I have some projects going on, and some stuff I have finished, so I have things to talk about!

Stay tuned!!

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Everywhere I look BIG yarns are big this year! Which is a boon for us loom knitters as many of our looms handle super bulky yarns very well!

There are many new big bulky yarns out this season to full fill your need to go with this . . . → Read More: Big is the New Black]]> At least in knitting trends it is!

Everywhere I look BIG yarns are big this year! Which is a boon for us loom knitters as many of our looms handle super bulky yarns very well!

There are many new big bulky yarns out this season to full fill your need to go with this trend and they are quite nice! I have had the opportunity to handle a few of them.

One isin the new Martha Stewart line:

Lofty Wool Blend this one is a nice bulky yarn which is soft.. but not too soft. It would be great for hats and other accessories. It measures out at 26 yards a ball so count on buying at least two or more to make any projects. It’s quite nice and I have a couple balls of it that I am going to knit up in the next week. So look for those items soon!

Another of the big yarns out this season is Link by Berocco . This yarn is BIG! It’s a chainette yarn so it’s like knitting with big I –cord! There are some nice patterns with it and measuring in at 32 yards you get a teensy bit more than Lofty Wool. There is a nice pattern for a short scarf that only takes up one ball, and I am sure you could use it for either yarn!

Being a big Malabrigo fan (even before I found out my brother was going to Uruguay to do mission work) I am also excited to learn that they have a super bulky offering in Rasta! Loove their yarns they are super soft and beautiful!

Isn’t it pretty?!!

Of course recently when walking through Joann’s I have seen some SUPER bulky fleecy type yarns among others. I was in a bit of a rush so I couldn’t investigate but hey that just gives you an excuse to go to the yarn store!

So embrace the bulky nature of our knitting looms this season and go for it!  Cant wait to see what you make!

Well actually this one will be 2 of 9. I am planning out a little introductory project for newbie loom Knitters. Designed to get me to stop needle knitting for a bit to continue to rest my left thumb. So far, it’s almost working So this will be one square for a blanket. . . . → Read More: 1 of 9]]>  

Well actually this one will be 2 of 9. I am planning out a little introductory project for newbie loom Knitters. Designed to get me to stop needle knitting for a bit to continue to rest my left thumb.
So far, it’s almost working
So this will be one square for a blanket. Having been inspired by the "Hexapuff" craze on Ravelry, I thought I would work on a bit of a loom knit version.
The yarn I used for this square is the new Martha Stewart Crafts yarn Alpaca Blend.
I was sent a few samples as well as a Martha Stewart Knitting and Weaving Loom set.
The yarn is delightful! I will definitely be getting more!
The loom set is wonderful! It is so versatile and easy to use! I can easily see this being my new go to loom!
I am planning a little video review, along with a fun little free pattern some time in the next few days.
So keep an eye out for that and more squares as well!

Resistance is FUTILE! You will be i-loom-inated!!

I really didn’t do TOO Much knitting. I have to say.. It’s just so . . . → Read More: Moaning on Monday..]]> When you last left me dear readers, I was ‘trying’ to rest my thumb. It seems I have been too tempted and fiddling with yarn too much trying gauge swatches for a Rhinebeck sweater and I am still hurting.. Sigh..

I really didn’t do TOO Much knitting. I have to say.. It’s just so hard not to!!

Maybe I should pick up a thumb brace support thingy at the drug store and that will annoy me into not knitting. We’ll see..

For now I am writing a couple book reviews that are long overdue and seeing if I can figure out the new blog theme I want to use!

That might keep me out of the yarn, even though I have piled up some project ideas.. and am still obsessing over making that darn Rhinebeck sweater! I don’t know why this year that need just has grabbed hold of me!

I have been having some pain in my thumb so this week I have ‘sort of’ take a break.

It’s hard, not knitting.

The cable guy was . . . → Read More: Smalls and a little rest.]]> I have been taken to small projects lately. Some of them are for a charity auction this weekend, and some are reserved for my alter ego..

I have been having some pain in my thumb so this week I have ‘sort of’ take a break.

It’s hard, not knitting.

The cable guy was here yesterday and I had nothing to do while I waited on him to install the new services.. It was hard.. I was impatient, I was bored, I was a bit grumpy.

People are constantly looking at me knit, and saying they wouldn’t have the patience to knit.. I always reply: “knitting is my patience” and it’s SOOO very true!

There is nothing like taking a few days off to show me just how true that is!

Anyway. I don’t want to irritate my thumb more, but I really want to make a Rhinebeck sweater this year! So I am doing an easy knit and I think I will try making some of it on the loom I just got to help lessen the strain on my thumb.

I was sent a Martha Stewart Weave and Knit Loom set! It’s genius. I will do a full report on it later.  I also received some of the new Martha Stewart yarns! They are looking pretty good! So once I have the chance to play with them I will also give you the skinny on them too!

For now I think a couple more days of rest will help this old thumb out.

HOME at last!!

I am not finished with the knitting project I took along. Since Brian . . . → Read More: Finished Friday]]> I am finished!! Finished driving 12 hours or more a day. Finished sleeping in a different place every night. Finished eating sandwiches and fast food. Yes I am finished with our massive road trip!! Three weeks is long enough!

HOME at last!!

I am not finished with the knitting project I took along. Since Brian severely sprained his ankle right before we left and I had to do the bulk of the driving..

More on the trip later.. and on the knitting for that matter!

Sometimes you just have to laugh!

Sigh….

I have been knitting, and sewing . . . → Read More: Back at it!]]> Well it sure has been quite quiet around here. That is just a reflection of how busy I have been. I have been out and back to Indiana twice. Once for a mission trip, and the second time for a quick trip to my publisher for a video shoot.

I have been knitting, and sewing a bit. I have a few things to show off once I sort out access to my pictures on our new hard drive.

It is so hard to get much done when it’s so hot you don’t feel like even moving an inch! The midwest heat wave is hitting HARD today!!

Time to get off the computer and sip something cool in front of the fan!!

Desperate times call for desperate knitters. So I dug into the contents of the van and came out with…

A straw, and a spool of thread! Genius!!

I won in the knitting dept. but . . . → Read More: WWKIP Day]]> It was World Wide Knit in Public day  and there I was, out in public, without any knitting!

Desperate times call for desperate knitters. So I dug into the contents of the van and came out with…

A straw, and a spool of thread! Genius!!

I won in the knitting dept. but the team lost the game. Oh well!

Relaxing.

Soothing.

Tranquil.

Then why am I booked solid with stuff till Friday?

Oops, scratch that! Friday is gone now too!

“This weekend only, June 3-5, get 30% off of the 18" Knitting Board.  This popular knitting board goes on sale very rarely, so hurry to get this great deal. “

They are also planning on collecting items . . . → Read More: Heads Up! Knitting Board Sale!]]> I got some news that there is a sale on Authentic Knitting Boards this weekend! Here’s the skinny:

“This weekend only, June 3-5, get 30% off of the 18" Knitting Board.  This popular knitting board goes on sale very rarely, so hurry to get this great deal. “

They are also planning on collecting items for donation as well: Here’s the info on that!

“We are once again planning a huge donation of hand knitted goods for our hospitalized veterans as well as to their families. We also want to send another box of warm goods to the children’s native home in North Dakota. If you want to specify which donation group you want your items to go to, just specify with a note. We will donate in the name of Knitting Loom Knitters/USA, or you can put in a personal note to go along with your gifts. You are also welcome to attach a small note to each item. Your donated items can be made on any type of loom.

We would like to ship these boxes out by the first of October, 2011. This way they can be enjoyed for the entire colder season. Please send items to us at the below address. Thank you for your generosity and sharing spirit.”

Authentic Knitting Board , 60 Carysbrook Rd, Fork Union, VA 23055

Yet another opportunity to help those less fortunate!!

I managed to pretty much surprise him, which is unheard of! Caleb did say something . . . → Read More: A Little Trip to the Art Museum]]> I have been planning on taking Brian to the Akron Art Museum for the M.C. Escher exhibit for a while now. But business trips  and such have interfered, so I was very glad that they held it over another week!

I managed to pretty much surprise him, which is unheard of! Caleb did say something about the art museum just before we headed out the door! Oh well.

He was quite pleased. And learned a few things about Escher that he hadn’t known already!

It was an excellent exhibit, I only have one small complaint. They have two of Escher’s models there that have to be viewed from a certain angle for the illusion to work. Unfortunately, I am short. And being short I was too short to properly view the models and no accommodation was made for this issue.  I ended up standing on Brian’s feet to view the models.  I guess if I had ended up going with the kids on my own I would have just had to ask for a phone book to stand on!

If you are in the area, and have a little time between now and Sunday I encourage you to go see the exhibit.

Needless to say it made me nervous. The children, and the . . . → Read More: The River Wild]]> On Memorial Day we decided to go down to our favourite swimming spot to cool off a bit. Well it being a river, and with all the rain we have had lately (42 days out of the last 60!) the river was WILD!

Needless to say it made me nervous. The children, and the husband were kept in check, and near the edge where the current was slowed by a bend in  the river’s edge.

But the three big tipsy guys who decided to brave the current learned a good lesson.. at least I hope they did. All three were swept downstream. One got out pretty quickly, one we lost sight of and learned later that he got out fine.

In fact all three did.

One good thing.. it did spark and impromptu lesson on what to do if swept downstream. So now the children at least have heard the basics.. who knows if they will ever need to use that knowledge. I know I did once.

I have this  button from a uniform long ago.

I don’t know what war..

But it doesn’t matter. What matters is it is long separated from it’s owner who probably would be appalled at the dingy condition it is in. He probably spent a long time shining this button. . . . → Read More: Memorial Day]]>  

I have this  button from a uniform long ago.

I don’t know what war..

But it doesn’t matter. What matters is it is long separated from it’s owner who probably would be appalled at the dingy condition it is in. He probably spent a long time shining this button.

I don’t know if the owner died in combat, or lived to tell his stories of war. I don’t know his name, rank or serial number.

But still I can remember.

Silly. I know. But I was feeling restless. And needed another mindless knit knit knit project.

Saturday brought a trip to Pennsylvania for a baby shower! So I got to see my beautiful sister in law for a bit!!

And we got to hang . . . → Read More: A Little Family Fun!]]> Now with a weekend like I had I am reporting after the fact.. but I will still have a blog post for every day!!

Saturday brought a trip to Pennsylvania for a baby shower! So I got to see my beautiful sister in law for a bit!!

And we got to hang out with my wonderful mother in law  (yep get jealous.. I got a good one) and the world’s cutest nephews! Yep! Brian came along too with the boys, but they were shoo’ed away (don’t worry we gave em’ cake if they wanted it!)

After my one nephew was feeling better (yep we had a sick one for a while) we all went to Red Lobster and had a great meal together. There is always loads of fun when you take 7 kids to a restaurant.. though.. I guess only the 4 little boys count in that category officially at this point! 

I can’t wait to meet my little niece I am knitting for her of course! I get to knit some more cute little girl stuff!! Woot!!

1. You usually really don’t need it even if you think you do!

Prioritize Prioritize Prioritize!

We cut down cel phone service. Cut out house phone. We cut cable down to basic, and then just down to the internet service.. . . . → Read More: Lessons Learned from the last year…]]> I thought I would share a few lessons learned from that rough last year!!

1. You usually really don’t need it even if you think you do!

Prioritize Prioritize Prioritize!

We cut down cel phone service. Cut out house phone. We cut cable down to basic, and then just down to the internet service.. the children survived quite nicely!

I did add in Netflix which was nice and I still have it.. who knows maybe this summer we will cut out cable TV again..

You really have to pair things down to what you really NEED! For example.. my iPod touch died in October. I had a warranty on it that actually gave me the money back I spent on it minus taxes.  ( I highly recommend Square Trade for this by the way!) I could have turned around and bought a new iPod. I used it, it is a useful tool. However.. did I really need it? No. So the refund went to other things. Like.. food!

It amazes me how unwilling some people are to prioritize and only get what they truely need.

Now, I need to keep in that mindset and save so if anything happens again, we have a bigger emergency fund.. that’s a lesson for next time..

I was recently contacted BY Andrea . Her mother had given her a challenge to make 21 hats for charity by October. So she started knitting. Loom knitting that is!

She chose the Honeycomb Hat pattern from my site and went to town!

Just   she emailed me and let me know . . . → Read More: A Great Project and How You can Help!]]>  

I was recently contacted BY Andrea . Her mother had given her a challenge to make 21 hats for charity by October. So she started knitting. Loom knitting that is!

She chose the Honeycomb Hat pattern from my site and went to town!

Just   she emailed me and let me know that she had already reached the goal of 21 hats! In fact she has recently hit hat # 34.   Here it is..

She is wondering how many more she can get done by the October deadline. At this rate who knows?

Well. It seems to me all these hats need some scarves to go with them, or mittens!

So here is my challenge to you: knit a scarf or mittens to donate to be sent with the hats. Send me a comment, and I will be glad to give you the mailing address where you can send the items so that  and her mom can add them to the care packages they are sending out.

Come on! If Andrea can knit that many hats.. then hey if each of us sends her a scarf she can match them up and double the gift she is sending!!

In the package was this:

SQUEE!

A perfect fit!!

If I am not . . . → Read More: A perfect fit!]]> I just got a nice surprise in a package of yarn I bought from a friend! Isela is working on raising some funds so she can go to the Boston Marathon, and I bought some yarn from her.

In the package was this:

SQUEE!

A perfect fit!!

If I am not mistaken these  are loom knit  Clustered Cables socks from her book Loom Knitting Socks

THANK YOU!!

And on a another note… that vegetable bowl behind it is now officially 100 years old!! In fact, most of my Buffalo Willow Ware is now 100-104 years old and only one piece is broken!

THANKS Grandma Hattie!!! (who . . . → Read More: Finished Friday! I do still knit!]]> I finished this Tuesday Night Cowl a while back and am thoroughly enjoying it!

And on a another note… that vegetable bowl behind it is now officially 100 years old!! In fact, most of my Buffalo Willow Ware is now 100-104 years old and only one piece is broken!

THANKS Grandma Hattie!!! (who by the way is the namesake of my glass model in the photo as well!)

Be back soon!

I likey!

In the morning . . . → Read More: Teacher! The dog ate my knitting!]]> I had a leeetle mishap last night. I brought my bag home from work, set it down on a chair and went to bed. Well, in my bag was my plastic container that had held my lunch various other usual things, and the sock sample I am knitting for Knit Picks.

In the morning the lunch container was TOAST! yep chewed up. Luckily it was one of those new Chinese take out containers.. so no BIG loss. But then….

Yep. Dogs DO steal yarn! GRRR… or perhaps the cats got in on it? I don’t know but someone also did this…

Double GRR! At least the sock stayed on the needles.. but my meticulousness in keeping pet fur off the project is blown! Nothing a good washing won’t cure!

I have been knitting, still need to dig up some . . . → Read More: What day is it?]]> I just don’t seem to know any more! With my work week being from Thursday –Monday it throws me off a bit! But it’s going well! Tonight is the first night I felt really pretty confident! Hopefully that is a trend that will keep up!

I have been knitting, still need to dig up some pics. of my summer knitting. Some of the stuff I am working on now I cant show you… yep mysterious secret projects on top of working full time and homeschooling.

Why yes I am clinically insane! Why do you ask?

Good . . . → Read More: Help me get a gig!]]> I just applied for a great blog gig and I need your help getting the job! Despite everything that has happened over the last year, job loss, our dog passing away, our church woes, I hope you have seen hope and a good mood shining through! So help me out getting this gig!

Good Mood Gig from SAM-e

It only takes a moment to go and vote, AND you can vote once a day now until November 10th!! I would be ever so grateful!