A Scarf... That Travels for a Good Cause

TGIF!  Is everyone ready for Superbowl weekend?  With my Pats not in it this year, things aren't quite as exciting in our household.  We'll still be watching, of course, and checking out all of the commercials as usual.  Hopefully I can get some good knitting time in!

Last Sunday I worked on my section of a Traveling Scarf for cancer patients through ConnieCaps. The traveling scarves were started over on Instagram, but you don't need an Instagram account to participate, so check them out if you're interested!  

I was third on this particular scarf.  When I went stash diving to find yarn to use, I actually found a pretty darn perfect skein of Berroco Softwist that I didn't even remember having (I'm sure I'm not the only person who can't remember buying half of what's in her stash now, am I?).

I worked my section in a honeycomb/hive stitch pattern and although it resulted in less than perfect edges, I think it looks pretty cool.  And I love the texture of it!

The fourth person on the list for this scarf is a friend of mine who is local, so I handed it off on Tuesday after helping her to choose a super pretty green yarn at the shop where I work part time.  I can't wait to see what she does... and then after her section, it's going to another mutual friend in Maine.  After that, it's off to Canada, Singapore, Germany, and several parts of the good 'ole USA.  I love this idea and plan to hop aboard another one soon!

I haven't made much progress on my first Honey Cowl, but here's what 220 stitches after just a few rows looks like.  I am absolutely loving working with the Cascade EcoDuo!

I've got a little Flickering Thistle scarf on the needles in Cascade Souk.  Here it is 2 repeats in.

I think I'll get back to my Mom's fingerless gloves this weekend and hopefully get more rounds worked on my Honey Cowl.  What's on your Superbowl knitting agenda?

Craftalong for Sandy Relief

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!  Is anyone else participating in the Craftalong for Sandy Relief?  Perhaps you haven't read about it yet?  You can click that link to read about it on Vickie Howell's blog or check out their Facebook page here.  The whole idea is to warm up victims with handknit, crochet or sewn items like hats, mittens, scarves, socks and blankets... but everything needs to be sent asap, for obvious reasons.

Vickie's blog has links to a few very quick patterns if you need ideas.  I dug through my stash and cast on a chunky knit hat...

It works up quite fast and I got a good chunk (no pun intended) of it done last night while watching Person of Interest.  My goal is to finish it and hopefully one more this weekend, then package them up with these two hats and ship them to NYC on Monday.

We all know crafters are among the most giving bunch of folks out there, however I do realize this is a "hurry up and create" project.  Fortunately, I already had those two colorful hats knit up.  If you can help, please do!

Yesterday our buddy Jet tagged us in a "Share Seven Things About Yourself" meme, so here we go...

1. Sophie is the youngest of the Lapdogs and will be turning 6 on December 6
2. Zeus is the senior member of the pack and also the largest, at 118 pounds.
3. Lola really should have been a Mom.  She has natural instincts and truly mothers all of the foster pups who come through our house.
4. Teutul still thinks he's the baby, and is the most vocally annoying of the pack.
5. The Lapdogs think I love peanut butter even more than they do... and they're probably right.
6. The Lapdogs have their Daddy wrapped around their paws, even if he doesn't quite admit that.
7. We received a special surprise from the folks at Purina as a thank you for being at the top of the leader board in their Family Points social media program.  Perhaps you caught it in our Wordless Wednesday post this week?  We think it's pretty cool and unique... and yes, it is just a one-time deal and it's full of stuffing, not kibble! ;) 

We're supposed to tag 7 people to follow along, but instead we will just invite everyone reading to go ahead and post your Seven Things on your own blog!  We also wanted to point out the Kmart Gift Card giveaway we currently have going on, in case you don't stop by every day.  Go ahead and enter... who can't use a gift card just in time for the holidays?  Enjoy the rest of your Friday and have a wonderful weekend! 

Let the Weekend Begin!

Hey, look... it's Fiber Arts Friday!  Hey, look... she still knits!

Amber's Tasseled Topper

Not that I don't have 101 UFO's going already, but yes, these are new projects.  You see, my niece and nephew asked my sister to knit them hats, but instead she's working on scarves as she teaches herself to knit.  So Auntie had to step in and cast on hats, right?  Amber's pink hat is first, then I'll do Austin's.  He requested green, but I got a lovely green/blue colorway that I hope he loves as much as I do!

scarf for Special Olympics

I also cast on a scarf for 2011 Special Olympics Scarf Project.  I'm happy to knit for such a wonderful project and to know my scarf will be worn by a talented athlete, but I must say the requirements for using the cheapest Red Heart yarn possible are kinda blah.  But... it's the recipient that counts, so I happily knit away with yarn that I'd otherwise never use. 

As if the black hole bottomless pile of UFO's aren't enough to keep me busy, I just got this...

I know pretty much nothing about looms and weaving, mind you.  But... it looks like fun and I was told by a good friend that sock yarn makes great scarves on the Cricket (hello stash busting!).  If you hear a crazy dog lady cursing for no reason at all over the next couple of weeks, no worries... it's just me trying to teach myself loom lingo and how to warp.

I'll leave you today with Friday Fill-Ins...

1. Right now I need a clone of myself... maybe two.

2. Coffee is what's in my glass.

3. A copy of this letter has been filed appropriately.

4. Peanut butter is best with a spoon.

5. The best movie I've seen lately is Hot Tub Time Machine... although it's the only movie I've seen lately (Matt's choice)... not bad for a good laugh.

6. From like; To love.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to doing absolutely nothing, tomorrow my plans include knitting and Sunday, I want to see my Pats walk all over those J-E-T-S!

Friends of Emma

Friend of Emma (click that link to be brought to the group's page on Ravelry - feel free to join if you haven't already!) sent our first batch of hats off to the Special Care Unit nursery last week!

What you see there is 95 hats and 2 pair of booties that were knit and crochet with lots of love from some wonderful women all over the country! Thank you to each and every person who contributed to this wonderful assortment of preemie & baby hats. I hope you can all find your hats in the pile!

Teutul stood guard of the beautiful hats while I took photos...

Here's a couple more group shots...

Since Emma's Mommy and I couldn't quite nail down a time to deliver them, I decided to mail off this first batch. We'll plan to deliver the next batch in person, as I hope to be making quarterly donations from Friends of Emma. Please feel free to join the Ravelry group and/or send in hats whenever you get the urge.

Here's how stuffed the box was (you can only see the top row of course)...

Thank you again to everyone who helped

make this huge box of comforting hats possible!

Sunday Quickie

This will just be a quickie Sunday post due to... 1) I'm starving and need to go get some late lunch, 2) I want to go sit and watch more of the NACAR race, 3) I really need to go work on my Ravelympics project and 4) I can hear thunder in the distance and the sky looks like this as yet another frigging a thunderstorm is rolling in...

The kids were lounging out on the porch when I heard a couple very distant rumbles as I was taking some WIPs out there to photograph... No sooner did I get a few pics snapped, a rather loud distant rumble came and I've never seen 4 dogs run so fast to get inside in my life!

Here is the said Ravelympics project, the Offset Wraplan baby sweater which I cast on an hour ago (and really should have started 2 days ago but got a bit sidetracked)...

One of the things I was sidetracked with was a square for Luke's blanket. Silly me tried to get extra creative by casting on with fingering weight yarn on size 2 DPNs for this...

With a super busy weekend, and 2 days in to the square, I quickly realized I had to forgo this square for Luke's blanket and instead cast on something that would knit up much quicker, as they needed to get it in the mail quickly to Michelle. With that done, I have decided the above square will be the first of many to be knit over several years months to come and will result in a Barn Raising Quilt (for those not on Ravelry, the pattern is in the Knitalong book). I'd been thinking about doing something similar with leftover sock yarn, so this is a perfect ongoing project (and I'll always have Luke to thank for getting me started).

My other sidetrack is the chemo cap project for which many of you know about. If you haven't heard yet, I've put out a call for chemo caps (deadline August 25th) through my fellow knitting friends, the Purling Petals and the Multitasking 9-5 Ravelry group. I'm collecting as many as possible to bring up for my Mom & Dad to donate to the hospital where they have both received chemo treatments over the past year. Again, not to do a simple and quick knit, my first one cast on was the eyelet chemo cap from the Knitting for Peace book.

As you can see, its still in progress. I'll finish this one, as well as some simple caps too. My Mom made one for a special older lady who's going through treatments for brain cancer, but quickly realized a need for them at this hospital. Hopefully we can fulfill that... at least for awhile.

Quick Dad update... he has one more week of radiation treatments (two times per day) and then will meet with doctors to discuss status. If the tumor in his neck has not shrunk enough for the doc's liking, surgery may be the next step. His throat has been very sore from the treatments and he is using the g-tube now, despite his stubborness. Thank you to everyone who continues to check in, send good vibes and keep both of my parents in your thoughts.

We can still hear the thunder, although we don't seem to be in the direct path for this storm... but there are plenty more showing on the radar map to come. So with that, I leave you for today and will be back tomorrow with another review & winner announcement from the Pampered Paw gifts review!

A Day of Knitting & Stash Enhancement!

Saturday was my first time attending the annual Granite State Knit In and it was a day filled with knitting, fiber and friends -- and some yummy food too! I was elected to drive and headed up to Loon Mountain (a pretty drive, though much more interesting in the fall) with Joanne, Marlene and Marlana at the crack of dawn. We met up with Lisa and a few other familiar faces there... signed in and it was immediately off to classes (after grabbing the must have cup of coffee... did I mention we left at the crack of dawn!!??).

Marlene and I took a 2 hour "Finishing With a Difference" class which was interesting, then I had my "Knitted Beaded Earrings" class. It wasn't really a class per say, but more of buying a kit and following along with the very simple and quick pattern. The instructor was there if you had questions, but that was about it. They were fun and very easy to make though. Here is the pair I made in class...

Cute (despite being difficult to photograph well)? They'll make quick and easy gifts if I can figure out some friends & family that would wear them (hint: if you like them, speak up!)...

After classes, it was time for lunch and I was impressed! Joanne had said the lunch was yummy, but I wasn't expecting things like baked fish, spinach & strawberry salad, perfectly steamed broccoli & carrots and delicious rolls (and more!). It was good! After lunch it was time to SHOP! I was quite impressed with my self control frugal and walked around the vendor area a couple of times before deciding on my purchases, which were very few.

I got a kit to make a 2nd pair of the earrings (this one has the beading needle included which my one from class did not) and also a kit for a knit beaded Christmas ornament.

My only other vendor purchase was a bit of a treat however. I scored a skein of Mountain Colors sock yarn in a gorgeous, deep, dark colorway (which the name is escaping me at the moment) that I had eyed since my first visit to that table.... and the real splurge/treat, an absolutely beautiful skein of Great Adirondack Yarn's Sireno, 675 yards of a super soft 50% silk/50% wool (again I forgot to write down the colorway name). I was going back and forth on this one and which colorway to get, but both Joanne & Lisa though the colors were perfect for me and my plan is a nice fall shawl (for which I am now searching for the perfect pattern - any suggestions are much appreciated!). I also grabbed 2 pairs of Brittany needles in sizes I needed...

I did pretty good with the self control, no? I did purchase one of the huge tote bags that I understand was last year's goody bag/gift - and I'm glad I grabbed mine before lunch because there were only a handful out and I guess that was all that was left because I ran in to about a dozen people after with the "I wish I got one in the morning before they were gone." This bag is big enough to run away from home with bigger than any other knitting or tote bag I own - I actually put the knitting tote I brought inside, along with both of my purchase bags and my goody/gift bag they gave this year ... and still had room! Here's the bag along with the contents of this year's gift bag, which included a GSKI bookmark, a skein of yarn, a nifty needle sizer that looks like a jewler's ring sizer, and more ...

I also spent $5 on raffle tickets... and got 15 free from the 2 hats I donated. This is the carousel hat that I donated and entered in to the hat contest...

After days of trashing all of the button sections of AC Moore, Michael's and Joanne's Fabric searching for carousel horse buttons and coming up empty handed, I used some farm ponies, lambs and cows. Sadly, my hat did not finish 1st, 2nd or 3rd.... part of me wants to complain because it appears they put out the ballot box before all of the hats were on the table to judge (including mine!). I had at least 3 people tell me that they had already voted (1 vote per person) and that my hat was not out at the time they voted. Darn it. I also did not win anything from the wonderful raffle prizes either. Actually, none of us won anything and Joanne was even helping draw the numbers. Some girls won multiple raffle items... one girl must've walked away with 5 or 6! Guess now I know why people were buying miles and miles of those little tickets...

I might not have won anything, but at least I know my hats are going to a good cause and I especially hope the carousel hat brings joy to a needy little one (I forgot to photo my second donation hat, but it was just a simple blue infant hat)! My kids despised were reluctant models Friday night after I finished it up...

That's Lola on the left and Zeus on the right... Teutul was too macho to wear the baby hat (or maybe still embarrased by that bib photo)!

The low point of the day - get this! - I forgot to bring a WIP to the knit in to work on during the speaker/raffle and down time. Oopsie! It would've been nice to have something to work on while Lisa worked her felted grapes, Marlene worked on her baby sweater and ... the woman next to Lisa kept dozing off! I hate to laugh, but it was pretty funny. She was even knitting and would doze off, jump when her head started to fall and then doze again. Talk about entertainment! I also forgot to bring the digital camera, but instead had the dinosaur old fashioned film camera. Which means I'll have photos to post in time for next year's Knit In I can't post pictures until I finish the roll, get it developed, pick up the photos....

I made up for the lost knitting time yesterday by casting on a dishcloth (my first "round" one) for the lovely lady I get to spoil in the Summer Dishcloth Swap and making a new mini sock for my sock blocker keychain (I figured it was time for some springy colors and since my wonderful secret pal spoilee sent me a great mini sock stash, I had to get knitting). Here's the dishcloth in progress, as well as my ankle sock (in Sereknity Triple Scoops) which I worked on just a bit over vacation...

And here's the new mini sock, done in the springy colorway Foofaraw from Blue Moon Fiber (hey, does that mean that my mini sock blocker now rocks??)... and the "out with the old, in with the new pic..."

Question for my fellow mini sock knitters... what do you do with your old socks when you remove them for a new one? I'm trying to think of something more creative than just tossing them all in a basket... ideas?

I also wanted to share my little stash enhancement from just before I left for vacation. Joanne had a great sale over at A Knitter's Garden and I brought home 3 skeins of Wool in The Woods and a beautiful, luxurious hank of baby pink alpaca. I'm not totally sure what I'm going to do with the wool yet, but am thinking about making a lace dog paw print scarf with the alpaca. Isn't it gorgeous ~ if only they had touch-o-vision for blogs!

Joanne also had a fun and brain-jerking word scramble contest as part of her sale and guess what? I won! Yes, I did win something! I got my lovely prize on Saturday... a yummy strawberry shortcake bath set, complete with 2 of the softest hand towels ever. Thanks Joanne!

Duduza Dolls Charity Project

I wanted to post about the latest charity project that Joanne of A Knitter's Garden is supporting, Duduza (comfort) Dolls for CHABHA. Joanne is recruiting her customers and guild members to help in knitting these adorable little dolls - can you help too?

This is my first little creation (which sort of looks like a weeble-wooble).

And here's my little guy hanging out with a couple of buddies at knitting guild last night (note that Joanne's first doll was a little on the large size, but I believe that all sizes are welcome!).

Please click through all the links above to find the pattern, background on the project and more! If you live nearby, you can drop off your donations at A Knitter's Garden, as Joanne will be putting together a large box of dolls to send. You can also mail your dolls to Joanne or to the organization directly. These dolls are a fun knit - and quick too! I made my first one in just a couple hours on Sunday while watching the NASCAR race and I'm looking forward to making some more!

Also, I wanted to throw out a quick little announcement for the new album by one of my favorite bands, Sister Hazel (remember "All For You"?). They don't receive a lot of the commercial marketing anymore, but are still making great music. Would you please take a second and click on the picture below? I'll earn a nice autographed poster if I get 25 click thrus! All you have to do is click, but of course I highly recommend purchasing the new CD for some good tunes this summer!