Startitis Strikes Mississauga Knitter

I am sick with a terrible case of Startitis. If left unchecked, this can lead to a chronic case of Finishaphobia. I've already got some of the tell-tale symptoms of this ghastly malaise. I have currently on the go - a pair of socks, no. 1/2 and I'm not liking the chances of casting on the second - this is a whole other illness - "Onesockitis" - I have a hat in modified rib which I really like, but it's boring. So much yarn, so little time and I want to use it all! Bless me!

This lady is my hero - I think!

IN THE WANING OF THE DAY

In the waning of the day when embers warmly glowing lay within my hearth
the stresses that had taken hold no longer seem to be so bold
They don their cloaks and quickly flee, and yield to wools enfolding me,
As I sit clicking, clicking, softly knitting
in the waning of the day.

In the waning of the day when all around me sleeping lay
No sleep can find me as I sit before the fire and quietly knit
My soul finds solace in the act, the quiet, lovely fibrous act of one stitch over, two left back
Wrap the yarn, take up the slack.
A sock, a hat, a baby sweater
End result? It doesn't matter
Just the act of quiet solace worry-free of come what may
in the waning of the day.

Copyright 2010 - Judith Somersett

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Just so there is no confusion, the "Judy" in this video is not me. I do not know this Judy but I think I love her! Her instructions are clear and concise and extremely helpful. I think anyone who wants to know how to perform this task should watch and learn! Enjoy, and thanks, Judy, for your much appreciated assistance! :)

The Last Knit

Enjoy, all you Knit-a-holics!

Not exactly knitting related, but hey - this is one of my all-time favourite recipes which I originally found in the 1987 (!!!) Milk Calendar and have not seen since until this morning when, after having spent 2 hours crawling through the crawl space and digging through boxes and making a right mess of the crawl space, not to mention myself, I gave up and Googled it and some precious person had posted it to their blog and yes, it is the same one! It is a milk-based sauce as opposed to the standard tomato-based sauce, so for those of you who may suffer tomato allergies, make this with confidence... Oh! And if any of you actually HAVE the 1987 milk calendar, and are of a mind to share the recipes in it (it was a stellar year for the MC), I would be ever so grateful!

Oh, and if you want to check out the blog where I found this long-lost recipe, go here:

thoroughlymodernvintage.blogspot.com/2009/05/my-creative-space-completed-wips-and.html

COUNTRY STYLE SPAGHETTI

Country Style Spaghetti -serve 4 to 6

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. salt
1 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. hot red chili flakes (opt.)
1/4 c. chopped pimento or sweet red pepper
1 lb. sausages (sweet or hot Italian) removed from casing and broken up
2 Tbsp. flour ( or tapioca starch)
2 1/2 c. milk
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 lb. spaghetti
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

1. Heat oil in a large skillet and brown sausage as you break it into chunks. When the sausage is getting brown, add the garlic, onions and hot pepper flakes. Drain off any excess fat.
2. Sprinkle meat with flour and cook a few minutes, stirring. Add milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add nutmeg, salt, pepper and pimentos. Simmer gently for 15 minutes.
3. While sauce is cooking, cook spaghetti in a large pot of boiling, salted water. Cook until tender 10 to 12 minutes and drain.
4. Toss spaghetti with sauce, cheese and parsley. Taste and season if necessary.

Serve with any green vegetable and if you wish, garlic bread.

Prep. Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes

LAZY DAISY STITCHERY

Good morning all! Okay, for those of us who like to embellish our knitted pieces with embroidery, I found a neat little tutorial video on how to do a lazy daisy stitch. Now I know what you are probably thinking - I've made hundreds of those - but for those of us who are visually needy, I thought I'd post a link because after all, this person's site is really quite good and the video is really quite clear.
You will need to scroll down past the picture of the multiple strand daisies in action (which, incidentally, I think are a marvellous idea and look nifty).

Let me know what you think if you're inclined to visit!

Here's the link.

http://www.needlenthread.com/2006/11/daisy-stitch-video-tutorial.html

Joy in Knitting ... and stitchery!

SSK vs. K2tog tbl

The video below is shown on my blog courtesy of and with permission of Brittany Newberry, the owner of the video. Brittany has created many instructional videos for your viewing pleasure and knitting clarification. Her site is http://www.knitwitch.com/

Thanks, Brittany!

Joy in Knitting

GOOD GRAPE! IT'S ANOTHER BABY SWEATER!

And it's so PURPLE!!! These sweaters are SO quick and SO much fun, I'm thinking of making a gross of them...

Anyway, this one is a really rich shade of purple by Cabin Fever. Not sure the pic does it justice, but I think it looks really smart and some little tyke is going to be really swish-looking.

Joy in knitting!

NOW I KNOW MY ABC'S

Okay, I am definitely going to stop making these now (after I've done a PURPLE one!) The little ABC buttons on this one were one of my favourite features. They are just too cute.

I can't tell you how much fun these little sweater are to make, and so quick (as you can tell) because I've finished 3 complete sets in July as well as a turquoise jacket which is not pictured and is not lacy but plain.

I did go in a slightly different direction with the "skirt" of this sweater and adopted a double-eyelet pattern I got from Ann Norling. I think it worked very well but took a tiny bit more yarn than the original Cabin Fever pattern.


Joy in Knitting

AND HERE IT IS IN RED! (In Progress)

I thought I'd show you what this little Cabin Fever no-sew sweater project looks like on the needles. It looks all scary and stuff, right? Well despite the sleeve being on 3 dpn's (a practice which I heretofore eschewed) I have to say it still beats sewing up seams at the end of a project when all you want is to see it finished and gloat. So anyway, here's the red, which I think is turning out pretty nice even if I do say so myself. I should have this set done by the end of the week. Okay, maybe THEN I'll get back to the socks...

Joy in knitting and procrastinating...

AND HERE IT IS IN GOLD

I'M A LITTLE STAR!

I like to call this one "I'm a Little Star" because, obviously, of the little buttons. It is identical to the turquoise one shown below and was equally as much fun to make. Cabin Fever is my Friend!



Joy in No-Sew Knitting!

TOP DOWN CARDIGAN FOR NEWBORN

This little gem is a pattern by Cabin Fever whose specialty, as you may or may not know, is no-sew creations.

I am in love with this technique - seriously! No sewing. Gotta love it. This little creation was started on Sunday night - that's two nights ago. It's done and ready to wear. Knit in one piece. Love it. I got the pattern from The Purple Purl in Toronto, together with the Cabin Fever Tweed DK and cast on as soon as I got home.

I think this might must be my favourite pattern to make for newborns. Check out the little lady bug buttons.

Joy in knitting!

RELAY FOR LIFE 2008

Well, Relay is over for another year and it was a huge success, our team having raised almost $6,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society. We generated a lot of public interest this year as our tent was on the side of the park facing the street. We were "Knitting for a Cure". This is a program where we knit scarves and hats for people undergoing treatment for breast cancer. The yarn is donated and the scarves are given free of charge. Since the project's start, we have made and donated some 800 scarves and hats.

People came in droves, with children and dogs, we gave knitting and spinning lessons and a good time was had by all.

Visitors wanted to learn how, so we had a piece of "community knitting" that could be picked up by anyone and worked on for a row or two.

People gathered around the two spinning wheels onsite for a demonstration of how yarn is made. We were delighted that there was so much interest in the art.

This is Matty. Matty was taking her owner for a walk in the park and decided to stop by for a visit. She dressed in yellow, initially. Isn't she beautiful? Is there such a thing as a Wheaten Terrier Sweater? Hey, don't get any big ideas about shearing ME...

Upon detecting the "pink" theme, Matty insisted on being taken home for a bath and change of clothes. After a nice bath Matty was back, proudly sporting pink for the occasion. She was ever-such-a-lady.

This is Matty after she had learned everything there was to know about spinning, knitting and fiber arts and wanted to "move on" to the cheesy treats.

There is DEFINTELY joy in knitting!

MIDNIGHT MAGIC STARFISH

Awhile back, there was a great big fuss on the dishcloth list I belong to about Bernat Handicrafter Midnight Magic 100% cotton. Nay, not a fuss - more like a frenzy. As with such things, there was a flurry of activity involving said cotton - needles and knitters were coming out of the woodwork to knit with this glorious colourway. As is almost always the case when a colour becomes wildly popular, the lovely people who manufacture it promptly discontinue it. They did not disappoint this time.

Anyway, I had some set aside for just such an occasion as this - Sew-Funky's starfish pattern (pink one photographed below in earlier post) and I said to myself, "Myself," I said, "I bet Midnight Magic would be an ideal colour for the wee starfishie." Here it is. Let me know what you think?

I'm likin' it!

Joy in Knitting!

STAR GAZING

Well thanks again to Sew-Funky for another fabulous design. Check out this gorgeous starfish cloth and get the free pattern at Sew-Funky's site. I am in love with this design. It was so easy and addictive, I may have to have one in every hue. The one pictured here is in a wonderful pink variegated by Honeysuckle Yarns. Gotta go fishing...
Joy in Knitting!

"THE" SOCK (THAT'S SOCK, SINGULAR)

Well, folks, earlier in the year - like, January - I resolved to make another sock. It hasn't happened yet. I was hoping that Almighty God would take a row of the first sock's ribbing and make it a mate but apparently, this was a one-hit-wonder with the Almighty. Evidently, the Almighty doesn't do socks.

I COULD have just photographed the one sock twice and SAY I had made the mate but then you might as well put me in an overnight pouch and FedEx me straight to Hell, without passing GO and definitely without collecting $200 worth of sock yarn. So here is the one picture of the one sock. It has been so long since I made it that I lost the pattern. I tried using that as an excuse. You know, "But God, I lost the pattern - couldn't you just perform one more little miracle..." but He shook His head and wagged His admonishing digit in my face and said, "Pick up thy knitting needles and knit." He had an accomplice. Linda (of Linda's Craftique) was "kind enough" to provide me with another copy of the pattern. Gee, thanks. I even offered her some Heart Attack Pie (scroll down for the recipe) NOT to give me the pattern, but she and the Almighty are in cahoots - nay, thick as thieves.

So, I'm picking up my needles and the other half of the delish aloe and jojoba yarn and I'm off to the Sock Races...

Um, Joy in Knitting?

WINDMILL DISHCLOTH!

Thanks to blogger: http://sew-funky.blogspot.com/2008/05/windmill-dishcloth.html I have completed a Windmill Dishcloth. I love it! Thanks to Sew-Funky for creating this cloth. My version is pictured below. I used Sugar 'n Cream Floral Prints on 4.5 mm needles. This makes quite a large cloth and I think I will try size 4.0 mm for my next one (and there WILL be a next one!) Thanks Sew-Funky!

It's so delightfully Don Quixotic!

Joy in Knitting!

LUXURY TWEED DISHCLOTH

This is a picture of the stitch pattern.
Here's my latest cloth design and free pattern for y'all.

LUXURY TWEED CLOTH
(copyright 2008 by Judith Somersett)

Materials:

Your favourite dishcloth cotton in your favourite colour
Size 7 (4.5mm needles)

Special Stitches:

K1B (Knit one below): Insert right-hand needle into the next stitch one row below and knit, removing that stitch and the one above at the same time. A video demonstration of this stitch can be seen below this post.

Directions:

Cast on 35 stitches
Row 1 (WS) Knit

Commence 4-row repeat as follows:

Row 1 K1, *K1B, K1. Repeat from * to end of row
Row 2 Knit
Row 3 K2, *K1B, K1. Repeat from * to last stitch, K1
Row 4 Knit

Repeat these four rows until desired length, ending with either Row 2 or Row 4. Cast off and enjoy your very luxurious, cushy cloth!

Joy in Knitting!

Here's the video!
Knitting into the Row Below (K1B)