Tag: knitting (page 1 of 1)

Ruffle Scarf

One of my summer W.I.Ps. is a ruffle scarf made with “Loops & Threads”, Spring Fling. It took me a few minutes to work it all out, how to knit with a “ribbon”, but it is turning out really cute!

The Hungry Caterpillar

I loved this story when I was little. I continue to give it to friends for their children. I am the book gift giver. I think books are very important, especially instilling the love of reading in a child at an early age. My parents always read to us.

We loved being read this story when we were little, sticking our fingers through the little fruit holes and wiggling them around like we were the tiny caterpillar munching away.

I especially loved the picture where has was fat. He looked adorable.

While looking on Etsy (I need to really work on setting up my shop soon!) I came across Sara Carr, who is a beautiful knitter.

And, as I was scrolling I saw “Kevin the Caterpillar” and I could only think of being little. He is adorable! This alone would make you want children to be able to dress them in little caterpillar scarves! I am crazy, I know. He is just too cute!! Check out her Etsy page, she has a lot of other amazing little animals she has created as well!

There is even a plush Kevin with little knitted caterpillar legs!

Purl One, Knit One

I am an old soul, there are times when I think I have been born in the wrong time period! I am a nerd amongst my friends and quite happy to be one! I taught myself to knit two years ago and little by little I have been expanding my knitting pattern knowledge. This past year I taught myself to crochet (my Nana had taught me when I was younger, but I definitely needed a refresher!) and when I was at home this Christmas I went yarn hunting with my mom and picked out the colors for the Granny Square blanket I intend to make, with her discerning interior decorator’s eyes at my side!

I have a few stores I buy yarn from here in England, one of my favorite being a little gem on Carnaby Street, or in Kingly Court, I should say.  My yarn tends to come from all over, I go for the feel and the color of it, I am sure I should think about ply and weight first, but right or wrong I go right for the textural and visual side of it.

I have used Lion Brand online as a resource tool when I am stuck on a particular stitch, they also have a wonderful supply of free patterns online too.  I have knitted with their yarn for some projects before and this was the yarn I chose when I was at home. I wanted something colorful, yet rich, warm, yet happy and a reasonable price for a project I was going to be experimenting with; so I selected a variety of colors to work from(an ebony black, a warming charcoal, a rich red, a deep purple, a soft cream and a velvety green-sounds odd, but trust me they all work together).

Sitting in the airport, the Saturday after New Years Day, sad to be leaving my family and watching the snow fall from the window, my adorable husband appeared with a cheering up gift in his hands from the magazine store.  A copy of the January 2010 issue of Martha Stewart. As I flipped through the pages I discovered inside an entire article on Lion Brand yarn (which he had already flipped through and seen and that was his entire reason for buying it, isn’t that thoughtful? What a cutie!), and now I dream of walking in through those doors of the flagship store in New York, sad I know! I love the fact that there is a sampling wall to try out yarn and you can take yarn home with you to try out, there is a place where you can just sit and stitch and play, like a toy store for grown-ups!!

I want to take that lion in the window home with me, I love his twisted yarn mane, he is like a giant yarn made Aslan, guarding the store and all who step over the threshold.  I wanted to share some of the pictures from this article here.  Knitting is like yoga or gardening for me, it is therapeutic and on cold nights here it is something to keep my hands warm. I am looking forward to starting my blanket, this will be my first project that will be able to keep me warm as I go, I can’t wait to get to the stage of it being so big it covers my lap as I work, but now, I am getting ahead of myself….

(All images copyright Martha Stewart Magazine)

Good Morning, Good Night

I am laying in bed on this frosty night going over some vintage knitting patterns I want to try.I have found the most adorable one for a 50’s style “pixie cap”; it looks like something Doris Day would have worn in Moonlight Bay.

It is late here and everyone is asleep. It is so blissfully quiet outside that I can hear the church bells from the other side of the common chime the hour, ding-dong, ding-dong, ding they say, it is just after 1am.

scraopologie angels

 

I feel like the little girl from the Golden Books story, “Good Morning, Good Night”.She isn’t tired and wants to stay up, even though her parents tell her that everyone else is in bed.

She doesn’t mind being alone and goes to play with her toys, but they are sleeping. She is so determined to stay awake and decides to go play with her dollhouse instead, but everyone inside the dollhouse is in the land of as well.

In the end she concludes that it is time for her to go to bed, which is what I need to do to, but my mind is just buzzing with ideas tonight and I am enjoying the quiet.But, since there is no one to play with, I guess it is off to bed I go….

(Church image copyright Scrapologie, the vintage knitting pattern can be found for free download at: Baby Dee Vintage Patterns)