Summer knitting

Well to say the least the Knitting Wahoo never stops knitting.. but when it comes to getting on the computer or posting on her blog... well that is something else... Summer has been very busy and I have not had the time or inclination to get on the Internet that much... .just ask my Facebook.com friends.. .I don't go there that much either.. I think think things will change with the Fall thought..

So with further adeau here is what I have been knitting this summer.

These socks were for a friends grandchild who is about 10 months old. Made of Cascade Fixation they are stretchy and hopefully will last a while.

My 1776 socks. I love these socks and they were the first pair I have ever finished so quickly. I think it was the patriotic patterning.. or maybe I was just extra stressed.. I don't know.. BUT I do know my son now wants a pair for himself. I can not wait to wear these this Fall.

Talk about small. This sweater is for a 3 pound baby... Well... Since the place I usually donate to can not take 3 pound sweaters [babies that size don't need button down sweaters.... I guess I will just keep it for a bear or maybe gift it to a little girl with a doll.. I have not decided... I mainly did this size to see what it looked like... it was a total experiment.

This sweater is "normal" newborn size.... Likely about 3 months. I don't have a recipient in mind yet... But I did it to see how the yarn self patterned and because I wanted to knit in pink.... the pattern is free and I found it on Ravelry... . You can find me on Ravelry.com too as APPALACHIANCHILD.

Yet another experiment to an unknown recipient... I just had this yarn in my stash and wanted to see how it knitted up. I am not sure who will get it...

This little yellow sweater was fun to knit.... yes it is the same basic pattern as the 3 previous. This time I used Cabin Fever Yarn.... It is soft, washable.. and I love this particular yarn.. .I have been a little addicted to that pattern recently.... The buttons are from South Africa... and I purchased them at Sereknitty yarn shop on Crystal Spring Dr. in Roanoke, VA [My favorite LYS because like on the show Cheers... they "know my name"] This sweater was gifted to the Steiner Baby at Church.

This sweater was made for my Friend Jodi's baby boy Gabriel. You have to see the back to appreciate the work in this one. If I make this again, I will not make it with the Mission Falls 1824 that is recommended... I found out that I am simply not a fan..... Otherwise it turned out pretty well.

A great video

Take a look at this video from VIMEO....

WOW....


"Stand by Me" performed by musicians around the world from SKAT on Vimeo.

SO what has the Knitting Wahoo been up to?????

Well to tell the truth.. I have not really finished any projects recently... I have a couple that are near finishing and several others started... but alas.. nothing finished.... I stopped everything last weekend [weekend before Easter] to start an afghan for one of my Husband's co-workers... It is nearly done and when I finish it I will post a picture.

In the mean time.. I have a few recent pictures to share.

First My exploration with "Copper Pennies" ie Sweetened sauteed carrots.

Second... A Star Wars Clone Warrior invaded my Easter with Family. This is actually my son... with his brown sweater from a previous post.

You may see from frost on the grass... yes it was there... and this was taken about 845am on Sunday. We were in Bluefield, VA and it was definitely COLD for Easter... but at least it did not snow....

Well I am off to do some more knitting on that afghan

A little sweater for Kathryn's new baby

I decided to knit a size 3 month sweater for a fellow Social Worker who was due in January. I got the sweater done, but then put off adding the buttons. I hope to mail this tomorrow to her... as I have a bad cold and don't want to bring my germs to the new arrival.

This sweater was knit with Baby Ull Dalegarm. It is washable wool and I absolutely loved working with it. I got it from Becky Bowling when she owned Knitter's Knook. She has now closed the store and left the country to be with her husband. I selfishly wish that she would have stayed here as she was such a help and inspiration.

The pattern called for Paton's Beehive.. but I could not find any and Becky graciously helped me to see that the Baby Ull was a good substitute.. THANKS AGAIN BECKY!!!!!

Final creations from 2008

Here are my final creations from 2008. Some were presents.. and some were for our family or me...

One of the yarn stores in the Roanoke area closed this fall and I was very saddened. I am about to finish a sweater with yarn I purchased there and will post photos when it is done. We did have a new Yarn shop open--- Yarn Explosion and I was there today getting yet more yarn... but I do have plans for it...

So here are the photos......................

This is Zipper. She is a Rat Terrier who joined our family in November. She is only 6 months old now and has little fat and little hair [smooth coat]. I made her this UVA sweater of wool for the winter.

This sweater was for my son. I made my own pattern starting off of the Knitter's book of Patterns vest for children.

More of my leftover sock yarn baby socks. I finished these in October when my father had surgery. I plan on several sets eventually to use as ornaments at Christmas. So far I have 2 and 1/2 sets complete.

This is a basic sweater made from Plymouth Encore Aran/sport weight... Machine washable, with some wool. It was a gift for the newest Abelhadhi baby at church

I could not resist sharing these buttons... BUTTERFLIES... they really "set off" the sweater.

Another multi directional scarf.... This one for my son's Kindergarten Teacher, Ms. Blevins. She is a Breast Cancer Survivor and I thought the Pink was a nice but not overpowering touch. Yarn is Karaoke and was purchased at Yarn Theory in Bedford.

Finally this little sweater is about a 12 month size.. and was for the Brooks baby at work. I grew up in the same church as the baby's father and has her grandfather as a bus driver at one time.

Detail of the stitching on this sweater.

Hopefully I will get even busier with knitting and spinning in 2009...

Ravelympics Virginiastars

I have knitted like a maniac sice August 8th when the Olymics started


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Here are my finished objects so far
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These are Harrison's socks.... Universal yarns Ditto

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Multidirectional scarf of BOKU to be gifted to Mom

UVA tote Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky..... felted Wahoooooooooooooooo

Preemie afghan for UVA hospital via Heartfelt Angels on yahoo.com

so far I have gotten 4 of these awards and am on the verge of number 5..... I only entered 6 items in the WIP [works in progress ] Wrestling



This is a flower fom Harrison's garden

I continue to finish more things

Since I have joined Ravelry.com it is hard for me to keep up with posting here as well.. so here are a few things I have accomplished in June... and late May.

I am currently designing a sweater for my son and will post pictures soon....

I also have started several other projects... and am looking at Christmas items.. [gifts]... so I will not feel rushed come November/December.

In the mean time.. here are a few of my recently finished objects.....

I have finished yet another pair of socks... This time they were two at a time... I don't know that I am a fan yet.. but I will try again this may have been too hard a pattern to start with... I gave these to a co-worker on the event of her retirement. They are made with Elann Espirit.. much like Cascade fixation.. but different color ways and lesser costs...

And before this I had finished some socks in Austerman Step.. using a purl lace sock pattern from SOCKS, SOCKS, SOCKS... I love these.... They were as much a joy to knit [the yarn is so soft and fun] as they feel on my feet.

And finally... I have finished my Orange/Brown/Green roving. I decided to Navajo ply it due to the fact that one bobbin was older than the other.. and although this was my first time Navajo plying.. I think I am in love... I like it much better.. don't have the extra singles I usually end up with otherwise.. and found I had better control...... So far I don't know how much yardage I have... But I believe I have enough for a scarf... maybe something more... I will have to consider who it is for... As these are really not my colors.. but I enjoy looking at it ..... I spun this on my Kromski Mazurka.. and plied it on my Majacraft Saxony...

SO... Here are my final balls..

Socks, socks.. and oh what else

These are the original MAXIM print socks I referred to in my last post. They turned out a little bigger than I had anticipated... No overly big, but I guess to be honest... I am a little spoilt to my Fixation socks... Anyway I only got to wear them once and have not tried since washing them.. maybe I got a little shrinkage [I did not try to felt them.... but did hope they would tighten up a wee bit.]



NOW BELOW are photos of the left overs... I took some to make two squares for an afghan for a knitting friend who lost her home to a fire and then still had enough yarn for these... they are on size 1 needles and are 24 stitches around. I did not do a true heel decrease due to the size.. I plan to use them as ornaments anyway... but I thought they were just too cute.....











Oh yeah... and ROSES galore... I went out in the rain to take this photo.

I am on the verge of finishing some AUSTERMAN STEP socks from the SOCKS,SOCKS, SOCKS book they have been so fun.. My son graduated from preschool last night and what did I do.. I took them with me... I am on the foot of the second sock.. and am raring to finish... SO .... I knitted until the program started... I knitted in the car on the way there too, as well as on the way to IHOP [his choice for celebrating].... I am nearly to the toe.... I hope I can get some things done at home today... but it may not happen as I want that sock finished NOW

As soon as I get done which I am sure will be this weekend.. I will post pictures.......

I am on Ravelry.com as Appalachianchild... I have been busy loading up my stash, books, and projects and have met several friends too.... I post there more than here ....

All things southern and more

I have been looking for things to knit that are southern in nature. I am hoping to be able to dress in period clothing for Civil War Reenactments and events and have been looking for shawl, cap etc patterns. I joined a group on Yahoo and found more resources... As soon as I have something nice made I will post my efforts..

One of the patters I really liked was put out by Goodey's Lady's book and is of a cap. I plan to do it first.. and probably will make a dress around it.

So since I was thinking South.. I decided to see where my linguistics was at... well here is the tail......

Your Linguistic Profile:

35% Dixie 35% General American English 10% Upper Midwestern 5% Midwestern 5% Yankee

http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href= Kind of American English Do You Speak?

This rather fits me well.

This is my first spool of variegated yarn in Orange, Green, Brown etc.. from My Kromski wheel.

About a month ago I did a spinning exhibition at work and was featured in our newsletter spinning... I am beginning to be much more confident in sharing my spinning knowledge now.

As to knitting.. well...............I have finished some Maxim by Filatura Di Crosa that I picked up at Yarn Theory http://www.yarntheory.com/ Jan is the bomb and always has a nice selection. If you are in Bedford, Virginia you need to look her up.

I plan to post pictures of these socks soon.. but I have the toes and running in treads to go. I may try to finish tonite though as tomorrow is supposed to be so very cool again. It is hard to believe it is spring from today's weather.. but I have seen....

All this and more is in our yard these days.... I do like spring.

My first 6-8 yr old sweater vest

I finally finished the Easter Vest for my son. He is wearing it.. but I cropped off his head as I don't like advertising exactly what he looks like on line.

Anyway it is in Shepherd wool, basic sweater pattern is from the Knitters Book of Patterns. Front is in a Diamond Brocade... I had to adjust majorly when it came to the arms and shoulders.. but all went well... all that math I took in High School paid off...

Back is straight stockinette.... I did this at the suggestion of a co-worker and it definitely looks good.

Gauge was about 5 stitches to the inch...

and here is the picture....

The flash and my editing took away some of the detail.. but it is truly diamond brocade on the full front.....

Now that I have gotten brave.. and found his size [my son is very tall for a 5 year old]... I plan to keep working on more vests for his first year of Kindergarten this fall.... Orange, Mustard Yellow.. and Green are on the agenda.... I even have one stitch pattern already picked out... Pictures will follow as I get them done..

Right now I am knitting two socks at the same time.... I a book about this.. and so far... well I can tell why one woman at a yarn shop said she did not like it.. It takes a lot of getting used to... But I am hopeful my retirement present for a co-worker will be done on time with no "SECOND SOCK" problems

A couple items I recently finished

I have recently finished a couple items.... The first is a soap sack.. made with a pattern from knitlist and made out of Lion Cotton. This was for a church friend in California and I was not sure what to make quickly.. so this won out.

These socks were made from Cascade Fixation... one of my very favorite yarns.... [see my bootie posts]. Anyway this is the broadripple pattern from www.knitty.com It is easily memorized.. I just had a touch of SSS [Second sock syndrom] and it took me over a year to make the pair... but at least I did finish.

Now you may say.. so what is next that the knitting Wahoo will do... WELL>>>>>>

I am working on a sweater for my son for Easter Sunday. It is blue and is made from Shepherd wool [it will be cold in the mountains on March 23rd]... I have used a diamond brocade pattern on the front... and a plain back.. it is a sweater vest... I am nearly done.. I did the front first as it was hardest [I had to deal with a repeating pattern and decreases... ARGH I am going up the shoulder blades on the back.. and should be ready to do the shoulder decreases later tonite or tomorrow at Lunch time..... Once I get it blocked and put together I will post a picture... I am rather proud of it if I must say so myself.

My newest creation

Yes I keep knitting and knitting for babies being born in Roanoke Virginia.... and elsewhere.... Is it something in the water or what?





Anyway here is my most recent creation.... It is a size 6 months... but as most people know.. babies come in all sizes and grow so quickly... I think this will do for April/May.... and if not.. then there are still cool days/evenings in early summer...





It is acrylic... which I often use for babies... and was a fairly quick knit, once I made myself focus.
Here it is in its green tissue paper, ready for wrapping.... I have not even done that... it is all ready and even though the shower is not until Feb 2... I am ready... to qoute my not so favorite sponge [SpongeBOB]... "I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready....." Usually I am last minute on finishing details.....

And now off to my next projects... I have about 8 to 12 rows left on a blanket.. and then it will be done.. and I am about half way thru another baby sweater.. and it too will be done.......

Happy New Year etc, etc, etc

Well our New Year's Eve was not really 'Rocking" last evening... we had to put our son to sleep and he kept insisting on going to bed with us.... It took a while and needless to say I was too tired to stay up... oh well...


Is this not the cutest... I made this for a friend who had her baby in December... The shower was in November... [late]... it is made from CABIN FEVER cotton..... I used a pattern in one of my favorite books.. but had to adapt a little... for gauge etc... It came out great although





What else has the Knitting Wahoo been up to... Well many Chistmas gifts.. All but one finished... but no pictures.. sorry.. I was just too busy... I am also still doing baby gifts......
I made these for a friend who is having a baby...

we are giving a surprise shower for her next week...

I also made 300+ mints for two co-workers retirement parties... I hope that will be enough...... as each is hand done.. This was a great deal of work for me........


I have started another pair of Virginia Tech Baby Booties... [see previous post for pictures], and have two blankets and two sweaters in the works.....

And FINALLY.... A UVA KNIT......






This scarf and another like it were "commissioned" by some VT friends who wanted to give their UVA friends some fluffy scarves for christmas...


Thats all for now... I sure hope 2008 brings some peace to our world... we certainly have had enough fighting/war etc