What Not To Wear

Recycled plastic run amok.
Enough said.

Thinking Ahead

I am keeping this in mind for Halloween- or if our Government would admit that our recession is really a depression- I could trot this out for some bank robbing?! It reminds me of a friend of mine in LA- Paul I am talking about you... I can see the headlines now- "hand knit hat burglar strikes again!"

Two Knit Ladies I Love

At TNNA this summer, Heather launched her new yarn line Ewe Ewe. knitty.com editor and innovator Amy Singer stopped by to say hello.

What would have made this picture perfect? If I had taken it and could have been there. We have another chance to get together at VKL the end of September.

So, what is your excuse. Knitters are fun peeps. We love to laugh and drink. It is always a party whenever two or more gather. Get your butts to Vogue Knitting Live in LA. Take a class from Amy- she is doing a cool toe up sock class and more.

Buy some washable wooly Ewe Ewe Yarn at NobleKnits.com or your local yarn shop... Like The Grove in San Diego, another one of my favorites!

Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

A little Gothic and ghoulish for me to wear, perhaps. However, what would really stop me from rocking this look is my need to wear a bra! Applying eyeliner with out "readers" results in the make up look. Maybe they make Spanx for this...

In Honor of Sock Summit

Over 6000 knitters gathered in Portland, Oregon for Sock Summit and I was not there.

I will be at Vogue Knitting Live (VKL)
in LA this September and I have reserved space with Franklin Habit for his lecture on Saturday. I also have a fiber class session with Clara Parkes reserved Sunday morning. The Panopticon Blog and Knitter's Review reamin 2 of my favorite online reads.
See my side bar for the links and please visit them!

Amy Singer from Knitty,com will be there teaching her socks off and I hope we get to share some laughs and a drink or two. I knit socks sometimes. It is not a passion for me- but I do not fear them. I only wear them on the coldest winter nights to bed. I live in San Diego. Cut me some slack...

U-Needa This!

Polly want a biscuit? I just love this pillow. Someday, I want to live in a cool contemporary place with white furniture upholstered in linen. I think this pillow will have to be there. Really, I do...

Happy Birthday Brian Brown!

This is my baby brother in Michigan shucking corn last year on his birthday.

He is back on that same porch at Aunt Lois Ann's house and I am not.

I long for Michigan every summer. Since moving to California in 1993, I have missed only two summers and this is one of them.

Brian- jump in Lake Charlevoix, have a glass of wine, eat some white fish from the Great Lakes and remember me. I wish I were there! I love you. Happy Birthday...

No Original Ideas!

I have used a fork to make little pom poms since I was a kid. I thought of it when I was making clothes for my Barbie dolls. I thought it was an original idea and I did not covet it- but since making pom poms did not come up that often- I never really claimed it or taught it very often over the years.

In June I demonstrated this technique to my Knitwits and they loved it. Two weeks later I saw this on line and almost dropped my jaw on the ground.

My fork pom poms!! WTH- and all those years I was married to a Patent Attorney and did not protect or trademark this technique. Which speaks to my theory that as knitters we should all just agree to get along. I do not belief that there are very many new and completely original knitting ideas. Revised, new to you, original to you and all brand new as each piece knit by hand is one of a kind. So- when you need to make some sweet consistent pom poms to embellish your project- use a fork! And go ahead and take the credit for doing it- I just want everyone to know the joy of creating with 2 sticks and string...

Too Hot To Knit? NEVER!

As our country grapples with a heat wave that is no joke- many people put down the needles. Not me. I love to switch to small easy projects that do not add heat to your lap.

These felted bracelets are an example of quick and easy- plus they make a great gift for your friends and you can keep a supply ready to wrap and go!

Every Wednesday I preside over a group of knitters known as the Knitwits. In the month of June and August we meet at a local BBQ joint(that serves beer and wine) and is next door to the local Dairy Queen. After closing down Brett's BBQ we saunter next door and cap off the evening with some soft serve.


The cool down is needed, the calories are not. I am not a big sweets eater and I ask for a kids cone with a little bit of ice cream. To the DQ credit - they have sugar free and fat free versions for sale.

If you cannot cool off with ice cream- maybe this ice cream inspired art will do the trick!

Keep cool and keep knitting...

Color Inspires Me

There is nothing like a box of fresh new crayons, markers, pencils, or pastels in COLORS!

For the longest time I was in knitting neutral. My yarn palettes were muted and nature based. Classic is still my favorite color wheel and includes every shade of cream, grey. black, brown,white and greige. That is beige with a hint of grey. In other words, the way fleece comes of the backs of the animal donor.

This season has me thinking and feeling in color. Inspired by the bright colors of a washable wool line of yarn just launched, I cannot get enough color!

Check out the yarn designed by Heather Walpole called Ewe-ewe Washable Wool. There is a full line of patterns to go with the yarn and they are all available at Noble Knits Yarn shop. Noble knits has free shipping and easy online ordering. Try it you will like it!

I am of the age where many of my friends have children getting married and reproducing. All of the new Mommies of the world seem to really appreciate a hand knit- and that is a good thing. I have found that the new breed of Mommies also want the hand knit to be machine washable. Ewe Ewe is the perfect choice. It is unbelievably soft, and it washes and dries beautifully by machine! There is nothing worse than spending countless hours of love and devotion, knitting a little love into every stitch- to find out that garment lived it's life in a dark drawer because the recipient was afraid to wash it! The sad fate of many hand knits.

So- KNIT. Knit in COLOR. Finally, WEAR those hand knits.

Trending Fashion

I have been buying knitting magazines throughout my knitting lifetime. I have some from the seventies and my latest Vogue arrived in last weeks post box.

I have noticed a big trend in vest patterns popping up again. I went through a phase in the early eighties when I knit big needle, bulky vests, for everyone I knew.

Cindy was an Autumn and she wore hers belted with turtleneck and jeans. My Mother wore her lighter weight cotton slub vest so often that I was convinced she liked that vest better than me. I still have that vest and was going to unravel it and re-knit it for me in her memory. It has been in a drawer since her death in 1984.

Now, it fits me and I look more like her everyday. I think I will just keep it as is and wear it one day as she did. With a silk blouse underneath and khaki wool trousers. Oh wait- I live in San Diego. A t-shirt and khaki capris.

Knitting a vest is excellent practice for knitting sweaters. It prepares and familiarizes you with the process minus the sleeves. It feels so quick because the sleeves are absent and the seaming is minimal. Fashion has moved forward with all kinds of affordable accessories to make a simple vest the perfect wardrobe enhancer. The vest is also perfect for the climate I live in. It cools off every evening and a vest is the perfect solution to keeping your back and shoulders warm under the stars with a glass of wine in the beautiful backyard.... I digress.

Well, I recommend you cast on a vest for a quick and rewarding knit for yourself. Please go to this site for plenty of inspiration: knittingpatterncentral.com

Go to the directory page and search vests to be amazed!