally said I wasn’t going to purchase a thing….that was before the three new projects and one book became mine. More about that in next post.

We also celebrated Jean’s recent finished project….you can see her “show & tell” photo below.

Sheri gave a review of her Knitting Ergonomics Class at Madrona….great knitting tips to keep us healthy (free from pain in wrists, arms, backs, etc) as we knit. One that really stands out for me is …. knit for no more than 20 mins; then give yourself a break. Move those hands, wrists and arms around. Think the tips work for iPad and computer use as well. I find myself bent over both for way too long when I am not knitting.

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MaggiKnits will be at Stitches West 2015

February 16, 2015 by Carolyn

Stitches West 2015 is almost here….February 20-21 at Santa Clara Convention. Several of us in the Skein Lane community are fans of her designs and her yarns. The ornate designs are Maggi’s creations and the others are designs knit with some of Maggi’s yarns. I will be working in her booth again this year….come see us in booth 513.

p.s. Maggi’s yarns are also available at Skein Lane Studio online store.

Karen is happy!

Karen’s latest MaggiKnits project

One of the new designs 2014

Tassel Shawl in Linen

Maggi and Heather 2014

Debbie – MaggiKnits

Terry

Diane’s version of Cheryl Oberle’s Rebozzo Shawl knit in MaggiKnits linen

Susanne – Summer Flies Shawl

It’s done!!!

Detail of Marsha’s poncho/shawl

Marsha – another new knit!

Check out the buttons!

This collar follows MaggiKnits vision. ….I knit mine in seed stitch as I am that simple kind of gal!

Buttons in O’Doyle Wrap kit (embelished)

Proud Debbie

Carolyn’s O’Doyle Wrap

MaggiKnits Big Cowl – View 3

Me (Carolyn) modeling new MaggiKnits shawl

Carolyn’s Vision – MaggiKnits Large Cowl

Me – new Large MK Cotton Cowl

Posted in knitting, MaggiKnits, Shopping | Tagged Creative Knitting Designs, knitting, MaggiKnits, Stitches West | Leave a Comment »

Hearts

February 15, 2015 by Carolyn

With Terry’s recent completion of her some 10 “heart” aghans/blankets, it seems the right weekend to share some of the creativity. These have all been inspired by Fiber Trend Pattern (CH-24), and I have hardly begun to capture how many I’ve seen completed in the Skein Lane knitting community. Think it’s probably time to thank Fiber Trends for this wonderful pattern.

This is Terry’s 7th or 8th Heart Inspired Afghan…in this case the baby is due in two weeks!

Terry

Terry and her Heart Design Afghan

The detail of the blanket Terry knit!

Maurie and the Rose Heart Afghan

The Rose Heart Afghan

Heart Afghan inspired by “Rose Heart” Afghan

Posted in knitting | Tagged Blankets, Creativity, friendship, Hearts | Leave a Comment »

Happy Valentine’s Day

February 14, 2015 by Carolyn

Last weekend I saw an idea for Valentine’s gifts for my three nieces and nephew in Idaho. The next day (Sunday) I am in local fabric shop buying red felt for these Valentine themed bookmarks. The bookmarks were assembled by Sunday night with the exception of the ribbon and buttons (to weight the book mark). It was then a simple matter of sewing the button to the ribbon which I did on Wednesday night….don’t want to rush into these things. Haha! I packaged these Thursday morning…drove to Safeway early (@ 6:45 am on my way to work) to add Barnes and Noble gift cards (my late night idea)..mailed Priority Package. Should be in Idaho today.

Posted in Crafting | Tagged Bookmarks, crafts, family, Valentine's Day | 1 Comment »

Rocky and Taffy (Photo Transfer) Pillow

February 8, 2015 by Carolyn

I have been dreaming/thinking about photo transfers onto fabric for awhile. Recently I had a “vision”….Kimberly’s dogs on a pillow.

This photo transfer process is so much easier than I imagined. One simply needs to print “your” images onto Fabric Sheets for Ink Jet Printers. (There are several suppliers…just google.) Here are the steps that I took.

Trolled through Kimberly’s FB photos and found several…..the great news is that Kimberly loved them all and three of those chosen were her very favorites.
Created a collage of six photos…..then printed that collage onto the fabric sheet. In hind sight I realize I didn’t want to see as much white background. The pillow cover was already assembled when I had the thought of larger photos framed in ribbon before adding the fabric quilt type pieces. My solution to the white was to sew lace flowers around the photos. Even though labor intensive (each one sewn on individually) Kimberly loved the look as did I.
Framed the photos with fabric in quilt style to a finished size of 18″x18″.
Chose the closure of the pillow to be an envelope style. This style made for easy pillow insertion.

Kimberly saw the project at the beginning stages….photo with fabric lined up by printed photos….but she was wonderfully surprised and pleased when she saw finished result. It was really a fun project!

Kimberly’s BD Celebration

Rocky and Taffy

The beginnings of the pillow

It’s finished..ready for delivery.

FB message from Kimberly…”Best birthday present ever – a puppy pillow with my own.”

Posted in Birthday Celebrations, Friendship, knitting | Tagged Dogs, Envelope Style Pillow Cover, Fabric Sheets, Pets, Photo Transfer, Pillow | 1 Comment »

We knit and we celebrate

February 7, 2015 by Carolyn

Another birthday ….. another round of celebrations and sharing. This week it was Bonnie from FMKG (Friday Morning Knitting Group). The knitting table was full not only with chairs filled but with wonderful friendship. At one point there were more than a couple folks singing a camp song from their youth camp days.

Jan arrived looking stunning in her lovely knit shawl. Here are the details from Jan. “The shawl pattern is “Irish Moss” from Verybusymonkey. And the yarn is Blue Moon Marine Silk (fingering weight) – 51% silk, 29% merino, and 20 % sea cell rayon. The color is Sky Blue Pink. 487 yds per skein and one skein should have been sufficient but wasn’t. Fortunately the pattern includes a shortened version and I was glad of that anyway since it would have been too long in the back otherwise. Verybusymonkey patterns are all beautiful, but they also are designed to curve around your shoulders, making them stay put a little better than other shawls.”

I did manage to whip out the iPhone for a few photos…but still way below my norm. Happy Birthday to Bonnie!

The BD girl with her pal Kimberly showing off one of her latest in knitting.

Jan and her beautfiul shawl

Another view of Jan’s shawl

The champagne and pie cutting commences!

The “official” and current photo of last week’s BD gal

Posted in Birthday Celebrations, knitting | Tagged celebrations, friendship, knitting | Leave a Comment »

The Windsor Shawl

February 4, 2015 by Carolyn

Recently Karen H came to knitting wearing her latest project off the needles….the Windsor Shawl. Karen always works diligently on completing the wonderful projects that she purchases at Stitches West (coming up again in a couple weeks). This time is no exception. I believe the Windsor Shawl (you can see Maggi on video showing more colorways) was of the most popular kits at Maggi’s booth last year. Can hardly wait to what Maggie has new for this year.

As for Karen….she will have a new showing very soon. Stay tuned.

p.s. I will be working at Maggi’s booth again this year….more news coming.

Karen is happy!

The back of the Windsor Shawl

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We celebrate Sarah!

February 2, 2015 by Carolyn

Sarah – the birthday girl!

Last week….Jan 30 to be exact…we (the Friday morning knit group aka FMKG) celebrated Sarah’s birthday. I always take photos and somehow I lost the plot on this celebration….so the good news is that Sarah hasn’t “aged” a year when I share a joint birthday celebration from last year.

This past Friday’s celebration was lovely…champagne accompanied with strawberries and toasted almonds, gifts, and most importantly – friendship. Yep….we did find some time to knit. I saw that Sarah was working on a project that had a sheep theme. Many of us share a similar love of sheep…the main source of our yarn.

Happy Birthday again to Sarah!

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Ringing in January with a Birthday Celebration

January 10, 2015 by Carolyn

Our Friday morning knit group (FMKG) celebrated it’s first birthday of the year….Kimberly. She was treated to cheesecake (specially made by Merle for Kimberly), champagne and a variety of gifts. Cheers to friendships and celebrations.

ps….we did some knitting. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post re: Karen H’s finished garment.

The Cheesecake

The Champagne

Kimberly loves the Cheesecake

It’s gift time

Kimberly’s BD Celebration

Beautiful “gifted” jewelry

Posted in Birthday Celebrations, Friendship, Jewelry, knitting | Tagged Birthdays, celebrations, friendship, knitting | Leave a Comment »

Auld Lang Syne – Remembering another year gone by

December 31, 2014 by Carolyn

New Year’s Eve….a day and evening of remembering days gone by. This year’s post includes both photos we have seen and those that are new to us. Wishing all a happy new year and all the best in 2015.

Grateful for all the friendships and creativity!

p.s. There may be flashbacks to 2014 in the next month….there are more wonderful creations that need to be posted.