Do I Dare??

Tonight at knitting club, my friend Rachel brought in a vintage crochet magazine (oh how I love vintage magazines) for show and tell. Rachel is a master crocheter, and recently decided to try her hand at knitting...a week after she picked up the sticks she was making socks. Oh yeah, she is good.

As I browsed through the magazine, I started to wonder- What have I been missing?????????? Page after page of funky fun jackets, blankets, hats, dresses and bags. There is a sweater I must have. Seriously, I can not go on if I don't own this sweater. I will cease to exist. I'm afraid I may be "hooked"! Tonight I embark on a new adventure! Tonight I enter the wonderful world of crochet! Wish me luck!

Sometimes a Girl's gotta Twirl ...

And twirl I did! So, on my way out of the Post Office this morning for my second trip to the car to mail orders, I look down and for crying out loud, I'm wearing 2 different shoes. Now if that isn't bad enough, I gotta go to work. Work you say? Yep, I still work a few hours a month as a Human Resources Consultant with the company I was with for 20 years, mostly on an as needed basis.

No dress up needed today, so it was jeans and Crocs for my day. When I noticed my faux pas, I actually decided to draw attention to the fact that I was nuts . First, carrying the rest of the orders into the PO, there is someone holding the door for me. I say to the nice man, thank you ... and if I could bother you for a few minutes for my survey and ask you which shoe looks the best with these jeans, I would appreciate it. He threw his head back in laughter ... I continued in ...

Next on to my job... I walk in and there is the delightful security guard which thinks I'm a little whacked anyway. I sign in, catch the elevator to the top (even though "mine" didn't go there today) and walk out. Here comes Frank and he notices it right away. Now Frank has known me for 20 years so I allow him to take a photo with his Treo phone whatever thingie.

And so twirl I did. I twirled and twirled in front of all my friends - hoping for their approval of my new found style... Didn't work so much ... but we all got a good laugh ... Oh Janie Janie Janie ... I heard that more than once ...

What I learned today ... Twirling is much more effective when wearing a full cut skirt - similar to poodle skirt. Twirling does not have the same effect when wearing Chico jeans...

Has that ever happened to you?

On the Knitting front ... The Yarn Grove received in the brand spanking new gotta have it book from Interweave Press called Favorite Socks. As soon as we put it up, it was sold out! So more are on the way this week along with some other new ones next week! Check back ...

I like my sweater better ...

Junior says ... "where in the heck did this raincoat come from? My cousin, Lucy? Does that mean I am wearing a girl jacket? I don't care if you like it better than the sweater you knit me. I WANT MY SWEATER ..."

Cousin Lucy, Debby and Michael's doggie, gave Junior her outgrown bright yellow raincoat. Junior was not so crazy about it. He humored me though . .. long enough to snap a photo or two... He does like his Fiber Trends Doggie Sweater though, made from Lorna's Laces worsted.

I'm working on socks. Not much to report. Been feeling lousy the past couple of days and finally went to doc. I love this doc. I drop my drawers as fast as I can to get that antibiotic shot... No time to be sick ...

Shabby...yet Chic!

Here is the bathmat I made from an old flnnel sheet. It feels so good on clean tooties. I may add fringe...not sure yet. I ripped the sheet into 1 inch strips and sewed the strips together with a zig zag stitch on my machine. I used size 35 needles, because my strips were too big for the 15s I originally tried. Knitting this mat is relaxing because you don't have to worry about each piece being perfect. Shabby Chic, remember?

Just a few things

I made a hat without a pattern, just started knitting and picture shows what it kinda looks like. When you put it on it looks like one of those scarves that my mother used to fold in half like a triangle and tie around her head. This felted one I made is dorky looking but would stay on in a heavy wind. Two lessons I learned; 1. Don't put in washing machine with a towel; 2. Make sure there is not a piece of paper out of DH pocket in the washing machine. I don't think I can get all the lint off the hat.

Improvising: The picture is a cd holder that goes in the car. It is perfect for holding circular needles and dpns. It is hard to see but there are several elastic slots for cds but circulars fit perfectly. The slots are tight so things don't fall out. I love it!

Look at my new stash. I can't stand it, I am a collector of stuff and right now I am collecting yarn....can't have enough stash. Of course I got it from The Yarn Grove. The two on the left are Lorna's Laces Sport in Uptown and the other is J-Knits Sock Yarn in Kansas. Both are more beautiful than what shows here. Can't wait to finish UFOs and start on those socks.

Well, gotta go get ready for the State of the Union tonight. I'll be watching Keith and Chris on MSNBC

Debby

Thrifty Knits!

Chris and I love going thrift store and antique mall shopping on the weekends. Yesterday we spent about 4 hours wandering through aisles of dusty treasures, and made out with some serious deals. I found 5 old magazines from the 60's for $.25 each, and an old knitting magazine for $.10. I also found a supercool vintage crochet dress for $3. I racked up with a Singer Dressmaking Course Book from 1961 for $.25 and ten vintage sewing patterns for less than a quarter a piece. All these items will go in my shop, With A Twist, on Fashiondig.com. Chris bought 3 key pads from old pay phones and made magnets out of the numbers. He's so smart! (and handsome)

I also started a new project I saw on DIYNetwork.com, where you knit strips of grocery bag together to make a reusable bag. Gotta love re-creative projects!

Too fun ...

Well, I started and finished the Calorimetry from Knitty.com . It was a quick and fun project. When I saw Amy's, I put it at the top of my to knitlist. For mine, I used Lorna's Laces Worsted Weight in Black Purl, one of my favorite colorways from Beth! Only used a tad over 1/2 skein and I knitted on US size 8. I am a tight knitter BUT if I knit this again, I will use size 7's. Give it a try! If you need a gift for someone, speedy like, then this is the project for you!

Here is Lily Purl wearing the Calorimetry. And I might add, it would look so much better without her plastic hair ... but she loves it ...

Still working on my Jaywalker(s). Actually my mom (Mimi , that's what my kids named her years ago and we all call her that) had surgery this week on her nose ... again. She has basel cell and this is her 2nd MAJOR surgery on her nose in 10 years. She is such a trooper - never complains, unless she is really hurting. She basically lost her entire left nostril and some around it. They rebuilt it with cartilage from her ear and then "flapped" her cheek skin over it. All this while awake from 8:30am until 1:30. She did go to "Happy Hour" with a little valium or something like that so she was relaxed...

On the first surgery, they "flapped" her forehead skin so they had to use from somewhere else. I volunteered some of my "extra eyelid skin" but it was a no go. While she is extremely black and blue the only pain she currently has is her ear! Now get this ... they(the drs.) all agree that it was caused from when she was a teenager (mom is 80) and back then for clearing up pimples, they "x-rayed" your face. I feel she will do fine... She's back to knitting already!

So that's my excuse for not knitting this week. BUT we have some new cute felting patterns arriving soon ... and stay tuned for new books! As they are published, we will receive ...

PS. STOP LURKING ... Show yourselves ...

Bathmats, Bags, Birthdays and Beans

What a week! I have WAY too many projects going on right now. I started knitting squares for a bag and ran out of yarn, so while I was waiting on my order to arrive from the Yarn Grove, I started another project (of course!)
My best girlfriend, Brooke, as a birthday coming up so I started a scarf with super soft Misti Alpaca. I tried a Saxon Braid, but it didn't look right so I ripped it out. I decided cables were the way to go. No...still not right. Rip. You can never go wrong with a stockinette stitch, right? Wrong. RIP! I finally settled on a chunky rib stitch. It looks nice, and its very snuggly.
Well then I saw a pattern for a bathmat made from an old flannel sheet torn into strips, and I HAD to try it. Just my luck- found the perfect sheet at Thrift Mart! So now, I've got a basket of knitted squares, 4 inches of a scarf, and a living room covered in flannel strips, and I'm opening the Coffee Shop at 5am tomorrow morning! Ok, no more projects til I finish something!

Put a Cork in it

Did you ever hear that from anyone? Well, now you CAN put a cork ON it! The Yarn Grove has just received their first shipment of StitchCorkers. Shhwweeetttt! These are corks that you put on the end of your needles to keep your stitches from falling off! Too cool. We have them in 3 different sizes for different sized needles...

Also in, boy have I been busy, bent tip needles, and most fun of all, DOUBLE POINT NEEDLES in 5.5". We have had so many inquiries about these and here they are! Now in stock US sizes 0 - 4.

New Sock Patterns from Chrissy Gardiner of Gardiner Yarn Works. Check them out! A delightful, work at home Mom from Oregon. Great designs. You can never have enough sock patterns, I mean come on...

Missing in Blogville are my 2 Blogging cohorts. My partners in crime, Debby and Cheryl. No clue. If you see them lurking around, would ya send them this way? Hells bells, they are probably sitting around knitting while I have been slaving over these new products ALL DAY (well not ALL day but some of the day. ALL day sounds better than some of the day). Hope they have some goodies to share or talk about!

Just a little "stick out" now...

Well, here it is... One finished Hundertwasser from Opal #1432. Have I started the mate, you ask? Oh lawd, of course not! But I finished one ... This is just a toe up using turkish cast on. By golly, I think I've got it! Remember how I have struggled? Well, thanks to all your emails and private suggestions, hints and tips, I might just have it. Still have a little "stick out" on the heel but am working on that.

So many exciting things going on at The Yarn Grove. New yarn in soon, new sock patterns up soon, just keep checking the website. We'll post all newness (check Websters for that one) as we progress on photos, etc. We'll have some new accessories in soon as well and we are very excited about that ...

As I sit here writing this post, I am aware of the tv news in the background. And being the news junkie that I am (Fox News, thank you very much) I am thrilled the Missouri boy was found alive. Can't wait to hear Greta chat about it tonight.

I zig, then I zag!

I have had a hankering to knit the Jaywalker socks from Grumperina for the longest time.

The Yarn Grove just received the latest Opal sock yarns - Feelings. Bright, fun colors. Here is a photo of my beginning sock, using Opal Feelings sock yarn #1702. I am so used to doing socks from the toe up that the first photo I took of this was upside down!

Look early next week for some new organic yarn we are adding to our line up! Also, more Elmore-Pisgah to replenish all the colors that have sold out ... again!

Short and sweet ... that's it!

Pitter Patter!!!

Just finished these precious felted booties for my dear friend Angel who is expecting her first baby sometime in April. I'm adding pearl buttons if its a girl and little wooden buttons if its a boy. I used Mauch Chunky Wool by Kraemer Yarns. The color is called Jelly Bean. I found the pattern in Vogue's Encyclopedia of Knitting. It was quick and easy, and I only used about 1/3 of the skein...guess I'll have to make more!

Felt oh great one ...

First of all, we have a new member of The Yarn Grove Antics ... Her name is Cheryl and she is my DIL. Let me brag on her for a minute...

She is super crafty - graduated from Clemson University with a degree in Costume Design. Cheryl has been knitting for about 3 years and has begun her own "knitting circle". I am thrilled to have her join us here!

I have finished the bag portion of the Rose Felted Bag from SWTC which is free with purchase of any skein of SWTC yarn. I saw this bag in person when The Yarn Grove received the Trunk show from them. I am knitting it in Karaoke which is 50% soysilk, 50% wool and felts like a DREAM... The color I am using is Rustica ... Here it is in its pre-felted form. Stay tuned for more.

Oh yeah, and Happy Knitting New Year to all of you!