Lunch Time Knitting

I work in one of the few retail companies where you get an hour for lunch.  I have always been one to eat my food in about 20 minutes if I don't go out to get it.  That usually leaves me with about 40 minute with a whole lot of nothing to do.  It took me awhile, after I started knitting, to figure out that I could bring some to work with me and make use of that relatively uninterupted 40 minutes. I really had to smack myself in the forehead pretty hard when I realized that instead of playing games on my itouch I could be productive and knit.  I'm having issues with idle hands.   I now have a pretty good system of projects bags and an carry-all Wonder Woman bag that gets my knitting to work.  I usually have two projects going one for home and one for work. But there are times when I want to work on that work project so I take them back and forth every day.

Retail can also be very stressful. And there are days whenI have no desire to talk to anyone.  I have both my ear buds and am either watching or listening to something very important. Lately, it has been the video podcast, heretofore known as vlog,  Knitting Blooms.  I was introduced to this by my friend Margaret.  She is also a knitter and this is her friend.  She sent me an email about this blog quite awhile ago but I was in the middle of another podcast obsession.  That's another story. 

I started watching this blog on my iPhone propped up against my lunchbox as I ate my lunch and knit.  I was so engrossed with it that I began to watch it at home while getting dinner ready.  I was hoping that it would last me a couple of months of lunches.  No such luck. I became obsessed.  I watched it while cleaning up after dinner. Before I knew it, I was caught up and had to wait a week.  The sad disappointment I felt rivaled my 4yr old when I told her Christmas was a month away.

Fortunately, she has recommended to me some others that I may need to check out.  I think I'll start with Dramatic Knits.  It has a theatrical theme and well, I have the degree. This might be a good thing for me.

Work in progress...

It's the beginning of a triangle shawl.  Again I take the (no) pattern from Knitting Rules.  I think that once I work out the structure of it I can handle making a more complicated one.

Finished Object

My big honking scarf...

It's not a pretty knit.  I still don't get changing colors.  It's not a particular flattering knit and it's an acrylic chenille. But I don't care. It's long, soft and  crazy warm so ... *insert raspberry here*  Sorry, I'm a little sensitive. During the making of this I had some issues with some members on a knitting board regarding the yarns origins. I don't belong to that board anymore.

Next...

My little cuff

It's my own little pattern made of Simply Soft. I broke my wrist about a decade ago and when winter comes along it aches. I wear this one to work so I don't have to worry about it getting messed up.   I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier.

Time to put a munchkin to bed. Bye for now!

It's Been A Long Hot Summer...

.And not very conducive to knitting.  Summertime is hard for knitting as it is.  There is lot to do on the house and trying to squeeze a few veggies out of my overheated vegetable plants.  I did get to do some as I sat for a few moments to watch tv in the evenings.  That didn't really happen all that often either but I did get a few things worked on.


When it finally cooled off in September I started knitting like crazy.  Below are some pics on what I have been working on.

First off is Tiger's Blanket.  As promised at Tulsa Fiber Fest I made the most loved animal (in the house) a blanket from the chosen yarn.  The pattern is "Little Fountain" lace pattern from The Knitting Directory by Allison Jenkins.  I think there is more life for this lace pattern.
















 The yarn is falkland wool from The Alpaca Legacy.  It's a local company.  I really liked knitting with the yarn but I'm not sure it's good for a 4yr olds toy.  I noticed the other day that there a couple of spots on the edge where the yarn broke.  It seems to be holding up though it spends a good portion of the night wrapped around the most loved Tiger.

 The pattern is "The No-Pattern Hat with Rolled Brim" from Knitting Rules by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. This book is turning out to be my go to book for basic patterns.  It is dog-eared, highlighted and well loved.  Almost as much as Tiger.  I'm not very good at following patterns.  I easily lose my place.
She gives basic rules for making basic knitted clothing.  I think my next projects from the book will be a triangle shawl.

The yarn is from Bernat. It's from a  discontinued natural blends line.  It is a acrylic, nylon and cashmere blend.  It is very soft but durable enough for a 4yr. old.  I've had it in the stash for a couple of years. It was on sale at Michael's and I couldn't pass it up.

Em loves the hat so much I didn't have a chance to cut the cast on tail.  The next day at school she wore it all day and was more than a little warm.  I'm also making a matching striped scarf. I wish I knew how to do mittens to have a complete matching set. Yet, another thing to add to the Learning List.

This is a really long scarf from the left over yarn that once was a blanket and an abandoned kitty pillow. There was a lot left over and I needed a new scarf. There was enough to do a really long one.  It's all knit stitch.  The edges are a little rough I'm still trying to figure out this stripe thing and the weaving in thing.

I've recently decided that I need to make my household cleaning cloths.  The red ones are for doing the dishes. I made 5.  the Star Trek ones are for bath time. The pattern is Baby Trekkie Washcloth.  The red ones are a simple moss stitch with a border.

This is a little swatch hat made out of Cascade Yarns Cherub DK color #10.  I have an idea  for a project in this yarn. I had to test the yarn to see if I like it. This is my first time with a small gauge acrylic.  Getting started was rough.  It is very stretchy.  I eventually got there with it.  It's a perfect newborn size. A gift is at the ready although it needs some embellishment.



Now that the weather has cooled down I am spending more time indoors with needles in hand. Trying to get the cold weather gear for the family.

Cheers