Mini-mal Swapping

Mini hat, mini spindle, stitch markers & mini mints
Originally uploaded by ckknitter

The Central Virginia Girls groups over on Ravelry had a little swap going on during July & August.....well, a mini swap really. We needed to make our swap partner a mini knitted item, find a mini food item, and include one other mini-type something. On Thursday afternoon I met my partner, Lara, over at the Lovingston Cafe. We enjoyed some good conversation, trading our items, and a little DELICIOUS pie & cheese cake. Pictured above is what Lara included in my package: a mini knitted hat, a mini drop spindle, some stitch markers, and Altoids-the small version. This was a great no-pressure type swap. It didn't require a lot of knitting time, at least on my part - yet it did require that you be thoughtful in your planning. Lara certainly hit the mark with hers! I'd recommend a mini-swap to everyone!

Pffefferminz Ishbel

Pffefferminz Ishbel
Originally uploaded by ckknitter

I woke up this morning and realized that last night, while in a fit a creative frenzy, I began another WIP. It was actually pretty calculated, as this is to be a birthday present for someone I know who loves green and blue. So, thanks to a mid-evening cup of coffee, I was winding the skein at 11:00 p.m. and still knitting the first seven rows at midnight. Then I made myself go to bed. Thankfully, this morning I still love it - both yarn (Wollmeise Pffefferminz Prinz) and pattern (Ishbel) - and I really wish I could stay home today and knit-knit-knit! Thank goodness Saturday is just two days away!

Gifted M-I-L

P8010174_edited
Originally uploaded by ckknitter

My m-i-l is amazing.....she has an adventurous creative spirit. I recently sent her some hand made stitch markers from several Etsy shops. She loved them, but was also intrigued be the possibility of making stitch markers of her own. Bip-boom-bang.....a month later, here they are! The beaded markers on the right are some of her first creations. According to the little bag, they are "made with love from Scamp's Bead Shop". Did I mention that she's now 82? Yep - she amazes me alright!

Confession: a year ago DS#3 asked me to knit him a hat. We sat at the computer and chose a pattern from Ravelry, then went to Ben Franklin and chose the yarn. A year later, I finally got around to knitting it for him. Here is the Ribbed Beanie designed by Wooly Wormhead - aka the Guilt Hat. DS & I are both very pleased with the outcome & think it was worth the wait!

Knitted of Love

Many of you know that P & A & I just got back from a mission trip with the Appalachian Service Project down in Lee County, Virginia. Our week was full of hard work, laughter, and learning to trust and have faith....putting our faith forward was the theme down at ASP this summer. It's a good lesson to remember.


Of course I packed some knitting projects for the week - three to be exact. All of them were my WIPs for the WIP Knit-Down. On Saturday evening, I packed them all into a hard case and included them with the luggage we packed into the car on Saturday evening. Sunday morning as we were leaving the house, I realized that I didn't have anything handy to knit during the 6 hour drive down - so I quickly reached into my cotton drawer and grabbed the two nearest skeins, threw them in a bag and ran out the door. I volunteered to drive, so didn't get any knitting time and kind of forgot about the cotton for a couple of days.


Day #1 & 2 at our family's home involved painting and texturizing the ceiling. On day #3, we were ready to paint their walls. The kitchen was painted a pale yellow. Also, our family had been given counter tops that were a cheerful lavender color...it was when I saw the counters that I remembered the two skeins of cotton in my bag.


Turns out that I had grabbed the perfect colors for our family's new kitchen. These are the exact colors I would have chosen if I had KNOWN their kitchen was to have yellow walls with lavender counters. Kim, Sara, Kathleen, & I took turns knitting a dish cloth for Katie, the lady of the house. It was a cloth knitted of love for their house built of love. Coincidence? Maybe......but then again, maybe not.

Want to know more about the Appalachian Service Project? Click here!

Exponential WIP

See this WIP? It's the De Colores jacket by Ginger Luters from the Fall 2002 issue of Knitting Magazine and the Module Magic book. But don't worry - I didn't start this project in 2002 - I started it in 2006 - well OK, maybe 2005.....but never mind that! It's been my focus in WIP Mania during the past two weeks.



Every time I think I'm getting closer to the end, I remember that after I finish all of the sections (7 more to go for the sleeves) then I have to finish sewing in the ends......then I have to seam the sections......then I have to crochet edging all around the edges......THEN and only THEN will this WIP finally be finished. Yes, I've made progress, but goodness, I hope I still like it when it's finally done!

WIP Mania - two down for the count

Beth's Turkish pattern mittens are finally finished! I love the colors & how they feel on my hands - I hope she'll like them, too. These were intended as a Christmas gift for last Christmas & I actually finished one during our break, but then got busy with school & grad school again....and then - well it got HOT & I didn't want to knit mittens. This WIP almost won because three days ago I realized I had knitted another RIGHT mitten...grrrrrr.....but fortunately, I didn't take long to redo! Now on to a really stinky WIP - the infamous six year sweater......double grrrr and fingers crossed!

WIP Mania - one down for the count

Aaaaahhhh - long weekends! They are especially good when we spend them here, at b-i-l's river "cabin".


B-i-l recently moved house - literally - moving his retreat from the flood plain to just 14 inches over the 500 year flood zone up the hill. It's a much safer location and the house had a few upgrades in the process. It's very civilized for the wilds of West Virginia!

My m-i-l brought me a little present. I really like the photographs in this stitch dictionary. They are very clear.


We enjoyed a beautiful and cool 4th of July weekend. (#1 son & gf on the river)



...and I finished these: Slave to the Socks (the holes are part of the pattern, really!)


One WIP Mania project down & three to go! I think I might need another weekend get-away to help me knock out a few more!