Category: knit

The house is quiet. T went to bed early and M was already asleep when I got home from knitting group. I stayed up and watched my DVR’d episodes of Knitty Gritty. It’s the new season and there’s a new episode every day. I was already three episodes behind! After finishing the third episode, I have to say that I’m totally in love with Cookie A.’s socks. They are probably too advanced for me, but Wow! they are beautiful. Now I’m going through the archives on knitty.com to check them all out. I think once I get some of my current projects finished up, I am going to pick a pattern to try. They’re all so fabulous. It will be hard to decide which one to knit first.

My Today Show post is getting quite a few comments. Thank you to the knitters who offered a ride or carpool to one of the nearby Harlot appearances. If any of the events were on the weekend, I might consider it, but during the week it’s just too crazy around here to go off and get all wooly.

It’s a funny thing about those comments; I read the Harlot’s blog entry and didn’t even notice she had linked to me. I just zoomed by the link thinking “Yeah, whatever. I already saw the knitters on the Today Show. How was the rest of the day?” It wasn’t until Christy left me a comment that I realized it. (Yes, a teething baby is kind of like having a newborn again: up all night and really fuzzy during the day.)

Even though I won’t be attending a Harlot appearance, I am very excited about another upcoming knitting event: World Wide Knit in Public Day. The Lincoln Knitters will be celebrating with a spot at the Farmer’s Market in Haymarket on June 9th from 8-12. Nebraska knitters — and those from nearby states — mark your calendars and come join us!

They were outside of the Today Show. In fact, they are all over NYC today as part of Yarn Harlot’s Represent Event. I so wish I could be there. All those knitters in one place! All the yarn crawls! I guess I will have to settle for the book. I doubt Nebraska will ever make it as a stop on the tour.

I recently signed up for a knitting buddy exchange and had to introduce myself to my buddy. I figured it would make a good blog entry.

I’m from Baltimore, MD and used to work in Washington, DC. Now I live in Nebraska and still experience culture shock now and then.

I’m a graphic designer and loved the advertising world, just hated the stress. Now I am self-employed and love being my own boss.

I have a baby girl, who is 4 1/2 months old. I take care of her and work from home. I’m still trying to balance all of that out.

I’ve been knitting for two years and I’m hopelessly addicted to it. A friend of mine taught me how to knit because she thought it might help me with anxiety and stress. This was about a year after we moved to Nebraska for my husband’s job and he decided to quit and start his own business. Knitting has kept me quite sane, and his business is doing well, so I guess everything has worked out.

I have taught a few people to knit, one of whom is my mother. None of them have stuck with it. I hope that isn’t a reflection on my teaching abilities!

I regularly attend two different knitting groups in Lincoln and I’ve met some of the most wonderful women through them.

I have a cat who is almost 15 years old. I love her dearly and hate that she is getting old.

I’ve been to England a few times. The first was to take a London Theater class in college. I lived in Maida Vale for five weeks and going to the theater was my “homework.” I fell in love with the city and almost didn’t come back to the US! The second was with my husband. We stayed in London a few days on the way back from a trip to India. We were horribly jet lagged—up too early and to bed too early. We had fun, but it was definitely a different kind of trip than when I was in school! We’ll be heading to Brighton this summer. My brother-in-law is getting married and his fiancée has dual citizenship. Maybe with a little planning, we can meet up and knit together! You’ll have to advise me on yarn stores.

I have a blog (like everyone else these days) to stay in touch with friends and family on the east coast. Occasionally I post about my knitting.

My birthday is in November. I love the Fall season and hate to see Christmas decorations out before Thanksgiving. The retail industry always seem to rush us through my favorite time of year.

I thought I’d have a tough time writing this, but it seems like I can babble on about myself quite easily.

It all started one Sunday morning in November:

Me: Why is Liz calling on a Sunday morning?

…Hello.

Liz: Kay Gardiner is coming to String of Purls to teach a Log Cabin class on December 28th. I’m calling at noon to register myself and Mary Pat. Wanna go?

Me: Yes!

Notice I didn’t ask any questions like: How much does it cost? What’s the time? Will I be able to get someone to look after M? I just say “Yes!”

For you non-knitters out there, Kay is from Mason Dixon Knitting and wrote the pattern for M’s baby blanket in the book she co-authored with Ann Shayne. Y’all, this is my favorite knitting book right now and I want to knit practically every pattern. And the log cabining—well, I just love it.

I was lucky that Jocelyn was free that day; she took M while I headed up to Omaha for a fun-filled day with yarn. The class was awesome (you can see me right over Kay’s shoulder). Kay is a great speaker and shared her thoughts on knitting, log cabining, yarn, color and more. We worked on a pillow cushion that I am knitting up in a color scheme to match our bedroom. After the class, I bought the Manos for my socks and then we went to lunch. Before we had a chance to order, guess who walked in needing a lunch buddy? Kay! So we got to have lunch with her and talk about the book and publishing process.

After lunch it was off to Personal Threads. Every year after the holidays they have a huge yarn sale. I finally got to touch yarns that I had only seen online and wound up with some Koigu KPPPM and some Noro Kureyon.

It was my first day away from M for more than a few hours and I was worried that I wouldn’t do so well. Thank goodness I had all that knitting and yarn to keep myself from going crazy. Great friends, knitting and yarn—you can’t ask for anything more!

A few weeks ago I signed up for another KAL. This one was also for Larissa’s book; a quick an easy sock knit in Manos del Uruguay. I have always wanted to try this yarn and I was planning a trip to our LYS in a few days. I have a lot of knitting projects on my plate right now and I needed a new one like a hole in the head, but I couldn’t resist. The colorway I picked was beautiful and since I live in brown, black and denim, it was a perfect choice. It was as if the stars had aligned and said “You must knit these socks.”

And now I am in love with Manos. These are the softest and warmest socks I have ever owned. I’m debating a whole sweater in Manos. Oh, to wrap myself up in that warm and soft wool—how divine! I think this is maybe how yarn addictions start. I must be careful, or next year I’ll be taking the knit from your stash challenge.

Here’s M in her handknit “Hug Me” sweater from Liz. So! Incredibly! Cute!

What are the holiday google animals knitting???

I’ve joined my first kal (knit along). I’m planning to do a cornhusker theme with my meathead, since I live in Nebraska and all. I purchased some red Lamb’s Pride Bulky last Saturday, but still need to get the yarn for my embellishment. Can anyone guess what that might be? Tonight is knitting group and I’m going to take this along. I’m also going to take M’s blanket, which is still not finished because I’m not really happy with it. It’s not knitting up like I imagined at all. This was supposed to be an heirloom kind of project, and I don’t think I can look at it the way it is for years to come if I am so unhappy with it. Last week I got some tough love on another blanket project I am working on for my parents. Hopefully tonight I’ll get some of the same. I’m thinking I’ll need to frog and reknit, but maybe someone can suggest a way to salvage it.

Yesterday was our knitting group’s first Lunch & Knit event and by the end of the day, I was a new member of the The Knitting Guild Association and Secretary for the new Lincoln Chapter. I know it may seem to some that I’ve been slacking on the knitting this summer.

Exhibit A: Baby K’s blanket—still not finished!

I have to blame that on the pregnancy. Usually I sit in front of the tv in the evenings and knit up a storm, but for the past few months all I do is put my feet up on some pillows and close my eyes. I’ve even missed a few Wednesday night meetings because I’m just too tired and uncomfortable to leave the couch.

But I still love knitting. I read books and websites, I plan projects for the future, and most of all, I love the group of knitters that I have met in Lincoln. Pretty soon, the needles will start going again, and I’ll have a little guest to bring to our meetings. Until then, I’m just going to keep on with this blanket and hope I get it done before the first frost in October.