IS IT HOT IN HERE, OR IS IT ME???

Man, has it been HOT around here! I am patiently awaiting the installation of my new central heat and air and I have been promised by the very friendly AC man that I am "on the list" - of course, I have no idea how long his "list" is. My cats are lazing about on the floor looking for a cool spot. My knitting is lazing about looking for someone to rescue it. I must admit that I have not been knitting much lately. I am looking for some inspiration but have yet to find it. I went to the stash to see if something would jump out and all it did was remind me of exactly how much yarn is in my stash. I have some pretty "summer" sock yarn colors and I feel like that is going to be the answer. However, before I embark on yet another project, I am going to at least finish the Chevron Scarf. On another note, I find it amusing that, along with waiting for my new AC, I am also waiting on my Knitting Daily prize mittens...pretty silly, huh...waiting anxiously for a pair of mittens in June!

I WON!!!

I entered Knittingdaily.com's magnetic poetry contest a while back and lo and behold, I WON 1st place! I could hardly believe it. The prize is my poem knit into a pair of mittens - how cool is that? I have been told they will be ready in a few weeks and I cannot wait to see them. I have always liked poetry and writing but have not actually done any real writing in quite a while. I find a lot of comfort in words and the way they are put together. I tend to like songs more for the lyrics than the melody. I like little snippets that are witty and advertising that is clever.

The Square Cake bag was a hit and I hope it raised a little money for our local Chamber of Commerce. So, before I go, here's a photo of the Square Cake bag and my winning poem...

"smitten for the rhythm of a knit stitch and skein..."

SORRY FOR THE DELAY...

Wow! It's MAY! I must apologize for being so delinquent in my posts. I have slowed down some on my knitting, for various reasons, one being the Onion Festival . I finished the Kohl Mexicana but have not yet photographed it for posting. I also finished another baby kimono and made a pair of baby Monkey socks as a gift. Yes, I still have the Chevron Scarf and THE Sock on the needles (sad, isn't it?) I am almost done with the Square Cake bag, which I am donating for auction. I will post a photograph as soon as it is finished. Really, not much exciting on the knitting front here at home. I do have some exciting and fun knitting news to share, but not just yet....stay tuned!

I NEED SOME KNITALIN!

I am so ADD right now I can't stand it! My theory is that after the pressure of compelteing projects for the holidays, I have completely lost my focus. I was thrilled at the thought of no pressure - just knitting whatever I wanted, or not. So far, I have five (5), yes, five (5) projects on the needles. This is way above my two-project limit. I was loving my chevron scarf, and it is about halfway finished...then I decided to work on THE SOCK, because the sole sock kept staring at me and my hubby said he had a sock that had a hole in it...so I am half through the leg on it...then I saw the Square Cake purse at Knitty so I bought the yarn and can't wait to cast on...and then, there is was, in the LYS, the Kohl Mexicana wrap from Louisa Harding...I bought the yarn - you get to use 5 different yarns :-) and cast on -- I love it and can't wait for it to be finished...it is half done...So, by now you can see, I am having a hard time keeping my knitting focus...bear with me...I figure at this rate, it will all be done at the same time and I'll be in the same pickle once again.

What happened to 2007?

I cannot believe it is already a week into 2008! I had such grand plans for 2007 - as for all other years past. I don't know why I am surprised when another year has come and gone...it is very cliche, but the older you get, the faster it goes! We had a pleasant, although somewhat rushed holiday season around here...I did manage to gift friends and family with one hat, two scarves, one cowl, and four felted bags. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. As for me, I have finally cast on my Chevron scarf!!! I decided to save the Socks that Rock and chose to use two of my very own hand-dyed yarns! How exciting is THAT??? I like the way it is coming along; however, although I played it safe and chose to use a "semi-solid" for the second colorway, I think I see why you may want to use something a little more exciting. Maybe next time I'll take a walk on the wild side and choose two very contrasting yarns. I leave you, this first week of the year, with a photo of the Chevron Scarf in progress, as well as a photo of my favorite Christmas creation...I loved this bag!

Santa's Workshop

Well, here it is, the middle of NOVEMBER! Can you believe it? I have been steadily knitting to fill some of Santa's orders. As you can see, I've had lots of help from the "elves". I mean, how can you knit when there's a kitten on your knittin'? Christmas will be here soon and although my personal list of gifts to knit is short, several folks will be receiving hand-knit gifts because someone was thinking of them. My goal is to make the world cozy, so I hope that each gift brings a smile and some warmth to the recipient. My gift to myself is some personal knitting time after the holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Oh What A Day!

Whew...it's late...but I am just back from a quick trip to Atlanta, and Knitch, where I was lucky enough to spend the day with Claudia from Claudia Hand Painted Yarn, and unlocked the mystery of hand dyeing yarn. What a day! Claudia designs yummy colorways (see my previous post on the Chocolate Cherry). I learned so much and had a lot of fun. You get to use your creativity and get your hands dirty swishing color around to create color combinations. It was like a bunch of kids waiting for Christmas, waiting on the yarn to "cook" and then seeing what came out of the pot. I dyed three skeins. One is a 6-color colorway, primarily dark colors, with a pop of violet and turquoise. One is a "semi-solid", which is really a little more varigated than expected, in a plum, and the third is a "Knitch" colorway, which is only three colors, with a lime green and turquoise. I think I am going to make my Chevron Scarf from the plum colors...although there are two skeins of Socks That Rock earmarked for the project...I think it will be special to have yarn dyed by my own little happy hands! The Knitch yarn is destined for socks...A big thank you to Claudia...I think it is very generous of her to share her wisdom and talents with others...judging by my work so far, I don't think she has to worry about me putting her out of business ;-)