Book Review: Knit One, Kill Two

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing E and S with their handknits at my wedding this past weekend, and was thrilled when DH (no longer DF) said that his gift to me was some fun money for Rhinebeck in October. This is one of the many reasons that I love him; he totally gets the knitting! We had a wonderful time with our family and friends at the ceremony and at the reception. We had gorgeous weather, and everything went very smoothly. Before we left for the festivities, I finished one of the many knitting mysteries that are out there. This one was Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton. The mystery takes place in Fort Connors, Colorado. Kelly Flynn has returned to her aunt's home because her aunt has been murdered by what they think is a local vagrant. Her aunt was a die-hard, no pun intended, knitter and the ladies at the local yarn shop soon befriend Kelly, and aid her in solving the mystery. The book is a good beach read, and isn't too difficult to follow. It also has accurate knitting content, and a cute pattern and recipe in the back. This is the first in a series of mysteries, and I will definitely get the others from the library this summer. If you are looking for a light read, then this series would be a good one for you.

In knitting, I apologize that the percentage buttons have not changed on my projects, but the computer that has the buttons is temporarily out of service until we get a new monitor. I am almost finished with the poncho, and think that I could be done by the weekend's end. I will post some pics of some charity knitting and of course, the newest dishcloth KAL when they are completed by tomorrow. I am off to Open Knit tonight at my LYS to finish the first "square of the month." I have started a class there this summer, and will be completing a square or two each month to have an afghan by the end of the year. Very exciting to be starting my first heirloom project for my new family.

-B

Excuses, Excuses

We're a little absent, but we have a good excuse. E and I were being diligent bridesmaids for B this weekend. It was a great wedding that was so representative of B and her now husband. E and I are very happy to have taken part in your day B! And it was great to see you two!!!

There was been some knitting, unfortunately no pictures. And some wearing of handknits, again no pictures to speak of. E and I both wore our scribbling on Friday evening to the rehersal dinner and I am completely shocked at how warm something so light can be. Those Mason Dixon girls got it right with the weightless version of scribbling...and I will post pictures of it at some point.

Additional knitting has been going on. I started the Ballet Sweater from the Debbie Bliss Cashmere, which I have been looking at for at least a year now. I blame ballet for my obsession with wrap sweaters.

http://www.debbieblissonline.com/books/cc/cc_2.htm

I have the back and 1 front piece done. Who knew knitting on 2s and 3s would move this quickly. There would be have been more knitting, but the blood curddling screams and kicking from the 1-year old directly behind me didn't not help at all.

Anyway...forgot Mosaic posted pictures of the Hokie healing blankets and I finally found my squares as can be attested to be E, because one square she refused to weave in the end for me as there were too many.

http://mosaicyarnshop.blogspot.com/

S.

Learning to Crochet

Over a month ago, I saw on the Craftzine blog that Crafty Daisies was hosting a Learn to Crochet 12 week course on their site. Crafty Daisies is a blog, much like ours, where four friends share their crafting endeavors. I kept meaning to begin when the lessons started, but I only just completed the first two lessons last night. Lesson #1 introduces people to abbreviations, directions, and words that one might find in a crochet pattern. I will definitely be referring back to that page as I plug through the homework squares that are assigned after each lesson. Lesson #2 takes the learner through some basic skills such as double crochet, half double crochet, and crochet in the round. This lesson did not include videos, as lesson #1 did, so it was a little more difficult to follow, but I persevered. I am excited about this new skill and craft and am anxious to get started on the homework squares. The goal of the 12 lessons is end up with a lapghan, so the homework squares will be combined in the end. I'm also excited to see that they have established a Flickr group so that folks can post their progress and have a forum to discuss questions. It's an exciting time to be a crafter with the web at your fingertips. It's definitely a lot of fun and clearly educational. I'll be posting my first crochet efforts later next week.

-B

1,000 Views!

Well, it officially happened. Today celebrates the 1000th view of our blog. We have a total thus far of 674 unique views, but an overall total of one thousand. Very exciting for us here at knitting harvest. We have also joined the Monthly Dishcloth webring, so welcome to those who have found us through the ring. Have a great day, stay cool, and knit something today!

-B

Three More FOs

I finished three more dishcloths recently, and have the pics for all tonight. The first is a rescue dishcloth because the washer ate its original form of the unicorn dishcloth. So, I did a redo as a grandmother's favorite dishcloth. It's a little sad looking as the cotton has already been washed, but I'd rather reuse. Sadly, another dishcloth bit the dust in the washer, but the cotton was not salvagable. Hmmmm...what is the washer saying to me?



The second cloth, and its detail shot, is the mid-monthl KAL from Monthly Dishcloths. I am pleased with this pattern and would love to do it in a scarf or as a detail on a sweater trim.



The final cloth is the Rachel's Knitting Room pattern for June. It's a cute one, although they recommended doing it with a variegated yarn, and I'm not sure that was the best recommendation as the message gets a little lost. Maybe done with a more subtle change in variegation it comes out better, and I am anxious to see how others had their cloths turn out because I do heart KALS.



Coming soon, a poncho update!

- B

Hokie Healing

I had promised that I would take pictures of the sewing party for the blankets for the victim's families for the tragedy at VT. Unfortunately I had some technical difficulties (camera battery dead) this morning. So instead of stealing pictures from another blog, I'll link to Mosaic's post that has all kinds of pictures.

http://mosaicyarnshop.blogspot.com/2007/06/knitting-for-healing.html

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhudSSWuLGQRVwoFXf-H8nvWSznJ_FVOAaO4YWGKeGuZHTpYRozHAMEkNLkZP6ERr0x75KjIF2-HAEGUj0lOBBiqPRXCNRs05JwTTKyepTu79JPT-Cc186JRDk3QiEGMsbp7u51AsaeNXs/s1600-h/DSC02174.JPG

The link to the picture of the afghan is the first blanket we finished. We had pieced 8 strips when I left this afternoon.

It was a good day, healing. Good to know that the so many people have had the Hokies in the hearts and sent squares and that so many great knitters showed up to sew the squares together on a beautiful Saturday.

S

Knitting Daily Goes Live!

Interweave Press has been building an online knitting community for a few months. Today, was the launch day for Knitting Daily, and I am very excited about its potential. There are many of the free patterns that used to be available to the magazine subscribers only, and a posting area where people can share knowledge and ask questions. I'll be curious to see how it compares to the future live version of Ravelry. Speaking of which, we are awaiting our invite and will be thrilled once we are able to join and support that new site as well.

-B