Socks for Soldiers

This is an awesome group that I am proud to be a part of. You can find more details about them at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SOCKFORSOLDIERS/. I encourage anyone who reads this post, that is able to knit, to get involved with this cause. What a way to show our troops that regardless of where we stand on the politics of the war, we care about them and look forward to their safe return home. I just started on my first pair of black socks. It seems somewhat of a daunting project right now, but after a few days, I am sure I will relax into it. Anyone else out there in cyberland knitting or sewing or writing letters - just doing something to show support for our soldiers away from home?

Crochet!

I received this shipment from Knitpicks back in July. I was so excited! I LOVE getting packages of yarn in the mail. In this one package are several projects. One I am in the middle of is a crochet project. I rarely crochet anymore - it just seems to take SO LONG -but my dear sweet husband really wanted an afghan. His grandmother made him a ripple afghan when he was young, but he really doesn't want to use it anymore because he doesn't want anything to happen to it. So, like so many other things, it has been put safely away as "memory." My task was to try to recreate an afghan just like it. I thought I had found a pattern that was as close as I could get, he picked out the yarn, it came in and I started right away on it. That's when it happened! He decided that the combination of the yarn with the size hook that the pattern called for was just too airy - interpret - way too full of holes. So after taking out what I had started and trying several different hook sizes, we found one that gave the right density that he wanted. Only problem now was it wasn't going to be wide enough or long enough if I held to the pattern specifications. I added width and we decided on a length only to discover that now I was not going to have enough yarn to do his entire afghan in the one color he picked out. I will be doing a striped pattern. We are going to purchase some more yarn - enough to finish this mammoth project - in the color o the gray twist that is in this yarn.

Figuring out the gauge

After a week

Where I am stopping until I get the contrasting yarn for the stripe

Over the next few days, I will post photos of some of the other things that I have made and ideas for some of the other projects I would like to make with this yarn that came in.

Beautiful Antique Clothing!

We had a great time! There were so many beautiful articles of clothing at this show. I was truly impressed with the quality of the fabric that so many of these antique garments were made of. Such fine, delicate batiste. How I wish I could find fabric like that today! I saw a lot of armistice style blouses there. Some were plain, although still beautiful, but then there were some that I held for a long time, trying to memorize the details and the lace patterning. It was just heavenly getting to not only look at these items, but also to hold them and marvel at their construction. There were many childrens/infant clothing in batiste as well. The details were just incredible. To think that all of the time and attention to detail was done for a garmet that would so quickly be grown out of.

There were also garments like this Edwardian dress. The woman who owns this display was kind enough to let me photograph this dress. It was absolutely beautiful!


I wish that I could have taken pictures of everything there, but that was not an option, unfortunately. Mae-Marie kept touching everything, marvelling over how wonderful everything felt.

There were pieces of antique lace, bolts of fabric, quilts, dolls, etc. The show only lasts one day, and we saw all that we were able in that amount of time. Now that I know what to expect, next time I attend I will be well prepared. The prices on many things were quite reasonable, so I will have to set aside a budget for the next show.

Mae-Marie and Clara (my mother-in-law)

We had a really good day together. Halfway through the day we took a break and had lunch at a cute restaurant in Sturbridge. They have a wonderful salad there that has a wonderful mixture of greens, chicken and cranberries. I have grown extremely fond of cranberries, so it was a special treat. My father-in-law, Al, spent the day with the boys at home, so it was nice to have a "girls day out." The only thing missing from this day was my oldest daughter, Sarah, who had to go back to Maryland at the beginning of August. Perhaps next year, we can plan to attend one during the time she will be with us.

14 Years!

Yesterday, my husband and I celebrated our 14 wedding anniversary! Wow, has time flown. We drove to Providence and had dinner at Smoky Bones - Scott LOVES this restaurant! The food was great. I had had to fight back the desire to bring my knitting with me - only to discover later that I probably should have brought it to work on. There were televisions all over the place at this restaurant and on each table there was a speaker that would let you select which tv to listen to. College football is just kicking off and of course, there was the baseball game (Scott is HUGE into sports so it was impossible to keep his eyes off the screens!) So I should have just brought my knitting and all would have been well. After dinner we went over the Barnes and Noble to peruse the shelves of books. I could look for hours! Anyway, the children were very well behaved while we were gone ( the oldest two are "official" babysitters - certificate and all!) which was nice - no major arguements. Although the driving was foggy (I couldn't believe the fog last night!) we had a good night. ***On a side note- I did get on him quite a bit for watching his sports so much, but I guess it is hard-wired so there really wasn't much he could do about it. I love him just the same.***



After 14 years of marriage we are still in as much love as ever, only a lot closer.

Sturbridge Here I Come!

This Monday, Labor Day, I am going with my youngest daughter Mae-Marie and Clara, my mother-in-law, to the Sturbridge Vintage Fashion and Textile Show. I am so excited! I am such a big fan of antique clothing and fabrics. I am hoping to get some pictures of some of the clothing while I am there. Maybe even some upclose of the lace - if I'm lucky. If you are interested in what this show is all about you can visit the site - http://www.vintagefashionandtextileshow.com/indexa.html.

Welcome

This is probably going to be just another one of the "typical" knitter's blogs. You know, the ones that talk about knitting, display knitting, figure out how to solve knitting challenges, and a little bit of regular life thrown in too. The fact that I have come to the point that I would want to make a blog like this and spend so much of my time knitting is actually quite a surprise to me. I just simply fell in love with it.

I never really "longed" to knit. I thought it was fascinating to watch other women knit and occasionally perused the idea of doing it myself. On one or two occasions in the past, I had picked up needles and yarn and tried my hand at it ending only in frustration. I remember learning to knit when I was 23. It took me all summer to knit this little vest for my mother. I was pregnant with my first child. The arm holes ended up to small and it only came to about the bottom of her waist when she put it on, but she was pleased to have it. Despite the fact that she would never be able to wear it, she made me feel very good for having taken the time to do it. However, I was discouraged and thought - never again. Then, when my daughter was 18 months old, I thought to try again. This time was no success either even though it was something simple - pillows! I just couldn't get the knack of holding those needles and yarn and I felt more frustrated. I have never had anyone that I really knew personally that knit (except the woman who had originally started me and she wasn't there anymore) and so I tried to teach myself from some old knitting books I found. I just couldn't seem to get it, so I gave up. I had my sewing, so that would have to suffice. I would pour my creativity into that art.

As the years went by, although I did not attempt to knit myself, I watched others knit. I read books that displayed lovely knitting. I read things by knitters that talked of a rhythm in knitting, of a peace that was found in the working of yarn on needles. It sounded so lovely, but I couldn't figure what they could be talking about since every time I had tried, it was more like an elephant trying to do ballet! Awkward to say the least. Then I found a book that I fell in love with. Nancy Bush's Folk Knitting in Estonia. I read through that book over and over, WISHING I could knit so that I could make beautiful things like that.

After my sixth child, my little Tucker, was born, my sweet husband bought me a knitting machine. He knew how much I wanted to knit, but he also knew how frustrated I had become in actually being able to do it. It took me a very short time to learn how to use the machine and I had knit blankets, hats, scarves, and pillows. It was a wonder to me. I could make nice knitted items and do it quickly, but it felt like something was still not right. Like something was missing. Where was that peaceful feeling, that rhythm that I had read about? Sure there was the rhythm of the machine, but that is not what they were talking about and I knew it. So, even though I could "knit" I still longed to knit with my hands.

I was using my knitting machine and just couldn't get making socks out of my head. I found a book in Michael's one day called Sock Hop by Joseph Madl for Philosopher's Wool. I thought - hey, here are some socks that look pretty intricate, but still seem as if maybe they are easy enough for me to try. They used worsted weight yarn and that was easy to get (especially since I didn't know much about any other weight of yarn at this point) and so I purchased some yarn and double pointed needles (those were hard to find where I was living!) and I set off to try. At first even the casting on to these needles was a very difficult thing to do. I must have done it 10 times! I got through the first five or six rounds and something clicked. I was very weird - almost like having a eureka moment but with my hands. They worked right! No clumsy fiddling and grasping, they worked together. I finished the first sock, then the pair. My son was so excited and I was in seventh heaven. It took me only a couple of pairs of socks later to realize that I was addicted.

I LOVE the feel of yarn in my hands and the steady rhythm of the needles in whatever pattern I am working. Now I know what they meant by the "rhythm." Knitting has become incredibly relaxing for me. It allows me time to focus on my knitting and my thoughts. Sometimes I think they have become as one. As I sit down to knit, I not only create something new with my hands, but the work with my hands allows me to work through my thoughts, and as the stitches fall nicely into place, so often do the things I am pondering. I have truly fallen in love with knitting!