Knitting Tips For Knoobies

I don't know exactly the date I began knitting but I know I'm just around the two year mark. I thought I'd make a list of tips to give other knoobies that may not know when they start knitting but, I feel, will make the road a bit less bumpy.

1. Read a pattern all the way through to make sure you're capable of doing each and every step. It's the worst feeling to get 3/4 of the way through a pattern and realize you can't complete it with what you already know.
2. Make sure you have all the tools you need to complete your pattern - yarn, needles, stitch markers, tape measure etc.
3. Have enough yarn or, better yet, more than enough yarn. If it calls for 9 skeins, buy 10 just in case. You can always use the extra yarn but you may not always be able to purchase the same yarn at a later date.
4. When starting a pattern, put everything you'll need to complete this project in the project bag. I've had to scramble to find something halfway through and, frankly, it sucks. I just started doing this and it's so much easier when the things are easily accessible.
5. Join Ravelry and Twitter. Ravelry is great for all kinds of help from buying yarn to finding out what a psso is. Twitter is great too. I mostly follow knitters and when I have a problem, I post it and have an answer within minutes and sometimes seconds. I always say Twittah knittahs rock.
6. Never be afraid to ask for help. Knitters are among the kindest and most helpful people.
And last, but not least, you should enjoy what you're doing. If I start something I don't like, I rip it out and find something else. I have enough to stress me out, I don't want knitting to be one of them. Two teenage sons are enough to put anyone over the edge at times.
Knitters rock! And here's proof.

Let The Wild Rumpus Start

I decided to join the pool down the block from me. Upon joining, I was told I needed a bathing cap. I haven't worn a bathing cap since I was about nine years old which is quite some time ago. It's nice to see they haven't changed much.



Glenn was sweet enough to go and find me a bathing cap in Manhattan which we all know isn't a bathing cap mecca. Upon taking this out of the bag, I smiled at how well my husband knows me. I saw this and all I could think of was Max wearing his crown in Where The Wild Things Are. This will henceforth be known as Susie's Swimming Crown.

Bellisima!

Wouldn't you agree? These were made with Jamieson's Shetland Marl in Wildflower. I love the colors of this yarn. I bought this a while back and have been waiting for a perfect project to use it on. I have a cabled cowl made with this yarn that will look lovely with these gloves.
Joyce got her gloves the other day and she loves them. I was so happy to hear that! She's a true Twihard and I knew she'd really like these gloves.
For someone who's not a big Twilight fan, I sure am getting a lot out of making these gloves!

I Love Little Red Fuzzy Guys

I saw this earlier in the week and just cannot stop laughing at it. I know this is my second post, in a row, that has nothing to do with knitting but I promise to have a finished project up for you soon.



I love how Wendy just throws back her head and gives a big old Herman Munster laugh with no apologies. I've been watching this over and over again laughing like a loon.
How you, doin?

Nothing To Do With Knitting

Glenn was looking for our tax forms and came across this letter in his drawer:

Dear tooth fairy,
I am sorry that i have no tooth. I lost it in shool being careless. I couldnt find it. Then I saw my friend kicking the bag it was in. I picked it up. It was empty. I cried and cried until an idea popped into my head. a note! I would write a note.
your frind
Patrick
P.S. Watch out my room is messy.

After the first sentence, I knew who the author of this note was as did both my sisters and my best friend. Patrick is always losing things so the fact that he lost his first tooth comes as no surprise to anyone who knows him.
Patrick is also the child who thinks outside the box. I don't have a tooth to give the tooth fairy so how am I going to get what's due me? Hmmm. A note! That ought to work! That's typical Patrick.
I love that he's warning the Tooth Fairy to be careful coming into his messy room. Gotta make sure that dollar makes it safe and sound to it's destination, under his pillow!
Now I just can't wait till his high school graduation when I have this posted in his yearbook.

The UnDeStash

I had good intentions. I really did.
I had gone through my yarn stash this past weekend and realized that the only yarn I had excess of is sock yarn. I decided that I was gonna thin the sock yarn herd and put some up on the destash forum on Ravelry.
Yesterday I asked Patrick to start handing me skeins of yarn from my top cubby of my yarn cabinet. The first thing he handed me was Berroco Vintage Wool which I'd won from Michelle of PDXKnitterati. No way I was going to part with a free yarn from a dear person like Michelle. Next!
He then passed me a skein of Brooklyn Handspun Bubble Yum. I'd been coveting some Brooklyn Handspun for a while but it was a bit too expensive for me. I got this skein for about $15 on Rav's destash page a while ago and there was no way I was giving this one up either. Next!
Patrick then gave me a skein of Bare Sheep Yarn in Peach Ice Cream. Now this was a special yarn. This was yarn that Megan had given me for my birthday. It's a lovely yarn that will, one day, be a great pair of socks. I can't give away a gift! Especially one from my sistah from another mistah!
At this point, Patrick's eyes rolled back so far in his head that I heard them click.
The next cake he handed me was J.Knits Rhinebeck colorway made especially for Seaport Yarns. Umm...no. I'm keeping that too.
Now my wise son looked at me with the "Are you kidding me?" look in his eyes. He then took all the skeins of yarn and put them back in the cubby saying "How bout this, Mom. Don't buy anymore sock yarn and start knitting some socks?" Not only is he gorgeous but he's brilliant too. I'm going to take his advice and start knitting some more socks and keep my stash, which I really do love, together.
Now I just have to figure out how I'm going to fund my next trip to Seaport Yarns!

Yarn Bouncing

I had noticed a while back that most of my yarn is sock yarn with little else. I have odds and ends of worsted an bulky but not a lot. I asked Glenn if he'd drop me off at Seaport Yarns on his way out on Saturday and he said he would. I haven't been yarn shopping in a while so I was very excited at the prospect. I told Glenn that I'd take Patrick with me because he's always great company.
Patrick comes into our room a bit later with a puss on. I asked what was wrong and he replied "Dad says I have to go yarn bouncing with you." I cracked up at the expression and vowed to incorporate it into my vocabulary, hence the blog post title. Patrick wanted to stay home that day but yarn bounce we did.
We went to Seaport and Lauren was working there again. I'd met her when I'd gone down there during Rhinebeck. She's such a sweet girl and she knows her stuff. We wound up hanging out there for a couple of hours and came away with some goodies:



The large red cake is Cascade Eco + 478 yards of 100% Peruvian deliciousness. The other red yarn is a partial skein I got at Lion Brand and I don't know how it snuck into this photo. The lighter blues, on the upper right, we have Jamieson's Chunky Shetland in Iris, 100 grams and 126 yards. The other blue is Classic Elite Montera, 100 grams and 127 yards. The Montera is very much like my favorite, Pastaza, in feel because it's 50% wool & 50% llama.
Glenn needs more hats and he has the most beautiful blue eyes so I wanted to get some blues to make him more Dublin Beanies. Why more Dublin Beanies, do you ask? Because that's all he'll wear. I went on Ravelry and did a search, showing him numerous other hat designs but he turned me down flat. He is perfectly happy with them and he figures, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Speaking of beautiful blue eyes, here's a picture of my son trying to decide which blue yarn he'd like a hat made out of. They'd both look great on him, don't you think?