Peaceful Palms Completed!

Tah Dah!

Okay so the ends have not been woven in but the gloves have been done for some time now. I'm glad that I signed up for this knit along and made my first pair of gloves. I've learned how to knit with two circular needles (as you can see my gauge is different on two circulars vs. dpns) and I've learned that I don't know how to avoid holes.
The latest Bond newsletter shows a product called the Pocket Knitter. It looks like a comb! I can't wait to see one in the store to find out if it is flat like a comb or if it is more like the Knifty Knitter Long Loom.

Knitting Updates

I'm down to one finger to go on my Weekend Knitting tipless gloves. I cringe everytime I think of weaving in those ends..maybe they won't look so bad stringy! (UPDATE 8/2006 never got cold enough to wear, still hope for this winter)

Glampyre's One Skein Wonder is sitting there waiting for me to finish the gloves. I just need to add the borders to the sleeves and body. (UPDATE 8/2006 can't decide if I need to add more to it or if it will fit)

Branching Out Scarf was started over Thanksgiving and I've completed one section. I am using Lion Brand's Wool Ease but don't think this is the proper yarn to really see the lace pattern. I may rip it out and use some of the Softee Baby yarn in my stash. I need to dig around and see if I have a green but I don't remember seeing any. How would it look with Microspun in lime green? (UPDATE 8/2006 started this scarf several times with several different yarns, frogged every time, couldn't decide what color)

I have all of the yarn for the Stitch n Bitch cat bed but I don't think the orange cat will use it so I need to find another use for the two skeins of Wool Ease and 4 Boa skeins. I'm still feeling guilty for not making her this one. One thought I have is making it into a pillow that is shaped like a cat but... its blue yarns and I don't know about a blue kitty. (UPDATE 8/2006 none)

Lion Brand's Suede yarn with Moonlight Mohair is just sitting in a bag waiting for me to turn it into a purse. I picked up some lightweight handles at Michael's that match nice with the different shades of brown. (UPDATE 8/2006 still in shopping bag)

My MagKnit's Sophie bag is still waiting for me to graft the last stitches of the handle to make it whole. I have some jeans to wash this weekend and it would be a perfect time to felt it but for some reason I hate to finish this purse. Maybe because it was my first time knitting in the round? (UPDATE completed 8/2006, still needs felting)

I have 20 skeins of Noro Kureyon in #128 and 20 skeins of Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora in Navy. I got great deals on both but don't know what to make with them! I bought them thinking that I could resell on eBay but I really want to use them now. (UPDATE 8/2006 hidden in yarn stash, not used yet)

SOCKS! I have about 6 skeins of Lion Brand's Magic Stripe yarn for socks. I made it to the heel on one and then ripped it out... I think I dropped some stitches and got frustrated. I have to add this to this list because I'll be using the two circular needle and I should be done in no time. (UPDATE finished one sock 8/2006)

I find it amusing that the Red Heart Camouflage yarn is sitting on top of my trash can. I still plan on making some gloves for my dad with this yarn. (UPDATE moved to closet, still in bag)

Peaceful Palms Update

Very close to the true color!
I need to finish 2 tipless fingers on my second glove and weave in all the ends. I've decided that I don't like weaving in the ends and have proof. My two tone slipper socks that I made last year are still sitting around with the yarn ends sticking out. I am very impressed with my knitting speed when using 2 circulars instead of DPNs.

On Saturday night, I worked some more on the OSW. I think I finally have it large enough to fit over my muscular flabby arms. Next time, I think I'll cast on more at the beginning for the armholes. I won't be starting the OSW ribbing until I complete my Weekend Knitting tipless gloves for the Knit Along.

Peaceful Palms Update-Glove #2

I wasted about 2 hours on Friday night trying to cast on and knit with the Magic Loop method. Finally, I came to my senses and using the techniques from nonaknit's two circular tutorial, I cast on and knit about 7 rows. This method was so much faster than the DPN and the stitches look much more uniform with less ladders in the garter stitched cuff. I do have a seam like appearance where I joined the yarns and there is a ladder on the other side but it is better than 4 areas like that on my other glove's cuff.



On Saturday night, I finished the cuff and started working towards the thumb gusset. I'm using a Denise Interchangeable needle and a Boyles (from the set I purchased last weekend). I'm glad this one is going smoother and of course much faster than the last. I will try to knit some more on it this evening to see if I can complete the palm.


No signs of winter.

Cat Sampler Afghan?

I posted this link last week. It is a sampler afghan by Little Purl of the Orient. I think that I really would like to do this but use some type of motifs of my cat as a remembrance. I still miss her very much. Although I know she is not in pain, I can't get to place where I feel comfort from it. When it is quiet around here, I try to think what to put on the squares. Some trees would work because she loved to run up and sharpen her claws on the trunks. Maybe some outlines of cats running, sitting, and sleeping. I'm not sure if I can come up with enough knittable ideas for an entire afghan. I'll probably want a small version, maybe twin or full size? Just thinking out loud here but may be the lighter squares can be images of her and the darker squares be cables, decorative stitches, etc. Also, there is the large bag in the Stitch n Bitch Nation book that tells you how to make a pattern for a person's profile. I would really like this and it could be used year round. I'm not sure if I can convert one of her pictures (and make it look like her). I don't want it to look like any cat, I want it to have her distinct look since it will be a remembrance.

Sometime this weekend, I'll start on my 2nd tipless glove and I'll have lots of time to think about what to make as a remembrance. If any one has made remembrances for a loved one (human or pet), I would love to see a picture!

UPDATE! I found this link about cat longevity. If you are a cat lover, you may want to check it out. By the vet records, we decided my cat was actually 21 which would put her in the 92-100 year range. We had been told that the average lived to 14-16. There is mention of an unverified 31 year old cat that looked 10. No one ever believed me when I said how old my kitty was because her coat was so soft and well groomed. Maybe if they had seen the hairballs then they would have believed it. Anyway, I wanted to post the length so I could refer back to it.

Sweet Booger 1985ish-11/15/2005

I had to say goodbye to my sweet kitty of 20 years yesterday. She use to love to smell the yarns, especially the wools, and get scratched with a knitting needle. I don't feel like knitting or doing much of anything right now. There are so many 'what ifs' and 'remember when' thoughts racing through my head. She showed up at our house and chose us as her home. It was hard doing homework with her around because she loved paper wadded up and tossed her way. Not to mention plopping down on my accounting books so I could not turn the pages! As she and I got older, she was a great listener and her soft purring would always reassure me that everything would be okay. She was such a huge part of my life and I'm happy for the time we had together. I just wish she did not have to go. I will always love you, kitty Booger.

One Weekend Knitting Glove Done!

I am plagued by holey finger joints. Hopefully my next glove, which I have not cast on for, will be hole free. Otherwise, it will be a long time before I make another pair of these....unless the next one is less holey then I may call my first one a practice glove and make another. Anyway, I'm glad that I did finish this one glove because of the practice at using small DPNs and picking up the small stitches. I'll be casting on for the second glove this evening and I'm going to try and get the Magic Loop method to work this time.



I keep going back to this page to view Little Purl of the Orient's sampler afghan. I think this would be a great way project to track my progress as I learn to knit. I could start out with easy stitches, advance to more complex patterns, and end with designs of my own (made up of the stitches that I've learned). Maybe a square or two a month? The knitting sounds fun but all of that seaming and weaving in the ends has me scared!

Fingerless Glove Update

I want to bind off my middle stitches and leave my gloves like this...

Pattern from Melanie Falick's book - Weekend Knitting.
My fingers aren't normally blue and the yarn color is persimmon not pink. I thought taking the picture outside would help...but noitdidn't.

Two fingers and 1 glove to go!

I spent Friday night working on my OSW. I'm loving this yarn more and more. I really like the way the pattern is written. When I started out, the rows went quickly but as I add more stitches it slows waaaaay down for me. I think I would have been frustrated had I started out with so many stitches. As it is, I can't wait to finish!

OSW & Straw Hat

I've started my One Skein Wonder in TLC Amore. The color is Lake Blue and I have Lagoon Print for the borders/sleeves. More than likely, I'll stick with Lake Blue for the whole project.


Don't ask me if I'm on gauge, I can't see the stitches but I do love this yarn.


I should have made my first OSW with a yarn that allowed me to see the stitches...then again, if I make a mistake, who will ever know?

About a month ago, I made a lot of these...

...for a Lion Brand 'Straw Hat'. The yarn label has a prettier picture than the website. I'm using Lion Brand Cotton in Maize. Crochet must make me tense because I broke a hook in half! I'm not even sure if I'm doing it right.

Fingerless Glove Update

The photos have gone from pink to orange! I'll get it right one day.
One thumb down and four fingers to go! I have a few holey areas but I think they can be fixed. I've decided these will be my everydayeverywhere gloves so a problem here or there is not critical. I kept the thumb short so I could still use the space bar and touchpad on the computer without any problems. I was very nervous they would not fit but so far so good!

I finally ordered Glampyre's One Skein Wonder (OSW) pattern today. At first I wasn't sure I liked the pattern but I've seen so many completed OSW on blogs and Flickr.com that I must make one, too!

Sweater Stone

My free (add shipping) Sweater Stone arrived yesterday. I haven't used it because there hasn't been a need to get my sweaters out for the season. I hope it works!

Fingerless Glove Update

No, it still isn't done but I did get a few more rows completed this weekend. I even removed the waste yarn for the thumb opening. Here it is and this time you can see the color better:

More Peaceful Palms Patterns

MJ from http://yummyyarn.indus3ous.com/ recommended even more patterns for the Peaceful Palms Knitalong! I visit Knitty.com all the time but didn't think to check out their archive section for gloves/mittens. Great thanks to MJ! I love the Broad Street Mittens which look similar to MagKnit's Urban Necessity but it doesn't get that cold down here. I really like the Voodoo Wrist Warmers and have bookmarked them for future knitting. I think they would be a great accessory to wear while blogging!

Peaceful Palms Update:
I'm still poking along on my first fingerless glove from Weekend Knitting. I've gone back to using DPNs and I gave up on perfecting the garter stitch cuffs. It looks like I've seamed it up the side even though I'm knitting in the round. I tend to believe that the problems is I'm purling looser than I'm knitting. I got so tired of starting over that I'm ignoring it and moving on. I'm just a few rows away from the thumb gusset, hooray! My father is heading north on a trip. If I had made him the gloves with the camouflage yarn then he would have put them to good use. Sorry dad! :(

My progress with cuff problem:

With glove on, cuff problem still shows but the knit stitches look fine:


Shana's blog has made me jealous! She's actually using her Ultimate Sweater Machine where I just stare at mine and make swatches. She's making a new sweater and I can't wait to see the finished pictures! Here's a sweater that she completed earlier this month. I printed some Bond patterns from this site today (to add to my collection of printed patterns knit soon).

For Hr, who was having problems removing the scarf from the Knifty Knitter Loom, please check out the comment section for two bind-off links that show the Gathering Method and the Flat Removal Method.

Ultimate Sweater Machine Halloween Patterns/Motifs

Here are USM links with Halloween patterns for pumpkins and motifs for black cats, witches, and more to use on your own knitting projects. I'm really miffed that Bond-America did not have one Halloween project. Why do they have so few projects for their knitting machine?

About's Halloween Items: includes black cats, a bat, a ghost, pumpkins, and a witch.

Pumpkin from the Ahren's Family.

Pumpkin Purse another cute project from the Ahren's Family.

A pumpkin ornament for your pumpkin tree?
Pumpkin Ornament from Knitted Threads.

Apparently this is an older episode (pre Urban Knitter days) and my TIVO can't find a replay listing for it but take a look at Lily Chin with her knitted Wonder Woman costume on this page! Now if I only looked like her!


MONSTER WREATH: This pattern is not written for the Ultimate Sweater Machine but I can't pass it up (plus I'm sure two donut shapes on the USM in a novelty yarn would work). Check out this Monster Wreath by callakat.

Click here for more Ultimate Sweater Machine information.

Peaceful Palms Patterns

I spent more time flipping through knitting magazines and books than knitting over the weekend. Here are the patterns I found:

Family Circle Easy Knitting Holiday 2005 - Wristlets (Lion Brand insert)

Big Book of Knitting - Gloves (page 208)

Interweave Knits Fall 2005 - Creative Focus Chunky Fingerless Mitts (page 7)

Weekend Knitting - Fingerless Garter-Cuff Gloves (page 104)

Since this is my first pair of gloves, I chose the Weekend Knitting pattern using Red Heart's Luster Sheen in Persimmon on one size 6 circular needle (Magic Loop). My gauge is close and if anything they may be a little large which to me is better than too small. I do have a ladder on each side so I may switch over to nonaknits' two circular tutorial.


It is more of a peach than pink color.

UPDATE: I just found this link for fingerless gloves on the Ultimate Sweater Machine. When I finish the gloves above, I'll use this pattern for the Red Heart Camouflage yarn. HOORAY!

Peaceful Palms Knit-Along

I'm joining the Peaceful Palms Knit-Along as motivation to start and finish a pair of fingerless gloves for my father. Once I pick a pattern (probably from Weekend Knits), I will use two circular needles instead of DPN. See nonaKnits for an excellent tutorial. Another good tutorial is for the Magic Loop Method, using one circular needle, located on this page.

Yarn to use is Red Heart's Classic Camouflage #971. I have 3 skeins to get rid of use.


Item of the Day
Did you know that it is National Knitting Week in the UK?

Knifty Knitter Hat

Okay, I'm finally getting around to posting my completed projects. The Knifty Knitter has kept me busy and even inspired me to get my Ultimate Sweater Machine out of the closet.

Here is my first finished hat(completed 2/23/2005)!

The pattern is pretty close to the one described in the Knifty Knitter instructions. My mom loved the hat and has worn it several times. Also, I made her a matching purse and one skinny scarf on the Ultimate Sweater Machine . The purse needs to be seamed and the scarf has been completed!
In case you are wondering, this is what it looks like on the green Knifty Knitter loom:

It looks like a lot of work but it is very easy and the rounds go quickly. I'm still clumsy with knitting needles so this has been great for me to use! And look at a close-up of the stitches...

Since February, I've made 2.5 hats, 2 scarves, and a pair of slipper socks. I have trouble using Fun Fur, Eyelash, Cha Cha, and other such yarns on knitting needles. It is so much easier to use them on the Knifty Knitter looms.


Click here for more information on the Knifty Knitter.

Knifty Knitter Links

I have a set of these for almost a year now:

Get your Knifty Knitter!

PATTERN LINKS:
You'll find several patterns and helpful loom hints at www.loomknit.com.
Ben Franklin Crafts has some cute pumpkin patterns.
http://www.bfranklincrafts.com/CraftIdeas/CraftIdea-KnifKnitterPumpkins.html
Also, they have photos for those of you learning to use your Knifty Knitters:
http://www.bfranklincrafts.com/KniftyKnitter.html

Of course you'll need a spider to go along with your pumpkin so check out Provocraft's site for Samuel the Spider:
http://www.provocraft.com/projects/projects.php?prdindex=kniftyknitter&dsp=weeklyproject
Provocraft has many more patterns on their website including a Shrug pattern that looks promising. Others include: several shawls, patriotic tree, mittens, washcloths, hair scarf, United States flag, hats, scarves, backpack, poncho, purses, slippers, booties, and even a neck pillow.
http://www.provocraft.com/projects/projects.php?view=20&dsp=list&prdindex=kniftyknitter

KNITTING WITHOUT NEEDLES
There is a new web ring for loom knitters! Click here for the main page or Click here for a list of websites in the ring. Are you feeling wild and crazy? If so, click here to visit a random website in the Knitting Without Needles web ring! If you're looking for inspiration or motivation to start a new project. I highly recommend blogs. They show you what others have made, the colors they have used, and start you thinking that "Hey I can do that, too!". Make sure you read A Stitch in Time. The 11/29/2005 post has some beautiful purses that were made on the yellow loom and then felted.

Yahoo has a great group for Knifty Knitters. Check out the Files folder for patterns and the Photos folder for ideas!




Click to join kniftyknitterlooms

Don't miss out on the patterns by Carrie. She can be found at the Knifty Knitter Yahoo Group, too! http://cputzier.tripod.com/id8.html

You can also find several loom patterns and instructions at Bev's:
http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/how-to-loom-knit.html#patterns

Michael's carries a $1 pattern book for the beginner. I noticed this weekend that Wal-Mart has a book as well. Happy Knifty Knitting!

AMAZON.COM UPDATES

Amazon.com is partnership with JoAnn Fabrics is selling the Knifty Knitter Pamphlet (instructions and a few patterns). The shipping is more than the cost of the book (and the book is only $1 at the stores) but if you're already thinking of placing an order, you may want to add the pamphlet. If you're giving a Knifty Knitter set for the holidays then you may want to get the Knifty Knitter Pamphlet.

Amazon.com is also offering the Knifty Knitter Long Loom. I haven't seen a book/pamphlet for it. There are websites with instructions. If anyone has one, I'd love to see the projects you've created with it. Please post a link to your pictures or blog in the comment section.

Are you tired of using your round looms alone? On your next order at Amazon.com, you can throw in an extra Loom Hook.

Knitting magazines

Today I subscribed to:
Family Circle Easy Knitting Magazine

Vogue Knitting Magazine

Interweave Knits Magazine