Prayer Shawl, Part One

One seventh of the prayer shawl knit with Berroco Foliage.

By George

I think I've got it!!!

This is my progress so far on the toe up socks on two circs using the Turkish cast on method.

This is the inside shot. Looks cool, huh?

And here it is, head on....or is it toe on???

Now the challenge will be....I found directions for the cast-on all the way through knitting the foot. Now what??? Another search on short-row heels going in this direction.

Turkish?!?

I finally got myself some Addi Turbo Circulars....I am bound and determined to figure out the Turkish cast on to make socks from the toe up. And I mean determined! Anyone out there have some hints? The times I tried (sorry, I didn't get a pic), the toe came out all funky.

I will get it, though, you'll see.

Foliage

This is Berrocco Foliage - I got it at the Yarn Barn yesterday. It is for a prayer shawl.

Isn't it gorgeous? And just in time for fall.

Hmm.

He says they feel like "real" socks!

The Man

Happy Feet

Ding Dong the Socks are Done

Finally! These socks can go from my needles to Danny's feet! Of course, I couldn't wait for him to come home and model them, so I took it upon myself. Hehe! They will look much nicer on my handsome hubby!

Woohoo!

Love ya, D

Monday!

Today is the first day of school for Olivia and Sophia. I am unsure what to do with this SILENCE!!!! Danny Jr is chillin in his room, and it is very peaceful right now.

This morning, a very good friend of mine had cancer surgery and found out that it goes much further than originally thought. We were all hoping that it would be confined to the one area but it isn't. What can one say at a time like this? I don't know. There are no words. It is a reminder of the frailty of life. Reminds me that no matter how many or big my problems are, they pale in comparison to having to fight for your life. I love you, CH.

As for knitting, I am almost done Danny's sock. I should have finished by now, but I started another project. This one is for my fair entry, which means a picture of it will not be posted till after the fair. It is a surprise baby gift for a friend, but she'll have to go guess which one it is at the fair.

Well, I am off to tidy up so I can rest and knit in a little while.

Blessings and Love,
Melanie

The Home stretch

I know, I know, this is a knitting blog! Here is Danny's second sock. My honey will be able to wear them very soon!!! One more inch and it's time to decrease.
This wasn't posed, I swear! We were just hanging out and I came across the boys watching the mice! I wonder if Turkey is just glad to not be the smallest being in the house.....or if he's their Daddy....or if they would make a nice snack?!?!?! He just can't stop watching them. It's so cute.

Six weeks till Memere comes to visit!!!!!!

H Towners not so bad

In my town of New Braunfels TX, there is some kind of animosity that the locals feel towards Houstonians. On my way home from knitting group, my car broke down, and in a very public place. Everyone and their brother from NB passed me by, and the one who stopped to help was a Houstonian. So, thank you, Houstonian, for helping me. Y'all aren't so bad!

Nine Important Words

9 Words Women Use
1.) Fine : The word women use to end an argument, when they are right and you need to shut up.
2.) Five Minutes : If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. But five minutes is five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.
3.) Nothing : This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in Fine.
4.) Go Ahead : This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!
5.) Loud Sigh : This is actually a word, a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer to #3 for the meaning of Nothing.)
6.) That's Okay : This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. "That's okay" means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.
7.) Thanks : A woman is thanking you, do not question. Just say you're welcome.
8.) Whatever : Is a women's way of saying "F__k You!"
9.) Don't worry about it, I got it : Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking "What's wrong?" For the woman's response refer to #3. Send this to the men you know, to warn them about arguments they can avoid if they remember the terminology.

Sock # 2

Good morning, and Happy Sunday! My Sophia had a chemical reaction to a dermatological treatment she received on Friday, so we have spent lots of time in the Dr's offices...thus, Danny's second sock has gotten a lot of attention. I will be doing the heel flap today, and hopefully more. I plan to post a pic this evening of the progress. Danny has big feet. That is LOTS of knitting! I am ready to move on.....is that second sock syndrome???? It always feels like the second sock is harder to complete. Hmmm.
By the way, Sophia's doing much better....her skin was developing a staph infection, but luckily we were right on top of it and got her treated right away, seeing results very quickly.
Hope y'all have a great day!
Blessings,
Melanie

Summer Boredom

These are the people who keep me from knitting!!!! There is something in the air tonight, because they are in rare form. This is the kind of thing they do when they are bored! Notice the very handsome princess in the middle!

Wednesday the 15th

Good morning,
I have some awesome news, my mother is coming to TX! She is coming for a 10 day visit from Maine!!! She sent me her itinerary this morning. Wow. I miss her so much. Here is a photo of her with my kids and hubby taken last July when we went to visit her. Yippee!!! They will be so happy to see her.

Last evening, our knitting group met at Jen's Java for our 2nd Tuesday meeting. We had a blast and got some serious knitting done. I never imagined how close knit (pun intended! Hehe!) this group would be when I joined it. There is such a connection there, and it is a very high concentration of very beautiful, unique women.

I finally buckled down and fixed a problem on the brown prayer shawl that I have been working on. A couple of months ago, my dear son pulled out one needle (I was half way through the row) and ripped it back about five rows!!!! AAARRRGGGHHHH! It was "one of those days," and after that happened, I painstakingly spent about 45 minutes repairing the problem, only to find out that I made a mistake doing that. I put the shawl in the bag and put it away till last night. Luckily all I had to do was rip back two rows and then it was fixed!!!!!! I am about 10 inches away from a finished project, so you'll see a photo really soon!

Since I began blogging this morning, I spoke with the Crafty lady, discussing the knitting class. I am so excited!!! More to come on that.......

Till then,
Blessings,
Melanie

Excitement!!!

A local craft store has asked me to teach a knitting class!!!!! This is very exciting for me and I am looking forward to this very much. It will be my first experience in teaching knitting to a group (except for a one-hour class to a group of girl scouts a couple of years ago).
If you are in the Seguin TX area and view this blog and are interested in the class, please contact me.
I will keep you all updated on how this goes!!!

Animal Kingdom

These are the new family members R to L - Lizzie, Dungeon, Twirlie
Here is Turkey - he managed his way up to keep an eye on the mice, he sat motionless for approximately 30 minutes, just watching them. Olivia said, "If Turkey could think like a human, I bet he is wondering what mice taste like."

Hmmm. I wonder.

OK I know you are here expecting knitting blogs, but these rodents brought us so much excitement that I just had to share.

Blessings,

Melanie

New Family members

Today was a very busy day, indeed. I worked on Danny's sock #2, finished "The Shop on Blossom Street," by Debbie Macomber, did a few chores, ran an errand with the family, and then finally gave in to relentless begging for a trip to the pet store!

Our middle child, Sophia, is a very big animal lover. She has been asking for a pet.....rodent....for several months. She has lost enough teeth to come up with the money to buy the set up today. Of course, Olivia and Little Danny wanted each their own, so offered up their own money to buy companions for Sophia's.

Welcome Lizzie, Twirlie, and Dungeon (you read it right - it's Danny's idea) - three female fancy mice.

Funny thing is, we have two dogs, Chrystal and Turkey. Chrystal is a bigger dog, about 30 lbs, and Turkey is a smaller Chihuahua mix. Turkey is very interested in the mice, and will find any which way to get close to them to watch them play.

We also have a fish - a Betta named DaoDao (Danny Jr named this one, too). He is the last survivor of three, but we've had him for two years, so I guess that's a good long while for Bettas.

Our home is becoming a menagerie of sorts. I don't suppose a cat would ever be an option, it would be the missing link in the food chain.

I have to sign off and rescue the three unsuspecting mice from the wily Turkey.

Good night and Blessings,
Melanie

Moi

This is a photo of me with Frederick the Alpaca - he belongs to Alpaca farmers in Boerne TX - my knitting group, KOZY (Knitters and Others Zany about Yarn) went on a yarn fondling field trip in Boerne. When we finished eating lunch, we were waiting at the restaurant for the rain to come to an end. Imagine our surprise when three Alpacas and their owners came to wait with us!!!! What a funny sight it was to see a group of 8 knitters surrounding three poor, helpless alpacas!!!!! I wanted to take Frederick home!!!!

Day two.

Good morning, Friends!

This is day two of blogging for me. As you can see, I have been busy....not knitting like I should, but showing you a sampling of the work I have done over the last couple of years. I am so happy to have an avenue for sharing, for showing what's on my needles, and what made it off.

Before last night, one of my favorite things to do on the computer was to browse knitting blogs. I finally decided to get in on the action. In addition to sharing my work, I can practice my writing skills and exercise my brain!

I feel so blessed and thankful for this gift that was given me. Both my grandmothers were knitters (In the Northeast, it is a necessity!) and my Aunt Jean is an expert who lends me so much of her knowledge. She even taught me how to knit cables while we were talking on the phone!!!! Both my daughters have an interest in knitting and are busy practicing the garter stitch. Sophia is already an expert finger-knitter.

Next weekend my knitting group is going on a field trip to an Alpaca ranch where we will have experience in spinning. One day, I will learn to spin and take my knitting a step further.

I must get on with my day - my household chores are waiting.......

Much Love,
Melanie

Teddy Bears and Kool-Aid

Teddy bears I knit for my daughters. They are so cute!
Here is some Bare Knit Picks yarn that I dyed with Kool-Aid. I used Cherry, orange, and lemonade. It looks like sherbet! Believe it or not, I have only knit one small project with that yarn, and it was a teddy bear in the pattern above. No, I didn't get a pic. Darn.

Miscellaneous summer knitting

A baby hat with a set of needles that I topped with Fimo Clay leftover from kids' craft project.
Baby socks sitting in a bowl of fresh veggies from my garden.

Olivia, my oldest daughter, modeling her knit socks. These are the first socks I knit for anyone larger than a baby.
Here is Olivia modeling her sweater coat in 2005. I bought some beautiful yarn at the local craft store, and before wear, the coat was gorgeous. However, I would definitely purchase a higher quality yarn for that pattern - Olivia wore it so much but it didn't take long to look ratty. This was early on in my knitting career, so it was a valuable lesson.

Christmas stockings

I made this Christmas Stocking for my husband Danny - I think I will re-do the cuff. I learned a new bind-off technique since I made it that will be looser and just look better.
These three mini-stockings (above and below) are a sampling of my new signature Christmas gift/cards. These knit up in an hour or so and come out so cute! They are actually made to hang up on the tree, so the recipient can either use it as an ornament or display the card.
All these were knit with Knit Picks yarns. See previous post for the link.

felted bags

A felted striped bag for my son, Danny - carries trains, cars, and bouncy balls!!!
Sophia's and Olivia's clutch purses, the above three bags are my first felt projects.
This one is Mommy's bag!!!!

All the above were knitted using wool yarn from Knit Picks.

www.knitpicks.com

County Fair Winners

Mohair blend baby sweater set that I won a blue ribbon for at the 2005 Comal County Fair.
This is my daughter, Sophia, wearing the sweater I made her in 2005 - it was the 2006 Comal County Fair Tri-Color ribbon winner for knitting.

Showin' my stuff

This is the progress on Danny's first sock.
This is the after day one on my drop stitch lace tank.

Socks!!!!!

This is the progress and end result of the first sock that I knot for my husband Danny. It is knit with Trekking Pro Natura by Zitron on size 2 dpn's.
In the days to come, as I establish this blog, I will search my photo archives and post more pictures of my knitting projects.

My next adventure will soon be knitting toe-up on two circs. I haven't attempted it yet, but I am so itching to try it!!!! Any input that you have will be very appreciated as I set out to learn this.

Thank you!
Blessings,
Melanie

Knitting fever

I am posting my first blog! It is something I have wanted to do for a long while, but now is finally the time.
I am a knitter. I am a wife, a mother, a friend, a "domestic engineer." Knitting is what holds me together. Many people ask when I find the time to knit, with three young children running around, a home to keep, church involvement, etc. etc, but my answer is always the same. It keeps me sane. Knitting is something I can do with my time and talent that produces results. It is art that I can wear, a labor of love to give.
I love to take pictures of my work, my progress, and now with the blog, I can document it and share the process.
I find that when I run into other knitters, a bond is there that cannot be broken. Friendships develop and knowledge grows when you are in the company of knitters.
To quote from "The Shop on Blossom Street," by Debbie Macomber, "One of the things I love most about being a knitter is the community of other knitters. Anytime I run into another person (usually a woman but not always) who knits, it's like finding a long-lost friend. The two of us instantly connect. It doesn't matter that only seconds earlier we were strangers, because we immediately share a common bond."
Knitting is an art that I would love to pass on to anyone, especially my children. We can't let it slip away, we must preserve it for the future generations.

This picture is of me wearing my Drop-Stitch Lace Tank from Stephanie Japel's Fitted Knits. I finished it the week of my birthday. I love it.

Well, Good night,
Blessings,
Melanie

To get a glimpse of my life, please go to www.myspace.com/knittingloca