Knitting Retreats

Yes it is a picture of a church, well actually the chapel from St Francis Convent and Retreat center in Little Falls where last weekend we had a great time at the Spring Knitting Retreat.

We had lots of food, fun and quality knitting was done by all attendees.


Here is a picture of Deb wearing part of her white elephant gift that she got from Paula.



Let me explain, the white elephant exchange is really a good way to get rid of yarn you don't want or leftovers from a project. Or in Deb's case a mobieus that Paula passed on to her.

Then on sunday back to reality and work. It has been really busy at work and I even worked an extra nite on Wednesday.

and here it is finally the Skater Hat made from Kraemer Yarns Lehigh Valley cotton Little Pebbles.

Soon to come the pattern as soon as I can get it into pdf format.

I Gave Up

I was trying so hard not to start another pair of socks before I finished two of the three I have on the needles, but that Ellen's Half Pint farm kept calling out "knit me" So I did! I gave in and started a pair the yarn is wonderful to knit with I wonder how the wool/tencel blend will wear.

Here is something I did finish another sweater for Alice. She has more sweaters than any cat I know and wears them all extremely well.

and to keep peace in the family here is a picture of Boo.

I went to Fort Wayne, Indiana Yesterday to have lunch with Megan and take her shopping for her Birthday. The weather was beautiful high 60's but Fort Wayne is still not my favorite town.

This weekend I am going to St Francis Retreat Center for a knitting retreat I hope it goes well.

A Tail of Winding Yarn

Boo just loves to help me knit. He either sits on my lap or next to me, but his favorite part of knitting is winding yarn. He gets so excited when he sees the swift and ball winder come out. I used to use my two kitchen chairs one for the swift one for the winder and he would lay between the two and watch the process. When my mom passed away in April,I was gifted with a refinished library table, that had been my grandparents. Lo and behold it is the right length to put the swift on one end and the winder on the other. This creates one minor problem:



Boo can get right in the middle of the swift and help out, like adjusting the position of the yarn and even when necessary with his teeth. Maybe he was just test tasting to make sure the quality was good, like you would with a fine wine.

Brother and Sister

Who would think that Jeannes cat Pud and my cat Boo are brother and sister...Take a look. Do they look alike? This is Jeanne's cat Aja/Pud

and here is Boo Radley her brother

I see little family resemblance accept for the face shape and eyes.

So back to knitting I am currently finishing up a peach colored sweater for Alice. She is still doing okay just sleeps more and eats less. She has become a little arthiritic in her hind legs so some days getting downstairs is a little hard so we carry her.
Lastly here is my newest great nephew Colin he is just a doll and looks like a miniature of my dad.


and so he doesn't feel left out here is his big brother Eric at the Beach

Finished Projects

Ta Da the gold medal has made it to my blog not exactly where I would like it, but it is here.


I still haven't decided what to do next so I am just finishing UFO's. I finished Alice's lime green sweater and Jeanne at knitting said it was really bright. Yes, it is neon lets just call her the safety cat.


I also finished a felted fair isle bag and am awaiting felting and need to find some leather handles for it.


Finally, here is the founder and production manager of Alicat Knitting Designs hard at work.

what next

Ok so with the Olympics over what am I going to knit next? Actually I am going to finish up some unfinished projects, socks for my niece, a felted bag and socks for me. I also am working on the Anthropologie shrug for Megan, the pattern can be found at

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=62184.0

I am using Blue Sky Alpacas silk and cotton. Meanwhile I am planning in my mind what to start next maybe some socks from that lovely wool/tencel blend or maybe the Lily Chin socks. But first a new cat sweater for Alice in Lime Green to match her eyes.

C'est Fini

My Olympic Flame Socks are finished! Yes I can knit socks from the top down and do beading and lace! It was really fun and I am ready to knit for the Summer Olympics how about you!!!




Now for the Stitches West Report: I bought "Hot Flash" by Socks that Rock, Gramercy Park by Lily Chin, Big Top and St Valentines "sock" by Lisa Souza, Hemp for a cami for Megan, Ladybug Opal, a new Chinese yarn that is 70% wool,30% acrylic and 7.6% water (the label is in Chinese and the water content per Chinese law has to be included, and some Wool and Tencel sock yarn by Ellen's Half Pint Farm.



And here is Alice in her newest sweater it is purple and green fixation. She definitely is thinking my mom is crazy, I like bright colors!

Just Knitting away

I have been so busy knitting my socks I haven't had time to post any pictures. Both heels are turned and I have about 2" to knit to start the toes. I will post as soon as I am finished.

Ok so that was Friday nite after work and now it is Sat nite after work and I have 10 rows to go on both toes....I will finish tomorrow and post the pics!

Stitches West

Ok so I am at Stitches West and Jeanne I found bamboo size 1 circulars for $7.75. Of course I had to buy them and some yarn to go with. I will post pictures of all my finds when I get home to Minnesota. My Olympic socks are 1/2 way thru the heel flap on both so if I knit fast enough they will be done

Life looks better inside

So here is the scoop...both cats are indoor cats closest they get to outside is the porch. Well lately the minute Boo gets out to the porch he mews to come in. So today Alice was sitting on the table looking out (she doesn't go out too much anymore too cold for her) and Boo was looking in. Now the real story is that if they were both on one side of the glass they would never get this close. Alice would have taken Boo's eye out or at the least scratched him. I just thought this was cute and it is true when you are outside in Minnesota in January Life does look better on the inside.

Olympic Socks

Okay so the ribbing is done and two rounds of the lace pattern with beads, I am on my way. I will post pictures tonite when I get home from work.

I am currently however looking at Alice and see that she has a hole in her sweater now how did she do that ? All she does is sleep and eat.

More to come after work..............................................................................

The colors are much more vibrant than shows up on this picture really orangy reds and bright oranges ... so I renamed the socks Olympic Flames

Knitting olympics

I am doing the beaded socks from the Six Socks Knit Along. I know they are top down and not my usual thing so that along with the beads I felt qualified for a challenging project. I have strung the beads and am just waiting until Friday to start.

Here is a picture of my son's latest socks. He has size 11 feet so I am glad he doesn't mind sportweight socks.

I started a new pair of socks out of Icelandic sock yarn today. The yarn is pretty stiff so I hope it softens when I wash it.

The knitting group at Como was big again today 3 more new people came. It was nice to see so many.

Ok so here is my wonderful knitting companion Boo studiously trying to decide how to pick up that skein and run with it.

In case you can't tell ...I love my cats!

So for knitting content I finished two classes today at All About Yarn. It was so nice to have students who finished their socks. Next class is Lets Talk Socks: Heels, Toes and Ribbings at All About Yarn and Minnesota Knitters Guild Yarn Over in April.

Sock Olympics and Cats

So here are pictures of Boo Radley and Alice Cooper. Boo is lounging which for him is a rare occurence, and Alice is modeling her new sweater .




Well I have decided to wait and see what the six socks KAL sock is for February before I decide which sock pattern to do for the Olympics. Currently working on another sweater for Alice. She really does like them now that she is used to them. However I did not know that if you lick fixation enough (alice does that when she is taking a bath) it eventually looks like mohair.

Enough already about the cats. Once I figure out how to download pictures and links I will download add some links to my favorite sock sites.

Louise

sock knitting olympics

Hello from Minnesota where it is finally snowing. Today I am signing up to be on the USA Sock Team for the Knitting Olympics. I have some beautiful mohair and merino blend yarn from Denmark that I will use for my socks. Other things I am working on are another sweater for my cat, she is around 20 yrs old and has a tumor on her shoulder. The tumor has caused her to lose her fur in that spot so I have made her two sweaters from fixation and working on a third. She actually seems to like wearing them. I will post more details and some pictures of Alice in her sweater later.