Change.......is good!

You know that change that always collects in your wee change purse? Yeah, the wee coin that ends up making your bag heavy...that's the stuff. I tend to throw it in a can, jar, bucket, I have a few of these things around the house (DH has his own) , well a few weeks ago I finally got around to sorting the change and now you need to keep in mind this has been going on for quite some time, so you can imagine how delighted I was that there was a considerable chunk O' Change. I spent quite a bit of time considering what I might want to do with this.....yarn.?...always a good choice, but then it came to me...what have I been hankering for..related to yarn...no, the backyard is not large enough for my own wee lambie,.....I've been wanting a swift AND a ball winder. I had enough for these PLUS some yarn. Wow. I've also been wanting to try Knitpicks' new needles, and their new line of yarn, Telemark,...you see where this is heading.

I love love love my new swift and ball winder, I chose the wooden swift and these you need to sand for them to spin smoothly, so I sanded and set them up and let me tell you, I've been having so much fun, how did I live without them all these years?

I've also spent some time reading up through some knitting blogs, I've found Ms. Knitingale who is so kind, has a gentle soul and a wicked funny sense of humour, never mind her organized stash...it's a beautiful stash, plus she does fabulous knitting. She also has a recipe posted in there, brownies, I read it and had to fetch a towel to mop up the drool, make them, eat them but make sure you don't do this the day before a doctor's appointment which might involve checking your cholesteral, just saying..and please...don't miss the post about bike shorts...Go read through her blog, she's not been at it terribly long so right now it's a quick read, you'll be glad you did.
Then there's Lene , she lives in Finland and produces some of the most amazing stockings, has beautiful photos and the time I spend visiting her is some of the most peaceful moments of my day. She has a beautiful shawl up right now, definitely a must see. Jo lives in West Cork, Ireland and recently entered an Elann lace cardigan and socks in a fair, and maybe, just maybe,(but maybe not) her socks lost to a better pair, but I can tell you those judges were WAY OFF about her cardi, it was beyond beautiful. She's a lovely woman, quite talented, in fact there's quite a lot of talent in her home..go check her out, see what she gets to live around, beautiful countryside. Ted is great, I've emailed him a couple of time asking advice, and he's answered both times, really nice man, he has an apple pie recipe posted at the moment which sounds very yummy, perhaps a bit fiddly, but that won't stop me, the post prior to the recipe was a lovely read about apples and memories. He's brilliant with the pointy sticks. Emma just keeps on inspiring me, I've made a pair of Fetching and now she's working on a hat, not just any hat, me hearties...go check it out. I know when my daughter, Havala, sees this pattern she's going to start begging, big time, on her knees kind of begging, she's already there with the pirate socks, sorry, I don't have the link for that one at hand, damn. Sue had a ...'laundry injury', it's a good read and I heard that she's much better now, I was very glad to hear this, she's a sweetheart and very kind as well, she gave me the 'kick in the pants' to make my first pair of lace socks, I'd had quite the block, don't know why, do any of us know why? I've come to be much more fearless now, thank you Sue. Oh yeah, and Sue? I guess I'm getting this link thing down now, but many many thanks for offering help. And a big thank you goes out to this fine woman, not only is she a fabulous knitter but she actually has written out 'destructions'(that's instructions) for how to put those buttons on your sidebar. I had those printed out so fast and was amazed, because I am an idiot (when it comes to understanding all this 'stuff') and I did manage, eventually, to pull it off. The old blog is starting to look.....real...official...who'd a thought. Kathy has posted a pic of her granddaughter, what a beauty, check out the dimple! (I have a very soft spot for dimples) Kathy also showed me a wee video of said granddaughter taking some of her first steps, I loved it, thank you for sharing that with me. Kathy, as you might guess, is a quilter, but the knitting bug has bitten her this past year and she's just coming right along, lace scarf, socks, she's also great company. Last one today...Sheri has an online yarn shop, she's not terribly far away,(hey, a state is not that far), has yummy yarn, lots of yummy sock yarn, and if you read through her blog you'll come to a post with....advice on how to get more knitting time into your day...if you need that kind of advice...she also has a recipe for Monster Cookies.

Wanna see some knittin?




This is the bag, felted and finished, this bag is big, it's 21.5 inches wide (see where the bird button is? measured across there) and 13 inches tall, measured from just above the bird button. It is nicely thick and sturdy. The Fetching fingerless gloves, great project, gloriously easy to knit and very very easy on the eye, plus they're soft and warm.....they are going into the LRPD box. Such is life.



Another LRPD project, men's socks, and not for DH, but someone close.....the pattern is from Interweave Knits Fall '06, the Father and Son Socks by Mona Schmidt, she has three sizes to choose from.

Close-up pic of the bird button, this is really pretty, beyond pretty, I've used a slip-ring to attach it to the bag, seems to work.






Happy Knitting and To All a Good Day


Ok, I realize that got a bit much with all the links but I was just wanting to let everyone know how very much I appreciate them, and hey, I just figured out how to do that, I was having fun.