February 25, 2009

Some Completed Items!

I knitted a lot the past two weeks ..... completed knitting the scarf for the Ravelry Scarf Exchange (needs to be blocked), some small knitted items to go along with it (felting comes next), about 6 very long rows on the outside of the Hemlock Ring Blanket for Beth's Yarn Basket KAL, and these .....
They are commissioned socks from our church's silent auction. Our associate minister purchased a pair for his wife, Hope.
Pattern: Mad Color Weave Socks by Christine Lorin
Yarn: Skacel Trampoline stretch, colorway 66
Needles: Addi #1 on magic loop
Size: Women’s 12
Then he decided he'd like a pair, too. His are just barely started .... about 6 rows of 2x2 ribbing on the Gentleman Socks by Kristi & Kristi R. Schueler in Cherry Tree Hill supersock in the Java colorway. He requested "brown" and likes dark roasted coffee ..... the perfect yarn.
Happy knitting, everyone! TLGB

February 9, 2009

A Week-end of Knitting!

This past week-end (Feb. 6-8) DD and I met in Des Moines for the 3rd annual Des Moines Metro Knitters Knit-In. The first night was spent in a "yarn-tasting" where we visited each of the eight table and "tasted" 2-3 three different yarns. Papers were provided to note the name of the yarn, manufacturer, and fiber content. As a side, we did have a wine & cheese tasting, too!
Saturday started with a couple hours of knitting followed by a Domino's Pizza lunch. In the afternoon, we received knitting hints/helps from attendees, an explanation of "hand-dyed" yarns with both verbal explanations and visuals, and different types of cast-ons. DD and I missed out on the cast-on since we were visiting yarn/craft shops. The weather there was "spring-like" warm ...... and we still have about six more weeks of winter here in Iowa. It was a "teasing" for us.
The rest of the week-end was spent knitting.....knitting...... and more knitting. Since I worked on a lot of "surprises", those won't be pictured until they've been received. Here's a pic of the Hemlock Ring Blanket that I should have started on Jan 8 for the KAL at the Yarn Basket in Carroll. My job, teaching, really cut into my knitting time in January. It is knit on KP Options #10.5 with Cascade Ecological Wool, colorway 8085 (a dark taupe).
Happy knitting! TLGB