My New Pretty Pretties....

Lookie Lookie what I made ;-)

elbow lenght sweaterless sleeves, basicly they are long fingerless glovess...they are for my friend Tod, they came out awesome I have to make a pair for myself.....it was a fun 2 day project...hmmm...these would make a fun fast Holiday knitting project don't you think ;-)

Simple Gifts

Today I woke up thinking my toes were going to fall off because they were so cold. When I checked the temp outside it read....25 degrees....That's right, 25. now I know what most of you are thinking, "Turn on the fucking heat, why didn't you turn it on before you went to bed?" and your are right But I live in San Francisco, this is the coldest its been in a VERY long time. Lets just say when I was getting my morning coffee I was talking to a girl in line who's lived here for ten years, longer than my 3 which means she has more knowledge on these things, and she said that she's never seen it this bad in the years she's been here. Returning to my knitting I stopped and thought about it, days like this back home meant staying in doors with family, born into or chosen, and enjoying their company.

I remember when I was younger and we would have our wood stove on and be sitting in the family room watching my mother with her cross stitch, my sister with her dolls, and I would be reading yet another book. Nothing fancy just enjoying the day off from school.

Picking up my knitting I realized that through my knitting I have taken a part of that feeling with me. You don't have to knit huge lace pieces or sweaters, but by finding joy in the feeling of fiber running through your fingers and watching your needles twist it into the corresponding knit or purl stitch and knowing that the thing your making is going to keep a loved one warm or go to someone that needs the comfort of knowing that someone is thinking about them, even if they have no idea who made it.

It's not just knitting but any crafting that takes you away and silences your mind for a few minutes and lets you just be. Spinning, crafting. crochet, or what ever your craft is remember to enjoy it. I have been knitting for some charity projects lately and the enjoyment I'm getting out of it has more to do with the families that are going to be receiving my craft more than the knitting itself. If you are on Ravelry then I'm sure you might have seen a quick call out for scrap yarn from KnitsWithBalls...That's me...I'm making baby sweaters. Baby Surprise Jackets to be precise. I wanted to knit them up and give them to a local hospital here in The City so mothers would have something warm to take their babies home in...that baby sweater is something I can make in two nights and gives a world of warmth to a family that is having hard times....

So guys please find the simple things this season and enjoy the company you keep and know that even if you are alone I'll be thinking of you...:-)

Holiday Knitting...

So after years of only knitting for one person, Ihave branched out and am actually knitting for a few people this holiday season. I won't post their names here but if you have ever gotten a peice of knitting from me while I have been living in The City then your name could beon the list...So brace yourself Effie you could be one of the special ones.

So far I have made Swallowtail in a worsted weight so its HUGE! I love it I might have to make a few more as gifts since its so much quicker and it looks GREAT!

I'm just starting a Smoke Ring in a awesome Crimson red... I almost wanna keep if for myself but that defeats the porpuse of holiday knitting doesnt it lol

and I have a few pairs of socks I wanna make...So this might be the year I really get to know what its like to knit for others...

WISH ME LUCK!

A Letter (revisited)

Dear Non-Knitter;
Before you say anything about the handcrafted gift I just presented to you, please keep a few things in mind. Yes, I could have gone to a store and wrestled between getting you this or that a few days before now, but instead I started weeks/months/years ago by selecting a delightfully mild-mannered ewe which produced the softest wool. I washed, carded, and spun the fibres into the ideal yarn I required. I dyed it the precise shade that would compliment your skin/eyes/hair; then stitched countless swatches of various stitch patterns and piecing them together, arranging, adding and dropping a few -- finally coming up with the design I would use to handcraft your gift.
Now that I have all this figured out, I have to determine your measurements without your knowledge. Now this is a very clever trick which I will not go into detail in this letter, for it will unravel many a knitting secret. Having your measurements, I have to put those into an algebraic equation and using the stitches I chose to use, I have to do a bit of math -- that's right, I said math. I have to calculate out how many stitches to cast-on so that your gift isn't too small or too big for you.
With all this preparatory work, I can FINALLY cast-on and actually start making your gift. This could be anywhere from ten to several hundred stitches. Now here is where the fun begins. Sitting in my comfy chair/bus seat/plane/doctors office I knit. And knit. And knit, all the while thinking to myself how great this will look on you. For these aren't just stitches I'm making with these needles and yarn, I am softly saying a little prayer for you, whispering “I love you” into each stitch. All 502,839 of them...yes, I really did count them.
Once I have all the pieces made (and trust me I probably had to knit some pieces more than once so that they would have the same gauge as the rest of the pieces), I sewed them together in the right order and position -- this might take a few tries to get right since sewing isn't my greatest skill. But I push through knowing that this gift is for you.
Now I have everything together: the color is beautiful, the stitching is impeccable and the garment is washed, blocked, dried, boxed and ready to be gifted to you.
All of that time I spent just to give you a scarf/sweater/blanket/those socks. Each stitch made with love for you from me. So when ever you feel that you are alone or life gets hard, go find this gift of love and pull it around tight and know that someone loves you and that they spent the time to actually make this for you. Sharing a handicraft item is done out of love -- there is no monetary value that can cover the time that goes into it each piece. So if you are ever lucky enough to receive one of these precious items please treasure it and understand that it is a work of art in itself made specifically for you.
Now doesn't that make this gift a bit better than that Gift Certificate to Where Ever-Mart... so don’t go f*** it up by throwing it in the washer and dryer and ruining it!
With Love,
A Knitter