What's Happening?

Well, same old, same old.

I'm knitting hats (still). Not liking them so much. It's the dpn's (double pointed needles). I much prefer circular needs. But I couldn't find 6.5mm circs in a very short length at Walmart and I don't want to buy the really expensive ones. I'm thinking about ordering - oops, asking for - Denise Kits needles for Christmas - every size, every length - oh yeah!

Three Bags Full has them and I'm going to see if they have a set to try out.

I'm doing 2x2 rib. Knit 2, Purl 2. Not so thrilling but the hats go quickly. DD wants some wrist warmers - those should be fun. Maybe I can do them before Christmas - they could go in her stocking.

Hats Off to Slytherin

The hats are coming along fine now after a practice one where I realized the error of my ways and then changed patterns.

Now I am making 'Hot Head' from Stitch & Bitch, A Knitter's Handbook. Only 64 stitches cast on and knitting with a single strand. The ribbing makes the stitches bunch up so the hats looks ridiculously small but they stretch out nicely to fit any head.

I've finished two and had my family try them on to test them out for size. I got hinted at for hats of their own (and a bag for dd). She said:

"Are you going to make me a bag?"

"No," I said - I had already made her a bag so I wasn't going to.

I said: "I've made all the bags I'm going to make." Just to further cloud the issue, you see.

She put on a pouty face and wrote down knitted hat and bag on the Christmas list she was compiling. Then she wrote something that may change my plans: 'Slytherin'.

In case you don't read them, it's from the Harry Potter books, one of the school houses' colours (the bad one). That means she wants gray and green. She learned to knit garter stitch a while back and made herself a scarf with gray and green yarn.

It's a good thing I liked making those bags and I'm not tired of them yet.

Giant Heads

Hats. Or, in this case, hat. It could fit a giant's head.

It's too big! It's also really bulky. I knew I wasn't using the called-for needles but I usually knit quite tightly so I thought it would be okay going up a size or two - it's what I usually end up doing.

It's a different yarn than the pattern calls for but I know someone has made this hat with this yarn because I looked it up on Ravelry. The pattern says to use a double strand. I did that, but maybe I don't need to. Sigh. I'll take a trip to the frog pond and rip it, rip it, rip it.

Just a Quick Note

Went to Heidi's place last night with friend Margaret for our regular Knit Night. I've started the hats but wonder if they're going to be too bulky or too big - because of course I'm not using the called-for needles. I'll finish the first one and get some people to try it on so I can see if I need to make adjustments.

I feel the start of a cold. Suddenly last night my nose started dripping. Now I have a whopper headache and a sore throat. I took some medicine so I'll see how it goes.

Ravelry Get-Together

Today 7 knitters from the Terminal City Yarn Wranglers Ravelry group got together at Grinds coffee shop in Vancouver on Main Street and King Edward. This is the second meeting that we've had. Today there were myself, Louisa, Lola, Tammy, Lauren, Beth and another whose name I didn't get - sorry, that hearing thing again. I don't know if the others have blogs.

We chatted and munched and sipped and knit and made a field trip to Three Bags Full (which was very busy). We've pretty well decided to keep the get togethers going, probably every two weeks. We may bring some spinning along next time - drop spindles and spinning wheels. OOOoooOOOh.

I started my last felted bag while I was there - pretty soon it's on to the hats! I chose the chunky ribbed hat by shirleyknits.

Technical blogging note - why can't I get my paragraph breaks to work? I've been trying to put a blank line between them (see last post) and it won't work for the most part.

Hats and Bags, Bags and Hats!

I didn't make it to the Coquitlam Spinners' and Weavers' open house. I got busy with editing my newsletter and didn't have time. Heidi couldn't come either. But, the newsletter's well under way, now.

I'm doing well on my felted bags for Christmas presents. I think I have just one more to knit. Then on with the felting. They're going so well that I began thinking what I could do for the male members of my extended family. There are five women other than myself who usually get together for our Christmas celebration. There are also five men other than my husband. Could I knit something for them as well? Hmmm.

It can't want something that will take a long time and I don't know definite sizes. It'll have to be a hat or a scarf, I guess. Something quick. I think hats. I had a quick look through Ravelry and found two options:

Bulky Ribbed Hat by Shirleyknits

or

Hot Head by Alex Zorn from Stitch 'N Bitch, A Knitter's Handbook

I'll go to the library to get the S&B book - if it's knit flat and then sewn together I don't want it. I want something knit in the round. Then I'll choose the first one. I guess it will be acrylic this time as well. Can't trust those menfolk to do the hand-wash, lay flat to dry thing.

Do you know, I'd better not leave my husband, son and daughter out of this. I'd already planned a felted bag for my daughter. She has her eye on the 'furry' one, I think. She'll get that. I'll make my husband and son a hat each as well. I think I can keep it a secret. I'll be knitting so much they won't know whose is whose. Chortle, Chortle.

So Much Yarn In So Little Time

I'm feeling a little guilty. I have so many yarn-related activities planned that I maaaaay be neglecting my family just a little bit. I know, it's that work thing; that's the culprit. Last week when I was off it was fine. I could cram a few yarny things into the day when school was happening and still be there at night. But now....

Tonight there's a Coquitlam spinners' and weavers' guild open house - I get to have my second attempt at spinning, and my friend Heidi wants to come with me! Sunday there's a meetup of Ravelry people at a Vancouver coffee shop. That's after Tuesday night's knit night. I was away from home Monday night at a business meeting for work, but if not for that I would have been at Ikea for knit night. Well, I guess I was here last night, but I had to miss my son's band concert because I had to work on the newsletter I edit (I had neglected it for knitting, too). Can I cram quality time into Friday and Saturday? Maybe... if there's no knitting activity I can be strong. I know I can.

So what am I knitting these days? I have been completely consumed - aside from work and newsletter and perhaps a couple of TV shows (Dancing with the Stars and America's Next Top Model -not my fault!!! My daughter watches and I've become addicted!), I have been knitting bags to felt to Christmas presents. They go pretty quickly. I'm doing about 6 and I've got 3 or 4 knitted up. All I have to do with them now is weave in the ends, sew the hole up on the bottom and felt them. I'm quite liking felting.

Back to the Grind

Whew! I tried to post and couldn't! I thought my blogging adventure had ended after my first post.

Alright, hysteria aside, here's what I wanted to say:

I've had a week off from work - for no purpose other than to have some time off. It became a very fibre-filled week. Getting together with a Ravelry group, visiting Louisa's (Damselfly) home and fibre studio, a couple of field trips to lys's (local yarn stores), deciding to knit up felted bags for Christmas gifts, and a trip out to the Langley Weavers' and Spinners' sale. I think I'm a little bit addicted, say what?

Yesterday I visited my Mom and sister and knit on their Christmas gifts right in front of them - I'm so sneaky. When they asked me what I was making I just said 'knitted bags' and didn't elaborate further. If they had a clue they didn't say anything.

So today it's off to work again. I work in a dental x-ray clinic. Tonight there's an owner's meeting and they want me to go to discuss a new purchase - a dental CT machine (ooh, exciting - more digital toys).

Alas, I have to visit my lys again today (she said sarcastically). I have some yarn on hold and said I would pick it up today. I think I can fit it in between work and the meeting.

And So We Start

Blogging - it's been on my mind for a while.

I've been reading blogs (mainly knitting blogs) and have been thoroughly entertained. And yes, I guess I have to admit I've become addicted to some. I fancy myself a bit of a writer (one who doesn't write, though, so it may be self-defeating). Could I? Would I? Should I? Well, let's see where this takes me.

Knitting - I began knitting when I was young. I was self taught from a book, which means I didn't learn everything I needed. There was no one to help me along and I wasn't hooked. Speaking of being hooked I tried crochet as well and was less than enthralled. I did a little knitting through my teens and early twenties and then didn't have anything to do with it for years. And years. And years. (I know I'm dating myself but there you go).

A while back I realized I hadn't done anything 'crafty' for a year and a half. A while longer passed and it was two years. My fingers were definitely feeling an itch to do something. I read a small newspaper article about a lys (local yarn store) and that was enough. I visited, I bought, I knat-great word, Rabbitch (see if you can guess whose blogs I read).

I found a community of knitters that hadn't been there for me before. The internet makes it possible. Ravelry - oooh! If you're on Ravelry look me up - MarinaB. Facebook - I only use it to play scrabble with a friend. I found people who knit among those I know already and from the internet. I'm trying to meet them and share the knitting 'thang'.

So let me try to put a picture in here. I'll show you of what I'm (sort of) making for Christmas gifts:

The bag and its bottom.

I think that worked. Okay, I wrote 'sort of' because I'm leaving the eyelash fringe off the bags. This is the Uptown Tote, a felted bag. I'm making it smaller so that I can make it from only two skeins of Cascade 220. I think they will still be big enough to please to populace.

So that's my first post to my first blog. I do have lots more to say but I don't want to overload my first entry, do I? You'll just have to wait - you see I'm imagining there are people reading this.