A Fun Membership Opportunity

Well, I was listening to the newest Lime n Violet podcast from last week, when they stumbled upon a fairly new website. The website is Knitters Anonymous, and it's hilarious. The site currently offers a lifetime membership for a total of about $34, and with the membership you get a tote bag, pencils, and a membership card that offers 10% discounts at participating "sponsor" stores, among other things. I signed up as soon as I saw that one of the better LYSs was a sponsor. Plus, that store in particular is the big local Debbie Bliss carrier, and I am dying to break that Knit from Your Stash drought come October. Act soon though! At some point, the site owner, Julia Charles, will be establishing it as a one year membership. I'm excited to see all of the fun products that come my way, as well as the look on DF's face when he realizes that I have truly become obsessed with this "hobby."

-B

What to knit next

I just finished my trivoli sweater, and now I'm looking for my next project. I was going through my yarn stash, trying to use up what I already have. The problem is, I still have a fair amount of old acrylic yarn from when I first started knitting, that I really should use up, but I have to say, you get spoiled with the nice stuff.

been looking at doing another sweater, but have to figure out a good substitute yarn first and gauge it, which I hate doing. So until, than, I'm making a quick and easy baby blanket (which should use up a significant amount of yarn) and maybe some more hates with the yarn I have.

-E

My New Lust Object

Ok, first off, hats off to E and S for the big sweater accomplishments. As someone who has not quite approached the world of sweaters, I am quite impressed. So you may ask what I am knitting? I am still plugging along on DF's scarf from Morehouse Farm. E, S, and I had to pleasure of making a road trip to their yarn shop, Sheep's Clothing, last June, and I am just getting to working with the yarn that I purchased there. The company has recently revamped their website in the last month or so. I am very excited with the fact that they are offering a free "pattern du jour," and have greatly expanded their line of kits. I just love the ingenuity and light-hearted manner in which they design their patterns. But, as much as I enjoy their line, I have to admit that I have a new lust.....

...Berrocco Peruvia. Did you get the KnitBits newsletter last Friday? If not, you missed out on two new free patterns that are haunting my sleep. I am totally lusting after the Pike sweater, which I will be using my "get out of jail free" card on later this year. Also in my dreams is Pignoli , a felted bag that is larger than a normal bag for me, but I'm liking it's weekend bag potential. Plus, I like the Boho sense of style that both pieces offer. Pike will not be the first sweater that I tackle, but certainly it is in the lineup for this year. Well, for now, I am heading back to the Frogman Scarf and to watch the Oscars.

-B

Trivoli sweater finished - finally

So after starting this in the summer and taking it completely apart twice, I've finally finished the sweater. it's not bad, I think I might actually think about wearing it out, but probably not for work.



before blocking



after blocking


Pattern: Trivoli from magknit.com
Yarn: knitpicks Spot Shine - silver sage
needle: size 7 circular

Love this video from YouTube. And spent many a day trying to find it again. What can I say easily amused. I am working on the hourglass and hope to finish up this weekend. Or at least finish the second sleeve, that's been started half a dozen times at least.

-S



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6ZjMWLqJvM

Knitting Under the Influence Review

I have recently finished reading Knitting Under the Influence by Claire LaZebnik. I had noticed that some "knitting novels" were popping up on the local bookshelves, so I headed over to the local library to check and see if they had any. This was the only one in stock that they had (I have two others on hold), so I grabbed it and took it home to curl up in bed. The story is about three women in their late twenties who are best friends. The ladies meet every Sunday morning for their knitting group. The story follows the three women as they navigate their way through life and love. One girl, Sari, is a behavioral therapist who falls in love with the dad of an autistic patient. Lucy is a research scientist who is caught in a bad relationship with an uncaring fellow scientist. Finally, Kathleen is a triplet, but her two sisters are like the Olsen twins and star in movies together. Kathleen is the fraternal triplet to their identical duo, so she always feels like the odd woman out. The story is set in Los Angeles and tackles the tough issue of autism and how it's treatment has changed.

However, at it's heart it is a romantic and cute book. It's light and airy, much like a beach read, but the novel is predictable. Which, I have to be honest, is sometimes why I read books like this. Who am I kidding? I keep a database of Nora Roberts novels to make sure that I don't read the same one twice! A unique facet of the book is that the author included a few cocktail recipes at the end of the book that have been paired with the major knitting work in the book. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun and simple read that makes you laugh and wonder about your own big life decisions.

-B

knitting on I-78

another reason to have knitting handy with you...for about 1 hour on Thursday I was dead stop on I-78 in PA, as part of the traffic nightmare. Lucky for me, I had my knitting with me and just knitted in the car while waiting for the traffic to go again. Actually got several rows on my sweater done before I had to move again. My normally 3 hour drive from Harrisburg, PA to NYC wound up taking me 6 hours, but I was one of the lucky ones. Not like the people stuck overnight.

-E