My Favorite Knitting App

Knitting is such a Luddite pursuit and yet is also very techy. The kinds of logical and artistic people who love to knit also love the logic and artistic combinations they can create with technology.
My favorite combo of knitting and tech right now is the app Yarma for the iPhone. It has made keeping photos of stash and projects in Ravelry so much more handy. And since I love documenting and having a record of my work I'm really happy to have such a convenient tool. Thanks technology!

Socks

Finally back on track to finish these socks!

The Knitting Must Go On

If Spring has sprung in upstate NY then it's probably starting to get warm in much of the northern hemisphere but the knitting must go on.
So I'm working on my white, lace, summer scarf and still a hat for next Christmas in a very, non-springlike peppermint stick pattern. However a knitter friend and I were discussing summer as a great time for sock knitting which is true. I'm finally finishing a pair I started over the winter before diving into the new sock yarn I got last weekend.
Here's the peppermint stick hat!

A Hat for Everyone

I Shouldn't Have But I Did

Buy yarn of course!

This cool looking new acrylic (shocking yes but I'm trying it) elastic sock yarn with lots of sheen and bright colors. Plymouth Diversity is the name.

Also some super sale, gorgeous brown with so much depth to it Queensland Rustic.

So much knitting to do!

White Lace

Just starting a white lace piece for the sheer beauty of it which is appropriate because the stitch pattern is out of Barbara Walker's Treasury of Knitting Patterns book 1. It is the Wave and Shield Pattern.
The yarn is some vintage Bernat Corret which I think was a gift from my parents. It's 95% wool and 5% nylon with a funny stretchiness to it and some nubly texture so this is purely an experiment and we'll see what happens.
Even though this is not the fanciest yarn I own, and even though I don't even wear lace, knitting this was inspired by Barbara Walker who said, "There is something in every human soul which seeks to create a thing of beauty, given any sort of opportunity and materials to do so."
These are the materials I have. And I hope I can create something beautiful.

Holiday Amigurumi

In the past few years it has become a tradition for me to give the kids a little amigurumi for the last day of advent.  The first year I had a less than successful reindeer and a really cute owl.  Last year I made up my own elfy-type patterns.  I think it's about time for me to start thinking about this year's little stuffed guys.

Gnomes are currently my top choice, especially the No Home Gnomes pattern by Phoeny http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/no-home-gnomes.  Some little crocheted snowmen might also be fun. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mini-crochet-snowman.  The crazy thought crossed my mind that I should do some Hobbit amigurumi in celebration of the upcoming movie but that seems like crazy talk and I'm going to stop myself here and now.

Other than the little guys I have some other holiday knitting in the works but I seem to be slacking on my focus.  I'll need to buckle down again soon!

Christmassy Crafting

A yarny tree! I'm really happy with it. Leftover sock yarn on the cone then some green with sparkles to brighten it up. I think the trick to these is yarn choice, just like knitting and crocheting.

Weirdness for Halloween

Tonight I was in the mood to crochet except that I can't figure out how to crochet anything flat. So even though I wanted to make a scarf this strange guy is what I ended up with.  My 10 year old helped me choose some of the details although you can't really see his nose and lips in the picture.  She calls him Siri the Alien after the iphone guy (well, on my phone it's a guy) but I call him Booger.

Happy Halloween!

And just to prove that it really is autumn, here's the view out my front door last Saturday morning.  It was amazing.

When It Doesn't Fit

The best thing to do when it doesn't fit is give it to someone who can wear it.